good morning! And welcome to a belated EFL Championship roundup. The good news is we didn’t really miss too much with those extra days. If anything, it’ll make this hoddle more interesting. Let’s dive in:
The season is still in its nascent stages, only four games in, but there are a few interesting themes developing. First is Sunderland’s perfect start to the season, which has surprised the heck out of me.
Former Spurs player Romain Mundle has done his part, with two goals in the last two matches. And his fellow Tottenham outcast Dennis Cirkin also scored during Sunderland’s 4-0 rout of Wednesday in Match Week 2.
I also think West Brom and Leeds United have made encouraging starts to the season. Particularly Leeds, who’ve lost a couple players during the transfer window.
Burnley’s position looks precarious. Not only have they lost Wilson Odobert to Spurs, but they also were poached of Sander Berge, Johann Gudmundsson, Wout Weghorst and Kuke McNally. Aside from bringing in Joe Worrall, I don’t think they did great business this window in replacing their outgoings. One of their defeats was to Sunderland, though, and they do have a +7 GD. I think they’ll still compete for the automatics.
On the flip side we have Luton Town, who seem to be in a bit of a relegation hangover. The Hatters are winless in their first four games. Some bad results there too against QPR, Preston and Portsmouth. That should’ve been six points, at leasdt.
It’s still early doors, so we have no idea how this season will play out. I’m more confident in Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City being at or near the bottom though.
Top six:
1. Sunderland (12 Points, + 9 GD)
2. WBA (10 Points, +4 GD)
3. Watford (9 Points, +4 GD)
4. Leeds (8 Pts, +4 GD)
5. Blackburn Rovers (8 Points, +3 GD)
6. Burnley (7 Points, +7 GD)
Bottom three:
22. Plymouth Argyle (2 Pts, -5 GD)
23. Luton Town (1 Pt, -5 GD)
24. Cardiff (1 Pt, -9 GD)
Fitzie’s track of the day: Beaches, by beabadoobee
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold’s talking points from Tottenham’s 1-2 loss vs Newcastle
Jay Harris ($$) analyses Tottenham’s ‘wastefulness’
Dan KP: Dominic Solanke’s importance rises in his absence
Manchester United’s CEO says Erik ten Hag has their ‘full backing’
Sol Bamba dies aged 39
