In this article…
It was round two in the Championship, as opening day narratives were either furthered or dispelled.
A global name in Tom Brady hitched up at Birmingham and was treated to a 1-0 win over Leeds, QPR defied their doubters, Coventry and Bristol City got cooking despite the losses of key midfielders, and Plymouth Argyle continued their excellent start to life in the second tier with a valuable point, and EFL pundit Gab Sutton takes us through it all.
Some of the musings from the gameweek 2 have inspired Championship betting tips, two as big as 5/1.
Birmingham: Tom Brady touches down at the Blues
A new era dawns at Birmingham City, as new owner Tom Wagner watched them play a competitive game in the Championship for the first time as owner, and he was joined by Tom Brady – yes, the Tom Brady.
The former American Football quarter-back for the New England Patriots is on board with Blues as an advisor – he spent time with supporters after the game in pubs next to the ground! The feel-good factor translated onto the pitch, too, as Blues beat Leeds 1-0 thanks to Lukas Jutkiewicz’s penalty.
It was a scrappy game against Daniel Farke’s side, but the hosts’ back four of Ethan Laird, Dion Sanderson, Kevin Long and Lee Buchanan defended superbly, while the skilfully elusive Siriki Dembele shone brightest in a team that created the most chances, ultimately getting a deserved win.
Having been 3.33 for victory before the game, John Eustace’s side upset the odds and took the opportunity to get up to four points, and are out to take their tally to seven at Bristol City next weekend. Blues’ main aim this season is to make steady progress on last season’s 17th-placed, but with such a special mood around the place, there’s a world in which they blossom ahead of schedule and manage to trouble the top six…
QPR: Never write off Ainsworth
After an opening day 4-0 demolition by Watford, following an uncertain summer, and a slump to end last season, as two fortuitous victories kept them up, a lot of people predicted doom for QPR.
The question was whether Ainsworth is up to this level as a tactician, having achieved his success with Wycombe Wanderers largely through his man management, culture-setting and motivational qualities.
It’s a question that is of course still valid, but what cannot be doubted is his ability to get a team fighting in adversity, and once he gets buy-in, once the penny drops and players feel part of something special, he can get a team performing well above the expected level.
Ainsworth told young striker Sinclair Armstrong he had a feeling he would score at Cardiff, and that was what happened, as the young striker found the net from Paul Smyth’s cut-back, before teeing up Kenneth Paal to add a second after the interval in a 2-1 win.
It was a nervy finish when Cardiff got one back with 12 to play, as ten minutes were added on, but the Rs – 4.19 pre-match outsiders – held out for a priceless victory that lifts some of the gloom around the club.
The Hoops still have problems, but the signing of experienced defender Steve Cook has solved some of them with his organisational qualities, and he’ll be out to record a shut-out against stronger-starters Ipswich next week.
Bristol City: “No Scott? No problem!”
After a disappointing performance against Preston North End on the opening day, Bristol City upped their levels at Millwall and ultimately got their rewards in a 1-0 win.
4.23 outsiders pre-match, in a game in which more was expected from the hosts, who won at Middlesbrough the week before, City broke through in the fourth minute of stoppage time through Matty James.
Nigel Pearson’s side had lost star player Alex Scott to Bournemouth that week, though the £25 million departure may have almost come as a relief, ending months of speculation – either way, they pressed with great intensity at The Den, and as a compact unit led by Mark Sykes, Nahki Wells and Sam Bell.
Midfielders Joe Williams and Jason Knight, the latter poached from Derby this summer, always made themselves available and popped the ball around nicely as City created the better chances, especially in the second half.
James’ late show will give the Severnsiders renewed belief, and with some business likely to arrive in the last two weeks of the window, things could be looking up ahead of the hosting of Birmingham for Bristol City – they’re 4.33 for a top six finish.
Plymouth Argyle: New boys hold Watford
Watford produced a statement performance last week, when they thrashed QPR 4-0 on the opening day, but those same shooting boots deserted them against Plymouth Argyle. That may be a credit to Steven Schumacher’s side, who had been as big as 3.95 to get a point at Vicarage Road, despite the Championship new boys winning 3-1 at Huddersfield on day one. It’s true, Argyle were fortunate to take a goalless draw back to Devon, Vakoun Bayo and others spurned chances, but they created some themselves and managed to find some enterprising passages of play, even within their 36% possession in a disciplined display.
Midfielder Adam Randell and forward Morgan Whittaker linked up neatly on occasion, as the latter had a shot from the edge of the box that flew just wide, the former tested Daniel Bachmann in the second half, like striker Ryan Hardie did in the first. It was rock solid at the other end, as centre back Lewis Gibson won the Green Army’s man-of-the-match, but a mention for Saxon Earley, making a big step up. Having been on loan from Norwich at Stevenage, in League Two, in the first half of last season, Earley jumped to League One in January in a permanent move to Home Park, but didn’t even play much at that level.
For the 20-year-old to start at Vicarage Road and hold his own against the likes of Ken Sema is testament to his courage. This is a significant transition for Argyle, collectively, but they’ve started superbly with four points from two games and are out to add to that tally against Southampton next week – could they even achieve a top half finish this season?
Coventry: New heroes at the CBS
Coventry reached the play-off final last season, but key men Viktor Gyokeres and Gus Hamer have departed as different players look to rise to prominence, but a 3-0 win over Middlesbrough was a great start.
Striker Ellis Simms still awaits his first goal as Gyokeres’ replacement, but there’s definite signs of life without Hamer in midfield as Ben Sheaf and Josh Eccles starred. Both were known to share the Dutch-Brazilian’s box-to-box energy, but in his absence they started to show more confidence on the ball and a new level of quality.
It might have been that last season, there was such a creative focus on Hamer that other players didn’t have the initiative to find that extra gear, whereas in his absence, Sheaf and Eccles have more freedom.
It wasn’t all perfect for the Sky Blues, who have room for improvement, but they’re implementing a new style so to get that first win on the board against a fellow play-off competitor of last season, having been odds-against at 2.38, was fantastic.
Mark Robins’ side, 6.00 to go one better than last season and win promotion, now aim to complete back-to-back wins at Michael Duff’s Swansea next week and are as big as 3.20 for victory – perhaps Simms can start getting among the goals in South Wales…
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