Championship ante post 2018/19
29th July 2018:
Bet
- Rotherham to be relegated 5/4 William Hill
The top of the Championship looks tight and there is still more important business to be done before the transfer window shuts.
Stoke have spent over £30m already as they look to bounce straight back to the top flight, but new boss Rowett has spoken of his desire for around four more further additions.
Relegated West Brom responded brilliantly to caretaker boss Moore once Pardew left last year and picked up unlikely results against Man Utd, Liverpool, Newcastle and Spurs to give their fans some temporary, if false, hope.
Moore has deservedly been handed the reins on a full time basis but things haven't gone so smoothly over the summer with Foster and McLean refusing to attend a summer training camp. Both have since left the club.
Dawson and Rodriguez have been linked with big money moves away from the Hawthorns too, but, for now, stay. The Baggies are actually unbeaten in pre-season but you'd want to know they are keeping hold of their remaining big names before backing them this year.
Middlesbrough have made two excellent defensive additions in Flint and McNair and their already strong backline could be watertight under Pulis.
Leeds seem to be stepping up their recruitment under Bielsa and landing Douglas from Wolves could signal the start of an exciting recruitment spree. They've been heavily linked with Vydra all summer and there is talk of Bamford arriving. Either would be excellent signings.
For now, however, I have decided to sit out the markets at the top of the division until the transfer activity settles down, but, at the other end, I have backed ROTHERHAM heavily for relegation.
You have to admire the way Tony Stewart runs the South Yorkshire club, but their average attendance of little over 8,500 was only the ninth highest in League One last year and it is extremely difficult, with their income stream, to sustainably compete with relegated Premier League teams like Stoke, who have the luxury of parachute payments and can readily splash £10m+ on players.
The last time Rotherham graced the Championship they finished bottom, with 23 points, and although you don't wish another season of misery upon them now it is Warne, not Evans, at the helm, it is difficult to imagine anything but another long season against the drop, even if they should improve on their horrific previous points total.
