[retired_joshyk13]

Thought it would be great to have a thread dedicated to the entire Championship instead of 24 threads dedicated to each Championship team which quickly dies through inactivity.



The Football League Championship (aka the Championship, the Coca Cola Championship and the Fizzy Pop Championship) is home of football's most valuable prize; a spot in the Premiership. For the 24 teams in it a prize represents financial security, not to mention the chance to rub shoulders with England's football elite.

Achieving that prize is more difficult than it sounds. Many see the Championship as a very even league with any one of ten teams able to seriously lay claim to a chance to take one of the three promotion places. Many more speak of achieving promotion through the play offs; a four team knock out competition held at the end of the season, the last team standing winning the coveted third promotion spot to the Premiership.

For the spectator, the Championship is often considered the league to watch for unpredictability if not pretty football. But for the manager, it's a league with high demands from supporters and the board room alike and any manager not achieving instant success is likely to find him or herself out as quickly as they joined (Martin Allen, anyone?)

IMO, the Championship represents a really difficult but entertaining challenge; you can take the high pressure jobs (ie the Charltons, Wolves, West Broms etc) and try for instant success or the longer term rebuilding jobs (ie your Norwichs, Ipswichs, Cardiff etc) and enjoy a long term game. There's plenty of other types of game awaiting in the Championship too; not just those I've described above, and it's this reason I believe managing a Championship side is one of the better challenges FM offers.

The Teams & their Key Players

Barnsley - Miguel Mostto : The Peruvian has a great finishing ability and will no doubt shoulder alot of Barnsley's goal scoring efforts

Blackpool - Keigan Parker : Lightning quick striker who I think could cause any defence a whole load of problems.

Bristol City - Michael McIndoe : I chose him over Trundle as McIndoe can create as well as score - although saying that so can Trundle, but we've had two strikers already!

Burnley - Stephen Caldwell : Superb commanding centre back that has all the right stats to be a top Championship defender.

Cardiff City - Glenn Loovens : Dutch centre back who's a got strength, pace and positioning. Partnered with Darren Purse, this makes Cardiff's central defence very tough to crack.

Charlton Athletic - Andy Reid : Premiership quality midfielder who can play virtually across the park.

Colchester United - Teddy Sheringham : Nothing needs be said about this legend who'll really make Colchester tick.

Coventry City - Elliot Ward : Another solid central defender, but his age will mean he should continue to improve for the future as well.

Crystal Palace - Clinton Morrison : Crystal Palace through and through, Morrison's strength makes him a formidable opponent for defenders.

Hull City - Jay Jay Okocha : Old but still one of the most technically gifted midfielders in the game, let alone the Championship.

Ipswich Town - Owen Garvan : Young midfielder often called the Steven Gerrard of the Championship because of his stamina and ability to drive Ipswich forward.

Leicester City - Marco Ferrira : Portugese international winger on loan from Benfica; Ferrira is a clever winger capable of challenging any full back.

Norwich City - Darren Huckerby : A bit on the old side but still lethal and can skin any defence in seconds if allowed.

Plymouth Argyle - David Norris : Hard working midfielder that will never give anything up.

Preston North End - Andy Carrol : Lost big talent Dave Nugent to the Premiership, but Andy Carrol on loan from Newcastle looks more than able to fill the gap.

Queens Park Rangers - Dexter Blackstock : Another talented player from the Southampton youth academy and will without a doubt score the club many a goal.

Scunthorpe United - Marcus Williams : Left back who can get forward really well and defend pretty decently too;

Sheffield United - James Beattie : Premiership quality striker who can be a superb target man as well as work off another. With Billy Sharp in the team too, this could make the Championship's most lethal duo.

Sheffield Wednesday - Frank Simek : A hard nut American full back who really is a gem in FM.

Southampton - Rudi Skacel : Tricky winger who's really quite lethal with his crosses. He also works hard to make that space to cross.

Stoke City - Dominic Matteo : Experienced defender who offers both experience and a really solid centre or left back.

Watford - Marlon King : Clinical striker who'd score goals in any side. I'm not looking forward to coming up against him with my defensively weak Norwich side.

West Bromwich Albion - Robert Koren : Great player and one of the very few genuine play makers in the division.

Wolverhampton Wanderers - Michael Kightly : Young find considered the buy of last season, Kightly is a rare talent that will make a great Premiership player.

Some Decent Targets for Championship Sides

- David Thompson : Freebie at the start of the demo and a superb AMRC for any side in the League.
- Peter Clarke : Southend defender who's got the right stats to be a top central defender in this league.
- James Keene : AM/FC avaliable for a steepish price (£700k I bought him for) but he's Premiership quality.
- Sergio Peter : Blackburn's young winger that's got pace to burn and a decent cross on him.
- Jamie O'Hara : Classly midfielder from Tottenham who's equally capable in the centre or on the left. And he's cheap!
- Mark Edworthy : Transfer listed defender who's great for lower Championship sides.
- Havard Nordtveit : Norweigan centre back at Arsenal with incredible technical ability.
- Richard Duffy : Another loanee, this time for the right back's position.
- Ross McCormack : Great looking young talent from Motherwell, but one for the richer clubs only!
- Steven Hammell : Another good Southend defender, this time a full back.

Note: The above are for the DEMO only. I've no idea if they'll be as effective in the full game; but I will make a comprehensive post here of what I consider valid Championship targets.

Hope that helps; feel free to add any detailed posts about individual Championship teams; ie if you want to tell us about how you get the best out of - say - Coventry, feel free to add it. Or even feel free to just add a name of a good Championship level player. My hope is that this will eventually turn into a bible for Championship-based managers in FM.

[retired_charytine]

Good posting. :thup:

[retired_joshyk13]

Norwich City are a difficult team in this game. Without the talented Robert Earnshaw and with Dickson Etuhu finally earning the praise he deserved - and then leaving - people playing with Norwich are playing with a team who've got potential but need that little touch to make them realise it.

The squad is:

GK: David Marshall//Matthew Gilks
DR: Jon Otsemobor//Andrew Cave-Brown
DL: Adam Drury//Simon Lappin
DC: Jason Shackell//Gary Doherty//Dion Dublin//Ian Murray
MR: Luke Chadwick//Lee Croft//Darrel Russell
ML: Darren Huckerby//Simon Lappin
MC: Julien Brellier//Ian Murray//Darrel Russell//Mark Fotheringham
FW: Jamie Cureton//David Strihavka//Chris Brown

Talented Youngsters: Michael Spillane and Chris Martin

Out on Loan: Joe Lewis, Paul Gallacher, Seb Muddel & Ryan Jarvis

I started by looking for fresh reinforcements for the midfield. I wanted to bring in a left midfielder to allow Lappin to play back up to left back exclusively.

I also allowed Chris Brown and Mark Fotheringham both to leave; I think Strihavka is a better player than Chris Brown and Fotheringham is just very, very disappointing (no one wanted him, I had to release him!)

The transfer fund of £2mil is very generous, but almost every time I find myself sinking £500k of that into wages; and this allows me to bring in some transfers without needing to lower my wage bill.

I think when the full version is released, I'm almost definitely going to try and sign Peter Clarke from Southend, James Keene from Elfsborg and David Thompson on a free. This trio will give me greater depth to the squad, and I believe are all first teamers.

A quick tip; renegotiate Darren Huckerby's contract. He's happy to accept at least a £1,000 pay rise; £1,500 if you win his trust first. Maybe more; I didn't push the issue.

[retired_elpata]

Excellent idea this and a very good first post. :thup:

[retired_robnkauai]

Excellent post LincolnCanary, think i may try my hand at the championship again now! Definately agree with trying to sign Peter Clarke from Southend, he has the quality to make it in the championship.

Keep us updated on how you do with your Norwich team!

Good luck!

[retired_joshyk13]

Originally posted by LincolnCanary:
A quick tip; renegotiate Darren Huckerby's contract. He's happy to accept at least a £1,000 pay reduction; £1,500 if you win his trust first. Maybe more; I didn't push the issue.

Amending a mistake.

[retired_joshyk13]

Another quick tip; Lee Martin and Kevin Phillips. I bought both in (Martin on loan, Phillips permenantly) and both are setting the division alight.

Martin is great on the left and his form has kept Huckerby out so far - the intention was to simply use him as cover to Huckerby, who was injured during training after recovering from his first injury. He's also particularly effective when swopping with Luke Chadwick and can do equally good on the right.

Kevin Phillips I've sadly bought to replace an ineffective Jamie Cureton and an unhappy David Strihavka. Strihavka is unsettled in the Norwich area and I'm giving him some time to get adjusted as it's making his performances poor. Cureton is, however, just not playing well.

Phillips and Keene have made an effective partnership and I've found Keene to be really great at making space for Phillips. To this end I gave him a free role and told him to cross and send through balls alot and Phillips is getting on the end of alot of them. He's scored 3 in 4 now.

Phillips I bought from West Brom for £120k and Martin is a season long loan from Manchester Utd.

[retired_joshyk13]

Another quick tip; Lee Martin and Kevin Phillips. I bought both in (Martin on loan, Phillips permenantly) and both are setting the division alight.

Martin is great on the left and his form has kept Huckerby out so far - the intention was to simply use him as cover to Huckerby, who was injured during t

[NMR]

Not Kevin Phillips, i signed him a few days back and he couldnt hit a barn door ..

[NMR]

Ive just signed Ross McCormack, And Loic Abenzoar( Spelling ) , I was suprised to see how i got Loic, I offered him Key Player and he had no intention.. And he Joined!