The Standard Of The Championship
From our perspective, one surprise has been how effectively we have competed with teams I expected to cause us considerably more trouble. Initially, I was tempted to describe that as a lack of quality in some of the opposition, but that probably doesn’t give us enough credit. The better explanation is that we have been able to nullify their quality and prevent them from doing what they want to do. That is a strength of ours, rather than simply a failing of theirs.
There were reasons to think we could get something from the games we have won. Bolton were familiar opposition, Preston were going through a difficult period, and Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw understood Michael’s approach at Bristol City better than most. Nevertheless, understanding an opponent and beating them are different things. I expected more afternoons where we would be pushed back, hanging on and hoping to survive, but in the league we have largely been competitive, with Portsmouth the clearest exception.
At the same time, the quality of certain individuals has been a real eye-opener. Léo Scienza and Welington at Southampton, Szmodics with that thunderbolt, and Yu Hirakawa at Bristol City have all provided examples of players capable of doing something that is desperately difficult to defend against. We beat Bristol City, but every time Hirakawa got on the ball, there was still that feeling in the pit of my stomach. Winning the match didn’t make his threat any less obvious.
In League One, you generally knew who the danger players were and could formulate a plan to limit them. You could double up, deny them space or make sure they received the ball in areas where they couldn’t hurt you as much. Here, some of the better players can still produce something exceptional despite all of that. Welington’s goal was a moment of absolute brilliance in a Southampton performance that, as a whole, hadn’t been particularly convincing.
That is how those two observations fit together: we have been able to compete with teams, but certain players within them have shown a level of ability that feels markedly different. In my opinion, Scienza and Welington look capable of playing regularly in the Premier League, while Will Lankshear showed the damage a striker can do when you struggle to contain him. I knew the Championship would be a step up. I hadn’t fully appreciated how striking that difference would be in particular moments.
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