Coming into this season, one of the biggest questions was how our players would cope with the Championship.
In part one, I looked at the Championship clubs that have surprised me this season, but there have been some pleasing surprises closer to home as well.
We knew what our players could do in League One, but there was always going to be uncertainty about how much of that would translate against stronger, quicker and more technically accomplished opposition.
The opening weeks have provided some encouraging answers, with certain players adapting more quickly, or making a greater contribution, than I had anticipated.
Ben House
With Ben, I always felt our approach would give him a chance to thrive. So much of what we do depends on how we operate when the opposition have possession, and that is where he is exceptionally effective. His pressing influences the decisions defenders make, the time they have to make them and the opportunities that follow for the players around him. I expected those qualities to remain useful in the Championship, but seeing him rank so highly across measures of that work has underlined just how well he has adapted.
There is a tendency to assess forwards primarily through what they produce with the ball, which can make Ben’s contribution difficult to appreciate fully. We need players who can disrupt the opposition, force them into areas they don’t want to use and create opportunities through pressure. Ben has been central to that for some time, and stronger opposition haven’t suddenly made those qualities redundant. His effectiveness hasn’t just carried into this division, it has almost accelerated, and that has been hugely encouraging because so much of our identity depends on having somebody capable of doing that job.
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