This season’s Championship promises to be one of the most exciting and competitive for many years. Across the league there are a number of big names, teams of former glories that are desperate to get back to the top. But with that desire to return to the top division comes an enormous pressure on the managers who have been given the job to get them back to the Premier League.
The 24 teams that make up the second tier include Southampton, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham, West Ham and Leeds. These are just some of the clubs that will be fighting for only three promotion spots come the end of the season. Some will undoubtedly miss out and for the managers that don’t guide their teams to the top or even make good starts to their campaigns, the chop may loom. The increased competition in the league should prove to be an amazing spectacle for fans but for managers, the pressures and headaches will only be greater. Those big clubs will not face an easy task getting back to the Premier League as the standard of England’s second tier continues to increase year on year.
Two of the league’s big teams and favourites for promotion are West Ham and Leicester City. The Hammers have appointed Sam Allardyce to lead them this season and the demand for success and an immediate return to the Premier League means the pressure will be on Allardyce from the start. A bad run could easily see the former Blackburn boss shown the door.
Another manager who sees himself in a similar position is Sven-Goran Eriksson at Leicester. The incredible spending at the club means that the manager will face the expectation of success this season and missing out on promotion could easily spell the end for Sven. In previous years the likes of Leicester and West Ham could have run away with the league but whilst they are still favourites, both face intense competition for the promotion places in a league that could realistically include at least half the teams chasing automatic promotion.
Nottingham Forest’s decision to appoint Steve McClaren as their new boss looks like a great move on paper. The former England manager is experienced and hungry to return to the Premier League. But his experience within the game and the club’s tradition means he has everything to prove again with Forest. McClaren faces the challenge of returning them to the top after years away and this will be no easy task despite his experience and obvious skills as a boss. It is often said that the Championship is the hardest league to get out of and managers (including McClaren) will have to step up to the challenge and prove they can guide their team straight up if most want to stay in their jobs come May next year.
The opening weekend of fixtures didn’t disappoint and the prospect of a whole season of enthralling Championship action is mouthwatering. But the managers of those big clubs will all face an uphill battle and huge pressure to get their teams out of the second tier and back where they belong.
Which Championship manager do you think is under the most pressure? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
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