May 16 2006

The Football League

For the definitive review of every Championship team during the season, read the Saint's verdict.

Leicester City

Final Placing: 16th

Last Season: 15th

Manager: Craig Levein/ Rob Kelly

One to watch: David Connelly/Mark De Vries

My Prediction: 6th

How will we do? : 4/6

How did we do? : 3/6

What I said: “Don’t let last seasons 15th place finish fool you. Leicester are a tough nut to crack, they have had a season which I think all in the Midlands would rather forget and the future is now a lot brighter thanks to Craig Levein”

Well I think that the end of term report could read the same for this season, as it did for last season, substituting the name of the manager of course. Craig Levein lasted barely a year and after the rousing finish to the previous season, this one started poorly and Levein just never looked like getting it right.

August started with a 4-1 mauling by Sheffield United, before they scored 4 of their own against Stoke. That was the only league win and coupled with David Connelly moving on to Wigan, it was not the best month. Replacing Connelly was Matt Fryatt, the England under-20 International had carved a name for himself at Walsall.

But victories in the league were hard to come by as there were only 3 more wins until January. Levein was under pressure and the televised FA Cup game brought the highlight of his reign, as the Foxes beat Tottenham 3-2 with a last minute winner from Mark De Vries. But that was as good as it got as with 6 successive league defeats, the board had enough and Levein was out. Rob Kelly took the reigns and by the end of the month, Mark De Vries was back in Holland, being one of Leveins’ buys not fancied by Kelly,

However, the effect that a management change has on a team cannot be underestimated. Leicester then took 21 points out of 30 as they moved away from the bottom 8 that they had occupied for most of the season and Kelly was named manager of the month for March, which culminated in holding Reading to a draw at home, a sign that things were only getting better.

With only pride to play for, Leicester made sure of safety by beating us comfortably at home (as we did the same to them in January) with a 2-0 scoreline. Leicester managed slightly more points under Kellys’ 16 game reign than the 30 that Levein presided over. Iain Hume was the star of the season, scoring 10 times and setting up 4 others. Fryatt hit 6 but he was stepping up a division and consistent performances from Alan Maybury, Patrick McCarthy and Patrick Kisnorbo were a major reason why Leicester managed to pull clear of the bottom of the table, while the emergence of Richard Stearman can only positive.

It has been almost 2 identical seasons for Leicester, the fans wont want a 3rd come next season and Kelly will be under the same pressure to deliver as Levein was this season. Lets hope he makes a better job of it, or he might find that patience in the boardroom is a precious commodity.

Burnley

Final Placing: 17th

Last Season: 13th

Manager: Steve Cotterill

One to watch: Ade Akinbiyi

My Prediction: 20th

How will we do? : 6/6

How did we do? : 4/6

What I said: “It is going to be a season of disappointment for Claret fans and without ever being in danger of being relegated, they may flirt with the drop zone from around January onwards, unless they can find some more players or bring on some youth to pep up, what is barely a first team 16. It will be not because of a lack of quality, but a lack of personnel that will be their undoing.”

Steve Cotterill keeps on performing miracles at Turf Moor. With barely a squad of 16 players, his backroom staff had to minimise injuries and with 7 players making more than 30 appearances, it can be said that they did a good job.

One player, who did not make 30 appearances, was Ade Akinbiyi, who left to join Sheffield United in January. His 12 goals made him the leading scorer, even come end of the season. Burnley had a record at home that was nearly the equal of Watford, but found success on the road a near impossibility as they had the 2nd worst record away.

It was no surprise that Burnleys’ problems started when Akinbiyi left, their form suffered, as they only won 3 games since his departure. Having a small squad could not have helped either, but in fairness to the personnel employed, they managed to turn it around and with only 1 defeat in April, a dogged spirit and a refusal to be beaten meant that Burnley ended the season on a more positive note, after 2 wins in 11 matches.

Cotterill used the loan market wisely, bringing in players like Phil Bardsley, Alan Mahon, Andy Gray and Nathan Dyer. It provided a timely boost but injuries to key players like Danny Coyne and players not performing such as Danny Karbassiyoon and Gifton Noel-Williams, left Cotterills hands tied and he had to make do with what he had, with no money to bring in extra players. With Akinbiyis’ departure, Micheal Ricketts was employed to fill his boots but his 2 goals in 12 games failed to turn any tide in the goalscoring stakes.

We found that a drab 0-0 draw was all we could muster at Turf Moor on Easter Monday, while at home it was another comfortable 2-0 victory. It is not hard to beat a team that cannot score goals and with only 44 scored all season, less than one a game and with only 12 away goals all season (the worst in the division), it is clear that unless Burnley find a goalscorer, or at least try to get more out of Noel-Williams and Ricketts, dependable players like Jon Harley, Frank Sinclair and John McGreal wont be able to turn the tide,it could be a relegation battle next season.

Cotterill has his work cut out, if he is going to improve on this seasons offering. There is no doubt that he has got the best out of what he has got, but with that only leading them to 17th, Clarets fans do not have much to look forward to, except another season of Championship football.

Hull City

Final Placing: 18th

Last Season: 2nd (League 1)

Manager: Peter Taylor

One to watch: Stuart Elliott

My Prediction: 16th

How will we do? : 6/6

How did we do? : 6/6

What I said: “Hull are going to fight tooth and nail for every point and while the top sides should have enough in the locker to beat Hull, I expect Taylor to spring a few surprises along the way. Which is why I am backing them to stay up and they won’t be too troubled with relegation by the seasons end.”

Hull survived with a bit in the tank to play Championship football next season. However Peter Taylors’ movements in the transfer market were not the best. Of all the players he brought in over the summer, only Keith Andrews made any impact and Taylor had to rely on the players that took them up from the basement of the League to where they are now.

Which is a good job as no-one could be criticised for letting him down. Stuart Elliott top scored and Nick Barmby, Jon Parkin and Craig Fagan all weighed in with goals, yet none of them managed to make double figures. Adjustment to a new division may have seen them struggle on occasion, but they wont be able to use that excuse next season.

Hull, despite being the new boys in this league, never took a heavy beating. Only once did they lose by 3 goals (Preston) and they gave a lot of teams trouble this season. They never really thrashed anyone either but with a few good wins at home, while they lost 7 times, they only conceded 21 goals and Boaz Myhill was one of the busiest keepers in the division as his performances week in, week out were one reason why Hull did not concede more. There were only 4 away wins to cheer but one of them, a 3-0 win at Stoke, would be the highlight of the season.

It is a tough place to go as well, the KC Stadium is new and their home support is vociferous and numerous, seeing as this is Hulls’ first season at this level for some time. Yet we came away with a 2-1 win in January. We managed our fast becoming 2-0 standard at home as well, back in September.

Peter Taylor might find that a 2nd season at this level might be harder and if he does not manage to add to his squad, a relegation battle could be in the offing next season. Yet the fact that they are still playing Championship football next season is a success story in itself. Whether they can improve is another matter, but they have a manager who has the nous to do it.