Goal.com have done a piece on who they think the top players in our division will be this season.
Only a decade ago, English Premiership clubs still looked to the Coca-Cola Championship (CC) for hidden gems, now it seems that only the newly promoted clubs are trying to benefit from the England’s second tier as the others spend millions of pounds on players from the rest of Europe. It is not like the Championship players are not good enough now, in fact the Championship is of much higher quality and is improving ten-fold every season especially with amount of money that they can now spend with the number of clubs coming under foreign ownership. Here’s my view on the Championship’s best team of players who can cut it in the top flight, who have yet to play in it.
GK: Wayne Hennessey, 21 years old, Wolverhampton. The Welsh shot-stopper rose to prominence in the 2006-07 season, setting a record nine consecutive clean sheets while on loan to League Two’s Stockport County. Last season, he established himself as the best keeper in the CC making it into the PFA Team of the Year sparking interest from London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham and a £5million valuation.
RB: Kevin Foley, 23, Wolverhampton. A beacon of consistency since his switch from Luton last season, he has been a regular member of the Irish national side, ousting new Espanyol right back Steve Finnan in the process.
LB: Kevin McNaughton, 26, Cardiff. His hair may be coloured grey but his performances for the Welsh club are not. The Scottish international’s runs down the flanks are aided by the fact he is one of few two-footed players in the lower leagues and was an important cog in the Bluebirds’ amazing FA Cup run last season.
CB: Kaspers Gorkss, 26, QPR. The Latvian International was Blackpool’s most important player last season, shutting out some of the CC’s finest strikers. Moneybags QPR came in this season and picked him up for ₤250,000 as they attempt to make it to the Premier League.
CB: Richard Wood, 24, Sheffield Wednesday. Wood first made his debut at the age of 18 and has become one of CC’s toughest defenders to beat, though his efforts have usually been to no avail, with the rest of the Owls’ defence unable to match his performances. Interest from Coventry this season came to no avail though he has recently handed in a transfer request which could see his talents at Ricoh Park as soon as January.
RW: Michael Kightly, 22, Wolverhampton. 24 goals in 53 appearances for Blue Square Premier side Grays saw Wolves want the silky winger on their right flank. In a squad with nearly 20 players under the age of 23, Kightly is the most electrifying of the Old Gold, proven by coming third in FourFourTwo’s 50 Best Football League Players and receiving the 2008 Football League Young Player of the Year award. He gets past defenders with consummate ease and has a want to keep the ball on the floor matched by few in a league where many clubs choose the long ball route.
LW: Michael McIndoe, 28, Bristol City. He showed glimpses of his Yeovil and Doncaster form at Derby, Barnsley and Wolves but last season, McIndoe showed for the Robins’ that he is capable of playing in the Premier League. He loves the ball at his feet and beating his marker with his change of pace and bag of tricks that are usually seen in a Brazilian’s repertoire.
CM: Ákos Buzsáky, 26, Q.P.R. Known as the ‘White Pele’ by the Rs faithful. He showed, last season, that he is a class above the rest in the CC. The Hungarian playmaker regularly produces moments of brilliance (one moment giving him the 2007-08 Kiyan Prince Goal of the Season) fit for the Premiership and no doubt be showcasing them next season whether QPR are promoted or not.
CM: Joe Ledley, 21, Cardiff. Bluebirds fans were ecstatic when the tem reached the final of the F.A Cup but they were more ecstatic when Joe Ledley said he’d be staying for this campaign. With Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal, Ledley is the lone creative force in Dave Jones’ side.
ST: Billy Sharp, 22, Sheffield United. 53 goals in two seasons for Scunthorpe United made Bryan Robson take notice and sign him for £2million however; Robson played him in completely the wrong way and his sacking was welcome news for Sharp who took 20 games to register his first goal. The lifelong Blade fan is already making up for lost time with a hat-trick against QPR already this season.
ST: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, 22, Wolverhampton. Another of the Old Gold’s young guns, the former Manchester United forward has enough firepower to make the Red Devils rue offloading him. He showed last season that he can adapt quickly as he picked up where he left off at Plymouth after his mid season move to Molineux ending the season with 23 goals.
Subs:
GK: Kieran Westwood, 23, Coventry.
CB: Roger Johnson, 25, Cardiff.
CM: Brian Howard, 25, Barnsley.
DM: Marvin Elliot, 23, Bristol City.
LW: Kris Commons, 25, Derby.
CM: Wes Hoolahan, 25, Norwich.
ST: Andy Keogh, 22, Wolverhampton.
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Comments
No shelvey in there , no basey, no varney mugs,
No shelvey in there , no basey, no varney mugs,[/quote]
In fainess, based on last seasons performances, I can't think of too many of our players I would want if I was a premiership manager.
Sure ZZ would have been in that list had it not been for his eand of season slump.