The Championship is carnage this year. It always is, but this year in particular, the division is particularly fierce and as it currently stands, every single team has something still to play for. There is no such thing as mid-table mediocrity because all clubs have either an outside chance of promotion, or the danger of being drawn into a relegation battle.
With 14 or 15 games left to play, Oxford in 16th probably represent the mid-point. They’re both nine points off the top six and the bottom three. Three wins away from glory or danger, it could still go either way for them, but the teams either side are looking up or looking down.
Despite a decent run of recent form, Cardiff are still very much in the shit, just two points away from the relegation places. The problem is that this season there is no fodder. There is usually a yo-yo team like Rotherham that look dead in the water, but when you see Luton propping up everyone else, mere months after playing in the Premier League, you know all bets are off.
Embed from Getty ImagesLuton have a new manager and most of their top flight team, so you expect to see a reaction from them, but there’s not been so much as a dead cat bounce from them yet. Surely that will happen at some stage, or maybe they’re the closest thing we have to dead wood and their fate is already sealed.
Plymouth had a very lucky escape last year and appeared to compound their fate by hiring Wayne Rooney in the summer, but he has since departed and Miron Muslic appears to be a very smart hire. In a calm, authoritative way, he has given them hope and a chance of climbing the table. Similarly, Ruben Selles did a great job in keeping Reading afloat and Cardiff had a recent flirtation with him before he took the Hull job.
Either side of Cardiff in 20th are Derby, who have just managed to coax the manager of 5th placed Blackburn to take charge and Stoke, who have a seasoned Championship campaigner in Mark Robbins. Portsmouth were expected to struggle, but their fearsome home form is keeping them afloat, while Swansea are tumbling down the table and in a bit of a mess.
Embed from Getty ImagesCardiff’s situation is, as always, on a knife’s edge.
Omer Riza was shortlisted for Manager of the Month a few weeks ago, but a couple of damaging defeats later and the doubts that were only ever just under the surface have quickly reemerged. He is the least experienced manager in the mix and some are determined to only ever see him as an overpromoted deputy. That may prove to be true, but maybe it won’t and only time will tell. For some though, being right is the most important thing and they will continue to cling to their prejudices, no matter what. I won’t help, but that won’t stop them.
The Leeds defeat was embarrassing, but Cardiff played pretty well in the first half. They could only keep the tide at bay for so long though and were eventually engulfed. The Portsmouth defeat was far more damaging though. Not just because it allowed a relegation rival to gain ground on them, but because the performance was so calamitous. Like the Boxing Day game at Oxford, Cardiff were all over the place and it is difficult to pinpoint why. It must be maddening for the manager, who takes all the flak, despite players tripping over the ball and failing to execute the simplest of tasks.
There is no consistency in Cardiff’s performances. They’re either very good or very bad, and sometimes both in the same game. They haven’t defended particularly well all season, despite a significant outlay on the defence and they struggle to offer an attacking threat, especially if Callum Robinson is absent. The midfield is an obsession for some, with defensive players associated with negativity and their inclusion treated as some sort of surrender. Aaron Ramsey’s return is timely and if he can knit everything together, could be pivotal, but we know how fragile his fitness is.
Embed from Getty ImagesWith things as tight as they are, you wonder if cumulative trauma will come into play. Cardiff have spent the last few years begging for relegation, while Stoke have grown increasingly stale and Luton have developed a losing habit. With lots of clashes between the bottom eight teams still to come, every team still has their fate in their own hands and the competent sides will be the ones that survive.
Some may yet pull away from danger, but even by Championship standards, this has been an ultra-competitive campaign and it fells unlikely that will change. Therefore, strap yourselves in and assume the position because this one, maybe even all three relegation places, may go right down to the wire.