A new season is supposed to be about renewed hope and optimism, a fresh campaign opening up a world of possibilities, a clean slate. But with the English Football League due to kick off on Friday night when Wolves host Blackburn in the Championship, the sense of rejuvenation is not universal.
The lineup of Championship teams this season is fearsome. Wolves and West Ham, hitherto established Premier League clubs, have dropped into the second tier. Others such as Burnley, Middlesbrough and Southampton anticipate a promotion push. So perhaps supporters of those who are not enjoying parachute payment riches and squads still packed with top-flight talent are wise to feel cautious. Some fear a long slog of a season to come.
Blackburn fans, for example, saw their side scrape to the safety of a 20th-place finish last season, therefore would be forgiven for tempering their expectations before the trip to Molineux. Tony Mowbray has been brought back to Ewood Park as an experienced guiding hand, but the 62-year-old has a huge task to avoid a relegation battle.
Fans believe the Rovers owners and the club’s head of football operations, Rudy Gestede, have sold Mowbray short on players heading into the season, particularly in midfield. The 34-year-old Sam Morsy – described by Mowbray as “a real man, a soldier” – has added steel to that area of the pitch with his free transfer, but after Moussa Baradji and Jayden Fevrier he is only the third addition at Blackburn this summer. Mowbray wants and needs more.
“I’m a bit greedy for good players,” he said. “I keep saying to Rudy: ‘I just want good players, doesn’t really matter where they come from, what age they are.’ I want to see personality on the pitch, players who are desperate to win.”
Blackburn edged past Burton 2-1 in the Carabao Cup first round last week, though they required late goals from Andri Gudjohnsen and Fevrier, who Mowbray believes can bring “magic” on the right wing after signing from Stockport.
Down the road, there are two other Championship clubs feeling a similar sense of trepidation before the new campaign, and they meet at the Toughsheet Stadium on Saturday lunchtime, a game that could set the tone for their seasons. Bolton should still be on cloud nine; they finished last season with a 4-1 demolition of Stockport in the League One playoff final. Yet as the football world has witnessed this summer at York – where the manager, Stuart Maynard, was sacked and replaced by Scott Lindsey, despite winning the National League with 108 points – the afterglow of promotion can be short-lived. Reality bites quick.
And such is the chasm between the second and third tiers nowadays, the need for Steven Schumacher’s side to strengthen fast became paramount after that glorious day at Wembley. David Watson, Ben Davies, Akin Famewo, Luca Stephenson, Kyliane Dong and Gaizka Larrazabal have all arrived, but there is a feeling among the fanbase that a marquee addition is needed, especially in attack where they risk asking too much of the striker Sam Dalby. Schumacher’s admission last week that Bolton “can’t afford to waste money” rang alarm bells with the fanbase. There is not an embarrassment of riches in the pot but forward players must be signed.
“We know we’re short, especially at the top end of the pitch,” Schumacher said. “Our budget isn’t massive so we need to make sure we get the right players in, rather than just signing anybody to fill numbers. We need to try and consolidate this year, rebuild, get some more finances behind us, bring in a better squad that can keep us at this level, and then kick on.”
Schumacher said that “this part of the journey is an exciting one” but it seems negativity among some fans has kicked in before a Championship ball has been kicked. A 1-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup reinforced concerns around goalscoring, or the lack of it. Max Dean of Gent is coveted, but the striker is just 22 and his English football experience is limited to a short spell at MK Dons.
Preston will hope to take advantage of the uncertainty around Bolton on Saturday, but Paul Heckingbottom has endured his own problems in the transfer market this summer. A public spat with Ben Whiteman over the midfielder’s desire to join Wrexham left a cloud hanging above the club and saw the Lilywhites lose their club captain. Heckingbottom said Whiteman “crossed a line” and was frustrated by the saga.
Money has been spent at Deepdale this summer with Alfie Devine brought in from Tottenham for a fee in the region of £6m, while Callum Lang “feels like a new signing” according to Heckingbottom, having arrived in January for around £2m before getting injured. So the pressure is on Heckingbottom perhaps like never before. A run of just four wins from their final 20 matches of last season prompted a few fan murmurs of discontent towards the manager. With Preston almost investing £1.5m to install a modern hybrid pitch at Deepdale, the club expect better than last season’s 14th-place finish, but expectations can weigh heavy.
