Championship Team of the Season

[ITFC_EFL]

Hello

Firstly congratulations on returning to the Premier League and doing it in style!

I posted on here in February with a link to an article I posted about Burnley on my EFL blog. Most of the pieces have followed a similar formula with focus on just the one club but I've put together a team of the season for each division. I definitely could have put more Burnley players in on top of the ones I eventually picked because there were some difficult calls to make.

I'm grateful for all your responses last time and hopefully you enjoy this one too. I won't be writing any articles about Burnley next season for obvious reasons but if anybody would like to subscribe (it's free) that would be much appreciated.

https://jacobpowley.substack.com/p/2022 ... eam-of-the

[Spiral]

Good that Cullen got recognition, but if you've got Tella RW you NEED Manuel Benson on the bench mate.

[Burnley1989]

It’s hard to pick a side and remain neutral, that’s a cracking side though

[ITFC_EFL]

Good that Cullen got recognition, but if you've got Tella RW you NEED Manuel Benson on the bench mate.

Was in my consideration (as were half the Burnley squad in fairness) but ultimately went for Flemming and Diallo in the attacking midfield/winger positions as they've had more impact for their individual teams.

What's the verdict on Scott Twine, will he get any Premier League minutes? If not, I can see him being a loan target for half the Championship clubs.

[ITFC_EFL]

It’s hard to pick a side and remain neutral, that’s a cracking side though

Cheers, yeah it winds me up a little when I see these teams tweeted and the replies being full of fans incensed that 5 of their players haven't been included, although Burnley are the only EFL club who could realistically make that argument given the lack of a title race in the Championship.

When I first started drafting my League One team I initially had only two Town players but had to throw Conor Chaplin in at the end as he's since become the league's top scorer. Was trying to avoid putting a third in to stop any accusations of bias!

[whiffa]

The fact that Jordan Beyer keeps missing out on these accolades is frustrating, the best defender in the league for me.

[Spiral]

Was in my consideration (as were half the Burnley squad in fairness) but ultimately went for Flemming and Diallo in the attacking midfield/winger positions as they've had more impact for their individual teams.

What's the verdict on Scott Twine, will he get any Premier League minutes? If not, I can see him being a loan target for half the Championship clubs.

But...but...but Benny scored the winner at Ewood. He scored the winner at Ewood park.

Twine, unless there's more there that we haven't seen from him (he had a bad start to his time here with injuries), he'll probably be a fringe player at best next season. Depends on our recruitment budget, but we've been promoted a bit ahead of plan and the recruitment will need to catch up with that, so if the budget allows and we go for an attacker a champ loan to allow him to get more starts would not at all surprise me. When I say we were promoted ahead of plan, I'm talking about the impact of that on our recruitment. We signed a lot of players (out of necessity) fully under the expectation that not all of them would work out (Kompany literally said this), the idea being that by the end of the seasons we'd have cobbled together a team that might look good value for a playoff spot, but more likely one that would compete for promotion next season or the one after that, but now because of promotion those that ended up being fringe in the champ will be offloaded a lot sooner than anyone expected, and Twine, for me, is straddling that line between being fringe player, and someone we should be looking to improve upon.

[BurnleyFC]

Benson and Beyer should at the very least be in the squad.

They’re far, far too good for this league.

[boyyanno]

Hello

Firstly congratulations on returning to the Premier League and doing it in style!

I posted on here in February with a link to an article I posted about Burnley on my EFL blog. Most of the pieces have followed a similar formula with focus on just the one club but I've put together a team of the season for each division. I definitely could have put more Burnley players in on top of the ones I eventually picked because there were some difficult calls to make.

I'm grateful for all your responses last time and hopefully you enjoy this one too. I won't be writing any articles about Burnley next season for obvious reasons but if anybody would like to subscribe (it's free) that would be much appreciated.

https://jacobpowley.substack.com/p/2022 ... eam-of-the

It's a good team but the main player I'd say unlucky to not feature is Beyer. He seems to fly under the radar but he's made it look incredibly easy at this level with his ability to carry the ball forward. We've seen some pretty good defenders at Burnley in recent years and he's got the ability to be better than most of them quite comfortably. I don't mean to disrespect Lockyer who has had a fine season but I feel Beyer could easily take his spot in that team if I'm honest.

[Spike]

Jordan Beyer should be in defence he is such a powerful player.
On the bench I would not have Oliver Norwood if you gave me the choice of Josh Brownhill or Norwood . I can say this with some certainty as Norwood has been consistently linked with us having been brought up nearby
The other omission is not putting Manuel Benson on the bench this is like going golfing without a putter.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Was in my consideration (as were half the Burnley squad in fairness) but ultimately went for Flemming and Diallo in the attacking midfield/winger positions as they've had more impact for their individual teams.

What's the verdict on Scott Twine, will he get any Premier League minutes? If not, I can see him being a loan target for half the Championship clubs.

I think it’s almost 100% certain that Twine will be plying his trade away from Burnley next season. He’s only managed roughly 4 games worth of minutes all season and to be honest he hasn’t really shown a lot at this level. Turning 24 this summer he needs a lot of minutes at championship level if he Evers going to make it for Burnley.

I’m sure there’s a good player there. I could see him going to Coventry as make way in a deal for Gykores.

[Culmclaret]

Benson has to be on the bench at the very least. Have you seen highlights of our last four games????

[ITFC_EFL]

Thanks for all the responses. Beyer is another one I considered and I’ve got no doubt he’ll step up to the Premier League.

Benson’s lack of starts is partly why I went for other options, although that probably does make him more suited to a role in the bench in this team. I agree he’s been brilliant when he’s been on the pitch, especially in the last four games. He has a highlight reel to match anybody in the league.

[ITFC_EFL]

I think it’s almost 100% certain that Twine will be plying his trade away from Burnley next season. He’s only managed roughly 4 games worth of minutes all season and to be honest he hasn’t really shown a lot at this level. Turning 24 this summer he needs a lot of minutes at championship level if he Evers going to make it for Burnley.

I’m sure there’s a good player there. I could see him going to Coventry as make way in a deal for Gykores.

Yeah half the league will be after him either on loan or permanent. Good shout with Coventry, he’s a slightly different player to Gyokeres but would fit quite well in their system playing playing off a physical striker like Matt Godden as he did with Troy Parrott at MK Dons.

Bet you’ve got everything crossed that Gyokeres signs though, brilliant player. One of the very gems that Brighton let slip through their grasp.

[Ric_C]

I'd say that's almost spot on. Beyer for Lockyer and Giles for Manning I'd go with.

It's hard to not include any of those front 4 tbh

[Newcastleclaret93]

Yeah half the league will be after him either on loan or permanent. Good shout with Coventry, he’s a slightly different player to Gyokeres but would fit quite well in their system playing playing off a physical striker like Matt Godden as he did with Troy Parrott at MK Dons.

Bet you’ve got everything crossed that Gyokeres signs though, brilliant player. One of the very gems that Brighton let slip through their grasp.

I could see Twine and McNally being used as make ways for potential deals this summer. I could see us selling McNally and loaning out twine.

[Culmclaret]

I'd say that's almost spot on. Beyer for Lockyer and Giles for Manning I'd go with.

It's hard to not include any of those front 4 tbh

I was very impressed with Manning in the game at Swansea

[ITFC_EFL]

Jordan Beyer should be in defence he is such a powerful player.
On the bench I would not have Oliver Norwood if you gave me the choice of Josh Brownhill or Norwood . I can say this with some certainty as Norwood has been consistently linked with us having been brought up nearby
The other omission is not putting Manuel Benson on the bench this is like going golfing without a putter.

All good players who would get shouts in a lot of other teams. Brownhill was on the bench in my original draft but swapped him out to add another more attacking option, although I know he’s played number 10 at times this season.

[ITFC_EFL]

I'd say that's almost spot on. Beyer for Lockyer and Giles for Manning I'd go with.

It's hard to not include any of those front 4 tbh

Yep, front four basically picks itself, even with N’Diaye out of position. I went for Manning because Giles has been a bit suspect defensively at times and they’ve both been great going forward.

[IanMcL]

A well chosen team.

Like others, Beyer is unlucky and Brownhill for Norwood, who is now struggling to get in Sheffield U side.

Would not argue with the selector though. Impossible task.

[KRBFC]

Beyer would be the first name on the team sheet for me, the best CB in the division by a country mile. Charlie Cresswell and Lockyer over him? Lol stop with this nonsense.

[Big Vinny K]

Just someone’s opinion so no problem with his selection. It’s good that he’s generating interest in the league.

Beyer definitely in for me and Benson too.
Norwood struggled to get in the Sheff United side in last couple of months but he was key to their success and stile of play before that.
Didn’t see that much of him and he made a big mistake against us last weekend but lots raving about Alex Scott and Brizzle seem resigned to losing him to the Premier League next year.

[ITFC_EFL]

A well chosen team.

Like others, Beyer is unlucky and Brownhill for Norwood, who is now struggling to get in Sheffield U side.

Would not argue with the selector though. Impossible task.

Thanks. Yeah I initially had Norwood in the first 11 before going for Hamer when he dropped out the Sheff U team. He was so important for 2/3rds of the season though, especially with his passing in a team which doesn't have a lot of the ball, so wanted to keep him in the squad.

[ITFC_EFL]

Beyer would be the first name on the team sheet for me, the best CB in the division by a country mile. Charlie Cresswell and Lockyer over him? Lol stop with this nonsense.

Lockyer's been quality as well to be fair. Cresswell over Beyer is probably the decision I was least sure of but the Millwall defence has been impressive and he's been a key part of it.

[CoolClaret]

Lockyer couldn't lace Beyers boots

My opinion:

----------------Muric
Roberts-Ahmedhodzic-Beyer-Giles
------------Cullen-Hamer
Tella-----------Akpom---------Gyokeres
---------------Ndiaye

Bench:
Wilson
Maatsen
Lockyer
Brownhill
Benson
Flemming
Morris

[Targetman]

Lockyer's been quality as well to be fair. Cresswell over Beyer is probably the decision I was least sure of but the Millwall defence has been impressive and he's been a key part of it.

Kompany has done quite a bit of chopping and changing of the team all season, mainly to give players a rest with the heavy game schedule.

However 2 players have been constant in our line ups...Josh Cullen and Jordan Beyer, they have been too good to leave out.

Beyer is head and shoulders above any other centre back in the Championship.

[ITFC_EFL]

Lockyer couldn't lace Beyers boots

My opinion:

----------------Muric
Roberts-Ahmedhodzic-Beyer-Giles
------------Cullen-Hamer
Tella-----------Akpom---------Gyokeres
---------------Ndiaye

Bench:
Wilson
Maatsen
Lockyer
Brownhill
Benson
Flemming
Morris

That's a lot of Burnley! Muric is an interesting shout, there are definitely better shot stoppers in the Championship but he's the ideal keeper for a possession-based system. I'm looking forward to seeing how he gets on next year, do you think Kompany will stick with him as number one or is there a chance he'll want somebody more adept at the bread and butter aspects of goalkeeping when playing against better opponents in the Premier League?

[Pickles]

That's a lot of Burnley!

So there should be, we've walked the league.

[CoolClaret]

That's a lot of Burnley! Muric is an interesting shout, there are definitely better shot stoppers in the Championship but he's the ideal keeper for a possession-based system. I'm looking forward to seeing how he gets on next year, do you think Kompany will stick with him as number one or is there a chance he'll want somebody more adept at the bread and butter aspects of goalkeeping when playing against better opponents in the Premier League?

It's a lot of Burnley because we have a goal difference of 49, 10 points clear and lost just 3 games all season! Bear in mind we also took 10 games or so to gel with the new players/system/philosophy.

Muric will be number one next season, he's come on leaps and bounds in the other stuff - he's a ridiculous talent

Also, a lot of Muric's goalkeeping is sweeper keeping - take away some of the teams with 5 at the back or two banks of four and all of a sudden it's a lot harder to keep goal.

I wouldn't trade him with anyone in the league

[ITFC_EFL]

So there should be, we've walked the league.

Can't argue with that

[ITFC_EFL]

It's a lot of Burnley because we have a goal difference of 49, 10 points clear and lost just 3 games all season! Bear in mind we also took 10 games or so to gel with the new players/system/philosophy.

Muric will be number one next season, he's come on leaps and bounds in the other stuff - he's a ridiculous talent

Also, a lot of Muric's goalkeeping is sweeper keeping - take away some of the teams with 5 at the back or two banks of four and all of a sudden it's a lot harder to keep goal.

I wouldn't trade him with anyone in the league

Yeah that's why I wasn't sure about if he'd still be the first choice next year because there won't be as much of a need to sweep up with the outfielders less high up the pitch against better teams. Good to know he'll get a shot though, still very young for a goalkeeper too.

[KRBFC]

Lockyer's been quality as well to be fair. Cresswell over Beyer is probably the decision I was least sure of but the Millwall defence has been impressive and he's been a key part of it.

I don’t care who’s been a key part of what, we’re a billion points ahead of Luton and Millwall, we have conceded less goals than both of those sides, now tell me why the best central defender (Beyer) this league has seen in years is not in the Team of the season?

[JohnMac]

Scott Twine looks physically under developed for a 24 year old, you would think he was around 16/17 years old at most.

He possesses obvious talent but I don't think he will appear in the Premier League unless he can bulk up.

[ITFC_EFL]

I don’t care who’s been a key part of what, we’re a billion points ahead of Luton and Millwall, we have conceded less goals than both of those sides, now tell me why the best central defender (Beyer) this league has seen in years is not in the Team of the season?

It’s a fair argument that Beyer is the better player, and one that I’d agree with, but I think it’s overly simplistic to just cite points and goals without context. Luton have less talented players and don’t enjoy nearly as much possession of the ball so I’d argue that for a centre back in that team to concede 39 given the way they play is more impressive than 35 for Burnley, even if they have less of a role in attacking build up.

I see it the same way from an Ipswich perspective too so it’s not an anti-Burnley thing. We have also conceded the fewest goals in the league but I didn’t choose any of our centre backs for my League One team, instead I went for Barnsley and Bolton players instead because they’d made better individual contributions to their team.

In hindsight I’ll give you the Cresswell one though.

[ITFC_EFL]

Scott Twine looks physically under developed for a 24 year old, you would think he was around 16/17 years old at most.

He possesses obvious talent but I don't think he will appear in the Premier League unless he can bulk up.

Agreed, I don’t think he’d be up to the task physically, unless playing in a particular system to suit his attributes and he’s not good enough to build the team around at that level.

[Newcastleclaret93]

It's a lot of Burnley because we have a goal difference of 49, 10 points clear and lost just 3 games all season! Bear in mind we also took 10 games or so to gel with the new players/system/philosophy.

Muric will be number one next season, he's come on leaps and bounds in the other stuff - he's a ridiculous talent

Also, a lot of Muric's goalkeeping is sweeper keeping - take away some of the teams with 5 at the back or two banks of four and all of a sudden it's a lot harder to keep goal.

I wouldn't trade him with anyone in the league

I am not convinced Muric will be number 1 next season. He’s had a decent season but the team that has run away with the league should really have the keeper that wins the golden glove. There’s four other keepers with more clean sheets this season.

[RVclaret]

I am not convinced Muric will be number 1 next season. He’s had a decent season but the team that has run away with the league should really have the keeper that wins the golden glove. There’s four other keepers with more clean sheets this season.

We’ve got the joint most clean sheets in the league. Muric hasn’t played every game.

[Newcastleclaret93]

We’ve got the joint most clean sheets in the league. Muric hasn’t played every game.

Either have the keepers with more. The lad at Coventry with 4 more clean sheets has played 2 more games than Muric

[boatshed bill]

It's a lot of Burnley because we have a goal difference of 49, 10 points clear and lost just 3 games all season! Bear in mind we also took 10 games or so to gel with the new players/system/philosophy.

Muric will be number one next season, he's come on leaps and bounds in the other stuff - he's a ridiculous talent

Also, a lot of Muric's goalkeeping is sweeper keeping - take away some of the teams with 5 at the back or two banks of four and all of a sudden it's a lot harder to keep goal.

I wouldn't trade him with anyone in the league

Totally agree with this. Muric has been a real success this season.

[CoolClaret]

I am not convinced Muric will be number 1 next season. He’s had a decent season but the team that has run away with the league should really have the keeper that wins the golden glove. There’s four other keepers with more clean sheets this season.

Doesn't make a jot of difference; there were season in the prem where Pope had 2nd highest amounts of clean sheets. We still have the best defensive record

[Newcastleclaret93]

Doesn't make a jot of difference; there were season in the prem where Pope had 2nd highest amounts of clean sheets. We still have the best defensive record

Keeping clean sheets next season will be more crucial. Clean sheets are what keep teams in the league.

[CoolClaret]

I see it the same way from an Ipswich perspective too so it’s not an anti-Burnley thing. We have also conceded the fewest goals in the league but I didn’t choose any of our centre backs for my League One team, instead I went for Barnsley and Bolton players instead because they’d made better individual contributions to their team.

That's a bit of a logical fallacy mate.

It's like having Tarkowski and Mee in a PL TOTY in our Peak Prem years under Dyche because they had the most blocks and tackles out of pretty much anyone, or saying Giggs wouldn't get in a TOTY because his stats were never crazy high.

We are 19 points clear of Luton in third, and 30 points clear of Milwall - it isn't unreasonable to suggest that we should have four or even five starters in the team

[CoolClaret]

Keeping clean sheets next season will be more crucial. Clean sheets are what keep teams in the league.

My retort was meant to be to this:

Either have the keepers with more. The lad at Coventry with 4 more clean sheets has played 2 more games than Muric

Not in the context of the PL, talking about why that is meaningless in a discussion of this seasons GK of the year.

We are playing at times completely in the opponents half - it's not unreasonable to expect a goal against every now and then but it doesn't matter when we are putting 2-3 past an opposition.

The PL is different but it's still trending to being more gung-ho - Bournemouth have the second worst goals against yet are up in 13th

[Newcastleclaret93]

My retort was meant to be to this:



Not in the context of the PL, talking about why that is meaningless in a discussion of this seasons GK of the year.

We are playing at times completely in the opponents half - it's not unreasonable to expect a goal against every now and then but it doesn't matter when we are putting 2-3 past an opposition.

The PL is different but it's still trending to being more gung-ho - Bournemouth have the second worst goals against yet are up in 13th

Surely you can see why Wilson has been picked he’s been crucial to coventrys success.

We have romped the league that comfortably we could have had almost anyone in goal

[RVclaret]

Surely you can see why Wilson has been picked he’s been crucial to coventrys success.

We have romped the league that comfortably we could have had almost anyone in goal

Don’t agree with the second sentence at all and it underplays / shows a lack of understanding just how important Muric has been to Kompany getting his full style across. I suggest you check Jed Wallace and Carlos Corberans comments post West Brom on how Muric completely disrupted their game plan.

[CoolClaret]

Surely you can see why Wilson has been picked he’s been crucial to coventrys success.

We have romped the league that comfortably we could have had almost anyone in goal

*Sigh*

An extremely elementary take. No we couldn't.

You need your eyes checking if you think we could play out like we have been doing (which adds to our dominance) with 'anyone in the goal'

There's a stark difference when bailey has played (and he's done ok) compared to Muric - his distribution is absolutely nuts

[Newcastleclaret93]

*Sigh*

An extremely elementary take. No we couldn't.

You need your eyes checking if you think we could play out like we have been doing (which adds to our dominance) with 'anyone in the goal'

There's a stark difference when bailey has played (and he's done ok) compared to Muric - his distribution is absolutely nuts

We would have still been promoted and won this league if BPF played every game.

Half of the games this season we literally walked through them. Abysmal league quality

[ITFC_EFL]

That's a bit of a logical fallacy mate.

It's like having Tarkowski and Mee in a PL TOTY in our Peak Prem years under Dyche because they had the most blocks and tackles out of pretty much anyone, or saying Giggs wouldn't get in a TOTY because his stats were never crazy high.

We are 19 points clear of Luton in third, and 30 points clear of Milwall - it isn't unreasonable to suggest that we should have four or even five starters in the team

Don’t disagree with the last paragraph but with regards to the first, I was arguing against rigidly sticking to the statistics rather than in favour of it. Unless I’ve misunderstood your point, long day!

[CoolClaret]

We would have still been promoted and won this league if BPF played every game.

Half of the games this season we literally walked through them. Abysmal league quality

You say that because we have been so dominant, because teams can't get the ball off us, which Muric has a big part to play in.

It's an uneducated take to say that tbh, we've beat the press incredibly well with Muric's footballing ability - I think you just have an irrational dislike of Muric

[roperclaret]

We would have still been promoted and won this league if BPF played every game.

Half of the games this season we literally walked through them. Abysmal league quality

You’re now showing how little you understand about football