The Championship XI of the season…well I think so!
Everyone knows the Championship is an exciting league because of its unpredictability, with a lot of talent throughout the 24 sides. Here I have picked what I believe to be some of the very best players the league has to offer, and moulded them into a starting 11, with one rule in place – only one player per club is allowed, which makes this rather tricky. Some of the sides near the top have so many good players, but I didn’t think it would be as fun or challenging to pick three or four players from the Newcastle or West Brom squads. Seeing as George Boyd has played most of his football this season at Peterborough I thought it would be okay to pick him and Dexter Blackstock in the same side, despite the fact they now both ply their trade at Nottingham Forest. There are a number of players who I couldn’t fit in, especially goal scoring midfielders and strikers, of which there are so many – there are only 11 spaces after all. So let me know what you think of this side – I reckon it would hold its own in the upper echelons of English football’s second tier….
GK: Keiren Westwood (Coventry City)
During his two seasons at the Ricoh Arena he has proven himself to be a top-class shot-stopper and has given the Sky Blues a solid foundation in their rise up the table. He has also been rewarded for his good form with a couple of appearances for the Republic of Ireland.
RB: Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace)
At the age of just 18 the full-back has already made quite an impression at Selhurst Park, with his bursts down the flank most noticeable. His speed allows him to recover on the occasions he does make a mistake, which is not too often.
CB: Ashley Williams (Swansea City)
The Welsh international was voted ‘Wales Footballer of the Year’ in November 2009 and this highlights how good he has been during his time with the Swans. His solid and classy displays have helped Paulo Sousa’s men to the best defensive record in the league.
CB: Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United)
The Argentine international was signed by the Toon for a fee of £10 million in 2008 and has quite rightly proven to be an outstanding player in the Championship, rarely being caused much trouble. His physical style seems to be suited to the English game.
LB: Tommy Spurr (Sheffield Wednesday)
The 22-year-old full-back is already highly experienced and is closing in on 200 appearances for Wednesday after nailing down his position over the past three years. Has a sweet left foot and also the natural ability to read the game.
RW: Peter Whittingham (Cardiff City)
The former Aston Villa winger has had an amazing season, chipping in with 19 goals in all competitions. This total has been topped up nicely by his penalty duties but it is still superb for a midfielder and has him at the top of the Championship goal scoring charts.
CM: Charlie Adam (Blackpool)
Blackpool paid a club record transfer fee of £500,000 for the Scottish international last summer and he has been worth every penny, netting 12 goals so far as Ian Holloway’s men go in search of an unlikely play-off spot.
CM: Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion)
The Baggies seem to have unearthed a true gem with Dorrans. He has an eye for goal, a good touch, vision and energy which make him a true box-to-box midfielder. Has been Albion’s most influential player as they look to bounce straight back to the top flight.
LW: George Boyd (Peterborough, now on loan at Forest)
The winger completes a quartet of goal-getting midfielders in this line-up. Was loved by both Stevenage and Peterborough fans and the ‘White Pele’, as he was known by them, will be looking to have the same impact during his spell with Forest. Boyd shows a touch of class and trickery that more than makes up for his lack of true pace.
ST: Dexter Blackstock (Nottingham Forest)
The 23-year-old seems to have been around for a long time now but he is still young and has so much potential. Has been part of Billy Davies’ rotation system this season but has managed 10 goals from his 23 starts – a good record when you consider how much else he offers a team with his height and hold-up play.
ST: Jay Simpson (QPR, on loan from Arsenal))
Still just 21, the forward has come through the ranks at Arsenal and shows the touch of class you would expect from a player with such a pedigree. Has often had to play as a lone striker for the West Londoners this season, but he has done an admirable job, bagging 12 league goals in the process.
Any glaring omissions?
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I think its a good list. Im not sure about Simpson, i think maybe somebody like Sharp or more obviously Ambrose are more deserving.
Its probably just me being biased but there is one player that has shone head and shoulders above everyone is every game and that is Jose Enrique, who really should be in that list.
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How many of these would you pick in front of their Newcastle counterpart?
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Think that Enrique of Newcastle at LB, Taylor of Newcastle at CB & Guetirezz on the left wing
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Only having one player per team is restricting, but think Enrique, Ambrose and Pratley should all be in!
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If you are gonna have the rule only one player per club which seems stupid as that is not the championship best eleven, thn the best teams star player enrique has to be in. jonas, harper, colo, taylor and possibly smith/guthrie(best player when played in position)/nolan are better than players in list
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Surely the best Championship XI are from the teams challenging for promotion, the playoffs and the top 12 (at a push!) plus Crystal Palace as they would have been up there if they had not been deducted 10points Jose Enrique is clear the best left back in the division and the oversight of Jonas Gutierrez (a guaranteed starter for Argentina in South Africa says Maradonna) is not right! The defence should have more Swansea players in as they have the best defence in the league and surely the top scorer in the division (he plays for Cardiff) should be in the strikeforce
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I’m not sure everyone has read my introduction where I explained that this team was selected under the rule that only ONE player per club would be put in. Ok, so this might not mean it’s the exact ‘best Championship 11′ but it’s only a bit of fun! It’s obvious that Newcastle could have more players in if this wasn’t the case, but I didn’t see the point in naming half of Hughton’s side.
For the others who did notice the one player rule, it seems the common consensus is that Jose Enrique has been Newcastle’s best player this season, so perhaps he should have been in instead of Coloccini? I was only going on the fact that Coloccini has looked a class above whenever I’ve seen you play this year.
Robby Bobson and Tom, I was close to putting Ambrose in there, but there was so many good central midfielders to choose from and the same applies for Pratley, who I also really rate.
As for the strikers – I went with Simpson and Blackstock because I think they both offer a lot more than goals to their respective sides. And Geordie, the top scorer in the division does play for Cardiff and I believe I selected him in my team – Peter Whittingham.
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
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