Football League World
·21 August 2024
Chris Waddle issues Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Sunderland claims
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Football League World
·21 August 2024
Chris Waddle his given his view on events at Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Sunderland as the new season gets underway.
The new Championship season is underway, and it is shaping up to be another exciting campaign in the second tier.
Burnley, Sunderland and Watford have all made excellent starts to the season after winning their opening two games, while at the other end of the table, Cardiff City, Preston North End and Millwall are yet to pick up a point.
Two of the promotion favourites, Leeds United and Luton Town, are still waiting for their first win of the season, and it has also been a disappointing start for last season's play-off semi-finalists Norwich City, who have just one point to their name.
Pundit Chris Waddle has been speaking exclusively to Football League World, via NewBettingSites.uk, about some of the big talking points in the Championship, including events at three of his former clubs, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Sunderland.
Wednesday made an outstanding start to the campaign with a 4-0 win over Plymouth Argyle on the opening weekend before securing a 2-1 victory at Hull City in the EFL Cup, but they suffered a comprehensive 4-0 defeat at Sunderland on Sunday.
Waddle admits he was shocked by the Owls' performance at the Stadium of Light, and he says Danny Rohl's side will need to be much more consistent if they are to mount the surprise play-off challenge that some are expecting from them this season.
"The blue side of the city was buzzing a bit at the start of the season," Waddle said.
"They finished well, and Chansiri, the chairman, backed Danny Rohl to go and get some players.
"They obviously signed a lot on frees, but he's had to give them contracts and wages, which balances it out.
"Chansiri has backed him, which I was quite surprised about, but I think Danny Rohl had the upper hand as he finished the season well and the fans were right behind him. "He could call the shots, and I'm sure he had a few offers behind the scenes to leave, but he wanted to stay and finish the job. "On the first day against Plymouth, I've got to say I was really disappointed in Plymouth, but Wednesday came out of the blocks quickly, they looked very entertaining and on the front foot. "It was good to watch, they basically blitzed Plymouth away. "At Hull they changed the team and had a positive performance again, but then they went to Sunderland, who are one of the teams you would look at for the play-offs, and I've got to say they were absolutely woeful. "I watched it and I couldn't believe the performance from a team which was so high on confidence. "It's probably what they needed, it was a shock to the system. "Danny Rohl said he'll take the blame, but they just looked half asleep, they couldn't control it, they didn't have any vision, there was no awareness about them. "They didn't do all the basics of the game like simple marking, the first goal was a terrible goal to give away. "For the second, Windass tried the flick that got cut out, then there's nobody marking the centre forward. "It was something they needed I think and let's see how they respond, they've got Leeds on Friday, and that's going to be a hard game. "Everybody thought they we're looking like play-offs, but it's made people think again. "I think the thing Danny Rohl will want from this team is consistency. "What we've seen so far is two league games with that team and there's no consistency, they were brilliant, then they were poor. "If you want to be in the play-offs, you've got to have consistency. "I'm not taking anything away from Sunderland, they played very well and had a good game plan, but I couldn't believe how poor Sheffield Wednesday played.
"Let's hope that's a one-off performance, but Danny Rohl will be looking at it and I'm sure he'll be working hard on the training ground this week before the Leeds game on Friday night because that's a massive game now."
Waddle has previously been critical of Wednesday chairman Dejphon Chansiri, and despite the backing he has given Rohl in the transfer market this summer, he revealed that he still has concerns over his ownership.
Asked whether he believes Chansiri is the right man to take the club forward, Waddle said: "No I don't, I think he was pushed into this.
"The fans were on such a high after staying up last year and Danny Rohl couldn't do anything wrong.
"When the club extended his contract, they knew they had to back him.
"Fair play to Chansiri for that, but after 15-20 games, if Wednesday are not doing what people think they could do, it will be interesting to see what Chansiri does then."
Burnley were relegated from the Premier League last season, but they have enjoyed an excellent start to the season under new head coach Scott Parker as they look to bounce back to the top flight at the first attempt.
The Clarets have scored an impressive nine goals in their first two league games, and Waddle believes they are certain to be one of the three teams promoted this term.
"I definitely have Burnley to go up this year," Waddle said.
"When people asked me for my predictions for the league, I definitely said Burnley will get out, I'm not sure about Luton.
"It's hard when you come down to go straight back up, I know some teams do it.
"With Burnley, I know they've sold a few players, but they've brought players in and I think they've got enough in that squad. "They've proven already that they can score goals. "It has always been that if you can score goals in the Championship, you'll get out of it, and nine goals in two games is a great start, you cannot ask for anything better than that. "Scott Parker is quite an experienced manager, he's been around and he'll be enjoying what he's seeing. "They're not a possession team as much as they were under the previous manager, they're quite happy to give the ball away, they get behind the ball and they're very good on the counter attack. "It remains to be seen whether teams work them out and think 'we're not going to leave gaps all over the park that you can exploit'. "It's going to get tougher for them because they've come out of the blocks quickly and a lot of people have respect for them, but you can see the game plan at the minute is to get behind the ball.
"They've got a lot of pace, they've obviously got quality in the side for that league and they hit teams on the break."
Sunderland winger Jack Clarke was one of the standout players in the Championship last season as he scored 15 goals, and he has maintained his form in the early stages of the new campaign, netting one goal and providing one assist in the opening two games.
The Black Cats are reportedly demanding £25 million for Clarke, who has been linked with Leeds United, Ipswich Town and Southampton this summer, but Waddle admits he has doubts over whether the 23-year-old can perform in the Premier League.
"In the modern day market, people will be looking at about £20 million," Waddle said.
"Jack's done very well for Sunderland, you cannot fault what he's done for the club.