Last year I did a review of how clubs were doing against what I thought their expected performance was, so I'm back with this year's version! 1. Norwich - it's probably fair to say that Norwich have performed well under par since last being relegated from the Premiership but they've certainly turned that around now, especially considering some big sales, particularly James Maddison. A playoff spot should have been a realistic but not necessarily expected. Decent over performance. 2. Sheffield United - surprised many with their strong showing last season, their first back in the 2nd tier, before a slump meant they ended up outside the playoffs. They look more likely to keep it going this time around and with Leeds wobbling & West Brom not fully realising their potential, Utd look like a solid bet for 2nd place. Significant over performance. 3. Leeds - a historical behemoth but something of a basket-case club for the past couple of decades. It was only a matter of time before their standing would result in a genuine shot at promotion and that still seems highly possible. The signing of Bielsa as manager was a risky but potentially rewarding choice & could yet prove a good move, but the patchy recent form on the back of spygate could rock the boat. That said, success was probably more hoped for than expected. OK over performance. 4. West Brom - relegated clubs always have a weight of expectation on their shoulders, but rightfully so. Having not lost too many players & bringing in players like Dwight Gayle, automatic promotion should have been a realistic aim. Marginal under achievement. 5. Middlesbrough - a curious club in that they aren't big enough to necessarily expect to be a Premiership club but with enough pedigree to be disappointed not to be. Being firmly in the playoffs is probably spot on. 6. Bristol City - in terms of stature/income a comparative small fish but with rising stock. Big player sales prior to the season started would've resulted in most expecting little more than a respectable mid-table finish, so currently occupying the last playoff spot should be considered significant over achievement. 7. Derby County - perennial playoff contenders, but automatic promotion was always like to be a big ask. Frank Lampard has brought a lot of media attention, though the net spend has pretty much broken even. Finishing outside the playoffs has to be considered failure, so marginal under achievement. 8. Nottingham Forest - big spenders in the summer, seemingly wanting to be Wolves 2.0, using sheer force of cash to hope to bring back the glory days. In these terms a playoff spot should have been a realistic aim, if not a shot at automatic so slight to average under achievement. 9. Birmingham City - since relegation, Birmingham have slid surprisingly close to relegation to League One, so despite their decent standing, seeing them move up to having an outside chance of making the playoffs is definite progress. Decent over achievement. 10. Preston North End - comparative small fish in terms of income & a poor start to the season but have quietly gone on a great run of form. Fans would have had ambitions of making the playoffs but realistically other clubs with greater resources would be ahead of them. OK over performance. 11. Aston Villa - how a club would be run if RR were in charge. Spend, spend, spend on names ahead of their viability to improving the squad. Villa should be hunting the title but continue to under-whelm. Significant to heavy under performance. 12. Swansea - as a relegated club you'd expect them to be better off. It takes some effort to dismantle a club that had previously stood as a shining example. Significant under achievement. 13. Hull City - a club seemingly sleep-walking towards relegation under a joke owner, living off previous money-bought success, before a tremendous run of form driven by a prodigy (Bowen) saved them. Hard to gauge what they should be aiming for but a solid mid-table finish is probably par to slight over achievement. 14. Blackburn Rovers - despite being a newly promoted club, fans seemingly still think they're a Premiership club in all but name only. In reality a solid mid-table is about right, with a view to challenge the playoffs in a season or two. 15. Sheffield Wednesday - it's been a while now since they've been a Premiership club & though the automatic spots were always unlikely, fans would have been craving/expecting a playoff spot. Decent under achievement. 16. Brentford - a club that has deservedly earned plaudits in recent years for their style of play & exciting talent, though I always thought that they were destined to struggle to maintain such a high level & failing to reach the playoffs during this 'golden age' could pre-empt a slide back to the third tier. A poor run has meant that recent improvement in form is likely to result in little more than a solid mid-table finish, though with the attacking talents they currently have, fans will likely be a bit disappointed with that. Slight under achievement. 17. Stoke City - oh dear. Massive under achievement. 18. QPR - still suffering from the fallout of their RR style spunking of millions to fall foul of FFP rules, simply weathering the storm a bit is perfectly reasonable. Mad swings in form have taken Steve McClaren from joke figure to underrated star and back again but 18th is probably about right overall. 19. Wigan - a newly promoted club usually only need to focus on survival & little else. Still needing to check their rear view mirror, but they should be fine. Par to slight over achievement. 20. Millwall - following last season's surge to nearly make the playoffs fans hoped they'd go one better, but instead have regressed. On their day they can upset anyone, but that's also true of almost anyone in the Division. Should be fine, but well short of hope/expectation. Decent under achievement 21. Reading - it's hard to believe that they were losing on penalties at Wembley the season before last & hard to pinpoint why they've regressed so much since. Fans may have now come to terms with not being near the top but not with being so close to the bottom either. Decent under achievement. 22. Rotherham - a comparative small fish in this tier & most people's tip to go down. Arguably where you'd expect them to be but in the position where 21st is good success and 22nd ultimately a failure. 23. Bolton - I thought they had successfully navigated a sticky patch but then contrived to fall back into administration. Given the current situation you'd expect them to struggle but it's of their own making. Decent under achievement. 24. Ipswich - surely sick to the back teeth of all the 'be careful of what you wish for' comments from 'insightful' commentators, though victims of historical burdens not matching with modern realities. It shouldn't have gotten this bad so quick though. Significant under achievement. Thoughts & comments are welcome!
Nice one Nick and those thoughts and comments are spot on but because I don't get to see any matches so it's this sort of article that helps put me in the picture. I am pretty sad at reading whole articles but did get far enough to see your thoughts on Villa and the side swipe (bless his cotton socks) was a funny addition. Thank you mate and perhaps a win tonight might soothe the savage beast (bless his cotton socks again).
Hmm - don't think he likes cotton socks; his acrylic ones are different gravy. He keeps on badgering his missus to stop taking the cheap option & buy him a bunch of satin ones instead.
Ipswich fans will be starting to realize what a great job Mick McCartney was doing ......... but they wanted him out!!
before his leaving .... I had banter with some Ipswich fans [ also after, start of season ] my jist was there can only be 1 at the top of the division 3 get promoted and it depends on what the club heirachy allows to be spent on players and what they pay them Lambert has now played 1 game more for 1 point less than Hurst!
