Championship cheers!

The influx of top managers and expensive imports to the Premier League seems to have settled the debate – until the European matches commence – as to which is the best league in the world.

Many will continue to follow La Liga primarily due to the presence of the two global footballing behemoths, Barcelona and Real Madrid, with the Bundesliga rising in the rankings thanks to their prudent managements and high performance.

However, where do you look next? Intriguingly, the next most-watched league in Europe is the second tier of football in England (some may argue the UK, although this may diminish with the re-emergence of Glasgow Rangers), the Championship.

The total number of people interested in the league will have escalated considerably given the acquisition of a number of clubs by Chinese investors, each of which will be competing to make their side (mainly based in and around Birmingham) popular amongst the 1.35bn citizens!

The riches available this season to the Premier League as a result of the multi-million pound deal for domestic television rights have not yet directly filtered to the lower divisions

Many would look at the three relegated sides, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Norwich City as the pre-season favourites, particularly benefitting from the ‘parachute payments’ that attempt to breach the gap in earnings.

Newcastle finished 18th and yet still earned £72m and will earn an additional £70m over the next three seasons (unless they are promoted again). In addition to the teams recently relegated there are another 10 clubs still banking such parachute payments. Even though the relegated teams are the first to receive the new structure of payments they will still each receive in excess of £30m this season.

At the time of writing there are still a couple of days remaining in the transfer window and the pace is hotting up with several clubs notably splashing the cash.

Derby County is again investing heavily and despite the hefty £8m price tag Matej Vydra brings as close to a guarantee of goals as one can imagine at this level. The fee breaks the Ram’s previous record set last year when they acquired Bradley Johnson for £6m. It is reported that the duo will be joined by Bristol City’s star striker, Jonathan Kodjia.

Newcastle United, already one of the busiest in ensuring that agents don’t go hungry, have added the aerial prowess of Daryl Murphy who becomes the ’Pies 10th signing of the summer.

Of course, some clubs are simply happy to retain their star players and fend off the vultures lurking above. Nottingham Forest fans are unhappy at losing the division’s top scorer, Oliver Burke, to RP Leipzig, although they will be hoping to see the £13m reinvested. He becomes the most expensive Scottish player in history.

However, we are far from seeing the final look of these Championship teams for the season with this division notable for delving into the loan market.

Few observers expected Rafa Benitez to remain in charge at Newcastle yet he remained to harness the feel good factor he generated towards the end of the season.

Over the summer he started to dismantle his squad and rebuild it with players he believes will gain promotion. Despite a rocky start of two defeats his side have now won three on the bounce.

Aston Villa are playing in the second tier for the first time since 1988 and have the feel of a new club. In addition to Chinese owners they have appointed Di Matteo to orchestrate the revival.

Thankfully Norwich have retained the services of Alex Neil who, despite being in charge last season, was also the man at the helm as the Canaries joined the elite in 2015.

Nigel Pearson, the man many consider to be the real architect of Leicester City’s astounding year, has taken over at Derby County and he inherits in George Thorne and Will Hughes one of the most exciting midfields in the division. After several promotion near-misses his battle-hardened squad will hope to go one further.

Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday are two other teams to have performed well last season, have strong backers and have strengthened over the summer while Wolverhampton Wanderers will be spending their new-found wealth under the direction of former Italian ’keeper, Walter Zenga.

Yet none of these teams currently, at the international break, occupy the automatic promotion places.

David Wagner may not be a familiar name in the UK although he is well known in Germany where he was Jurgen Klopp’s right-hand man at Borussia Dortmund. He was expected to follow his mentor to Anfield although instead took charge at Huddersfield Town.

Once ‘best man’ to Liverpool’s manager he will be hoping that Huddersfield do not become the bridesmaid in their quest for promotion. With four wins and a draw they are the unlikely leaders of the Championship.

Town are popularly referred to as The Terriers and they certainly give the appearance of being a small, aggressive dog going muzzle to muzzle with the bigger dogs of the division, even accounting for Wolves.

Fulham are hot on their heels despite their new manager, Slavisa Jokanovic, being openly critical of their transfer policy. Having introduced statistical data analysis to the process of player acquisition the Serbian claimed he has ‘nothing to do with it’ with the final decision resting to someone who ‘nobody knows’! It’s clearly working as the Craven Cottage outfit are the only other unbeaten team.

Four years after his dismissal Nigel Clough returned to haunt his former employers, Derby County, located just 10 miles down the road, in the first ever competitive meeting between the sides. Burton Albion, many tipped amongst the favourites for relegation, have been one of the surprise packages and are amongst the division’s top goal scorers and were good value for their victory at the Pirelli Stadium, one of the smallest in the league.

Also amongst the divisions top entertainers are Nottingham Forest although their propensity to concede in equal measure will have their supporters reaching for the anticoagulants.

Abu’s Championship champions prediction: Newcastle United