After a rocky start, Burnley have rocketed up the Championship table in recent weeks. If they are to stay in the top half and push for the play-offs, one particular centre-forward’s form will be crucial. Joe Harrison pays tribute to a Turf Moor talent who is terrorising opposition defences this season. Jay Rodriguez (Burnley) “Jay is someone who you’d want to build your team around - a fantastic talent. He’s only going to get better. We’ll certainly be fighting tooth and nail to keep him with us” - Eddie Howe, October 2011. Few players elicit such passionate praise from their…
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The 25 Best Players in the Championship - as voted for by you: Part 10 of 25
Leeds United don’t spend much on players, so when they do put a few quid in another Championship club’s coffers it has to be worth it. As Joe Harrison explains, Simon Grayson shelled out a low six-figure fee less than 18 months ago for a player now valued well into the seven-figure bracket as one of the best strikers in the division. Ross McCormack (Leeds United) It’s hard to argue against the assertion that Ross McCormack’s Championship career to this point is marked by its dramatic inconsistency. What’s also hard to dispute is that when in form, few at this…
The 25 Best Players in the Championship - as voted for by you: Part 6 of 25
Birmingham City have had to endure an unusually tricky start to their Championship campaign following relegation from the Premier League, spending several weeks playing in the Europa League on Thursday nights and returning to league duty on Sundays. That they have remained competitive in both competitions has been due in part to a unusually tricky winger who made the switch from Cardiff in the summer. Joe Harrison explains. Chris Burke (Birmingham City) There are few spectacles in British football that excite fans as much as a traditional winger. The sight of a crowd rising as one with excitement as a…
The 25 Best Players in the Championship - as voted for by you: Part 1 of 25
It’s December. Time to crack out the advent calendars. The Seventy Two is no different, although sadly there is no chocolate on offer here. Instead, we will be counting down to Christmas by bringing you the 25 best players in the Championship - as voted for by you. Key point - this will be in no particular order until Christmas Eve, although we will save the player with the most number of votes until last. Thanks for all your votes, let’s kick things off… Kevin McNaughton (Cardiff City) With the honourable and glorious exception of its Brazilian exponents, writes Joe…
Stepping Up: QPR begin to see the best of Jay Bothroyd
Seeing how Jay Bothroyd fared after leaving Cardiff City in the summer was always going to be interesting, writes Joe Harrison. Despite the fact that from a team perspective his 3 year spell in South Wales was characterised by near misses (of the play-offs in his debut season then in them for the following two years), on a personal level they represented the best years of his career, where he finally began to realise the potential always apparent, but rarely fulfilled in his nomadic career up to that point. Probably the most technically gifted forward player I’ve seen during my…
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