Kevin Phillips’ Expert Analysis: Championship Matchday Two Preview

Balazs Toth Transfer Rumours

Listen, he’s a good keeper, and no matter what team you play in, from a manager’s point of view, to lose your number one goalkeeper at this stage of the season when the season’s just literally started, you’ve done a pre-season together, he’s been excellent for the football club, to lose him this late on in the window would be a big blow. I hope it doesn’t happen for Tony Mowbray’s sake.

They had an excellent performance on Friday night at Wolves, should have won the game. So they’ve got off to a really good start, and everything seems really good at the club at the minute. And to lose your goalkeeper would be a blow for anyone, and certainly Blackburn, because they’ve clearly not got the funds where they could probably go out and splash the cash and replace him. So yeah, it’d be a huge blow. He’s a good keeper. It’s as simple as that. And they certainly won’t want to lose him.

Tom Atcheson’s Performance at Centre-Back Against Wolves

I think he is probably going to have to be a regular starter with the size of the squad. When you look at it, you’re thinking, is he only 19? When you look at his performance away at Wolves, under high pressure on TV. Tony clearly believes in him because he certainly wouldn’t have stuck him in there in such a high-profile game. And he coped with it, and not just coped with it, but did really, really well.

So 100% he’s going to play a lot of games this season. Whether he plays every game remains to be seen, being such a young age, but he’s a young player. There’s no fear nowadays. He’ll take it on his shoulders. And I’m pretty sure his name will be one of the first on the team sheet come the next game. So he was outstanding, as were the other players.

Will Lankshear the Missing Piece for Middlesbrough’s Attack

I think the Middlesbrough fans and the hierarchy are hoping so. He couldn’t have got off to a better start, could he? Scoring a late winner, he’s certainly gone down now as folklore at Boro. He scored 11 goals last year for Oxford, and he’s on loan, and the loan before that at West Brom, he didn’t manage to score. He’s got off to the best possible start.

He’s got a good frame about him; he’s six foot two, so he is that target man that Middlesbrough have been looking for, because they’ve got good players in wide areas; they’re just looking for that number nine. And he looks like he’s going to suit that and fit right in there. And he’s got off, as I say, to the perfect start.

Millwall Challenging for Promotion Again

They’ll be up there, 100%. Alex Neil knows what he’s doing. They’ve got that pedigree of doing it. They’ve got that experience now of the campaign last year. And they’ve still got some really, really good players. They’ve got Josh Coburn up top and Femi Azeez, if they’ve managed to keep hold of him. So they’ve got players that can score goals. Of course, they got off to a great start playing against 10 men for a long time, though. This will be a different story. But yeah, 100%, they’ll be there or thereabouts for sure.

No Room for Panic with Norwich

It’d be a bit harsh to swap McConville in for the next game because if you bring one of the centre-halves straight out, you’re almost blaming him. It’s almost like you’re not trusting him. I personally would go with the same pairing because, in hindsight of the game, Norwich didn’t deserve to lose the game. Of course, the goal from Heggebo was a handball.

They dominated most of the game and created a lot of chances. So I don’t think there’s any room to panic. I think the two centre-halves put on a show and did a good job. So I fully expect him to stick with the same pairing. But of course, McConville, as we know, could easily step in and do a job.

Matt Clarke Importance to Derby

Matt Clarke is a big loss. He’s one of their biggest players, a commanding centre-half. He’s a leader. And that’s what you need. Of course, having lost the game at the weekend, they’ll certainly want to bounce back. If he is in and around the squad or on the bench, what a big boost for the team and the manager.

If he’s not, then I’m sure they’re not going to rush him back and potentially lose him for a longer period. So if he’s in and around it, that’s a massive positive for John Eustace and his team, especially at this stage of the season. Hopefully he might. But if not, he’ll certainly be ready in the next couple of games.

Cardiff’s Performance Against Wrexham and Their Chances of Staying Up

I think they’ve shown in stages during the game that they can certainly compete. I thought Wrexham were the better side, and rightly so because they’ve spent a lot of money; they’ve got good players. But I thought Cardiff, if you want to stay up in this league, you’ve got to keep going right to the very end. And that’s what they did, and they got their reward.

So they know they can play better, and they will once they get adjusted to the Championship. It’ll be difficult, difficult, but they’ve certainly proved in stages the other night that they can compete against one of the best teams in the league. So I think they’ve got a great chance of staying in the league for sure.

Jimmy-Jay Morgan Potential

Jimmy-Jay Morgan has got absolutely massive potential. The West Brom fans I speak to are so excited about what they saw in pre-season. A bit of an unknown quantity, wasn’t he, when he came, but he certainly stood up, got a goal at the weekend, turned out to be the winning goal.

They love him already, and he’s exciting, and he’s the type of player that the West Brom fans have been longing to see, and they’ve got one now. So yeah, I’m really excited about watching him progress now over the season for sure.

Zian Flemming Contender for Championship Top Scorer

I did the game for Sky at the weekend; I watched him very closely. What I liked about him, he missed a few good chances, but he never let his head drop. He carried on going. He got his just rewards with the two goals. He could have been walking away with a match ball.

So yeah, he’d definitely be a player up there with the top scorers if he stays at the football club, because there are rumours other clubs are sniffing. But if he stays, he’ll definitely be up there with the 20-goal mark come the end of the season for sure.

Breakout Season for Watford’s Doumbia

I think it has to be for Doumbia. I thought he did really well at the weekend. I thought the whole Watford team did really well, considering the changes and new manager coming in, etc. But I thought they did really well. They were hard to break down. They played some really good stuff, and he was at the heart of a lot of that. So from his point of view, he had to step up this season and become that focal point up top.

Listen, it’s Watford. Who knows with Watford? But hopefully, yeah, he could be that main man. He’s definitely got the ingredients and the ability to do it. He just needs to be more consistent.

Tolaj and Ballard to Make the Step Up

They obviously had a man sent off at the weekend after 30-odd minutes, so they were battling for a good hour with 10 men, so you’re not going to get too many opportunities. But those two, Ballard and Tolaj, have shown, obviously, in a lower league that they score goals. And at the end of the day, scoring goals, no matter what level you’re at, you’ve still got to hit the back of the net. It’s just about how many chances they can get given in that team. And Bristol City will create opportunities.

I do think they will score goals. Will they score the amount of goals that they did in the lower leagues? Probably not, but they’ll definitely get their fair share. So it’s hard to judge after one game, having played with 10 men for such a long time. So I’d say yes, I think they will score goals.

Bolton’s Impressive Start Back in the Championship

I was really impressed with them. I tipped them to not get anything, but they proved me wrong, and brilliant. Great to see these new clubs come up and dominate. They were worthy winners. Thierry Gale looks like a good player. John McAtee as well, as we know about him, and Dalby, who plays up front, who got a goal as well.

So they’ve got some energy up top. They’ve got creativity. So I think, again, they showed they can compete at this level. It might be a different story at QPR at the weekend because they’ve both started really well. But I think they were excellent at the weekend and thoroughly deserved the win. And as I say, they’ll compete a lot this season.

Lincoln vs Portsmouth

Yeah, I think Lincoln did really well up at Borto. I think they’ll bounce back. I think they’ll nick this. Lincoln 2, Portsmouth 1.

Preston vs Wolves

Yeah, I think Wolves will win this one. I’m Preston 0, Wolves 2.

Southampton vs Stoke

I think Saints will bounce back, especially at home in front of the crowd. So I’m going to go Southampton 2, Stoke 1.

West Ham vs Charlton

Local London derby. I’m going to say West Ham 2, Charlton 1.

Swansea vs Sheffield United

Yeah, good win for Swansea away at Stoke, but I’m going to say this is going to be a draw. I’m going to go Swansea 1, Sheffield United 1.