Kevin Phillips’ Championship GW35 Predictions and Tips

Recent Form

Their recent form has highlighted how much Xhaka is missed in that squad. They coped with it in the beginning, but I think his experience and leadership qualities have been really missed. The quicker they get him back in the team, the better. I was surprised he didn’t start at the weekend. I’m not going to sit here and say I’m not slightly concerned.

When you look at the league table, I still feel they’ve certainly got enough points in the bag. I’m sure they would like another couple of wins just to reach that 40 points mark to really cement their place in the Premier League. They are on a bit of a slide, with two disappointing results. But, as soon as you can get Xhaka back in the team and Reggie can pick his strongest XI, then they’ve already shown this season they’re a match for anyone. But they need to get that win to kickstart them again.

Starting Wingers

Overall, this season, if they’re both fit, I think you’d probably have to say Talbi and Traore. Obviously, Traore was injured after the AFCON, been a big miss. So I think they’re probably the two strongest, certainly in that area. Of course, you’ve got the new signing Angulo, who might take him a bit of time to get up to the pace of the Premier League, and you’ve got Mundle. So, there is competition, but certainly Talbi and Traore, for me, would be my first pick out of those players.

Tomoki Iwata’s Importance

He’s certainly one of Birmingham’s important players. I don’t know whether he’s been one of their best players for the season, but he’s certainly a good player. He’s certainly a player that the fans love because of his energy, his work rate, his determination and the quality he’s got. I’d like to see him chip in with a few more goals, but overall, he’s certainly pivotal to that team in the midfield area. When he has to go play right back, he’s shown he can do that well, too, but I think he’s more of a midfield player. So he’s certainly a hugely important player. Disappointing result for Blues last night. But again, they’ve got a big opportunity now with him in the side to bounce back this weekend.

Brighton’s Goalkeeper Situation

Beadle’s playing well, Rushworth’s playing well, Verbruggen, there are three quality goalkeepers. I’d be worried if we were only talking about one goalkeeper for Brighton next year. They’ve got three players that they probably could rely on in the Premier League. So I think it’s a great problem to have. The only issue is going to be again in the summer, if they stick with Verbruggen or they bring Rushworth back, where does Beadle sit in this? But then, in terms of him and his career, if it doesn’t quite work out back at Brighton, we all know that he’s well capable of playing in the Championship. He certainly wouldn’t be struggling to get a team. But, I think he’s pretty sure he’d like to go back there and challenge for that number one. So I think it’s a great problem for Brighton to have.

Middlesbrough’s Dip in Form

Their form has dipped a little bit. We’ve seen it happen. We saw it happen with Coventry. I spoke about it before about them having a blip and, you’ve just got to trust what you’ve been doing to get you to the point where you are in the season. And that’s exactly what Middlesbrough have to do now.

I said the same about Frank and Coventry; he’ll just remind the players of how good they are and what got them to the top of the league. They had their little blip now, and it looks like they’ve come out the other side of it. Middlesbrough are going through it now. So, the quicker they can get another win on the board, the better. Those two draws will not look as bad.

They are in a little bit of a blip at a time of the season where it’s getting really tight at the top of the league. Everyone’s picking up points, yet their team’s dropping. But, they need a win quickly. Just go back to the basics of what they’ve been doing to get them to the top is my message.

Norwich Handling Josh Sargent Situation

I think you have to give credit to the football club for taking the stance that they did. I’ve said before how many times when a window shuts and a player’s downed tools or refused to play, whatever they’ve done, managers have gently eased them back into the team because generally he’s a quality player, but they haven’t done that, and that’s credit to them.

Instead, they’ve gone out and brought a replacement in Toure, and the lad’s come in, four appearances, four goals, so you’d have to say Sargent hasn’t been missed. So if the club do end up getting a big fee for him, then all-round credit to Norwich, and it’d be great business for them as well.

Michael O’Neill Contract

It just all depends. First and foremost, of course, he needs to keep them in the league. A disappointing result in their last game. It’ll depend on what sort of budget he’ll be given over the summer. Only he’ll know that, and the board will know that. One thing I will say, he’s certainly got experience. If he were to be given a decent fund, then I’m pretty sure he would go out and make them competitive next season.

Whether they challenge, I don’t know. But he’s certainly a man with experience. He’s got the qualities. He showed that. First and foremost, keep them in the league. It’s a bit early to say about giving him the job. I’m sure he’s not taking any notice because he’s got a job to do at Blackburn. Obviously, he’s got the job to do with Northern Ireland. And then after that, once Blackburn are safe, maybe they will sit down and look at next season.

Ross Stewart Contract

It’s always a tough one, isn’t it? Ross is a good player. I watched him very closely when he was up here at Sunderland. When he’s fit, and that’s the big question, when he’s fit, and he’s on it, he’s a handful. He’s a good player. He’s got a bit of everything. So, the biggest thing for Southampton is that they spent money on him, he’s hardly played any games, and he just can’t seem to get that consistent run of form and be on the grass. So it would be a concern if I were an owner, and his contract was up in the summer, would I be inclined to give him an extension?

I would probably wait and see how he finishes the season in terms of the injury really and if he was to pick up another couple then I’d find it very difficult that they would renew the contract because I can imagine his wages will be fairly high as well. So, it’s a difficult one for the lad, and all he can do is just stay fit from now to the end of the season, bag some goals and try and give the Southampton management team and owners a bit of a headache.

Ipswich’s Automatic Promotion Chances

I think they can definitely get into those automatic spots. When you look at the league table, they’re fourth. They’ve got two games in hand, and they’re six points off of second-place Middlesbrough. So, it’s in their hands. There’s the old argument that you’d rather have the points on the board than the games in hand, but you’ve got something in front of you that can really inspire you. So, they’re more than capable.

Probably looks like a good idea now, wasn’t it, to rotate in that Cup game that I spoke about before, because the league’s the most important thing and they’re in such a fantastic position at the right stage of the season where they’re ready to pounce. They’re definitely capable of finishing in that top two. It’ll be a fantastic end to the season. I think it’s going to go right to the wire with three, possibly four teams.

Coventry’s Automatic Promotion Chances

I think they can hold their nerve and go up this season automatically, because of who they’ve got in charge of them. Frank has been there, seen it and done it. Won championships. Of course, he’s not won the championship as a player or as a manager, but his experience is invaluable for that squad. I’m sure, when they were going through that little blip, confidence might have been taking a bit of a knock. I think he would have been working his magic in the background, calming the players down, and you saw that in the result.

A lot of credit goes to the manager, but of course, a lot of credit, the players still have to turn it on on the pitch, and they’ve done that, they’re in good form, and that hat-trick from Hadji Wright kick-started their season again. Another team that is more than capable of finishing in the top two. Like I said earlier, really fascinating to see how these teams develop over the next few weeks.

Eric Ramsey Sacking

Eric came in when it was a tough situation. For me, when he was installed, I thought it was a strange decision. I don’t think anyone saw that coming. I thought it’d be difficult for him coming from where he managed into a team where the expectation is high, you’ve got to hit the ground running, and he hasn’t done that. I think it was nine games in charge, no wins. So, it was a tough ask for him.

Fair play to the club for acting as quickly as they have because they’ve allowed themselves to get someone in with quite a lot of games on the board to get them out of that issue. Of course, he has to take part of the blame, but also, the people that were there before, the management that were there before, everyone’s got to collectively take the blame as well as the players. They have to be really careful now.

They need to get the next appointment spot on because let’s face it, they’re in a huge relegation battle. If they don’t get it right, then they could find themselves easily in League One.