Part one in a look at how fans of the other 23 Championship clubs are feeling about the upcoming 25/26 season
BIRMINGHAM FANS
“Way too excited to be back.”
“It is insane how a bunch of commentators are strongly suggesting we’re going to have such a strong squad and chance of promotion let alone top 6.
I’m doing my best to keep a level head and it’s getting harder to do so.
I can’t wait for the season to start!”
“Could we actually have a premier league ready team ,how good are we actually? Im o its only pre season but theyve played terrific.”
“We haven’t finished spending yet ( another 3 players in at least ) … Birmingham City on the rise…!”
“We will be in the promotion mix”
“Think we will make the play-offs”
“I have a lot of confidence for the top 6 myself especially with how we did last season.”
“with the squad we have top 6 is more than doable.
if anything an expectation with our team. Just say it was norwich for example with our team, everyone would say its an expectation to be top 6. our name isnt used to it recently hence the hesitation on expectation from our fans”
“we are defo going to be their as favourites with Southampton & Ipswich and with our momentum & brick walls at the back we will be top 2”
“The sole reason i want to be promoted this season is now purely to sign Tommy Doyle with that option to buy.
Absolutely class”
BLACKBURN FANS
“looking at the summer recruitment so far,venkys./pasha done a great job in making sure we don`t get anywhere near the top six,which is their aim innit???”
“Our squad is so stretched.”
“Unless the plan is to 0-0 our way to survival then we need to get some attackers in ASAP”
“The plan is relegation !”
“I don’t agree there’s a deliberate plan to get us relegated.
There’s no plan of any kind but to continue to exist for some reason without any end point in mind.
They simply don’t care.”
“Our team needs 5-6 players that walk into the first team.”
“I think we’re getting properly hurt this season.
There’s enough bad sides out there this year to give us a chance of avoiding relegation but we’re going to be in and out of bottom 3 that’s for sure.”
“Are there enough bad sides out there? Feels like a few teams have done some business we’d be happy with.”
“We need five or six to have a similar level squad to last year. Despite links to some players who would have undoubtedly improved our team, we have ended up going for cheaper players on lower wages. From the outside looking in, Pasha is cutting costs further and the only outcome either this season or next is League 1.”
BRISTOL CITY FANS
“My early prediction is a solid but nonetheless potentially a step backwards into 10th.”
“11th at best”
“At this moment in time I think we will finish mid to lower mid-table.”
“We will finish 13th. Next to Preston”
“We aren’t really much better off that where we left off last season and to be fair,we did punch above out weight.If I had to stick my prediction neck out,I would say 10th”
“Around the halfway mark!
If we’re lucky with injuries, which seems unlikely at the moment, we could challenge for the play-offs again. “
“I’ve got a feeling it’s either going to go really well or really badly. I don’t see us being a mid table team this season.”
“I’d take 21st or higher. My gut feeling is it’s going to be a transitional and difficult season, in a much stronger league than last year. Bit of this pessimism is fuelled by long term injuries and (lack of) incomings.”
“Seems like a few think Struber is worse than Manning. Hard to predict but at the moment I will say 6th”
“Definitely top 10 and hopefully top 6.
There’s certainly a buzz around the place and some positivity so hopefully we can ride that wave into the early season fixtures.
A strong start could see us fly.”
“No chance of 6th as it stands.”
“The injuries and change of playing style will cause some early bumps in the road. But, with everyone fit, I think we have added good players with no key departures so I’m going to be uncharacteristically bold and say 4th.”
CHARLTON FANS
“Looking at the signings we’ve made this window and the players we already had I just get the impresssion that this is a squad that’s going to have a lot of fun this season.”
“If we survive, even playing the football everybody hates, then it will be a hugely enjoyable season.
Anything else would be a bonus.”
“The Championship will again be three leagues in one. I’m expecting/ hoping that we’re at the top end of the bottom league of three. Anything better than that would be absolutely fantastic.”
“Think we have a very good chance of staying in the league.”
“I think we’ll finish somewhere between 14th – 18th which I would take all day long.”
“16th to 20th, then build from there.
Think the defence is good enough for Championship. It was the excellent NJ’s first priority.”
“I think we’ll finish 16th or 17th. That’ll do”
“Very confident of a mid table finish at least.”
“Top half for me, with a bit of luck higher”
COVENTRY FANS
“we‘ll be comfortable in the top 4 all season”
“I’m confident this season is going to be a good on”
“I’m sorry but we are 3 or 4 short here going into the new season.”
“3 short going into the season for sure”
” have predicted 2nd to 4th although I’m yet to see anyone agree with me. We have a solid Championship side that know each other well. Rudoni is a beast. Most probably the best Championship player this season and is still improving under Lampard. “
“Didn’t Hamer get championship player of the season?”
“Sheffield United will be midtable. Without Hamer they’re quite average for a Championship side. But they know his value to them and won’t sell cheaply. He won’t be happy there but that’s life as he is under contract. Personally I would say he was better for us than for them.”
“The only thing that everyone agrees on at this moment in time is Sheff Wed for relegation.”
“Looking forward to the new season but the amount of publicity wrexham and birmingham are going to get is ridiculous..hope ipswich and southampton hopefully sort them out first game”
“I hope every championship team raises their game against them and puts them in their place”
DERBY FANS
“Of course staying up is our aspiration ,but can we challenge for top 5?”
“Only basing my opinion on what Eustace achieved with Brum and Rovers…so, top 6”
“Aim for top 6 with a more progressive style of play whilst keeping defensively sound.”
“In the playoff mix for spells of the season, missing out by a few points.”
“Similar to Sheffield weds this season I think struggled in first season steady second season flirt with play offs but fall away at the end obviously without the financial drama”
“I would be reasonably happy with mid table and no dramas”
“More goals from open play, no long winless runs, some younger players in and mid table safety.”
“a season of consolidation with some academy players making an appearance and finishing at least 9 points above relegation would do me fine.”
“Reckon we will finish around about 14th.”
HULL FANS
“It’s been a better preseason than we could have expected as it started and I’ve gone from very pessimistic to hopeful. It’s still difficult to see where the goals are going to come from however.”
“Given what’s happened since the end of last season I’m pleasantly surprised at how competitive we are.”
“you can get a LONG way in this league by being big physical and hard to play against, compared to 12 months, or even 3 months ago, we are bigger and more physical and look tough to play against”
“i think we can stay up”
“I don’t think we get relegated”
“Easily stay up
I can’t understand why some are been critical”
“We are going to surprise a few people this season. Not by storming to promotion, but by getting a comfortable mid-table finish even though almost everyone has us marked for relegation.”
IPSWICH FANS
“Hopefully top two, but I worry about us being favourites as that can lead to complacency. Key thing is to start well. So important”
“it’s easy to forget just how power packed this Ipswich squad is”
“Right to be positive. With a good pre season and hopefuly some coming back from long term injury we are in a good position on and off the pitch.”
“Overall the squad is strong but there is a significant hole to fill in central midfield and we need two strikers.”
“Reckon the plan is to build to prem promotion and survive, our right backs & centre mids are nowhere near that level especially now axel has gone, we have the biggest budget and draw in the championship this year as we are favourites together promoted , bring on the rain”
“We desperately need at least one top new striker and a completely new midfield.”
“We are going to have to go through a revitalisation and it worries me that we won’t hit the ground running. It’s going to be an incredibly strong Championship and anything can happen. Looking forward to it though but hate anyone to think we think it be easy”
“I’d be more than happy with playoffs tbh”
“Pretty confident we won’t do a Luton, cautiously optimistic with the season ahead
Although it does have resemblances of the 2002 relegation pre season favourites, even started the season with 2 wins including 6-1 v Leicester”
“lot of us Ipswich fans are not confident. Seen it go iffy before”
LEICESTER FANS
” it’s hard to know where we’ll finish up. In 23-24 it felt like we should blitz it but I don’t know where we’ll stack up, so there’s more intrigue “
“I’m excited, but that will last as long as the team selection doesnt too closely resemble the majority of last season.”
“I think Ipswich/Southampton/Birmingham will be out-competing us for autos.”
“Depending on the points deduction there’s no reason imo why shouldn’t be in the top 6 minimum.
I know we have to get rid of some of the rubbish we’ve got but the majority of this league is made up of bad teams with the exception of 5 or 6 teams.”
“Never been less enthused for a season unless a lot of the young players start. Rather finish 7th with a team of youngsters learning the ropes than go up with all the tried and tested prem failures.”
“Lowest I’ve felt for some time. Still my team, still want to go to the football with my boy, but not an ounce of excitement of what might be.”
“it’s difficult to escape the resentment towards how the club is being run in the background and that negativity is something that the players and managers will have to work around.”
“I have had the Leicester sucked out of me, interest is at an all time low. Cancelled season ticket, won’t order the new shirt.”
“Difference for me vs this time 2 years ago was how stale it feels from top to bottom; there was still hope at the start of the last champo season that we’d learned from our mistakes and it could have been the start of a much needed reset. Last season completely destroyed that. And it looks like the squad we ended that shambolic season with will be broadly the same.”
MIDDLESBROUGH FANS
“If we don’t strengthen the squad I fear another mid-table finish.”
“At present, with this squad and it’s lack of depth? Realistically I’d be hoping for top-half, or anything above 15th.”
“If he brings in the players he wants come the end of the transfer window I feel we’ll do well this season, maybe a consistent top 8 & with a bit of luck maybe pushing for a playoff spot come the back end of the season. Im really excited about this season, its not always about promotion for me its enjoying going to the Riverside again”
“If Edwards is backed properly and we don’t try and bodge it with geriatric freebies and too many “potential” signings he has already proven with an unfancied Luton that he can mould a wining mentality. I don’t think the Automatics are remotely possible but the Play Offs could be a reality if everything falls into place.”
“play offs is still a minimum measure of success.”
“Automatic is beyond this squad. I’d be happy if we’re in the mix for top 6 but won’t be as disappointed as I was last season if it didn’t happen.”
“I think Sheff Utd are weaker because of their managerial search and Leicester will not repeat what they did last time they were here. Their managerial change also is not one that frightens me or makes me envious.”
MILLWALL FANS
“Bloody hell we are going to have some team this season, with the Alfie Doughty signing we have have some proper quality. It’s our time it really is… believe !!!”
“No championship club is dripping with talent. A proven goalscorer and strong bench/ options is what you need to get out of this division. We also have a proven manager and a home crowd that can single handedly win us games when it matters the most. Bring it on”
“We will be far stronger than last season, look at the way we finished last season.
AN has now had a full pre season with the players and i believe we will see a better style of football with more goals and flair than we are used to seeing, if we get off to a flyer i think we could stay in the top 10 all season.”
“Definitely stronger than last year.”
“If AN can get us to beat the bottom teams, our achelies heal we should be right up there, top six.”
“We finished 8th last year with our fair share of injuries.if neghli coburn azeez RBW stay fit all season who knows what could happenAs for Luongo i trust the manager on this signing
This side if all fit could be the best since the mcghee side of 2001/2″
“I think the biggest difference will be our squad depth – we’ve never the depth we currently have and the quality in our youth set up/19-22 yr olds coming in and making an impact on the first team”
“Whatever happens we should be there or thereabouts as long as we keep Ivanovic, not that arsed about Tanga as I believe Crama will turn out to be one of our best signings yet.”
NORWICH FANS
“Said 10th in another thread, I will stick with it.”
“Given the effort the recruitment team have put in, I’m optimistic that we can secure a top-half finish. If things go well I could see us grabbing 8th place but I think 10th is more realistic.”
“I think if we settle quickly it could be top six, play-offs rather than auto’s. I don’t think we’ll be that far off overall. 7th-10th.”
“Too many changes that may or may not gel.
This season could be anything but we will have a better idea after half a dozen games.”
“The reality is to get top 6 next season we’re going to need 5 or 6 signings to “work” from the start. I don’t see how we do that whilst trying to reduce the wage bill and with, y’know, Knapper calling the shots.”
“There’s just too little real data to make anything other than an educated guess. I would like to think we will be thereabouts for a promotion challenge but for me it’s wishful thinking based on very few hard facts.”