Season Preview Part One
By Matthew Grant
July 4 2005
Part one of the 1871Royals preview of the 05/06 Championship season. Part one covers Brighton, Burnley, Cardiff City, Coventry City, Crewe and Crystal Palace.
| SEASON PREVIEW 05/06- PART 1 |
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Brighton & Hove Albion After being tipped as one of the favourites for relegation last season, Brighton just survived the drop finishing two places above the relegation zone in 20th place. Mark McGhee will again have another difficult season with limited funds available with most of the transfer money funded by the donation of £250,000 from Coca-Cola from Brighton winning the Supporters competition. Brighton will also be hit by the loss of highly rated defender Dan Harding to Leeds United. The Seagulls first home game of the season will be against Reading on Tuesday 9th August 2005. Brighton & Hove Albion Ground Guide Player To Look Out For - Leon Knight 1871Royals Prediction - Bottom Three
Burnley Burnley surprised many critics by consolidating their place in next seasons Championship finishing in 13th position. Steve Cotterill was dealt many setbacks last campaign with the loss of Robbie Blake and Richard Chaplow to Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion respectively. Although not playing the most eye catching of football Burnley proved a hard team to beat conceding few goals but at the same time not scoring many either. Cotterill is looking to rectify this with the signings of Ade Akinbiyi towards the backend of last season and the acquisition of Daniel Karbassiyoon, Gifton Noel-Williams and Wade Elliott over the summer. Expect another similar season as to last for Burnley. Player To Look Out For - Wade Elliott 1871Royals Prediction - Mid table
Cardiff City
Player To Look Out For - Cameron Jerome 1871Royals Prediction - Relegation battlers
Coventry City Coventry City are set to move to their new stadium, the Ricoh Arena next season and hope it is the start of a new dawn for Coventry City. Last season was an unexpected battle against the drop which was avoided mainly with the input of new manager Micky Adams. A number of new signings have already joined the Sky Blues including James Scowcroft from Leicester City ahead of next season and more are expected. Optimism may have started to return to Coventry and although they are unlikely to be threatening the Play-Off's expect Coventry to have a much more comfortable mid table season. Player To Look Out For - James Scowcroft 1871Royals Prediction - Top Ten Finish
Crewe Alexandra Crewe survived relegation on the final day of the season thanks to a win over Coventry sending Gillingham down instead. That win on the final day of the season was the only one Crewe had in 2005 and the first since Dean Ashton's move to Norwich from Gresty Road. Crewe have been hit ahead of next season with the loss of goalkeeper Clayton Ince to Coventry City and failed in a bid to sign Sam Parkin, who has since moved onto Ipswich Town. Colin Murdoch is also departing after turning down an improved contract offer and Kenny Lunt may also leave if a club can meet Dario Gradi's demands. However Wrexham hotshot Juan Ugarte looks set to sign to try and bolster a frail frontline. Crewe fans though can expect another difficult season to hold onto their Championship status. Player To Look Out For - Steve Jones 1871Royals Prediction - Bottom Three
Crystal Palace
Player To Look Out For - Andy Johnson 1871Royals Prediction - Play-Off contenders
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Last season proved to be a very difficult one both on and off the field for
the Welsh side. A poor campaign meant Cardiff were locked in a relegation battle
for much of the season but after stringing a few good results together at the
end of the season Cardiff survived finishing 16th. Off the field well documented
financial problems led to a head on collision between club owner Sam Hamman and
supporters. Since the end of last season a new manager has been installed, Dave
Jones but more big name departures are set to follow Robert Earnshaw and Graham
Kavanagh out of Ninian Park from last season. With little cash made available to
the manager Cardiff fans can expect another tough season .
Palace
were ten minutes away from avoiding relegation from the Premiership
until a 82nd minute Jonathan Fortune goal sent the Eagles down. Although player
exits is one of the repercussions of relegation from the elite, Palace are
fighting to hold onto England International Andy Johnson with chairman Simon
Jordan determined not to lose Palace's most vital asset. One player who is
defiantly leaving is Wayne Routledge who has agreed to join Tottenham Hotspur.
With manager Ian Dowie with no obligation to sell his better players expect
Palace to be fighting to go straight back up into the Premiership.