The Championship’s North-West representatives get off to a flying start

Last weekend, the Championship season got under way with the North West clubs getting off to a flying start, doing the local area proud.

The Five teams make up just under a quarter of the league’s 24 clubs. However, they also share big rivalries between them. Burnley, Blackburn and Blackpool all started their campaigns with victories whilst Wigan and Preston saw out a closely contested 0-0 Draw.

The first thing to note is that all five clubs kept clean sheets in their opening fixtures. Could this mean that they will all rely on a strong defence this season to mount any sort of challenge in the league?

Burnley, Blackburn and Blackpool all won their matches 1-0. With the latter two teams at home, and Burnley away at Huddersfield on Friday night.

Starting with the Championship opener on Friday, lots of people would have had, and still will have doubts about the Clarets this season. With a new manager and nine new first team players at this point in time, fans have wondered just how will that gel for Burnley in a new division.

Well the answer to that is already very well. The Clarets looked superb and it’s clear that Vincent Kompany has already stamped his authority on the team. Anyone who followed Burnley in their Premier League era will know that Friday’s performance was a special turn around from the standard of football they are accustomed to.

Burnley came away from match at the John Smith’s Stadium with a whopping 70% possession, their highest percentage last season was 57 as well as having 16 attempts on goal which was due to their new creative and attacking style of Football.

However only scoring once in the game is an indicator that they still lack a natural finisher to compliment their talented midfield. Debutant Ian Maatsen was the goal scorer but is was another fresh face who delighted the Clarets’ fans. Josh Cullen was outstanding and based off Friday’s performance he is the player to watch this season for Burnley.

Blackburn and Blackpool were also showcasing new managers on Saturday afternoon. Jon Dahl Tomasson for Rovers and Michael Appleton for the Tangerines. Blackburn coolly saw off QPR who never really troubled the Rovers goal. Whilst Blackpool took down Reading in a much closer affair.

Blackburn still host some of the league’s biggest names, attackers Ben Brereton Diaz and Bradly Dack should star for them this season. However, it was midfielder Lewis Travis who scored an absolute belter from 25 yards out.

Rovers controlled the game excellently and could have won by a more convincing margin. But having said that, the gaffer and the fans will be very happy with a win in the first game of the season to keep up the pace with their East Lancashire rivals Burnley.

Blackburn’s player to watch for this campaign can be no one other than Diaz. If they can keep hold of him for a full season, the Chilean will score goals.

Blackpool went one better than their rivals Preston though. Callum Connolly’s early goal was enough to topple Reading. In a clash that a lot of people were calling an early relegation battle, the Tangerines showed why you would have to be a brave person to have them down near the bottom of the table come May.

Appleton’s men showed a lot of grit and determination in this feisty clash, and their strong defence along with a calm goalkeeping performance reaped its rewards with a clean sheet at Bloomfield Road.

Their star man for this campaign will surly be Josh Bowler. The winger didn’t get too many chance to showcase his brilliance in this particular match. But if any team gives him the space he desires to work in, he should be able to recapture his great form from last season.

Finally, the first of 20 North west derbies this season was played at the DW Stadium in Wigan. The Latics, who were promoted to the Championship last season after winning League 1, faced Preston North End who are hoping to mount a play-off charge this campaign.

This clash showed EFL fans that there will be some mouth watering ties this year when the North West clubs meet. A spicy derby that threatened to boil over and included a red card for North End’s Ched Evans.

Despite the goalless score line this game provided a lot of entertainment, with both teams coming close to finding a winner. You would have to say it was Wigan who did boss the game for the majority however, it was the Lilywhites that had the better chances.

There was a total of 31 shots in the game but only seven of those were on target, and neither keeper was regularly challenged. Both teams will most likely be looking to improve on their attacking options before the transfer window slams shut in September. It was another contest that saw plenty of creativity with little end product.

Wigan will be the more happier of the two teams with the opening day draw, as their challenge is to stay in the division. If they can make a common theme out of Saturday’s performance they should be quite comfortable.

Most of their attack started with midfielder Tom Naylor, who also put in a shift in front of their back four. Based off his brilliant show at the weekend he looks like the Latics player to watch this campaign.

As for Preston, they will need to improve across this long gruelling season if they really are going to be play off contenders. Their fans travelled in excellent numbers to the DW, making up for almost a third of the attendance on the day, not bad for an away side and maybe that support from the fans will carry their team over the line.

Having lost a great keeper in the summer, Preston managed to bring in another Championship superstar, Freddie Woodman. He was key to the clean sheet on Saturday and will be very key to their end position in the league come May. The ex-Newcastle United goalie will be their player to watch this campaign.

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