With the Midlands football landscape seemingly being taken over by a parade of Chinese owners, it’s time to predict how Aston Villa, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers will fare this season.
Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor (L) in action with Wolves’ Conor Coady
There’s an air of optimism surrounding the Midlands football scene right now, with all four of the big clubs believing that they have what it takes to play out a successful 2016/17 season. Ironically, these hopes come off the back of fairly disappointing seasons last year when Birmingham and Wolves missed the play-offs, Aston Villa got relegated and West Brom fans started calling for the head of manager Tony Pulis.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa is the team in most need of a turnaround. Following one of the most disappointing seasons in the club’s history, Villa needed to make some serious changes over the course of the summer and that’s exactly what they did. With spirited new owner Tony Xia and new Aston Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo now at the helm, the club have a confident and intriguing leadership team that fans can finally get behind.
Ross McCormack celebrates with Jack Grealish after he scores Aston Villa’s first goal
When you combine that with some of their business in the transfer window, bringing in the likes of Ross McCormack and Jonathan Kodjia, Aston Villa look all set to make a surge for the top six. They’ve got off to a rocky start but that’s to be expected given the hangover from last season, and the Championship is a steep learning curve for many relegated sides. You can expect Villa to be among the play-off contenders, but whether or not they’ll have the experience to go all the way straight back to the Premier League is another matter.
Prediction: 5th
Birmingham City
Birmingham City exceeded expectations last season when the club challenged for the play-offs, although eventually finishing a disappointing 10th. It was considered a successful campaign by many fans, however, and in a contrast to more difficult previous seasons – like almost dropping down to League One a few years after their League Cup triumph at Wembley.
David Edgar of Birmingham City celebrates with team mates after scoring their first goal
After a rocky start coupled with Birmingham fans being irritated by a poor transfer window, there’s a touch more pessimism around St Andrew’s than there was just a few months ago. With so many high quality sides to contend with in the Championship, Birmingham will do well not to get lost in the shuffle. A good run of games could always turn things around, but will will take a strong January transfer window if the club is to improve on last season.
Prediction: 15th
West Bromwich Albion
West Brom are currently experiencing their seventh consecutive season in the top flight of English football, having stayed up despite a few recent years of mediocrity. The club have never really kicked on and built upon their constant survival, and under the guidance of manager Tony Pulis the fans have grown increasingly tired of the tactics they see on display week in and week out.
West Bromwich Albion’s Salomon Rondon celebrates scoring their first goal
A few more notable signings towards the end of the transfer window has given the Baggies some hope as to what they can achieve this year, however the generally held belief within the Hawthorns faithful is that with Pulis in charge they’ll continue down a road of tiresome football. Whether or not the board agree remains to be seen, but the important thing for the club is that they remain in the division. With the other teams surrounding them it seems likely that they’ll do so, but only by the skin of their teeth.
Prediction: 16th
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Probably the richest of the four top Midland clubs, Wolves is a place of positivity following an influx of new talent as well as finally having a manager they can get behind. Spirits are higher around Molineux than they’ve been in a long time.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Michal Zyro celebrates
New manager Walter Zenga seems to be adapting well to his new surroundings, with a positive start to the season giving hope to fans that Wolves can fight for promotion once again. As with their Midlands rivals, there’s going to be a certain expectancy to live up to that goes alongside this new found sense of belief. With so many strong contenders in the division it’ll be difficult, but a play-off position doesn’t seem to be impossible for Wolves. If they can make it that far, then it’s anyone’s guess as to what they can achieve.
Prediction: 6th
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