Down under wasn’t at all as I expected, especially in the northern territory of Queensland. Being from London, I am used to always being surrounded by people, but there is so much space in Australia and such a small population that the smaller towns aren’t filled to the brim with human activity.

I expected Great White sharks to be having a beer in the bars I visited and crocodiles to be in the bathtub when I got home. In reality, it was the opposite. I only saw two of Australia’s famous human-killing wildlife in my month there: a 2 meter long red-bellied black snake, and a 15 meter croc in the Darwin river.

I started in Cairns and ended in Sydney, and along the way came across plenty of struggles to keep up with what’s going on in the soccer world back in the UK.

The first obstacle was the time difference. I would be calling back home early in the morning and my family hadn’t even gone to bed because of the 10-hour time difference. This meant it was difficult to replicate my usual Saturday routine of watching the scores come in via Gillette Soccer Saturday, sandwiched between watching both the early afternoon and evening kick offs. The time difference amounted to plenty of early morning alarms, annoyed roommates and mid-afternoon snoozes.

Trips were another factor contributing to missing my usual dose of weekly soccer action, one because I broke my phone on the trip and the other as we were stranded on a boat for three days.

Fraser Island was going smoothly for the first two hours. We boarded the ferry, drove 4X4’s around the sand island, arrived to our hotel and … my iPhone, the only chance of contact with the outside world I had, was a goner to water damage. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise (for the three-day trip anyway) as I could forget about checking the scores and concentrate on having a kickabout with others on the trips, in front of some of the world’s nicest natural waters such as Whitehaven Beach or Lake McKenzie (pictured).

Sailing around the Whitsunday Islands was an unforgettable experience, and from my ordeal on Fraser Island I knew I could go the weekend without watching soccer or checking the scores. This time, soccer was replaced with conversation. I wore my Ghana jersey onto the vessel and within the first hour a Chilean man came up to me and asked “Are you Ghanaian?”

Being fair skinned and blonde, I laughed and explained that I’m English but have an obsession with collecting soccer tops, with obscure teams such as Japan, Buriram United and the Vietnamese national team in my collection. As with most places I had visited, soccer was once again the conversation starter, and we were soon onto the success of the Chilean national team, both in the World Cup and Copa America, winning the latter on home soil.

After trying to find out if anywhere showed live coverage of English football or the Champions League on mainland Australia, I succumbed to the fact that the only opportunity to watch live matches would be to stream.

Middlesbrough versus Leeds at the Riverside was the first time I used WiFi to access live coverage in Australia, and it was a nightmare. Coming from Asia the weeks before, I was used to super fast internet in every place I stayed, but Australia was not the same. Boro won 3-0, but not until later on the next day when the highlights were released did I get to see the goals. The WiFi lagged at the three most important incidents of the match, but I still went to bed with a smile on my face after beating our Yorkshire rivals.

The confusing part about Australia was they called near enough everything ‘footie’ — Aussie rules, Rugby Union and soccer — which made it difficult to digest what they meant when I saw signs saying ‘live footie’ tonight. Sadly, it was never soccer.

Amid the Aussie rules semis and finals, the Rugby World Cup and rugby league (which I concluded was the East Coast’s preferred sport), the only live game I saw involved Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets of the A-league. The game, although entertaining, was far inferior to European soccer and probably on par with English football’s fourth tier, League Two.

The craziness of the country was topped off by the media being shocked at Massimo Luongo’s omission from the Ballon d’or final shortlist. Coming up against soccer giants such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the Australian was never in the running for most prestigious individual honor in the modern game. However, that wasn’t the way the Socceroos saw it.

My experience down under was incredible, but the fact I stayed up until 6 a.m. on penultimate evening to watch Australia knock England out of their own Rugby World Cup, in Australia, surrounded by Australians made me relieved to be leaving the country.

More Olly Huddlestone travelogues:

• Traveling through Mali in search of soccer.
• In search of English football in Malaysia.
• Trying to find the Premier League in Hong Kong.

Editor’s note: World Soccer Talk writer Oliver Huddlestone is currently traveling throughout Asia and is sharing travelogues with us from the countries he visits. So far, he’s shared his observations regarding trying to watch or play soccer from Hong Kong and Malaysia. Today’s post is on Bali.

Bali quickly found its way into my heart as my favorite place in Asia for three main reasons. First, the water. Whether seeing dolphins at Lovina beach in the north, the marine life around the Gili Islands or the waves of Kuta, being in the water was always exhilarating.

Second was the chance to escape real life in the rain forest town of Ubud, where all day long you relax in tranquillity and soak in the jungle wildlife surrounding you.

Last and most important of all was the accessibility to soccer, and all sport for that matter, in the lively areas of Kuta and Seminyak.

Kuta is many people’s worst nightmare but every lad’s dream with cheap booze, music blaring all night long and a long stretch of bars and clubs showing nearly every sporting event imaginable.

It was the last point that impressed me the most. No matter what time the match was on, I was able to find every game I wanted to watch, which mostly involved the big guns.

Contrary to reports I read before coming out, I felt safe thanks to the locals of the area. I had read on TripAdvisor that Bali and Kuta were dangerous, and that western tourists had to be careful. In my experience however, the Balinese were very accommodating, helpful and some of the nicest people I have met.

Kuta was quite strange to me as an English soccer fan because it catered more to Australians. The bars showed Aussie Rules matches. There were many ‘Oz style’ BBQs and shops that sold Australian rugby (both union and league) jerseys.

Throughout the USA, Europe and most of Asia, I was used to sports stores selling Manchester United and Chelsea jerseys or Lakers and Bulls jerseys, so it was strange seeing all these different teams I had never seen before.

However, in the back of the stores were European soccer and NBA jerseys. Not long ago, you would struggle to find a jersey that wasn’t United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Juventus (at a push).

Alongside these so-called ‘top teams’ were Borussia Dortmund, Southampton, Napoli, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. Who would have wanted a Manchester City top five years ago when Thaksin Shinawatra was chairman and they were getting beat 8-1 at Middlesbrough?

The variety of jerseys struck me and made me realize how there’s much more fierce competition in the top leagues thanks to the emergence of clubs such as Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and PSG.

During my Balinese adventure, I took the fast boat to the party island of Gili Trawangan to snorkel, lay on the white beaches and see what all the fuss was about.

Unlike most other beaches, where you spot a volleyball game or people playing frisbee, there were no signs of any ball games as the sand was a thin strip and if you stepped in the sea you’d land on hard, rocky coral.

The one exception was my last night where I joined in with two teenage locals doing keepy-ups on the beach whilst their family set up their beach shacks for the fire show. These were no ordinary keepy-ups, however. They used a small ball made of wood and had an unusual technique to keep the ball in the air, only using the inside of their feet.

One of the first things I was taught in soccer was to pass and control with the inside of the foot. I was never taught to juggle with it.

One thing I can definitely say is that the Balinese love soccer. I even met one guy who supported both Bayern Munich and Arsenal, and another who had a jersey that was half the sky blue of Manchester City and the other half the devil red of United. I couldn’t imagine seeing that in the middle of Manchester.

From what I saw, the locals were enthused by soccer as a whole, not by one particular club. They enjoyed watching and playing the sport, which is dramatically different than the relationship with the game in the UK. The Balinese do not have the same connection with the club than someone supporting their hometown team in England, which means the Balinese can enjoy watching a good goal no matter who scored it.

Bali is memorable for the beaches, rice fields, temples and people. It’s also the locale where I saw Wayne Rooney on TV surpass Sir Bobby Charlton as England’s all-time leading scorer, watched Middlesbrough grasp a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest, and where I watched the Rugby World Cup.

Next up is Australia!

After my unsuccessful quest to watch a Premier League match in my one night stay in Hong Kong, I wanted to see what the soccer world had to offer in Malaysia. In terms of trying to find soccer, Malaysia was a game of two halves; the hustle and bustle of the city and the peaceful tranquillity of the islands.

After three planes in 24 hours and a surprisingly accommodating night in an airport, I headed to the Kuala Besut jetty to board the first boat to the Perhentian Islands.

From my research before arriving at the islands, I knew it would was very remote, but didn’t imagine anything compared to the reality. Electricity was turned off after 7pm. There were only three boats to mainland per day and you couldn’t book accommodation. The only way to guarantee a bed for the night was to get the 8:30am boat to the beach, then it was a free-for-all between me and 20 others to try and find a room.

I sensed that I wouldn’t be getting my usual daily fix of soccer whilst on this tiny stretch of beach.

After two days of waiting, Saturday finally came around. As the island was so small and everyone either didn’t speak English or wished me ‘good luck’ when I asked where I could find WiFi, I challenged myself to simply find out the day’s results; something that I could usually muster up in a matter of seconds back home in England. Even a task that seemed so simple took hours of searching.

I stayed on the smaller of the two islands, Perhentian Kecil, where there were only two beaches with places to stay or eat. The only TV screen I managed to find was one being used to show a safety video for scuba divers going down to the reef.

On Perhentian Kecil, there’s a routine that most people stick to: Wake up, swim, snorkel, trek through the jungle and party on the beach at night. Unlike most other beaches where you spot a volleyball game or people playing catch, there were no signs of any ball games anywhere.

The restaurants claimed to have WiFi, but were pretty hesitant to give out the username or password. After trying Mie Goreng (a traditional Malaysian dish) from four different shacks, it took me until the Tuesday to finally pick up one bar of WiFi. It was a painful wait trying to load BBC’s soccer page, but it was worth it considering my team Middlesbrough had ended their Sheffield Wednesday hoodoo with a 3-1 win at Hillsborough.

Kuala Lumpur was completely the opposite. The trees were replaced with skyscrapers. Clear waters replaced with thousands of people and the dry sun replaced with clouds and humidity.

We made the journey to the city in a taxi and the entertaining taxi driver gave me a tour of his hometown just outside the city center.

He was a very proud man who kept telling me all about his cars, how many chickens and cows he owned and showed me where he used to play soccer as a kid. It looked like a very poor farming area, with goats roaming around everywhere but everyone seemed to be happy and content.

The goalposts were homemade from bamboo and the patch of grass they played on was shared with chickens and wild dogs. About 30 children were playing around one goal, but they all looked like they were having the time.of their lives.

What their playing surface lacked in quality, it more than made up with enthusiasm for the game.

As we came closer to Kuala Lumpur, my driver/tour guide showed me the schools that were ran by the government. The facilities were in such a contrast to the farming area — the soccer pitches at the schools in pristine condition and seating was available for spectators to watch.

Unlike my experience in Hong Kong and the Perhentian Islands, soccer was everywhere in Malaysia’s capital. As I walked around Bukit Bintang, the sport was shoved in my face in the form of pubs advertising live games and market stalls selling all kinds of jerseys, albeit mostly counterfeit.

Even when I finally got out of site of the pubs and stalls, when I arrived at the hotel and put my backpack down, I was amused to find I had been provided with a Manchester United towel to use during my stay.

I left Kuala Lumpur for Indonesia on a Tuesday night when there was a full set of Championship fixtures, so I wore my Boro jersey with pride. Whilst queuing to check in, I heard the name ‘Adam Johnson” from behind, in between a number of other words that made no sense to me.

Next in line were about 20 young Malaysian boys, head to toe in tracksuits traveling abroad for a tournament. They played for Felda United FC, a Malaysian club who played Liverpool in a pre-season friendly losing 7-0 with Danny Ings scoring a hat-trick.

One of the boys began to talk to talk to me about the transfer window, as deadline day was fast approaching. He spoke English well and told me how he wanted Manchester City to land Kevin De Bruyne. He believed if they did this, they would be too hot for other Premier League teams to handle and would have their hands on a third title in May.

I was impressed with Malaysia, especially getting to see how the game is played and the facilities that were so different from back in England, and more recently Hong Kong.

The Premier League season was less than two weeks old when I embarked on my journey from London to Hong Kong. For the majority of the 12 hour flight, I was thinking of ways to not lose connection with the English game so I could try to watch as many Premier League games on TV as possible, especially considering the 7-hour time difference.

Knowing very little when I landed in Hong Kong, I was surprised to see such a British connection with names such as the Queen Elizabeth Stadium and street names such as Old King Street and Duke Street. My first port of call was to try and find Sports Road, near the Times Square area of the city. This road is the home to Hong Kong Football Club, as well as Happy Valley Racecourse and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium; a 3,500 seater arena with a gym, badminton and squash courts, plus a multi-purpose hall.

I chatted with a security guard from Hong Kong Football Club. He explained how multiple soccer teams use the HKFC facilities. The venue is also home to the prestigious Rugby 10’s and soccer 7’s tournaments, which is when they see their biggest influx of visitors and has been graced by many professional stars of both sports.

Multiple nationalities, including Dutch, Swiss and Scottish play for HKFC, which is not to be confused with the Hong Kong national team. The national team is currently 151st in the FIFA world rankings, sandwiched between minnows such as Liechtenstein and Puerto Rico. They take part in competitions such as the Asian Cup, East Asian Football Championship and the FIFA World Cup, although they have never qualified for the latter, nor the Asian Cup since their fifth place finish in 1968.

There were plenty of soccer jerseys on display around the city, with the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona by far the most popular, but my personal favorite was Nike’s take on the Hong Kong national team. The unusual red and white shirt is hard to find, but the design is unique and well worth looking for as a souvenir of a trip to Asia’s financial capital.

While walking through the popular and very busy Kowloon Park and Victoria Park, I came across what looked like state of the art 5-a-side soccer pitches with adults and children all playing soccer throughout the grounds of both parks. In between the parks is the world-famous Hong Kong skyline and when the sun sets and the symphony of lights begins, there is only one place to be; the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront.

One of the first things I noticed while staring at the spectacular flashing signs were the names of giant brands that we see week in, week out on soccer shirts. Tottenham Hotspur’s kit sponsor AIA was the first to catch my eye, followed by the bright shining of Chelsea’s former sponsor Samsung.

One of the top priorities was to find somewhere to watch Arsenal versus Liverpool. I wanted to see Petr Cech in action and how Arsenal would fare after a quiet summer, plus how Liverpool’s new boys Christian Benteke, Danny Ings & Roberto Firmino would handle themselves as they tried to shrug off Wenger’s back four.

In the hours prior to kick-off, I walked around Hong Kong for hours through countless interconnecting shopping malls to find somewhere to watch the game but to no avail.

After going around the central part of the city twice, dodging skyscrapers on the way, I finally found a pub showing the game in the lively part of Lan Kwai Fong. With just 15 minutes left on the clock, I entered the bar to find drunk women dancing and one screen showing the match.

Maybe I was searching in the wrong places, but it seemed Hong Kong was largely financial and didn’t cater to soccer fans as much as other major Asian cities such as Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Overall, while Hong Kong has the sporting facilities, trying to watch live soccer (both live local and international on TV) may not be the best use of time in the city as it has much more to offer with their culture and other sports such as horse racing taking a much higher priority.

My next stop is Malaysia, where I’ll be visiting remote islands and embarking on a hunt to find live soccer matches in the country’s capital. Watch out for my next travelogue coming soon.

The Championship in England is known for its tough tackles, grueling number of fixtures and sheer competitiveness as all 24 clubs battle it out for a place to get promoted to the best league in the world.

With four teams going for automatic promotion at the end of April and the final day twists and turns, the 2014/15 campaign was one of the most eventful yet; but fear not soccer fans, the upcoming season promises to be just as entertaining. Plus, many of the games will be shown on beIN SPORTS for readers in the US (see the latest TV schedule).

With the calibre of clubs dropping down from the Premier League, plus some of the world’s most proven players and coaches joining, it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the league standings come May each year.

For 2015/16, some of the cash has trickled down into the Championship, with the likes of Derby and Middlesbrough spending big on their mission to return to the Premier League.

Derby have been the nearly-men for the past two seasons, losing in the 2014 play-off final and missing out on a top six finish last year after a dismal back end of the campaign. This season, however, with big name signings like Tom Ince, Darren Bent, Jason Shackell and Andreas Weimann, there is a flurry of excitement around the club.

Programming note: Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORTS, you can watch the Championship live on fuboTV for just $6.99 per month. The service streams the beIN broadcast to your computer, tablet or smartphone (plus, it supports Chromecast). And set-up just takes minutes. sign up for a free trial to fuboTV via their website.

The most important recruitment of the summer, however, may be the acquisition of a man who has spent much of his career as Carlo Ancelotti’s understudy. Paul Clement has worked at some of the world’s biggest clubs in Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid, but the coming season in the Championship may be his toughest yet.

Another man who took the step up (or down) from assistant at Real Madrid to managing a Championship side is Aitor Karanka. The Spaniard impressed during his full season in charge at Middlesbrough and seems to be taking the club in the right direction with important signings such as Stewart Downing, Christian Stuani and Diego Fabbrini.

Both Derby and Boro were front runners in the early stages of 2015 but faded away when it really mattered as Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich went on their terrific runs to promotion.

Burnley were relegated from the top tier after resisting the urge to spend big in order to stay up. Manager Sean Dyche has said the Clarets can’t cope with the money being spent even in the Championship, despite their Premier League cash windfall.

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Dyche has said the likes of Derby and Boro have taken spending to a “whole new level,” but it would surely be worth it if either were to return to the best league in the world.

Steve Evans did an incredible job last season keeping Rotherham United in the league. The Scotsman will have to do an equally miraculous job this coming year, with the pedigree of Championship sides at an all-time high.

The minnows will find it tougher than ever to survive this season, with the amount of money being thrown around by the big clubs.

Relegated QPR, Hull and Burnley will be looking to bounce back to the Premier League at the first opportunity and avoid following in Wigan’s footsteps at all costs.

QPR manager Chris Ramsey looks to be offloading the big wages and could be left with a skeleton of a squad by the start of the season. Captain Joey Barton and fan’s favorite Charlie Austin are still at the club, but look to be on the move in the near future. However, if the R’s were able to keep the pair, along with Matty Phillips, then Ramsey could be in with an outside chance of the play-offs.

Last year’s Championship hitman at Ipswich was Republic of Ireland international Daryl Murphy, who netted 27 goals on the way to becoming top scorer of the division. The 32-year old was linked with a move away from Portman Road after his impressive tally last season.

Reports suggested that Middlesbrough put a bid in of £4.5m and Sheffield Wednesday had a ‘ridiculous’ loan offer rejected before the striker put any doubts to rest, signing a new 2 year contract extension.

Ipswich have a tough task to better last season’s finish, but keeping their front man could boost their chances if he shows the same form as he has done the last 12 months.

Blackburn fans suffered a disappointing season last year. Even with the devastating front pair of Jordan Rhodes and Rudy Gestede, they only managed a top 10 finish. The partnership conjured up 41 goals. Hhowever this year it looks as though the club could cash in on the proven goal poachers with big money moves.

Cash-strapped Rovers are currently £80m in debt and under a transfer embargo this season after failing to comply with the League’s Financial Fair Play rules last year. Aston Villa have already lured the Gestede to Villa Park to replace Christian Benteke, whereas promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough are trying to find a way to meet the £12m asking price from Rovers’ owners, the Venky’s.

Other strikers with the potential to have a prolific season a Jermaine Beckford, Darren Bent and Ross McCormack. All three are proven Championship goal scorers who will be relishing their first full campaign for their respective teams in the second tier of English football.

Last year, there were unexpected finishes all over, from the top to the bottom of the table. At the peak, you had the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford and Wolves, whereas down at the foot of the table not many people would have bet on Fulham or Brighton to be in the relegation dogfight.

This season there will no doubt be a surprise package from the three promoted teams, and I am backing Preston North End. Simon Grayson’s men missed out on automatic promotion on the last day of the season, but tore their way through the play-offs scoring eight in the process.

If Joe Garner and Beckford can repeat their return of 43 goals last term (plus some smart defensive transfers from Grayson whilst the window is still open), Preston have the basics to go above and beyond what’s expected them this season; staying in the league.

They could even emulate Wolves and Brentford’s efforts last year and go one step further on a charge for promotion, but some fine tuning is needed from the management staff.

There are also the so called ‘big clubs’ that expected to be challenging for promotion last year, but instead hovered around mid-table. The message to the fans was that the focus was on the coming campaign, building a solid infrastructure to build from going into the new season. The underlying message was, however, that the clubs wanted an underachieving 2014/15 to be forgotten about as quickly as possible.

>We should expect a few past Premier League sides to fall in this category, with the likes of Blackburn, Cardiff, Fulham and Nottingham Forest looking to put 2014/15 behind them.

The gruelling pre-season schedule is now in full swing and there is optimism around Teesside, with what promises to be an exciting summer of transfers ahead.

The aim this season is for Aitor Karanka’s Boro to try and go one step further than last year’s whirlwind campaign, making sure they begin the 2016/17 campaign in the Premier League.

The success of last season came as a surprise for many after Boro lost three of the opening five games. However, after an array of last minute crafty loan deals, Karanka finally got the team playing exciting football.

Going into the back end of 2014 the Teessiders went unbeaten for months on end and cemented a back four that would go on to be the best in the league.

The manager has said that the focus this season is to be ready from the off, as those nine points dropped at the start of last season proved a clinical blow to Boro’s promotion hopes.

Many of last year’s play-off final squad have moved on and there’s a Patrick Bamford shaped hole upfront.

There is good news for Boro fans, however, as reports around the Riverside suggest Karanka and Head of Recruitment, Gary Gill, are close to filling these gaps with more than adequate replacements.

First through the Ayresome Park Gates was versatile defender Alex Baptiste, who looked a great signing after the loss of centre-backs Kenneth Omeruo and Jonathan Woodgate to retirement.

The former Blackpool defender was stretchered off midway through the first half of Boro’s opening pre-season friendly against York, meaning he will be out of action for the majority of the season with a double fracture to his leg.

Just as Boro looked like they’d never find a fix to the curse at right back, Tomas Kalas returned to the Riverside on a season-long loan from Chelsea in what may be the most likely signing in the history of the club.

Burnley new boy Jelle Vossen started behind Bamford for the majority of last season, but never really looked as promising in Red as he did in a Genk shirt, hence the reason Karanka opted against bidding for the Belgian.

With Lee Tomlin operating out on the left, Karanka has a space to fill behind the striker. If Twitter reports are anything to go by, Boro fans are in for the most important signing of the last decade; a return to his homeboy club for Stewart Downing.

The England international is undoubtedly Premier League class and has turned down offers from the top tier clubs to reunite with the Riverside once again.

Steve Gibson has agreed a fee of around £5.5m, with the payment rising up to £7m if the season’s objectives of promotion are achieved.

Downing is likely to be utilised in the number 10 role, where he was exceptional last season and arguably West Ham’s best player.

All that’s left is for the Boro lad to sign the contract and then fly out to meet the squad at their training camp in Marbella, where they beat Leyton Orient 3-1 last night in a pre-season friendly.

Scoring goals was the weak link last season and the addition of Downing will boost the opportunities going forward, but there is no one to challenge Kike for the number 9 role.

Espanyol’s Christian Stuani is said to be heading to the North East with the fee agreed at around £2.5m. The 28-year-old started at the World Cup for Uruguay and netted 12 times in 15 in La Liga last season.

Stewy and Stuani leading the strike force in the Championship – it certainly has a ring to it.

Another of Chelsea’s bright youth prospects may follow Omeruo, Bamford and Nathaniel Chalobah in a season loan on Teesside. Jose Mourinho is likely to send 20-year-old old Nathan Ake to the Championship to earn some game time and valuable experience in the most competitive and rewarding league in the world.

The club’s bid to have the deals done early is looking promising, meaning the squad will have plenty of time to gel before walking out at Deepdale on August 9th for the opener against newly promoted Preston North End.

Having a solid back four is a thing of the past for England. Over the last two decades the Three Lions have boasted world-class defenders, who were seen as up there with the best in the world.

You only have to go back 10 years to the 2006 World Cup, where even England’s substitutes rank higher than the current crop. The so called ‘Golden Generation’ of Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Ashley Cole were backed up by Jamie Carragher, Sol Campbell, Wayne Bridge and a versatile Owen Hargreaves on the bench.

We could even go further back to the 90’s, where die-hard tacklers like Tony Adams and Stuart Pearce were around and commanding the penalty area.

In recent times, however, the mean and patriotic England defence of old has been replaced with little more than mediocrity. The Manchester United pair of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are starting to string together successive starts for the national team, and even though the back four has been solid since the nightmare in Brazil, this is worrying for England fans.

Both have shown promising signs of progression and improvement since their terrible starts for United, however, the fact is they haven’t done enough to warrant a regular starting place in Roy Hodgson’s XI.

One strong point in England’s defence is vice-captain Gary Cahill, whose role as the most reliable at the back has been unchallenged. Cahill has won every major club trophy in just three seasons at Chelsea, however unlike England’s other starlets his name did not come into the limelight until his mid 20’s.

This may be the case for Jones and Smalling. The pair might build on their already vast experience and become late bloomers in the England ranks. They may even become key players in future World Cup and Euro Championships squads. Center backs usually peak in their late 20’s, which gives the twosome a few years yet to prove many doubters wrong.

There is, however, the small issue of players coming through the ranks with unbelievable potential. Everton’s John Stones is tipped by many to be England captain one day and I believe he deserves to be Cahill’s partner in front of Joe Hart.

Not only is he a towering center-back, but the 21-year-old is calm on the ball, never panics and has two years top flight experience at a very young age.

Other promising signs for Roy Hodgson is the emergence of Nathanial Clyne, who has just completed a dream move to Liverpool after an outstanding season at Southampton.

Glen Johnson has finally moved on and Clyne is the perfect man to fill his boots. With his electrifying pace he has tonnes more ability and excitement than the man he replaces for both club and country. Liverpool fans will be rubbing their hands and gearing up to see what he brings come August.

I do believe Hodgson will come good one day and lead England to greater things, but some of his decisions have to be questioned. Deploying Jordan Henderson to right-back in the victory over Slovenia was an odd one, especially with Clyne on the bench ready to stamp his mark on the international scene.

Imagine Sven-Goran Eriksson replaced Neville with midfield maestro Paul Scholes during the early 2000’s; it just wouldn’t happen.

Hodgson holds the key to England’s fortunes and has an array of tough-tackling talent to choose from when picking his squads. Let’s hope he transforms a bench-worthy back four into a well-drilled fearsome quartet who are ready and able to shut out Europe’s elite.​

The final of the biggest club competition in world soccer is expected to come back to Britain for the third time in six years, however, not to the capital.

Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium is the current favourite to host the 2017 final with UEFA likely to announce their decision in Prague on the 29th June.

If the decision were to go in the way of the Welsh national venue, it would give English clubs another stab at winning the competition on home soil and to catch up with Spanish and German clubs in European competition.

This would be hugely beneficial to the Premier League after a transitional period where England’s dominant club, Manchester United, failed to make the Champions League for the first time since 1995/96. In the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons no English team progressed beyond the last 16; a dismal portrayal of English football in comparison to the 1999-2011 era, where at least two Premier League teams reached the quarter finals in 10 out of the 12 seasons.

The last Champions League outing at Wembley in 2013 was solely represented by Germany, as Bayern Munich triumphed over Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund. Two years earlier, Man United made their way to the capital to face Barcelona, but were outclassed by Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable Barcelona.

European football has been dominated by the Spaniards in recent times and they have proved a giant obstacle for English clubs. Despite winning two of the last four Premier League titles, big spenders Manchester have consistently struggled in Europe and became the seventh English club to be knocked out by Real Madrid or Barcelona in the last six years.

Although winning two Champions Leagues and appearing in finals, Premier League teams seem to come unstuck against the Goliath figures of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid. When you look at the domestic leagues however, the Premier League has higher calibre of competition, fiercer rivalries and a greater portfolio of players compared to others in Europe; so why do they struggle when reaching the knockout stages after the turn of the year?

A difference between the leagues is the winter break applied by other countries. When the February knockout stage comes around, other European big guns come fresh from a two week break.  English teams have come straight out the back of a gruelling Christmas fixture list, playing two games over three days in some cases.

Cardiff’s 74,500-seater stadium missed out on its bid to host Euro 2020 matches, however has proven it can host these momentous occasions as it did whilst hosting the Football League play-offs and FA Cup finals between 2001 and 2006.

This year’s final was held in Berlin’s Olympiastadion, while next year’s final will be held at the San Siro in Milan. English teams must show a massive improvement in next year’s competition in order start dominating the continent as they did in the 2000’s, and withstand any chance of glory in Cardiff by the time 2017 comes around.

Middlesbrough are 90 minutes away from returning to the Premier League, and there’s plenty of optimism around Teesside as manager Aitor Karanka has his team in a confident mood going into the Wembley showdown with Norwich on Monday.

This optimism and belief has been a rarity in recent years, but the Spaniard has brought stability into the squad with the emphasis focused on winning, a trait that also sits well with his good friend Jose Mourinho and his triumphant Chelsea team.

Three-time Champions League winner Karanka was assistant manager to Mourinho in his time at Real Madrid and has a calendar of The Special One in his office at Boro’s Rockliffe Park training facility. Both left Madrid in 2013. However, this wasn’t the end of their working relationship as the pair followed different paths in England.

Programming note: For residents in the United States, the match will be shown Monday live on beIN SPORTS from 10am ET. Pregame coverage begins at 9am ET. Plus, you can listen to a live audio show discussing the game (and other topics) with World Soccer Talk’s Kartik Krishnaiyer and Christopher Harris from 9:45am ET on Rabble.tv.

There are uncanny similarities between the two managers and their clubs, with both the Premier League champions and Championship Play-Off finalists helping each other throughout the season.

Through Karanka’s connections with the Chelsea boss, Boro were able to secure three loan signings that have had a real impact at the Riverside. Kenneth Omeruo had a strong start to the season and Tomas Kalas was inspirational during his loan spell.

The Czech international showed his disappointment at not being able to play the full season due to Football League loan regulations. The defender has, however, stayed with the squad since his last game in the victory at Carrow Road; signifying the togetherness of the squad Karanka has assembled.

The third, Patrick Bamford, has had his best season yet. The England U-21 international has scored 19 goals and picked up the Championship player of the season award. His form has had Chelsea fans’ alarm bells ringing as they would like to see the promising youngster sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge; something he is yet to negotiate with the champions.

Chelsea have utilized the loan market this season and used the Championship experience at Middlesbrough to bring on their highly rated young prospects; a smart move from Mourinho, who may have found a future England starlet out of nothing in Bamford.

Boro’s number 23 has been just another one of Chelsea’s young loanees in the past few seasons, but has stepped up to the mark this campaign and sparked plenty of Premier League interest from around the country.

Like the Blues, many have called Boro a ‘boring’ side this season. However some of the counter-attacking play between the front four has been Barcelona-esque. Albert Adomah’s finish in the 3-0 drumming of Brentford last week topped off an unbelievable offensive performance in the most important game of the season so far.

The link-up play between Jelle Vossen, Lee Tomlin and Adomah was more like that of something you’d expect to see at the Nou Camp rather than the second tier of English football.

Boro and Chelsea boast the best defense in their respective leagues and both managers emphasize the importance of being solid at the back in order to be a successful team. Under Karanka, Boro have had a knack of when playing poorly, coming out with all three points thanks to formidable displays from Dimi Konstantopoulos and the reliable back four.

From experience over the years, Teessiders are all too familiar with the fact that when Boro play poorly, the defensive floodgates are usually wide open; memories of the 2006 UEFA Cup Final come rushing back.

Another similarity between the teams is the club captaincy; John Terry and Jonathan Woodgate are both local lads and born leaders with die-hard defensive attitudes. The former England center-backs lift the team and build morale week in, week out, on and off the pitch.

The applause for the Boro skipper when he came on in the semi-final second leg for the last few seconds shows what his presence means to the club, even though he has made only a handful of starts all season.

Karanka has another more than capable on the field motivator when Woodgate is unavailable. Grant Leadbitter’s performances and goals have proved ever so valuable to the Boro faithful this year and his determination against Brentford typified the midfielder’s season.

Leadbitter is likely to captain the side at Wembley, with Woodgate providing direction from the bench as he has done for most of the season. The only question is will it be the injury-struck Boro boy or the set-play specialist who lifts the cup, should they get the job done?

The managerial styles of both managers are consistent on the pitch and behind the scenes. The emphasis is on building from the back and winning at all costs, even if it means upsetting people on the way. The Special One is famous for his mind games and media outbursts, whereas his former assistant deals with the press in a calm and collected way.

It was well documented that Brentford’s Harlee Dean and Mark Warburton accused Boro of being dirty and a team who can only score from set-plays; a clear attempt to provoke a reaction from the boss and players.

Instead, the Spaniard did little but praise the opposition to the media and told his men to do the talking on the pitch, as they have all season long. His master tactics worked once again, as Brentford were swallowed up by an overwhelming Riverside crowd and the Londoners failed to get a point against the Boro for the fourth time this season.

Karanka praises Mourinho at every opportunity and the pair are still close, but should Boro progress past Norwich on Monday, there will be no favors next season when Boro travel to Stamford Bridge searching for an important three points to help establish their Premier League status.

One last push for Boro as Aitor Karanka’s men aim to end a six-year spell without Premier League soccer.

Automatic promotion to the Premier League slipped out of Middlesbrough’s grasp in the dying embers of the Championship season as they had to settle for fourth place.

There is, however, still plenty of hope for the fans and if Boro can reproduce the same performances against the other playoff candidates from earlier in the campaign, Karanka’s players will be in the top-flight next season.

Against Brentford and Norwich, Boro won 4-0 at home and 1-0 away, however, both away trips proved a nervy 90 minutes and the defence put everything on the line to try and preserve a clean sheet. A 4-1 home win against Ipswich in March made up for the lacklustre winter display at Portman Road, where Mick McCarthy’s men beat Boro 2-0 to go top.

On aggregate against their fellow Wembley-bound hopefuls they won 5-0 twice and 4-3. A well-drilled Boro side will be the one team that East Anglican sides will look to avoid in the final.

Karanka has brought optimism and hope to the fans and there hasn’t been this sort of feel around the Riverside since the Steve McClaren era. Under his guidance the club achieved their highest ever Premier League position, won their first trophy in their 128-year existence and competed in Europe.

Coming so close to automatic promotion, plus securing Boro’s highest finish since they entered the league in 2009 has enhanced Karanka’s reputation both within the club and worldwide.

Since that sunny day at Upton Park back in 2009, when relegation from the top tier was confirmed, there have been hardly any ups or downs for Boro, just mediocre performances matched with a massive drop in matchday attendances.

A couple of seasons ago Tony Mowbray’s men were top of the league at Christmas and were favourites to go up. This was followed by a four-month period where just three wins saw them plummet to a bottom half finish.

This season has been as entertaining as the last five combined for the Boro faithful. An away trip to Anfield, where the spirited Championship side only lost on penalties, was the start of the fans belief and optimism. Then came another Premier League away day in the FA Cup third round as Boro went on to beat champions Manchester City in their own back yard.

Boro found themselves on a winning streak in the league and flirting with first place at the start of the year, then came the defeats on the road to Arsenal, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Watford.

Karanka’s men had promotion in their own hands with only a few games to spare, but looking back the 12 points dropped to Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday, plus the two draws versus Blackburn proved costly as Boro entered the final week with nothing to play for, having already secured their extension to the Championship season.

Karanka has always admitted a playoff position was the objective in August and now it is time to see what the manager and players are made of, starting with a tricky away trip to Griffin Park.

The manager has stressed how important these games are and that Boro have to “live for the moment” to avoid replicating what struggling Brighton and relegated Wigan did after their stint in the playoffs last season.

The next few weeks building up to the Wembley final at the end of May will be a nail-biting, rollercoaster ride for all Boro fans, even more so than the fatal blow at Craven Cottage, where Ross McCormack’s injury time winner ended automatic promotion chances after a highly eventful occasion.

Middlesbrough had the biggest home attendance (vs Brighton) and largest away following (vs Blackburn) of the Championship this season and it is because of this type of support that Boro fans deserve a day in the capital.

The perfect scenario would be to replace Sunderland or Newcastle United in the top tier come August after a successful Wembley outing, but from experiences down the years Boro fans are all too well aware that the club never do things the easy way.

Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over West Ham United marked Jose Mourinho’s 100th clean sheet as the Blues boss. He becomes the quickest manager to reach the feat in Premier League history.

The Portuguese is most famous for his mind games off the pitch, however in his time at Stamford Bridge he has proved how successful you can be if you master the basics.

Mourinho’s first clean sheet came against Manchester United back in 2004 and since then, his attention to the less attractive side of the sport has enabled him to boast the best defensive record out of any manager in the Premier League era.

The closest to Jose’s record is the great Sir Alex Ferguson, who managed the 100 mark in 29 more games than the Chelsea boss. Following closely behind are Rafa Benitez and the ever-present Arsene Wenger, along with another Gunner George Graham.

One astonishing fact from Opta is that Chelsea keep a clean sheet more often than not under the ‘special one,’ with a 54% record. Next in line is Rafael Benitez, who had a clean sheet figure of 45% during his time at Liverpool.

In his first season in charge at the Bridge, his well-drilled defense only let in a staggering 15 goals on the way to the league title – the first record gained under his leadership.

This term Chelsea have shown minor frailties at the back letting in 0.85 goals on average, however Mourinho still has the best goals per game ratio with 0.63; nearly 20% better than Benitez, Mancini and Ancelotti who average no better than 0.82.

Mourinho has built his team from the reliable back five. Chelsea have kept their solid defensive structure from last season and acquired an attacking force that would scare any defence in world soccer.

Jamie Carragher and Jamie Redknapp have repeatedly emphasized Chelsea’s signings in the Mail online, admitting that the Blues ‘won’ both transfer windows, adding more ammunition to the frontline.

The signings of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas have got the Blues looking increasingly dangerous. The Spanish duo provide a cutting edge that was non-existent in the last campaign and have both played vital roles in the club being the second highest scorers in the league with 57 – two goals behind Manchester City.

Chelsea’s next fixture is against the current meanest defence in the league Southampton, who have shipped just 20 goals prior to the weekends Stamford Bridge showdown.

La Liga champions Atletico Madrid churn out the finest goal scorers in world soccer year after year. Ever since Fernando Torres captained the club in 2007, the standard of strikers being produced has been of the highest quality; far superior compared to other teams around the globe.

Three of these forwards are the most feared in world soccer, and now plying their trade in England they are competing against each other to become Premier League champions.

Sergio Aguero – Manchester City 

Manchester City’s talisman is soccer royalty in his homeland of Argentina and was tipped for success from a very young age. He has been a regular international since the age of 18 and was formerly married to Diego Maradona’s daughter, who have a son, Benjamin – what a star he could turn out to be.

Aguero has been a highly consistent performer over the previous three seasons and carried this form into the 2014/15 campaign. He is level with Diego Costa on 17 goals so far this term, however unlike the Spaniard, Aguero has proven he has what it takes to conquer the Premier League year after year. The past few campaigns have been head-to-head battles with Luis Suarez for top scorer bragging rights. This campaign it looks like his former teammate over at Stamford Bridge will be his main competition for individual glory.

Many world-class strike partners have played with the Argentinian since his arrival in Manchester, including Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez, however, he has been and will remain City’s ever present attacking threat. His goals have proved vital for the club and without him the trophy cabinet at the Etihad wouldn’t look quite as impressive.

His finish for one of the most famous goals of the Premier League era (against QPR in 2011) shows you exactly what his game is all about – he doesn’t stop until the last kick, gives his all in every match and oozes passion for the sport.

The good thing for both club and country is that the little man is probably capable of more. It would be fair to say that the Premier League is lucky to have such a talent performing week in, week out.

Diego Costa – Chelsea 

The Brazilian turn Spaniard has had to battle his way through the rough to become the striker he is today.

While Aguero was making his debut for Argentina against Brazil, Costa was loaned out to second division Portuguese side Penafiel. The devastating partnership of Aguero and Diego Forlan kept Costa on the fringes of Diego Simeone’s squad for the best part of two seasons.

Costa’s real chance for Atletico came when Forlan’s fitness and form deteriorated after his memorable performances at the 2010 World Cup, in which he picked up the Golden Ball award. After a hat-trick in a 3-2 win at Osasuna, Costa was described as a ‘battering ram’ who played like a hybrid version of the two strikers that used to keep him out of Simeone’s side.

In his most successful season so far, Costa scored 27 goals in La Liga and eight in the Champions League as Atletico became champions and runners-up respectively. He continued this form into the 2014/15 English Premier League season for Chelsea after the £32m release clause was met by the Blues in the summer.

Under Mourinho he is living up to the fearsome, world-class status he earned last season and is proving to owner Roman Abramovich that splashing out on his price tag is money well spent.

Costa is currently joint top scorer in the Premier League with 17 goals and has all the attributes needed for the English game. The aggression, physicality and pure presence in the box makes defenders tremble at the thought of facing the Spaniard.

His temper is an issue, however, and keeping away from trouble and subsequent match bans could prove the difference between his goals helping Chelsea clinch the title or finishing just short in second place.

Radamel Falcao – Manchester United 

Falcao’s prolific goalscoring at Atletico earned him the right to be mentioned in the same breath as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Colombian frontman hit the back of the net 52 times in 68 La Liga games for the Madrid outfit, becoming one of most established and feared strikers in world soccer.

Amid questions over whether he could be as successful in the Premier League, Falcao smashed an unstoppable first half hat-trick versus Champions League winners Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup. After the game, Simeone lauded him as “indescribable”, and that “whenever you set the bar high he sets it higher and rises to the occasion”.

Falcao continued his La Liga form for Ligue 1 big spenders AS Monaco, scoring nine times in 16 games during an injury-struck season. This was enough for Louis van Gaal to snap him up in a big money loan deal for Manchester United.

As has been the case for other big name United signings, the transition from other European leagues to the Premier League has not been as explosive as you may have expected at the start of the season.

He has just four goals in 16 games and although we have seen glimpses of Falcao’s best, it just doesn’t seem to be clicking in a United shirt. One reason for this is that he used to being the main man, the goalscorer, the one to watch in a system where he is the focal point. Under van Gaal, he is playing alongside Robin van Persie, who is essentially a left-footed version of himself, and other star attackers such as Angel Di Maria and captain Wayne Rooney.

Going forward United haven’t yet flourished this season, however, if the system changes to suit Falcao and he stays at United we may see him up there with the likes of Aguero and Costa next season.

This season has proved to be one of the most gripping ever, with nothing between the top six and very little defining the relegation places. As always, managerial dismissals have been a talking point but some of the football being played deserves it’s plaudits and is sure to make the dogfight at the bottom and the race to the top more intense than ever before.

Race for Automatic Promotion

AFC Bournemouth

Top of the Championship and living in dreamland, if you had to name a Manager of the Season at this current moment it would undoubtedly be Eddie Howe. Only promoted last season, Bournemouth have made this league look easy when so many find it almost impossible to make any progress. The defense has come under criticism in the past, however, seeing off Birmingham 8-0 at St Andrews silenced the critics and showed that there is no need to worry about defense when you have their current attacking ability. Promotion would be very much deserved on the season so far, however there are still 18 games left to prove they have what it takes.

Verdict – If Howe can tighten the back four, there would be few who’d bet against promotion for the Cherries.

Derby County

Chris Martin has been at the forefront of a Derby County team looking for a backlash against the disappointment of losing in the play-off final last season. Over the past two seasons Steve McLaren has built a team capable of promotion and many believe their performance as a whole last season was enough to gain Premier League status, however, they fell at the last hurdle against a QPR team of star individuals. Everything is pointing towards a top two finish for the Rams after a consistent run of results throughout the season, but they must learn from last season that letting it slip and finishing 3rd place can prove costly.

Verdict – Could finish anywhere in the top three.

Middlesbrough

After so many big names have tried and failed at the Riverside, Aitor Karanka looks to be the man who has finally got it right. As Mourinho’s understudy at Real Madrid, Karanka has brought discipline and the importance of a strong, balanced squad to the North East. Boro boast the best defensive record in the league and have real quality going forward in the likes of Patrick Bamford, Lee Tomlin and Grant Leadbitter, who have each popped up with important goals. There has been plenty of praise for the manger, but the team he has assembled have given their all in the push for automatic promotion.

Verdict – Boro have the ability for the top-flight, whether it’s through the play-offs or automatically, however, they look good for a top two finish.

Play-off Pushers 

Ipswich Town

Ipswich came from nowhere in the race for promotion and have had a great season so far, however, there are still some improvements to be made. There have been too many instances this season where they have been ahead and switched off to concede late on or have been behind and let their heads drop without concentrating on getting back in the game. Mick McCarthy has done a great job at Portman Road and within them they have the powers to finish in the top two, play-off positions or even just outside the top six.

Verdict – It should be a comfortable top six finish for McCarthy’s men. 

Brentford

Mark Warburton and his team have shown how carrying on momentum from one campaign to the next can be hugely successful. Going forward, Brentford have been ruthless to many of the Championship’s defenses, with the 171cm Tottenham loanee Alex Pritchard creating most chances in the final third. The concern for Brentford fans will be the defense, who have let in three or more goals on too many occasions this campaign and will be an area the opposition will be looking to exploit in the final stretch of the season.

Verdict – Play-off’s looking good for the West Londoner’s, but will they crack defensively under the pressure?

Watford

When they are not in the Premiership Watford always seem to be sniffing around the top six, however, whether they have enough to make the step up remains unknown. One of the Championship’s most memorable moments came at Vicarage Road in 2013 when Troy Deeney scored a last second winner to take them to the play-off Final, and they will be hoping for something similar come May. For a team who has had four managers already this season, Watford seem to be unaffected going strong in sixth position in the hunt for promotion.

Verdict – Watford should be up there come the end of the season and will look to put the playoff final defeat to Crystal Palace in 2013 behind them.

Wolverhampton 

Like Brentford, Wolves’ expectations should not have gone further than a top half finish this season after a comfortable promotion from League Two. However, their early form has given the club a foundation to build on come the latter months of the campaign, and could join Brentford in challenging for a top six finish and back-to-back promotion. After a promising start and the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award for Kenny Jacket in August, Wolves have since dropped down to mid-table but are starting to find a bit of form again, after conceding far too many goals over the festive period.

Verdict – Wolves may just miss out on the play-off places, however, are in a good position to build on this season’s achievements and attract quality over the summer in preparation for a promotion push next term. 

Battling to Avoid the Drop

Leeds United

Again, the majority of attention has come from off the pitch this season, an aspect that has been quite constant since their financial struggles in the Premier League. Leeds continue on their form from the past few years in being an mediocre team throughout the current campaign and whilst struggling, they haven’t exactly given all they can give. The Yorskhire outfit are currently on a good run, unbeaten in four with victories against league leaders Bournemouth and Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield along the way – this is the exact consistency that is needed to climb out of the relegation scrap and couldn’t have come at a better time. The likes of Miro Antenucci and teenager Alex Mowatt must continue to perform if Neil Redfearn’s men are to conjure up a more respectable finish.

Verdict – Leeds have more than enough of what is needed to stay in the Championship and should secure their League status come May.

Brighton and Hove Albion

It was always going to be tough for Brighton to match the fan’s expectations off the back of the last two seasons, where they finished in the play-off positions. Sami Hyypia only managed three wins in his first coaching role in English football, however, the more experienced Chris Hughton has taken charge and already has three wins under his belt in his first month. A narrow defeat to in-form Arsenal and a win versus Ipswich has revived the fans at the Amex, who believe Hughton is the right man to keep the Seagulls from the drop.

Verdict – Too much quality on the field and behind the scenes for League One – Hughton must start building the team to be promotion contenders next season.

Rotherham

At the start of the season the chairman would have asked nothing more of Steve Evans than to avoid relegation. If they are to stay up, they need to string together a good set of results and this needs to happen soon, before the end of the season tension started and fans start getting on their backs. Even though they currently sit in 20th position, the fact is there are teams below them who have more quality and are more capable of shooting up the table after a winning run. With only one victory since the turn of the year, Rotherham will be looking for some sort of wizardry to help keep their Championship status.

Verdict – Not enough experience, expect them to bounce back down to League One.

Millwall

After a relegation struggle last term, the South Londoner’s were one of the surprise packages in the early weeks of this campaign, however, performances have since deteriorated and the team has slumped to 22nd. The downfall this season has been that there has been no one to poach a goal, they have no problem in creating chances, however, never seem to put them away. Top scorers Lee Gregory and Ricardo Fuller both have a miserable tally of four goals each and the goal difference of negative 18 proves that the problem is simple; they concede too many and don’t score enough.

Verdict – Even an experienced Ian Holloway will find it tricky to keep Millwall in the Championship for a fifth successive season.

Wigan Athletic

The Latics were within one game away from a straight return to the top-flight in the summer and much was expected of them coming into the 2014/15 campaign. Their poor form was well documented in the early months and more controversy surrounded the club when Malky Mackay was appointed to take over from Uwe Rosler. Defensive frailties have played a massive role in Wigan finding themselves second from bottom and something needs to be done to fill these cracks in the back four. The attacking, easy on the eye style of football needs to be scrapped and reverted to a basic style of playing to win if they are end this horrid run of just two wins in 24 matches.

Verdict – It may be too late for Wigan to change their style of football to one more suited to a relegation dogfight.

Blackpool

What a difference a year can make. The Tangerines were going strong in the Championship the first half of last season, with the force of both winger Tom Ince and father Paul Ince at the helm. However, since the dismissal of the latter in early 2014 the club has struggled to stay above the drop zone. The appointment of Lee Clark just after he was sacked from fellow relegation rivals was a poor one from the Blackpool board. Problems started back in preseason where they struggled to get a squad together and this has continued throughout the campaign with a team that has been constantly chopped and changed.

Verdict – It’s highly unlikely there’ll be second tier football at Bloomfield Road next season.