<div id="attachment_876" style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2010/08/snodgrass.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-876" loading="lazy" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-876" src="/files/2010/08/snodgrass-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"></figure></div></a>Snodgrass: One to look out for</div>
The start of the newly named Npower football league is almost upon us and it all gets under way on Friday night at Carrow Road when Norwich take on Watford. As well as a preview I will be writing on Thursday, I thought I’d pick out 5 players from this season that are worth keeping an eye on, I expect these five lads to really shine this season (let’s see how right I am when the Championship team of the season is announced next year – probably 0 right).
1. Nicky Maynard:
In my previous blog, I spoke about how Bristol City had one of their best sides in years and with a manager like Steve Coppell who has experience of success in this league with Reading, they have become a bit of a dark horse for promotion. David James aside, Bristol City fans will be hopeful that Nicky Maynard can build upon his 20 league goals from last season and be the spearhead of their attack. At only 23, Maynard is showing great potential and he is a proven goal scorer at this level. With the addition of more strength and depth in the Bristol City line up after a summer of signings (more to come!), Maynard is bound to have a chance to get even more goals this season. He is 14/1 on sky bet to be the Championship’s top scorer and he’s the player I’m backing to achieve that award. You may recognise Maynard from his goal against QPR last season, which even made its way into some journalist’s lists of “top European goals of the season” (never mind domestic!). Check it out below:
2. Robert Snodgrass:
Snodgrass – the unsung hero of&nbsp;Leeds United (by the media at least). For the past several seasons, Beckford has taken the plaudits for his goal scoring ability, but he often relied upon this man to provide the chances. Snodgrass is a gifted winger that can play on either flank and has great technical ability and patience on the ball. Now that Beckford has moved on to Everton, Leeds will be hopeful that Snodgrass can provide for whoever Beckford’s replacement is and he will be an important part of their bid for survival. He was one of League One’s best kept secrets and now he will have a chance to show what he can do at a higher level, I expect him to take many plaudits this season:
3. Kris Boyd:
Yes, it’s an obvious choice, but Boyd’s season will be an interesting one considering his reputation. Middlesbrough are the bookmakers favourites to gain promotion this season and much of that is due to the signing of the SPL’s top goal scorer of all time, if he picks up a bad injury than many may be reconsidering their choice (although ‘Boro do have a lot of strength and depth this season). He’s favourite to be the top goal scorer and he is all set to prove that he can be a prolific scorer in England just like he was in Scotland; failure to do this would be a disaster for Boyd, Scottish football and Middlesbrough:
4. Gylfi Sigurðsson:
Reading had a Jekyll &amp; Hyde season last year. After selling off players in order to balance the books, Brendan Rodgers struggled at the club and was dismissed in December. Brian McDermott took temporary charge of the club and one of his first tasks was to play Liverpool in the F.A cup. The club got a respectable draw at the Madjeski, but few predicted that Reading would out play Liverpool at Anfield. Sigurosson was the star of the show that night and Jamie Carragher seemed frightened when he came running at him with the ball. At only 20 years old, he is one for the future and Reading fans will be glad that the Premiership hasn’t come calling for their 09/10 player of the season. I think we can expect more from Sigurosson this season and if you get the chance I highly recommend seeing him as he is a very exciting player to watch:
5. Connor Wickham:
It’s ironic really, Roy Keane spends loads of money on new recruits and a product of the Ipswich youth system ends up being the most capable. Wickham was recently rumoured to be the subject of a bid from Tottenham, with Spur’s apparently bidding £5m with an offer to loan the player back to the Tractor Boys. Ipswich are holding out for more money and you know you have something good if a Premier League team is offering that sort of money to a Championship club.&nbsp; He may have only for four goals last season, but the 17 year old can expect to be more involved in club matters from start to finish this season. All the buzz about Wickham was started with his impressive performances at England U17 level where he helped his country win the U17 European Championship’s, some have even asked Capello if he would consider him for a full cap:

5 Players To Watch In Championship 2010/11 Season

5 Players To Watch In Championship 2010/11 Season - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_855" style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2010/07/SimonGrayson_468x579.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-855" loading="lazy" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-855" src="/files/2010/07/SimonGrayson_468x579-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"></figure></div></a>Grayson has a lot of work to do</div>
It’s hard to deny that Leeds United fans have had to suffer for the past half a decade. It was always one of England’s biggest teams, in the 60’s and 70’s Leeds were in the same mould as what the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal are today. I won’t go into the downfall of things too much as I’m sure Leeds United fans are sick of hearing it and anyone familiar with English football will know that this West Yorkshire outfit is truly a big side. After several seasons of frustration in League One, the team finally managed to gain promotion that so many expected of them, although it ended up being quite a bumpy ride towards the end. The team didn’t win the league, despite being in a strong position in January and were forced to play out an agonising final day promotion match which they needed to win; otherwise they would drop in the playoffs once again. We all know now they did that and as per ever, due to Leeds stature, we got the usual whirlwind from the media suggesting that the club&nbsp; were now straight back on track and would definitely be challenging for promotion once again in the Championship.
I used to live in Leeds and I worked at Leeds United and they are fans who are unfortunate enough to often be misquoted by the media. Yes, this is a big club, you only need to look at how many fans turned up to watch them in League One on average to see that and the history of the club speaks for itself, but take it from me – Leeds fans know that they’ve just been promoted to the Championship and to challenge for promotion would be as much of a surprise as it was for Leicester last season. Can they challenge? Of course, but it’s not very likely when you consider that the club had poor form for the second half of last season and they will miss Jermaine Beckford big time, who has left the club to join Everton. With any team that gains promotion, you have to consider that time is needed for the squad to develop and although Leeds have a team that should be capable at this level, the board should understand that mid-table is an acceptable goal for Leeds in 2010/11.
Leeds may have caught the attention of many people who are new to the Premier League last season, as they managed to beat their bitter rivals Man Utd in the FA cup at Old Trafford and many people saw how much the game meant to Leeds. Beyond that though, the wheels started to come off and the club started to lose its hold on the league somewhat. I spoke to one of my mates about this a month or two ago as he has a lot of family members who are Leeds fans and he told me that he remembered at around January time, manager Simon Grayson was starting to speak about the 2010/11 season, almost as if they had already wrapped up League One. This may have shown a lack of focus from Grayson and he struggled to get consistently good form back in the side despite their eventual automatic promotion. I think Grayson might be a worry for the side, he had such a good start at Leeds but it seems like he may be struggling with some confidence aspects in his side; he recently <a href="http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11715_6272628,00.html">apologised for his side’s 4-0 defeat to League Two outfit Bury</a>. A good start to the season is very important to not only Leeds, but Grayson as well; the fans do have faith in their manager but a string of results similar to what Gary McAllister experienced and you have a board that won’t hesitate to give their man his notice. He’s <a href="http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11715_6258640,00.html">recently signed a new three year contract </a>and in this day in age, that is a lot for any manager, so if things are going badly for the Yorkshire club and they want to dispense with Grayson, it will cost them. I do however wish him all the luck in the world, as he is a young English manager and we unfortunately do not have enough of them getting recognition at the moment in this country!
As mentioned previously, Jermaine Beckford is a big loss to the club, despite that his exit was inevitable. <a href="http://www.leedsunited.com/news/20100602/billys-the-boy-_2247585_2063633">Billy Paynter has come in as Beckford’s replacement</a> and has a big weight on his shoulders next season and it remains to be seen as to whether or not he can shine for Leeds like his did alongside the highly rated Charlie Austin. I’m cautious on how Paynter will perform next season, as Austin was the key to a lot of his goals last season, you could argue that he scored one more than Beckford last season in a side with a smaller budget, but this is a step up for Paynter and he will be expected to the spearhead of the United attack many times. Grayson has <a href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/football/Grayson39s-priority-is-replacing-Beckford.6396869.jp">made no secret that he wants to add another striker</a>, so maybe they aren’t looking to rely heavily on one striker like they did with Beckford.
Leeds do have a handicap at the start of the season as<a href="http://www.givemefootball.com/championship/leeds-boss-wont-take-risks-with-star-defender"> Patrick Kisnorbo will be missing until around Christmas time</a>, meaning the side will not be at full strength for half the season. There are also<a href="http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/leedsunited/Leeds-United-Grayson-happy-with.6428378.jp"> a number of other injuries that have been picked up in pre-season</a>, meaning Leeds have a disrupted warm up towards their return to England’s second tier and more depth added to the squad would be welcomed by the supporters. Kasper Schmeichel has joined up after proving he was too good for the League Two level and he will continue his progression as a player and get an opportunity to take on a good challenge. Many Leeds fans will also tell you how under rated Rob Snodgrass is and he’s a player who has impressed me many times and has often lived in the shadow of Jermaine Beckford for the past few seasons. This could be his season to shine and I suggest you tune in to the opening round of fixtures on Saturday 7th August as Leeds will be live on T.V in a late 5.15pm (GMT) kick off against Derby County – a perfect chance for the likes of Snodgrass to show many what he is capable of.
I think Leeds will be OK this season, I think ideally for them mid table would be a fine finish, but currently they are lacking a goal scorer you can really bank on and although they’re often hard to find, Leeds are the sort of club that could appeal to many players. There is definitely a chance that they could challenge for promotion, but in truth it isn’t likely and the majority of Leeds fans will tell you that although they are optimistic (like many of us football fans are!) they aren’t expecting their side to take the league by storm this season. I do expect them to be great entertainment this season and due to their large fan base, you should probably be prepared to see them in live televised games almost as much as Newcastle were shown last season.

Leeds United: Marching On With Caution

Leeds United: Marching On With Caution - World Soccer Talk

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