Tales from not-the Top Flight

There hasn’t been any truly blockbuster deals in the second tier as yet but that could all be about to change as former England and Chelsea captain John Terry is on the verge of signing for Aston Villa. Yes, seriously. JT barely featured for the blues last season but has been pictured golfing with Steve Bruce (which sounds like comedy gold) who is of course the manager of Aston Villa. I hope Terry does not think that the Championship is a Chinese Super League style holiday as the division is tough but I’m very interested to see if JT can still go and he is definitely a good addition to this column, which is the really important thing.

Will Hughes has often been considered one of the brightest prospects in the Championship and the Derby County midfielder has finally made the step up to the footballing titan that is Watford. It will be interesting to see how he does at the Hornets, managed by ex-Hull boss Marco Silva. Well Silva is their current manager who know who the manager will be by the time you read this. Ben Gibson of Middlesbrough is unlikely to be in the Championship next season either as pretty much every Premier League club seems to be after his signature and once they get his signature they probably want him to sign a contract as well.

Sunderland remember them? They are still very much a thing and are still very much manager-less. As the club is currently subject to a take over it means the search for a manager has been put on hold. The Championship season kicks off in just over a month and the Black Cats really need a manager in place by then or they really will up the creek without a paddle.

Away from transfers and all that the Championship Fixture List came out in the past week. The opening day has a couple of intriguing clashes with Steve Bruce and Aston Villa hosting his former club Hull City, managed by Leonid Slutsky (still a funny name.) There is plenty of fierce derby’s in the Championship this year with Birmingham vs Villa, Norwich vs Ipswich, Forest vs Derby and the return of the Sheffield derby. Plus Middlesbrough vs Leeds will be extra tasty given Garry Monk’s defection to Teesside and as ever blockbuster matches such as Reading vs Brentford and Burton Albion vs Barnsley are always a good laugh.