Buzzin Championship Football

With the transfer window slamming shut yesterday, there were many deals going through involving Championship clubs. One of the highest profile players to be arriving to play in England’s second tier is former Manchester City player Antoine Sibierski who has signed on loan for Glenn Roeder’s Norwich City.

The Canaries have been in desperate need for a striker with a physical presence. Darrel Russell – who normally operates in midfield – has been forced to move up front in recent weeks to partner either Jamie Cureton or Arturo Lupoli. Now that Antoine Sibierski has arrived, the Norwich fans will be hoping they can pick up their first win of the season against Plymouth Argyle in their next game.

So what type of player are Norwich getting? Well, as with any 34-year-old moving down a division, he will bring experience to what is a relatively young Norwich squad. He will also provide Glenn Roeder with the ‘target man’ he has been craving since the departure of Dion Dublin at the end of last season. It is the second time Glenn Roeder has signed the Frenchman, he brought him to Newcastle United on transfer deadline day in August 2006.

In terms of some other moves involving Championship clubs yesterday, there were two others that stood out to me. Blackpool have made a good loan signing by securing Rangers midfielder Alan Gow until January. The 25-year-old – who could sign permanently in January – is an attacking midfielder and should excel in the Championship.

Then there is departure of Coventry midfielder Julian Gray to Premier League side Fulham. This is a strange transfer really and I’m not sure why a loan deal was agreed as opposed to a permanent transfer. Regardless though, it will be a huge loss for Chris Coleman at Coventry. He is one of their better players and considering they have lost their last two games, it isn’t ideal that he is leaving. They will be searching for a replacement in the loan market I’m sure.

One of the most significant factors of the whole transfer window though, in my view, is that fact that Reading have managed to hold onto prize assets Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt. With reference to Championship football odds, they remain one of the promotion favourites having kept these two players.

As ever, it will be interesting to see how the players that have moved to the Championship – such as Antoine Sibierski – will adapt to playing in what is a very physical and competitive league.

John Madejski complains of ridiculous footballers wages

Self-made millionaire and Reading chairman John Madejski has once again stated his disproval of players wages. He told BBC Radio Berkshire they were “obscene in the extreme”.

He is adamant not to pay over-inflated wages to attract new signings to the club, in the quest to seek automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

Adding a certain balance to his bold statement, he went on to say:

“I’m pleased they get good salaries - that’s only right - but it’s gone off the Richter scale.”

I visited the Madejski Stadium before Reading were promoted to the Premier League and was impressed with the staduim. Alot of work and money has been pumped into the club and much of their financial stabilty has been put in place by John Madejski’s calm and resonable financial judgement.

Madejski explained the difference between the Premiership and being a Championship football uk team is a £22m deficit and Reading now face the problem of retaining a large squad of players.

He said Reading have tried to do what they can with a solid business model, but even selling a whopping 14,000 season tickets is not as fantastic as it seems, compared to last season.

In these times of outrageous footballer wages, television money and foreign billionaires using English football as a play thing, I like John Madejski’s honest and sensible approach to running a football team with a good manager that plays exciting football.

John Madejski has commercial interests in property, media, hotels, restaurants, publishing and football. According to The Sunday Times Rich List 2007 he is in the top 200 wealthiest people in the UK with a net worth in the region of £400 million.

Former Real Madrid midfielder signs for Ipswich Town.

Championship club Ipswich Town have completed the signing of former Spanish International Ivan Campo. The 34-year-old – who hasn’t played a competitive game since playing for Bolton in April – has signed a two year deal with the East Anglia club.

Ivan Campo certainly brings a wealth of experience to a very young Ipswich squad. Town boss Jim Magilton has admitted that part of the reason he brought him to Portman Road was because ‘the young players will really benefit from having him around’.

It will be the first time that Ivan Campo has played at Championship level after making 172 appearances for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League. It will be interesting to see how he does in what is a very tough and physical league. Considering the fact that he might not have as much time to compose himself in the middle of midfield as he is used to, I wouldn’t be surprised if he operated for his new club as a centre back.

From this position he could guide the rest of the defence and use his experience to communicate with the midfielders in front of him. Jim Magilton recognises the presence Ivan Campo has and admits that his type of character has been missed since the departure of veteran defender Fabian Wilnus this summer.

As for the team as a whole, Ipswich made a losing start to their Championship campaign. They suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Preston North End, equalling the amount of times they lost at Portman Road last season. After just missing out on the play-offs last time out, they are still one of the promotion favourites, but will be looking to bounce back with a win against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.

As for Ivan Campo, he isn’t likely to make his debut too soon. He hasn’t played in a competitive game for around four months and will want to improve his match fitness before playing in the Championship. When he does make his debut though, I expect him to be an important player for Ipswich this season.

Former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips snatched an injury time winner against Sheffield United for his new club Birmingham City during the first game of the Championship season. The 35-year-old came off the bench and with seconds remaining he scored on the turn to earn his side a 1-0 victory.

Overall, Sheffield United will feel hard done by. They deserved at least a point from this game. In fact, they almost got it after Kevin Phillips had struck. Jon Stead hit the post immediately after, but the ball fell to safety and it wasn’t to be for the Blades.

To face Birmingham at St Andrews first game of the season was certainly a difficult task for Kevin Blackwell’s men, but they can take a lot of heart from their performance. In terms of football betting, they are still one of the promotion favourites in my view.

As for Birmingham, it will just be a relief to get the first win under their belts following relegation from the Premier League. They now have something to build on. Perhaps early season nerves can now be put to bed. They travel to administration threatened Southampton next and will fancy their chances of making it two wins out of two.

One thing for sure is that they have an excellent Championship striker in Kevin Phillips. He has a couple of seasons left in him yet at this level and there are not many Championship clubs that would turn down his services. He helped West Brom to promotion last season with 24 goals and I wouldn’t put it past him doing the same with Birmingham this season.

Alex McLeish has a lot of strikers at his disposal this season. James McFadden, Marcus Bent, Gary McSheffrey, Gary O’Connor and Kevin Phillips were all involved against Sheffield United. However, it is the latter - who was the match winner today - that I expect to be their main man as they look to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

After having a frustrating time in the transfer market searching for a striker, Cardiff City have signed Wolves forward Jay Bothroyd on a three-year deal. The 26-year-old will join the Bluebirds for around £300,000.

Like I said, it has been far more effort than it should have been for Cardiff boss Dave Jones to find a striker that is willing to come to the club. First of all, Cardiff lost

Robbie Fowler to Premier League side Blackburn, meaning the search for a replacement was on. Then they thought they had secured Marcus Bent’s signature, but the player decided to join Championship rivals Birmingham at the last minute.

The next twist was that Kenny Cooper – who plays up front for FC Dallas – took too long to complete his move to Ninian Park, so Dave Jones pulled the plug on the move. All this meaning, that the season was getting dangerously close and Cardiff were still short of strikers.

So, step up Jay Bothroyd. He is the man the Bluebirds have turned to. Chairman Peter Ridsdale has said that he is a ‘great acquisition’ for the club. He also hopes that Jay Bothroyd can for fill the potential he showed in the early stages of his career. This comes after a couple of seasons where the player has underachieved in terms of his performances. For example, last season he only hit the back of the net on four occasions for Wolves.

As for this season, in terms of Championship football betting, I don’t think Jay Bothroyd will be one of the favourites to lead the goal scoring charts. He has a lot to prove and should he go a few games without scoring at the beginning of his Cardiff career, the critics will start jumping on his back.  However, the fresh start allows him to regain his confidence and bag himself some goals as Cardiff push for promotion to the Premier League.