After the scourge of a brutal winter comes the gamblers scourge of unpredictable pitches. It looked like the usual rant of a madman when Sir Alex Ferguson suggested that the turgid pitch had “killed Wayne Rooney”, but he may have a point. The problems with the Wembley pitch are well documented, but elsewhere in England – as the permafrost threatened to lift across the country – an unprecedented number of managers claimed the pitch as a factor in iffy results. There were grumblings at Peterborough in The Championship as the poor surface did nothing to help a home side that prefers to play it on the deck, but the worst pitching – inevitably – further down the leagues.
As is always the case in the Championship, much of the significant transfer moves revolve around the clubs relegated from the Premiership. There could be quite a battle at the bottom, although it is difficult to see Blackpool remaining a Championship club, despite the tenacious spirit of new boss Ian Holloway….
