Sky Bet EFL 2021/22

[Adam]

The fixtures for the new season are released at 9am tomorrow morning, so there is no better time to start the new EFL thread!

If you support an EFL team, what are your hopes for the campaign? Who do you want to see your team playing first up? Are you just glad your team still exists after the last year!?

[The Lusophone]

Mid table mediocrity and if we could only have two periods where we lost 7+ games on the bounce that'd be nice. If Plymouth only have one I'll be very very happy.

[Liam]

Hola, bitches!

Some idea as to who the manager is and what the team will be would be nice.

[Bobfoc]

I suppose it will be interesting to see how well Sutton do in League Two. There are usually several National League sides better than the bottom few League Two teams, so I doubt relegation will be likely. I wouldn't have said that they were the best team in the National League on paper, but they were consistent when their rival teams weren't. Like Harrogate this year, they'll also have to replace their pitch to conform with EFL rules.

You'd expect Sunderland to be big contenders in League One, but we've also been saying that for the last three years. I can see Sheffield Wednesday getting promoted as well, and I wonder if a team like Oxford might sneak through in the playoffs.

Dull as it sounds, I'd predict Fulham and West Brom to seal automatic promotion from the Championship. I wonder if Barnsley can put forward another promotion push as well. Seeing how well Forest can start after a full summer under Chris Hughton is what interests me the most.

[9 to 5]

To keep our best players and hopefully not collapse in the second half of the season, and make a play off challenge.

[Lineker]

You bastard Adam.

 

Fucking trifecta.

[Adam]

1 hour ago, Lineker said:

You bastard Adam.

 

Fucking trifecta.

I spend months planning how to gazump you with this.

[Lineker]

Quote

The Football League (EFL) has announced an “interchangeable fixture list” that carries a threat of Derby playing in the third tier, after the club were fined £100,000 and warned about their future conduct for accounting irregularities.

The EFL confirmed the sanction after a verdict made by an independent disciplinary commission. The original charge was lodged almost 18 months ago. Derby were then cleared of breaching the EFL’s financial rules, although the league won its appeal against that decision in May.

The EFL said as a result it was releasing the interchangeable list, in case any appeal against the verdict led to Derby being handed a retrospective points deduction, which could relegate them to League One and reinstate Wycombe as a Championship club.

When the fixtures were announced on Thursday morning, Derby’s website stated: “Please note that these fixtures are subject to change and at this stage the fixture list is regarded as a draft.” Wycombe, who finished third from bottom of last season’s Championship, also stated on their website that the EFL had developed another fixture list.

Meanwhile, Slavisa Jokanovic starts his quest to return Sheffield United to the Premier League with a home match against Birmingham. Sheffield United then face testing matches at Swansea and West Brom.

West Brom, also relegated from the top flight, start with a trip to Bournemouth before a home game against Luton. Fulham, whose Premier League return lasted one season, open against Middlesbrough at Craven Cottage before games at Huddersfield and Millwall. Elsewhere on the opening day, scheduled for 7 August, the beaten play-off finalists, Swansea, start at Blackburn.

The three teams promoted from League One start away from home. Champions Hull are at Preston, Peterborough travel to Luton and play-off winners Blackpool face Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

In League One, Sheffield Wednesday start with a trip to Charlton. Sunderland’s fourth successive season in the third tier starts with a home game against Wigan, who did the double over them last season, with Lincoln – beaten in the play-off final by Blackpool – at Gillingham on the opening day. Promoted Bolton are at home to MK Dons.

In League Two, new boys Sutton start at Forest Green, before Salford provide the south London team’s first home opposition at Gander Green Lane the following weekend. Hartlepool, promoted at Torquay’s expense thanks to a thrilling play-off final victory at Ashton Gate, start at home to Crawley, before matches at Barrow and Sutton.

 

[Lineker]

Quote

West Bromwich Albion have appointed Valérien Ismaël as the club’s new head coach. The 45-year-old has signed a four-year contract at the Hawthorns after Albion agreed a compensation package with Barnsley.

Ismaël succeeds Sam Allardyce after he stepped down at the end of last season following his failure to keep West Brom in the Premier League.

The Frenchman guided Barnsley to an impressive fifth-place finish in the Championship last season, after taking over in October 2020 with the club 21st in the table. The former Crystal Palace defender won 25 of his 44 games in charge before losing to Swansea in the play-off semi-finals.

Xu Ke, the West Brom chief executive, was pleased to acquire Ismaël’s services and is confident the former Nürnberg, Wolfsburg, LASK and Barnsley manager is the right man to lead the club back to the Premier League.

“I am delighted to welcome Valérien to The Hawthorns,” he said in a statement on the club website.

“Valérien has established a reputation as an excellent coach and I have been impressed by his professionalism, enthusiasm and hunger to succeed.

“His performance last season with Barnsley, and his coaching career to date, all point to a man who has a long, successful career in front of him. It is my hope that he is with us for at least the next four years.

“I am confident that by working together we will be able to achieve our goal of returning to the Premier League, but success is earned by building on strong foundations, and our plans must now look further into the future. For too long we have focused only on what is immediately in front of us. This means we have often neglected our long-term aspirations.

“We are all aware of what will be required in order to be successful and player recruitment will be of the utmost importance.

“Valérien and I will immediately focus on preparing the squad for the new season, working together with Ian Pearce, our head of recruitment, to secure talented transfer targets who will strengthen us for the challenges ahead, ensuring fans are once more proud to support this great club.

“I am excited to be working with Valérien and I am sure we will soon establish a strong relationship that will be to the benefit of the football club and its supporters.”

 

[Gorka]

Swans have a new badge for this season in tribute to Division One promotion from 40 years ago.

Pretty swish.

[Lineker]

Fit swan mate.

[gunnar hendershow]

They should just use that one going forward.

[Lineker]

 

[DFF]

Well, those two years in the Prem threads were nice. 

In our first pre-season game, it looks like Jokanovic has us running a 5-2-3 / 3-4-3 hybrid so far. Brewster still can't hit a barn door atm, but some of our youngsters looked good in our first pre-season friendly (3-0 win over Gibraltar's Europa Point). Norrington-Davies is getting a lot of praise for his work marrauding down the left flank. 

Looks like O'Connell needs another op and will miss another full season. Such a shame. Means we'll probably pivot to signing a CB for depth first. Still need another midfielder though I think. 

[Lineker]

 

[Bobfoc]

Here's an interesting BBC article about James Coppinger.

[Lineker]

Quote

Swindon Town are on the verge of a takeover after the chairman Lee Power started the process of transferring his shares in the League Two club. In a protracted high court legal battle, last month Power was ordered to sell his 85% stake to the Axis Group, the building services company owned by minority shareholder Clem Morfuni, an Australian businessman.

On Tuesday the Football League confirmed Morfuni has passed the league’s owners’ and directors’ test. Swindon are currently under a transfer embargo after defaults in payments to HMRC as well as non-payment to creditors. Last week, in conjunction with the Professional Footballers’ Association, the EFL stepped in to ensure players and staff received 60% of their delayed June wages. Players and staff expect the remainder of their outstanding wages to be paid at the end of this month.

In a statement the EFL said it could “confirm it has issued consent to the acquisition of the additional shares in Swindon Town by Mr Clem Morfuni in accordance with EFL regulations, and it is now a matter for the shareholders to conclude any associated transactions.

“The EFL is looking forward to working with the new ownership as they seek to ensure a successful and viable long-term future for the club. In addition, to these developments the league continues to review a number of matters relating to the previous ownership arrangements at the club.”

Meanwhile, Swindon borough council has commenced legal action against the club in an effort to recover rent arrears totalling a six-figure sum. Swindon have not paid rent since April 2020. The club and Power are also the subject of Football Association charges regarding the ownership and funding of the club.

In April, Power and the director of First Touch Pro Management, Michael Standing, were charged with breaching FA regulations on ownership.

Standing, a former Walsall midfielder, stated he acquired 50% of Swindon’s holding company, Swinton Reds, when Power bought the Robins in 2013. Under FA rules, agents are not allowed to own clubs because of potential conflicts of interest.

Swindon are without a manager, assistant manager, chief executive or director of football. The goalkeeping coach, Steve Mildenhall, is currently taking charge of first-team matches. Swindon, who have nine contracted first-team players, are due to start the League Two season at Scunthorpe on 7 August.

 

[Gorka]

Steve Cooper is off.

I don't really know how to feel about it. Lad has been looking elsewhere before and after the play-off final and has managed to get the Swans into the top six twice with very limited resources but also at the expense of setting out the team to play tremendously shit football and coasting off good results in the first half of the season. I suppose it also means the tap of former England U17s has been turned off. 

Bookies have put Eddie Howe and Frank Lampard at the top to replace him, and that's surely nonsense. 

[Bobfoc]

I see that Amazon Prime Gaming is sponsoring Stevenage's shirts next season.

[lanky316]

They had a good deal going with FIFA and I assume by association things like Twitch so guess it's being "renewed" in a sense as official sponsors. I'm cautiously optimistic of hopefully a play off run this year. Last year was poor but in the second half of the season they seemed on the right track so hopefully can come out with some momentum.