West Brom are finding some real momentum under manager Carlos Corberan, Ross Stewart signaled how important he is for Sunderland and the heat at Norwich City is being turned up on Dean Smith. All this and more from the latest round of the Championship...
TEAM OF THE WEEK
When I did my 1-24 predictions before the Championship season kicked off, I forecast both Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion would be up in the promotion picture. Both clubs had poor starts to the season and both sacked seasoned former promotion winning Championship bosses, with Chris Wilder on his way out from the Riverside and Steve Bruce receiving his P45 at the Hawthorns. The good news for my pre-season predictions is that both sides seem to now be moving towards where I thought there would be following new managerial hires.
Boro went for the untested Michael Carrick after he finished his stint with Manchester United and quickly moved up the table following a quick splurge of four wins in five games. West Brom are now following suit, they brought in one of last season's 'hot hands' Carlos Corberan, who took Huddersfield all the way from the edge of the relegation zone to a Wembley play-off final. Corberan perhaps fits in the sweet spot, young enough to be a fresh and energetic antidote to what went before him, but still experienced in the division from his Huddersfield stint.
West Brom can go one better than Boro's run of four wins out of five too, their victory over Rotherham this past weekend was their fifth in a row. Jed Wallace, Grady Diangana and Brandon Thomas-Asante did the damage as the Baggies surge up the table continued. It'll be particularly interesting to watch our two early season underachievers make their charge from the back of the pack in the remainder of the season. Both look like they're on a steep upward trajectory and in Corberan the Baggies have a manager who knows that path very well.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
It seems only fair that having talked about the absence of Sunderland's strikers over these past couple of months, we celebrate the moment of their return. Ellis Simms was back first, returning off the bench at Luton in late October before re-joining the starting line-up and recording four goal contributions in his first four starts back in the side. Simms is a fine player, but the main event was waiting in the wings with Sunderland's star striker Ross Stewart talking a little longer to get back to first team duties.
Stewart last played for Sunderland at the tail end of August, typically he signed off with two goals and an assist against Rotherham before sitting out the next three and a half months. If it was typical that he signed off with a goal then you can probably guess how the Scotland striker returned this weekend. Stewart came into the action on 60 minutes and was already on the scoresheet fifteen minutes later, firing in a crafty shot underneath Matt Ingram who was caught out having anticipated a lobbed finish.
The return of Stewart will be a huge boost for Sunderland, despite his lengthy absence he's not too far off the top of the scoring charts and his tally of nine goal contributions in seven starts suggests the step up to Championship football is not one he's finding too tough. It was a 26 goal haul last season in League 1 as Sunderland went up through the play-offs, an admittedly high bar but a total that Stewart will enjoy trying to equal.
TALKING POINT
Dean Smith feels the heat at Norwich
All eyes were on Norwich City v Blackburn Rovers as the two sides played the late TV game on Saturday night in the Championship. From an audience perspective there was no World Cup or Premier League competition until the big boys return on Boxing Day. The game threw up a Blackburn win with the visitors still incredibly without a draw this season, however the narrative moved towards the dugouts as Norwich's fans told manager Dean Smith and the live TV audience exactly what they thought of his managerial performance.
There will be those who look at the league table, see Norwich in fifth position and conclude that their fans have no right to be unhappy if their team are in the play-off spots. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but of course some will be more informed than others. I've always considered the league position as the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a teams performance. Yes, it is the most important factor, but it is far from the only factor and the Norwich fans seem to think that league position is going to be lower the longer Smith stays in charge.
It's always a ticking clock for relegated teams with that cushion of the parachute payments having a big influence over proceedings. Norwich are in year one out of two of their Premier League broadcast assistance and have not wasted an opportunity when they've been up at the top of the Championship recently. The dilemma for the higher ups at Norwich is, do they give Smith their backing and therefore the January window or do they give their increasingly anxious fanbase what they want and make a change. Watch this space!
LOANEE OF THE WEEK
Jonathan Panzo (Coventry City on loan from Nottingham Forest)
Nottingham Forest's huge recruitment drive has been the talk of the Premier League this season with virtually an entire new squad arriving at the City Ground. This was probably another of those 'yeah, we know!' moments for Championship fans, as Forest have been extremely active in the transfer market for years now, especially under the ownership of Evangelos Marinakis. The big signings at Forest have meant that a number of players who probably would've been in the side had they not been promoted are currently out on loan at other clubs.
As usual there a couple of players at Mr Marinakis' other property Olympiakos in Greece, in League OneAlex Mighten is in the mix with the attackers at Sheffield Wednesday and in the Championship keeper Evan Horvath is between the sticks at Luton. Perhaps the highest function EFL loanee out of Forest is Jonathan Panzo at Coventry City. Panzo has made 20 appearances at the CBS and soared highest in the penalty box to head home his first goal for the club against Swansea City.
Panzo's career trajectory has been an interesting one so far, starting in the brutally competitive Chelsea system before heading out on a permanent to Monaco in Ligue 1. As with many of his signings, Steve Cooper worked with Panzo in his time managing the young England representative teams. It almost seems like Panzo is destined to play in the Championship next season, Coventry would I'm sure be keen to take him if Forest can stay up and perhaps he'd be closer to their first team if Forest did end up going down. Either way Panzo is a developing force at second tier level and definitely trending in the right direction.
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