Who watches the Npower Championship? Don’t all put your hands up at once! All around the world, millions of people regard the Barclay’s Premier League as the best soccer league in the world. However, some might say that the Npower Championship is also very riveting. Championship players truly do embody the meaning of soul, with no little measure of technique every time they step onto a pitch. Only a few months ago, West Ham were half the world away at the top of the Npower Championship. However, they now find themselves behind Southampton, who look destined for a return to the Premier League.
Recent results in the Championship have been the embodiment of absolute insanity. Last week Leeds suffered a record home defeat (3-7 to Nottingham Forest). Tragically, both Leeds and Notts Forest are fallen giants: at one point Notts Forest won back to back European Cups (now known as the glorious Champions League). Other Championship results saw Blackpool (last year’s Premiership sweethearts) draw 3-3 at home to Leicester, Portsmouth beat last year’s Carling Cup winners Birmingham 4-1, a game in which Birmingham scored first through Serbian giant Nikola Zigic. In other games, Cardiff drew 2-2 with Coventry, Ipswich beat Burnley 1-0, Bristol City lost 2-0 at home to Watford, Doncaster lost 3-0 at home to Millwall and Hull lost 2-0 at home to league leaders Southampton.
Despite being England’s second tiered division of professional football, the Npower Championship bears some incredible statistics. According to the accounting firm Deloitte, in the 2004-2005 season the Championship was the wealthiest non-top flight football division in the world, and the sixth richest division in Europe. The Championship is not only watched in England: it is also religiously watched in Australia, Germany, Italy, Sweden, France, as well as several other countries. The Championship is also unique in that it has 24 teams, four more than the Premiership. Although there have been a few Championship teams that have struggled in the Premiership, several have done very well.
Stoke City is an example of a team that has done brilliantly. They were promoted to the Premiership on the last day of the 2007-2008 Championship season, courtesy of a second place finish. Since they started playing in the Premiership, they have exceeded all expectations. They set the world alight with their special weapon, the human slingsh ot Rory Delap. Several of Stoke’s goals were scored from Rory Delap throw-ins. Stoke’s homeground, the Brittania Stadium, is now regarded worldwide as a Premier League fortress. Even world-class players tremble at the thought of playing Stoke under a blackened sky on a wet, Wednesday night. Stoke have become a respectable mid table team and even reached the 2011 FA Cup Final for the first time under mastermind coach Tony Pulis. The Championship certainly has lightened up the lives of millions of fans, and will hopefully live forever.
