Championship Update: Is Strachan taking Middlesbrough backwards?

The miracle of Turf Moor

It is hard to take positives from a game in which you throw away a 3-1 lead in the final ten minutes but Preston should be encouraged by the majority of their performance. Winger Keith Treacy was outstanding.

As for Burnley, they were limp, lacklustre and completely reliant on the brilliance of Chris Iwelumo. It remains to be seen whether Brian Laws can really do attacking football. Playing Chris Eagles and Jay Rodriguez from the start would be a good move.

Gordon Strachan has taken Middlesborough backwards

A year ago,  Gareth Southgate’s Middlesborough were in the Championship play-off places; today ‘s 3-0 defeat to QPR leaves them in 20th.  A few weeks ago, I questioned Strachan’s policy of buying SPL players to achieve Championship success. Maybe these players will come good eventually but I can’t help feeling that Strachan, good manager though he is, doesn’t quite know how to build a side for success at this level.

This was a good win for the Hoops but they still haven’t come had a real test yet; Tuesday night’s trip to Ipswich may be just that.

Forest and Leicester fail again

Why have two sides that made the play-offs last year started so poorly? I don’t think either set of  fans should panic. Both sides turned in improved performances today and I think it’s likely we’ll see them moving up the table in the coming weeks.

Life after Nigel

It looks like the 2-0 defeat at home to Bristol will be Nigel Adkins’ final game in charge of Scunthorpe. Will the excellent team spirit go with him? The Irons have a huge call to make when choosing his replacement.

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