Reacting to my Championship predictions 22/23

Welcome back to my blog, and today I will be ‘reacting’ to my predictions for the Championship, which I made last year. Hopefully I can get more than 4 right. Ready? Let’s get into it.

24. Reading (actual team: Wigan)

Well, this prediction wasn’t really that far off considering Reading finished 22nd, still getting relegated with a total of 44 points. Wigan finished bottom with 39 points but actually should have gotten 43, so I guess I can still take this as a win.

23. Rotherham (Blackpool)

Rotherham exceeded my expectations somehow and have stayed up, and to be honest, I am not the only one who expected them to go down. They ended up finishing 19th with 50 points, 6 points clear of the drop. Fair play, Rotherham.

22. Birmingham (Reading)

This prediction wasn’t that great, since Birmingham City stayed up comfortably with 53 points. However, they still did pretty poorly by their standards, so they shouldn’t be too proud of finishing 17th. A summer rebuild and a replacement for Jobe Bellingham will definitely be needed if they are to improve and avoid collapse next season.

21. Bristol City (Cardiff city)

There are two teams with birds on their badges, but I couldn’t be more wrong about this one. A 10-point gap between the two means Bristol City did far better than I foresaw, and the less said about this, the better.

20. Wigan (QPR)

This aged terribly, as I backed the Latics to stay up. Huge judgmental error on my part, as they were utterly terrible this season.

19. Stoke City (Rotherham)

Not the most unreasonable of predictions, but Stoke managed a 16th-place finish instead of a 19th-place finish. Imagine how Alex Neil must be feeling, though. He molded such a beautiful squad at Sunderland and should have got them promoted, but instead he’s stuck in the dregs of the Championship with Stoke. This is what happens if you get too greedy.

18. Swansea (Huddersfield)

Swansea did surprisingly well this year considering how rubbish they’ve been recently, and fair play to them for finishing 10th. However, I have not gotten even one single prediction right. *sigh*

17. Blackpool ( Birmingham)

I really wanted Blackpool to stay up and fight for promotion in the 23/24 season, but it wasn’t to be as they got relegated. A depressing season for the poor Tangerine fans.

16. Cardiff City (Stoke City)

I knew Cardiff were going to be rubbish this season, but not this bad. This Cardiff team is lucky Wigan have had such a tumultuous season, because if they hadn't, Cardiff would most certainly be in League One at this point. Embarrassing.

15. Preston North End ( Hull City)

PNE did much better than I expected, so fair play to them. Their squad is pretty decent, and they could probably push for promotion with some sound recruitment this summer.

14. Coventry City (Bristol City)

To be fair to me, Coventry did pretty badly for a while before making a comeback. So this is not that bad of a prediction, but I was way off. Their play-off final loss may be devastating but I’m sure they’ll be back in the race next season if they play their cards right

13. Hull City ( Norwich city)

Hull City finished 15th, just 4 points off 13th, so I’d say it’s not that bad of a prediction. Many expected relegation or bare survival for the Tigers, but I think I’ve done a decent job on this one.

12. Luton Town (Preston)

Quite possibly my worst prediction of all time. I foolishly called their previous promotion push a “fluke” and that they’d suffer a “drop in form”. They are in the Premier League now. What a fairytale story, though: Rob Edwards went from getting sacked at Watford to leading a team with a stadium literally in someone’s backyard to the Premier League. Hats off to Luton Town!

11. Millwall (Watford)

Millwall did slightly better than expected, and honestly, I wanted to see them promoted to the PL. Sadly, it was not to be, as they finished just outside the play-off spots.

10. Huddersfield (Swansea)

Huddersfield were utter rubbish this season, and the departure of Corberan led to a total collapse of their squad. How embarrassing, especially since they were playing in the PL just five years ago.

9. QPR (West Brom)

Again, another team I thought would do okayokay ended up being completely dysfunctional this season.It was quite It was quite disappointing for the QPR fans, and hopefully they can come back stronger next season.

8. Watford (Millwall)

Watford were pretty average this season, which is surprising considering their quality. However, then you see the number of managers they’ve had this season, and you can see why it was such a rollercoaster. Typical Watford.

7. Blackburn Rovers (Blackburn rovers)

GET INNN!!! Finally, something is right! I predicted Blackburn would be just outside the play-off spots, and I was bang-on. This is truly one of my better predictions.

6. Sunderland (Sunderland)

This surely has to be my best prediction ever! No one saw Sunderland finishing near the play-offs this season, and yet I called it early days. What a prediction from me!! I predicted Alex Neil wouldn’t be in charge as well! Well played, Aakash from 2022.

5. West brom ( Coventry city)

West Brom were slightly disappointing this season, finishing 8th because of their early form in the league. However, Carlos Coberan has done a decent job with the Baggies this season and should have a good one with them next year.

4. Middlesbrough ( Middlesbrough)

What a prediction. Once again, a spot-on prediction from me, as I predicted Middlesbrough to finish 4th, and they did. It’s a shame they didn’t reach the play-off finals, though.

3. Norwich City (Luton town)

What a stinker from me. Honestly, no one saw Norwich being this bad, but I should have known they’d be rubbish. The signs were there, but I had too much hope in this yo-yo club to put them anywhere but the play-off spots.

2. Sheffield United (Sheffield United)
Wow, I really have come clutch in these last few predictions. To be honest, I was 100% sure my top two would be spot-on, even though many influencers and pundits had varying opinions. The Blades are back in the Premier League, and I’m excited to see how they do next season.

1. Burnley (Burnley)

Hey Siri, play ‘ We are the Champions" by Queen! Jokes aside, I am quite pumped that I got this right. Getting the winners of any league correct is no mean feat, and I’m happy I didn’t fall into the Norwich trap for this one. Burnley have done well this season, and I’m so happy they’ve gotten what they deserve under Kompany. I can’t wait to see this silky Burnley side in the Premier League next season.

That was my reaction to my predictions for the championship, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Look out for a few more articles coming out soon before I take a short break from writing until November. Till next time, adios!