Reacting to my Championship Table prediction 21/22

Welcome back to my blog, and today I will be looking back at the article i wrote all the way back in August predicting the Championship table, which you can take a look at by clicking here: https://medium.com/white-grass/predicting-the-championship-table-for-21-22-5a7c7f09c3e5. Let’s see how many I’ve got correct, shall we?

1st. Bournemouth (actual team: Fulham)

Honestly, this prediction going wrong was more of Scott Parker’s fault than mine. Bournemouth were stacked in august, and became even more powerful in January after a spending spree which should have seen them grasp 1st spot. Instead, they went on a terrible run of games and barely reached auto-promotion. Expect Bournemouth to stay up in the Prem though.

2nd. Fulham (actual team: Bournemouth)

I underestimated the cottagers. Their attack actually did far better than I had said they would, and Mitrovic absolutely smashed the most goals in a season record. Their defence was also pretty good, and in the end they deserved this title win.

3rd.Middlesborough (actual team: Huddersfield Town )

What was I thinking? Middlesborough do actually have a decent squad, but I should have known that Warnock was past his best. Chris Wilder did well to push for a top 6 spot, but ultimately the Lions fell woefully short.

4th. West Brom (actual team: Nottingham Forest)

Well… who knew that West Brom’s season would be this bad? They ended the season in a disappointing 10th place finish, with Steve Bruce at the helm. Their squad is far better than this, and honestly this was a terrible season for a team who just got relegated.

5th.QPR (actual team: Sheffield United)

I don’t get it. QPR were on track to finish higher than my prediction, and yet they finish below WEST BROM, MILWALL and LUTON TOWN. QPR were utterly useless in the second half of the season, winning less than one third of their matches in 2022. That is terrible form. I’m really disappointed in this QPR side, i really wanted to see them in the Prem this season.

6th. Sheffield United (actual team: Luton Town)

NOOOOO. Sheffield United finished ONE place above where I thought they’d finish, pipping Luton to 5th on GD. This one is just plain unlucky, not much to talk about.

7th. Cardiff City (actual team:Middlesborough)

This prediction couldn’t be more incorrect. I predicted the Blues would finish just short of a promotion spot, and they’ve finish 18TH. What a train wreck of a season for the Blues. Unlike what I predicted, Mick McCarthy was totally ineffective and was sacked midway through the season, and Kieffer Moore didn’t do much, and even moved to Bournemouth in January. Terrible prediction from me.

8th. Birmingham City (actual team: Blackburn Rovers)

again, what was I thinking? Birmingham were bang average this season, finishing 20th. Finishing so low with that squad is inexcusable and I’m disappointed.They should have finished at least 12th. and yet again, another prediction wrong.

9th. Barnsley (actual team: Millwall)

this prediction is absolute nonsense from me. I sincerely thought that Barnsley would decline slightly and then come back in 2022/23, but never expected them to collapse so dramatically. They’ve been utter dross the entire season, and finishing below a Derby County side consisting of mostly youngsters and ageing stars also hit by a 21 point deduction perfectly sums up the mess Barnsley are in.

10th. Stoke City (West Brom)

Another prediction far from the actual outcome. Stoke City were also bang average this season, and their dour football deserves the indifferent 14th place they clinched.

11th. Millwall (QPR)

Millwall did much better than i expected, finishing in the top 10, just 6 points off the promotion places. Their squad did far better than I thought they would. Good job to Millwall, but yet another prediction wrong.

12th. Luton Town (Coventry City)

Hats off to Luton Town, who did far, far better than ANYONE thought they would. If anyone predicted this, please get in touch with me because you are a prophet. They’ve been beyond impressive this season, but I’m pretty sure we all knew that they weren’t getting promoted.

13th. Nottingham Forest (Preston)

Sigh… Another one bites the dust. Nottingham Forest did far better than this, and are looking to gain promotion to the Prem after 23 long years on 29th May at Wembley. After a disastrous start, Nottingham Forest cruised into the top 6 and even came close to stealing Bournemouth’s auto promotion spot, but they ultimately fell short and finished 4th. Still, the Steve Cooper revolution has been a massive success, and I’ll be rooting for the Reds to join the Premier League.

14th. Blackburn Rovers (Stoke City)

Blackburn Rovers exceeded my expectations this season, but they fell woefully short of a promotion spot. Both the Rovers and QPR were heavy favourites to clinch top 6, but both teams had terrible runs in the latter part of the season resulting in all their hard work going to waste in the end. Blackburn Rovers would have been an exciting team to see in the Prem, and I’m disappointed they didn’t even get to play in the play-offs. Well, at least we should see star striker Brereton-Diaz in the top flight next season.

15th. Swansea (Swansea)

YES! FINALLY! I’ve got this prediction spot on, with the Whites finishing an average 15th to get me my first right prediction. I’ll admit, even I’m surprised I got this right.

16th. Bristol City (Blackpool)

so close to second in a row! Bristol City finished just one place below my prediction, with a 5 point gap between the Red Birds and Blackpool, who exceeded my expectations too this season (more on that later)

17th. Coventry City (Bristol City)

I seriously underestimated Coventry on this one. Coventry actually were near the top of the table at one point, but settle for a decent top half finish in the end.

18th. Preston North End (Cardiff City)

Another terrible prediction. Why do I keep underestimating these teams? Preston just missed out on a top half spot, and they played much better football than the actual 18th placed Cardiff. Not a bad season for the lambs.

19th.Hull City (Hull City)

GET IN LADS!!!! Another spot on prediction. Hull City were dangerously close to finishing lower than 19th, but pulled it back to secure a decent finish in their first season back in the second flight.

20th. Blackpool (Birmingham)

This Blackpool side have definitely overachieved this season, and will be aiming for a top half finish next season. Birmingham, meanwhile, should properly reassess and aim for a much better finish next season.

21. Peterborough (Reading)

So, so close to a third right prediction. Peterborough ended up 22nd and getting relegated after Reading pipped them to 21st. Darren Ferguson ended up leaving by ‘Mutual Consent’, and now Peterborough will have to rebuild this summer to go straight back up next season and stay in the Championship.

22. Huddersfield Town (Peterborough)

EASILY the worst prediction in my article. I thought about this for a long time, spent hours editing and shifting teams up and down, and still got this prediction so terribly wrong? Huddersfield are apparently ‘League One quality’ according to the incredibly smart August 2021 me, and yet somehow they’ve got themselves a place in the Play-Off final for the Prem. Excuse me while I bang my head on the wall for 5 hours.

23. Reading (Derby County)

Ok, this one wasn’t so terrible, with Reading barely escaping relegation by 4 points. They should use this chance to rebuild and do better next year, or they’re definitely getting relegated next year.

24. Derby County (Barnsley)

Can I just say that Wayne Rooney is a miracle worker? He’s led this financial wreck of a club with a team consisting of academy players, over-the-hill veterans or bang average players with loads of talent but hardly in their best form (i.e. Ravel Morrison) and has finished 23rd despite a 21 point deduction. If they weren’t burdened by point deductions, this team would have finished 17th. While the Rams didn’t exactly pull of the great escape, I can’t really blame them and they should be back next season (fingers crossed).

So, that’s it for this article. I got 2/24 right, but at least I can brag that I’ve gotten more right than the Irish Guy (the best football youtuber you’ll ever watch). I hope you enjoyed this reaction as much as I enjoyed doing it, and do check out some of my other articles as well. Share this with your friends and family if you enjoyed it, and till then, adios!