As the Sky Bet Championship gathers pace and battles at both ends of the table begin to firm up, we look at the winners and losers from Week 17.
WINNERS
Leicester City
Leicester City beat Watford 2-0 to move three points clear at the top of the Championship table.
The win halted a sequence of two successive defeats, putting paid to whispers of a wobble.
On Saturday the Foxes were tested by a stubborn Watford side, but Enzo Maresca’s men managed to find a way to break the Hornets’ resistance for the handsome reward of three points, which result saw Leicester City decouple themselves from Ipswich Town and take sole ownership of top spot.
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle’s 2-0 win over Preston North End was undoubtedly one of the results of the weekend. It was up there with Argyle’s 6-2 thrashing of Norwich City earlier in the season.
More than the three points and the handy seven-point buffer between themselves and the relegation zone, the result will imbue Plymouth with confidence and belief that they can compete at this level and consolidate their place in the division.
West Brom
West Brom’s 2-0 win over the Championship’s surprise package Ipswich Town was a statement of intent. The result catapulted the Baggies into the bunched up play-off positions.
Now that they have insinuated themselves into the promotion squabble, Carlos Corberan’s men will fancy themselves to stay the course.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney will be a mightily relieved man after the former England international earned his first win as Birmingham City head coach at the sixth attempt. The Blues made heavy weather of beating basement strugglers Sheffield Wednesday 2-1. But as they say, a win is a win, and Rooney desperately needed one.
There was no suggestion that the former Derby County and DC United manager was already coming under pressure after only five matches in charge. However, the longer it took him to register his first win, the more difficult it became to avoid inviting scrutiny to himself.
After four losses and one draw, Birmingham City owners might have started to wonder whether the person they hired was the right man to spearhead their ambitious project on the pitch.
Now that he has got the monkey off his back, Rooney will be keen to steer the Blues up the table and repay his employers’ faith.
LOSERS
Ipswich Town
Is the inevitable unravelling happening? Predictably, questions will be asked about whether Ipswich Town have the temperament to bounce back from their latest setback. Or are we about to witness the start of the end of their purple patch?
The 2-0 defeat at West Brom was only Ipswich’s second loss of the season, so talk of the wheels coming off is rather premature. Maybe the bubble has been burst, but Kieran McKenna’s side is still in a very handsome position, three points adrift of leaders Leicester City and seven clear of third-placed Leeds United, the only other side to have beaten them this season.
The Tractor Boys bounced back after the Leeds United defeat to remain on Leicester City’s coattails. There is no reason why they can’t do so again.
The next few games will test Ipswich Town’s credentials, not just as promotion hopefuls, but as a Championship side.
Southampton/Preston North End
With Leeds United having dropped points against Rotherham United on Friday night, Southampton and Preston were presented with a glorious opportunity to leapfrog Daniel Farke’s men into third and fourth place respectively while closing the gap to second-placed Ipswich Town. Both Preston and the Saints spurned the opportunity.
Southampton had to settle for a share of the spoils with lowly Huddersfield Town after letting slip their slender 1-0 lead right at the death.
Elsewhere, Preston paid the price for playing for most of the second half against Cardiff City with 10 men. They had done well to hold on to their 1-0 lead after the dismissal of Robbie Brady early in the second half, only to be undone by a quick-fire injury-time double.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough’s recent form had drawn comparison with their form during the second half of last season. Sitting 21st in the Championship table last term, Boro sacked head coach Chris Wilder and plumped for a relative managerial rookie, Michael Carrick, as the replacement. Carrick proceeded to write one of the most remarkable stories in the history of the Championship by guiding Boro to the play-offs.
Middlesbrough were expected to kick on this season, but had a very poor start to the campaign. However, just as they did last season, they dusted themselves down and put together a string of results to push themselves up the table. The defeat by the Robins was only Boro’s second in 10 league games, halting Carrick’s charges’ steady march towards the play-off spots.
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City cemented their place at the foot of the Championship table, 10 points adrift of safety.
With just one win all season and a meagre return of six points overall, The Owls already look like a side destined for an instant return to League One.
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PART WINNERS, PART LOSERS
Leeds United
Leeds United’s 1-1 draw against Rotherham United on Friday night felt like a defeat. They were heavily backed to claim all three points and close the gap to the top two, but as they have done so often this season, Daniel Farke’s men dropped the ball and another glorious opportunity went begging.
The fumble put Leeds United firmly in the ‘losers’ category.
Fast forward 24 hours. Had they won their respective matches on Saturday, Southampton and Preston would have moved above Leeds United into third and fourth respectively, relegating the Whites to third. The psychological impact of ceding two places in one fell swoop would have been huge.
Instead, Preston and Southampton conspired to drop points and Leeds United’s slip-up at Rotherham escaped serious punishment. With Ipswich Town also coming a cropper at West Brom, suddenly the draw against the Millers felt like a good point gained than two dropped.
Not only did Leeds United maintain their lead over their closest pursuers, they also closed the gap to second place to seven points.
That puts them in the ‘winners’ category.
What are your thoughts on this week’s matches? Who were your winners and losers? Drop a comment on X!
