After what seems an insurmountable long time, the football starvation diet is nearly over. Having lived on and survived by scraps of memories, transfer rumours, a rush of signings and the mixed fortunes of pre-season are a fading thought. Thoughts are now honed and turn to the coming season, hope springs eternal and fortune favours the brave they say. Fans around the country are eagerly awaiting kickoff time when the joy, or disappointment, their team brings starts again as the 46-game cycle cranks up afresh. It is no different in the Sky Bet Championship.
Welcome to part two (those sides expected to finish 20th – 17th) of my look at the teams in the Championship and what last season might tell us about this season. Can lessons from the past be learned and indicate a brighter future? Has player recruitment improved weaknesses or is it only papering over the cracks? What numbers from last season will be relevant to focus on this coming Championship campaign.
The projected finish stated for each team is an aggregate of bookmaker odds and are taken from Ben Tovaney’s excellent article on Stats Bomb. If you like stats, give Ben a follow on Twitter on @stats_snakeoil
Key terms:
- TSR – Total Shot Ratio (shots for / total of shots for and against)
- SoTR – Shots on-Target Ratio (shots on-target for / total shots on-target for and against)
- PDO – a measure of a team’s ‘luck’ as opposed to skill (shot% for + save% for – score of 100 is expected)
