ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON drew to a close this week, with only the play-offs remaining.
Automatic promotion was not a close-run thing: Burnley went up as champions – and one of the best sides to grace England’s second tier in many years – while Sheffield United are back in the big time again, promoted as runners-up having finished 11 points clear of third place.
The play-offs will decide which of four sides will go up with them: Luton Town will play Sunderland while Middlesbrough and Coventry clash across two-legged semi-finals.
In further proof of the league’s dysfunction, Reading and Wigan were relegated following points deductions, while Blackpool went down with them.
The majority of the Irish international squad is currently drawn from England’s second tier, so let’s take a look back at five of the best Irish performers from across the season.
Cullen’s omission from the Championship Team of the Season is baffling. Burnley were the best team in the league and Cullen was their most important player. One of Vincent Kompany’s first acts as Burnley boss was to ensure Cullen followed him to England from Anderlecht, where he once again made Cullen the lynchpin of his midfield.
Nobody played more minutes for Burnley this season than Cullen: his neat passing in midfield becoming a kind of ceaseless jab with which Burnley dominated games. He could deliver a knockout blow, too: no Burnley player made more ‘Deep Completions’ than Cullen did this season, which is a penetrative pass targeted to within 20 metres of the opponent’s goal.
“He is an example for other players as well because some players with extreme talent would have tremendous careers with half of what he has in terms of personality and attitude”, said Kompany of Cullen, in conversation with David Sneyd of this parish.
“It’s hard to ever predict how far these types of players will go because he has a resilience and an attitude of a top athlete. Any limitations that he has, he just seems to be able to overcome them and go above. He is the ultimate player to put the team before himself.”
Cullen won both the players’ and the fan’s Player of the Season award at Burnley, and his and Kompany have cultivated a mutually beneficial partnership. Next stop: Premier League.
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John Egan (Sheffield United)
Stephen Kenny has never been afraid to talk up his players, and a couple of years ago, he nonetheless raised a couple of eyebrows in saying that John Egan is a Champions League-standard defender.
Whatever you make of that: he is definitely of Premier League standard at least. Sheffield United’s final haul of 91 points is their best-ever in a Championship season, with Egan playing all but one game across the season, and none of his team-mates played more minutes.
He chipped in with two goals across the season and, unusually for a centre-back, averaged one attempt on goal per game. But it was in his own penalty box where he was most effective, and helped to seal a second Premier League promotion with the Blades since 2018.
Ryan Manning (Swansea)
Manning hasn’t convinced his international manager but he was a key player for Swansea this season, who finished 10th but were only three points outside of the play-off places. He was one of their main creators in spite of swapping between left-back and left wing-back, registering 11 assists across the season, the second-highest total in the entire division.
All the stats tell an impressive tale. Manning was in the Championships’ top five for key passes and the aforementioned deep completions, and he was also the second-most fouled player in the league, too.
His next step will be interesting: he is out of contract at Swansea and is expected to move on. “It’s Ryan’s prerogative to not sign currently and I think the club feels we’ve offered a really good contract, which I would agree with”, said manager Russell Martin.
“Ryan’s had an amazing season, statistically for a left-back he’s been brilliant. I’ll never say never, but at this moment in time, he looks likely to leave.” Manning won the supporters’ Player of the Season gong, so he will be missed.
James McClean. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
James McClean (Wigan)
And so to another Irish left wing-back who won his Supporters’ Player of the Year award. Wigan’s season was miserable, a points deduction sealing relegation, with Shaun Moloney unable to lead a recovery from the brief disaster of Kolo Toure’s stint in charge, who won zero of his nine games in charge.
The club suffered a points deduction of three points for being late with salary payments, and McClean captained Wigan on the final day of the season having not been paid.
That he stood out amid such dysfunction is admirable. He started all but one of Wigan’s league games – and came on as a substitute in the other – and was typically tenacious across them all. No player in the Championship won more defensive duels than McClean.
A horrible season for Wigan, but one on which McClean should reflect with some pride.
Darragh Lenihan (Middlesbrough)
This last spot was a close-run thing between Lenihan and another defender, Luke McNally, but that the latter only spent the second half of the season on loan at Coventry means Lenihan edges it.
Lenihan is battling on the fringes of the Irish squad, trying to force his way past a stockpile of high-quality defenders, but he showcased his qualities in the 1-1 Nations League draw against Ukraine at the end of least season.
Chris Wilder’s spell with Middlesbrough didn’t work out but their rise under Michael Carrick has been stunning, with Lenihan a central figure, missing only five games.
“He’s everything you want – desperate to learn, comes in every day wanting to improve, humble, stable. He’s a pleasure to have around”, says Carrick of Lenihan.
Their season isn’t over just yet, with the play-offs still to come. Lenihan might soon be a Premier League defender.
Honourable mentions
Luke McNally has showcased his high ceiling having spent the second half of the season on loan at Coventry from Burnley.
Chiedozie Ogbene‘s eight goals and four assists went a long way to keeping Rotherham in the Championship – he is now likely to go onto bigger things.
Jayson Molumby has already had his breakout season but this was the one in which he established himself, playing 43 games for West Brom and becoming yet another Irish player to win a Supporters’ Player of the Season award.
Tom Cannon joined Preston on loan from Everton midway through the season and made a remarkable impact, scoring eight goals in 20 games. Already capped by the Irish U21s, Cannon’s was the kind of form that might bring him into the senior picture.
Millwall made a hames of their play-off push, blowing a final-day 3-1 lead against Blackburn to lose 4-3 and slip agonisingly out of the picture, an unjust end for Danny McNamara, given the quality of his contribution at right-back.
The paperwork underpinning Sam Szmodics’ declaration for Ireland was torturously slow and only completed earlier this year, but his late-season form for Blackburn might see him come into contention for the Irish squad in June.
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Five of the best Irish performers in the 2022/23 Championship season
ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON drew to a close this week, with only the play-offs remaining.
Automatic promotion was not a close-run thing: Burnley went up as champions – and one of the best sides to grace England’s second tier in many years – while Sheffield United are back in the big time again, promoted as runners-up having finished 11 points clear of third place.
The play-offs will decide which of four sides will go up with them: Luton Town will play Sunderland while Middlesbrough and Coventry clash across two-legged semi-finals.
In further proof of the league’s dysfunction, Reading and Wigan were relegated following points deductions, while Blackpool went down with them.
The majority of the Irish international squad is currently drawn from England’s second tier, so let’s take a look back at five of the best Irish performers from across the season.
Josh Cullen (Burnley)
Cullen’s omission from the Championship Team of the Season is baffling. Burnley were the best team in the league and Cullen was their most important player. One of Vincent Kompany’s first acts as Burnley boss was to ensure Cullen followed him to England from Anderlecht, where he once again made Cullen the lynchpin of his midfield.
Nobody played more minutes for Burnley this season than Cullen: his neat passing in midfield becoming a kind of ceaseless jab with which Burnley dominated games. He could deliver a knockout blow, too: no Burnley player made more ‘Deep Completions’ than Cullen did this season, which is a penetrative pass targeted to within 20 metres of the opponent’s goal.
“He is an example for other players as well because some players with extreme talent would have tremendous careers with half of what he has in terms of personality and attitude”, said Kompany of Cullen, in conversation with David Sneyd of this parish.
“It’s hard to ever predict how far these types of players will go because he has a resilience and an attitude of a top athlete. Any limitations that he has, he just seems to be able to overcome them and go above. He is the ultimate player to put the team before himself.”
Cullen won both the players’ and the fan’s Player of the Season award at Burnley, and his and Kompany have cultivated a mutually beneficial partnership. Next stop: Premier League.
John Egan (Sheffield United)
Stephen Kenny has never been afraid to talk up his players, and a couple of years ago, he nonetheless raised a couple of eyebrows in saying that John Egan is a Champions League-standard defender.
Whatever you make of that: he is definitely of Premier League standard at least. Sheffield United’s final haul of 91 points is their best-ever in a Championship season, with Egan playing all but one game across the season, and none of his team-mates played more minutes.
He chipped in with two goals across the season and, unusually for a centre-back, averaged one attempt on goal per game. But it was in his own penalty box where he was most effective, and helped to seal a second Premier League promotion with the Blades since 2018.
Ryan Manning (Swansea)
Manning hasn’t convinced his international manager but he was a key player for Swansea this season, who finished 10th but were only three points outside of the play-off places. He was one of their main creators in spite of swapping between left-back and left wing-back, registering 11 assists across the season, the second-highest total in the entire division.
All the stats tell an impressive tale. Manning was in the Championships’ top five for key passes and the aforementioned deep completions, and he was also the second-most fouled player in the league, too.
His next step will be interesting: he is out of contract at Swansea and is expected to move on. “It’s Ryan’s prerogative to not sign currently and I think the club feels we’ve offered a really good contract, which I would agree with”, said manager Russell Martin.
“Ryan’s had an amazing season, statistically for a left-back he’s been brilliant. I’ll never say never, but at this moment in time, he looks likely to leave.” Manning won the supporters’ Player of the Season gong, so he will be missed.
James McClean (Wigan)
And so to another Irish left wing-back who won his Supporters’ Player of the Year award. Wigan’s season was miserable, a points deduction sealing relegation, with Shaun Moloney unable to lead a recovery from the brief disaster of Kolo Toure’s stint in charge, who won zero of his nine games in charge.
The club suffered a points deduction of three points for being late with salary payments, and McClean captained Wigan on the final day of the season having not been paid.
That he stood out amid such dysfunction is admirable. He started all but one of Wigan’s league games – and came on as a substitute in the other – and was typically tenacious across them all. No player in the Championship won more defensive duels than McClean.
A horrible season for Wigan, but one on which McClean should reflect with some pride.
Darragh Lenihan (Middlesbrough)
This last spot was a close-run thing between Lenihan and another defender, Luke McNally, but that the latter only spent the second half of the season on loan at Coventry means Lenihan edges it.
Lenihan is battling on the fringes of the Irish squad, trying to force his way past a stockpile of high-quality defenders, but he showcased his qualities in the 1-1 Nations League draw against Ukraine at the end of least season.
Chris Wilder’s spell with Middlesbrough didn’t work out but their rise under Michael Carrick has been stunning, with Lenihan a central figure, missing only five games.
“He’s everything you want – desperate to learn, comes in every day wanting to improve, humble, stable. He’s a pleasure to have around”, says Carrick of Lenihan.
Their season isn’t over just yet, with the play-offs still to come. Lenihan might soon be a Premier League defender.
Honourable mentions
Luke McNally has showcased his high ceiling having spent the second half of the season on loan at Coventry from Burnley.
Chiedozie Ogbene‘s eight goals and four assists went a long way to keeping Rotherham in the Championship – he is now likely to go onto bigger things.
Jayson Molumby has already had his breakout season but this was the one in which he established himself, playing 43 games for West Brom and becoming yet another Irish player to win a Supporters’ Player of the Season award.
Tom Cannon joined Preston on loan from Everton midway through the season and made a remarkable impact, scoring eight goals in 20 games. Already capped by the Irish U21s, Cannon’s was the kind of form that might bring him into the senior picture.
Millwall made a hames of their play-off push, blowing a final-day 3-1 lead against Blackburn to lose 4-3 and slip agonisingly out of the picture, an unjust end for Danny McNamara, given the quality of his contribution at right-back.
The paperwork underpinning Sam Szmodics’ declaration for Ireland was torturously slow and only completed earlier this year, but his late-season form for Blackburn might see him come into contention for the Irish squad in June.
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Championship Republic Of Ireland Review