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EFL Championship Early Picture: Teams to Watch
Four games in, the Championship table is still wet paint, but a few shapes are already starting to show.
Swansea, QPR and Charlton have all burst out of the blocks with 10 points apiece. For Charlton in particular, that cushion could feel priceless when the relegation scrap inevitably tightens later in the season. Swansea look sharp, QPR too, though this division has a habit of chewing up fast starters and spitting them out by Christmas.
West Ham stumbled through their opening three fixtures, then suddenly clicked. A convincing win over Wolves underlined why they still look like favourites for automatic promotion. When they go through the gears, they carry a different weight to most of this league.
At the other end, Preston have endured a nightmare start: four games, four defeats, no points. Burnley are also still waiting for their first win, stuck on two points and already glancing nervously over their shoulders. Stoke, on three points, complete the early bottom three.
Top eight so far:
- Swansea – 10 pts
- QPR – 10 pts
- Charlton – 10 pts
- Wolves – 7 pts
- Boro – 7 pts
- Bristol City – 7 pts
- West Brom – 7 pts
- Birmingham – 6 pts
Bottom three:
- Stoke City – 3 pts
- Burnley – 2 pts
- Preston NE – 0 pts
It’s too early for sweeping judgments. But for clubs like Charlton and Preston, these first few weeks might end up defining what they’re fighting for in April.
No European football. Fewer midweek distractions. No excuses.
Tottenham’s men have a relatively clean calendar this month, and with the squad largely settled — pending clarity on Richarlison’s future — Roberto De Zerbi has a clear runway to put points on the board before a brutal October looms.
There are just four fixtures in September, but they’re loaded with significance, including an EFL Cup trip to Anfield:
- Nottingham Forest (5 September)
- Everton (12 September)
- at Liverpool – EFL Cup (15 September)
- Aston Villa (19 September)
Spurs showed flashes of something promising against Newcastle last week, yet walked away empty-handed. That can’t become a theme. This is the stretch where a coherent De Zerbi side has to emerge — not just in style, but in results.
On the women’s side, a new era starts now.
The departures of Beth England and Molly Bartrip strip away two of the most recognisable faces in the squad. What’s left is a refreshed, slightly mysterious group that will reveal its identity over the coming weeks. Their schedule is busier, and unforgiving:
- West Ham (6 September)
- at Liverpool (13 September)
- at Palace (20 September)
- West Ham – League Cup (23 September)
- Aston Villa (27 September)
- at Brighton – League Cup (30 September)
Two meetings with West Ham and two cup ties in the space of a month will test depth and resilience straight away. By the end of September, we’ll have a far clearer idea of what both Spurs teams actually are this season — contenders, climbers, or still a work in progress.
The money talked this summer. Loudly.
Tottenham’s hierarchy threw their weight behind De Zerbi, spending north of £300m to overhaul a squad that flirted dangerously with relegation last season. Big names left — Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario among them — but the incoming business screamed ambition.
Mateus Fernandes headlined the window as a statement signing. Spurs then snapped up Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson on free transfers, a shrewd bit of squad building that adds experience and reliability without a fee.
They didn’t stop there. The club paid a premium for Savio, banking on his ability to inject serious quality on the wing. Omar Marmoush arrives as another intriguing attacking option. Mykhailo Mudryk, though, is the puzzler. The talent is obvious; the fit is not. Can De Zerbi finally unlock him? And if he does, what does that actually mean for Spurs in the long term?
Sandro Tonali’s arrival underlines the scale of the rebuild in midfield. On paper, it all adds up to a powerful, modernised squad. Now the theory has to survive the reality of the Premier League.
There were missteps.
Letting Will Lankshear leave feels like a missed opportunity. A loan pathway seemed possible, a way to develop him without cutting ties entirely, even if a sell-on clause softens the blow. The goalkeeper situation also raises eyebrows. Martin Dubravka doesn’t look like a genuine threat to Antonin Kinsky’s spot, and there are still doubts over Kinsky himself. It feels like a chance squandered to properly upgrade the position.
Even with those concerns, the window leans clearly positive.
Fitzie’s transfer window rating: B+
The club has armed De Zerbi with tools, talent and depth. The question now is brutally simple: does this all-star rebuild drag Spurs away from the memory of last season, or just raise the stakes if they fall short again?
