Category: Feature Story

We asked fans from all 24 Sky Bet Championship clubs to tell us their hopes and expectations for the 2020/21 season...

Barnsley

Carlo van de Watering, @RedsReport_

What are your hopes for the season? To improve on last season’s great escape and compete rather than survive in this division.

Hopeful finish? 14th

Expected finish? 17th

What player do you need to keep hold of? Alex Mowatt. A leader on and …

Eberechi Eze exhales deeply.

"That's a long story," he laughs, pausing for thought as he prepares to answer Sky Sports presenter David Jones' question about his footballing journey so far.

The 22-year-old had starred for Mark Warburton's QPR side in just his third full season as a professional, scoring 12 goals, providing eight assists and earning widespread acclaim before the Championship campaign was halted due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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Danny Loader has moved from Reading to Portuguese giants Porto

As Danny Loader turns 20, the next challenge for one of English football's new golden generation looms large. His move to Porto brings with it the prospect of Champions League football. It is an exciting opportunity for a young man who found himself on the fringes at Reading.

Loader's reputation survived a season in which, on the face of it, …

Brentford have lost all eight of their Football League play-off campaigns

Since the 1990/91 season, Brentford have lost in all eight of their play-off campaigns.

It's an unwanted statistic that has lingered over the West London club for decades, but after overcoming Swansea in the semi-final, Thomas Frank's men have the chance to set the record straight and banish the streak to the history books.

Here, we take a look …

Ollie Watkins had to make changes to his game as a youngster at Exeter

The Premier League beckons for Ollie Watkins. The 24-year-old forward has emerged as one of the stars of the Championship having scored 26 goals for Brentford this season - the most recent of them helping the Bees past Swansea to secure a place in the play-off final at Wembley.

It is the sort of return that …

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank caused quite the stir when Charlton visited Griffin Park three weeks ago.

Taking advantage of the drinks break that has become commonplace since the football season restarted at the end of June, the Dane, encircled by his players, put on an animated display as his side trailed 1-0 with 20 minutes to play - with the help of a magnetic tactics board.

The 116-year-old stadium

The Sky Bet Championship season reaches its conclusion on Wednesday evening - and there are matters to settle at both ends of the table in what promises to be a thrilling finale.

Leeds have already been crowned champions but the second automatic promotion spot is up for grabs, while the battle for the play-off places and the scrap against relegation have gone down to the wire.

From the permutations to …