Championship Table Takes Shape After Four Games
Four games in, the Championship is already doing what it does best: making fools of anyone who thinks they can predict it.
Swansea, QPR and Charlton have all flown out of the blocks, each sitting on 10 points. It’s early, but those returns buy you something priceless in this division: breathing space for when the slog really bites in winter. Charlton, especially, may look back on this burst of form with relief when the relegation scrap inevitably tightens.
Swansea look slick. QPR, too. We’ve seen bright starters fade in this league often enough, but for now both carry the look of sides that know exactly what they’re trying to be.
West Ham, by contrast, stumbled through their opening three fixtures before finally flexing their muscles with a convincing win over Wolves. That result felt important. It was a reminder that, for all the early stutters, they still have the quality to justify their billing as promotion favourites.
At the other end, the alarm bells are already ringing. Preston have lost all four. Burnley are still waiting for their first win. It’s not fatal in August, but it does set a tone.
Top eight:
- 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
The gaps are small. The patterns, though, are starting to emerge.
A Pivotal Month Ahead for Spurs
Tottenham head into September with something rare for a club of their size: clear midweeks. No European football, fewer miles in the legs, fewer excuses.
Roberto De Zerbi now has a largely settled squad, with only Richarlison’s future still hanging over the planning board. Four fixtures await the men’s side this month, including a trip to Anfield in the EFL Cup. It’s not a brutal schedule. It is, however, a crucial one.
Spurs showed flashes against Newcastle last week, but came away with nothing. That can’t keep happening. This is the stretch where points have to go on the board before a far tougher October looms.
Tottenham Hotspur men’s schedule:
- Forest – 5 September
- Everton – 12 September
- at Liverpool (EFL Cup) – 15 September
- Villa – 19 September
The women’s side are just getting started. Their campaign opens this weekend against West Ham, before trips to Liverpool and Palace. It’s a very different-looking squad after a summer of change, with big names such as Beth England and Molly Bartrip departing. The identity of this new Spurs side, and how quickly it forms, will be one of the month’s more intriguing subplots.
Tottenham Hotspur women’s schedule:
- West Ham – 6 September
- at Liverpool – 13 September
- at Palace – 20 September
- West Ham (League Cup) – 23 September
- Villa – 27 September
- at Brighton (League Cup) – 30 September
By the end of the month, we’ll know whether both Spurs teams have used this relatively gentle run as a launchpad or let a rare opportunity slip.
Grading Spurs’ Summer – Backed, Bold, and a Bit Risky
The numbers tell you everything about Tottenham’s intent. More than £300m spent to rebuild a squad that flirted with disaster last season. That is not tinkering. That is surgery.
Key figures have gone. Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario are out the door. In their place, a raft of signings that scream of a club trying to reset its ceiling.
Mateus Fernandes stands out as a headline arrival, a signing that signals ambition as much as ability. Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson coming in on free deals looks shrewd, the sort of opportunism top clubs need to master.
Spurs also paid up for Savio, a winger expected to bring serious quality out wide. Omar Marmoush adds another attacking option with upside. Then there is Mykhailo Mudryk, the wild card. The fee, the fit, the trajectory – none of it makes immediate sense on paper. The question hangs over the whole move: can De Zerbi unlock him? And if he does, what does that actually mean for Spurs in the long run?
Sandro Tonali’s arrival only deepens the sense of a window heavy on statement pieces. On paper, it all stacks up as a strong, aggressive market. The board have done their part. The pressure now lands squarely on De Zerbi’s shoulders.
Not everything hit the mark. Letting Will Lankshear leave feels like a misstep, especially when a loan pathway might have protected both his development and Spurs’ future options. A sell-on clause softens the blow, but only slightly.
The goalkeeper situation also raises eyebrows. Martin Dubravka doesn’t look like a genuine threat to Antonin Kinsky’s spot, and there’s still no real conviction around Kinsky himself. For a club trying to move up a level, that felt like a missed chance to upgrade a vital position.
Taken as a whole, though, the window leans clearly positive.
Fitzie’s transfer window rating: B+
Now the money is spent, the squad reshaped, and the excuses removed. The only question left is whether this version of Spurs can finally turn bold strategy into something tangible on the pitch.
