EFL Mailbag: brilliant Burnley, All-Star XIs & L1 promotion preparedness
George Elek and Ali Maxwell answer your questions in the EFL Mailbag.
Morning all! For the first time on Substack, you mailed and we bagged. Or did you bag and we mail? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that today is Mailbag day, kicking off with five questions from you.
And we want to kick on with more. More headscratchers, more chin-strokers. So if you have a question, drop a comment on any of our posts - we look at them all.
Thanks for reading, and…go well!
1. ChampMan asks:
Are Burnley *that* good or is this year's Championship *that* poor?
George: I do think the depth in quality at the top end of the Championship has dipped over the last couple of campaigns. Although, the perception that Burnley are the only quality side this season has lots to do with Boro blowing their start. I'd argue those two deserve their place in any conversation about the best second-tier teams in recent years (with Sheffield United not miles behind).
What sets Burnley apart is the way they've done it. This is a new side under a Head Coach taking charge of his first season in English football. Kompany has torn up what was already a successful Burnley blueprint and implemented a style of play that's unique, especially at this level. In that regard, it reminds me of Bielsa's Leeds: matching innovation with results.
Fulham and Norwich (V2) were magnificent sides who played effective, aggressive and attacking football that suited their best players. But with Burnley and Leeds, I can't get away from how clear and well-executed their individual visions for success have been.
I know fans of other clubs will point at the money and argue that Burnley should be as far clear as they are. All I'll say to that is: a) spending a lot of money at Championship level doesn't guarantee success and b) a manager can still do a 10/10 job with a big budget. They were also not expected by many (ahem) to challenge for the title let alone promotion. And many predicted a relegation hangover.
More than that, a team can be judged on more than pure results. And Burnley score top marks for entertainment too. They've developed a talented young squad who play the best football for the neutral in the EFL, and maybe in whole the country.
If you set up a mini-league of the best (Leeds v2/Norwich v2/Fulham/Burnley), I wouldn't have Burnley as favourites. But they deserve their place in that company (no pun intended). They can only beat what's in front of them. And they've done that very cosily over a season where I've just loved watching them.
2. AdsITFC asks:
Of the current top four in League One (Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich and Barnsley) who do you feel is better suited for life in the Championship?
Ali: Great question.
I think Ipswich Town have the style of play most suited to the league above. Their players may have less Championship pedigree than Wednesday’s, but as individuals and as a team, they may have a higher ceiling, space to grow. Ipswich have the setup to win matches against poorer Championship teams, and wouldn't rely on making each game a scrap.
I feel that Sheffield Wednesday’s style would be less effective in the league above, and any summer squad shaping will be important.
Their recruitment has been fine in League One if a little uninspiring. Focussing on players in their late twenties with Championship experience. Tempting them with competitive contracts to the biggest club in League One. It's an understandable approach but not one that will suit the Championship.
Can their squad and playing style (as it stands!) translate into anything much higher than the bottom quarter of Championship? I have my reservations. Although I don’t think for a moment they’d be relegation fodder, far from it. I’d expect them to stay up, I’m just not sure it would be very comfortable. Also worth saying, if/as/when results took a dive, I’d have concerns about the quality of the interference from above.
Plymouth Argyle: style wise I can see the positives, but also some concerns. They have a good, varied attack and are very smart with their rotations and substitutions. Schumacher’s decision-making in games has drawn a lot of praise. Defensively... I'm more apprehensive. They’ve conceded ten more than the others in the top four. Pressure applied by higher-quality teams could cause issues unless both the defensive structure and personnel improve.
Recruitment would need to be spot on yet again. Much depends on the quality of loanees and other summer business, which will all be done on a low Championship budget. Whittaker, Azaz and Mumba - all loanees - have given them the stardust they’ve needed to win matches this season. It’s hard to hit the same success rate year after year, but their decision-making has been good enough to trust that they will.
Barnsley can be trusted… to sign some interesting young players! Whether they’ll be guys that hit the ground running is another question. But unlike their tame effort in the Championship in 21/22, they’ll have a cracking manager in the dugout. If they can keep Duff and the core (Andersen, Williams and co) then I could see them being competitive. They’d need to improve their attacking from open play (they are on an absolute heater from long-range right now). Their games would likely be very low margin, so they'd need to make sure they are a net positive set piece team too. But Duff is comfortable in that zone.
In conclusion…
1st Ipswich
2nd= Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle, Barnsley!
3. Jordan Rogers asks:
In light of the international break, if you could build a League One / League Two All-Stars team consisting only of players representing nations outside of the UK who would make your XI?
Ali: If you could build a mailbag question in a lab to be RIGHT UP MY STREET, this is it! Thanks, Jordan.
It is my pleasure to reveal our ‘International League One & Two All-Stars’, with a self-imposed one-player per-nation rule.
League One International All Stars - 4-3-3
Manager: Dino Maamria (Tunisia)
What a job Dino Maamria is doing by the way. And what a story from Tunis to Turf Moor to proven relegation scrapper… & now the League One International All-Stars.
GK Max Stryjek - Poland
DR Janoi Donacien - Saint Lucia
DC Mads Juel Andersen - Denmark
DC Ricardo Santos - Portugal
DL Brendan Galloway - Zimbabwe
MC Massimo Luongo - Australia
MC Jeandro Fuchs - Cameroon
MC Sam Morsy - Egypt
AMR Kwame Poku - Ghana
AML Carlos Mendes Gomes - Spain
ST Jonson Clarke Harris - Jamaica
Bench: Marko Maroši (Slovakia), Ziyad Larkeche (France), Nigel Longwijk (Netherlands), Funso Ojo (Belgium), Hector Kyprianou (Cyprus), Dennis Politic (Romania), Daniel Udoh (Nigeria), Slobodan Tedic (Serbia)
League Two International All Stars - 4-4-2
Manager: Jon Brady (Australia)
GK Lawrence Vigouroux - Chile
DR Michee Efete - DR Congo
DC Terence Vancooten - Guyana
DC Omar Beckles - Grenada
DL Ibou Touray - Gambia
MR Enzio Boldewjin - Netherlands
MC Idris El Mizouni - Tunisia
MC Tim Dieng - France
ML Kazeem Olaigbe - Belgium
ST Omar Bugiel - Lebanon
ST Ali Al Hamadi - Iraq
Bench: Nick Tzanev (New Zealand), Manny Monthe (Cameroon), Brandon Comley (Montserrat), Ruel Sotiriou (Cyprus), Otis Khan (Pakistan), Kwesi Appiah (Ghana), Charlie Kelman (USA)
4. Phil Smith asks:
After Peterborough pulled off a huge win over Derby, who would you have making the playoffs now from Bolton, Derby, Peterborough or Wycombe?
Ali: I think Bolton will make it comfortably. Their fixtures are favourable.
Wycombe will likely keep on the coattails of the play-offs due to decent fixtures too. But their current level is the lowest of the four, and I don’t see them making it.
That leaves Peterborough United and Derby County for 6th spot.
I think Peterborough will get 16 points from their last 8 games. And I reckon Derby will get… 14 points from their last 8 games.
Current prediction: Peterborough to make the playoffs by one point!
5. Ed Lawson asks:
Looking ahead to this weekend in League Two, the top six all play each other, what are your thoughts about the potential results… 3 home wins?
Ali: Prediction: One home win, one draw and one away win… Gun to my head: Northampton beat Stevenage. Leyton Orient draw with Carlisle. Salford City beat Stockport County in a cracker.
Elsewhere on NTT20…
Tomorrow we have the Betting Show.
On Friday, you’ll have mail, as we air the first episode of the EFL Weekend Preview on Substack.
This week already, we released the Monday Pod, covering a Championship-less slate. In League One, there were slam Duncs for FGR, plus Posh keeping it real. Top three wobbles in League Two, and a downward-facing Dale. And lots, lots more.
And of course, we published our first-ever edition of the EFL Weekend Notes on Substack. Delivering a package of highlights, top lines and social media bites direct to your inbox (and also here if you missed it) 👇
Great analysis as ever, lads ! Cheers ! UTB
Having seen Paul Ince relieved of his duties following the defeat to Preston on Monday, it reminded me of quite a few other occasions that draws or defeats to Preston have resulted in managers losing their jobs over the years. This got me wondering, are PNE the ultimate kiss of death team, or are there any another teams that have hammered the final nail into a struggling manager's coffin more times? Would love to hear your take on this!
Really enjoying the newsletters so far lads, cheers!