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This season’s Championship promises to be one of the most exciting and competitive for many years. Across the league there are a number of big names, teams of former glories that are desperate to get back to the top. But with that desire to return to the top division comes an enormous pressure on the managers who have been given the job to get them back to the Premier League.

The 24 teams that make up the second tier include Southampton, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham, West Ham and Leeds. These are just some of the clubs that will be fighting for only three promotion spots come the end of the season. Some will undoubtedly miss out and for the managers that don’t guide their teams to the top or even make good starts to their campaigns, the chop may loom. The increased competition in the league should prove to be an amazing spectacle for fans but for managers, the pressures and headaches will only be greater. Those big clubs will not face an easy task getting back to the Premier League as the standard of England’s second tier continues to increase year on year.

Two of the league’s big teams and favourites for promotion are West Ham and Leicester City. The Hammers have appointed Sam Allardyce to lead them this season and the demand for success and an immediate return to the Premier League means the pressure will be on Allardyce from the start. A bad run could easily see the former Blackburn boss shown the door.

Another manager who sees himself in a similar position is Sven-Goran Eriksson at Leicester. The incredible spending at the club means that the manager will face the expectation of success this season and missing out on promotion could easily spell the end for Sven. In previous years the likes of Leicester and West Ham could have run away with the league but whilst they are still favourites, both face intense competition for the promotion places in a league that could realistically include at least half the teams chasing automatic promotion.

Nottingham Forest’s decision to appoint Steve McClaren as their new boss looks like a great move on paper. The former England manager is experienced and hungry to return to the Premier League. But his experience within the game and the club’s tradition means he has everything to prove again with Forest. McClaren faces the challenge of returning them to the top after years away and this will be no easy task despite his experience and obvious skills as a boss. It is often said that the Championship is the hardest league to get out of and managers (including McClaren) will have to step up to the challenge and prove they can guide their team straight up if most want to stay in their jobs come May next year.

The opening weekend of fixtures didn’t disappoint and the prospect of a whole season of enthralling Championship action is mouthwatering. But the managers of those big clubs will all face an uphill battle and huge pressure to get their teams out of the second tier and back where they belong.

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Which Championship manager do you think is under the most pressure? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5

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Inter Milan boss Leonardo paid tribute to Cesena after the Serie A strugglers gave his side a scare on Wednesday.Inter ran out 3-2 winners at the San Siro in Wednesday’s rescheduled top-flight clash, with Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito putting the hosts 2-0 up within the first 15 minutes.

But the treble-winning champions were nearly brought undone soon after as Erjon Bogdani and Emanuele Giaccherini drew Cesena level with strikes before the half hour.

Christian Chivu scored in the shadows of half-time to restore Inter’s advantage, and the improving Italian giants held on through a nervous second half for a fourth straight league victory under Leonardo.

The Brazilian boss credited his side’s improved defence in the second half for keeping Cesena at bay, with goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi a standout for his hard work in the net.

“We started excellently, but we have to give credit to Cesena for coming back from two goals down,” Leonardo told reporters.

“We scored two quick goals, but we weren’t mentally ready in defence.”

“We hadn’t had anything to do, so weren’t organized and suddenly we have conceded a goal. But I’m pleased with how our defence improved later on.”

“The ball pinged around a lot out there, but we worked extremely hard and deserved the win.”

Cesena coach Massimo Ficcadenti was upbeat despite the loss, arguing his men had done well to nearly hold the form side in the Italian league.

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“We nearly matched the strongest team of the moment,” Ficcadenti said.

“At 2-0 it could have been a blowout but we did well to stay in the game. I think we did well to come close (to Inter).”

When Hodgson was approached for the England job seven weeks ago his doubters outnumbered the supporters en masse. Seen as a cheap, safe alternative to Redknapp the former Fulham, Liverpool and West Brom man was far from the choice of the people.

For many, his best opportunity was to se the European Championships as way to prepare for tests further down the line. Criticisms included that he was a ‘small team’ manager who worked better with lesser players. Hodgson may have won over fans and critics alike but the sentiment of using the tournament as preparation for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 still rings true.

Yes, England can do well in this tournament but that doesn’t mean it is not a lesson for the future and, with the World Cup qualifiers beginning in September, the performances of our players in this tournament will have some bearing in how England progress post Euro 2012.

So, looking at the performances so far, and taking in to consideration the relative age of the team, which players should we be looking at for the road to Brazil?

Joe Hart

To be described by Gianluigi Buffon as one of the best keepers in the world is no mean feat, especially considering the Italian captain was thought by many to be the number one in the world for many years.

What makes the prospect of Joe Hart’s development even more impressive is that, at 25, there is so much more to come. England legend David Seaman recently said he believed Hart could go on to become the greatest English keeper of all time – that in itself is debateable, yet the quality of his play and the confidence he inspires is undeniable.

England’s defence may soon say goodbye to the likes of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Ashley Cole who are all over thirty but with Hart at the base of the defence the plans for development at least have a secure foundation. A possible future captain, Hart seems unlikely to be moved from England’s line up for years to come.

Phil Jones

Yet to play in Euro 2012, Phil Jones might not be everybody’s idea of the future heart of the English defence, but he doesn’t have a whole lot of competition. Yes, there is Chris Smalling, and Gary Cahill and Joleon Lescott will make it to the next World Cup, but Phil Jones has the potential to easily surpass his compatriots. Like it or not it is unlikely that Ferdinand or Terry will play another international tournament for England and Hodgson must start looking to the future now.

Jones started last season exceptionally well and despite his dip in form you’d have to say that Hodgson must have faith in the United youngster to include him ahead of Micah Richards. It remains unlikely that he will feature in Poland or Ukraine as even if one of our centre halves were to get injured or suspended you would imagine that Jagielka, with his not inconsiderable international experience, would be the man to fill the void. However, Jones remains England’s brightest hope for a future centre half and he will definitely have a role to play in the qualifiers for 2014.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

A raw talent, but a talent nonetheless. Not since Wayne Rooney’s goal for Everton against Arsenal as a teenager have fans and pundits been so excited by an English prospect. Chamberlain has gone, in the space of 18 months, from playing in League One to scoring in the Champions League and starting against France in an international tournament. Exuding confidence and technical ability there’s no telling how fast the former Southampton winger can progress.

Wenger himself expressed his surprise as to the speed of his development claiming that he had not really intended to use him at all for Arsenal last season. However, such was his growth, Chamberlain ended up playing 26 times for Arsenal, scoring 4 goals along the way. If, in a year, Chamberlain has progressed from League One to Champions League, in a further twelve months he could be ready to nail down a place in England’s starting line up. All of the experience he gains from these European Championships can only benefit his advancement.

Wayne Rooney + Danny Welbeck

Ever since Rooney came on to the international scene in 2004 he has been crying out for a decent strike partner. Yes, Michael Owen initially formed an on-field rapport with the United forward but his demise coincided with Rooney’s rise. Vassell, Heskey, Crouch, Bent, Defoe and others have all tried and failed to develop a meaningful football relationship with the former Everton man but at last Welbeck appears to be answer. Rooney may have looked rusty against Ukraine but after only one season of playing together at United the partnership they have formed is a proven combination.

Rooney will soon be 27. The time between now and the World Cup in 2014 will be the best years of his career, and now Welbeck is here to help get the best out of him.

We should expect Carroll’s form to improve over the next few years but it will be hard to replicate the effectiveness of a partnership honed at club level.

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Whatever your thoughts on England’s future, our friends at Samsung are interested in hearing them. Samsung have asked football fans ‘what matters most’ to them. I have added my thoughts to the process and I suggest you do the same by clicking here to be in with a chance to win a whole host of goodies, including a Samsung Smart Television ES8000 55”. Why not join the debate…

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David Beckham will line up for the MLS All Stars in a friendly against his former side Manchester United next week.Beckham, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy, was named in the 22-man MLS All Stars squad which will face the English Premier League champions in New York on July 27.

Former Arsenal striker and MLS equal-leading scorer Thierry Henry will also get the chance to renew hostilities with his old Premier League rivals, with the New York Red Bulls man named as one of six forwards.

The other big name in the team which will face United in the penultimate game of the American tour is USA international Landon Donovan, who is level with Henry at the head of the MLS goal-scoring charts this season with nine.

All-Star veterans such as Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo) and Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake) also feature in Hans Backe’s side, as do exciting newcomers like Sporting Kansas City’s Omar Bravo, Colombian international Faryd Mondragon and speedy Jamaican striker Omar Cummings.

It is the second consecutive year that Manchester United has played the MLS All Star team, with the English side winning 5-2 last time they met.

MLS All Stars: Goalkeepers: Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Faryd Mondragon (Philadelphia Union).

Defenders: Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Bobby Convey (San Jose Earthquakes), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA), Tim Ream (Red Bull New York).

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Jack Jewsbury (Portland Timbers), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Nick LaBrocca (Chivas USA).

Forwards: Juan Agudelo (Red Bull New York), Omar Bravo (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Cummings (Colorado Rapids), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Thierry Henry (Red Bull New York), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes).

Let’s face it; the transfer window system is a little rubbish. The concept of convenience is thrown out the window (how apt) as football clubs are forced to do their business in accordance to the rules laid down by an external governing body. This only benefits teams with well-developed squads and often leaves newly-promoted sides in the lurch as they fail to bolster any success they may have earned by bringing in reinforcements. The day of the short-term replacement is well and truly over.

Once the season has begun, injury-struck teams are unable to plug the leaks in their squad until January. Each and every club is forced to participate in a confined player-feeding-frenzy, which can often reveal the worst side of football – accusations of tapping up, transfer bungs and the manipulation of the press to unsettle the players (I’m looking at you Marca). It’s not pretty.

Hate it or love it, the January transfer window plays a defining role in the course of a season. So how important is the transfer window likely to be for the top five teams this season? Who needs to spend what if they can hope to win anything this season?

Manchester United have already claimed that they aren’t looking to strengthen their squad during the January transfer window. Despite this, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did make an addition or two. They’re currently in pole position for the Premier League title and may want to add some strength in depth as they attempt to maintain their grip. This season United have been lacking down the wings: Giggs isn’t getting any younger, Ji-Sung Park is off at the Asian Cup, and Gabriel Obertan isn’t making the grade. I wouldn’t be surprised to see United make an addition in that area of the park.

Manchester City are likely to be the window’s biggest spenders. They’ve already agreed a fee for Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko. Rated at £27 million, the 24-year-old represents an important acquisition for City. With strikers like Roque Santa Cruz and Emmanuel Adebayor on the way out they needed to reinforce that area of the pitch. It would surprise nobody if they made further purchases this January in order to build on the success they have had so far this season.

Not so long ago Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti spoke about how he saw no need to add to Chelsea’s squad in the oncoming transfer window. After the last month or so, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had changed his tune. With a history of big-spending, Chelsea are likely to make some additions to their squad in the hope that they can improve their form. I expect that at the very least they’ll bring in a striker to perk up their aging attack force.

Arsene Wenger has been typically obtuse regarding the January transfer window. The Gunners are notoriously tight-pursed when it comes to spending and I can’t see things being any different this time round. Any spending is likely to depend on whether or not Vermaelen recovers from his troublesome ankle-injury. If he doesn’t, expect to see Wenger bring in another defender as the Gunners attempt to deal with their fragility at the back.

Tottenham are a whole different kettle of fish. If they are to stand any chance of winning the Premier League they will have to spend and spend big. This doesn’t mean bringing in players just for the sake of it. With Harry Redknapp in charge, I’m sure Spurs will only go after players who add something to their squad. That’s why I was glad to see Redknapp express some concern at the prospect of Tottenham signing David Beckham. The likes of Ashley Young or Luis Suarez would make more suitable additions at White Hart Lane. If Spurs play their cards right, who knows what they can achieve?

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Whose January transfer window do you think will be the most significant? Are there any players you’d like to see join your club? Please feel free to leave comments or to follow me on Twitter @ThePerfectPass.

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Former Tottenham player Alan Mullery has told the White Hart Lane club to get tough with Luka Modric over his future, and tell him he cannot leave north London.

The Croatia international is one of Harry Redknapp’s top players and attracted a number of transfer bids from Chelsea last summer.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy stood firm in light of interest from the west London team, and the eastern European playmaker had no choice but to stay with his current employers.

With Tottenham missing out on next season’s Champions League due to the Blues win in Munich on Saturday, rumours are starting to formulate in the press once more over Modric’s future.

However, Mullery has insisted that Levy must be firm with his star players such as Modric and Gareth Bale, which will make them stay at the club.

“The situation is the same as last season but Luka is under contract,” the White Hart Lane hero told The Sun.

“I don’t see why Levy would be anything but as resolute as he was then. The chairman has been there before and I’m sure he’ll be there again.

“Gareth is still a young man learning his trade and has lots of years to play in the Premier League, with Tottenham or somewhere else.

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“But I don’t think he will leave,” Mullery confessed.

By Gareth McKnight

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Michel Platini’s plans for financial “fair play” in European football has garnered great debate over the past year or two, and I won’t say much more on that. But it has struck me that there might be an unwelcome consequence of these plans that wasn’t part of his remit.

Regarding ticket prices, Manchester City’s owners could have done something wonderful. They could have provided cheap tickets to all, filled the ground every week and brought back those that have been priced out of the modern game. I’m not saying they would have done, but they could have done, and having already put in place many positive changes to the match day experience, they may have done. And why? Well, they own the club not for profit, but to expand their “profile”. Ideally a club pays for itself, but I doubt City’s owners would have lost much sleep if City had continued to run at a loss.

Either way, we’ll never know. Because now, thanks to Platini, City, like every club will be looking at maximising income, in every possible way. Most clubs do anyway of course, but a wealthy owner, for all the criticism they receive, removed the need to generate every penny they spend. You might think this is how it should be morally, but in the end it will be the fans that pay the biggest price, as always. Because while City would always have looked to expand globally anyway, and sought out the biggest commercial deals they could possibly get, it is only natural that they now look to the fans as well for even more income. While income from tickets is but a small slice of how clubs generate money, it is an important slice nevertheless.

Not that all Premiership teams are definitely going to put up their prices. Last week, Everton announced a freeze on ticket prices for next season, a surprising move for a club in a perilous financial position. My season ticket has only gone up £40 over the past five years, following City’s own recent price freeze. The changes are creeping in at City though – the owners are pushing their marketing towards children and executives. So while the children still get in cheap and the whole of the north stand has been adapted to suit their needs, around the middle tier the fancy executive areas are beginning to spread outwards towards the corner flags, and as the seats get plumper and the facilities plusher, the prices have already started their march upwards. As we all know, corporate fans bring in far more money than your typical working class man who wants a pie and a pint and a seat anywhere. Thus we see the situation where City have sold out their limited allocation for the Chelsea away match this month, but you can still buy tickets if you want to spend quadruple the amount and go corporate.

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City’s decision makers know of course that there is a tipping point, that prices cannot rise too much as people will simply stop going to matches, hence why Cup tickets have remained cheap as chips (even cheaper if it’s the chips sold inside the ground), and then there’s the special offers for group purchases and the sale last summer of £250 lucky-dip season tickets. Even this hasn’t filled the ground up, but with the City of Manchester stadium hosting a minimum of 28 games this season, it is an expensive passion following a top-level team, however cheap the tickets are. In a survey sent out to City fans recently by the club, there was a rather ominous question that asked how much we were prepared to pay for a season ticket. This doesn’t sound like a club that plans to freeze season ticket prices. I know many City fans though that won’t pay over £500.

What’s more, it’s something of a false economy for a club to only look at how much they have made on ticket sales. It’s better for a club to sell 40,000 tickets for £10 pounds than 20,000 tickets at £25, as a large percentage of those 40,000 fans will eat burgers, drink beer and potter round the club-store.

I write with a premiership bias of course, as I usually do. Cheap tickets will still exist, further down the football pyramid. The question remains that if tickets continue to rise in the top leagues, will fans abandon their teams and stop watching football, or perhaps go and watch lower-league football instead? Plenty already do, but attendances in the top divisions don’t show any signs just yet of tailing off.

Many, many clubs have often spent beyond their means, because the general rule is you have to spend to be successful. And once you become successful at the highest levels, the financial rewards mean you tend to stay successful. This is why so called well-run clubs like Everton and Aston Villa are absolutely riddled with debt, Aston Villa’s announced at a cool £70m just this week.

My fear is that rather than stop spending, clubs in the Premiership who are not duking it out with the elite of Europe will keep looking to spend to ward off the financial nightmare that is relegation. So they’ll look to make more money, and the only way they can do that is through the likes of you and me. Even Arsenal, the epitome of a well-run club (so everyone tells me), generate a large slice of their income through a huge match-day income. I think I am right in saying they generate more on a match-day than any other club on the planet, and recently introduced for their match against City the first ever non-corporate £100 match ticket.

There is one other scenario – one that some tabloid journalists have mentioned, so its veracity is unclear. And that is that clubs will take a gamble in dismissing the idea that UEFA would go as far as excluding clubs from European competition, and thus have no intention of meeting the criteria. It’s also worth noting that the sanctions UEFA can impose only apply to exclusion from European competitions. So if a team is not in Europe and it isn’t looking likely that they will be in the short-term, then they won’t be overly worried about meeting UEFA’s criteria.

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But if a club running at a loss is to meet the criteria set out by UEFA, then they have three options. Spend less, or generate more money. Or both. I don’t agree with UEFA’s new rules, but it will be interesting to see how clubs react.

Written By Howard Hockin

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David Gold will be welcomed back to St Andrews when Birmingham play West Ham in the Carling Cup, just weeks after he was barred.

The former Blues chairman was told to stay away from the ground when the two sides met recently in the Premier League, but the Hammers chief will be allowed to take his seat in the directors' box this time.

Gold was refused access to the whole stadium on grounds of personal safety after his comments in a national newspaper about his former club and in particular acting chairman Peter Pannu who he described as "disgusting".

However, Pannu is now ready to draw a line under the matter ahead of their two-legged semi-final, with the game at St Andrews set to take place on Wednesday, January 26.

Pannu said: "Birmingham City would like to take this opportunity to confirm David Gold is welcome at the stadium and the Blues board look forward to seeing him, and of course David Sullivan and all members of the West Ham board, at the game."

Gold fell out with his successor in the aftermath of the sale to Carson Yeung after claiming he had been promised the chance to stay on as chairman.

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Pannu denied ever making such as an offer and Gold was upset at insinuations that he had lost his mind.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi has hit back at claims from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that he wasted time in the recent clash between the teams.

The Latics pulled off a surprise 2-1 win over the Gunners at the Emirates on Monday night, and the French coach had channelled his anger towards the visiting stopper.

However, Al Habsi has claimed that he is not a cheat and backed his professionalism.

“When I play football I do not cheat. I used a tactic to control and contain the game,” he told The Sun.

“It’s normal when you play in big-pressure matches to control the game to take the pressure off your team.

“It’s very important for me as a goalkeeper and my team-mates in defence to do this in order to help our side.

“The ref is there to see everything and if he’s happy then so am I. I have to do it for my team,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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We’ve all heard and seen it before within club football. Players using smaller teams as a stepping-stone to give them regular first team football and put themselves in the big boys shop window. However it seems like this disgusting exploitation of clubs has now stretched over into international football.

Last week Paul Scholes let his opinions be heard and claimed that the England team is full of self-centered players only interested in showing off to bigger clubs or securing a more lucrative contract. The recently retired midfielder quit the England scene in 2004 and many thought it was a combination of being played out of position and a hunger to further his club career that were the main reasons behind his decision to walk away from the three lions. Despite the efforts of Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello, who both tried to coax him out of international retirement, Scholes resisted their overtures.

Only now has this new reasoning behind Scholes’ international exile come to light and his words could prove to be disastrous for an England side already under heaps of pressure to bounce back from last years World Cup horror in South Africa. However what he says does make sense and resonates with a feeling I’ve had for years about new players coming into the England side. There is evidence to prove that players are using England caps for their own personal gain and that reaching the pinnacle of footballing recognition just doesn’t mean as much as it did in the past.

Scholes explained his feelings to the Daily Telegraph: “I always felt when I first started going away with England, players — especially players at clubs like your Aston Villas’s — try to use England as a way to get to a top club. Which, I don’t know, you feel: are they there for the right reason? I think they are very selfish people.

“It happened in my day, I think they are all there to get their bit of glory, their headlines, to think, ‘Oh, I will get a move from this’. That is the biggest problem with English players: that most of them are just too selfish”

Whilst I do partly agree with what Scholes is saying my opinion on the matter is that it’s the fault of the clubs for this sudden surge in one cap wonder signings. Both Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson made their England debut last season in the defeat to France. Carroll was praised for his performance up front alone whilst Henderson slipped by the wayside after his abysmal showing. Despite the two contrasting performances both earned big money moves to two of the leagues top clubs despite their lack of experience at Premier League level. Even the likes of Michael Ricketts, Shaun Wright Phillips and Emile Heskey have made moves to bigger clubs in the wake of international recognition.

I’m 50-50 with Scholes and I am going to dispute his views even though he was actually a part of the England but I do disagree with his opinion that players use the national side as a stepping stone, it’s impossible. I do agree with the sentiment that playing for your country doesn’t mean what it used too. Players do expect the limelight to be on them when they’re thought to be good enough to represent their country. However I think it is the fault of the clubs who seem to want to snap up anyone who gets within a whisker of an England cap never mind trotting out onto the Wembley turf and actually performing.

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I honestly think it’s ridiculous to say that players are using England as a vehicle to a better career. It’s even more ludicrous to blame this as the reason why we’ve failed miserably when it comes to the World Cup and European Championships. I’d like to believe him but the truth is that some of the players that have played and are playing for England aren’t good enough to perform against the worlds best. The last 10 years have shown that Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can’t play together for example. The squad never has any consistency unlike the Spainiards, who he mentioned all play for each other, with too many squad changes every game.

Frankly there are times when players in the England team look like they are playing for themselves but I don’t think it’s a deliberate ploy to garner interest from bigger clubs. Scholes’ insinuation that playing for your country isn’t as important as it used to be is 100% correct but to imply that players are stepping out with the three lions on their chest in an attempt to earn more pound coins is absurd. Sorry but those are the words of a bitter man.