Watford
Last year: 18th
Ground: Vicarage Road
Capacity: 22,000
Manager: Adrian Boothroyd
(5 months, W2, Dl, L4)
A THRILLING Carling Cup campaign could not disguise
the fact that Watford often floundered last season,
and their home form was particularly mercurial.Such big names as they had have walked away, and the
general consensus is that the Hornets are in dire
straits.
It’s hard to predict how Adrian Boothroyd’s rag-tag
rump of cabin boys and ancient mariners will fare on
the open seas of the Championship, but the evidence
of the tail-end of last season hints that all may
not yet be lost.
Teams who ‘play football’ like Watford have a mixed
record in the lower divisions, but they’re my quiet
fancy to surprise everyone, beat the drop and maybe
even reward a fun bet on the handicaps.
A 5-6 match bet against Millwall is a possible angle
(Stan James, Totesport).
We say: 16th 100-1
Wolves
Last year: 9th
Ground: Molineux
Capacity: 28,525
Manager: Glenn Hoddle
(8 months, W9, D15, L2)
JOINT favourites with some firms. The loss of
first-choice keeper Paul Jones for two months will
be a serious blow, but elsewhere the squad news
looks relatively positive. Wolves owed their
proximity to the Play-Offs last term to a
spectacular run of form at the tail-end of the
campaign, when they were unbeaten in 18.
It’s the freshest and best local form on offer, and
punters have taken the hint, but last season a very
similar Wolves side drew almost half of their league
games, let weak teams score too many goals, and
sacrificed too many leads. The Championship looks
significantly stronger this time, and the Tote’s 9-2
is way off beam.
That said, Wolves may still become a backable price
for promotion if tough early fixtures take their
toil.
We say: 3rd 13-2 |
