Sky Bet Championship 2016/17: 5 things we learnt this week – Matchday 19
Newcastle are slipping up again, Derby and Leeds staking a claim for the playoffs and a couple of five-goal thrillers to on hands mean there’s plenty to pick out from last weekend’s Sky-Bet Championship.
Few could have foreseen the last 2 results for the Geordies, did manager Rafa Benitez see red like two of his team? Also, two sides between them managed to rack up 10 goals in their matches. Even more impressive was that one of them couldn’t buy a win in the last month!
There’s also another loss for the division’s bottom club, more McClaren magic for the Rams, and a tear or two nearly shed - all in the Sky-Bet Championship roundup!
#1 High fives for Fulham and Norwich
Both Fulham and Norwich City had home advantage in the weekend’s fixtures, playing Reading and Brentford respectively. However, while Fulham’s form of late was decent with just one loss in the last 4. Norwich were on the sort of run that would see them into relegation, losing each of their last 5 games.
Even the most ardent fan wouldn’t have predicted that both teams would be celebrating huge victories on Saturday evening.
Fulham turned on the style in the second half against 10 men Reading, scoring 4 of their 5 goals in that period. However, their manager Slavisa Jokanovic still wasn’t happy and thought they could have had more:
"We scored five but we could have been more clinical at some moments. It is important when your moment arrives that you kill off the opponents.”
For Norwich City, the turnaround from their last match was scarcely believable. From no wins in five games to a 5-0 win over Brentford will surely give them the tonic they need to now go on a run of form.
One more loss and Boss Alex Neil was potentially another managerial casualty in the Championship. But all that talk seems now to have disappeared after this victory. Neil knew just how important this match was:
"It's only one win, and we need to build on it. November was a really tough month for us. Hopefully, that is us seeing the back of that and we can push on.
"The players knew the importance of the game for everyone connected with the club - myself, the fans, the staff - and they responded in the perfect manner."