Blogs

The Olympics proves sport in Yorkshire is thriving but where are the top Yorkshire football teams?

|

Sheffield Wednesday have had a torrid time since the heady days of the Premiership, crashing to Division One and narrowly avoiding relegation to Division 2. They eventually got back to the Championship in 04-05 where they stayed till 09-10. They then became yet another club in financial turmoil and a series of winding up orders were delivered before Milan Mandaric agreed to purchase the club and settle the debts. Last season, manager Dave Jones guided them to promotion on the last day and has been quick to strengthen his squad for the forthcoming year. He has added the experienced but oft injured Chris Kirkland, Chris Maguire and Joe Mattock on free transfers, an unknown Portugese U.21 International, Diogo Amado and Slovenian International Nejc Pecnik. Whilst, none of the signings excite, the plans appear to be to guarantee safety first and build for the future.

According to the odds on Sky Bet, favourites to be relegated from the Championship this season are Barnsley. Following their relegation from the Premiership, the club went into administration and fell to League One before getting back to the Championship in 05-06. Since2006 the club have been battling each year to avoid relegation, last year only surviving due to the financial state of Portsmouth. Barnsley, however, were only one of two clubs in the league to turn a profit last season but have largely made free transfers their main target. The club have brought in Mido, who is already out for 3 months injured and a host of young players to bolster the squad. More importantly, and to the frustration of manager Keith Hill, the club have lost captain and star man Jacob Butterfield to Norwich. All signs point to another tough season for Barnsley and their luck could be up this time round.

As we drop down the leagues there are only two more former Premiership teams representing Yorkshire. Sheffield United narrowly missed out last season on promotion from League One, losing to Huddersfield in the play-off final. Despite losing young prospect Matt Lowton to Aston Villa, the club have brought in a host of transfers to strengthen the squad and it will be surprising if they aren’t up there again this time round. If we drop down another division, we find the lowest of all former Premiership teams, Bradford City. Yet another team which were managed poorly financially, splashing cash on marquee signings, regardless of their age or wage demands. The club reportedly bent over backwards to bring in Benito Carbone, going as far as to buy a house for him and allow him to bring in his own personal physio. The club started to develop their stadium, and ran out of money before finishing one of the stands. It is now the biggest in League 2 and regularly draws in bigger crowds than teams further up the leagues. There is renewed optimism under Phil Parkinson and this could well be their last in League 2.

One Yorkshire club on the rise, who are thirsty for their first taste of the Premiership are Huddersfield who also joined the Championship from League One last season and of course have a very exciting prospect in their ranks in Jordan Rhodes. An argument could be made that he should have been in the Olympic squad, if we are looking for young, in form, talent. Huddersfield fans, do you agree?

A lot of teams have been hit financially with the economic downturn and a lot of these Yorkshire clubs highlight the importance of running a club prudently, something we will no doubt see more of, as Fifa’s Financial rules come into play. One thing for sure, is there is a long way to go before we see any Yorkshire teams facing each other in the top flight but this could well be the year they take one step closer.

Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:

ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.

Share this article