The Exiled Robin

When the Top 25 players in the Championship were  named a year ago  on The Seventy Two, it was a one time view of players at the time.  Nearly half of the list are now at Premier League clubs which indicates some level of accuracy in the view.  This week's review finishes here with a look at the final five names on the original list - with perhaps the biggest star wrapping things up. Leeds United have had some very good players over the past two or three years - and most of them now play for Norwich City.  It has been a curious sideshow to the Ken Bates era but one which the Canaries have benefited greatly from, particularly with this player's signing.  I enlisted the help of  Little Norwich  to give me a view on the latest player to meander down the well-trodden path. Robert Snodgrass:   Top 25 review from 2011 Club in Dec 2011:  Leeds United  Club now:  Norwich City Progress made?  Moved to the Premier Lea...

The Top 25 players in the Championship were  named a year ago  on The Seventy Two, a culmination of personal views and ultimately a fan's vote.   Fourteen have already been reviewed this week and this fourth u pdate takes a cursory glance at a further six players, four of whom are now on the books of Premier League clubs. Firstly today, Joe Harrison provides an angle on one of the few from the list to have commanded a significant transfer fee since appearing in the vote. Jay Rodriguez:   Top 25 review from 2011 Club in Dec 2011:  Burnley  Club now:  Southampton Progress made?  Moved to the Premier League A year on, it comes as no surprise that Jay Rodriguez would be ineligible for the same list this year, as he has made the step up to the Premier League. Unfortunately for Burnley, it has not been with them, Southampton signing the Lancastrian for a fee believed to be around £7m following his 21 goals for the Clarets last seaso...

Following on from the publication of the Top 25 players in the Championship,  named a year ago  on The Seventy Two, this third of five updates tracks the progress of each of the players voted one of the best on view at the time. First if all I relook at a man often accused of being a flat-track bully over the years, but who is now proving his ability at the highest level. Rickie Lambert:   Top 25 review from 2011 Club in Dec 2011:  Southampton  Club now:  Southampton Progress made?  Promotion to the Premier League There's little greater compliment I can pay than to say that upon reflection of the original article, it became quickly apparent that I could actually just rewrite the whole piece, simply replacing the word 'Championship' with 'Premier League'.  Such has been the smoothness and vivacity with which this one time lower league journeyman has taken to the oft (falsely) quoted "best league in the world". The doubts tha...

The second instalment in the series re-examining the progress made by the Top 25 players in the Championship, named a year ago . Joe Harrison  and  John Verrall  have once again joined forces with me to review three-quarters of the top 25, with a selection of excellent club writers filling in for the remaining seven on the list.  Throughout this week I’ll publish updates on each player, giving an insight into the progress made in the intervening 14 months. Today's instalment kicks off with another player from our list who would be ineligible from a vote this year, as he is plying his trade in the Premier League.  Rob Langham , lifelong Reading fan and proprietor of the host of the Top 25 archive at  The Two Unfortunates , takes a look at how Jimmy Kebe's career has evolved since his match-winning performances helped the Royals to a late and somewhat surprising surge to promotion. Jimmy Kebe:   Top 25 review from 2011 Club in Dec 2011: ...

A little over a year ago, four writers having a conversation on Twitter one evening were debating who the best player in the Championship was at that time.  We came up with around a dozen contenders ourselves and then opened up the question to a relatively extensive follower base and, eventually, came up with a list of the top 25 voted for by our followers, released in a daily format in an advent calendar style throughout December 2011. The well-received list was published on The Seventy Two, and now resides in the archive of the same name on the fabulous The Two Unfortunates . One year (and-a-bit) on and we thought it would be an interesting experiment to review all of the names on the list and see where their careers had taken them.  Upon reflection the list doesn't look that bad a stab, with 10 of the 25 players now with Premier League clubs, plus at least another three at Cardiff seemingly destined to reach the top flight in May (or indeed, April). There are of...