The Exiled Robin

"So there you have it.  After wins galore, unbeaten runs, two trophies and 99 points, the Championship  is going to be just a little bit tougher....." Wes Burns, Frankie Fielding and defending set-pieces all a part of my Bristol Post contribution to this week's blog, following the first league game of the season. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Heady/story-27594151-detail/story.html *Please note this was written before the Dwight Gayle news broke and before the Luton game! The Exiled Robin Follow me on Twitter  --- 'Like' us on Facebook http://exiledrobin.blogspot.c om www.facebook.com/theciderdiaries --- www.twitter.com/th eciderdiaries

The final episode of the Exiled Robin’s series of six posts introducing you to the Championship’s newest members focuses on perhaps the most familiar of all to City fans, with regular clashes against Wolves over the past 10-15 years.   Find other posts in the series here: Welcome to the Championship (1/6): Blackburn Rovers Welcome to the Championship (2/6): Sheffield Wednesday Welcome to the Championship (3/6): Charlton Athletic Welcome to the Championship (4/6): Bolton Wanderers Welcome to the Championship (5/6): Huddersfield Town About……Wolverhampton Wanderers Nickname: ‘Wolves’         Manager: Stale Solbakken Play at: Molineux, 99 miles from Ashton Gate Capacity: 31,500; Last Season Avg Attendance: 25,682 Interesting Facts:   Wolves led the way in many aspects seen as standard in the modern game – although others had dabbled, Wolves hosted a series of floodlit matches against illust...

The penultimate post in this series of six presents the Yorkshire side who won promotion via the play offs, one year on from disappointment at the same stage. Find other posts in the series here: Welcome to the Championship (1/6): Blackburn Rovers Welcome to the Championship (2/6): Sheffield Wednesday Welcome to the Championship (3/6): Charlton Athletic Welcome to the Championship (4/6): Bolton Wanderers About……Huddersfield Town Nickname: ‘The Terriers’                Manager: Simon Grayson Play at: Galpharm Stadium, 207 miles from Ashton Gate Capacity: 24,500;   Last Season Avg Attendance: 14,146 Interesting Facts:   Huddersfield were the best club around in the 1920’s, becoming the first club to win the league title in three successive seasons in the 1920’s in a run of positions that went 3 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 2   >>> They won the FA Cup i...

The fourth in the Exiled Robin’s series of six posts introducing you to the Championship’s newest members focuses on perhaps the most surprising addition.  Bolton were an established Premier League club and in Owen Coyle had snared one of the brightest young managers in the game, yet found the going last season just too tough.   Find other posts in the series here: Welcome to the Championship (1/6): Blackburn Rovers Welcome to the Championship (2/6): Sheffield Wednesday Welcome to the Championship (3/6): Charlton Athletic   About……Bolton Wanderers Nickname: ‘The Trotters’ Manager: Owen Coyle Play at: The Reebok Stadium, 188 miles from Ashton Gate Capacity: 28,101; Last Season Avg Attendance: 23,669 Interesting Facts:   Bolton have spent more years in the top division (71) than any other side without winning the title >>> Two of the most famous FA Cup finals of all time featured Bolton, the 1923 ‘White Horse’...

In this, the third of a series of six posts introducing you to the Championship’s newest members, The Exiled Robin visits South London and checks out last year's runaway League One Champions, Charlton Athletic. Find other posts in the series here: Welcome to the Championship (1/6): Blackburn Rovers Welcome to the Championship (2/6): Sheffield Wednesday About……Charlton Athletic Nickname: ‘The Addicks’               Manager: Chris Powell Play at: The Valley, 129 miles from Ashton Gate Capacity: 27,111; Last Season Avg Attendance: 17,429 Interesting Facts:   In the late 1940’s The Valley was the largest football league ground in England >>> For financial reasons Charlton were forced to share Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace for nearly a decade before a restructure of finances led to an emotional return in late 1992 >>> in 1998 the Addicks participated in ...

The second in a series of six posts to be released over the next couple of weeks, introducing you to the Championship’s newest members, reflects on Sheffield Wednesday's return to the (relative) big time. Find other posts in the series here: Welcome to the Championship (1/6): Blackburn Rovers About……Sheffield Wednesday Nickname: ‘The Owls’     Manager: Dave Jones Play at: Hillsborough, 186 miles from Ashton Gate Capacity: 39,732; Last Season Avg Attendance: 21,336 Interesting Facts:   Former Goalkeeper Kevin Pressman holds the record for the fastest ever British league sending-off, just 13 seconds into a match with Wolves in 2000 >>> Future City boss Danny Wilson’s tenure as manager caused four MP’s, including future Home Secretary David Blunkett, to publicly call for his sacking >>> Wednesday finished third in the last season before the creation of the Premier League >>> They reached both FA Cup and League Cup finals in 19...