A hectic month of Championship football which saw 31 tantalising matches played, has ended. And thus with the calendar shifting from November to December, the prestigious manager and player of the month accolades will be duly given to the deserving candidate. With a host of teams picking up invaluable victories and enjoying some fruitful winning form, the November winner is anybody’s guess.
Championship Manager of the Month Nominees
Steve Bruce (Aston Villa)
After taking the Aston Villa hot-seat the former Hull manager has enjoyed fruitful success at the Birmingham-based club. Since his appointment in October, Steve Bruce has led his side on a seven game unbeaten run, before they were most recently downed by a promotion chasing Leeds side last Saturday. This run subsequently lifted the Villains from a relegation scrap to a comfortable mid-table place.
Villa’s November form makes for pleasant reading, as they picked up seven points from a possible nine.
November results:
Aston Villa 2-1 Blackburn Rovers (5th)
Brighton 1-1 Aston Villa (18th)
Aston Villa 3-1 Cardiff City (26th)
Steve McClaren (Derby)
After a poor September showing from Derby, Steve McClaren’s men bounced back superbly in the latter months, losing just once in nine games in the league. This saw them sky-rocket from a lowly 20th place at the end of September to 9th after their first December game.
The month of November saw the Rams claim nine points from a possible nine, in which they scored 7 and conceded 2.
November results:
Wolves 2-3 Derby (5th)
Derby 3-0 Rotherham (19th)
Derby 1-0 Norwich (26th)
Owen Coyle (Blackburn Rovers)
With his side still firmly in a fight for safety, Owen Coyle saw his side claim two impressive victories which may just define Blackburn’s season. The most stand-out victory coming against leaders Newcastle at St James’ Park, as the Rovers snapped the Toon’s winning streak, cancelling out their chances of a record tenth successive victory.
In their last 8 games, Coyle’s men have picked up 12 points, a run that led Coyle to claim that the run his side were on was “close to play-off form“. While that may not be entirely true, Blackburn did enjoy a solid month, and are looking more and more likely to avoid the drop by the day.
November results:
Blackburn 1-2 Aston Villa (5th)
Blackburn 3-2 Brentford (19th)
Newcastle 0-1 Blackburn (26th)
Jaap Stam (Reading)
In his debut year in management, Jaap Stam has led Reading to one of the most surprising starts of the Championship season, as his side sit just shy of the automatic promotion places.
His possession-based philosophy has been turning some heads, and while it didn’t run smooth at first, the Royals have finally begun to get going. Their form in November proves this. They picked up three wins from three, scoring eight goals and conceding one, form that suggests they’re not to be dealt with lightly.
November results:
Wigan 0-3 Reading (5th)
Reading 3-0 Burton Albion (19th)
Reading 2-1 Bristol City (26th)
The players up for the November Championship Player of the Month award are Tom Ince (Derby), Tomasz Kuszczak (Birmingham), Henri Lansbury (Nottm Forest) and Steve Sidwell (Brighton).
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