Well folks, here we are at last, the home run is coming into view and i for one will be glad when this roller coaster has finished. Much like those beloved children tricked into eating ice creams and the contents of their lunch boxes whilst riding the Big Dipper at Blackpool, i can firmly state i have experienced trepidation, joy and massive disappointment as well as sickness and regret, and there's still two months to go.
A season that ended in such despair last year was surely our greatest opportunity missed? That's how i and a great many other Bluebirds felt as we trudged down Wembley Way onto the crowded tube trains to begin our long journeys home but how wrong could we have been. This season has seen Cardiff City FC become the Manchester City/Chelsea of the Npower Championship where other clubs looked on enviously as we added the likes of Bellamy, Olofinjana and Koumas to our squad. And just like the blue half of Manchester and London we have not lived up to the billing.
QPR on the other hand have taken the season by storm maintaining a stronger consistency than Michael Barrymore wrecking his career and continue the long march back to the top division in English football seemingly unstoppable. However, as we all have heard and learnt, football genuinely IS a funny old game and like Keegan's Newcastle things could spectacularly go pear-shaped any time now.
Swansea or should i say the 'Chelsea' of the division as dear old Seyi described them to the press, have continued their impressive style of football that has seen them there or there abouts these last few seasons and now on the brink of playoff/automatic promotion. The missing ingredient for them was goals and with the arrival of a certain Mr Sinclair those goals have been flying in. I wrote this paragraph of course through gritted teeth but still you have to admire what is a genuinely great footballing side.
Notts Forest, Norwich and Leeds are three massive clubs who quite frankly should be in the top six or there's something seriously wrong. OK Norwich and Leeds are newly promoted but don't let that fool you into thinking this season they're over-achieving because the reality is they are big, big clubs. Forest fell at the semi-final hurdle last season and despite a disastrous start to the season the players seemed to have switched off to Billy Davies' post-match verbal assaults on them and get back to doing what they do best, playing football.
I hesitate to predict who will finish where, but one thing i do know is that this season just proves what an immensely magical league the Championship is. Literally anyone can beat other on the day, just ask Forest about Scunthorpe if you don't believe me. This season is a real pressure-cooker, the question is who can stand the heat and who's gonna burst at the last moment. Ask me again in May.
