As the Championship prepares to kick off on Friday with Wolves hosting Blackburn at Molineux, not every club is entering the campaign with confidence. While the division features heavyweights like Wolves and West Ham fresh out of the Premier League, along with promotion hopefuls such as Burnley, Middlesbrough and Southampton, several clubs face a season shadowed by anxiety rather than ambition.
Blackburn Rovers are among those bracing for a difficult year after narrowly avoiding relegation with a 20th-place finish last term. Tony Mowbray has returned to Ewood Park to steady the ship, but many supporters feel he has been given a thin squad to work with, particularly in midfield. The club's only significant additions this summer have been Sam Morsy, Moussa Baradji and Jayden Fevrier, leaving Mowbray publicly hungry for more reinforcements.
"I'm a bit greedy for good players," Mowbray said. "I keep saying to Rudy: 'I just want good players, doesn't really matter where they come from, what age they are.' I want to see personality on the pitch, players who are desperate to win."
Mowbray praised Morsy, the 34-year-old free-transfer arrival, as "a real man, a soldier," and believes Fevrier — signed from Stockport — could add "magic" down the right flank. Blackburn's preparation for the new campaign included a scrappy 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Burton, secured only through late goals from Andri Gudjohnsen and Fevrier.
Elsewhere, two other clubs carrying similar unease will collide at the Toughsheet Stadium on Saturday: Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End. Bolton arrive on the back of promotion glory, having thrashed Stockport 4-1 in the League One playoff final, but the euphoria has already begun to fade. Manager Steven Schumacher has recruited six new players — David Watson, Ben Davies, Akin Famewo, Luca Stephenson, Kyliane Dong and Gaizka Larrazabal — yet many fans feel the squad lacks a genuine attacking upgrade, with striker Sam Dalby potentially being asked to carry too heavy a burden.
Schumacher's warning that the club "can't afford to waste money" has done little to ease supporter concerns. "We know we're short, especially at the top end of the pitch," he admitted. "Our budget isn't massive so we need to make sure we get the right players in, rather than just signing anybody to fill numbers. We need to try and consolidate this year, rebuild, get some more finances behind us, bring in a better squad that can keep us at this level, and then kick on."
Despite Schumacher describing this period as "an exciting one," a 1-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday has only heightened worries about the team's firepower. Belgian forward Max Dean, on the radar from Gent, remains an unproven 22-year-old with limited English experience, having had only a brief stint at MK Dons.
Preston, meanwhile, hope to exploit any early-season uncertainty at Bolton, though Paul Heckingbottom has faced his own turbulence in the transfer window. A public disagreement with departing captain Ben Whiteman — who pushed for a move to Wrexham — left tension in its wake. Heckingbottom said Whiteman "crossed a line" during the saga, expressing his frustration with how it unfolded.
On the positive side, Preston have invested in the squad, bringing in Alfie Devine from Tottenham for around £6m, while Callum Lang, a £2m January signing who missed time through injury, now "feels like a new signing," according to Heckingbottom. Still, after winning just four of their final 20 matches last season, and with roughly £1.5m spent on a new hybrid pitch at Deepdale, expectations at the club have risen — adding further pressure on Heckingbottom to improve on last season's 14th-place finish.
As the new Championship campaign begins, the contrast between hope and apprehension across the division highlights just how unforgiving English football's second tier has become.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.