Rooney relief, Stoke City sacking and Beckham and Birmingham City take centre stage – EFL talking points

Rooney relief, Stoke City sacking and Beckham and Birmingham City take centre stage – EFL talking points.

This week, as clubs gear up for yet another exciting weekend, we examine the key talking topics from the EFL

Championship.

This week in the EFL has been typical, with fines from the FA, managers being fired and replaced, and the

‘Hollywood derby’.

We examine some of the major topics of discussion and things to watch out for ahead of this weekend’s games.

Manager merry-go-round

Though it came as a bit of a surprise, Stoke City’s decision to fire Steven Schumacher may not have come as a

surprise considering the number of managers the team has had in recent years.

Following Oxford United’s Championship loss on Saturday—their third loss of the year—Schumacher was relieved of

his responsibilities. Although there was some interest in Ryan Shawcross going up from the Under-21s under

another former player, now sports director Jon Walters, the club resisted the urge to bring the group back together

by moving quickly to hire Norwich coach Narcis Pelach.

Though the 36-year-old Catalan signed a three-year contract, considering that he will be the ninth manager at the bet365 Stadium in the previous six and a half years,

He gets off to a rapid start when Stoke hosts Hull City this evening (Friday) to begin matchday six of the

Championship. Hull is now in third place after a bad start. When German Tim Walter was chosen in place of Liam

Rosenior, after the latter finished ninth in the previous season, owner Acun Ilicali did not anticipate the outcome.

Walter surely feels pressured, especially considering Iliaci’s notoriety.

So will Erol Bulut, the manager of Cardiff City, who promised to “never give up” following the team’s worst season

opening for thirty-five years. In his 14 years as the Bluebirds’ owner, Vincent Tan, the team has had 11 permanent

managers, and Bulut is having a terrible time adjusting to his new position, having only started in June.

Cardiff host Leeds United on Saturday and Bulut admitted his job is on the line. “When someone has to pay for something, I have to pay, I have no problem with that. But I take the responsibility for everything.”

In the opposite dugout to Bulut tomorrow will be Daniel Farke. A manager who has a proven track record in the

Championship yet who is also feeling the heat. His Leeds side sit ninth after narrowly missing out on promotion last

season and grumbles have already started, bizarrely, as Leeds Live reported in the aftermath of Scumacher’s

departure.

Stoke were the second team this season to part company with their manager after Preston binned off Ryan Lowe. A

third seems likely any time soon.

Rooney relief

Talking of managers, there isn’t any as high profile in the EFL as Wayne Rooney. Fresh from getting their first win of the season courtesy of Joe Edwards’ last-gasp goal in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Sunderland, his Plymouth Argyle side now face another tough ask against top-of-the-table West Brom.

With four victories and a tie under his belt, the Baggies are among just three undefeated teams in the division. Carlos Corberan, who is over two years into his tenure at the Hawthorns, has successfully turned around the team’s fortunes.

Although Jayson Molumby’s calf injury has cast doubt on the team, West Brom is expected to cling to its winning formula as the only team in the top four divisions of English football to pick an unchanged lineup in their first five league games of the season.

It’s an opportunity for Plymouth to build on their encouraging victory the previous time around, which saw them dethrone Sunderland as the top team in the league.

Rooney’s assistant, Pete Shuttleworth said it was natural to enjoy a moment of celebration after their win, but that attention has now fully turned to a challenge that needs to be ‘embraced’.