Opinion: Championship defending leaves a lot to be desired

It might be time for a new Championship edition of the defending handbook with 12 goals – many of them poor at best – keeping supporters guessing across their respective wins over Wigan and Norwich on Saturday.

The Championship is so often raved about as one of the tightest divisions on the planet. An exceptionally difficult league to prevail in with not much quality separating the better and poorer sides.

But, on the evidence of this weekend’s action anyway, it seems the art of defending may be lost on defenders across the second tier.

Villa and Albion fans will confirm as much after watching goalkeepers Sam Johnstone and Orjan Nyland left totally exposed for much of the 90 minutes.

Fortunately for Steve Bruce and Darren Moore, their sides’ extra quality further up the pitch shone through (just about).

But both bosses will be well aware that 3-2 and 4-3 victories will not get their clubs promoted.

Both clubs possess fine attacking talent but that alone won’t get their defenders out of jail in all 46 games this season, plus possible play-offs.

Bruce and Moore were as solid as centre-halves come. Blood and thunder defenders, they lived and breathed for clean sheets and I’m positive seeing their teams ship goals will have them tossing and turning at night.

There must have been pacy heart rates as Wigan got themselves into a 2-1 lead at Villa Park and Norwich threatened to claw back Albion’s 4-2 Carrow Road lead.

Though, it must be said, fans will likely get their value for money this season, while it will be a blast for the neutrals. Which is something, at least, at The Hawthorns after putting up with the ‘safer’ style of play under Tony Pulis.

Still, it must be satisfying that – even with such leaky backlines in the early stage of the campaign – Villa and the Baggies are sitting pretty on six and four points.

No Championship club has mustered back-to-back shut-outs, so perhaps it is a virus spreading throughout the second tier, or maybe new additions are merely getting to grips with different personnel and systems.

Moving on, ‘proper football’, if you listen to Sky Sports, began over the weekend as the Premier League returned to our screens.

Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United secured a terrifically Mourinho-esque opening day success on Friday night.

A third minute penalty is ideal for a Mourinho side. Edge ahead early on and be solid. Unfortunately for the neutral, unspectacular tends to also be the Jose way and Leicester were unable to rally early enough to make it any form of exciting contest.

That must have been music to the ears of Sky producers who would have fought off strong interest from BT for the Premier League curtain-raiser only for it to have a dour Mourinho-fest stamped all over it.

Still, a win for the Special One means three points on the board. Winning ugly is not the worst trait.

Anyway, the action improved as the weekend went on. Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves were one of Saturday’s chief talking points as the Molineux men impressed with their attacking style and marked their return from a six-year top flight exile with a clash to remember.

Last season’s fairytale survivors Huddersfield and Brighton could be in for a dose of second-season syndrome.

David Wagner and Chris Hughton were left with questions to answer about their side’s displays after 3-0 defeats at home to Chelsea and away at Watford, respectively.

You fancied Huddersfield may have made life for Chelsea difficult as the Maurizio Sarri era started at a potentially tough ground against a side familiar with roughing up and getting in the faces of opposition.

But credit to the Italian chief. A potential banana skin has been emphatically avoided as he adjusts to the rigours of English football.

Sarri had warned that it would take the Blues a couple of months to gel under his new methods but to go in 2-0 at the half-time on the road must have eased the former Napoli boss’s nerves.

Brighton will be concerned at how easy Watford, under Javi Gracia for a first full season, made of picking them off.

Elsewhere Wolves’ fellow new-boys Fulham, tipped to do well after spending heavily and wisely this summer, were taught a lesson in Premier League quality by their own former boss Roy Hodgson. The former Albion gaffer should have a cracking campaign at Selhurst Park. He was excellent in guiding the Eagles out of serious trouble last season and, having kept hold of Wilfried Zaha, Palace can expect to trouble a number of sides this season, particularly at home.

But this was an excellent start for them at Craven Cottage.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, meanwhile, made light work of their opener against West Ham. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane among the goals already spells trouble for top-flight defences everywhere.