Leicester City 09/10 Opponents – Part 5

This is the fifth feature of Leicester City’s opponents in 09/10. We now move to four new teams, they included Reading, Scunthorpe, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. Also there is one more feature to look out for in the next couple of days.

Reading – Reading yet again are expected to be one of the favourites to be promoted in 09/10. The question is will it be by automatic promotion or the play-offs. Reading missed out on promotion last season but this time the squad looks stronger than ever. It will be tougher this season with Newcastle, Middlesbrough and West Brom in the league, however we all know Reading can mix it up with those three teams. The departure of Kevin Doyle will be a huge blow; however they have got good enough Strikers to replace him. Shane Long and Noel Hunt will play a big part up front for Reading this season. Also you have to accept that Reading have surely got one of the best midfield’s in the division. The midfield is compacted with the likes of Kalifa Cisse, Jay Tabb, James Harper and youngster Jem Karacan. The defence is also strong enough to cope with the upcoming season. Liam Rosenior, Ivar Ingimarsson, Andre Bikey and new signing Ryan Bertrand could all well compact the defence. Reading has a very big squad with very good players. This could be Reading’s season again where they are able to find promotion back to the Premier League.

 

Scunthorpe – Out of the three promoted teams which are Leicester, Peterborough and Scunthorpe, it’s most likely that The Irons are the favourites to go down. Scunthorpe yet again will probably find themselves down near the relegation zone in 09/10. However they are making useful signings, so Scunthorpe knows they need to buy if they want to stay up that is. Defender Rob Jones has been signed up from Hibernian. Also Scunthorpe has signed two midfielder’s in Michael O’Connor from Crewe and Josh Wright from Charlton. The main asset though will be the two Strikers which Scunthorpe has got. Gary Hooper and Paul Hayes will surely partner each other in attack. Those two will be ever so vital to Scunthorpe this season.  Also Goalkeeper Joe Murphy and Defender’s Andy Crosby and Cliff Byrne could also play a major part in Scunthorpe’s season. Lastly a player to watch for The Irons this season is Martyn Woolford, the winger was outstanding for Scunthorpe last season.

Sheffield United – For the second season running Sheffield United will surely be up in the top 6 again this season. The Blades should of got promoted last season but they unfortunately slipped into third, and missed there chance in the play-offs. Sheffield United has been buying well and has brought in some very useful recruits. Andy Taylor has been signed from Tranmere Rovers, Lee Williamson made his move permanent from Watford, and also Kyel Reid has been brought in from West Ham. There is also news that Ched Evans is set to make a move to Bramall Lane in the next few days. The Blades main position is there Strikers. Darius Henderson, Jamie Ward, Billy Sharp, Jordan Robertson and Ched Evans all make up the Sheffield United attack. Also Midfielder’s Stephen Quinn and Brian Howard could well have a big impact on Sheffield United season. Overall it looks like it’s going to be another good season for Sheffield United. Plus you never know, they could eventually get promoted at the end of the 09/10 season.

Sheffield Wednesday – The last of the featured teams in Part 5 is Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls could well have an up and down season in the Championship. There are two possibility’s that Wednesday will either finish in mid table or they will be involved in a relegation scrap. It was a very long time ago that Sheffield Wednesday was a Premier League team, and it would be very good if they can get promoted this season, however it doesn’t look like happening. The Owls have signed some useful player’s for the upcoming season. Midfielder’s Tommy Miller, Ryan France and Darren Potter role in from there former clubs, as they will look to give Wednesday more options in Midfield. Also defender Darren Purse has been added to the squad aswell. Moving on now, the Wednesday defence could well be one of the best in the Championship this season. They have got very good defenders, however they still shed goals. The likes of Tommy Spurr, Richard Hinds and Frankie Simek can be very good player’s on there day. Sheffield Wednesday’s midfield is reasonably good; the likes of Sean McAllister and Jermaine Johnson will be key players in 09/10 for Sheffield Wednesday. On the other hand the Striking options could well be very worrying this season. With Marcus Tudgay looking to move on, that leaves just Francis Jeffers, Akpo Sodje and Leon Clarke to choose from. Those three do not score many goals so it’s likely that the Owls will be signing a Striker before the season starts.