Championship Pre-Season Round Up
With many of the Championship kicking off their pre-season games this week I thought I would take a look at how they are doing and an up to date record of who has signed who.
Barnsley
The Tykes' pre-season campaign began with a tie against non-league Buxton at Silverlands on Friday 12th July. Former Preston man Jon Macken, scored two goals in the 4-1 win with the remaining two coming from Jamil Adam, the second half substitute. Rob Kozluk, another former Preston man, also appeared for Barnsley.
Simon Davey's men had a game just a day later, giving the second half of his squad (those who didn't get a proper run out against Buxton) a game against Glossop. The other North End, Glossop found themselves 2-0 up against Barnsley thanks to goals from Young and Hodges in the first half. Rob Kozluk got Barnsley back in the game Jamil Adam, who came on as a second half sub in the game against Buxton, equalised to see the game end in a 2-2 draw.
The Tykes' forthcoming pre-season game this week see's them travel to Somerset to take on Yeovil on Saturday 19th July.
Players in to date:
Luke Steele - West Bromwich Albion - Free
Iain Hulme - Leicester City - £1,200,000
Roberto Colace - Newell's Old Boys - Undisclosed
Mounir El Haimour - NE Xamar - Undisclosed
Darren Moore - Derby County - Free
Players out to date:
Paul Reid - Colchester United - Free
Nick Colgan - Released
Kim Christensen - Midtjilland - Undisclosed
Dominik Werling - Erzgebirge - Undisclosed
Rhys Meynell - Released
Paul Heckingbottom - Released
Dwayne Mattis - Walsall - Free
Birmingham
The Blues kicked off their pre-season campaign in emphatic style as they took on Kirchberg from the Austrian lower leagues on Tuesday 15th July. New boy Kevin Phillips got himself on the score sheet as he grabbed a brace. Gary McSheffrey converted from the penalty spot early on before Liam Ridgewell, Gary O'Connor and David Murphy completed the scoring. Up next for the Blues is a tie with Victoria Plzen from the Czech Republic on Thursday.
Players in to date:
Lee Carsley - Everton - Free
Kevin Phillips - West Bromwich Albion - Free
Players Out to date:
Richard Kingson -Released
Mikael Forssell - Hannover 96 - Free
Daniel De Ridder - Wigan Athletic - Free
Fabrice Muamba - Bolton Wanderers- Undisclosed
Mauro Zarate - Lazio - Free
Blackpool
Our fierce rivals from the seaside began their tour of Latvia on Monday, facing FK Jurmala. It was the Latvians who took the lead after Stuart Green upended Vladimirs Helniks in the area to give FK Jurmala a penalty. Kuznecovs converted from 12 yards to give Jurmala the advantage. Blackpool though were not to be denied some sort of celebration as they drew level in the 90th minute thanks to a goal from an unnamed trialist.
The Seasider's other game was against Skonto Riga on Tuesday where they were on the receiving end of a 4-0 drubbing.
Players in to date:
Steven Kabba - Watford - Loan
Jermaine Wright - Southampton - Free
Joe Martin - Tottenham Hotspur - Undisclosed
Alex Baptiste - Mansfield Town- Undisclosed
Matthew Gilks - Norwich City- Undisclosed
Marlon Broomes - Stoke City - Free
Players out to date:
Michael Flynn - Released
Lewis Edge - Released
Marcus Bean - Brentford - Free
John Hills - Released
Keigan Parker - Huddersfield Town - Free
Michael Jackson - Released
Wesley Hoolahan - Norwich City - Undisclosed
Paul Tierney - Released
Phil Doughty - Released
Andy Welsh - Released
Matt Lawlor - Released
Phil Marsh - Released
Bristol City
Gary Johnson and his men kick started their pre-season outings away at Forest Green on Saturday. A 20 yard free kick from Jones gave Forest Green the lead before Steve Brooker equalised on 52 minutes to see the game end in a 1-1 draw. City's next game see's them take on Portuguese outfit, Sporting Clube Olhanense on Wednesday followed by a trip to Rushden & Diamonds on Friday.
Players In to date:
Gavin Williams - Ipswich Town - Undisclosed
Players out to date:
Darren Byfield - Doncaster Rovers - Free
Alex Russell - Cheltenham Town- Free
Enoch Showumni - Leeds United - Free
Nick Carle - Crystal Palace - Free
Burnley
The Clarets' tour of America began on Thursday as Owen Coyle's men took on the Carolina RaillHawks. A Wade Elliot goal wasn't enough to keep the North Carolinians at bay as they suffered a 2-1 defeat in the blazing heat. Burley's other game in the USA is in Minneapolis to take on Minnesota Thunder on Tuesday. Burnley will be the first professional club to visit the Thunder in 30 years. Following that is return to the British Isles to take on Queen of the South.
Players in to date:
Christian Kalvenes - Dundee Utd - Undisclosed
Remco Van der Schaaf - Vitesse Arnhem -Free
Kevin McDonald - Dundee - £500,000
Martin Paterson - Scunthorpe united - £1,000,000
Diego Penny - Coronel Bolognesi - Undisclosed
Players out to date:
Kyle Lafferty - Rangers - £3,000,000
John Harley - Released
David Unsworth - Released
James O'Connor - Sheffield Wednesday - Free
John Spicer - Doncaster Rovers- Free
Cardiff City
The Bluebirds began their pre-season campaign emphatically as they took on Carmarthen on Saturday 12th July. Paul Parry scored a hatrick to give the FA Cup finalists a 5-0 win with goals from Rhys Kelleher and an own goal from Rhys Thomas completing the rout.
Cardiff also faced Merthyr Tydfil this week and continued their goal filled form. The game finished 3-1 thanks to goals from John Brown, Steve Thompson and Sol Taylor for Cardiff. Craig Stiens grabbed a consolation for the home side. South Wales police later announced that five arrests were made during the game as a result of some minor disturbances in this all Welsh affair.
Next Tuesday see's Cardiff take on Guimaraes in what will be their third friendly so far
Players in to date:
Miguel Comminges - Swindon - Undisclosed
Mark Kennedy - Crystal Palace - Free
Tom Heaton - Manchester United - Loan
Darren Dennehy - Everton - Free
Ross McCormack - Motherwell - Free
Players out to date:
David Forde - Millwall - Free
Aaron Ramsey - Arsenal - Undisclosed
Warren Feeney - Dundee United - Loan
Michael Oakes - Released
Matt Green - Released
Matt Smith - Released
Trevor Sinclair - Released
Robbie Fowler - Blackburn Rovers - Free
Charlton Athletic
The Addicks kicked off their pre-season campaign with an away tie against Welling on Wednesday 9th July. Despite fielding a fairly strong side, Charlton only managed the one goal as Luke Varney got himself on the score sheet after 25 minutes.
Charlton's only other pre-season friendly to date came in the form of a 6-0 hammering of Ebbsfleet United at Stonebridge on Saturday 12th. Goals from Gray (2), Wagstaff, Shelvey, Racon and an own goal from Charles completed the drubbing.
Up next for Alan Pardew and his men is a trip to the south coast to take on Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday 26th July.
Players In to date:
Stuart Fleetwood - Forest Green - Undisclosed
Mark Hudson -Crystal Palace - Free
Players out to date:
James Walker - Southend United - Free
Darren Randolph - Hereford United - Loan
Chris Iwelumo - Wolves - Undisclosed
Osei Sankofa - Southend United - Free
Chris Powell - Released
Coventry City
The Sky Blues, along with new recruit Freddy Eastwood, jetted off to Switzerland on Monday ahead of their pre-season tour. Their first fixture is scheduled for Wednesday when they take on Romanian top flight side FC Brasov ahead of Friday's fixture with Swiss side FC Stade Nyonnais.
Players in to date:
Freddy Eastwood - Southend United- £1,200,000
Kieren Westwood - Carlisle United - £500,000
Guillaume Beuzelin - Hibernian - Free
Aron Einar Gunnarsson - AZ Alkmaar - Undisclosed
Players out to date:
Colin Hawkins - Brighton - Free
Michael Hughes - Released
Liam Davies - Northampton Town - Free
David McNamee - Released
Wayne Andrews - Released
Stephen Hughes - Released
Arjan De Zeeuw - Released
Ellery Cairo - NAC - Nominal Fee
Crystal Palace
Neil Warnock and his men faced Crawley Town on Monday in what was their first game since their disappointing play-off exit last May. It was Palace who took the lead thanks to a Paul Ifill goal after 36 minutes. A second half penalty netted by Thomas Pinault, of the home side saw the game end in a 1-1 draw. Up next for Palace is a trip to Aldershot on Thursday 17th July.
Players in to date:
Patrick McCarthy - Charlton Athletic - Undisclosed
Johannes Ertl - Austria Vienna - Undisclosed
Nick Carle - Bristol City - Undisclosed
Darryl Flahavan - Southend United- Free
Players out to date:
Ben Kudjodji - Released
Ahley Robinson - Released
Moses Swaibu - Released
Arron Fray - Released
John Bostock - Tottenham Hotspur- £700,000
Mark Kennedy - Cardiff City - Free
Lewwis Spence - Wycombe Wanderers - Free
Jeff Hughes - Bristol Rovers - £100,000
Mark Hudson - Charlton Athletic -Free
Tony Craig - Millwall - Undisclosed
Ryan Hall - Released
Derby County
Paul Jewell took his men to the Netherlands for their initial pre-season test. Derby came up against TOP Oss who proved to be too strong for the Rams with the game finishing in a 2-0 defeat. County are due to take on Burton Albion on Wednesday as their next fixture.
Players in to date:
Kris Commons - Nottingham Forest - Free
Paul Connolly - Plymouth Argyle - Free
Jordan Stewart - Watford - Free
Nathan Ellington - Watford - Free
Paul Green - Doncaster Rovers - Free
Steve Davis - Tranmere Rovers - Free
Martin Albrechsten - West Bromwich Albion - Free
Liam Dickinson - Stockport County- £750,000
Players out to date:
Robert Earnshaw - Nottingham Forest - £2,650,000
Michael Johnson - Notts County - Free
Kenny Miller - Glasgow Rangers - £2,000,000
Craig Fagan - Hull City - £750,000
Darren Moore - Barnsley - Free
Lee Holmes - Southampton - Free
Marc Edworthy - Released
Ben Hinchliffe - Released
Jason Beardsley - Notts County - Loan
David Jones - Wolves - Undisclosed
Doncaster Rovers
Newly promoted Doncaster Rovers have yet to begin their pre-season friendlies. Their first game however is on Saturday as they take on the team that they swapped places with in the Championship as they take on Scunthorpe United at the Keepmoat Stadium.
Players in to date:
John Spicer - Burnley - Free
Darren Byfield - Bristol City - Free
Players out to date:
Paul Green - Derby County - Free
Stephen Roberts - Walsall - Free
Mark McCammon - Gillingham - Free
Graeme Lee - Bradford City - Free
Matthew Noble - Released
Ipswich Town
Ipswich got themselves off to a good start with a 2-0 win over Brentford on Friday. Goals from new boy Pim Balkestein and youngster Danny Haynes was enough for the tractor boys. Jim Magilton and his men have Donegal Celtic up next in their pre-season schedule. The game will take place on Thursday 17th July.
Players in to date:
Pip Balkestein - Herenveen - Undisclosed
Gareth McAuley - Leicester - Undisclosed
Players out to date:
Gavin Williams - Bristol City - Undisclosed
Luis Castro Sito - Released
Sylvain Legwinski - Released
Fabian Wilnis - Released
Norwich City
The Canaries are another side that are yet to get their pre season games underway. Their first game is on Wednesday 16th July when they take on Gorleston.
Players in to date:
Wesley Hoolahan - Blackpool - Undisclosed
Ryan Bertrand - Chelsea - Loan
Sammy Clingan - Nottingham Forest - Free
Players out to date:
Matthew Gilks - Blackpool - Undisclosed
Darren Huckerby - Released
Dion Dublin - Retired
Rossi Jarvis - Released
Ryan Jarvis - Released
Andrew Cave-Brown - Leyton Orient - Free
Bally Smart - Released
Patrick Bexfield - Released
Steven Arnold - Released
Matthew Halliday - Released
Juan Velasco - Released
Nottingham Forest
Along with Norwich, Nottingham Forest are awaiting their first friendly. Kickers Offenbach from Germany are set to take on Forest on Friday 18th July.
Players in to date:
Andy Cole - Sunderland - Free
Paul Anderson - Liverpool - Free
Guy Moussi - Angers - Undisclosed
Robert Earnshaw - Derby County - £2,650,000
Players out to date:
Kris Commons - Derby - Free
Matt Lockwood - Colchester - Nominal Fee
Alan Power - Hartlepool - Free
Grant Holt - Shrewsbury - £170,000
Junior Agogo - Zanzibar - £565,000
Felix Bastians - Released
Sammy Clingan - Norwich - Free
Plymouth Argyle
Argyle's first pre-season game saw them take on Tiverton at Ladysmead on Monday 14th July. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Players in to date:
Jason Puncheon - Barnet - £250,000
Karl Duguid - Colchester United - Free
Players out to date:
Cherno Samba - Released
Lillian Nalis - Released
Nadjim Abdou - Millwall - Free
Paul Wotton - Southampton Free
Paul Connolly - Derby - Free
Nick Chadwick - Released
Preston North End
Alan Irvine and his men are now back from their pre-season training camp in Austria which was rounded off with an 11-0 win over FC Erdal Hallein. A Neil Mellor hatrick, a brace from Richard Chaplow and a goal apiece from Karl Hawley, Brett Ormerod, Darren Carter, Matt Hill, Youl Mawene and Simon Whaley completed the scoring.
Just like last year, Preston had a double header on Tuesday as Alan Irvine sent an XI to Iron Gate to take on Bamber Bridge and another to take on Chorley. Richard Chaplow got the only goal in the Bamber Bridge tie whereas the scored ended up at 2-0 to Preston over in Chorley. The goals came from Neil Mellor and new boy Barry Nicholson.
Players in to date:
Barry Nicholson - Aberdeen - Free
Players out to date:
None
Queens Park Rangers
The claimed richest club in the world will be hoping they can get off to a rich vein of form as they take on Stevenage on Saturday 19th July in what will be their first friendly this summer.
Players in to date:
Peter Ramage - Newcastle United - Free
Radek Cerny - Tottenham Hotspur - Free
Emmanuel Jorge Ledesema - Genoa - Loan
Samuel Di Carmine - Fiorentina - Loan
Players out to date:
Jake Cole - Oxford United - Loan
Reading
Reading were quite literally on cloud nine after a 9-0 hammering over Didcot Town on Saturday. Goals from Robson-Kanu, Lita, Doyle, Kitson, Long, Convey, Sigurdsson, Holloway and Church completed the scoring. Hoping to pick up where they left off, Reading took on Forest Green on Tuesday with the score ending 2-0. Jimmy Kebe got his first goal in Reading colours whilst Jem Karacan got the second.
Players in to date:
None
Players out to date:
Emerse Fae - Nice - Loan
Glen Little - Portsmouth - Undisclosed
Adam Bygrave - Weymouth - Free
Joshua Webb - Weymouth - Undisclosed
Ben Hamer - Brentford - Loan
John Oster - Released
Ulises De La Cruz - Released
John Halls - Released
Graham Stack - Released
Aaron Brown - Released
Sheffield United
The Blades need just 75 seconds to get their first goal of the pre season through Danny Webber, who of course missed half of last season with injury. Webber, making up for lost time, scored twice in the opening ten minutes in the Blades' 3-2 win over Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros on Monday with Billy Sharp getting the third. Kevin Blackwell's side are set to face KVK Tienen from Belgium on Wednesday which will be their second pre-season fixture.
Players in to date:
Greg Halford - Sunderland - Loan
Sun Jihai - Manchester City - Free
Players out to date:
Ryan Cresswell - Bury - Loan
Lloyd Kerry - Chesterfield - Free
Chris Lucketti - Huddersfield Town - Free
Paul Gerrard - Released
Geoff Horsfield - Released
James Ashmore - Released
Martin Donnelly - Released
Stephen Hernandez - Released
Dean Oliver - Released
Sheffield Wednesday
Wednesday's opening pre-season fixture took place on Tuesday as they took on Dutch side HFC Haarlem. Deon Burton and Marcus Tudgay got themselves on the scoresheet to give the Owls a 2-0 win.
Players in to date:
James O'Connor - Burnley - Free
Players out to date:
Ronnie Wallwork - Free
Burton O'Brien - Falkirk - Free
Rob Burch - Released
Lee Bullen - Released
Jason Bradley - Released
Dave McClemments - Released
James Kay - Released
Southampton
Matt Le Tissier, the Southampton Legend is set to feature for the Saints again this Friday. Le Tissier has come back to St Mary's for Claus Lundekvam's testimonial against Celtic in what will be classed as their first pre-season game.
Players in to date:
Chris Perry - Luton Town - Free
Lee Holmes - Derby County - Free
Paul Wotton - Plymouth Argyle - Free
Morgan Schneiderlin - Strasbourg - £1,200,000
Tommy Forecast - Tottenham Hotspur- Undisclosed
Players out to date:
Credric Baseya - Lille - Free
Jermaine Wright - Blackpool - Free
Swansea City
Newly promoted Swansea City hit Swedish side Osterunds for six in their first game of pre-season; a hatrick from Pintado, a brace from Buaza and a goal from Gower completed the drubbing. Up next for the Swans is a trip to The Gnoll to take on Neath FC on Wednesday 16th.
Players in to date:
Mark Gower - Southend - Free
Albert Serran - Espanyol - £80,000
Ashley Williams - Stockport County - £400,000
Gorka Pintado - Granada - Undisclosed
Jordi Gomez - Espanyol - Loan
Frederico Bessone - Espanyol - Free
Stefan Morrison - West Bromwich Albion - Free
Players out to date:
Andy Robinson - Leeds United - Free
Kevin Austin - Chesterfield - Free
Kevin Amankwaah - Swindon Town - Free
Darren Way - Yeovil Town - Free
Darryl Duffy - Bristol Rovers - £100,000
Steven Watt - Released
Callum Hawthorne - Released
David Knight - Released
Darren Way - Swindon - £50,000
Watford
The Hornets will be looking to sting Borehamwood on Tuesday 22nd July in what will be their first friendly of the summer before sending a Watford XI to Wealdstone the day after.
Players in to date:
None
Players out to date:
Nathan Ellington - Derby County - Free
Jordan Stewart - Derby County - Free
Steve Kabba - Blackpool - Loan
Toumani Diagouraga - Hereford United - Free
Ian Joyce - Southend - Free
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves began their pre-season campaign with a defeat to non-league Wrexham thanks to a goal from Baynes. Up next for Mick McCarthy's men is a trip to Hereford where he will be looking for his team to make amends for the embarrassing defeat to the aforementioned non-league Wrexham.
Players in to date:
Chris Iewlumo - Charlton - Undisclosed
David Jones - Derby - Undisclosed
Sam Vokes - Bournemouth - Undisclosed
Richard Stearman - Leicester City - Undisclosed
Players out to date:
Gary Breen - Released
Freddy Eastwood - Coventry - £1,200,000
Keith Lowe - Released
Kevin O'Connor - Released