Championship Betting Preview: New manager versus caretaker manager - who will come out on top?

Championship / Andrew French / 25 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

Andrew French has uncovered the home records to be respected and those to take on in his Tuesday night Championship preview.

Does the much-vaunted 'new manager' effect - the one which seems to dictate a boss generally wins his first game in charge - count when you're a caretaker manager?

I don't think it will tonight, as Phil Parkinson steps into the recently-vacated shoes of Alan Pardew and takes caretaker charge of Charlton as they travel to Loftus Road to face QPR.

Pardew's departure was sealed by a 5-2 home thumping at the hands of Sheffield United on Saturday, but the writing had been on the wall for a while. Three draws and five defeats from eight games have pushed the south-east London club into the relegation zone, and although Parkinson has moved quickly to sign Blades' winger Keith Gillespie on loan, it's likely to take more than that to turn things around.

Confidence and morale is low at The Valley, and they look unlikely to add to their sole away win when they head across the capital tonight. Admittedly Rangers were apparently pretty woeful as they welcomed new boss Paulo Sousa to the club by losing 3-0 at Watford on Saturday.

Whether Sousa was actually in charge in time to have an influence on that game is doubtful, so the 'new manager' effect may well kick in tonight. Rangers are infinitely better at home than away, and I'm backing them at [2.02].

Further up the league table, I'm predicting something of an upset at St Andrew's, where I think visitors Ipswich can beat Birmingham City.

Town made a very slow start to the campaign but their more recent form is far more impressive, with just two defeats in their last 14 and two wins in the last three away trips.

Birmingham are second and have moved clear of Reading in third. However, many observers suggest that Alex McLeish's side have not been as impressive as their results and lofty league position suggest.

They rarely win by more than a single goal (only twice this season), and they have made hard work of their successes. They trailed both Charlton and Swansea before beating the pair 3-2, and prior to those scrambled victories they had gone three without a win.

I think backing Ipswich at [4.7] will give you a very nice run for your money.

It's about time Coventry turned some impressive away days into results at the Ricoh Arena, and I'm supporting them against Swansea tonight.

The Sky Blues have won at both Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham in recent weeks, but slipped up at home to Crystal Palace and Plymouth. However manager Chris Coleman has warned fans he wants a result at home tonight, admitting "it might not be pretty" in order to achieve it.

They're overdue success in front of their own fans, and so backing Coventry at [2.44] is the choice for me.

I'm also backing the team with the worst home record in the Championship - Southampton - to improve upon their woeful points tally at St Mary's when they host Plymouth tonight.

The South Coast club have taken just six points from a possible 27 on their own patch, and yet four away wins - including Saturday's excellent 2-1 success at Reading - suggests they are capable of better.

The confidence that result will give them encourages me to back them at [2.48].