EFL Championship Early Picture: Swansea, QPR, and Charlton Shine

Four games in, the Championship is already doing what it does best: confusing everyone.

Swansea have come flying out of the blocks. So have QPR. Charlton too. All three sit on 10 points, banking an early cushion that could feel priceless when the relegation scrap inevitably tightens around spring. Charlton, especially, may look back on this start as the moment the season tilted away from trouble.

Swansea look sharp and organised, QPR lively and dangerous – though this division has a habit of chewing up fast starters and spitting them out by Christmas.

West Ham, fancied for automatic promotion, stumbled through their opening three fixtures. Then they thumped Wolves and reminded everyone why they still belong in that conversation. One convincing win doesn’t erase the stutters, but it does steady the narrative.

At the other end, the alarm bells are already flickering. Preston have lost four from four. Burnley are still searching for a first win. It’s early, but patterns form quickly in this league and are hard to break.

Top eight after four matches:

• Swansea – 10 pts
• QPR – 10 pts
• Charlton – 10 pts
• Wolves – 7 pts
• Boro – 7 pts
• Bristol City – 7 pts
• West Brom – 7 pts
• Birmingham – 6 pts

Bottom three:

• Stoke City – 3 pts
• Burnley – 2 pts
• Preston NE – 0 pts

The table will twist and warp countless times from here. But the foundations, good and bad, are already being laid.

Hoddle #2: A Crucial Month Ahead for Spurs

Tottenham enter September with something rare for a club of their size: breathing room.

No European football means no Thursday-Sunday grind, no long-haul travel, no frantic squad rotation. Roberto De Zerbi has a (mostly) settled group, with only Richarlison’s situation still hovering in the background, and four matches that could shape the mood around the club heading into a brutal October.

Spurs showed flashes against Newcastle last week, enough to hint at what De Zerbi wants, yet still came away with nothing. That can’t keep happening. This month has to be about points, not plaudits.

Tottenham Hotspur men’s fixtures (September):

• Forest (5 September)
• Everton (12 September)
• at Liverpool – EFL Cup (15 September)
• Villa (19 September)

Forest and Everton at home offer a platform. The EFL Cup tie at Anfield is a measuring stick as much as a cup opportunity. Villa, with ambitions of their own, will test how far De Zerbi’s ideas have bedded in.

On the women’s side, it’s a fresh start with a very different feel.

Beth England and Molly Bartrip, two big personalities and big losses, have moved on. The squad looks new, lighter in some areas, intriguing in others. How quickly it gels will dictate whether this is a transitional slog or something more exciting.

Tottenham Hotspur women’s fixtures (September):

• West Ham (6 September)
• at Liverpool (13 September)
• at Palace (20 September)
• West Ham – League Cup (23 September)
• Villa (27 September)
• at Brighton – League Cup (30 September)

Two meetings with West Ham in the space of a few weeks, league and cup, will offer an early barometer. By the end of the month, we’ll know far more about what this “new-look Spurs” actually are.

Hoddle #3: Rating Spurs’ Transfer Window

The numbers tell their own story. More than £300m spent. A squad that flirted with relegation last season has been ripped up and rebuilt. The board have backed their manager. Now the pressure shifts squarely onto De Zerbi.

Some departures hurt. Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario were major exits. But Spurs answered with intent.

Mateus Fernandes arrived as a statement signing, a player you build around, not just plug in. Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson on free deals look like the sort of clever, opportunistic business top clubs are supposed to do: experience, quality, no fee.

Then came the splash on Savio. Expensive, yes, but he brings real quality on the wing and a different kind of threat. Omar Marmoush adds another attacking option, a signing that feels quietly optimistic rather than headline-grabbing.

Mykhailo Mudryk is the wildcard. On paper, it doesn’t quite add up. The fit is unclear, the long-term benefit debatable. Can De Zerbi unlock the version of Mudryk that once looked electric? And if he does, what does that mean for Spurs’ future planning?

Sandro Tonali, meanwhile, is a heavyweight addition in midfield. On paper, it all leans one way: this was a very strong window.

Not everything convinced. Letting Will Lankshear leave feels like a misstep. A loan pathway seemed obvious, a way to develop him while keeping the upside in-house. Spurs have protected themselves with a sell-on clause, but it still feels like a door closed too early.

Then there’s the goalkeeper situation. Antonin Kinsky remains an uncertainty, and bringing in Martin Dubravka doesn’t exactly scream serious competition. It looks like a missed opportunity to truly upgrade a key position.

Even with those doubts, the balance of the window is clear. Ambition shown, money spent, squad reshaped.

Fitzie’s transfer window rating: B+.

Now it’s over to De Zerbi.