THE FLP’S CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM OF THE SEASON 2023-24
BEFORE too long, every manager in the Championship will receive an email asking him to name his Team of the Season.
It won’t be easy. For all the brilliance of Leicester, Leeds, Ipswich and Southampton, standout individuals are thin on the ground. Who will make the cut? Here’s our stab, arrayed in the now ubiquitous 4-2-3-1 for mation:
GOALKEEPER: ALEX PALMER (WEST BROMWICH ALBION)
The Baggies accepted Luton’s offer of around £2.5m for Palmer last summer, only for the homegrown stopper to insist on staying at the Hawthorns.
How glad they must be now. The 27-year-old has built on last season’s promise to become one of the most dependable goalkeepers in the Championship, with a highlight reel of spectacular saves adding to his competence on the deck.
Palmer - now skipper - has presided over the best defence outside of Leicester and Leeds, kept eight clean sheets and will be high in the running when the promotion-chasing Baggies name their player of the season.
RIGHT-BACK: ARCHIE GRAY (LEEDS UNITED)
Who else? The 18-year-old hadn’t kicked a ball in professional football before August but is now being mentioned in the same breath as John Stones and linked to some of the biggest clubs on the planet.
This week, he became the fourth youngest player ever to score for England Under-21s, behind only Jude Bellingham, Theo Walcott and Jamal Musiala.
All this, and the midfielder’s actually been playing out of position at right-back for the entire season. “Archie can be anything he wants,” said Leeds boss Daniel Farke recently, and the evidence of an incredible debut campaign suggests he’s not exaggerating.
CENTRE-BACK: TAYLOR HARWOOD-BELLIS (SOUTHAMPTON)
Burnley’s biggest mistake after winning last year’s Championship was failing to cough up the £15m Manchester City wanted for Harwood-Bellis.
The 22-year-old was imperious on loan at Turf Moor last season and has been even better this time around, his technical quality and composure under pressure providing the bedrock for Southampton’s high-risk passing game. Is he the best outand-out defender in the league? Probably not. But if the opposition can’t get the ball that doesn’t really matter - and Harwood-Bellis is one of the best in the business at keeping it out of their clutches.
CENTRE-BACK: ETHAN AMPADU (LEEDS UNITED)
It is a mark of the season Ampadu has enjoyed that the 23-year-old could have made this team in defence or midfield.
For the first half of the season, he played in his favoured holding midfield role, dictating play with such insouciance
