An international break allows teams, managers and fans alike to assess their team's start to the season, and here at The Sportsman we are going to take a look at what the first few months of the Championship has served up in our early-season ratings and we see who is top of the class as well as picking out those that will need extra work in order to reach the goals set at the start of the season.
Top Of The Class
Eight wins in their opening twelve matches, Sheffield United have rocketed to the top of the Championship table and Chris Wilder is showing that his flourishing Blades could turn into genuine title contenders if they can continue to shine in the second tier and they are certainly producing an A* display this season. Billy Sharp and David McGoldrick have netted 13 league goals between them and four wins on the bounce before the international break has seen them cement their place at the summit.
Joining the Blades at the top of the class are West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United and Middlesbrough, who have all started impressively and will all fancy their chances of earning that golden ticket to the Premier League. A sensational run of form has seen Darren Moore's Baggies launch into second spot in the league and the stunning attacking play has seen them score 31 goals already this season with Dwight Gayle (8 goals) and Jay Rodriguez (7 goals) showing their qualities, while Harvey Barnes has been a revelation this season.
Marcelo Bielsa has brought the good times back to Leeds United and even a run of one win in four matches has still left them safely in the play-offs, and with Kemar Roofe set for a return from injury at the weekend then it would be no shock to see them flying back into a winning run and challenge for the title.
Tony Pulis has created a rock-solid Middlesbrough defence and having only conceded six goals in their opening 12 matches then they will prove to be genuine title contenders, and they are the fourth team to sit top of our Championship class and the future looks bright for the entire quartet.
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Bottom Of The Class
Let's be frank about it, Aston Villa have made a diabolical start to the season, and the Villans will be desperate for Dean Smith to come in and rustle a few feathers as three wins from 12 games from a side that reached the play-off final last season is not good enough, and they have to be the biggest under-achievers in the division.
Ipswich Town elected to get rid of Mick McCarthy before the start of the new campaign and brought in former Shrewsbury Town boss Paul Hurst, but things have been very poor for the East Anglian club and they could be doomed for a relegation campaign.
Hull City are currently bottom of the pile with only two wins to their name, while Preston North End are another side struggling for any consistency and both of those clubs will be battling it out for points when they return from the international break, while Reading and Millwall are another couple of sides that have struggled to find any sort of fluency at all this season.
2018 Championship Early Season Grades
Aston Villa - E
Birmingham City - D
Blackburn Rovers - B
Bolton Wanderers - C
Brentford - B
Bristol City - C
Derby County - C
Hull City - E
Ipswich Town - E
Leeds United - A
Middlesbrough - B
Millwall - D
Norwich City - C
Nottingham Forest - B
Preston North End - E
Queens Park Rangers - D
Reading - D
Rotherham United - C
Sheffield United - A*
Sheffield Wednesday - B
Stoke City - D
Swansea City - D
West Bromwich Albion - A
Wigan Athletic - B