Millwall for a convincing start

Fulham’s narrow victory over Championship favourites Newcastle offered a timely reminder that nothing is going to be easy in the months to come. Obviously a single-goal reverse will not change the odds all that much and I remain reasonably confident that Newcastle will be calling the tune before long but they need a solid home win to convince the faithful.

The Championship fixtures on the opening Saturday look very tricky and I shall be happy to sit back and see how things turn out. Division One is possibly the better section for investments and there may be some value about Sheffield United at Bolton, though one would need to see how the new faces have fitted in before supporting the Blades in an awkward start. As for Bolton, new investment may herald a long-overdue turnaround. They were in a wretched state towards the end of last term, underlining how quickly things can fall apart when a club lacks both leadership and funds.

Neil Harris is very happy with the way pre-season has gone for MILLWALL, who fitted in a lot of matches and looked good in a 1-1 draw against Brentford, whom many fancy for a promotion place in the Championship. The Lions made a lot of ground in the second half of last season and very nearly secured a promotion place.

They play Oldham, who are looked after by Steve Robinson these days and have seen quite a few comings and goings. At this stage the Latics may well be thinking more in terms of safety and consolidation than mounting a challenge higher up the table. This is just about the hardest start imaginable for them and Millwall look value, even at odds-on, to land the first serious investment of the new campaign.