Championship Takes Shape: Early Insights and Standings

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

Swansea, QPR and Charlton have all burst out of the blocks with 10 points each. For Charlton in particular, that early cushion could be gold dust once the winter grind kicks in and the relegation fight really bites. These are the points that feel routine now and priceless in March.

Swansea look slick. QPR look sharp. We’ve seen this movie before in this division, though. Teams fly through August and fall apart by Christmas. The trick is surviving the chaos that comes after the first international break.

West Ham, tipped by many for automatic promotion, stumbled through their opening three fixtures. Then they thumped Wolves and reminded everyone why they still belong in the automatic promotion conversation. That performance looked like a statement, not an accident.

At the other end, the warning lights are already flashing. Preston North End have lost four from four. Burnley, still winless, are stuck on two points and searching for rhythm. Stoke hover just above the drop zone on three.

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 North End – 0 pts

It’s early. But the table already has a familiar edge: a couple of surprise flyers at the top, a fallen heavyweight or two floundering, and a few clubs quietly realising this could be a very long season.

No European football. Fewer midweek distractions. No hiding place.

Tottenham’s September offers something rare for a big Premier League club: breathing room. Four matches for the men’s team, a largely settled squad, and one major loose end – the uncertainty over Richarlison’s future at the club.

Roberto De Zerbi has seen hints of what his side can be. Spurs showed promise against Newcastle last week but left with nothing. That can’t keep happening. This month has to be about turning performances into points before a brutal October schedule rolls in.

Tottenham Hotspur men’s fixtures:

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

Forest and Everton at home look like opportunities that simply have to be taken. The trip to Anfield in the EFL Cup is a test of depth and nerve. Villa, increasingly ambitious and organised, will not arrive in north London to make up the numbers.

The women’s side, meanwhile, step into a new era.

Beth England and Molly Bartrip, two major figures, have moved on. Their departures strip away some of the side’s familiarity and leadership. What’s left is a “new-look” Spurs, one that has to define itself quickly across league and cup.

Tottenham Hotspur women’s fixtures:

• 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)

West Ham twice in a month, league and cup, offers an immediate measuring stick. Liverpool and Palace away will test resilience. Villa at the end of the month could show how far this reshaped side has come in a short span.

By the time October arrives, we’ll know a lot more about both Spurs teams: whether the men can build a platform for De Zerbi’s first full campaign, and whether the women can reinvent themselves without some of their biggest names.

Spurs spent big. Now the bill arrives on the pitch.

More than £300 million went into rebuilding a squad that flirted with disaster last season. The hierarchy clearly backed Roberto De Zerbi. The message was blunt: no excuses.

Some of the exits hurt. Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario both left, taking with them experience and stability in key areas. Yet the incoming business carried a sense of intent.

Mateus Fernandes headlined the window as a major signing, a statement that Spurs are willing to pay for high-end talent. Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson arriving on free transfers was sharp work, the sort of opportunism top clubs need in a distorted market.

Savio cost a premium, but he should inject serious quality out wide. Omar Marmoush feels like a smart, quietly ambitious addition who could grow into a bigger role.

Then there’s Mykhailo Mudryk. The move doesn’t obviously fit a long-term plan. The question hangs in the air: can De Zerbi unlock a player who has flashed talent but rarely consistency? And if he does, how much do Spurs actually benefit in the long run?

Sandro Tonali’s arrival underlines the scale of the rebuild. He’s a “big get” in every sense – profile, fee, and responsibility. On paper, the spine of this team looks dramatically stronger than it did a few months ago.

Not everything landed cleanly.

Letting Will Lankshear leave feels like a misstep. There was a plausible route to develop him through loans, but Spurs opted for a sale with what appears to be a healthy sell-on clause. It might pay off financially down the line, yet it still feels like a talent slipping away too soon.

The goalkeeper situation is the other major concern. Martin Dúbravka doesn’t look like a genuine threat to Antonín Kinský’s starting spot. And Kinský himself remains an open question, not yet a figure who inspires complete confidence. For a club that spent over £300 million, failing to fully address the most unforgiving position on the pitch looks like a missed chance.

On balance, the window was bold, aggressive, and largely coherent.

Fitzie’s transfer window rating: B+

The squad is stronger. The manager has been backed. The money has been spent. Now the only thing left is the part Spurs have so often struggled with: turning a promising summer into a ruthless, winning season.