The Championship, (ITV)THERE'S a place to go where you can see Chris Iwelumo score. A place so competitive that one former winner of a European trophy is languishing in mid-table and another is actually bottom.
A place which presents itself as a haven for real football fans tired of the overhyped, overpaid Premiership.
The Coca-Cola Championship comes pretty low down the list of priorities for most Scottish football fans. We watch the SPL and the Premie
rship, perhaps catch a bit of La Liga, and may even manage to stay awake through some Serie A highlights. We take an interest in the SFL and some more local teams as well. And all of that leaves little time for English football's second flight.
Why, you might ask, should we bother with games between the likes of Doncaster and Plymouth? And you wouldn't be the only one – the Scottish audience for a game like that shown live on Sky would, expressed as a result and read out in a James Alexander Gordon kind of voice, probably be something like Men 5, Dogs 2.
But let's face it, some of the Premiership games beamed into our pubs are not the greatest either. Blackburn v Middlesbrough, anyone? Stoke versus Fulham?
And in fact, as there is a higher degree of competitiveness in the lower league, there are more genuinely interesting, finely balanced games. The skill level may not be quite as high, but the raw excitement is often superior.
Still, let's accept that it is the overall picture of the division which is its most interesting feature, and that consequently all we need (and have time for) is a highlights programme. That's where The Championship comes in.
Although it is first broadcast on ITV 1 on Sunday mornings, it usually doesn't make it on to Scottish schedules, so most of us only get the chance to see it when it's repeated on ITV4. And sometimes it shows the goals from Leagues One and Two as well, and sometimes it's presented by Craig Doyle, so we're not pretending it's about to win a Silver Sphere or whatever awards for televised sports programmes are called these days.
But it's solid. Commentary comes from experienced ITV broadcasters Clive Tyldesley and Trevor Harris, and goals come from whoever is playing Charlton.
Last week it was Sheffield United's turn. The result of their match, read out in whatever kind of voice you feel like, was Charlton 2, Sheffield United 5.
In midweek, however, Wolves beat the Yorkshire side 3-1 to maintain their six-point lead over Birmingham, who defeated Ipswich 2-1. The top two meet at Molineux at lunchtime today, with 15-goal Iwelumo, Wolves' top scorer, hoping to get the better of his fellow-Scotland internationals Garry O'Connor, James McFadden and Nigel Quashie.
Paul Sturrock's Plymouth, meanwhile, are just outside the play-off places in seventh, but will climb into the top four if they beat Blackpool and other results go their way. At the other end of the table, Nottingham Forest, twice winners of the European Cup, welcome Barnsley to the City Ground.
Eleventh-placed Ipswich, who once brought the Uefa Cup back to Portman Road, are at home to Sheffield United, who despite that defeat by Wolves are still in fourth. As the top-of-the-table game is being shown live today, that latter match is expected to be the main one featured on next week's The Championship. If you miss the show, or just feel like catching up quickly on some of the goals, the ITV website is the place to go. It also provides a good text preview service.
Something similar is on offer over at the Football League's website, which also offers a weekly podcast, available every Thursday. This is billed as "the podcast for fans who think 'pre-season in the far East' is a friendly with Norwich", which exemplifies the down-to-earth image the division is trying to project.
In culinary terms, the message they are conveying, if expressed as a football result and read out in a broad rural English accent, would be Prawn Sandwiches 0, Meaty Pies 24.
