Five things in EFL: Fallen giants and ambitious upstarts | OneFootball

Former Peterborough and Hull striker Aaron McLean set out five takeaways from Saturday’s EFL action across three divisions. According to BBC UK, his snapshot ranges from West Ham’s early slump to Bristol Rovers’ revival.

West Ham’s return to the Championship has stuttered, a two-goal lead squandered in their opening draw with Burnley followed by a 2-1 home defeat to Charlton. McLean feels they looked uninspiring last week and says Charlton provided the real test. He notes a missed penalty in front of 62,000 and argues mentality, and maybe personnel, need major improvement.

Charlton and Millwall are the only second-tier sides with two wins from two, Millwall beating Norwich on Saturday. McLean believes Millwall look solid, aggressive and able to score, and he expects them to be in the automatic promotion hunt. He praises Nathan Jones’s work at Charlton, seeing a more expansive side that can build on back-to-back victories.

Wolves ended 489 days without an away win by beating Preston 3-1 at Deepdale, taking four points from two games. McLean likes their recruitment and character, and thinks this result could help cement a place in the leading pack. He feels they have acclimatised better than West Ham and Burnley.

Leicester’s League One reality bit with a home loss to Burton after playing most of the match with 10 men. McLean calls it humbling, sympathising with Russell Martin and stressing the psychological reset needed to change an underachieving mindset.

Bristol Rovers, who were on a 10-match losing run before hiring Steve Evans, hit five past Newport in an eight-goal thriller for their first three points. McLean credits a complete turnaround, saying they now look capable of going from strength to strength, with Saturday’s goals offering real belief.

Source: BBC UK

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”