Championship Division Overview:

 

Championship might be the most fun division to be in across all of the BDSL. I say this fresh off a three year stint in Premier and fully enjoying that. The difference to me is that the gap between first and last here isn’t nearly as large as it is in our top flight. Most all teams here have arguments for playoff contention and any playoff run that results in promotion into Premier is an instant memory. That’s just my opinion though. The 12 teams in this years division essentially believe they can win it all and I don’t think any other BDSL division is like that. Scoring last year was impossible it seemed for anyone but the teams joining in here I expect that to change.

 

Championship Burning Questions:

 

Which of the promoted teams has the best chance to make the playoffs?

NMB FC. While they were bounced quickly in the D1 playoffs, their D1 record was impressive enough to make me believe that they’ll be best suited to earn points on a week to week basis then the other promoted clubs.  Their roster may not have start talent but there is little drop off talent wise from their starting 11 to the bench. That will keep them active all season. I will say its finally nice to see the other half of the Amherst Raptors spilt finally reclaim their Championship spot. Good on them for sticking it out to earn themselves back into this space.

 

Which Lykan is the better Lykan?

It’s unclear and that’s not good for Lykan FC. With any expansion of a club there will many changes that are tough to handle the first few seasons. I know this firsthand. It’s hard for everyone involved and a testament to the leadership of others teams how have managed to make it work. (see Celtic).  Last year Lykan struggled mightily to score and I don’t see that being solved. With many of the new teams in the division boasting some talented weapons I see it hard for them to keep pace with the rest of the teams.

 

Will Polonia keep up the yo-yo routine?

Yes sadly. Polonia is a team I’m rather fond of. Last year they made some smart acquisitions that made them move dangerous and lead to a promotion campaign. Sadly though it appears that several of those adds are off to seek their own BDSL fortunes on their own new teams. It’s left Polonia with a roster similar to that of its relegation seasons of ’14 and ’16. So with that in mind I think they might be bound for another D1 trip next year.

 

Are Rangers the Championship version of Queenston FC?

I’d actually say that Queenston is the Premier version of Rangers. Because while Queenston has produced identical results in essentially all three seasons in the top flight, Rangers have been in 5th to 8th place for seemingly ever in Championship. The roster is largely the same in all those season too.  It’s an impressive testament to the team commitment no matter the results that come their way. The team welcomes back prolific scorer Ryan Schamber which will help them offensively along with Kevin Au for creativity in midfield. Overall they are very well rounded with no obvious holes. And that describes Rangers from 2008 to today more or less.

 

Who is the division dark horse?

My under the radar team is probably Niagara FC.  Last year they nabbed the last playoff spot. They have maybe the best player in the division in Ross Suitor. A great goalie and defense but like everyone else they were barely functional in putting the ball in the net. Averaging less than a goal a game is pathetic. But it’s also fixable. They keep stealing players from Queenston and while they can’t score either, they can play defense which could activate Suitor further up the field. If they solve this problem they will be a strong team in Championship.

 

Will BSC International ever settle on a logo?

I feel like it’s changed 6 times since the start of this year. I think I liked version 2 the most? The current twitter version isn’t my favorite though. It’s hard to make out each of the letters. I will say it’s nice to see this long storied team reinventing themselves a bit. Even some insults on twitter were hurled around by this team.  After a few season languishing around the bottom of the standings maybe they are priming up for a return to prominence. They have good defensive options and an improved midfield. Can they find goals? We’ll have to see.

 

Is this the end of the line for Roos FC?

Never. Look there is no denying the heavy roster turn over here. We lost many key contributors and many of the names you’ll see on this current roster are unfamiliar to BDSL teams. SO I can understand if we’re being counted out. In our 20th season some might be thinking the end is nigh for my team. But if I’m going to go down I’ll go down kicking and screaming. Our team will be strong in Championship. We are strong at central midfield and have good wide options as well. We’ll have to rediscover our defensive form but that was always a strength of RFC Championship teams seasons past. The biggest question mark is who is going to fill the shoes of Greco and Reid. Several players will have a chance to prove their worth there. If that resolves itself we’ll challenge to get right back into premier.

 

Championship Tiers:

 

Relegation Zone: Celtic Hoops, Lykan FC, Polonia

Pretenders:  Pendleton United FC, West Side FC, Buffalo Bantu, Niagara FC

Contenders: BSC International, Roos FC, Rangers, NMB FC

Favorites: Beast City SC

 

Championship Division Table:

1. Beast City SC

2. BSC International

3. Buffalo Bantu

4. Rangers

5. Roos FC

6. NMB FC

7. Niagara FC

8. Pendleton United FC

9. West Side FC

10. Celtic Hoops

11. Lykan FC

12. Polonia

 

6) NMB FC over 3) Buffalo Bantu

5) Roos FC over 4) Rangers

 

1) Beast City SC over 6) NMB FC

5) Roos FC over 2) BSC International

 

1) Beast City SC over 5) Roos FC