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EspañolEarlier this season, I wrote about the increasing physicality of Championship football and how it has stepped up several levels since Derby County were relegated to League One in 2023.
At the time, striker Carlton Morris was regularly on the receiving end of grappling, holding and, at times, outright wrestling. Morris said he "enjoys the battle, as long as it is not someone who goes down too easily".
With Morris sidelined for 16 matches after being injured in an off-the-ball challenge by a Watford defender, he is now easing his way back through a phased return to the first team, while American striker Patrick Agyemang has been dealing with the full force of opposition defences.
Grappling, blocking and wrestling - Agyemang has been learning the "new" Championship the hard way.
Back in October, having overcome a hernia operation and still finding his feet, he said: "I realise it's going to be like that every game, so I have to be up for it. The things I would think are a foul are not here."
Now, as we approach March, Championship football at times feels closer to what you might see at Twickenham than on a football pitch - and I do wonder how far this will be allowed to go.
Recently, Agyemang has been subjected to constant fouling, holding, and defenders doubling up to effectively sandwich him out of the game.
He is not built in the same way as Morris, who clearly relishes the physical contest. Instead, Agyemang cuts a figure of growing frustration - and temper.
At Hull City, less than two minutes had been played when experienced defender John Egan used the dark arts to get into the American's head.
Two quick coming-togethers followed, both deemed Agyemang's fault by referee Adam Herczeg, and he was booked inside 90 seconds. The initial fouls went unseen; the reaction told the story.
Derby head coach John Eustace has made repeated calls for officials to offer greater protection, saying: "Defenders are fouling him all the time, and we think he needs protecting more than most".
This simply does not happen in the Premier League. In the Championship, however, the first instinct of a defender at a set-piece is often to wrap their arms around an opponent to restrict movement.
Back in the 2016-17 season, the Premier League introduced a strict directive to crack down on holding, pushing and blocking at set-pieces.
Referee Mike Dean famously awarded two penalties in a game between Stoke City and Manchester City in August 2016.
Stoke's Ryan Shawcross grappled and pulled the shirt of Nicolas Otamendi and then City's Raheem Sterling blocked Shawcross off at a set-piece. Letter of the law, both penalties.
This is not about removing physicality from the game, it is about enforcing the laws that already exist.
Holding, grappling and blocking are fouls, whether they happen in the Premier League or the Championship.
As a Level 7 referee, officiating both junior and adult football, I know officials cannot see everything.
But when this behaviour becomes consistent, predictable and targeted, it stops being part of the contest and starts becoming something that demands intervention.