Football League Championship
Our resident columnists talk all sorts of shite about the Championship League & football in general here: Pub Talk
Football England's Championship Team of the Season 2008-09
Kyle Naughton ~ Roger Johnson ~ Sean St.Ledger ~ Daniel Fox Wayne Routledge ~ Jordi Gomez ~ Brian Stock ~ Michael Kightly Jason Scotland ~ Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Substitutes: Paddy Kenny (Sheffield United) Manager: Owen Coyle (Burnley) Brian Jensen (Burnley)
Kyle Naughton (Sheffield United)
Roger Johnson (Cardiff City)
Sean St.Ledger (Preston North End)
Daniel Fox (Coventry City)
Wayne Routledge (Queens Park Rangers)
Jordi Gomez (Swansea City)
Brian Stock (Doncaster Rovers)
Michael Kightly (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Jason Scotland (Swansea City)
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Manager: Owen Coyle (Burnley)
Monday, January 19 Wolves, Birmingham and Reading have led the way all season in this section and their consistency had seen them moving well clear of the pack. Recently, however, all three of these teams have slipped up and while they remain in strong positions they have offered hope to a clutch of chasing clubs that automatic promotion may still be a possibility. Wolves remain top and have a decent buffer between themselves and the rest but the past couple of weeks have been hugely disappointing for Mick McCarthy's men. Firstly they fell to a comprehensive 3-1 home defeat against Preston and then had to settle for a draw at Bristol City despite having held a two goal lead. To make matters worse they were gifted the opening goal in both fixtures by horrible goalkeeping mistakes but ended up unable to take any significant advantage. Birmingham have now slipped to third, albeit with a game in hand, and ended up grateful for a point at home to Cardiff at the weekend after grabbing a controversial equaliser deep into stoppage time. Cardiff were leading through a sublime volleyed goal from Joe Ledley when Lee Bowyer seized on a woeful headed clearance to belt Birmingham level way past the ninety minutes. Cardiff had every reason to feel aggreived after what looked like the most blatant shove of the afternoon had gone unpunished seconds before Bowyer lashed home. Birmingham continue to frustrate their supporters with their inability to find any real fluency. Their strength, spirit and application can hardly be faulted, however. Reading also came a cropper this week, falling to a 2-0 defeat away at Swansea City. Jason Scotland's muscular presence up front was crucial in both goals while Reading were hampered by the sending off of Liam Rosenior. Sheffield United and Preston North End are now the closest challengers but it remains difficult to see anyone gatecrashing the top three positions. The Blades have now lost James Beattie to Stoke City but took all three points from their visit to Watford courtesy of goals from former Hornets, Danny Webber and Darius Henderson. With a solid squad still in place and a bit of cash to spend United could mount a serious promotion push. Preston backed up their splendid win at Wolves with a tight 2-1 victory over stuttering Burnley in a local derby that fired into life after half time. Both Preston's goals came from generous, but not outrageous, penalty decisions while Burnley responded with an equally generously awarded free kick, despatched in magnificent style by Robbie Blake. Preston look stronger than at any time this season but have several more tough games looming on the horizon while Burnley have now lost four league games on the bounce and are in danger of falling away as they have done in the past couple of seasons after good runs of form. Queens Park Rangers find themselves handily placed on the fringes of the play off places after claiming only their second away win of the season at Derby County. Wayne Routledge was the inspiration behind this win and it will be interesting to see if this is just another example of the speedy winger flattering to deceive. At the bottom things are beginning to look terminal for Charlton Athletic who find themselves eight points from safety after their 4-1 mauling at Sheffield Wednesday. The Addicks have now failed to win a league game in eighteen attempts and they will need to rediscover the habit quickly if they are to have any hope of surviving. Above them Doncaster scored a vital 2-1 win at Southampton to jump ahead of their rivals in distress while Norwich climbed above both Derby and Watford after hammering a woeful Barnsley 4-0. Nottingham Forest continued their excellent form under new manager Billy The Midget Davies by beating Plymouth 2-0 but remain in trouble at this stage. In fact everyone from Plymouth, in 15th position, down remain genuine relegation candidates at the moment.
Friday, December 19 The Championship season has now reached the halfway stage, bar for a game missing between Derby and Charlton, so we thought it was a good time to have a quick check on the progress of each team in the section, starting at the top and working down to the dregs at the bottom. Here goes. 1st: Wolverhampton Wanderers Mick McCarthy's men are not only top at halfway but hold a healthy six point lead. After a great start there was a wobble when three defeats came in four games but they have lost only once since and look to have the most consistently dangerous attack in the division with Ebanks-Blake and Iwelumo both scoring prolifically and decent men in reserve should they dry up. 2nd: Birmingham City Birmingham had a strong start and recently collected 16 points from a possible 18 before losing their last game at Preston. There has been no real conviction to many of their performances despite the healthy league position and everyone at the club would expect an improvement after Christmas. Defeats at home to Blackpool and Coventry were especially disappointing. 3rd: Reading At times Reading have provided the most exciting football in the division but after winning their first four games they have managed to drop some strange points. Four defeats on the road and a surprise home loss against Southampton have prevented The Royals from pushing Wolves for top spot. 4th: Burnley The real surprise package of the season so far. Despite an awful start they now sit well placed in the play off places and also have a League Cup semi final to look forward to after a magnificent run of form. 5th: Cardiff City Although The Bluebirds are in a decent position at halfway this has been something of a frustrating season so far with true consistency proving elusive. Losing at Swansea in both league and cup has also been a bitter pill to swallow. 6th: Preston North End Quite how North End come to be in the play off places at halfway is anyones guess and with a squad lacking any genuine firepower it is hard to see them maintaining their position. If Ross Wallace returns to Sunderland at the end of his loan deal in January then they will have next to no creativity either. 7th: Sheffield United Looked to be putting together a strong run but then lost the derby fixture at Wednesday and have emerged pointless from three tough home games against Wolves, Reading and Burnley. So much for making Bramall Lane the fortress Kevin Blackwell demanded. Some people can't help talking out of their backsides though. 8th: Crystal Palace Many people expected Palace to struggle as financial constraints were imposed by the want away chairman but 16 points from the last 6 games have compensated for a slow start and, at the moment, The Eagles are flying. 9th: Queens Park Rangers Despite their hugely wealthy owners it is hardly surprising to see The Arse, sorry, The R's hovering around mid-table. So far there has been no obvious attempt to bring in any real quality on the playing side and replacing Iain Dowie as manager with the completely untried Paulo Sousa was a definite gamble. 10th: Sheffield Wednesday The Owls will be hooting with delight at their current position and the mood will be especially good after gaining three wins and two draws from the last five games. With wins over local rivals United and Nottingham Forest already under their belts Wednesday fans will no doubt be making the most of having some bragging rights for a change. 11th: Swansea City The Swans have adapted by far the best of the three promoted teams from last season and could keep up the recent trend of promoted sides making the play offs at the first attempt. 12th: Ipswich Town Another team who are consistently inconsistent. Having lost four of their last seven they are in danger of losing touch with the play offs altogether and defeats at Doncaster and Charlton suggest the club is danger of entering a serious decline. 13th: Plymouth Argyle Argyle took only two points from their first five games and, after a good run, have repeated that meagre return in their leat five games. Would the real Plymouth Argyle please stand up? Goals have been a problem with the club having no genuine goalscorer since the sale of Ebanks-Blake to Wolves. 14th: Coventry City The season has been a struggle in the main so the club will probably be satisfied to sit 14th at midway. On the bright side there was a great win at Birmingham to keep the fans happy and victories at Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton were also vital in keeping the club away from relegation danger. 15th: Bristol City Repeating last seasons' play off finish was always going to be a big ask but City managed what is often the hard part by getting off to a good start with seven points from the first three games. Since then the going has got tougher, however, with no home wins since the middle of October and no wins at all in their last seven games. 16th: Blackpool Blackpool have their away form to thank for being out of immediate relegation trouble. The Tangerines have taken sixteen points on the road with the win at Birmingham a real highlight. 17th: Watford This has been a turbulent season at Vicarage Road. Adie Boothroyd, who had seen a plethora of star names vanish in order to keep the books balanced, found himself harshly sacked after a demoralising home defeat to Blackpool and the reins have been handed over to Brendan Rodgers, formerly a coach at Chelsea. Under his guidance some pressure has been removed with victories in the last two home games. 18th: Derby County Derby started off from where they had left off in last seasons' Premier League by taking only one point from the first four games. They were then undefeated in six games but thoughts of a surge up the table have been put on hold as only two points have been collected in the last six games. 19th: Barnsley After taking only five points from their first nine games Barnsley have managed a big improvement in both performances and results. This was triggered by their remarkable recovery from 1-0 down to hammer Doncaster 4-1 with only ten men. 20th: Norwich City The Canaries' season still hasn't got started and four defeats in the last five games leaves them flirting dangerously close to the relegation zone. At least the one win in that run came against local rivals Ipswich Town but big improvements are needed quickly at Carrow Road from this under achieving squad of players. 21st: Southampton The Saints are having to rely on a largely inexperienced squad and they have managed only one win at home so far this campaign. Maybe the youngsters feel under less pressure away from home where some good wins have been achieved, most notably at Reading. 22nd: Nottingham Forest Forest occupy the last relegation spot at the moment but should be worried that the gap is four points. For a team with only three victories from the first half of the campaign that is a significant gap. With nobody managing more than three league goals thus far it is obvious where Forest's most serious problem lies. 23rd: Doncaster Rovers Doncaster started superbly with seven points from the first four games but then took only two points from the next twelve. Their goalscoring problems are even greater than Forest's. Donny haven't scored more than once in any game this season. 24th: Charlton Athletic The Addicks lie five points from safety although they do have that game with Derby up their sleeves.
Wednesday, November 26 One of the more predictable events of this season was finally confirmed at the weekend when Charlton Athletic parted company with their manager, Alan Pardew. This decision apparently came to pass with mutual consent but it is hard to believe that Pardew wasn't really sacked. No matter how bad things get for a football manager, or how far off the light at the end of the tunnel actually is, the man in question hardly ever seems able to recognise that fact himself or is willing to walk away from his club. This will partly be because of financial reasons. Very few managers would jump rather than wait to be sacked as they know they will be rewarded with a nice compensation package when they are eventually shown the door. I think it is fair to say that most managers will genuinely believe that better results are not far around the corner, even when the evidence to the outsider seems to suggest something very different. What Pardew's real thoughts were about Charlton's immediate prospects under his leadership are not really known. As any manager would he remained as upbeat as possible in what he said during his clubs' recent depressing run of form but to the onlooker everything about him had begun to look and sound hollow. And, whatever the state of his mental strength, when he was interviewed a few weeks ago after a demoralising home defeat to Barnsley Pardew actually looked physically damaged. Ashen faced and gaunt Pardew cut an almost disturbingly unhealthy figure. There can be no doubt that, fantasy job as football manager is on paper (or on your computer), in real life it can be dangerously stressful. Paul Jewell admitted as such two years ago when getting out for a spell and Charlton's decision to put Pardew out of his present misery may well benefit nobody more than the man himself in the long run. At the beginning of October, when Charlton recorded their last win at home to Ipswich, Pardew spoke his relief at the result and talked about the pressure that he had all too evidently felt himself to be under. No wonder then that Pardew should look almost haunted by the time of the Barnsley defeat having seen his team take only three points from their next five games. Following that debilitating defeat Charlton went to Plymouth and grabbed a point from a 2-2 draw following a frantic finish in which they took an injury time lead, having come from behind, only to contrive to concede an even later equaliser. Pardew was bullish after this effort and spoke optimistically about his teams' chances the following week. The next game, however, was away to Birmingham and this always looked a difficult fixture for a struggling side. Predictably The Addicks slipped to a 3-2 defeat despite having a man advantage for the final thirty minutes of the game. This reverse paled in comparison to the awful 5-2 hiding inflicted by Sheffield United at The Valley on Saturday, however, and it was that shambolic effort that led the clubs' board to decide that it was time to end Pardew's tenure. For a club lately in the Premier League, and whose prolonged stay before relegation had most observers thinking they would be ideally placed for a quick return, Charlton's performances in the Championship have certainly been disappointing and it had become something of a surprise that Pardew had not been shown the door earlier. That in itself had raised questions about the clubs' actual financial position. Could they not afford to sack Pardew? Maybe the club, who had Alan Curbishley in charge for an age shortly before Pardew's arrival, were keen to stay loyal for as long as possible from the belief that change is not always for the better. Whatever the why's and wherefore's the defeat to The Blades, which saw the club drop into the relegation zone, obviously convinced the Charlton board that either they could no longer afford not to sack Pardew or that patience is not always a virtue. Initially it is left to Pardew's assistant, Phil Parkinson, to pick up the pieces but there was no instant fix as Charlton slipped to another defeat, 2-1 at QPR, last night. With the next five games being against Southampton, Blackpool, Coventry, Derby and Norwich respectively, and three of those five being at home, there is still a genuine opportunity for Parkinson to stake his claim for the job on a full time basis, however, and if the club do fancy taking the cheapest option then his luck might just be in. Just how lucky this would actually make him is perhaps debatable, however.
Wednesday, October 8 Wolverhampton Wanderers' supporters might have been hoping to see their team storm ahead and win a resounding promotion this season after they enjoyed an outstanding start to the campaign but things are rarely that simple in the beast that is known as The Championship and, sure enough, after taking 22 points from their first eight games they have now lost two on the trot. This has seen them lose top spot in the division and seen things tighten up considerably at the summit. The top of the table does have an extremely predictable look to it at the moment, though, and it is possible that the four clubs leading the way might be fighting amongst themselves for the automatic promotion places this season. Birmingham now lead from Wolves, Reading and Sheffield United. Looking down from there you do not see any names you would expect to force their way into contention. Birmingham continue to plod along in an uninspired, but generally effective, way. They have taken seven points from three difficult fixtures since their surprising home defeat to Blackpool winning 2-1 at Cardiff, drawing 1-1 at Derby and edging out QPR 1-0 at St Andrews. Quincy Owusu-Abeyie managed goals in two of those fixtures while Kevin Phillips was back on target with the winner against QPR but Alex McLeish has yet to find an attacking combination to truly convince so far this season. If he does so then Birmingham will surely be heading for a swift return to the Premier League. Wolves have slipped to second after suffering comprehensive defeats at home to Reading (0-3) and away to Swansea (1-3). Having seen regular keeper Wayne Hennessey concede an early own goal in the game against Reading manager Mick McCarthy decided to replace him with Carl Ikeme for the visit to Swansea. Ikeme was picking the ball out of his net within thirty seconds of the start following a slick piece of work from Jordi Gomez. Andy Keogh levelled for Wolves but two Jason Scotland goals confirmed a second successive defeat. Wolves have lost the influential attackers Michael Kightly and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to injury in the past week or so but look equipped to overcome such setbacks over the course of the season. Expect them to stay in a challenging position. Reading are the most explosive team in the section at the moment as their recent run of victories clearly indicates. Having thrashed Swansea 4-0 they went to Wolves to win 3-0 and then saw off Burnley 3-1 at The Madejski. Both Hunt's (Noel and Stephen) scored in the two home games, Kevin Doyle got another couple against Swansea and Shane Long also found the target against Burnley. Such firepower has convinced Steve Coppell that he can afford to loan Leroy Lita out to Norwich for the time being. Sheffield United have been boosted by the return from injury of James Beattie who has scored three goals in the home defeats of Watford and Bristol City and The Blades have collected maximum points from their last three games including a comfortable derby victory away to struggling Doncaster. Plymouth, Coventry and Cardiff lead the chasing pack at the moment but neither they nor anybody else look good enough to challenge the top four. Derby County have finally roused themselves to collect seven excellent points from three tough looking fixtures over the past couple of weeks and may fancy themselves good enough to force their way into the mix but a play off spot looks their best bet. In recent times there has generally been a team challenging for the play offs from among the promoted clubs and this season the only team looking capable of doing this is Swansea City. While Nottingham Forest and Doncaster struggle badly at the wrong end of the table The Swans have moved up to 8th place after a couple of fine wins. Despite suffering the heavy defeat at Reading they rallied to win a dour match at Preston 2-0 and then turned on the style to defeat Wolves 3-1 at The Liberty Stadium. With a morale boosting victory over rivals Cardiff City in the League Cup also behind them recently spirits will certainly be high in deepest South Wales at the moment. Struggling down at the bottom of the table alongside Forest and Donny at the moment are Barnsley and they met one of these rivals in a remarkable match last weekend. The local derby with Doncaster at Oakwell seemed to be heading the way of the visitors as Rovers led through a Brian Stock penalty at half time and then saw the home defender Darren Moore sent off early in the second. Barnsley had barely threatened to get back into the game while it was eleven versus eleven but the inspirational effect of having the ponderous Moore dismissed should never be underestimated and, lo and behold, The Tykes staged a storming recovery in his absence. Stephen Foster bundled home an equaliser and suddenly it was just like watching Brazil again. In fact Brazil probably aren't that good with only ten men. Jamal Campbell-Ryce had Barnsley ahead on the hour and, with Doncaster completely unable to muster a response, goals from Jon Macken and Iain Hume completed an incredible recovery. 4-0 to the ten men. Man of the match? Darren Moore, surely, for doing his best Captain Oates impression and taking the long walk to save his mates. Plenty of him to go round if you have to start eating people to survive as well.
Tuesday, September 23 When a manager likens an incident on the pitch to a UFO landing you can be pretty sure something strange has happened. Watford's Aidy Boothroyd was moved to this analogy on Saturday after his team conceded just about the strangest "goal" ever at home to Reading. By the end of a bizarre afternoon Boothroyd would have been in a much better position to see any descending aliens after being sent to the stand by referee Stuart Attwell who had an afternoon to forget that he will remember for the rest of his life. The game got under way in a reasonably normal manner. Watford's keeper Mart Poom had to be substituted after dislocating his shoulder in the first couple of minutes, Watford claimed handball against the Reading keeper Marcus Hahnemann, unsuccessfully, and Noel Hunt missed a sitter for Reading. The incident in question then arrived on fourteen minutes. Reading won a corner down their right which was whipped into the near post. John Eustace challenged Hunt and got the last touch as the ball bounced away from goal towards the dead ball line. Whether Hunt thought that he had got the last touch or if he just thought there would be more danger if he could reach the ball and send it back into the middle is unclear but the Reading man raced after the loose ball and pulled it back into the box where Andre Bikey sent an effort against the bar before the ball was finally cleared. Nobody on the Reading side had thought about claiming a goal, unsurprisingly, and the visitors were back in position for the game to continue when the referee was seen in consultation with a linesman and the upshot of it all was a goal being awarded to Reading. The linesman deemed that the ball had crossed the line before Hunt had hooked it back into the middle and he was under the impression that this had occured within the goalposts rather than five feet wide of them as had actually been the case. Bizarrely the referee was also apparently unable to see what had happened and neither of the officials thought anything strange about the fact that it had been a Reading player trying to get to the ball before it crossed the line and there had been no claims for a goal or any hint of a celebration. The clues were there but Atwell is obviously no Sherlock Holmes. Linesman Nigel Bannister might just be Dr Watson, however. The goal was eventually awarded against Eustace just to wind him up a little further. The incident seemed to numb everybody and it wasn't until the second half that the game really ignited again. Watford responded well and found themselves leading after Tommy Smith lashed home in a goalmouth scramble and John-Joe O'Toole finished off a classy move. The game now became frenetic with Attwell sending Boothroyd to the stands and then banning the multi ball system. The official also disallowed a Reading "goal" before awarding them a late penalty for a foul by Eustace which was converted by Stephen Hunt. There was still time left for Reading to claim another penalty but Attwell denied them this one and the game ended all square with most onlookers probably dazed and confused by proceedings. The top of the table clash between Preston and Wolverhampton also saw several controversial refereeing decisions but these were never in danger of affecting the outcome of a match that Wolves dominated comprehensively from the first whistle. Preston and their fans were unhappy at not receiving a penalty in the first half but the incident only followed what looked like a blatant foul on goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey so they had little real cause for complaint. Hennessey did seem shaken by the incident, however, and moments later dropped the ball at Neil Mellor's feet but the Preston striker failed to react and his teams' best chance had gone. Wolves had looked dangerous from the start and when Chris Iwelumo put them ahead on 36 minutes with a sharp overhead effort the goal seemed hugely overdue. The visitors; faster, stronger and simply better all over the pitch, continued to dominate after the break and Iwelumo put the game to bed with a close range finish and a penalty midway through the second half. The bulky striker then got involved with Preston centre half Sean St Ledger and was sent off for an alleged headbutt. St Ledger apparently defended Iwelumo later saying there had been no contact but that seemed strange as both players ended up on the ground clutching their faces. St Ledger only stayed down for a moment but Iwelumo lay there for minutes and received treatment from his trainer before getting up to be shown red. This looked like a guilty man desperately trying to get away with murder, or in this case a headbutt. With the atmosphere unnecessarily fraught Wolves then saw Hennessey sent packing in stoppage time for bringing down Mellor who scored from the resulting penalty. None of this deflected attention from a consumate away performance by Wolves who look equipped to go the distance this season. Another point of interest here was the dismissal of Wolves manager Mick McCarthy at half time. With Preston fans rounding loudly on the referee for his first half performance McCarthy took it upon himself to stride onto the pitch and ostentatiously applaud the officials' display. This seemed unnecessary and somewhat patronising. It was also something McCarthy should not have been getting involved in. The referees' decision to send him to the stands might have surprised the Wolves boss but it seemed fair enough. Shock of the day undoubtedly came at St Andrews where Birmingham City came a cropper at home to Blackpool. Birmingham's results had been excellent but their performances rarely convincing and another lacklustre display was punished by a Gary Taylor-Fletcher goal just after half time. This was a result to really top off a great day for Wolves and their supporters.
Wednesday, September 17 It's pretty much as expected at the top of The Championship after six games with one notable exception. Squeezed in among the Wolverhampton's, the Birmingham's, the Reading's and the QPR's at the moment are Preston North End who currently sit 3rd with fourteen points from their unbeaten start to the season. It's very early days of course but this early season form also backs up the excellent run the club put together towards the end of last season when a likely looking relegation was transformed into a basically mid table finish. Credit has to go to manager Alan Irvine who took over last year with the club apparently going downhill in the style of Franz Klammer and steered the club to safety. Irvine has done much to improve Preston's organisation, fitness and competitiveness. This, and the improvement in results, has increased confidence which has likewise shown itself in some fine displays of crisp, short passing, attacking football. The clubs' most recent win, 2-1 over Nottingham Forest, was a prime example of North End's current confidence although the draws they have gained in their last two away games, at Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday, have owed more to the durability and doggedness instilled since Irvine took over. One deficiency Irvine has not obviously put right since taking over is up front, however, and it is that area that makes Preston look unlikely to be able to maintain their present exalted position. Irvine inherited a squad whose attacking options were almost non existant with no obvious goalscorer at his disposal. His moves into the transfer market suggest that he does not believe a goalscorer is necessarily that important, however. Firstly he went to Norwich City and came away with Chris Brown, much to the relief of many a Canary. Brown had netted once in eighteen games for Norwich and nine times in sixty six for Sunderland before that. It is likely that Irvine was mainly looking for Brown to bring other players into the game when he signed him but the target man actually supplied some vital goals to help Preston stay up last season. He has yet to figure this term, however, due to injury so Irvine moved into the transfer market just before the window closed to sign the nearest thing he could find as a replacement, Jon Parkin from Stoke. The Beast is definitely a target first and a goalscorer second. He managed five in thirty five for Stoke in total and only two last season as the club won promotion to The Premier League. Most of his appearances for Stoke were as a substitute, however, and he did once rattle home twenty two in a season for Macclesfield so perhaps there is hope. It is also possible that Preston fans are more likely to see him eating a baby than scoring a hat trick, however. Irvine also signed Stephen Elliott from Wolves just before the window closed, four in twenty nine for his previous club, which suggests he won't be wearing out the Deepdale goal netting too quickly either. Irvine's one potential trump card comes in the slightly portly form of Neil Mellor, the former Liverpool forward, who seemed destined to be remembered only for carbon copy goals against Arsenal and some Greek/Turkish team in the Champions League a few years back. Mellor had spent the last few seasons injured and arrived at North End struggling to complete a full ninety minutes and looking decidedly overweight. With a decent run of games behind him Mellor still looks a bit heavy but he is surprisingly quick and has a definite eye for goal. Irvine and Preston will be praying that Mellor stays fit to provide a spearhead for a team that is compact in midfield and sound at the back. The quartet of Mellor, Brown, Parkin and Elliott certainly looks modest when compared to the options enjoyed by the other early pacesetters, however. Who would you prefer; O'Connor, Phillips, Jerome, McFadden and Marcus Bent (Birmingham), Ebanks-Blake, Keogh, Vokes and Iwelumo (Wolves) or Lita, Doyle, Long and Noel Hunt (Reading)? Wolves deservedly lead the table at present and their visit to Preston on Saturday should be a cracker. Mick McCarthy's men go to Deepdale in great heart after a fine 3-1 win at Charlton last weekend was backed up by a 2-1 home win over Crystal Palace. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake scored in both those victories and it looks as though the other strikers are vying to partner him at the moment. Birmingham have had to battle hard for their latest six points but will be happy enough to have sneaked past Doncaster 1-0 after playing much of the game a man short before going to Bristol City, a difficult place to visit, and returning with a 2-1 win. Cameron Jerome scored in both victories but it remains hard to decide conclusively on which is the best partnership out of their array of strikers. Reading look the most explosive side in the division on their day and bounced back from a disappointing defeat at Ipswich by trouncing Sheffield Wednesday 6-0. Kevin Doyle grabbed a hat trick in this one with Noel Hunt opening his league account with a brace. Moneybags QPR have still to convince that they are genuine promotion candidates but have moved up to fourth after collecting maximum points from their last two games, a 4-1 romp against Southampton and a hard fought 1-0 win at Norwich.
Monday, September 1 Much has been made over the past few months of the need for footballing people to show respect, particularly to officials. In The Premier League this has so far seemed to have had an effect on both players and managers but in The Championship there have been one or two black sheep. Not surprisingly the man mainly airing his grievances has been Crystal Palace's delightful manager Neil Warnock. His sides' poor start to the season has so far provoked two bitter post match diatribes against match officials. At Preston he was unhappy about a penalty that his side didn't get and at home to Burnley he was not amused that two of his players received red cards. At least the only people he could really blame this week were his own defenders as a 4-2 defeat at Reading, including a hat trick for Kevin Doyle, left his side uncomfortably placed near the bottom with just two points from four games. The Eagles have also failed to find the net so fat this season and the signing of Alan Lee from Ipswich is not guaranteed to bring about any dramatic improvement in that area. The biggest rant of the season so far has come from Coventry City's Chris Coleman, who my mum fancies, who blew his top last week as his side lost their 100% record in a 3-0 home defeat to Bristol City. Coleman was sent off for complaining about Bristol's first goal which saw goalkeeper Kieran Westwood carted off on a stretcher after a challenge with bulky striker Dele Adebola. Coleman continued to let fly at the official after the game although he did concede that Westwood had "come a long way" to meet Adebola's challenge. Basically Adebola just jumped up and headed the ball while Westwood came crashing into him, and one of his own defenders, in a style that any suicide bomber would have been proud of. Coventry's promising start was damaged further on Saturday when they lost to a Richie Wellens special at Doncaster. Of course there is always somebody willing to stick up for the beleagured referees. When it is an arsehole like Kevin Blackwell you know for sure that the ref in question must have done something pretty damn stupid, however. This was the case as Blackwell complimented the man in charge of his sides' 3-1 victory at Blackpool last week for awarding the most ridiculous penalty of the season so far. The decision in question had gone the way of Blackwell's team of course, had it been awarded against him he would have been screaming blue murder from the nearest rooftop, but people like Blackwell have absolutely no concept of hypocrisy whatsoever and quite possibly no real idea what is actually coming out of their mouths at any given time. Blackwell's side certainly looks strong enough to mount a promotion challenge this season though and can be satisfied with seven points from four games given the difficult start they have been handed. The last remaining 100% record in the division went at the weekend as Birmingham were held to a 1-1 draw at Norwich City who gave one of their most convincing performances in a long time. Coupled with a late fight back from two goals down to earn a point at Cardiff the previous week this suggests that The Canaries might be about to take flight after a hugely disappointing couple of years. Nobody will be counting any chickens, or should that be canaries, at Carrow Road just yet, however. Birmingham's result allowed Wolves to take over at the top on goal difference after they battered Nottingham Forest 5-1. Mick McCarthy's side have been one of the best to watch in this section over the past couple of years but have constantly fallen just short in the final reckoning. Too often they have not found the end product to pleasing approach play but nobody could fault the quality provided by David Jones and Michael Kightly, who struck twice, as they had Molineux buzzing with some spectacular finishing. There were also comedy own goals at both ends just to keep the purists happy as well. Also on ten points are Preston North End who came from behind to register a good 2-1 win at home to Charlton Athletic thanks to sharp finishes from Neil Mellor and Barry Nicholson. Rock bottom of the table are Derby County with just one point and one goal after their 2-0 defeat at Barnsley, Iain Hume breaking the deadlock with an absolute screamer. Manager Paul Jewell said it would take a while for his newly concocted side to gel after losing at home to Doncaster on the opening day of the season. He might want time but whether he will get it or not is another matter.
Monday, August 18 Only three teams have maximum points from the opening two sets of fixtures in The Championship; Birmingham City, fairly predictably, and, somewhat more surprisingly, Coventry City and Preston North End. Birmingham have lived up to their pre-season billing as promotion favourites with two good, if narrow, victories over Sheffield United and away to Southampton. On both occasions Kevin Phillips has come off the bench to score late winners and his predatory instincts obviously remain as sharp as ever. Coventry head the formative league table on alphabetical order, unless Preston have changed their name to Aadvark North End overnight, after wins over Norwich City and Barnsley. Coventry have been treading water for several seasons but they do have real potential firepower in the likes of Freddie Eastwood, Clinton Morrison, Michael Mifsud and Leon McKenzie. Their winner at Barnsley on Saturday was a slick effort from winger Julian Gray who has never really delivered on his early promise and the clubs' prospects will be boosted if he can put in consistent performances. Preston's wins have come at Ipswich, where Paul McKenna got them going with an absolute screamer, and at home to Crystal Palace, when victory was clinched by a neat Richard Chaplow effort. Their start has been helped by goals from midfield but goals from the forwards might become a problem longer term. Both Coventry and Preston have a lot more work to do before anyone will be convinced about their potential for a real promotion push but a good start is obviously helpful in a division noted for its' competitive nature. Likely candidates such as Wolves, Reading and Cardiff lie just behind the top three with a win and a draw from their opening games while Sheffield United recovered from their defeat at Birmingham with a resounding win over Queens Park Rangers, Billy Sharp grabbing a hat trick in their 3-0 win. There are also three teams at the bottom who have yet to gain a point, namely Barnsley, Southampton and Burnley. Both Barnsley and Southampton struggled throughout last season and must be concerned about their starts this term. The most worrying aspect of Barnsley's two narrow defeats, at QPR and at home to Coventry, is the fact that they have had a player sent off in both fixtures while Southampton will be hoping for some slightly easier fixtures after odd goal defeats to Cardiff and Birmingham. Burnley's start has been spectacular but for all the wrong reasons. They conceded the quickest goal on the opening day at Sheffield Wednesday on their way to a 4-1 mauling and then collapsed at home to Ipswich, losing 3-0. The Ipswich debacle was one of the strangest games of football from this or any other season. A Burnley Brains Trust had come up with the bright idea of having the match ball delivered by seven Red Arrows parachuters. Six of the daredevils landed safely on the Turf Moor pitch but one came down on the top of the away end, practically inaccessible to the emergency services, which resulted in the kick off being delayed for almost an hour before a rescue could be completed. If the club were not red faced enough by this episode their subsequent performance ensured that it was a day to forget for all concerned. After a reasonably bright start The Clarets fell behind just past the half hour to a Liam Trotter goal and went in at the break two behind after Graham Alexander appeared to smack one into his own net, although the official credit seems to have been given to Kevin Lisbie. There could be no doubts about the scorer of the third and final goal, two minutes from time however, when Stephen Jordan deftly headed a long punt past his own goalkeeper without an Ipswich player in sight. Not a good day at the office. Another comedy own goal came at Swansea where the home team were set on their way to a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest with a classic O.G., although in this instance there was no real blame to be attached to the scorer. Leon Britton fired in a sweet daisy cutter from 25 yards that had the diving Paul Smith beaten all ends up. There was a moment of despair for The Swans as the ball cannoned against the inside of the post but this quickly turned to joy as the rebound cannoned into the prone goalkeeper and obligingly rolled back into the net. Perhaps the most impressive start to the season has come from newly promoted Doncaster Rovers. They heaped further misery onto Derby County with an opening day win at Pride Park and were two minutes away from backing this up with a home win over Cardiff City until untidy defending gifted the Welsh side an equaliser. Four points from two difficult looking fixtures represents a fine start, however, and Lewis Guy, scorer of both the clubs' goals thus far, has particular reason to be satisfied with himself. So a typically eventful and somewhat erratic start to The Championship season. Expect continual twists and turns in this division.
Football England's League Championship Team - Season 2007-08
Carl Hoeffkens ~ Elliot Ward ~ Leon Cort ~ Tony Capaldi Liam Lawrence ~ Akos Buzsaky ~ Zoltan Gera ~ Brian Howard Frazier Campbell ~ James Beattie Substitutes: Wayne Hennessey (Wolverhampton Wanderers) Manager: Phil Brown (Hull City) Boaz Myhill (Hull City)
Carl Hoeffkens (West Bromwich Albion)
Elliot Ward (Coventry City)
Leon Cort (Stoke City)
Tony Capaldi (Cardiff City)
Liam Lawrence (Stoke City)
Akos Buzsaky (Queens Park Rangers)
Zoltan Gera (West Bromwich Albion)
Brian Howard (Barnsley)
Frazier Campbell (Hull City)
James Beattie (Sheffield United)
Manager: Phil Brown (Hull City)
Wednesday, May 14 Bristol City became the first team to book a place in the play off finals this season after victory over Crystal Palace. Both legs of this tie were packed with drama and the result wasn't settled until extra time had been played at Ashton Gate. Gary Johnson's team secured a vital advantage by winning the first leg at Selhurst Park 2-1. Both of their goals were magnificent strikes but they were perhaps lucky that these came along together when most needed. More often than not such efforts end up in the stands. The first goal came from a cleverly worked free kick, but again there might just have been an element of luck involved. With everyone expecting a shot from 25 yards or so the ball was instead pushed low to the angle of the penalty area and then squared back across the area where Louis Carey appeared to curl an absolute beauty into the far corner. Everything looked perfectly rehearsed about this move but it seemed strange that the final shot would have been left to a centre half by design. Had the final pass been intended for Dele Adebola instead? Then again, perhaps Carey was the man they trusted most. City deserved this lead and Carey's goal looked as though it would settle the first leg until the game exploded into life late on. With three minutes of normal time remaining Carey was adjudged to have fouled Jose Fonte and Ben Watson slammed in the penalty to level matters. After a disjointed display Palace would have been happy enough heading to Bristol all square but there was another sting in the tail. With injury time all but completed David Noble took possession fully thirty yards from goal and simply smashed a rising drive beyond the grasping dive of Julian Speroni in the Palace goal. The second leg, however, was a reverse of the first with City struggling to find any rhythm and Palace looking far more comfortable with the pressure of expectation somewhat removed. The home side had early chances but could not make them tell, Marvin Elliott coming closest with a header that Mark Hudson cleared off the line, and then contrived to offer Palace the chance to draw level on aggregate midway through the first half. Adriano Basso needlessly charged to the edge of his area for a ball that Jamie McCombe was already dealing with and when the defender got no distance on his attempted clearance the goal was open for Ben Watson's inspired looping header from outside the box. This self inflicted wound festered and City's performance became increasingly tense as the second half progressed. With just under twenty minutes remaining another City aberration handed Palace the chance to move ahead on aggregate for the first time. Nick Carle rashly went to clear as Tom Soares tried to control an awkwardky bouncing ball in a position of minimal danger and only succeeded in taking the Palace man out around the top of the thigh. Ben Watson stepped forward again but was fractionally off radar and his firm penalty bounced to safety from the foot of the post. This reprieve seemed to wake City from their slumbers and the ninety minutes ended with Lee Trundle clipping a sweet effort against the bar from the corner of the penalty area. With the game in extra time Trundle was offered another chance to go for goal, however, and this time his curling drive was right on target to hand City the advantage again. There was to be no way back for Palace a third time and City's place at Wembley was confirmed when Michael McIndoe skidded a low free kick past Speroni from distance. Perhaps Palace were waiting for a repeat of the intricate move unleashed on them at Selhurst Park. This time it was a simple tap to the left and a bang for goal but the end result was exactly the same. Congratulations to Bristol City who are the latest team to prosper in The Championship having been promoted from League One the previous season. The Robins are an intriguing proposition. They play better football than many sides in this section and have a couple of maverick talents in their side in Trundle and McIndoe. The precarious nature of their progress this season was highlighted by the fact that it was only a 3-0 win over Preston on the last day of the normal season that saw them end up with a positive goal difference, however. Are they pressing for a place in the Premier League on merit or are they just the flukiest team ever to storm Wembley? The truth is they simply emphasise what a land of opportunity The Championship is and we certainly prefer seeing a team with their approach to the game doing well than the plethora of long ball merchants who also ply their trade at this level. Whatever happens at Wembley it has to be hoped that Bristol City will bring a touch of quality and individual flair to the occasion.
Thursday, May 8 First things first and congratulations to West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City on winning promotion from The Championship. In a division in which the standard is remarkably uniform these two clubs are the most appropriate top two. With the champagne corks still probably popping, however, most attention seems to have already shifted away from their achievements of this season and towards their prospects for next. Needless to say most opinion falls into the "Prophets of Doom" category. Pessimistic remarks from commentators have already raised defiant responses from within the two successful camps but it is easy to see why there is so little confidence in the promoted clubs' chances of survival in the Premier League. The last three seasons have seen Sunderland, Watford and Derby endure embarrassing failures while other promoted clubs have also been relegated and all the others have suffered difficulties in maintaining top flight status. With the established Premier League teams being handed more and more money every season it is logical to think that it will get proportionately more difficult for the teams going up to survive. Taking this season first I think almost everyone in the Championship will welcome West Brom's eventual winning of the title. The Baggies have certainly been the most adventurous, skillful and exciting team to watch over the course of the season and have provided real value for money, not just for their own fans but for everyone elses in the division. Their progress to the semi finals of the FA Cup and the decent performance they put up there against Portsmouth also offers a reason to be cheerful about next season. Of the existing squad, however, the players who stand out in The Championship are hardly likely to put fear into anyone in the Premiership. In fact Zoltan Gera, Jonathan Greening and Kevin Phillips have all been part of unsuccessful relegation battles in the Premier League in recent seasons. There is also no guarantee that all these players will still be at the club when next season starts. It is also a fact that despite looking the best team in The Championship by quite a distance it took The Baggies a long time to climb to the top of the table and confirm this where it really matters. Their defence was also vulnerable at that level and is surely totally unequipped to cope over the course of a full season in the top flight. West Brom have previously refused to gamble their financial security in attmepting to remain in the Premier League but without massive investment it is hard to see them avoiding a relegation fight again next season. Stoke City are more representative of The Championship as a whole. They have packed their team with strapping six foot somethings and thrive on making the most of dead ball situations. If there's anything they like more than a long throw in it's a free kick and if there's anything they like more than a free kick then it's a corner. It was almost inevitable that a team of that ilk would make it to the Premiership as there are so many teams who adopt that "style" throughout the division. Stoke certainly merit their promotion place ahead of the other long ball exponents though. Amidst the mayhem of Rory Delap's long throws and the other set pieces Stoke have been able to call on two of the sections' most talented players. Liam Lawrence mixes strength with skill and has been a superb signing for the club while maverick striker Ricardo Fuller has tormented defences and his own fans in almost equal measure in the way only he can. Once again, however, these two have the current status of Premier League flops and will have to find an extra gear if they are to stear Stoke towards safety next season. Stoke have also played the loan market expertly this season bringing in quality from the Premier League to plug any weaknesses in the squad and to cover injuries. This becomes harder in the Premier League, however, when the teams they are competing against are going to be far less generous when it comes to lending them their fringe players. If Stoke want the players who can keep them in the Premier League then they will have to go out and buy them. That won't be easy. Even if they can stump up the cash it is debatabe what standard of player they will be able to attract. Then there is the question of their style of play. The long ball game is less effective against the quality of teams Stoke will face next season and they will not be able to force as many set pieces situations from which they might profit. Many people will look at Stoke and see another Derby just waiting to happen. They might be right but you could also look at them and fancy they might just turn out to be another Sunderland. They are going to struggle, there is surely no doubt about that, but if they can make a few astute signings then they might just be good enough to survive. As for the teams in the play offs it is hard to see Hull City or Bristol City managing to cope if they did get up. It would be incredible if they did considering just how far they have come so quickly already to get to the position of play off hopefuls in The Champiionship. Watford would seem to be the club in the best position to make a fist of it having only been relegated last season. You would think the club must have a bit of money to spend if they did go up and that their squad would benefit from the experiences of their previous year in the top flight. I genuinely believe that Watford would prove the biggest embarrassment of all if they made it back to the Premier League, however. Last time around they had Ben Foster, Ashley Young and Marlon King, though King missed most of the season through injury. Now they have nobody who looks remotely Premier League standard and whereas they previously played some football they now rely totally on a depressing barrage of long throws and corners aimed at the massive, hulking figure of Danny Shittu. Aidy Boothroyd might be struggling to understand why his team have struggled to break down opposition defences at Vicarage Road this season but I'm not. It's because your tactics are prehistoric and your players are unremittingly mediocre. Shittu is exempt from the mediocre tag. He is far, far worse. He has spent his season trundling up and down the pitch putting his head in where it hurts but has actually had most of his defending done for him. In the Premier League he would be needed as a full time defender and his lack of pace, mobility and ability would be exploited painfully. That leaves Crystal Palace who, if they do make it through the play offs, will at least bring a few interesting youngsters with them. That would be handy for the rest of the Premier League who would then get to see them in action and make it far easier for them to work out whether they are worth signing or not. Palace are also the form team, along with Hull I suppose, going into the play offs so must be a confident bunch. Of course if they did go up they would take Neil Warnock with them so it is hard to actually want them to progress. Basically the play offs, as the division has been all season, are anyones. At the other end of the table Leicester City are having to come to terms with the prospect of third flight football for the first time in their history. This will be difficult to swallow at the moment but Foxes fans shouldn't get too gloomy. As long as the club is now on a decent financial footing it is hard to see them taking any longer than two seasons to climb back into The Championship and their supporters will quickly realise that it is quite good fun going round beating teams week in and week out even if it is at a lower level. This might give the club a realistic opportunity to regroup and come back stronger. They now have an opportunity to plan ahead rather than simply fight the Championship fires which have eventually engulfed them. Then again they might get relegated again and end up in League Two. I think it is a safe bet that they will get more points next season than any of the promoted clubs, however.
Friday May 2, 2008 Cardiff City & The Welsh Grey Areas Cardiff City have obviously been big news recently having won through to the FA Cup final. There has been a drawn out saga of whether the club should be allowed to enter Europe next season if they actually win the cup. This has finally been resolved but it has been surprising to see so much negative reaction to the possibility coming from inside Wales itself. This is worth examination as is the remarkable episode of Darren Purse and the overturning of his red card by the Welsh FA. The situation regarding Cardiff's possible place in next seasons' UEFA Cup has been hard to understand. To myself, a complete neutral, it appeared only right and proper that if Cardiff qualified for Europe then they should take their place there. As members of the Football League it appeared logical that they should benefit from their achievements on the field just as any English club would. Logic does not always take pride of place in the decision making process within football, however. The first objections were raised from within our dear old FA. Apparently they believed Cardiff would not be eligible to take part in the UEFA Cup even if they managed to win the FA Cup because the club comes under the jurisdiction of the Welsh FA even though they play in the English league. That seemed strange and totally unfair. Cardiff can't qualify for Europe through being a Welsh club because the Welsh FA don't allow them to take part in the Welsh Cup. Surely they should be able to qualify on the same terms as everyone else in the league they do take part in then? UEFA immediately took the part of the club in saying that our FA should nominate them for a place in Europe if they won the FA Cup and suggested that they would find a place for them if the FA failed to do so. The major voice from UEFA supporting The Bluebirds was, unsurprisingly, Michel Platini. Platini is becoming the Robin Hood, Zorro, Batman (and any other all round good guy you can think of) all rolled into one of modern football. That arsehole from the Premier League tried to ridicule Platini by likening him to "a bloke in the pub" but all that did was make us "blokes in the pub" feel a whole lot better about ourselves. After all, Platini speaks nothing but common sense, obviously loves football and only wants what is best for the game. But I digress. The FA are getting used to saying things and immediately finding out from other people that what they've said was a little bit stupid. So they wouldn't have been too surprised to find out from UEFA that they really should be letting Cardiff represent them if they did win the cup and, after a reasonable delay to spare some of their blushes, they did an about turn and decided that Cardiff would be allowed to enter the UEFA Cup after all. Providing they beat Portsmouth of course. That, you would think, would have been the end of it. Not so. There were other dissenting voices about the possibility of Cardiif taking their place in Europe and these came from more surprising sources. Welsh pride, it seemed, was also piqued at the prospect of Cardiff representing England in Europe. Alun Evans, a former big shot at the Welsh FA, reckoned that Cardiff would no longer be a Welsh club if they accepted a place in Europe by dint of success in an English competition while some supporters have also objected to the possibility, believing it to be a stain on their nationalism. Of course you never know if the man in the street is a real Cardiff supporter or just some Welsh guy who wants to stir things up. It is not hard to believe that some Cardiff fans would prefer a statement of independence from their club rather than reap the full benefits of a potentially amazing achievement. Cardiff City FC have already responded to the opinions of Evans in a withering manner and will obviously have no truck with any voices around the club suggesting they forego the glory and the financial rewards available if they do win the FA Cup. Any patriotic Welshmen staunchly insisting that Cardiff would be committing a treason by playing in Europe are surely missing the point completely, however. The gripe is that Cardiif would be representing England. Not really. Attempts have been made to succour these objectors by suggesting that Cardiff would not be representing England, they would be representing the Football League. Not really. If Cardiff City qualify for the UEFA Cup the only thing they'll be representing is Cardiff City. The whole of England isn't rooting for our clubs when they play in Europe. In fact I would imagine over half the nation was spitting oaths when Manchester United knocked out Barcelona the other night, just as probably all Manchester United fans were cheering AC Milan on in last years' final against Liverpool. Liverpool fans were probably reasonably cheerful when Fiorentina knocked Everton out of the UEFA Cup while Tottenham and Arsenal fans probably enjoyed watching the other team get knocked out just as much as they were gutted about their own teams' exits. If Cardiff did get into Europe some English fans would want them to do well, others would be hoping to see them embarrass themselves. Just as is the case with every other team that makes it through into Europe. Nobody at all, however, would start thinking of them as an English club. I think it is also safe to assume that Johnny Foreigner knows enough about geography to realise that Cardiff is in Wales and would be thinking of them as a Welsh club if they did make it into the UEFA Cup. Surely Cardiff's achievements already have provided a massive boost for Wales in general and if they were to qualify for Europe this would only be more beneficial. Onto the second subject for discussion; Darren Purse's sending off against Burnley. If you're not familiar with this then let me explain. Last Saturday Purse produced an ugly, over the top challenge on Andy Cole which ripped open the Burnley strikers' shin and earned the defender a totally deserved straight red card. There were ugly recriminations afterwards from both sides which reflected no credit on either side but were at least understandable from the Burnley perspective. The pathetic comments of Cardiff manager Dave Jones, who sought to blame Cole for the incident, and the hollow response of Purse himself would have been laughable except for the fact that they weren't actually funny. The obvious agenda behind Cardiff's response was the fact that Purse's three match ban was going to rule him out of the FA Cup final. Let's be fair, nobody likes seeing a player miss the biggest game of their life but, by the same token, nobody likes to see Andy Cole's shin ripped open. Ten stitches was the final count I believe. Now Cardiff were so eager for Purse to be available to play at Wembley that they actually appealed against the red card. What a daft thing to do. Everyone could see that it was a perfectly sound decision by the referee and all they were going to do was get Purse's ban increased. After all, if Middlesbrough were frivolous in contesting Aliadiere's red card at Liverpool then Cardiff were just plain taking the piss here. Ah, but not so quick there. Middlesbrough had to appeal to the English FA who were ever so quick in telling them where to go. Cardiff appealed Purse's dismissal to the Welsh FA who took about four seconds to consider their verdict before acquitting Purse completely, sending him a good luck message for the final along with a bunch of flowers to his mother. Unbelievable. This is what the Welsh FA actually said about the decision on their website "A Disciplinary Panel met at the Football Association of Wales offices on Tuesday, 29th April 2008 to consider a Claim of Wrongful Dismissal for the sending-off for serious foul play of Darren Purse of Cardiff City FC in the Football League Championship match, Burnley FC v Cardiff City FC played on 26th April 2008. Having carefully considered the written and DVD evidence submitted, the Panel decided that the 'Claim' be upheld and the three match standard punishment be withdrawn" I repeat, unbelievable. The Welsh FA, Darren Purse, David Jones and Cardiff City can ramble on all they want about this being justice but it is simply the biggest old pals act of all time and makes a mockery of absolutely everything that is right and moral to be honest. There is no way on God's earth that the English FA would have retracted that ban so there is no way Cardiff should be able to get away with it by being goverened by a different body. Everyone in the same league should play by the same rules and this needs to be cleared up immediately. In future all clubs playing in the English leagues should report to the same controlling body so that everyone can expect more or less the same treatment. This decision was so biassed it positively stank. And as for Purse's comment that "It was never intentional...just something that can happen in a game of football", that's all well and good but I think the general consensus within football was that Martin Taylor's challenge on Eduardo wasn't malicious. You didn't see Birmingham and Taylor whining to the Welsh FA and getting the ban lifted though, did you? I just hope Jones has the good grace not to complain next time someone goes over the top on one of his players and I can't help hoping that Purse has a real shocker at Wembley.
Tuesday, March 4 It was interesting to read Harry Redknapp's comments last week regarding the lack of decent English talent coming through at the moment. Redknapp admitted that he had switched over from the Middlesbrough/Sheffield United cup tie last week in favour of a Spanish match being shown at the same time and went on to bemoan the lack of basic skills in many of this countries' youth prospects. Redknapp probably doesn't want to watch too many Championship games at the moment. It would be interesting to hear Redknapp's real opinion on the current crop of British coaches/managers. If the Championship is anything to go by then it is hardly surprising that young players in this country aren't blessed with great skill and technique. It would appear that the modern coach values height, strength and speed over any genuine footballing abilities. The top of the Championship table seems to justify this approach and also apparently suggests that caution is a more sensible approach than adventure. Top of the division at the moment are Bristol City who have done exceptionally well to maintain a place at the top end of the table all season after winning promotion from League One last year. City are not one of the divisions' "basketball" teams. They have big players where you would expect them but also a decent sprinkling of smaller men from whom you might expect a bit of football. Their continued rise through the divisions has hardly left a blazing trail behind them, however. Indeed, at the moment City have currently found the net less often than bottom of the table Colchester United. The signing of Lee Trundle suggested that the club might be looking to leave an exciting, expansive mark on the Championship but his maverick talents have been purely peripheral as a pragmatic, steady course to the top of the table has been charted. Still, you cannot argue with any team that moves up a standard and acquits themselves so well no matter how they go about their business and The Robins have maintained a good balance in everything they have done this season. The signing of Michael McIndoe has been a particularly sound piece of business and this clever, tricky player is one of the divisions' gems. The two teams who have occupied the top spot immediately before Bristol City, however, make few bones about the way they are going to approach things. Watford and Stoke City are both massive sides who have specialist long throw merchants and simply look to bombard the opposition at every given opportunity. Throw ins, corners, free kicks. Anything that allows them to send their giant defenders forward to join their giant forwards and they are happy. At the moment Stoke are a slightly better side to watch with Liam Lawrence always capable of something decent on the wing and the unpredictable but gifted Ricardo Fuller ready to try the unexpected at any time. Watford have Jobi McAnuff as their one concession to actual football but the wingers' incisive dribbling skills undoubtedly play second fiddle to the big boot towards the corners and the hope that a set piece will be forthcoming. It is quite depressing to watch Watford at the moment to be honest. Up to now I have generally defended Aidy Boothroyd against the more severe of his critics as his side did offer more football than they were given credit for. In fact they were often very good to watch when they were last in this division with Ashley Young, Marlon King and Anthony McNamee providing pace and invention up front. Loan signings like Gabby Agbonlahor and Chris Eagles also demonstrated that a bit of passing football was far from illegal at Vicarage Road. Now it is likely that any new signings would have to be air lifted down onto the pitch because it's unlikely they will fit through the front door. The lack of quality in this division is surely highlighted by Charlton Athletic. They are a side who still want to think of themselves as a footballing side and they do have some decent ball players but, having got a massive wad of cash for Darren Bent, they went out and signed Chris Iwelumo and Izale McLeod as replacement centre forwards. If these men are the future of centre forward play then it is a pretty depressing thought. I think most supporters in the Championship would name West Bromwich Albion as the best footballing side in the section. They have scored heavily this season and certainly play the game on the floor most of the time but they are, currently, struggling to overhaul Bristol City, Stoke and Watford. I think it would undoubtedly be a triumph for football if The Baggies managed to do this and go up as champions but even then it would hardly be a massive triumph for the English game. West Brom's style is mainly dictated by the foreign contingent they have been able to bring to The Hawthorns with the money they have got from their regular sojourns in the Premier League. I would struggle to really put forward the name of a young English player from the Championship who I might confidently expect to make a real impact on the Premier League. After all, David Nugent looked a cast iron cert to at least establish himself after leaving Preston but so far he has completely failed to make the step up. While managers at this level carry on favouring brawn over skill this will continue to be the case and every year we will have promoted sides struggling to muster 20 points all season when they go up to the Premier League. The point that coaches and managers refuse to accept is that packing your side will giants is no recipe for success, even at this level. Most of the sides at the bottom look just like those at the top both in appearance and style of play. This pre-occupation with athlete over footballer doesn't guarantee a manager success or job security but it does guarantee a lack of decent football for the spectators. It was illuminating to hear Alan Irvine, the new manager of struggling Preston, speak after his side had kept clean sheets and taken four points from successive games against Watford and Stoke last week. Having praised his teams' defending and mentioned their difficulties further up the pitch he commented that it was easier to coach sides how to defend. Bullseye. Not only is it easier it is, in fact, the only thing coaches can really influence. Coaches can organize their sides, make them hard to break down and they can drill them for set pieces. No coach, however, can teach someone how to take a half chance, skin a full back or split a defence open with a through ball. To do those things you have to be a natural. The people who have those special talents more often than not are not quite so interested in the mundane aspects of the game and are, therefore, treated with huge scepticism by the coaching fraternity. Hence we get robots churned out by the dozen who run, jump and tackle all day long but never do anything that gets us off our seats or stops Harry Redknapp from switching over to watch a game from Spain. More coaches and more coaching shout the coaches. Are we sure?
Tuesday, December 11 The Championship is popularly believed to be the toughest division to get out of but, while results within it still regularly cause the odd raised eyebrow, the overwhelming effect of Premiership money is quickly beginning to dominate this section as well. Last season two of the three teams promoted from the Championship, Sunderland and Birmingham City, were making instant returns to the Premier League after relegation and the only thing stopping a clean sweep was Derby County's play off final victory over West Bromwich Albion. Depressing really. This season things looks much the same. Watford are leading the way in their search for an instant return to the land of milk and honey with Charlton Athletic well placed in third position. Sheffield United, on the other hand, have made a hugely disappointing start to the campaign after losing their Premiership status. Even the Blades, however, are only a couple of wins out of the play off places and will be looking to challenge strongly in the second half of the season. With usual promotion suspects like West Brom and Wolves already in the thick of the promotion race the chances of a more unfashionable club forcing their way into contention is looking increasingly unlikely. There are clubs in position to cause a surprise, however. Bristol City have made an outstanding start to the campaign after promotion from League One last season and currently sit in a play off position just three points out of automatic promotion. Recently the going has appeared somewhat tougher for the Robins, however, and the club will do well to maintain their lofty position. Stoke City look a more durable outfit and will be keen to secure a play off berth after missing out on the final day of last season. Just outside the play off zone at present are Barnsley, surprising everyone, and Plymouth, less surprising but still a bit of a shock. If either of these teams finish in the top six then they will have surpassed all expectations. Perhaps the most interesting of the teams currently mounting a challenge is Burnley. This had the feeling of a make or break season for the Clarets beforehand and the club have already swayed dramatically between both extremes. Burnley returned to this level in 2000 after promotion from the then League Two and have never really challenged for promotion or had to battle relegation. Early on in their tenure they looked capable of forcing their way into the play offs on a couple of occasions only to fall away while last season they plummeted uncomfortably close to trouble before recovering late on to avoid relegation with plenty to spare. It is unusual for any club to remain in one division for the best part of a decade without being seriously involved at either end of the table so you got the feeling Burnley might be arriving at a crossroad. Most people would have fancied the Clarets to be involved at the wrong end of the Championship rather than the top and, after a solid start, that is were they were heading under Steve Cotterill as results suddenly collapsed. Apathy at the gates of Turf Moor was also a disturbing indicator that the club might be about to hit the ropes. Burnley is only a small town with a limited catchment area for support and the football club is rightly proud of the loyalty of its' fanbase but with gates struggling to significantly clear the 10,000 mark it had become evident that the attractions of a life of Championship obscurity was beginning to wane for several East Lancashire residents. From the outside the abrupt sacking of Cotterill probably came as something of a surprise but in this instance the club appear to have been justified, and not simply because of an immediate improvement in results. It was clear from the falling gates that support for Cotterill and his team was slipping. The reaction of the fans still turning out every week on local radio phone ins and to the local press was even more emphatic. Not only were the locals unhappy with results they were even more disaffected with the "style" of play under Cotterill. Widespread criticism of his tactical apprecition and substitutions meant the writing was pretty clearly all over the Turf Moor walls. There have been much higher profile cases of clubs changing their manager this season with the new man given a mandate to change the style of play towards something more entertaining but nobody appears to have worked the oracle like Owen Coyle, the man brought in by Burnley to turn things around. Coyle, drafted in from Motherwell, had Steve Davis to thank for overseeing a 1-0 victory at Leicester in his one game as caretaker manager. This result restored much of the confidence that had been lacking beforehand and must have helped the new mans' cause when he then took over the reigns. Since Coyle actually took over, however, the results have been spectacular. It is unlikely that any other team in the division will collect wins at Watford, Charlton and Wolves all season. Under Coyle Burnley have done just that in successive away games. At both Charlton and Wolves the Clarets scored three times to secure the points in style. On Saturday at Molineux, in the televised evening game, Burnley produced a truly outstanding first half display to lead 3-1 at the interval and then showed their mettle by holding on for victory after Wolves got back into the game via a contentious penalty decision. Despite this magnificent sequence of results optimism is somewhat tempered by the fact that both of the home games played under Coyle have ended in draws and his Clarets have yet to show that they can unlock defences which are intent on sitting back and soaking up pressure. With home games against the bottom two sides in the division, QPR and Preston, coming up in the next five days the club have the ideal chance to put that right and if they were to take maximum points from those two fixtures then they would be right up there in the frame heading into Christmas. The club must ensure that they don't get carried away with recent results. Optimistic talk about a promotion challenge after a similar run last season quickly turned to dust as the club went on a dreadful run but there seems more solid ground for belief this time around, for which Cotterill must take his share of the credit. The biggest drawback to the Clarets in recent seasons has been the painfully small squad with which they have had to operate. Injuries or loss of form have been terminal to their hopes. Last season fell apart when leading scorer Andy Gray was laid up for a prolonged spell, for instance. This time around, however, the squad has been filled out and there is reason to believe that the club could cope with a similar eventuality now. There would appear to be decent back up in every position and the squad looks to have a decent balance between youth and experience, strength and flair. This theory has yet to be tested as Coyle, wisely, has resisted the temptation to tinker. Adhering to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" principle the new man has named an unchanged side in all five of his games in charge. Whether Burnley can maintain their outstanding start under Coyle remains to be seen but momentum is a massive advantage in football and everything seems to be coming together nicely at Turf Moor at the moment. The results and more attacking football will certainly encourage people back through the turnstiles and with the local derby against Preston followed by holiday fixtures and a plum home tie with Arsenal to come at Turf Moor the club is in a position to bring back the fans who have been staying away and keep them. Generally when a club like Burnley starts producing the goods the worry is whether they can keep hold of their better players. Once again the Clarets don't seem too badly off in that respect at present. It is unlikely that much interest will be shown in any of their players other than the burgeoning centre forward Kyle Lafferty who is beginning to turn potential into real ability both at club and international level. Keeping Lafferty at the club may provide Coyle with his biggest challenge but even if he is lured away it will be for a price and should allow the new man some leeway in bringing other players to the club. All in all, then, it looks as though the followers of Burnley have every reason to look forward to the New Year. Wednesday, October 31 Do Hornets buzz or is it just bees? I don't know the answer to that one in a universal sense but in footballing terms nobody can argue with the statement. Having suffered their expected relegation from the Premier League last season, and a suitably emphatic one at that, Watford have enjoyed a cracking start to life back in the Championship and look more than capable of making an instant return to the top flight. Watford made a good start but one which did not entirely convince. Victories over Wolves and Sheffield United in their opening two games were excellent results but both were narrowly achieved and less than convincing. Then the club suffered a comprehensive defeat at Leicester and a dismal Carling Cup exit at Southend. Since that defeat they have gone into overdrive, however, claiming 26 points from a possible 30 and are currently enjoying a winning run stretching to five games. The last four of these victories have been particularly convincing, a fact made all the more impressive as three of them have been away from home. Darius Henderson has been their most consistent goal getter with 8 in 12 starts but the club will be especially confident about their chances now that Marlon King looks to be back to his form of two years ago. King now has 7 for the season but, more importantly, has scored in each of the last five games and looks back to full fitness as well as form. As well as having a strong, settled attack the club can boast an ever present defence. Lloyd Doyley, Jay DeMerit, Danny Shittu and Jordan Stewart have started every league game so far and provide a good balance of pace, power and sound basic defensive abilities. Not many attacks are going to enjoy too much success against that barrier. Although Aidy Boothroyd's shadow side lost poorly to Southend in the cup the club appears to have adequate reserves on hand to come in and do a job if there are injuries or suspensions to the first choice players and, all in all, the Hornets look a good bet for promotion at this stage. Currently impressing hugely at Vicarage Road is Adam Johnson, on loan from Middlesbrough. This strong, pacy and clever left sided attacker has chipped in with 4 goals from 8 starts and Boothroyd will presumably be hoping he can extend the youngsters' loan period beyond the original three month agreement. Of course Watford's emphatic progress in the Championship after their equally emphatic relegation begs the question is the gap between Premier League and Championship really that big? It is hard to give any other answer than yes. Before Watford it was Sunderland scraping the barrel in the Premier League after gaining promotion and this season Derby County look in danger of going the same way. Wigan Athletic and Reading bucked the trend initially but appear to be struggling to maintain a position of comfort long term. With the incredible money now being thrown at Premier League clubs it will obviously become more difficult for teams like Watford to go into the top flight and compete. The fact that Johnson is starring at Vicarage Road but is currently deemed surplus to requirements by a struggling Middlesbrough side surely gives a clear indication of the massive gulf to be bridged by sides going up. If Watford do gain another promotion they will be hoping that their experience last time around will count in their favour and also that Marlon King stays fit. Although King is unlikely to set the Premier League on fire his absence for almost all of the clubs' campaign last season was a terminal blow. Aidy Boothroyd is establishing himself as one of England's brightest young managers and, despite criticisms about his style of play, this seems to be a deserved tag. Although his team are direct they are not a one dimensional team and are justified in hitting channels with pacy forwards and wingers at their disposal. In the Championship, arguably their natural environment, they are an impressive outfit and generally good to watch. In the Premier League, where the other teams are equally fast and strong, they did come across as somewhat crude but this should hardly be wondered at given the disparity of resources available to them and the teams they were trying to compete against. If Watford do regain a place in the top flight I would hope that Boothroyd does try and place more emphasis on actual quality and skill, however. It is impossible to know what he encourages within the club day in and day out on the training ground but it got pretty boring hearing him drone on about the effort and commitment his team were putting in after each successive defeat last season. Long before the end of the season it was impossible not to believe that Watford had nothing to offer other than effort and commitment simply because you never heard their manager talk about anything else. Incoming transfers will also obviously be vital. Boothroyd's signings after his last promotion were anything but inspiring and the capture of two players from Rotherham and an impotent Hungarian scarcely compensated for the loss of Ashley Young to Aston Villa. If Boothroyd learns to fully understand, appreciate and embrace the more subtle requirements needed in the top flight then he could well go on to establish Watford at that level and, perhaps, move on to bigger and better things himself. After all, his virtues are fundamentally English virtues and we have to believe that these are still important in the game of football. They just need to be blended with the right dash of finesse. Closest to Watford at the moment are Bristol City who have done remarkably well following promotion from League One last season and have so far lost only one game in the Championship this season. Both the leading teams face tough games this weekend as Watford host West Brom and Bristol City travel to Wolves. If Watford can overcome the Baggies the rest of November looks like an inviting month for them whereas if City come a cropper at Molineux the rest of the division will be looking to really put the squeeze on them. In a division that is notoriously tight Watford are in a position to steal a decisive march. Behind them I would expect it to remain a real dogfight.
Tuesday, October 3 One manager no longer under pressure, at least in football terms, is John Gregory, lately of QPR. Rangers' overwhelming 5-1 defeat at West Brom proved to be Gregory's last in charge which meant his latest stay at Loftus Road lasted just over a year. As so often happens Gregory inspired an initial revival on arriving but could do nothing to improve results over a sustained period and the club find themselves looking at another relegation struggle. What the new man will be able to achieve at a club apparently lacking any real stability is debatable and how much time they will be allowed will be another matter for conjecture. The man who drilled two of the nails into Gregory's coffin was the evergreen Kevin Phillips who displayed his poachers instincts yet again to get the Baggies going. Other managers will not be sitting in their seats too comfortably in this section either. Although it is probably too early for Bryan Robson to be worrying about his life expectancy at Bramall Lane just yet he will be desperate to put a run of results together sooner rather than later. Sheffield United have not made the strong start expected after relegation last season and suffered a home defeat at the weekend to Southampton despite taking an early lead through Keith Gillespie. Goals from Rasiak and Viafara gave the Saints a victory they also needed after a stuttering start. Perhaps nobody is under as much pressure currently as Norwich City's Peter Grant. The Canaries are a club you would expect to see challenging for the play off places at least but they appear to be treading water in the bottom half of the table at best at the moment. Losing at home to Sheffield Wednesday is exactly the kind of result to feed discontent among the spectators and Grant is also in need of some victories quickly. Feeling exactly the opposite is Wednesday boss Brian Laws. Two weeks ago his side was the only one in the country not to have won a point. Now they have six after successive wins and the latest came courtesy of Wade Small's low finish following good approach play from Frank Simek.
Monday, September 3 Coventry City are the slightly surprising leaders of the Championship after four games. Having won at Cardiff City the week before Iain Dowie's men came from behind to beat Preston North End with two late goals at the Ricoh Arena. Dele Adebola reacted sharply inside the box to drill the Sky Blues level with ten minutes remaining before Michael Doyle's rasping drive caught Andy Lonergan unawares in the North End goal. The Coventry public seem genuinely sceptical of their teams' chances of maintaining their lofty perch but you never know in this division where momentum counts for so much. Watford recovered from a surprise hiding at Leicester City to defeat Ipswich Town 2-0 at Vicarage Road and sit handily placed. Darius Henderson struck early before Tommy Smith confirmed victory in the second half. Newly promoted Bristol City maintained their fine start with a 1-0 win at struggling Sheffield Wednesday. Brian Wilson struck after four minutes and that was that at Hillsborough. It was a good day for local derbies in the Championship on Saturday. Stoke City and Wolves couldn't find a goal between them at the Britannia Stadium to the frustration of a 17,000 crowd. 18,500 were present at Selhurst Park to see Charlton put one over on Crystal Palace by the only goal while almost 9,000 crammed into Glanford Park to see Scunthorpe United clinch a thrilling 3-2 win over Sheffield United. The game between Palace and Charlton was tight to the point of being dour. Charlton keeper Nicky Weaver was forced into one decent save before the break by James Scowcroft while the visitors best chance was wasted by Chris Iwelumo. After the break Weaver was called upon to make a couple more good saves to deny the substitutes Paul Ifill and Besian Idrizaj but it was an Addicks replacement who nipped in for the only goal. Iwelumo flicked on a Weaver punt and while Cort and Speroni hesitated Svetoslav Todorov seized his chance to lob the ball beyond the stranded keeper and tap home. Charlton could have put a gloss on their victory as Palace threw men forward but their joyous fans were happy enough with the one goal win. Scunthorpe really gave their vaunted visitors a hard time in a thrilling contest at Glanford Park. The home supporters afforded returning goal machine Billy Sharp a heroes' welcome and then gloried as his new team were put to the sword. An extremely dubious offside flag had already denied Martin Paterson the opening goal before Andy Crosby blasted Scunny ahead from close range as half time approached. It looked as though the Iron had dulled the Blades completely when Paterson latched onto Jonathan Forte's pass to coolly slot the home side further ahead just past the hour mark. Not many people had heard of Paterson during his days with Stoke but he has made a fine start to life at Glanford Park where he has several ghosts to lay. Although the Blades had struggled to compete properly in this one they had always been capable of making chances and Danny Webber suddenly poached his side level with two smart finishes as the game entered its' last ten minutes. The game then exploded in the dying minutes when Cliff Byrne and Derek Geary were dismissed after an off the ball incident and from the resulting free kick Scunny snatched a famous victory. Static defending saw the ball travel right across the face of goal and there was Matt Sparrow to turn home the winner and send the home fans into delirium. I must just mention the James Beattie volley that flew clean out of the ground in this one but as James himself will proudly tell you, he's volleyed balls out of much bigger stadiums than this one.
Tuesday, August 21 You are obviously going to be happy if you win you're first two games of the season but having won at Wolves on the opening day and then beaten Sheffield United in their first home game Watford have every right to be delighted with their start. It's possible that no other team will take maximum points from those two fixtures and the Hornets have made a great start as they look to bounce back up to the Premier League. The only goal in this one came from Lee Williamson who finished smartly from a Darius Henderson cross. Top of the table are Stoke City, however, who came from behind to record a splendid victory over Charlton Athletic. Andy Reid, who might just be the best player in this section this year, put the Addicks ahead but Ricardo Fuller equalised almost immediately with a storming run and finish before Jon "The Beast" Parkin won it for Tony Pulis's side. Stoke made massive progress last season and look ready to continue their good work. Not the easiest side on the eye but one of the most hard working they will not be easy to beat. Jamie Cureton gave the best individual display of the weekend with two goals as Norwich also came from behind to defeat Southampton 2-1 and continue Saints' miserable start to the season. There was also an excellent win for Wolves on the Sunday as they came away from Sheffield Wednesday with a 3-1 victory. The goals were provided by Freddie Eastwood, Michael Kighty and Jay Bothroyd while Andy Keogh gave another classy all round display up front. Mick McCarthy's men certainly don't lack attacking talent.
Tuesday, August 14 The Championship is a notoriously tight section with any team genuinely capable of turning over any other. The first days' action suggested this season will see that trend continue although opening days can often dedceive. The clubs relegated out of the Premier League last season found the going tough although none of the three lost. Sheffield United and Charlton Athletic will have been disappointed to have only drawn at home to Colchester United and Scunthorpe United respectively but there will no doubt be further frustrations along the way. The game at Bramhall Lane was goalless for over an hour before exploding into life with two goals in a minute. James Beattie headed in on his Blades debut only to see Kevin McLeod tap in the equaliser a minute later. When Michael Tonge smacked the home side ahead again with eight minutes remaining the points looked safe but Colchester's new centre forward Clive Platt emulated Beattie by heading home a right wing cross in the last minute to earn a share of the spoils. Charlton's remaining Bent, Marcus, had them ahead against Scunny but his marker, Izzy Iriekpen, got his own back with a second half leveller at the Valley. Watford had the toughest looking task of the relegated clubs with their visit to Wolves but actually grabbed three points after two goals in the final five minutes gave them victory. Watford struck with a Jordan Stewart free kick and a last minute Marlon King penalty to take the points. Mick McCarthy was unhappy with Jay Bothroyd for turning his back on Stewart's free kick and deflecting it into his own net. It's an issue we've raised on this site before. Big, soft, overpaid footballers who won't take a blow for club and country. Even though the footballs now are more like balloons. I'm with you Mick. I hope you chinned the tit. There was a fine win for newly promoted Blackpool after Keith Southern's goal gave them victory away at big spending Leicester City. This marked a bad start for Martin Allen and his collection of Premier League relegation specialists. Bristol City, the other team promoted from League One, managed to concede equalisers within a minute of scoring not once but twice at home to QPR. Dexter Blackstock cancelled out Lee Johnson's first half opener in quick time but City must have thought the points were theirs when Scott Murray produced a cracking finish in the last minute. Not so. There was still time for Damion Stewart to grab Rangers a point, which their manager John Gregory thought was the least they deserved. Ipswich enjoyed an emphatic 4-1 win at home to Sheffield Wednesday and two teams managed victories by the same scoreline away from home. Coventry City trounced Barnsley at Oakwell while Crystal Palace threw down a marker for the season with victory over Southampton at St. Mary's. Three of the goals for Palace came from James Scowcroft, a player often abused on this website. Scowcroft struck with three neat finishes; two headed, one lobbed, although a generous Saints defence offered him every encouragement with these goals as they did Clinton Morrison for his equally clinical fourth goal. If Palace are to improve on last seasons' disappointing effort then Scowcroft, among others, will have to sustain a higher level of performance. The forward has started other seasons brightly before fading but if someone can offer the more reliable Morrison consistent support then the Eagles may just be in business. It is surely a make or break season for their manager who has many doubters among the fans. Peter Taylor more than anyone deserves some payback from Scowcroft, a player he has always put his faith in. Elsewhere Burnley came from behind to register a good win at home to West Brom and have the forwards to be one of the seasons' surprise packages although they also operate with one of the smallest squads and need to stay injury free. There were also wins for Stoke at Cardiff and Plymouth at Hull.
Football England's League Championship Team - Season 2006/07 All the Championship Division's club pages have been updated to include Football England's appraisal of the good and bad of their season, and here is our very own Championship Team of the Season. Several of last years' picks (Shorey, Lescott, Little, Sidwell) went on to establish themselves in the Premier League this year and there are two survivors, Jason Koumas and Gary McSheffrey. Graham Alexander ~ Dean Leacock ~ Wayne Brown ~ Gareth Bale Carlos Edwards ~ Lee Hendrie ~ Jason Koumas ~ Gary McSheffrey Jamie Cureton ~ Michael Chopra Substitutes: Carlo Nash (Preston North End) Manager: Roy Keane (Sunderland) Matt Murray (Wolverhampton Wanderers) Murray was outstanding for Wolves as they made it to the play offs. Big, commanding, brave and agile he has all the qualities needed for a top class keeper. Graham Alexander (Preston North End) Choo, Choo, Choo; Graham Alexander. Dean Leacock (Derby County) Surely the best value for money of all Billy Davies's many signings. Wayne Brown (Colchester United) One of the divisions' unsung heroes. Brown was on the pitch every minute of the way as Colchester mounted an unlikely bid for the play offs. Gareth Bale (Southampton) One of the highest profile players of the season with interest in his services rife among the Premier League big boys. Carlos Edwards (Sunderland) Edwards enjoyed a fantastic World Cup with Trinidad and carried this form on into the league season, first with Luton and then with Sunderland. Lee Hendrie (Stoke City) Spent most of the season on loan from Aston Villa and was the man mainly responsible for transforming Stoke from also-rans to genuine play off contenders. Jason Koumas (West Bromwich Albion) Ended up back at West Brom after a protracted stand off between the Baggies, Cardiff and himself and was quickly back into his stride once Bryan Robson had been sent packing. Gary McSheffrey (Birmingham City) McSheffrey took a little time to settle at St Andrews after his big money move from Coventry but then found a rich vein of scoring form that had Birmingham heading for promotion. Jamie Cureton (Colchester United) Cureton has always been a class act but had looked as though his best days might be behind him. Michael Chopra (Cardiff City) Choppy, Chopsticks Chopra came from Newcastle with a point to prove and wasted no time in proving it. Manager: Roy Keane (Sunderland) Only one winner of this award. Sunderland were in danger of becoming a laughing stock when Keane was handed control early on in the campaign and by the end of it they were crowned champions.
Tuesday, May 29 Derby County overcame West Bromwich Albion in the play off final to take their place in next seasons' Premier League. The 1-0 win was the 13th time this season that the Rams have secured victory by that scoreline. Throw in a further 11 victories by a 2-1 scoreline and you get some idea of the gruelling nature of Derby's successful campaign. There was never much likelihood that this game would be one for the purist and although Diomansy Kamara provided a thrusting run and shot for West Brom in the first minute the action quickly became more compressed. The first clear opening came on ten minutes when Steve Howard flicked on for Paul Peschisolido who found himself clear just inside the box. The forward's touch was not convincing, however, and his eventual shot was weak and straight at Dean Kiely. Minutes later the Baggies bellowed for a penalty when a surging run into the box by Jason Koumas was abruptly ended by Tyrone Mears' lunging challenge. Replays suggested Graham Poll had been right to side with the defender. Koumas was easily the most dangerous player on view during the first half with a series of dribbles and shots from outside the box. There was little of a clear cut nature being created, however, although Albion went close just before the interval after a nice, sweeping move. Kamara was heavily involved before Zoltan Gera laid a ball off for Kevin Phillips on the edge of the box. Phillips let fly first time and was desperately unlucky to see the ball clip the top of the bar on its' way over. The second half opened in a slightly more open manner. Bywater saved low from Koumas before Matt Oakley was just wide with a low drive. The introduction of Giles Barnes for Peschisolido just before the hour mark injected more life into Derby and after a flurry of action they led. Craig Fagan fed Oakley for a stinging effort that Kiely saved spectacularly before Howard sent Barnes running beyond Paul Robinson for a low centre that Stephen Pearson turned home from six yards out. Derby have obviously based their season around holding onto narrow leads and in truth West Brom rarely looked like wresting this one from them. Bywater needed two attempts to tame a fierce drive from Gera and bundled one Jonathan Greening effort from a narrow angle behind at his near post. The game ended in a wave of West Brom high balls and free kicks and lots of Derby timewasting. Derby therefore go into the top flight next season but whether they have anything positive to add to the Premier League is debatable. Billy Davies has been promised money to spend but he favours brawn over craft. He has already spent plenty of money in bringing over a dozen players to Pride Park but you would not expect more than two or three of his signings, if I'm being generous, to be able to cut it in the Premier League. If Davies is in charge of the Rams next season, and he is a proven mercenary, his team will surely spend the season kicking and screaming wherever they go. All in all the Midgets' presence in the Premier League is not likely to bring much joy or satisfaction to the spectator.
Wednesday, May 16 The play off final in this section will be contested by Derby County and West Bromwich Albion. The semi finals were somewhat unusual. The Wolves West Brom 1st leg was a real thriller while the Southampton Derby game was tough and fairly tight. In the second legs it was role reversal, however. Derby actually came away from Southampton with a 2-1 lead thanks to two Steve Howard goals, one from the penalty spot. Billy Davies' raw boned side had also inflicted damage to several Saints who were denied the services of Gareth Bale and Kenwyne Jones for the 2nd leg. Derby might have thought they were in for a comfortable passage when Darren Moore increased their aggregate lead with a scrappy goal early in the 2nd leg but Southampton equalised on the night almost immediately and this set up a dramatic encounter which provided a roller coaster of emotions for both sets of fans. Southampton were level on the night through Jhon Viafara who lofted the ball into an empty net after Stephen Bywater had come outside his area to head clear. The visitors drew strength from this goal and were the dominant side for much of the game. Viafara was denied a penalty before bringing his side level on aggregate early in the second half with a fierce toe bunger from close range at the end of a sweeping move. Derby had shown little creativity but went ahead overall when Leon Best screwed a crazy attempted clearance into his own net following a near post corner. This appeared to be enough but right at the end of normal time Grzegorz Rasiak latched onto a loose ball just inside the box to take the tie into extra time with a fizzing low drive. Both sides could have won it in the extra half hour with Derby finishing the stronger of the two sides but in the end penalties were required. Leon Best completed a miserable night by slicing Southampton's first kick horribly wide and after four excellent penalties from the Rams Inigo Iediakez blazed over to seal the Saints' fate. Over the course of the season Derby certainly deserve their shot at the Premiership although on the night at Pride Park they were extremely fortunate to progress. West Brom had edged out Wolves at Molineux 3-2 in their 1st leg thriller but the return at the Hawthorns was more mundane. The Baggies dominated but could not find a cutting edge until midway through the second half when Kevin Phillips headed home from point blank range for his third goal of the tie. Wolves were unable to muster a meaningful response and were left rueing missed chances in their home leg, a game which could have gone either way. What kind of spectacle these two sides will provide at Wembley is anyones' guess. Both sides have a couple of flair players at their disposal but both managers might opt on the side of caution come the big day. Billy Davies, especially, will doubtless send his team out in full battle dress and under strict instructions that taking prisoners is not an option. Personally I hope the poisoned dwarf is left disappointed again.
Tuesday, May 8 The remarkable turnaround at Sunderland under Roy Keane had the perfect ending on Sunday when the clubs' 5-0 win at Luton left them champions of the Championship. Of course that will not overly bother Keane who will already be thinking about next season and planning how his team can survive in the top flight. Survival itself will not ultimately be enough for a man who wants and expects only the very best but it has undoubtedly got to be his first priority. Sunderland's victory was never in doubt after goals from Anthony Stokes and Daryl Murphy had them two up inside six minutes. Typically Keane's side was in no mood to take their foot off the pedal and 2nd half goals from Murphy, Ross Wallace and David Connolly completed the rout. Not only was this a fitting way for Sunderland's season to end it brought a suitable conclusion to Luton's dismal campaign. If you have a mediocre team you should not go out of your way to sell all your good players and basically not bother replacing them. Luton have made money in the transfer market this season but if Carlos Edwards and Rowan Vine were still with them they would still be a championship club. Sunderland were relying on Birmingham City being unable to win at Preston to claim the title so the party only really started when news filtered through late on that a Simon Whaley goal had given North End the lead in that one. Preston, who needed a win themselves to have any chance of getting into the play offs, produced a vastly improved performance and perhaps just about deserved their victory overall. David Nugent hit a post early on and as Preston piled on early pressure they forced corner after corner in the opening ten minutes. These came to nothing against a side straight from the Land of the Giants, however. Birmingham never really got going although when their chances came they tended to be clearer. Seb Larsson rattled the bar, Radhi Jaidi headed a great chance wide and Gary McSheffrey contrived to miss an open target twice with further headed opportunities. The game ended up completely stretched as both sides went in search of the goal they needed and Whaley grabbed it after taking advantage of a mix up between goalkeeper and centre half. In the end the win did North End no favours but at least they end the season on something of a high after a shocking run of form saw them drop out of the play offs right at the death. Birmingham's supporters remain sceptical of Steve Bruce's ability to turn them into a genuine Premier League side and he would appear to need a massive influx of quality ahead of next season. Derby were already assured of their play off place and had little trouble in defeating relegated Leeds 2-0. Darren Currie opened the scoring in the 10th minute of stoppage time at the end of the 1st half, the delay being caused by an injury to the ref who had to be stretchered off after a coming together with Seth Johnson. Makes a change for Johnson not to be the injured party. Victory was secured late on when Tyrone Mears led a break out of defence to scramble home his first goal for the club. West Brom needed to beat Barnsley to be certain of their play off place and made absolutely no mistake, hammering the sorry Tykes 7-0. Kevin Phillips grabbed a hat trick with Nathan Ellington notching twice. Southampton had a similarly easy looking task at home to relegated Southend to book their play off place but things looked somewhat different when Adam Barrett put the visitors ahead early on. The Saints were level by half time through the giant Kenwyne Jones and an embarrassing defensive display by the visitors in the 2nd half helped them to a comfortable 4-1 win. Jones grabbed another with Leon Best scoring twice. Best's first goal, Southampton's second, was the best example of Southend's comedy defending and almost defies description. You just need to see it. Wolves had a trickier looking game to ensure their play off place, away at Leicester City, and nerves would have been on edge when Iain Hume had the home side ahead in the opening minutes. Wolves have improved drastically under the guidance of Mick McCarthy, however, and retained their composure to mount a convincing response. Goals from Seyi George Olofinjana and Michael Kightly had them ahead by the interval and an own goal by Gareth McAuley straight after the re-start gave them breathing space. Andy Keogh's late penalty was the icing on the cake and they now face a mouth watering Black Country derby with West Brom in the play offs. Stoke City needed to better Southampton's result to make the play offs but their visit to QPR proved to be a frustrating exercise. Martin Rowlands put Rangers ahead early on and by the time Mamady Sidibe equalised there were only six minutes remaining. With Southampton well ahead against Southend and Wolves cruising at Leicester it was already game over for the Potters who just miss out but must be happy overall with their improvement this season.
Tuesday, May 1 OK, it's stretching a point to call Steve Bruce a managerial fledgling, he seems to have been a boss for longer than Fergie himself, but in himself and Roy Keane the Championship promotion race has been won by two long standing inhabitants of the Manchester United dressing room. Their paths to promotion have been widely differing, however. Steve Bruce must have felt as much pressure from within his own camp as from outside as his Birmingham City side charted a fluctuating course towards the Premier League. His fans expected, even demanded, an instant return to the top flight after their surprising relegation last season and that is what Bruce eventually provided. It is unlikely that in doing so his stock will have significantly increased with the supporters, however, and next season will be crucial to his future at St Andrews. It is unlikely that the club would tolerate another relegation, perhaps they would seek change even if the club were involved in a relegation struggle. This really is a case of the hard work starting here. Having been somewhat inconsistent throughout the season it looked as though successive defeats at the beginning of April to Burnley and Barnsley signalled the end of the road for Bruce's men. No-one could ever doubt Bruce's fighting qualities, however, and his men responded to this setback by winning their next four games which has, in the event, gained them automatic promotion with a game to spare. The last two games have illustrated the teams' recent resolve in adversity. Birmingham triumphed in a pulsating derby at Wolves when Cameron Jerome's goal two minutes from time put them 3-2 ahead and an even later penalty save by Colin Doyle ensured victory. Then they were reduced to ten men at home to Sheffield Wednesday with the game still goalless but pulled through to win 2-0 with goals from Jerome and Seb Larsson. So an often frustrating campaign ended up one of thrilling triumph and if they win at Preston on the last day Birmingham will also be crowned champions. Under Roy Keane Sunderland's path to glory has been a remarkably smooth one. Taking over with the club apparently in disarray Keane managed to instantly halt a seemingly inexorable downward spiral and, having further strengthened his squad in January, his side has carried all before them. Since the turn of the year Sunderland have collected 48 points from a possible 57 and only lost once. Keane has been allowed to radically alter the playing staff at the Stadium of Light but it would be wrong to think the teams' success has been simply down to the cheque book. The managerial novice has evidently instilled a new discipline, organisation and endeavour into his troops and several survivors of the pre-Keane days are now performing with far more consistency. Sunderland set the scene for their promotion on Friday night with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Burnley in front of the TV cameras and the Championship's biggest crowd of the season. Daryl Murphy put the Black Cats ahead and when they were awarded a penalty it looked as though they were in for an easy ride. Brian "the Beast" Jensen saved David Connolly's spot kick, however, and Burnley then stunned the home side with goals either side of half time. Andy Gray scored from the spot and Wade Elliott crashed home a belter from 30 yards. Sunderland soon had another penalty though and this time Connolly made it count and the dearly craved winner eventually arrived when the excellent Carlos Edwards lashed home a 30 yarder of his own. Having both won these two clubs had to wait till Sunday and Derby's visit to Crystal Palace to know if they had done enough for promotion. The answer was a resounding yes as quality finishing from Clinton Morrison and Mark Kennedy gave Palace a 2-0 victory and consigned Derby to the play offs. The performance of Derby mirrored their April, they simply never got going. The Rams collected only 5 points from 5 games during the month and must now take their chances in the play offs. This will be Billy Davies's third successive play off venture having failed twice with Preston in the past two seasons. Davies is a manager who generally tries to ensure that one goal is enough for victory and this approach is not necessarily suited to play off success. With more adventurous sides than his lined up to fill the other places his side may need to show a bit more daring to prevail. It is not as though they are short of attacking options, Davies has brought in plenty of forward thinking players, he just doesn't like letting them off the leash. Six sides still have theoretical chances of making the play offs with Derby although Preston and Colchester look rank outsiders. West Brom and Southampton will only have themselves to blame if they do not make it given the last day fixtures whereas Wolves, with a derby at Leicester and a poor goal difference, could leave the door open if they fail to win. Stoke at QPR would be the most likely beneficiaries if Mick McCarthy's men do falter.
Thursday, March 15 Appropriately for a division where any team can genuinely beat any other the promotion race in the Championship is wide open as we enter the finishing straight. It was a case of any two from eight for the automatic places a week or so ago but with Southampton’s form continuing to dip it is now more likely a case of any two from seven. If the Saints rally there is still the prospect of a play off place and Stoke City could also challenge for the end of season lottery with a strong finish. Only seven points separate the top seven teams at the moment with Birmingham City leading the way on goal difference from Derby County and also having a game in hand. Birmingham have had their serious heads on of late securing three successive 1-0 wins, including victories over Cardiff and Derby, but then went to Norwich in their last game and lost by the same narrow margin. In a division of narrow margins this wary approach has its’ own dangers but it is one Steve Bruce is unlikely to abandon during the run in. Although the Blues have to travel to West Brom, Wolves and Preston as well as hosting Southampton their other home games look good on paper and they should be able to secure the points needed for an instant return to the Premier League. Just don’t expect it to be a breeze. Derby lie second despite having lost to Stoke, Sunderland and Birmingham in recent times and struggling to claim a draw at home with lowly QPR in their last game. Billy “The Midget” Davies’s men have perhaps the best looking run in of anyone, however, with only Cardiff left to face out of the sides at the top and that at Pride Park. Billy is another manager who instinctively retreats into a cautious shell when it gets down to the nitty gritty and he will no doubt be keen to “get amongst” the teams left to play and see if they have the bottle to match his side physically at this late stage of the season. With the run in they have Derby are bound to go close but, maybe more out of hope than judgement, I am going to tip them to just miss out on automatic promotion. After all, we don’t want to have another season going on about a bright young manager and his positive attitude and never say die spirit while his team just gets beat every week like we’ve had this time with Aidy Boothroyd and Watford. Especially as, just like Aidy, playing decent football is not something that overly concerns The Midget. Sunderland have been steaming up the table in recent times and remain unbeaten in the league this year. Their progress stalled this week with a home draw against Stoke, however, and the Black Cats still have to face Cardiff, Wolves and Southampton before the season is through. Having tipped Derby to miss out though someone will have to finish above them so I have to go for Sunderland for the second automatic place. With Roy Keane in charge the club shouldn’t choke at the prospect of success and having invested heavily to back their manager there should be the right characters in place to relish this sort of challenge. It’s getting almost boring to harp on about Sunderland being a big club or a sleeping giant but surely if they are ever going to establish themselves as a top flight club again then this is the regime under which they will do it. Preston North End lie fourth and also have a good looking run in. Only when Birmingham come calling at Deepdale on the final day of the season do they have to face one of their promotion rivals. It is hard to feel any real confidence about their chances, however. Despite keeping hold of David Nugent in the transfer window the club displayed a marked lack of ambition in deciding not to spend any money despite the fact that their midfield looked threadbare. Since the window closed this area has become even more exposed through the loss of Simon Whaley and Paul McKenna to injury and their recent stuttering form hardly comes as a surprise. Five of their last eight games are also away and although automatic promotion should still be a possibility I think they might struggle to keep hold of their play off position. Wolverhampton Wanderers have been on a charge recently with six straight wins. This sequence ended in midweek with defeat at Coventry. Will this have burst the bubble? Mick McCarthy’s team has been excellent recently but does not look ready to surge again and claim an automatic promotion place. They still have to face Southampton, Sunderland and Birmingham as well and it could be them battling with Preston for the final play off spot. West Bromwich Albion have lost their last three after succumbing to a last minute goal to Crystal Palace at home in midweek. This was a demoralising defeat and they will need to show some real character to bounce back. Having played the majority of the game with ten men and fought back to level conceding so late was a real sickener. So is the injury to Curtis Davies which leaves him ruled out for the season. The Baggies are at home to Birmingham next in what is obviously a huge game. After that they are finished with the top sides and should rally despite their recent problems to comfortably close out a play off place. The automatic promotion spot that I have fancied them for all along now seems unlikely, however. Cardiff City are in the middle of a gruelling set of fixtures in which they have so far performed with credit. Their next two games see them take on Derby and Sunderland before they complete their campaign with less arduous looking fixtures. The Bluebirds have provided perhaps the most entertainment in this section over the course of the season and probably deserve a place in the play offs more than anyone else. I think they have the firepower to clinch that spot with Michael Chopra still causing plenty of problems and they will provide dangerous opposition once there. Southampton are in the middle of a sorry run which has seen them take only eight points from as many games and their failure to hold on to a two goal lead at home to Cardiff in midweek suggests they are not going to force their way into the play off places. They are still only three points adrift, however, so the chance is still there for the taking and with Wolves, Sunderland and Birmingham still to play the Saints’ destiny remains in their own hands. Personally I can’t see it happening and I also think Stoke have too much to do to get involved. My prediction then, in an unpredictable division, is Birmingham and Sunderland for automatic promotion with Derby, West Brom, Cardiff and Wolves for the play offs. The winner of the play offs? I’m gonna stick my neck out and say Cardiff.
Friday, February 9 It sounds like a fairytale, doesn't it? The way it's going it might even turn out to be a fairytale. Definitely of the Grimm variety though. The midget in question is the Derby County manager Billy Davies and the 11 Rams are whoever he selects out of his increasingly populous squad to take the field for him. The fairytale potential comes in the clubs' assault on the Championship promotion race. Having suffered a disappointing campaign last time around and a sluggish start to this season Derby have been on a remarkable run since the start of November that has taken them to the top of the table and a current position of strength. Why is it a Brothers Grimm tale? Well, 19 victories by a single goal margin tell their own story. Well they do when you take into account we are not talking about 3-2's or 4-3's here. These have been results ground out, attritional victories often gained in the dying moments of games. There's nothing wrong with that if you're Billy Davies or a Derby fan who isn't particularly bothered about the quality of the football but gets high on commitment and endeavour. It's not a winning run that has much to recommend itself to the neutral, however. Everything really started in November when Derby enjoyed six wins out of six, all in the Championship. The 2-0 success at Luton was the only game won by more than a single goal. Form remained good but with blips until Boxing Day when a 2-0 home defeat to Wolves was the catalyst for their present run of victories. At present this run stands at eight games, two of which have been in the FA Cup, and the 3rd round victory over Wrexham is the only one of these games that Derby have won by more than the single goal. Indeed the last five games have all ended 1-0 in the Rams favour. The last game of this sequence was one of the most difficult. Derby travelled to Southampton, themselves a team in form, and came away with their 1-0 win after taking a first half pounding. Getting stronger as the game went on they enjoyed more of the game in the second period and snatched their winner seven minutes from time. The goal was scored by Steve Howard, their hod carrier of a centre forward, who epitomises the ethos of the clubs' manager. Strong, hard, competitive and completely unconcerned if its' a brick wall he's running through. The goal was created by the more refined talent of David Jones, a recent acquisition from Manchester United. The Midget doesn't mind the odd good player. They just have to make sure they'll run through that brick wall for their teammates if they happen to be the first one to get to it. Davies has spent much of the season moaning about the size of his squad but he has certainly been allowed to put that issue to bed in the January transfer window. Joining Jones at the club have been James McEveley, Craig Fagan, Jon Macken, Tyrone Mears, Stephen Pearson and Gary Teale. Basically there isn't a brick wall in the whole of Derbyshire that isn't under threat. Keep these boys away from the peaks, there'll be stone walls flattened all over the place and sheep running amok. These signings might well have got the Derby fans even more excited, and there are certainly some decent players in there, but the extra options does bring potential dangers as well. Davies relies hugely on good organisation and total motivation as his biggest strengths as a manager. When offered alternatives he can become a bit like a kid, well a midget, in a sweet shop and get carried away. With his side going so well he should be able to resist temptation to change things too much but you never know. The Rams' boss was recently sent off in consecutive league matches, he's the type of pocket dictator who likes to lead by example, but believes he is one of the worlds' misunderstood. He has said as much and is worried he might be gaining a reputation. He has requested a personal hearing to help clear his name. Is he a bad person or just passionate about his team and the game? I can't tell you that but his touchline rants and gesticulations are the type that will always be likely to land a manager in trouble. It could just be that he is trying to compensate for being born a midget with his over the top persona. This might seem a harsh perspective on Davies and his teams' achievements this season but, apart from referring to him as a midget, it is the basic view of things from the outside. Billy's not a midget, technically he'd have to be a centimetre shorter. Derby under Davies, however, are part of a worrying trend in the Championship. Last season it was wonderful to see a team like Reading, not the biggest, take the section by storm playing fast, skillful atttacking football with two out and out wingers. They were great to watch and romped away with the title. It should also be noted by teams in the Championship aspiring to the Premiership that basically the same Reading team has gone on to prosper in the top flight. Generally, however, managers hide behind the popular image of the division as being kick and rush and the belief that you need to be strong and physical to do well in it. The division will always be full of big, physical sides if all the managers are obsessed with this being true. What they should remember is that although this might bring them a promotion side it is also guaranteeing them a relegation side the following season. That is why, ultimately, all of Billy Davies's fairytales will be of the Grimm variety. Won't they?
Wednesday, December 20 It's amazing how quickly things can change in football. Not so long ago Birmingham City were labouring in their efforts to make an impression in the Championship and Steve Bruce was in danger of going the way of all managerial flesh. A couple of narrow wins helped steady the ship and now Birmingham can do no wrong. Results have been outstanding and some performances have been excellent. City's last two games show just how high confidence is at the moment, however. Two weeks ago they took something of a pounding at home to Preston North End but won the day 3-1 thanks to a Gary McSheffrey hat trick and last weekend they found themselves under the cosh for long periods at Sheffield Wednesday but still ran out 3-0 winners. Stephen Clemence gave them a wholly undeserved half time lead and McSheffrey and Cameron Jerome added to this after the break on rare ventures forward. Playing below your best and still winning is something all managers like to see their team doing from time to time and having got themselves in front Birmingham should be capable of retaining an automatic promotion place. Behind them Derby County continue to get results although they are much more dogmatic in their approach. The Rams played well in the opening half against Crystal Palace and took the lead through new loan signing David Jones but then were content to sit back and ride their lead, a notable trait of their midget manager Billy Davies. Once again his team were capable of protecting what they had although they were indebted to Stuart Green for wasting a great late chance to level for the Eagles. Preston got a much needed victory against Plymouth Argyle after a dodgy recent spell. Danny Pugh put them ahead with a fizzing 25 yard half volley and goals from Brett Ormerod and a Graham Alexander penalty confirmed a comfortable victory.
North End still look a side struggling to last the pace to me, however. Southampton look to be gathering momentum and came from behind to beat Norwich at home 2-1. Rob Earnshaw, who else, had the visitors ahead but another Gareth Bale special got the Saints level before Kenwyne Jones bagged the winner. Cardiff are now in an oficial slump after being battered 4-1 at Hull who even took the liberty of missing a penalty. Cardiff need to remember how to win games quickly or all their early season confidence will vanish. Behind the Bluebirds things are bunching up with only one point covering Colchester, Stoke, West Brom and Burnley. Colchester continue to take on all comers at Layer Road and smashed Stoke 3-0 at the weekend with the evergreen Jamie Cureton bagging a couple more to his healthy career total. Cureton struck after 77 seconds against a side that had previously gone seven games without conceding. Stoke had their chances but were consistently wayward in front of goal. No such problems for West Brom who battered Coventry City 5-0 at the Hawthorns. Diomansy Kasmara got two, including a penalty, while Koumas, Phillips and Robinson also hit the target. Burnley saw a two goal lead evaporate at home to Sunderland and had to settle for a point. Kyle Lafferty grabbed a brace for the Clarets but strikes from distance by Leadbitter and Connolly got Sunderland back on terms in the last ten minutes. Although a glance at the league table would suggest Steve Cotterill might be a popular man in Burnley the manager is yet to totally convince the natives. After changing his formation from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 for the final quarter of this game and seeing his team lose their lead he was once again the subject of earnest debate among the fans. Wolves are like Derby for 1-0 wins, they just don't manage quite as many. Their latest came at QPR thanks to a Michael Kightly goal, a neat drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. While Wolves remain on the fringes of the play offs QPR are hurrying back down towards the relegation places after a good start under John Gregory. Ipswich kept Leeds mired in the bottom three with a 1-0 win at Portman Road. Gavin Williams belted in the only goal on the stroke of half time and another forgettable day for Leeds was capped by the dismissal of their captain Kevin Nicholls. Nicholls had already been cautioned when he earned a straight red for a stupid challenge on Jamie Haynes in which he led with his forearm. Dennis Wise appointed him captain because he had been kicked by him once or twice when they played against each other so he cannot be too surprised to see his shaven headed skipper in trouble. Leicester kept themselves away from any immediate danger at the bottom with a comfortable 2-0 win over Barnsley, the goals coming from Elvis Hammond and Levi Porter (should they not be starting a band together?). Finally Luton Town and Southend United provided Sky with one of their most dreary live games ever on Friday night with the match ending appropriately enough at 0-0. Freddy Eastwood did have a great chance to snatch a vital win for Southend right at the end but having rounded Dean Kiely his shot came back out off the post.
Tuesday, December 5 Several weeks of consistent performances have brought Birmingham City from the fringes of the play off places to the top of the Championship table. Unlike the teams that have occupied pole position so far they have the look of a side that could stay there. Their latest victory was a comprehensive 3-0 defeat of Plymouth Argyle. The visitors were not wanting in spirit or endeavour but the class on view all belonged to Birmingham, or at least has been borrowed by them. Two of City’s goals were created by Seb Larsson, on loan from Arsenal, one of which was finished by the other youngster temporarily at the club from the north London giants Nicklas Bendtner who, as expected, is proving himself to be a cut above this level. Gary McSheffrey made the most of Larsson’s approach play with another thrilling finish and sandwiched in between was a goal for the returning Matthew Upson. Next up at St Andrews are Preston North End, the team Birmingham displaced at the weekend. Preston’s defeat at Luton was obviously something of a surprise but they have looked uncomfortable at approaching and then finally reaching the summit and look a team who can hope for a play off position at best. Luton were out of the traps too quickly for their visitors and made the most of slack defending to score twice inside the first twenty minutes through Rowan Vine and Carlos Edwards. Preston belatedly applied some pressure but when Dean Kiely was finally called into action in the final quarter he was equal to the efforts sent his way. Cardiff also seem unable to recover their earlier verve and were held at home by Colchester United who actually looked the team most likely to break the deadlock the longer the game went on. Derby County lost for the first time in a while but there was no disgrace in their 1-0 defeat at West Brom. The Baggies looked to be heading towards another afternoon of frustration until John Hartson finally punctured the stubborn Rams defence in the last minute. Southampton are a side who look ready to mount a sustained challenge and recovered from losing a two goal lead in the final minute of the first half to run out comfortable winners at Hull City. Grzegorz Rasiak bagged another brace with Gareth Bale and Bradley Wright-Phillips supplying the others. Bale continues to catch the eye with his attacking displays from left back. His goal came from another quality free kick and he also supplied Rasiak for one of his goals. Nick Barmby and Craig Fagan were the men on the mark as Hull got themselves back on terms in a mad minute leading up to the break but they were unable to maintain this impetus and are slipping deeper into trouble by the week. Burnley thought they had beaten Ipswich with a goal at the death for the second time this season but after Kyle Lafferty slammed them ahead with five minutes remaining there was still time for Alan Lee to level from the penalty spot. Stoke continue to pick up points and were value for their goalless draw away at Coventry while Wolves continue to hover on the edge of the play off pack after their 1-0 win at Southend. Jody Craddock is in the goalscoring form of his life and found the target again in this one. Southend are already ten points from safety and they will need to start winning games very quickly to stand any chance of surviving their first season in the Championship. Sunderland are edging their way closer to the play off picture and scored a narrow, hard fought victory over Norwich City at the Stadium of Light thanks to Daryl Murphy whose shot on the turn was a rare moment of incision in an attritional contest. Sheffield Wednesday are having a great time of it since parting company with Paul Sturrock and came home from Leicester City with a 4-1 win. Leicester were unhappy about the penalty from which Chris Brunt opened the scoring and were less than impressed with the sending off dished out to Patrick McCarthy from Rob Styles. What must have annoyed them most was the fact that Wednesday didn’t then football them off the park for their victory, it was simply a case that the Owls began banging shots in from all angles while at the other end whenever Leicester sent in an effort Mark Crossley was there to defy them. Brunt bagged another with Glenn Whelan and Marcus Tudgay also on target while Stephen Hughes was the one man to find a way past Crossley. Crystal Palace will not have given up hope of forcing their way into the play off picture and recorded an important home win against QPR. Dougie Freedman, Shefki Kuqi and Clinton Morrison all found the target to lift them above their visitors in the table and put them back in touch with the mid table teams. Towards the bottom the Yorkshire derby between Leeds United and Barnsley provided cracking entertainment for the second time in the space of a few weeks. Barnsley were ahead twice in an all action first half through two thrilling Daniel Nardiello goals, both solo efforts, while Leeds levelled through goals from two recent loan signings Tresor Kandol and Ugo Ehiogu. These goals owed more so sloppy defending and Barnsley were only spared defeat by a dubious refereeing call to disallow another effort from a loan signing, Matt Heath. Both these sides remain in trouble.
Thursday, November 30 Cardiff slipped up again to allow Preston to take over at the top of the Championship table this week but the major movers are bunching up behind the leading pair. Cardiff fell to a comprehensive defeat at Stoke where they capitulated in the second half. Goals from Ricardo Fuller, Liam Lawrence and Mamady Sidibe in a mad five minute spell did for Cardiff who also had Stephen McPhail sent off late on after a spat with Lee Hendrie. Just at the moment Stoke look a better bet than Cardiff but the Potteries side will be sweating on Aston Villa recalling Hendrie who has been massively influential since moving on loan. As for Cardiff they have the attacking flair to get back on track but they do rely hugely on Michael Chopra for a cutting edge. Just for the moment he has lost his touch in front of goal and missed another sitter in the first half here. Preston are also limping at the moment and drew their second home game in four days against Coventry City. David Nugent put them ahead with a crafty header but Dele Adebola drove Coventry level and the visitors certainly deserved their point. Preston look to be more solid than Cardiff but they look short of creativity and goals. The real players in this division might be ganging up behind the top two. Birmingham City's fine recent run came to an end at Southampton but both these sides will have their eyes on the play offs at least. There was another mad five minute spell here which saw Southampton fly into a three goal lead. Kenwyne Jones got two and Rudi Skacel the other as the Saints suddenly hit the repeat jackpot. Nobody was taking anything for granted at half time as thoughts switched back to last seasons' game with Leeds when Southampton ended up losing after holding a three goal half time lead. Nails were being bitten when Birmingham grabbed two back in quick time midway through the half with Cameron Jerome and Nicklas Bendtner on target. Bradley Wright-Phillips re-established the two goal cushion but in a frantic finale Radhi Jaidi's header was deflected into his own net by Chris Baird and DJ Campbell then missed a good chance right at the death to salvage an unlikely draw for the visitors. The emotion got to Baird and keeper Kelvin Davis who had to be pulled apart as the teams left the pitch. Derby County are flying at present and victory over Ipswich Town was their sixth on the trot. They fell behind to Gary Roberts in the first half but goals from Steve Howard and Arturo Lupoli in the last minute cemented the Rams place in the play off zone. Burnley also had a welcome win after a trying set of fixtures, defeating Leeds by 2-1. Gifton Noel-Williams and Andy Gray were on target for the Clarets while David Healy grabbed a consolation for Leeds with a deflected drive. A bad night for Leeds was completed by the sending off of Hayden Foxe with the game still goalless in the second half. Colchester United went behind to struggling Hull for whom Nicky Forster hit the target. Layer Road is looking a tough place to visit, however, and Hull were not about to buck the trend. Chris Iwelumo equalised before half time then added another three after half time with Jamie Cureton also getting on the scoresheet. Plymouth became the latest in a long line of sides to have beaten Luton, a Bojan Djordjic goal enough to secure all three points. West Brom are the most surprising omission from the play off picture at the moment and they endured another harrowing night at Sheffield Wednesday. Early goals from Glenn Whelan and Madjid Bougherra set the Owls on their way and although the Baggies finally managed a response through Jason Koumas with a couple of minutes left Wednesday promptly responded with a Steven MacLean penalty. Norwich responded positively to falling behind to a Patrick McCarthy goal at home to Leicester. Carl Robinson equalised on the stroke of half time, Rob Earnshaw put them ahead and the hot striker wanted to claim the third late on although the ball had bounced in off Gareth McAuley. Wolves were held at home again after taking the lead, this time by Crystal Palace. They were unable to hold out after Lewis Gobern put them ahead but it took a quality goal from Dougie Freedman to haul them in. Sunderland were worthy victors at QPR. Daryl Murphy and Grant Leadbitter were on target in the first half and although Ray Jones pulled one back it was the visitors who had the chances for further goals. Barnsley scored a vital victory against fellow strugglers Southend who are in danger of being cast adrift. Brian Howard and Kyel Reid were the men on target as the Tykes edged out of the relegation zone.
Tuesday, November 28 No doubt where the fireworks where in the Championship at the weekend. After a committed but none too eventful first half the Essex derby between Colchester and Southend got all hot and bothered straight after half time. The incident that threw fat onto the fire involved the teams' captains Karl Duguid and Kevin Maher. The ball had gone when Colchester's Duguid hit the deck in the vicinity of Southend's Maher. Television pictures failed to establish whether Maher had connected with or even thrown a punch although they did capture Duguid's sly little kick at Maher. The linesman alerted the referee and obviously believed he had seen a punch, although he didn't spot Duguid's kick, and to the visitors' chagrin Maher had to go. The fallout from this was severe. Maher has vigorously denied any wrong doing and labelled his opposite number a "joke". Southend have appealed against the red card and Colchester boss Geraint Williams has promised internal action if cheating did occur. The results will be interesting. The immediate result was that Southend allowed their sense of injustice to get the better of them and within a few minutes Mark Gower was joining his captain in the showers. Gower was booked for dissent when Maher was dismissed and then stupidly chased Duguid down the touchline to send him flying with a challenge that left the referee with no alternative than to flash a second yellow in his direction. Playing with nine men is not recommended and Colchester inevitably took advantage. The goal that broke the deadlock was an absolute beauty. Greg Halford strode forward from full back, drifted beyond a challenge with lovely footwork and despatched a crisp low drive into the far corner from 25 yards out. Colchester's second was a bizarre affort with a wayward shot cannoning against the bar off Chris Iwelumo's head for Pat Baldwin to score and the scoring was wrapped up by Jamie Cureton who drilled in a low drive. By this time the pitch was even more roomy after the dismissal of Colchester's Chris Barker for a second yellow. His challenge was more clumsy than anything else and he might well have survived if the other team hadn't already been down to nine men. Whatever the rights and wrongs of this afternoon Southend need to find a victory from somewhere soon or they will be heading straight back from where they came whereas Colchester look ready for at least one more season at this level. At the top there was a blank drawn. Cardiff were held to a goalless drasw at Sheffield Wednesday while Preston were unable to break down Crystal Palace at Deepdale. Michael Chopra will have spent the rest of his weekend wondering why he didn't just shoot first time when Mark Crossley's awful touch from an awkward back pass presented him with a clear view of an empty net. By the time Chopra had tried to make the target even larger and got his shot away there was a covering defender blocking his path and the chance went begging. Crossley made the most of the reprieve and kept the scoresheet blank with an instinctive save from point blank range late on. Preston struggled to break down a determined Crystal Palace side in a dour game of only one real save. Preston will not be thanking Uriah Rennie after he turned a blind eye to two suspicious bits of wrestling on Sean St Ledger by James Scowcroft at set pieces. Even more inexplicable was why Rennie then only brandished a yellow card to Scowcroft when he clearly elbowed St Ledger in the face shortly after the second incident. The save in question came deep into stoppage time when on loan Eagle Iain Turner made a routine tip over from a dipping Paul McKenna drive while Preston's Carlo Nash's one moment of danger came when he had to execute a crunching challenge on the edge of his box to deny Jobi McAnuff. These results allowed Birmingham City to draw level on points at the top after their 2-1 win at Burnley. The Clarets were ahead early in this one through Chris McCann who ghosted in nicely at the far post to convert a right wing centre but defensive blunders handed the visitors the points. Michael Duff's attempted clearance rebounded off Wayne Thomas to gift the impressive Niklas Bendtner the equaliser from three yards out and the winner was poked home from even closer range by DJ Campbell after Brian "Beast" Jensen didn't deal with a low effort from Bendtner. Derby County's rise continues as they claimed their fifth win in succession at home to Leicester City. Jon Stead fired in the only goal with a sweet low drive from just inside the area. Leicester thought they had equalised through Elvis Hammond but the effort was disallowed for handball against Richard Stearman. Perhaps the handball decision was fair enough but should the ref still not have sent Derby keeper Stephen Bywater off for his Schumacher style challenge on Stearman? Stoke are another side in great form and moved above West Brom after nicking a one goal victory over the Baggies. This game, tight throughout, was decided by Danny Higginbotham's penalty conceded by Paul Robinson's rash lunge at Darrel Russell. It was honours even between Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane at Molineux although the Wolves boss will be the more frustrated at the outcome. Matt Murray showed what an imposing keeper he is to deny Grant Leadbitter after a ricochet across his box had apparently left him vulnerable but thereafter Wolves bossed things. Jody Craddock was denied by Darren Ward twice, once with a header and once with a sweet left footed volley which also needed the help of the post and a defender to keep out. There was no stopping Jemal Johnson's brutal 25 yarder into the top corner, however. Leon Clarke should have wrapped up victory when presented with a sitter by Mark Little but he directed his shot back towards Ward who was able to block. Wolves were made to pay when Stephen Elliot's harmless looking shot deflected off a defender to leave Murray helpless at his near post and significantly improved the mood of a certain Mr Keane. Southampton are also making progress and became the latest team to defeat Luton Town. Dean Kiely was making his debut in goal for Luton but did not help matters by allowing Chris Baird's header into his net despite getting a big hand on it. The Saints second was from a disputed penalty against Leon Barnett. The Saints camp called it cast iron and reckoned Barnett was playing basketball. Luton thought any use of the hand had been by the Southampton forward. Rasiak slapped the penalty into the bottom corner in any case and this proved to be decisive after Russell Perrett pulled one back with a close range header past the late lunging Kelvin Davis. Luton look a side with real problems at the moment. QPR's good run came to an abrupt end at home to Coventry who went home with all three points thanks to Dele Adebola's goal. Adebola found little resistance as he turned a defender 30 yards out, loped on a few strides and finished into the far corner. The end of an eventful day for Coventry who made their way to Loftus Road on the tube after their team bus failed to show at their hotel. Leeds gained their first win on the road under Dennis Wise, defeating Plymouth 2-1 at Home Park. Eddie Lewis was the star of the show, setting up Robbie Blake for the opener from three yards and then finishing a neat short passing move for the winner. Bojan Djordjic had headed Plymouth level once and it needed Lewis to head clear from under his own bar to preserve the lead late on. Norwich failed to beat Hull despite poacher supreme Rob Earnshaw's 12th goal of the season, nipping in ahead of Boaz Myhill. Hull had come close earlier on when Craig Fagan's block tackle 20 yards out rebouded against the foot of the post but they grabbed a point deep into injury time when Michael Turner finished off a smart little sequence of headers. Norwich boss Peter Grant took time off to slate the home fans for not getting behind the team sufficiently. Of course Grant owes his job in no small part to the fans growing frustration with his predecessor Nigel Worthington so he can hardly expect them to be turning cartwheels at fare like this. One manager who certainly has the sympathy of Football England is Andy Ritchie, erstwhile Barnsley boss. Ritchie did brilliantly to get Barnsley promoted last season and although his side have struggled this season they have provided plenty of entertainment and given the fans at Oakwell plenty of excitement. There was little to enthuse over in his absence in the game against Ipswich but at least the side ended the day with three more points after Grant McCann's crisp low drive settled things in injury time. In a division where most teams can beat anyone on their day you can expect the bottom of the table to remain very congested.
Tuesday, November 21 Danny Haynes is one of several young players Ipswich Town are hoping will mature into capable Championship performers. So far Haynes’s progress has been less convincing than some of his colleagues but he is certainly going the right way about becoming an Ipswich folk hero. One of his rare goals last season settled the East Anglian derby at Carrow Road in his sides favour and on Sunday he came off the bench at Portman Road to score twice and give Ipswich a fully merited 3-1 victory against the enemy. Ipswich were the better side throughout in this one against a disappointingly tame Norwich. The home side bossed the early exchanges although on loan keeper Mike Pollitt was called into action by a Darren Huckerby free kick which was tipped away at full stretch. The best chance to materialise from the Ipswich pressure was for Alan Lee but from Matt Bates’ excellent centre Lee headed wastefully over. Against the run of play Norwich went ahead midway through the first half when Matt Richards failed to clear a Huckerby centre and Luke Chadwick took full advantage from six yards out. The day would not end happily for Chadwick, however, as a serious looking leg injury would bring his afternoon to a premature end. Ipswich were not daunted by falling behind and carried on asking questions of the Norwich defence which were seldom answered convincingly. The equaliser came before half time and followed neat play between Gary Roberts and Billy Clarke with the finish being provided by Sylvain Legwinski from close range. The second half was set up to be a cracker but Ipswich mainly overwhelmed their visitors with Clarke and Roberts especially lively. Rob Earnshaw was anonymous for the most part but was presented with a clear chance to put Norwich back in front but from six yards out was too high with his header. Haynes, introduced for Clarke, made sure this miss would be rued by scoring with his first touch when he headed in a Roberts centre and then made absolutely sure of the points and the bragging rights with a crisp volleyed finish in the last minute. Both these sides are capable of beating anyone in the section on their day but have so far been completely devoid of any consistency. Cardiff’s lead at the top is only by virtue of goals scored after they lost the televised Friday night game at home to Queens Park Rangers by the only goal. Rangers frustrated their hosts all night with an organised display and always looked capable of nicking something. Cardiff seldom penetrated the Rangers penalty area and the closest they would come to scoring was Kevin McNaughton’s long range effort that thudded against a post. The only goal came late and was slid in at the far post by the Rangers substitute Ray Jones. Most of the credit for this one belongs to Nick Ward, however, who made a slick break through the left hand side of the Cardiff defence before sliding a perfect ball in behind the defence for Jones to score. John Gregory doesn’t come across as someone you feel you would fancy having a beer with but his start back at Loftus Road has been extremely impressive. Preston move level on points with Cardiff after their victory at Leicester City. Preston were impressive in the first half, controlling long periods of the play, and held a deserved lead through Patrick Agyemang who struck when Sean St Ledger’s shot rebounded from the post after a cultured move through midfield. Right on half time Carlo Nash was called upon to make a top class save from Iain Hume and this set the tone for the second half when Leicester improved and Preston looked happy to protect what they had. Leicester managed a few decent attempts on goal but Nash was the master of the situation on each occasion as his splendid form for North End continues. Steve Bruce was Mr Angry again as his Birmingham side dropped points for the first time in a while at home to Wolves. Birmingham led for most of the game through Gary McSheffrey’s sweet left footed volley from the edge of the box but failed to put the game to bed despite good chances falling for Jerome, McSheffrey and Bendtner. Those chances all went begging and when the Blues did locate the target they found the impressive Matt Murray in top form once again. Therefore Wolves were still in with a shout as the clock wound down and in the last minute Jody Craddock headed home from a corner to level. Birmingham’s gripe was that play should have been stopped in the build up to the corner being won as Seb Larsson was down injured after a bang to the head. The referee was apparently suspicious of the extent of the knock and allowed play to continue. To be honest you can hardly blame the ref. Time and again players take advantage of this gentlemans agreement type situation regarding kicking the ball out of play and although Larsson did look to have taken a bang in this instance you can hardly blame either the official or Wolves themselves for playing on. West Bromwich Albion bounced back from their recent troubles to overwhelm Burnley 3-0 at the Hawthorns. The damage here was done early with Jason Koumas and Nathan Ellington on target inside seven minutes. Koumas, who was outstanding again, curled home his shot after being fed by Ellington and then the striker belted home a beauty from just outside the box. Burnley were seldom at the races but Michalel Duff did head one clear chance over from six yards before the Baggies wrapped up the points on the stroke of half time. Brian Jensen did well to parry a fierce rising drive from Ellington but the ball dropped towards goal and Darren Carter was on hand to net from close range. The second half was a case of going through the motions although Frank Sinclair capped a miserable day for the Clarets by collecting a second yellow card for fouls on Koumas. The form of Luton Town and Derby County could hardly be in greater contrast at present and the form book prevailed at Kenilworth Road as Derby secured a 2-0 win with late goals from Jon Stead and Steve Howard. Mike Newell clearly has issues to resolve both on and off the field at the moment and his next win can’t come soon enough. Another side flying at the moment are Stoke City who won again with a minimum of fuss at Hull City. Danny Higginbotham was left free to head home Lee Hendrie’s corner in the second minute and the visitors seldom looked in danger of surrendering this lead. Victory was confirmed ten minutes from time when Darrel Russell drove home from the edge of the box to continue his little scoring run. Leeds suffered their first home defeat under Dennis Wise going down 3-0 to Southampton. This was scarcely a fair reflection on the balance of play but did accurately reflect the conviction of the two sides in front of goal. Although Healy, Blake and Horsfield looked lively enough for Leeds in general play there was a distinct lack of confidence shown when a chance actually appeared, although Kelvin Davis was called upon to make a few decent stops. Southampton’s finishing on the other hand was excellent. Grzegorz Rasiak scored the first with a looping header back across goal from beyond the far post, Rudi Skacel wafted a classy finish into the top corner from Jhon Viafara’s low cross and Rasiak completed the scoring with another header from a Gareth Bale centre. Coventry City took advantage of weakened opponents to record victory against Sheffield Wednesday who had two players sent off in the first half of their clash. Wade Small went first for little more than a push but this did not stop the Owls from taking lead when Chris Brunt’s corner somehow found its way straight into the net. Wednesday then gifted Coventry an equaliser when John Hills’ attempted clearance struck Madjid Bougherra and lobbed back into the net for a bizarre own goal. Brunt then joined Small in the bath after being found guilty of a professional foul after impeding Chris Birchall cutting in at the right hand angle of the penalty area. A harsh red card. The man who settled the game was Leon McKenzie who scored two quick goals just after half time, punishing the veteran Mark Crossley for an untidy save from Birchall’s drive and then turning home a low ball in from the busy Birchall. Sunderland made heavy weather of beating Colchester United but eventually ran out 3-1 winners. Stephen Elliott grabbed goals either side of half time to put Sunderland in command but when Chris Iwelumo pulled one back following a determined break by Greg Halford the Stadium of Light became a nervous place as the visitors suddenly applied some pressure but David Connolly’s clinical low finish in stoppage time finally guaranteed the points. Southend and Plymouth drew 1-1 at Roots Hall, Argyle taking an early lead through Bojan Djordjic and Southend getting on terms with Mark Gower’s low cross shot. Finally there was a much needed victory for Crystal Palace who had no difficulty in seeing off a tame challenge from Barnsley. Jamie Scowcroft and Clinton Morrison were on target in the first half while the Tykes could not muster a single worthwhile attempt on goal throughout. The assist of Tom Soares for Morrison’s goal is worthy of mention. Soares surged forty yards straight through the centre of the Barnsley defence to send in a shot which Nick Colgan could only parry leaving Morrison the simplest of chances.
Thursday, November 16 Better late than never, I suppose. Sorry for the delay but here goes with a round up of last weekends Championship action. The teams at the top were not on top form but mainly managed to pick up something. Cardiff emerged from their scrap againsty with a 1-0 win. Not pretty but more vital points and the Bluebirds cannot be faulted for the entertainment they have offered so far this season so they are allowed one or two scruffy affairs like this. Of course it was the Clarets intention to make things difficult for the leaders and they certainly achieved that goal although there was little sign of them achieving any other kind of goal on the day. The points were decided midway through the first half when Riccardo Scimeca found the bottom corner from the edge of the box having been set up by Kevin Campbell. The only other shot on target in the entire game came in stoppage time when Burnley's Chris McCann brought a routine save out of Neil Alexander. Not one of the games the Cardiff fans will easily remember come the end of what could be a memorable season but if these points help clinch promotion then the 90 minutes ennui will have been worth it. Preston remain in second place for the time being but they were also less than inspired on their trip to bottom placed Southend. Of course this fixture was made to look several times more difficult following the Shrimpers midweek victory over Manchester United and Southend did indeed make life difficult for their visitors. The two main men from the Carling Cup triumph were again vital to Southend's effort. Freddy Eastwood was a constant pest to North End's defence forcing one fine save from Carlo Nash and clipping the top of the bar with another effort. At the other end Darryl Flahavan flung himself full length to tip Graham Alexander's rocket behind for a corner. Preston's skipper stood hands on hips staring as though the keeper had no right to make the save but he had been getting a bit of practise at that kind of stop from a certain Mr C.Ronaldo in midweek. A decent point for Southend perhaps but the week still ended on a low from their point of view with Leeds and Hull City both picking up three points. Leeds eased past a limp Colchester United at Elland Road winning 3-0. Most neutrals woulod probably enjoy seeing Leeds struggle but it is unlikely they will remain in real trouble given the attacking options at their disposal. Especially on their own ground this should be enough to compensate for some genuine defensive problems. Robbie Blake got two of the goals, one from the penalty spot, and Richard Cresswell headed the other, although I would not include him in the list of quality strikers at Dennis Wise's disposal. Wise wasted no time in telling Blake that he needed to get in shape but he has not stopped that from making use of the mans' undoubted talent. Both Blake and David Healy should earn points in a side functioning competently at this level. Hull City saw off Wolves who look a side struggling teams need to exploit despite their decent start, especially at home. Despite losing leading scorer Jon Parkin early on to a nasty looking leg injury the Tigers won the battle of the big cats with something to spare after goals by Craig Fagan and Stuart Elliott. I suppose that's why the tiger in my Top Trumps Predators set has a killer rating of 7 while the wolf only gets a 4. If Mick McCarthy was its manager it would be lucky to get a 1 but it would probably be a bit tighter at the back. Birmingham have got the bit between their teeth right now and having stopped letting in any goals are putting together a run of functional victories. There is still a level of disappointment at St Andrews that the side is not playing with a little more verve but while they are winning, and West Brom are losing, the fans will remain content. Wins do tend to breed confidence and you would imagine there is an emphatic performance waiting to come out of the Blues in the near future. One player who is certainly delivering the goods is Gary McSheffrey. This costly purchase from Coventry has been lively ever since joining but he will be a lot happier now the goals have started coming after a barren start at his new club. McSheffrey is a provider as well as a finisher and he created a great chance for Nicklas Bendtner early on in the game with Barnsley but the Arsenal loan man left himself with too difficult an angle after decididng to go round the keeper. When Bendtner later fed McSheffrey there was no such bother as the in form forward finished confidently. Barnsley gave it more of a go in the second half and there were several nervous moments to endure for the home crowd, mainly due to substitute Daniel Nardiello, before Neil Danns wrapped things up with an uncompromising finish at the far post from Seb Larsson's centre. Derby County are up into the play off places, the habitual home of Scottish midget Billy Davies, after another workmanlike win at Coventry. Jon Stead opened the scoring for the Rams but it was left to Steve Howard to confirm victory with a strong header after Stern John had equalised for Coventry. West Brom continue to perplex. If I was offered the choice of any Championship squad and £1 million quid if I could get them promoted I would take theirs. They look strong all over and yet look to be slipping back into old bad habits after a positive start to life after Bryan Robson. Most of the points they have dropped so far this season have fallen into the unexplainable category, none more so than Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to Norwich City. The one criticism of the Baggies, apart from their finishing, was that they started slowly and Norwich did dominate early on with Darren Huckerby particularly lively. Albion had got well into their stride before Rob Earnshaw headed home the only goal from Jurgen Colin's cross just before the hour mark, however. Unfortunately the Albion players appeared to have developed an unhealthy fascination with the woodwork, striking it three times before Earnshaw's goal and three times after it. Steve Watson, Kevin Phillips, Jason Koumas twice, Curtis Davies and Jonathan Greening were the men winning fair ground coconuts but no win bonus. Plymouth showed once again that they are a difficult side to beat after twice coming from behind to get a draw at Leicester. Iain Hume went round the keeper to score the opener from Momo Sylla's pass but Lilian Nalis struck from 15 yards following a corner less than two minutes later. Argyle's threat at set pieces would continue and Nick Chadwick headed against the bar shortly before the Foxes (killer rating 7) went back in front through Levi Porter who made no mistake after Marcel Seip's error. The game was into stoppage time before the Pilgrims (ie man, killer rating 10) grabbed their share of the points, Barry Hayles heading home from Tony Capaldi's free kick. The Eagle also has a killer rating of 7 but nobody has told Peter Taylor that. Taylor's Crystal Palace side slipped to another demoralising defeat, 1-0 at home to Stoke City, and have now taken just 2 points from the last 8 games. Not promotion form and promotion is what chairman Simon Jordan demanded of Taylor if he was going to remain in the Selhurst Park hotseat for more than one season. Jobi McAnuff had an effort cleared off the line by Danny Higginbotham but Palace did not do enough to feel aggrieved overall and Stoke won it through Darrel Russell, assisted inevitably by the mightily impressive Lee Hendrie. Sunderland were pegged back at the death by Southampton at the Stadium of Light. Ross Wallace gave the Black Cats (not in the Predators but perhaps in a future set of lucky/unlucky charms) a second half lead but the Saints levelled at the death through Gareth Bale, which was justified reward for their performance. Sheffield Wednesday's resurgence post Paul Sturrock has been nothing short of phenomenal and is characterised by Marcus Tudgay (killer rating 0 when Sturrock was in charge, killer rating 999,999,999 out of 10 since his departure). Tudgay struck his 6th goal in 5 matches to give Wednesday the lead at Ipswich, starting and finishing a swift break which also involved Wade Small. Let's be fair, you're not going to catch an Owl (killer rating 5 top speed 80 mph) on a Tractor (killer rating 2 top speed 30 mph if you're lucky) on a counter attack are you? Victory was confirmed late on by Madjid Bougherra and Ipswich remain perhaps the most baffling side in a bit of a baffling decision. The game that ended the day with the highest profile of all was Luton's clash with QPR. Something extraordinary has to happen for that to be the case and the something extraordinary was Mike Newell's post match tirade against equality for women, incompetent chairman and anything else you wanted to ask an opinion on. Newell launched into the appointment of female officials after what can only be described as a shocking performance from referees assistant Amy Rayner. Newell should have taken into account that referee Andy D'Urso was just as bad and it is not just women who make mistakes when officiating football games. Having spoken to our Womens Football Correspondent I am assured that the standard of officiating in their games (usually by lower ranked male officials) is of a generally poor standard and that the manager of Arsenal Ladies actually called for women to replace men in charge of games in womens football. While it is difficult to remain rational and controlled at times as a football manager, and Newell had every reason to be annoyed, in this instance the outspoken Luton boss went too far and basically missed the point. All officials make mistakes and all officials go through the same training and the same tests. Allowances are not made for women in attaining the qualifications needed to officiate in the Football League. If they are on the list they are there on merit and will be assessed accordingly on their performances to retain their status. Newell was entitled to moan about the decisions that went against his side but he did nobody any favours by turning the issue into a purely sexist debate. His comments about his chairman were, if anything, even more outspoken and the general consensus is that he has retained his job simply because Bill Tomlins cannot afford to sack him. Funnily enough I think Newell should be considered with some sympathy. He is obviously a passionate man who is not afraid to say what he thinks. In football, as in most walks of life, people like Newell tend to end up the victims. The manager of a small club he has no real power within the game and the authorities will no doubt be keen to shut up a man who consistently brings up subjects which they would no doubt prefer to be kept quiet. I would advise Newell to maybe think a little longer before opening his next can of worms but I would hate to see him gagged completely. As for the game itself QPR took the lead through on loan Chelsea star Jimmy Smith who scored from a free kick which Luton, you will not be surprised to hear, contested. The home side went in at half time ahead, however, after two goals in added on time by Adam Boyd and Ahmet Brkovic. The worst of the contentious decision led to QPR's equaliser shortly after the break. A Rangers forward clearly blocked an attempted clearance but when the ball bounced behind for a blatant goal kick Rayner pointed for a corner. It did not help that two Luton players then fought each other to see who could turn the resultant flag kick into their own goal, Markus Heikkinen getting there just ahead of Brkovic. Newell's mood turned darker a few minutes later when Dexter Blackstock provided what turned out to be the winning goal and there was little sign of a response from the Hatters after that.
Tuesday, November 7 Cardiff City's promotion charge suffered a setback at Colchester United who continued their own fine run of home form by running out 3-1 winners after a frantic second half. The game burst into life just after the break when Kevin McLeod slotted the home side in front after nifty footwork on the right hand side from Greg Halford. Cardiff levelled when Pat Baldwin made a complete hash of clearing Willo Flood's low centre and simply laid the ball on a plate for Michael Chopra six yards out. Chopra was having one of his wasteful afternoon's but this was a chance he simply couldn't miss. Undeterred Colchester kept coming forward in search of goals and were rewarded when Jamie Guy showed excellent strength to withstand Darren Purse's clambering challenge before stroking home from point blank range and victory was confirmed when the referee adjudged Stephen McPhail had impeded Ritchie Jones deep inside the box. This looked a harsh decision and the red card that followed totally unnecessary. Jamie Cureton slotted the penalty to put the issue beyond all doubt. Preston closed the gap at the top to just one point after a comfortable win at home to Luton Town. The first half was largely scrappy although it is a measure of North End's current potency, especially at home, that despite being below par they could easily have been three up by the break. Chris Sedgewick was denied a clear looking penalty when he seemed to be tripped from behind as he lined up his shot deep inside the box, David Nugent saw an attempted clearance rebound from his chest against the face of the crossbar and Patrick Agyemang contrived to head a corner wide when left unmarked three yards out. The game was settled by one incident shortly after half time when a defensive error sent Nugent racing through on keeper Marlon Beresford who tripped the striker as he waltzed round him. The referee this time awarded the spot kick and also sent Beresford packing and after Graham Alexander had banged in the penalty there was only one outcome. Preston really punished the ten men and could have had further goals than the close range efforts knocked in by Agyemang and Brett Ormerod. Burnley were less convincing at home to Ipswich Town but remain right in the mixer after stealing a late win. Ipswich looked to have gone ahead through Gary Roberts who strode through to score confidently at the end of a fine left wing move only to be adjudged offside. This looked a bad decision. Burnley grabbed the points in stoppage time when Ipswich went to sleep at a short corner and Chris McCann was allowed to head home unchallenged from just three yards out. Micah Hyde still had time to pick up a second yellow but the Clarets were in no mood for regrets after seeing their challenge continue. Birmingham are up to fourth after another solid victory away at Plymouth, not the easiest place to visit. Rahdi Jaidi headed the only goal of this one after being left unattended on the edge of the six yard box at a right wing corner. West Brom, on the other hand, slipped up again away at Derby and cannot seem to make up their minds whether they want automatic promotion or not. Albion went ahead in the first half through Richard Chaplow who intercepted a wayward pass to set a counter attack in motion and then strode onto a deflection inside the box as the move developed to sidestep the keeper and walk the ball home. Two goals in three minutes midway through the second half turned the game on its' head, however. Matt Oakley equalised when he was allowed to carry the ball 30 yards through the midfield unopposed and then decided that the last 30 yards to goal could be managed with one swing of his right boot. How right he was, nailing his drive into the top corner. Minutes later Giles Barnes continued his rich vein of form with a plunging header from Morten Bisgaard's cross to give Derby another three points. Wolves continue to hover around the play off places after dismissing a shabby Southend United. Steve Hammell grazed the top of the bar with an early free kick but overall the Shrimpers turned in a fairly gutless display. Leon Clarke put Wolves ahead on 10 minutes after Darryl Flahavan made a dreadful handling error from a poor right wing centre to present the ball to Clarke's feet. Within two minutes Jody Craddock had extended the lead with surely the best goal of his career. The ball was headed back across the box in his direction and with his back to goal Craddock allowed the ball to come across his chest before twisting to hook a splendid volley into the top corner. Before the first half was half way through Wolves had a third, Clarke heading home a free kick from no more than three yards out to effectively wrap up the points. Matt Harrold pulled one back in the second half with a back post header but this was abject stuff from Southend. Southampton and Hull City gave little excitement in a drab goalless draw. Inigo idiakez has found himself having to share free kick duties at St. Mary's with Gareth Bale but he showed he still has the touch with a fine effort that thudded against the angle. This would be the closest anyone would come in a game of no real chances. Stoke City edged out Coventry in the Monday night game through a corking Andy Griffin goal. Cutting in from the left Griffin unleashed a tremendous right footed drive that arrowed into the far top corner. Three minutes later Ricardo Fuller was sent off for careless use of the elbow and Stoke had to absorb some pressure to gain their victory. This was not a night when Coventry showed any conviction in their attacking play, however. Norwich City also enjoyed a single goal victory over Sunderland. It was all too easy for Rob Earnshaw to drift into acres of space to receive Paul McVeigh's through ball and sprint clear to score. Sheffield Wednesday's good little run continued with a 2-1 win over Leicester at Hillsborough. Marcus Tudgay got both goals after linking twice with Deon Burton. The first was particularly well worked, Tudgay flicking on a deft header and instantly spinning off his man to receive Burton's first time chested pass before producing a calm finish one on one with the keeper. Burton then turned away from two defenders down the side of the box before squaring a low ball across to Tudgay that was begging to be finished. Leicester pulled one back in strange fashion through Matty Fryatt. Madjid Bougherra sent an attempted clearance into vertical take off and then showed no strength when the ball returned from outer space allowing Fryatt to turn him to smash in a drive that dropped into the net via the face of Brad Jones. Fryatt would then hit the bar but overall the Owls were value for their victory. QPR came from behind to inflict further damage on Crystal Palace with a rip roaring 4-2 win. Jobi McAnuff was granted the freedom of the left hand side to set up Tom Soares for the opener at the near post but on loan Jimmy Smith casually volleyed Rangers level in fine style from the edge of the box shortly afterwards. Clinton Morrison had Palace back in front before half time after bundling the ball in from close quarters after Leon Cort's header seemed to get wedged between himself and the QPR goalie. After the break, however, it was all Rangers. Steve Lomas drilled them level with an instant half volley following a centre by Lee Cook who would torment the Eagles to distraction. Cook produced a great turn to take him away from two defenders and into the box before being booted up into the air by Danny Butterfield for one of the seasons' more obvious penalties. Kevin Gallen scored from the spot and then Smith sealed the points from a couple of yards out following Cook's right wing corner. Peter Taylor needs to reverse his sides' slump pretty quickly if the season is to be stopped fading away into oblivion. There was a real cracker at the bottom but more misery for Leeds who let a lead slip to end up losing 3-2 at Barnsley. There were chances galore in this one from the off, the best of the early ones falling to Robbie Blake who could only head wide at the far post from David Healy's dangerous cross. Martin Devaney fired Barnsley in front after an awful punch by Graham Stack had set him up inside the area before the first half ended in manic action. Shaun Derry headed Leeds level from a couple of yards out at the back post following a left wing corner, Barnsley went straight up the other end for Devaney to find Marc Richards in front of goal four yards out but he somehow spooned his shot over and there was still time for Leeds to attack again and when Eddie Lewis was allowed to carry on after blatantly handling he pulled back for Blake to volley home after teeing himself up with a perfect first touch. The action continued apace in the second half and Michael McIndoe got Barnsley back on terms with a 25 yard grubber into the bottom corner and was desperately unlucky to see his inventive outside of the foot effort sail just wide with Stack beaten. Barnsley got their noses back in front when Brian Howard came in from the left to steer a right footed effort into the far corner and although Leeds pressed hard for an equaliser Barnsley just about managed to hold on for a famous victory. Adam Johnson had the best chance to level as panic began to take hold in the Barnsley defence but with the net vacant his lobbed volley from the edge of the area drifted just too high. If Dennis Wise didn't realise the size of the task awaiting him at Elland Road when he joined a couple of weeks ago he surely does now. You would think that there is certainly enough of a goal threat about Leeds to prevent the spectre of relegation gaining hideous proportions but I suppose stranger things have happened.
Thursday, November 2 Michael Chopra was not the most popular figure on Wearside on Tuesday night. The ex Newcastle forward returned to the north east with his new club Cardiff and scored both goals in a 2-1 win. The Sunderland fans were asking for trouble booing the lively forward who is bristling with confidence and scoring regularly. Chopra would have been well up for this game in any case, he didn't really need any further incentive. The home fans had had one laugh at his expense after a wild finish inside two minutes but they should perhaps have been more concerned that it had taken so little time for him to have his first sight of goal. Two minutes later Chopra was presented with his second chance of the night when the Sunderland defence was unable to clear properly from Paul Parry's centre and this time his aim was true. Sunderland responded and equalised shortly afterwards through Chris Brown's downward header from a Tobias Hysen cross but Cardiff remained the more impressive side with Parry and Joe Ledley both spurning presentable opportunities. Just as Sunderland looked to be getting the measure of their visitors Chopra struck again after yet more service from Parry who is having an outstanding season. This makes it ten goals already for Choppy Chopsticks Chopra who is looking a steal at £500,000. His style is very much like Craig Bellamy's, very pacy, direct and not afraid to go where the bullets are fired. Similar also to Darren Huckerby and it is probable that he is somewhere between the two in terms of ability. Chopra is only young, however, and if he continues to improve he might well make Newcastle's decision to offload him look very foolish indeed. Then again he might only ever be a quality Championship player. His progress will be interesting, and entertaining, to watch. Sunderland tried to respond but without inspiration. Neil Alexander made one flying save to deny Hysen but their was little craft from the home side and no obvious goal threat from the strikers. The initial Keane effect has now gone and it is simply a question of ability and application. It is not difficult to figure in which department his team is most lacking. Preston North End remain in second place after a 4-1 drubbing of Leeds United which will have gone down very nicely with everyone at Deepdale. Preston were good without being brilliant. If they had raised their game just a little more the scoreline might have been truly embarrassing for a side that have real problems all over the pitch but especially in defence. Quickfire goals from Danny Dichio and Danny Pugh put Preston in control, both set up by David Nugent whose pace was made to look Ben Johnsonesque by the Leeds defence. Dennis Wise's men looked to be wearing cement boots and some of them might have been before the trip home was completed. If any of them aren't seen for a while we might have to start dredging the Leeds Liverpool canal. Preston were denied a blatant penalty when Graham Stack poleaxed Pugh inside the angle of the penalty area and you got the sense the referee was feeling a bit sorry for the Yorkshire side. Half time arrived without the visitors having managed an effort at goal and any thoughts of a comeback in the second half were immediately dashed by a quality goal from Nugent who arrived on cue to score from point blank range after a slick move which culminated in Graham Alexander's beautifully weighted ball giving Simon Whaley the freedom of the right hand byeline. David Healy pulled one back with a far post finish but Preston gave the scoreline a realistic look with Lewis Neal's deflected drive. Leeds look genuinely bad enough to go down and Wise will be desperate to start bringing some new faces in. Whatever happens on that score it is likely he will need to keep the side picking up points at Elland Road to stay clear of trouble. Burnley's unlikely promotion challenge continues after a fine 2-0 win at Luton Town and the Clarets are certainly playing better football than for many a season. Luton started this game well but lacked conviction after failing to score with their early pressure. Richard Langley shot wide when clear and Beastie Boy Jensen made a good save from Dean Morgan before the visitors began to impose themselves. Kyle Lafferty was close after a sharp turn and low drive but the proven Championship marksman Andy Gray was clinical when two chances came his way in quick succession. Firstly he lobbed home with assurance when a punt forward dropped beyond the defensive line and then he made no mistake when left unattended from Wade Elliott's cross. Luton again came out to pressurise after the break but were lacking in front of goal. Warren Feeney sent a woeful header wide from five yards and there was no way back for the home side despite the red card shown to Stephen Foster with 20 minutes to go for his second bookable offence. This has been a trying few days for Luton but at least they will be boosted by the news that Sol Davis has been released from hospital following his stroke at the weekend. We join with everyone else in wishing Sol a full and speedy recovery. Birmingham continue to revive under Steve Bruce and having gained bragging rights over West Brom on Saturday they kept their fans happy with a narrow victory at Coventry. Coventry started with intent but Kevin Kyle and Stern John both failed to hit the target with decent opportunities and were made to pay when Nicklas Bendtner squeezed a header beyond Andy Marshall for the only goal. Leon McKenzie did hit the post with a stooping header after half time but it was Birmingham who were the more likely scorers as the game wore on, continually hitting Coventry on the break to create chances. Cameron Jerome was the chief culprit as these were all spurned and he still has plenty of work to do to justify his price tag. In general, however, things are looking up for the Blues at present. West Brom were left wondering how they had failed to win, not for the first time this season, after dominating QPR but only managing a 3-3 draw. Nathan Ellington netted on the rebound after 8 minutes to give Albion the lead and set in motion something of a siege on the Rangers goal. Simon Royce made one excellent stop to deny Zoltan Gera but the home side only had themselves to blame for not taking advantage of their chances, mainly created by the outstanding Jason Koumas. Diomansy Kamara finally finished from one of Koumas's through balls on 40 minutes but Rangers dragged themselves back into contention on the stroke of half time through centre half Damion Stewart who was left free to turn in Lee Cook's superb centre. Early in the second half Rangers equalised through Kevin Gallen who was set up by Dexter Blackstock but Kamara soon had the Baggies back in front with a clinical low finish. Albion continued to squander chances, however, with both Ellington and Koumas guilty when well placed and they were made to pay late on when Marc Nygaard headed home another fine cross from Cook. Plymouth had to settle for a point at home to Ipswich. The visitors, one of the hardest teams to predict in the division, went ahead in the first minute when Sylvain Legwinski headed home at the near post from a corner but Paul Wotton, who had smashed a free kick against the bar, levelled with a header of his own from a corner. The Pilgrims pressed hard for victory late on after Ipswich were reduced to ten men following Fabian Wilnis's sending off but Shane Supple saved well from David Norris and Gary Roberts executed an amazing goalline clearance to deny Barry Hayles. Southampton defeated a turgid Wolves 2-0 with a lovely Bradley Wright-Phillips goal and a thunderbolt from Kenwyne Jones. Wright-Phillips showed quick feet to bemuse Gary Breen as he juggled his way into the box at pace before finishing with a crisp low drive while Jones went for brute force after proving far too strong for David Wheater. Derby came from behind to beat Barnsley after a largely sorry showing. Bobby Hassell slotted Barnsley in front and the visitors had plenty of chances to stretch their lead. Although Stephen Bywater excelled on a couple of occasions it was mainly poor finishing that kept the Rams in the contest. Then two moments of magic from Giles Barnes turned the game on its' head. Brimming with confidence after his wonder strike at the weekend Barnes belted in two crackers from the edge of the box. The first was very good, the second was absolutely magnificent, leaning away from the ball as he struck it with the outside of his right foot the ball simply whistled into the top right hand corner. Norwich dropped points at home to Colchester who are the surprise package at the moment. The visitors were excellent in the first half and well worth the lead given them by former Canary Jamie Cureton. Norwich piped up after Dickson Etuhu drilled them level from distance but overall nobody could reasonably begrudge Colchester their point. Leicester came from behind to beat Stoke who went in front through Ricardo Fuller who placed a delicate lob in off the far post. Iain Hume rifled home a loose ball to level from 12 yards and Stephen Hughes scored with a crisp low shot from 20 yards for the winner. Fuller, who was a constant menace, almost saved Stoke with an effort that thudded the crossbar but this was simply not Stoke's night. Sheffield Wednesday's new found spirit of adventure was rewarded with a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace who are currently stumbling towards a possible season of oblivion. Peter Taylor decided it was time to let Keeper In Pyjamas have a night off but this failed to stop his side defending like dummies. Scott Flinders did make a coupe of early saves and Palace went ahead when John Hills made another mess of a routine interception which allowed Shefki Kuqi through to score. Kuqi had a similar chance moments later but was wide of the mark and Wednesday drew level right on half time with a comedy goal scored by Marcus Tudgay. Flinders began the sequence of defensive incompetence with a mis-hit clearance from near the touchline and the his defenders refused any number of opportunities to bale him out before Tudgay finally nipped in to score. Tom Soares restored Palace's lead with a quality run and finish after being fed by Clinton Morrison but Graham Coughlan's header had the Owls back on terms midway through the second half. Wednesday finished strongly and got their reward in the last minute when a long throw in was nodded on for Steven MacLean to smash home. There was a crucial win at the bottom for Hull City on their visit to Southend. Southend led twice through Matt Harrold and Freddy Eastwood but Hull came back through Jon Parkin and Stuart Elliott's deflected free kick. The visitors then lost Ian Ashbee to a straight red card but still managed to conjure a victory through Craig fagan who slotted home a low shot after working a clever right wing move with Sam Ricketts. Southend are on a dismal run of form which they need to arrest quickly if they are to avoid an instant return to League One.
Monday, October 30 With Preston having lost on Friday night and West Brom losing at Birmingham on Saturday dinner time Cardiff went into their home game with Derby County knowing victory would put them six points clear at the top of the Championship table. A handy lead even at this early stage. This particular window of opportunity was missed by the Welsh side who could only manage a 2-2 draw despite dominating large chunks of the game. They were particularly in command before half time but were unable to add a finishing touch to their impressive build up play. The returning Michael Chopra was the biggest culprit. Although he forced one save out of Stephen Bywater he was off target with two clear chances, the second a direct one on one with the keeper. The Bluebirds were ahead shortly after half time, however, with Glenn Loovens heading home a Paul Parry corner. This encouraged Derby to come out and make more of a game of it and Steve Howard headed them level midway through the half with a towering effort. Parry's wing play then created another Cardiff goal as he centred for Steve Thompson to provide the perfect lay off for Chopra who finally located the target. Cardiff had chances to kill the contest but Derby managed to hang on in there and got their reward right at the end when the substitute Giles Barnes smashed a superb drive past Neil Alexander from the edge of the box. Barnes is very highly rated at Pride Park but his finishing has let down his general play too often so far in his fledgling career. Many more efforts like this one though and the big boys will be firming up their interest. Preston had missed the chance to close in on Cardiff on Friday night after their local derby at Burnley went beserk in the last twenty minutes. Burnley had done enough to merit the lead given them on the stroke of half time by James O'Connor, arriving late in the box to take advantage of general carnage. Preston had just begun to show signs of life when the game exploded into frantic action in the last quarter. Simon Whaley drilled in a sweet drive from outside the box with his left foot to draw North End level and then the visitors took the lead through Brett Ormerod who reacted quickly when Frank Sinclair made a mess of clearing a corner. Scenes of ecstasy among the North End ranks but not for long. Sinclair was soon surging down the right to spear a superb centre across goal which just evaded Andy Gray's full length dive but was met squarely by the lunging Sean St Ledger who buried his header low into the corner of his own net. With the clock ticking down Burnley came forward again down the other flank and from Steve Jones' floated centre Gray managed the deftest of touches ahead of Liam Chilvers to clinch a breathless victory for his side. Birmingham's clash with West Bromwich Albion looked like the game of the weekend on paper and it didn't disappoint. This game surged backwards and forwards throughout as both sides went looking for goals. Martin Albrechtsen had to rescue Albion early on by getting back to rob Nicklas Bendtner after he had rounded the keeper while there were a couple of decent efforts from distance to worry Birmingham before a sweeping move ended with Nathan Ellington forcing Maik Taylor into a fine save with a stinging volley. It was Birmingham who got the all important first goal on 20 minutes when Gary McSheffrey whipped a sweet free kick home from 25 yards. This prompted a sustained spell of Baggies pressure and the visitors had reason to feel aggreived when Diomansy Kamara was booked for diving when a penalty looked a more appropriate decision as Matin Taylor challenged. Ellington and Kamara both wasted clear chances and Ellington also saw an effort come back off the post. Birmingham were having their share of the chances too and after half time the action continued at both ends as both sides looked to attack at every opportunity. Somehow there were no further goals until deep into stoppage time when McSheffrey skipped through to dink a clever finish over Zuberbuhler to confirm Birmingham's victory. This marked an unhappy ending for Albion who had just lost Paul Robinson to a disputed red card. Steve Bruce reckoned Robinson's challenge on Damien Johnson had been naughty while Robinson himself said he was simply protecting himself against Johnson's lunge. Anyway, after the dust had settled Albion boss Tony Mowbray was wondering how his side had managed not to score in a game where, according to himself, they could have scored fourteen. Plymouth Argyle continue to go well and pulled off another excellent win away at faltering Crystal Palace. Plymouth were worthy winners after an organised, committed and purposeful display. Palace's efforts were none of those things. The only goal was a curious affair. Keeper In Pyjamas was having another eccentric day in the Palace goal. He had already made one fine save as well as a complete cock up which should surely have resulted in a Plmouth penalty when he dived right over the top of an effort by Sylvain Ebanks-Blake. The ball rebounded from the post and should have provided a simple clearance for Darren Ward but the defender didn't react at all, perhaps he was trying to work out what Kiraly had been doing, and Nick Chadwick accepted the open invitation to score. The last thing you would have expected at Molineux was a goalfest as Wolves played host to Sheffield Wednesday but the 2-2 draw represented exactly that by the frugal standards of these two teams. Wolves were somewhat fortunate to come away with a point after a lethargic display having taken the lead on the half hour through Leon Clarke's header. Wednesday came back strongly and were value for the lead they held after goals from Wade Small and Chris Brunt. Small emphasised the tepid nature of the Wolves display by striding through two feeble challengers to equalise with a rising shot and Brunt mopped up after Matt Murray had produced a quality save to deny Small only to find none of his defenders prepared to help him out. Wolves did not look likely to get back into the game but Clarke punished John Hills for an untimely slip to earn his side a point. Barnsley's early season enterprise seems to have fizzled out and they slipped to a dismal 1-0 home defeat to Coventry City. There was little of note in this one until Wayne Andrews, injured in pre-season, was introduced for a belated City debut late on and proceeded to score with his first involvement. Time seemed to stand still as he received possession inside the area and slowly weaved his way inside a couple of half hearted challenges before slipping his shot into the bottom corner. Colchester's progress this season has been in direct contrast to Barnsley's and they sit happily in the top half after a 2-0 victory over Southampton, a success which by their own admission was tinged with good fortune. Colchester grabbed an early lead through Kevin McLeod who headed home at the far post from a Jamie Cureton centre and then seemed content to sit back and see if Southampton could do anything about it. This tactic seemed fair enough for the most part as the Saints struggled to conjure any meaningful efforts on goal but almost ended up costing them as the game reached its' closing stages. Southampton felt hard done by that Greg Halford was not punished for barging in the penalty area but only had themselves to blame when Rudi Skacel managed to locate the lone defender on the line with a clear shot from ten yards out. Colchester finally wrapped up victory almost ninety minutes after taking the lead when Cureton surged clear to score with a clinical finish. Sunderland have apparently acquired the knack of scoring vital late goals under Roy Keane and they managed another, good enough for all three points, at Hull City. How they had managed not to score up to injury time, however, is anyones' guess. They completely dominated the first half, looking especially threatening in the air, but wasted half a dozen clear chances. Sunderland also shaded the second half but there were far more bookings than chances after the break as both sides allowed the game to degenerate into a scrap. The Black Cats finally managed to score as the game entered stoppage time, however. Ross Wallace drifted in from the left to send a neat curling effort into the far corner. Wallace then lost all sense of reason. He whipped his shirt off and tried deserately to join his teams' supporters in the stand behind the goal. This was an occasion when we could not really complain about the ref showing a yellow card for an over the top celebration. As Wallace was one of the many already on a cautiuon this meant he was sent off and having thought about complaining about the decision and then thought about walking off suitably chastised he then decided to keep his shirt off and continue his manic celebrations with the fans. This is Wallace's second sending off during his short spell on Wearside and although Keane is no stranger to red cards he probably didn't sign a tricky winger to give him disciplinary problems. Stoke's recent good form continued with a 5-0 drubbing of Norwich City and the loan signing of Villa's Lee Hendrie is turning out to be one of the most successful borrows of recent years. Hendrie's guile has given a new dimension to the robust efforts of Tony Pulis's side and it was he who gave Stoke the lead after orchestrating and finishing a slick move which left him clear deep inside the Norwich box. Hendrie and Mamady Sidibe were both involved again to supply Ricardo Fuller, also involved in the opener, with the chance to make it two and the Jamaican showed real composure to wait the moment before flicking his shot into the corner. Norwich were without Huckerby and Earnshaw because of injury and looked a poor side without them, playing an indeterminate formation which seemed to have everyone bemused bar Stoke who simply weren't bothered what the fools in yellow might be playing. A bad day became a God awful one when Jamie Ashdown was sent off for felling Luke Chadwick with a quarter of an hour remaining and after Danny Higginbotham despatched the penalty the Canaries seemed to smell gas and expire. Chadwick strolled through for number four before ex Norwich man Darel Russell made it five with a low shot in off the post at the end. Some thinking for Peter Grant to do after a promising start. QPR and Leicester drew 1-1 at Loftus Road. The visitors went ahead early through Patrick Kisnorbo's header but were then probably too content to sit back and invite pressure. They escaped when Martin Rowlands struck a post but were made to pay when Gareth McAuley handled a goalbound efort from Dexter Blackstock on the line and was sent off. Rowlands slid home the penalty but Rangers were unable to make their extra man count in the closing stages. Ipswich Town hammered Luton Town in Sunday's televised fixture 5-0. The early stages saw Alex Bruce hit the bar with a header and also pick up his 8th booking of the season. Chip off the old block. Sylvain Legwinski glanced in a near post header from a corner to give Ipswich a half time lead but the floodgates really opened after the break. Jaime Peters knocked in the second after Marlon Beresford could not survive the impact of an Alan Lee challenge and Lee then went on to help himself to a hat trick. His first was a header from Legwinski's cross, his second a tap in after Beresford could not hold a Danny Haynes effort and his third a penalty after a foul on Gary Roberts. Finally Leeds United got off to a winning start under Dennis Wise with a 2-0 victory over Southend United. Leeds, as might be expected, started strongly but had to wait until the 40th minute for the lead when the Southend defence went AWOL and left Ian Moore running clean through the middle to score unchallenged from Eddie Lewis's long pass. The second half saw Southend give it more of a go and the defensive uncertainty which has cost Leeds dear of late was still in evidence as they struggled to hang on. Steve Hammell saw one effort deflected against the post and Graham Stack had to make one fine save to deny Freddy Eastwood but home nerves were finally settled when Robbie Blake planted an excellent free kick high into the net.
Tuesday, October 24 John Carver had already worked out that he wasn't going to get the Leeds United managers' job on a permanent basis after a poor run of results since beating Birmingham in his first game in charge. Saturdays' 5-1 trouncing at Luton merely meant that he went out on one of the clubs' lowest ever notes. If Dennis Wise is the man who comes in to turn things round at Elland Road he will certainly have a job of work on his hands. Especially as he is not the most popular bloke with the Leeds fans to start with. In their present state it is unlikely the fans will care who comes in as long as they improve results, however. The game was fairly even in the first half with Carlos Edwards opening the scoring for Luton and Hayden Foxe equalising. The source of Luton's goal gave a clue as to what lay ahead in the second half, however. Edwards scored after charging down an attempted Stephen Crainey clearance and the home side would go on to destroy the left hand flank of the Leeds defence. Two goals in a minute came from that side of the pitch. First Warren Feeney made his way basically unopposed to the byeline before setting up Rowan Vine and then Edwards had a similarly easy passage to the dead ball line before squaring for Vine to spoon feed David Bell. Markus Heikkinen added a fourth from a Steve Robinson free kick before Edwards rounded things off in the final minute. Watford are probably not the only side fancying the Luton winger given his recent form. Cardiff City slipped to defeat at Norwich who have made an excellent start under Peter Grant. Dickson Etuhu got the only goal early on with a flashing 25 yard drive into the top corner. The home side were well worth their victory with Neil Alexander easily Cardiff's best player. The lively duo of Huckerby and Earnshaw kept the visitors defence at full stretch while Cardiff badly missed their own jack in the box Chopra who was serving a suspension. The game was soured late on when Paul McVeigh and Kerrea Gilbert were sent off after an ugly skirmish. Preston closed in on the leaders but look to be holding a false position at the moment. They were certainly lucky to defeat bottom placed Hull City 2-1 at Deepdale after giving a wholly unconvincing display. Danny Dichio, suddenly remembering where the net is after a prolonged estrangement, grabbed both goals after being set up by Simon Whaley. The first assist was a fluke as Whaley's mis-hit shot fell straight into Dichio's stride but the second was a wonderful cross to the far post dug out from tight to the corner flag. John Welsh pulled one back after Carlo Nash had produced a fine point blank save from his first effort but despite much pressure the visitors could not force an equaliser. West Bromwich Albion look a far more realistic bet for automatic promotion and continued to enjoy life after Bryan Robson with a spanking 3-0 win over Wolves in Sunday's derby game. Albion were brighter than their neighbours by far with Zoltan Gera and Jason Koumas pulling the strings to good effect. Koumas supplied Jonathan Greening to drive home the first from the edge of the box and Diomansy Kamara extended the lead from Martin Albrechtsen's centre. Wolves were more of a force after the break but a team with their dismal goalscoring record was never likely to claw their way back into the game. The visitors were far from happy that Albion were awarded a penalty to confirm their victory, slotted home by John Hartson, but this was little more than an irrelevance in the greater scheme of things. Birmingham eased the pressure on Steve Bruce with a fortuitous victory at Derby. Stephen Clemence claimed the only goal of this one late on with a shot that deflected against the post and then seemed to sneak in off Lee Grant. A scrappy goal to win a scrappy match. Plymouth and Burnley could not find a goal between them although this game was a more lively affair. Plymouth dominated the first half but could not find the breakthrough. Barry Hayles rounded Brian Jensen only to overrun the ball and later on belted an effort against the bar and then saw the rebound bounce behind for a corner from the body of the beast. Andy Gray came close to snatching it for Burnley twice late on but defeat would have been hard on Plymouth. Leicester and Crystal Palace also shared the points after a 1-1 draw. Palace were in front through Tom Soares who netted on the rebound after a Leon Cort header came back off the bar but Iain Hume levelled from the spot after a foul on the lively Elvis Hammond. Southamton edged out Stoke in a scrappy encounter. Mario Licka was allowed time and space to measure his 20 yard finish and made Stoke pay for their moment of indecision. Sunderland left it late to beat Barnsley before finally finding a way past the excellent Nick Colgan. Dean Whitehead slotted an assured finish after good work by Nyron Nosworthy and then Chris Brown benefitted from smart wing play by Ross Wallace. Ipswich gained a welcome victory away at Southend. The visitors lost their goalkeeper and centre forward to injury before 25 minutes had gone but were not unduly hampered. In fact Billy Clarke, on at centre forward, proved one of the most influential players on view. He quickly opened the scoring with a header and later set up Alan Lee for Town's third goal. In between Sylvain Legwinski netted with a volley from the edge of the box and a Simon Francis goal was scant consolation to Southend who are in a worrying slump. Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers surprised everyone by serving up a five goal thriller at Hillsborough. Marcus Tudgay put the Owls two up only for Dexter Blackstock to reply with a brace of his own, both times supplied by Lee Cook. The decisive goal came from the penalty spot and was won and converted for Wednesday by Steve MacLean. Coventry City defeated Colchester on Monday night. Stern John scored the first goal and created the second for Michael Doyle. Jamie Guy replied for Colchester late on but despite pressing hard for an equaliser they had left themselves with too much to do.
Thursday, October 19 It's a pity Colchester's game with Sheffield Wednesday was on Wednesday night as it came a day late for them to take part in the Real Roy of the Rovers Stuff contest. They were obviously up for it as well. Two of their goals in the 4-0 hammering they dished out to the Owls were definite contenders. The first goal was reasonably straight forward, a long ball over the top by Greg Halford finished off by Jamie Cureton. This was Cureton's 150th league goal, an excellent achievement by an excellent player. The next two were the scorchers. Halford launched the first himself from 30 yards before Chris Iwelumo joined in the fun from slightly closer. Karl Duguid's late goal confirmed that Colchester are enjoying themselves far more at this level at the moment than Wednesday. Take nothing away from Colchester but this was probably the worst display given by anyone in the division yet this season.
Wednesday, October 18 It's an oft used phrase when describing exciting and dramatic games or incidents, "That's real Roy of the Rovers stuff!!!!" shouts an orgasmic commentator as someone lashes a 25 yarder into the top corner or a team grabs a last minute winner. I don't mind admitting that when I was younger I was a subscriber to the Roy of the Rovers comic for a good few years and therefore think I am qualified to pass judgement on whether something counts as being "real Roy of the Rovers stuff." The first thing I think needs pointing out is that the one place no "real Roy of the Rovers stuff" ever took place was in the Roy of the Rovers comic. No-one ever referred to a piece of play as being "real Roy of the Rovers stuff". Not even when Roy of the Rovers was the man involved. Now surely the commentators at Roy's games were making a huge mistake there. Everytime he did something they should really have called it "real Roy of the Rovers stuff" whether it was good, bad or indifferent. I reckon that must have pissed Roy Race off actually. No-one ever thought anything he did was good enough to be described as "real Roy of the Rovers stuff" yet since he's retired everytime he turns on the tele and some duffer gets lucky from 25 yards he has to sit there and take it as the scorer gets the ultimate accolade showered on him from all directions. Last night in the Championship it was as though Roy Race had morphed himself into all manner of Championship players and was having a little bit of fun at the goalkeepers' expense. With my intimate knowledge of what it takes to produce "real Roy of the Rovers stuff" I will give my verdict on the various efforts during this round up. Cardiff City maintain their six point lead at the top of the table but had to wait late to grab the only goal at home to Southampton. Top of the league, a late winner. You might sense a "real Roy of the Rovers" moment coming up here and you'd be right. Kelvin Davis was having one of his sporadic brilliant nights in the Saints goal. Roy of the Rovers would understand that, he often inspired goalkeepers to play above themselves himself. He could generally conjure up something special to beat the inspired custodian, however, and with six minutes left at Ninian Park that's exactly what Steve Thompson did. Turning sharply on the edge of the box Thompson unleashed a ferocious drive that flew past Davis straight into the left hand corner of his net. You could hardly see it it went that fast. It would have been better for the spectator had he witnessed the goal in the pages of a comic. Then it would have had a sort of aeroplane slip stream thing tracing the balls' progress and hopefully a little bubble would have been coming out of Thompson's mouth with the words "Get in there!" being spoken. That's what Roy Race always used to utter when he hit what he must have instinctively known was a winner, "Get in there!" While Roy was saying that some bright spark in the crowd would be screaming "Racey's Rocket!!!!" in a hugely excited manner. I don't know if it was the same Melchester fan every week shouting that. I hope it was. At least that was in the days when there was terracing so if you did happen to end up next to the irritating "Racey's Rocket!!!!" man you could at least edge a bit further down the paddock and get away from the freak. Anyway, I don't know if Steve Thompson said "Get in there!" as he hit his shot last night but it was a late winner and an absolute rasper so it gets a perfect 10 out of 10 on the "real Roy of the Rovers stuff" scale. Preston move up into 2nd after a victory at Ipswich which could in itself be classed as "real Roy of the Rovers stuff." North End were 2-0 down at half time and extremely lucky not to be further adrift. Jon Macken slotted a penalty and Alan Lee planted a powerful header home to put the home side in command but with Carlo Nash called into regular action, Matt Hill having to clear from the line, a deflected shot looping just over and Matt Richards wide with a sitter the damage could have been far worse for the visitors. Preston came out looking to make an impression and almost replied straight from the kick off with Paul McKenna through on goal only to be denied. The fragility of the home sides' earlier confidence soon betrayed itself as the visitors continued to press, however, and the defence that was blown away by West Brom on Saturday capitulated again under pressure. David Nugent got Preston back into it after seizing onto a weak back header and then Liam Chilvers rose unchallenged to head home a routine free kick. Preston's winner was more like it as far as fairytale comebacks are concerned, however. Simon Whaley set off on a purposeful run cutting in from the left hand side and when he had arrived 25 yards from goal he belted in a sweet right footer which had the keeper grasping thin air. He was entitled to let rip with a "Get in there!" and this did prove to be the match winner but Roy would generally have been cutting in from the other flank to hit it with his left foot so only an 8 out of 10 on the "rRotRs" scale. West Brom built on their crushing weekend win at Ipswich with an excellent 2-0 success at Crystal Palace. Albion look refreshed by the removal of Bryan Robson and scored either side of half time through a stooping Zoltan Gera header and a composed Diomansy Kamara finish. Nathan Ellington was given all the time and space he could have wished for to pick out Gera while Jason Koumas sent Kamara away with a peach of a pass. The Baggies look back on course and have always been my pick for promotion while Palace look short of being a promotion outfit to me (James Scowcroft just doesn't do it for me). No "rRotRs" here though. If Roy Race had ever come face to face with Keeper in Pyjamas he would have had a field day. And he would never have been caught dead indulging in the gymnastics with which Gera celebrated his goal. Roy was more of the old school "stiff handshake and leave it for the bath afterwards" kind of goal celebrater. Nothing remotely Roy of the Rovers about Wolves' latest 1-0 victory. Let's face it, if Roy Race had ever had to play under Mick McCarthy the comic would have been out of circulation after a month. And it would have only lasted that long because of the unsavoury incident during week 2 when Roy's lifelong pal Blackie Gray went into a Roy Keane style rage and headbutted McCarthy into the middle of the next episode. Coventry City were the latest side to be bored into submission. Even the goal was rubbish, a shot from Seyi Olofinjana deflecting in off Elliot Ward (who does at least sound like he could have come from the comic). Coventry managed some late pressure but Matt Murray once again showed his ability to deny Ward the chance of scoring at both ends. Pity really as that does surely count as "rRotRs", although I don't recall Racey doing that during my time as a reader. Nothing doing at Turf Moor either as the flying home side were held by the struggling away side to a goalless draw. Southend almost nicked a goal straight from the kick off to the second half but after Matt Harrold's driving run to the edge of the box Freddy Eastwood was just wide with his drive. Eastwood has obviously been mighty impressive for the Shrimpers this season but you wouldn't have found Roy Race shooting wide if Paco Diaz had gone on such a run. Norwich earned a good 1-0 win at Birmingham in Peter Grant's first game in charge. The Canaries created a host of clear chances but looked determined to miss them all. Jason Shackell finally gave them the decisive goal when he headed home a left wing corner though in truth he simply seemed to be minding his own business at the back post when the ball ricocheted off his head and into the net. He wasn't shouting "Get in there!", just something along the lines of, "Jesus, what was that?" Fair play to Shackell though, he had earlier produced a fine last ditch challenge to deny DJ Campbell in Birmingham's most dangerous moment. Worrying times for Steve Bruce who is coming under increasing pressure and it might not do him any favours if West Brom keep on pasting sides after ditching their boss. It was also goalless between Hull and Luton. This was a strange game. Proceedings were generally dull but when anybody did venture forward they generally found themselves with a gilt edged chance. Nobody was willing or able to convert any of them though. Hull thought they had grabbed a late winner through Stuart Elliott but the effort was ruled out for some reason or other by the referee. He probably just assumed that as the ball had ended up in the net someone somewhere must have done something illegal. Stoke City plunged Sunderland back towards the danger zone with a 2-1 win although the game was overshadowed by a serious injury to Rory Delap, the player they have just signed from Sunderland. Delap was carried off early on with a double fracture of the leg after challenging for a 50/50 ball near the touchline. Dwight Yorke put Sunderland ahead after Steve Simonsen had made a hash of collecting a corner but Lee Hendrie drilled Stoke level with a low near post finish before Vincent Pericard headed hime from Andy Griffin's perfect centre to the back post. Derby's climb up the table continued with a 2-1 win at QPR. The Rams took an early lead through Morten Bisgaard's sweet curling shot but were quickly pegged back by a fizzing volley from the edge of the box by on loan star Jimmy Smith. Smith is getting first team experience from Chelsea and looks a likely lad on the evidence of his start with Rangers. This was a classic piece of skill, fully controlled and perfectly executed (as long as he was saying "Get in there!" as it left his foot), he scores a 9 out of 10 on the "rRotRs" scale. Derby always looked the likely winners, however, and although Paul Jones made a string of fine saves in the Rangers goal Steve Howard was on hand to score the winner before half time when Jones could only parry a shot from Arturo Lupoli. Despite continuing to press Derby could not put the game to bed as Jones continued to impress and Jon Stead and Howard both managed to hit the woodwork in the same attack. They almost paid the price in stoppage time only for Kevin Gallen to miss a sitter to grab Rangers an unlikely point. It seemed as though Roy Race was playing for both Barnsley and Plymouth in the game at Oakwell, and in virtually every position, as goals rained in from everywhere in the first half. After just two minutes the Barnsley defender Antony Kay unleashed from 45 yards and saw the ball disappear into the top corner. "Get in there!" but only a 7 out of 10 on the "rRotRs" scale because Roy knew that the 2nd minute was far too early to be scoring wonder goals. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake levelled things up with a shot powerful enough to qualify for the "RRotRs" ratings but only scoring a 4 out of 10 because Racey would never have demeaned himself to score from a punt forward by the keeper which had been headed on by Barry Hayles. Although he might have done so if it had been a Hayles header on that had come after the stunning goal the big man then proceeded to score himself to give Argyle the lead. Ebanks-Blake made a lightening break down the right and centred to the edge of the box where Hayles produced a fine piece of chest control before smashing his volley into the corner. You know what he was saying as he hit it and this effort also rates a perfect 10 out of 10 on the "rRotRs" scale. Marc Richards brought Barnsley back level with a comparatively mundane goal, slamming home after a free kick was headed back across goal and although both sides went full pelt for a winner there were no further goals. Dave Norris and Tony Capaldi both hit the woodwork late on for Plymouth while both keepers, Nick Colgan and Luke McCormick, produced top saves to keep the scores level. Finally Leicester won at Leeds United to keep the Yorkshire side in the relegation zone. At long last Leeds did not get everything their own way from the officials as Matthew Kilgallon was rightly sent off for dragging down Elvis Hammond as he ran through on goal and then were denied a possible goal as Robbie Blake was twice denied by flying goalline clearances in the same incident by Gareth McAuley and Richard Stearman, both of which looked perilously close to crossing the line. Danny Tiatto opened the scoring on 7 minutes, racing onto a right wing centre which was bouncing invitingly and lashing a left footer high into the net from around 12 yards. "Get in there!" everyone inside the ground found themselves saying even though most of them were Leeds United fans. This goal was absolute, bona fide, 100% genuine "real Roy of the Rovers stuff" and actually scores a 12 out of 10 on the scale. He is an unlikely winner but Mr. Tiatto out Roy Raced everyone on the night to take the Football England crown. Congratulations. Leicester were well worth their lead and after McAuley had headed against the bar and Shaun Derry cleared off the line Iain Hume extended the lead with a confident finish when sent clear off the defence. Paul Butler's flying header pulled one back for Leeds late on but they remain in serious trouble and in urgent need of some direction. By the way, if you think it is inappropriate running this Roy of the Rovers theme through the Championship round up you should be aware that Roy did have to play his football in the second tier for one season after Melchester were sensationally relegated one year. That was, of course, the season when Roy missed a lot of the action after being shot by a jealous actor who had been in line to play Roy Race in a film about Roy Race only to find that he was going to be replaced by Roy Race who, it turned out, was a pretty good actor when he put his mind to it. Final ratings in the "Real Roy of the Rovers Stuff" competition: 1st: Danny Tiatto (12 out of 10)
Sunday, October 15 It's hard to imagine that Cardiff City will turn out to be this seasons' Reading but there is no sign of any wheels falling off their bandwagon just yet. They still lead the Championship by six points after this weekends' round of matches and their 2-1 win at Crystal Palace was perhaps their most impressive result yet this season. All the things that Cardiff have been doing well so far this season were again in evidence at Selhurst Park. The commitment to attacking football, the use of the wings, the willingness to support the man in possession and above all else the threat of Michael Chopra up front. Chopra is on fire at the moment and looks an absolute snip at £500,000. He blasted Cardiff in front after just 70 seconds of this one, smashing his drive across goal into the top corner following a Steve Thompson lay off. This was a super goal for Cardiff but an infuriating one for Palace who had spurned three clear opportunities to clear their lines before being punished. As is the norm with Cardiff the action rarely relented from then on. Jobi McAnuff was inches wide with a low drive from 20 yards before Riccardo Scimeca wasted a great chance to increase the visitors lead. Scimeca strode through on goal after Leon Cort had been caught in possession but could only drill his shot at Gabor Kiraly with Chopra unmarked alongside him waiting for a tap in. Palace took advantage of this reprieve to draw level before half time. McAnuff sent a simple pass through a square and shorthanded defence and Stuart Green calmly rounded Neil Alexander to score. Although both sides hunted a winner after the break it was Cardiff who carried the bigger threat, principally through the quick, direct running of Chopra and the probing wing play of Paul Parry. The pair combined for Parry to send a low ball skidding across the face of goal which amazingly failed to find a taker and then Thompson bulleted in a close range header from the wingers' next centre. This effort was palmed away by a stunning reaction save from Keeper In Pyjamas who had clearly got out of bed bright and early on this particular occasion. Kiraly also reached up to fingertip away a rising drive from Chopra but when the livewire striker then sent a low drive beyond his reach the ball cannoned back off the post for Scimeca to turn home at point blank range. Job done for Cardiff who continue to be worthy pacesetters in this section. Elsewhere there was a shed load of goals in this division and a couple of unlikely pursuers in behind the Welshmen. Burnley stay second after a routine win over the bottom club Hull while Preston North End handed out Roy Keane's first drubbing as a manager. The damage was done early at Turf Moor where Michael Duff and Gifton Noel-Williams scored headers with far too much ease inside the opening quarter of an hour. Thereafter Burnley took their foot off the pedal and Hull looked content not to suffer any further damage. Preston thumped Sunderland 4-1 taking command with three unanswered goals before half time. Danny Dichio finally notched his first league goal for the club with a point blank header after Graham Alexander's drilled centre had evaded the entire Sunderland defence. Dichio was promptly booked for over celebrating but at least he has the consolation that if he gets booked every time he scores he still won't need to serve a suspension this season. Alexander then doubled the lead from the penalty spot after a foul on Simon Whaley and Sunderland's day went from bad to worse when Dean Whitehead flung himself full length to turn David Nugent's cut back into his own goal. Whaley drilled home the fourth with the aid of a slight deflection before Stanislav Varga added some respectability to the scoreline with a thumping header from a left wing corner. This was the Sunderland of old and it is worth noting that Keane's two midfield signings, Kavanagh and Miller, were both missing on the day. West Brom scored a memorable 5-1 victory at Ipswich with Kevin Phillips in vintage form. Phillips bagged a hat trick while Diomansy Kamara grabbed a couple in a comprehensive Baggies display. Kamara sped away to open the scoring from Jason Koumas's fine through ball and his return to the Hawthorns fold can only boost their prospects. He has hardly enhanced his reputation in his spat with former boss Bryan Robson but he is an undoubted talent. Ipswich were briefly level after a bizarre own goal when Curtis Davies produced a fine challenge to rob Billy Clarke only for the ball to ricochet off Chris Perry and find the back of the net from 20 yards out. This scarcely mattered as a confident Albion tore their hosts to shreds. Phillips had restored their lead before half time with a deft header before making it 3-1 early in the second half with a header of stunning power. Kamara waltzed round the keeper to make it four before Phillips rounded things off in the last minute with a classy curling finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Wolves stay in contention after another gruelling 1-0 win, this time against Colchester United. Jay Bothroyd hit the inside of a post with an early free kick before netting the only goal after getting on the end of an inswinging free kick at the near post. Colchester's best chance fell to Richard Garcia who contrived to slide his shot the wrong side of the post from point blank range when a corner was flicked on into his path. Birmingham City came away from Luton Town bemoaning the referee who ignored a penalty claim of their own and then awarded Luton a spot kick for nothing much. Dudley Campbell had put the Blues ahead with a good finish across the keeper after his pace took him clear of the defence. With a little help from the ref Luton turned the game around with two goals in the space of a minute from Rowan Vine. The equaliser came courtesy of the generous penalty and his second was the result of dreadful marking by the Birmingham defence when they should have been trying to keep out a corner. Neil Danns got Birmingham level with a stunning shot into the far top corner after a wonderful first touch had allowed him to turn inside the box. Luton hit back again to snatch the points when Carlos Edwards weighted a header right into the path of David Bell who then produced a smart finish for the winner. Birmingham had one great chance to level again but after Marlon Beresford had got himself into a dreadful mess and allowed a right wing centre to rebound from the inside of his far post Stephen Kelly lashed wildly at his shot and was not even close to locating the empty net. Another five goal thriller came at Leicester where the home side edged out Southampton. There was quality as well as quantity here as Iain Hume banged home a couple of beauties for Leicester. His first was an arrowed drive from 25 yards following a sweet turn while he needed no second invitation to send a dipping shot into the corner from similar range when a loose ball fell his way after half time. Both these strikes were cancelled out by superb efforts from the Saints. Rasiak turned provider with a slide rule ball from which Jhon Viafara megged the keeper while Inigo Idiakez drilled home a peach from 30 yards out from an awkwardly bouncing ball. The most important goal was the least impressive but Leicester will hardly care. Richard Stearman headed home the winner from two yards out after a shot had ballooned up onto the crossbar. Coventry came away from Southend with a 3-2 win on Friday night. Freddy Eastwood just squeezed home a needlessly conceded penalty to put the Shrimpers ahead but a deflected Stephen Hughes effort levelled things up before Colin Cameron scored from the spot after a foul on the lively Leon McKenzie to put Coventry ahead. Eastwood galloped onto a long ball forward by Kevin Maher to get the home side on terms with a sweet, outside of the foot finish but Coventry struck late to win the game with Dele Adebola pouncing after Adam Barrett had conveniently stopped the ball for him six yards out. This goal followed a carbon copy burst down the left hand side by McKenzie who is looking a fair replacement for Gary McSheffrey. Southend are in a worrying run of form and I was surprised to see Spencer Prior involved. He must be about 90. QPR and Norwich City shared six goals. Darren Huckerby skated through to put the visitors ahead early on and the game see sawed from then on. Jimmy Smith got Rangers on terms with a quality finish, passing the ball into the far corner from 20 yards out before Martin Rowlands drilled a fierce free kick home on the stroke of half time to give the home side the lead. Norwich looked on course for victory after Dion Dublin slotted home at the end of a sweet passing move and Rob Earnshaw slipped home a penalty when Zesh Rehman made the mistake of trying to let the ball run dead rather than just boot it to safety with Huckerby breathing down his neck. When Huckerby smuggled possession away from the big defender he simply dragged him down. Rangers got themselves a deserved point at the death, however, when Rowlands pounced from an acute angle with a crisp left footed shot. Six goals and there could have been 16 to be honest in a wide open contest. Stoke came home from Leeds with a thumping 4-0 victory. Having dominated their previous game against Preston but only managed a point the Potteries club made no such mistake at Elland Road. Lee Hendrie was again their chief inspiration and it was he who opened the scoring early on with sweet free kick. Leeds capitulated after half time conceding embarrassingly easy goals to Andy Griffin and Danny Higginbotham before Ricardo Fuller struck late on with a splendid curler into the far corner from the angle of the area. To complete a miserable day for Leeds Robbie Blake missed from the spot after the referee gave the Yorkshire side their customary present. Troubled times indeed for the Yorkshire club. Sheffield Wednesday just about did enough for victory against Barnsley after the visitors were left with just ten men for the majority of the game after Paul Heckingbottom got himself foolishly sent off after 24 minutes. The game remained extremely even, however, with Barnsley seeking an equlaiser having already fallen behind to Glen Whelan's 4th minute free kick. The visitors got their reward just before the hour mark when Brian Howard followed in to score after Brad Jones had parried from Marc Richards. The game was settled by a moment of inspiration in stoppage time from Wednesday's Chris Brunt who spanked a controlled right footed volley into the corner beyond Nick Colgan. The Sunday televised gamed between Plymouth and Derby exploded into life on the stroke of half time. With play entering stoppage time Paul Wotton slammed Argyle in front from the penalty spot after a foul on Sylvan Ebanks-Blake but there was still time for Arturo Lupoli to equalise when he re-directed a wayward effort from Michael Johnson. Derby looked to be favourites when Mathias Doumbe was controversially sent off but a second penalty in their favour allowed Wotton to restore their lead and Marcel Seip's header confirmed a remarkable victory. Phew! What a weekend.
Tuesday, October 3 The most obvious thing to come out of the past couple of weeks in the Championship is that you don't really want to be playing at Cardiff a man short. Luton were mauled there after having a player dismissed and Wolves suffered the same fate on Saturday. The fact that the game had been evenly contested in the first twenty minutes made Gary Breen's decision to raise his hands against Steve Thompson all the more foolish. With a man advantage Cardiff were always likely to ask too many questions for their visitors and so it proved, although Wolves hadn't finished contributing to their own downfall. Matt Murray was unusually culpable for the opener. He made a meal of conceding a corner in the first place and then completely misjudged Paul Parry's delivery leaving Riccardo Scimeca the simple task of heading home. Shortly after half time the game was sealed when Charlie Mulgrew's attempted clearance rebounded back into the net from him teammate Jody Craddock. It was now a question of how many Cardiff would plunder against dispirited opponents and the final tally was four. Malvin Kamara hared onto Kerrea Gilbert's through ball for the third and Parry completed the scoring after being fed by the influential Michael Chopra. Chopra is the Championship's answer to Craig Bellamy, full of pacy, direct running and seldom far from the action. He is in significantly better form than Bellamy at the moment, however. The most startling result of the weekend was Burnley's emphatic 4-1 trouncing of Norwich City at Carrow Road. This was the last straw for the Norwich board who relieved manager Nigel Worthington of his duties in the aftermath. I wonder if a nice cake was part of his settlement. Norwich could argue that they fashioned plenty of chances in this one but there were at least as many made by the visitors who, crucially, were far more assured in front of goal. Michael Duff had placed a sitter wide of the post and Dion Dublin gone close to heading into his own goal before Burnley did take the lead just past the half hour. James O'Connor strolled into the box to take advantage of a cute Micah Hyde dummy to slot past Paul Gallagher. The crucial blow was struck in first half stoppage time. Andy Gray produced a towering header to boost Burnley's confidence and further sap that of the home team. On top of that the home crowd's mood became increasingly negative. Gray proved a handful throughout and when Gary Doherty had to haul him back to prevent him from going through Norwich found themselves down to ten. Oh dear. Gray soon extended the lead after being fed by the lively Steve Jones and although Rob Earnshaw finished impressively after a strong run by Darren Huckerby victory was sealed by Alan Mahon's equally emphatic drive in the last minute. There can be little surprise that Worthington's spell at Carrow Road has finally ended but surely the Norwich board should have made the decision before he brought Dion Dublin to the club. Birmingham continue to make stuttering progress although they felt harshly treated by the referee in their 1-1 draw against Leicester. Steve Bruce's men were denied a penalty when DJ Campbell went over in the box, had a goal suspiciously ruled out and felt there had been a clear handling offence in the build up to Elvis Hammond's late equaliser. They also came up against an inspired display from the Foxes goalkeeper Conrad Logan. Logan made blinding saves from Bendtner and McSheffrey twice although even here Birmingham smarted with a sense of injustice. The keeper had earlier come out of his box to clatter Campbell but only received a yellow card when a red looked inevitable. McSheffrey did beat the youngster with a quality finish to register his first Blues goal but this would not ultimately prove enough to clinch three points. Preston continue to ride high but look in a deceptive position. They were comprehensively outplayed on their visit to Stoke who were inspired by new loan signing Lee Hendrie. Hendrie clipped the top of the bar with a free kick and went close on several other occasions as well as dictating most of the play. Stoke's lack of confidence betrayed itself in the final third, however, and all they could muster for their dominance was Ricardo Fuller's goal against his former club. Fuller struck after a mistake by Liam Chilvers allowed Peter Sweeney to release the Jamaican striker. Preston rarely threatened but levelled when a raking Chris Sedgwick through ball set Patrick Agyemang racing through and he displayed a great touch before lofting a superb finish over Steve Simonsen. Crystal Palace were held to a draw at Hull where Michael Turner's last minute equaliser spoiled Peter Taylor's return to his previous employer. The man Taylor took with him to Palace, Leon Cort, had put the Eagles ahead with a spanking low drive from the edge of the box but Turner forced the ball home from a Mark Yeates corner at the death to give the home supporters the goal they cherished. Southampton suffered a surprise home defeat against QPR who have now won two out of two under John Gregory. Jermaine Wright had the home side ahead inside three minutes, tapping home from Rudi Skacel's precise centre but there was little spark to this Saints display. Rangers struck twice in rapid succession to take a half time lead which they seldom looked like surrendering. Dexter Blackstock guided a header home for the equaliser before Kelvin Davis blundered to give Ray Jones the chance to win it. The keeper decided to let the ball trickle towards the goalline rather than simply boot it into the stand but Jones was able to pinch possession and although the angle was tight he calmly found the net. Davis is in danger of reprising his horror season with Sunderland last time around and although George Burley continues to back him the Saints fans are anything but convinced. The keeper will be hoping to have a quiet few weeks after some alarming recent blunders. West Bromwich Albion made light of going a man down at home to Leeds United who continue to be the darlings of referees everywhere. There had been little to enthuse over before Paul McShane was sent off for dragging Rob Hulse down with a penalty thrown into the bargain just past the half hour mark. David Healy slipped the spot kick wide and the Baggies made the visitors pay in full. Martin Albrechtsen headed home a Jason Koumas corner before half time but the real turning point was the half time substitution of John Hartson by Diomansy Kamara. Kamara's pace was to prove too much for the Leeds defence to handle. He converted Darren Carter's low cross to put Albion two up before slicing through the defence to tee up Kevin Phillips for the third. Leds rallied late on with goals by Horsfield and Steve Stone but any hopes of completing the comeback were ended when Phillips returned the favour to Kamara who chipped Tony Warner with aplomb. Plymouth are in an unusually elevated position and thoroughly deserved their 1-0 win at Coventry. The winner was supplied by the substitute Cherno Samba who headed home in style from Hasney Aljofree's centre. Every Argyle fan that has ever played Championship Manager will be hoping that Samba does turn out to be the worlds' greatest centre forward. Derby have also shot up the table after a good recent run of results and they were far too strong for Southend United at Pride Park. Lee Grant had to make a good save in the 20th minute from Kevin Maher's smart volley but it would be a long time before he saw any more serious action. The biggest single influence on the game was Arturo Lupoli who fired home two classy finishes with a Michael Johnson header sandwiched in between. Two of the goals were supplied by the impressive Matt Oakley and the Rams now seem to be adhering to the gospel according to Billy Davies. Something along the lines of "as you sew so shall ye reap." Or at least "the harder you sew the more ye shall reap." With Steve Howard desperately trying to score for the fifth game in a row and Lupoli eagerly chasing a hat trick Southend were lucky the scoreline did not take on a really ugly look. Luton returned from Barnsley with a win thanks to a terrible mistake in the last minute by Vito Mannone. Unlike Lupoli he is a young Arsenal loanee not covering himself in glory in the Championship. Carlos Edwards had driven in a fierce left footer to give Luton the lead only to see his effort cancelled out moments later by Brian Howard who scored after being released by Paul Hayes. The game seemed to be heading for a draw, especially when Rowan Vine was unable to capitalise when Mannone scuffed an attempted clearance straight into his path. The keeper had a bigger clanger up his sleeve, however, allowing Sol Davis's hopeful punt to slip from his grasp deep into stoppage time and Ahmet Brkovic plunged forward to head into the empty net. Colchester's fans will have loved their Friday night victory over Ipswich Town. Karl Duguid grabbed the only goal, mopping up after Lewis Price could not hold a Jamie Cureton effort. Cureton came close to extending the lead on several occasions and although the second half became increasingly tense there was little of substance to threaten the lead once a Jon Macken "goal" had been ruled out for a foul in the build up. Sunderland's steady progress under Roy Keane continued with an unspectacular 1-0 victory at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Grant Leadbitter slotted home the only goal from Liam Lawrence's pin point centre and although the Owls rarely threatened Ben Alnwick did need to produce one good save late doors to deny Burton O'Brien.
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