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Football League Championship
Our resident columnists talk all sorts of shite about the Championship League & football in general here: Pub Talk
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 |
