Championship Fixtures 22nd January 2011 (Part 4)

Reading v Hull City
Reading are unbeaten in their last seven home games and are just two points outside the play-offs but Hull have been creeping up the table and haven’t lost any of their last eight away games.
Simon Church could start for Reading in place of the doubtful Noel Hunt and Jem Karacan. Hal Robson-Kanu will probably be on the bench.

Sheffield United v Norwich City
A draw might be enough to prevent Sheffield United from slipping back into the top three – and considering that Norwich have only lost two away games, a draw would be a pretty good result.
Ched Evans should start for Sheffield United.
Andrew Crofts should start for Norwich but Owain Tudur Jones has joined Brentford on a month’s loan.

Championship Fixtures 22nd January 2011 (Part 3)

Ipswich Town v Doncaster Rovers
Ipswich will be hoping Doncaster are still suffering the after-effects of their FA Cup defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers They really don’t want to lose for the ninth time in eleven matches.
Troy Brown could return from a hamstring injury for Ipswich.
John Oster should start for Doncaster but Brian Stock is still out with a back or leg injury.


Leicester City v Millwall
Millwall are the form team in the Championship but Leicester have only lost twice at home this season.
Andy King isn’t going to be dropped from Leicester’s team in a hurry.
Steve Morison should start for Millwall – they’ll be hoping he’s fully recovered from the flu and has the energy to score and celebrate lots of goals.

Middlesbrough v Preston North End
Middlesbrough are unbeaten in four and must be hopeful of extending this run when they face the Championship’s bottom club, who have only won twice away.
Rhys Williams expects to be back in full training in a month’s time and he hopes he’ll be playing for Middlesbrough again by March. Rhys has had a problem with his pelvis for the last year and hasn’t played since April.
Danny Coyne will be on the bench for Middlesbrough.
Craig Morgan could keep his place in Preston’s starting line-up with Paul Parry on the bench.

Portsmouth v Leeds United
Portsmouth will be hoping to end a run of three league defeats but they’ll be lucky to do that against fifth-placed Leeds.
Sanchez Watt should start for Leeds.

Championship Fixtures 22nd January 2011 (Part 2)

Crystal Palace v Bristol City
Palace will hope to make it two wins in their last eight games by beating Bristol City. Bristol City aren’t on a great run either, having won one of their last six.
Jermaine Easter could make his first start for Crystal Palace – and he says he’s hoping to make an immediate impact. Andy Dorman will hope to keep his place in Palace’s starting line-up but he could be on the bench with Lewis Price.
Brett Pitman should start for Bristol City but Lewin Nyatanga is a doubt due to a sore Achilles. Christian Ribeiro could still be out with a hamstring injury.

Derby County v Nottingham Forest
Derby are hoping this match won’t be their seventh defeat in nine matches but Nottingham Forest have forced themselves into play-off contention – yet another reason to enjoy beating Derby.
Derby’s new signing Ben Davies could go straight into Derby’s squad to replace Forest. Former Derby captain Michael Johnson expects him to be a big success.
It has been speculated that Ben is a replacement for Robbie Savage, who could be heading for Vancouver soonas rather than later but I don’t think Robbie’s gone anywhere yet (and trust me, we would notice if Robbie wasn’t there). This could be Robbie’s last ever derby match.
Robbie’s played in midfield, he’s played in goal, he’s even commentated and been a pundit. But now he takes on a new challenge: refereeing. Here’s why – and here’s how he got on.
Gareth Roberts could also start for Derby.
Chris Gunter will almost certainly start for Forest but Robert Earnshaw hasn’t scored for a while and we know what that usually means at Forest. If Rob does play, he’ll be facing a former club.

Championship Fixtures 22nd January 2011 (Part 1)

Barnsley v Swansea City
Swansea travel to Barnsley hoping for a sixth win in five matches. But they’ve also lost their last three away games.
Ashley Williams will start for Swansea, with Joe Allen, David Cotterill and young players Jazz Richards and Daniel Alfei all hoping for a place in the squad. Neil Taylor is still out with an ankle injury.

Cardiff City v Watford
A win for Watford would give them seven consecutive wins, which would equal a club record. Cardiff are still very much in the promotion pictures but two wins in nine games probably won’t help their confidence.
Aaron Ramsey has rejoined his former club Cardiff but he won’t play against Watford as he didn’t join in time to be eligible for this match.
Craig Bellamy should be back in the starting line-up to face fellow promotion-hopefuls Watford. Craig certainly has his detractors and maybe once or twice I have just vaguely thought life might be easier if Craig wasn’t Welsh but he’s certainly dedicated.
Darcy Blake should also be in the squad. Cardiff have more loanees than they have places in the squad for loanees which might be bad news for Jason Koumas (though he is ill so he wouldn’t have played anyway) but that would give Adam Matthews, Aaron Wildig, Jonathan Meades and Nathaniel Jarvis a greater chance of being included.

Premier League Fixtures 22nd January (Part 2)

Manchester United v Birmingham City
Birmingham travel to Old Trafford hoping to end Manchester United’s unbeaten run. Their league positions suggest this is unlikely. Manchester United have won 10 of their 11 home matches this season.
Ryan Giggs could start for Manchester United - and Alex Ferguson expects him to be still playing in the Premier League when he’s 40.
Michael Owen is only likely to be on the bench. Owen Hargreaves remains out with a hamstring injury but he is back in light training and there are vague rumours that he could be joining the even more Welsh Robbie Savage in Vancouver. However, Owen is expected to be left out of Manchester United’s Champions’ League squad for the knockout stages.

Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham haven’t got any points at St James’ Park in the league since 2004. A win for Tottenham would put them back into the top four, at least until Chelsea play.
Gareth Bale is obviously going to start but he might play at left back as Benoit Assou-Ekotto is a doubt.
Gareth is one of the favourites to be named Player of the Year. But he’s got big competition from Samir Nasri. It’s Wales v Arsenal. Whatever happens, I’ll be happy.
If Teddy Sheringham could play with any current Tottenham player, he would play with Gareth Bale. That makes two of us.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
Wolves haven’t lost to Liverpool at home for three decades but Liverpool are yet to win with Kenny Dalglish as manager. They’ve also only won one away game this season.
Wayne Hennessey should be back in goal for this relegation clash. David Jones will hope to keep his place in the starting line-up after scoring against Doncaster Rovers midweek and Sam Vokes, who came off the bench in that match, probably has a good chance of being on the bench. Dave Edwards has presumably recovered from his hamstring injury but he now has flu (possibly caught from his manager?) and isn’t expected to play.

Premier League Fixtures 22nd January (Part 1)

Aston Villa v Manchester City
Villa are near the bottom of the table, having won only one of their last ten matches but Manchester City are pretty good now. A win for them would put them back on top of the table.
James Collins should start for Aston Villa.
James is delighted that Villa have signed Darren Bent.

Blackpool v Sunderland
Sunderland could buy Blackpool’s squad five times over with the money they got from selling Darren Bent. So maybe it wasn’t quite such a stupid move but they will miss him. Blackpool will be hoping for a double over Sunderland – they are the only side to have beaten Sunderland at home in the Premier League.
Neal Eardley and David Vaughan will probably start for Blackpool. Rob Edwards will probably be on the bench.
The Blackpool players recorded a charity single this week to raise money for their coach Gary Parkinson who has locked-in syndrome and Donna’s Dream House.

Everton v West Ham United
Another week has passed and Avram Grant is still at West Ham. But Everton have beaten West Ham more times than they’ve beaten any other Premier League team. West Ham are looking for their second away win of the season.
Danny Gabbidon will hope to be back in West Ham’s starting line-up. Jack Collison almost certainly isn’t ready to return from a knee injury although he is back in training.

Fulham v Stoke City
The Premier League’s two Welsh managers meet for the third time this season – I wonder if Tony Pulis will shake Mark Hughes’ hand this time. I hope he does. He can’t help disliking him but that sort of behaviour is too childish even for me.
Simon Davies should start for Fulham.
Ryan Shawcross should start for Stoke and Danny Collins seems certain to start too now Danny Higginbotham is injured.

League One Fixture 21st january 2011

Southend United v Bury
Bury need to win to ensure they’re still in the top seven after Saturday’s fixtures and one place they’re very good at winning – or rather several places they’re very good at winning – is on other team’s grounds. Southend too are stronger away than at home… but that’s no good when they’re the home team.
Peter Gilbert shoud start for Southend as long as there are no concerns about his fitness – he said he was pretty tired after finally making his return from a two-month suspension.
I don’t know if Bury were interested in signing Owain fon Williams from Stockport County on a permanent basis but if so, they’re too late – he’s gone to Rochdale.

Wales National Team News 20th January 2011

Gary Speed will talk to Arsene Wenger this week concerning Aaron Ramsey’s availability for Wales’ match against the Republic of Ireland. But he won’t be giving us any hints of who might be in the squad. We’ll just have to wait and see… and have a good guess while we’re at it.

Gareth Bale will have the option of suing the Welsh FA if they won’t give him permission to play for the Great Britain team at the Olympics.

Craig Bellamy says there is a lot wrong with Welsh football – but at least he seems interested in putting it right.

The Welsh FA have launched a bid to host the UEFA 2013 Under-21s finals.

FA Cup Result 19th January 2011

Leeds United 1-3 Arsenal
When it was suggested that Leeds had a very good chance of winning if Arsenal ‘didn’t show up’ I did find it amusing. Arsenal literally not showing up would be the best case scenario for a lot of lower league teams. But when it comes to figurative showing up, there was rather more reason for concern.
As expected, Leeds played well. They attacked, created chances, scored a brilliant goal, their goalkeeper made some brilliant saves (not surprisingly, given his surname) and they never gave up, not even when they were 3-1 down with a couple of minutes to go. I don’t know if they really thought they could get a replay but they seemed to be thinking: better 3-2 than 3-1.
Arsenal weren’t at their breathtaking best all the time but they played very well and provided some moments of brilliance, including their first and third goals. Arsenal too kept going and didn’t make the mistake of assuming that just because they were in a higher division than Leeds, they would win the match. They knew they had to work and continued to do so even after they had a two-goal cushion.
Sanchez Watt played for Leeds against his parent club again.
Despite the rumours that he would start, Aaron Ramsey wasn’t even on the bench.

League Two Results 18th january 2011

Accrington Stanley 1-3 Shrewsbury Town
Accrington took the lead in the first half but Shrewsbury hit back to claim three goals and three points.
Joe Jacobson played the full match for Accrington.
Tom Bradshaw still hasn’t got the hang of scoring as a non-substitute but assists are just as important as goals can’t usually be scored without them. Tom got his first and second assists for the club – and Shrewsbury’s second and third in the match. James Collins from Aston Villa scored two of Shrewsbury’s goals. It was probably a bit like playing for Wales.

Aldershot Town 1-0 Bradford City
Aldershot got only their second win since November – and their third home win of the season - after beating Bradford City.
Darren Jones had a good game for Aldershot. Aaron Morris was a late substitute again.

League One Results 18th January 2011

Bristol Rovers 0-0 Hartlepool United
Every point is welcome to Bristol Rovers at the moment, especially when they arguably don’t deserve any points at all. They now haven’t won in the league for twelve games.
Byron Anthony was back in Bristol Rovers’ starting line-up after recovering from illness. Ben Swallow also started and was replaced by Eliot Richards in the 88th minute.

Milton Keynes 1-3 Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth are just three points behind MK Dons, who are in the play-offs, after bouncing back from three consecutive defeats.
Carl Fletcher played the full match for Plymouth but Jermaine Easter missed the chance to catch up with his former Plymouth team-mates – he moved to Crystal Palace last week.

Rochdale 0-0 Bournemouth
Rochdale are unbeaten in 2011 and three points from the play-offs after drawiing with Bournemouth.
Nicky Adams missed out with an ankle injury but Matt Done didn’t take his place in the team although he did come off the bench in the second half.
Rhoys Wiggins played the full match for Bournemouth. Joe Partington was on the bench.

FA Cup Third Round Replay Results 18th January 2011

Cardiff City 0-2 Stoke City aet
This result provided plenty of disappointment but no real surprises as the Premier League side went though to the next round – although they did need extra time in order to do it. Cardiff arguably should have got a penalty or two, including one right at the end of normal time when Stoke’s Danny Collins got a bit intimate with a member of the opposition in the penalty area. But it wasn’t given.
Darcy Blake was back in the starting line-up for Cardiff, and Aaron Wildig made his first appearance since September when Stephen McPhail went off injured after 39 minutes. Adam Matthews joined them on the pitch in the second half but there was no match time for Nathaniel Jarvis, on the bench for only the third time this season.
Craig Bellamy (Cardiff) and Ryan Shawcross (Stoke) were among the big names to be rested.

Manchester City 4-2 Leicester City
Manchester City went through to the fourth round at the expense of Leicester City, managed by Man City’s former manager Sven Goran-Eriksson. But Leicester shouldn’t feel too disheartened – they were playing against some of football’s biggest names and they didn’t play badly at all. Late in the game, Leicester brought the score back to 3-2 and then pushed for an equaliser which gave Man City the chance to grab a fourth
Andy King caused lots of problems for Manchester City which is what we like to see.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-0 Doncaster Rovers
For a long time, I thought Doncaster might get an equaliser. They certainly played like a team capable of doing something like that. After an hour, it was still 1-0 to Wolves. But then it all got a bit mad and the commentator was almost saying more about Wolves than he was about Cardiff. Wolves just kept on scoring.
David Jones kept his place in Wolves’ starting line-up and scored their stoppage-time winner. Sam Vokes came off the bench after 78 minutes and I think he lasted the whole of the remaining fifteen minutes which is two minutes longer than he played in his only other game this season. Wayne Hennessey was on the bench.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy Southern Aera Final First Leg Result 17th January 2011

Brentford 1-1 Exeter City
It looked like a draw was the right result. These two teams met in the league on Saturday and it ended 1-1. Then two days later they play in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and it’s the same result. Literally.
As in the league game, Richard Duffy (singled out for particular praise by manager Paul Tisdale) and the lively Daniel Nardiello both started – the only difference was that Daniel was substituted ten minutes earlier in the JP Trophy. Brentford and Exeter are probably sick of the sight of each other by now but they will play again in the Southern Area Final second leg but it looks like it’s not for a while which must be a relief.

Premier League Results 16th January 2011

Birmingham City 1-1 Aston Villa
This was not the only Sunday derby it was also not the only one to end in a draw – in fact, the only team to win on Sunday were Barnet Ladies. Birmingham remain a point above Villa, who are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
James Collins was back in the starting line-up and showed Aston Villa just how stupid it would be to sell him when his 73rd-minute goal sealed a point for Villa. He also did his job at the other end of the pitch when Birmingham’s Arsenal rejects started causing trouble. James thinks Villa need to play every match as though it’s a derby.
James was one of a group of Aston Villa players who visited a Worcester hospice this week after their Christmas visit had to be cancelled due to the snow.


Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Manchester United
Typical. On one of the few occasions where there is a definite advantage in Tottenham’s winning, they go all rubbish again and can’t do it. Tottenham did at least restrict them to one point but they couldn’t do anything about Man Utd’s unbeaten run which is starting to look worrying. Man Utd did not play particularly well as usual and Tottenham weren’t bad but Man Utd just refused to lose.
Gareth Bale could have got a couple of assists for Tottenham. Team-mate Rafael van der Vaart believes Gareth is good enough to play in Spain. But he also says that Arsenal have no chance of beating Barcelona so he probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about really. Not that he's wrong about Gareth.
Ryan Giggs made his 600th appearance for Manchester United. Michael Owen was on the bench.

Transfer News and Rumours 20th January 2010

Blackburn Rovers Jason Brown is hoping to leave Blackburn, either permanently or on loan, in order to get some first-team football and play for Wales again.

David Vaughan, along with some of his other Blackpool team-mates, has been told he won’t be leaving the club this transfer window. Certainly not to go to an inferior club like Liverpool.

Manchester United will offer Ryan Giggs a new one-year contract.


Derby County have told Robbie Savage that if he wants to join the Vancouver Whitecaps, he can go this winter.

Derby County have been bidding for Ben Davies again but Notts County just didn’t seem to want to let him go. Ben says he loves Notts County and doesn’t want to leave but he would love to play in the Championship – and, at 29, he might not get many more chances. Notts County manager Paul Ince said that if Derby want Ben, they’ll need to come up with a much bigger bid than they’ve done so far. Presumably, Derby managed this – although maybe it was Ben’s transfer request that forced the move. (You see why they call them 'transfer sagas'?)

Leeds United are interested in signing Sanchez Watt on a permanent basis from Arsenal.

Steve Morison, who has attracted the attention of clubs including Fulham, Norwich City and Nottingham Forest, is in talks with Millwall about a new contract.

Reading manager Brian McDermott doesn’t want to sell any player this January. So Wolverhampton Wanderers can keep their paws off Simon Church.

Swansea City defender Ashley Williams is still attracting the attention of Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United and Wigan Athletic but team-mate Nathan Dyer says it would be silly for Ashley to leave Swansea.


Jason Price thinks former loan club Bradford City need to sign some loud players.

Charlton Athletic don’t have any Welsh players but they could be interested in Plymouth Argyle’s Carl Fletcher.

Lee Beevers has been a regular at left back for Colchester United recently – but manager John Ward seems to be interested in replacing him.

Rochdale have signed Owain fon Williams from struggling League Two Stockport County following his excellent performances for League Two promotion contenders Bury. Championship side Derby County were also interested. Owain’s contract with Rochdale runs until the end of the season.

League Two Results 15th January 2011

Barnet 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
Not even a defeat would have put Barnet back in the bottom three but Hereford United are now just a point behind them and Lincoln City have lots of games in hand. So Barnet’s 90th-minute equaliser – and fifth away point - was particularly welcome. Shrewsbury drop out of the play-off zone but only on goal difference.
Tom Bradshaw started for Shrewsbury. He didn’t score but the Shropshire Star seemed very happy with him.

Bury 1-1 Aldershot Town
Aldershot’s new manager Dean Holdsworth was very happy to see his team draw at Bury but Bury are badly missing a certain Welsh goalkeeper they signed on loan. They remain in the play-off zone but are now five points from the automatic promotion places.
Darren Jones played the full match for Bury and there was a substitute appearance for Aaron Morris.

Cheltenham Town 1-2 Accrington Stanley
A late goal for Accrington gave them their second away league win of the season – and their fourth successive game without defeat. They are now just three points behind Cheltenham.
Josh Low, who had just recovered from a hamstring injury, was a 60-minute substitute for Cheltenham. But he still had enough time to get an assist.
Joe Jacobson played the full match for Accrington.

Chesterfield 1-0 Stevenage
Stevenage found Chesterfield a bit more trouble than their last opponents, Newcastle United. Chesterfield haven’t lost in the league since mid-November and although they only scored one goal in this match, it’s their 35th at home in the league. And not every team scores against Stevenage in away matches. They’ve only conceded eight away goals this season.
Craig Davies returned from a hamstring injury for Chesterfield. It might take him a while to find his shooting boots (he is a man, men never seem to know where their shoes are) but he’s probably well in credit as far as goals are concerned.

Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Port Vale
Crewe are three points from the automatic promotion places after beating fellow promotion contenders Port Vale. If they still count as promotion contenders. With just one win in their last five league matches, they probably don’t want to know what position they’re in in the form table.
Rhys Taylor conceded a harsh penalty and for once he didn’t save it but he it probably helped keep things exciting and he still made enough saves to ensure that Crewe won the match.
Lewis Haldane played his first 90 minutes of the season for Port Vale. Gareth Owen also played the full match. Lewis thinks Port Vale’s problem is a lack of confidence but he says they’re eager to learn from new manager Jim Gannon.

Hereford United 3-0 Stockport County
Hereford hadn’t won at home at all this season before this match (except for that time they beat Hythe Town in the FA Cup). Then when it finally did happen, it wasn’t some measly little 1-0 victory, they did it in style (Stockport had just drawn with Rotherham United so it’s not like they’re complete rubbish). Now Hereford have won the same number of home games as Stockport.
Stuart Fleetwood started for Hereford. Ryan Green served the second and final match of his suspension.
Guess where Owain fon Williams was Stockport’s bench.

Rotherham United 1-2 Southend United
Rotherham seem to be a bit confused. They beat Port Vale 5-0, as in promotion contenders Port Vale, then they draw with Stockprt County and lose to Southend United. That’s just not how it’s supposed to be. Have they got the league table upside down or what?
Mark Bradley was missing from Rotherham’s squad again as they try to arrange a loan for him.
Peter Gilbert was back in Southend’s starting line-up for the first time since returning from what is probably one of the longest suspensions ever. He got a 3-match suspension almost two months ago and completed it in early January following several postponements and an abandonment but this was the first time he’s not been on the bench.

League One Results 15th January 2011

Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Peterborough United
Brighton won for the fourth successive match which probably wasn’t what Darren Ferguson was hoping for when he returned to manager Peterborough. An away win over Brighton would have been quite an achievement. No team has managed it in the league this season.
Arron Davies wasn’t in Peterborough’s squad.

Carlisle United 4-0 Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers’ long run without a win continued as Carlisle’s own winless run was ended in em[hatic style.
Jason Price wasn’t in Carlisle’s squad due to an Achilles injury.
Ben Swallow started for Bristol Rovers but Byron Anthony was still recovering from food poisoning and didn’t start. He was the player who replaced Ben. Eliot Richards was an unused substitute.

Hartlepool United 0-1 Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge got their third away win of the season while Hartlepool lost for the third consecutive match.
Tony Roberts kept a clean sheet for Dag & Red.

Milton Keynes Dons 2-0 Tranmere Rovers
MK Dons moved into the play-off places with victory over Tranmere, who are only out of the bottom four on goal difference.
Ash Taylor kept his place in Tranmere’s starting line-up.

Plymouth Argyle 0-2 Oldham Athletic
Oldham are now only a point behind the play-offs after this result.but Plymouth were starting to look over their shoulders again.
Carl Fletcher played the full match for Plymouth.

Rochdale 1-1 Leyton Orient
This game went ahead despite adverse weather conditions and arguably shouldn’t have happened at all. Rochdale scored first and it was the Rochdale manager who seemed to feel strongly that this match should have been abandoned. But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.
Nicky Adams started for Rochdale and really got Leyton Orient worried but he was replaced by Matt Done after suffering an ankle injury.

Southampton 0-0 Notts County
Notts County brought to an end a run of five consecutive wins for Southampton – including a 6-0 thrashing of Oldham Athletic and an FA Cup victory over Premier League Blackpool.
Ryan Doble was on the bench for Southampton.
Ben Davies played the full match for Notts County.

Swindon Town 0-1 Yeovil Town
Yeovil keep their survival hopes alive with an excellent away win over Swindon Town. Yeovil remain in the bottom three only on goal difference while Swindon are just two points ahead.
Nathan Jones was on the bench for Yeovil.

Walsall 2-4 Huddersfield Town
Walsall matched Huddersfield for much of the game but unfortunately football matches last longer than 76 minutes and Huddersfield scored two late goals. If Walsall had managed to hang on (without scoring a winner), it would have been their first home draw of the season.
Sean Geddes was on the bench for Walsall.

FA Cup Third Round Replay Fixture 19th january 2011

Leeds United v Arsenal
Arsenal needed a last-minute penalty in order to secure a replay against Leeds but they need to do a bit better than that this time. They could, of course, get another draw and take the match into extra time but I think Arsenal are better at football than they are at penalty shoot-outs.
Aaron Ramsey could make his first appearance for the Arsenal first team since breaking his leg last February. Some reports say he could start but a substitute appearance is probably more likely. Though what do I know?
Sanchez Watt is likely to play for loan club Leeds United against his parent club again. He says he’ll score against Arsenal if he has to but he won’t celebrate. Sanchez scored his first Leeds goal at the weekend.

FA Cup Third Round Replay Fixtures 18th January 2011

Cardiff City v Stoke City
Stoke and Cardiff drew the original fixture but (barring match cancellations and abandonments) it will be decided on Tuesday night who goes through to face Doncaster Rovers or Wolverhampton Wanderers in the next round. Cardiff haven’t lost any of their last three but only one was actually a win.
It is thought that Cardiff manager Dave Jones might not want to risk Craig Bellamy’s knee by playing him in this fixture – he missed the first match between these two clubs too. If Craig scores, it will be his 150th career goal.
If other first-choice players are rested, Darcy Blake, Adam Matthews and Jason Koumas (if he’s recovered from injury) could come into contention but it could be that only Craig is rested.
Stoke also rested players in the first tie, keeping captain Ryan Shawcross in the starting line-up but giving Danny Collins a rest. Danny was on the bench for Stoke’s last Premier League match so he could be given the chance to play in this match.

Manchester City v Leicester City
Leicester were another Championship side to hold a Premier League side to a draw.and are unbeaten in their last four matches.
Andy King scored the equaliser to give Leicester a replay at Manchester City. It’s hard to imagine them leaving him out but he might need a rest at some stage and with Leicester eyeing promotion (albeit from a very long way down the table), there will arguably be more important games than this one.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Doncaster Rovers
Wolves needed a penalty in order to set up a rematch with Doncaster. They have struggled in away matches this season but are stronger at home.
Wayne Hennessey could be rested again for Wolves. Dave Edwards is still out with a hamstring injury so David Jones could keep his place in midfield but the return to fitness of Karl Henry could put this in doubt.
Doncaster are still without Brian Stock, who has either a leg or a back injury, but John Oster should play.

Championship Results 15th January 2011 (Part 3)

Swansea City 3-0 Crystal Palace
Swansea’s victory wasn’t a lot of fun for Crystal Palace and the Cardiff fans won’t have appreciated it much either. But it was a kind of good and kind of deserved win for Swansea, who didn’t exactly seem to be struggling.
Ashley Williams and Joe Allen played the full match for Swansea. Jazz Richards also started and there was a (very late) substitute appearance for Daniel Alfei following his excellent performance against Colchester United in the FA Cup.
Jermaine Easter couldn’t manage a debut goal for Palace but it’s probably not easy when you’re making your debut against the club you were playing for on loan three days ago. He came close to scoring but he probably got a bit confused about whether he was really shooting the right way. Andy Dorman started for Palace and Lewis Price was on the bench.

Watford 3-0 Derby County
Derby’s horrible run of form continued with Watford the latest club to beat them. The three goals came in a nine-minute spell which probably destroyed any confidence Derby were able to muster following their FA Cup exit to Crawley Town.
Gareth Roberts and Robbie Savage played the full match for Derby. Robbie says Derby’s FA Cup defeat to Crawley is the players’ fault but he doesn’t seem to have said whose fault the Watford defeat is.

Championship Results 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

Norwich City 1-1 Cardiff City
Cardiff came so close to the win that would have put them ahead of Swansea City, which is a very important place to be. But Norwich equalised in the 90th minute, leaving both sides to fight for a winner that never came in the five minutes of stoppage time.
Craig Bellamy nearly scored his 150th career goal for Cardiff against the club where he began his career.
Andrew Crofts provided some attacking threat for Norwich.
The radio commentators seemed to think Darcy Blake was going to come off the bench but he didn’t. Neither did Adam Matthews.

Nottingham Forest 2-1 Portsmouth
Portsmouth must have thought they’d ended Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten home record when they were 1-0 up after 87 minutes. Then another Portsmouth player scored – but he didn’t put it in the right net. And Portsmouth ended up getting nothing from the game at all when Forest scored a 94th-minute winner.
Chris Gunter and Robert Earnshaw both started for Forest.

Preston North End 1-1 Leicester City
Leicester want to be promoted while Preston just don’t want to be trying to be promoted from League One next season. But both teams are leaving it late, the home side in particular. Preston did well to snatch the point in stoppage time and they were lucky Andy King didn’t grab a winner for Leicester – but they’re still seven points from safety, while Leicester are even further from their own target.
Craig Morgan played the full match for Preston with Paul Parry making a substitute appearance shortly after half-time.

Championship Results 15th January 2011 (Part 1)

Bristol City 0-4 Middlesbrough
Both clubs were hoping to bounce back from being the victims of an FA Cup giant-killing, with Middlesbrough’s defeat undeniably the more embarrassing (no disrespect to Burton Albion but Bristol City were playing Sheffield Wednesday). And whilst one league victory won’t make up for the Cup defeat entirely, a big emphatic win like this one can only help. Middlesbrough are now four points clear of the relegation zone.
Brett Pitman did his best for Bristol City and came close to scoring his ninth goal in nine games but he couldn’t quite do it. Lewin Nyatanga also started for Bristol City but Christian Ribeiro failed to recover from a hamstring injury and wasn’t on the bench.
Danny Coyne was on the bench for Middlesbrough. Unfortunately, losing to Burton isn’t the best way of proving that you ought to be your club’s No. 1.

Coventry City 0-0 Sheffield United
An away point at Coventry is probably a result Sheffield United are reasonably happy with – although they are only two points from the drop zone – although the fact they haven’t won since their shock victory over Swansea City in mid-December probably is rather worrying. Coventry are probably just a little bit worried themselves – they have only won once in the last eight matches – and their win came in a Cup match.
That is not to say that Freddy Eastwood is in particularly bad form for Coventry. Three goals in his last four matches seems a more than reasonable return – especially when you consider he has five goals from his seven starts.
Ched Evans made his 100th league appearance. He didn’t score either (strikers tend not to when they’re involved in a goalless draw) but he has five goals from his last ten appearances for Sheffield United. So he’s pretty good too.

Doncaster Rovers 0-3 Reading
Reading continue their promotion quest with a 3-0 away win over Doncaster, who probably aren’t completely out of the play-off pictures themselves due to the number of games they have in hand.
Doncaster had their chances, with John Oster making his presence felt in his 400th career appearance against his former club.
Simon Church came off the bench for the last twelve minutes but Hal Robson-Kanu stayed on the bench.

Leeds United 4-0 Scunthorpe United
If Scunthorpe win their games in hand, that should be enough to take them out of the play-off zone. But when most of your points are coming from away games (not that Scunthorpe have got any points from anywhere in 2011) it is often quite a good thing to visit the division’s top sides at a time when they aren’t picking up many points. Leeds were without a win in five. So imagine how many they’d have scored if they were actually in form.
Sanchez Watt scored Leeds’ opening goal, his first for the club.

Millwall 2-1 Ipswich Town
Millwall did what Arsenal couldn’t and came back from a goal down to beat struggling Ipswich. Millwall are now unbeaten in nine and are three points from the play-offs.
Steve Morison scored Millwall’s winning goal. He didn’t celebrate but he says that's because he's really tired and Neil Harris said on Late Kick-Off that Steve is still ill and it’s all he can do to drag himself around the football pitch, a celebration is just too much.

Premier League Results 15th January 2011

Manchester City 4-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester City moved (briefly) to the top of the table following their victory over Wolves, who find themselves back in the bottom three. The fact that this match ended as a win for the home side would have been no surprise for anyone but when Wolves fought back from 4-1 down, having initially taken the lead, Manchester City were probably just a little bit concerned when Wolves got it back to 4-3 with four minutes plus stoppage time remaining. Ultimately, Manchester City kept the score at 4-3 but Wolves certainly deserved a bit more than the feeling that they’d just put three past the richest team in the world.
Wayne Hennessey was in goal for Wolves. David Jones started in place of the injured Dave Edwards and both Wayne and David helped Kolo Toure to score Manchester City’s first goal but I’m sure it was an accident. There was a surprise appearance for Sam Vokes on the bench but that was a nice surprise– let’s hope Sam’s second half of the season is a lot happier than his first.

Stoke City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers
Stoke deservedly took the three points in this match and are now behind Bolton only on goal difference. Bolton remain in what is probably quite likely to be a Europa League place but with no league wins since beating West Bromwich Albion in late December and no away wins since they played Wolverhampton Wanderers more than a month earlier (they have won only twice away this season), Bolton do have reason to be concerned.
Ryan Shawcross played the full match for Stoke but Danny Collins was dropped to the bench.
Sam Ricketts kept his place in the starting line-up for Bolton. The Mirror was impressed by his ‘magnificent tackle’ but Vital Bolton Wanderers didn’t like the way he ‘slid in hard’. (I’m not a 13 year old boy in disguise. I promise.)

West Bromwich Albion 3-2 Blackpool
West Bromwich Albion’s run of six matches without a win – including an FA Cup defeat to Reading – came to an end when Blackpool visited the Hawthorns. The result didn’t turn out quite as I wanted it to but it was an entertaining game with numerous chances and the comedy wasn’t restricted to Ian Holloway’s interview. Probably only Blackpool can lose a match you want them to win and still leave you feeling good – although perhaps this is not the case if Blackpool are your own football team, rather than one you’ve adopted because they’re just so loveable.
David Vaughan opened the scoring with a superbly-taken goal (which okay yes did go past Boaz Myhill, making his first Premier League in the West Brom goal to the delight of the West Brom fans, but it’s very difficult to make every Welsh player happy) and the match continued with taken chances, missed chances, and a whole lot of goals and excitement. Neal Eardley also started for Blackpool.

West Ham United 0-3 Arsenal
The result should never have been in doubt but Arsenal are still Arsenal. They dominated, failed to take many of their chances and didn’t play as well as they can do when they’re in the right mood. They could have been in a lot more trouble if West Ham weren’t so badly challenged in the goal-scoring department. Luckily, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott were around to score and set up all three goals between them and Arsenal claimed the win.
Danny Gabbidon returned from injury but was left on the bench by West Ham, who preferred Wayne Bridge at left back. I think Arsenal preferred it that way too.
Aaron Ramsey wasn’t in Arsenal’s squad.

Wigan Athletic 1-1 Fulham
Fulham and Wigan did just about enough to ensure neither of them were in the bottom three at the end of this match – but Aston Villa spoiled things on Sunday by managing a draw against Birmingham City. Wigan took the lead after 57 minutes and probably thought they’d done enough to secure only their third home win of the season but Fulham striker Andrew Johnson came off the bench to score for the first time since recovering from a long and difficult series of injuries.
Simon Davies started for Fulham.

League One Results 14th January 2011

Brentford 1-1 Exeter City
Usually if a team manages to preserve a lead for 90 minutes, they will have won the match. But this was not the case with Exeter. They took the lead as early as the 2nd minute, and Brentford waited until the 94th before letting them know they weren’t going to be taking all three points after all.
Daniel Nardiello got his first start for Exeter for a month. Although he didn’t get on the scoresheet, he gave Brentford’s keeper plenty to worry about. Richard Duffy spent the first 93 minutes ensuring Exeter held onto their lead.

Colchester United 2-1 Bournemouth
Eddie Howe’s last match as the manager of high-flying Bournemouth came to an end with defeat to Colchester. place after the weekend’s games. All the goals were scored by substitutes, with Bournemouth’s half-time substitute Steve Fletcher taking the lead early in the second half – only for later substitute Steven Gillespie of Colchester to score twice to give the home side the points.
Howe is now the manager of Burnley and it’s very sad to see him go. His love for the club was clear but his desire to manager a bigger club was too strong to resist. And maybe Howe’s decision was the most sensible decision. So many people do seem to take a better job when the chance is there, regardless of whether they think they’ll love the new job more than the old job.
Lee Beevers now seems to be a regular member of Colchester’s starting line-up after completing his fourth consecutive 90 minutes. Lloyd James was again a late substitute with Ballon d’Or star Tom Bender on the bench.
Rhoys Wiggins was back in Bournemouth’s starting line-up after recovering from an eye operation and being bitten by a dog.

Welsh Player Transfer News and Rumours 15th January 2011

Arsene Wenger says Aaron Ramsey won’t be joining Blackpool on loan. But that is what he said about Nottingham Forest.

Ryan Giggs has not been involved in contract talks with Manchester United. Ryan’s contract runs out at the end of this season.

It looks as though David Jones won’t be signing a new contract and will be free to move in the summer but Mick McCarthy hasn’t entirely given up hope.

Crystal Palace have signed Jermaine Easter from Milton Keynes Dons, just days after he returned from a loan spell at Swansea City. You’ll never guess who Palace’s next opponents are.

Steve Morison says he’s happy at Millwall but if he was offered the chance to go to a Premier League game, it would be hard to say no.

Mick McCarthy says that, contrary to reports, Wolves have no interest in signing Simon Church. Well, it’s your choice.

Joe Allen says he is flattered by reports linking him to other clubs but he doesn’t take them seriously and he has no desire to leave Swansea.

Kerry Morgan has returned to Newport County on loan. He first joined Newport last season and helped them into the Blue Square Premier before returning for the first half of this season. His third loan spell will keep him at Newport until the end of the season.

Rumours that Ashley Williams has signed for Chester are completely correct but it’s the Airbus UK one, not the Swansea City one.

League Two Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

Gillingham v Northampton Town
Northampton, who are now well away from the relegation zone, will hope to add to their two away wins against a team who have finally broken their away win jinx – only to forget how to win at home. But Gillingham have only forgotten how to win home games once in the last seven matches.
Paul Walker will be on the bench for Northampton.

Hereford United v Stockport County
Hereford manager/physio Jamie Ptman is ‘confident that [Hereford] will get out of it’. Let’s hope he’s not referring to League Two. But Hereford are still without a win on their home ground while four out of Stockport’s five wins have come away from home.
Stuart Fleetwood should start for Hereford but Ryan Green serves the last match of his two-match suspension and Ryan Valentine is still out with an injury that used to be a stomach injury but it seems to be a hip injury now.
Stockport drew their last match. It was a good draw but they might drop Owain fon Williams anyway. It would be really unfair if they did though.

Oxford United v Bradford City
Bradford wanted to be promotion contenders this season and as long as the play-offs count, they probably are. Admittedly, they have just lost to Barnet but they’re still just four points from the play-offs, two points behind Oxford.
Michael Flynn is still out with a groin injury but he is in training and should be back by the end of the month.

Rotherham United v Southend
Rotherham are in second, having lost just one home game this season. It doesn’t look good for Southend but the Essex side are one of three teams to have beaten them this season.
As Mark Bradley has been told he can go out on loan, I wouldn’t expect him to start for Rotherham.
Peter Gilbert has been on the bench since returning from his latest suspension but Southend did lose both those games so maybe he’ll start this time.

League Two Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 1)

Barnet v Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury lost their last two home games and in theory away games are harder. But maybe not so much when they’re played against Barnet, who are probably only out of the bottom two because Lincoln City have four games in hand over them. (Yes, I am being mean about them. They terminated Grant Basey’s contract.).
Tom Bradshaw could start for Shrewsbury again but I kind of hope he doesn’t because he’s got such a great strike record when he comes off the bench.

Bury v Aldershot Town
Bury haven’t won since the 23rd November but that’s not as bad as it sounds as they haven’t played many games this season. All the same, they’ll be anxious to put this right against Aldershot. But four of Aldershot’s six wins came from away games..
Darren Jones should start for Aldershot. BBC Sport says Aaron Morris ‘could start ‘after returning from a loan spell’ and that’s not wrong, his loan spell at Newport was in the past so anything that happens now happens after he returned from the loan spell. But it sounds like he was on loan there last week and it was actually last season. But anyway Aldershot’s new boss Dean Holdsworth managed him at Newport so hopefully he likes him a lot and will want to start him all the time.

Cheltenham Town v Accrington Stanley
Cheltenham are only outside the play-offs on goal difference but maybe after this match they’ll be back in the top seven. Accrington are in a respectable mid-table position but they’ve only won one match away.
Josh Low has recovered from a hamstring injury and is likely to go straight back into Cheltenham’s starting line-up. Josh hopes to redeem himself after playing poorly in his last match (although the poor man was hobbling, what do you expect?).
Joe Jacobson should have started for Accrington anyway but his late winner against Bury last week should have made sure.

Chesterfield v Stevenage
Chesterfield are four points clear at the top of the table, having won nine of their thirteen home games. But they’re probably not as good as Newcastle United and Stevenage had no problems with them. Stevenage have struggled in the League though. Apart from their two most recent wins, which which were both against Barnet, they haven’t won in League Two for nearly three months.
Chesterfield haven’t lost any of the matches which Craig Davies has missed due to his hamstring injury. Or the match he missed last week when he was ill. But it’s hard to imagine him being left on the bench for this match.

Crewe Alexandra v Port Vale
A win for Port Vale could take them up to second in the table if other results go their way. But Crewe are in fifth despite losing to Torquay United in their last match.
Rhys Taylor will be in goal for Crewe.
Gareth Owen should start for Port Vale and maybe Lewis Haldane will as well after that assist he got in their last match.

League One Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

Rochdale v Leyton Orient
After a great start to life in League One, Rochdale were looking as though they could be heading straight back down to the division that they spent so long in, it was named after them. Now they’re three points from the play-offs, having only lost twice at home. But Orient will be feeling confident. After all, Rochdale aren’t as good as Norwich City, are they?
Nicky Adams is now a Rochdale player but last season he played for Leyton Orient on loan. They wanted him back on a permanent basis but luckily for Rochdale, Nicky doesn’t much like London.
Matt Done should also be in the squad for Rochdale.

Southampton v Notts County
A win for Southampton could put them top of the table but they’re still two whole divisions (okay maybe one and a half) below Sunderland and Notts County beat Sunderland. Notts County actually haven’t lost since mid-November.
Ben Davies will play for Notts County, except maybe if he’s about to be sold. Derby County have made a £250,000 bid but Paul Ince really wants to keep him.

Swindon Town v Yeovil Town
Swindon continue to struggle at the opposite side of the table from the play-offs but they’re only six points away. It could still happen. And if it is going to happen, they ought to be able to beat Yeovil, who have lost seven of their eleven away games.
Nathan Jones and Rhys Baggridge could be on the bench for Yeovil again. Nathan hails Yeovil’s physio Simon Baker (probably not the guy I stalked at school), who has left the club in order to spend more time with his family.

Walsall v Huddersfield Town
Walsall are second-bottom but still quite a way adrift, despite being unbeaten in their last three matches. They’re still without a home draw in the league but ideally they want to beat Huddersfield, who have already lost six times away from home.
Sean Geddes could be on the bench for Walsall.

League One Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 1)

Brighton & Hove Albion v Peterborough United
Brighton need to draw to be sure of keeping their place at the top of the League One table. Peterborough, meanwhile, need a point in order to remain in the play-off places but I doubt either team will want to settle for a draw. Manager Darren Ferguson is back at Peterborough United fourteen months after they sacked him. Don’t be surprised if a few young Manchester United players end up joining him.
Arron Davies faces a former club in rather unusual circumstances. At the beginning of the season, he was at Nottingham Forest and was loaned out to Brighton. When Forest released him in December, he decided to join former Yeovil Town but this was against the rules because he’d already played for two clubs. So Arron became a Brighton player again on non-contract terms and was loaned out to Yeovil. The expectation was that he’d sign permanently for Yeovil in the summer but he decided that the thing that made Yeovil so wonderful wasn’t the place, it was his old manager there. The manager was in question was Gary Johnson who was at Peterborough so Arron signed for Peterborough. Last week, Gary Johnson left the club by mutual consent. So who knows what will happen next?

Carlisle United v Bristol Rovers
Carlisle are only six points from the play-offs, which certainly isn’t insurmountable considering they have between one and three games in hand over most teams. But they’re just five points from the relegation places – it’s that close. If Bristol Rovers win, they will probably still be in the bottom four but only on goal difference. And if they win by three goals and Tranmere lose by three goals, they’ll be out of the relegation places altogether. Bristol Rovers just need to remember how to win, that’s all. Let’s hope they’ve got long memories. They haven’t won in the league since October. Carlisle however might have some sympathy – they haven’t won in any competition since November 30th.
Jason Price is back at Carlisle after choosing not to remain at Bradford City on loan. He believes he can help Carlisle get their season back on track. But only if he can get into the team. So maybe he’s better off going out on loan again.
Byron Anthony missed Bristol Rovers’ last match due to food poisoning and he’s probably not ready to go back into the starting line-up although he could be on the bench. Ben Swallow and Eliot Richards could also start.

Hartlepool United v Dagenham & Redbridge
Away at Hartlepool – it doesn’t exactly strike fear into your heart. But with Hartlepool just two points from the play-offs and Dag & Red botton of the league and eight points from safety, maybe they should be just a little bit scared.
Tony Roberts will play in goal for Dag & Red. Tomorrow, he'll be thinking of survival but he also has a quadruple on his hands.
Loanee Kayleden Brown has returned to West Bromwich Albion after his loan spell came to an end. He’s missed the last three matches due to injury.

Milton Keynes Dons v Tranmere Rovers
MK Dons are just a point outside the play-offs and their home record is very good. Tranmere might struggle to get the point they need to be absolutely sure they won’t be spending the week in the bottom four.
MK Dons have just sold Jermaine Easter to Crystal Palace so he won’t be playing for them again anytime soon.
Ash Taylor is expected to start for Tranmere.

Plymouth Argyle v Oldham Athletic
Plymouth are probably lower in the table than they’d like to be but they’re still closer to the play-offs than the relegation places – and just one point behind Oldham. Plymouth will be glad to be back at home after three successive away matches. Oldham will just be glad they don’t have to play Southampton again..
Carl Fletcher should play for Plymouth.

Championship Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 3)

Preston North End v Leicester City
Phil Brown takes charge of Preston for the first time since becoming manager. The last time he played on the Championship, he got promoted. With Hull. But even just saving Preston would be a bit of a miracle. Leicester are four points behind the play-offs and thinking of promotion. So they really ought to be able to beat Preston.
Craig Morgan could start again for Preston but he could also be on the bench or not there at all. It depends what his new manager thinks of him really. Paul Parry has a broken wrist but he’s back in full training and could play.
Andy King will definitely start for Leicester, as long as he has no last-minute injuries or illnesses.

Swansea City v Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace have the worst away record in the Championship, having won one away match this season – and while Swansea don’t quite have the best home record, they’re not far off.
Ashley Williams will start for Swansea but it’s hard to be sure about the others. Daniel Alfei, Joe Allen, David Cotterill and Jazz Richards have all played well in recent matches but there probably won’t be room for all of them. Neil Taylor has an ankle injury and will be out for a few more weeks.
Following Daniel Alfei’s impressive first-team debut, the Swansea youth boss, Tony Pennock, has said that Daniel has a big future ahead of him in professional football. Daniel hopes to keep his place against Palace.
Jermaine Easter’s loan spell at Swansea was cut short early – so parent club Milton Keynes Dons could sell him to Crystal Palace. Jermaine is looking to scoring for Palace and helping them climb the table. Although he’s only just signed, he could play against Swansea tomorrow.
Shaun MacDonald is hoping to fight his way into the Swansea first team. Shaun has spent the first half of the season on loan at Yeovil Town.
Andy Dorman and Lewis Price should be somewhere in Palace’s squad.

Watford v Derby County
Derby were doing really really well. They did have a slightly dodgy start but then they went on a run, then they went on a good home run, now they can’t even beat Crawley Town. But the last time Derby went on a run, they kicked things off with a victory over Watford.
Gareth Roberts and Robbie Savage might keep their places. Nigel Clough might still be in a mood about Crawley Town but Gareth and Robbie weren’t actually on the pitch when the winning goal went in. Robbie is disappointed with the Crawley result, the tannoy man and Matthew Tubbs’ tackle. But maybe things will be better at Watford. Robbie also has some wise words (yes, really) for Liverpool fans.

Championship Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

Millwall v Ipswich Town
Paul Jewell (OMG what were his parents thinking???) takes charge at Ipswich following their 7-0 loss to Chelsea and slightly different result against Arsenal. His last job was managing Derby to a record low number of points in the Premier League. He’ll be hoping this job goes a lot better. They take on Millwall, who are unbeaten in eight. I won’t say how long it is since they last conceded a goal. I don’t want to jinx them. But it’s quite a long time.
Ipswich face a London team for the third time in a week. Chelsea demolished them, Arsenal rolled over for them… what will Millwall do?
Steve Morison will start for Millwall.
Troy Brown is still out with a hamstring injury.

Norwich City v Cardiff City
Only goal difference separates these two sides in the Championship, with Cardiff having the advantage. Cardiff have only won at Carrow Road twice in their history – and the second one was this season.
Andrew Crofts should be recalled to the starting line-up after missing the FA Cup defeat to Leyton Orient. Owain Tudur Jones could also be in the squad.
Craig Bellamy has allegedly been arrested for assault but he is likely to play if he’s passed fit. Norwich are one of Craig’s former clubs. If Craig scores, it will be his 150th.
Darcy Blake and Adam Matthews will probably be in the squad, with Jason Koumas joining them if he isn’t injured again. Jonathan Meades and Aaron Wildig have also been on the bench in recent weeks.

Nottingham Forest v Portsmouth
We all know about Nottingham Forest’s amazing home record but one team they struggle to beat at home is Portsmouth. All it would take is one defeat and they wouldn’t be unbeaten anymore. I know how that feels. Forest haven’t lost home or away since November though so they probably know what they’re doing now.
Chris Gunter will start for Forest. Robert Earnshaw has scored three in his last three matches for Forest but as that includes no goals in the last two, he could be on the bench again because that’s what the manager’s like. Rob thinks Forest can keep their home form going and get into the promotion race.
Watch a long but interesting interview with Chris and Rob.

Championship Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 1)

Bristol City v Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough have lost nine of their thirteen away matches this season and while Bristol City aren’t exactly one of the top teams in the league, they’re still five points ahead of Middlesbrough. Boro can’t even take advantage of Bristol City’s FA Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Boro’s own defeat to Burton Albion is (no disrespect to Burton) a lot more embarrassing.
Lewin Nyatanga and Brett Pitman started for Bristol City against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup but Bristol City ended up losing to the lower-ranked team. So changes could be made although it was one of relatively few matches recently where Brett didn’t score.
Christian Ribeiro became a substituted substitute last week due to a hamstring injury and is a doubt for this match. Either that or a definite absentee, if you read the Bristol City official site.
Gavin Williams probably won’t be in the squad as he had a foot operation recently.
Danny Coyne played in goal for Middlesbrough’s disastrous FA Cup match against Burton Albion but Jason Steele is expected to return to the starting line-up after recovering from injury. Rhys Williams remains out with an injured pelvis.

Coventry City v Sheffield United
Sheffield United could end up in the bottom three again if they lose this match and with only one win in their last league games, a defeat to Coventry is a possibility. Not that Coventry are doing much better, if at all. They haven’t won any of their last six matches.
Freddy Eastwood has scored three goals in his last three matches for Coventry so they’d be a bit silly to drop him from the starting line-up.
Sheffield United’s own Welsh striker. Ched Evans, has also been prolific of late so I would expect him to start too and make his 100th league appearance. Maybe he’ll score – team-mate Jamie Ward owes him a favour.

Doncaster Rovers v Reading
Reading are two points from the play-offs and Doncaster haven’t beaten them since 1982. Doncaster scored seven goals and even then it wasn’t a big win, with Reading scoring five. Doncaster have been strong at home this season though, only losing one of their eleven home matches.
John Oster should start for Doncaster (which should make team-mate Mark Wilson happy), making his 400th career appearance against a former club. Brian Stock hasn’t recovered from an injury so he won’t play. It was a leg injury last week but now it seems to have transferred itself to his back.
Simon Church and Hal Robson-Kanu are likely to be on the bench for Reading.

Leeds United v Scunthorpe United
Leeds haven’t won any of their last four matches though they did only lost one of them and they’re still in the play-off places. And if a team is in need of any confidence, drawing with Arsenal can only help. This might look like a straightforward home win – Scunthorpe are struggling in 23rd place, albeit with one or two games in hand over the teams near them in the table. But all but one of their wins have come from away games.
Sanchez Watt injured his head and hamstring in the FA Cup match against Arsenal but he should be okay.

Premier League Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

West Bromwich Albion v Blackpool
A win for Blackpool will only put them into a Europa League place if other results go their way – but they’ll still have that game in hand. True, the game in hand is over Manchester United but let’s not spoil things by mentioning that. After all, Burnley beat Manchester United last season and they weren’t as good as Blackpool. Blackpool are hoping to do the double over West Brom. But they haven’t won at the Hawthorns since 1964.
Boaz Myhill is now West Bromwich Albion’s No. 1 goalkeeper following recent errors by Scott Carson. This will be his first Premier League match with the Baggies.
Neal Eardley and David Vaughan should both start for Blackpool with Rob Edwards possibly on the bench.

West Ham United v Arsenal
After failing to beat Championship sides in their last two matches, Arsenal will be desperate to do better against a team that could be in the Championship next season. West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green always has a good game against Arsenal but that didn’t stop Arsenal from winning last time. West Ham haven’t actually beaten Arsenal since 2006.
Danny Gabbidon wasn’t in West Ham’s last squad but maybe he’ll be back to face Arsenal. Jack Collison is out with a long-term knee injury.
Aaron Ramsey will probably be on the bench for Arsenal but Arsene Wenger doesn’t seem willing to rush him back into first-team Premier League football.

Wigan Athletic v Fulham
Fifteen years ago, these clubs were in the bottom division together. They were promoted from that league together although it took Wigan a bit longer to get all the way up. Now, if they’re not careful, they might finding themselves heading in the opposite direction together. Wigan have the worst home record of any club but Fulham have only won once away this season.
Simon Davies was substituted at half-time during Fulham’s 6-2 thrashing of Peterborough United in the FA Cup but he might not be injured, maybe they just didn’t want to tire him out unnecessarily.

Premier League Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 1)

Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves haven’t won many games this season but they’re still in a position to claim a double over title-hopefuls Manchester City. Their last double over City was 40 years ago.
Wayne Hennessey should start for Wolves. Dave Edwards will probably miss out due to the tweaked hamstring that forced him off the field during the FA Cup match against Doncaster Rovers but he hasn’t completely ruled himself out – although the Wolves medical team might have a different opinion, If Dave is out, David Jones could take his place. It looks as though David won’t be signing a new contract and will be free to move in the summer but Mick McCarthy hasn’t entirely given up hope.
Sam Vokes played in a behind-closed-doors friendly for Wolves this week but he isn’t ready to play for the first team yet. He says he’s happy to go out on loan but he’d rather stay and fight for his place.

Stoke City v Bolton Wanderers
Bolton have just one point from their last three matches but are still in seventh place, which will be a Europa League place if Arsenal can win the FA and Carling Cups like I want them to. Losing to Blackpool at home doesn’t necessarily make you a bad team but Stoke have also lost to Fulham at home recently and Fulham never win away. They’ll be hoping to make up for that against Bolton.
Danny Collins should return to Stoke’s starting line-up to play alongside Ryan Shawcross.
Sam Ricketts should start for Bolton.
Tony Pulis says he won’t be banning his players from using Twitter.

Wales News 13th January 2011

Gary Speed talks about managing Wales and flashing Bobby Robson.

Gary will announce the squad for Wales’ match against the Republic of Ireland on 31st January.

Former Welsh international Carl Robinson has been helping the Wales under-16 team and having a laugh with the senior team manager.


Ryan Giggs says he won’t play for Wales again but he is interested in a coaching role.

Welsh Player Transfer News and Rumours 13th January 2011

Blackpool would like to sign Aaron Ramsey on loan. And who can blame then for trying? They got into the Premier League, they did the double over Liverpool, they know all about making the impossible happen.

Manchester City would like to buy Gareth Bale in the summer, if Tottenham Hotspur are interested in selling him but I don’t think even Tottenham are that stupid.

Danny Gabbidon could be returning to Cardiff City after failing to agree a new contract with West Ham United.


Derby County manager Nigel Clough is hoping to sign Ben Davies from Notts County this month. He could replace Robbie Savage, who is interested in a move to Vancouver.

Joe Allen has been attracting interest from Premier League clubs but his agent says he will be staying at Swansea City and hopes to sign a new contract soon.


Jermaine Easter has left loan club Swansea City early after being recalled by parent club Milton Keynes Dons. Jermaine was interested in signing for Swansea permanently and Crystal Palace are also said to have shown an interest.


Rotherham United have said Mark Bradley can go out on loan after struggling to get into the matchday squad.


John Hartson could become the new manager of Newport County. Gary Speed thinks John would do a great job.

League One Fixtures 14th January 2011

Brentford v Exeter City
Exeter might be down in fourteenth place, just seven points above the relegation places, but they’re also four points behind the play-offs. A win for Brentford could put them outside the play-offs only on goal difference but most of the clubs around the two teams have played fewer games.
Richard Duffy left the field at half-time due to injury in Exeter’s draw with Milton Keynes Dons but there’s nothing to suggest he won’t be able to play. Rob Edwards and Daniel Nardiello are most likely to be on the bench.

Colchester United v Bournemouth
A win for Colchester could put them outside the play-offs on goal difference. Bournemouth confidence will be high after winning their last three matches. But their second away win of the season was only a couple of games ago.
Lee Beevers is expected to keep his place in Colchester’s starting line-up. Lloyd James has also done well when he’s been given the chance but he’s more likely to be on the bench again. Tom Bender’s chances of keeping his place on the bench could be decreased by the presence of Colchester’s recent signings.
Rhoys Wiggins is available for Bournemouth after recovering from an eye infection. Joe Partington could be on the bench.

Carling Cup Semi-Final First Leg Result 12th January 2011

Ipswich Town 1-0 Arsenal
Arsenal really were quite dreadful as they failed to beat a Championship club for the second time in two days. And this time it wasn’t a high-flying club like Leeds United, it was a club in a relegation battle. Well done to Ipswich on a deserved win but I really hope I won't be saying that again after the second leg.
Troy Brown missed out for Ipswich with a hamstring injury.
Aaron Ramsey was an unused substitute for Arsenal. Maybe he should have played. He played against Ipswich a few weeks ago with Nottingham Forest – and Forest won.