Republic of Ireland v Wales News 7th February 2011

No more withdrawals yet as far as I know but Gary Speed has announced his starting eleven.

Goalkeeper: Wayne Hennessey
Defenders: Neal Eardley, James Collins (captain), Danny Collins, Sam Ricketts
Defensive Midfield: Andrew Crofts, David Vaughan
Attacking Midfield: Andy King, Simon Church, Hal Robson-Kanu
Striker: Robert Earnshaw

Substitutes
Goalkeepers: Jason Brown, Lewis Price
Defenders: Darcy Blake, Chris Gunter, Lewin Nyatanga, Ashley Williams
Midfielders: Andy Dorman, Joe Ledley
Strikers: Jermaine Easter, Sam Vokes


The biggest surprise is that there’s no place in the starting line-up for Chris Gunter or Ashley Williams. Instead, Gary has chosen an all-Premier League back line.

The only Premier League players not to feature are Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Jason Brown (you can only fit one of them in the team and Jason hasn’t featured in any Blackburn squads this season) and Sam Vokes, a late call-up who has only recently returned from a hamstring injury. Scottish Premier League midfielder Joe Ledley is also on the bench.

The other Premier League players withdrew from the squad (Gary tactfully said that this made his job easier, which is a really nice way of looking at it) but it’s lovely to hear that Craig Bellamy has travelled with the squad despite not being in the squad and players including Gareth Bale have been to see his new manager. They can’t play but they’ve shown their commitment to Wales all the same.

Gary says he’s happy for David Vaughan to be his unsung hero (though he’s always very much sung around here).

Wales v Northern Ireland (under-21s)

Goalkeepers: Chris Maxwell (Wrexham), Rhys Taylor (Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Chelsea)
Defenders: Daniel Alfei (Swansea City), Tom Bender (Colchester United), Troy Brown (Ipswich Town), Paul Dummett (Newcastle United), Adam Matthews (Cardiff City), Jazz Richards (Swansea City)
Midfielders: Joe Allen (Swansea City), Billy Bodin (Swindon Town), Reece Jones (Kingstonian, on loan from AFC Wimbledon), Lee Lucas (Swansea City), Jonathan Meades (Cardiff City), Jonathan Williams (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Elliott Chamberlain (Leicester City), Ryan Doble (Southampton), Robert Ogleby (Heart of Midlothian), Jake Taylor (Reading)

Stand-By
Goalkeepers: Jonathan Bond (Watford), David Cornell (Port Talbot Town, on loan from Swansea City)
Defenders: Kieron Freeman (Nottingham Forest, David Stephens (Hibernian), Joe Walsh (Swansea City)
Midfielders: Nathan Craig (Everton), Joe Partington (Bournemouth)
Forwards: Tom Bradshaw (Shrewsbury Town), Kayleden Brown (Port Vale, on loan from West Bromwich Albion), Jake Cassidy (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Richard Peniket (Fulham), Casey Thomas (Port Talbot Town, on loan from Swansea City)

No withdrawals have been confirmed as yet but:
Troy Brown has missed Ipswich’s last six matches with a hamstring injury (although it’s not impossible he’s fine and just hasn’t been selected)
Joe Allen was promoted to the senior squad following yet more withdrawals, only to withdraw himself with a calf injury.
Billy Bodin wasn’t in Swindon’s squad this weekend following reports that he had an ankle injury and needed to be assessed. But it’s possible Swindon just decided to put seven other players on the bench.

Wales squad to face Republic of Ireland

Goalkeepers: Jason Brown (Blackburn), Wayne Hennessey (Wolves), Lewis Price (Crystal Palace)
Defenders: Darcy Blake (Cardiff City), Danny Collins (Stoke), James Collins (Aston Villa), Neal Eardley (Blackpool), Chris Gunter (Nottingham Forest), Lewin Nyatanga (Bristol City), Sam Ricketts (Bolton), Ashley Williams (Swansea)
Midfielders: Andrew Crofts (Norwich), Andy Dorman (Crystal Palace), Andy King (Leicester), Joe Ledley (Celtic), David Vaughan (Blackpool)
Forwards: Simon Church (Reading), Robert Earnshaw (Nottingham Forest), Jermaine Easter (Crystal Palace), Freddy Eastwood (Coventry), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Sam Vokes (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Withdrawals from original squad
Boaz Myhill (West Bromwich Albion), reason unknown
Danny Gabbidon (West Ham), hamstring
Craig Morgan (Preston North End), ankle
Dave Edwards (Wolverhampton Wanderers), ankle
Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City, on loan from Arsenal), slight knock
Steve Morison (Millwall), muscle injury
Ched Evans (Sheffield United), virus

Lewis Price, Darcy Blake, Lewin Nyatanga, Andy Dorman, Jermaine Easter and Sam Vokes have been called up as replacements.

Joe Allen was also called up from the under-21 squad but he injured his calf in Swansea City's brilliant defeat to Cardiff City.

Players unavailable due to injury
Gareth Bale (Tottenham), back
Christian Ribeiro (Bristol City), hamstring
Neil Taylor (Swansea), ankle
Jack Collison (West Ham), knee
Craig Bellamy (Cardiff), ongoing knee problems

Other omissions
While it’s certainly possible that not all of these players would have been selected by Gary Speed had they been fit/available, they have all featured in recent squads.
David Cotterill (Swansea), limited game time
Brian Stock (Doncaster), very recent comeback from leg and/or back problems


Wales squads are always exciting if you’re me as they’re always full of Wales players. But three names made me feel particularly happy. The first is, of course, Aaron Ramsey, who features in a Wales squad for the first time since breaking his leg almost a year ago. (I know he's withdrawn now but it was great to see him there at all.) As an Arsenal and Wales fan, I have been forced to wait for Aaron's comeback but I am thrilled he’s back with my Welsh team again, hopefully helping them to get promoted and finish ahead of Swansea.

The second exciting name is (or was, until his injury) Danny Gabbidon, who has come out of retirement in order to be selected for this match. Gary Speed says he didn’t take much persuading. As his reason for retirement was his injury problems, I hope his latest problems won’t put him off being in Wales squads in the future. (Sadly, Simon Davies opted not to return although he says he was tempted. Perhaps he’ll be more tempted when Wales play England.)

The second name that particularly excited me was Freddy Eastwood. He has been doing very well for Coventry (when fit) over the past couple of seasons yet hasn’t featured in a Wales squad for two and a half years.

An interview with new Wales manager Gary Speed

Gary Speed has named Raymond Verheijen as his assistant manager. Verheijen’s work has already benefitted Wales: he has helped Craig Bellamy to manage his long-term knee injury.

Ryan Giggs is interested in helping Wales but not in a full-time role. Playing against the Republic of Ireland sounds like a part-time role to me. Kind of. Maybe.

Gary has told the Welsh players to earn their places in the squad.

It’s not clear who will be Wales’ captain against the Republic of Ireland but James Collins, Danny Gabbidon, Ashley Williams and Craig Bellamy are contenders to wear the armband against England. Danny and Craig obviously won’t play against the Republic of Ireland but James and Ashley are presumably contenders to be captain for this match too.

Andrew Crofts is delighted to be in the Wales squad. I'm glad someone is. Sometimes I wonder.

Robert Earnshaw says the match against the Republic Ireland will be more than just a warm-up for the match against England.

Gary believes Wales can qualify for the 2014 World Cup. That makes at least two of us.

Wales are 116th in the world rankings. But they can and will get higher and they’ll always be 1st for me.

Welsh Player News 6th February Championship (Part 4)

Swansea City
Daniel Alfei was given more chances to impress following a very successful debut against Colchester United in the FA Cup.
League: Palace 3-0 (bench, on 89)
League: Barnsley A 1-1 (unselected)
FA Cup: Orient H 1-2 (played all)
League: Bristol C A 0-2 (unselected)

Joe Allen started three matches for Swansea in this time period.
League: Palace 3-0 (played all)
League: Barnsley A 1-1 (starts, off 76)
FA Cup: Orient H 1-2 (played all)
League: Bristol C A 0-2 (bench, on 71)

David Cotterill didn’t feature at all for Swansea in this time period. I don’t know why either but I hope it’s an injury. Not that I’ve turned all masochistic or anything but I can’t think of another reason for leaving him out other than bad attitude or bad performances.

Jazz Richards has claimed a regular place in Swansea’s starting line-up.
League: Palace 3-0 (starts, off 89)
League: Barnsley A 1-1 (played all)
FA Cup: Orient H 1-2 (unselected)
League: Bristol C A 0-2 (played all)

Neil Taylor has been out with an ankle injury since the New Year fixtures.

Ashley Williams attracted the attention of Wolfsburg during the trainsfer window but he says he’s only interested in Swansea because his German is rubbish. But is it better than his Welsh?
League: Palace 3-0 (played all)
League: Barnsley A 1-1 (played all)
FA Cup: Orient H 1-2 (played all)
League: Bristol C A 0-2 (played all)

Welsh Player News 6th February Championship (Part 3)

Nottingham Forest
Chris Gunter played every game for Nottingham Forest.
League: Portsmouth H 2-1 (played all)
League: Derby A 0-1 (played all)
League: Bristol C H 1-0 (played all)
FA Cup: FA West Ham A 3-2 (Y handball 65, played all)
League: Coventry A 1-2 (played all)

Robert Earnshaw scored twice in four league matches for Nottingham Forest. Both goals came in the match after being dropped to the bench. I don’t usually like it when Rob is dropped to the bench but maybe it’s not completely without its advantages.
Rob’s celebrations against his former club Derby led to a yellow card but he says it was worth it. He might also get fined but hopefully he can talk his way out of that!
Rob believes Forest’s defence is a big reason why they’re doing so well.
League: Portsmouth H 2-1 (starts, off 57)
League: Derby A 0-1 (bench, on 66, G1 79, Y shirt? 80)
League: Bristol C H 1-0 (starts, off 87)
FA Cup: FA West Ham A 3-2 (bench, on 66)
League: Coventry A 1-2 (starts, G2 36, off 75)

Ipswich Town
Troy Brown hasn’t been playing for Ipswich due to a hamstring injury. Their results without him haven’t been too bad but they remain in the relegation battle.
League: Millwall A 2-1 (out, hamstring)
League: Doncaster H 3-2 (out, hamstring)
Carling Cup: CC Arsenal A 3-0. 3-1 agg (out, hamstring)
League: Derby A 1-2 (out, hamstring)

Preston North End
Craig Morgan has been in and out of Preston’s starting line-up but for these three matches, he was in.
League: Leicester H 1-1 (played all)
League: Boro A 1-1 (played all)
League: Barnsley A 2-0 (starts, Y foul 59, off 60)

Paul Parry was said to have a broken wrist during some of these matches but it didn’t seem to get in his way too much.
League: Leicester H 1-1 (bench, on 48)
League: Boro A 1-1 (played all)
League: Barnsley A 2-0 (bench)

Queen’s Park Rangers
Michael Doughty didn’t appear for QPR in this time frame but he did make his debut as a substitute in the FA Cup match against Blackburn. Vital QPR says he’s the chairman’s son which must be quite interesting.

Reading
Simon Church is back in Reading’s starting line-up which was good to see but he’s yet to find the net in 2011.
League: Doncaster A 0-3 (bench, on 79)
League: Hull H 1-1 (starts, off 62)
FA Cup: Stevenage A 1-2 (played all)
League: Cardiff A 2-2 (starts, off 71)

Hal Robson-Kanu was mostly a substitute for Reading.
League: Doncaster A 0-3 (bench)
League: Hull H 1-1 (bench, on 73)
FA Cup: Stevenage A 1-2 (starts, off 75)
League: Cardiff A 2-2 (bench)

Sheffield United
Ched Evans made his 100th league appearance against Coventry. Sheffield United’s survival plan is working, Ched said shortly before they ended up in the bottom three.
League: Coventry A 0-0 (played all)
League: Norwich H 1-2 (G1 69, played all)
League: :Leicester H 0-1 (played all)

Welsh Player News 6th February Championship (Part 2)

Derby County
Gareth Roberts got an assist for Derby in their match against Ipswich but that wasn’t enough to beat Ipswich which must have been quite worrying because everyone beats Ipswich. I don’t know what Gareth was doing when he was supposed to be playing against Forest.
League: Watford A 2-0 (played all)
League: Forest H 0-1 (unselected)
Ipswich H 1-2 (A1 7, played all)

Ben Davies transferred from Notts County to Derby when they finally made a bid that was high enough – and made his debut against Nottingham Forest.
Ben thinks all Derby need is a bit of luck and soon they’ll be winning games again.
Ben says Nigel Clough was the main reason why he joined Derby. He’s confident that he’s ready for Championship football.
Ben has received death threats from fans of his former club Notts County but he doesn’t seem overly worried, just disappointed.
League: Soton A 0-0 (played all) with Notts Co
League: Forest H 0-1 (played all) with Derby County
League: Ipswich H 1-2 (played all)

Robbie Savage chose to remain at Derby rather than going to Vancouver but he won’t be at Derby for long. He’ll be retiring at the end of the season.
After four games without a win for Derby (including an FA Cup match against Crawley Town), and with no win since the end of October over a team other than Preston, Scunthorpe, Ipswich or Portsmouth, Robbie found himself on the bench.
Robbie thinks Blackpool should change their tactics and Liverpool shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves.
Robbie gives his take on assistant referee Sian Massey’s ability to do her job – which is really all that matters.
League: Watford A 2-0 (played all)
League: Forest H 0-1 (starts, Y foul 35, off 55)
League: Ipswich H 1-2 (bench)

Doncaster Rovers
John Oster made his 400th career appearance against Reading but that was the only thing he had to celebrate where that match was concerned.
League: Reading H 0-3 (played all)
FA Cup: Wolves A 5-0 (played all)
League: Ipswich A 3-2 (played all)
League: Barnsley H 0-2 (played all)
League: Burnley H 1-0 (starts, off 89)

Brian Stock missed six matches with an injury but sources disagreed on whether it was his leg or his back. But something definitely hurt.
Brian is close to signing a new deal with Doncaster.
League: Reading H 0-3 (out, leg or back)
FA Cup: Wolves A 5-0 (out, leg or back)
League: Ipswich A 3-2 (out, leg or back)
League: Barnsley H 0-0 (out, leg or back)
League: Burnley H 1-0 (starts, off 84)

Leeds United
Sanchez Watt again played for Leeds against parent club Arsenal. He said he would try his hardest to score but he wouldn’t celebrate. Luckily he didn’t try hard enough.
League: Scunthorpe H 4-0 (starts, G1 17, off 80)
FA Arsenal H 1-3 (starts, off 79)
League: Portsmouth A 2-2 (starts, off 62)
League: Hull A 2-2 (out, hamstring)

Leicester City
Andy King is discussing a new contract with Leicester. He believes Leicester need to build some momentum as they fight for a place in the play-offs. Andy has been nominated for the PFA January Player of the Month award.
League: Preston A 1-1 (played all)
FA Cup: Man City A 4-2 (played all)
League: Millwall H 4-2 (played all)
League: Sheff Utd A 0-1 (G 1 4, played all)

Middlesbrough
Danny Coyne was probably really happy with Middlesbrough’s 4-0 away victory over Bristol City. It was just a shame he wasn’t actually on the pitch.
League: Bristol C A 0-4 (bench)
League: Preston H 1-1 (out, back)
League: Scunthorpe H 2-0 (out, back)

Rhys Williams is still recovering from a pelvic problem but he is training again.

Millwall
Steve Morison returned to the starting line-up after not completely recovering from flu and had a couple of quiet matches before getting back on the scoresheet against Ipswich. He also scored against Barnsley. Maybe he’d have scored against Norwich too if he hadn’t injured his calf.
Millwall manager Kenny Jackett hopes Steve will sign a new contract with Millwall.
League: Ipswich H 2-1 (G2 76, played all)
League: Leicester A 4-2 (played all)
League: Barnsley H 2-0 (G1 17, played all)
League: Norwich A 2-1 (starts, off 16)

Norwich City
Andrew Crofts scored twice against Sheffield United. It would be nice if he could do that against England but England are probably better than Sheffield United.
League Cardiff H 1-1 (starts, off 78)
League: Sheff Utd A 1-2 (Y foul 14, G1 61, G2 80, played all)
League: Palace A 0-0 (Y 76, played all)
League: Millwall H 2-1 (Y foul 35, played all)

Welsh Player News 6th February Championship (Part 1)

Bristol City
Just when Lewin Nyatanga finally seemed to have established himself in the first team, he hurt his Achilles.
League: Boro H 0-4 (played all)
League: Palace A 0-0 (out, Achilles)
League: Forest A 1-0 (out, Achilles)
League: Swansea H 0-2 (out, Achilles)

Christian Ribeiro remains out with a hamstring injury.

Brett Pitman didn’t score in this period but two goals in Bristol City’s first two matches of 2011 was enough for him to be shortlisted for the PFA January Player of the Month award.
League: Boro H 0-4 (Y foul 36, played all)
League: Palace A 0-0 (played all)
League: Forest A 1-0 (played all)
League: Swansea H 0-2 (played all)

Cardiff City
Darcy Blake was an unused substitute for Cardiff. Or he was when he got on the bench.
League: Norwich A 1-1 (bench)
FA Cup replay: Stoke H 0-0, 0-2 aet (unselected)
League: Watford H 4-2 (bench)
League: Reading H 2-2 (bench)

Adam Matthews’ only recent appearance for Cardiff came in the FA Cup replay against Stoke and all sorts of players got into that squad.
Adam has attracted the interest of Celtic.
FA Cup replay: Stoke H 0-0, 0-1 aet (bench, on 75)

Jason Koumas spent several weeks out of the Cardiff squad after suffering first a toe injury and then illness but I’m not sure when the toe injury finished and the illness started
League: Norwich A 1-1 (out, toe)
FA Cup replay: Stoke H 0-0, 0-1 aet (out, toe)
League: Watford H 4-2 (out, illness)
League: Reading H 2-2 (bench)

Aaron Ramsey joined Cardiff City on loan from Arsenal shortly after Arsene Wenger said he wouldn’t be going to Cardiff on loan. Clearly he didn’t see it coming. Aaron isn’t expecting a long stay with his former club however although that hasn’t stopped Dave Jones from hoping.
Aaron and Darcy Blake help train the Wales stars of the future.
League: Watford H 4-2 (ineligible as he didn’t have international clearance to play in his own country)
League: Reading H 2-2 (played all)

Aaron Wildig has joined Hamilton Academicals on loan following Cardiff manager Dave Jones’ decision to sign too many players on loan. He lost his first match with Hamilton but they’re not very good so I’m sure it wasn’t his fault.
FA Cup replay Stoke H 0-0, 0-1 aet (bench, on 39)

Craig Bellamy was rested for the FA Cup clash against Cardiff but he scored two goals in the three games he did play in the time period covered in this blog post, including a very late equaliser against Reading, four minutes after Reading had got what looked like a very late winner.
Do Manchester City need Craig back now Adam Johnson is injured? Well if they do, they can’t have him.
League: Norwich A 1-1 (Y 80, played all)
FA Cup replay: Stoke H 0-0, 0-2 aet (unselected)
League: Watford H 4-2 (G1 14, played all)
League: Reading H 2-2 (G3 97, played all)

Coventry City
Freddy Eastwood hasn’t scored in any of the last four matches – five if you include the most recent one which I’ll review properly if I can get my arse in gear (which sounds a bit of a smelly concept to me). But he’s done enough to earn a much overdue call-up to the Wales squad. Vital Norwich City heard a rumour that Coventry had accepted a bid from Norwich for Freddy but nothing happened.League: Sheff Utd H 0-0 (played all)
League: Sheff Utd H 0-0 (played all)
FA Cup: FA Birmingham A 3-2 (bench, on 80)
League: Forest H 1-2 (starts, off 67)

Crystal Palace
Andy Dorman was hauled off the pitch 57 minutes into the defeat to Swansea City – and he hasn’t been seen since. If it’s an injury that’s the problem, Crystal Palace are keeping very quiet about it.
League: Swansea A 3-0 (starts, off 57)

Jermaine Easter was hoping to earn a permanent contract with Swansea after spending nine matches with them on loan. And as he was hoping, Jermaine was part of the squad for Swansea’s 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. However, it wasn’t Swansea who were his new club.
League: Swansea A 3-0 (bench, on 61)
League: Bristol C H 0-0 (starts, off 70)
League: Norwich H 0-0 (bench)
League: Watford A 1-1 (bench, on 77)

Lewis Price remains Crystal Palace’s second-choice keeper.
League: Swansea A 3-0 (bench)
League: Bristol C H 0-0 (bench)
League: Norwich H 0-0 (bench)
League: Watford A 1-1 (bench)

Welsh Player News 5th February Premier League (Part 2)

Stoke City
Danny Collins
League: Bolton H 2-0 (bench)
FA Cup replay: Cardiff A 0-0, 0-2 aet (played all)
League: Fulham A 2-0 (starts, off 58)
FA Cup: Wolves A 0-1 (bench)
League: Liverpool A 2-0 (bench, on 65, Y foul 81)

Ryan Shawcross received his third red card in less than a year in Stoke City’s defeat to Fulham but Tony Pulis says it was all Clint Dempsey’s fault for apparently placing his body under Ryan’s hand.
League: Bolton H 2-0 (played all)
FA Cup replay: Cardiff A 0-0, 0-2 aet (unselected)
League: Fulham A 2-0 (starts, R foul 55)
FA Cup: Wolves A 0-1 (suspended)
League: Liverpool A 2-0 (suspended)

Tottenham Hotspur
Gareth Bale lasted just eleven minutes of Tottenham Hotspur’s draw with Newcastle United before leaving the field with a recurrence of a back injury. He has seen an osteopath and has been told to rest for two weeks. Gareth is training again but has not been named in the Wales squad to face the Republic of Ireland.
Harry Redknapp doesn’t want Gareth to leave and said Tottenham would fall apart if Gareth left. Maybe he should leave then.
Real Madrid and Inter Milan want to make a £40 million bid for Gareth, which would make him the most expensive British player in history. It would also make him just £5 million better than Andy Carroll.
Interview with Gareth in the Telegraph.
League: Man Utd H 0-0 (played all)
League: Newcastle A 1-1 (starts, off 11)
FA Cup: Fulham A 4-0 (out, back)
League: Blackburn A 0-1 (out, back)

West Bromwich Albion
Boaz Myhill says he won’t be taking his new first-team place for granted. Bo believes West Brom can survive.
League: Blackpool H 3-2 (played all)
League: Blackburn A 2-0 (played all)
League: Wigan H 2-2 (played all)

West Ham United
Jack Collison is training but not ready to return from a knee injury.
Interview with Jack in the Daily Mail.

Danny Gabbidon left the field with a hamstring injury after just 33 minutes of West Hams 3-1 away win over Blackpool. Just when he’d finally been persuaded to come out of international retirement.
Danny attracted the attention of Celtic and Rangers during the January transfer window. But he is far more tempted by Cardiff City.
League: Arsenal H 0-3 (bench)
League: Everton A 2-2 (bench)
Carling Cup: CC Birmingham A 3-1, 4-3 on agg aet (bench)
FA Cup: Forest H 3-2 (Y foul 19, played all)
League: Blackpool A 1-3 (starts, off 33)

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wayne Hennessey has attracted the attention of former employers Manchester City.
League: Man City A 4-3 (played all)
FA Cup: Doncaster H 5-0 (bench)
League: Liverpool H 0-3 (played all)
FA Cup: Stoke H 0-1 (bench)
League: Bolton A 1-0 (played all)
Dave Edwards returned to the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury and made his return sooner than expected when a Wolves player injured himself after fourteen minutes.
Dave says he won’t blame the Molineaux pitch for their FA Cup exit to Stoke. He wants to become Wolves’ ‘midfield enforcer’.
League: Man City A 4-3 (out, hamstring)
FA Cup: Doncaster H 5-0 (out, hamstring)
League: Liverpool H 0-3 (out, hamstring)
FA Cup: Stoke H 0-1 (bench, on 14)
League: Bolton A 1-0 (starts, off 75)

David Jones wants to stay at Wolves – he’ll be hoping the next contract they offer is to his liking.
League: Man City A 4-3 (played all)
FA Cup: Doncaster H 5-0 (G5 93, played all)
League: Liverpool H 0-3 (bench)
FA Cup: Stoke H 0-1 (bench)
League: Bolton A 1-0 (played all)

Sam Vokes finally played again after a hamstring injury that has seen him face a number of setbacks and just thirteen minutes of game time this season. Sam suffered the injury on loan at Bristol City but is now back with his parent club.
League: Man City A 4-3 (bench)
FA Cup: Doncaster H 5-0 (bench, on 78)
League: Liverpool H 0-3 (bench)
FA Cup: Stoke H 0-1 (bench, on 84)
League: Bolton A 1-0 (unselected)

Welsh Player News 5th February Premier League (Part 1)

Aston Villa
James Collins scored his second goal of the season to get a draw against rivals Birmingham City. He was Aston Villa’s Man of the Match against Wigan Athletic.
League: Birmingham A 1-1 (G1 73, Y foul 86, played all)
League: Man City H 1-0 (played all)
League: Wigan A 1-2 (played all)
FA Cup: Blackburn H 3-1 (bench, on 68)
League: Man Utd A 2-1 (played all)

Blackpool
Who would have guessed at the start of the season that Blackpool fans would be sitting in Old Trafford, feeling disappointed that they didn’t beat Manchester United? They so deserve to stay up but it’s going to be tough.
Neal Eardley was off the field when Blackpool conceded for the first time, having been kicked in the face by the Man Utd goalscorer.
League: WBA A 3-2 (starts, off 67)
League: Sunderland H 1-2 (played all)
League: Man Utd H 2-3 (played all)
League: West Ham H 1-3 (played all)

David Vaughan picked up another assist when he won a penalty for Blackpool but sadly they lost to Sunderland, who promptly tried to buy him.
League: WBA A 3-2 (G1 11, Y foul 56, played all)
League: Sunderland H 1-2 (won pen 86Y 94, played all)
League: Man Utd H 2-3 (played all)
League: West Ham H 1-3 (played all)

Rob Edwards
League: Man Utd H 2-3 (bench)

Bolton Wanderers
Sam Ricketts
League: Stoke A 2-0 (played all)
League: Chelsea H 0-4 (bench)
FA Cup: FA Wigan H 0-0 (Y foul 59, played all)
League: Wolves H 1-0 (played all)

Fulham
Simon Davies
League: Wigan A 1-1 (starts, off 76)
League: Stoke H 2-0 (bench)
League: Liverpool A 1-0 (bench)
FA Cup: Spurs H 4-0 (bench, on 80)
League: Newcastle H 1-0 (bench, on 87)

Manchester United
Ryan Giggs – who has been voted Manchester United’s best-ever player - got the assist to start Manchester United’s hard-fought comeback against Blackpool. Yes, I did write hard-fought comeback against Blackpool. He also scored and got an assist in Man Utd’s 5-0 home thrashing of Birmingham City.
Ryan thinks his newly-retired team-mate Gary Neville will be a great assistant manager – but not a great manager.
League: Spurs A 0-0 (played all)
League: Birmingham H 5-0 (starts, G3 45+2, A4 53, off 55)
League: Blackpool A 2-3 (bench, on 46, A2 74)
FA Cup: FA Soton A 1-2 (bench)
League: Villa H 3-1 (played all)

Owen Hargreaves is still out with a hamstring injury – and could be the third Manchester United player to announcement his retirement this season, following his omission from Manchester United’s Champions’ League squad. He has, however, been named in the Premier League squad.
Michael Owen made his first start for Manchester United since returning from a hamstring injury. He started for a weakened Man Utd side who came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup. He was happy to play but he admits it wasn’t easy.
Michael’s horse-riding stable has raised hundreds of pounds for the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre.
League: Spurs A 0-0 (bench)
League: Birmingham H 5-0 (bench, on 55)
League: Blackpool A 2-3 (bench)
FA Cup: FA Soton A 0-1 (played all)
League: Villa H 3-1 (bench)

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.