Cymru am Byth

Republic of Ireland v Wales News 7th February 2011

2011-02-07T22:14:00.002Z

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)

2011-02-07T00:01:00.000Z

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

2011-02-06T21:48:00.005Z

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)

2011-02-06T18:04:00.000Z

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)

2011-02-06T18:01:00.001Z

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)

2011-02-06T17:57:00.004Z

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)

2011-02-06T17:53:00.002Z

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)

2011-02-05T19:17:00.003Z

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)

2011-02-05T19:06:00.002Z

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)

2011-01-22T15:09:00.000Z

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)

2011-01-22T15:08:00.001Z

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)

2011-01-22T15:05:00.002Z

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)

2011-01-22T15:02:00.001Z

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)

2011-01-22T14:42:00.001Z

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)

2011-01-22T14:40:00.000Z

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

2011-01-20T23:58:00.000Z

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

2011-01-20T23:49:00.001Z

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

2011-01-20T23:40:00.000Z

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

2011-01-20T23:25:00.000Z

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

2011-01-20T23:22:00.001Z

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

2011-01-20T23:17:00.002Z

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

2011-01-20T21:08:00.001Z

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

2011-01-20T21:06:00.001Z

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

2011-01-20T20:07:00.002Z

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

2011-01-20T02:15:00.002Z

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

2011-01-20T01:14:00.001Z

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

2011-01-19T19:29:00.000Z

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

2011-01-18T19:22:00.001Z

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)

2011-01-18T02:03:00.000Z

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)

2011-01-18T02:01:00.000Z

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)

2011-01-18T01:58:00.002Z

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

2011-01-18T01:56:00.002Z

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

2011-01-18T01:54:00.001Z

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

2011-01-15T02:06:00.001Z

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)

2011-01-15T02:05:00.000Z

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)

2011-01-15T02:03:00.000Z

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)

2011-01-15T01:50:00.001Z

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)

2011-01-15T01:45:00.002Z

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)

2011-01-14T23:55:00.003Z

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)

2011-01-14T23:50:00.001Z

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)

2011-01-14T23:47:00.004Z

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)

2011-01-14T23:32:00.004Z

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)

2011-01-14T23:29:00.002Z

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

2011-01-14T02:23:00.001Z

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

2011-01-14T02:20:00.001Z

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

2011-01-14T02:18:00.000Z

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

2011-01-14T02:17:00.002Z

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.

Premier League Result 12th January 2011

2011-01-14T02:16:00.000Z

Blackpool 2-1 Liverpool
Blackpool become the first team this season to do the double over Liverpool after coming back from a goal down to win 2-1. It was thoroughly deserved and it could have been even worse for Liverpool, who really weren’t defending like Champions’ League contenders. But no matter how dreadful Liverpool were, Blackpool deserve credit. Blackpool are in ninth place with a game or two in hand over their nearest rivals. A Champions’ League place looks beyond Blackpool. A Europa League place most certainly is not. Incredible.
Neal Eardley and David Vaughan played the full match for Blackpool and each played a role in one of Blackpool’s goals. Rob Edwards was out of the squad again.

Wales News 12th january 2011

2011-01-12T19:50:00.002Z

The Welsh FA still don’t want their players playing for Great Britain at the Olympics.

There’s been more speculation about the return of the Home International Championship. I think they should include the Republic of Ireland and then divide England into two teams, North England and South England, based on place of birth. That should even things up a bit.

Gary Speed likes the idea of reviving the Home International Championship but he says it couldn’t be a regular thing.

FA Wales have announced that Vauxhall will be their sponsors for the next three and a half years.

Tony Pulis would like to see Ryan Giggs playing for Wales again.

Gary Speed would like Danny Gabbidon and Simon Davies to come out of international retirement. He might even consider bringing Robbie Savage back. This is South Wales feels Wales should be grateful for what they can get.

Gary might also call up Wolverhampton Wanderers’ David Jones.

Ryan Shawcross is another possibility. The newspapers will have a field day if this happens… not that I’m hoping it won’t happen.

Wales Online suggest that Aaron Ramsey should be Wales’ new captain.

Neville Southall believes James Collins would be a better choice.

Andy King would like a bigger role with Wales.

Transfer News and Gossip 12th January 2011

2011-01-12T19:39:00.000Z

David Vaughan says Ian Holloway is the best manager he’s ever worked for, thus getting everyone’s hopes up that he might sign a new contract and stay at Blackpool after all.

Liverpool are interested in Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross.

Harry Redknapp says we shouldn’t pay any attention to all the gossip about Gareth Bale. Presumably including the gossip from Roberto Mancini.

Derby County captain Robbie Savage will sign for Manchester City next summer. Maybe.

Or maybe Robbie will join the Vancouver Whitecaps. They want him and ideally they’d like him to join them in April. (I think this is a serious article.)

Rochdale have made an approach to Stockport County about Owain fon Williams.

League Two Results 11th January 2011

2011-01-12T19:28:00.001Z

Stockport County 3-3 Rotherham United
Two late goals for Rotherham ensured that they shared the points with Stockport. The home side will be disappointed to drop two points but there is a reason why Rotherham are second in the table. They’re good. And Stockport aren’t noted for their strong home form: they have won at their own stadium just once in the League this season.
I would say something like this but I’m sure the reinstation of Owain fon Williams in goal for Stockport has something to do with what is an excellent result.
Mark Bradley is still missing from Rotherham’s squad.

Torquay United 2-1 Crewe Alexandra
Crewe were unbeaten in five, having drawn just one of those matches/ Torquay, on the other hand, were without a win in three League games. But two consecutive FA Cup giant-killings would lift anyone’s confidence (even if one of them was only over Walsall) and Torquay claimed the win.
Rhys Taylor was in goal for Crewe.

League One Results 11th January 2011

2011-01-12T19:27:00.000Z

Bristol Rovers 2-2 Walsall
A point was enough to lift Walsall off the bottom of the table while Bristol Rovers are now just three points from safety – but they really needed a bit more than one point.
Byron Anthony was missing from Bristol Rovers’ squad due to illness. He has food poisoning, poor boy. I want to give him a hug… from a distance. Ben Swallow and Eliot Richards both started but manager Dave Penney says Bristol Rovers need another striker bue he thinks Eliot is too young.

Huddersfield Town 3-2 Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth were 2-0 up after 15 minutes, despite being down to 9 men, but Huddersfield worked together to ensure they didn’t score anymore. A second red card for Plymouth early in the second half probably helped a bit too..
Carl Fletcher played the full match for Plymouth. He was booked for applauding the referee, which is a new one. I wonder if that would count as dissent, unsporting behaviour or time-wasting. I would say it is more the first two but that the third is easier to prove. A player could argue that applause is usually a gesture of agreement or support but not that it doesn’t delay the restart.

Peterborough United 2-1 Brentford
Peterborough needed a stoppage time goal in order to beat Brentford but that’s not bad at all for a team who have just lost their manager. The win put Peterborough into the play-off places, having played one or more games fewer than the teams immediately above them.
Arron Davies apparently went to Peterborough because he liked the manager. He wasn’t in the squad for this match.

Carling Cup Result 11yth January 2011

2011-01-12T19:25:00.001Z

West Ham 2-1 Birmingham City
West Ham go into the second leg of the semi-final with a 2-1 advantage. They took an early lead but then came three horrible second-half minutes in which they lost a player to a red card and conceded a goal. But ten minutes from the end, West Ham claimed the win.
Danny Gabbidon was again absent from West Ham’s squad.

FA Cup Third Round Result 11th January 2011

2011-01-12T19:23:00.001Z

Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Hereford United
Hereford only sealed their place in the third round on Saturday but they kept the momentum going to claim an excellent win over Wycombe.
Stuart Fleetwood let some of his Hereford team-mates do the scoring although he did get the assist for the first goal. Ryan Green began his three-match suspension.

FA Cup Third Round Result 22th January 2011

2011-01-12T19:22:00.000Z

Crawley Town 2-1 Derby County
I can hardly believe it. Another one!
I knew about Glenn Wilson already but I had no idea that Scott Neilson was the grandson of Cliff Jones, which means he’s eligible to play for Wales! How exciting is that?
Oh yes, and non-league Crawley beat Championship side Derby…
It was a very exciting game which Crawley deserved to win. They dominated and fully deserved their lead, matching, if not surpassing, their more illustrious visitors. Derby should have taken the lead early on when they were awarded a penalty but Crawley goalkeeper Michael Kuipers wasn’t going to be beaten as easily as all that. Instead, it was Crawley who took the lead.
Although Derby did find an equaliser from somewhere, a replay would probably have been triumph enough – if just a little bit disappointing, given the way they’d played. But Crawley weren’t giving up as easily as all that and in stoppage time, they got a second goal. The winner was scored by Torres - not a sentence that’s been written very often this season.
Glenn and Scott both came close to scoring for Crawley.
Gareth Roberts and Robbie Savage were in Derby’s starting line-up but they were both substituted, not that long before Crawley scored again.
Crawley face fellow giant-killers Torquay United in the next round.

Carling Cup Fixture 12th January 2011

2011-01-12T18:52:00.001Z

Ipswich Town v Arsenal
Following their defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup at the weekend, Ipswich must now face an even better side. Ipswich do have an advantage though in that Arsenal are seriously lightweight in defence, with a large number of players injured or suspended. Arsenal are yet to lose in 2011 but they have only won once so far.
Troy Brown is a doubt for Ipswich with at least one tight hamstring.
It’s thought that Aaron Ramsey could make his long-awaited return for Arsenal tonight – some sources suggest he could even start. Aaron would love to end his injury nightmare by helping Arsenal to win a trophy.

Premier League Fixture 12th January 2011

2011-01-12T18:51:00.000Z

Blackpool v Liverpool
When these two clubs met at Anfield, Blackpool seemed to have few problems with their illustrious (or not) opponents but Liverpool have shown signs of improvement recently and Blackpool are significantly better away than they are at home (although they have played only seven matches at home and twelve away). Still, with Liverpool only above Blackpool on goal difference, you can’t rule out a Blackpool win – and even allowing for Liverpool’s decline, that’s still great sentence to be writing. Blackpool are unbeaten in their last four games against Liverpool.
Following the defeat to Southampton, David Vaughan and the other rested first-choice players should return to the starting line-up. Neal Eardley will probably keep his place but Rob Edwards will drop to the bench.

League Two Results 8th January 2011

2011-01-12T00:50:00.002Z

Accrington Stanley 1-0 Bury
It looked as though Accrington would have to be content with a draw – despite the loss of Owain fon Williams, who has returned to parent club Stockport County, Bury were looking very strong in the goalkeeping department.
Luckily for Accrington, they had Joe Jacobson on the pitch – he scored the goal and gave Accrington the win they deserved. But manager John Coleman thinks he should take some of the credit because he told Joe to go up for the corner. Joe has extended his loan spell initially until 29th January but Accrington are hoping to keep him for the rest of the season. Yes, I can see why!

Aldershot Town 1-2 Oxford United
Oxford won for the fifth time in sixth games, with Aldershot their latest victims. Four of Aldershot’s last six matches have in a 2-1 away win (including their last three matches) – unfortunately Aldershot were only playing away in two of them.
Darren Jones played the full match for Aldershot. Aaron Morris was on the bench.

Bradford City 1-3 Barnet
Barnet recorded their first away win of the season – and moved out of the bottom two as a result. A win for Bradford would have put them a point behind the play-offs.
Barnet don’t seem to be missing Grant Basey, who was released by the club. But Bradford probably wish they’d been able to extend Jason Price’s loan deal.

Crewe Alexandra 3-0 Wycombe Wanderers
Crewe moved into the play-offs following a big win over rivals Wycombe, who remain in the top three.
Rhys Taylor was in goal for Crewe – but they will only have him for this season. They can’t afford his wages anyway and he wants to play at a higher level next season. And I’m sure he’ll have plenty of offers.

Northampton Town 1-1 Cheltenham Town
Northampton missed out on the chance to go into the top half of the table, despite an excellent first half. Cheltenham are outside the play-offs only on goal difference.
Paul Walker was on the bench for Northampton.
Cheltenham were without the injured Josh Low (hamstring).

Shrewsbury Town 1-3 Morecambe
Shrewsbury dropped out of the play-offs when they failed to win for the fourth consecutive match. Morecambe are eight points clear of the relegation zone. Maybe they won’t be in the play-offs this season but they’re only seven points away so you never know.
Tom Bradshaw was given another start but the striker has never scored in a match he’s started. Of course, he only started three matches.

Southend United 2-3 Chesterfield
Chesterfield would have been top even if they’d lost this match but a hard-fought win means they are now five points clear. But they had a bit of help from Southend, who conceded two penalties.
Peter Gilbert was on the bench for Southend. He was hoping for a starting place but he didn’t get one.
Chesterfield are still without the injured Craig Davies.

Stockport County 1-5 Gillingham
Gillingham win their fourth successive away game – which isn’t a sentence I expected to write this season. Stockport fail to win for the third consecutive match.
Just a tip, Stockport. As Owain fon Williams did such a great job on loan at Bury, don’t you think he might be an option in goal?

League One Results 8th January 2011

2011-01-12T00:47:00.002Z

Bournemouth 3-0 Plymouth Argyle
Bournemouth moved up to second in the table as they beat Plymouth, who were unbeaten in five before Bournemouth came along and spoiled it.
Rhoys Wiggins was absent from Bournemouth’s squad due to an eye infection but they just about managed without him. Joe Partington was on the bench.
Carl Fletcher played the full match for Plymouth against his first ever club.

Dagenham & Redbridge 0-1 Rochdale
Dagenham & Redbridge are eight points from safety after losing to a Rochdale side who move into the top half of the table.
Tony Roberts nearly scored for Dag & Red when he joined his team-mates at the wrong end of the pitch for a corner but he headed wide.
Nicky Adams celebrated his permanent signing for Rochdale with the assist but Tony wouldn’t let him score.

Exeter City 1-1 Milton Keynes Dons
Exeter didn’t play well despite taking an early lead and MK Dons were able to snatch a share of the points in the 73rd minute.
Richard Duffy had a good first half but then he had to be replaced at half-time due to injury. Rob Edwards and Daniel Nardiello were unused substitutes.

Tranmere Rovers 3-3 Walsall
Walsall looked set to lose for the fifteenth time this season. With five minutes plus stoppage time to play, they were 3-1 down but they got one goal in the 85th minute followed by an equaliser in the fourth minute of stoppage time. A point doesn’t help their survival chances much but maybe it will give them some extra confidence.
Tranmere’s Ash Taylor played 90 minutes for the first time in the league this season
Sean Geddes was on the bench for Walsall.

Yeovil 2-0 Brentford
Yeovil are unbeaten in four after beating Brentford and just three points from safety.
Yeovil played without a single Welshmen on the pitch at any time for what I believe is the first time this season. Luckily for them, it didn’t seem to be too much of a problem for them.
Rhys Baggridge and Nathan Jones were on the bench. Nathan says Yeovil won’t be rushing into making new signings.

League Two Fixtures 11th January 2011

2011-01-11T01:21:00.000Z

Stockport County v Rotherham United
Stockport have lost their last two matches – and if you ignore their win against Barnet, who lose to most clubs, Stockport haven’t won since mid-November. Rotherham haven’t lost in the league since October.
Owain fon Williams is back from his loan spell at Bury, where he spent some time in the promotion places . Let’s hope Stockport’s caretaker manager noticed.
Mark Bradley hasn’t been in Rotherham’s squad since mid-November. I hope he’s all right.

Torquay United v Crewe Alexandra
Torquay will no doubt be quaking in their football boots at the thought of playing Crawley Town in the next round of the FA Cup. Crewe will hope to take advantage.
Rhys Taylor will play in goal for Crewe.

League One Fixtures 11th January 2011

2011-01-11T01:20:00.000Z

Bristol Rovers v Walsall
A win for either club won’t be enough to lift them out of the bottom four although Bristol Rovers would be just a point from safety, despite not having won a league game since the middle of October. For Walsall, the situation is more worrying. They are eight points from safety and without Bristol Rovers’ luxury of a game in hand.
Byron Anthony was staying positive – in a way – at the end of 2010, claiming Bristol Rovers were in a false position. It’s not clear whether this is still his opinion now but he’s almost certain to be given a place in the starting line-up – and the chance to put things right. Ben Swallow and Eliot Richards should also be in the squad.
Sean Geddes could be on the bench for Walsall.

Huddersfield Town v Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth are quite a way down the table in fourteenth – but a win at Huddersfield would put them out of the play-offs only on goal difference (I think it’s fair to assume they won’t win 18-0) and just three points behind the home team. Huddersfield’s home record suggests that beating them will be a far from easy task.
Carl Fletcher should play for Plymouth.

Peterborough United v Brentford
Peterborough need to bounce back from both a 6-2 thrashing by Fulham in the FA Cup and the loss of manager Gary Johnson as they try to do what they can against a rapidly improving Brentford. Brentford could move into the play-off places if they win.
Arron Davies will hope to keep his place in Peterborough’s starting line-up.

Carling Cup Fixture 11th January 2011 Semi-Final First Leg

2011-01-11T01:19:00.001Z

West Ham United v Birmingham City
West Ham might be struggling in the League (now there’s an understatement) but they now play the first leg of their semi-final against Birmingham. West Ham rested several first-team players when they beat Barnsley in the FA Cup/ Birmingham did likewise with their win over Millwall. West Ham were last in the Carling Cup semi-finals 21 years ago. They lost that one.
West Ham are likely to recall Danny Gabbidon for this match. Jack Collison is still recovering from a knee injury.

FA Cup Fixture 11th january 2011 Third Round

2011-01-11T01:18:00.000Z

Wycombe Wanderers v Hereford United
Just days after beating Lincoln City in a thrilling game which ended 3-4, Hereford must take on Wycombe in order to reach the fourth round. Hereford (and Lincoln) are three points adrift at the bottom of League Two while Wycombe are in an automatic promotion place. But stranger things than a Hereford win have happened in the third round so far. This will be the first time Hereford and Wycombe have played one another in a competitive match which isn’t a league match.
Ryan Green won’t play for Hereford after receiving his second red card of the season against Lincoln. Ryan Valentine is still absent with a stomach injury but manager Jamie Pitman would have to be mad to leave Stuart Fleetwood out of the starting line-up. The striker has five goals and an assist from his last three games.

FA Cup Results 8th January 2011 Third Round (Part Five)

2011-01-11T00:40:00.001Z

Swansea City 4-0 Colchester United
Colchester are challenging for promotion from League One but they were easily beaten by Premier League contenders Swansea City, who haven’t lost at home since November. Swansea will be at home again in the fourth round: they face Leyton Orient, who knocked out Swansea’s promotion rivals Norwich City.
Ashley Williams, Joe Allen and Jazz Richards all played 90 minutes for Swansea, as did, more surprisingly, Danny Alfei, who played a big part in two of Swansea’s goals. Jermaine Easter was a late substitute but Casey Thomas stayed on the bench.
Jazz was hoping Swansea could win this match and take their Cup form back into the League with them. It’s fair to say they’ve done the first part.
Lee Beevers started for Colchester with Lloyd James coming off the bench. Tom Bender was an unused substitute.

West Ham United 2-0 Barnsley
West Ham lost 5-0 to Newcastle United in the week, a side Stevenage had apparently little trouble in despatching. Manager Avram Grant sensibly made eight changes and it worked well in the first half – Barnsley might not be among the league’s front-runners but they do have Adam Hammill. In the second half, West Ham seemed content to defend their lead, which was only 1-0 at this time, and Barnsley were quite unlucky to get an equaliser. But luckily for West Ham, the game’s second goal was scored by the home side and they progressed to set up a home match against Nottingham Forest in the fourth round.
Danny Gabbidon was one of West Ham’s rested players.

FA Cup Results 8th January 2011 Third Round (Part Four)

2011-01-11T00:37:00.002Z

Southampton 2-0 Blackpool
Southampton might be two leagues lower than Blackpool but apparently they were the favourites for this match, with Blackpool expected to rest a number of players. Ian Holloway made nine changes, filling the bench with players so lowly, they don’t even have their own page on BBC Sport.
It’s a good thing Blackpool didn’t get relegated to League One last season really. They’ve lost to every League One club they’ve played this season. Southampton’s next challenge will be rather more difficult: they’re at home again, but to Manchester United.
Neal Eardley was one of the two who weren’t replaced. He could have got Blackpool an assist – and it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t. Rob Edwards played 90 minutes.

Stoke City 1-1 Cardiff City
It’s fair to say this wasn’t the result I was dreaming of but it’s a great result all the same and you never know what will happen. Cardiff and Stoke looked evenly matched and although it’s true Stoke left some of their best players on the bench, Cardiff were forced to leave some of theirs out of the squad entirely. Cardiff did of course knock out Middlesbrough a few years ago in the semi-final and Middlesbrough were quite good then. The winner of the replay will be away at Doncaster Rovers or Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Stoke rested top players including Danny Collins but Cardiff were without Craig Bellamy (knees), Jason Koumas (warm-up injury, maybe his toe again) and Jay Bothroyd (hamstring).
Ryan Shawcross, perhaps surprisingly, kept his place in Stoke’s team.
Adam Matthews and Darcy Blake made substitute appearances for Cardiff. Jonathan Meades was on the bench for a second successive game, this time joined by Aaron Wildig.

Sunderland 1-2 Notts County
Not many teams have won at the Stadium of Light this season. Sunderland have done so on a number of occasions but Blackpool are the only other side to win there in a League match. Notts County are now only two divisions below Sunderland, they haven’t been doing all that well in League One.
Sunderland did rest a few players, including goalkeeper Craig Gordan but there were starts for Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan among others while Titus Bramble and Jordan Henderson were on the bench. Sunderland weren’t at their best at all and Notts County thoroughly deserved their win. Last season they best another Premier League side, Wigan Athletic, although Notts County were in League Two at that time. Notts County’s next challenge will be either Leicester City or Manchester City.
Ben Davies played in midfield for Notts County. He wasn’t at goal/assist-getting best his best but perhaps that’s just as well given that the transfer window is open. Ben belives Notts County can still get promoted this season.

FA Cup Results 8th January 2011 Third Round (Part Three)

2011-01-11T00:35:00.000Z

Norwich City 0-1 Leyton Orient
A 20th-minute goal from League One strugglers Leyton Orient was enough to see off Championship promotion contenders Norwich City. After coming so close to being knocked out by Droylsden in the last match. Orient were not taking any chances. Or rather, they took one chance, scored from it, and then defended brilliantly to keep out Norwich. Their next FA Cup opponents will be Swansea City at the almost impenetrable Liberty Stadium.
Andrew Crofts was one of several players rested by Norwich, who were also without the cup-tied Owain Tudur Jones.

Preston North End 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Preston went into the break a goal up but there’s a reason why Forest have forced their way into play-off contention while Preston are still floundering at the bottom. As if the news that Phil Brown was their new manager wasn’t enough, Preston fans had to watch their team lose. Again. They’re probably getting used to it by now. Forest are away at West Ham United in the fourth round.
Craig Morgan nearly scored when he got his head on the end of a corner (which sounds quite painful when I put it like that) and could have opened the scoring. But the result wouldn’t necessarily have been 2-2 if he had. Paul Parry was absent from the team with a broken wrist – not that the injury prevented him from being on the bench for the match against Crystal Palace.
Robert Earnshaw and, slightly more surprisingly, Chris Gunter both came close to putting Forest 2-1 up but luckily Forest were 2-1 up by the end anyway.

Reading 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Not so long ago, West Brom were looking like the Premier League side beginning with W who were most likely to survive. That this was their sixth straight defeat probably makes this more doubtful although this result of course has no direct effect on their Premier League status.
Reading meanwhile seem to be heading in the opposite direction, albeit in a different division and it they’ll deservedly have the distraction of the FA Cup for one more round at least – they’ll be away at giant-killers Stevenage.
Simon Church was expected to start in the absence of Shane Long but Shane Long wasn’t absent (which must have been so annoying) and therefore Simon was on the bench. He and Hal Robson-Kanu did get a late run-out but they couldn’t add to Reading’s lead.
Boaz Myhill played in goal for West Brom and played well, the goal aside. And loads of goalkeepers have failed to keep out Shane Long shots this season.

Sheffield United 1-3 Aston Villa
The final result made it look easier than it was as Premier League strugglers Aston Villa beating Championship team Sheffield United. Villa got off to a great start with a goal from new loan signing Kyle Walker but there were mixed feelings for the passionate Sheffield United fan who began his career at his hometown club. Villa will face Blackburn Rovers in the fourth round.
Ched Evans played the full match for Sheffield United – the second consecutive match in which he hasn’t found the net (although I’m sure he would have done if Jamie Ward had let him take the penalty like he was supposed to) but with a return of four goals in his last six games, maybe it was another player’s turn to score.
James Collins was on Aston Villa’s bench for this match which raised questions (in my mind at least) about whether Gerard Houllier was reluctant to cup-tie a player he was rumoured to be selling but his appearance in the 91st minute suggested this was unlikely.

FA Cup Results 8th January 2011 Third Round (Part Two)

2011-01-11T00:32:00.002Z

Coventry City 2-1 Crystal Palace
Both these teams are in the Championship and form often doesn’t matter where the FA Cup is concerned – and it very nearly didn’t in this match, with a late penalty save needed to prevent Palace from taking the match to a replay. Coventry travel to Birmingham City in the next round.
Freddy Eastwood made it three goals in three games for Coventry, also picking up the assist for their second goal.
Andy Dorman started for Palace and came close to scoring. Lewis Price was on the bench.

Doncaster Rovers 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Only a late equaliser prevented Wolves from being the victim of a cupset but as it was only an equaliser, and with Wolves probably more focused on survival than the FA Cup, the cupset could yet happen. The winner of the reply will play either Stoke City or Cardiff City. The second one, I hope.
A John Oster header was the assist for Doncaster’s second goal. He was also involved in a worrying incident involving a red-carded Wolves player but I’m hoping Mick McCarthy was mistaken about John’s role in it.
Some reports said Wayne Hennessey didn’t play due to injury but as he was on the bench and this was an FA Cup match, I think it’s probably more likely he was rested. Dave Edwards kept his place in the starting line-up but he suffered a hamstring injury and was substituted after just 28 minutes . His replacement, David Jones, came close to a goal but his shot went over the bar.

Fulham 6-2 Peterborough United
Fulham ensured they weren’t going to be embarrassed by putting six past League One Peterborough. Some fans might be worried by the fact that their team let in two goals but as one was a penalty and one was an exceptional strike (not to mention that Fulham weren’t playing their first-choice keeper), maybe there isn’t too much cause for concern. Clean sheet or not, Fulham’s win was emphatic and well-deserved. Maybe they can do the same against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round.
Fulham keeper David Stockdale had to be at his best to deny Peterborough’s Arron Davies early on.
Simon Davies missed an early chance against his former club Peterborough and was substituted at halt-time – hopefully this was to rest him rather than because he was injured/in Mark Hughes’ bad books for missing.

Huddersfield Town 2-0 Dover Athletic
Two early goals in two minutes from Huddersfield were enough for them to beat Dover Athletic, who have had a great FA Cup run and also played well in this game too but they were unable to break Huddersfield down, although they did come close, also working hard to ensure Huddersfield were limited to just the two goals. Dover miss out on a potential trip to the Emirates but maybe Leeds will win the replay and I’m sure Huddersfield won’t be too disappointed if they do.
Adam Birchall, who must surely still be the FA Cup’s top scorer, was unable to add to his eleven goals but with 29 for Dover so far this season, he surely won’t be playing non-league football forever.

Lincoln City 3-4 Hereford United (second round)
Seven goals were scored and it could have been either side who scored the winning goal but in the end it went to Hereford – who were probably especially glad to avoid a replay as they tend to struggle at home. Hereford’s third round match against Wycombe Wanderers is also away and if they get through to the fourth round, they will face giant-killers Sheffield Wednesday away.
Hereford opened the scoring with Lincoln then going 2-1 ahead before Hereford took a 3-2 lead, with Stuart Fleetwood scoring the second and third goals, only for Lincoln to equalise again five minutes later. Stuart then set up Matthieu Manset to score his second and Hereford’s fourth and the away side hung on, despite losing Ryan Green to his second red card of the season after the defender received two yellow cards. This was his third match since returning from his last suspension.

Millwall 1-4 Birmingham City
Millwall had 53% of the possession, almost the same number of shots on target, considerably more off-target, and won 8 corners to Birmingham’s 0. But it was the Premier League side who took their chances to set up a fourth round tie with another Championship team, Coventry City. Darren Carter, Jason Puncheon and Ashley Grimes all found the net but as former Millwall loanees Carter and Puncheon are now back with their parent clubs and Grimes is still out on loan, this didn’t do Millwall any good at all. Millwall miss out on the chance to host Coventry City in the fourth round.
Steve Morison did his best to mount a comeback for Millwall and arguably should have scored three: one from a one-on-one situation, one from a penalty which he missed, and one from a goal that was wrongly disallowed. Maybe Steve is still feeling the affects of the flu that kept him out of the win over Crystal Palace last weekend and clearly hampered him during Millwall’s midweek fixture against Derby County..

FA Cup Results 8th January 2011 Third Round (Part One)

2011-01-11T00:29:00.002Z

Arsenal 1-1 Leeds United
Arsenal will need a replay in order to beat Leeds – and from the way that both teams played, an Arsenal win is not a foregone conclusion. Arsene Wenger fielded a weakened, if not weak side and they were very nearly made to suffer as Manchester United were last season. Leeds took the lead through an early penalty before Arsenal equalised in stoppage team by the same method. Arsenal were rightly awarded a penalty earlier in the game, only for the referee to change his mind, but a penalty was later awarded following what Theo Walcott is very keen to tell us was a dive. The team who wins the replay will play Huddersfield Town at home.
Aaron Ramsey was on the bench for Arsenal and was seen warming up although he was an unused substitute. It’s not necessarily an insult to Arsenal’s performance to say that this was the best moment in the game.
Sanchez Watt, on loan from Arsenal, was given permission to play for loan club Leeds in this match. He says his loyalties were divided, as were those of his family but he’s happy with the result and he’s looking forward to playing Arsenal at Elland Road.

Bolton Wanderers 2-0 York City
York came so close to winning themselves a home replay but late appearances for Bolton strikers Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander, both of whom have been on good form, gave Bolton two goals in the last seven mnutes. York played well and they deserved something from the game. Hopefully it will give them some comfort to know they can match a side who are competing for a place in the Europa League. Bolton have another home tie in the fourth round and will face fellow Premier League side Wigan Athletic.
Sam Ricketts played the full match for Bolton.
Danny Parslow was in defence for York and nearly got an assist but it was only an assist for a Bolton goal so I bet he was glad that chance was missed. Levi Mackin was on the bench.

Bristol City 0-3 Sheffield Wednesday
At first glance, this result doesn’t seem like much of a surprise but it was actually the first (alphabetically) of many giant-killings. Bristol City gave Sheffield Wednesday some trouble in attack but in defence they struggled as much as the scoreline suggests. Sheffield Wednesday will host either Wycombe Wanderers or Hereford United in the next round.
Lewin Nyatanga was in defence for Bristol City. Christian Ribeiro was a 63rd-minute substitute but he left the field just ten minutes later with a hamstring injury. It looks as though he could be out for several weeks but Bristol City won’t know for sure until the swelling goes down.
Brett Pitman kept the Wednesday defence hard at work but there was no place in the squad for Gavin Williams. Gavin was on the losing side for loan club Yeovil Town against Sheffield Wednesday but Yeovil only lost by two goals, despite being the home side.

Burnley 4-2 Port Vale
Burnley might be struggling in the Championship but they were convincing winners over League Two promotion contenders Port Vale, who have just lost their manager to Sheffield United (and yes, it was Wales’ fault). However, while the better team certainly won, Port Vale worked very hard and gave Burnley more than a few anxious moments.
Lewis Haldane started for Port Vale for only the second time since recovering from blood poisoning Stoke & Staffordshire says it’s his third start of the season though so maybe I missed one) and got the assist for Port Vale’s first goal. Gareth Owen, new manager Jim Gannon’s chosen captain for the day, played 90 minutes.

Burton Albion 2-1 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough’s only consolation is that Newcastle United, Sunderland and also Hartlepool United were also the victims of a Cupset but perhaps it is slightly more painful for a Middlesbrough side who have seen themselves fall from being a mid-table Premier League side to contenders for relegation to League One within a couple of years. Too good to go down? Well, they weren’t good enough to beat a mid-table League Two team yesterday.
Middlesbrough didn’t play badly. They dominated and created chances but chances are no good if you don’t take them. However, Burton were excellent. They worked hard, played well and they won the game. They will be away at Burnley in the next round.
Tony James was a half-time substitute for Burton – which means he won’t be available for Cup games if Hereford United buy him.
Danny Coyne got a rare start for Middlesbrough but was sadly unable to make the most of it. But that wasn’t entirely his fault. He didn’t have to make a save for the first 80 minutes.

Fa Cup Fixture 10th January 2011

2011-01-10T19:17:00.001Z

Crawley Town v Derby County
The third round has been full of cupsets and it could provide just one more when Crawley host Derby County. It is the first time in the history of football that these clubs have met in a competitive football fixture. Crawley have already knocked out Swindon Town.
Robbie Savage announced to 606 listeners that this match was on Sunday but luckily his co-presenter put him right so he should be available. Gareth Roberts was rested against Millwall so he could play this evening if Derby manager Nigel Clough feels that Crawley are more of a threat. Robbie certainly believes that they need to treat Crawley with respect. And hopefully they’ll let him in the ground this time. By the way, if you’ve seen Robbie’s credit card…
Glenn Wilson could start for Crawley.

Transfer News and Rumours 8th January 2011 (Leagues 1 and 2)

2011-01-08T20:42:00.001Z

Jason Price has returned to Carlisle United after his loan spell with Bradford City came to an end.

Rochdale have signed Nicky Adams from Brentford permanently. Nicky joined Brentford in the summer from Leicester City but he couldn’t settle and was loaned to former club Rochdale. It seems he likes it there.

Hereford United are interested in signing their former player Tony James. Tony returned to the club on loan this season but is now back with Burton Albion.

Transfer News and Rumours 8th January 2011 (Championship)

2011-01-08T20:36:00.002Z

It is thought that Bristol City will listen to offers for Gavin Williams, who has just had foot surgery.

Doncaster manager Sean O’Driscoll hopes Brian Stock will sign a new contract but a number of other clubs are interested.

Kenny Jackett says Millwall don’t need to sell Steve Morison – and there’s been no contact from Fulham. So if Mark Hughes wants to manage Steve, he’ll have to wait until the Wales manager post becomes vacant again. And hopefully that won’t be for a very long time.

Millwall striker Steve Morison says he won’t be letting the Fulham rumours distract him. Wolverhampton Wanderers are also interested.

Nottingham Forest have told Robert Earnshaw he will need to take a paycut if he wants to remain at the club. Rob’s current contract expires this summer.

Simon Church has been linked with Swansea City but he’s focused on helping Reading into the Premier League.

Hal Robson-Kanu could move from Reading to Swindon Town in a swap with Charlie Austin.

Jermaine Easter hopes to sign a permanent deal with Swansea City, having apparently come to the conclusion he’d rather be on the bench for a top Championship side than for a mid-table League One club.

Newcastle United are interested in Swansea City’s Ashley Williams but Brendan Rogers has no plans to sell him. Swansea are also concerned that they could lose Joe Allen.

Swansea City goalkeeper David Cornell will spend the rest of the season on loan at Welsh Premier League club Port Talbot.

Transfer News and Rumours 8th January 2011 (Premier League)

2011-01-08T20:28:00.004Z

Arsenal will not allow Nottingham Forest to extend Aaron Ramsey’s loan spell with them. And quite right too.

Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers are fighting it out to sign James Collins from Aston Villa.

Ian Holloway says he could sell his stars including David Vaughan… if a top four club wants them.

Manchester United have first refusal on their former player Ryan Shawcross, according to Stoke City manager Tony Pulis. Apparently, Alex Ferguson sorted that out when he sold Ryan to Stoke. Ryan won’t move this January however.

Sir Alex Ferguson doesn’t want Michael Owen to leave Manchester United just yet. West Ham United will be disappointed to hear that.

Or no wait, maybe Sir Alex Ferguson does want Michael to leave. And he can take Owen Hargreaves and possibly Ryan Giggs with him.

If Michael is in need of a new club, Everton are said to be interested.

Ryan Giggs’ contract ends this season but he is expected to sign a new one. As long as the lure of New York Cosmos doesn’t prove too great.

Gareth Bale’s agent says that Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid are all interested in signing the Tottenham Hotspur left-footer. They’d be lucky. Gareth’s says that Gareth wants to play in Italy and maybe he does but what’s the poor boy supposed to say if his Italian agent asks if he would like to play in Italy one day? He’s hardly going to say no, is he? He’s much too nice to say no.
The Welsh FA, however, aren’t too nice to say no. Or they haven’t been so far. Gareth wants to play for the Great Britain Olympic team, the GB people don’t want a team without Gareth – but nothing can happen unless the Welsh FA learn how to say yes. (Although to be fair to them, there is no real word for ‘yes’ in Welsh…)

FA Cup Fixtures 9th January 2011

2011-01-08T20:09:00.001Z

Manchester United v Liverpool
The Premier League leaders take on Liverpool, four points outside the relegation zone, in the third round’s only all-Premier League tie. Kenny Dalglish is Liverpool’s manager following the departure of Roy Hodgson by ‘mutual consent’. Twelve months ago, Liverpool were knocked out by Reading while League One Leeds United beat Manchester United before nearly doing the same to Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United could rest players including Ryan Giggs but that could mean Michael Owen will get a chance. Owen Hargreaves is still out with a hamstring injury. Ryan is expecting a good performance from Liverpool but he says Manchester United will never end up like them.

Tottenham Hotspur v Charlton Athletic
Tottenham are expected to rest players against League One Charlton, who have never beaten Tottenham in the FA Cup. Tottenham’s eleven-match unbeaten run came to an end midweek when Gareth Bale got injured and had to be substituted. Charlton are without a win in five.
Gareth Bale has a slight back injury and probably deserved a rest anyway so he won’t play.

Chelsea v Ipswich Town
Managerless Ipswich have some easy matches over the next few days. Chelsea in the FA Cup, Arsenal in the Carling Cup. If they’re planning on doing any giant-killing, let’s hope it happens tomorrow. Ipswich have never beaten Chelsea in the FA Cup.
Troy Brown is likely to be in Ipswich’s squad.

Leicester City v Manchester City
There are giant-killings all over the place today. Manchester City will hope they’re not the next to suffer. Leicester, who have won all their (two) matches in 2011, are managed by former Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Andy King should start for Leicester.

Fa Cup Fixtures 8th January 2011 (Part 6)

2011-01-08T15:20:00.001Z

Sunderland v Notts County
Notts County are near the bottom of League One so they probably don’t really want to go to a team who don’t go around losing home matches very often. So Notts County will be hoping to emulate Blackpool and West Ham United. (I would go for Blackpool.)
Ben Davies should start for Notts County.

Swansea City v Colchester United
Swansea probably still remember the last time they were giant-killed in the FA Cup. I bet most Cardiff City fans remember it too. The giant-killers in question also played Liverpool..Colchester, meanwhile, will be hoping to improve on last year’s 7-0 exit to Preston North End.
Neil Taylor is still out for Swansea with an ankle injury (he’s likely to be out for four weeks) but Ashley Williams, Joe Allen and David Cotterill should all be available. It looks as though Jermaine Easter hasn’t represented parent club Milton Keynes Dons in the FA Cup so assuming MK Dons give him permission, he could also play.
Colchester are missing at least three defenders which could be good news for Lee Beevers. Lloyd James will also be hoping for a second consecutive start. There could also be a space for Tom Bender on the bench again Tom will be off to the Balon d’Or ceremony next week.

Torquay United v Carlisle United
Carlisle supporters will have to travel a very long way in order to get to this match so they’ll really be hoping it’s worth it. Neither club has won since November but they’ve both only played three games since then.
Jason Price is back from his loan spell at Bradford City but he has already represented Bradford in the FA Cup.

West Ham United v Barnsley
West Ham are expected to rest players which could be great news for Barnsley.
Danny Gabbidon could be one of those rested. Jack Collison isn’t ready to return from a knee injury but it won’t be long now.

Fa Cup Fixtures 8th January 2011 (Part 5)

2011-01-08T15:18:00.002Z

Southampton v Blackpool
So, a win for Southampton would be quite a major giant-killing then. I love football.
Blackpool won’t be taking all members of their first team so it’s unlikely that Neal Eardley and David Vaughan will be there but Rob Edwards has a good chance of playing.

Stokc City v Cardiff City
Cardiff check out their Premier League credentials at Stoke, who are well-known for their intimidating home atmosphere and the large number of resulting wins.
Tony Pulis really wants to take Stoke to the final and he says he will play a strong side so Ryan Shawcross and Danny Collins could feature. Danny believes Stoke could get into Europe – and if they win the FA Cup, that will happen.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/9341881.stm
Craig Bellamy will have a late fitness test on his knee while Jason Koumas might not recover from a niggle. Darcy Blake, Adam Matthews and Aaron Wildig are all fit as far as I know. Jonathan Meades was in Cardiff’s last squad so maybe he’ll be there again.
Cardiff manager Dave Jones says Craig is an inspiration and Stoke City manager Tony Pulis feels Craig has a future in management.

Fa Cup Fixtures 8th January 2011 (Part 4)

2011-01-08T15:16:00.002Z

Norwich City v Leyton Orient
Norwich had a few problems with Droylsden in the last round, needing a replay and extra time in order to beat them 8-2. They’ll be hoping Orient are a lot less trouble.
If Norwich rest players, Andrew Crofts could be one of them. Owain Tudur Jones is cup-tied, having already played for Yeovil in the FA Cup.

Preston North End v Nottingham Forest
Here’s the second of the two all-Championship ties. Preston are looking like a team who could be in League One next season while Forest have crept up on the play-offs and now look like contenders. But anything can happen in the FA Cup.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry could start for Preston but they might be saved for more important games. No disrespect to the FA Cup but they have more chance of surviving relegation than winning the Cup and surviving is probably something they quite want to do.
If Forest do plan on giving star players such as Chris Gunter a rest, this might be a good time. Robert Earnshaw was rested in Forest’s last match so maybe he was being saved for the FA Cup. He did score a hat-trick two matches ago. Aaron Ramsey has returned to Arsenal after Arsene Wenger refused a request to extend his loan. The chances are, he wouldn’t have let them cup-tie Aaron either.

Reading v West Bromwich Albion
These two clubs were probably hoping not to see each other for a couple of season after playing four times last season.
Simon Church is expected to start for Reading. Hal Robson-Kanu and Jake Taylor might also get the chance to feature.
Boaz Myhill will start in goal for West Brom/

Sheffield United v Aston Villa
Sheffield United and Aston Villa have something in common. Not only are they both playing in this match, they are both have one point from their last four matches.
Ched Evans should play for Sheffield United. They might not be winning but that isn’t stopping him from scoring.
James Collins will probably play for Villa unless they are going to sell him and don’t want him cup-tied. The other James Collins has signed for Shrewsbury Town but he’s not Welsh.

Fa Cup Fixtures 8th January 2011 (Part 3)

2011-01-08T15:13:00.003Z

Doncaster Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Doncaster have only played Wolves six times but at least four of them must have been in the last two seasons. Doncaster are unbeaten in three matches and their last home defeat was in mid-October.
John Oster and Brian Stock should start for Doncaster.
Wayne Hennessey is expected to be rested. Dave Edwards is hoping for a run in the team but he could be rested too – although this would give David Jones a chance of coming into the side. Sam Vokes is still out with his hamstring injury.

Fulham v Peterborough United
Fulham are having striker problems again. They face Peterborough, who have apparently spent only one season in the same division as them.
Fulham could rest former Peterborough player Simon Davies, who has long-term ankle problems.
Arron Davies (no relation as far as I know) will hope to start for Peterborough.

Huddersfield Town v Dover Athletic
Dover are the lowest-ranked team left in the FA Cup. They scored six against Macclesfield Town in the last round and seven against Thurrock in their last match but Huddersfield are probably better than Macclesfield and Thurrock. They’ll hope so anyway. But they’re not taking any chances: they are expected to name a full-strength team.
Adam Birchall has scored eleven FA Cup goals so far this season. He’s so happy to be back in love with football again but he still dreams of being back in the Premier League one day. As for the FA Cup match, Dover can do it again.

Lincoln City v Hereford Town
Two of League Two’s strugglers meet in this match.
Ryan Valentine (stomach) remains out for Hereford but Ryan Green should start and Stuart Fleetwood certainly deserves to. Stuart feels Hereford can get to the fourth round.

Millwall v Birmingham City
Millwall’s season in the Championship is going better than many predicted (and worse than I predicted, I said they’d get promoted but I only said that to make my dad happy) – they are unbeaten in the last eight matches. Birmingham are perhaps struggling a bit more than most people expected. They’re unbeaten in one.
Steve Morison should play for Millwall but I’m hoping he won’t do anything too brilliant until the transfer window has closed and he’s still safely at Millwall. A hat-trick should be just about okay but four goals will be pushing it.

Fa Cup Fixtures 8th January 2011 (Part 2)

2011-01-08T15:11:00.001Z

Burnley v Port Vale
Port Vale are the team on the winning run although it’s only a winning run of one match and Burnley are on a win-lose win-lose run and it’s their turn to win.
Gareth Owen should play in defence for Port Vale – new manager Jim Gannon says he will be a big part of their promotion push. Lewis Haldane might be saved for games they have more chance of winning but you never know.

Burton Albion v Middlesbrough
The ‘Championship favourites’ really won’t want to cause their supporters any more embarrassment this season but losing to Burton would certainly do it. Not that Middlesbrough have ever lost to Burton. This is their first ever meeting.
Tony James will probably be on the bench for Burton.
Danny Coyne will be on the bench for Middlesbrough but Rhys Williams still isn’t ready to return from a pelvis injury.

Coventry v Crystal Palace
There are only two matches in this round of the FA Cup where both teams are members of the Championship. This is one of them although Coventry are closer to some Premier League teams than they are to Palace.
Freddy Eastwood has two goals in the last two games for Coventry and should keep his place.
Andy Dorman will hope to keep his place in Palace’s starting line-up. Lewis Price will probably be on the bench.

Fa Cup Fixtures 8th January 2011 (Part 1)

2011-01-08T15:08:00.003Z

Arsenal v Leeds United
Arsenal’s quest for silverware sees them take on the team who knocked Manchester United last year – and came close to doing the same to Tottenham Hotspur.
Aaron Ramsey could make his first appearance of the season as part of Arsenal’s squad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/07/aaron-ramsey-arsenal-return-leeds
Sanchez Watt has been given permission to play for Leeds against his parent club but he has a head injury.

Blackburn Rovers v Queen’s Park Rangers
QPR get to test out how close they are to being ready for the Premier League.
Jason Brown could be in Blackburn’s squad but I kind of doubt it really. They do have a lot of injury problems but not in goal.

Bolton Wanderers v York City
Bolton are looking like European contenders but York have achieved something just by being here.
Bolton are expected to field a weakened side so Sam Ricketts could be rested. The Press disagree with me though – they think Sam will get a ‘rare start’. Sam has been on the bench once in the last ten matches. Sam knows what it’s like to be a non-league player but he won’t be giving York too much sympathy.
Levi Mackin will both hope to feature for York despite missing training when his baby daughter was born. As York have a fully-fit squad, Danny Parslow is presumably also available but Alex Lawless has signed for Luton Town following a loan spell with the club.

Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday
There’s definitely some giant-killing potential here although it won’t be giant-killing of the most romantic kind. Still, it’s hardly a fumble in the bushes either.
Several Bristol City players have fitness problems which should increase Lewin Nyatanga, Christian Ribeiro and Brett Pitman’s chances of playing. Gavin Williams has had surgery on a foot injury and is expected to be out for three weeks. Sam Vokes is back at Wolverhampton Wanderers following his not exactly successful loan spell.

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (League Two, Part 3)

2011-01-08T00:39:00.000Z

Port Vale
A series of cancelled fixtures gave Gareth Owen the chance tor recover from injury and play a full part in Port Vale’s end of year matches.
Gillingham A 3-0 (played all)
Rotherham A 5-0 (played all)
Burton H 2-1 (Y foul 43, played all)

Lewis Haldane continues to work his way back to full fitness gradually. Port Vale only won one of their last three matches: the one Lewis played in.
Gillingham A 3-0 (bench)
Rotherham A 5-0 (bench)
Burton H 2-1 (bench, on 81)

Rotherham United
Mark Bradley appears to have dropped off the face of the earth. He hasn’t been seen on a football pitch since November and not even the Press seem to know where he’s hiding.

Shrewsbury Town
Tom Bradshaw finally made his first start for Shrewsbury but unfortunately he couldn’t grab a winner.
Burton A 0-0 (starts, off 91)
Crewe H 0-1 (bench, on 71)

Southend United
Peter Gilbert was sent off on 24th November. On New Year’s Day, he finally completed his three-match suspension.
Oxford A 0-2 (suspended)
Cheltenham H 1-2 (bench)

Stockport County
Anthony Pulis began his Stockport career with a goal. Let’s hope he doesn’t end it as a substitute.
Barnet A 1-3 (bench)
Chesterfield A 4-1 (starts, off 71)
Morecambe H 0-2 (bench)

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (League Two, Part 2)

2011-01-08T00:37:00.000Z

Chesterfield
Craig Davies was in and out of the team with a hamstring injury but when he played, he scored.
Stockport H 4-1 (Y unsporting 27, G4 90, played all)
Accrington A 2-2 (out, injury)

Robert Page finished 2011 with another appearance on the bench.
Stockport H 4-1 (unselected)
Accrington A 2-2 (bench)

Mark Crossley hasn’t been named on the bench since September.

Crewe Alexandra
Rhys Taylor has the option to move to another club in January and considering that he’d actually pretty good for a Chelsea goalkeeper, I would certainly have forgiven him if he did just that (although I’m not so sure about the Crewe fans). But the good news is that he hasn’t been corrupted by Ashley Cole and he does know what the word ‘loyalty’ means.
Northampton H 2-0 (played all)
Shrewsbury A 0-1 (played all)

Hereford United
Ryan Green returned from suspension to play Hereford’s final two matches of the season, in which they were unbeaten.
Wycombe A 2-1 (suspended)
Torquay H 2-2 (played all)
Aldershot A 1-2 (played all)

All the same, Hereford probably missed Ryan Valentine, who is still sidelined with a stomach injury.

Stuart Fleetwood made the most of his final two starts of the year by scoring in each of them.
Wycombe A 2-1 (starts, off 64)
Torquay H 2-2 (starts, G1 32, off 79)
Aldershot A 1-2 (starts, G1 3, off 78)

Macclesfield Town
Have Macclesfield Town actually superglued Sam Wedgbury to the bench or do they just not want him to play? I don’t know which is more ridiculous. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that they didn’t win any of their last three games.
Oxford A 2-1 (bench)
Bury A 2-2 (bench)
Rotherham H 0-2 (bench)

Northampton Town
Paul Walker remains Northampton’s second-choice keeper despite apparently being too young to play in League Two.
Crewe A 2-0 (bench)
Lincoln H 2-1 (bench)

Oxford United
Rhys Day was destined never to play with Oxford in the Football League. He spent the first part of the season absent with a knee injury before being sent out on loan to former club Mansfield Town. He has now signed for Mansfield permanently.

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (League Two, Part 1)

2011-01-08T00:36:00.000Z

Accrington Stanley
Joe Jacobson played just two matches for Accrington in the time spell of this post but he has since extended his loan deal from Oldham Athletic.
Morecambe A 1-2 (played all)
Chesterfield H 2-2 (Y foul 52, played all)

Aldershot Town
Darren Jones was surprisingly dropped to the bench for one of the two matches Aldershot were able to play. Losing to Barnet and Hereford United: is there worse?
Barnet A 1-2 (bench, on 91)
Hereford H 1-2 (played all)

Aaron Morris also spent one match on the bench but that’s less of a surprise because he often has to do that. That doesn’t mean I agree with it though.
Barnet A 1-2 (played all)
Hereford H 1-2 (bench, on 46, Y foul 69)

Barnet
Grant Basey played his final two matches with Barnet – the club have decided to cancel his contract as they felt he wasn’t fully committed to the cause. And maybe he isn’t – he really wanted to go to Aberdeen. It’s not his fault Aberdeen kept him hanging for weeks before deciding they couldn’t afford him.
Stockport H 1-3 (played all)
Aldershot H 1-2 (played all)
Stevenage A 4-2 (OG2 8, played all)

Bradford City
Jason Price’s loan spell at Bradford didn’t really go as planned as far as goals are concerned but his manager apparently still wants him.
Cheltenham A 4-0 (played all)
Lincoln A 1-2 (bench)
Bury H 1-0 (starts, off 72)

Michael Flynn is still out with a groin injury.

Burton Albion
Player of the Year Tony James ended his year on the bench.
Port Vale A 2-1 (bench)

Garyn Preen has returned from a loan spell at Stafford Rangers after deciding not to extend his loan. So did the player who went with him. Their manager Paul Peschisolido is trying to find them both new clubs but maybe he only means new loan clubs.

Bury
Owain fon Williams exchanged Stockport County’s relegation fight for a promotion race with loan club Bury. He was great but as soon as their other keeper was fit, Owain was on the bench. (And Bury lost.)
Macclesfield H 2-2 (played all)
Bradford A 1-0 (bench)

Cheltenham Town
A number Cheltenham’s Christmas fixtures were cancelled but Josh Low would have missed them anyway as he has a hamstring injury.
Bradford H 4-0 (out, hamstring)
Wycombe H 1-2 (out, hamstring
Southend A 1-2 (out, hamstring)

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (League One, Part 3)

2011-01-07T23:43:00.000Z

Southampton
Ryan Doble didn’t add to his collection of appearances from Southampton’s bench.

Anthony Pulis is still on loan at Stockport County.

Swindon Town
Billy Bodin got to sit on the bench once for Swindon.
Bournemouth H 1-2 (bench)
Charlton A 2-4 (unselected)

Tranmere Rovers
Ash Taylor made his first start since recovering from a knee injury but he didn’t last very long. For the next match, he was back on the bench where it’s safer.
Rochdale A 3-2 (starts, off 26)
Carlisle H 2-1 (bench)

Walsall
Sean Geddes wasn’t in any Walsall squads.

Yeovil Town
Rhys Baggridge was on the bench in two consecutive matches for Yeovil.
Plymouth A 0-0 (bench)
MK Dons H 1-0 (bench)

Loanee Shaun MacDonald played his last two games for Yeovil.
Plymouth A 0-0 (played all)
MK Dons H 1-0 (played all)

Nathan Jones was nowhere to be seen (unless you looked in the technical area, I suppose).

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (League One, Part 2)

2011-01-07T23:42:00.000Z

Exeter City
Richard Duffy got an assist in Exeter’s shock thrashing of Sheffield Wednesday but the cold weather meant they didn’t play again for the rest of the year. And when they did play again, they’d forgotten how to thrash top teams.
Sheff Wed H 5-1 (A1 29, played all)
Soton A 4-0 (played all)
Brighton H 1-2 (played all)

Rob Edwards seemed to have a Christmas break from playing but no doubt he was still there in a coaching capacity.
Sheff Wed H 5-1 (bench)
Soton A 4-0 (unselected)
Brighton H 1-2 (unselected)

Daniel Nardiello didn’t get any starts at all, despite coming off the bench to score in the penalty shoot-out win over Bristol Rovers in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy shortly before this round-up of results begins.
Sheff Wed H 5-1 (bench)
Soton A 4-0 (bench, on 55)
Brighton H 1-2 (bench, on 74)

Andy Marriott also didn’t play. No news yet on whether he has moved to West Bromwich Albion. (As a coach, I mean.)

Notts County
Ben Davies hadn’t got an assist since October – although he has scored once since then. But the long run finally came to an end against Hartlepool United.
Plymouth A 1-1 (played all)
Walsall A 0-3 (played all)
Hartlepool H 3-0 (A2 70, played all)

Oldham Athletic
Joe Jacobson is still on loan at Accrington Stanley.

Peterborough United
Arron Davies has been in and out of the starting line-up and this is exactly what happened in the two games Peterborough played over Christmas (or over the New Year, if you want to be accurate about it).
Swindon A 1-1 (bench)
Walsall H 4-1 (starts, off 79)

Plymouth Argyle
It took Carl Fletcher a long time to recover from his leg injury but now he’s back and Plymouth are unbeaten in four.
Notts Co H 1-1 (played all)
Yeovil H 0-0 (played all)
Bristol R A 2-3 (played all)

Rochdale
Nicky Adams has signed permanently for Rochdale following a successful loan spell. But he’s yet to start for his new club as he’s been recovering from injury.
Tranmere H 3-2 (out injury although I think his loan had ended and he was back at Brentford sorting out his move)
Oldham A 1-2 (bench, on 55)

Matt Done was probably quite glad to see the back of Nicky Adams as he finally got a start. But then Nicky came back and neither of them started.
Tranmere H 3-2 (starts, off 75)
Oldham A 1-2 (bench, on 61)

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (League One, Part 1)

2011-01-07T23:40:00.001Z

Bournemouth
Rhoys Wiggins might not necessarily be the first names on the team-sheet – I always tend to write the goalkeeper’s name first. But his isn’t a name you’re going to leave off the team-sheet.
MK Dons A 2-0 (played all)
Swindon A 1-2 (played all)
Brentford H 3-1 (played all)

Joe Partington returned from a loan spell at Eastbourne Borough, where he scored goals, got sent off and returned to his parent club with a knock. But he hasn’t been in Bournemouth’s squad since his return.

Brentford
Nicky Adams returned to Brentford when his loan spell came to an end but he only stayed long enough to sort out a permanent move to Rochdale.

Bristol Rovers
Byron Anthony’s Christmas wish was probably to score no own goals, and miss no penalties. And he didn’t do any of those things. But neither did he win a match.
MK Dons A 2-0 (Y foul 1, played all3)
Plymouth H 2-3 (played all)

Eliot Richards has spent most of the season on the bench but he played a part in Bristol Rovers’ defeat to Milton Keynes Dons before getting his second start of the season against Plymouth Argyle. Not to mention his first assist.
MK Dons A 2-0 (bench, on 46)
Plymouth H 2-3 (A1 11, played all)

Ben Swallow’s second goal for Bristol Rovers was rewarded with two starts over the Christmas period.
MK Dons A 2-0 (starts, off 46)
Plymouth H 2-3 (starts, Y foul 57, off 72)

Carlisle United
Jason Price was at Bradford City over Christmas and there was talk of his extending his loan spell again but he came back to Carlisle instead.

Colchester United
Colchester played only two of their Christmas matches but they marked a first and second starts of the season for Lee Beevers.
Charlton H 3-3 (played all)
Orient A 4-2 (Y 11, played all)

Lloyd James had already started twice this season but only in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and Carling Cup. Now he has two in the league to add to them. (Let’s not mention the penalty.)
Charlton H 3-3 (conc pen 18, played all)
Orient A 4-2 (Y foul 55, played all)

Thomas Bender made his third appearance in a Colchester squad – his first and second in the league.
Charlton H 3-3 (bench)
Orient A 4-2 (bench)

Dagenham & Redbridge
Tony Roberts played in goal as Dagenham continue to struggle with life in League One.
Brentford A 2-1 (played all)
Southampton H 1-3 (played all)

Loanee Kayleden Brown spent Christmas and the New Year recovering from an ankle injury.

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (Championship, Part 4)

2011-01-07T21:31:00.002Z

Swansea City
Neil Taylor had a mixed Christmas, starting off as a substitute and winning back his place in the starting line-up… only to suffer an ankle injury after two starts.
Sheff Utd A 1-0 (bench)
QPR A 4-0 (bench, on 20)
Barnsley H 1-0 (played all)
Reading H 1-0 (starts, off 28)
Leicester A 2-1 (out, ankle)

Ashley Williams continued to set new records for number of consecutive starts by an outfield player at Swansea City. Luckily the yellow card was his second of the season rather than his fifth.
Sheff Utd A 1-0 (played all)
QPR A 4-0 (Y conc pen 62, played all)
Barnsley H 1-0 (played all)
Reading H 1-0 (played all)
Leicester A 2-1 (played all)

Joe Allen remained a very important part of the Swansea City team, starting three matches and making appearances from the bench in the other two.
Sheff Utd A 1-0 (played all)
QPR A 4-0 (played all)
Barnsley H 1-0 (bench, on 63)
Reading H 1-0 (played all)
Leicester A 2-1 (bench, on 72)

I’m not sure why David Cotterill needed a rest for the match about Queen’s Park Rangers but I bet manager Brendan Roberts really regrets leaving him out.
Sheff Utd A 1-0 (bench, on 66)
QPR A 4-0 (rested)
Barnsley H 1-0 (Y 92, played all)
Reading H 1-0 (bench)
Leicester A 2-1 (played all)
Jermaine Easter slowly worked his way into Swansea’s starting line-up and was rewarded with a first goal – his first league goal of the season.
Sheff Utd A 1-0 (bench, on 45)
QPR A 4-0 (bench, on 71)
Barnsley H 1-0 (starts, G1 27, off 63)
Reading H 1-0 (bench, on 71)
Leicester A 2-1 (starts, off 67)

Lee Lucas made his second appearance of the season in a matchday squad.
Sheff Utd A 1-0 (unselected)
QPR A 4-0 (unselected)
Barnsley H 1-0 (unselected)
Reading H 1-0 (unselected)
Leicester A 2-1 (bench)

Jazz Richards made his first league appearance of the season in the match against Leicester. He played 90 minutes, something he’d previously only done against Peterborough United in the Carling Cup.
Sheff Utd A 1-0 (unselected)
QPR A 4-0 (unselected)
Barnsley H 1-0 (unselected)
Reading H 1-0 (unselected)
Leicester A 2-1 (played all)

David Cornell, Danny Alfei, Joe Walsh, Kerry Morgan and Casey Thomas did not add to their appearances in Swansea squads.

Watford
Jonathan Bond hasn’t been on Watford’s bench for months.

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (Championship, Part 3)

2011-01-07T21:29:00.001Z

Millwall
Steve Morison has been attracting the attention of Premier League clubs which can only mean one thing – he has been playing brilliantly for Millwall despite a recent goal drought. Poor Steve missed out on the New Year’s Day game with flu and judging him from his performance a couple of days later, it wasn’t the sort of flu footballers get sometimes when they’re in talks with a new club. Let’s hope he’s feeling better for Millwall’s FA Cup match against Birmingham City.
Portsmouth A 1-1 (played all)
Leicester H 2-0 (G1 12, played all)
Palace H 3-0 (out, flu)
Derby A 0-0 (starts, off 71)

Norwich City
Norwich were predicted to struggle and to be fair, they are struggling to get into the automatic promotion places. It’s been an excellent season so far and part of the reason for that is Andrew Crofts.
Coventry A 1-2 (out, illness)
Sheff Utd H 4-2 (played all)
QPR H 1-0 (played all)
Boro A 1-1 (played all)

When Owain Tudur Jones returned from a loan spell at Yeovil Town, I wasn’t sure how many chances he’d have at Norwich and was very happy to see him on the bench for the very next game. Not only that, he came off the bench too. Since then, he’s always been a substitute except for his most recent match, where he got his first Norwich start of the season (he did get substituted at half-time but that’s not necessarily a very bad thing).
Coventry A 1-2 (bench)
Sheff Utd H 4-2 (bench)
QPR H 1-0 (bench)
Boro A 1-1 (starts, off 46)

Josh Dawkin has made one appearance on Norwich’s bench this season and it wasn’t at Christmas but let’s hope his next appearance isn’t too far away.

Nottingham Forest
Chris Gunter kept his place in Forest’s starting line-up as they pushed slowly up towards the right end of the table and (briefly) into the play-off places.
Palace H 3-0 (played all)
Derby H 5-2 (played all)
Barnsley A 2-2 (wins pen 68, played all)
Ipswich A 0-1 (played all)

Robert Earnshaw started most matches over the Christmas period and got a hat-trick in the process. Three goals in three games doesn’t really seem like a reason to drop a player to the bench but that’s what happened.
Palace H 3-0 (played all)
Derby H 5-2 (G2 24, G4 53, G5 94, Y 94, played all)
Barnsley A 2-2 (starts, off 75)
Ipswich A 0-1 (bench)

Preston North End
Craig Morgan has been in and out of Preston’s squad and in and out of the starting line-up as they desperately try to save themselves from relegation.
Boro H 1-3 (played all)
Derby H 1-2 (bench)
Palace A 0-0 (played all)

Paul Parry has always been in the squad but his knee problems have prevented him from starting many games. Now if Paul refused to come out of retirement for Wales for injury reasons, I would have no cause for complaint. (Not that I necessarily have cause the other times.)
Boro H 1-3 (bench, on 85)
Derby H 1-2 (starts, off 71)
Palace A 0-0 (bench)

Reading
Simon Church was back on the bench over Christmas but his one goal was rewarded with one start in the very next match. But he couldn’t get two in two (how many strikers do that?) so he was back on the bench again against Burnley.
Derby A 1-2 (bench, on 65)
Bristol C H 4-1 (bench)
Hull A 1-1 (bench, on 58, G1 82)
Swansea A 1-0 (played all)
Burnley H 1-1 (bench, on 72)

Hal Robson-Kanu has had a similar problem to Simon although he did get an assist.
Derby A 1-2 (bench, on 76)
Bristol C H 4-1 (bench, on 80, A4 89)
Hull A 1-1 (bench)
Swansea A 1-0 (starts, off 71)
Burnley H 1-1 (bench, on 67)

Jake Taylor made his long-awaited return following knee surgery but he’s only been on the bench once so let’s hope he hasn’t had a relapse.
Derby A 1-2 (unselected)
Bristol C H 4-1 (unselected)
Hull A 1-1 (unselected)
Swansea A 1-0 (bench)
Burnley H 1-1 (unselected)

Sheffield United
Ched Evans got four goals in four games, helping to get some much-needed wins against form teams. He can even score penalties, always a useful trait in a Welshman.
Swansea H 1-0 (starts, G1 44, off 93)
Hull H 2-3 (G1 62, G2 73, played all)
Norwich A 4-2 (played all)
Burnley A 4-2 (G2 pen 47. played all)
Doncaster H 2-2 (played all)

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (Championship, Part 2)

2011-01-07T20:48:00.001Z

Coventry City
Freddy Eastwood got back from injury to discover Coventry were playing pretty well without him. But when he did finally start, he made sure he scored. And when he got his second start, he did exactly the same thing.
Norwich H 1-2 (bench, on 90)
Cardiff A 1-0 (bench, on 59)
QPR H 0-2 (bench, on 87)
Ipswich H 1-1 (starts, G1 48, off 89)
Barnsley A 2-1 (G1 35, played all)

Crystal Palace
Andy Dorman has had trouble settling in London and spent some time not being in the squad at all. But now he’s back in the squad and he even got a couple of starts over the Christmas period.
Forest A 1-0 (starts, off 46)
Bristol C A 0-1 (bench)
Millwall A 3-0 (bench)
Preston H 1-0 (played all)

Lewis Price continues to be Palace’s substitute goalkeeper, despite their recent issues with stopping goals from being scored against them.
Forest A 1-0 (bench)
Bristol C A 0-1 (bench)
Millwall A 3-0 (bench)
Preston H 1-0 (bench)

Derby County
Gareth Roberts has had a number of injury problems but when he was fit, he played the full match.
Reading H 1-2 (out, calf)
Forest A 5-2 (out, calf)
Preston A 1-2 (played all)
Millwall H 0-0 (out, calf)

Robbie Savage seems to have been around forever and one reason why it seems that way is because he hardly ever misses a match due to injury. Suspension, yes (although he’s only had about two red cards) and there was another example of this at Christmas. Injury, no. I think the Wales squad needs a few players who never get injured.
Reading H 1-2 (bench, on 46, Y 59 foul)
Forest A 5-2 (suspended)
Preston A 1-2 (A2 84, played all)
Millwall H 0-0 (starts, off 86)

Doncaster Rovers
John Oster seems to be getting less attention from the Press (perhaps partly because so many of Doncaster’s matches have been cancelled) but he’s still quietly getting on with the job and picking up assists.
Scunthorpe H 3-0 (A3 45+2m, played all)
Sheff Utd A 2-2 (played all)

Brian Stock managed to injure himself again but he too is getting assists and at least it wasn’t his troublesome back this time.
Scunthorpe H 3-0 (starts, A1 26, off 63)
Sheff Utd A 2-2 (out, leg)

Ipswich Town
Troy Brown has been in and out of Ipswich’s starting line-up as Roy Keane desperately tried to find a winning formula. The Ipswich board seemed to feel it was the manager who needed removing more than anything.
Leicester H 3-0 (bench)
Coventry A 1-1 (bench, on 87)
Forest H 0-1 (played all)

Leeds United
Sanchez Watt suffered an ankle injury in October and after several failed attempts to stick him straight back in the starting line-up, he was given a couple of months to rest. With Leeds on such a good run, it took Sanchez a while to get back into the matchday squad (although perhaps reports of his recovery were exaggerated) but luckily Leeds then went on a bit of a bad run and he his chance.
QPR H 2-0 (unselected)
Leicester A 2-2 (unselected)
Portsmouth H 3-3 (unselected)
Boro H 1-1 (bench, on 76)
Cardiff A 2-1 (bench, on 57)

Leicester City
Andy King has played every minute of Leicester’s Christmas and New Year fixtures as Leicester lost to struggling Ipswich Town and promoted team Millwall before beating two teams who were on a good run. Andy also added a goal and an assist (he won a free kick from which Leicester scored, undoubtedly one of the more painful ways of getting an assist) to his collection.
Ipswich A 3-0 (played all)
Leeds H 2-2 (G2 76, played all),
Millwall A 2-0 (played all)
Hull A 0-1 (played all)
Swansea H 2-1 (A1 won free kick 6, played all)

Middlesbrough
I don’t know if Danny Coyne got all hopeful when Middlesbrough got a new manager but I certainly did (no disrespect to the excellent and very promising Jason Steele) but Tony Mowbray has kept him on the bench.
Preston A 1-3 (bench)
Leeds A 1-1 (bench)
Norwich H 1-1 (bench)

As for poor Rhys Williams, I can only hope his pelvic nightmare is coming to an end. No doubt the Middlesbrough fans will echo my sentiments, and not just because they like the former Wales under-21 international.

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2011-11 (Championship, Part 1)

2011-01-07T20:45:00.001Z

Bristol City
Lewin Nyatanga worked his way back into the first team at Bristol City following a loan spell at Peterborough.
Hull A 2-0 (bench)
Reading A 2-1 (bench, on 49)
Palace H 1-1 (starts)
Cardiff H 3-0 (played all)
QPR A 2-2 (played all)

Christian Ribeiro spent some time as a starter for Bristol City but his back injury made an unwelcome return and he hasn’t started since.
Hull A 2-0 (starts, Y foul 22, off 70)
Reading A 2-1 (played all)
Palace H 1-1 (unselected)
Cardiff H 3-0 (bench, on 52)
QPR A 2-2 (bench)

Gavin Williams returned his loan spell at Yeovil Town but he hasn’t even been on the bench so far.

Brett Pitman has continued to make up for his lack of goals in the earlier part of the season with three in his last three matches.
Hull A 2-0 (played all)
Reading A 2-1 (starts, off 76)
Palace H 1-1 (bench, on 58, G1 pen 95)
Cardiff H 3-0 (G1 3, played all)
QPR A 2-2 (G1 50, Y foul 76, played all)

James Wilson continues his long rehabilitation from a knee injury.

Cardiff City
Injuries and poor results combined to keep Darcy Blake on the bench but he’s actually been doing very well.
Coventry H 2-0 (bench)
Watford A 4-1 (played all)
Bristol C A 3-0 (bench, on 16)
Leeds H 2-1 (bench, on 74)

Adam Matthews has been excellent when he plays but he doesn’t get many chances. But he is very young and perhaps Dave Jones is protecting him for once.
Coventry H 2-0 (bench)
Watford A 4-1 (bench, on 35)
Bristol C A 3-0 (bench)
Leeds H 2-1 (bench)

It was thought that Jason Koumas would make a big difference for Cardiff but for the most part he’s been making a difference as a substitute. He could be still builfing up match fitness but maybe he’s just not doing enough to get into the starting line-up. Fans of parent club Wigan Athletic would probably conclude this is possible.
Coventry H 2-0 (bench)
Watford A 4-1 (bench, on 76)
Bristol C A 3-0 (bench, on 67)
Leeds H 2-1 (bench)

Craig Bellamy had one rest over the Christmas period, presumably to give his injured knee a break but with two goals and an assist from his last three games, he’s doing well. Now he just needs to persuade Cardiff City to do well too.
Coventry H 2-0 (A1 21, Y foul 60, G2 83, played all)
Watford A 4-1 (unselected)
Bristol C A 3-0 (played all)
Leeds H 2-1 (G1 11, played all)

Jonathan Meades returned to Cardiff following an unsuccessful attempt to save FK Moss from relegation. He made his first appearance on the bench this season in the win over Leeds United.
Leeds H 2-1 (bench)

Aaron Wildig seems to be in and out of the squad at the moment which is not surprising given his age but most likely very disappointing after playing such a big part last season.
Coventry H 2-0 (bench)
Watford A 4-1 (bench)
Bristol C A 3-0 (unselected)
Leeds H 2-1 (unselected)

Nathaniel Jarvis has been on the bench for Cardiff this season but not since his return from a loan spell at Southend United.

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (Premier League, Part 2)

2011-01-07T17:57:00.001Z

Manchester United
Ryan Giggs returned from a hamstring injury and after being careful with him for a few matches, Sir Alex Ferguson has started him regularly. The rumour is that Gary Speed wants Ryan either to play for Wales again or to become part of his coaching team.
Sunderland H 2-0 (starts, off 63)
Birmingham A 1-1 (Y dissent 91, played all)
West Brom A 1-2 (unselected, presumably rested)
Stoke H 2-1 (played all)

Owen Hargreaves’ injury nightmare continues. He got his hamstring injury at about the same time as Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen got theirs but while they are back in matchday squads again, Owen is wondering if this football business is really worth it. Owen’s situation is sadder than his decision not to play for Wales – a lot sadder - and I really hope his next comeback works out for him. He didn’t get to play over Christmas.

Michael Owen might have got the chance to play regularly when Wayne Rooney went tits up (and not just tits) but then he went and injured himself. But he’s not injury prone. He’s not. If you don’t believe me, ask Michael.
Michael has been linked with a move to Aston Villa, who are managed by Michael’s former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier but Houllier has claimed he is not keen. That’s what all the managers say.
Michael made his comeback from a hamstring injury in Manchester United’s win over Stoke.
Sunderland H 2-0 (out, hamstring)
Birmingham A 1-1 (out, hamstring)
West Brom A 1-2 (bench)
Stoke H 2-1 (bench, on 71)

Stoke City
Danny Collins is back in the Wales fold and he’s also doing well for Stoke – so far Tony Pulis’ admittedly few attempts to leave him on the bench have come to nothing.
Danny remains a regular fixture in Stoke’s defence.
Blackburn A 0-2 (played all)
Fulham H 0-2 (played all)
Everton H 2-0 (Y foul 12, played all)
Man Utd A 2-1 (played all)

Ryan Shawcross was probably quite relieved when he discovered that Aaron Ramsey was on loan at Nottingham Forest and therefore wouldn’t be around when Stoke City visited the Emirates. But that match was postponed and the two young players could be facing off against each other again. I kind of think the best thing is for them to get the match out of the way as soon as possible so people like me can stop talking about it.
Blackburn A 0-2 (Y foul 44, played all)
Fulham H 0-2 (played all)
Everton H 2-0 (played all)
Man Utd A 2-1 (played all)

Tottenham Hotspur
Gareth Bale has been linked to almost every big club in the world which is hardly surprising as he has got rather good all of a sudden. Two years ago he wasn’t always getting into Tottenham’s matchday squad. One year ago, Tottenham fans watched nervously as the jinx was forced to take to the field. This year, who could think of leaving Gareth out of the team? I can only echo Theo Walcott’s view: he should have come to Arsenal.
Gareth scored all (both) Tottenham’s goals in their wins over Newcastle and Fulham but he worryingly limped out of their defeat to Everton after aggravating a back injury he’d picked up in the first half.
Villa A 1-2 (played all)
Newcastle H 1-0 (G2 81, played all))
Fulham H 1-0 (G1 42, played all)
Everton A 2-1 (starts, off 58 back)

West Bromwich Albion
Boaz Myhill has been sitting on the bench for West Bromwich Albion, who have developed an annoying habit of being too far up the table to warrant a change of goalkeeper.
Bolton A 1-0 (bench)
Blackburn H 1-3 (bench)
Man Utd H 1-2 (bench)
Fulham A 3-0 (bench)

West Ham United
I don’t want to jinx Danny Gabbidon but it’s been great seeing him have such a long run in the team after a good three years of injury troubles. Admittedly, he’s not exactly part of the strongest defence in the league and he is human, there has been the odd moment when his play hasn’t been completely perfect but he’s playing. And he’s playing well.
Blackburn A 1-1 (played all)
Fulham A 1-3 (played all)
Everton H 1-1 (rested)
Wolves H 2-0 (played all)
Newcastle A 5-0 (played all)

I hope Jack Collison’s 2011 is markedly better than his 2010. Jack has spent the season so far recovering from a knee problem but he is back in full training and should return to West Ham United’s squad at any moment.

Wigan Athletic
Wigan sent Jason Koumas out on loan to Cardiff City and despite their troubles, they don’t seem to want him back. Let’s hope he can get Cardiff promoted come the end of the season and maybe then he’ll get to score against the team who didn’t want him. But maybe he won’t. Maybe Wigan won’t be in the Premier League.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wayne Hennessey finally regained his place as Wolverhampton Wanderers’ No. 1 and has played well, even keeping a couple of clean sheets. To say he has saved Wolves’ season would probably be a lie rather than an exaggeration but his performances can only help.
Wigan H 1-2 (played all)
Liverpool A 0-1 (played all)
West Ham A 2-0 (played all)
Chelsea H 1-0 (played all)

Dave Edwards returned from a hamstring injury and was probably not quite ready to play 90 minutes in every match. But he did play the full match against Chelsea – and look what happened.
Wigan H 1-2 (starts, off 54)
Liverpool A 0-1 (bench, on 89)
West Ham A 2-0 (bench, on 76)
Chelsea H 1-0 (played all)

David Jones has been unable to re-establish himself in Wolves’ team since recovering from a foot injury – but maybe he hasn’t completely recovered.
Wigan H 1-2 (bench)
Liverpool A 0-1 (bench)
West Ham A 2-0 (bench)
Chelsea H 1-0 (bench)

Sam Vokes returned to Wolves after a hugely disappointing loan spell at Bristol City. He lasted just thirteen minutes in his first game and never played for Bristol City again. Sam has seen a number of setbacks in an attempt to recover from a hamstring injury.

Welsh Players Christmas-New Year matches 2010-11 (Premier League, Part 1)

2011-01-07T17:55:00.002Z

I’m never going to catch up on all the matches that have taken place (or not) so I’ll just do a quick overview of all the Welsh (and nearly Welsh) players.

Arsenal
Aaron Ramsey made his long-awaited return to non-reserve football when he came off the bench for loan club Nottingham Forest. A number of Forest’s matches were cancelled due to the snow but Aaron managed four appearances, including two starts. Forest were hoping to extend Aaron’s loan but Arsene Wenger understandably said no.
(all matches with Nottingham Forest)
Palace H 3-0 (bench, on 74)
Derby H 5-2 (starts, off 60)
Barnsley A 2-2 (bench, on 54)

Sanchez Watt is still on loan at Leeds United so I’ll talk about him later.

Aston Villa
James Collins has got himself into a few spots of bother on and off the field but he has managed to keep his place in the team. Along with practically every other footballer whose name the media knows, there have been rumours about him leaving his club in the transfer window.
Spurs H 1-2 (played all)
Man C A 4-0 (played all)
Chelsea A 3-3 (Y foul 22, played all)
Sunderland H 0-1 (Y foul 45+2, played all)

Elliot Parish hasn’t been near the first team as far as I’m aware. Even when reserve keeper Brad Guzan was absent, Villa stuck some other guy on the benc. But hopefully that will dissuade the England lower level sides from picking him and then Wales can nip in.

Blackburn Rovers
Jason Brown has returned from Leyton Orient, ending his second loan spell of the season. Leeds United and Leyton Orient should have given him a clue about whether he really wants first-team football or not. Jason played no matches over the Christmas period due to the cancellation of Orient’s games and what can only be ignorance (or that’s what I tell myself) on the part of new manager Steve Kean.

Blackpool
Neal Eardley didn’t start the season at the forefront of Ian Holloway’s mind (and maybe that was no bad thing the forefront of Ian Holloway’s mind is probably a scary place) but now he’s starting every match and providing assists (although he didn’t get any over Christmas).
Sunderland A 0-2 (played all)
Man City A 1-0 (played all)
Birmingham H 1-2 (played all)

David Vaughan has gone about his duties rather more quietly than Neal and if you’re not physically watching or listening to the match, it’s difficult to know if he’s doing anything at all. But according to fans and manager, he most certainly is. David’s contract ends this summer and Ian Holloway wants to keep him – but only if he’ll stop arguing and sign a new contract. If he won’t sign, it might be better to let him go now and get a bit of money for him. It’s not like Blackpool are in dire relegation straits after all. There’s nothing dire about Blackpool.
Sunderland A 0-2 (played all)
Man City A 1-0 (played all)
Birmingham H 1-2 (played all)

Rob Edwards had a period of not being in the matchday squad but it turned out he was injured and over the past month, he has been on the bench every time. Maybe that’s not where he most wants to be but as long as you’re on the bench, at least you have a chance of playing.
Sunderland A 0-2 (bench)
Man City A 1-0 (bench)
Birmingham H 1-2 (bench)
Bolton Wanderers
Sam Ricketts got himself back into the first team and has pretty much stayed there. He did get dropped for one match but Bolton Wanderers soon saw sense and brought him on as a substitute.
Sunderland A 1-0 (played all)
WBA H 2-0 (bench, on 64)
Chelsea A 1-0 (played all)
Liverpool A 2-1 (played all)
Wigan H 1-1 (played all)

Chelsea
Rhys Taylor is still on loan at Crewe Alexandra from ‘struggling Chelsea’. He has the option of moving to another club in this transfer window but if he does want to go, he’s been keeping it quiet.

Fulham
Simon Davies said his ongoing foot injury would prevent him from playing regularly for Fulham but it looks as though he’s underestimated himself. But the really good news is that he hasn’t said a definite no in response to Gary Speed’s attempt to recall him to the Wales squad so I kind of feel vaguely hopeful some of the time.
Simon has four assists from his last four games, as well as a brilliant goal.
West Ham H 1-3 (A1 11, played all)
Stoke A 0-2 (played all)
Spurs A 1-0 (played all)
WBA H 3-0 (starts, G1 45+1, A2 56, A3 65, off 82)

Manchester City
Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy remains on loan at Cardiff City for the season although there are reports of plans to steal him away from his childhood club.

League Two Postponements 16th December 2010

2010-12-18T14:40:00.000Z

No games are being played in League Two today.

Accrington Stanley P-P Burton Albion

Aldershot Town P-P Lincoln City

Bury P-P Stevenage

Cheltenham Town P-P Stockport County
Cheltenham’s Josh Low could be missing for four weeks due to a hamstring injury.

Crewe Alexandra P-P Brasford City

Gillingham P-P Chesterfield

Hereford United P-P Macclesfield Town

Northampton Town P-P Morecambe

Oxford United P-P Shrewsbury Town

Port Vale P-P Barnet

Southend P-P Wycombe Wanderers

Torquay P-P Rotherham United

League One Fixture (and Postponements) 18th December 2010

2010-12-18T14:28:00.004Z

Only one match in League One is going ahead today.

Bristol Rovers P-P Colchester United

Dagenham & Redbridge P-P Peterborough United

Exeter City v Sheffield Wednesday
It must be quite nice being the only team in League One with a playable pitch. I don’t know when the Sheffield Wednesday players left Sheffield or if they’ve actually got there in one piece but it’s difficult to imagine them getting home tonight.
Richard Duffy should start for Exeter after some good performances but he doesn’t think he’s quite at his best yet. Daniel Nardiello seems to start on alternate matches so it’s his turn to start this time. Rob Edwards will probably be on the bench. Rob says the club are excited to be playing at home again after a long run of away matches.
Goalkeeper and general manager Andy Marriott will leave Exeter to join West Bromwich Albion as assistant to the sporting and technical director. He’ll be missed but manager Paul Tisdale says the players and staff are thrilled for him.

Leyton Orient P-P Plymouth Argyle
This match would have been Jason Brown’s final game on loan at Leyton Orient although he is hoping to extend his loan spell.

Rochdale P-P Bournemouth

Swindon Town P-P Tranmere Rovers
Ash Taylor was looking forward to getting back into Tranmere’s starting line-up after being out injured for four months. He was a doubt for this match due to a wrist injury but now he definitely won’t be playing.
Fellow Tranmere player Jack Mackreth has signed for Colwyn Bay on loan. He has just returned from a loan spell at Burscough Town where he played against Colwyn Bay. Jack joins Welsh players including former Crewe Alexandra striker Alex Titchiner, who has just returned from a loan spell at Chester.

Yeovil Town P-P Carlisle United

Championship Postponements 18th December 2010

2010-12-18T14:28:00.001Z

Millwall P-P Barnsley
This match has been postponed for safety reasons. But is it ever safe inside the Lions’ Den?

Portsmouth P-P Scunthorpe United
No Welsh players in this but it’s still been postponed.

Watford P-P Preston North End
This match is postponed as it’s apparently been snowing.

Premier League Postponements 18th December 2010

2010-12-18T14:27:00.001Z

Arsenal P-P Stoke City
This match has been cancelled due to unsafe conditions around the stadium.
Aaron Ramsey should be back at Arsenal by the time this match is played and he might easily be starting.

Wigan Athletic P-P Aston Villa
This match has been postponed due to freak weather conditions. The pitch is playable but no-one would be able to get there as there’s ten inches of snow and no public transport.

Liverpool P-P Fulham
This match has been postponed due to icy conditions.
Let’s hope the decision was taken before any Fulham fans – and the players - had begun the lond journey to the north of England.

Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers is being played as I type.
Blackburn Rovers v West Ham United is expected to go ahead.