Wales squad to face Republic of Ireland

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

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

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

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

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

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


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 (I know he's withdrawn now but it was great to see him there at all.)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

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

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

An interview with new Wales manager Gary Speed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welsh Player News 6th February Championship (Part 1)

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

Christian Ribeiro remains out with a hamstring injury.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Championship Fixtures 22nd January 2011 (Part 1)

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

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

Wales National Team News 20th January 2011

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

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

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

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

FA Cup Result 19th January 2011

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

FA Cup Third Round Replay Fixture 19th january 2011

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

Premier League Results 15th January 2011

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

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

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

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

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

Welsh Player Transfer News and Rumours 15th January 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Premier League Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

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

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

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

Welsh Player Transfer News and Rumours 13th January 2011

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

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

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


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

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


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


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


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

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

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

Wales News 12th january 2011

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.

Carling Cup Fixture 12th January 2011

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.

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

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.

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

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 8th January 2011 (Part 4)

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 1)

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 (Premier League, Part 1)

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.

Premier League Postponements 18th December 2010

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.

Championship Fixtures (and Postponements) 18th December 2010 (Part 2)

Ipswich Town v Leicester City
Six defeats on the spin have left Ipswich just three points from the relegation zone. I seem to have recollections of them being unbeaten in the league, then unbeaten at home… but that seems like such a long tme ago and it probably seems like even longer if you’re an Ipswich fan.
Even more worryingly, Roy Keane thinks he’s been too nice to his players. Now there’s a scary thought.
Leicester could be feeling confident after thrashing Doncaster Rovers 5-1 last weekend. Or they could be feeling worried after losing their last two away games.
Troy Brown could keep his place in Ipswich’s defence but considering they can only beat Premier League teams at the moment, Roy Keane might make a few changes.
Andy King will start for Leicester.
Elliott Chamberlain is apparently on trial with Blue Square Premier club Oxford United. I did wonder if it was an old article but I think they just got the league wrong.


Leeds United v Queen’s Park Rangers
QPR’s long unbeaten run came to an end last weekend when Watford beat them 3-1. They can’t even comfort themselves by remembering that they still remain unbeaten at home. Not when this match is away. Leeds are unbeaten in eight matches. So they’ve still got a way to go before they match what QPR achieved.
Sanchez Watt is apparently in contention for a place in the squad but I know what Leeds are like, I’ll believe it when I see it. He scored in a behind-closed-doors match where Leeds beat Newcastle United 4-1.

Millwall v Barnsley
Barnsley are unbeaten in five matches – three points from the play-offs, and not forgetting their game in hand. But Millwall are just one point behind them and unbeaten in four. They also have the home advantage: Barnsley have only won twice away.
Millwall’s striker crisis has probably eased a bit by now but even so, they’ll almost certainly pick Steve Morison. And Kenny Jackett says Nottingham Forest haven’t made a bid for Steve which is good news.

Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace
I don’t want to speak to soon but for the moment it looks like Nottingham Forest might actually be able to play their match this time. Their last two have fallen victim to the weather.
Forest are the only team in the Championship who are still unbeaten at home and they’ll be hoping things stay that way. If they draw again they’ll still be unbeaten but they’ll have drawn half their league matches this season. Palace have only one win – and one draw – from away games this season.
Aaron Ramsey is probably struggling to build up match fitness as there have’t been any matches but he should get a substitute appearance in this one. If it happens.
Chris Gunter and Robert Earnshaw should start.
Lewis Price and Andy Dorman will probably be on the bench for Palace.