Welsh Player News 6th February Championship (Part 3)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Championship Fixtures 22nd January 2011 (Part 2)

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

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

Championship Results 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

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

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

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

Championship Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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)

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.

Championship Fixtures (and Postponements) 4th December 2010 (Part 2)

Ipswich Town v Swansea City
Ipswich haven’t beaten Swansea since they were both in the top division together which must have been a very long time ago. Ipswich are hoping to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat.
Troy Brown played well in Ipswich’s Carling Cup win over West Bromwich Albion but he’s not expected to keep his place.
Jermaine Easter is yet to make his debut for loan club Swansea after injuring his thigh. He will have a fitness test to determine whether he’s able to play in this match. If he does, it will be his 250th career league appearance. Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor, Joe Allen and David Cotterill will also hope to start – but if not they should be on the bench.

Leeds United v Crystal Palace
Palace could be out of the bottom three if they manage to beat or even just draw with Leeds but with Leeds unbeaten in five matches, that’s a big if. Palace’s away form is identical to Middlesbrough’s which kind of says it all really.
Sanchez Watt has apparently recovered from his ankle injury but he’s yet to appear in a Leeds squad.
Palace are short of midfielders which could see Andy Dorman’s first start since it was revealed he was having trouble adapting to the Championship. Lewis Price will also hope to return to the bench.

Millwall v Scunthorpe United
Millwall will attempt to beat one of the Championship’s struggling sides in an effort not to become one of them themselves.
Steve Morison should start for Millwall.

Nottingham Forest P-P Bristol City
This match has been postponed as the streets of Nottingham are hazardous.
Aaron Ramsey will hope Forest’s fixtures don’t all get postponed now he’s joined them on loan. He was glad to get back to playing against Leicester City. And it’s not just you who’s glad, Aaron.
Chris Gunter says Aaron is mentally stronger after his injury.
Christian Ribeiro seems to be making the right back spot his own – Bristol City were relieved when he was declared fit to play in this weekend’s match – although obviously he won’t be playing now.
Sam Vokes was expected to play in a behind-closed-doors friendly for Bristol City but it’s not clear whether this happened or not.

Sheffield United P-P Reading
This match has been postponed as it’s just too cold.

Watford v Leicester City
Leicester hope to win their fifth games in seven matches but the last seven matches have been less kind to Watford, who haven’t won any of them.
Andy King returned from injury with a bang last weekend. He says Leicester aren’t scared of anyone and they could get promoted.

Championship Fixture 29th November 2010

Leicester City v Nottingham Forest
Leicester haven’t lost at home since they played Queen’s Park Rangers – and no-one beats QPR.
Andy King was substituted due to a hamstring injury in Leicester’s last match. Some reports say he’s fit, some say he’s not.
BBC Sport suggests Forest’s new loan star Aaron Ramsey could start but it sounds a bit soon to me. Chris Gunter, who can now add ‘scout’ to his resume after helping to arrange Aaron’a loan move, should start. Robert Earnshaw could miss out due to illness.
Aaron’s former side Cardiff wanted to sign him on loan but they wouldn’t have wanted to give him back to Arsenal in January. I’m sure Leicester won’t either.

Championship Results 20th November 2010 (Part 1)

Bristol City 2-0 Leicester City
Bristol City got a shock win (well, I was shocked) against former fellow strugglers Leicester and moved out of the bottom three. They are now just two points behind Leicester, who might count as fellow strugglers again.
Leicester could have taken the lead but after Andy King was fouled by keeper David James but James saved the resulting penalty. Andy suffered a hamstring injury in the first half but his manager doesn’t think it’s serious.
Christian Ribeiro was back in Bristol City’s starting line-up and played really well at right back. Brett Pitman wasa half-time substitute and scored his first Bristol City goal in the 57th minute. Brett is hoping to score lots of goals this level and he hopes more will come now he’s found his feet. I can only agree, if you haven’t found your feet you can only really score with headers.

Cardiff City 0-2 Nottingham Forest
It’s not Nottingham Forest winning that is the shock – more the fact Cardiff lost. At home. With Craig Bellamy on the pitch. They’re now only three points ahead of Swansea City, although Cardiff do of course have a far superior goal difference. Forest’s win puts them into the top six.
Craig and Darcy Blake both started for Cardiff, with Adam Matthews replacing Darcy late on but Cardiff still couldn’t find a goal although Craig came close. Aaron Wildig was on the bench.
Cardiff seemed very happy to see former favourite Robert Earnshaw, who nearly scored against his former club but seemed less well-disposed towards another of their former players, right back Chris Gunter.

Coventry City 1-0 Burnley
Burnley remain without their first win of the season after Coventry bounced back from a disappointing run to take the three points. Coventry are only outside the play-offs on goal difference but Burnley will struggle for a top six finish if they can’t learn how to win away.
Freddy Eastwood was an unused substitute for Coventry.

Derby County 3-2 Scunthorpe United
Derby won their sixth successive home game against Scunthorpe, who are usually better away than they are at home. Derby are up in fourth place and are the league’s top scorers, having scored four more than QPR and Burnley.
Gareth Roberts was back in the starting line-up for the first time since his recent injury problems but he didn’t last long – the defender was sent off for two bookable offences. Scunthorpe scored from the resulting penalty but Derby hung on to take all three points. Robbie Savage made his 500th league appearance in this match. His 500th start is not far away.

Championship Fixtures/News 20th November 2010 (Part 1)

Bristol City v Leicester City
Bristol City have just come to the end of a five-match unbeaten run – and they’re still in the bottom three with only one home win this season. Leicester know how that feels but they won’t let any sympathy get the better of them.
Christian Ribeiro is in with a chance of starting following an injury to the first-choice right back. hesitate to describe this as good news but I hope he’s on the bench at least.
Brett Pitman will hope his good performances in the reserves will help him to get a start for Bristol City.
Christian and Brett were part of the Bristol City side who beat Forest Green Rovers 13-12 on penalties (I’m sure it’s better than it sounds!) to go through to the final of the Gloucester Senior Challenge Cup. Christian scored a penalty while Brett scored the late goal that took the game to penalties. Brett missed his first penalty but scored his second.
Sam Vokes still isn’t ready to return to action for Bristol City but he will play in a friendly reserve game against parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers which should be interesting.
Andy King will be in midfield for Leicester – and he says he’s very happy at the club.

Cardiff City v Nottingham Forest
Only a win will ensure Cardiff stay top of the Championship – and then only if it’s a home win. Forest haven’t won in Cardiff since before the Welsh internationals were born. Even Ryan Giggs was only two or three. As for the time before that, not even the stats people at BBC Sport seem completely sure.
Craig Bellamy has showed on many occasions why he were playing Premier League football last year although it’s still unclear exactly why his manager as stupid enough to let them go. If Craig plays, it will be his 350th appearance for clubs in the English and Scottish league systems according to BBC Sport (note how carefully they left Wales out).
Jason Koumas has taken longer to adapt but he has promised Cardiff fans he’ll be back to his best soon – and he could start if Chris Burke fails to recover from injury.
Darcy Blake suffered a muscle injury in Cardiff’s win over Scunthorpe and faces a fitness test. Adam Matthews could also have a chance of starting but Aaron Wildig seems to have been forgotten about. But not by me, Aaron.
Forest defender Chris Gunter is likely to make his 100th league appearance against his former club and Robert Earnshaw, who has also played for Cardiff, will also hope to start. Rob believes Cardiff will be promoted this season – but no doubt he hopes Forest can put a big dent in their ambitions first!

Coventry City v Burnley
Coventry have lost three games in a row so they’ll be eager to beat Burnley, who aren’t as strong away as they are at home. They have six points this season from away matches – but none of them came from wins.
Freddy Eastwood, who made his return from knee surgery last weekend, is hoping he can give manager Aidy Boothroyd a nice selection headache.

Championship Results 13th November 2010 (Part 2)

Nottingham Forest 0-0 Queen’s Park Rangers
QPR remain unbeaten in the league while Nottingham Forest are still unbeaten at home but QPR are back in second place after yet another draw.
Robert Earnshaw was back in the starting line-up for Forest and should have won a penalty but the referee was wearing Arsene Wenger’s glasses. Chris Gunter also played for Forest.

Portsmouth 2-3 Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster played Portsmouth for the first time for twenty-eight seasons. Doncaster went 2-0 ahead in the first half, only for Portsmouth to score twice in the second half. But Doncaster weren’t having that and got the winner five minutes after the equaliser.
John Oster nearly got an assist for Doncaster but the Portsmouth goalkeeper was paying attention. Brian Stock was also playing for Doncaster.

Reading 3-3 Norwich City
Norwich were 3-0 up early in the second half but then they had a player sent off and Reading took the opportunity of fighting back.
Simon Church started for Reading with Hal Robson-Kanu on the bench.
Andrew Crofts returned from suspension to play for Norwich.

Scunthorpe United 2-4 Cardiff City
Cardiff bounced back from the most hurtful defeat of the season to take all three points against Scunthorpe and move to the top of the table.
Craig Bellamy and substitute Jason Koumas claimed the third and fourth assists. Darcy Blake played the first 71 minutes while Adam Matthews came off the bench after 71 minutes but Adam didn’t replace Darcy. The winning goal sounds a bit complicated but it looks like Jason’s shot deflected off the player who was credited with the goal, and then the ball deflected off Adam. But Jason gets the assist and Adam is just a deflection.
You hear a lot about Craig Bellamy and violence but when a fan jumped over the perimeter and punched him, Craig didn't murder him.

Championship Fixtures 9th November 2010 (Part 2)

Millwall v Norwich City
Millwall have lost their last two and are five points from both the play-offs and the relegation places.
Steve Morison will miss out for Millwall after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last week. Millwall also have a number of striker injuries. Norwich have only won once at Millwall in the last 21 years
Norwich will also be without their Welsh international – Andrew Crofts famously got an goal and an assist to earn Norwich a draw at the weekend before earning himself two yellow cards.

Nottingham Forest v Coventry City
Forest aim to extend their unbeaten home record when they meet fifth-placed Coventry.
Robert Earnshaw made his first start since returning from a hamstring injury on Saturday and it’s thought this game comes too soon for him to play again. Chris Gunter should play at right back.
Freddy Eastwood was said to be in Coventry’s squad at the weekend but he wasn’t selected for the matchday squad.

Preston North End v Barnsley
Preston are only out of the relegation places on goal difference after winning only one of their last six matches but the good news for them is that Barnsley, just two points above them, are yet to win away.
Craig Morgan should keep his place in Preston’s defence. Paul Parry is more likely to be on the bench.

Scunthorpe United v Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough finally got a win last weekend but as it was only against Crystal Palace, they still have a lot to prove. Scunthorpe are hardly a top side and have a poor home record, having only won once at home. But Middlesbrough haven’t even won once away.
Danny Coyne could return from a calf injury for Middlesbrough. Rhys Williams is still out with pelvis problems.

Championship Fixtures 6th November 2010 (Part 2)

Doncaster Rovers v Millwall
Kenny Jackett celebrates his third anniversary of becoming Millwall’s manager. Or he’s hoping to celebrate.
Brian Stock and John Oster should both start to Doncaster.
Steve Morison should keep his place in Millwall’s starting line-up.

Middlesbrough v Crystal Palace
Danny Coyne he has had a calf injury and is a doubt.
Andy Dorman could keep his place in Palace’s starting line-up with Lewis Price on the bench.

Norwich City v Burnley
Andrew Crofts should start for Norwich.

Queen’s Park Rangers v Reading
Simon Church deserves to start after two recent winning goals as a substitute. If so, he could replace Hal Robson-Kanu but I hope they both start. Simon this week became probably the tenth Wales international to say he wants Brian Flynn to become the permanent Wales manager.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11673_6482939,00.html

Sheffield United v Ipswich Town
Ched Evans will be hoping to start for Sheffield United, something he hasn’t done for over a month.
Troy Brown will probably be on the bench for Ipswich.

Watford v Nottingham Forest
Chris Gunter, who signed a new contract with Forest this week, should start. Robert Earnshaw could be the next to sign – he’s currently in contract talks. Rob has been on the bench recently after returning from a hamstring injury but he could start today.

Championship Results 30th November 2010 (Part 3)

Portsmouth 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Portsmouth’s good form continued with a win over Nottingham Forest. The win takes Portsmouth up to 10th place, just one point away from the play-offs.
Chris Gunter was back at right back for Forest with Robert Earnshaw making a late appearance from the bench.

Reading 4-3 Doncaster Rovers
Reading scored four goals in the same match for the second successive game, this time coming back from 3-1 down to beat Doncaster. And for the second successive game, Simon Church came off the bench and scored Reading’s winning goal.
Hal Robson-Kanu started again for Reading..
John Oster and Brian Stock both started for Doncaster.

Scunthorpe United 1-4 Leeds United
Scunthorpe have sprung a number of games this season – at least as far as I’m concerned as I thought they’d be spending the season struggling at the foot of the table. And strange as it sounds, Scunthorpe were in the division above Leeds last season. But Leeds dominated and thoroughly deserved their win.
Jason Brown was on the bench for Leeds.

Sheffield United 0-1 Coventry City
Covrentry moved up to fourth after an away win over Sheffield United, who haven’t won since September.
Ched Evans made his second comeback from a groin injury in the 65th minute.
Freddy Eastwood is back in full training but was not in Coventry’s squad.

Welsh Player News 29th October (Premier League)

Aaron Ramsey should be in full training by the end of next week but if Brian Flynn has any plans to select him for the under-21s, Arsene Wenger will have something to say about it.

Wrexham and Wales under-21 goalkeeper Chris Maxwell has spent two days training with Everton and it probably isn’t just out of the kindness of their hearts. They probably are at least vaguely interested in signing him. But Dean Saunders says it’s nothing to get overly excited about.

Wigan Athletic manaeer Roberto Martinez feels Mark Hughes is doing a good job for Fulham. Mark says he will strengthen his squad in January.

Ryan Giggs could be playing in Dubai next season and earning £20,000 a week. And all his old friends could be going with him.

Owen Hargreaves has had another setback. Poor Owen, you don't want to see that happening to anyone even if they did choose England. Brysiwch wella, Owen.

Championship Fixtures 30th October 2010 (Part 3)

Middlesbrough v Bristol City
Tony Mowbray is Middlesbrough’s new manager. His recent achievements include finishing bottom of the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion and ensuring that Rangers didn’t have much competition to win the Scottish Premier League title. Which would have been great if he’d been managing Rangers but unfortunately he was managing Celtic. But that’s not to say he’s not a good manager and maybe he’s the person to show Middlesbrough that they’re actually a pretty good team. Boro are hoping for a second win in seven games.
Bristol City will be hoping their very creditable draw against Queen’s Park Rangers is a sign of good things to come.
Danny Coyne could start for Middbesbrough but I’m not sure he will. Despite the poor results, goalkeeping hasn’t really been Middlesbrough’s problem. Rhys Williams is still out with an injured pelvis.
Brett Pitman scored two goals for Bristol City’s reserves in a 3-2 win against Reading Manager Keith Millen was there to see him in action so maybe he did enough to get into the starting eleven against Middlesbrough.
Lewin Nyatanga could make his 150th career start but I’m not sure he will. He has apparently recovered from his knee injury but he so far hasn’t been ready to play in the first team and there has been talk of sending him out on loan.
Christian Ribeiro is still suffering from groin and hip problems and won’t play. Sam Vokes isn’t ready to return from a hamstring injury.

Portsmouth v Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest are still unbeaten at home but their away form isn’t the best and Portsmouth have been doing quite well lately – they’ve won their previous three league games. Forest have won their previous two.
Chris Gunter should start for Forest, perhaps at left back again. Robert Earnshaw was back in Forest’s squad for the victory over Ipswich but he is still struggling with his niggle.

Championship Results 23rd October 2010 (Part 1)

Burnley 0-4 Reading
Hal Robson-Kanu played the full match and got the assist for the third goal.
Simon Church came off the bench and scored the winner.

Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Sheffield United
John Oster and Brian Stock both started for Doncaster.
Ched Evans has had a recurrence of the groin injury that kept him out of the Wales matches so he didn’t play.

Millwall 2-0 Derby County
Steve Morison scored the first goal and set up the second for Millwall.
Robbie Savage played for just over an hour for Derby. Gareth Roberts finally made his return from a calf injury in the 86th minute.

Norwich City 1-0 Middlesbrough
Andrew Crofts played the full match for Norwich.
Danny Coyne was on the bench for Middlesbrough.

Nottingham Forest 2-0 Ipswich Town
Chris Gunter played in defence for Forest.
Robert Earnshaw was back in the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury but he stayed on the bench.
Troy Brown was on the bench for Ipswich.

Championship Fixtures 19th October 2010 (Part 3)

Nottingham Forest v Middlesbrough
Both these teams were supposed to be challenging for promotion. The only good news is that it’s probably still possible. Nottingham Forest, amazingly, have an unbeaten home record to defend while Middlesbrough are desperate to add to their solitary away point.
Forest’s Robert Earnshaw still isn’t ready to return from a hamstring injury but Chris Gunter should play.
It’s hard to know who will start for managerless Middlesbrough but I’d like to think Danny Coyne is in with a chance although Jason Steele undoubtedly has a great future in goal. Rhys Williams is out with a pelvic injury.

Preston North End v Scunthorpe United
Preston fans were probably all hopeful after their dramatic 6-4 victory over Leeds and a not half bad draw against Reading. Then Derby came along and spoiled the party. But can Preston get things going again against Scunthorpe?
Craig Morgan will hope to keep his place in central defence for Preston after returning to the starting line-up for the defeat to Derby. Paul Parry might be in with a chance of starting due to the suspension of winger Keith Treacy.

Swansea City v Queen’s Park Rangers
Swansea are storming up the league, unbeaten at home, the gap between them and Cardiff City becoming scarily smaller by the day. But if any team is going to stop them in their tracks, that team is unbeaten QPR, who are unbeaten everywhere.
Joe Allen has recovered from the groin injury that ruled him out of Swansea’s weekend match. Ashley Williams should also start with Neil Taylor and David Cotterill on the bench at the very least.

Watford v Ipswich Town
Play-off contenders Watford and Ipswich (if there is such a thing at this stage of the season) are both hoping to bounce back from weekend defeats.
Young goalkeeper Jonathan Bond is away with Wales so presumably he won’t be on the bench for Watford.
Ipswich manager Roy Keane said the young players, including Troy Brown, would get their chances this season. I think it’s time to give Troy another chance, don’t you, Roy? He could be the answer to all the defensive problems Ipswich have had recently.