Transfer News and Rumours 8th January 2011 (Championship)

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.

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

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.

Wales squad v Bulgaria and Switzerland announced

Brian Flynn has named the Wales squad for the matches against Bulgaria and Switzerland.
Goalkeepers: Jonathan Bond (Watford), David Cornell (Swansea), Wayne Hennessey (Wolves), Boaz Myhill (West Brom)
Defenders: Danny Collins (Stoke), James Collins (Aston Villa), Neal Eardley (Blackpool), Danny Gabbidon (West Ham), Chris Gunter (Nottm Forest), Christian Ribeiro (Bristol City), Sam Ricketts (Bolton), Ashley Williams (Swansea)
Midfielders: Joe Allen (Swansea), Gareth Bale (Tottenham), Dave Edwards (Wolves), Andy King (Leicester), Joe Ledley (Celtic), Brian Stock (Doncaster), David Vaughan (Blackpool)
Forwards: Simon Church (Reading), Robert Earnshaw (Nottm Forest), Ched Evans (Sheff Utd), Steve Morison (Millwall), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading).

Goalkeepers
Jonathan Bond could make his full debut for Wales although he does have competition from three other goalkeepers. None of them, however, are first choice at their clubs. David Cornell has previously been called up by Wales but he hasn’t been in a matchday squad.

Goalkeeper Jason Brown (Leeds United, on loan from Blackburn Rovers) hasn't been selected, perhaps because he hasn't played first-team football this season although ironically it is rumoured that he will start for Leeds tomorrow.

Defenders
Danny Collins returns to the Wales squad for the first time since falling out with John Toshack.

Christian Ribeiro could make his competitive debut for Wales. He was surprised to be called into the full Wales squad. But I don’t think he minds.

Ashley Williams is the favourite to be Wales’ captain against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

Darcy Blake was hoping to be part of the squad after some excellent performances for Cardiff so he’ll be disappointed he wasn’t selected.

Craig Morgan (Preston North End) has done well for Wales in recent matches but he has been omitted from the squad. Defender Lewin Nyatanga (Bristol City) has a knee injury.

Midfielders
Gareth Bale is named as a midfielder after some outstanding performances for Tottenham on the left wing. This means right backs Chris Gunter and Sam Ricketts are likely to play in the full back positions.

Simon Davies wasn’t recalled to the squad despite reports that Brian Flynn went to watch him playing for Fulham. Simon has now ruled out a return to international football.

Robbie Savage wasn’t recalled to the squad after recently coming out of retirement. It is possible he will be involved in future squads.

Ryan Giggs was also linked with a return to international football but he has a hamstring injury so it’s hard to know if there was any truth in this or not. I think probably not. Ryan has also ruled himself out of managing Wales until he retires from playing.

Andy Dorman (Crystal Palace) and Andrew Crofts (Norwich City) have both said recently that they are passionate about playing for Wales so they’ll be disappointed by their omission from the squad. Andrew in particular is a surprise as he has had an exceptionally good start to the season.

David Cotterill is another who has done well this season for Wales and Swansea City but he has a groin injury. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) and Jack Collison (West Ham United) are out with long-term leg and knee injuries.

Forwards
Robert Earnshaw has been selected despite a thigh injury that has seen him miss three matches for Nottingham Forest recently.

Steve Morison and under-21 international Hal Robson-Kanu could make their competitive debuts for Wales.
Steve says he’s not worried about playing for new Wales manager Brian Flynn. He says he didn’t even know what he looked like until this week but he does now so there should be no embarrassing moments in the hotel. It is thought that Brian could favour former under-21 strikers Simon Church and Ched Evans but Steve feels he’s in better form than the other Wales strikers.

Craig Bellamy hasn’t been selected due to his recent knee problems on the advice of Cardiff City manager Dave Jones.

Championship Results 25th September 2010 Part 3

Nottingham Forest 3-1 Swansea City
Forest won at home for the first time this season when they hosted Swansea, a team who still haven’t got even one point from their away fixtures.
Forest striker Robert Earnshaw failed a fitness test on a hamstring injury and will feel very glad that Lewis McGugan, who scored two of Forest’s goals, isn’t a striker. Chris Gunter played the full match.
It was a back-pass from Swansea’s Ashley Williams which led to the penalty but only indirectly. At home he’s always excellent so it’s a shame that Wales’ next match will be played at the Cardiff City Stadium and not the Liberty. Neil Taylor’s also resulted in a shot on goal but Forest didn’t score from it so it didn’t matter.
Joe Allen came close to scoring for Swansea – and his team did get the rebound into the back of the net. David Cotterill started but he suffered a groin injury and was replaced at half-time.
Swansea’s substitutes included Jazz Richards but not goalkeeper David Cornell, who is rumoured to be going out on loan somewhere.

Queen’s Park Rangers 3-0 Doncaster Rovers
There’s just no stopping them. Doncaster have had a great start to the season and are only a point outside the play-offs. Doncaster played well and certainly didn’t deserve to lose by three clear goals but QPR are unstoppable.
Brian Stock, who is recovering from a back injury, was on the bench but John Oster played the full match.

Championship Fixtures 25th September 2010 Part 3

Nottingham Forest v Swansea City
Nottingham Forest are unbeaten at home (and not just this season: this record stretches back more than a year) while Swansea don’t even have a single point away. So a home win sounds like the most likely result – which will be a great relief to Forest fans as it will be their first win of the season.
Chris Gunter should start for Forest but Robert Earnshaw’s hamstring is playing up again – maybe he shouldn’t have started last week after all.
As a Cardiff girl, I might have certain... reservations about Swansea City but one thing you can rely on them to do is to put a few Welsh players in their team. Ashley Wiliams and Neil Taylor look certain ti start (assuming Neil’s absence from the Carling Cup win over Peterborough United wasn’t due to injury) while David Cotterill, who played well in the aforementioned Carling Cup game, could start ahead of Joe Allen. But maybe he won’t. David Cornell will probably be on the bench unless Swansea manager Brendan Rogers has any funny ideas about putting their new goalkeeper there instead. Jazz Richards could also be on the bench.

Queen’s Park Rangers v Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster are unbeaten in four matches and although QPR are unbeaten in seven, Doncaster are more than capable of springing the odd surprise when they feel like it.
If Brian Stock is sufficiently recovered from his back problems, the Doncaster captain will make his 250th league start. John Oster should start too but whatever number of starts he is on, it’s obviously not worth celebrating or BBC Sport would have said something.

Carling Cup Results 21st September 2010 Part 1

Birmingham City 3-1 Milton Keynes Dons
Birmingham learned from Blackpool’s experience and made sure MK Dons were finished off before they got started. Three goals in four minutes meant MK Dons were 3-0 down with more than an hour still to play. MK Dons did get a goal back near the end but they were unable to build on it.
Jermaine Easter started off as a loan striker for MK Dons but he was unable to repeat his goalscoring exploits in the last round.

Brentford 1-1 Everton aet, 4-3 on pens
Both sides have had a poor start to the season in the league. Brentford have one only once this season while Everton’s first three points are yet to come. But even so, Everton are two divisions above Brentford so you wouldn’t think a draw was the obvious result.
But a draw it was – and it was Brentford who held their nerve in the penalty shoot-out. Well done to Brentford. They are one of just three London sides remaining in the Carling Cup.
Nicky Adams started for Brentford but he came off after 68 minutes so he couldn’t take a penalty. He did nearly score a normal goal though.

Burnley 1-0 Bolton Wanderers
This wasn’t only a giant-killing, it was a triumph of Burnley over their former manager. Owen Coyle joined Bolton last season, leaving Burnley to sink back down into the Championship, although not before beating Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Burnley were lucky to get their goal at all. The referee, thinking the ball had not crossed the line, waved play on, but luckily one of his assistants was paying attention. I bet all you England fans wish he’d been on duty at the Germany match.
Sam Ricketts played the full match for Bolton.

Millwall 1-2 Ipswich Town
Millwall have forgotten how to win. It was a big improvement on the weekend match against Watford but they haven’t actually won a game for nearly a month. Ipswich’s good season continues in the Carling Cup as well as the League.
Steve Morison could have put Millwall into the lead early in the game but it wouldn’t go in. Steve attempted to begin a Millwall fightback when he did score in the 62nd minute but although Millwall ‘won the second half’ (I quote my Millwall-supporting father), it is the score over the full match that counts and Millwall are out, having got just as far in the compeititon as Chelsea.
Troy Brown was on the bench for Ipswich.

Peterborough United 1-3 Swansea City
Maybe Chelsea should have hung onto Scott Sinclair. His hat-trick gave new club Swansea City a 3-0 victory over Peterborough United – meaning that Sinclair progresses further in the competition than his former employers. Peterborough, going well in League One, managed to find an equaliser for Sinclair’s first goal but after that Swansea were unstoppable.
Arron Davies had recovered sufficiently from a hamsttring injury to sit on the bench.
Swansea didn’t field a full-strength team – Neil Taylor was one of those rested - but there were still starting berths for Ashley Williams and David Cotterill – and it was a lovely pass from David which led to Swansea’s taking the lead for a second time. Jazz Richards played for the first team for the first time this season while Joe Allen, a 70th-minute substitute, played a big part in the winning goal.
Daniel Alfei made what I believe is his first appearance on the bench for Swansea. David Cornell was among those keeping him company. I was actually a little bit annoyed about that because Swansea’s first-choice goalkeeper didn’t play and David is the second-choice so he should have played but instead they gave the start to some new goalkeeper. But I’m a Cardiff girl. Why would I care if Swansea don’t play their best players?

Carling Cup Fixtures 21st September 2010 Part 1

Birmingham v Milton Keynes Dons
MK Dons disposed of Blackpool in their last Carling Cup fixture Birmingham are likely to field a weakened side but MK Dons will be lucky to do it again.
Jermaine Easter’s only goals so far came in the last round of the Carling Cup. Maybe another goal or two in this match will get him up and running in the league.

Brentford v Everton
Brentford beat Hull City in the last round but Everton should prove a sterner test. Everton’s only win in any competition this season was their Carling Cup win over Huddersfield Town.
Nicky Adams could keep his place in Brentford’s starting line-up.

Burnley v Bolton Wanderers
Owen Coyle walked out on Burnley to manage Bolton. I’m sure the fans will be just delighted to see him again. Bolton will field a weakened side in this Carling Cup match so Burnley, who are doing well in the Championship, might fancy their chances. Especially as their former player Robbie Blake doesn’t want to score against them.
Sam Ricketts has spent most of this season on the bench so I’d expect him to play tomorrow.

Millwall v Ipswich Town
Millwall haven’t won any of their last three fixtures and will be eager to get back to winning ways. It is unfortunate, then, that they face a side who have only lost once this season – and that was to high-flying Queen’s Park Rangers.
Millwall are a bit short of strikers due to injury and eligible loanees so Steve Morison might not be rested.
Ipswich are expected to do a spot of player rotation so Troy Brown could come into the starting line-up. He wasn’t in the squad at the weekend though so he might be injured.

Peterborough United v Swansea City
Peterborough’s last Carling Cup victims were Cardiff City. Now the League One promotion contenders set their sights on the other League side in Wales. (For once, Wrexham are probably quite glad of rheir Championship status.)
Peterborough’s Arron Davies will miss the match due to a hamstring injury.
But with Swansea on the pitch, the match is sure to have some Welsh representatives. Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor have become regulars in the League while David Cotterill and Joe Allen seem to be sharing a midfield position. If Swansea manager Brendan Rogers chooses to rest players, goalkeeper David Cornell, Jazz Richards and Casey Thomas are all capable of doing a job.

Championship Results 19th September 2010 Part 3

Preston North End 0-1 Norwich City
Probably not many people expected Preston to beat Norwich. They have won only one match this season and not drawn any at all. Norwich, now fourth in the table, have a much healthier record. Losing 1-0 to Norwich isn’t a bad result but that won’t comfort Preston.
Paul Parry started his second consecutive match for Preston and he nearly scored. Craig Morgan was dropped to the bench.
Andrew Crofts nearly scored a great headed goal for Norwich but it was blocked on the line.

Sheffield United 1-0 Portsmouth
Portsmouth could have won this, with both goalkeepers making good saves.
But the points went to Gary Speed’s side after Ched Evans’ free kick ended up in the back of the net in the 77th minute. Just when I start to worry he’s not scoring enough, Ched pops up with a goal. But I don’t mind.

Swansea City 2-0 Scunthorpe United
Swansea kept their 100% home record intact with victory over Scunthorpe and probably should have scored more than one goal.
Joe Allen was elbowed by a Scunthorpe player but unfortunately while the referee missed this, he did see Joe’s retaliation, which earned him a yellow card. David Cotterill came off the bench, replacing Joe, and provided a great cross from which Swansea scored their first goal.
Defenders Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor played the full match for Swansea. David Cornell and Jazz Richards were on the bench.

Welsh Player News 17th September 2010 (Championship, Part 2)

Leeds United have signed Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Jason Brown on loan for one month. Their first-choice keeper has a foot injury.

Andy King believes Leicester City can blow away any Championship team.

Blackburn want Steve Morison but Millwall want to keep him. Or do they?

Andrew Crofts is the Norwich City Vital Football’s Player of the Month.

Paul Parry has been building up his match fitness by playing with the reserves.

Simon Church thinks Reading’s defence can stop Middlesbrough from scoring tomorrow.

Ashley Williams says he’s happy in Swansea but he wouldn’t mind an away win…

Ashley sees Scunthrpe United as a bit of a surprise package this season. I can only agree, I thought they were going to be like Peterborough last year.

New Swansea City left back Neil Taylor says he is living the dream. Mid-table Blue Square Premier to Championship play-off hopefuls in just a few months.

Swansea goalkeeper David Cornell could be sent out on loan to gain experience. Daniel Alfei and Casey Thomas are also loan candidates.

Championship Fixtures 18th September 2010 Part 3

Millwall v Watford
Millwall manager Kenny Jackett is up against the only club he played for in his career. He only played for ten years but even so, it’s nice to see a bit of loyalty. Kenny has also coached and managed Watford. Watford go into this match with an unbeaten away record.
Steve Morison is likely to start for Millwall.

Preston North End v Norwich City
Preston have only beaten Norwich twice at home in the last 39 years and wins of any kind are thin on the ground for Preston at the moment. Norwich lost their last game but they’re still only out of the play-off places on goal difference.
Paul Parry made his second comeback from a knee operation early last Saturday and went on to play the complete game against Burnley midweek. He’s said he’s likely to continue to have problems with his knee for the rest of his career so it’s not impossible he’ll be rested for this match. Craig Morgan, however, should play for Preston.
Andrew Crofts should be in Norwich’s starting line-up.

Sheffield United v Portsmouth
Sheffield United will be wanting to bounce back from a surprise 4-0 defeat to Scunthorpe United. Portsmouth also conceded four goals last week although they did manage to score one.
Ched Evans hasn’t scored since the first day of the season and if Sheffield Utd manager Gary Speed decides to make changes, that could include changes up front.

Swansea City v Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe were predicted to struggle but they’re up in the top half of the table – three places ahead of Swansea but only on goal difference. The bad news for Scunthorpe is that Swansea have a 100% home record this season and have only conceded one goal.
Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor are likely to start for Swansea. Joe Allen did well in midweek when he started – David Cotterill was the player who dropped to the bench to replace him. David Cornell and Casey Thomas could both be on the bench although both are candidates to go out on loan.

Championship Results 11th September 2010 Part 2

Leeds United 2-1 Swansea City
Swansea haven’t won at Elland Road for 61 years – not only was their manager born yet, his parents might not have been either. Nevertheless, Swansea took the lead – but it didn’t last.
Sanchez Watt started for Leeds but new loan signing Jason Brown was only on the bench.
David Cotterill got the assist for Swansea’s goal. He, Neil Taylor and Ashley Williams all played the full match. Joe Allen made a substitute appearance but David Cornell and Casey Thomas stayed on the bench.

Norwich City 2-1 Barnsley
Norwich beat Barnsley to continue their unbeaten run. Barnsley took the lead in first-half stoppage time, too late for Norwich to find an immediate equaliser, but they scored twice in the second half to take the points.
Andrew Crofts played the full match for Norwich after recovering from either an ankle injury or a groin injury. Wales were told it was a groin injury but maybe Andrew just isn’t very good at biology.

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Millwall
A late Forest equaliser – or a referee’s error - denied Millwall their fourth win of the season but they remain very much in the play-off hunt while Forest were still without a first win. Both teams finished in third place last season – in other words, Forest were 24 places above Millwall.
Robert Earnshaw started for Forest and had the chance of scoring a brilliant equaliser but he left the field with a hamstring injury after 27 minutes. If he’d been on the pitch, he might have taken Forest’s penalty – and, unlike Dexter Blackstock, perhaps he would have scored it. Chris Gunter completed his three-match suspension with this game.
Steve Morison scored Millwall’s goal after just eight minutes.

Portsmouth 0-0 Ipswich Town
Portsmouth are probably grateful for any point they can get at the moment so a point at home to unbeaten Ipswich would have been particularly welcome. They were the first team to keep a clean sheet against Ipswich too.
Troy Brown was on the bench for Ipswich.

Championship Fixtures 11th September 2010 Part 2

Leeds United v Swansea City
Leeds didn’t have the best start to the season but they’re soaring up the table now. Swansea have started a bit slower but they often do so there’s probably no need to worry just yet. If Swansea score, it will be their first away goal of the season. You can probably work out for yourself how many away games they’ve won – there haven’t been any 0-0 draws.
Sanchez Watt should keep his place in Leeds’ starting line-up but he is yet to score in the league this season.
Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor look certain to start but David Cotterill has started every league game this season while Joe Allen is an option to replace an injured midfielder. David Cornell will be on the bench.

Norwich City v Barnsley
The last time Barnsley won away at Norwich, the second world war was still two years away. So they’re due a win, don’t you think?
Norwich’s Andrew Crofts has recovered from the ankle injury which prevented him from playing for Wales last week.

Nottingham Forest v Millwall
Forest are still yet to win this season although they are unbeaten at home. Millwall’s 100% start was spoiled by old adversaries Leeds United but they’re still in fourth place.
Chris Gunter is still suspended so he won’t play for Forest. Robert Earnshaw will hope to keep his place in the starting line-up despite scoring only once this season.
Steve Morison should start for Millwall.

Portsmouth v Ipswich Town
Portsmouth are bottom of the Championship so the last team they want visiting them is Ipswich Town – who are unbeaten and have a 100% record in their away games this season.
Troy Brown has a chance of playing due to a team-mate’s injury.

Queen’s Park Rangers v Middlesbrough
QPR are another of those unbeaten teams. Boro are yet to win or even score away. So they must be thrilled they’ve got QPR this week.
Danny Coyne will probably be on the bench for Middlesbrough. Rhys Williams is out with a pelvis injury.

Championship Results 28th August 2010 Part 3

Sheffield United 1-0 Preston North End
Gary Speed helped Sheffield United to climb the table a little away with his first win as a manager. Preston are out of the bottom three but only just.
Gary picked fellow Welshman Ched Evans to start but the goal wasn’t his although he did come very close.
Craig Morgan played the full match for Preston but Paul Parry wasn’t in the squad.

Swansea City 1-0 Burnley
Both sides were reduced to ten men as Swansea ended Burnley’s unbeaten run and haul themselves into the top half.
Neil Taylor made his first league start for Swansea with Ashley Williams and David Cotterill, who had a particularly good game, also in the starting line-up. Joe Allen replaced David when he was substitured. David Cornell and Jazz Richards were both unusued substitutes.

Watford 0-1 Leeds United
Another win for Leeds puts them into the top six while Watford, who won their opening two games but haven’t won since.
Jonathan Bond wasn’t on the bench for Watford so presumably the second-choice keeper is now fit.
Sanchez Watt started for Leeds and probably should have scored.

Championship Fixtures 28th August 2010 Part 3

Swansea City v Burnley
Swansea have only won once this season and that was against Preston North End, who were bottom at the time. But since then they have lost to Norwich City and only knocked Tranmere Rovers out of the Carling Cup after a late fightback. Burnley are looking like contenders for promotion though it’s still very early days.
Ashley Williams should start in defence for Swansea. Neil Taylor, David Cotterill and Joe Allen could also start with David Cornell on the bench.

Watford v Leeds United
Watford have started well and they now face Leeds United, who started badly but did manage to beat the previously unbeaten Millwall last weekend.
Jonathan Bond wasn’t on Watford’s bench for the midweek Carling Cup defeat to Notts County and might not be seen again this season unless there’s another goalkeeper injury.
Sanchez Watt should be back in Leeds’ starting line-up after being rested for the midweek Carling Cup defeat to Leicester City. Can you see a pattern emerging?

Carling Cup Results 24th August 2010 Part 5

Tranmere Rovers 1-3 Swansea City
Tranmere made a great start to the match, going 1-0 up after 22 minutes and hanging on well into the second half. It looked like the League One side might actually do it. But the equaliser finally arrived and Swansea took the lead in the very next minute. Then, just to make the score look more respectable, Swansea got a third.
Kayleden Brown wasn’t in the squad for this match. Maybe West Brom don’t want him cup-tied.
Joe Allen (who nearly marked his first start of the season with a goal) and joined Ashley Williams in the starting line-up for this match. There was also first Swansea starts for Casey Thomas and new signing Neil Taylor. David Cornell, Jazz Richards and Joe Walsh were among the unused substitutes.

Watford 1-2 Notts County
Notts County have been famous for their giant-killings recently. Wigan Athletic were their victims last year, this time another w-team, Watford, followed. Admittedly Wigan was funnier given they are in the Premier League and County were then in League Two but it stopped being so funny after Wigan beat Arsenal. Funny that.) Watford have made a good start in the Championship this season and dominated this match but Notts County were the team able to take their chances.
Ben Davies got his first Notts County goal of the season from a free kick just after half-time and they hung on for another twenty-one minutes before doubling their lead. Watford got a goal back not long after that but they were unable to add to their tally and League One Notts County advance to the next round.
Watford played a substitute goalkeeper in this match but it wasn’t Jonathan Bond. Not unless he’s changed his name by deed poll. And his squad number.

Carling Cup Fixtures 24th August 2010 Part 4

Sunderland v Colchester United
Sunderland are yet to win in the Premier League while Colchester are yet to lose. But this is still the Carling Cup.
Lee Beevers and Lloyd James have only made brief substitute appearances for Colchester this season but maybe they’ll get more of a chance tomorrow night. And maybe Tom Bender will get a place on the bench.

Tranmere Rovers v Swansea City
Swansea have never been beyond the fourth round in his competition. They were knocked out by Scunthorpe United last season but that’s probably not as funny as being knocked out by the great Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup.
Tranmere are of course without Ash Taylor (knee) but maybe loanee Kayleden Brown will get a start.
Swansea might rest a few players for this clash so maybe Ashley Williams and David Cotterill will be on the bench with David Cornell, Neil Taylor, Joe Allen and Jazz Richards given the chance to impress.

Championship Results 21st August 2010 Part 2

Crystal Palace 1-2 Ipswich Town
Ipswich continue their quest to make this season the opposite of last season – they’re yet to lose a match. Crystal Palace didn’t win but they are out of administration which is more important.
Andy Dorman played on the left for Palace and nearly scored a few times for Crystal Palace but he only got the ball in the net once and even then it didn’t count because it was offside. Lewis Price was on the bench.
Troy Brown was back on the bench for Ipswich after recovering from an ankle injury but he didn’t get to play this time.

Hull City 0-0 Watford
This wasn’t the best game in the world (though it had its moments) but both teams are (so far) doing better than expected after Watford struggled last season and Hull sold most of their best players.
Jonathan Bond was on the bench for Watford.

Leeds United 3-1 Millwall
Millwall did the double over Leeds last season before following them to the Championship. This season, Leeds took revenge – and got their first win of the season, while Millwall conceded their first goals. Millwall were the first to score when they took the lead through an own goal but Leeds got an equaliser before one of those annoying supersubs put Leeds into the lead late on. Then, when Millwall were pushing up for an equaliser, he got another goal. I don’t think I like him.
Sanchez Watt got the assist for Leeds’ second goal and could easily have scored too. He had a good game but what do you expect, he’s on loan from Arsenal.
Millwall’s best player was arguably another Wales-eligible forward, Steve Morison, who got the assist for Millwall.

Norwich City 2-0 Swansea City
I don’t mind seeing Swansea lose occasionally. I definitely don’t want them finishing ahead of Cardiff or anything like that. But I don’t want their Wales internationals losing confidence and today probably didn’t help. It looks like Norwich’s season could be similar to their last season. A shock defeat followed by Norwich going up and up and up… and then up in another sense.
Swansea aren’t in too much trouble yet – they’re on relegation form but they’re also mid-table. But if they carrying on playing like this, they won’t only be in trouble, they’ll be in League One next season and that would be a shame. If Cardiff do miss out on promotion again, beating Swansea twice next season should provide some small consolation but it won’t happen if they’re in League One.
Swansea did manage to keep the sheet clean for 87 minutes so they can’t have been completely awful and they could have gone ahead in the 83rd minute when they were awarded a penalty but David Cotterill’s shot was brilliantly saved. Then things got even worse. Ashley Williams cleared the ball in the wrong direction and it went into the back of the net. A winning goal for Norwich followed in the fourth minute of extra time.
Andrew Crofts played for Norwich and came close to scoring.
Neil Taylor made his Swansea debut as a half-time substitute and took lots of throw-ins, maybe he’s some sort of Welsh Rory Delap. There wasn’t any action for substitutes Joe Allen or David Cornell.

Championship Fixtures 21st August 2010 Part 3

Hull City v Watford
Hull had an excellent start to the new season before coming back down to earth again after last week’s encounter against Millwall. Watford are unbeaten but conceded two very late goals against Coventry City last week.
Jonathan Bond will again be Watford’s substitute goalkeeper.

Norwich City v Swansea City
Last year’s League One Champions face the team who just missed out on the play-offs. Both lost their opening game before winning their second.
Andrew Crofts will be in midfield for Norwich and an appearance on the bench isn’t impossible for Josh Dawkin but Owain Tudur Jones is likely to be ignored again.
Ashley Williams will start in defence for Swansea and David Cotterill will also hope for a start after scoring in his last two games – once for Swansea and once for Wales – but he knows this game won’t be easy. David Cornell should be on the bench, while Joe Allen might be given the chance to show John Toshack he was wrong to leave him out of the Wales squad. Neil Taylor and Jazz Richards could also be in the squad.
http://www.swansea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=209925

Championship Results 14th August 2010 Part 3

Swansea City 4-0 Preston North End
Swansea were probably quite fond of Preston after they pipped Cardiff City to a play-off place the season before last but they didn’t let gratitude get in the way as they gave Preston a good thrashing.
David Cotterill – who also scored for Wales this week - got the winner for Preston with a 56th minute penalty. Ashley Williams – also on the scoresheet for his national side - helped Swansea to gain a clean sheet while Joe Allen made his return from a shoulder injury after 65 minutes. David Cornell and Neil Taylor were unused substitutes.
Craig Morgan played in defence for Preston North End but he didn’t do quite as well for his club team as he did for Wales although he did nearly score. Paul Parry made an appearance from the bench at half-time but Preston were already 3-0 down by then.

Watford 2-2 Coventry City
Watford will be very disappointed with a draw after being 2-0 up in the 87th minute but Coventry fought back, getting manager Aidy Boothroyd a point against his former club.
Jonathan Bond was on the bench for Watford.
Freddy Eastwood played more than an hour for Coventry but he couldn’t find the net this time.

Championship Results 7th August 2010 Part 2

Hull City 2-0 Swansea City
Seven years ago, Swansea beat Hull and stayed in the Football League. This time, they’re meeting on rather higher ground following Hull’s relegation from the Premier League last season. How times change. The result was different too.
Hull might have sold some of their best players but they looked solid today. Maybe they’ve found their level – but on this showing, they are one of the best at this level. It’s just a shame their best goal was scored by a Tottenham Hotspur player, I do tend not to like players from that club although I do like Gareth Bale. But there’s plenty of time for this to change. Swansea were very poor and they made a poor start last year before nearly getting into the play-offs. You could say their poor start cost them the play-offs but they also had a poor run at the end of the season. This is the fifth consecutive occasion on which they’ve lost their opening match.
Ashley Williams and David Cotterill played the full match. David nearly scored from one of his free kicks while a pass from Ashley deserved to be an assist. David Cornell was on the bench with new signing Neil Taylor. Jazz Richards was thought to be in with a chance of starting but he didn’t make the squad.

Leeds United 1-2 Derby County
Derby have been in the Championship longer than Leeds but with Leeds’ history, many would have expected a home win. But this is not what happened. Instead, Leeds suffered their first opening-day defeat since 1989 – two years before Leeds’ loanee Wales-eligible striker was bron.
Leeds weren’t that bad. Kasper Schmeichel was in great form in goal for Leeds – probably not many teams, on promotion to the Championship, get rid of their keeper and buy the guy who played for the team promoted from League Two. But this looks like a not completely ridiculous decision. Without him, Derby would have won by more than one goal.
Arsenal’s Sanchez Watt is with Leeds for a second loan spell and, after spending most of his first loan spell on the bench, he started this match and stayed on the pitch until the end.
Derby have signed left back Gareth Roberts from Doncaster Rovers and he proved his worth when a goal-line clearance late on meant Derby could leave with all three points.
Derby also have Robbie Savage in midfield. I wasn’t sure about Robbie’s hair or his tackles but there’s no doubt he can still play. He is thinking of retiring at the end of this season but at the moment you wouldn’t guess it. The goal might just possibly have had something to do with Robbie but let’s not mention that.

Middlesbrough 1-3 Ipswich Town
Middlesbrough are the favourites for promotion but they didn’t look it against the team who last season needed fifteen games before they found their first win. Middlesbrough’s team looks a bit like my fantasy football teams – full of players that are the same nationality as their manager.
I didn’t think Ipswich were all that good as the main reason for their win seemed to be awful defending from Middlesbrough. While one of Ipswich’s goals in particular was quality, Boro should never have allowed the ball to stay in the box as long as it did.
But Steve Claridge said Ipswich were excellent and he knows what he’s talking about so they probably were.
Boro’s first-choice goalkeeper Brad Jones was suspended after a red card in the final match of last season so Danny Coyne had the chance to impress. Unfortunately he didn’t really except he did do one really good save.
Troy Brown was on the bench for Ipswich and he’s got a nice new number too. He’s ditched the No. 39 shirt for the No. 22 shirt which sounds a lot more promising.