Showing posts with label owain tudur jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label owain tudur jones. Show all posts

Saturday, 22 January 2011

Championship Fixtures 22nd January 2011 (Part 4)

Reading v Hull City
Reading are unbeaten in their last seven home games and are just two points outside the play-offs but Hull have been creeping up the table and haven’t lost any of their last eight away games.
Simon Church could start for Reading in place of the doubtful Noel Hunt and Jem Karacan. Hal Robson-Kanu will probably be on the bench.

Sheffield United v Norwich City

A draw might be enough to prevent Sheffield United from slipping back into the top three – and considering that Norwich have only lost two away games, a draw would be a pretty good result.
Ched Evans should start for Sheffield United.
Andrew Crofts should start for Norwich but Owain Tudur Jones has joined Brentford on a month’s loan.

Friday, 14 January 2011

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.

Tuesday, 11 January 2011

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.

Saturday, 8 January 2011

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.

Friday, 7 January 2011

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)

Saturday, 18 December 2010

Championship Fixtures (and Postponements) 18th December 2010 (Part 1)

Cardiff City P-P Burnley
South Wales is inches deep in snow and it’s just not safe for visitors.
So Cardiff’s star English striker Jay Bothroyd should recover in time for the next fixture, Craig Bellamy can rest his knee, Jason Koumas can make sure his toe is properly better and the players can recover from their latest epidemic.
Craig has been talking about Feyenoord… and even Feyenoord aren’t happy.
Dave Jones says Cardiff have to deliver on Saturday. And what happens? Snow happens.
Jonathan Meades won’t be able to play for Cardiff until the transfer window opens as he’s been playing for FK Moss. But when the transfer window does open, he’ll be ready to stake his claim.

Coventry City v Norwich City

Coventry are unbeaten in four while Norwich ended a long unbeaten run last week. History would sem to favour Coventry – Norwich have only beaten them once away in the last fifty years. The present would also seem to favour Coventry. They haven’t conceded for nearly 400 minutes. The last team to score against them were Crystal Palace, which probably served as a kick up the backside, as well as a kick into the back of the net.
Freddy Eastwood will be hoping Coventry’s failure to score against Reading last weekend will give him the chance to start.
Andrew Crofts should start for Norwich and a succession of injuries could mean Owain Tudur Jones gets to play again, as long as he’s recovered from being bashed about by Fakenham Town in the Norwich Senior Cup. Norwich City won 3-0 and Josh Dawkin also played 90 minutes.

Derby County v Reading
Derby have lost their last three matches and they’re now three points away from the play-offs – although if they win and Norwich lose, they’ll be back in the top six. And considering Derby’s home form (if you ignore their last home match) and considering Reading are without a win in six (although the last five were draws), they must be in with a good chance of a win.
Reading’s Jem Karacan wants to silence Robbie Savage. Good luck with that. Robbie is expected to play after recovering from an ankle injury but Gareth Roberts, who was substituted after forty minutes of Derby’s defeat to Bristol City, will be out for two or three weeks with a calf injury which must be so annoying when he’s finally broken back into the first team after his last injury.
Simon Church and Hal Robson-Kanu seem to be Reading’s first-choice substitutes at the moment but Reading have drawn their last five and failed to score in their last two so they’re obviously in need of a couple of goalscorers. Hal scored just a few days ago in a reserve match which is quite an achievement considering most reserve matches are being cancelled at the moment. Also in the team was Jake Taylor, who managed 60 minutes after recovering from knee surgery. He’s not ready for the first team yet but he’ll be back in full training soon.

Thursday, 16 December 2010

Championship Results 11th December 2010 (Part 3)

Norwich City 0-2 Portsmouth
Portsmouth ended Norwich’s six-match unbeaten run but didn’t quite manage to take them out of the play-off places.
Andrew Crofts played the full match for Norwich but Owain Tudur Jones was an unused substitute.

Preston North End 1-0 Ipswich Town

Preston claimed a much-needed victory over Ipswich, who have now lost their last six league matches. Their only recent victory was the Carling Cup win over West Bromwich Albion.
Paul Parry played the last five minutes for Preston but Craig Morgan was left on the bench.
Troy Brown kept his place in Ipswich’s defence and came close to scoring with his head.

Reading 0-0 Coventry City
Reading drew a fifth successive match against Coventry. They haven’t won any of their last six matches although the one they lost was against Queen’s Park Rangers. Coventry were therefore denied a fourth successive win but at least they’re unbeaten in four, with four clean sheets.
Simon Church and Hal Robson-Kanu came on the field together in a double substitution but neither could find a winner for Reading.
Freddy Eastwood didn’t get a chance to snatch the points for Coventry, who left him on the bench.

Sunday, 12 December 2010

Championship Results 4th December 2010 (Part 1)

Cardiff City 1-1 Preston North End
Cardiff are just one point ahead of rivals Swansea City after only drawing with struggling Preston.
Darcy Blake and Craig Bellamy both started for Cardiff but Darcy was replaced after 26 minutes as he became the first victim of Cardiff City’s latest epidemic. Adam Matthews was an unused substitute but Jason Koumas was missing with a toe injury.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry were on the bench for Preston. Paul was a 93rd-minute substitute and he must have done something right because Cardiff scored a minute later. It’s a shame Paul doesn’t play for Cardiff anymore really.

Coventry City 1-0 Middlesbrough

Coventry are up to fifth following this win but Boro aren’t even up to fifth from bottom.
Freddy Eastwood came off Coventry’s bench ten minutes before the goal went in.
Danny Coyne was on the bench for Boro.

Derby County 1-2 Norwich City
Derby’s strong home faltered for once when Norwich came to town. Except of course Derby is a city.
Gareth Roberts returned from suspension and was in the starting line-up with Robbie Savage.
Andrew Crofts played the full match for Norwich and something wonderful happened: I was wrong. Owain Tudur Jones was not only on the bench for Norwich, he came off it.

Saturday, 11 December 2010

League One Fixtures 11th December 2010 (Part 1)

Bournemouth v Hartlepool United
Bournemouth will go second if they win and Charlton lose and Sheffield Wednesday don’t win by four goals more than Bournemouth. If Hartlepool win, they might go into the top half of the table.
Bournemouth have only lost one home league match this season and failed to win just two.
Rhoys Wiggins says Bournemouth can continue to prove their doubters wrong. Rhoys will make his 50th league start for Bournemouth in this match.

Carlisle United v Dagenham & Redbridge
Dag & Red are improving but they’re six points from safety so they ideally need to improve a little bit more. They’ve only won one away game this season (and drawn just two) but that’s only one fewer than Carlisle.
Carlisle don’t seem to want Jason Price back from Bradford City.
I haven’t heard anything about Tony Roberts but BBC Sport suggests he won’t play in goal. Well, he’s not likely to play anywhere else. Kayleden Brown could start after extending his loan spell until next year.

Colchester United v Yeovil Town
A win could take Colchester to joint second but they’re not expecting this match against the second-bottom team to be easy. I thought teams with a record of 4 4 2 either home or away was probably not that common but Colchester are another. Yeovil have lost seven of their ten away games this season.
Lee Beevers and Lloyd James will probably be on the bench for Colchester.
Yeovil have not only lost Owain Tudur Jones, Gavin Williams has gone too. Shaun MacDonald is their only remaining loan Welshman but he’s still got Nathan Jones to keep him company. Gavin believes Yeovil will survive relegation this season.

Notts County v Milton Keynes Dons
Notts County’s new manager faces one of his old clubs as the home side attempt to haul themselves out of the bottom three. A win for MK Dons could put them outside the play-offs on goal difference. Or even in the play-offs – Oldham Athletic aren’t playing so a 10-0 win from MK Dons will do it, as long as Yeovil can beat Colchester United.
Ben Davies should start for Notts County.

Championship Fixtures 11th December 2010 (Part 2)

Leicester City v Doncaster Rovers
Leicester have lost two of their last three matches but the one they won was a home game and they actually haven’t lost a home league game since mid-September and even then that was only Queen’s Park Rangers and they were beating everyone then. And the last time they lost a home game to a team who wasn’t QPR was in August. Doncaster have been doing really well but they’re not QPR. And their last away win at Leicester was only a year off being Victorian.
Andy King should start for Leicester.

Middlesbrough v Cardiff City
Cardiff have another bug. The last two times I visited Cardiff, I came back with a bug. It’s ny favourite city in the world but something’s wrong there.
Cardiff seriously need a win too as Swansea City are only behind on goal difference.but Middlesbrough don’t stop many teams from beating them. Cardiff are strong away from home though, having won more away matches than any other team in the Championship.
Darcy Blake has recovered from his bug, Jason Koumas has recovered from a toe injury and I’m sure someone would have mentioned it if Craig Bellamy might not be able to play – especially as he’s a hat-trick away from his 150th career goal. I don’t know about Adam Matthews and Aaron Wildig but if they’re okay, their chances of starting have probably increased.
Craig believes Cardiff can still win the league but they need one or two January signings.
Danny Coyne will probably be on the bench for Boro. Rhys Williams is still out with a pelvis injury.

Norwich City v Portsmouth
Norwich are unbeaten in five. Most of those matches were draws but they’re still fourth. Portsmouth aren’t even in the top half of the table and might not be even if they win but Portsmouth have got a pattern thing going. They lose seven… they win seven. They lose four… they win… one. So that looks like three wins to come, one of them against Portsmouth. Norwich must be so glad runs like that don’t mean anything.
Andrew Crofts should start for Norwich. Owain Tudur Jones could be on the bench again after doing nothing wrong as far as I can see in his cameo appearance last week. Manager Paul Lambert says Owain still has a role to play for the club.

Saturday, 4 December 2010

League One Fixtures (and Postponements) 4th December 2010

Brentford P-P Notts County
Notts County are considering under-soil heating but even if they did have it, it wouldn’t be much help as this match is at Brentford, who have a frozen pitch.
Ben Davies says Notts County can build on their victory over Swindon Town. Ben will meet the board soon to discuss his future.

Brighton P-P Colchester United
This game can’t be played as Brighton just isn’t a safe place for supporters.

Bristol Rovers v Bournemouth
This game isn’t cancelled yet but there’s going to be a pitch inspection tomorrow. So don’t go out without checking though if you do it won’t be a big disaster, it’s not like the match is in Carlisle. A win for Bournemouth would put them into the top two although Charlton Athletic would have a game in hand – and Bournemouth, despite their good position, have won away only once this season.
Byron Anthony returns from suspension for Bristol Rovers with Eliot Richards and Ben Swallow on the bench.
Rhoys Wiggins will start for Bournemouth
Joe Partington has extended his loan spell at Eastbourne Borough.

Dagenham & Redbridge P-P Huddersfield Town
There’s a safety issue in Dagenham so this match won’t be played.

Exeter City v Tranmere Rovers
Exeter are three points from the top six but they’d need a to win by ten goals in order to overturn Oldham Athletic’s goal difference. Tranmere won’t be in the bottom three if they lose because not enough of the teams below tham are playing but it would be uncomfortably close.
Richard Duffy has a slight hamstring injury but he’s expected to be fit to play for Exeter and first team coach/team-mate Rob Edwards believes Richard could be playing for Wales again before too long. Brian Flynn was at a recent match and Rob doesn’t think he was there to watch him and has concluded he must have been watching Richard – though Daniel Nardiello is Welsh too, you know, Rob.
Rob believes the current Exeter side is the strongest he’s seen at the club but he is worried about facing Tranmere’s Dale Jennings. Ash Taylor isn’t too bad either but he’ll probably only be on the bench as he’s coming back from injury.

Leyton Orient P-P Carlisle United
Orient imply there’s nothing wrong with their stadium, it’s the roads around it that are the problem.

Milton Keynes Dons P-P Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth’s financial problems are unlikely to be helped by the cancellation of this match due to a frozen pitch in Milton Keynes.
Plymouth captain Carl Fletcher is still yet to make his comeback from injury. He was set to play in a reserve match this week but I’m not sure if it happened.

Rochdale P-P Charlton Athletic

It’s not just London where the pitches are frozen. Stadia that were due to be visited by a London club are having problems too.
Matt Done visited a school in Rochdale this week as part of Anti-Bullying week.

Yeovil Town P-P Peterborough United
Yeovil and Peterborough can’t play this match due to an excess of snow.
Yeovil loanee Owain Tudur Jones, who has returned to Norwich. His final match was meant to be an FA Cup match but it was postponed.

Championship Fixtures (and Postponements) 4th December 2010 (Part 1)

Cardiff City v Preston North End
Cardiff will need to draw at least to ensure they remain ahead of rivals Swansea City but supporters will expect more from the promotion contenders when they face the Championship’s bottom side.
Darcy Blake and Craig Bellamy should start with Adam Matthews and Jason Koumas also in the squad. A hat-trick for Craig will bring him up to 150 club career goals.
Paul Parry faces his former club, Cardiff City, but he – along with team-mate Craig Morgan - is not guaranteed a starting place.
Darcy and Adam will show their superhero side next week to raise money for hospice Ty Hafan.

Coventry City v Middlesbrough
Coventry could be in third place if they win this match. Not the kind of team Middlesbrough want to be facing as they attempt to climb out of the bottom two. Boro only have one away win this season.
Freddy Eastwood will be hoping to get back into Coventry’s starting line-up.
Danny Coyne should have recovered from injury by now but new manager Tony Mowbray might not fancy him for the #1 spot. Rhys Williams is still out with pelvis problems.

Derby County v Norwich City
Derby are above Norwich only on goal difference but the loser of this match is likely to drop out of the top six. Derby have won six of their nine home games.
Robbie Savage has a good chance of starting for Derby but Gareth Roberts is still suspended.
Andrew Crofts should start for Norwich. Owain Tudur Jones has returned from his loan spell at Yeovil Town but I’d be surprised to see him in the squad. It would be a very nice surprise though.

Doncaster Rovers P-P Barnsley
No run-out this week for Doncaster’s Welsh midfielders John Oster – who would have been facing a former club - and Brian Stock as their pitch is frozen.

Saturday, 27 November 2010

Welsh Players on Loan

These Welsh players just won’t stop playing musical football teams.

Let’s see who this season’s movers and shakers are – Bury loanee Owain fon Williams being the Shaker.

Championship Loanees
Sam Vokes - Wolverhampton Wanderers to Bristol City
Craig Bellamy - Manchester City to Cardiff City
Jason Koumas - Wigan Athletic to Cardiff City
Sanchez Watt - Arsenal to Leeds United
Aaron Ramsey – Arsenal to Nottingham Forest
Jermaine Easter – Milton Keynes Dons to Swansea City

League One Loanees
Kayelden Brown – West Bromwich Albion to Tranmere Rovers, then Dagenham & Redbridge
Jason Brown – Blackburn Rovers to Leeds United, then Leyton Orient
Lewin Nyatanga – Bristol Rovers to Peterborough United
Nicky Adams – Brentford to Rochdale
Shaun MacDonald – Swansea City to Yeovil Town
Owain Tudur Jones – Norwich City to Yeovil Town
Gavin Williams – Bristol City to Yeovil Town

League Two Loanees
Jason Price – Carlisle United to Bradford City
Owain fon Williams – Stockport County to Bury
Rhys Taylor - Chelsea to Crewe Alexandra
Tony James – Burton Albion to Hereford United (now back at Burton)
Nathaniel Jarvis – Cardiff City to Southend United (now back at Cardiff)
Anthony Pulis – Southampton to Stockport County

Others

Joe Partington – Bournemouth to Eastbourne Borough
Rhys Day – Oxford United to Mansfield Town
Kerry Morgan - Swansea City to Newport County
Jack Mackreth – Tranmere Rovers to Burscough
Jonathan Meades - Cardiff City to FK Moss (now back at Cardiff)

FA Cup Fixtures 27th November 2010 (Part 2)

Darlington v York City
At least one non-league side will be in the third round and this local derby is likely to be feisty. But only if it goes ahead. No FA Cup matches called off as yet but this tie looks vulnerable.
Danny Parslow should play for York but Levi Mackin is still on his way back from a knee injuy and Alex Lawless has joined Luton on loan, with a view to a permanent move.

Dover Athletic v Aldershot Town
The Aldershot manager sees the FA Cup as a game to enjoy and make money from. He’s not even worried about losing.
Adam Birchall has already scored nine goals in the FA Cup this season – he’ll be wanting to make it ten at least. He’d love to beat Aldershot and take on former club Arsenal.
Aaron Morris probably has the most chance of starting for Aldershot, with Darren Jones possibly rested. But I don’t know if I’m right.

Hartlepool United v Yeovil Town
This match is looking like one of the most likely to be called off – which won’t be good news for the Yeovil fans, who will probably either be already there or on the way when the announcement is made. Hartlepool are out to enjoy the encounter and see what happens. For Yeovil, it’s a chance to show they’re not as bad as their league match against Bournemouth suggested.
Loanees Shaun MacDonald and Owain Tudur Jones can both play for Yeovil (this will be Owain’s last game) but Gavin Williams doesn’t have permission from parent club Bristol City. Nathan Jones could also be in the squad. Nathan and Rhys Baggridge were part of the Yeovil squad that progressed to the quarter finals of the Somerset Premier Cup.

Tuesday, 23 November 2010

League One Results 20th November 2010 (Part 1)

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Bristol Rovers
Brighton are just four points clear at the top of the table after Bristol Rovers grabbed a stoppage time draw. But Brighton’s unbeaten home record remains intact.
Byron Anthony had a mixed game, scoring the goal to put Bristol Rovers 1-0 up before conceding the penalty to put Brighton ahead. If you must do both, Byron, it’s so much better to do them the other way around. Byron also picked up his fifth yellow card of the season. At least five Welsh players have ‘achieved’ that this season.
Ben Swallow started for Bristol Rovers for the first time this season. Eliot Richards was on the bench.

Charlton Athletic 3-2 Yeovil Town
Yeovil gave Charlton a tougher time of it than Peterborough did in the last match but the result was just the same in terms of three points going to Charlton.
Gavin Williams and Shaun MacDonald both played the full match for Yeovil but Gavin picked up his fifth yellow card. Nathan Jones and Owain Tudur Jones dropped to the bench.

Colchester United 3-2 Hartlepool United
Hartlepool thought they’d snatched a point in the 88th minute but Colchester won in injury time with a dramatic and controversial penalty.
Lee Beevers came off the bench after 79 minutes. Lloyd James didn’t come off the bench at all.

Dagenham & Redbridge 0-1 Oldham Athletic

Dagenham remain in 22nd place on goal difference despite losing to Oldham.
New loan signing Kayelden Brown made his first start for the Daggers but Tony Roberts was only on the bench, presumably due to his back injury.
Joe Jacobson was an unused substitute for Oldham but all Oldham’s substitutes were unused in this match.

Saturday, 20 November 2010

League One Fixtures/News 20th November 2010 (Part 1)

Brighton & Hove Albion v Bristol Rovers
Brighton are unbeaten at home but you should never write off Bristol Rovers. They lose to the most embarrassing teams – but they also beat some pretty good ones.
Byron Anthony is expected to play at right back for Bristol Rovers. Ben Swallow is expected to be given his first start of the season. Eliot Richards will probably be on the bench.

Charlton Athletic v Yeovil Town
Yeovil have found wins hard to come by this season and now they face Charlton, a team that has just put five past the formerly high-flying Peterborough United.
Gavin Williams has fully recovered from an ankle injury and could start alongside Owain Tudur Jones and Shaun MacDonald. Nathan Jones might also start for Yeovil again.

Colchester United v Hartlepool United
Both teams had a disappointing end to last season, with Colchester missing out on the play-offs despite being there for most of the season, while Hartlepool were deducted three points and came very close to relegation. Things are looking similar this season. Colchester are in the play-offs but currently only on goal difference while Hartlepool really don’t want to lose another three points. Although I doubt they’d enjoy three points in any circumstances.
Lee Beevers and Lloyd James are most likely to be on the bench for Colchester.

Dagenham & Redbridge v Oldham Athletic
Dag & Red are in the bottom four but they’ve only lost once at home this season. Quite a lot better than Oldham’s away record.
Tony Roberts returns for Dag & Red after missing four matches with an ankle injury. Kayelden Brown is at Dag & Red on loan but he’s only been on the bench so far.
Joe Jacobson could be on the bench for Oldham.

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

League One Results 13th November 2010 (Part 2)

Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Rochdale
Sheffield Wednesday’s victory over Rochdale was their third win in three matches.
Rochdale’s Welsh substitutions mirrored Cardiff’s Welsh substitutions even down to the time of substitution. After 71 minutes, Nicky Adams came off and Matt Done went on but Matt was not replacing Nicky.

Swindon Town 2-1 Colchester United
Swindon moved closer to the top half of the table after beating Colchester, who lost an away match for the first time this season.
No Welshmen in this game. Billy Bodin (Swindon) and Lee Beevers and Lloyd James (both Colchester) were all unusued substitutes.

Tranmere Rovers 1-0 Plymouth Argyle
Tranmere moved out of the relegation places with victory over Plymouth, who are ahead of them only on goal difference.
Tranmere are still without ankle injury victim Ash Taylor but he is back in training.
Carl Fletcher (Plymouth) is likely to be able to out with a leg injury for at least another fortnight.

Yeovil Town 1-3 Dagenham & Redbridge
Dag & Red moved ahead of Yeovil on goal difference after beating them 3-1, their first away win of the season.
Nathan Jones started for Yeovil. The assistant manager says he is proud to have more appearances with Yeovil than with any other club in his career.
Owain Tudur Jones played despite a recent thigh strain and got the assist but that probably wasn’t much of a consolation. Shaun MacDonald also started for Yeovil and came close to scoring. Gavin Williams was a late substitute.
Goalkeeper Tony Roberts was absent from Dag & Red’s squad due to an ankle injury. So they did especially well to win. But Dag & Red did have one Welsh player on the bench: Kayelden Brown, who has signed on loan from West Bromwich Albion. He has previously played on loan at Tranmere Rovers this season.

Monday, 8 November 2010

FA Cup Results 6th November 2010 (Part 4)

Rotherham United 0-0 York City
Blue Square Premier side York managed to force a replay against League Two local rivals Rotherham.
Mark Bradley missed out for Rotherham due to a hip injury.
Alex Lawless and Danny Parslow both played the full match for York. But Alex won’t be in the replay as he has joined Luton Town on loan. The loan will be made permanent in January.

Rushden & Diamonds 0-1 Yeovil Town
Yeovil have struggled in the league this season but they did enough to progress to the second round of the FA Cup – although there was an element of controversy about their goal.
Nathan Jones played for Yeovil with loanees Shaun MacDonald and Owain Tudur Jones in midfield. Gavin Williams wasn’t given permission to play by his parent club.

Stevenage 0-0 Milton Keynes Dons
Stevenage managed to draw with League One’s MK Dons.
Jermaine Easter wasn’t in MK Dons’ squad, possibly due to his recent illness.

Stockport County 1-1 Peterborough United
Stockport forced a draw aganst League One promotion hopefuls Peterborough.
Anthony Pulis played the full match for Stockport after receiving permission to play from parent club Southampton.
Arron Davies played the full match for Peterborough but Lewin Nyatanga’s parent club Bristol City said he couldn’t play.

Swindon Supermarines 2-1 Eastwood Town
Swindon Supermarines performed a giant-killing to move into the second round at the expense of Eastwood Town. This was their first appearance in the first round of the FA Cup. And their first appearance in the second round isn’t too far away.

Tamworth 2-1 Crewe Alexandra
Tamworth are Saturday’s final giant-killing side after beating Crewe, who have been on a really good run recently.
Scott Barrow played the full match for Tamworth and the defender played a bit part in keeping Tamworth ahead.
Rhys Taylor was in goal for Crewe.

Saturday, 6 November 2010

FA Cup Fixtures 6th November 2010 (Part 5)

Rotherham United v York City
Mark Bradley has been playing through a hip injury and is unlikely to play for Rotherham.
Alex Lawless was part of the Forest Green Rovers side who performed an FA Cup giant-killing in the first round three years ago. Who did they beat? Rotherham United. Danny Parslow could also play for York but Levi Mackin is only just back in training after three months out with a knee injury.

Rushden & Diamonds v Yeovil Town
Rushden have sent Aynsley McDonald on loan to Banbury so he won’t play.
Bristol City have not given Gavin Williams permission to play for Yeovil in the FA Cup as they’re hoping other clubs will be interested in him after his loan comes to an end.
but they will have Shaun MacDonald (Swansea City) and Owain Tudur Jones (Norwich City),. Nathan Jones could also play in a match he believes Yeovil are under pressure to win. Maybe there will be a place in the squad for Rhys Baggridge.

Southampton v Shrewsbury Town
Ryan Doble might get into Southampton’s squad against League Two Shrewsbury.
Shrewsbury won’t have Tom Bradshaw due to injury.

Stevenage v Milton Keynes Dons
Jermaine Easter has been on the bench for MK Dons recently but maybe he’ll start this match. And maybe he’ll score.

Thursday, 4 November 2010

Welsh Player News 4th November 2010 (League One)

Young Bournemouth midfielder Joe Partington has joined Eastbourne Borough on loan.

Exeter City’s Rob Edwards feel they need to tighten up in defence. Maybe they should pick you then, Rob.

Arron Davies approves of Peterborough United’s new formation and he thinks their win over Walsall banished memories of losing to Brighton. I don’t really think there’s anything so bad about losing to a team who are eight points clear at the top of the league and maybe beating the bottom side isn’t necessarily much of a reason to celebrate but as long as he’s happy.

Gavin Williams hasn’t done a bad job since signing for Yeovil Town on loan again. But he says his best is yet to come. Gavin doesn’t think he’ll be playing for Wales again but he believes fellow Welsh loanees Shaun MacDonald and Owain Tudur Jones will win more caps.

The Football network profiles Yeovil Town’s assistant manager/left back Nathan Jones.