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 3)

Ipswich Town v Doncaster Rovers
Ipswich will be hoping Doncaster are still suffering the after-effects of their FA Cup defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers They really don’t want to lose for the ninth time in eleven matches.
Troy Brown could return from a hamstring injury for Ipswich.
John Oster should start for Doncaster but Brian Stock is still out with a back or leg injury.


Leicester City v Millwall
Millwall are the form team in the Championship but Leicester have only lost twice at home this season.
Andy King isn’t going to be dropped from Leicester’s team in a hurry.
Steve Morison should start for Millwall – they’ll be hoping he’s fully recovered from the flu and has the energy to score and celebrate lots of goals.

Middlesbrough v Preston North End
Middlesbrough are unbeaten in four and must be hopeful of extending this run when they face the Championship’s bottom club, who have only won twice away.
Rhys Williams expects to be back in full training in a month’s time and he hopes he’ll be playing for Middlesbrough again by March. Rhys has had a problem with his pelvis for the last year and hasn’t played since April.
Danny Coyne will be on the bench for Middlesbrough.
Craig Morgan could keep his place in Preston’s starting line-up with Paul Parry on the bench.

Portsmouth v Leeds United
Portsmouth will be hoping to end a run of three league defeats but they’ll be lucky to do that against fifth-placed Leeds.
Sanchez Watt should start for Leeds.

Championship 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 3)

Preston North End v Leicester City
Phil Brown takes charge of Preston for the first time since becoming manager. The last time he played on the Championship, he got promoted. With Hull. But even just saving Preston would be a bit of a miracle. Leicester are four points behind the play-offs and thinking of promotion. So they really ought to be able to beat Preston.
Craig Morgan could start again for Preston but he could also be on the bench or not there at all. It depends what his new manager thinks of him really. Paul Parry has a broken wrist but he’s back in full training and could play.
Andy King will definitely start for Leicester, as long as he has no last-minute injuries or illnesses.

Swansea City v Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace have the worst away record in the Championship, having won one away match this season – and while Swansea don’t quite have the best home record, they’re not far off.
Ashley Williams will start for Swansea but it’s hard to be sure about the others. Daniel Alfei, Joe Allen, David Cotterill and Jazz Richards have all played well in recent matches but there probably won’t be room for all of them. Neil Taylor has an ankle injury and will be out for a few more weeks.
Following Daniel Alfei’s impressive first-team debut, the Swansea youth boss, Tony Pennock, has said that Daniel has a big future ahead of him in professional football. Daniel hopes to keep his place against Palace.
Jermaine Easter’s loan spell at Swansea was cut short early – so parent club Milton Keynes Dons could sell him to Crystal Palace. Jermaine is looking to scoring for Palace and helping them climb the table. Although he’s only just signed, he could play against Swansea tomorrow.
Shaun MacDonald is hoping to fight his way into the Swansea first team. Shaun has spent the first half of the season on loan at Yeovil Town.
Andy Dorman and Lewis Price should be somewhere in Palace’s squad.

Watford v Derby County
Derby were doing really really well. They did have a slightly dodgy start but then they went on a run, then they went on a good home run, now they can’t even beat Crawley Town. But the last time Derby went on a run, they kicked things off with a victory over Watford.
Gareth Roberts and Robbie Savage might keep their places. Nigel Clough might still be in a mood about Crawley Town but Gareth and Robbie weren’t actually on the pitch when the winning goal went in. Robbie is disappointed with the Crawley result, the tannoy man and Matthew Tubbs’ tackle. But maybe things will be better at Watford. Robbie also has some wise words (yes, really) for Liverpool fans.

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 3)

Sheffield United v Swansea City
Swansea haven’t won at Sheffield United since the year the Second World War started. That’s 1939, in case they don’t teach that anymore. If Swansea draw, they’ll move ahead of Cardiff City as their game has been postponed.
Ched Evans should start for Sheffield United.
David Cotterill doesn’t get the best reaction when Swansea play Cardiff City and he never even played for Cardiff, he was just born there. So his former club Sheffield United probably won’t be that thrilled with him either. David hasn’t been starting lately but with Gary Speed choosing country over club, maybe he’ll get more chances.
Ashley Williams looks certain to start – it will be his 300th club career appearance – but he doesn’t think this is a good time to play Sheffield United. Joe Allen is also likely to start while Neil Taylor and loanee Jermaine Easter should be somewhere in the squad. Jermaine is hoping that if he scores, the Swansea fans will stop booing him. Not that they’re all booing him but it was loud enough for Jermaine to hear.

Watford v Preston North End
Watford’s last league match went quite well. They beat Queen’s Park Rangers 3-1 away and ended their unbeaten start to the season. Now they host the team at the opposite end of the table. A win could move Preston out of the bottom three and they have been playing well.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry haven’t started for Preston for a while. As Preston haven’t really found a winning formula yet, they might be worth a try but I don’t think Darren Ferguson reads my blogs so he might keep them on the bench.

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.

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.

Championship Fixtures 11th December 2010 (Part 3)

Preston North End v Ipswich Town
Preston have only won one of their last eleven matches but they are unbeaten in two. Ipswich have just beaten West Bromwich Albion but that wasn’t in the league. They haven’t won in the league for over a month.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry haven’t started for Preston since they lost to Hull nearly a month ago. But in the two games before that when both started, one of them scored.
Troy Brown played in the win over West Brom and kept his place for the next game but Ipswich didn’t win. So he could be back on the bench again. It wasn’t his fault though – but neither was it Roy Keane’s, according to Troy and his team-mates.

Reading v Coventry City
If Coventry win this match, it will be their fourth win in a row and fourth clean sheet in a row. Reading are also unbeaten in four but they didn’t actually win any of those games. Like Leeds’ away form, Reading’s home form could be a clue to what formation they will play. Coventry go for a more radical 4 2 4.
Simon Church has been starting for Reading but not scoring. So he could be back on the bench with Hal Robson-Kanu and that might not be all bad because he’s such a great supersub but I’m sure he’d rather be a superstarter.
Freddy Eastwood will probably be on the bench as the other strikers keep scoring.

Scunthorpe United P-P Nottingham Forest
Aaron Ramsey misses another chance to build up his match fitness after the freezing weather conditions in Scunthorpe lead to the cancellation of this match.

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.

Championship Fixtures 27th November 2010 (Part 2)

Preston North End v Millwall
Another week, another star goalscorer joins Millwall’s ranks. The latest is Josh McQuoid from Bournemouth but unfortunately he plays for Northern Ireland. Millwall’s recent form hasn’t been the best, having won just one of their last five, but at least they’ve done better than Preston, who have won only one of their last nine matches.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry will hope to be back in Preston’s starting line-up.
Steve Morison should start for Millwall.

Queen’s Park Rangers v Cardiff City
The league’s top two clubs meet in this fixture and whoever wins goes top. If they draw, QPR will go top but Cardiff will have put another point between themselves and Swansea City, who lost to Portsmouth a few hours ago. If Cardiff can beat QPR, they’ll be the first to do so in the league this season.
Cardiff are in the middle of another illness epidemic (is it the drains or the Swansea supporters or what???) although it looks as though they should all be able to play.
Craig Bellamy is likely to start while Darcy Blake, Adam Matthews and Jason Koumas will all hope to start after recent good performances. Aaron Wildig is more likely to be on the bench.
Craig, who says he’s close to full fitness (you mean you can get even better???) joined Adam and Jonathan Meades (now back from his loan spell at FK Moss) at the opening of Cardiff’s House of Sport.

Reading v Leeds United
Reading are turning into the Championship’s answer to whatever team Mark Hughes happens to be managing. They’ve drawn seven times this season, including all their last three matches.
Simon Church will hope to keep his place in Reading’s starting line-up. Hal Robson-Kanu is more likely to be on the bench.
Sanchez Watt could finally be ready to return from an ankle injury for Leeds – BBC Sport says Leeds have only two absentees and Sanchez isn’t one of them.

Scunthorpe United v Coventry City
Coventry aren’t on the best run at the moment but at least they’ve won an away win recently. Scunthorpe haven’t won at home since August and that was only against Crystal Palace. They have also beaten Sheffield Wednesday at home in the Carling Cup but that’s not nearly as impressive as it sounds.
Freddy Eastwood will hope to be back in Coventry’s starting line-up.

Championship Results 20th November 2010 (Part 2)

Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Swansea City
Doncaster will be particularly disappointed not to win this after playing well and not conceding until the 93rd minute. They actually scored twice but one was ruled out for offside.
John Oster and Brian Stock both started the match, with a lovely cross from John leading to Doncaster’s goal. Brian says Swansea are the best side he’s faced this season.
Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor, David Cotterill and Joe Allen all played the full ninety minutes for Swansea. Jazz Richards was on the bench.

Hull City 1-0 Ipswich Town
Hull won a second consecutive game for the first time this season, with on-loan Arsenal keeper Vito Mannone also helping them to a second consecutive clean sheet. Ipswich are in the bottom half of the table and their unbeaten run must seem like a long time ago.
Troy Brown was an unused substitute for Ipswich.

Middlesbrough 0-1 Millwall
I don’t know exactly why Southampton decided to loan out Jason Puncheon to Millwall but so far it’s looking like a very good idea. The debutant scored Millwall’s only goal to secure their first away win over Middlesbrough for quite a long time – and their first victory against anybody for five matches.
Steve Morison could have scored too but he didn’t quite.

Norwich 1-1 Leeds United
The two teams who were automatically promoted from League One faced off in this match, with neither emerging the winner. Leeds remain in the top six despite only drawing while Norwich are only outside the top six on goal difference.
Andrew Crofts could have won it for Norwich but no-one’s perfect.
Leeds were again without Sanchez Watt, who wasn’t sufficiently fit to return from an ankle injury.

Queen’s Park Rangers 3-1 Preston North End
The top club faced the bottom club and came out on, well, top in this match – and it probably won’t be much consolation to Preston that they scored an away goal at Loftus Road. – only the third QPR have conceded at home this season.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry were both dropped to the bench, which probably doesn’t explain everything but I’m sure it didn’t help.

Championship Fixtures/News 20th November 2010 (Part 3)

Norwich City v Leeds United
It must be nice being Norwich. They haven’t won for four matches and they’re still only outside the play-offs on goal difference. It can’t be that bad being Leeds either.
This was one of the matches in my Online Football Manager game last night. Leeds won about 6-2 (I’m managing Cardiff and I’ve just signed Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, I bet Dave Jones wishes he could do things like that) but somehow I don’t think either of these teams will score six.
Andrew Crofts will be in midfield for Norwich. They’re actually having a few problems in midfield which can only increase Josh Dawkin’s chances of being on the bench.
Jason Brown won’t be on Leeds’ bench because he’s gone back to Blackburn – and been loaned out almost immediately to Leyton Orient which must be a bit of a come-down. Sanchez Watt could be ready to return after playing in a reserve fixture.

Queen’s Park Rangers v Preston North End
One of these teams has not lost in the Championship this season. The other has only won one of their last eight matches. If Preston win, it will practically be a giant-killing. But it’s also likely you’re asleep and you dreamed the whole thing.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry will both hope to stay in Preston’s starting line-up.

Sheffield United v Crystal Palace
Gary Speed hopes Sheffield United can push up the table and end the season in a play-off place.
Sheffield United did quite well the last time they beat a London side. They beat Millwall – and theoretically, Palace should be easier to beat. They’ve only won one away game this season.
Ched Evans started for Sheffield United last week but couldn’t find the net.
Andy Dorman could be out of the squad again as manager George Burley reveals he is struggling to adapt to life in the Championship.
Lewis Price should be on the bench.

Watford v Reading
Everyone goes on about Watford’s away form, including me but it probably isn’t that good at the moment. They only have four points from the last six matches and even if they are all away points that probably doesn’t quite count as good away form although it’s not bad.
Simon Church says playing on the wing for Reading wasn't as bad as he expected – and he might do just that against Watford. Hal Robson-Kanu will also hope for a start.
Jake Taylor is still out following a knee operation.

Championship Result 12th November 2010

Preston North End 0-2 Hull City
Hull went over a year without recording an away win and they’re determined not to forget how it’s done. Preston became their second victims of the season as Hull overcome their relegation rivals and moved out of the bottom three.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry kept their places in Preston’s starting line-up and Paul might have scored if Hull hadn’t had an Arsenal loanee (Vito Mannone) in goal. Lucky Hull. I don’t think Arsenal have ever lost with Vito in goal. I prefer him to Lukasz Fabianski even though Flappyhandski has done really well recently.
Debutant defender Connor McLaughlin says it was a great help playing alongside someone as brilliant as Craig. Though maybe those weren’t his exact words.

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 Results 6th November 2010 (Part 1)

Barnsley 0-2 Leicester City
Leicester won only their second away game of the season to beat Barnsley.and get a second consecutive win.
Andy King scored twice for Leicester but the first one was offside. The stand-in captain got the winner four minutes from the end of the match.

Bristol City 1-1 Preston North End
Bristol City’s problem at home continue – they have only six points from their eight home games.
Brett Pitman was a late substitute for Bristol City and had a late chance to grab a winner.
Craig Morgan was back in Preston’s starting line-up. Paul Parry made another appearance from the bench.

Coventry City 2-3 Leeds United
Coventry remain in the play-off places, despite losing to Leeds, who are now only a point behind them.
Freddy Eastwood didn’t return to Coventry’s squad as expected.
Jason Brown was back in goal for Leeds after first-choice keeper Kasper Schmeichel became a father on Friday night.
Sanchez Watt didn’t return from his ankle injury.

Derby County 2-0 Portsmouth
Derby are up in fourth place after a fifth successive home win – which also happens to be their fifth home win of the season.
Robbie Savage scored a penalty in the 23rd minute and Derby never looked back. Well, they probably did look back. It wouldn’t have been 2-0 if they hadn’t looked back. Gareth Roberts was on the bench. It sounds like the Derby players did well – but, as Robbie reminds us, the manager plays a part too.

Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Millwall
Millwall often do seem to take the lead in matches. They take the lead and get your hopes in but then they let in two and don’t score anymore and suddenly it’s not the result you wanted at all.
Brian Stock and John Oster both played the full match for Doncaster.
Steve Morison scored Millwall’s goal ans got his fifth yellow card.

Championship Fixtures 6th November 2010 (Part 1)

Barnsley v Leicester City
Andy King should keep his place in Leicester’s starting line-up.

Bristol City v Preston North End
Brett Pitman will be in Bristol City’s squad but all their other Welsh players are either injured or on loan. Christian Ribeiro is on his way back from hip and groi injuries and will have a fitness test before the match. Some reports say Sam Vokes is also on his way back too.
Craig Morgan and Paul Parry are probably most likely to be on the bench for Preston.

Coventry City v Leeds United
Freddy Eastwood is back in Coventry’s squad after recovering from a knee injury. He played 90 minutes in a training match a few days ago.
Jason Brown will be on the bench for Leeds but Sanchez Watt isn’t ready to return from an ankle injury.

Derby County v Portsmouth
Robbie Savage, who this week quit Twitter shortly before taking it up again, will hope to keep his place for Derby. Hopefully he’ll get lots of abuse – he likes it! Though I wouldn’t have a problem if he drove around in his underpants. I sincerely hope he always wears underpants.
After two consecutive late appearances from the bench, Gareth Roberts might be fancying his chances of being back in the starting line-up fairly soon.

Championship Results 30th November 2010 (Part 2)

Derby County 4-1 Watford
Derby bounced back from their defeat to Millwall with another big win which takes them to seventh place, one place and one point from the play-off zone. Both Watford are strong away but both their away defeats this season have come in the last three matches.
Robbie Savage played the full match for Derby and his assist for the winning goal was nearly as beautiful as his hair. Gareth Roberts was a late substitute again.

Ipswich Town 2-0 Millwall
Ipswich have struggled for wins lately while Millwall were probably feeling hopeful after beating the on-form Derby County. Millwall had their chances and kept on pressing but Ipswich played very well.
Troy Brown was on the bench for Ipswich.
Steve Morison played the full match for Millwall and arguably should have won them a penalty.

Leicester City 1-0 Preston North End
Leicester moved out of the relegation zone following a very important win over Preston, who are now below them as a result.
Andy King played the full match for Leicester.
Paul Parry made another late appearance from the bench. Craig Morgan was back in the squad after an unexplained absence but he stayed on the bench.

Middlesbrough 1-2 Bristol City
Bristol City came from behind to win only their third game of the season over Middlesbrough, who are now in the bottom three.
Danny Coyne was on the bench for Middlesbrough.
Brett Pitman came off the bench in the 93rd minute for Bristol City.