League One Fixtures 15th January 2011 (Part 2)

Rochdale v Leyton Orient
After a great start to life in League One, Rochdale were looking as though they could be heading straight back down to the division that they spent so long in, it was named after them. Now they’re three points from the play-offs, having only lost twice at home. But Orient will be feeling confident. After all, Rochdale aren’t as good as Norwich City, are they?
Nicky Adams is now a Rochdale player but last season he played for Leyton Orient on loan. They wanted him back on a permanent basis but luckily for Rochdale, Nicky doesn’t much like London.
Matt Done should also be in the squad for Rochdale.

Southampton v Notts County
A win for Southampton could put them top of the table but they’re still two whole divisions (okay maybe one and a half) below Sunderland and Notts County beat Sunderland. Notts County actually haven’t lost since mid-November.
Ben Davies will play for Notts County, except maybe if he’s about to be sold. Derby County have made a £250,000 bid but Paul Ince really wants to keep him.

Swindon Town v Yeovil Town
Swindon continue to struggle at the opposite side of the table from the play-offs but they’re only six points away. It could still happen. And if it is going to happen, they ought to be able to beat Yeovil, who have lost seven of their eleven away games.
Nathan Jones and Rhys Baggridge could be on the bench for Yeovil again. Nathan hails Yeovil’s physio Simon Baker (probably not the guy I stalked at school), who has left the club in order to spend more time with his family.

Walsall v Huddersfield Town
Walsall are second-bottom but still quite a way adrift, despite being unbeaten in their last three matches. They’re still without a home draw in the league but ideally they want to beat Huddersfield, who have already lost six times away from home.
Sean Geddes could be on the bench for Walsall.

League One Results 8th January 2011

Bournemouth 3-0 Plymouth Argyle
Bournemouth moved up to second in the table as they beat Plymouth, who were unbeaten in five before Bournemouth came along and spoiled it.
Rhoys Wiggins was absent from Bournemouth’s squad due to an eye infection but they just about managed without him. Joe Partington was on the bench.
Carl Fletcher played the full match for Plymouth against his first ever club.

Dagenham & Redbridge 0-1 Rochdale
Dagenham & Redbridge are eight points from safety after losing to a Rochdale side who move into the top half of the table.
Tony Roberts nearly scored for Dag & Red when he joined his team-mates at the wrong end of the pitch for a corner but he headed wide.
Nicky Adams celebrated his permanent signing for Rochdale with the assist but Tony wouldn’t let him score.

Exeter City 1-1 Milton Keynes Dons
Exeter didn’t play well despite taking an early lead and MK Dons were able to snatch a share of the points in the 73rd minute.
Richard Duffy had a good first half but then he had to be replaced at half-time due to injury. Rob Edwards and Daniel Nardiello were unused substitutes.

Tranmere Rovers 3-3 Walsall
Walsall looked set to lose for the fifteenth time this season. With five minutes plus stoppage time to play, they were 3-1 down but they got one goal in the 85th minute followed by an equaliser in the fourth minute of stoppage time. A point doesn’t help their survival chances much but maybe it will give them some extra confidence.
Tranmere’s Ash Taylor played 90 minutes for the first time in the league this season
Sean Geddes was on the bench for Walsall.

Yeovil 2-0 Brentford
Yeovil are unbeaten in four after beating Brentford and just three points from safety.
Yeovil played without a single Welshmen on the pitch at any time for what I believe is the first time this season. Luckily for them, it didn’t seem to be too much of a problem for them.
Rhys Baggridge and Nathan Jones were on the bench. Nathan says Yeovil won’t be rushing into making new signings.

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

Southampton
Ryan Doble didn’t add to his collection of appearances from Southampton’s bench.

Anthony Pulis is still on loan at Stockport County.

Swindon Town
Billy Bodin got to sit on the bench once for Swindon.
Bournemouth H 1-2 (bench)
Charlton A 2-4 (unselected)

Tranmere Rovers
Ash Taylor made his first start since recovering from a knee injury but he didn’t last very long. For the next match, he was back on the bench where it’s safer.
Rochdale A 3-2 (starts, off 26)
Carlisle H 2-1 (bench)

Walsall
Sean Geddes wasn’t in any Walsall squads.

Yeovil Town
Rhys Baggridge was on the bench in two consecutive matches for Yeovil.
Plymouth A 0-0 (bench)
MK Dons H 1-0 (bench)

Loanee Shaun MacDonald played his last two games for Yeovil.
Plymouth A 0-0 (played all)
MK Dons H 1-0 (played all)

Nathan Jones was nowhere to be seen (unless you looked in the technical area, I suppose).

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.

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.

League One Results 23rd October 2010 (Part 1)

Brentford 2-1 Peterborough United
Brentford climbed out of the bottom three with an excellent win over third-placed Peterborough.
Arron Davies played 58 minutes for Peterborough

Brighton 2-0 Yeovil Town
Owain Tudur Jones and Gavin Williams played the full match for Yeovil but they weren’t able to do anything much against League One’s top club. Nathan Jones and Rhys Baggridge were both on the bench but Shaun MacDonald missed out due to illness.

Colchester United 2-1 Notts County
Colchester’s Lee Beevers returned from a hand injury inn the 93rd minute. Lloyd James was on the bench.
Ben Davies played the full match for Notts County.

League One Results 2nd October 2010 Part 2

Milton Keynes 1-1 Colchester United
Seventeen players belonging to these two clubs have played for both clubs. It must be some sort of record. I don’t know who all of them are, my memory isn’t that good but one of them is MK Dons’ Jermaine Easter, who didn’t find the net against his former club.
Lloyd James was on the bench for Colchester.

Notts County 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday finally remembered how to win again and Notts County were the unlucky team.
Ben Davies didn’t get a goal or an assist this time but you wouldn’t want to really when your team doesn’t score. He nearly scored though.

Oldham Athletic 1-1 Leyton Orient
Orient – who lost their goalkeeper in the 44th minute - got a great point at Oldham, who might not be as unbeaten as they used to be but they’re still pretty good.
Joe Jacobson wasn’t in Oldham’s squad.

Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Hartlepool United
Hartlepool are only behind Plymouth on goal difference after beating them.
Carl Fletcher played for Plymouth.

Southampton 2-0 Bournemouth
Yes, this is what should be happening. Southampton winning matches by at least two goals and promoted Bournemouth struggling a bit. I did kind of prefer it the other way though.
Rhoys Wiggins has tried scoring and assisting goals and I think he liked it. This time he tried conceding a penalty. It was a bit of an unfair penalty because he slipped over and his hands ended up touching the ball but that could easily have been an accident. If you slip over, all your hands are thinking about is breaking your fall, they don’t care about the football.

Walsall 0-1 Yeovil Town
Walsall are bottom of the table after losing to Yeovil, who climb out of the relegation places.
Sean Geddes was on the bench for Walsall.
Gavin Williams got the assist for Yeovil’s goal and he could have opened the scoring after 90 seconds if the crossbar had been lower. Owain Tudur Jones wasn’t quite so lucky, getting only a yellow card, but Shaun MacDonald didn’t get anything at all. Owain and Shaun worked together to launch an attack on goal but the shot was saved and the rebound – not hit by Shaun or Owain – went over the bar.

League One Fixtures 18th September 2010 Part 2

Huddersfield Town v Yeovil Town
Yeovil are out of the bottom three but they’re still only two points away and Huddersfield, who don’t seem to have the smallest hangover from not getting through the play-offs, are continuing last season’s good form.
It’s funny about me and Yeovil Town. I tell them to re-sign Shaun MacDonald and Owain Tudur Jones on loan – Yeovil sign them. I suggest they bring in another of last season’s successful Welsh loanees, Gavin Williams – they do it. So let’s use this to my advantage and give myself as much as possible to write about next week. I think Nathan Jones and Rhys Baggridge should both play this week. Okay? Let’s see what happens.
One thing I can tell you is that Shaun, Owain and Gavin are all likely to be in the squad although they might not all start.

Milton Keynes Dons v Rochdale
MK Dons are a continuation of Wimbledon but they make no claim to their history. It all seems a bit silly to me considering Wimbledon have quite a good history but I suppose that while being in the same division as Rochdale would be quite embarrassing for Wimbledon, it is more acceptable for a relatively new league side like MK Dons.
Jermaine Easter still hasn’t scored in the league but let’s look at it this way. His only goals of the season have come against a team who are currently in a Champions’ League place. He’s not doing too badly.
Matt Done will be on the bench for Rochdale.

Notts County v Leyton Orient
You’d think Notts County have a pretty good chance of getting back to winning ways but second-bottom Orient might be in a fighting mood tomorrow.
Ben Davies will be hoping to add to is not unimpressive tallies of goals and assists for Notts County.

Oldham Athletic v Bournemouth
Oldham started well but they haven’t won any of their last four games – although they are still unbeaten at home. Bournemouth are also unbeaten at home but they won’t sympathise with Oldham’s desire to keep their own unbeaten record intact. Not during the game anyway.
Oldham defender Joe Jacobson is likely to miss tomorrow’s match in order to observe Yom Kippur.
Bournemouth would be very silly to drop Rhoys Wiggins after his Man of the Match performance midweek. Joe Partington will probably be on the bench.

Plymouth Argyle v Sheffield Wednesday
Two of the teams relegated from the Championship last season meet. Sheffield Wednesday are out of the play-off places but only two points from the top of the table. Plymouth, by contrast, are one point from the bottom of the table. At this stage of the season, the teams are still fairly close in terms of points but most will expect an away win.
Carl Fletcher didn’t return to Plymouth’s team as expected for their last game but he is expected to play this time. He has missed the last two games with a thigh injury.

League One Results 4th September 2010 Part 1

Carlisle United 0-0 Swindon Town
A point was enough to ensure that unbeaten Carlisle are in the automatic promotion places as they continue an impressive start to the season. Swindon got to the play-off final last year but they haven’t won since losing to Millwall in that match and are currently bottom of the table with three points. Swindon could have won it in stoppage but luckily for Carlisle, they messed up.
Jason Price was sufficiently recovered from a thigh muscle injury to sit on the bench for Carlisle.

Dagenham & Redbridge 2-0 Leyton Orient
Dagenham & Redbridge got their first win of the season in a local derby with Leyton Orient. No doubt Jeff Stelling would think that Orient were at a disadvantage, playing against both Dagenham and Redbridge but I would say the win was still deserved.
Tony Roberts was on fine form in goal for Dag & Red.

Exeter City 1-0 Charlton Athletic
Charlton remain unbeaten at home but a second consecutive away defeat means they are now in 11th –if just two points from the play-offs. Exeter now look far healthier in 14th position but as they’re still only a point from the relegation zone, they probably shouldn’t get too complacent yet. And without that last-minute penalty, they probably wouldn’t have won at all.
Richard Duffy returned from suspension to keep a clean sheet for Exeter. There was also a return to the team for Daniel Nardiello after he recovered from a groin injury. Rob Edwards came off the bench after 81 minutes.

Huddersfield Town 2-2 Bournemouth
Bournemouth and Huddersfield have both had a good start to the season but they were unable to get the better of one another in this encounter – although they certainly tried.
Rhoys Wiggins played the full match for Bournemouth.

Milton Keynes Dons 1-0 Hartlepool United
MK Dons snatched a 77th minute winner and held on despite going down to ten men a few minutes later. With Bournemouth and Huddersfield drawing, MK Dons were able to sneak into the play-offs. Hartlepool are just a point outside the relegation zone.
Jermaine Easter had a chance to score for MK Dons but not many players score if only one chance is created for them.

Notts County 4-0 Yeovil Town
Now Notts County have got the hang of this winning thing, there’s no stopping them. Or if there is, Yeovil didn’t find out what it was. Yeovil have just one win from their first four games – and that was against fellow-strugglers Leyton Orient.
Ben Davies is back into the swing of things for County, scoring the second and third goals before setting up the fourth.
Owain Tudur Jones was the only Welshman to play for Yeovil although youngster Rhys Baggridge was on the bench for what I believe was only the second time in a league match. There was no place for Shaun MacDonald but as he was away with the under-21s we can’t really blame Yeovil. Nathan Jones also wasn’t in the squad but maybe he had some assistant managing to do.

League One Fixtures 7th August 2010 Part 3

Sheffield Wednesday v Dagenham & Redbridge
Not long ago, Sheffield Wednesday were in the Premier League while Dag & Red were a non-league side. But now they meet on equal terms.
Tony Roberts will be in goal for Dagenham.

Swindon Town v Brighton & Hove Albion
Swindon were the unlucky team to lose in the play-off final but I’m sure they’ll be in contention for promotion again this season. Brighton looked like relegation fodder but they finished mid-table and I’m sure they’d love to do it again, only without the relegation fodder part.
Billy Bodin is still pretty young but maybe he’ll get into a few more Swindon squads this season. Brighton & Hove Albion have let Andrew Crofts go to Norwich City and Craig Davies go to Chesterfield and they presumably weren’t interested in turning Arron Davies’ non-contract into a contract so their Welshless.

Tranmere Rovers v Oldham Athletic
Both teams came very close to where they didn’t want to be last season so they’ll desperately want to improve.
But they’ll have to do it without their Welsh players. Tranmere’s Ash Taylor is set to be out for four months with a knee injury while Oldham have put Joe Jacobson on the transfer list so they probably won’t play him.

Walsall v Milton Keynes Dons
MK Dons started well last season but then fell away to a disappointing mid-table finish. I think it was kind of the other way around for Walsall.
Walsall have released Rhys Weston (who wanted to go for family reasons) and Mark Bradley but maybe this will give Sean Geddes a chance to get into the team.
Jermaine Easter will be looking to be MK Dons’ top scorer again. And if anyone overtakes him like Jason Puncheon last year, maybe they’ll piss off in the January transfer window to.

Yeovil Town v Leyton Orient
Both teams looked to be in precarious positions last season but they survived. They could be in trouble again this time.
Yeovil were full of Welsh players this season but Shaun MacDonald, Owain Tudur Jones, Arron Davies, Gavin Williams and Craig Davies don’t look likely to sign permanently following their loan spells. Only left back and assistant manager Nathan Jones and young player Rhys Baggridge remain but they probably won’t play very much.

League One Results 8th May Part 1

Brentford 0-0 Hartlepool United
Brentford finish in a more than creditable 9th place while for Hartlepool the overwhelming feeling is probably one of relief. Their three-point deduction put them in real danger but the point allowed them to stay up on goal difference, at the expense of Gillingham.
Lewis Price was left out of the squad, with the reserve goalkeeper place given to young Simon Moore. Brentford’s other loan goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, left the field in the first minute of stoppage time, presumably so he could get a bit of (very much deserved) applause from the supporters. Maybe Lewis had gone back to Derby in disgust (I wouldn’t blame him) but Lewis was crucial for Brentford at the beginning of the season so it would have been nice to give him the final few minutes.

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Yeovil Town
A final-day win for Brighton was enough for them to finish in 13th, a point behind Milton Keynes Dons – probably somewhere they never thought they’d be at the start of the season. Quite possibly somewhere they never thought they’d be just a few short weeks ago.
Andrew Crofts was given the Brighton captaincy after an excellent first half to the season and he continued his great work in this match. He was substituted two minutes from the end so the fans could applaud their Player of the Year.
Yeovil are another team who were in relegation trouble not that long ago, only to be saved by a Wels midfielder. Okay, let’s be fair, a total of four Welsh midfielders (not to mention an English midfielder called Welsh) contributed to Yeovil’s survival.
Star loanee Gavin Williams’ ankle injury meant he started on the bench and only made an appearance after 63 minutes but I’m sure he was applauded onto the pitch. Shaun MacDonald, as expected, didn’t recover from his groin injury in time for the final game of the season but he did enough with Brighton to be offered a new contract at parent club Swansea City. Arron Davies came off the bench ten minutes after Gavin. The fourth star Welsh midfielder is Owain Tudur Jones, now back with Norwich City.
Yeovil had only six substitutes this week but four of them were Welsh. In addition to Gavin and Arron, assistant manager Nathan Jones was also on the bench and there was what I believe was a first ever appearance in the squad for young Rhys Baggridge. This team could hardly have been more perfect if I’d picked it myself.

Exeter City 2-1 Huddersfield Town
Exeter’s League One status was looking very shaky before this match. Tranmere Rovers looked certain to beat Stockport County and a win was necessary in order to climb above Gillingham and (taking goal difference into account) Hartlepool United. As Exeter were facing Huddersfield Town, who still had a chance of automatic promotion, they probably weren’t exactly the favourites for this match.
But it happened, Exeter survived and they will play again in League One next season.
Richard Duffy was the only Welshman to start for Exeter and was involved in the mix-up that led to Huddersfield’s goal but luckily that didn’t matter. Richard was joined by Rob Edwards after 62 minutes but Andy Marriott and Stuart Fleetwood spent the last game of the season on the bench.

League One Fixtures 13th February Part 2

Southend United v Tranmere Rovers
Southend have really dropped down the League but signing Arsenal striker Sanchez Watt on loan can only help. If you can score on your Arsenal debut, you can probably help a struggling League One team. John Toshack needs to call him up for Wales quickly before he gets into the England squad. Tranmere however are fighting to survive and they will have to do it without Ash Taylor. Ash has a hamstring injury and will be out three weeks.

Stockport County v Colchester United
Another day, most likely another lack of clean sheet for Owain fon Williams. But he is a good goalkeeper, he really is and I’m surprised no-one rescued him in the transfer window. Christian Ribeiro was expected back by now but he aggravated his groin injury whilst trying to pass a fitness test.

Yeovil Town v Gillingham
It took a while but Arron Davies is finally a Yeovil player. It was against the rules for him to sign for a new club but apparently not against the rules for Nottingham Forest or Brighton & Hove Albion, the other clubs he’s played for this season, to re-sign him and loan him to Yeovil. Brighton came to his rescue. I love the sneakiness of it all.
Arron might not actually get to play as he’s likely to be short of match fitness – although he’s been training with Yeovil ever since he decided he wanted to play for them again – but he is expected to be on the bench.
But soon Arron will be playing alongside two other Welsh midfielder loanees – Shaun MacDonald from Swansea City and Owain Tudur Jones from Norwich City. And there other midfielder could be an Scotsman called Andy Welsh. And they’ve got Welsh defender/assistant manager Nathan Jones in the team too although he was dropped last week and Sportinglife doesn’t expect him to regain his place. Yeovil also have a defender called Rhys Baggridge who is Welsh too according to transfermarkt.co.uk although they could be wrong. So come on Yeovil! As far as I know, they’ll all play although Nathan did miss out last week so I’m not sure about him.