Championship 2022/23

[Mike1812]

I agree, I'd expect him to hold out for a Premier League job. Everton, maybe. 

[Gigga]

Somehow West Brom have managed to strengthen Cardiff City more than themselves this transfer window, sending them the spine of a decent Championship team while failing to sign anyone of note.

 

The fans have got their bedsheets ready and are meeting up to plan protests while the club are refusing to acknowledge any questions about how two signings that were due to come in ended up missing the deadline.

It's going to be a long season playing 2 games a week with a squad of 19 players.

[Plissken]

Danny Schofield lasted eight games in charge of Huddersfield.

[Boothjan]

Can't quite believe that West Brom haven't sacked Steve Bruce yet.

[Plissken]

Can they afford to?  I might be wrong but I thought there was something around their owners cutting costs.

[Boothjan]

They've done nothing BUT cut costs over the past few years - they're not particularly popular amongst the stripy contingent.

 

Which begs the question why the fuck they appointed an expensive liability in Steve Bruce in the first place.

[Plissken]

You are absolutely not going to believe this.  Might want to be sitting down.

 

Watford have sacked their manager.

[neoELITE]

7 minutes ago, Plissken said:

You are absolutely not going to believe this.  Might want to be sitting down.

 

Watford have sacked their manager.

 

Bilic into a big frying pan.

 

Watford are ridiculous. 

[Ork1927]

Steve Morrison is available!

[Plissken]

In further “Championship clubs are absolutely definitely not run by chancers” news, Hull have waited two weeks to sack their manager in the morning of a game.

[Ork1927]

@Plissken Tomorrow should be interesting. New manager or maybe just caretaker manager for us.  Cardiff vs Burnley always seems to have a bit of an edge to it for some reason.

 

I predict... no more than 3 (probably 2) goals in the game, but no idea on the result.

[Plissken]

Sorry, missed this as was away.  A disappointing lack of needle between the two sides, it turned out.  Games gone, Beryl.

 

Fuck all happening in tonight's game at t'Turf.  I was wondering whether to go and see if Stoke could do it on a wet and windy Wednesday night in Burnley, but judging by the first half, neither side can to be honest.

[Plissken]

Burnley blow a lead in the last couple of minutes of a game for the fourth time in 12 games.  It's not as if the opposition are constantly hammering at the door, either.  I know I shouldn't be complaining, it's a brand new side and the entire defence aren't old enough to be caught in a nightclub drinking incident but... GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

[Ork1927]

We had a good 4 days with last night seeing us deservedly beat Blackburn with more last minute drama, but this time with us saving a penalty rather than scoring.

 

Our, maybe not, caretaker manager's first ever win as manager and I reckon we might keep him on as we look okay and he's an ex player so will get plenty of time from the fans.

 

So, no doubt, West Brom will finally put Bruce out of his misery tomorrow and we will end up with him instead.

 

 

 

 

[Plissken]

Leading 1-0 going into the last five minutes and we didn’t concede an equaliser for the first time!

 

Weird tactics from Coventry though. Stood off us for 70 minutes, made a quadruple substitution and then went for it, dominating the last 20 before running out of time.

[Yobo Ahoy]

Fucking hell Watford are so bad at the moment. Our defence are all absolute dogshit bar Kamara who doesn't even belong to us anymore (standard Udinese book-fiddling) and relying on Gosling, Cleverley and Kayembe in midfield is a recipe for disaster.

 

Absolutely criminal to be hovering in mid-table with that rotten spine and expecting young talent like Sarr, JP, Louza and Asprilla to shoulder the burden.

[wullie]

On 08/10/2022 at 17:34, Plissken said:

Leading 1-0 going into the last five minutes and we didn’t concede an equaliser for the first time!

 

Weird tactics from Coventry though. Stood off us for 70 minutes, made a quadruple substitution and then went for it, dominating the last 20 before running out of time.

 

Felt as if we'd read about your run of conceding equalisers and figured that's the only way to approach the game, never seen us make so many changes in one go. Two is a rarity, never mind four.

[Plissken]

As a football team, we are very silly geese.  At half time, I think that the players found out what an angry Vincent Kompany looks like.

[Ork1927]

Cardiff showing a bit of passion in the derby for a change.

 

Unfortunatly hitting a Jack in the face with the ball and getting sent off is not the best idea for a striker when it happens in 5 minutes of the game and not after a hat-rick

[Shimmyhill]

I didnt see the Sheffield Utd v Norwich game but I’m not sure what im more surprised about, scoring 2 goals or not losing it…… Norwich have been poor for most of the season and the run they went on really did flatter them, Ive been to loads of home games and defensively we are a soft touch - Luton being one of the worst games ive seen in my life, they were terrible but somehow Norwich were even more terrible, I did enjoy my pie tho as it was a cold night 😂

 

I think Smiths days are numbered especially if he carries on with the sideway / backwards passing and apparent zones players must not cross - ive never seen a player get a nose bleed so much as Aarons does when passing the half way line but it seems to be instructed  

 

Still, Norwich have the best three kits in the league and poss world so its not all lost, shame I can’t seem to get an away one tho!

[Plissken]

Michael Carrick the new manager at Boro, with Jonathan Woodgate as his assistant.

 

Doesn't exactly strike me as a Dream Team.

[Plissken]

Timing is everything.

 

Norwich are in second place, due to visit Turf Moor to play a Burnley side that isn't clicking.  Then Queenie joins the choir invisible and the match is postponed.

 

The game is rearranged and the Clarets are clicking into place with the Canaries stumbling on a winless run.  1-0 win for the home side, with it being typical that we aren't 3-0 after 20 minutes because we can't finish the thousand chances a game that we create.

 

It's such a weird Burnley team.  16 new faces, top of the division, highest scorers, best goal difference, playing bloody good football and the overwhelming feeling is that we haven't quite got to full speed yet.

 

Also Anass Zaroury reminds me of seeing Riyad Mahrez playing for Leicester in the Championship.  He's come from a much lower profile league and is far too good for this division.

[Plissken]

There is no finer sight than the Inces absolutely losing their heads at various injustices perpetrated upon them.

 

Even funnier when they are right to do so.

[Plissken]

Burnley 2 Reading 1

I did a thing last week where I said I didn't want Burnley to be promoted into the Premier League because being in the Championship is a million times better.  This game proved why.

Burnley without most of their midfield struggled in a cagey first half, notable for five minutes of injury time.  Beyer and a Reading player had an accidental knock of heads and then Readings Tomkinson took a shot full in the face, spent the next five minutes staggering around and eventually was substituted.  In between, the visitors kept their shape (their #22 was a rock in midfield) and kept the home side at bay.  Zaroury was hanging on the left touchline, controlling log passes with nonchalance and left his defender on his backside more than once.  The Royals plans were clear as after the clock ticked past 35 minutes, they started taking an age over goal kicks and throw-ins.  Neither side had a shot on target in the opening 45.

Reading started the second half better but it was still a surprise when they scored via the Route One-est of Route One goals.  Inevitably, it was Tom Ince who raced clear from the flick on and potted past Muric.  I tweeted at half time that the right hand side of Gudmundsson and Roberts has disappointed not just in this game but all season and shortly after the second, the pair were substituted for Manuel Benson and Vitinho, who are the definition of electric for 45 minutes.  Rather than the sort of nerves or resignation I've been used to at Turf Moor when behind, the crowd and team were more "No, we're not having this" and the two wingers began to really torment their opposite numbers.  Zaroury skipped past Hoilett, cut it back and after a lofted chip was headed clear, Benson beautifully volleyed into the bottom corner from 18 yards.

I thought at this point that maybe Reading would shut up shop even more, but they actually started pressing a fair bit, with a succession of corners without really looking like getting a second.  When not doing that, they were time-wasting again.  Lumley made a great save from Zaroury and that felt like it may be it.  Seven minutes of additional time went up on the board.  Maatsen failed to clear properly, lost the ball to Ince who strode into the penalty area.  Maatsen tackled and felled him.  From where I was sat it looked a bit dive-y, but replays showed it was a clear penalty.  The ref waved play on.  A minute later Benson picked the ball up on the right touchline and glided past four blue and white hooped shirts, before using the outside of his left boot to loft the ball towards the far post.  Zaroury headed in from close range and pandemonium ensued.  Time enough a couple more corners for the visitors, who sent the goalie up. He connected with the ball by... trying to punch it into the net, it went the wrong way and Ince Minor chopped Benson in half.  Handbags ensued, while the culprit snuck quietly away to the centre circle.  Truly, like father, like son.

Weird to say we deserved to win when it happened under massively fortunate circumstances. Ince Major combusted after the final whistle, which although he had the right to will never stop being funny.  Benson is so, so brilliant as a 45-60 minute weapon.  All you need to know about Zaroury is that whenever he gets the ball, everyone around me leans forward and/or murmurs in anticipation and the one who lights up most obviously of all is the young lad of (presumably similar) North African heritage who sits in front of me.  It's lovely to see.

VAR would have given the opposite result - correctly - and subsequently ruined the joy that is football.

[wullie]

While Cov were beating Blackburn 1-0 last night the stadium owners entered administration, the official statement today specifies a preferred bidder has been identified who is all but confirmed as Mike Ashley

 

 

I'd just like a normal season where not much happens, I'm not asking for the world

[Plissken]

Burnley 2-1 down going into injury time.  The ref plays 10 additional minutes thanks to visiting time wasting, Benson grabs one back on 91, Dervisoglu scores the winner with the clock at 101. 

 

Madness.

[wullie]

Rotherham were doing the same at ours last week, never seen so much timewasting from such an early point in the game too. Felt good when we scored a last minute equaliser

[Shimmyhill]

QPR did the same at Norwich tonight to the point that they won a corner at the end of the first half, time wasted for long enough the ref just blew up for half time 😂

 

0-0 but Norwich looked better than the last few games I’ve seen - QPR came for a point and got it, keeper made a couple of cracking saves as did Gunn to be fair on the rare occasion QPR tried to win it!

 

Pie was good tho!

[AfromB]

One thing I don’t understand with the time wasting is why the refs don’t book people earlier. You can guarantee that if a ref bothers to book anyone for time wasting it will be in injury time at the end of the game and so utterly pointless. I’ve seen teams time wasting from early in the first half this season. 

[Ork1927]

10 hours ago, Plissken said:

Burnley 2-1 down going into injury time.  The ref plays 10 additional minutes thanks to visiting time wasting, Benson grabs one back on 91, Dervisoglu scores the winner with the clock at 101. 

 

Madness.

I didn’t realise you’d won.  Saw the equaliser, but then our loss to Watford was confirmed (I’m on hols) so clicked off BBC.

 

I know it’s still early days and it’s the Championship, but you are starting to look pretty good for auto.