Colaship Roundup - Double Whammy!

On yer Bikey Wolves. Andre scored Reading's second Wednesday night.

It's Thursday and that that means the Colaship roundup is very late.. Or is it? There were games on Wednesday, so I held back. Get ready... It's the double whammy edition of the Coca Cola Championship roundup. Lets take a look at the Saturday AND Wednesday behind us. All in one big bumper roundup. Lets go.....



Lets kick it off with league leaders Wolves...Have the wheels finally fallen off? Unlikely, but a nice win on Saturday (2-0 over Bristol City) was followed up Wednesday eve with a 3 nil defeat at home to Reading. Reading have now won 3 of their last 4 and scored plenty of goals during that spell, fifteen! Which is why they were kind enough to send Norwich Leroy Lita yesterday morning. Thanks Reading! Coppell's men have moved into third place and just 3 points behind Bongo FC. Plymouth continue on a good run. They took 3 points on Saturday at home to Forest and drew 2-2 Wednesday night away to Bristol City. Before Wednesday, Plymouth had won three on the spin. They are up to 12th in the table.

Burnley followed up their win at home to Preston on Saturday with another 3 points midweek, coming from behind twice to beat Watford 3-2 at Turf Moor. Burnley are now fourth and must be experiencing the mother of all nose bleeds. They visit Reading on Saturday where normal service will be resumed and the cotton swabs will be put away.  That inevitable drubbing is followed by a visit from Bongo FC. Still...Nice to be fourth at least once this season eh Burnley?

Crystal Palace seem to be slowly improving. They followed Saturday's draw against the 'scum' with 3 points on Wednesday at home to Charlton. Neil Warnock's side have moved out of the bottom 3.

Talking of the 'scum', lets give them a brief mention. They stuffed Barnsley 3-0 midweek. Well done bitches.

Charlton seem to be in lots of trouble this term. Alan Pardew made it very clear at the start of the season that he was VERY unhappy with the fire sale at the Valley during the summer. The lack of new signings and the departure of several key players appears to have hit Charlton with a hammer. They have taken just 4 points from the last 18.

The weeks big movers are Sheffield Wednesday. They have won three of the last 5 with the only defeat coming away to Reading when they conceded 6! They must have taken that on the chin as they have nabbed 7 of the last 9 available points and sit in 5th place, one spot above cross town rivals Sheffield United. That doesn't happen often and I am sure they will be enjoying it! Wednesday visit Plymouth on Saturday before United make the short ride across town for the 'steel' derby. Grrrr...The 'STEEL' derby! Sounds like they should meet at the fountain in town for a rumble instead.

Lets stick with the 'steel' derby a moment (GRRRRR) . The blades have also had a good week. They beat Watford at Bramall Lane before taking the points from Doncaster last night. Lets face it, that's probably 3 of the easiest points (except Barnsley) they will play for this season.

Well ok..Lets get to Norwich. Where do we begin..Things were looking up after the win over Sheffield United but we went to Barnsley and played like a bunch of blind school girls. We must have sacrificed a lamb or a small child before the game as we left with an undeserved point and I am grateful for that. BUT the gods were certainly not looking down upon us on Wednesday night as we fell 2-0 at an empty St Mary's. Southampton fans should be ashamed of themselves. Just 14,000 (including the away fans AND apparently that number included season ticket holders who did not show!) were in attendance and that is AWFUL. Norwich appeared to be having the better of the opening exchanges (according to BBC Norfolk) but a Jordan Robertson thunderbolt from the blue left us trailing at half time. Then we can give the ref a round of applause for his superb performance in the second half, giving a penalty to the saints for a 'foul' at the edge of the box. The Southampton lad clearly dives into the box after he has pushed the ball away from the goal and Stefanovic, who pulls out of the challenge making minimal contact. Not to mention that three Norwich players are behind the ball anyway so there was no chance of a scoring opportunity. Game, set and match. Goodnight sweetheart. Referee Mr. Beeby should be kicking himself when he looks at the replay, but he wont as all refs think they are right ALL of the time and they are all PRICKS. To top this, he sent Stefanovic off with a straight red card (below) but refused to say why! He did it in the heat of the moment after Dejan threw the ball to the ground and that is no reason to produce a straight red.  Still,  you have to take your chances and we had many to take before the ridiculous red.
Derby come to Carrow Road on Saturday and three points are a must. We will be buoyed by recent good home performances and the arrival of Leroy Lita from Reading. He should start alongside Sibierski and I will be excited to see how that goes. BUT...Pizza Hut star and Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has recalled Jonathon Grounds from his loan. Add the 2 game suspension that Stefanovic has received along with injuries to John Kennedy and Gary Doherty and we are left with nada, nichts, nein, nonka. NO center backs. Still Derby are toot and I will keep my fingers crossed for our front men to have a good day!

Finally Forest remain rooted to the bottom after 5 defeats and a draw in their last 6 games. Manager Colin Calderwood must be feeling the heat from the boardroom and he will need to turn the situation on it's arse soon. He spent the cash in the summer, signed Robert Earnshaw and Andy Cole and now he must get his side to perform. Cole has played just 3 times and Earnshaw has scored just 2 in 9 games. He is a proven net banger at this level so maybe he is not being given the chance to prove it!

Click here for the full Championship table.

Another fizzing update next week.

-Bigus.