UF Quick Throw: Holloway in for Blackpool

Ian Holloway, off the scene since leaving Leicester following their relegation to League One, has signed a 1-year contract (with an option for a 2nd year) to be the gaffer at Championship club Blackpool.

Holloway replaces caretaker manager Tony Parkes.

[Blackpool unveil Holloway as boss]

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Christmas Colaship.

Q.P.R's Martin Rowlands and Watford's Ross Jenkins last Friday.

All I wanted from Santa this Christmas was 3 points. Just 3. Is that too much to ask from Forest at home and a trip to Selhurst Park? I must have been a naughty boy this year. Football is a miserable bloody game. Anyway, follow me for a look at the Christmas fixtures. Who kept off the Christmas pudding and who played like a bunch of them.



Lets start at the top of the table shall we? As we enter the January transfer window, Wolves are looking to strengthen. They have had to return promising England defender Michael Mancienne to Chelsea and have made an offer for Rangers forward Alan Gow, who has been on loan at Blackpool this term. Over the Christmas period, Wolves gained just 2 points with draws at home to Sheffield United and away to Blackpool. Still, Mick McCarthy's men are 7 clear at the top, have 58 points going into January and look good to run away with the league. They are showing no signs of a collapse, and have lost just once in their last 13 games. As long as they stick to their rhetoric and hang onto Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly in the next few weeks they should head to the Premiership in May.

Reading are sitting in second and have scored the second most goals in the league this term. Coppell's men have smacked in 32 at home, conceding only 8 and have scored just one goal less that Wolves this season. However they failed to capitalize on Wolves 2 points over Christmas and Reading were involved in two draws of their own. On Boxing day they tied 1-1 at home to Cardiff and were held to the same result last Sunday at Southampton. Coppell will be disappointed with these results seeing that maximum points would have had his team just 3 points behind pace setters Wolves. Steve Coppell was manager of the month for December and Reading haven't lost in their last 8 games.

Bongo FC also failed to recapture second spot over Christmas. They beat Ip..Ip..Ip them 1-0 at Portaloo Road but could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to the Swans. The week before they were beaten at home 3-1 by Reading and for me this result decided the second place in this league. Bongo has depth but Reading are on fire, in the goals and Coppell has the experience at this level to keep their run going. Alex McLeish is likely going to have to settle for the play-offs this year. I can see Bongo making the final, but I can also see them staying down.

Cardiff City bagged four points over Christmas to keep themselves in the playoff hunt but they will need to spend in January to stay there. Loanee Michael Chopra was recalled by Sunderland's new boss Ricky Sbragia and the former bluebirds man was scoring goals for his former team of late. 5 in his 8 games on loan. They have also lost Wayne Routledge as the Villa loanee decided to join Q.P.R today. Both will be sorely missed. McCormack is back from injury but I can't see Cardiff staying in the top 6. They just don't have enough, but who knows.

Bloody Burnley were bloody useless over Christmas. They lost to Doncaster and Barnsley, both games by a score of 2-1. Still, Burnley have been pretty solid of late, winning at Bristol City and beating Sheffield United. They let in too many goals on the road but I think Burnley will be a surprise inclusion in the play-offs. They have a good squad and have been pretty consistent. I am sure the board will look at the league position and back Owen Coyle to strengthen his squad this month. For a team like Burnley, it's now or never. Take advantage of the first half and have a good go at making the play-offs or try and ride the luck, avoiding injuries, spending very little. I think they will pony up for a couple of good signings and use the momentum they have built with their Carling Cup run to help them along.

Crystal Palace had a reasonable week over Christmas. They lost 1-0 last Sunday at Bristol City but beating Norwich 3-1 on Boxing day made sure they stayed 1 point from the top 6. They will need to improve a bit if they are to make the play-offs as all 3 of the Norwich goals were gifts that they won't be given when they play better teams. That said, I can see them in the play-offs this year. Warnock is nothing if he's not consistent and Palace are chugging along nicely.

The draw with the Wolves and a 3-1 win over lowly Charlton made it a nice Christmas for Sheffield United. They are looking improved of late and will also look to strengthen in January, possibly at Norwich City's expense as they look to poach our winger Lee Croft on the cheap. Croft's contract is up in May. Manager Kevin Blackwell has made it no secret that he is after a winger this January.

Q.P.R have drawn 3 of their last 4 games including their two over the Chrimbo period last week. Currently 3 points off a play-off spot they will be spending in January to improve. Today they have signed Villa reject Wayne Routledge, Garry Borrowdale from Coventry and made Heidar Helguson's loan deal from Bolton permanent. The spree won't stop there either. Expect Paulo Sousa to ring the changes and go for broke. The top six is within reach but I reckon they will fall short this year. They have a great squad but Sousa's inexperience at this level could be the key. Look for them to have a run at the Premiership next season.

Swansea have had a great season considering they came up from League 1 in the summer. Their last eight games has yielded just 8 points but they were unbeaten in that period. That's right, Swansea have drawn their last EIGHT games. 3 0-0's ( 2 over Christmas), 3 1-1's and a pair of 2-2's. Swansea are currently 11th just 6 points off the play-offs. They won't make up that ground but manager Roberto Martinez has them organized and tough to beat. A point at Bongo last Sunday proved that. A super first season in the Colaship so far for the Swans.

Swansea V Coventry on Boxing day.

At the bottom Nottingham Forest lost to Doncaster 4-2 on boxing day and relieved Colin Calderwood of his duties. Two days later they beat Norwich 3-2 at home and climbed out of the bottom 3. I said it earlier in the year and in the half-time report, Forest will survive. They have some decent players and now that they have Billy Davies as manager, they should climb the table a bit.


The honeymoon factor? Billy Davies is new Forest manager.

Talking of beating Norwich. We stink. It's a foul, rancid and putrid smell that wafts directly from the defence. We leaked 6 goals over Christmas, at Palace (3-1) and to Forest (3-2) and 5 of them were completely avoidable. We cannot defend set pieces and make-shift center back (and Fulham loanee) Elliot Omozusi keeps forgetting that he is not at his natural right-back position, leaving the space behind our midfield with more holes than a teabag. His current partner is not much better either. Gary Doherty has all of the pace of Ruben Studdard and the wrestling ability of The Rock. He needs to have his hands tied behind his back if he is going to start games. Decent in the air, Doherty fails at the simplest of tasks, like showing a striker out wide and not turning your back on a player when he is 8 yards from goal. However, He IS very good at pulling his opponent to the floor after getting beaten for pace. It's been shambolic at the back for Norwich since Kennedy (on and off) and Stefanovic both became injured and two new defenders will be a priority this month. However, Glenn Roeder loves Doherty and I can see him keeping his spot in the side. Norwich have played 7 different CB partnerships this season. Leroy Lita has returned to Reading. Norwich have made an offer to pay a 'loan fee' to keep Lita for the season but this is not an attractive proposition to Reading as they would not be allowed to recall him after 28 days, as they could if they loaned him to another team. I see where Reading are coming from, Lita scored 7 goals for Norwich and is on form. Should Reading get an injury they would want to bring him into the side to help their promotion push. Signing Lita permanently is not an option and that's Lita's call. He is a free-agent in the summer and wants to survey the landscape before signing another long term deal. Litas' departure leaves Norwich with an un-fit Carl Cort, Antoine Sibierski (who has been a bit of a flop while on loan from Wigan), and Arturo Lupoli as the only fit forwards. Lupoli is currently pissed at not being picked and he has told Roeder he wants away if he isn't going to play. Roeder has also ruled out a return for the 'loaned-out' Jamie Cureton (Barnsley), who Roeder appears to have no liking for. It's a bit of a mess really. I can see 4-5 signings in January. Norwich are currently 2 points above the drop zone but need to improve fast if they are to avoid the April relegation hell that they found themselves embroiled in last term. How long Roeder remains in charge is also up for debate. 'Roeder out' and 'You don't know what you're doing' chants were sung by many at home to Forest and once they start, its a matter of time.

Like Forest, Doncaster Rovers are showing some signs of life and bagged 6 vital points last Friday and Sunday with wins over Forest and Burnley. Can they survive? Or did Burnley just over do it with the Christmas booze?

Southampton have failed to win in their last 6 and took just 1 point from their festive fixtures. A point from Reading no less (1-1). Southampton seem to be Reading's bogey team as the Saints have taken 4 points from the second placed team this season. Southampton lost on boxing day to Plymouth and are currently 23rd.

The Colaship is taking a break this weekend for the third round of the FA Cup.

-Bigus

Read more on "Christmas Colaship."...

Colaship Review - Half Time Report.

Yeah...I was slack last week. There was no review. Sorry folks. But this week its a bumper edition to satisfy your aching desire for knowledge of what lies beyond the Premier League's cellar door. Besides, if anyone suffered from a lack of a Colaship review last week, it was Bigus. I missed a wonderful opportunity to gloat with many pictures and kind words (finally) about my beloved Norwich City. What's that? I can back-date that boastful gloating? Really? Yay! Norwich 2 Ipswich 0. Who's the pride of Anglia? Norwich..Norwich. Who's the pride of Anglia? Norwich is our name... All together now...

OK, that's enough. Let's get to it. Follow me after the jump for a look at the runners, riders, and crocked one-legged donkeys of the Coca Cola Championship as we reach the half-way point of the season.

Oh dear... How did that get in there? Sorry folks. That was weird.

Right. Onwards we shall go...

The Wolverhampton Wanderers express train to the Premier League is showing no signs of slowing down. At the half-way mark, Wolves have 53 points and they are well on course to bust 100 points and 100 goals. A real rarity. They have lost just one of their last 11 games, the 1-0 defeat to QPR at Loftus Road. Wolves have been nearly men, in and around the playoffs, for the last few years but this year it has all just clicked. Fair play to Mick McCarthy, he has done a super job and the Wolves scouting system has allowed him to nab some real bargains in players who are now coveted by Premier League teams.

But can he hold onto them come January? Sylvain Ebanks-Blake, Andy Keogh and the young keeper Hennessey have many top-flight admirers. If they can keep this pace up after Christmas they will be up by the start of April.

Birmingham City are chugging along nicely. They lost at Preston last weekend and are currently 6 points behind neighbors Wolves, but there is no need to panic. McLeish is no great manager and highly over rated in my opinion but he has a very experienced and talented squad. Before Preston they had lost just one in nine. QPR again! The West Londoners certainly have an eye for beating the top sides. Bongo FC may not gain automatic promotion, I believe that Reading will occupy the second spot come May, but they will be in the play-offs for sure.

I mentioned QPR, so let's discuss them. They have definitely underachieved this season given the amount of new players they have signed. A change of management hasn't made a lot of difference to the West Laaandon team to be honest. Since appointing Paulo Sousa, QPR are still pretty inconsistent. While they have shown they can beat the top teams like Birmingham and Wolves, they have recently lost to Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Watford, while drawing with Plymouth and Palace. They will need to find some form if they are to make the play-offs in the second half of the campaign as some of the teams above them are currently flying.

One of those teams is Burnley and what a season they are having. Not only have they dispatched of Fulham, Arsenal and Chelsea in the Carling Cup to reach a semi-final showdown with Spurs, they have been amazing in the colaship. They currently occupy 4th spot in the table, losing just two of their last twelve fixtures. Bloody Burnley have certainly set out their stall for a play-off spot come May.

Burnley mascot 'Stan'. He's a happy chap!

Reading have being going strong this season, they may have had the odd slip up to teams such as Southampton and Preston but they have also scored 48 goals. Only Wolves have scored more. The Royals currently sit in third, one point away from Bongo FC. I can see Reading finishing second leaving Bongo to fight it out with the play-off final hopefuls, such as Burnley, Palace and Sheffield United. Reading have lost just three of their last seventeen games. Impressive indeed.


Where did that come from? Super weird..Oh well.

At the bottom of the table it's tighter than a Wall Street wallet right now. There is just a four point gap from the bottom three to Southampton in 21st and ALL three basement dwellers are on 18 points.

Southampton are in real trouble. Financially they are proper f-cked. The sales of Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Chris Baird and Kenwyne Jones to Premier League teams should have helped, but where has the cash gone? This January they will likely be forced to sell the next crop of promising youngsters. Adam Lallana and Andrew Surman will likely be flogged in an effort to balance the books. But, the three million they get for those two will not be close to enough to make a dent in their debt.

The Saints have won just once at St Mary's this season and the crowds are disappearing fast. They have also won just one of their last eight games, beating Reading if you can believe it. I see Southampton following Leeds and Leicester through the League One trap door. They can blame mismanagement at the board room level for this mess and for appointing inexperienced dutch manager Jan Poortvliet, but having an answer to the problems will be of no solace to the suffering Saints fans as money doesn't grow on trees and Jan won't turn into Johan over night.

Adam Lallana. Off in January?

Norwich are currently 5 points from the bottom and have been having a stinker of a year. Awful football and a solid defence was the state of affairs early on and now they are playing tasty football, but couldn't defend a 2-ft goal from a 3-ft beach ball. Still, while the defense is something that can be fixed, the inability to play football and to create and convert chances is something entirely different. Now City have found their attacking feet, a couple of new faces in defence should sort out the back line. City have given up some sloppy goals in recent times and lost games they should have won with suicidal defending. The midfield is in fine form and now Roeder has discovered the five man midfield with Hoolahan excelling in the hole, he should feel confident that the Canaries will start to accumulate points.

Up top, on-loan striker Leroy Lita is probably going to be sold by Reading to a lower-ranked Premiership side, and Antoine Sibierski is returning to Wigan after failing to impress on loan. Carl Cort has signed until the end of the season and if he stays fit, he is a class act. That's a BIG if though, Cort has been plagued by injury in the recent years and he was nearly forced to retire.

City will need to find a forward in January as well as an answer to the injury torn defence. If no Premiership takers come in for Lita he could join City permanently, but I can see West Brom or Stoke snapping him up when the transfer window opens. The league position Norwich City currently find themselves in is a false one for sure and Bigus isn't worried. Norwich will continue to improve throughout the new year and if they can fix the leaky defence and gain some consistency in the defensive selection (there have been seven different center-back partnerships this season), they will finish mid-table.

Oops, I have no idea how this keeps happening!

Charlton, like Southampton, are also in jeopardy of disappearing to the misery of League One. Charlton's support has been terrific this season and even though they are in a relegation dogfight and currently second from bottom, twenty thousand punters stream through the gates weekly. Charlton fired Alan Pardew two weeks ago but interim gaffer Phil Parkinson isn't doing much better. Charlton have not won a game in their last thirteen.

I hope their losing ways continue for another weekend at least as Charlton visit Norwich tomorrow. Charlton had to sell a lot of their best players during the summer but they still have enough in the locker to survive. However I reckon they will need fresh blood on the coaching staff and Phil Parkinson will have to follow Pardew through the front door before things get better at the Valley. Parkinson still represents the Pardew era and change is likely the only way out of the mess they find themselves in.

Forest have been struggling to find the net recently but now that Earnshaw is back they should pick up points. They are in a bit of a false position for me and I can see them climbing out of the bottom three over the next couple of months. They have drawn too many games that they should have won recently and if they can score a few more at home they will be alright.

Bigus' Colaship predictions

Promoted
1. Wolves
2. Reading

Playoffs
3. Bongo FC
4. Sheffield United
5. Crystal Palace
6. Burnley

Relegated
22. Southampton
23. Barnsley
24. Doncaster

-Bigus.

Read more on "Colaship Review - Half Time Report."...

Colaship Review - Fires, Hires and 10 Man Try-ers.

Good day, good day to one and all. Especially all of you Colaship followers out there in the grand blogesphere. Good day indeed. Bigus is in a good mood this week, take a guess why, go on? You got it..And with 10 men no less. Get in!

There was plenty of action in the Coca Cola Championship this weekend including lots and lots of goals. One manager was shown the door and a reserve team coach was given his first ever managerial role. Wolves won again and so did Watford. I know!

Join me after the jump for all of the results and news in a bumper edition of the Colaship review.



Lets start at Charlton. Poor Charlton. Alan Pardew was shown the door at 4.45 on Saturday after the Addicks lost 5-2 at home to Sheffield United. The 47 year-old former Hammers manager was relieved of his duties after Charlton slipped into the bottom 3. Charlton have won just one of their last 12 fixtures and look to be in some real trouble. They have shipped 13 goals in their last 4, which led to protests outside the valley after Saturdays defeat. Assistant Phil Parkinson will take temporary charge of the team and his first game is a toughie. Charlton travel to Q.P.R tomorrow and Parkinson will be hoping that he can restore some pride for miserable Charlton fans. As for Parkinson's long term future, I don't see one. Parkinson has managerial experience, he guided Colchester to promotion but had a short and miserable spell at Hull shortly afterwards. I can see Alan Curbishley returning to the Valley. Curbishley spent 15 years managing Charlton and saw them promoted to the Premier League twice. Charlton and Curbishley have both suffered since parting company in 2006. They are made for each other and I am sure both will be talking about a return over the next few days.


Pardew ponders his teams performance before being sacked on Saturday.

Charlton's opponents tomorrow evening, Q.P.R have their own new man in charge. Paulo Sousa was given the reigns last week but his first game at the helm ended in defeat. The Hoops lost 3 nil on Saturday, shockingly enough to Watford. A team with one win in their last 8 before beating Q.P.R. Owners, Ecclestone and Briatore will now be wondering if they have the right guy. Watford climb out of the bottom 3 at Charlton's expense and Q.P.R slip to 12th.

Lets stay with Watford. Today they announced the appointment of Brendan Rodgers as manager. Who? Rodgers was the reserve team coach at Chelsea. What a gamble. Good coaches often make lousy managers and this is a bold move on Watford's behalf. Malky Mackay will stay as assistant to Rodgers and Frank Lampard Senior joins as a consultant. Rodger's first game in charge will be away to Bristol City tomorrow evening.

It was a good weekend for Sheffield United. They put five past Charlton and climbed into 5th spot. They sit 2 points behind Reading who slipped up in a shocker. The Royals lost 2-1 at home to struggling Southampton who enjoyed a two-nil lead at the Madejski stadium courtesy of Bradley Wright-Phillips before Jimmy Kebe pulled one back midway through the second. Reading still occupy third place, 4 points behind Bongo FC and the Royals still have the best goal-difference in the league. Southampton's win was the first defeat at home for Reading this season and Bradley Wright-Phillips double just the 5th and 6th goals to find their way into the Reading net at the Madejski this term. Afterwards manager Steve Coppell accused his side of 'starting slow'. Reading are at Cardiff tomorrow and they will be looking to regain the lost ground at the top of the table.

League leaders Wolves enjoyed a comfortable victory at home to Blackpool. Chris Iwelumo goals either side of the break settled that one. Iwelumo has 13 goals this term and looks to have put the nightmare of that Scotland sitter far behind him. He has 5 goals in his last 6 games. Wolves are still 6 points clear of local rivals Bongo FC, who beat Swansea 3-2 on Friday night, thanks to a 5 minute second-half brace from veteran Kevin Phillips.

Bloody Burnley only managed a point at home to basement boys Donny Rovers on Saturday but Reading's loss could be Burnley's gain. They take on Barnsley at Oakwell tonight and a win would put them joint third with Reading. Of course they would need to win 20 nil if they wanted to take third place, due to the Royals superior goal difference.

Plymouth had a very good win at home to Cardiff this weekend. A result that saw Argyle join Cardiff on 28 points in the battle for 6th spot. Goals from Emile Mpenza and Paul Gallagher gave Plymouth a two nil lead. Sunderland loaner and Cardiff hero Michael Chopra scored what turned out to be a consolation with 30 mins to go.

Other notable winners this weekend include Crystal Palace. Neil Warnock's men won convincingly at home to Bristol City, 4-2. Derby lost at Ip..Ip..Ip..them two-nil and Preston beat Barnsley 2-1 at home to bring themselves within a point of 6th spot.


Richard Chaplow scores the opener for Preston at Deepdale.

Talking of notable winners, lets turn to the reason why Bigus is so happy on a Monday morning. Norwich won away at Nottingham Forest 2-1 after playing for 70 minutes with ten men.

Gary Doherty was sent off for a professional foul on 20 mins, it was harsh to say the least. Nathan Tyson was too fast and slid the ball away from the ginger one as he tried to take it. Doherty is one of the clumsiest players to ever play the game but the straight red was harsh. What smarts here is that the referee removed the red card from his pocket 2 seconds after the incident and didn't even think about conferring with his linesman. Referee Michael Oliver was in charge at the City ground and Oliver is just 23 years old! How can you referee a Championship match at 23? His eagerness to show a red highlighted the importance of having experienced referees at this level. Referees who make sure they are right before changing a game after just 20 mins!

Still, Mr Oliver's lack of experience turned out to be irrelevant. Norwich took the lead shortly after the sending off as David Bell collected a loose ball on the right, inside the box and drifted a cross to the far post where Matty Pattison was arriving to volley home his first goal for Norwich since joining last season. Pattison was excellent on Saturday and should keep his place in the side based on this performance.


Matty Patty celebrates with the travelling fans.

Forest tried to take advantage of the extra man and Norwich needed David Marshall to make some excellent saves. Marshall, however, was responsible for Forest's goal. Not through bad keeping, but a slip, handing Paul Anderson most of the goal to fire at.

The second half needed a heroic effort from Norwich. Omozusi (who replaced Doherty at center half) had to come off injured and (former Forest) midfielder Sammy Clingan became John Kennedy's third center back partner of the afternoon. Norwich looked as if they had 11 men for spells, largely due to the excellent work of wingers David Bell and Lee Croft. The game was decided when Forest couldn't deal with a Croft cross and Chris Cohen, under pressure from Fotheringham, watched in horror as the ball left his head bound for the bottom corner on 73 mins. Norwich shut up shop and held on. I am hoping that this is the start of a much needed run, but then again I thought that was coming after we thumped leaders Wolves 5-2 a few weeks back. I won't hold my breathe. Norwich host Palace tomorrow evening.

Last weekends results in full.

Burnley 0 Donny Rovers 0
Charlton 2 Blades 5
Palace 4 Bristol City 2
Ipshit 2 Derby 0
Forest 1 Super City 2
Plymouth 2 Cardiff 1
Preston 2 Barnsley 1
Royals 1 Saints 2
Wednesday 0 Coventry 1
Watford 3 Q.P.R 0
Wolves 2 Blackpool 0
Swansea 2 Bongo 3

Click HERE for the full table.

I'll round-up tomorrow nights games later in the week.

-Bigus

Read more on "Colaship Review - Fires, Hires and 10 Man Try-ers."...

Colaship Review - Short Edition.

No dodgy celebrations this week. Disgraced bin man David Norris tastes defeat. Loooooooooser!

No I didn't forget about the Colaship this week, but it has taken me 4 days to recover from the depressing defeat my Canaries suffered last Saturday. That's why this edition of the Colaship review will be the shortest EVER. I am still reeling and cannot bear to spend more than 5 minutes dwelling on the league this week!


Wolves are going great guns. They are 6 points ahead of West Midlands rivals Bongo FC and the Wolverhampton express is showing no signs of slowing down as they beat Southampton 2-1 at St Mary's. Birmingham won a 5-goal thriller at Charlton while Reading had a HUGE win at Sheffield United. The Royals are now just one point behind Bongo and looking tasty.

At the bottom Ip..Ip..Ip...that lot, lost at Doncaster. Ha ha ha ha. Doncaster! Even my pathetic under-achievers beat basement boys Doncaster! Watford continued to suck. This time at Barnsley as they went down 2-1.

Bloody Burnley are still on the high from doing Chelsea at the Bridge. They handed QPR interim Gareth Ainsworth a defeat in his last game in charge. He has been replaced today as the Hoops announced the appointment of former Portuguese international Paulo Sousa. Sousa played 51 times for his country and recently held the post of assistant coach with the Portuguese national team.

QPR's new boss Paulo Sousa.

Last weekend's results:
Blackpool 1, Preston 3
Barnsley 2, Watford 1
Bongo FC 3, Charlton 2
Bristol City 2, Nottingham Forest 2
Cardiff 2, Palace 1
Coventry 0, Plymouth 1
Derby 3, Sheffield Wednesday 0
DONCASTER 1, IPSHIT 0
Norwich 2, Swansea 3
QPR 1, Burnley 2
Sheffield United 0, Reading 2
Southampton 1, Wolves 2

Click HERE for the full table.

-Bigus

Read more on "Colaship Review - Short Edition."...

Colaship Review- Jekyll and Hyde edition

It's good! Iwelumo finds his finish as the Swans back line practice the Y.M.C.A

Well it has been a strange week in the league that matters, no not the Tippeligaen... although the race between Viking Stavanger and Rosenborg for the Norwegian equivalent of Liverpool's coveted fourth spot is a good 'un! And what about Ham-Kam? Shocker!!

Of course the league that matters is the Coca Cola Championship! Join me after the jump for some very scary results indeed. Must be Halloween. Talking of which I am dressing up as Maradona. I'm going to head over to the party at the St George, English ex-pat bar and rob a bunch of Englishmen, then obtain a healthy coke habit, drink myself into rehab and beg for a job managing Argentina, then hopefully I will jump from a tall building while CNN films LIVE from a chopper. That last part is role-play. A little fantasy never hurt anybody.

Welcome, welcome one and all, yeah it's Friday and it's Halloween but stick with me for a bit, it's been a bumper week in the Championship, with all teams playing two games in 4 days.

Lets start with league leaders Wolves. Yeah that's right, they are back on top. It appears that the stuffing they received at Carrow Road did them a favor and they got their shit together, starting last Saturday with a tasty 3-2 win at Watford. Iwelumo got them going after just one minute to prove he has put that nightmare sitter at Hampden park way behind him. Wolves followed that win with 3 points at home to the Swans on Tuesday, with Ebanks-Blake bagging a brace. Talking of the Swans, the loss to Wolves won't hurt too badly, seeing as the plucky Welshmen were still celebrating three points from last Saturday when they rolled over Southampton three zip.

So if the coin chucking warblers of Wolverhampton are celebrating at the top again, who is second? It's a real yo-yo race up there. Wolves, Bongo, Wolves, Bongo... Bongo gave up the top spot this week after losing on Wednesday to Q.P.R. - life without Dowie ain't so bad, 'eh? In fact it's a little prettier! The hoops also took a point from Reading last Saturday and two good results will have Gareth Ainsworth campaigning for the managers gig full time.

Di Carmone celebrates his winner for Q.P.R

Reading have dropped off the top two after a miserable week. Failure to beat Q.P.R was followed with defeat at BURNLEY. Jesus. Bloody Burnley! Oh wait, they are now 5th. Crap... God I hate Bloody Burnley (After Wolves and Ipswich of course). Norwich head to Turf Moor this weekend and if you thought Reading were pulling a Jekyll and Hyde act you aint seen nothing. We (and by we I mean the mighty Canaries, the one and only Norwich City) chased our performance of the season against Wolves with a last-minute winner at home to Donny Rovers before letting Derby take advantage of us on Tuesday. Not even a struggle (maybe a brief 'no'), we were cheap. All yours Mr Jewell, we know you like a bit on the side! We found ourselves two-nil down before deciding to claim some self respect. At one point in the second half we were a post away from levelling the game, but alas, we let another in and copped a beating. Lord knows who will show up at bloody Burnley but If I was a betting man I would plump for the foaming rabid madmen who will run around with no sense of purpose. Is that Jekyll or Hyde? I never can remember.

Bloody Burnley are on a good run currently. Since their draw with Bongo a couple of weeks ago, they have beaten Coventry and Reading AND nicked a point at the Valley where Charlton are looking a little ropey. Burnley are claiming that Robbie Blake's lucky underwear is the reason. They also think they will beat Norwich 33-0. Idiots. This kind of attititude needs immediate punsihment. Come on City!!!! Back to Charlton briefly, 2 draws in a week means they have taken just 2 points from the 12 on offer recently.

Cardiff are this week's big winners. 3 points at Forest was followed up with a home win against Blackpool. They all count! Two goals in the last seven minutes in that one has seen them hit the heady heights of third place. Don't get carried away yet Cardiff fans, there's a long way to go and a lot of grounds to visit to cause trouble!

Basement dwellers Forest had a rare victory this week. They won 2-1 at Palace on Tuesday night to climb off the bottom. They are still 6 points from safety but a win is a win and maybe the confidence they will have gained will help them push on. Then again, they have to go to Derby before hosting Bongo, oh dear.

Let's stay with Forest briefly. There has been some mystery surrounding Andy Cole. Has he left? Did he come back? No one is saying but Andy, sorry Andrew, is a little peeved at being left out of the team. And so he should be. In the last 11 games he has scored NO goals. Does manager Colin Calderwood know what he is doing? The man played for England for Christ's sake!

You watch, I have just cursed myself. He will be at Norwich by Monday. Shit!

Southampton have slipped into the bottom three after taking just one point from this weeks games. They followed up the defeat to Swansea with a point at home to Coventry. Their replacement outside the relegation zone is Barnsley, they bagged 4 points this week. A win over fellow strugglers Doncaster and a point at home to high-fliers Bristol City. As for Donacaster, they have lost 9 of their last 10 and have not won since the 30th of August. Poor buggers.

Well that's this week's roundup, tomorrow will see another bumper round of fixtures. Norwich are at bloody Burnley, Cardiff host leaders Wolves, Q.P.R get to stuff Ip..Ip...the scum at Portaloo Road and Bristol City play reading for third place.

-Bigus

Read more on "Colaship Review- Jekyll and Hyde edition"...

Colaship Round Up - Destroyed Weekend Edition.

Andy Keogh gives Swansea's Gary Monk a hug. Ahhh.

Lots of exciting Coca Cola Championship action to report on from today, not all of it to my liking!

Lets start at Swansea where Wolves were trying to get back to winning ways after defeat during the week. Swansea's Jason Scotland had other ideas. His double secured a 3-1 win for the Welsh team and Scotland also saw a shot cleared from the line and one come back off the crossbar. Jordi Gomez set Swansea on their way after just 25 secs when he caught Wolves snoozing at the back to nip in and score. Andy Keogh replied on 16 mins before this tie became the Scotland show. Wolves have now relinquished their lead at the top of the table to Bongo FC who beat Q.P.R at St Andrews. A Kevin Phillips goal before the break was enough to win that one and see Bongo top the table with 23 points from their 10 games.

From the top to the bottom. In the weekend's basement battle, Barnsley stuffed Doncaster Rovers to lift themselves closer to safety. Donny Rovers took the lead through a Brian Stock penalty. Simon Davey must have put a rocket up Barnsley's arse at half time as they scored 4 times in the second period to leapfrog Donny at the bottom. Oh yeah, and they had ten men.

Lets stay at the bottom. Forest are rooted. Another defeat today at home to Palace. Goals at the start and end of this game did the damage. Ifill at the top after four minutes and ex-scummer Shefki Kuqi secured the points on 84 mins. That's SIX defeats and a draw for Forest in the last seven games and two wins in a week for Neil Warnock's men.

Plymouth Argyle just cannot stop winning. Since my lot done em at Home Park a few weeks back they have won four and drawn one. Today they hammered Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 to jump into the play-off spots.

Reading continued their impressive run, beating Burnley 3-1 at the Madejski stadium. That's 20 goals in the last six games for Steve Coppells goal machines. They have nearly caught the top two and sit third tonight with 20 points from their opening ten games.

Elsewhere Coventry battered Southampton 4-1 with two goals from Jay Tabb, and one a piece from their Leon's, Best and McKenzie (boooooooo).

Charlton beat Ip..Ip..Ip..them 2-1 at the valley in a game that featured TWO own goals. Cranie and Voltz finding the wrong net. Maybe a swap deal can be arranged?
Charlton 2 Scummers 1. Own goal extravaganza!

Blackpool and Cardiff shared the points in this weeks only draw and both goals came in the last seven minutes of this one, actually a little more. Alan Gow saved the tangerines blushes five minutes into injury time.

Watford beat Preston 2-1 and James Beattie got back to scoring ways at Bramall lane as Sheffield United beat Bristol City 3-0 to climb to fourth. Lots of goals in the Championship today and that leaves just one game to discuss. A result that ruined my day. In fact there is just one word suitable to describe how I feel after Norwich lost 2-1 at home to the ten men of Derby County today..and that word is GUTTED.

I just cannot work out Glenn Roeder. There is a chance that he is turning into Juande Ramos. We have no fit central defenders, except for on loan Tottenham youngster Troy Archibald-Henville. So the lad gets a game right? Wrong. The tall Spurs reserve captain wasn't even included in the squad as Glenn Roeder decided to play second choice left back Adam Drury alongside right back Elliot Omozusi. Then it should come as no surprise to tell you that Derby took the lead through a Rob Hulse header from a corner. Debutant forward Leroy Lita won a penalty after Derby keeper Roy Carroll was dismissed for bringing down the on-loan hit-man AND newest misfiring striker to wear yellow this season. Sammy Clingan scored from the spot and you would think that we should have gone on against ten men to bury this one right? Nope instead of claiming victory with a winner against a team desperate to leave town clinging to a point, a miscommunication between keeper David Marshall and his temporary center back Drury ended up with Nathan Ellington pushing the ball into a empty net.
On loan striker Leroy Lita and Derby's Jordan Stewart audition for Grease.

This Norwich team baffles me. When I look at the line-up I genuinely believe this is the best squad we have had for years. Even with key players like Stefanovic and Kennedy missing and the recall of Jonathon Grounds to Middlesbrough affecting the defence, we should still have taken the points today. Hardly the expected result for a team with Leroy Lita and Antoine Sibierski up front eh? And WTF is the Henville-Archibald situation all about? Roeder has called the kid 'raw' but at least he is a tall CENTER BACK. If the lad sucks enough to not get a chance when the four center backs in front of him are out of the picture, then he should not be here. Waste of wages and his time.
Jon Otesmobor is stretchered off at Carrow road today...last thing we need is another missing defender, John Kennedy and Gary Doherty are crocked, Dejan Stefanovic is banned and just this week Middlesbrough re-called laonee Jonathon Grounds as they struggle with injuries.

Roeder also left play-maker Wes Hoolahan out of the team today in a move that I can only think was designed to send the player a message after several sub-par performances. Something has to change for the better and soon. Our biggest demon right now is finding the net. Cureton and Lupoli were struggling so Sibierski arrived to help them out. Now Lita, and STILL we cant score from open play. if you told me at last year that we would have a front four of Sibierski, Lita, Lupoli and Cureton I would have told you to F@$* right off.


The situation at Norwich is extremely depressing and now we have a two week international break to spend pondering our dubious position, fourth from bottom. We need to get on a run and start finding the net soon or we will find ourselves in another relegation battle. No need to panic just yet though, the play-off spots are only five points away, but they were last season too... and we didn't secure safety until the penultimate game of the season.

Norwich City have scored just 8 goals this season

Click here for the latest table.

-Bigus.

Read more on "Colaship Round Up - Destroyed Weekend Edition."...

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.

Read more on "Colaship Roundup - Double Whammy!"...

Colaship Round-Up

That's Chris Iwelumo on the right having his bald dome shined by his mate Andy Keogh. Iwelumo scored a hat-trick for Wolves on Saturday. He was also sent off as Wolves beat Preston 3-1 at Deepdale. His goals (6) this season have fired Wolves to top of the Championship where they sit 3 points clear of Birmingham this morning.

The shock of the weekend came at St Andrews where Birmingham lost to Blackpool. Yep, read it again and it's still hard to imagine.

The only goal of the game came from Gary Taylor-Fletcher just after halftime. According to the match reviews the deficit could have been greater!

I think we will chalk that one down to an off-day!

Bristol City continued their impressive start to the season with a 4-1 thumping of Donny Rovers at Ashton Gate. Midfield maestro Michael McIndoe bagged a brace and record signing Nicky Maynard scored his second of the campaign.

Elsewhere, Coventry beat Q.P.R at the Ricoh with an Elliot Ward penalty after 15 mins and Palace lost at home to Plymouth who look as if they have turned a corner with back to back wins. A Paul Gallagher double did the damage and the defeat leaves Palace one place above the drop zone. Warnock's south Londoners have lost 3 of their last 4 games.

There were 3 goal-less games last Saturday played between Sheffield Wed and the 'Scum', Forest and Charlton and Southampton and Barnsley. Derby V Cardiff and Swansea V Barnsley both finished 1-1. In another score draw, Watford were raped by blind flag waver Nigel Bannister . You can read all about this in the post 'A Goal named Casper' here

That leaves just one result to mention. At mighty Carrow Road the super yellows beat Sheffield United 1-0. The game was in stopage time when Lee Croft surged down the right, played a neat one two with Hoolahoop before cutting inside a defender and thumping a left foot beauty into the top left. Get in Crofty!

Leaving it late...Super Lee Croft

Norwich are currently 11th. See the full table here.

-Bigus.

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A Goal Named Casper Update: With New Video

Bigus is our Coca-Cola Championship expert, so I hope I'm not treading on his toes with this post, but Saturday's match between Reading and Watford was a doozy. The teams fought to a 2-2 draw, but Reading did not deserve the result, as you will see in this video:



Did you see it? Nope. I didn't either nor did anybody else save for one lonely linesman and a gullible ref who believed him.

Stuart Attwell was the youngest and most promising ref in England. I say "was" because the responsibility for this costly error will fall on his shoulders. Attwell had awarded a goal kick until his linesman notified him that ball had cross the goal line. Of course it had not. In fact, it was not even between the sticks on the part of the play where the goal was awarded.

In the ensuing mayhem, Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd was sent off. I'm sure this week's Ed Hochuli will get his own sendoff, probably down to League Two with Mark Halsey or lower.

Never has there been a more appropriate for this song at Vicarage Road:

"Three blind refs,
Three blind refs,
See how they run!
See how they run!

Their whistles are stuck,
And their eyes are closed!
What they call, nobody knows!

Three blind refs,
Three blind refs..."

Read more on "A Goal Named Casper Update: With New Video"...

Cola anyone?

Here at U.F we hate to disappoint and want to give you readers the kind of material you crave. Drunken live blogs, interviews from behind the scenes and wags..lots of wags..But Bigus never thought that he would have a request to roll out a regular round up of the Coca Cola Championship! Does anyone care what happens in that league around these parts except me? Do they? Well Joe does..So Joe..This ones for you!

Disclosure: This Championship round up is brought to you by Norwich City Kool Aid.


Well 4 games have been played in the competitive Championship and the early runners and riders have set out their stall. Many teams have been adding to their squads over the last week or so as the transfer window slammed shut on Monday night and we will look at that a little later.

Wolves, Preston and Birmingham are off to a flyer. In the case of Birmingham it was expected. They have a squad of Premiership players and no less than 6 strikers that fill their Championship opponents with fear at their very mention. Kevin Phillips (top) has already bagged 3 goals and looks like he is in for a 25 goal haul once again. The fact that my beloved Norwich outplayed Birmingham last Saturday is extremely encouraging. We really should have taken our first 3 points of the season. The football was the best seen at Carrow Road in many years. The new defence has been excellent, Kennedy and Stefanovic (left) look comfortable together and the team of mostly new players appears to have gelled. Norwich also added the missing piece of the puzzle on Monday as Antoine Sibierski arrived from Wigan. We have been in desperate need of a target man to hold the ball and involve our midfield around the box. We haven't had a decent holding forward since Iwan Roberts. Although the football is nice, there are only so many times you can play a speedy forward in behind you opponent before they wise up to your one dimensional attack. Sibierski has the quality and credentials to be a big hit at this level and hopefully we can now start to create a few more clear cut chances and take them. City have looked an much improved side in all 4 of their opening games this season despite 1 defeat and 3 draws. Once we start taking the chances and the forwards gain confidence someone is in for a hiding!

Wolves have started brightly and have benefited from their own target man in the form of Iwelumo. The former Charlton striker has 3 goals already and has helped provide 3 for his team mate Michael Kightly. Wolves are the pre-Theo Epstein Red Sox..Always the bridesmaid. Every year their team looks a bit tasty but they finish outside of the playoffs or fail during them. I reckon this year will be no different and they will drop off the current form sooner rather than later.

Last years surprise package Bristol City have also started well, much to my surprise. Two wins and two draws has them sitting 4th. The impressive 3 nil victory at Coventry has put them on the radar and they should not be taken for granted.

At the other end Palace have had a stinker of a start to the season. Losing to Reading and failing to beat Burnley at home has left the Eagles on just two points.

As for the rest of the league? It's just too early to judge. Teams are settling in new players and finding their feet.

The transfer window shut on Monday, lets take a quick look at the late incoming Championship players who will make their debuts on Saturday week.

Bristol City picked up where they left off last season (right).

Notable Ins: The unattached Man City failure Emile Mpenza signed with Plymouth. They also took Paul Gallacher on loan from Blackburn. Alan Lee movd from Ip..Ip..them to Palace. That lot 'up the road' replaced Lee with John Stead on loan from Sheffield United. Alan Gow moved to Blackpool from Rangers. Burnley signed Steven Thompson from Cardiff. Steven Eliot went from Wolves to Preston and Jason Shackell moved from Norwich to Wolves.

As for my lot Norwich? They signed promising Middlesbrough full back Jonathon Grounds (why we need a third left back is beyond me!) and Antoine Sibierski (Get in Roeder)!

The current Championship table looks like this.

I will start a weekly round up of results the week commencing 15th after the next round of Colaship games.

Hows that Joe?

-Bigus

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