Championship 23/24

[roversfan99]

4 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

Do you think there’s any link between the short managerial tenures and the high player turnover?

Perhaps as its so difficult to build a team long term as any decent players instantly get poached, hence the low quality of the league. Relegated teams know they need to roll the dice to try and change the atmosphere and get back up. 

[wilsdenrover]

1 minute ago, roversfan99 said:

Perhaps as its so difficult to build a team long term as any decent players instantly get poached hence,  the low quality of the league. Relegated teams know they need to roll the dice to try and change the atmosphere and get back up. 

I think this is a crucial point as to why for most teams in our division a good season is a ‘now or never’ opportunity to get promoted.

The only clubs, in my opinion, who have a real chance to ‘build towards’ promotion are those like Luton.

I say this as, when they have a good season,  for some reason (snobbery?) others see this as being despite having no decent players instead of because they do.

This enables them to add to what they already have as against, like you say, having to constantly start again.

 

[DeeCee]

7 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

What about the glass hammer ?

And rubber nails 😁

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

39 minutes ago, DeeCee said:

And rubber nails 😁

I did have a rubber hammer. I used it for forming lubrication piping to follow the casting profile.

[jodrell]

When I started working we had some welding rods murex and fastex and new starters where asked to get a packet of durex.

[Upside Down]

Don't forget the left handed screwdriver

[rigger]

14 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

Don't forget the left handed screwdriver

Or your bollocks being blackened

[Mike E]

Just stand behind me with a bucket and catch the sparks, will you?

[simongarnerisgod]

go and get me a spare bubble for the spirit level will you and fetch me the skirting board ladder as well

[DeeCee]

20 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

go and get me a spare bubble for the spirit level will you and fetch me the skirting board ladder as well

You can get spare spirit level bubbles though 😁

[simongarnerisgod]

12 minutes ago, DeeCee said:

You can get spare spirit level bubbles though 😁

what!!!!!!!!!!!

[DeeCee]

3 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

what!!!!!!!!!!!

[simongarnerisgod]

🤣 i had no idea

[windymiller7]

Yeah, but you can't just buy the bubble though! 😄. 

[chaddyrovers]

On 18/10/2023 at 22:42, JHRover said:

Surprised to see that Millwall have got rid of Gary Rowett, especially at the back end of the international break. 

Don't think he'll ever win awards for his style of play but think it works in the Championship especially at sides like Millwall and Birmingham where resources are limited. 

I didn't get the timing of the decision but he did a good job there. The club never recovered from their last day loss to us last season

On 19/10/2023 at 11:05, smiller14 said:

Absolutely crazy. How can any manager be expected to succeed with that sort of managerial turnover? I know 'projects' aren't trendy, but you can't build anything as you're one bad run away from the chop,, so constantly have to adopt a short-term approach (potentially at the expense of greater long term success).

 

Rowett had 4 years to build something and was backed last summer aswell 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

16 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

🤣 i had no idea

What do you do when some clumsy bastard drops the level and breaks the vial ? You can’t just throw away a level worth £1000’s. Not all level’s come from “ B&Q “.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[simongarnerisgod]

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

What do you do when some clumsy bastard drops the level and breaks the vial ? You can’t just throw away a level worth £1000’s. Not all level’s come from “ B&Q “.

**** me is it £1000 for a spare bubble😩

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Just how the feck are dreary PNE third?!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

5 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

**** me is it £1000 for a spare bubble😩

No but the actual level cast iron bodies are expensive. They read to 1 thousandth of an inch in 10 inches. if you’re really fussy 1 tenthousandth of an inch in 10 inches. I gave mine away for £300 when I retired. Should have been worth well over a £1000.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[DeeCee]

Stabilas in 1981were about a week's wage, for a short one 🙄

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

3 minutes ago, DeeCee said:

Stabilas in 1981were about a week's wage, for a short one 🙄

Mine were “ Hilger & Watts “ box levels. I also had a conventional “ Wyler “ level. That was my “ go to “ level for most jobs - 0.001” in 10”. The “ Hilger & Watts “ 0.0001 in 10” was a “ put the level down, go and get a coffee, come back and the bubble might have settled type of level.

[DE.]

Friday's game between Rotherham and Ipswich was called off only a couple of hours beforehand, despite Rotherham insisting they were confident the game would go ahead in the early afternoon. The river near Rotherham's ground burst its banks soon after, however, which left officials with little option but to cancel the game. 

Preston had a good chance to end their recent poor form of four games without a win, facing managerless Millwall at home. For whatever reason Millwall had felt it appropriate to sack their manager just as the international break was coming to an end, suddenly leaving them somewhat rudderless a few days before an upcoming fixture. Nonetheless, fortunately for Millwall it was indeed only Preston, who did not capitalise on their opponent's lack of stability. An even game ended 1-1, stretching Preston's winless steak to five games. They still remain fourth, but are now within three points of falling out of the playoff spots entirely. For Milwall it's a third draw in five matches, and they remain stuck in the middle of the table, 14th.

Rovers came out on top in a game with little quality at Ewood Park, edging a 1-0 win against Cardiff. Neither side played well, but it was Rovers who snuck the all important first goal, and this was enough to earn us all three points. It's Rovers' second win in succession, and lifts us to 15th in the table. Also welcome was a second clean sheet in a row, as we slowly go about repairing our damaged goal difference. Cardiff meanwhile register a second defeat in three matches, and one point in nine has seen them fall to 11th in the table. 

Coventry's four game unbeaten streak came to an end at Ashton Gate, as Bristol City handed the Sky Blues a narrow 1-0 defeat. The result sees Coventry fall to 16th, largely due to their inability to win games. Just three victories in twelve makes for disappointing reading if you are a Coventry fan. Only three defeats on the other hand makes for good reading, so it's not all bad news. Six draws, however, ultimately don't do much to help the cause. Bristol City continue their erratic form, having won two and lost three of their last five games. They move up to 8th, just a point outside the playoff places.

QPR failed to respond to the 4-0 hammering inflicted on them by Rovers last time out, and instead fell to their fourth defeat in a row, this time away to Huddersfield. Darren Moore will be pleased to pick up his first three points as Huddersfield boss, ending an overall five game winless streak with three vital points. Huddersfield move up to 18th - aided by the fact that they had drawn three of their previous four games. QPR remain in 22nd, four points behind Plymouth in 21st. They now share the worst defensive record in the league (-22) with Rotherham (23rd), Norwich (10th) and Southampton (5th). What a strange division.

Speaking of Southampton, as noted, they're now up to 5th with a 2-1 away victory against a Hull side whose good form has rapidly deteriorated with a series of bad results. They will be especially disappointed to have thrown the match away in the 95th minute. Just two points from the last twelve available has seen the Tigers plunge from the playoff spots into 12th position. Southampton, on the other hand, have gained ten points from the last twelve available, and despite sharing the worst defensive record in the division with three other clubs, find themselves in 5th because... it's the Championship. What else needs to be said. Crazy league.

Boro are certainly one of those teams who encapsulate the bizarreness of the Championship. They're currently recreating a carbon copy of last season's antics, just without the change of manager. Despite a horrific start to the season, a 1-0 home win today against Birmingham City marks their fifth win in a row, and three matches without conceding. They surge up to 13th, having only just lifted themselves from the foot of the table one month ago. Wayne Rooney made his debut as Birmingham manager today, but the excitement from himself and the boardroom evidently did not filter down to the players, who put in a lacklustre performance with little intent. Post-match Rooney proceeded to criticise the team's efforts and said that defensive players - some of whom are in their mid-30s - need to learn to play out from the back. Good luck with that one. Playing with no fear sounds like playing with no brain, either, but let's see how it all plays out. Not a good start regardless and Birmingham fall back out of the playoffs into 7th. 

As noted previously, Norwich have the joint-weakest defensive record in the division, and they continued to leak goals in earnest - beaten 3-2 at Carrow Road by former boss Daniel Farke's Leeds in an entertaining match. Norwich were two goals ahead at the break, but their inability to keep the ball out of their own net meant that by the time the final whistle was blown they were leaving the pitch with nothing. Shane Duffy with another own goal to add to the collection. Norwich sit in 10th, their horrible goals conceded column balanced out by a still excellent goals scored tally, with 23 still the highest amount outside of the top two teams. A fourth win in five games for Leeds leapfrogs them above Preston into 3rd place, six points behind Ipswich - although Ipswich have a game in hand due to Friday's postponement. 

Stoke ended a run of three home defeats with a 2-1 victory over stuttering Sunderland at the Bet365. Having lost three of the four prior games, three points was much needed for a Stoke team who had started nervously glancing over their shoulders at the relegation zone. The result lifts them to 20th, with a five point buffer between themselves and QPR in 22nd. It was a second defeat in a row for Sunderland, and a third in five matches, but as the other two results were wins they cling onto 6th spot for the time being. 

Swansea's unbeaten run of five matches - with four wins on the spin - came to an end against a Leicester side who, on current evidence, are far too good for this division. Leicester's 3-1 win at the Swansea.com stadium makes them the first side in the history of the second tier to win their first six away games of the season. They've also won eleven of their first twelve matches. Swansea did take the lead in this one, but were ultimately overpowered by Leicester's quality. Leicester remain top of the division, already 11 points ahead of Leeds in 3rd. They move five points ahead of Ipswich in second - as previously noted, Ipswich's match against Rotherham was postponed. 

Watford knew they were in huge trouble if they couldn't get something from a match against the league's whipping boys, Sheffield Wednesday. They did manage to scrape a 1-0 victory, but would probably have wanted it to be a bit more convincing. Nonetheless, three points is three points and ends a five game winless run which had seen Watford pick up just two points from fifteen. They are now 19th, with a five point cushion between themselves and QPR. Sheffield Wednesday meanwhile are a bit like the anti-Leicester, on recent evidence far too poor to belong in this division. They have still only managed five goals in their first twelve games, having not scored at all in their last five matches. I suppose as a minor positive they don't have the worst defence in the division at this point in time, but they are also the only team in the division who are yet to win a match, so... yeah, most likely we can chalk off one relegation place, even at this early stage. You have to think it would take something very special to turn around the situation at Wednesday, particularly with the owner currently refusing to put any more money into the club.

West Brom seemed to be starting to get themselves going, but two wins has been followed by an away loss to Birmingham and a home draw to today's opponent's, lowly Plymouth. The result doesn't do much for the Baggies, keeping them in 9th, but they are still only a couple of points outside of sixth spot. Plymouth's two points from their last twelve has seem them freefall from the relative safety of mid-table to 21st. They won't be panicking just yet though, as they remain four points clear of woeful QPR, and even if Rotherham win their game in hand Plymouth would still be two points ahead of them. Still, they face Sheffield Wednesday at home on Wednesday and will be fully expecting to be able to pick up three points from that fixture. 

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by DE.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

37 minutes ago, DE. said:

Friday's game between Rotherham and Ipswich was called off only a couple of hours beforehand, despite Rotherham insisting they were confident the game would go ahead in the early afternoon. The river near Rotherham's ground burst its banks soon after, however, which left officials with little option but to cancel the game. 

Preston had a good chance to end their recent poor form of four games without a win, facing managerless Millwall at home. For whatever reason Millwall had felt it appropriate to sack their manager just as the international break was coming to an end, suddenly leaving them somewhat rudderless a few days before an upcoming fixture. Nonetheless, fortunately for Millwall it was indeed only Preston, who did not capitalise on their opponent's lack of stability. An even game ended 1-1, stretching Preston's winless steak to five games. They still remain fourth, but are now within three points of falling out of the playoff spots entirely. For Milwall it's a third draw in five matches, and they remain stuck in the middle of the table, 14th.

Rovers came out on top in a game with little quality at Ewood Park, edging a 1-0 win against Cardiff. Neither side played well, but it was Rovers who snuck the all important first goal, and this was enough to earn us all three points. It's Rovers' second win in succession, and lifts us to 15th in the table. Also welcome was a second clean sheet in a row, as we slowly go about repairing our damaged goal difference. Cardiff meanwhile register a second defeat in three matches, and one point in nine has seen them fall to 11th in the table. 

Coventry's four game unbeaten streak came to an end at Ashton Gate, as Bristol City handed the Sky Blues a narrow 1-0 defeat. The result sees Coventry fall to 16th, largely due to their inability to win games. Just three victories in twelve makes for disappointing reading if you are a Coventry fan. Only three defeats on the other hand makes for good reading, so it's not all bad news. Six draws, however, ultimately don't do much to help the cause. Bristol City continue their erratic form, having won two and lost three of their last five games. They move up to 8th, just a point outside the playoff places.

QPR failed to respond to the 4-0 hammering inflicted on them by Rovers last time out, and instead fell to their fourth defeat in a row, this time away to Huddersfield. Darren Moore will be pleased to pick up his first three points as Huddersfield boss, ending an overall five game winless streak with three vital points. Huddersfield move up to 18th - aided by the fact that they had drawn three of their previous four games. QPR remain in 22nd, four points behind Plymouth in 21st. They now share the worst defensive record in the league (-22) with Rotherham (23rd), Norwich (10th) and Southampton (5th). What a strange division.

Speaking of Southampton, as noted, they're now up to 5th with a 2-1 away victory against a Hull side whose good form has rapidly deteriorated with a series of bad results. They will be especially disappointed to have thrown the match away in the 95th minute. Just two points from the last twelve available has seen the Tigers plunge from the playoff spots into 12th position. Southampton, on the other hand, have gained ten points from the last twelve available, and despite sharing the worst defensive record in the division with three other clubs, find themselves in 5th because... it's the Championship. What else needs to be said. Crazy league.

Boro are certainly one of those teams who encapsulate the bizarreness of the Championship. They're currently recreating a carbon copy of last season's antics, just without the change of manager. Despite a horrific start to the season, a 1-0 home win today against Birmingham City marks their fifth win in a row, and three matches without conceding. They surge up to 13th, having only just lifted themselves from the foot of the table one month ago. Wayne Rooney made his debut as Birmingham manager today, but the excitement from himself and the boardroom evidently did not filter down to the players, who put in a lacklustre performance with little intent. Post-match Rooney proceeded to criticise the team's efforts and said that defensive players - some of whom are in their mid-30s - need to learn to play out from the back. Good luck with that one. Playing with no fear sounds like playing with no brain, either, but let's see how it all plays out. Not a good start regardless and Birmingham fall back out of the playoffs into 7th. 

As noted previously, Norwich have the joint-weakest defensive record in the division, and they continued to leak goals in earnest - beaten 3-2 at Carrow Road by former boss Daniel Farke's Leeds in an entertaining match. Norwich were two goals ahead at the break, but their inability to keep the ball out of their own net meant that by the time the final whistle was blown they were leaving the pitch with nothing. Shane Duffy with another own goal to add to the collection. Norwich sit in 10th, their horrible goals conceded column balanced out by a still excellent goals scored tally, with 23 still the highest amount outside of the top two teams. A fourth win in five games for Leeds leapfrogs them above Preston into 3rd place, six points behind Ipswich - although Ipswich have a game in hand due to Friday's postponement. 

Stoke ended a run of three home defeats with a 2-1 victory over stuttering Sunderland at the Bet365. Having lost three of the four prior games, three points was much needed for a Stoke team who had started nervously glancing over their shoulders at the relegation zone. The result lifts them to 20th, with a five point buffer between themselves and QPR in 22nd. It was a second defeat in a row for Sunderland, and a third in five matches, but as the other two results were wins they cling onto 6th spot for the time being. 

Swansea's unbeaten run of five matches - with four wins on the spin - came to an end against a Leicester side who, on current evidence, are far too good for this division. Leicester's 3-1 win at the Swansea.com stadium makes them the first side in the history of the second tier to win their first six away games of the season. They've also won eleven of their first twelve matches. Swansea did take the lead in this one, but were ultimately overpowered by Leicester's quality. Leicester remain top of the division, already 11 points ahead of Leeds in 3rd. They move five points ahead of Ipswich in second - as previously noted, Ipswich's match against Rotherham was postponed. 

Watford knew they were in huge trouble if they couldn't get something from a match against the league's whipping boys, Sheffield Wednesday. They did manage to scrape a 1-0 victory, but would probably have wanted it to be a bit more convincing. Nonetheless, three points is three points and ends a five game winless run which had seen Watford pick up just two points from fifteen. They are now 19th, with a five point cushion between themselves and QPR. Sheffield Wednesday meanwhile are a bit like the anti-Leicester, on recent evidence far too poor to belong in this division. They have still only managed five goals in their first twelve games, having not scored at all in their last five matches. I suppose as a minor positive they don't have the worst defence in the division at this point in time, but they are also the only team in the division who are yet to win a match, so... yeah, most likely we can chalk off one relegation place, even at this early stage. You have to think it would take something very special to turn around the situation at Wednesday, particularly with the owner currently refusing to put any more money into the club.

West Brom seemed to be starting to get themselves going, but two wins has been followed by an away loss to Birmingham and a home draw to today's opponent's, lowly Plymouth. The result doesn't do much for the Baggies, keeping them in 9th, but they are still only a couple of points outside of sixth spot. Plymouth's two points from their last twelve has seem them freefall from the relative safety of mid-table to 21st. They won't be panicking just yet though, as they remain four points clear of woeful QPR, and even if Rotherham win their game in hand Plymouth would still be two points ahead of them. Still, they face Sheffield Wednesday at home on Wednesday and will be fully expecting to be able to pick up three points from that fixture. 

 

Thanks for that. I really appreciate the effort and analysis that goes into these posts. Take a bow.

[chaddyrovers]

41 minutes ago, DE. said:

Friday's game between Rotherham and Ipswich was called off only a couple of hours beforehand, despite Rotherham insisting they were confident the game would go ahead in the early afternoon. The river near Rotherham's ground burst its banks soon after, however, which left officials with little option but to cancel the game. 

Felt sorry for them cos the weather were awful and They wouldn't have know that the Rover would burst its banks either 

42 minutes ago, DE. said:

As noted previously, Norwich have the joint-weakest defensive record in the division, and they continued to leak goals in earnest - beaten 3-2 at Carrow Road by former boss Daniel Farke's Leeds in an entertaining match.

 

Surprised Sky didn't pick this game as one of their live games this weekend

[DE.]

54 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Thanks for that. I really appreciate the effort and analysis that goes into these posts. Take a bow.

Cheers TS. It helps me keep up with what's going on in the division, and hopefully it's useful for other people in the same way.