Championship 23/24

[Mattyblue]

Three international breaks between September and November has to be knocked on the head, ridiculous.

Just play them all in a block in June, perhaps with one other break at some point in Autumn. Not all this stop start nonsense.

 

[MarkBRFC]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

Three international breaks between September and November has to be knocked on the head, ridiculous.

Just play them all in a block in June, perhaps with one other break at some point in Autumn. Not all this stop start nonsense.

 

It's a while off yet but it's being changed from the 26-27 season.

One international break in late September that covers 2 weekends instead of 1 where there will be 4 internationals, and then the standard ones in November and March that cover the usual 1 weekend and 2 internationals.

So not much better really.

Edited November 6, 2023 by MarkBRFC

[Mattyblue]

Get rid of that one in November too and play those games in June and they’ll be on to something… but it’s better than nowt, I suppose.

[chaddyrovers]

Millwall have appointed Joe Edwards has their new head coach 

Millwall FC - Millwall confirm Joe Edwards as new Head Coach

[DE.]

Rotherham hosted Ipswich tonight at the New York Stadium, playing a fixture that had been postponed on 20th October due to flooding from Storm Babet. The Millers started brightly and went ahead in just the 4th minute, but their lead didn't last long, with Ipswich equalising thanks to a stunning goal from Sam Morsy. Ipswich dominated the match from this point and eventually found a way to scrape ahead with a scrappy goal in the 87th minute. This looked like it would wrap up all three points for the Tractor Boys, but Rotherham weren't done yet. Another fantastic goal, this time from Christ Tiehi scoring his first goal for the club, drew the score level again in the 91st minute. That was enough to gain Rotherham a credible home point against high-flying Ipswich. It's a point which keeps Rotherham in 22nd, but eases them slightly closer to Huddersfield in 21st, with the gap now four points. Rotherham have picked up five points from the last twelve available. Ipswich meanwhile will be gutted to walk away with only a point, having gone ahead so late in the game. It's a second 2-2 away draw in a row for them, as they remain in 2nd place. They are now within three points of Leicester and eight clear of Leeds in 3rd. 

Edited November 7, 2023 by DE.

[chaddyrovers]

Bristol City have appointed Liam Manning as their next head coach

[DE.]

We all know what happened last night, so not going to go into details. Rovers were beaten 2-1 by Preston at Ewood, the second defeat to them on home turf in a row, following last season's 4-1 humiliation. At least this result was a slight improvement. It was Preston's second win in a row, and eight points from their last fifteen has seen them climb back up to 5th place after a dismal run of form had seen them fall out of the playoff positions. Rovers fall to 12th, stuck in a similar position to the first half of last season where we either win or lose. Just a single draw from our opening sixteen matches means that despite losing eight games - joint worst in the division outside of the bottom three - we are far clear of the relegation scrap. For what it's worth, despite last night's disappointing result we've still accrued more points than Preston in our last five matches, with nine points from a possible fifteen. Another thing to note is that Sammie Szmodics' strike took him to ten goals for the season, and he's the first player in the league to get to double figures this season. If only there was anybody else in the team capable of regularly putting the ball in the net. 

It was another disappointing match for Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City™ in the early kick off, as they were handily beaten 3-1 at the Stadium of Light by Sunderland. Rooney has now lost four of his first five games, with the other being a draw. The result drops Birmingham to 18th in the table - they were 6th when Rooney arrived, although it's still early days. The Black Cats sneak into 6th position, with seven points from their last nine. Their +10 GD is the fourth best in the division behind the top three teams. 

It all seemed to be going wrong for Norwich, again, at the Cardiff City Stadium. Despite going a goal ahead in the 22nd minute, they were trailing 2-1 by the time the half time whistle was blown. The Canaries showed their fighting spirit in the second half, though, and two goals in two minutes towards the end of the game gave them a much needed 3-2 victory. They are still leaking goals, but for this week at least they scored enough goals to overcome their defensive woes. The result will be a massive relief for David Wagner, who had seen his side fail to win in six and only gain a single point from the last eighteen available. It was only their second away win of the season, and moves them up to 16th in the standings. They have still conceded the most in the division, but are now joint-worst with Rotherhan, who we'll get to shortly. Cardiff will be bitterly disappointed to have lost this one, on the back of two wins and a draw from their previous three matches. They sit in 9th place. 

Coventry played out a 0-0 home draw with Stoke, ending a run of four straight defeats. By all accounts it was a desperately poor match in terms of quality, but the Sky Blues' boss Mark Robins will at least be satisfied with a first clean sheet since October 4th. They remain in 20th position, five clear of Rotherham in 22nd, whilst Stoke have now collected a very respectable eleven points from the last fifteen available, and are 14th in the table.

A last-gasp 92nd minute goal from Liam Delap gave Hull City a narrow 1-0 victory against struggling Huddersfield at the MKM Stadium.  Hull utterly dominated the match with 20 shots to Huddersfield's 2, and deserved the three points. It's a third win in five matches and moves them up to 8th position, only outside the playoffs on goal difference. Huddersfield meanwhile continue to disappoint under new boss Darren Moore and remain in 21st position, four points ahead of Rotherham just beneath them. 

For Ipswich Town two draws in their last two matches was considered 'a bad run of form', which shows how impressive their campaign has been so far. They've only lost one match in the first sixteen, and had no problem brushing a weak Swansea team aside at Portman Road. Swansea did take an early lead with a 7th minute goal, but by half time they were 2-1 down. A 53rd minute penalty from ex-Rover George Hirst put some daylight between the sides, and a sending off for Liam Cullen for two bookable offences in the 69th minute made Swansea's task even harder. The Swans did manage to claw one back in the 95th minute, but the damage was already done and the match ended 3-2. The Tractor Boys are still in 2nd position, but are now level on points with Leicester City in 1st place. It should also be noted that Ipswich are the top scorers in the division by a long stretch, with an incredible 36 goals in 16 matches. Leicester and Norwich are closest to them with 29 goals scored. It's a third defeat in five for Swansea, who are in 17th.

Leeds kept their chase for the automatic places going with a 2-1 home victory against Plymouth. Ben Waine's 84th minute goal for Plymouth gave them some hope, having trailed 2-0 since the 28th minute, but despite late pressure they were unable to find an equaliser. It's a fourth win in five for Leeds, and they are currently eight points behind both Leicester and Ipswich in 1st and 2nd respectively. Leeds also boast the joint-second-best defensive record in the division, with only 16 goals conceded in their first 16 matches. A return of five points from the last fifteen available sees Plymouth in 19th position. Their 27 goals conceded is not a great stat, but they will be pleased by having scored 27 goals, up there with the best teams in the division and meaning their GD is 0. They are the only club in the bottom seven who are not in negative goal difference. 

Leicester had been strolling through the Championship, but have recently fell flat on their face. Today's 1-0 defeat by Middlesbrough at the Riverside was their second defeat in a row, and their third of the season. A stunning free-kick from Sam Greenwood was enough to give Michael Carrick's Boro all three points. A third win in five games means that Boro have now collected ten points from the last fifteen, and move up to 10th position, just two points outside of the playoff positions. Leicester currently remain in top spot but have been pegged back by Ipswich and are now level on points with the second-placed Suffolk club, only ahead of them on goal difference. Leicester have still only conceded a meagre ten goals this season, which comfortably makes them the best defence in the division. The next best are Leeds and Bristol City who have each conceded 16. Leicester are also the only team in the division yet to draw a match, having won 13 and lost 3. 

Two newly-appointed managers faced off as QPR took on Bristol City at Loftus Road, with Marti Cifuentes taking on Liam Manning, who was at the helm of Bristol City for the first time. It was also Cifuentes first home game as QPR boss. Ultimately, however, it was a boring match which ended goalless. QPR didn't even manage a shot on target. Nonetheless, they were the only team in the bottom four to get any points this weekend and sneak closer to Huddersfield in 21st, with the gap now five points. QPR will also be happy with a clean sheet, having not kept one since a 0-0 draw with pre-Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City™ way back on 22nd September. It's a second draw in a row for QPR, leaving them 23rd. Bristol City move ahead of us, into 11th. Their return of 16 goals scored is the worst outside of the bottom four, however, their defensive record of only 16 conceded is joint-second-best, so Manning will be looking to find a way to increase their firepower whilst retaining their excellent defensive instincts.

Sheffield Wednesday's embarrassing season further descended into farce as they were dismantled 4-0 at home by Millwall, of all teams. Joe Edwards was making his debut in the Millwall dugout and, truthfully, couldn't have wished for a better opponent to start against. Young boss Danny Rohl will now be realising that being able to beat the worst away side in the division in Rotherham was not a turning point for his hapless Owls team, who have been soundly beaten twice since then and as usual failed to score in both matches. Defeat leaves Wednesday at the bottom of the table, nine points from safety. Their goal difference of -20 is the worst in the division, not helped by the fact they have only managed to score seven times in the entire campaign thus far. They've now lost twelve of their sixteen matches. Millwall had been on a run of five games without a win, so this was a welcome three points for them as Edwards looks to turn around their season. The Lions move up to 15th in the table.

Southampton and West Brom had both been in good form heading into their match at St. Mary's, with both occupying playoff spots and both having won their last three games. It was Southampton who came out on top in the end, a 79th minute goal from former Rover Adam Armstrong deciding the contest. Arma has scored nine league goals thus far, one behind Szmodics. The result keeps the Saints in 4th, one point behind Leeds and nine behind Leicester and Ipswich. Defeat for the Baggies drops them out of the playoff spots for now, as they sit in 7th and are overtaken by Preston and Sunderland. 

You have to feel for Rotherham fans who continue to stump up cash to watch their team away, only to see them capitulate time after time. The Millers have not won in 21 away league games now, a record which spans over a year, and have taken a single point from their travels so far this season. No change in fortune today either, as they were mercilessly hammered 5-0 by a rampant Watford side. The Hornets went into this match having gained eight points from their last twelve, and ensured their good form continued as they put a disgraceful Rotherham side to the sword. Rotherham boss Matt Taylor had some ominous words post-match, saying that the goals they conceded were "unforgivable" and that he is worried that he has "a group of players who aren't believing". Not the comments of a man who is likely to be there much longer, you'd think. Nonetheless, victory for Watford means they are undefeated in six and rise to 13th in the table. Rotherham remain in 22nd place, four points behind Huddersfield, but the manner of their defeat means that they now have the joint-worst defensive record in the division alongside Norwich. Two victories in sixteen matches means there will realistically have to be a hell of a turnaround for both themselves and QPR to avoid the drop at this stage, although both will be given some hope by the almost-as-poor performances of Huddersfield and Coventry above them. I think we can already write Sheffield Wednesday off. 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by DE.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

35 minutes ago, DE. said:

We all know what happened last night, so not going to go into details. Rovers were beaten 2-1 by Preston at Ewood, the second defeat to them on home turf in a row, following last season's 4-1 humiliation. At least this result was a slight improvement. It was Preston's second win in a row, and eight points from their last fifteen has seen them climb back up to 5th place after a dismal run of form had seen them fall out of the playoff positions. Rovers fall to 12th, stuck in a similar position to the first half of last season where we either win or lose. Just a single draw from our opening sixteen matches means that despite losing eight games - joint worst in the division outside of the bottom three - we are far clear of the relegation scrap. For what it's worth, despite last night's disappointing result we've still accrued more points than Preston in our last five matches, with nine points from a possible fifteen. Another thing to note is that Sammie Szmodics' strike took him to ten goals for the season, and he's the first player in the league to get to double figures this season. If only there was anybody else in the team capable of regularly putting the ball in the net. 

It was another disappointing match for Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City™ in the early kick off, as they were handily beaten 3-1 at the Stadium of Light by Sunderland. Rooney has now lost four of his first five games, with the other being a draw. The result drops Birmingham to 18th in the table - they were 6th when Rooney arrived, although it's still early days. The Black Cats sneak into 6th position, with seven points from their last nine. Their +10 GD is the fourth best in the division behind the top three teams. 

It all seemed to be going wrong for Norwich, again, at the Cardiff City Stadium. Despite going a goal ahead in the 22nd minute, they were trailing 2-1 by the time the half time whistle was blown. The Canaries showed their fighting spirit in the second half, though, and two goals in two minutes towards the end of the game gave them a much needed 3-2 victory. They are still leaking goals, but for this week at least they scored enough goals to overcome their defensive woes. The result will be a massive relief for David Wagner, who had seen his side fail to win in six and only gain a single point from the last eighteen available. It was only their second away win of the season, and moves them up to 16th in the standings. They have still conceded the most in the division, but are now joint-worst with Rotherhan, who we'll get to shortly. Cardiff will be bitterly disappointed to have lost this one, on the back of two wins and a draw from their previous three matches. They sit in 9th place. 

Coventry played out a 0-0 home draw with Stoke, ending a run of four straight defeats. By all accounts it was a desperately poor match in terms of quality, but the Sky Blues' boss Mark Robins will at least be satisfied with a first clean sheet since October 4th. They remain in 20th position, five clear of Rotherham in 22nd, whilst Stoke have now collected a very respectable eleven points from the last fifteen available, and are 14th in the table.

A last-gasp 92nd minute goal from Liam Delap gave Hull City a narrow 1-0 victory against struggling Huddersfield at the MKM Stadium.  Hull utterly dominated the match with 20 shots to Huddersfield's 2, and deserved the three points. It's a third win in five matches and moves them up to 8th position, only outside the playoffs on goal difference. Huddersfield meanwhile continue to disappoint under new boss Darren Moore and remain in 21st position, four points ahead of Rotherham just beneath them. 

For Ipswich Town two draws in their last two matches was considered 'a bad run of form', which shows how impressive their campaign has been so far. They've only lost one match in the first sixteen, and had no problem brushing a weak Swansea team aside at Portman Road. Swansea did take an early lead with a 7th minute goal, but by half time they were 2-1 down. A 53rd minute penalty from ex-Rover George Hirst put some daylight between the sides, and a sending off for Liam Cullen for two bookable offences in the 69th minute made Swansea's task even harder. The Swans did manage to claw one back in the 95th minute, but the damage was already done and the match ended 3-2. The Tractor Boys are still in 2nd position, but are now level on points with Leicester City in 1st place. It should also be noted that Ipswich are the top scorers in the division by a long stretch, with an incredible 36 goals in 16 matches. Leicester and Norwich are closest to them with 29 goals scored. It's a third defeat in five for Swansea, who are in 17th.

Leeds kept their chase for the automatic places going with a 2-1 home victory against Plymouth. Ben Waine's 84th minute goal for Plymouth gave them some hope, having trailed 2-0 since the 28th minute, but despite late pressure they were unable to find an equaliser. It's a fourth win in five for Leeds, and they are currently eight points behind both Leicester and Ipswich in 1st and 2nd respectively. Leeds also boast the joint-second-best defensive record in the division, with only 16 goals conceded in their first 16 matches. A return of five points from the last fifteen available sees Plymouth in 19th position. Their 27 goals conceded is not a great stat, but they will be pleased by having scored 27 goals, up there with the best teams in the division and meaning their GD is 0. They are the only club in the bottom seven who are not in negative goal difference. 

Leicester had been strolling through the Championship, but have recently fell flat on their face. Today's 1-0 defeat by Middlesbrough at the Riverside was their second defeat in a row, and their third of the season. A stunning free-kick from Sam Greenwood was enough to give Michael Carrick's Boro all three points. A third win in five games means that Boro have now collected ten points from the last fifteen, and move up to 10th position, just two points outside of the playoff positions. Leicester currently remain in top spot but have been pegged back by Ipswich and are now level on points with the second-placed Suffolk club, only ahead of them on goal difference. Leicester have still only conceded a meagre ten goals this season, which comfortably makes them the best defence in the division. The next best are Leeds and Bristol City who have each conceded 16. Leicester are also the only team in the division yet to draw a match, having won 13 and lost 3. 

Two newly-appointed managers faced off as QPR took on Bristol City at Loftus Road, with Marti Cifuentes taking on Liam Manning, who was at the helm of Bristol City for the first time. It was also Cifuentes first home game as QPR boss. Ultimately, however, it was a boring match which ended goalless. QPR didn't even manage a shot on target. Nonetheless, they were the only team in the bottom four to get any points this weekend and sneak closer to Huddersfield in 21st, with the gap now five points. QPR will also be happy with a clean sheet, having not kept one since a 0-0 draw with pre-Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City™ way back on 22nd September. It's a second draw in a row for QPR, leaving them 23rd. Bristol City move ahead of us, into 11th. Their return of 16 goals scored is the worst outside of the bottom four, however, their defensive record of only 16 conceded is joint-second-best, so Manning will be looking to find a way to increase their firepower whilst retaining their excellent defensive instincts.

Sheffield Wednesday's embarrassing season further descended into farce as they were dismantled 4-0 at home by Millwall, of all teams. Joe Edwards was making his debut in the Millwall dugout and, truthfully, couldn't have wished for a better opponent to start against. Young boss Danny Rohl will now be realising that being able to beat the worst away side in the division in Rotherham was not a turning point for his hapless Owls team, who have been soundly beaten twice since then and as usual failed to score in both matches. Defeat leaves Wednesday at the bottom of the table, nine points from safety. Their goal difference of -20 is the worst in the division, not helped by the fact they have only managed to score seven times in the entire campaign thus far. They've now lost twelve of their sixteen matches. Millwall had been on a run of five games without a win, so this was a welcome three points for them as Edwards looks to turn around their season. The Lions move up to 15th in the table.

Southampton and West Brom had both been in good form heading into their match at St. Mary's, with both occupying playoff spots and both having won their last three games. It was Southampton who came out on top in the end, a 79th minute goal from former Rover Adam Armstrong deciding the contest. Arma has scored nine league goals thus far, one behind Szmodics. The result keeps the Saints in 4th, one point behind Leeds and nine behind Leicester and Ipswich. Defeat for the Baggies drops them out of the playoff spots for now, as they sit in 7th and are overtaken by Preston and Sunderland. 

You have to feel for Rotherham fans who continue to stump up cash to watch their team away, only to see them capitulate time after time. The Millers have not won in 21 away league games now, a record which spans over a year, and have taken a single point from their travels so far this season. No change in fortune today either, as they were mercilessly hammered 5-0 by a rampant Watford side. The Hornets went into this match having gained eight points from their last twelve, and ensured their good form continued as they put a disgraceful Rotherham side to the sword. Rotherham boss Matt Taylor had some ominous words post-match, saying that the goals they conceded were "unforgivable" and that he is worried that he has "a group of players who aren't believing". Not the comments of a man who is likely to be there much longer, you'd think. Nonetheless, victory for Watford means they are undefeated in six and rise to 13th in the table. Rotherham remain in 22nd place, four points behind Huddersfield, but the manner of their defeat means that they now have the joint-worst defensive record in the division alongside Norwich. Two victories in sixteen matches means there will realistically have to be a hell of a turnaround for both themselves and QPR to avoid the drop at this stage, although both will be given some hope by the almost-as-poor performances of Huddersfield and Coventry above them. I think we can already write Sheffield Wednesday off. 

 

You should be in journalism - maybe you already are ?

[DE.]

3 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

You should be in journalism - maybe you already are ?

It was what I wanted to do when I was younger, but I realised pretty soon that my personality wouldn't mesh well with that kind of career. I'm naturally an introvert and whilst nowadays I can pretend to enjoy longer/repeated social interactions, I don't think I would have been happy in that kind of job. Sports journalism I may have been okay with, but I just didn't go in that direction. Writing is something I genuinely enjoy doing, but it's probably for the best that I didn't make it my job, as that tends to suck the fun out of things. 

[1874]

Rovers are now -2 goal difference and -7 points from corresponding fixtures last season.

[Mattyblue]

Unless you make it to a national paper/broadcast media, there’s bugger all money in local journalism, so you did right!

[Polky]

 

[Upside Down]

21 minutes ago, Polky said:

 

Hardly surprising. The club have taken numerous steps to alienate as many fans as possible and have openly stated they have no ambition to do anything other than plod along in this division for all eternity.

Every other club comes from a bigger town or city and has actual ambition. 

Fuck off venkys and fuck off any brainless cretin that supports them.

[arbitro]

14 hours ago, Polky said:

 

The numbers were always going to be down this season after losing Blackpool, Wigan and that lot down the road. In the eight away matches so far we have played at Plymouth, Ipswich, QPR, Millwall (night match), Watford (noon), Norwich (noon) and Coventry in a night match. Our nearest game was the 160 mile round trip to Rotherham. Anybody who has been to all/most of them would be getting much change out of £1k.

[Mattyblue]

The away support average will improve with more northern/midland games from now on. We’ve had a shed load of long distance games so far.

The home support… well, there’s no point going around that buoy again. We all know  the issue there.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Mattyblue

[JHRover]

Daily Mail reporting that Rotherham have sacked Matt Taylor. No official confirmation yet.

[DE.]

Unsurprising if so. His post-match comments after getting obliterated by Watford suggested he knew it was over. 

Edited November 13, 2023 by DE.

[JohnD]

Rotherham sack Matt Taylor

[JHRover]

Rotherham are one of those perennial strugglers at this level. I think they are overachieving by being in the Championship but it seems no matter what the weather or who is in the dugout they are destined to be in the bottom 5-6.

I anticipate that given time that is what these owners will do to us, making us regular strugglers unable to accomplish anything more than Championship survival.

[chaddyrovers]

I think it is harsh on Matt Taylor to be honest cos keeping Rotherham in the championship is the best they can do in my opinion. 

I expect someone like Neil Warnock to be appoint there and keep them up 

[roversfan99]

Rotherham would have joined Sheffield Wednesday in being relegated without a fight, so a change is surely sensible.

Always a tough job, but nothing to lose making the change. Their away record in particular is embarassing.

[DE.]

The bottom four have now all changed manager. 

21st - Huddersfield

21st September - Warnock leaves, Darren Moore is hired. Huddersfield were 16th at the time and had eight points from the first seven matches. Since Moore took over they've only gained seven points from nine matches and are now 21st. No new manager bounce here. 

22nd - Rotherham

13th November - Matt Taylor sacked after a 5-0 drubbing at Watford stretches the club's run without an away win to 21 matches. It would certainly be ironic if Warnock was appointed and ultimately led Rotherham to safety ahead of Huddersfield. He's gotten Rotherham out of a worse situation before. 

23rd - QPR

28th October - Gareth Ainsworth and his dancing, chanting motivational speaker leave after QPR go nine games without a win, including a 4-0 hammering from JDT's lads. Relative unknown Marti Cifuentes, a Spaniard who had been plying his trade in Sweden, takes the job on 30th October. Two days later QPR chairman Amit Bhatia stepped down, essentially saying it was because he had better things to do. Cifuentes is unbeaten in his first two games in charge, drawing away to Rotherham and at home to Bristol City. 

24th - Sheffield Wednesday

4th October - It was a shock to hear Sheffield Wednesday had parted company with Darren Moore after last season's promotion, but hiring former Watford boss Xisco Munoz didn't seem like the worst idea. Turns out it pretty much was though, as ten matches, no victories and just five goals scored saw Munoz get the boot - although he probably wasn't too disappointed, as owner Chansiri had just announced he hated the fans and wasn't putting any more money into the club. 34 year old Danny Rohl thought yeah, that'll do me, and took charge on October 13th. He'd previously been assistant at the likes of Bayern and Southampton, and in taking the job became the youngest manager in the football league. Wednesday have mostly carried on as normal, however, losing four of the five matches Rohl has been in charge - the other being a home win against Rotherham. They're obviously still bottom and of the five games Rohl has been in the hotseat thus far, Wednesday have conceded nine and scored twice. 

[speeeeeeedie]

1 hour ago, DE. said:

The bottom four have now all changed manager. 

21st - Huddersfield

21st September - Warnock leaves, Darren Moore is hired. Huddersfield were 16th at the time and had eight points from the first seven matches. Since Moore took over they've only gained seven points from nine matches and are now 21st. No new manager bounce here. 

22nd - Rotherham

13th November - Matt Taylor sacked after a 5-0 drubbing at Watford stretches the club's run without an away win to 21 matches. It would certainly be ironic if Warnock was appointed and ultimately led Rotherham to safety ahead of Huddersfield. He's gotten Rotherham out of a worse situation before. 

23rd - QPR

28th October - Gareth Ainsworth and his dancing, chanting motivational speaker leave after QPR go nine games without a win, including a 4-0 hammering from JDT's lads. Relative unknown Marti Cifuentes, a Spaniard who had been plying his trade in Sweden, takes the job on 30th October. Two days later QPR chairman Amit Bhatia stepped down, essentially saying it was because he had better things to do. Cifuentes is unbeaten in his first two games in charge, drawing away to Rotherham and at home to Bristol City. 

24th - Sheffield Wednesday

4th October - It was a shock to hear Sheffield Wednesday had parted company with Darren Moore after last season's promotion, but hiring former Watford boss Xisco Munoz didn't seem like the worst idea. Turns out it pretty much was though, as ten matches, no victories and just five goals scored saw Munoz get the boot - although he probably wasn't too disappointed, as owner Chansiri had just announced he hated the fans and wasn't putting any more money into the club. 34 year old Danny Rohl thought yeah, that'll do me, and took charge on October 13th. He'd previously been assistant at the likes of Bayern and Southampton, and in taking the job became the youngest manager in the football league. Wednesday have mostly carried on as normal, however, losing four of the five matches Rohl has been in charge - the other being a home win against Rotherham. They're obviously still bottom and of the five games Rohl has been in the hotseat thus far, Wednesday have conceded nine and scored twice. 

Birmingham, Millwall, and Bristol City have also changed managers since the start of the season. 

Birmingham's seems to be the stupidest decision. Rooney is doing a terrible job. 

Contrast to the Premier League where not one manager has yet lost their job. 5 had gone by this time last year. 

[DE.]

3 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

Birmingham, Millwall, and Bristol City have also changed managers since the start of the season. 

Birmingham's seems to be the stupidest decision. Rooney is doing a terrible job. 

Contrast to the Premier League where not one manager has yet lost their job. 5 had gone by this time last year. 

Millwall you could maybe make a case for, but the other two were very harsh sackings.

As far as Rooney goes, from the sounds of it the American owners wanted him from the outset. Makes some sense as he'd been managing in the States and had previous Championship experience with Derby. Also a big name, which shouldn't mean anything but inevitably does. Difficult to draw any conclusions from his time at Derby, simply due to how dysfunctional they were at the time. He didn't impress at DC United. Certainly hasn't gotten off to a very good start at Birmingham.

Their next three matches are Sheffield Wednesday home, Rovers away and Rotherham at home. You expect they'll want to target at least six points from those fixtures. Any less and it really will increase the pressure, particularly as there is a portion of the fanbase that pretty much turned on Rooney from day one.

[Polky]