Championship 23/24

[DE.]

47 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

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

Agreed, that is strange as it has all the makings of a typical Sky match - two teams with 'name value' based on recent PL tenure, and the return of a former boss in Farke adding some extra flavour. Must have been something to do with just not being able to get the schedule to work with that match, for whatever reason. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

46 minutes ago, DE. said:

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. 

It’s excellent. I could never keep up with the goings on without it. The Prem gets all the bandwidth unfortunately.

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, DE. said:

Agreed, that is strange as it has all the makings of a typical Sky match - two teams with 'name value' based on recent PL tenure, and the return of a former boss in Farke adding some extra flavour. Must have been something to do with just not being able to get the schedule to work with that match, for whatever reason. 

why would they be a schedule to work problem when we just had a 2 weeks break? 

Edited October 22, 2023 by chaddyrovers

[DE.]

4 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

why would they be a schedule to work problem when we just had a 2 weeks break? 

Ask Sky, I don't know. 

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

It’s excellent. I could never keep up with the goings on without it. The Prem gets all the bandwidth unfortunately.

Personally not interested in the PL these days, so I'll just keep chugging away with the Championship. I could do with someone doing a similar PL review to be honest, as it's the only way I'd consider keeping up with the general goings on. 

[speeeeeeedie]

20 hours ago, DE. said:

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. 

I like it too. I get all the Premier league I want but Championship coverage is a bit haphazard. 

The Championship is one crazy league. It's predictable an unpredictable every season. Predictable in that 1 team always runs away with top spot - this season it will be Leicester. Then another team is usually a solid 2nd.  After that it's mayhem. 

Rovers sit in 15th - only 3 points off a playoff spot

Huddersfield are 18th - 6 points away from the bottom 3, yet only 5 points short of 6th.

It's barmy. 

[bazza]

8 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

 

The Championship is one crazy league. It's predictable an unpredictable every season. Predictable in that 1 team always runs away with top spot - this season it will be Leicester. Then another team is usually a solid 2nd.  After that it's mayhem. 

Rovers sit in 15th - only 3 points off a playoff spot

Huddersfield are 18th - 6 points away from the bottom 3, yet only 5 points short of 6th.

It's barmy. 

I love it.

[DE.]

This thread on TM's latest presser certainly brings back memories, half of the comments could have been copied and pasted from here a couple of years ago:

https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/tony-mowbray-press-conference.1618302/

A couple of defeats and suddenly TM is out of favour. Although he apparently blamed storm babet for getting beaten by Stoke at the weekend, and not starting with any strikers, which obviously didn't go down particularly well.

https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/dack.1618237/

Dack not the most popular person in that part of the world either. 

[Upside Down]

13 hours ago, DE. said:

This thread on TM's latest presser certainly brings back memories, half of the comments could have been copied and pasted from here a couple of years ago:

https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/tony-mowbray-press-conference.1618302/

A couple of defeats and suddenly TM is out of favour. Although he apparently blamed storm babet for getting beaten by Stoke at the weekend, and not starting with any strikers, which obviously didn't go down particularly well.

https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/dack.1618237/

Dack not the most popular person in that part of the world either. 

I love reading that board.

They're funny as fuck on there.

[Dreams of 1995]

Dack should have stayed. He was loved here, and had a lot of goodwill to fall back on

I assume some form of deal was offered and with him earning the money he is through television, and his wife's income, surely it was enough to stay comfortable

To go to a club like Sunderland and receive some of the abuse that board is spouting is not fair for a player like him. They really are a shit show round there

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

13 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Dack should have stayed. He was loved here, and had a lot of goodwill to fall back on

I assume some form of deal was offered and with him earning the money he is through television, and his wife's income, surely it was enough to stay comfortable

To go to a club like Sunderland and receive some of the abuse that board is spouting is not fair for a player like him. They really are a shit show round there

Did we make him an offer ? Just asking as I don’t know the answer.

[Dreams of 1995]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Did we make him an offer ? Just asking as I don’t know the answer.

I don't know for certain Tyrone but I'd imagine we did. The terms may not have been favourable for Dack, but in life there's often more to think about than the money. Especially with their combined earning potential. I'd say his other half earns more than Dack with her marketing and tv appearances

The lure of working with Mowbray again and being the main man must have played a part too

[DE.]

50 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Dack should have stayed. He was loved here, and had a lot of goodwill to fall back on

I assume some form of deal was offered and with him earning the money he is through television, and his wife's income, surely it was enough to stay comfortable

To go to a club like Sunderland and receive some of the abuse that board is spouting is not fair for a player like him. They really are a shit show round there

The RTG forum certainly makes ours look pretty chilled in comparison 🙂 

I think Dack is injured again now, so out for a few weeks. His body type was never what you'd call 'athletic', but his technical ability, positional sense and general on-pitch intelligence made up for that pre-injury. Tough to tell nowadays as he barely gets a run of games before injury strikes again. Seems like it's going to be an unfortunate end to his career. 

 

[Feed the Yak]

Dack did brilliant things at Rovers and will be remembered fondly, but I'm glad we didn't renew his contract. He doesn't fit the system we play and I'm unfortunately not convinced that he is able to produce the magic of yesteryear on even a semi-consistant basis. A sad end for sure. 

[arbitro]

29 minutes ago, Feed the Yak said:

Dack did brilliant things at Rovers and will be remembered fondly, but I'm glad we didn't renew his contract. He doesn't fit the system we play and I'm unfortunately not convinced that he is able to produce the magic of yesteryear on even a semi-consistant basis. A sad end for sure. 

Spot on. Without factoring in his time out injured he simply didn't have the fitness levels or aerobic capacity that Tomasson almost demands from his players. I liked Dack but the time was absolutely right for him to move on.

[joey_big_nose]

On 23/10/2023 at 23:03, bazza said:

I love it.

It's weird if we got promoted I think I'd miss the Championship a lot. It's a really incredible thing to start every season knowing you could get promoted or relegated. Where teams like Luton can win a playoff final. You just don't get that in the Prem, though to be fair with Brighton and Villa things are maybe getting a bit more unpredictable.

[speeeeeeedie]

This season seems so much different yet it is very similar to last year at this point. 6 wins, 6 losses, but unlike last season JDT's men have already managed a draw. 

Last night's win puts Rovers in 10th on 19 points. After 13 games last season Rovers had 21 points and were sat in 6th.

Bristol City and one of Brum or Hull (who play each other) can go above Rovers depending on their results tonight.  

Also, for all the prognostications about a lack of a goal scorer - which I agree with, only 5 teams have scored more than Rovers so far. 

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by speeeeeeedie

[Upside Down]

6 hours ago, joey_big_nose said:

It's weird if we got promoted I think I'd miss the Championship a lot. It's a really incredible thing to start every season knowing you could get promoted or relegated. Where teams like Luton can win a playoff final. You just don't get that in the Prem, though to be fair with Brighton and Villa things are maybe getting a bit more unpredictable.

I miss qualifying for Europe and having one of the best run clubs in world football myself. 

[simongarnerisgod]

all the pne fans i know have gone remarkably quiet in the last few weeks,they are also worried that soton will give turn them over big style tonight,tbh,it does`nt take much to get them excited,now reality has hit,they are back to their miserable former selves😁

[Norbert Rassragr]

Wayne Rooney's Birmingham city (tm) haven't gotten off to a good start. I wonder who his opposite number is? 😉

[wilsdenrover]

2 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

all the pne fans i know have gone remarkably quiet in the last few weeks,they are also worried that soton will give turn them over big style tonight,tbh,it does`nt take much to get them excited,now reality has hit,they are back to their miserable former selves😁

They’ll be gutted about conceding so late 😁😁😁😁

[martonrover]

1 hour ago, Norbert Rassragr said:

Wayne Rooney's Birmingham city (tm) haven't gotten off to a good start. I wonder who his opposite number is? 😉

Yes, I think a picture is emerging as to who the better manager is between him and Rosenior.

History repeating itself at Brum, with them replacing a low profile manager, who was doing well, with a big name.

It backfired when Zola replaced Rowett, and this is heading the same way.

 

 

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, Norbert Rassragr said:

Wayne Rooney's Birmingham city (tm) haven't gotten off to a good start. I wonder who his opposite number is? 😉

No it's hasn't but he's been there 2 weeks. 

Its was strange appointment considering how well John Eustace had done there. 

[simongarnerisgod]

23 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

They’ll be gutted about conceding so late 😁😁😁😁

an own goal by the human plank ched evans😀

[DE.]

Let’s see what happened in the latest round of midweek Championship matches.

Darren Moore picked up his first win as Huddersfield boss at the weekend, but it was back down to Earth with a bump as his team were thrashed 4-0 at home by Cardiff. Huddersfield found themselves two goals down after twelve minutes, and failed to recover from this poor start. The Bluebirds had hit a poor spell of form as of late, having lost two of their last three matches – this was quite a way to get over a disappointing run of results. The result lifts Cardiff to 7th, only out of the playoff spots on GD, whilst defeat for Huddersfield leaves them teetering on the edge of the relegation zone in 21st. 

Managerless Millwall had been able to take a point from Preston, but the mighty Rovers offered them no mercy and earned a 2-1 away victory in a scrappy match at the Den. Rovers had the worst possible start, with a defensive horror show gifting Millwall an opening goal within three minutes. Undeterred, however – at the one ground where going behind doesn’t seem to bother us – Rovers clawed themselves back into the game thanks to Bialkowski refusing to allow Wahlstedt to take sole spotlight in the blooper reel. The game was won thanks to an incredible effort from Callum Brittain, curling a beautiful shot into the top corner from just inside the box. Quite a way to score your first goal in four years, and some way to open his account for us. It’s a third win on the spin for a revived Rovers, and pushes us up to 11th in the table. Millwall fall to 16th, in desperate need of a boost from whoever comes in next, as it’s now no wins in three. 

Another team dropping down the table at rapid pace are Norwich. Despite starting the season well, their form recently has been terrible and a 2-1 home defeat against Middlesbrough only added to a growing sense of frustration in Norfolk. David Wagner is unable to get his team to stop leaking goals, and another two shipped in this match leaves Norwich as joint-worst in the division for goals conceded alongside QPR and Southampton. It’s now three defeats in four for the Canaries and a drop to 14th in the table. Boro, on the other hand, can’t stop winning. Momentum is a helluva drug and six wins in a row for Michael Carrick’s team propels them to the giddy heights of 9th, now only outside the playoffs on goal difference – which would have been unthinkable only a month ago.

Swansea’s run of victories came to a halt at the weekend, and they were beaten again by Watford, losing 1-0 at the Swansea.com stadium. A tight game was decided by an 82nd minute winner, and keeps Watford’s recent momentum going strong. It’s a second win in a row for them and a return of seven points from the last nine has helped push them up to 15th in the standings. A second defeat in a row for Swansea, however, drops them to 19th. 

Leicester continued their stroll through the Championship with a 1-0 win over a determined but misfiring Sunderland side. Leicester have amassed 36 points faster than any other side in the past twenty years of Championship football, and will already be preparing for next season’s seemingly inevitable Premier League return. Twelve wins from thirteen games, having only conceded seven, suggests that this is a team vastly superior to the rest. Although nobody would have expected Sunderland to win this one, it was nonetheless a third defeat on the trot for them and drops them to 10th spot. Leicester are already fourteen points clear of Leeds in 3rd, and five ahead of their only real challengers – newly promoted Ipswich Town.    

QPR’s nightmare season showed no signs of changing as they lost their eighth match in a row, beaten 2-0 by WBA at the Hawthorns. Worse still, they had a player sent off for arguing about a penalty decision. Former Rovers’ target Cedric Kipre picked up a ‘serious’ knee injury in what was otherwise a routine victory for West Brom. The result leaves Albion sitting in 6th spot, having won three of their last five matches, whilst QPR drop to 23rd due to Rotherham claiming a vital home win against Coventry. Somehow QPR are still only six points from safety, so as of yet all hope is not lost, but there needs to be a huge turnaround there. One imagines Ainsworth would need to depart for any serious change in fortunes, as it seems obvious at this point whatever he’s attempting is not working. Still, we’ll always have that video with the tribal guy chanting and dancing as QPR’s players look on in bemusement. His tenure will have been worth it for that alone... as a neutral fan, anyway. 

Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham™ continued to have the opposite of a new manager bounce, as they went down 2-0 at home to Hull City. The Tigers had been on a dismal run lately, with two points from a possible twelve, but have Birmingham to thank for ending that run. Always nice to come up against a team who have recently unreasonably sacked a solid manager in favour of a big name who has no track record of managerial success. Anyhow, three points for Hull pulls them up to 8th, just outside the playoffs on goal difference. Birmingham were in the playoffs before binning their manager, but so far Rooney’s revolution has seen them collapse to 12th place with no goals scored in his first two matches. Reports from St. Andrews suggest the atmosphere is already turning toxic, with a section of fans unhappy with both the sacking of Eustace and the hiring of Rooney, feeling neither of these decisions were in the best interests of the club. The good news is that the owners have ‘no fear’, so I’m sure they won’t be worried. Probably not going to hear many “Rooooneh” chants from Birmingham fans any time soon, though. 

Ipswich continue to make this Championship lark seem like a breeze, as they picked up yet another win, this time away at Bristol City. A single goal was all Ipswich needed, but it could have been more as they thoroughly deserved their three points. For any Football Manager connoisseurs out there, Ipswich remind me of when you select an average team, apply a tactic you know breaks the game engine and watch as the magic happens. All you can say is well done Kieran McKenna, what a job he has done there. The concern for Ipswich fans will be whether any struggling Premier League clubs will have taken notice of Ipswich’s meteoric rise under McKenna’s stewardship and decide to test his loyalty. Anyhow, Ipswich remain in 2nd place, a ridiculous nine points clear of 3rd. Bristol City drop to 13th, alternating between WLWL at present as they continue to be one of the division’s most inconsistent teams. 

Plymouth eased their relegation concerns with a comfortable 3-0 win over a frankly pathetic Sheffield Wednesday side. At this point Wednesday might as well forfeit the remaining games of the season, as it’s obvious they are done. No goals in six matches, five scored in thirteen matches, zero victories, ten defeats... it’s over. The only question is whether they end this season on the lowest historical points total. Certainly seems like it’s possible at this moment in time. It was a much needed win for Plymouth after just two points from their last twelve, and helps them move up to 17th place. Wednesday remain bottom and you might as well already stick an ‘R’ next to their name. I would say thanks for trying, but I’m not sure they are.

The form table suggested another tough night for Preston as they faced Southampton at Dumpdale, but despite Northend not winning in five matches, and Southampton winning three of their last four, it was Preston who nearly came away with all three points – coming from behind to lead the game 2-1. Then they threw two points away with a 96th minute own goal. Lol. Unlucky. Preston stay in 4th, and Southampton in 5th. The Saints would have been 9th had it not been for their equaliser at the death, which shows how incredibly compact the division is. Just three points separate all teams from third to eleventh, and even Huddersfield in 21st position are only six points off sixth spot. Barmy. Two goals conceded by Southampton means they remain joint-worst defence in the division alongside Norwich and QPR. 

Rotherham picked up just their second win of the season with a 2-0 home win over Coventry. A second defeat on the spin for Coventry underscores the fact they have only won three out of thirteen matches this season, and need to be careful, as they could find themselves fighting it out with Rotherham for a relegation place if they don’t get themselves sorted out. They fall to 20th place in the table, as Rotherham jump above QPR into 22nd – five points behind Huddersfield in 21st. Rotherham are unable to win away from home, so they will see home matches as absolutely vital to any hopes of survival.

Finally Leeds lost ground on Ipswich in 2nd as they were beaten away at Stoke. An own goal condemned Leeds to a first defeat in four games, having won their last three matches. For Stoke it was a much needed win, having found themselves dangerously close to the bottom three lately. Stoke climb to 17th, whilst Leeds stay in 3rd. 

[Hasta]

I know it's an odd move on paper, but Rooney is only 2 games in. Some people will have you believe BRFCS posters are the most negative, unsupportive around though.