Up the Football League we go - All Comments

re: Top of the league – having a laugh?

@Sutton_theScore — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:14:02 GMT

Hi- I'm Gabriel Sutton, Birmingham City fan-

I know what you mean, the past two times we've been in the automatic promotion places in the Championship, I've been constantly worried about us throwing it away.

For Southampton, I think if you can keep Guly do Prado, Hooiveld and Rickie Lambert- the spine of your tteam- fit, I think you'll go up, purely based on your impeccable home form. Hopefully our fantastic 6-0 at Millwall will give us something to kick on for when we play Watford and Leeds.

My blog link is: blogspot.com

Follow me on twitter:

@Sutton_the score

And email me at:

championshipfootballthescore@gmail.com

Finally, if you're going, you shall be very welcome at St. Andrews on February 4th.

Cheers,

Gabriel

Get more from the January 2012 issue

FourFourTwo's Inside Track — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:51:43 GMT

The January 2012 issue of FourFourTwo is out now , and positively bursting with fantastic features, sensational

re: Why Premier League greed will kill the Football League – and England

Gilbo — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:04:52 GMT

Great article

re: Championship report card: How many of the 24 teams are matching expectations?

EnglandMatches — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:16:26 GMT

englandmatches.blogspot.com Abstracts of the Premiership in the last 50 years.

re: Championship report card: How many of the 24 teams are matching expectations?

BEZ — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:46:12 GMT

What a load of drivel!!! Southampton will have absolutely expected to be challenging. They're one of only 2-3 teams that can even dream about bidding £5m (Maynard) on a player - (others being Leicester & West Ham). Their wages too are also huge, hence the reason you've got Burnley selling their star left back (Danny Fox) who has decided to join the Saints - where do you expect to see them, mid-table?? I think not.

Must do better - Birmingham!!??!! If you see the detail of the table instead of seeing their position you'll notice they're in a great position if they just win theur games in hand. Their defensive display this season is unrivalled and will definitely be up there in a matter of 14 days trust me!

Must do Better - Millwall!!!??! Along with Doncaster, Coventry, Millwall are very much expected to be down there this season. A weak squad has been weakened with the sale of their start striker and havn't really replaced him. Where do you seriously expect them to finish??!! DRIVEL!

re: Championship report card: How many of the 24 teams are matching expectations?

thoughtfulphil — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:57:54 GMT

This is the joy of the Championship and what makes it significantly more exciting than the Premier League. It is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the top two, and even more so the play-off contenders, accurately due to the competitiveness of the division with clubs adopting different strategies in order to gain success.

I would argue that Derby County are doing about right; to be top-6 despite a run of 1 win in 6 is a much greater achievement than I, or many other Rams fans would have anticipated. In this division things can change so quickly, as we are testament to last season with our freefall from 4th to 19th within a couple of months.

Massive credit though has to be afforded to each of the three promoted sides, but most notably Southampton and Peterbrough Utd. It is becoming more common that sides with a winning mentality are able to carry this on despite playing in a higher division.

thethoughtsofphil.wordpress.com

re: Savage rapping and a not very bright striker - it's all going wrong for Derby

james.england121 — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:10:56 GMT

Good read.

After going to most of the games at that stage of the season, I think the defeat at Leicester was the turning point and that was the game where our rhythmic play stopped and it hasn't been great after that.

I don't think Clough's under pressure either, his job is safe whilst the American owners are in charge, but he deserves to have a go with any new potential owners to spend a bit of cash.

James

re: Remembering Adam Stansfield

LFC 4 LIFE — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:36:53 GMT

RIP Adam we love u =D

re: McBoro is a major risk for Strachan

ZvonimirBoban — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:59:30 GMT

as a celtic supporter i've loved Strachans signing policy, signing our deadwood (Robson excepted) and 2 of Rangers best players. his signings at Celtic were questionable to say the least and i doubt he's filled 'Boro fans are filled with confidence for the upcoming season.

he's the luckiest Celtic manager ever, in that he faced some dire Rangers teams, he's very limited and even in a season where the championship will be wide open more than normal, i dont expect them to be in the promotion shake up.

re: McBoro is a major risk for Strachan

logz90 — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:45:52 GMT

Could it also be that he is signing these players because he knows how they play, and what they can add to the team. In the same way that Harry Redknapp signs Crouch for every club he goes to. He clearly is signing these players because he thinks they can play, rather than trawl the lower leagues looking for new players.

re: McBoro is a major risk for Strachan

Tony P — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:35:22 GMT

Toby you have turned into a pundit, in that your only telling the average fan, issues they worked out for themselves some time ago

What do we mean by a man who knows his own mind, is it the opposite to a man who dosnt know his own mind.Is the difference, Strachan v Southgate, someone who is stubbern and dosnt listen to others v someone who is prepared to listen to other opinions and dosnt fill each sentance with errrr, obviously, speaks proper and seems nice. Are either of these strengths or weaknesses

Is Strachan seen as tough cos he dosnt put up with the banal questioning of the average football journalist and usually retorts with sarcasm.

Is Strachan weak cos he cant see past what he already knows ie 0141 numbers as you say.If hes building a squad is his own likeness, was he that good

Have we moved on from worrying about whether Graeme Le Saux is gay because he collects antiques and reads the guardian

re: Why Brighton fans are rooting for Palace

Luigi Paiano — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:01:13 GMT

As an Eagle living in Brighton but one old enough to remember (and appreciate) much of the rivalry, I have to say that I know exactly where Richie is coming from.

It wouldn't have been the same had the Seaweed ceased to exist.

I'd go further... I lost my eldest boy to Arsenal many years back, but he did kind of live over that way with his mum. My youngest (6) thinks he will follow Arsenal for some unknown reason and I am desperate not to lose another to the *rse. Especially as he won't get to see them.

So back to the point of a bit of live, love and hate and 'if you weren't there'... I would rather (and in fact have actively encouraged) he follow Brighton that a big four club. It is, as Palace were to me, my local club. We could walk to Falmer and he would know what it was to support a similar club to the Palace - one that has promotion, relegation, administration or controversy somewhere about them every single season. Not a club that hasn't really had much going on except pretty circles for 5 years.

And if Palace do die today, I'll be there with him, supporting my local team, not just accompanying out of duty.

Of course I'd rather he support Palace, that we live to fight another day and win the FA cup next year, but at least I have a plan B.

re: Solid Swans no play-off also-rans

RickRows — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:25:05 GMT

Nice job Pricey. Couldn't agree more. My only worry is: will you know be banned from Cardiff home games after this?

re: Solid Swans no play-off also-rans

Emyr Price — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:16:10 GMT

Tim - I've been amazed as everyone else has at Ipswich's poor season.

I had them down as play off probables at the beginning of the season.

I'd be a bit worried if I were you, but I reckon you'll be ok. The win at Hillsborough on the weekend was massive and I'd say youve got just enough about you to be ok.

re: Solid Swans no play-off also-rans

Tim Stannard — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:10:48 GMT

Emyr - As an exiled Ipswich fan, should I be very worried indeed about the possibility of relegation this season? Where has it all gone wrong?

re: Solid Swans no play-off also-rans

brian nugent — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:16:48 GMT

BRILLIANT ARTICLE AND SO TRUE. EXAMPLE TO ALL CLUBS - WATCH THIS SPACE!

re: All eyes on the trapdoor (and the last lottery ticket)

Quiggle — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:10:32 GMT

i think scunthorpe to go down with posh and the janners.

play offs to be as it is only blackpool sneak in ahead of leicester.

cardiff-swansea play off final anyone? the grudge match to end them all (:

re: Forgetful Forest lose the knack of losing

BrightonRed — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:11:36 GMT

Obviously a good read from my point of view! Two additional comments: first, while Billy Davies often gets credit for his shrewd investments, he's seldom acknowledged as a good developer of players. However, the way Wes Morgan and Kelvin Wilson (two players he inherited) are performing now, he's clearly better at it than some think. They're awesome, as good as any centre-back pairing in the division, and I'd never thought I'd be saying that a year ago.

Second, Guy Moussi's form and fitness will be a key factor in the second part of the season. He came back from long-term injury straight into the first team against West Brom, and in my view was simply the best player on the pitch by a country mile. He didn't get the plaudits Majewski earned, simply because he didn't score, but it's no coincidence the Baggies only started to come back into the game when Moussi was subbed. He really is far, far too good for this division.

re: What's gone wrong at Watford?

Smeghead — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:22:00 GMT

An average attendance of 13769 doesn't help either.

Watford will rise again! And Leeds

re: What's gone wrong at Watford?

glory horn — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:51:04 GMT

Not too sure where to start with that..as much as we are not in a good situation financially, that is obviously well documented. This feature tells us nothing we didn't know, but with a lot of made up stuff within it. £4 million for Shittu and McNuff to Bolton and Reading? Try just over £2 million. Priskin to Ipsich for £2 million? £1.25 million is what he went for. I also don't see why Derby would be paying Ellinglump's wages still when they only took him on loan from us for last season?

A bizarre article..don't give up your day job!

re: What's gone wrong at Watford?

rookeryruss — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:43:19 GMT

Lazy journalism. To add to the mistakes already mentioned, you'll find Ellington IS currently on the wage bill and is leeching us for somewhere in the region of 18 grand a week.

re: Why the Championship's champion

Smeghead — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:52:45 GMT

Money talks bullshit walks. Welcome to Capitalism :)

re: What's gone wrong at Watford?

GloryHornet — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:41:33 GMT

Didn't realise the Berlin Wall was functional in the year 2000...

As Sod Chip Save Luther commented, wages and bonuses were a big issue, and the board gambled on winning promotion the year after relegation.

In addition, the wages allegedly paid to senior members of the board weren't really in line with a club of our size. Nobody will be able to tell you why Graham Simpson and Mark Ashton resigned in such a hurry, but it certainly didn't look like they had nothing to hide...

re: What's gone wrong at Watford?

Sod Chip Save Luther — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:23:25 GMT

"A crushing 3-0 play-off final win over Leeds (whatever happened to them?) sent the Hornets into England's top-flight for the first time since the Berlin Wall was operational."

I guess our season in 1999-00 didn't happen then?

And the answer to our problems is wages. Simpson and Boothroyd didn't keep them under control on relegation, and the Russos have been left to clear up. On promotion our wage bill went from under £5,000,000 to somewhere in the region of £17,000,000. That just isn't sustainable on a club of our size. Those chickens are coming home to roost now.

re: Why the Championship's champion

Emyr Price — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:25:36 GMT

I think the Championship's unpredictability is what makes it both infuriating and intriguing.

And true, this makes it preferable to having the same old big four all the time, like in the Premier League.

But the only way to measure the quality of the division, in my eyes, is to see how promoted teams fare year on year once they've made the step up.

The unfortunate position that the Championship finds itself in is that promotion means the Premier League. As you correctly noted, it's full of 'massive talent heavy squads'.

So it may be a little unfair to make it as black and white as relegation/survival as a barometer of success, or quality, but it's also unavoidable given the nature of the league system in use.

re: Level-pegging league no picnic for the punters

Huw Davies — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:19:17 GMT

I was talking about this with friends last night. The Championship is, I'm pretty sure, easily the most competitive league in Europe - but quite possibly because each team is equally crap. Nearly every team, from top to bottom, could be promoted but every single one drops utterly random points.

Example: promotion candidates Cardiff losing at home to Ipswich at the weekend. Given their positions at the time, that was the equivalent of Aston Villa or Spurs losing at home to Wolves. Shocking.

And yet no one was surprised. Says it all, really.

re: Level-pegging league no picnic for the punters

don_cule — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:12:40 GMT

Good to see there is another Ramones fan in the UK.

re: No ticket, no trousers, no points...

ExLandlord — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:13:58 GMT

I dread to think what might have happened if you'd been wearing a sheepskin coat;)

Southend has received a big tick from the Hereford Funbus...the seafront provided good ale, food and a pleasant array of female deserving causes.

Up The Bulls.

re: Do you Paul Sturrock take thee Eka Basunga Mpenza...

Gary Parkinson — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:02:48 GMT

People,

First up, and most importantly, there’s absolutely no negative ‘agenda’ with Paul Sturrock in particular or Plymouth Argyle in general. I struggle to see why there would be. If all clubs were as well-run, football would be a lot better place, while Luggy himself is as widely respected among journalists as he is among fans – and, for that matter, players.

Mike (just the one writer in this instance – wouldn’t two half-wits make a wit?) had tongue firmly in cheek when he wrote it, perhaps too much so. For the record, he doesn’t support Swindon, or Exeter, or Torquay, or Dundee, or Sheffield United, or Portsmouth. He does have a broad knowledge of the lower leagues and a commitment to encouraging debate about the Football League rather than just the usual top-flight suspects. Which is why we asked him to write about the Football League for us, on anything which caught his eye. A similar opportunity exists for all writers, here <fourfourtwo.com/forums >. Believe me, we’re watching, and the best writers will be noted.

For the record, neither Mike nor Gregg receive any payment for writing Up the Football League blogs. They do it for love of the game (the real game, beyond the usual star names) and because they think readers might find something amusing. On this occasion, it seems several of you haven’t. For that we can only apologise, and try again.

Yours sincerely,

Gary

Gary Parkinson, Editor, FourFourTwo.com

re: Do you Paul Sturrock take thee Eka Basunga Mpenza...

JonB — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:22:57 GMT

What an odd article. It fails in every way to describe the sort of man that Sturrock is.

From the first couple of paragraphs of the story, through it's libellous middle & ending with it's sarcastic finale, this is the sort of inaccurate rubbish that is normally seen on a badly-moderated internet forum.

Really, really poor, FourFourTwo.

re: Do you Paul Sturrock take thee Eka Basunga Mpenza...

Annoyed — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:57:30 GMT

Wow...I missed the bit in the journalistic code of ethics where you can blatently call an individual a liar. With no proof. None.

I take it a retraction and a full apology to Mr Sturrock is hastily being arranged? Or are FourFourTwo, fillyourboots, Bettingzone and SportsXchange exceedingly happy to have their brands connected to this?

Sorry guys, this goes way beyond tounge in cheek, as you can neither see the tounge nor the cheek in the article. It just comes across as an attack.

And I'm not evn an Argyle fan.

re: Do you Paul Sturrock take thee Eka Basunga Mpenza...

greengary — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:44:36 GMT

Why do so called journalists feel the need to go out of there way to try and discredit Paul Sturrock. I can think of numerous managers that spout complete bollox most of the time with denials of facts and complete works of fiction. One previous Argyle manager started to believe in his own lies and even had the majority of the fans taken in by his deceit.

If the authors take the time to listen to PS they will realise that although he doesnt come across as the most articulate of people he isnt one to tell blatent lies.

In a world where managers, chairmen, players and agents will tell anyone anything to gain a few quid Paul Sturrock is a breath of fresh air - so take your shoddy, lazy journalism and go and speak to Ian Holloway who if the money is right will tell you anything that you want to hear.

re: Do you Paul Sturrock take thee Eka Basunga Mpenza...

Del Unser — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:05:52 GMT

What a load of tosh, is there some hidden agenda here? I would like to remind you that Luggy managed Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship. I found your last paragraph particularly distasteful, I wouldn't put Luggy in the same media-tart bracket as several other managers I could mention.

re: Do you Paul Sturrock take thee Eka Basunga Mpenza...

You what — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:32:53 GMT

What a load of crap, clearly written by a bitter and twisted Swindon or Dundee fan, or are you Ian Holloway in disguise?