A red card weekend in the Championship

Last updated : 06 February 2012 By Tony Scholes
Danny Fox saw red at Birmingham

This time it was Brighton playing against nine men but the first red card, that of Leicester's Jermaine Beckford, left Nigel Pearson 'furious'  with an official for the second time in four days.

In midweek he hit the roof at referee Gavin Ward walking into the Leicester dressing room at half time and speaking to him in a manner that he felt unacceptable and now he's furious at this decision to send off Beckford, taken by the assistant referee.

Some of the other red cards were justified and some not. Danny Fox went in Southampton's draw at Birmingham. That looked harsh; there was little more in the second yellow than the one that saw Kieran Trippier sent off at Leeds. But it was Phil Dowd so there was probably no surprise.

At the top, West Ham took advantage of Southampton dropping two points. They beat Millwall but were somewhat fortunate. How on earth referee Jones allowed the winner only he will know after a clear foul on the goalkeeper.

It's taken West Ham four points clear now whilst Southampton might have even found themselves outside the top two for the first time this season had Cardiff beaten Blackpool. They did lead 1-0 but then fell for the Phillips & Phillips pairing. Kevin equalised and Matthew then scored twice to give Blackpool the points and lift them to fourth, just below Cardiff.

Hull, one of the teams without a game, dropped out of the top six allowing Blackpool in there. They'd have been behind us too had we managed to find a winner against Peterborough. We'd have been seventh, just one point from the play off positions.

Coventry were the only one of the bottom three clubs to play. They even went in front at one point in their home game against Ipswich, leading 2-1 after going a goal behind. It didn't last though with Michael Chopra scoring twice to give Ipswich the win and lift them a couple of places, and taking them ten points clear of the bottom three.

By the time we all play again Birmingham could have gone third. They play Portsmouth at home tomorrow and a win would see them move above Cardiff. It's a home game and they are unbeaten at home so a win is expected.

Despite it no longer being close, I'm still doing it, checking how far we are from the play offs and the bottom three after each game. It's three points from the play offs now and twenty from the bottom three.

The results and stats are below along with the leading goalscorers, each club's disciplinary record, the highest and lowest attendances and this week's fixtures.

The Week's Results
Saturday 4th February
Birmingham City 0 Southampton 0 Doncaster Rovers v Reading - Postponed
Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Leicester City 0 Middlesbrough 0 Crystal Palace 0
Bristol City 0 Leeds United 3 Portsmouth v Hull City - Postponed
Burnley 1 Peterborough United 1 Watford 2 Barnsley 1
Cardiff City 1 Blackpool 3 West Ham United 2 Millwall 1
Coventry City 2 Ipswich Town 3  
Sunday 5th February
Derby County v Nottm Forest - Postponed  

 

The Week's Stats
Biggest Win Leeds United 3-0 v Bristol City (away)
Total Goals Scored 21 (9 home - 12 away)

Player Scoring Most Goals

2

Michael Chopra (Ipswich Town)
John Eustace (Watford)
Matt Phillips (Blackpool)
Highest Attendance 27,774 - West Ham United v Millwall
Lowest Attendance 11,306 - Watford v Barnsley
Total Yellow Cards 25
Total Red Cards 7
Most Cards in a Game Brighton & Hove Albion v Leicester City (4Y 3R) Ref: Andy Woolmer
West Ham United v Millwall (6Y 1R) Ref: Michael Jones

 

Leading Goalscorers (League Only)
16 Rickie Lambert (Southampton) - includes 6 penalties
14 Ross McCormack (Leeds United)
12 Darius Henderson (Millwall) - includes 2 penalties
11 Jay Rodriguez (Burnley) - includes 1 penalty
Robert Snodgrass (Leeds United) - includes 1 penalty
10 Michael Chopra (Ipswich Town)
Guly Do Prado (Southampton)
David Nugent (Leicester City)
Billy Sharp (Southampton) - includes 1 penalty - (10 with Doncaster Rovers)
Ricardo Vaz Te (West Ham United) - (10 with Barnsley)
Chris Wood (Bristol City) - (9 with Birmingham City)
9 Keith Andrews (Ipswich Town)
Charlie Austin (Burnley)
Carlton Cole (West Ham United)
Craig Davies (Barnsley) - includes 1 penalty
Matty Fryatt (Hull City) - includes 1 penalty
Lukas Jutkiewicz (Middlesbrough) - includes 1 penalty - (9 with Coventry City)
Marlon King (Birmingham City) - includes 2 penalties
Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough)
Kenny Miller (Cardiff City)
Kevin Phillips (Blackpool)

 

Hat Tricks
 Date Player & Game
20/08/11 3: Lee Tomlin - PETERBOROUGH UNITED v Ipswich Town
10/09/11 3: Rickie Lambert - SOUTHAMPTON v Nottingham Forest
11/09/11 3: Chris Wood - BIRMINGHAM CITY v Millwall
12/10/11 3: Darius Henderson - Leicester City v MILLWALL
02/11/11 3: Jonjo Shelvey - Leeds United v BLACKPOOL
19/11/11 3: Rickie Lambert - SOUTHAMPTON v Brighton & Hove Albion
26/12/11 3: Matthew Phillips - Barnsley v BLACKPOOL
31/12/11 3: Ricardo Vaz Te - BARNSLEY v Leeds United
21/01/12 3: Darius Henderson - Barnsley v MILLWALL
31/01/12 4: Nikola Zigic - Leeds United v BIRMINGHAM CITY

 

Disciplinary Record (League and Cup)
Club Y R Y R Club Y R Y R
  League   Total   League  Total 
Barnsley 40 1 43 1 Ipswich Town 34 4 35 4
Birmingham City 39 1 42 1 Leeds United 43 5 49 5
Blackpool 38 1 40 2 Leicester City 43 7 50 7
Brighton and Hove Albion 68 6 81 6 Middlesbrough 47 4 50 4
Bristol City 44 4 46 4 Millwall 49 2 54 2
Burnley 40 2 48 2 Nottingham Forest 37 3 42 3
Cardiff City 35 0 49 0 Peterborough United 34 2 37 2
Coventry City 34 2 36 2 Portsmouth 45 3 52 3
Crystal Palace 39 1 43 2 Reading 40 0 43 0
Derby County 37 1 37 1 Southampton 35 4 37 4
Doncaster Rovers 43 2 45 2 Watford 38 1 40 1
Hull City 47 1 51 1 West Ham United 47 4 50 5

 

Highest and Lowest Attendances
Highest Lowest
Att Fixture Att Fixture
34,936 West Ham United v Coventry City (02/01) 6,351 Peterborough United v Cardiff City (18/10)
34,749 West Ham United v Barnsley (17/12) 7,550 Peterborough United v Portsmouth (28/01)
33,465 West Ham United v Portsmouth (10/09) 7,650 Doncaster Rovers v Watford (26/11)
33,010 Derby County v Southampton (15/10) 7,778 Doncaster Rovers v Bristol City (27/08)
33,010 Derby County v Leeds United (26/12) 7,901 Peterborough United v Burnley (17/09)
32,150 Southampton v West Ham United (18/10) 7,928 Peterborough United v Ipswich Town (20/08)
31,812 Southampton v Brighton & Hove Albion (19/11) 8,062 Peterborough United v Coventry City (17/12)
31,718 West Ham United v Nottingham Forest (21/01) 8,320 Peterborough United v Barnsley (03/12)
31,524 Southampton v Crystal Palace (26/12) 8,426 Doncaster Rovers v Coventry City (29/10)
31,448 West Ham United v Blackpool (15/10) 8,500 Peterborough Utd v Doncaster Rovers (01/10)

 

The Next Fixtures
Tuesday 7th February
Birmingham City v Portsmouth  
Saturday 11th February
Barnsley v Birmingham City Leicester City v Cardiff City
Blackpool v Portsmouth (17:20) Millwall v Derby County
Crystal Palace v Doncaster Rovers Nottingham Forest v Watford
Hull City v Bristol City Peterborough United v West Ham United
Ipswich Town v Middlesbrough Reading v Coventry City
Leeds United v Brighton & Hove Albion Southampton v Burnley