Around One – Crowds flock to see new leaders

Andy Liddell - record breaking goal for Wigan

I’m sure they would get more on for an egg chasing reserve game than this and it really does make you wonder just where this club would be without Whelan’s millions given the total lack of interest in the round ball game.

The goalscorers were predictable with Andy Liddell (he became the highest league goal scorer for Wigan with his first) and Nathan Ellington both scoring twice and Geoff Horsfield getting the other. These three players have scored all but seven of Wigan’s league goals this season.

A win would always take them to the top because of the lunchtime kick off but they held it when Sunderland went to West Brom and earned themselves a point in a 0-0 draw.

West Brom scored four times against us but have found the net just once in their last four home game and it appears that if Rob Hulse doesn’t score then they will struggle. The promotion favourites remain second and are very difficult to beat but they will need to find the ability to score goals if they are to go back up.

Apparently the reason for the less than impressive performance from the Baggies was because of their win at Newcastle. "We looked shattered and we were a yard off the pace. It was a lot to ask after two hours against Newcastle," said Megson. I would have thought a win at Newcastle would lift a side rather than knacker them.

Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy saw his side dominate and said after, "It was a 0-0 hammering. I thought we were terrific. We were the best team and caused them all sorts of problems."

Norwich have pulled three points clear in third place but it didn’t look as though it was going to be like that at half time when they trailed Walsall 1-0 at the Bescot Stadium. But nothing seems to be going wrong for Delia’s Canaries right now who have lost only once in eleven games, a run that started with the win against the Clarets.

Peter Crouch - scored winner for Norwich at Walsall

Sheffield United looked a beaten side two when they went two goals down against Stoke but that’s when Barry Knight stepped in and sent off Stoke’s Wayne Thomas in the first minute of the second half.

The Blades made the extra man count and we were rewarded when they grabbed a point in a 2-2 draw with a stoppage time penalty.

If you think the Clarets are making a lot of draws then West Ham are the specialists at the moment and the 1-1 draw at Coventry was their fifth successive draw. The Hammers went in front, predictably through Jermain Defoe, but a Graham Barrett equaliser seven minutes before half time ended the scoring.

So Alan Pardew remains unbeaten as West Ham manager whilst he still looks for his first win. They still remain in the play off positions though and can thank Gillingham for that following what was the performance of the day at Ipswich.

The Tractor Boys are very much in form and Gillingham weren’t expected to get anything other than a beating at Portman Road but in a ‘Grimsby v Burnley’ type they were never behind.

The led 1-0 and then after Ipswich had equalised they went into what looked an unassailable 3-1 lead. When Tommy Miller took it to 3-3 you wouldn’t have got much on the chances of Gillingham even getting a point never mind a win but they did it with a goal in stoppage time from Mark Saunders to win the game 4-3.

You wonder sometimes just how much influence a manager has on a side but there are currently two very good examples of them having an impact. Dennis Wise has taken over from the sacked Mark McGhee at Millwall and despite his claims to not wanting the job don’t be surprised if he doesn’t end up with it.

Kevin Braniff - first ever league goal for Millwall

But what about Dario G. Crewe are doing well when he goes in hospital for a heart operation. In his absence not only do they fail to win a game but they don’t even score a goal. Since his return nothing has gone wrong, they have been unbeaten and the longest serving manager in English football is now talking about the play offs.

This time Reading were the victims and a Steve Jones goal was enough to win the game for the Railwaymen.

It was good and bad news in Milton Keynes on Saturday. The bad news was the fact that Franchise got their second win of the season and are now only four points away from a position of safety, it would have been eight had they lost the game.

But the good news had to be the number of empty seats in the NHS, it was a wonderful site on television and the official attendance of 3,334 was just what the doctor ordered. The Milton Keynes public have taken to it like a duck to dry land.

Well done to the Bradford City fans who campaigned strongly for a boycott and less than 150 of them were there. Bradford, and what a bad side they are, remain closest to Franchise at the bottom and it would be no major surprise to see Uncle Fester lose his job there this week.

Just above them are Rotherham and they were again defeated going down 1-0 to a Danny Webber goal at a packed Vicarage Road. Rotherham haven’t won since September but Watford have suffered only one defeat, a 3-0 reverse at Cardiff in midweek, in the same period.

From a relegation position they are now just a point behind the Clarets. And the reason for the 18,000 plus crowd – it was £5 adults and £1 kids everywhere in the ground and the attendance was 4,500 more than the last home game against Coventry.

And that leaves Preston who had a comprehensive 3-0 win against Derby at Deepdale. These are worrying times for Derby, a fourth straight defeat and without a win in seven games. They are now 21^st in the division, hard to believe that it is less than four years ago that our magnificent cup win there was a major giant killing.

The weekend results saw the Clarets move up one place to 15^th – courtesy of Norwich’s win at Walsall which saw the Saddlers drop below us.

There are some midweek games and a full fixture list next Saturday. All the midweek games kick off at 7:45 p.m. and all twelve Saturday games are at 3:00 p.m.

Gillingham v Sunderland
Preston North End v Watford
Sheffield United v Crewe Alexandra
Walsall v Nottingham Forest

Coventry City v Bradford City

Bradford vCity v Walsall
Cardiff City v Stoke City
Crystal Palace v Preston North End
Derby County Ipswich
Gillingham v Crewe Alexandra
Norwich City v Millwall
Nottingham Forest v Watford
Reading v Wigan Athletic
Rotherham United v Franchise
Sheffield United v Burnley
Sunderland v Coventry City
West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion