In the Championship – Farewell to Forest

Last updated : 02 May 2005 By Tony Scholes
Eugen Bopp - his goal was no more than a consolation for Forest
Forest should have gone down a week earlier, it is still hard to believe that a side as poor and as passionless as the one we took on a week last Saturday were actually able to beat us. It only delayed the inevitable though and at QPR a 2-1 defeat meant they would be playing at the third level of English football for the first time since 1951.

If they needed two more wins then they certainly didn’t help themselves and were down to ten men just past the half hour when Darryl Powell was rightly sent off for a second bookable offence.

Right on half time they inflicted another wound on themselves when John Curtis put through his own goal and when Marc Bircham’s goal doubled the lead it was all over for them. Eugen Bopp pulled one back but it was no more than a consolation goal for them.

They were in the play offs two years ago but what a difference goal scorers makes. Then David Johnson and Marlon Harewood both scored over twenty league goals. They bizarrely sold one and lost the other to injury from which he has clearly never fully recovered and they have since had two relegation battles, the second one now having been lost.

Gary Megson has promised massive changes but before then they have one last home game against Gillingham who are still under the threat of relegation themselves following a home draw against Cardiff that saw the Welsh club go safe.

A win would have seen Stan Ternent’s side clear and they went in front through Matt Jarvis with just eighteen minutes to go. But an equaliser from Paul Parry on 85 minutes changed everything and it is Cardiff who are now assured Championship football again next season whilst the Gills have to go to Forest and get a result.

Watford are safe and Adrian Boothroyd is still looking up. When Stoke play Watford I expect to see one side playing in red and white stripes and the other in yellow, red and black. On Saturday these two sides were supposedly playing each other at the Britannia Stadium but it was a match between a side in all black and a side in all blue.

Heidar Helguson - scored for the team in blue against the team in black
The all blues beat the all blacks 1-0 with a goal from Heidar Helguson who must have joined the all blues from Watford.

It’s very confusing for Stoke fans now, it looks as though they might not be an Icelandic club for much longer with the owners putting their 60% stake on the market and now just to confuse things they change colour.

Apparently it was to market their 2005/06 away kit which went on sale on Saturday. Thank goodness they weren’t playing us, our Chief Executive’s ideas area all based on what he sees on other grounds, it could have led to us playing a home game without the Claret & Blue shirt.

Coventry might have been saying goodbye to Highfield Road after 106 years but they will still be in the Championship when they move into the new Ricoh Stadium next season. In an amazing match against play off chasers Derby County they won 6-2 to reach safety.

The players had joked about who was going to score the last ever goal at the ground and despite two from Gary McSheffrey, two from Stern John and one from Dele Adebola it was defender Andrew Whing who grabbed it.

Amazingly Whing had just come on as a substitute and his shot from the edge of the area was his first touch of the ball.

With Plymouth reaching safety, despite their defeat at the Turf, it now means a choice of three to join Forest and Rotherham playing League One football next season.

We’ve already mentioned Gillingham and they will fight it out with Brighton and Crewe. Brighton grabbed themselves a lifeline with a win at doomed Rotherham, courtesy of a Paul McLaren own goal but it was another defeat for Crewe.

The Railwaymen had it tough at Ipswich but they are hardly fighting for their lives. Eight draws and eleven defeats from their last nineteen games and they were nothing short of shocking at Ipswich.

Kelvin Davis - the league's best keeper gifted Crewe their goal
It was so one sided it became embarrassing and the 5-1 scoreline actually flattered Crewe. It could, and should have been double figures whilst Crewe’s consolation goal was a stoppage time blunder from the divisional goalkeeper of the season Kelvin Davis.

I’m not so sure I’d be very happy with my manager if I was a Crewe fan. Dario G said after the game, “It is inevitable we will be relegated at some time, I just hope it isn’t this season.” I think it is going to be Dario, the side that doesn’t win games any longer has to do just that and hope.

For Ipswich fans there was some relief when the fifth goal went in, someone with some sense at Portman Road finally decided to drop the dancing sheep mix of Tom Hark to celebrate the goal.

Not as though they allowed the fans to celebrate in the tradition style, it was replaced by the Benny Hill Show theme tune although there were no sightings of anyone chasing any scantily dressed women across the pitch.

Ipswich will never have it easier and it has taken them level on points but behind Wigan in second place as the two of them chase the last automatic promotion spot behind Sunderland who were crowned Champions down at the Boleyn Ground on Friday night.

It didn’t go all their own way against West Ham and they were behind at half time through a Marlon Harewood goal, but two in the second half, a scrambled goal from Julio Arca and a superb finish form Stephen Elliott sent the Mackems celebrating in London.

Wigan drew 1-1 at Preston. The led through a Lee McCulloch header, yet another Wigan goal coming from a set piece taken by Graham Kavanagh, but North End drew level though a Brian O’Neil header.

Preston had already qualified for the play offs after Sunderland’s win, or to be precise after West Ham’s defeat but the Hammers have remained in that top six because Reading couldn’t pick up even a point against Wolves.

Nicky Forster - his goal was not enough to take Reading into the top six
They were a goal up early in the game from Nicky Forster but second half goals from Leon Clarke and Rohan Ricketts condemned the Royals to their third home defeat of the season.

They are behind West Ham on goals scored. If they both win next week and Derby lose it will be Derby who miss out on joining Preston and either Wigan or Ipswich in the play offs. It looks down to West Ham and Reading though and for Glen Little it is virtually a repeat of the events of three years ago when we missed out on goals scored to Norwich.

Elsewhere, the Clarets went up a place yesterday as Leicester beat Leeds 2-0 at the crisp packet. It looks as though Kevin Blackwell and Sam Ellis will have to go and find themselves another ten or so players.

Their recent fifteen goals a season striker capture Ian Moore played the full ninety minutes but failed to score – he’s still looking for his first Leeds goal.

Finally there’s some bad news for Sheffield United fans. Not only did they lose at home to Millwall to a Jody Morris goal, not only have they missed out on the play offs but they have learned that Neil Warnock will continue as manager next season. It really must be heartbreaking news for them.

One week to go and then the play offs – we’ll soon know who’s leaving us and who’s staying. Clarets Mad will be at the all important final day fixture at the Den next Sunday, I could think of better places to end the season. I’d just love to win it and Mo Camara get the winner.

The Weekend Results

Friday 29th April

West Ham 1 Sunderland 2

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Saturday 30th April

Burnley 2 Plymouth 0

QPR 2 Nott'm Forest 1

Coventry 6 Derby 2

Reading 1 Wolves 2

Gillingham 1 Cardiff 1

Rotherham 0 Brighton 1

Ipswich 5 Crewe 1

Sheffield Utd 0 Millwall 1

Preston 1 Wigan 1

Stoke 0 Watford 1

Sunday 1st May

Leicester 2 Leeds 0

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The Weekend Stats

Biggest win

Coventry 6-2 v Derby (home)
Ipswich 5-1 v Crewe (home)

Total goals scored

34

Player scoring most goals
2

Stern John (Coventry)
Gary McSheffrey (Coventry)
Tommy Miller (Ipswich)

Highest Attendance

33,482 - West ham v Sunderland

Lowest Attendance

6,549 - Rotherham v Brighton

Total Yellow Cards

36

Total Red Cards

1

Most cards in a game

Sheffield Utd v Millwall (7Y)

The leading scorers (league only)

23

Nathan Ellington (Wigan)

20

Darren Bent (Ipswich)
Jason Roberts (Wigan)
Teddy Sheringham (West Ham)

19

Dave Kitson (Reading)
Kenny Miller (Wolves)

18

Dean Ashton (Crewe) - now with Norwich
Paul Furlong (QPR)
Shefki Kuqi (Ipswich)

16

Richard Cresswell (Preston)
Marlon Harewood (West Ham)
Grzegorz Rasiak (Derby)
Marcus Stewart (Sunderland)

15

Carl Cort (Wolves)
Stephen Elliott (Sunderland)
Heidar Helguson (Watford)
Danny Webber (Sheffield Utd) - 12 for Watford

14

Andy Gray (Sheffield Utd)

13

David Connolly (Leicester)
Lee McCulloch (Wigan)
Tommy Miller (Ipswich)
Gifton Noel-Williams (Stoke)

12

Barry Hayles (Millwall)
David Healy (Leeds) - 5 for Preston
Gary McSheffrey (Coventry)
Peter Thorne (Cardiff)
Paul Wotton (Plymouth)

11

Ade Akinbiyi (Burnley) - 7 for Stoke
Stern John (Coventry)

The Week's Fixtures

Sunday 8th May

Brighton v Ipswich

Nott'm Forest v Gillingham

Cardiff v QPR

Plymouth v Leicester

Crewe v Coventry

Sunderland v Stoke

Derby v Preston

Watford v West Ham

Leeds v Rotherham

Wigan v Reading

Millwall v Burnley

Wolves v Sheffield Utd