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In the Championship - I want to go home
Last week Kevin Nicholls screamed, "I'm a Luton player, get me out of here," just about demanding a return to Kenilworth Road after leaving them for Leeds in the summer. He'd be best advised not to leave, if you do that then Ken Bates sets the dogs on you, well he lets the Leeds fans know where you live.
He's fallen out with former director Melvyn Levi, accused him of working against the club, and published his address in the match programme. Levi is not happy, that's hardly a surprise, Bates doesn't give a damn, and that's certainly not a surprise.
Meanwhile they lost at home to Sheffield Wednesday although the 3-2 scoreline hardly tells the story. Leeds were 3-0 down with two minutes to play and their goals were mere consolations. They even played half the second half with ten men after Lee Probert sent off Marcus Tudgay for being deaf and not hearing the whistle go.
Up at the top of the league the leadership has changed twice with Derby going top before Birmingham reclaimed the lead two days later. Derby had the advantage of playing Friday night at home to Colchester and they simply tore into the Essex side, managed by former Ram Geraint Williams.
It was good stuff from Derby and they deserved their 3-0 interval lead. Things could have been different in the second half, Colchester pulled one back and got on top but the home side came back with two more to cruise to victory. Giles Barnes was again in top form, and the way he's playing just now it is hard to believe he's only in the side because of injuries.
On Sunday, a win for Birmingham would see them back on top, but it was a difficult game against Cardiff. I'm not quite sure how Cardiff came away with nothing from this game, they were the better side, but didn't get any goals from striker Michael Chopra who I believe used to play for Newcastle.
Manager Dave Jones said after the game, "Sometimes it is best to be lucky," and no one good disagree with his sentiment. I don't think anyone could disagree with him about the pitch either when he said: "It's a disgrace." I thought it was worse than that and Birmingham clearly have a major problem for the rest of this season with this new pitch.
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It was the visitors who won it with goals from Trinidad & Tobago internationals Dwight Yorke and Stern John although their former loan player Darren Carter did pull one back for West Brom who had defender Paul Robinson sent off by referee Dermot Gallagher for preventing a goal scoring opportunity. Robinson won't serve a suspension, he won his appeal today.
Another game between two of the promotion contenders brought the weekend to a close last night when Preston beat Southampton 3-1 at Deepdale. Southampton only had themselves to blame, this was a game they should have won. They missed chances, although Andy Lonergan was brilliant in goal for Preston, and then made some sorry mistakes at the back.
Incredibly the home fans were getting at their own players during the first half. What on earth do they want from their players? Preston are now back in fifth place in the table and still chasing a promotion. Maybe the brainwashed don't know what to do when they don't have the drum and the clap sticks.
The remaining club in the promotion chase are Wolves, and they did exactly what Norwich did in midweek and came from behind to win 3-2 at Luton. They'd gone in front but were 2-1 down at half time. Then Andy Keogh got his first Wolves goal to bring them level before a Karl Henry shot somehow managed to get through Marlon Beresford and roll into the net.
Barnsley's recent good run came to an abrupt end when they went 3-0 down at home to Norwich and still with four minutes left in the first half. They got one back right on half time, yet another goal from Hungarian Istvan Ferenczi, but that brought the scoring to an end.
Southend were the only side currently below the Clarets to get a point and they did it against the odds. They were twice behind to Iain Hume goals but twice drew level, and they played the last fourteen minutes with ten men after Ritchie Foran got a second yellow for a foul on Leicester's Jason Jarrett with the scores then level at 1-1.
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Hull couldn't follow up their win against Birmingham a week earlier and turned in a poor performance against Coventry at the Ricoh. Fake tanned manager Phil Brown admitted they got exactly what they deserved from the game after a first half performance he described as bad as in their heavy recent defeat at Barnsley.
When Chris McCann scored at QPR recently it brought to an end a goal drought for the Clarets. On Saturday QPR went to Ipswich and they'd gone even longer without a goal. Danny Haynes had scored their last goal in January when they beat Colchester 3-2, but the wait for the next goal came to an end when Alan Lee gave them the lead with a goal that left QPR manager seething.
Just over ten hours between goals for the Tractor Boys but a second followed nearly half an hour later and although Paul Furlong pulled one back it was a comfortable win for Ipswich.
That leaves Plymouth v Stoke and perhaps the only game where neither side had anything to play for. Tony Pulis still thinks Stoke are in the play off chase, but it is unlikely, and even more so after they only got a point at his old club.
They had to come from behind too after Plymouth won a somewhat fortuitous penalty on the edge of the box. With no Paul Wotton these days Sylvain Ebanks-Blake scored the penalty.
We've got three re-arranged games tonight, and then almost a full programme over the weekend. Plymouth have decided to stay in the FA Cup and so their trip to the Turf is off until April.
Keep your eyes on Leeds v Luton on Saturday. Will Kevin Nicholls play? If so, who for? Will fifteen goals a season Ian Moore take over as captain after publicly having a go at Nicholls? He's in the side now ahead of Robbie Blake - they really are strange goings on at Elland Road.
By the way Ken Bates' address is:
Did you honestly think we would bring ourselves down to his level?
The Weekend Results | |
Friday 2nd March | |
Derby 5 Colchester 1 | . |
Saturday 3rd March | |
Barnsley 1 Norwich 3 | Luton 2 Wolves 3 |
Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 1 | Plymouth 1 Stoke 1 |
Coventry 2 Hull 0 | Southend 2 Leicester 2 |
Ipswich 2 QPR 1 | West Brom 1 RK Sunderland 2 |
Leeds 2 Sheffield Wed 3 | . |
Sunday 4th March | |
Birmingham 1 Cardiff 0 | . |
Monday 5th March | |
Preston 3 Southampton 1 | . |
The Weekend Stats | |
Biggest win | Derby 5-1 v Colchester (home) |
Total goals scored | 41 |
Player scoring most goals | 2 - Iain Hume (Leicester) |
Highest Attendance | 28,223 - Birmingham v Cardiff |
Lowest Attendance | 10,002 - Luton v Wolves |
Total Yellow Cards | 41 |
Total Red Cards | 3 |
Most cards in a game | Leeds v Sheffield Wed (4Y 1R) |
The leading scorers (league only) | |
21 | Michael Chopra (Cardiff) |
19 | Diomansy Kamara (West Brom) |
18 | Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton) |
17 | Robert Earnshaw (Norwich) |
15 | Chris Iwelumo (Colchester) |
14 | Jamie Cureton (Colchester) Steve Howard (Derby) Gary McSheffrey (Birmingham) |
13 | David Nugent (Preston) |
12 | Kenwyne Jones (Southampton) Alan Lee (Ipswich) Rowan Vine (Birmingham) - all 12 goals with Luton |
11 | Freddy Eastwood (Southend) Kevin Phillips (West Brom) |
10 | Chris Brunt (Sheffield Wed) David Connolly (RK Sunderland) Andy Gray (Burnley) Barry Hayles (Plymouth) Iain Hume (Leicester) |
9 | Nicklas Bendtner (Birmingham) Carlos Edwards (RK Sunderland) - 6 with Luton Clinton Morrison (Crystal Palace) Marcus Tudgay (Sheffield Wed) |
Hat Tricks (league only) | |
26th Aug | 3 - Jamie Cureton - COLCHESTER v Derby |
12th Sep | 3 - Gifton Noel-Williams - BURNLEY v Barnsley |
14th Oct | 3 - Kevin Phillips - Ipswich v WEST BROM |
29th Oct | 3 - Alan Lee - IPSWICH v Luton |
28th Nov | 4 - Chris Iwelumo - COLCHESTER v Hull |
9th Dec | 3 - Gary McSheffrey - BIRMINGHAM v Preston |
27h Jan | 3 - Michael Chopra - CARDIFF v Leicester |
17th Feb | 3 - Andrew Surman - SOUTHAMPTON v Barnsley |
Disciplinary Record (all games) | |||||
| Club | Y | R | Club | Y | R |
| Barnsley | 65 | 5 | Luton | 50 | 6 |
| Birmingham | 60 | 6 | Norwich | 61 | 4 |
| Burnley | 62 | 7 | Plymouth | 77 | 4 |
| Cardiff | 52 | 8 | Preston | 55 | 4 |
| Colchester | 38 | 1 | QPR | 68 | 1 |
| Coventry | 70 | 1 | Sheffield Wed | 62 | 5 |
| Crystal Palace | 41 | 1 | Southampton | 44 | 1 |
| Derby | 79 | 3 | Southend | 59 | 4 |
| Hull | 70 | 3 | Stoke | 64 | 3 |
| Ipswich | 87 | 6 | RK Sunderland | 49 | 4 |
| Leeds | 77 | 3 | West Brom | 86 | 6 |
| Leicester | 67 | 3 | Wolves | 52 | 4 |
The Week's Fixtures | |
Tuesday 6th March | |
Hull v Ipswich | Sheffield Wed v Plymouth |
Norwich v Derby | . |
Friday 9th March | |
Birmingham v Derby | . |
Saturday 10th March | |
Barnsley v RK Sunderland | Ipswich v Southend |
Cardiff v Norwich | Leeds v Luton |
Colchester v Coventry | QPR v Sheffield Wed |
Crystal Palace v Leicester | Stoke v Southampton |
Hull v Preston | West Brom v RK Sunderland |
Sunday 11th March | |
Wolves v West Brom | . |