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In the Championship – New Leaders
Time will tell with these two but for now they are looking down on the rest of us and people are even going to watch them. Last season their average gate was below ours but on Saturday the ground was full for the first time since 1961 and goals from Joe Ledley and former Hereford midfielder Paul Parry saw them to victory.
Steve Bruce admitted Birmingham were second best and the closest they came was through former Cardiff striker Cameron Jerome. On as a substitute he blazed over when put clear, an effort which I'm sure received a lot of sympathy from the home fans.
Whilst on the subject of former players getting some stick from the crowd, it was the same at Sunderland yesterday after West Brom introduced Kevin Phillips at half time for his debut. His every move, his every kick was greeted with boos from the Stadium of Light crowd.
It was a big day there with the news that Roy Keane had been appointed manager, but it attracted their smallest crowd so far this season. Those deciding against a Bank Holiday afternoon at football missed out on their first points of the season, and the result was never in doubt once they had gone in front against a very poor looking West Brom side.
Sunderland dominated midfield, created chances for their forwards, and on the rare occasions the visitors did get any sight on goal they were easily thwarted. It wasn't surprising really, I've tipped West Brom to win this league and that usually ensures bad performances and results from any team.
Chairman Niall Quinn bows out with them now next to bottom, and the result meant that Hull City are now the only club without a win and their solitary point leaves them adrift in that bottom place.
They were beaten at home by Coventry in what was probably the worst Championship game of the weekend. The Sky Blues won it with a first ever goal from young midfielder Kevin Thornton who had been introduced as a substitute for the last half an hour.
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One side who did play well were Norwich, who were the highest scorers, hitting Barnsley for five. They had some good fortune to get off the mark when controversial referee Iain Williamson sent off Barnsley's Antony Kay after just twelve minutes and awarded Norwich a penalty.
Whether Kay should have been sent off or not is open to debate, it did look very harsh, but the incident was outside the box and Norwich should have won only a free kick. They converted the spot kick and went on to win the game very easily. Williamson has agreed to look at the incident again and although it won't alter the result it could mean Kay not having to serve a suspension.
Those watching the Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds game on television would have initially been staggered at the sending off of home goalkeeper Brad Jones as co-commentator Gary Birtles explained that it was offside and in any case there had been no contact as David Healy went down under the challenge from Jones. Birtles was nearly right, apart from the fact that it wasn't offside and there was contact. Referee Bennett had no choice and from the resulting penalty Healy won the game for Leeds.
Burnley fans tuning in would have been somewhat surprised to see the Leeds line up. Robbie Blake was again left on the bench, but fifteen goals per season Ian Moore, now looking for his first goal in over 18 months, was in the starting line up.
When we beat Leicester in the first midweek of the season, cynics said that it was only because the opposition was poor, that we'd beaten a side that would be struggling. Leicester haven't been beaten since in four games, have conceded just one goal, have moved into the top half of the table, and won again on Saturday beating Southend at the Crisp Bowl.
They should have won by more than Patrick Kosnorbo's goal but missed two or three easy chances. For Southend it was a third successive blank in front of goal on their travels but you have to have some sympathy with them given that their big summer signing, England international striker Michael Ricketts, has still to play after picking up a pre-season injury.
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If you wanted goals this weekend then the palatial Layer Road was the place to be. No fewer than seven goals were scored in a game that Colchester thought they had won comfortably but one they ended hanging on for their first ever win at this level.
It was all down to Jamie Cureton who hit the league's first hat trick of the season, although surprisingly he did not take the penalty at a time when they led 2-1. With ten minutes to go Billy Davies' outfit were 4-1 down but when Mr Karren Brady scored two minutes from the end of normal time it too the score to 4-3 although that did end the scoring.
It's a new look (or should I say sounding) Billy Davies who said he had no excuses and that his side deserved to lose with the scoreline flattering them. He said he was off for his busiest week yet with a number of signings to be made before the deadline.
Meanwhile his old club were thankful for goalkeeper Kelvin Davis for securing a point from their long trip to Southampton. They fell behind just before half time to a Grzegorz Rasiak goal but were quickly level just after the break following a howler from the former Wimbledon, Ipswich and Sunderland custodian as he let a shot from Simon Whaley squirm through his grasp.
Some managers get abuse from the opposition fans, some managers get abuse from their own fans when things aren't going too well. Take your pick, Tony Pulis got both on Saturday when Stoke met Plymouth at the Windy City where his current side Stoke went in front but were finally held to a draw by his former club Plymouth.
The Plymouth fans were not happy about the way he left Home Park, the Stokies never wanted him back and are already making it very clear they are unhappy at the appointment. Those Stoke fans would have witnessed a defeat but for a wonder show from goalkeeper Steve Simonsen, the keeper making a number of outstanding saves.
Pulis still hasn't worked it out why he's not popular and complained after the game saying: “We didn't get enough long balls up to our forwards.” Opposition boss Ian Holloway said, “Last week I was undone by a superb tactician Paul Sturrock, today I believed in my lads although I shouldn't have shouted at them.”
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Finally, it was QPR and Ipswich who got the weekend underway with a Friday night game and it gave Jim Magilton his first win as Ipswich boss. In the end they won easily but it could and should have been so different. QPR dominated the first half without getting a goal, but then went in front through Kevin Gallen.
It was Lancashire referee Lee Mason who brought the visitors back into the game with a shocking penalty decision as Gavin Williams went down in the box as Damion Stewart came in to challenge him. They never looked back after converting the spot kick and even Dean Bowditch, on as a substitute, scored. That was his first goal at Championship level since he gave us a 1-0 lead against Watford in April 2005.
Like Davies at Derby, Magilton has said he is looking to strengthen his squad this week, but he has named his targets. We know he would like John McGreal but surely there is no chance after Johnny Mac's performance on Saturday. He is set to sign Fulham's French midfielder Sylvain Legwinski, a deal that looks close to completion, and has also said he would like to sign our former loan striker Dele Adebola from Coventry.
There's bound to be plenty of transfer activity in the next three days before the window closes – according to Steve Cotterill we are not going to be one of the clubs adding to our squad. The next fixtures though are not for almost two weeks, following the international break, they are shown below along with this week's stats.
The Weekend Results | |
Friday 25th August | |
QPR 1 Ipswich 3 | . |
Saturday 26th August | |
Cardiff 2 Birmingham 0 | Norwich 5 Barnsley 1 |
Colchester 4 Derby 3 | Southampton 1 Preston 1 |
Crystal Palace 2 Burnley 2 | Stoke 1 Plymouth 1 |
Hull 0 Coventry 1 | Wolves 1 Luton 0 |
Leicester 1 Southend 0 | . |
Sunday 27th August | |
Sheffield Wed 0 Leeds 1 | . |
Monday 28th August | |
Sunderland 2 West Brom 0 | . |
The Weekend Stats | |
Biggest win | Norwich 5-1 v Barnsley (home) |
Total goals scored | 33 |
Player scoring most goals | 3 - Jamie Cureton (Colchester) |
Highest Attendance | 24,876 - Norwich v Barnsley |
Lowest Attendance | 4,574 - Colchester v Derby |
Total Yellow Cards | 25 |
Total Red Cards | 2 |
Most cards in a game | Sheffield Wed v Leeds (3Y 1R) |
The leading scorers (league only) | |
4 | Robert Earnshaw (Norwich) Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton) |
3 | Jamie Cureton (Colchester) Paul Hayes (Barnsley) Barry Hayles (Plymouth) Jon Parkin (Hull) Mark Richards (Barnsley) |
Disciplinary Record (all games) | |||||
| Club | Y | R | Club | Y | R |
| Barnsley | 6 | 1 | Luton | 6 | 0 |
| Birmingham | 9 | 1 | Norwich | 7 | 0 |
| Burnley | 8 | 2 | Plymouth | 14 | 0 |
| Cardiff | 7 | 1 | Preston | 13 | 1 |
| Colchester | 5 | 0 | QPR | 6 | 0 |
| Coventry | 10 | 0 | Sheffield Wed | 9 | 2 |
| Crystal Palace | 4 | 0 | Southampton | 4 | 0 |
| Derby | 11 | 0 | Southend | 2 | 0 |
| Hull | 9 | 0 | Stoke | 8 | 0 |
| Ipswich | 11 | 0 | Sunderland | 6 | 1 |
| Leeds | 13 | 1 | West Brom | 14 | 0 |
| Leicester | 9 | 0 | Wolves | 9 | 1 |
The Next Fixtures | |
Saturday 9th September | |
Barnsley v Stoke | Luton v Crystal Palace |
Birmingham v Hull | Plymouth v QPR |
Burnley v Colchester | Preston v Cardiff |
Coventry v Norwich | Southend v Sheffield Wed |
Derby v Sunderland | West Brom v Leicester |
Ipswich v Southampton | . |
Sunday10th September | |
Leeds v Wolves | . |