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In the Championship - New leaders
A new manager, some astute transfer business brining in eleven players at the last count, and an inspired run of form has seen them reach the top of the table with just four games to go, and I don't think anyone would bet against them making an instant return to the Premiership.
They have remained unbeaten in 2007 and have now gone sixteen league games without defeat. That's as good as our run was bad, but it is even better than that, all but three of those games have been won bringing 42 points out of 48. It's a far cry from the side that sneaked out of Turf Moor with an undeserved point in December.
Their latest win came at Southampton, and again they won it late in the game after falling behind, and again they did it with two superb strikes. Carlos Edwards got the first and it was Grant Leadbitter who got the winner, his shot a reminder of their Turf Moor comeback.
You wouldn't bet against them now, and surely after the latest set of results it is going to be two from three for the automatic places although most of the other clubs seem to be doing all they can to avoid promotion.
Derby remain second but for the second time over Easter had to settle for a point against Midlands rivals. This time it was Coventry, this time it was at home, and on this occasion they had to come from behind. It only took them six minutes to equalise and from a spectacular goal from Matt Oakley, only problem was he admitted after the game that he didn't mean it.
And what of Birmingham? Another defeat, another game without a goal, and now they can't even make the top two should they win their game in hand. Having been beaten by the Clarets on Saturday they travelled to Barnsley confident of returning to winning ways. But a Martin Devaney goal was enough to give the struggling home side the points.
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Referee Chris Foy brought it all to an end by sending off one from each side, Barnsley right back Bobby Hassell and want away midfielder Neil Danns from Birmingham.
They were two out of the three red cards in the league on Monday, and the other was also an after the final whistle affair. Jonathan Douglas will think twice now before opening his mouth because his sending off by Alan Wiley as Leeds fell to defeat at Colchester has ended his season prematurely.
Douglas had already been yellow carded and this was his fifteenth booking of the season which was to reward him with a three match ban, but the foul and abusive language has got him another two games and so he'll be looking forward to the second game of next season when he can finally play again.
As for Leeds, they were celebrating an important away win just a little bit too early. They led through an Eddie Lewis goal but then Chris Iwelumo and Jamie Cureton, incredibly the league's top strike pairing, both scored in the last eight minutes to give Colchester the three points.
I remember Colchester beating Leeds at Layer Road once before. That was in the FA Cup in Don Revie's days, in 1971 to be exact. That was big news then, a sensational piece of giant killing, but today Colchester sit no fewer than thirteen places above Leeds in the table. How times change.
Colchester could yet make the play offs as teams above them do all they can to fade away. There's no leadership, no desire, and hardly anything else in the Preston dressing room according to manager Paul Simpson.
I'm not sure what he expects to get from his players now after that blasting but having lost three away games in a week they returned home for as easy a home game as you will get right now against Southend.
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Then disaster struck, not once but twice, as former player Alan McCormack equalised with two minutes to go and Kevin Maher got his second in stoppage time. They'd won it with three superb strikes but that didn't concern Simpson.
Even the joke club of the year Luton Town looked as though they might win at one point at QPR. There have been more jokes coming out of Kenilworth Road this season than there ever were in Eric Morecambe's days on the board. We've had the anti-bung, anti-woman, anti-chairman Mike Newell finally sacked after a series of outbursts, and now we've got the chairman leaving after he admitted he'd done just what Newell was fighting against, made illegal payments to agents.
They've got what they deserve, they are going to be relegated and they've also got themselves lumbered with Kevin Blackwell for the next four years. Any light at the end of the tunnel disappeared in the last few minutes at Loftus Road when Dexter Blackstock scored from the spot and then Paul Furlong scored a stoppage time winner. QPR look to be safe now although they have lost Gareth Ainsworth for the season. He broke his leg in the win.
West Brom have slipped recently but they remain in fourth place although will now have to settle for a play off place. Here too there was a last minute winner. West Brom had come from behind and Diomansy Kamara got his first goal in seven games to secure the points.
Wolves retained their place in the top six with a home win over Hull, and the Tigers have found themselves right back in the thick of the relegation battle after a pointless Easter. Meanwhile at Stoke, the club with more loans than Ocean Finance are pushing ever closer to a play off place after a win over the Legend's Palace.
Sheffield Wednesday continued their good run with a victory over Ipswich whilst Ian Holloway saw his side get back to winning ways with an easy victory over Leicester, a result which cost Leicester boss Rob Kelly his job. That is if you were daft enough to believe he ever had Milan Mandaric's support.
A full fixture list this weekend when we thought our visit to Leeds could be a vital game for both sides. We should have enough points now not to be worried but there is one big relegation battle as Southend take on Barnsley at Roots Hall. Should Barnsley win, and should both Burnley and Hull secure maximum points, the relegation battle could well be all but over.
The Easter Monday Results | |
Monday 9th April | |
Barnsley 1 Birmingham 0 | Preston 2 Southend 3 |
Burnley 2 Cardiff 0 | QPR 3 Luton 2 |
Colchester 2 Leeds 1 | Sheffield Wed 2 Ipswich 0 |
Derby 1 Coventry 1 | Southampton 1 RK Sunderland 2 |
Norwich 1 West Brom 2 | Stoke 2 Crystal Palace 1 |
Plymouth 3 Leicester 0 | Wolves 3 Hull 1 |
The Easter Monday Stats | |
Biggest win | Plymouth 3-0 v Leicester (home) |
Total goals scored | 36 |
Player scoring most goals | Dexter Blackstock (QPR) |
Highest Attendance | 29,940 - Derby v Coventry |
Lowest Attendance | 5,916 - Colchester v Leeds |
Total Yellow Cards | 34 |
Total Red Cards | 3 |
Most cards in a game | Colchester v Leeds (4Y 1R) |
The leading scorers (league only) | |
21 | Michael Chopra (Cardiff) Jamie Cureton (Colchester) |
20 | Diomansy Kamara (West Brom) |
18 | Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton) |
17 | Robert Earnshaw (Norwich) Chris Iwelumo (Colchester) |
16 | Steve Howard (Derby) |
15 | Alan Lee (Ipswich) |
14 | Gary McSheffrey (Birmingham) David Nugent (Preston) |
13 | Kevin Phillips (West Brom) Rowan Vine (Birmingham) - 12 with Luton |
12 | Dexter Blackstock (QPR) Iain Hume (Leicester) Kenwyne Jones (Southampton) |
11 | Chris Brunt (Sheffield Wed) David Connolly (RK Sunderland) Freddy Eastwood (Southend) Barry Hayles (Plymouth) Steven MacLean (Sheffield Wed) Clinton Morrison (Crystal Palace) |
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 |
27th Jan | 3 - Michael Chopra - CARDIFF v Leicester |
17th Feb | 3 - Andrew Surman - SOUTHAMPTON v Barnsley |
31st Mar | 3 - Dean Windass - HULL v Southend |
31st Mar | 3 - Marek Saganowski - Wolves v SOUTHAMPTON |
7th Apr | 3 - Jamie Cureton - Southend v COLCHESTER |
Disciplinary Record (all games) | |||||
| Club | Y | R | Club | Y | R |
| Barnsley | 79 | 6 | Luton | 61 | 6 |
| Birmingham | 63 | 8 | Norwich | 72 | 4 |
| Burnley | 76 | 7 | Plymouth | 84 | 5 |
| Cardiff | 59 | 9 | Preston | 70 | 4 |
| Colchester | 41 | 1 | QPR | 89 | 1 |
| Coventry | 77 | 1 | Sheffield Wed | 77 | 6 |
| Crystal Palace | 46 | 1 | Southampton | 53 | 1 |
| Derby | 89 | 3 | Southend | 71 | 4 |
| Hull | 80 | 3 | Stoke | 76 | 4 |
| Ipswich | 99 | 7 | RK Sunderland | 58 | 4 |
| Leeds | 91 | 4 | West Brom | 93 | 7 |
| Leicester | 79 | 3 | Wolves | 61 | 5 |
The Week's Fixtures | |
Friday 13th April | |
West Brom v Sheffield Wed | . |
Saturday 14th April | |
Birmingham v Southampton | Leeds v Burnley |
Cardiff v Stoke | Leicester v Norwich |
Coventry v Preston | Luton v Plymouth |
Crystal Palace v Wolves | Southend v Barnsley |
Hull v Colchester | RK Sunderland v QPR |
Ipswich v Derby | . |