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In the Championship – The game's complexity changed
I'm not so sure about making the game more complex but Bruce saw Luton's Rowan Vine equalise from the spot and then go 2-1 down within two minutes as the same player scored again. The fought back but lost the game 3-2 although they almost got a point with what would have been a farcical third at the end.
It was nothing more than a misdirected, floated cross from substitute Sebastian Larsson. Luton goalkeeper, former Claret Marlon Beresford decided to get out of the way of it and as he turned his back and moved he could only watch it bounce back off the inside of his post and then saw Birmingham miss from the rebound.
It wasn't the only comical moment provided by an ex-Claret over the weekend, Mo Camara's back passing technique was worth a look yesterday as his current side Derby went down 3-1 to Plymouth at Home Park. Mo volleyed the ball out of play for a Plymouth corner, but he was about seventy (yes that is 70) yards from his own goal line at the time.
Fortunately nothing came from the corner but by then the game was all over for Derby, who gave a debut to loan striker Jonathan Stead a striker who has now scored four times in his last 79 appearances. They were beaten by a Plymouth side that were reduced to ten men in a game where the most influential person was definitely referee Paul Taylor. I think Ian Holloway's suggestion that he was not very good was something of an understatement.
Up at the top of the league there appears to be nothing stopping Cardiff right now. Palace fans were celebrating the purchase of Selhurst Park but they weren't ‘Glad all over' for long as Cardiff went in front in the second minute through Michael Chopra. The home fans did think they'd got themselves a point though until Chopra hit the post in the closing minutes and Riccardo Scimeca followed in to net the winner.
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A couple of new managers had watching briefs as their new clubs played away games and Tony Mowbray, settling into the familiar surroundings of Portman Road, must have been delighted at the performance of his new side West Brom. They were in excellent form under the charge of Nigel Pearson again and won this one with some ease by five goals to one.
Kevin Phillips got his first hat trick in six years, Diomansy Kamara got the other two, and even the Ipswich goal was an own goal by Chris Perry. It's all a bit harsh on Pearson who has been in charge for four games that have brought three wins and a draw, and no fewer than fourteen goals.
Peter Grant was at QPR and he too saw six goals, but his new side Norwich had to settle for a point in a 3-3 draw after Martin Rowlands scored a late equaliser for the home side in a game that could have gone either way.
There were first goals for new clubs for two players, but that is where the comparison ends. QPR's first, to bring the score to 1-1 was scored by 19 year old Jack Smith who was making his debut after joining on loan from Chelsea. For Norwich, substitute Dion Dublin who first signed for the club as a junior, finally got his first goal for them at the age of 37.
Leeds are the club still searching for a new manager and I don't think caretaker John Carver did his chances a great deal of good as they fell to a 4-0 home defeat against a Stoke side full of loan players, but not Glen Little. One of those loan players Lee Hendrie was the most influential player on the pitch, after some of the Leeds back four.
In our ex-Claret watch at Elland Road we see that Ian Moore, bang in goalscoring form after bagging one in a 6-4 reserve defeat at Barnsley, couldn't get a place on the bench. But Robbie Blake did, came on, and missed a penalty that should never have been awarded in the first place. Leeds are now in the bottom three of the league, and most of the country seem to be celebrating that, they really are not the most popular of clubs.
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Sheffield Wednesday are off the bottom, they have us to thank for helping them, but they still needed to win themselves and they did that in the nearest they have to a derby now against Barnsley. It was played in front of the biggest attendance of the day in the Championship and most of them were celebrating the late winner from Chris Brunt in stoppage time.
They are not just off the bottom but outside the bottom three, and it is Southend who are there squeezed between Leeds and Hull. They played on Friday but despite two Freddy Eastwood goals, one from the spot, they were beaten 3-2 by Coventry with Dele Adebola getting the winner ten minutes from time.
That leaves Wolves, and they recovered from their mauling at Cardiff last time out with a 1-0 win against in form Colchester at Molineux, the win has taken Mick McCarthy's team into the top six.
We've got a full fixture list this midweek, and they are shown below along with the weekend fixtures.
The Weekend Results | |
Friday 13th September | |
Southend 2 Coventry 3 | . |
Saturday 14th October | |
Burnley 2 Hull 0 | Luton 3 Birmingham 2 |
Crystal Palace 1 Cardiff 2 | Preston 4 RK Sunderland 1 |
Ipswich 1 West Brom 5 | QPR 3 Norwich 3 |
Leeds 0 Stoke 4 | Sheffield Wed 2 Barnsley 1 |
Leicester 3 Southampton 2 | Wolves 1 Colchester 0 |
Sunday 15th October | |
Plymouth 3 Derby 1 | . |
The Weekend Stats | |
Biggest win | West Brom 5-1 v Ipswich (away) |
Total goals scored | 48 |
Player scoring most goals | Kevin Phillips (West Brom) |
Highest Attendance | 28,687 - Sheffield Wed v Barnsley |
Lowest Attendance | 9,275 - Luton v Birmingham |
Total Yellow Cards | 47 |
Total Red Cards | 2 |
Most cards in a game | Plymouth v Derby (6y 1R) |
The leading scorers (league only) | |
9 | Robert Earnshaw (Norwich) |
8 | Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton) |
7 | Micahel Chopra (Cardiff) Rowan Vine (Luton) |
6 | Andy Gray (Burnley) |
5 | Freddy Eastwood (Southend) Arturo Lupoli (Derby) Jon Parkin (Hull) Kevin Phillips (West Brom) |
4 | Patrick Agyemang (Preston) Nicklas Bendtner (Birmingham) Jay Bothroyd (Wolves) DJ Campbell (Birmingham) Jamie Cureton (Colchester) Barry Hayles (Plymouth) Paul Hayes (Barnsley) David Healy (Leeds) Brian Howard (Barnsley) Diomansy Kamara (West Brom) Gifton Noel-Williams (Burnley) Mark Richards (Barnsley) Martin Rowlands (QPR) Riccardo Scimeca (Cardiff) |
Hat Tricks (league only) | |
26th Aug | Jamie Cureton - COLCHESTER v Derby |
12th Sep | Gifton Noel-Williams - BURNLEY v Barnsley |
14th Oct | Kevin Phillips - Ipswich v WEST BROM |
Disciplinary Record (all games) | |||||
| Club | Y | R | Club | Y | R |
| Barnsley | 17 | 3 | Luton | 14 | 2 |
| Birmingham | 20 | 4 | Norwich | 21 | 1 |
| Burnley | 15 | 3 | Plymouth | 23 | 1 |
| Cardiff | 18 | 2 | Preston | 22 | 2 |
| Colchester | 11 | 0 | QPR | 21 | 0 |
| Coventry | 22 | 1 | Sheffield Wed | 18 | 2 |
| Crystal Palace | 12 | 0 | Southampton | 18 | 0 |
| Derby | 30 | 2 | Southend | 15 | 0 |
| Hull | 22 | 1 | Stoke | 19 | 1 |
| Ipswich | 29 | 0 | RK Sunderland | 21 | 2 |
| Leeds | 28 | 1 | West Brom | 31 | 1 |
| Leicester | 18 | 1 | Wolves | 18 | 2 |
This Week's Fixtures | |
Tuesday 17th October | |
Barnsley v Plymouth | Ipswich v Preston |
Birmingham v Norwich | Leeds v Leicester |
Burnley v Southend | QPR v Derby |
Cardiff v Southampton | Stoke v Sunderland |
Crystal Palace v West Brom | Wolves v Coventry |
Hull v Luton | . |
Wednesday 18th October | |
Colchester v Sheffield Wed | . |
Saturday 21st October | |
Derby v Birmingham | Preston v Hull |
Leicester v Crystal Palace | Sheffield Wed v QPR |
Luton v Leeds | Southampton v Stoke |
Norwich v Cardiff | Southend v Ipswich |
Plymouth v Burnley | Sunderland v Barnsley |
Sunday 22nd October | |
West Brom v Wolves | . |
Monday 23rd October | |
Coventry v Colchester | . |