They remain very much in the relegation positions but the problem is certainly not with manager Jones who replaced Gary Megson in the run in to promotion last season. When asked about his position after this latest poor result, he said: "I haven't become a bad manager overnight. I'm never fearful of my job because I'm good at what I do."
He then added: "Go get whoever you want in. Get Mourinho. He'll still be working with the same players. You could bring someone else in but what happens if it doesn't work for them? You bring someone else in? The club has been through that enough times."
Maybe Mourinho wouldn't do any better with the current players but Jones might be advised to recall that there are currently 16 players at Hillsborough that he has signed since the end of last season. I wonder how many of those players might have been on Mourinho's shopping list.
One team out of the bottom three now are Ipswich. They keep getting hammered away from home but Mick McCarthy has come up with this idea of getting points in home games. It's two wins and a draw at Portman Road since he took over and that's helped them out and pushed Bristol City back into the relegation places.
Another manager coming under pressure is Ståle Solbakken at Wolves. One point in six games doesn't help, or three points in nine games as it's now become. It's brought about a slide down the table that couldn't get much bigger. When they last won, at Blackburn on 6th October, they were 3rd but they've now plummeted to 18th and the natives are, I'm told getting restless.
Wolves have also suffered the misfortune of two successive home defeats this week when the winning goal for the opposition has been scored by a former Wolves player. Adlene Guedioura scored the winner for Forest on Saturday and for Millwall on Tuesday it was Andy Keogh with the only goal of the game.
Being bullish, like Jones, Solbakken has said he's the right man for the job and yesterday called his players in for a debrief following their latest defeat. The meeting lasted an hour and it has been reported that senior players questioned his methods. You can't beat a manager who listens. Solbakken did and then said there would be no changes.
Since the reported meeting, both the manager and midfielder Karl Henry have spoken, both saying that everyone was working together and that the local press are way off the mark.
Time will tell, but I reckon these two, Jones and Solbakken, are on borrowed time, probably more so Jones given Milan Mandaric lurks around the corridors of Hillsborough.
The fixtures this week paired all the eight B teams together in four games. and the fixtures ended last night with a Lancashire clash between Blackburn and Bolton. Apparently Chris Eagles was the star as Bolton won. Last year opinions were divided on who Burnley fans wanted to win that game. The divide is no longer there. I wonder what changed at Bolton.
The results and the usual stats are below along with this weekend's fixtures which run over three days.
The Results | |
Tuesday 27th November | |
Barnsley 1 Burnley 1 | Ipswich Town 3 Nottingham Forest 1 |
Blackpool 1 Birmingham City 1 | Leeds United 1 Leicester City 0 |
Brighton & Hove Albion 2 Bristol City 0 | Middlesbrough 3 Huddersfield Town 0 |
Charlton Athletic 2 Peterborough United 0 | Sheffield Wednesday 1 Watford 4 |
Derby County 1 Cardiff City 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Millwall 1 |
Hull City 0 Crystal Palace 0 | |
Wednesday 28th November | |
Blackburn Rovers 1 Bolton Wanderers 2 |
The Stats | |
Biggest Win | Middlesbrough 3-0 v Huddersfield Town (home) Watford 4-1 v Sheffield Wednesday (away) |
Total Goals Scored | 27 (16 home - 11 away) |
Player Scoring Most Goals | 2 - Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough) |
Highest Attendance | 24,044 - Brighton & Hove Albion v Bristol City |
Lowest Attendance | 8,610 - Barnsley v Burnley |
Total Yellow Cards | 27 |
Total Red Cards | 1 |
Most Cards in a Game | Derby County v Cardiff City (4Y 1R) Ref: Mark Brown Hull City v Crystal Palace (5Y) Ref: Darren Drysdale |
Leading Goalscorers (League Only) | |
18 | Charlie Austin (Burnley) - includes 2 penalties |
15 | Glenn Murray (Crystal Palace) - includes 6 penalties |
12 | Jordan Rhodes (Blackburn Rovers) - 2 with Huddersfield Town |
11 | Tom Ince (Blackpool) - includes 2 penalties |
10 | Luciano Becchio (Leeds United) - includes 4 penalties Marlon King (Birmingham City) - includes 3 penalties |
9 | Craig Mackail-Smith (Brighton & Hove Albion) - includes 2 penalties David Nugent (Leicester City) - includes 1 penalty |
8 | Sone Aluko (Hull City) Craig Davies (Barnsley) - includes 1 penalty Steven Davies (Bristol City) - includes 2 penalties Chris Wood (Millwall) |
7 | Heidar Helguson (Cardiff City) Darius Henderson (Millwall) Theo Robinson (Derby County) - includes 1 penalty Matej Vydra (Watford) - includes 1 penalty Pete Whittingham (Cardiff City) - includes 3 penalties |
6 | Kevin Davies (Bolton Wanderers) Troy Deeney (Watford) - includes 1 penalty Chris Eagles (Bolton Wanderers) Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough) Bakary Sako (Wolverhampton Wanderers) Liam Trotter (Millwall) - includes 1 penalty |
Hat Tricks | |
Date | Player & Game |
01/09/12 | 3: Pete Whittingham - CARDIFF CITY v Wolverhampton Wanderers |
15/09/12 | 3: Charlie Austin - BURNLEY v Peterborough United |
22/09/12 | 3: Glenn Murray - CRYSTAL PALACE v Cardiff City |
22/09/12 | 4: Craig Davies - Birmingham City v BARNSLEY |
23/09/12 | 3: David Nugent - LEICESTER CITY v Hull City |
29/09/12 | 3: Emile Sinclair - Hull City v PETERBOROUGH UNITED |
02/10/12 | 3: Charlie Austin - BURNLEY v Sheffield Wednesday |
23/10/12 | 3: Marlon King - Millwall v BIRMINGHAM CITY |
06/11/12 | 3: Glenn Murray - CRYSTAL PALACE v Ipswich Town |
17/11/12 | 3: Jordan Rhodes - Peterborough United v BLACKBURN ROVERS |
Disciplinary Record (League and Cup) | |||||||||
Club | Y | R | Y | R | Club | Y | R | Y | R |
League | Total | League | Total | ||||||
Barnsley | 24 | 1 | 27 | 2 | Huddersfield Town | 32 | 3 | 33 | 3 |
Birmingham City | 21 | 2 | 23 | 2 | Hull City | 17 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
Blackburn Rovers | 21 | 0 | 21 | 0 | Ipswich Town | 27 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
Blackpool | 23 | 0 | 23 | 0 | Leeds United | 35 | 2 | 40 | 2 |
Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 1 | 40 | 1 | Leicester City | 20 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
Brighton & Hove Albion | 23 | 0 | 24 | 0 | Middlesbrough | 26 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
Bristol City | 25 | 0 | 27 | 0 | Millwall | 35 | 1 | 37 | 1 |
Burnley | 33 | 1 | 39 | 1 | Nottingham Forest | 32 | 3 | 32 | 3 |
Cardiff City | 30 | 2 | 32 | 2 | Peterborough United | 33 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
Charlton Athletic | 29 | 0 | 29 | 0 | Sheffield Wednesday | 32 | 1 | 35 | 1 |
Crystal Palace | 25 | 1 | 29 | 1 | Watford | 37 | 4 | 38 | 4 |
Derby County | 20 | 1 | 21 | 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 18 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
Highest and Lowest Attendances | |||
Highest | Lowest | ||
Att | Fixture | Att | Fixture |
28,707 | Nottingham Forest v Derby County (30/09) | 5,435 | Peterborough United v Bristol City (18/09) |
28,582 | Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United (19/10) | 5,997 | Peterborough Utd v Blackburn Rovers (17/11) |
28,229 | Middlesbrough v Sheffield Wednesday (09/11) | 6,188 | Peterborough United v Millwall (21/08) |
27,437 | Derby County v Sheffield Wednesday (18/08) | 6,348 | Peterborough Utd v Huddersfield Town(23/10) |
26,598 | Sheffield Wed v Bolton Wanderers (22/09) | 8,088 | Barnsley v Bristol City (01/09) |
26,594 | Brighton & HA v Sheffield Weds (14/09) | 8,195 | Barnsley v Crystal Palace (23/10) |
26,455 | Brighton & Hove Albion v Bolton Wand (24/11) | 8,227 | Barnsley v Cardiff City (24/11) |
26,402 | Brighton & Hove Albion v Leeds United (02/11) | 8,319 | Barnsley v Peterborough United (02/10) |
26,293 | Brighton & HA v Middlesbrough (20/10) | 8,427 | Peterborough Utd v Derby County (29/10) |
26,185 | Charlton Athletic v Barnsley (20/10) | 8,571 | Barnsley v Ipswich Town (29/09) |
The Next Fixtures | |
Friday 30th November | |
Birmingham City v Middlesbrough | |
Saturday 1st December | |
Bolton Wanderers v Ipswich Town | Millwall v Charlton Athletic |
Bristol City v Wolverhampton Wanderers | Nottingham Forest v Hull City |
Crystal Palace v Brighton & Hove Albion | Peterborough United v Blackpool |
Huddersfield Town v Leeds United | Watford v Barnsley |
Leicester City v Derby County (17:20) | |
Sunday 2nd December | |
Burnley v Blackburn Rovers (12:30) | Cardiff City v Sheffield Wednesday |