THE CHAMPIONSHIP 2018-19

[liquidfootball2]

Faria now the clear favourite, but as in the past week it may mean nothing or just be only for today

[blahblah]

It does seem like a good time for Buck to leave Scotland to have a future. If at the moment Villa are his level in England, what is it if he doesn't win everything this season?

That typed, why isn't he after Monaco? I'm under the impression that he went abroad with Jose, so has some foreign language knowledge and would be more in demand on the Continent?

[liquidfootball2]

I'm not so sure about Rodgers having a chance with Monaco, while we barely recognise any worth at all in Scottish domestic honours, at least because of the national TV coverage it does get mentioned every week and we're aware of it. Scotland though is a very minor league continentally speaking, it will not be noticed by many and have less kudos on the continent, so Rodgers would be completely reliant on continental clubs' noticing him for what he did pre-Celtic. Although the achievements in England were notable and very worthy domestically, they were very much confined to the domestic English league with very little European tournament success. His experience with Jose wasn't recent either and is less likely to be noticed unless they're already considering him

European clubs perhaps always are more persuaded by the names they would readily recognise recently as doing well in a coaching or managerial role. Henry with Belgium has been right to the fore and is not surprisingly a man in demand.

[blahblah]

Yes to Henry being a popular choice, especially in France.

Tbh I ignore the Scottish stuff when it appears on tv here, and the BBC when they put it high up on my way to their Football page. Surely he did enough in the CL to keep his name known post Liverpool?

I mentioned Jose more because I assume he has picked up enough relevant foreign languages than a link per se.

Looping back to Henry, he is another with an important choice to make, or Sky may not pay him as much as £4m (was it really that much ) if he flops.

[liquidfootball2]

Surely he did enough in the CL to keep his name known post Liverpool?

He's not done well at all in the CL, being beaten extremely heavily a few times, he's noticably underachieved even for a club of Celtic 's resources. He's possibly only been noticed when they've been beaten by five, six or seven by a few top teams. Even in Europe's second string competition, The Europa League its largely been a record of disappointment and failure, his record is particularly poor.

Neil Lennon did far far better with less money and resources, in Europe they have hardly progressed at all under Rodgers from his first season and not even got anywhere near Lennon's achievements. Tbf he has bettered the hapless Delia or whatever his predecessor was called.

[blahblah]

So Championship at best then , and maybe Villa do prefer Terry

[liquidfootball2]

Faria rules himself out, Villa apparently have five man shortlist, must be last man standing at this rate.

[forestfan]

Surely he did enough in the CL to keep his name known post Liverpool?

He's not done well at all in the CL, being beaten extremely heavily a few times, he's noticably underachieved even for a club of Celtic 's resources. He's possibly only been noticed when they've been beaten by five, six or seven by a few top teams. Even in Europe's second string competition, The Europa League its largely been a record of disappointment and failure, his record is particularly poor.

Neil Lennon did far far better with less money and resources, in Europe they have hardly progressed at all under Rodgers from his first season and not even got anywhere near Lennon's achievements. Tbf he has bettered the hapless Delia or whatever his predecessor was called.

Making the CL group stage is an achievement for Celtic though... his problem has been not being able to let go of his principles and do what you have to do against Barcelona to avoid being embarrassed, i.e. park the bus and kick lumps out of Messi.

[liquidfootball2]

Making the CL group stage is an achievement for Celtic though... his problem has been not being able to let go of his principles and do what you have to do against Barcelona to avoid being embarrassed, i.e. park the bus and kick lumps out of Messi.

If you set the bar low enough it possibly is, although most would expect to do far better than the feeble efforts they've made once in the group stage.

They have also had the advantage of consistently going into the far weaker champions half of qualifying too, joined by the other champions of minor European leagues and thus avoiding any tougher opponents from Spain, Italy, Germany or England (when the fourth place had to qualify). In that weaker half they really should qualify.

Lennon on far less resources had some notable results in the group stage too, and if i'm not mistaken even qualified for the first knockout stage one year. Rodgers has consistently finished either last or a poor third in the group and subsequently failed in the Europa too.

Any fair minded judge would assess his record in Europe as poor at best and a significant underachievement.

[liquidfootball2]

Villa appoint Brentford boss Dean Smith and I think John Terry as number two but I'll check the latter

Yes confirmed, Smith appointed head coach and Terry assistant coach

[TheTon]

Villa appoint Brentford boss Dean Smith and I think John Terry as number two but I'll check the latter

Yes confirmed, Smith appointed head coach and Terry assistant coach

Happy. Very happy!

[jimmy ching]

Villa appoint Brentford boss Dean Smith and I think John Terry as number two but I'll check the latter

Yes confirmed, Smith appointed head coach and Terry assistant coach

Happy. Very happy!

Yes, it's a steal. Must be hard for Brentford supporters.

No doubt, Maupay arrives in January.

[TheTon]

Villa appoint Brentford boss Dean Smith and I think John Terry as number two but I'll check the latter

Yes confirmed, Smith appointed head coach and Terry assistant coach

Happy. Very happy!

Yes, it's a steal. Must be hard for Brentford supporters.

No doubt, Maupay arrives in January.

Shouldn’t need him. Perfectly adequate strikers already there in Abraham, Kodja, Hogan, Davis and Hepburn-Murphy. Don’t forget Hogan scored a tonne of goals playing under Smith at Brentford before Villa bought him.

Also, these strikers can ALL score plenty of goals, it isn’t about that, it’s about the tactical set-up that allows strikers of this quality the opportunities to get goals, something no manager has managed to work out at Villa Park in about a decade

[jimmy ching]

Weekend build up.

Bielsabub Babes 30

Blackburn. That word still haunts me and it has nothing to do with Tony.
In my younger years I was on a bus with my friend, going to work. My friend turned around to me and asked
‘Where’s Blackburn?’
A little perplexed, I replied,
‘ Err, it’s about 60 miles away as the crow flies West but about 80 by the best route. But why did you ask that?’
‘Dunno, just came in to my head’ was the reply.
Well the day went on and I’m back on the bus going home. I get off at my stop and come to cross the busy rush hour expressway. A car stopped next to me, they wound down the window and asked,
‘Excuse me mate, could you tell me in which direction Blackburn is?’
My face must have been a picture.
I still can’t come to a satisfactory conclusion on why this happened. With me and my irrational thinking, I’ve been avoiding going to Blackburn ever since.

Yet another TV appearance reschedules the kick off time. Why this game stood out for Sky TV is a mystery. There is Villa Swansea, Forest Norwich, Stoke Birmingham, Derby Sheff Utd. There are plenty of good games to be had. Why do they keep on picking Leeds? This is grating Radrizini, your Eleven Sports director. He’s on the war path and don’t expect any favours from the Football League.

It’s been a busy week for Jansson. A fine and maybe a 1 match ban expected. TV exposure has unfortunate results but heading in the direction of only one player being punished. Words speak louder than actions they say. It doesn’t make the investigating committee look good.

Leeds have won the last four games against Blackburn which has followed five wins on the trot for the Rovers. In 63 games played, the Whites are leading 28-22 and it’s 14-12 to Blackburn at Ewood Park. In this last fixture Jansson scored the winner even though Wood was still with us and Monk was the manager.

Count Dack as the dangerous one. He’s showing good form. Roofe and Berardi both scored in the U23 fixture earlier in the week so it should be interesting how Bielsa picks for this match. My guess is he’ll bench Roberts.

Prediction, I’m teetering towards an away win after looking at the home-away form. Both teams have better away records. Fingers crossed.

[liquidfootball2]

Tony Pulis' Boro looking all set to go top of the league.

If they get promoted they'll have an outstanding chance of staying up with Pulis.

[bluenosey]

Tony Pulis' Boro looking all set to go top of the league.

If they get promoted they'll have an outstanding chance of staying up with Pulis.

...and then 2/3 years down the line they'll be saying they're fed up with boring football and trying to win games one nil, so Pulis will be sacked and they'll go back down again

[bluenosey]

Villa appoint Brentford boss Dean Smith and I think John Terry as number two but I'll check the latter

Yes confirmed, Smith appointed head coach and Terry assistant coach

Happy. Very happy!

Yes, it's a steal. Must be hard for Brentford supporters.

No doubt, Maupay arrives in January.

Shouldn’t need him. Perfectly adequate strikers already there in Abraham, Kodja, Hogan, Davis and Hepburn-Murphy. Don’t forget Hogan scored a tonne of goals playing under Smith at Brentford before Villa bought him.

Also, these strikers can ALL score plenty of goals, it isn’t about that, it’s about the tactical set-up that allows strikers of this quality the opportunities to get goals, something no manager has managed to work out at Villa Park in about a decade

Smith was the best candidate but he should have been allowed to bring his back room team in.

Having Terry as "number 2" - he won't like that - could lead to a power struggle, especially if Villa hit a turbulent patch. Shouldn't really with the players that they've got but I would be highly suspicious of JT.

[bluenosey]

Weekend build up.

Bielsabub Babes 30

Count Dack as the dangerous one. He’s showing good form. Roofe and Berardi both scored in the U23 fixture earlier in the week so it should be interesting how Bielsa picks for this match. My guess is he’ll bench Roberts.

Prediction, I’m teetering towards an away win after looking at the home-away form. Both teams have better away records. Fingers crossed.

I'm sure I read somewhere that West Brom are planning a 20m raid for Bradly Dack in January. Looks a good prospect but has a somewhat chequered history off the pitch.

[liquidfootball2]

Tony Pulis' Boro looking all set to go top of the league.

If they get promoted they'll have an outstanding chance of staying up with Pulis.

...and then 2/3 years down the line they'll be saying they're fed up with boring football and trying to win games one nil, so Pulis will be sacked and they'll go back down again

Yes i'm not clamouring for his return to the premiership but just stating what's likely to happen. Pulis sides never easily get relegated, as the zero percentage testifies and he invariably pulls those in trouble out of danger.

He seemed to be at Stoke for a lot longer than 2/3 years tbh.

It can be dreadful to watch but he does seem to get results more often than not, at least at that particular level. Even when Palace were in danger of relegation and called, they were saved after Stoke. He finished 11th and was manager of the year in 2014, he wasn't sacked but left himself, despite Palace's attempts to keep him.

At WBA where the fans hated the football, he achieved tenth after being eighth for much of the season. A poor start to 2017 with them languishing in 17th combined with the dull football got him sacked.

Boro don't often stay long in the top division, i'm not so sure they wouldn't be highly delighted with a longer stay, perhaps 2/3 years before they sack Pulis and are subsequently relegated.

I wouldn't pay to watch his teams but it's hard to argue with his results taken as a whole, and I would suspect Boro fans will be far more concerned with promotion and staying up when they get there right now. Possibly if they last a while in the premier league, discontent with Pulis' team's style of football, or complete lack of, may become far more of an issue, but that's so far off.

[blahblah]

Stoke and WBA going down at the same time did have me smiling - actually it just has again Just a shame "I'm a Big Club Manager" Hughes didn't go too.

re AV: excellent point re their No2, I'm trying to thing of something I would trust him with and haven't thought of anything yet

[jimmy ching]

Bielsabub Babes 31

Well, Roberts kept his place and Roofe was put on the wing. Harrison gave way (Injury) and Hernandez started on the bench. Berardi was back as Ayling was kicking himself in the U23’s on Friday.
As usual, it happened. Graham, who in his loan stage at Leeds had failed to find the net. Just two minutes gone, corner comes in, Golden Graham. 1-0.
After the bagatelle football between Middlesbrough and Wednesday last night, it was good to see it continue here, with a wide open entertaining game. With an evenly matched first half, Klich scored again in injury time, 1-1. There was enough time for Dack to try a cheeky shot from the kick off.

The second half started scrappy. On the hour Leeds were looking comfortable as Blackburn did their third substitution. Then, another corner, another headed goal. 2-1 against the run of play.

Leeds tried but to no avail. They are getting in to the habit of controlling yet not producing the final product. Hernandez, Clarke and Shackleton came on, yet none made the difference. Clarke, in his short cameo, showed potential yet again.
A poor result. A huge dose of reality for the Leeds fans. Bielsa will be under pressure now for the first time.
A couple of paranoia facts. Leeds have now gone 51 games with out a penalty and Leeds fare much worse when Ayling isn’t playing.

[liquidfootball2]

Wigan beating Albion and only Sheff Utd away at Derby can overhaul Boro if it stays this way.

[liquidfootball2]

Early days but even Derby lead against Sheff Utd, has Pulis done his lottery numbers this week?

[blahblah]

ff, jimmy, ton et al ie the Champ watchers: Fulham, they struggled early last season, is what is happening now similar?

[liquidfootball2]

Fulham may have turned it all around in the championship, and that seemed to be the case last year after a faltering start, doing likewise in the premier league however, would be a feat of a far higher magnitude and all the more unlikely for that.

Yes they've played a couple of decent sides among the nine games, but they're conceding bagfuls against anybody and everybody. 25 goals in 9, that's just incredible !!!

They sometimes need to score five to win a game. If this goes on much longer, even if they do escape the drop, it's likely to be with another manager in charge.

I have the feeling this bloke is already halfway out of the exit door with the axeman hiding just behind it.

And he spent 100m plus apparently.

[jimmy ching]

Bielsabub Babes 32

When I was younger if you'd said Ipswich, I’d think Mühren or Beattie, Robson or Ramsey. Now I think Blahblah.

It’s a sign of the times as the internet starts to abruptly change the way humans see the world. I’ve never met Blahblah but I’ve been reading his/her analysis of life and football for 15 years or so now. I presume, it’s also vice versa. The creation of the internet community, I’m sure we would all agree, has changed our world forever.

The Ipswich match has always been special to me. It grew with my fondness of Norwich after the years of the seventies. Bungay, a border town was always fun. Time went by, then Mick arrived to resurrect the Massey Ferguson’s, as he added another dimension, McCarthyism. Ipswich were no Lazarus. It came across as 2D rather than Robson’s 3D. In fact, it was that dull the last match that Ipswich played in that is ingrained in my memory was their Uefa cup final. Sorry if anything has happened in between. It didn’t catch my attention. Although in between I did have the enjoyment of giving my nephew the original Norwich shirt which happens to be Ipswich colours. Norwich are the original blues. 11 derby matches unbeaten now.

Leeds and Ipswich seem to play each other all the time. Conclusion? Both are second tier material. In the head to heads, Leeds are cruising it 26-18 in their 60 matches.
This is Bielsa’s crunch time. If he can’t get a win out of this home match against a basement team, he’s going to have to change his approach. With just one win in the last five, maybe he should start here. I’m just glad I’m not in his shoes.

After Saturdays performance had you grasping for excuses like,
‘At least we won’t get relegated’,
it starts to give us the clue, something's are not going right. Are they just cracks of settlement or straight forward structural defects.

Quick get the Polyfilla out.

My prediction, a highly frustrating draw.

[get_on_my_cocker]

My prediction, a highly frustrating draw.

If we can snatch a draw, I'd be delighted! However, Town are currently the worst I have ever seen them with league 1 players and a league 1 manager, and are quickly heading to league 1. No idea how we managed our first win at Swansea the other week, but I can't see us picking up 3 points any time soon!

[blahblah]

My prediction, a highly frustrating draw.

If we can snatch a draw, I'd be delighted! However, Town are currently the worst I have ever seen them with league 1 players and a league 1 manager, and are quickly heading to league 1. No idea how we managed our first win at Swansea the other week, but I can't see us picking up 3 points any time soon!

How, why Walters?

DBent has started to mutter about returning?

[get_on_my_cocker]

Yes, what we need now is a 34 year old striker that hasn't played since May. Walters was a big gamble that could have worked but hasn't (still not sure why he came on against Bolton when he wasn't 100% fit). There are better players with bags of experience that we could pick up, but we just seem unable to attract anyone. The club's in a bad way

[blahblah]

We used to be "all about the kids" and should get back to it. Losing them before they get near turning 16 is what annoys me. We have been shite since we had not just the aged, shite Bowyer (and let's not start on being a racist *$^£") but Bullard, who actually was living in the NE or somewhere daft and didn't have to go to training?

I could go on about Keane giving Rhodes away; BJ being wrong on so many levels "City deserve to go up more than Ipswich as we are a massive Club" erm not then you weren't freakwit hoofball tweet; Magic was doing OK, but was shagging someone he shouldn't have been, and we lost the player to Bristol City?

You may sense my disillusionment