Welcome, Guest
You have to register before you can post on our site.

Username
  

Password
  





Search Forums

(Advanced Search)

Forum Statistics
» Members: 664
» Latest member: bubble7885
» Forum threads: 12,572
» Forum posts: 284,121

Full Statistics

Latest Threads
HTAFC Prediction League 2...
Forum: Huddersfield Town
Last Post: Devongone
12 minutes ago
» Replies: 5
» Views: 93
The chain thread may mini...
Forum: Preston North End
Last Post: talkSAFT
1 hour ago
» Replies: 14,640
» Views: 2,760,160
January transfer window 2...
Forum: Huddersfield Town
Last Post: Lord Snooty
1 hour ago
» Replies: 27
» Views: 605
HTAFC Prediction League 2...
Forum: Huddersfield Town
Last Post: Lord Snooty
3 hours ago
» Replies: 28
» Views: 640
Next manager
Forum: West Bromwich Albion
Last Post: BaggieSteve
4 hours ago
» Replies: 20
» Views: 1,057
RIP 2026
Forum: Preston North End
Last Post: themaclad
5 hours ago
» Replies: 11
» Views: 262
Prediction League Week 20...
Forum: West Bromwich Albion
Last Post: Baggiebob(BBB)
5 hours ago
» Replies: 3
» Views: 79
Sports Predictions 2026
Forum: Huddersfield Town
Last Post: theo_luddite
6 hours ago
» Replies: 11
» Views: 215
A piss up with the Brewer...
Forum: Huddersfield Town
Last Post: Amelia Chaffinch
7 hours ago
» Replies: 3
» Views: 49
Sporting Predictions 2025
Forum: Huddersfield Town
Last Post: theo_luddite
8 hours ago
» Replies: 225
» Views: 21,974

 
  Matlock
Posted by: themaclad - 31-12-2025, 09:15 - Forum: Other........ - No Replies

Ever heard the one about the manager who became his own replacement?

No? Well, that's exactly what Adam Clayton has done at non-league Matlock Town.

The former Middlesbrough and Leeds United midfielder was let go on Saturday - and rehired as manager two days later.

Matlock Town 'owned' the bizarre situation when announcing Clayton's return on Monday, saying it "may well come as a surprise" considering they mutually agreed to part ways on Saturday.

However, the statement announcing his departure and social media posts relating to it from the club have been scrubbed from the internet.

A 3-0 defeat by Ossett United on Friday had cost the former Premier League player his first job in management, despite Matlock sitting third in the Northern Premier League Eastern Division table.

On Saturday it was said that results had "fallen short of the standards expected", despite Matlock losing just two of their past six matches across all competitions.

By Monday, Matlock owner David Hilton explained that Clayton had been released to pursue an opportunity with another club higher up the English football pyramid.

Hilton said the Gladiators had initially "decided to not allow those discussions" to take place until the end of the season, fearing it would "unsettle" the Derbyshire club, only to then release the manager to pursue the chance.

And when Clayton turned down the opportunity of a new start elsewhere, the 36-year-old is said to have "requested he be reinstated" so he could "finish what he had started".

"While the earlier decision was taken with the club's long-term welfare in mind, further reflection and continued dialogue highlighted the importance of stability, continuity, and a shared direction," Hilton said in a statement on the club website., external

Clayton, who started his professional career on the books at Manchester City, was still playing when he was elevated from midfielder to interim manager at Matlock last season.

Despite Matlock going on to be relegated last term, Clayton was given the job on a permanent basis and had the Gladiators within seven points of league leaders Redcar Athletic by the end of what can only be called his 'first spell' in charge.

Print this item

  Preston v The Owls SBC Match Thread
Posted by: Owlkev71 - 30-12-2025, 22:52 - Forum: Sheffield Wednesday - Replies (30)

THE MATCH

THURSDAY 1ST JANUARY KO 3PM

[Image: OIP.kcA44mZnrTV-kCvG6ecHPgAAAA?rs=1&pid=...n&o=7&rm=3] v [Image: c8f0e1f02feea03b72811b4b50c0f4c0--britis...nesday.jpg]

LAST MATCH



Our final game of 2025 ended with us getting a clean sheet and a point. Blackburn came close with a effort from the edge of the box that went just wide. Bannan came close with our best chance of the first half when he lobbed the keeper but the ball landed just wide of the net. Onto the 2nd half and Rovers came close but Charles steered it for a corner. Thornton had a effort blocked and Otegabyo steered wide. Blackburn had a great chance to take the lead but Ohashi somehow headed wide and Cantwell had another chance but saw his chance deflected wide.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB Thumb up  Thumb up  Thumb up

THE MATCH



Our first fixture of 2026 sees us travel over the Pennines to take on Preston. Preston are having a good season and currently lie in 7th place just 1 point out of the playoff race. They have a good chance as anyone in the top half of the table to make the playoffs and with maybe one or two additions in the transfer window they might just achieve that goal. They are managed by Paul Heckingbottom who has been in charge since August 2024. There leading scorer this season is Daniel Jebbison who has 5 goals so far this season.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB Thumb up  Thumb up  Thumb up

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 45
PREST 48
DRAW 26

CURRENT FORM

OWLS     D D L L D L                                                           

PREST    L D D W D D

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT Thumb up  Thumb up

GAVIN WARD
James Wilson and Ian Hussin
Fourth Official: Ollie Yates

THE TEAM

Charles
Palmer Cooper Iorfa Otegbayo Amass
Thornton Ingelsson Bannan
McNeill Cadamarteri

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

3-1 Cadamarteri

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

56

ATTENDANCE

N/A

BML LEAGUE

Owlkev 16
Imre 15
SCO 10
Washington 9
Maddix 8

BMPL

Stateside 10
Pei 0
Wereham -11
Southey -12

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Sunderland v Man City
QPR v Norwich
Southampton v Millwall
Lincoln v Huddersfield
Cambridge v Walsall

AHHDA

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE

Print this item

  Lincoln on New Year's Day
Posted by: Lord Snooty - 30-12-2025, 21:53 - Forum: Huddersfield Town - Replies (17)

Lincoln City v Huddersfield Town
Sky Bet League One
Thursday January 1st - 15:00 ko
at the LNER Stadium


[Image: 960px-Sincil_Bank_Stadium.jpeg]


Huddersfield Town travel to Lincoln to Sincil Bank on Thursday afternoon for a game of football.

Will it be a happy start to the new year for the Terriers or will it be a shocking hangover from all that Christmas points gathering? Critics have suggested that our last three opponents have been poor and that Lee Grant won't be taken seriously until he beats one of the top sides in the division and currently standing second in the League One table makes the Imps appear to be one of those.

However, we have beaten them already this season in the Vertu Trophy and they looked anything but a good team as our second choice players beat them comprehensively.

Town don't seem to have any new injuries to worry about, but after opening the scoring against Northampton Town on Monday night, Joe Low was withdrawn at half time with Grant saying it was just precautionary after the defender had complained about a niggle.

Despite getting well and truly turned over by Town at the London and North Eastern Railway Stadium in the Trophy, Lincoln have a more than decent record at Sincil Bank, winning eight out of their eleven matches this season and losing only one. That one defeat was inflicted by Exeter City back in October.

With critics saying that Town have beaten nobody of any consequence, Lincoln have beaten Stockport County and Cardiff City over the festive period, as well as a 2-0 win at Barnsley on Monday.

Two teams in good form. Should be a crackerjack with lots of fireworks!

[Image: 1280px-Fireworks_on_New_Year%27s_Eve_in_...htened.jpg]


All images used in this thread are form Wikipedia.





A brief history of Lincoln City: formed in 1884 and nicknamed the Imps after a grotesque on a wall inside Lincoln Cathedral. They played at John O'Gaunts at first but moved into Sincil Bank in 1895 and have been there ever since. This was after they had been founder members of the Football League Second Division in 1892, where they stayed until 1908 when they failed to get re-elected.


[Image: Lincoln_imp.jpg]


They did get re-elected again, but then got elected out again before becoming founder members of the Football League's new Third Division (North) in 1921. They won Div 3(N) three times and spent nine seasons in the 1950s in Division Two, their most succesful spell. But that was followed by two succesive relegations and they dropped to Division 4 for the first time and stayed there for the next 14 years.

They went up with a record points total under the management of Graham Taylor, who would leave soon after to go do similar at Watford.


[Image: Graham_Taylor.jpg]


In the mid 80s, the Football League voted to give an automatic promotion place to a team from the newly formed Football Conference (now National League) with the first team promoted in 1987 being Scarborough under the management of local chiropodist Neil Warnock. Finishing bottom of the 4th Division and therefore the first team to be automatically relegated from the league were Lincoln City. Not without controversy though.

It was down to either the Imps or Torquay United on the final day. At Plainmoor, with Torquay 2-1 down against Crewe Alexandra, one of the Torquay players got bitten by a police dog, which led to a lot of injury time. Lincoln's game at Swansea had finished with a 2-0 defeat for the Imps but the as it stands table was still keeping them up. In the added on time though, with the Lincoln players and fans huddled around their transistor radios, Torquay scored the goal that saved them and doomed Lincoln to life outside of the Football League.

It didn't last long as they bounced straight back up again. They went up again in 1998, but came straight back down again. That was followed by five consecutive seasons of qualifying for the Play Offs, all of which they failed in.......
  • 2002/03: Finishing 6th, they beat Scunthorpe United in the semi-finals, but lost the final against AFC Bournemouth in Cardiff.

  • 2003/04: Finishing 7th, they were defeated by the mighty Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals.

  • 2004/05: Finishing 6th, they again reached the final at the Millennium Stadium, losing 2-0 to Southend United.

  • 2005/06: A 7th place finish led to a semi-final defeat against Grimsby Town.

  • 2006/07: Finishing 5th, they were beaten in the semi-finals by Bristol Rovers (4-8 on aggregate).


The failure turned into a demise and by the end of 2010/11 they were dumped once more into the Conference. But then in May 2016, they took on a couple of school teachers, the brothers Danny and Nicky Cowley, whose legacy has put the club into the healthy position it still enjoys today.

They were only there for three seasons, before leaving to join Huddersfield Town in the Championship, but what a three seasons they were for Imps fans.
  • 2016-17 (National League Champions & FA Cup Quarter-Finalists): In their first season, as a non-league side, the Cowleys led Lincoln to the National League title, securing promotion back to the EFL after a six-year absence. They also had an FA Cup run, becoming the first non-league team in over a century to reach the quarter-finals by defeating Ipswich Town, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Premier League side Burnley, before losing to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

  • 2017-18 (EFL Trophy Winners & League Two Play-offs): In their first season back in the EFL, the Imps finished seventh in League Two, qualifying for the play-offs. They got beat at the semi final stage by Exeter City. They also won the club's first-ever major trophy by winning the EFL Checkatrade Trophy at Wembley, beating Shrewsbury Town 1-0 in the final, with a goal from Elliott Whitehouse.

  • 2018-19 (League Two Champions): The success continued as the Cowleys guided the Imps to the League Two title, returning the club to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1999.


In the season after the Cowleys left, they ended the season back at Wembley in the Play Off Final, with Michael Appleton in charge. They had beaten slumbering giant Sunderland 3-2 on aggregate in the semis, before lining up against Blackpool at the national stadium. And they got off to a brilliant start when Ollie Turton, in his last game before moving to Huddersfield Town, put the ball into his own net in the first minute. But two goals from Kenny Dougall won the match for the Tangerines 2-1.

Since then they've had top half finishes in the League One table, but no more Play Offs.




Head to Head

[Image: 500px-Huddersfield_Town_AFC_crest.svg.png] [Image: 500px-Lincoln_City_FC_2024_crest.svg.png]

Town lead the head to head with 16 wins to Lincoln's 15, with 12 draws.

The teams first met way back in our first season in the Football League. On the 27th of December away at Sincil Bank it ended in a two all draw with Henry Hamilton scoring both of ours. The return fixture was also drawn, this time one all with James Richardson scoring. Those weren't the first games though. We'd met earlier on that season in the FA Cup 4th qualifying round which the Imps won after a replay.

In more recent times though, not many league games. Last season was only the second season we had been in the same division in this century. The biggest match was in this century though and that was of course the Play Offs semi final for 2003/04 in the 4th tier.

The league meetings had gone with home wins for each team. Gary Taylor-Fletcher was among the Lincoln scorers as they beat us 3-1 over there and then Efe Sodje and Pawel Abbott scored in a 2-1 win at the McAlpine.

The Terriers finished the season in 4th place, seven points ahead of the Imps and so the first leg of the Play Offs took place at Sincil Bank. Town took an early lead. It looked like Rob Edwards had scored direct from a corner, but Iffy Onuora, who had only just been brought back to the club by his old mate and now Town manager, Peter Jackson, claimed that he had got a glancing header and was given the goal. Taylor-Fletcher equalised, but then David Mirfin scored to give us a first leg lead.

The second leg didn't go to plan, unless the plan was to go behind on aggregate before half time. Two goals in two minutes just before the break from Richard Butcher and Mark Bailey got us all in a tizz again. Nowadays, the team would've been booed off after such a let down, but Town fans were made of sterner stuff back then and instead got behind the lads and roared them on to victory.

First of all, in the 60th minute Andy Booth had his heels clipped in the penalty area and hit the deck. This was spotted by the referee, unlike modern day refs who are under instruction not to give us anything, and Danny Schofield equalised from the spot kick. Three sides of the McAlpine Stadium went wild in the 83rd minute when after the ball went through a tangle of legs, it eventually fell to Rob Edwards who slammed it home and we managed to hold on without any more cock ups.

We then of course, went to Cardiff, beat Mansfield and won promotion.

Since then, they beat us in the League Cup in 2019, 1-0 with a goal from Harry Anderson. We drew 2-2 at the John Smith's last season, with Callum Marshall getting a late equaliser, then lost 1-0 at theirs on April Fools Day. And finally, earlier this season, we tonked them 2-0 in the Trophy, with Joe Taylor and Murray Wallace on target.






Lincoln manager profile: Michael Skubala: Having stumbled upon success by appointing two PE teachers in the Cowley brothers, the Lincoln board decided to copy the idea by appointing another one in Skubala, who used to be a PE teacher at Lutterworth College. His coaching philosophy sounds similar to that of Lee Grant as in he's data driven with a focus on player development.

During his time at Lutterworth, he also held academy coaching roles at Coventry City and Nottingham Forest and was an assistant manager at non-league club Barwell. He became the director of football at Loughborough University before being headhunted by the FA.

Skubala also served as the head coach of the England national futsal team, leading them to their highest world ranking in two decades between 2017 and 2020. Futsal? What's that? A gloryfied version of five-a-side football. Dodgy

In July 2022, Skubala was appointed head coach of the Leeds United U21s. In February 2023, following the sacking of Jesse Marsch, he was named the interim head coach for the senior team, taking charge of three Premier League matches. His short stint included a notable 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford. After Javi Gracia was appointed permanent manager, Skubala transitioned to a first-team coach role.

Skubala was appointed manager of Lincoln City in November 2023, following the sacking of Mark Kennedy. Since then he has been in charge of over a hundred games and has a win percentage of around 45%.




[Image: 500px-Michael_Skubala_%28cropped%29.jpeg]



Club connections:

Lasse Sørensen, Sean Roughan and Joe Taylor from the current Town squad are all ex Lincoln players, leading the Imps fans to think that they have become a feeder club for the more illustrious club in West Yorkshire.

The best one that we stole off them came with the Cowleys and that was of course, Harry Toffolo. He'd started his career with Norwich City, but was sent out on many loans before making his breakthrough at Sincil Bank. He made 72 appearances for them, winning the League Two title and a place in the PFA team of the year.

At Leeds Road he made 99 appearances scoring 9 goals. He was just about to tap home his 10th goal, against Nottingham Forest at Wembley in the Championship Play Off Final in 2022, when instead of rolling the ball past the goalkeeper, he inexplicably took a dive for which he received a yellow card. What a strange thing to do!

Even stranger was him then joining Forest almost as the final whistle blew. Had he been already tapped up or was it just a corrupt referee denying us a clear cut penalty? I suppose we'll never know. Whistle

He made 57 appearances for the Florist in three seasons before his release in the summer. At which point, he headed over to America where he now plays for Charlotte FC in the MLS.

[Image: 250px-Harry_Toffolo_England_U20s_%28cropped%29.JPG]





Lincoln in popular culture:

Tim Hart, one of the founder members of Steeleye Span was born in Lincoln in 1948.

All Around My Hat - Steeleye Span on YouTube


[Image: 960px-Steeleye_Span_2019_Glastonbury_Festival_03.jpg]




The pop/rock band The Casuals from Lincoln achieved commercial success in the late 1960s. Their single "Jesamine" reached number 2 on the charts in 1968.

Jesamine - The Casuals on YouTube


[Image: Festival_di_Sanremo_1969_-_The_Casuals.png]









Recent form - last 6 matches:

Town 2-0 Northampton
Town 5-0 Port Vale
Rotherham 1-3 Town
Town 1-1 Wigan
Northampton 1-1 Town
Cardiff 3-2 Town

Barnsley 0-2 Lincoln
Stockport 1-2 Lincoln
Lincoln 2-1 Cardiff
Blackpool 2-2 Lincoln
Lincoln 3-1 Barnsley
Lincoln 0-2 Town (EFL Trophy)

Town are 5th in the League One table with 37 points. Lincoln are 2nd with 44.



Leading scorers (all comps):

Terriers:
Leo Castledine (11)
Joe Taylor (7)
Bojan Radulović (7)

Imps:
James Collins (6)
Reeco Hackett-Fairchild (6)





Anagrams 2025: All to do with Huddersfield Town over the last 12 months.

  1. John In Grot Town
  2. Hulls Calm Alarm
  3. Ravi Could Banjo
  4. Audi Scum Cat
  5. Ely Mafia
  6. Liam Chuffed
  7. Edmond Quiz Opener
  8. Elvis Wall
  9. Adolescent Eli
  10. Lent Rage


[Image: 960px-Lincoln_v_Boston_002.jpg]

Print this item

  He is no Moore
Posted by: themaclad - 30-12-2025, 11:09 - Forum: Port Vale - No Replies

League One strugglers Port Vale have sacked manager Darren Moore after Friday's thrashing by Huddersfield Town left them seven points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Vale's 5-0 defeat by the Terriers was their seventh in their past nine league games and left them 10 points from safety after 21 matches.

The Valiants have not won a league game since beating Barnsley at Oakwell on 27 September - 12 matches ago.

"This has been a difficult decision and one we haven't taken lightly, but we believe now is the right moment to make a change," a club statement, external said.

"We have given the situation time and support to ensure we were doing everything to give this project the best possible chance of success, and while we truly hoped it would turn, we must act in what we believe is the best long-term interest of Port Vale."

Moore was appointed in February last year on a five-and-a-half year contract with the club also in the relegation zone in League One.

But only two wins in the 17 remaining games that season meant Vale were relegated back to League Two.

Although Moore took the club back up after finishing second in League Two last term, life back in the third tier has been tough.

After failing to win any of their first seven league games, three victories on the spin in September - against Exeter, Mansfield and the Tykes - hinted at a revival.

But Vale failed to build on that with the only successes in the past 14 games in all competitions coming in the last 32 of the EFL Trophy and first two rounds of the FA Cup.

Moore said he was "sorry" things did not work out this season.

"It has been a real privilege to manage Port Vale and to represent such a proud football club," he said.

"Earning promotion in our first season gave me memories that I will always keep in my heart, and I want to thank the players, staff and supporters for their backing during my time at Vale Park."

The club said a recruitment process would now take place with an announcement in due course.

First-team coach Jamie Smith will take charge of the team for their trip to Bradford City on Monday, 29 December (19:45 GMT).

Print this item

  HTAFC Prediction League 2025/26 Play Off 1st leg (Snooty v themaclad)
Posted by: Lord Snooty - 30-12-2025, 01:04 - Forum: Huddersfield Town - Replies (3)

2 points for correct result
4 points for correct score
2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score   Laugh (correct score on a joker would give you 8 points)
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Badger gives you 2 points Badger

The prize for winning the league is one rep point.

Cup games: In the event of a draw, it's half the points if you've predicted a draw when it gets to 90 mins and the full points if it's still a draw after extra time. Half the points will be awarded for correctly predicting the winner of the match if it goes to penalties. However, if you do predict a draw and it's a match that won't be going to a replay, you can get a possible extra point by stating which of the two teams you think will eventually win.

Random score generator: I will be using the random score generator again for those who miss predicting, so we shouldn't get some people too far behind that after missing a couple of weeks they lose all interest, because I know it's not easy getting on here every week.
To be fair to everybody, this is going to be like, say if three people in one week miss their predictions, the first one in the table will be given all 0-0, the second one down the line will get 1-0 and the third will get 0-1 and so on, like if there's four missing the 4th will get 1-1, then 5th 2-1, 6th 1-2. and if there are so many missing, might as well pack in. Wink
And if you miss two weeks on the trot, I'll stop until you come back on again. Not doing it for half a season like I did t'other year.  Rolleyes


At the end of the season, the winner of group 2 and the bottom of group 1 will swap places in what is commonly known as "promotion" and "relegation". It's something that most football fans will be familiar with, unless you're a fan of Liverpool or Arsenal or one of those other fashionable clubs.

The second placed player in group 2 will then have a play off with the player who finishes second from the bottom in group 1 to decide whether they will be going up, down or staying where they are.

We're going to have two seasons in one though, just to try and make it a bit more interesting and not so long drawn out. The first season will end on the Boxing Day fixtures, with the play offs being on the dates of the Twixtmas fixtures and the NYD fixtures.

The second season will start the following week, which is usually the FA Cup 3rd round, finishing on the last game of the League One season. Then another period of relegation/promotion play off games, taking in such fixtures as the EFL play offs, FA Cup Final, UEFA finals and such like.

Each group will have it's own set of fixtures. Both groups will have the Town games, with scorers to predict as before. Then it will be a split of League One fixtures and bonus matches, hopefully around ten, eleven or twelve games per Matchday.

The random badger is restricted to three goal scorers in any of the fixtures in your group.

Here's how that will appear at the end of the fixture list. All you have to do is fill in the blanks.......


Badger *** scores for ***
Badger *** scores for ***
Badger *** scores for ***

Any of those will score two points if correct. No minus points for getting it wrong.

Postponed matches will only count if the match is re-played before the next Matchday is under way. Abandoned matches will be awarded half the points for the score at the time of abandonment, so 1 point if you have the correct result, 2 points if you have the correct score.

Substitute Badger or scorer in one of the Town games:- These will be only be allowed if you change them before the match involved has kicked off.

Prediction League Archive: https://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=12830


So we now have a two legged Play Off between Lord Snooty and themaclad. The usual rules apply, but in the case of the match ending in a tie, we will have a tie breaker. That will be to predict the total number of corners in the two Huddersfield Town matches during the two legs. The closest wins. If it's still a tie, the winner will be the one who scored most points over the season, which in that case would be themaclad.



Final Division One table for the 2025/26 season:

  1. Baggiebob(BBB) = 432 pts
  2. jjamez = 424 pts
  3. neonfoxinthebox = 359 pts
  4. ritchiebaby = 328 pts
  5. Lord Snooty = 327 pts
  6. SHEP_HTAFC = 171 pts




Final Division Two table for the 2025/26 season:
  1. theo_luddite = 379 pts
  2. themaclad = 369 pts
  3. Devongone = 348 pts
  4. St Charles Owl = 336 pts
  5. WakeyTerrier = 287 pts
  6. Amelia Chaffinch = 270 pts


Thursday January 1st (all 15:00):
League One:
Lincoln v Town
Town scorers:
Lincoln scorers:

Doncaster Rovers v Bolton Wanderers
Exeter City v Luton Town
Leyton Orient v AFC Wimbledon
Mansfield Town v Bradford City
Northampton Town v Stockport County
Port Vale v Blackpool
Reading v Burton Albion
Rotherham United v Peterborough United
Stevenage v Plymouth Argyle
Wigan Athletic v Barnsley
Wycombe Wanderers v Cardiff City


Tie breaker:
Total number of corners in the two Town matches of both legs = ??


Badger *** scores for ***
Badger *** scores for ***
Badger *** scores for ***



Still to come:-

Promotion/Relegation Play Off 2nd leg: Sun 4th Jan; Exeter at home

New season Matchday 1: Sat Jan 10th; FA Cup 3rd round + Stockport away game

Print this item

  Prediction League Week 18 Results
Posted by: St Charles Owl - 28-12-2025, 19:26 - Forum: West Bromwich Albion - Replies (2)

Group A

BaggieVicar 14
BaggieOne 12
Zimnan 10
Minizin 9
B.B.B. 9
Stairs 7
A.A.A. 6
Twerton 4

So we reach the final week of the year and Group A manages to stick in a very, very average week!! They did manage to equal the most points scored on one game, which stands at 22, on the Norwich v Charlton game but there were also a couple of negative points games to offset that - WBA v Bristol City (blind optimism on display??) and Stoke v Preston.

A little bit of symmetry (or divine intervention??Whistle) with the time of year sees BaggieVicar leading the way this week with 14 points. only the second time he has topped the weekly scores. He scored on the Bonus and Scoreball and had he played the Gamball he would have scored 2 more points as he got a CR on that game as well!! BaggieOne is second with 12 points, he was one of two players to score on the Gamball and added 2 CSs but missed on the Bonus to keep his score down a bit. Zinman is 3rd with 10 points. This is the 6th time in the last 7 weeks that he has been in the top 3, if he could find some consistency with his balls (he missed them all this week!!) he would be so much better off!!

Minizin and BBB are joint 4th with 9 points. They both missed the Gamball but BBB scored a max on the Bonus and Minizin managed a CS as well as a CR on the Bonus. Stairs is 6th with 7 points, the 6th time in the last 8 weeks that he finds himself in the bottom half of the weekly scoring. AAA is 7th with 6 points, this is his lowest weekly position in 14 weeks, shows the consistency he has shown as he has moved up the table!!

Twerton is bottom of the pile this week with just 4 points, that is the 3rd highest bottom score in Group A this season so not too much damage caused for him!!

205 Minizin
188 Stairs
174 A.A.A.
171 BaggieOne
162 BaggieVicar
158 Twerton
148 B.B.B.
145 Zinman


Minizin stretches his lead to 17 points and becomes the first player in either Group to pass the double century mark!! Stairs is still comfortable in 2nd spot but the pack are edging closer to him. That pack consists of AAA, BaggieOne and now BaggieVicar who moved ahead of Twerton this week into 5th. BBB and Zinman continue their fight for the wooden spoon with just 3 points between them.

Cheers
SCO


Group B

Lady Jane 18
4eva 11
Derby 10
SCO 9
Themaclad 8
Salop 7
Snooty 5
Amelia 4

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and is looking forward to the new year, whatever it may bring.

An above average week for Group B with every match, and every ball, producing a positive score. There was quite a spread of scores though we did see some unusual sights - Derby actually got a correct score and Themaclad was mid-table!

The week's outstanding performer was Lady Jane who scored on the week's high of 6 games and was the only player to score on all her balls. 4eva claims 2nd spot although he was the joint lowest result predictor - he only got 3 but turned 2 of them into maximums with one of them being his bonus. It really helps when you get that ball right. Derby also made it to double figues and secured his 6th correct score (4eva has 21!)

SCO continued his recent run of scores - in the last 5 weeks his score has been between 7 and 10, so this week's 9 points is hardly a surprise. He was one of 2 players not to pick a correct score but again he was helped by a positive bonus ball - he has scored on 12 of these and this week was his third in a row. Themaclad is a point back with an unusually average week - he matched SCO's 4 correct results, turning 2 of them into correct scores but missed out on all his balls. Salop had one fewer correct score but did at least gain a point from his scoreball.

Less impressive scores for Snooty and Amelia. Snnoty matched Salop for results and scores but in addition to losing points on the gamball and bonus, he also lost a point on the scoreball. Amelia was one of 3 players to score on the gamball but otherwise struggled, scoring on just 2 other games and failing to nail a correct score. She followed Snooty in selecting the week's scoreless match for her scoreball to leave her at the foot of the table with 4points.


194 4eva
150 SCO
145 Lady Jane
134 Snooty
129 Themaclad
123 Derby
122 Amelia
108 Salop


A couple of changes in the table but no change at the top as 4eva just keeps adding to his lead - now stretching to 44 points. SCO retains 2nd place but Lady Jane's good week sees her take 3rd place from Snooty and she's now closing in on SCO. The other change sees Derby edging ahead of Amelia.

Zin


Playoff Standings Update

As we reach the end of 2025, a few weeks over halfway through the season, I though an update on the standings would give some players some extra Xmas cheers and others a New Year's resolution to use!!!

1: Minizin - 205 points
2: 4eva - 194

3: Stairs - 188
4: AAA - 174
5: BaggieOne - 171
6: BaggieVicar - 162


7: Twerton - 4 points behind Playoff places
8: SCO - 12
9: BBB - 14
10: Lady Jane - 17
10: Zinman - 17
12: Lord Snooty - 28
13: Themaclad - 33
14: Derby - 39
15: Amelia - 40
16: Salop - 54

So as we stand the top 2 in each division are looking comfortable, especially 4eva who is running away with Group B. After that the PO places are filled with Group A players!! The chasers makes interesting reading with 5 players - Twerton, SCO, BBB, Lady Jane and Zinman all within a realistic shout of putting some form together and closing the gap on that 6th spot.

The bottom 5, all from Group B have some real work to do if they are going to be delaying their holidays for the Playoffs, but I fear a couple may have already booked their flights in anticipation of being free to head to the beach!!!

See you all in 2026!!!

Print this item

  Wrexham Racecourse Ground 29/12/2025 1945 hrs
Posted by: themaclad - 28-12-2025, 14:10 - Forum: Preston North End - Replies (2)

The first visit to the Racecourse since a 0-0 on Boxing Day 1999, only the 38th meeting between the clubs the first being 31/8/1970.
Once rocked up there at the end of the 77/78 season to watch them play Peterborough in a match which had significent for us,we had finished the season on the Saturday, the Posh needed to win to deny us promotion, Wrexham were already up.
Packed house 4000 Posh fans, Thoousands of home fans and a good couple of hundred from Preston. Ended 0-0 with Dai Davies pulling off a string of super saves in the last 20 minutes.
On Boxing Day the home side turned a 3-1 deficit to Sheff U into a 5-3 win, so will come into this one on a high.

FORM GUIDE

WREXHAM 6 PNE 10

Wrexham view

We meet again as Preston North End cross our paths for the second time this month.

THE LOWDOWN

Preston are enjoying an excellent campaign, with their strong home form underpinning a push to feature in the promotion discussion. Having faced us three weeks ago in a 1-1 draw at Deepdale, North End put in another impressive performance to take a point from runaway leaders Coventry City.

Despite losing Liam Lindsay to a red card before the break, Preston were able to keep Frank Lampard’s team at arm’s length until twenty minutes from the end of the match, Andrew Hughes scored an own goal. However, they fought back and earned an admirable draw when Daniel Jebbison scored six minutes later.

IN THE HOT SEAT

Paul Heckingbottom’s reputation as a thoughtful, modern football coach has been enhanced by his spell at Preston North End as he continues to sustain a promotion push despite there being substantial doubts about his squad expressed in pre-season.

Best known for his two year stint in charge of Sheffield United, in which he guided them to promotion to the Premier League, he arrived at Deepdale in 2024, just one game into the season after the departure of Ryan Lowe.

A glance at North End’s squad illustrates how highly Heckingbottom is thought of in the game, as it is scattered with highly-promising young loan signings from the biggest clubs in the Premier League. That such clubs are willing to entrust Heckingbottom with developing their best talent shows just how well regarded his coaching skills are, and he’s certainly getting the best out of them as North End push for promotion.

ONE TO WATCH

One of the gifted youngsters whose development has been temporarily entrusted to Heckingbottom is Alfie Devine, who is enjoying a superb season on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

He started out at Liverpool’s academy but was released and moved on to Wigan Athletic. He helped The Latics pull off an upset against Spurs in the FA Youth Cup in 2020 and he signed for the Londoners that summer.

He became the youngest player in Spurs’ history when he played in the FA Cup at Marine, and marked the occasion with a goal. A youth international, he started in the final as England won the European Under-19 championship in 2022.

This is his fourth loan spell away from North London, with his travels beginning in 2023 when he spent a spell at Port Vale in League One. He moved on to enjoy stints at Plymouth in the Championship and Westerloo in the Belgian top tier.

HEAD TO HEAD

Our 3-2 win at Deepdale at the start of the season ended a run of eight matches without a win over Preston, but we have to go back to October 1997 when Martyn Chalk’s 50th minute goal was the difference between the two sides.

For our most recent home win over North End you have to go back to the season before, when a goal by Waynne Phillips 12 minutes from the end of the match earned us victory.

Our Carabao Cup win in August also ended a sequence of fourteen games between the two sides in which Wrexham had not scored more than one goal. The last time we’d managed that was in the second round of the Associate Members Cup, now known as the EFL Trophy, in 1987. We led at half time through a Nick Hencher goal, but a certain Sam Allardyce equalised on the hour. However, Steve Buxton grabbed the winner with four minutes on the clock.

WREXHAM CULTURE

Wrexham's culture is a dynamic blend of Welsh heritage, industrial legacy, and modern creativity, characterized by strong community spirit, vibrant arts (like the Public Art Trail), growing creative industries (film, TV), football passion (Wrexham AFC), and an increasing focus on Welsh language and diversity, all boosted by its recent City status and ambitions for the UK City of Culture 2029 title, emphasizing inclusivity and local talent.
Key Cultural Elements:
Welsh Identity: Deeply rooted in Welsh language and traditions, despite proximity to England, with efforts to promote bilingualism.
Creative Hub: Home to a thriving arts scene, evident in the Wrexham Public Art Trail showcasing local talent and heritage, and growing film/TV infrastructure.
Industrial Heritage: Acknowledges its past as a market town and industrial center, incorporating this history into modern cultural expressions.
Football: An integral part of the city's identity, particularly with the global attention on Wrexham AFC.
Community & Diversity: A mix of long-standing communities and new residents, with a strong emphasis on grassroots culture and collaborative projects.
Civic Pride: Recent City status and the bid for UK City of Culture 2029 are galvanizing local pride and driving investment in cultural regeneration.
Cultural Drivers:
Tŷ Pawb: A cultural hub featuring art galleries, markets, and community spaces.
Wrexham Community & Culture Trust: Leading initiatives to build creative infrastructure and talent.
Public Art: Murals and artworks across the city celebrate its history, arts, and diversity.
Welsh Language: Integrated into cultural strategy and public spaces.
Future Focus:
Building on the momentum from the 2025 City of Culture bid, Wrexham is aiming for the 2029 title, focusing on play, creativity, and making culture accessible to all, says the Wrexham City of Culture 2029 website.

Print this item

  Prediction League Fixtures - Week 19
Posted by: Zinman - 27-12-2025, 21:33 - Forum: West Bromwich Albion - Replies (25)

Gamball:
Derby - Wrexham

Others:
Wolves - West Ham
Everton - Brentford
Newcastle - Crystal Palace
Spurs - Sunderland
Birmingham - Coventry
Bristol C - Preston
Middlesbrough - Southampton
Norwich - Stoke
Portsmouth - Ipswich

Print this item

  January transfer window 2026
Posted by: Lord Snooty - 27-12-2025, 19:47 - Forum: Huddersfield Town - Replies (27)

Apparently. Castledine is going to Coventry for £8m. Paid for with the money they're getting off Sunderland for Rudoni.

And we're getting Bailey Cadamarteri from the Wendies.

Print this item

  The Owls v Blackburn SBC Match Thread
Posted by: Owlkev71 - 27-12-2025, 16:44 - Forum: Sheffield Wednesday - Replies (26)

THE MATCH

MONDAY 29TH DECEMBER KO 7:45PM

[Image: c8f0e1f02feea03b72811b4b50c0f4c0--britis...nesday.jpg] v [Image: OIP.FP9NWdZU5PnPmh-a6M4NPAAAAA?rs=1&pid=...n&o=7&rm=3]

LAST MATCH



Our first home Boxing day fixture for 8 years saw us claim a point against high flying Hull. We started the game brightly although didn't create much, but we were looking the most likely. We took the lead when a long ball by Charles put Ingelsson through and he prodded the ball past the keeper. Hull levelled when Belloumi turned well and fired past Charles. Onto the 2nd half and Hull looked a bit better but it was us who took the lead when Bannan found Cads who controlled and finished nicely. Our lead didn't last long as Crooks lashed home after the ball fell for him. Both teams had half chances but the game ended in a fair result.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB Thumb up  Thumb up  Thumb up

THE MATCH



Our last fixture of the year sees us entertain Blackburn. Blackburn are struggling at the wrong end of the table and are just 4 points above the relegation zone. I would expect them to be hovering around the bottom of the table as the season goes on, but I think they might have enough to just avoid the dreaded drop. They are managed by Valerian Ismael who took charge in February. There leading scorer is Gudjohnson who has 7 goals so far this season.

And that's it's for 2025. Been an interesting year to say the least, a mid table finish under Rohl and then the off field problems that has dominated the news, wages not being paid, the ground falling apart, training ground a mess, Rohl leaving, embargos galore, unable to sign players as half of the squad left in different ways and then finally going into Administration and more importantly the end of DC Thumb up Thumb up Thumb up 2 different points deductions which will see us in League One next season but with new owners who hopefully know what they are doing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE Smile Smile Smile Smile

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB Thumb up  Thumb up  Thumb up

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 62
BLACK 58
DRAW 40

CURRENT FORM

OWLS     D L L D L L                                                          

BLACK D W L D D D

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT Thumb up  Thumb up

OLIVER LANGFORD
Mark Stevens & Lee Venamore
Fourth Official: Benjamin Speedie

THE TEAM

Charles
Palmer Cooper Iorfa Otegbayo Amass
Thornton Ingelsson Bannan
J Lowe Cadamarteri

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

1-1 Cadamarteri

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

56

ATTENDANCE

24786

BML LEAGUE

Owlkev 12
Maddix 8
Imre 7
Washington 6
SCO 4

BMPL

Stateside 7
Pei 0
Wereham -11
Southey -12

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Millwall v Bristol City
Birmingham v Southampton
Barnsley v Lincoln
Cardiff v Stevenage
Gillingham v Colchester

HDAHD

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE

SCO

Print this item