Premier League

Blue Baggie  25pts 2CS 7CR 10GB 3BB 0SB
Zinman        22pts 3CS 6CR 10GB -3BB 1SB
Minizin        20pts 3CS 5CR 10GB -3BB 1SB
Derby          13pts 2CS 5CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
SCO            13pts 1CS 6CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Sanjay          10pts 1CS 5CR -3GB 3BB 0SB
Stairs          10pts 1CS 5CR 0GB -3BB 1SB
Snooty          5pts 1CS 4CR -3GB -3BB 1SB

Week 25 saw the highest points total of the season and just 2 weeks later we see the 2nd highest - are we beginning to work this prediction lark out? 4 correct gamball scores - well, it's 4 if you include the player who chose not to play it - and a high proportion of correct results turned into maximums saw a return to the Premiership's high scoring ways. only 1 match failed to deliver a single correct prediction and that turned out to be expensive as 2 players picked that game, Sheff Utd v Luton, as their bonus.

Not surprisingly, it's the 3 players with the correct gamball score that sit at the top of the table. Blue is in first place with his best score of the season and a week's high of 7 correct results and he is joined in the 20's with the usual suspects, Zinman and Minizin, both of whom had 3 correct scores but missed out on their bonuses.

Derby will lose a bit of ground in the chase for the title though his 13 points would normally represent a decent score. He's tied for third place with SCO who would have scored higher if only he'd turned more of his 6 correct results into correct scores. Sanjay and Stairs are 3 points back, with Stairs one correct score being the gamball game. If only he'd played it!

Alone at the foot of the table is Snooty. Given the time he took to compile his preview of the WBA - Huddersfield match (go back and read it on the Sportsbabble Hudds page if you haven't already done so - well worth it but prepare for a long read!), I can only assume that he was forced to rush his predictions!


Minizin 280
Zinman 262
Derby 254
Stairs 235
Blue 224
Sanjay 200
SCO 196
Snooty 195

A few changes at both ends of the table as we approach the final few weeks of the season. Minizin remains top with a healthy lead but Zinman and Derby once again swop places beneath him, Zinman opening up an 8 point gap in 2nd place. Stairs challenge to the top 3 appears to be fading but the battle to avoid relegation gets very interesting with just 5 points separating the bottom 3. Snooty's poor week sees him drop to the foot of the table but it's still all to play for!

Zin


Championship

Dingle 16pts 0CS 6CR 5GB 3BB 0SB
Twerton 16pts 1CS 2CR 10GB 3BB 1SB
AAA 12pts 2CS 3CR NPGB -3BB 1SB
BBB 12pts 2CS 3CR -3GB 3BB 0SB
Themaclad 11pts 2CS 2CR -3GB 6BB 0SB
Lady Jane 5pts 1CS 3CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
BaggieOne 5pts 1CS 3CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
Amelia -1pts 0CS 2CR -3GB -3BB 1SB

The Gamball certainly made its presence felt this week with only two players getting positive scores on it and surprise, surprise, they ended up as the top 2 this week.  Dingle and Twerton both managed 16 points this week and aside from the Gamball points they got there in very different ways!! Dingle scored on 6 of the 10 games including CRs on both the Gamball and the Bonus but was unable to post any Correct Scores.  Twerton on the other hand only scored on 3 games, a max on the Gamball, a CR on the Bonus and one other CR!!  Zinman and I have preached about the effect of taking care on the balls for weeks and these two prove that yet again.

The alphabet twins are locked together in third place with 12 points, AAA didn't play the Gamball, saved him 3 points, and BBB got a CR on the Bonus.  Just behind them is Themaclad with 11 points, he managed a max on the Bonus and like both of them he has 2 CSs to boost the tally.

Bit of a drop to 6th place where we see promotion challengers Lady Jane and BaggieOne tied with 5 points.  They got there in identical ways, basically a low score because they missed out on both balls!!  Amelia is rock bottom again with -1 point, she was one of only two players to fail to get a Correct Score and ironically the other players who didn't get one finished top this week 17 points ahead!!

286 Dingle
257 Lady Jane
250 BaggieOne
243 AAA
239 BBB
184 Themaclad
169 Twerton
145 Amelia

No positional changes again but its definitely getting tighter towards the top end.  There are now 5 players fighting it out for the promotion spots, Dingle has once again pulled away at the top and now leads by 29 points, can he carry that to the end now?  LJ and B1s recent poor form has seen them lose ground  to the point where AAA is only 7 points behind and BBB is only 4 points behind him!!  Second down to fifth is now covered by just 18 points, essentially the difference between a very good and a very poor week, so everyone of them needs to start getting some consistency. 

No changes at the bottom and with a decent spread between each of Themaclad, Twerton and Amelia it's not looking like any of these position will change anytime soon.

Cheers
SCO

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/football...d948&ei=16

This is a curious update after the recent Scot Cup quarter-final results. Some poss Euro footie beneficiaries unfold after the last round of results although very little will change re any kinda positive progress apart from some clubs making a few quid in the process.
Re Hibs interest (although there is still a lotta footie to be played before conclusion!), my stance still remains the same that I regard this involvement as nothing more than a distraction that can impact on progress into another Scot footie season. The cash incentive still makes Euro participation of great interest to the club and that is understandable.

GENTRY DAY



For those not in the know the annual rememberance day for those who have departed this life who were cursed with supporting North End. Suspect the Kirkby Stephen will be drunk dry on Saturday #prayforKirkbyStephen

FORM GUIDE

BORO 12 PNE 14

LAST TIME OUT



MANAGER

Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of Championship club Middlesbrough. He is one of the most decorated English footballers of all time and is best known for his 12-year playing career with Manchester United, whom he also captained.[3] Carrick was a central midfielder, but he was used as an emergency centre-back under Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho. His playing style was grounded in his passing ability.[4][5]

Carrick began his career at West Ham United, joining the youth team in 1997 and winning the FA Youth Cup two years later. He was sent on loan twice during his debut season, to Swindon Town and Birmingham City, before securing a place in the first team by the 2000–01 season. He experienced relegation in the 2002–03 season and was voted into the PFA First Division Team of the Year in the following campaign. He made more than 150 appearances for the Hammers, and in 2004, he moved to rival London club Tottenham Hotspur for a fee believed to be £3.5 million. He played an influential role at the club for two seasons before moving to Manchester United in 2006 for £14 million.

From his debut onwards, Carrick was a regular in the Manchester United first team, making more than 50 appearances in his first season with them. He established himself as a key member of the team that won the Premier League in 2006–07, their first title success in four years. The following season he was part of the side that won the 2008 Champions League final, playing the full 120 minutes as they enjoyed a 6–5 penalty shootout win, with Carrick converting his spot kick, to help achieve the European Double. As of 2023, he is the only English player alongside former teammate Wayne Rooney to win the Premier League title, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, League Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Europa League and FIFA Club World Cup.[6][7] In winning the 2016 FA Cup, Carrick completed his collection of every domestic honour in the English game.[8]

Carrick has represented England at under-18, under-21, B and senior levels. He made his England debut in 2001 and went on to gain 34 caps without scoring a goal. Carrick was often overlooked during his England career, with many of his contemporaries being preferred in his position. This was the case until the 2012–13 season, when Carrick established himself as a regular. He was a member of the England squad for two major tournaments, the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

https://www.mfc.co.uk/

https://www.oneboro.co.uk/forum/
https://fmttmboro.com/index.php

THE JOY OF EX



Top lad



The king of winning cheap free kicks

LIFE IN MIDDLESBROUGH

https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2023-...wheelchair

Only one song to link to the above story



In The Dressing Room

After returning to the bench from injury for the midweek victory over Rotherham United, defender Andrew Hughes will be available once again this weekend.

Liam Lindsay, who has been nursing a slight injury in recent weeks, is back on the grass but is unlikely to be in contention for Saturday’s game.

Elsewhere, midfielder Ali McCann is making good progress and could be back before initially expected.

A Look At Our Hosts

In the reverse fixture between PNE and Middlesbrough earlier in the season, the Teessiders arrived at Deepdale dangerously close to the drop zone and under brand new management in Michael Carrick.

It has been some turnaround since that point, though, with Boro having picked up 47 points in their 20 games following their defeat in PR1.

That’s a run which has seen them surge from the depths of the division right up to the top, and they are now well within a chance of pipping Sheffield United to second spot – currently sat just three points behind the Blades.

Going Head To Head


Games played: 106
PNE wins: 34
Draws: 26
Middlesbrough wins: 46
Last meeting: PNE 2-1 Middlesbrough, 29th October 2022

One To Watch


You’ll do well to find a striker in better form than Chuba Akpom right now, with the Boro attacker having netted 24 goals in just 32 games so far this season.

He’s been in red-hot form all campaign and he’s showing no signs of slowing down either, with ten goals in his last nine games.

Akpom – who came through the Arsenal Academy – has been playing just off of main striker Cameron Archer in recent weeks, a man PNE know well from his exploits on loan at Deepdale last term.

Match Officials

Matt Donohue will referee his second PNE game of the season this weekend.

His previous time taking charge of a North End fixture was a home defeat to Stoke City in October 2022, but he was on fourth official duties during the week as Ryan Lowe’s side beat Rotherham United.

So far this season, Donohue has taken charge of 28 matches, brandishing 98 yellow cards and two reds.

MACS VIEW

Free hit this one mind you already beaten them this season, as usual with Gentry Day will be messy, next up some side from the Seaside

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64938719

Not many surprises in this formal announcement by Clarke although I find Billy Gilmour's inclusion to be questionable. A new choice of goalkeeper? I think this was inevitable after Gordon's bad leg injury. The big goalie's age was also gonna be a big factor anyway. Gregg Taylor not considered due to a Celtic request? Not a prob as we are well covered on the left back position. We'll see how Gunn performs in these upcoming quali matches. The first match v Cyprus will be a decent debut match for him. The second fixture v Spain will be a tough assignment for this Scotland team and testy for the new goalie.

Woking 1-1 Chesterfield
Barnet 1-2 Notts County
Bromley 1-0 Wrexham
Dag & Red 2-0 Oldham
Eastleigh 1-0 Altrincham
Halifax 2-1 Yeovil
Gateshead 1-2 Torquay
Maidenhead United 4-1 Maidstone United
Scunthorpe 1-2 Wealdstone
Solihull Moors 0-1 Boreham Wood
Southend 1-1 Aldershot
York 2-2 Dorking


League Table After Matchday 49
Devon - 861
St Charles Owl - 832
SaltergateBorn - 817
Spireitematt - 770
Lord Snoots - 743
Dancing - 724
Amelia - 658

I must say this away fixture is not the one Hibs would be looking forward to after a very poor display v RFC at ER Stadium in their last match. The only positive I can think of is the fact the guys have had a decent break because of the Scot Cup quarter-final weekend with no Hibs participation. I hope our manager, Lee Johnson, deploys a more pragmatic strategy with a recognition of the threat to our flanks in servicing the vg strikers they have in front of Marshall's goal. The Hoops are unbeaten at home for a very, very long time and subsequently one can only perceive that Hibs chances of attaining any kinda positive result are slim. It would be great if Hibs sensationally picked up what would be a massive 3 pts to enhance their chances of attaining a 4th or 3rd place in the Scot Prem. In reality, that aint gonna happen bar a miracle taking place.

GGTTH

THE MATCH

FRIDAY 17TH MARCH KO 7:45PM

v

LAST MATCH



Another game, another win and by our favourite score-line at the moment 1-0. We got the perfect start when Dawson's long ball  was flicked on by Smith & Windass finished clinically. Portsmouth put some pressure on but we defended well as usual and restricted them to half chances. Onto the second half and Dawson saved from Bishop while at the other end Windass headed narrowly wide. Iorfa was sent off for a second yellow with 15 minutes to go but our defense held firm for another 3 points.

THE MATCH



Next up and Bolton make the short journey to Hillsborough. Bolton are having a good season and currently lie in the last playoff spot, but there recent form has been up & down and have Wycombe and Peterborough breathing down there necks so should be an exciting final 2 months. There main danger is Dion Charles who has 16 goals so far this season and they also have ex owl Keiran Lee on there books. They are managed by Ian Evatt who has been in charge since 2020.

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 56
BOLT 41
DRAWS 29

CURRENT FORM

OWLS              -                                                                          

BOLT               -                                               

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

SAM PURKISS
Lewis Raper and Johnathon Bickerdike
Fourth Official : Robert Lewis

JUST A NOTE ABOUT THE REFEREE, HE HAS REFFED 8 LEAGUE 1 GAMES, ISSUING 30 YELLOW CARDS AND ISSUING 6 RED CARDS.

THE TEAM

Dawson
Famewo Iorfa Flint
Palmer Bannan Byers Vaulks Brown
Windass Smith

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

3-1 Smith

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

BML LEAGUE

Owlskev 25
Stateside 22
Imre 20
Wash 19
SCO 17
Maddix 16
Peiowl 13

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Southampton v Tottenham
Blackpool v Coventry
Wycombe v Barnsley
Harrogate v Barrow
Barnet v Notts Co

AADAA

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE

WEREHAM




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

Gamball:
Stoke - Norwich

Others:
Southampton - Spurs
Wolves - Leeds
Blackpool - Coventry
QPR - Birmingham
Reading - Hull
Rotherham - Cardiff
Sunderland - Luton
Swansea - Bristol City
Sheff U - Blackburn (cup)

Wednesday night sees lowly Huddersfield welcome promotion chasing Norwich City to West Yorkshire, but most importantly it sees the return of a certain Mr David Wagner. The charismatic American manager led Huddersfield to the Premier League against all odds, and kept them there the season after, he would leave a year later as the club plummeted back down to the Championship, a relegation that arguably started this disastrous situation we find ourselves in.



Now was it all rainbows and butterflies under Wagner and is his legacy untouchable all these years later, the honest answer in my mind is no, there was a whole heap load of signings made in his tenure that were calamitous to say the least, we can look no further than the likes of Adama Diakhaby, who can now be found plying his trade in Azerbaijan for Qarabag FK after a year out of football once he was released by Amiens. Ramadan Sobhi was another waste of a signing, he joined from Stoke in a deal that was effectively a trade of Sobhi for Tom Ince. Sobhi played a grand total of 4 games for Town before he was loaned to Egypt to play for Al Ahly, he would then leave permanently to join Pyramids also in Egypt. Surprisingly, the club made an overall profit on Sobhi thanks to loan fees and the transfer fee received in his time away from the club. Another disastrous signing was that of Isaac Mbenza, the deal to loan the Belgian youth international wasn’t bad in theory, the inclusion of a clause that meant he had to be signed for over £11 million come the end of it, was. Town got a bit of use out of Mbenza with the often mardy looking Belgian, with the winger scoring a few free kicks and creating a few goals during Carlos Corberan’s first season at Town, in truth his injury coupled with the injuries to Schindler and Josh Koroma knocked us back drastically, going from a side on the edge of the top six, to barely surviving.



But it was far from all poor signings during Wagner’s time at the club, the likes of Chris Lowe, Michael Hefele and of course Christopher Schindler and Aaron Mooy, were all key integral signings in the season that we got promoted. Couple that with his training methods early on and that new sense of camaraderie between the players and fans alike built something that when one looks back, is quite truly a remarkable feat, especially considering how we look now and have done this season. You could add that Wagner was able to take some mediocre players and turn them into, well, Premier League players. You look at someone like Tommy Smith, he was fairly average, with some fans the season before feeling he should be moved on, under Wagner he became a squad leader and a major creative force for the side during the promotion campaign. Jonathon Hogg found a new lease of life under Wagner, going from a defensive midfield clogger, to a midfield general, unfortunately he seems to have regressed as age and injuries catch up with him. I could name the whole squad really, in the Championship promotion season, the unity took a vastly mediocre squad and made them something much more than the sum of their parts, he takes a lot of the credit for that, but he also takes a lot of the credit for the Premier League demise season and you could say some of the knock on after effects that followed.



Would I have taken him back as was rumoured earlier in the season? You bet, he brings that charismatic vibe with him and can bring people and players together, we are near the bottom for reason and that is we simply aren’t good enough, but there are also players in this squad that someone like Wagner would have quite possibly been able to transform in a short spell, I look at someone like Rudoni, a Kesler-Hayden or Koroma and think Wagner would have found a way to make them better, the likes of Lees, Pearson and Hogg would be similar in capabilities of what he had in Hefele, Hudson and erm Hogg. Now would we have been shooting up the league, I don’t think so, would we be where we are now, again I don’t think so, but either way I would have been sat here a whole lot more optimistic about this season and the prospect of the coming season. Appointing him would have felt like we still had that ambition of doing something and that Hoyle was back in it properly.
Obviously that wasn’t to be, for one reason or another, Wagner and his family elected not to come back, some say it is due to his family not wanting to, others it is because of a financial package with his former club that was too much to afford, there is also mentioning of Bromby having too much say over transfers for his liking and the fact that Hoyle was wanting out that effectively made up his mind. We could question why Norwich? Well there are a couple of telling factors in play, one being Stuart Webber, Norwich’s director of football was in a similar role at Town and played a big part in brining Wagner to Huddersfield in the first place, the second factor is Steve Weaver, who was head of youth during Wagners time in Yorkshire and he left to Norwich at the same time as Webber, the third factor is Norwich have a better squad at his disposal, a more suited squad for his style at that and finally, they have more financial clout to allow him to shape the squad further in the future windows, we didn’t or couldn’t offer that, we could only offer turmoil and cost cutting. A wise move.

Whilst Town fell out of the Premier League and nearly straight down to League One, Wagner took a bit of time out of the game to recharge before heading back to Germany to manage Schalke. The Blues in the seasons before had been in Europe, getting knocked out in the knockout stages by Manchester City and had been registering finishes at the top end of the table, at that time they were managed by Domenic Tedesco, but the season he left, Schalke imploded on and off the field. Tedesco was sacked with the side struggling to avoid relegation, they managed to survive and Wagner was appointed as head coach for the next season with his trusty sidekick Christoph Buehler in tow. They began the season well and were competitive, but in the boardroom there was turmoil as funding had gone and everything on the playing side had been cut, then COVID struck, upon the resumption of the Bundesliga, Wagners Schalke side endured a torrid run of results, going well into double figures of games without a win, seeing Wagner eventually sacked. For information, things didn’t really get better for Schalke and they eventually got relegated, returning to the top division this season.



Wagners next stop would be across the border as he went to Switzerland to manager Young Boys Bern, the reigning Swiss champions. Again Buehler followed his American friend and the pair never really got going, they struggled in the league dropping points against surprising oppositions, the main highlight being their Europa League performances against Manchester United, but these wouldn’t save Wagner and he was once again given his marching orders. Some Norwich fans were a bit underwhelmed when he was linked to the Canaries after his previous jobs, but after his first day video at the club, they became more willing to give him a chance, citing how similar to Daniel Farke he was in terms of personality.



When he was appointed on the 6th of January, the Canaries sat 11th in the table following a defeat to Watford. Since then they have had a steady improvement, his first match in charge of Norwich City ended in defeat as the Canaries were knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers at Carrow Road. Jack Vale gave the visitors the lead in the all-Championship third-round tie just after the half-hour mark following a mix-up in the Norwich defence. His first league game in charge of the Canaries was away at Preston and braces from Teemu Pukki and Kieran Dowell saw him leave with a 4-0 victory. Norwich City won a six-goal classic at Coventry as they hit four away goals for the second Saturday in a row. The Canaries stunned the Sky Blues with three goals in the space of 12 first-half minutes - a Michael Rose own goal, added to by Onel Hernandez and Josh Sargent. Coventry responded with two quick-fire goals of their own from captain Jamie Allen, then a second from a powerful left-foot shot by top scorer Viktor Gyokeres, although it was credited to Kasey Palmer, who arrived as the ball was struck. But, from 3-2 up at half-time, Kieran Dowell fashioned an opening for himself to seal victory with an excellent fourth goal.

Wagners first home game came against Burnley, with the league leading Clarets leaving Carrow Road with an emphatic 3-0 victory, with the Canaries unable to lay a glove on Vincent Kompany’s side. Anass Zaroury opened the scoring before substitute Vitinho doubled the visitors' lead with his first touch as he glanced home Johann Berg Gudmundsson's corner seconds after coming on, debutant Hjalmar Ekdal scored the third. His next game would be away to his bogey side, Bristol City and they duly continued their success over Wagner as Mark Sykes scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for the Robins. His first home win came over Hull City Tigers, where second half goals from Gabriel Sara and Josh Sargent saw them to a 3-1 win after Kieran Dowell saw his opener cancelled out by Jacob Greaves. Wigan then kept Norwich to a 0-0 draw, with the Canaries only managing one shot on target against Towns relegation rivals. Chilean midfielder Marcelino Nunez scored twice as Norwich beat Birmingham City to further revive their Championship promotion hopes. Nunez netted twice in the space of 10 first-half minutes to put the Canaries in charge at the break. The Blues got one back with Maxime Colin's early second-half strike and in the light of their current off-field woes, put up a spirited second-half display. They could not summon an equaliser and their third straight defeat was finally sealed in injury time as Nunez went down the left to set up Christos Tzolis for the third. Marquinhos scored on his debut as Norwich continued to push for a play-off spot with a routine 2-0 win over a lacklustre Cardiff City at Carrow Road. Gabriel Sara fired Norwich ahead on 33 minutes with a precise finish from the edge of the penalty area. Four minutes later the Canaries took control as Marquinhos swept home at the far post from Onel Hernandez's cross.

Millwall's Tom Bradshaw scored at both ends as Norwich came from behind to triumph at the Den. The Lions striker opened the scoring with his 13th goal of the season but Jacob Sorensen put the visitors level. Bradshaw then diverted an Onel Hernandez cross into his own net before Gabriel Sara's screamer made it 3-1. Zian Flemming headed in a late corner to give Millwall fresh hope but the Canaries clung on to leapfrog their hosts into sixth place. On Sunday they face Sunderland at Carrow Road, and whilst being largely on top in terms of possession they were unable to break through Tony Mowbray’s side and succumbed to a 1-0 defeat thanks to a Abdoullah Ba goal.



The January transfer window was a quiet one for the Canaries, with a couple of players returning from loan spells in the forms of Christos Tzolis from FC Twente and Przemysław Płacheta from Birmingham. The only signing they made was that of Marquinhos on loan from Arsenal. In terms of departures, there were quite a few more of those.
Former Town loanee Danel Sinani went out on loan to Wigan, whilst younger players in the forms of Josh Martin, Daniel Adshead and Bali Mumba went on loan to Barnsley, Cheltenham and Plymouth respectively. Sebastian Soto left to join Austria Klagenfurt of well Austria, whilst Rocky Bushiri and Todd Cantwell moved north of the border to join Hibernian and Rangers. Young keeper Aston Oxborough also went north as he joined Motherwell on a free transfer, Christoph Zimmerman moved to Darmstad 98, Josip Drmic moved to Dinamo Zagreb, Milot Rashica joined Galatasaray and Jordan Hugill went to Rotherham, all on free transfers. Akin Famewo joined League One promotion chasers Sheffield Wednesday for 60k whilst Stade Brest paid 2.3 million for Pierre Lees-Melou.



As for Town, at the time or writing, things look very bleak, with Town seemingly set to take administration. According to the ever reliable Sun, this is being looked at in order to make the complicated deal, more straightforward. In the same article, it says that an American consortium is interested as is the owner of AZ Alkmaar who is also said to be looking into buying another project club. I’ll leave the news of the takeover/admin to our resident reporter… Take it away!

For me, either or, if the US party have big ideas for the club then great. The Alkmaar group have shown they know what they are doing which is also great.

Personally, it would be great to be backed by some financially powerful people, but it doesn't guarantee success. My issues with the Americans would be if the big ideas are just that, words said that they ultimately are unable to do for one reason or another. But that is a common thing for town fans isn’t it. The other thing would be how much they know about football, some American owners come over and are decent, others, not so much so.
As for the Alkmaar group, they obviously understand football, well continental football, but still. They will have decent links, they have a mantra that we apparently have, but with a better grasp of it and evidence of it working.
I'm not sure which one I'd be most inclined to go with, maybe the Alkmaar one purely due to the fact that they have evidence of success to back up their whole philosophy.



Sticking with Town, a disastrous season continued on Saturday with a tame performance away at West Brom, John Swift scoring the only goal after Matty Pearson conceded a penalty, we do like conceding penalties at The Hawthorns don’t we? I didn’t watch the game, nor did I want to either, so I can’t tell you much of what happened, by the sounds and looks of it, we played negatively and allowed them all of the ball and barely laid a finger on them, only trying to anything in the last few minutes like we did on Tuesday at home to Bristol.

In terms of Wednesday news, one would imagine that goalless golden boy Danny Ward will be back and in to the lead the line, with Jordan Rhodes probably dropping out of the squad once again as Waghorn takes his spot on the bench, this despite Rhodes being our best striker and the most effective of an ineffective bunch, but hey ho, 90 years a manager means Warnock probably knows best. Will Knockaert be back from his issues in France, maybe, will he be used? Probably not. Elsewhere, Scott High has a wrist injury which could be aggravated by contact, should he ever make it, Pat Jones is still recovering from elastic hamstrings and the long term absentees in Nicholls and Yuta continue to be out, Duane Holmes is also likely to be out with Icantbearseditis. Jaheim Headley will also miss out through injury as will Ollie Turton. Wednesday will also see Town don their fourth shirt of the season as they play in a yellow and red number in support of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, it is rumoured that the YAA will be required to give the club some CPR at the rate it is going.



My team for Wednesday, if I was the manager would be;
Vaclik in goal. Lowton, Lees, Helik and Jackson in defence. Central midfielders of Hogg and Kasumu, with Hungbo on the left and Knockaert on the right and to be ballsy, Rhodes and Simpson up top together.

A bench of Bilokapic, Pearson, Camara, Rudoni, Ward, Koroma and Hudlin/Harratt so we have most/all bases covered.




Norwich meanwhile are without Isaac Hayden who has had an operation on a troublesome knee, Placheta returned from Brum with an injury and is most likely still missing, whilst Kieran Dowell is missing until April through injury. Josh Sargent has been out but returned to the bench against Sunderland. Otherwise it seems as though Wagner has a fairly fit squad to pick from.

On Sunday they lined up with Angus Gunn in goal, Max Aarons (yes related to Rolando), Grant Hanley, Ben Gibson and Dimitrios Giannoulis in defence. Kenny McLean operated as the holding midfielder with Adam Idah, Marcelino Nunez, Gabriel Sara and Onel Hernandez in front of him, with Teemu Pukki leading the line.
On the bench was Tim Krul, defender Andrew Omobamidele, Marquinhos, Christoph Tzolis, Jacob Sorensen, Josh Sargent and Liam Gibbs. Krul, Gibbs and Omobamidele were the only subs not used. Wednesday could see Sargent and Marquinhos get given starts, with Hernandez one of the likely candidates to make way.




In terms of ones to watch, they have quite a few players that are way better than anything we have on offer,

Teemu Pukki- Has been a major performer for the Canaries whenever they have been in the Championship and continues to be so now. Currently second in their top scorers list for the season, The Fin knows where the goal is and how to punish teams.



Josh Sargent- The leading scorer for the Canaries, the fire haired American international joined from German side Werder Bremen back in 2021 and whilst he struggled initially to find the back of the net, he has started to get used to the English game and has 11 goals so far this campaign. Is coming back from injury however.



Gabriel Sara- The Brazilian midfielder was a big money signing in the Summer for the Canaries, costing them over 10 million from Sao Paulo. He’s made 30 appearances in the Championship so far this season, with 5 goals and 4 assists to go with them. He is primarily used as an attacking midfielder that keeps defences occupied for the wingers and strikers to do the damage. 



In terms of head to heads, Town don’t have a great record when it comes to facing the Canaries and I would heavily back that record being extended on Wednesday evening. It currently sits with Town having won 13 of the meetings between the two sides, Norwich having won 16 and 17 draws between the clubs. The first meeting came all the way back in 1960, when the Terriers lost 2-0 away from home, the first Town victory was in 1962 when they won 2-1 away from home, the first home victory would come until 1968 when Town won 2-0 down Leeds Road, perhaps Snoots can regale us with some tales of that game? The most recent meetings between the two sides came earlier in the season when Danny Schofield’s side lost 2-1 at Carrow Road. Josh Sargent got Norwich off to a flier in the 6th minute before Sinani made it 2-0 before 20 minutes had elapsed. Tom Lees showed signs of his season to come when he received a straight red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity, Norwich toyed with Town and allowed things to get edgy when Pat Jones scored his first goal in Town colours, but it remained 2-1. Before that, the two sides met when Daniel Farke was in charge of the Canaries and Carlos Corberan had just taken charge of the Terriers. On the first day of the season Town would lose 1-0 at home to Norwich with Adam Idah scoring relatively late on after Teemu Pukki put it on a plate for him following a Richard Stearman error, Stearman had earlier been on the receiving end of an elbow to the head from Todd Cantwell that the referee deemed not worthy of a red card. The game at Carrow Road was one to forget as Town melted in sub zero snowy temperatures and whimpered to a 7-0 defeat. Pukki scored twice in the first 20 minutes before Emi Buendia and Cantwell both got on the score sheet before the game was 30 minutes old, Kieran Dowell made it 5 before half time. In the second half, Pukki wrapped up his hattrick just past the hour mark before Hugill completed the rout in the 78th minute.


In terms of played for both, there are quite a few that come to mind, some had a more telling impact at one of the clubs than the other, players like Danel Sinani who has struggled to get consistent game time at Norwich, but found success on loan at Town last season, although he drifted in and out of games a lot, much to the derision of Town fans.

James Vaughan signed for Norwich as a promising youngster that had lost his way a little bit, he didn’t find it there and was soon loaned to Town where he formed a decent partnership with Jermaine Beckford, when they were both fit. He would join Town permanently and in between injuries and suspensions he was a key player, but couldn’t adapt to David Wagners training methods and soon orchestrated a move to Birmingham. It was a career of what could have been for Vaughan as injuries plagued him at almost every turn and he never achieved what many felt he could have.

Another James to have played for both is James Husband, the full back had a spell at Town on loan, when Wagner was in his first half season in England. He was nothing spectacular, but came in to replace Ben Chilwell who had set the bar fairly high. He was at Middlesbrough when he came to Town on loan and moved to Norwich from Boro, he featured 19 times for the Canaries before moving on loan to Fleetwood and then Blackpool where he still currently plays.

Sticking with the J’s and one that is in our current squad in the form of Jordan Rhodes, he joined Norwich on loan from Sheffield Wednesday to offer back up to Teemu Pukki, Rhodes would score 6 goals for the Canaries as they achieved promotion back to the Premier League. A deal couldn’t be reached between the two clubs to turn that deal permanent and he would return to the Owls. He rejoined Town in the summer of 21 and has scored 8 goals for the club, 6 of which have been this season, making him the top scorer for the Terriers. He has been nowhere near as prolific as he was for the Terriers in his first spell where he scored 73 goals in 124 games.



Sticking at the top end of the pitch and we move to Alex Pritchard, believe it or not we had a choice of James Maddison or Alex Pritchard, one is hot property in the Premier League, the other plays in the Championship for Sunderland. It’s not that Pritchard had no talent, he was highly thought of as a young player, but his time at Town coincided with a loss of form and belief and at times it looked like he had forgotten how to kick a ball properly. He ended up with 3 goals in 80 games for Town, whilst at Norwich he scored 7 in 38.

A man who made 0 appearances for Norwich and began his career there, had a much bigger impact at Town. Harry Toffolo came through the set up at Norwich before numerous loans saw him released and join Millwall, where once again no appearances saw him leave and join Lincoln. Under Danny Cowley he started to flourish and when they joined Town, he made the move in the next window. His best form came under Corberan last season where he was a pivotal part of a partnership with Lewis O’Brien, seeing both join Forest and become bit part players at best.



The first player in the list to have a big impact at both clubs is the Irish international Anthony Pilkington. The winger joined Town back in 2009 as one of Lee Clarks first signings. He soon became a fan favourite with his direct nature and a habit of scoring long range goals like the one against Sheffield Wednesday, soon Norwich would come calling and he would move to the Premier League, where one of his highlights would be scoring at Old Trafford against the team that released him as a boy.

A final one from me, and I know I have missed some names like Jacob Butterfield amongst many others. But Grant Holt, who came in for a brief loan spell under Chris Powell, despite only scoring twice for Town, his hold up play was something we had been missing for many years and was something we needed. His time at Norwich made him a bit of an icon there as he scored 68 goals in 154 games.

Anagrams
1) Evading Draw
2) Even Ink Leak
3) Inaudible Anomie
4) Inane Island
5) Outwards Acid Armor

2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score      
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Random Badger gives you 2 points

The random badger is used for any random prediction used once in each matchday sequence. For instance, a scorer at a particular match, the number of red cards in the matches or yellow cards or own goals or owt you want really within reason, I do need to be able to check whether it's correct or not. Please don't put stuff like....."Commentator says...."  
The joker   is played for one match in each sequence and if correct you get double points. So if you've predicted 1-0 and it finishes 2-0, you get 4 pts, but if you've predicted 2-0, that's 8 pts. But if you get it wrong, it's minus 2.
Jokers and badgers are optional. You don't have to play one if you don't want.

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. Similarly with the badger, if your random prediction is affected by this, it'll be half the points.

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.
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.  

End of season Play Offs: The one who finishes top of the league will still be champion, but after the season finishes there will be Play Offs between the top 4, with 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd. This will take in stuff like the EFL Play Offs, FA Cup Final, final day of Prima Donna League, European Finals etc. It will be one matchday for the semis and one for the Final. It will be the individual scores for each matchday against the allotted opponent, with some kind of tie breaker for a drawn match.

The prize for winning will be enormous. Another rep point.


Saturday 18th March:
Millwall v Town
Town scorers:
Millwall scorers:

Blackpool v Coventry City
Middlesbrough v Preston North End
Queens Park Rangers v Birmingham City
Reading v Hull City
Rotherham United v Cardiff City
Stoke City v Norwich City
Sunderland v Luton Town
Watford v Wigan Athletic

Sunday 19th March:
Swansea City v Bristol City (12:30)

Bonus matches:
FA Cup quarter finals:
Saturday:
Manchester City v Burnley (17:45)

Sunday:
Sheffield United v Blackburn Rovers (12:00)
Brighton & Hove Albion v Grimsby Town (14:15)
Manchester United v Fulham (16:30)

Table after Matchday 30:

1. jjamez = 738 pts
   
2. themaclad = 704 pts
   
3. theo_luddite = 684 pts
   
4. Baggiebob(BBB) = 675 pts
   
5. neonfoxinthebox = 660 pts
   
6. St Charles Owl = 654 pts
   
7. Lord Snooty = 635 pts
   
8. ritchiebaby = 619 pts
   
9. SHEP_HTAFC = 586 pts
   
10. Amelia Chaffinch = 576 pts
    
11. Devongone = 546 pts
    
12. WakeyTerrier = 171 pts