Neil Critchley has been named as Queens Park Rangers' new head coach, agreeing a three-and-a-half-year deal.

The former Blackpool manager was most recently assistant head coach at Aston Villa, leaving a day after Steven Gerrard was sacked in October.

Critchley replaces Michael Beale, who left QPR in late November after less than six months as boss to take charge of Scottish Premiership side Rangers.

QPR are ninth in the Championship following Sunday's loss to Burnley.

"We want to move the club forward and ensure we are competing at the top end of the Championship table," Critchley told QPR's website.

"There have been some good foundations laid here and now it is my job to work as hard as I can to build on that."

QPR were top of the league on 21 October but have since taken just one point out of a possible 18.

Ex-Liverpool youth coach Critchley won promotion to the Championship with Blackpool in 2021, guiding the Tangerines to safety last term.

In June, he left Blackpool to join Aston Villa, where he replaced QPR-bound Beale.

"I am looking forward to getting to work with the players and staff," Critchley added.

"I already know some of the players from working with them previously and I am aware of a number of them, having followed their careers from afar."

MK Dons have sacked head coach Liam Manning following Saturday's home defeat by Fleetwood Town.

The 37-year-old took over in August 2021 and led the Dons to a third-placed finish and League One play-off spot last season.

But they are now 23rd in the table with 15 points from 20 matches and have only won one of their past 11 league games.

"It is with a real sadness that we have to make this decision," chairman Pete Winkelman told the club website.

"Liam and his team accomplished so much for us last season, providing some fantastic memories in a campaign we will never forget - for that we are all so grateful."

The 2-1 loss to Fleetwood left them with only one home victory in the league all season - against Port Vale in August.

Assistant head coach Chris Hogg, assistant first-team coach David Wright and goalkeeper coach Darren Smith have also left Stadium MK.

Captain Dean Lewington will take interim care of the first team with his first game in charge set to be Tuesday's Papa Johns Trophy match against Bristol Rovers.

"Liam, Chris and David have worked tirelessly over the last 16 months and we are hugely grateful for their dedication as well as what they were able to achieve on and off the pitch, particularly last season," sporting director Liam Sweeting added.

"As well as being thoroughly professional and dedicated, they have represented the club impeccably throughout their time with us. Our thanks as well to Darren, who stepped in to help us during a difficult period.

"Ultimately, given the position we find ourselves in, our decision now is to change the leadership and my full focus is on identifying and appointing the right person to, first and foremost, guide us out of this current situation, before then taking us forward. That process begins immediately."

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.

Friday 16th December:
Birmingham City v Reading

Saturday 17th December:
Town v Watford
Town scorers:
Watford scorers:

Bristol City v Stoke City
Burnley v Middlesbrough
Cardiff City v Blackpool
Coventry City v Swansea City
Hull City v Sunderland
Preston North End v Queens Park Rangers
West Bromwich Albion v Rotherham United
Norwich City v Blackburn Rovers (17:30)

Sunday 18th December:
Luton Town v Millwall (11:30)

Monday 19th December:
Wigan Athletic v Sheffield United

League Cup 4th Round:
Tuesday 20th December:
Milton Keynes Dons v Leicester City

Wednesday 21st December:
Blackburn Rovers v Nottingham Forest
Manchester United v Burnley

Thursday 22nd December:
Manchester City v Liverpool

Table after Matchday 17:

1. jjamez = 390 pts
   
2. themaclad = 340 pts
   
3. theo_luddite = 335 pts
   
4. neonfoxinthebox = 334 pts
   
5. Lord Snooty = 323 pts
   
6. Baggiebob(BBB) = 316 pts
   
7. Amelia Chaffinch = 314 pts
   
8. ritchiebaby = 308 pts
   
9. St Charles Owl = 292 pts
   
10. SHEP_HTAFC = 286 pts
    
11. Devongone = 278 pts
    
12. WakeyTerrier = 171 pts

Aldershot 0-2 Boreham Wood
Altrincham 2-1 Maidenhead United
Barnet 3-0 Yeovil
Dag & Red 2-0 Eastleigh
Dorking 2-0 Maidstone United
Notts County 2-0 Gateshead
Scunthorpe 0-1 Woking
Southend 2-3 Halifax
Wrexham 1-2 Chesterfield
York 2-1 Solihull Moors

Wednesday
Torquay 2-1 Bromley


League Table After Matchday 25
Devon - 563
Lord Snoots - 465
SaltergateBorn - 435
St Charles Owl - 432
Amelia - 421
Spireitematt - 390
Dancing - 389

Boreham Wood 2-0 Southend
Bromley 2-1 Wealdstone
Chesterfield 3-0 Dorking
Eastleigh 1-0 Wrexham
Halifax 2-0 Barnet
Gateshead 1-2 Dag & Red
Maidenhead United 1-1 Notts County
Maidstone United 1-3 Altrincham
Solihull Moors 2-0 Aldershot
Woking 2-1 York
Yeovil 3-0 Scunthorpe

Sunday
Oldham 0-2 Torquay



League Table After Matchday 24
Devon - 553
Lord Snoots - 459
SaltergateBorn - 427
St Charles Owl - 403
Amelia - 400
Spireitematt - 386
Dancing - 385

THE MATCH

SATURDAY 10TH DECEMBER KO 3:00PM

v

LAST MATCH



To say this game wont live long in the memory, is an understatement. The only positives is that we didn't lose and we kept a clean sheet. There were very few chances during the game FDB probably had our best opportunity when he out muscled the Derby defenders but saw his shot saved by Wildsmith, while Stockdale made a couple of saves in both halves as each teams attack struggled to create much else.

THE MATCH



Next up and a trip to Exeter. Another team we don't have the best of records against, losing 7 of the 12 games played. Our last meeting was last year when we won 0-2 in a cup game played with no fans because of the Pandemic. The Grecians currently lie in midtable and I can see them finishing around there, not good enough to reach the playoffs but too good to go down. There main threats are Jevani Brown & Sam Nombe who have 21 goals and 15 assists.

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 4
EXETER 7 
DRAWS 1 

CURRENT FORM

OWLS              -                                                                  

EXETER          -                                 

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

NEIL HAIR
Christopher Wade and Louis Marks
Fourth Official : Gary Parsons

THE TEAM

Stockdale
Palmer Ihikwe McGuiness Johnson
Bannan Byers FDB
Windass
Gregory Smith

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

1-1 Smith

ATTENDANCE

N/A

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

BML LEAGUE

Stateside 10
Imre 8
Wash 8
Pieowl 6
Owlskev 6
Maddix 4
SCO 4

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Swansea City v Norwich City
Accrington v Portsmouth
Bristol Rovers v Port Vale
Newport Co v Doncaster
Yeovil v Scunthorpe

DAHHH

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE

WEREHAM




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

Maybe we need that miniature lady from Ionos - Aunt Helga is it?

Isn't the point of the web supposed to be being fresh and up to date? Not only is this ordinary and unexciting, but it took me about a minute and a half to find that the information isn't that reliable.

I imagine Jesurun and Ash Palmer are both in Cookie's plans this week. Shame neither of them is in the first team.

Teething problems? That national shortage of dentists has been troubling us for several years now ........

If you can't get it right off-field, don't expect to look like Brazil on it.

Aldershot Town have appointed interim boss Ross McNeilly as manager on a permanent basis until at least the end of the National League season.

The 38-year-old, who spent almost five years as Shots academy boss, has guided them to five wins in eight games since Mark Molesley was sacked in October.

The club say they have a "view to extend" McNeilly's contract further.

"He's come through the academy, knows the club and the players want to play under him," said chairman Shahid Azeem.

"The performances and winning record during his interim spell stood out among the high-quality pool of candidates that applied.

"The board are very excited to have Ross in charge until the end of the season where we will sit down and discuss plans for the future beyond this year."

Molesley and assistant Tom Prodomo were dismissed after eight defeats in the opening 13 games of the season left Aldershot 22nd in the table.

The Shots won their first three matches under McNeilly and although they followed that with three consecutive defeats, two more victories have lifted them to 15th, eight points clear of the bottom four.

Coventry City have been issued with an eviction notice by the new owners of the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley's Frasers Group took over the stadium last month after buying its three former operating companies.

They say the Championship club has no continuing right to use the ground unless a new licence is agreed.

The club's existing licence runs until 2031, but they say the proposed new one would expire in May 2023.

Frasers do not believe they are bound by the previous agreement with the stadium's former owners, Wasps rugby club, who went into administration on 18 October.

However, Coventry said that discussions with Frasers Group prior to their purchase of the ground led them "to understand the existing terms would continue unchanged".

A club statement said: "Frasers Group have now presented to Coventry City a new agreement with new commercial terms, which have been presented to us without any dialogue or negotiations, and are less favourable to the football club.

"Frasers Group have said they would negotiate for beyond May 2023, but this leaves us without the security and certainty that our current deal provides to us and our fans."

Club officials were informed on Friday they must return keys and access cards and an FA Youth Cup game on Saturday was switched to Leamington Town FC.

Listen to BBC CWR's Sky Blues Fancast
Coventry are away to Reading when their Championship campaign resumes on Saturday and their next scheduled home fixture is against Swansea on 17 December.

But they hope Frasers will change tack and agree to let the existing licence remain.

"Following Frasers Group's purchase of the Arena, one of the great assets of the city of Coventry, they stated they were 'looking forward to working with Coventry City Football Club'," the club statement added.

"Coventry City hope that they will act on those words for the good of the Arena, the football club, our fans and the city and community that they are now part of."

Kasey Palmer and Mark Robins
Mark Robins' Coventry side are 12th in the Championship after winning all four games in November
Frasers 'supportive' of Coventry playing at CBS Arena
In a statement, Frasers Group said they wanted to work with the club to make sure the stadium could host their upcoming matches.

"Frasers has, throughout all its involvement with the stadium, been supportive of securing the long-term future of CCFC playing its games at the stadium. This position remains unchanged," the statement said.

"Prior to acquiring the stadium, Frasers issued a new licence mirroring the terms CCFC had agreed with the previous owners. However, CCFC chose not to sign it at that time.

"A revised proposal, together with a new licence, has been issued to CCFC and will secure the immediate future of CCFC at the stadium.

"Signing the licence would allow for more detailed discussions to take place about CCFC's long-term arrangements at the stadium, including to accommodate a number of requests which were raised by CCFC.

"Frasers looks forward to working with the club to host the upcoming games."

Coventry City Council, meanwhile, say they are hopeful that the issues between the club and Frasers Group could be "successfully resolved through dialogue" as soon as possible.

"The city council has always been clear that one of its strategic objectives is for the football club to continue to play at the CBS Arena and that position has not changed," said a spokesperson.

Coventry's ongoing ground saga
The Sky Blues moved to the then Ricoh Arena from their former Highfield Road home in 2005.

But a dispute with their landlords saw them decamp to Northampton Town's Sixfields ground for home games in 2013-14.

Wasps bought Coventry City Council's 50% stake in the stadium in October 2014 and the following month acquired the remaining shareholding from the Alan Edward Higgs Charity, with the Sky Blues returning as tenants.

But rent issues saw Coventry move to Birmingham City's St Andrew's stadium in 2019, spending two seasons there and winning promotion from League One in the process.

They finally returned home for the start of the 2021-22 season but there were further problems at the start of the current campaign because of the state of the pitch after it was used for rugby sevens matches during the Commonwealth Games.

Following the demise of Wasps, the CBS Arena's operating companies, Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL), Arena Coventry (2006) Ltd and IEC Experience Ltd, also went into administration, enabling Frasers Group to buy them for £17m.

A judge rejected a £25m bid for the stadium from businessman Doug King, saying it had come too late, but he is going ahead with a plan to buy an 85% controlling stake in the club from current owners Sisu, subject to approval by the English Football League.

But even that is not straightforward, with the sale being challenged by rival bidder William Storey, who says the deal breaches an exclusivity agreement he had with Sisu, although they insist his claim is "untrue and unhelpful".

'Nightmare before Christmas'
Analysis - BBC CWR political editor Simon Gilbert

This is truly turning into the nightmare before Christmas for Coventry City fans.

When new owners of the football club and the stadium were confirmed last month, many hoped this would be the end of nearly two decades of off field drama.

Those hopes appear to have been dashed in just a matter of weeks.

The reasons for the notice of eviction are not yet clear. But what we do know is that hope of the Sky Blues returning to the venue is not yet entirely lost.

Coventry City's next scheduled home game isn't for another 12 days - and that's a long time in a saga where we saw new owners of the club and stadium named in just 24 hours.

Officials will be working round the clock to try to find a resolution and bring Sky Blues fans some much needed festive cheer.

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