Mr Robins, I've been expecting you.



Mark meets Mark this weekend in a fixture that has been arranged, cancelled, rearranged and re-rearranged. In all fairness it isn't really down to Town as such, maybe a touch in that they agreed to the rearrangements but really its all on Coventry and the powers that be that control the ground, or used to. The original fixture was planned for early in the season but was postponed due to the state of the pitch at the Coventry Building Society Arena. The ground had played host to the Rugby 7's fixtures during the Commonwealth games and had become irreparably damaged. The Sky Blues had already postponed home games against Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United, and the Carabao Cup first-round tie with Bristol City - which was switched at short notice to Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium before we were supposed to travel there. Now this caused disruption for a lot of Town fans who had booked travel and maybe accommodation for the fixture with some feeling that they should have been forced to concede the fixtures, but as we know from our experiences with the EFL on situations regarding not being able to play a game, it was never going to be the case (see Blackpool pitch invasion) instead they have been given a suspended points deduction after three Championship games had to be postponed because of the state of their pitch. Should it occur again either this season or next, they will face a 5 point deduction, I'd have said 9 points with it being three games that they had cancelled in the first place but hey ho. The second rearranged fixture was due to take place on the Tuesday night, but with both teams out of the FA Cup, it was moved to the Saturday, personally I can understand it from both clubs perspectives, both were expecting to be playing the weekend before and it would just give that extra bit of time between games, obviously our game got cancelled so we have had a relatively long period between the Hull game and this one.

Coventry have had their own issues off field, something I really hope we can avoid going into ourselves, although at times it seems like that could be a pipe dream. Coventry were owned By SISU, a group that caused a lot of protests from Coventry fans, due to numerous things, lack of investment, a complete balls up of the stadium (we'll touch on that a bit more later) and an inability to pay what was needed, when it was needed. Sky Blues fans have wanted SISU out of the club for a long while and they got their wish this season, although it was slightly more muddier than originally thought. Originally John McEvoy, an American billionaire was looking at buying both the club and the ground. He is the founder of a San Diego-based mobile device distribution company, already holds ownership stakes in US National Hockey League team Nashville Predators and Major League Baseball outfit Colorado Rockies and would have been working with a Sky Blues fan in John Dawkins. The administrators for the stadium reportedly never responded to the bid from Dawkins despite it being back by a consortium containing the American billionaire (rumours are that there is a consortium of Americans interested in Town, we'll see if McEvoy's name appears there) instead the issue rolled on longer.

Loughborough businessman Doug King and the founder of an energy drink William Storey became the next two names to be linked with buying the club. Storey believed he had exclusivity over the takeover. The deal was supported by Origin Sports Group - with BTC Racing owner Steve Dudman providing financial backing. Storey said his board would have included former England striker Mark Hateley, who began his career with the Sky Blues in the 1970s, and ex-Coventry Building Society chair Gary Hoffman. Storey claimed to have brought together £9m worth of annual sponsorship contracts, with five major corporations and had secured arrangements for tens of millions of pounds worth of players to come in in January. Doug King meanwhile made his money trading grains and also co-founded an investment firm worth over 300 million. He was named the preferred bidder and later acquired 85% of Coventry City and the deal cleared all the debt that the club owed. The ground meanwhile went into administration and despite a late bit from Coventry City and King, the stadium was sold to preferred bidder Mike Ashley and the Fraser group. Since then the club has received an eviction notice and has since renegotiated the terms of their stay at the ground.

Told you it was messy, and lets be fair, ours ain't exactly clean either, at the moment we are struggling to determine who actually owns the club and thats before we get into ground ownership, that itself could go into a separate set of hands if it goes into administration before we get our house in order. Hopefully the future takeover deal is a lot more straightforward than any of this other stuff!



Coventry as a place finds itself as a bit of a joke in some regards, with the phrase being sent to Coventry not being the most favourable To send someone to Coventry is an idiom meaning to ostracise someone, or act as if they are not present. The origins of the phrase are not known though it is likely its roots are in some historical event involving Coventry. The main idea is that if you are sent to Coventry you will be ignored and forgotten that you even existed, although with some of the levelling up funds it would seem as if you are anywhere North you will be treat as if you don't exist, unless you plan on building a large greenhouse in Morecambe, because what the cold North needs is Alan Titchmarsh's wet dream and not a modernisation of its railways, help with the NHS or even a bog standard roads upgrade. It was on the news that if the North of England was a country of its own, it would be pretty much bottom in regards to spend on improvements for its own people, but we would be near the top in the Olympics but even those sports hubs get shut or run down now. What ever happened to the sports venue Rotherham used to call home?



It is a common belief that the phrase refers to a particular situation that arose during World War II. British intelligence had deciphered encrypted German communications indicating that a devastating air raid on Coventry was being planned. But the government were reluctant to inform the general public in Coventry about the planned attack in case the Germans discovered their cover had been blown and developed a more sophisticated form of encryption. Hence the people of Coventry were kept in the dark. However, people who were alive before the war will attest that the phrase was in usage before. The origin of the phrase may be in the 17th century, arising from incidents in the Civil War in the 1640s. Royalist troops were captured in Birmingham and taken to Coventry, where they were ostracised by the Parliamentarian-leaning Coventry population.

Largely rebuilt after the 1940 wartime bombing of the Coventry Blitz, Coventry was the birthplace of the British motor industry and is also known for the legend of Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom. The short of that story goes like Today, she is mainly remembered for a legend dating back to at least the 13th century, in which she rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to in a plea to her husband, Leofric, to stop enforcing such high taxes on the citizens. This apparently came after Leofric told her she would have to do so before he changed his mind, obviously believing that she wouldn't dare do such a thing. Before beginning this quest to help Coventry, Godiva told everyone to stay in their homes to preserve her modesty. She then rode through the streets, her long hair draped so that it covered almost her whole body, allowing only her legs and eyes to remain visible. However, one man, now known as Peeping Tom, disobeyed her instructions and couldn’t help looking out at Godiva riding through Coventry on the horse. Upon doing so, the legend goes, he was instantly blinded.

Lady Godiva is a legitimate historical figure, born in 990 A.D. It is unknown when she died, although it was assumed to be between 1066 and 1086, in the time of the Norman conquest and King William I's reign. The real Godiva was known for being generous to the church. However, despite this historical legitimacy in regards to the existence of the town and Godiva herself, there is doubt on her ride through Coventry due to a lack of records about it. The story only first appeared approximately one hundred years after her death, and the monk, Roger of Wendover, who recorded it was known for stretching the truth in his writings, much like Oliver Stone and numerous other film directors. The Peeping Tom character was added to the story in the sixteenth century and later became a common term for a voyeur, leading the tale to become a fable much like Humpty Dumpty and ring a ring of roses.



Now to the football...

Coventry began the season with a trip to the North East to face newly promoted Sunderland, Jack Clarke opened the scoring for the hosts but a late Gyokeres goal levelled things up and gave Coventry a deserved point. August was a poor month for Coventry, they failed to win a game all month and coupled with the games postponed due to the ground issues, they found themselves bottom of the league come the end of it. The month began with a league cup tie against Bristol City played at Burton Albions Pirelli Stadium, Coventry found themselves on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing with Kal Naismith and a Tommy Conway brace seeing Bristol 3-0 up at half time, Jamie Allen pulled one back at his old stomping ground before Andi Wiemann made it 4-1 in injury time. The Sky Blues then made the journey to The Den to face Millwall and raced into a 2 goal lead thanks to efforts from Kyle McFadzean and Matt Godden. The Lions hit back with goals from Jake Cooper and George Honeyman before Hamer received a two yellow cards. George Saville scored 5 minutes from time to complete the turnaround. It was another 5 goal thriller as Coventry left the Lions Den only to be thrown to the Tigers of Hull. Oscar Estupinan scored a hat-trick for Hull and whilst Godden scored a brace for Coventry, they were unable to rescue a point. A positive for Coventry was they were able to face Preston back at the CBS Arena, the negatives, they lost, thanks to a second half Emil Riis goal. It would be nice to say September picked up for Coventry, but it began with a trip to Norwich and they left with 0 points and a 3-0 defeat, goals from Teemu Pukki Pie, Josh Sargent and Kieron Dowell sealed a comprehensive victory for the Canaries. Still winless, Coventry travelled to Luton and quickly fell behind thanks to a Carlton Morris goal. Gyokeres equalised not long later, but parity wouldn't last long as Morris doubled his tally minutes later. Hamer would score midway through the second half to give Coventry a valuable point. The Sky Blues rounded the month off with a trip to the Blues of Birmingham and played out a goalless stalemate, with the only notable incident being a late red card for Hamer.



October began with Coventry finally getting their first win of the season thanks to a solitary Gyokeres goal against fellow then strugglers Middlesbrough. They followed that up with a goalless draw away at Bristol City before being edged out by Burnley 1-0 at the CBS Arena thanks to a Nathan Tella goal. The next three games of October saw Coventry pick up 9 points as they moved away from the drop zone. The first three points came thanks to a 1-0 win away at Cardiff, Gyokeres being the obvious scorer, next was a 1-0 win at home to Sheffield United with Waghorn scoring a late penalty and finally a 2-0 win away at Stoke thanks to goals from Allen and Hamer. The final two games of the month saw them draw 2-2 at home to Rotherham, Cohen Bramall and Conor Washington scored either side of a Hamer goal before Gyokeres levelled late on from the penalty spot, they finished with a 2-1 defeat at home to the hands of Blackpool. Kasey Palmer opened the scoring for Coventry but goals from Gary Madine and Jerry Yates saw the Tangerines leave with 3 points. November saw Coventry win each game as they continued to rise up the league. It began with a 1-0 win at home to 10 man Blackburn, Jamie Allen scoring the only goal of the game, before another 1-0 win this time away at Watford, the trusty Gyokeres scoring the goal there. Next a 2-0 win at home to struggling Wigan, with Hamer scoring late and Gyokeres scoring even later. Gyokeres was back at it again as he scored a brace in a 2-0 win at home over QPR. The World Cup came at the wrong time for Coventry as they begun the restart with a 1-0 defeat away at Reading with Amadou Mbengue scoring his first senior goal. They thought they were back to winning ways when they went into a 3 goal lead at home to Swansea, goals from Panzo, Allen and Gyokeres making the three points seem inevitable, however, Swansea mounted a comeback when Joel Piroe, Jay Fulton and Liam Cullen all scored late on to grab a share of the spoils. Carlos Corberan was next up for Coventry and a 93rd minute penalty from Gyokeres saw Coventry win all three points. Boxing day saw an eventful game occur at Bramall Lane, James McAtee would open the scoring for the Blades, before Gyokeres missed from the spot, Ciaran Clark would double the lead for United before Tommy Doyle made it 3-0. Gyokeres would grab a goal back for City before Sheffield were reduced to 10 men with John Egan receiving his marching orders for a second yellow but Coventry were unable to mount a comeback. They finished December off with a boring 0-0 at home to Cardiff. January has so far been a bit of a poor month for the Sky Blues as they begun with a 1-1 draw at home to Bristol City, Jake Bidwell scoring for Coventry and Antoine Semenyo scoring for the Robins, next was the FA Cup as they welcomed the attention of Hollywood as Ryan Reynold rolled into town with Wrexham. Early goals from Sam Dalby and Elliot Lee got Wrexham off to a dream start before Ben Sheaf halved the deficit. Thomas O'Connor got a third for the non league side, before Panzo received a straight red card ahead of a 4 goal coming from former Town academy player Paul Mullin. Wrexham must have felt they had the tie sealed but goals from Gyokeres and Palmer made for a nervy finish, but in the end Coventry were dumped out of the cup. Any attempt to bounce back was ended as Jordan Beyer's late header saw below-par Burnley edge out Coventry before Coventry welcomed David Wagner's Norwich to the CBS Arena. They rolled out the welcome mat as Norwich raced into a 3 goal lead thanks to an own goal from Michael Rose and strikes from Onell Hernandez and Josh Sargent. Coventry fought back moments later through goals from Allen and Palmer to make it 3-2 but Kieran Dowell scored a 4th for Norwich to make January winless so far for the Sky Blues.




In terms of head to heads, Town have won 9 with Coventry winning 5 and there being 5 draws. Last season saw Town draw at home 1-1, it was a lunchtime kick off where we took the lead and then tried to defend and hold on for the rest of the game. Danny Ward opened the scoring for Town after 18 minutes but we were well and truly battered by Mark Robins' side with Lee Nicholls being the only thing stopping them making the dominance count. The away side had 65% possession and registered 22 shots 12 on target, Town could only muster 2 shots on target out of the 10 they had. It looked like the smash and grab would work but in the 93rd minute Matt Godden scored a much deserved equaliser. The return fixture saw goals from Harry Toffolo and Tino Anjorin lead Town to a 2-1 win with Viktor Gyokeres scoring late for the Sky Blues.

In terms of incomings this season, Coventry were more active in Summer than they have been so far in January. Summer saw them bring in former Terrier Kasey Palmer from Bristol City on a free transfer, former Monaco defender Jonathan Panzo on loan from Nottingham Forest, fellow defender Callum Doyle joined on loan from Manchester City. January saw left back Josh Wilson-Esbrand join on loan also from Manchester City, whilst on the right Brooke Norton-Cuffy joined on loan from Arsenal having spent the first half of the season on loan at Rotherham. Luke McInally also joined the Sky Blues from fellow Championship side Burnley on loan, whilst Sean Maguire is rumoured to be joining from Preston, they have also been linked with a move for former Town loanees Jamie Paterson and Danel Sinani.

As for out goings Jordan Shipley and Julien Da Costa both joined Shrewsbury, Da Costa being on loan, centre half Josh Pask joined TNS on a free transfer and Jodi Jones left for Oxford United after his contract expired and he has since joined Notts County. Dominic Hyam made the move to Blackburn for 1.75 million in the main deal of the Summer. As for Winter, Todd Kane joined Charlton on loan, whilst Martyn Waghorn was a surprise arrival at Town, with not many expecting that to happen, it still appears to be somewhat of a weird transfer but we shall give him a touch of time, although does it look like Bromby has found the transfer wishlist from the summer we got promoted? most the signings seem like they would have been top players at around that time but have since gotten old or dropped off.



In terms of team news, Town could welcome back Ollie Turton after he has spent time on the training pitches with the first team, Matty Pearson after featuring against Hull could play possibly play the full 90 this weekend. Anjorin remains a long term injury, whilst Pat Jones is nearing a comeback but will still be a few weeks away. Danny Ward remains out with a muscle injury and with Martyn Waghorn unable to feature against his parent side, Jordan Rhodes is likely to be leading the line alone, with the likes of Tyreece Simpson, Kian Harratt and B team beanpole poacher Kyle Hudlin all candidates to sit on the bench. Sorba Thomas has left the club strangely on loan to Blackburn meaning his spot in the squad could be taken by new signing Josh Hungbo, Anthony Knockaert had yet to train before the Hull game so it remains to be seen whether he will be fit enough to feature at all. Keeper Lee Nicholls will be out after shoulder surgery, so at the moment it appears that young Nicholas Bilokapic will be donning the gloves this weekend.

I'd do a predicted line up but my idea would be different from what the next Alex Ferguson would pick. Hey ho- My line up would be: Bilokapic; Lees, Helik, Pearson; Lowton, Hogg, Kasumu, Jackson; Rudoni, Rhodes, Holmes in a 3-4-3 formation. My sneaking suspicion is that Ruffles will definitely feature, along with Scott High, with Kasumu and Turton both being on the bench along with Hungbo and Boyle. Diarra is also likely to get a spot on the bench and after a few goals in the B team, it wouldn't surprise me if Koroma gets a spot too.


As for Coventry, Callum O'Hare is out for the rest of the season after picking up an ACL injury against Sheffield United on boxing day, he is expected to miss 9 months, fellow midfielder and key player Gustavo Hamer limped off at the weekend but Mark Robins is hopeful that he will be fit for Saturdays game (maybe another reason they got the game moved????) The Coventry Telegraph predicts the Sky Blues will line up: Ben Wilson; Luke McNally, Michael Rose, Jonathan Panzo; Fankaty Dabo, Gustavo Hamer, Ben Sheaf, Josh Wilson-Esbrand; Kasey Palmer, Jamie Allen; Viktor Gyokeres in a 3-4-2-1 formation.

Ones to watch

Kasey Palmer- We know what the guy can do on his day. He was a different level when he was here on loan in the Championship, especially the first half of the season, struggled a little after he picked up an injury against Leeds and never really got going again. Struggled even more when we got to the Prem and ended up having his loan here cut short to go back to the Championship. Since then he's been a bit nomadic with numerous loans to the likes of Swansea, Blackburn and Derby. Left Chelsea  to join Bristol City following a loan there but never really got going scored as many goals here as he did there in less than half the games. Joined Coventry in the Summer and at 26 will be looking to finally settle down.

Viktor Gyokeres- Swedish international who joined the Sky Blues from Brighton, although he never actually played a league game from Brighton's first team. He also had loans out and about at the likes of German club St Pauli, Welsh club Swansea as well as Coventry. Goals seemed hard to come by as he could only muster 7 in Germany and none at all in Wales in the league anyway. In his initial loan at Coventry he could only manage 3 goals in 19 games, but Robins had obviously seen enough to take a punt and was rewarded last season with 17 goals in 45 appearances, this season he has 12 so far in 27 and it will be a surprise if he doesn't get one this weekend and also if he is still a Coventry player come next season, there will be a fair few Premier League clubs that will be taking an active interest now.

Gustavo Hamer- The diminutive Dutchman was born originally in Brazil. One of the main creators for Coventry, he joined back in 2020 from PEC Zwolle in Holland having originally beginning his career at Feyenoord. He played two games for the Dutch giants and had a loan out at Dordrecht. He has played over 100 games for Coventry and has scored 12 goals. He is also known for being a flair player as well as being a fairly fiery customer.



Anagrams

1) Inconceivably A Torrent Guy Dies

2) Baron Smirk

3) Zoo Evicts Giver

4) Videotaping A Mad Pony Geld

5) Clearly Big Ma

6) I Broken A Bee

7) Sherry Or Art

Forest Green Rovers have appointed former Everton assistant manager Duncan Ferguson as their new head coach.

The 51-year-old is taking on his first full-time managerial role and replaces Ian Burchnall who left on Wednesday with the club bottom of League One.

Former striker Ferguson made 273 appearances for the Toffees and also had two spells as their caretaker manager in 2019 and 2022.

"I plan to be here for a while," Ferguson told the club website.

"We have a bit of a fight on our hands to stay up in League One and I am ready for the challenge."

Former Everton team-mate Tony Grant will work alongside Ferguson as assistant head coach.

Forest Green are four points from safety and have won just five of their 28 matches this season, having played more games than their relegation rivals.

They are without a victory in their past eight matches with their last win coming on 10 December.

As a player, Ferguson scored 73 goals for Everton in two spells from 1994 to 2006. He began his career at Dundee United and also played for Rangers and Newcastle United. He was also capped seven times by Scotland.

He joined Everton's coaching staff in 2014 and left last summer to pursue his first managerial position.

"We're all excited to welcome Duncan, he is someone I have admired from a far for a while," Forest Green chairman Dale Vince said.

"It's just fantastic to have the opportunity to work with him in this next phase of our journey toward the Championship."

Prior to the announcement of Ferguson's appointment, Vince said the club was looking to appoint someone with "experience" as swiftly as possible with the hope of bringing in "a couple more" players during this January transfer window.

Nothing to see here, lets just move on to next week.

Ok, if I have to....

Premier League

Blue Baggie  15pts 2CS 4CR 5GB 0BB 0SB
Minizin        12pts 2CS 4CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
Sanjay        11pts 4CS 4CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
Stairs            9pts 2CS 4CR 0GB -3BB 0SB
Snooty          8pts 0CS 4CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
SCO              6pts 1CS 2CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
Derby            3pts 1CS 2CR -3GB 0BB 0SB
Zinman        -5pts 0CS 0 CR -3GB -3BB 1SB

It's all down to luck, obviously. A strange week in many ways with a high proportion of correct results being turned into maximums (or should that be maxima?), a complete wipe out on bonus balls and only the most gifted of players able to score on the scoreball. Once again one game was postponed meaning that a few balls will be carried over to next week.

Blue Baggie sits on top this week, continuing his recent upturn in form. Whether he was helped or hindered by hid bonus ball game being postponed we'll never know but 15 points was a strong showing, helped by 5 from his gamball. Minizin had a similar return except for his bonus being in play - and losing 3 points as a result. Given certain other scores this weekend, this result should help in the overall table. #rd spot goes to Sanjay - he scored on 4 games but got all of them spot on. Unfortunately these games didn't include either the gamball or bonus so his total was reduced but he was one of only 2 players to get the extra scoreball point.

Last week Stairs played his gamball for the first time since the start of the season and scored 5 points. This week he returned to his old ways and missed out on the 3 extra points that would have seen him in 2nd place - still 9 points is better than nothing (and much better than minus 5). Snooty was one of only 2 players not to get a correct score but at least he got some correct results, including the gamball while SCO again struggled with only 2 correct scores, fortunately one of them being the gamball. Derby had a poor week though he didn't get to enjoy his bonus, also losing out on the gamball.

Zinman also took part.

Minizin 179
Derby 172
Zinman 172
Snooty 156
Stairs 153
Blue Baggie 144
Sanjay 132
SCO 122

The only positional change is at the top where Minizin leaps from 3rd to top spot, Zinman dropping to share second place with Derby. No other changes though SCO is now 22 points from safety at the foot of the table (and 31 points if he wants to avoid the play-off!).

Zin


Championship

Amelia 14pts 2CS 3CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
Lady Jane 11pts 1CS 3CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Dingle 8pts 1CS 2CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
AAA 7pts 3CS 0CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
BBB 4pts 0CS 2CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
Themaclad 4pts 0CS 2CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
Twerton 2pts 1CS 2CR -3GB -3BB 0SB
BaggieOne 0pts 1CS 1CR -3GB -3BB 0SB

Another mediocre week for the Championship in total but at least our ladies are doing the fairer sex proud this week by occupying the top two places!!  Amelia gets a rare top spot with 14 points, she scored on 5 games including a CR on the Gamball but missed on the Bonus.  Lady Jane is right behind her on 11 points, a decent score she needed after recent form.  She too scored on 5 games and was the only one to score positive points on the Bonus this week.  Dingle improved to take third spot with 8 points, he only scored on 3 games but one was the Gamball to get that points boost.

AAA is 4th with 7 points, he got to this number with a fairly rare method of 3 CSs and no CRs but missed on the Gamball and Bonus!!  BBB at least got the Gamball result correct but little else so ended on just 4 points.  Themaclad also ended with 4 points in a mirror of BBBs scoring.

Twerton is back down near the bottom again with just 2 points, missed on all his balls which has been a problem all season for him.  BaggieOne is feeling the effects of gravity at the moment after his 4 week rollercoaster ride up the scores he has reached the summit of the ride and is firmly on the big slide back down and scored a big fat zero!!!!

205 Dingle
182 Lady Jane
179 BaggieOne
163 AAA
158 BBB
132 Themaclad
123 Amelia
116 Twerton

A little bit of movement this week, Lady Jane took back second spot from BaggieOne and Amelia dragged herself off the bottom of the table to plant Twerton right back on it!!

In a week where the leader of the PL got his worst score of the season with -5, that's Zinman if anyone failed to notice that, I thought it would be good to look at the lowest and highest scores for the Championship players.  The highest score this season is 26 by AAA in week 6, this is ahead of 3 other players who have scored over 20 points in a single week - Themaclad, Lady Jane and BaggieOne.  Interestingly our league leader Dingle has yet to post a score of 20 or over, lends to the consistency of his scoring to still be in front!!  At the other end our lowest score so far this season is -6, which is as low as you can score unfortunately and that honour goes to Twerton!!  Zinman tried to match it this week but that Scoreball really counts some weeks!!  Dingle and BBB are the only players yet to put in a negative score so far in the Championship.

Cheers
SCO

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 28th January:
Coventry v Town
Town scorers:
Coventry scorers:

Hull City v Queens Park Rangers
Middlesbrough v Watford

FA Cup 4th round:
Friday:
Manchester City v Arsenal

Saturday:
Accrington Stanley v Leeds United (12:30)
Walsall v Leicester City (12:30)
Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City
Bristol City v West Bromwich Albion
Fulham v Sunderland
Ipswich Town v Burnley
Luton Town v Grimsby Town
Sheffield Wednesday v Fleetwood Town
Southampton v Blackpool
Preston North End v Tottenham Hotspur (18:00)
Manchester United v Reading (20:00)

Sunday:
Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool (13:30)
Stoke City v Stevenage (14:00)
Wrexham v Sheffield United (16:30)

Monday:
Derby County v West Ham United

League Cup semi finals 2nd legs:
Tuesday:
Newcastle United v Southampton (agg: 1-0)

Wednesday:
Manchester United v Nottingham Forest (agg: 3-0)

Table after Matchday 23:

1. jjamez = 540 pts
   
2. theo_luddite = 485 pts
   
3. neonfoxinthebox = 484 pts
   
4. themaclad = 474 pts
   
5. Baggiebob(BBB) = 467 pts
   
6. Lord Snooty = 449 pts
   
7. ritchiebaby = 438 pts
   
8. SHEP_HTAFC = 438 pts
   
9. St Charles Owl = 432 pts
   
10. Amelia Chaffinch = 430 pts
    
11. Devongone = 384 pts
    
12. WakeyTerrier = 171 pts

Well this is a massive match for both clubs in similar circumstances where a crisis of mismanagement has been gradually unfolding for months. The Dons don't win away matches, have just been humiliated by a junior, West of Scotland league club, Darvel, in a Scottish Cup tie - another away match lost and even though poor refereeing played a big part in suckering them, they didn't play well, didn't show up with the required steel and commitment to win a cup-tie. Hibs could well be without Kevin Nisbet by the time this match kicks off - transferred to Milwall AFC. Therefore, any recognised regular goal scorer has been removed by the club. Somebody at the club needs to "grasp the nettle" and act to mitigate for this loss! Hibs also need to shore up a defensive frailty that has been debated for a very, very long time and opposing teams know they can beat Hibs without too much involvement in the game - it's a disgrace that could've been resolved months ago with proper footie nous and appropriate action in key areas. What will be the result? I have no idea TBF!! They have goal scorers, but they don't win away matches because their morale is low due to a lack of success and a manager who is short of ideas and seems to lack motivational skills. Hibs actually play well in certain areas of the pitch, but the team has been badly let down by the lack of defensive structure that should've been redressed by Lee Johnson, a manager with clear limitations in his all round ability as a footie manager. All I can say is, "I hope we can win this game somehow under really challenging circumstances within the club and the poor way it is being run"!!

GGTTH

THE MATCH

SATURDAY 28TH JANUARY KO 3:00PM

v [img][/img]

LAST MATCH



Although it was an ugly game to watch, it was another 3 points. We got off to great start, when Johnson fired in a Windass cross. We had a few more chances with Smith & Gregory but didn't add to our lead. Onto the 2nd half which was a desperately dull affair where we didn't create much and neither did Fleetwood until late in the game when the visitors had a few chances but couldn't find the net. Gregory won but then missed a penalty with the last kick of the game 

THE MATCH



So with the Cheltenham game postponed we move onto the cup where we play Fleetwood again and at home again. There main dangers are Gomes (5) and Rooney (4). Fleetwood have scored in every away game this season apart from us of course and have lost just 4 of 14 of those away games. Scot Brown is there manager who used to play for Celtic before turning to manage Fleetwood. We have won all 4 games we have played v Fleetwood, lets make it 5 and get in the draw for the 5th round.

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 4
FLEET 0
DRAWS 0 

CURRENT FORM

OWLS              -                                                                       

FLEET              -                                              

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

Referee Charles Breakspear
Assistant Referees Mark Dwyer & Gareth Viccars
Fourth Official Benjamin Speedie

THE TEAM

Dawson
Palmer Iorfa Famewo
Hunt Adeniran Byers FDB Johnson
Windass Gregory

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

2-1 Gregory

ATTENDANCE

12352

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

BML LEAGUE

Owlskev 20
Imre 19
Stateside 19
Wash 17
SCO 15
Peiowl 12
Maddix 10

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City
Bristol City v West Bromwich Albion
Fulham v Sunderland
Ipswich Town v Burnley
Luton Town v Grimsby Town

HAHAH

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE

WEREHAM
PEIOWL




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

I hope this won’t even get considered but I see on bbc sport Carlos is in the frame amongst others for the Everton job. bloody typical bar stewards hands off

Jones "signed on the dotted line" to play for the red devils on 1 July 2011. He has survived SAF, Moyes, LVG, Giggsy, Mourinho, Ole, Carrick, Ralf and Ten Hag. He still survives to this day without playing and during every transfer season he is injured. He has never been sold or released and Man Utd will renew his contract when the current one expires. HE EARNS £4.5m PER ANNUM FROM MAN UTD FOR DOING NOTHING!! It's a curious story eh!! People in high places giving him special favours? For how long?

Manager

Antonio Conte



After retiring from playing, Conte worked as an assistant manager for Siena alongside Luigi De Canio in the 2005–06 season. In July 2006, he was appointed coach of Serie B side Arezzo. However, after a series of disappointing results, he was sacked on 31 October 2006.

On 13 March 2007, Conte was reinstated as Arezzo head coach as his predecessor Maurizio Sarri failed to gain any significant improvement with the club mired in a relegation struggle. He subsequently led the team to five consecutive wins, securing 19 points from 7 matches, which allowed the Tuscan side to close the points gap between them and safety. In spite of this turnaround in form, Arezzo was relegated to Serie C1 on the final day of the league season, finishing one point behind Spezia.

Bari
On 27 December 2007, Conte was appointed by Bari to replace Giuseppe Materazzi for the second half of their 2007–08 Serie B campaign. He oversaw a considerable upturn in form, leading the team out of the relegation battle and placing them comfortably mid-table. The following season, 2008–09, Bari were crowned Serie B champions, being promoted to Serie A for the 2009–10 season, Conte's first major honour as a manager.

In June 2009, after weeks of rumours linking Conte to the vacant managerial role at Juventus, he agreed in principle for a contract extension to keep him at Bari for the new season. However, on 23 June, Bari announced they had rescinded the contract with Conte by mutual consent.

After Claudio Ranieri was sacked by Juventus, Conte was again reported to be a potential replacement. Shortly prior to Ranieri's termination, Conte had made public his ambition to be Juventus coach at some stage and was confident he was ready for the demands of the role. Again, Juventus declined to hire their former midfielder and appointed Ciro Ferrara instead.

Atalanta

Conte managing Atalanta in a Serie A match
On 21 September 2009, Conte replaced Angelo Gregucci as manager of Atalanta. Despite a good start at the helm of the Orobici, the club found itself struggling by November, leading to protests from local supporters and friction between Conte and the club's ultra supporters.

On 6 January 2010, Conte was repeatedly confronted by Atalanta fans during a home game against Napoli which ended in a 0–2 defeat for the Nerazzurri. The match ended with Conte receiving police protection to avoid an altercation with the Atalanta ultras. The next day, Conte tendered his resignation to the club, leaving them in 19th place.

Siena
On 9 May 2010, Conte was announced as new head coach of Siena, with the aim of leading the Tuscan side back to the top flight after relegation to the 2010–11 Serie B. Conte successfully secured promotion for Siena, which would be competing in the 2011–12 Serie A season.

Juventus

Conte with Juventus in 2012
On 22 May 2011, Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta announced Juventus had appointed Conte as its new head coach, replacing Luigi Delneri. Conte arrived amid high expectations that he, a former fan favourite as a midfielder for the club, would lead them back to the summit of the Italian and European game.

His first ten months as manager saw the club reach a number of landmarks such as, following a 5–0 win over rivals Fiorentina, equalling Fabio Capello's run of 28 unbeaten matches between November 2005 and May 2006. On 20 March 2012, Conte became the first coach to lead Juventus to a Coppa Italia final since Marcello Lippi in the 2004 Coppa Italia Final. On 25 March, following a 2–0 victory at the Juventus Stadium, he became the first coach to complete the league double in the Derby d'Italia against rivals Inter Milan since Capello in 2005–06. In November 2012, Conte was awarded the Trofeo Maestrelli, an award honouring the three best Italian coaches working in the professional league, the country's youth coaching system and outside Italy, respectively.Despite drawing a large number of matches during the season, on 6 May 2012 Conte led Juventus to their 28th league title with one match remaining by beating Cagliari 2–0. After beating Atalanta 3–1, Juventus finished the league unbeaten, the first team to do so since Serie A expanded to 20 teams and 38 rounds.

Conte's innovative 3–5–2 formation, which featured wingbacks and two box-to-box midfielders in a three-man midfield, gave more creative freedom to the newly acquired deep-lying playmaker Andrea Pirlo, who was key to the club's success that season. The club's strong and highly organised three-man back-line, which was predominantly composed of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, and Andrea Barzagli, was regarded to have played a large part in the title triumph, and only conceded 20 goals, finishing the league with the best defence in Italy. However, Juventus lost the 2012 Coppa Italia final to Napoli 2–0, their only defeat in domestic competitions that season.

Conte's Juventus won the 2012–13 Serie A title as they accumulated 87 points, three more than the previous season, nine more than second-placed Napoli and 15 more than third-placed Milan. Despite their dominance, Juventus's top goalscorers in the league were midfielder Arturo Vidal and forward Mirko Vučinić, both with just ten goals, making them joint 23rd in the goal-scoring chart. In his first Champions League campaign, Juventus was eliminated by eventual winners Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, losing 4–0 on aggregate. After winning a second consecutive Supercoppa Italiana in 2013, Juventus won their third consecutive Serie A title under Conte during the 2013–14 season, winning the league with a Serie A record of 102 points. This was also the club's 30th league title. However, Juventus were eliminated from the group stage of the Champions League that season, although they subsequently managed to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. On 15 July 2014, Conte resigned as manager. During his three seasons as Juventus manager, he won the Panchina d'Oro for each one, for best Serie A coach of the season.

Italy national team

Conte in his technical area managing Italy against Azerbaijan, the match in which UEFA Euro 2016 qualification was achieved
On 14 August 2014, following Italy national team manager Cesare Prandelli's resignation, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced to have agreed a two-year deal with Conte as new head coach of the national team until Euro 2016. With the national side, Conte continued to field formations which he had employed during his successful spell with Juventus, varying between the 4–3–3, 4–2–4, 3–3–4, and the 3–5–2 in particular, with the latter being the tactical choice that ultimately replaced Prandelli's 4–3–1–2 midfield diamond formation. His first match as Italy manager was a 2–0 win over Netherlands, during which Ciro Immobile and Daniele De Rossi scored the goals for Gli Azzurri. Conte won his first competitive match on 9 September 2014, defeating Norway 2–0 in their opening Euro 2016 qualifying match in Oslo, with goals by Simone Zaza and Leonardo Bonucci. This was the first time Italy had managed to defeat the Norwegians in Norway since 1937.

After ten matches as Italy manager, Conte suffered his first defeat on 16 June 2015, in a 1–0 international friendly loss against Portugal.[49] He sealed Euro 2016 qualification for Italy on 10 October 2015, as Italy defeated Azerbaijan 3–1 in Baku. The result meant Italy had managed to go 50 matches unbeaten in European qualifiers.

On 15 March 2016, the FIGC confirmed Conte would step down as manager after Euro 2016.[51] Although many fans and members of the media were initially critical of Conte's tactics and the level of the Italian squad chosen for the competition,[52] Italy opened the tournament with a promising 2–0 victory over the number-one ranked European team Belgium on 13 June.[53] Following the win, Conte drew praise from the media for the team's unity, defensive strength, and for his tactical approach to the match, which impeded Belgium from creating many goalscoring opportunities.[ Conte led Italy out of the group to the Round of 16 with one match to spare on 17 June after a 1–0 victory against Sweden. Italy had not won the second group match in a major international tournament since Euro 2000, in which Conte had coincidentally appeared as a player. Conte also led Italy to the top of the group, the first time in a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup. After the 2–0 round of 16 win over defending champions Spain, Conte's Italy then faced off against rivals and reigning world champions Germany in the quarter-final, which ended 1–1 after extra time and 6–5 in favour of Germany after the resulting penalty shoot-out, ending his time as Italy manager. Speaking after the match, Conte said, "[T]he decision to leave the national team after two years was taken early," and that the reason for leaving was because he "wanted to return to the cut and thrust of club football".

Chelsea

Antonio Conte in 2017
On 4 April 2016, it was confirmed Conte would officially become the new first-team head coach of English side Chelsea from the 2016–17 season after signing a three-year contract, which would keep him at the club until 2019.

On 15 August, Chelsea started off the season with a 2–1 win over West Ham United.[63] On 17 December, Conte set a new club record with 11 consecutive league victories in a single season, following a 1–0 away triumph over Crystal Palace.[64] After securing a 4–2 home win over Stoke City on 31 December, Chelsea recorded a 13th consecutive league victory, equalling Arsenal's 2002 record for most consecutive league wins in a single season. The team's league winning streak came to an end in the following match, on 4 January 2017, in a 2–0 away loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

On 13 January 2017, Conte became the first manager in history to win three consecutive Premier League Manager of the Month awards (October, November and December).

On 12 May 2017, Conte's Chelsea side defeated West Bromwich Albion 1–0 away, with a late goal from substitute Michy Batshuayi, and secured the points required to win the 2016–17 Premier League title with two matches to spare. Following a 5–1 home win over Sunderland on 21 May, Chelsea also set a new Premier League record for the most wins in a single season, with 30 league victories out of 38 league matches. On 18 July 2017, Conte signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea.

Conte was sent to the stands for the first time in his Chelsea career during the first half of a home match against Swansea City on 29 November 2017. He argued with fourth official Lee Mason over referee Neil Swarbrick’s decision to award a goal kick rather than a corner for Chelsea, after which the referee dismissed him. Conte apologised afterwards but was nonetheless charged with misconduct by the FA

On 19 May 2018, Conte led Chelsea to a 1–0 victory over Manchester United in the 2018 FA Cup Final.

Chelsea finished fifth in the league at the end of the season, missing out on Champions League qualification. Conte was sacked as Chelsea manager on 13 July 2018 and was replaced by Maurizio Sarri.[75] During this period, the club is said to have lost £26.6m in paying off compensation to Conte, his team, and legal fees, as per Chelsea's accounts.

Inter Milan
On 31 May 2019, Conte was appointed head coach of Serie A club Inter Milan.[77] On 26 August 2019, Inter won their first league match of the season by 4–0 against Lecce.[78] Inter finished second behind Juventus in the Serie A title race.[79] Inter also reached the final of the Europa League, but suffered a 3–2 defeat to Sevilla in Cologne on 21 August 2020.[

Following Atalanta's draw against Sassuolo on 2 May 2021, Inter were confirmed as champions for the first time in eleven years, ending Juventus's run of nine consecutive titles.[

However, despite achieving Serie A glory, on 26 May 2021, Inter announced that Conte had left the club by mutual consent. The departure was reportedly due to disagreements Conte had with the club's board over transfers for the following season.

Tottenham Hotspur
Conte was appointed as head coach of Tottenham Hotspur on 2 November 2021 following the sacking of Nuno Espírito Santo the previous day. He signed an 18-month contract with the option of a further year.[84][85] His first match in-charge of Tottenham was a 3–2 win against Eredivisie side Vitesse.[86] His first Premier League game was a 0–0 draw away to Everton on 7 November 2021.[87] On 1 January 2022, following a late win against Watford, Conte became the first Tottenham manager to go unbeaten in their first eight league games.

Conte helped Tottenham qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2019–20, after winning 5–0 away against Norwich City and finishing fourth in the 2021–22 Premier League season.

After a 2-0 victory against Everton, Conte had secured Tottenham their best ever start to a Premier League season.

LAST ROUND



LAST MEETING



With Lancastrian commentary


Think this lad is a quality player

DEJAN KULUSEVSKI

https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/

https://thefightingcock.co.uk/forum/thre...bc1.47232/

https://www.glory-glory.co.uk/community/...s-views.2/

https://www.not606.com/forums/tottenham-hotspur.27/

First FA Cup Final I ever watched was 1962 they beat Burnley 3-1 not a bad side this

Sunderland have signed France Under-20 international midfielder Pierre Ekwah from West Ham United on a "long-term" contract, for an undisclosed fee.

The 21-year-old joined West Ham's under-21 side in July 2021, having been part of the Chelsea academy, but did not make a senior appearance.

Before moving to England, Ekwah spent time at the national Clairefontaine academy and at Nantes.

"He is a player we have been monitoring for some time," boss Tony Mowbray said.

Mowbray patient with Sunderland progress