THE MATCH

SATURDAY 8TH OCTOBER KO 3:00PM

v

LAST MATCH



A game that we looked like having a chance of winning, changed on Bungles substitutions of with 20 mins left as Plymouth won it in injury time. Plymouth got off to a flying start Hardie scoring from just outside the box, however we were level minutes later when Palmer appeared on the edge of the box and finished well. From then on both teams had chances and we were the better of the two sides, Cooper making several saves and Windass hitting the post. After 70 mins "Bungle" took off Bazza & Windass and Plymouth took control and took the points when Cosgrove headed past Stockdale.

THE MATCH



Next up and Cheltenham make the journey north. They haven't done too bad so far this season and lie just below mid table and have won 3 of there last 4 games. Staying in the division is a realistic achievement and I think they should do that. Alfie May is there joint top scorer with 3 goals, we were linked with him in the summer but signed Smith instead. Wade Elliott is there manager, taking over from Michael Duff who went to manage Barnsley.

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 1
CHEL 0
DRAWS 1

CURRENT FORM

OWLS              -                                                             

CHEL               -                              

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

BENJAMIN SPEEDIE
Joe Simpson and Oliver Bickle
Fourth Official: David Richardson

THE TEAM

Stockdale
Palmer Ihikwe McGuiness James
Windass Bannan Byers Johnson
Gregory Smith

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

3-1 Smith

ATTENDANCE

22121

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

BML LEAGUE

Stateside 7
Imre 5
Wash 5
Pieowl 4
SCO 2
Maddix 2
Owlskev 2

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Brighton v Tottenham
Norwich v Preston
Lincoln v Charlton
Bradford v Stockport
York City v Torquay

HHDHH

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE

WEREHAM




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

Rotherham United have named Exeter City boss Matt Taylor as their new manager.

Taylor was approached last week about the vacancy at the Championship club following the departure of Paul Warne to take over at Derby County.

The 40-year-old, who led Exeter to promotion from League Two last season, has signed a deal until 2026.

His assistant manager at Exeter, Wayne Carlisle, joins him in South Yorkshire and the pair will take charge for Wednesday's home game against Millwall.

Exeter said the clubs had "reached an agreement on a suitable compensation sum" and coaches Kevin Nicholson and Jon Hill would be taking over the first team while they searched for a new manager.

A former player at St James Park, Taylor took over at the Grecians in June 2018 when long-serving Paul Tisdale left.

As a player, he captained Exeter to promotion from non-league to League One, while he also enjoyed spells at Charlton Athletic and Cheltenham Town before returning to Devon to begin his coaching career.

"Taylor has been identified as the young, ambitious and intelligent manager that the Millers' board were looking for and not only does he boast those credentials, he also has form for following a long-term occupant of a managerial post," a Rotherham statement said.

The Millers are 12th in the Championship with three wins so far this season.

Analysis
Brent Pilnick, BBC Sport

Rotherham have finally got their man - one of League One's most highly regarded young managers.

At Exeter Taylor has played an attractive brand of passing football based on three central defenders, attacking wing-backs and two strikers.

He has also been instrumental in bringing through young talent such as Josh Key, Cheick Diabate and Matt Jay, as well as taking unheralded players like Tim Dieng and Jevani Brown and turning them into key contributors.

Exeter must now look for a new boss who is happy to work with the club's Trust ownership model and be happy to blood the club's academy players into the first team.

LAST TIME OUT



FORM GUIDE

NORWICH CITY 14 PNE 7

MANAGER

DEAN SMITH

Managerial career
After working as a youth coach at Leyton Orient from January 2005, Smith was promoted to the role of assistant manager toward the end of the 2004–05 season.[8] He attained his UEFA Pro Licence in 2008, alongside classmates such as Roy Keane, Brendan Rodgers, and Ian McParland.[9] After a poor run of form, Smith left Orient in January 2009, along with long serving manager Martin Ling.[10]

Walsall
In July 2009, Smith returned to his first club, Walsall, in the role of Head of Youth.[11]

Smith was appointed caretaker manager of Walsall on 4 January 2011, following the dismissal of Chris Hutchings. Seventeen days later he was announced as permanent manager of the club until the end of the season.[12] Taking over managerial duties with his side nine points adrift at the foot of League One, Smith managed to steer Walsall out of the drop zone before the season's end.[13] On 29 January, the "Saddlers" recorded their best league result since 1986 by beating Bristol Rovers 6–1, in what was Smith's first win in charge; the three points also took Walsall off the foot of the table, though they were still seven points short of safety.[14] His team made up the difference over February, and a 1–0 win over promotion chasing Southampton on 1 March saw Walsall climb out of the relegation zone for the first time since October.[15] They ended the season one point clear of Dagenham & Redbridge in the drop zone.

He let fourteen players go in summer 2011, including: Darren Byfield, Jonny Brain, Clayton McDonald, Paul Marshall, Matt Richards, Steve Jones, Aaron Lescott, David Bevan, Julian Gray, and Tom Williams. He then signed goalkeeper Dávid Gróf; defenders Mat Sadler and Lee Beevers;[16] midfielders Kevan Hurst,[17] Claude Gnakpa,[18] Adam Chambers, and Anton Peterlin;[19] and striker Ryan Jarvis.[20] Also during the campaign he boosted his squad with loan signings Dave Martin,[21] Mark Wilson, Andy Halliday, and Florent Cuvelier.[22] His side lost just one of their first five league games, but then picked up just three points from their next seven games. They beat Preston North End on 15 October, but then picked up just four points from their next eight games. From 26 November, they were beaten just once in nine matches, but became the division's draw specialists as seven of these nine games finished level. They finished the campaign in 19th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

In summer 2012, he offered professional contracts to youth team players Mal Benning, Ben George, Aaron Williams and Kieron Morris.[23] He continued to add promising young players by bringing in 21-year-old winger Ashley Hemmings, 19-year-old former loanee Florent Cuvelier, 19-year-old winger James Baxendale, 20-year-old defender Paul Downing, 19-year-old striker Connor Taylor, 23-year-old striker Febian Brandy, in addition to 32-year-old right-back Dean Holden.[24][25][26][27][28] He also brought in full-back James Chambers, twin brother of Adam Chambers.[29] He also brought in a number of players on loan, including: Karl Darlow (21), Sam Mantom (20), Aaron McCarey (20), and Craig Westcarr (27).[30][31][32][33] Mantom was made into a permanent signing in January.[34] Smith signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract in October, keeping him at the club until summer 2015.[35] This came after the club announced a £10,000 profit on the previous campaign as Smith's 'Total Football' approach yielded a mid-table position for the young Walsall team, in addition to praise from pundits and fans.[36][37][38] A poor run of results saw the team slip to just above the relegation zone in mid-December.[39] Walsall recovered to win four of their five games in January, as Smith was named as Manager of the Month.[40] They ended the season in ninth place, six points outside the play-offs.

During a fine start to the 2013–14 season, Smith, affectionately nicknamed "Ginger Mourinho" by the Walsall fans, took the club to an unlikely promotion push.[41] He masterminded a win at Molineux against Black Country derby rivals, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and also ended winning streaks by table-toppers Leyton Orient and Brentford.[42][43][44] The club could not sustain their promotion push however, and ended the campaign in 13th place. Smith released top-scorer Craig Westcarr at the end of the season, along with Troy Hewitt, Nicky Featherstone, James McQuilkin, and Shane Lewis.[45]

He took Walsall to the 2015 final of the Football League Trophy, a 2–0 defeat to Bristol City, which was Walsall's first appearance at Wembley Stadium.[46] At the end of the 2014–15 season he largely kept his squad together, the most high-profile player to be released being Ben Purkiss.[47] He was given a Special Achievement Award by the League Managers Association (LMA).[48]

Walsall started the 2015–16 season well, with Smith being named as League One Manager of the Month for August 2015 as the club ended the month at the top of the table.[49] Walsall rejected an approach for Smith from Rotherham United in October, describing him as "fundamental to our future plans".[50] Smith signed a new 12-month rolling contract on 16 October.[51] He was named as Football League manager of the week after his side came from two goals down to beat Gillingham 3–2 on 24 October.[52] However six weeks after signing his new contract he left Walsall for Brentford with the "Saddlers" fourth in the table; at the time of his departure he was the fourth longest serving manager in the Football League.[53]

Brentford
Smith was appointed manager of Championship club Brentford on 30 November 2015.[54] Brentford finished the 2015–16 season in ninth place, during which time Smith sold Toumani Diagouraga and James Tarkowski for a combined £3.6 million.[55] In building for the 2016–17 season Smith signed 18 players, including Romaine Sawyers (free transfer) and Rico Henry (£1.5 million) from previous club Walsall.[56] The "Bees" finished the season in tenth place, and Smith said he wanted to bring in more players in order to push for the play-offs the following season.[57] He signed a new one-year contract extension in February 2018.[58] Brentford finished the 2017–18 season in ninth-place and were "widely regarded as the Championship's entertainers" after Smith built an attractive passing style of play on a shoestring budget.[59]

Aston Villa
On 10 October 2018, Smith was appointed manager of 15th-placed Championship club Aston Villa, with John Terry as his assistant coach.[60][61] He was named as the EFL's manager of the week after overseeing a 3–0 win at Derby County on 10 November.[62] He immediately managed to reinvigorate the "Villans" attack, and only a controversial injury-time equaliser from local rivals West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns denied them a place in the play-offs by 7 December.[63][64] Villa's form dipped dramatically in the three months after Jack Grealish was sidelined with a shin injury picked up in that match, but on 2 March, Smith gave Grealish the captaincy on his return to the first-team and the 23-year old inspired an important 4–0 victory over play-off rivals Derby County.[65] Smith was given that month's Championship Manager of the Month award after achieving five wins in five games, including a victory over Second City derby rivals Birmingham City.[66] On 22 April 2019, Smith led Aston Villa to break an 109 year old club record for longest winning run after defeating Millwall 1–0 at Villa Park to make it 10 successive victories in 10 matches. The record had previously been held at nine straight wins.[67] On 11 May, Smith oversaw his 18th win with Aston Villa as they came from behind to beat West Brom 2–1 in the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-finals.[68] Three days later, Villa came from behind at West Brom to win on penalties and secure a place in the play-off final.[69] Villa went on to win promotion to the Premier League with a 2–1 victory over Derby County.[70]

The club spent a net total of £144.5 million to bring in 12 players in the summer 2019 transfer window: Jota, Anwar El Ghazi, Wesley, Kortney Hause, Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Björn Engels, Trézéguet, Douglas Luiz, Tom Heaton and Marvelous Nakamba.[71] On 29 November 2019, midway through his first Premier League season with Aston Villa, Smith signed a contract extension lasting until 2023.[72] In the EFL Cup, Villa advanced past Crewe Alexandra of League Two and four Premier League sides in Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool and Leicester City to reach the final at Wembley Stadium; they lost the final 2–1 to Manchester City.[73] In the league though, Villa were four points deep inside the relegation zone with four games left to play of the 2019–20 season, but pulled off what he called a "magnificent achievement" to clinch survival on the last day with a 1–1 draw at West Ham United.[74][75] He elaborated by saying "I thought we used the pandemic really well. We've been solid defensively, we have looked strong and managed to stay in the Premier League."[76]

Smith strengthened the squad in summer 2020 by signing Matty Cash (£14 million from Nottingham Forest), Ollie Watkins (£28 million from Brentford), Emiliano Martínez (£17 million from Arsenal), Bertrand Traoré (£17 million from Lyon) and Ross Barkley (season long-loan from Chelsea).[77][78][79][80] On 4 October, in the third game of the 2020–21 season, Smith led Aston Villa to a 7–2 home win over Premier League champions Liverpool; this was the first time a team had scored seven goals past the top-flight champions in 67 years.[81] A win against Leicester City then gave Villa their best start to a season since 1930.[82] On 26 December, Smith oversaw his century of competitive games as manager of Aston Villa with a 3–0 victory over Crystal Palace despite his team being reduced to ten men for the majority of the game due to Tyrone Mings' first half dismissal.[83] Smith was named as Premier League Manager of the Month for December as Villa conceded just one goal in their five league games.[84] He made one signing in the January transfer window: midfielder Morgan Sanson from Marseille for £14 million.[85] Aston Villa ended the campaign in 11th-place and Smith was keen to strengthen the squad further.[86]

In preparation for the English record transfer of Jack Grealish to Manchester City, a deal worth £100 million,[87] Smith brought in summer signings Emiliano Buendía, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings for a total fee of £83 million.[88][89][90] The club also signed former player Ashley Young on a free transfer from Inter Milan,[91] and for the third time signed Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe on loan.[92] On 7 November 2021, Smith and Aston Villa parted company after a run of five straight defeats in the Premier League. Chief Executive Christian Purslow stated that the decision was made after Aston Villa had not continued to improve in the 2021–22 season as they had done in previous years.[93]

Norwich City
On 15 November 2021, Smith signed a two-and-a-half year deal to become the new Norwich City head coach, replacing the outgoing Daniel Farke.[94] He won his first game in charge, a 2–1 victory over Southampton. The game made him the first manager to take charge of successive Premier League matches against the same opponent.[95] Norwich climbed out of the relegation zone on 21 January with a 3–0 win at Watford, having beaten Everton at Carrow Road six days previously.[96] However the "Canaries" went on to win just one more Premier League game and were relegated in last place at the end of the 2021–22 season, though relegation was actually confirmed with four games left to play.[97]

NORWICH CUTURE

Let's Eat Grandma are a British pop group formed in 2013 by musicians Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth. They released their debut studio album I, Gemini in 2016 through Transgressive Records. Their second studio album, I'm All Ears, was released in 2018. Let's Eat Grandma describe their music as "experimental sludge pop".[6]


History
Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth were both raised in Norwich, a city in Norfolk. They originally met in reception class when they were four,[7] and began making music together at 13. They originally began creating music as a playtime activity, with their first songs being titled "The Angry Chicken" and "Get That Leg Off the Banister".[7] Their band name is taken from a grammatical joke meant to emphasize the importance of comma placement.[8] They became members of the local Norwich music scene, before they caught the attention of the musician Kiran Leonard, who passed their work on to their future manager.[9]

Their debut album, I, Gemini, is composed of songs that were mostly written when Rosa and Jenny were younger. These songs include singles "Deep Six Textbook", which is about playing truant, and "Eat Shiitake Mushrooms", which was inspired by some graffiti the girls saw while walking around town in Norwich.[7] The album was released by Transgressive Records on 17 June 2016, and received positive reviews in NME,[10] The Guardian,[11] Pitchfork,[12] and Q.

Their second studio album I'm All Ears was released 29 June 2018, and was preceded by the singles "Hot Pink",[13] "Falling Into Me",[14] "It's Not Just Me",[15] and "Ava".[16] I'm All Ears received widespread acclaim from music critics, and won Album of the Year at the Q Awards.[17]

On 20 September 2021, the duo released a single, "Hall of Mirrors", accompanied by a video.[18] In November 2021, they announced that their third album, Two Ribbons, would be released in April 2022, containing 10 songs, and released the title track and music video the same day.[19]

Walton also produced the song "I Really Want to Stay at Your House" for the video game Cyberpunk 2077[20] which would go on to feature prominently in the 2022 anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.[21]

Gamball:
Brighton - Spurs

Others:
Bournemouth - Leicester
Birmingham - Bristol City
Coventry - Burnley
Stoke - Sheff Utd
Swansea - Sunderland
WBA - Luton
Wigan - Cardiff
Crystal Palace - Leeds
Arsenal - Liverpool


This week's results may be a bit late as work is interfering with my normal schedule!

with many contributers on here calling for Bruce To Go:
i think i may be able to help:
As you may/or may not be aware i am a practicing witch(yes i hear you all groaning)
a simple spell on him will do the trick:

so do i send him one or do i not

Answers on a broomstick...stuck in a cauldron or tied to an athame

LAST TIME OUT



FORM GUIDE

PNE 8 WBA 5

MANAGER

Early managerial career
In his first season as a manager, Bruce guided Sheffield United to eighth place in the First Division, nine points away from a place in the play-offs.[90] He caused controversy when he attempted to take his team off the pitch during an FA Cup match against Arsenal. Bruce felt that the Gunners had broken an unwritten rule of sportsmanship by scoring the winning goal from a throw-in instead of returning the ball to United, who had intentionally kicked it out of play to allow an injured player to be attended to. Although the game eventually continued to a finish, following a gesture by Arsenal the match was declared void and replayed.[91][92] In May 1999, Bruce resigned from his post after just one season in charge, citing turmoil in the club's boardroom and a shortage of funds for transfers.[93] He contemplated leaving football for a job in television, but was persuaded by Huddersfield Town owner Barry Rubery to become the club's manager.[94]

Huddersfield were early promotion contenders in the 1999–2000 season, winning six consecutive matches to rise to third place in the First Division table by late November,[95] but lost form and failed to reach the play-offs.[96] The team continued to struggle at the start of the 2000–01 season, gaining just six points from 11 matches, and Bruce was sacked in October 2000.[97] He then became involved in a dispute with Rubery, who accused him of "wasting" £3 million on players and having "an ego to feed".[98] Although he was linked with the manager's job at Queens Park Rangers,[99] Bruce remained out of the game until he was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic in April 2001.[100] The team reached the Second Division play-offs but lost in the semi-finals,[101] and Bruce almost immediately left the club, where he had been in charge for less than two months, to take over as manager of Crystal Palace.[102]

Although his new club began the 2001–02 season strongly, topping the First Division table and looking well placed for regaining the Premier League place that it had last held in the 1997–98 season,[103] Bruce tendered his resignation less than three months into the season in order to return to Birmingham City as manager. Although he was initially prevented from doing so by an injunction taken out by Crystal Palace, he was eventually allowed to join the Midlands-based club after a compensation package was agreed.[104][105] By now he had acquired a reputation as a manager who rarely held down a job for a significant length of time.[103]

Birmingham City

Bruce managing Birmingham City in 2004
Upon his arrival, the Blues were in a mid-table position in the First Division,[106] but a lengthy unbeaten run saw the team qualify for the play-offs.[107] The team went on to beat Bruce's former club Norwich City in the final after a penalty shoot-out to gain promotion to the Premier League, ending a 16-year absence from the top level of English football.[108] Birmingham spent the early part of the 2002–03 season struggling near the foot of the Premier League table, but Bruce's signing of Christophe Dugarry revitalised the team, who ended the season in 13th place and finished higher than local rivals Aston Villa for the first time since the 1970s.[109]

The following season began well for Birmingham, who climbed as high as fourth in the table, but the team's fortunes declined and they could only finish in tenth place at the end of the season.[110] Despite this disappointment, Bruce signed a new contract in June 2004 designed to keep him at St Andrew's for a further five years,[111] but just two months later Freddy Shepherd, chairman of Newcastle United, was reported to have made Bruce his main target in the search for a new manager to replace Bobby Robson. The club was reportedly prepared to pay Birmingham more than £3 million in compensation, and Bruce himself was said to be keen to take over at St James' Park,[112] but he ultimately remained at Birmingham. He stated that "as far as I'm concerned, I've got a job to do [at Birmingham City] and I'm determined to get on with it", but it was also reported that Newcastle would have been required to pay a much larger compensation fee or face legal action had he been persuaded to switch clubs.[113] Initial expectations were high for the 2004–05 season, but the club once again finished in a mid-table position, ending the season in 12th place.[114]

Following the sacking of Graeme Souness as Newcastle manager in February 2006, Bruce was again linked with the job,[115] which ultimately went to Glenn Roeder.[116] By this stage of the 2005–06 season, Birmingham were struggling in the league, and on 21 March 2006 were beaten 7–0 at home by Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.[117] Some supporters of the club began to call for his resignation, but Bruce insisted that he would fight on as manager.[118] The team managed to climb out of the relegation zone for the first time in nearly six months after a win over Bolton Wanderers in early April 2006.[119] However, they were soon overtaken by Portsmouth, whose victory over Wigan Athletic on 29 April left Birmingham mathematically unable to match their points total and therefore relegated.[120]

Although Bruce had the largest transfer budget in the division made available to him,[121] Birmingham made a slow start to the 2006–07 season in the Championship and, after a 1–0 defeat at home to Norwich City, the team's fifth consecutive match without a win, there were calls from fans and local journalists for the manager to be sacked.[122][123] Bruce publicly accepted responsibility for the team's poor run and admitted that he feared for his job,[124] but the team responded with a 1–0 victory over Derby County,[125] and then recorded a further five consecutive league victories to be joint leaders of the league table by late November.[126][127] On 29 April 2007, Birmingham secured promotion to the Premier League, with one match to play, by virtue of Derby County's 2–0 defeat at Crystal Palace. Chairman David Gold told the press "There have been some dark days but Steve has been outstanding. He was determined to bounce back. He has rebuilt the team and now we are all back where we want to be."[128]

Wigan Athletic
In May 2007, Birmingham's board agreed a new contract for Bruce, but the unwillingness of the club's prospective purchaser Carson Yeung to ratify it left his future uncertain.[129] In October 2007, Bolton Wanderers were refused permission to speak to him about their managerial vacancy.[130] Later that month, Bruce and Yeung held a meeting which reportedly had positive results.[131] Bruce later claimed that Birmingham's managing director Karren Brady had "shafted" him on a new contract with the club,[132] and when Wigan Athletic requested permission to speak to Bruce about their managerial vacancy, he was receptive to their approach.[133] As required under the terms of his contract, Wigan agreed to pay Birmingham a then-world record compensation for the loss of his services of around £3 million,[134] and they were then allowed to speak to him. On 19 November, Wigan announced the signing of Bruce for a second time.[135]

On 21 November, during a press conference which was intended to formally present Bruce as the new manager of Wigan, the club's chief executive Brenda Spencer informed the media that the deal had been put on hold by "unknown issues" between Bruce and Birmingham City, reported to centre on the advance payment of the image rights element of Bruce's contract at St Andrew's.[136][137] On 23 November 2007 Wigan announced that Bruce had now signed his contract and would officially rejoin the Latics.[138] His first game in charge was a 1–1 home draw with Manchester City on 1 December 2007.[139] Wigan spent the remainder of the season struggling against relegation, but the club secured Premier League survival with victory over Aston Villa in the penultimate game of the season.[140][141] In September 2008, Bruce was once again linked with the manager's job at Newcastle United following the departure of Kevin Keegan.[142]

Bruce led Wigan to an 11th-place finish in the 2008–09 season,[143] despite the loss of midfielder Wilson Palacios to Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window.[144]

Sunderland

Bruce managing Sunderland in 2011
On 27 May 2009, Bruce was reported to have been given permission to talk to Sunderland about succeeding Ricky Sbragia, who resigned as manager after the last match of the season.[145] Bruce was confirmed as the new manager of Sunderland on 3 June after signing a three-year contract.[146] He was joined at Sunderland by three of his former Wigan Athletic coaching staff, assistant Eric Black, goalkeeping coach Nigel Spink, and reserve team coach Keith Bertschin.[147] In his first season at Sunderland, despite a run of 14 games without a win, Bruce led the Black Cats to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League.[148]

Bruce made wholesale changes to Sunderland's squad, signing 13 players and selling 15 in his first 18 months at the club.[149] On 25 February 2011, Bruce signed an extension to his contract, keeping him at Sunderland until 2014, with chairman Niall Quinn stating that "In only 18 months he has reshaped our squad beyond recognition, bringing in some fantastically talented players. He embodies the ethos of teamwork and the importance of camaraderie in creating a wonderful spirit of togetherness amongst the players and staff".[149]

Bruce was dismissed as manager on 30 November 2011, with Sunderland in 16th position following a poor run of form which culminated with a 2–1 home defeat to bottom club Wigan four days earlier.[150] He later linked his dismissal from the managerial post with the fact that he is a fan of Newcastle United, Sunderland's bitter rivals.[151]

Hull City
On 8 June 2012, Bruce was appointed as manager at Championship club Hull City on a three-year contract.[152] In his first season with the club, he led them to promotion to the Premier League, clinching second place in the Championship on the final day of the season.[153] The following season, the "Tigers" came 16th with a club record tally of 37 points,[154] and reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time.[155] They took a two-goal lead in the first ten minutes of the final, but opponents Arsenal scored a goal in each half to take the game into extra-time and then scored a third to win the trophy.[156] Reaching the final qualified Hull for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, their first European campaign.[157]

In March 2015, Bruce signed a three-year contract extension.[158] A run of poor form left Hull near the bottom of the table going into the final game of the 2014–15 season and needing to defeat Bruce's former club Manchester United to stand any chance of avoiding relegation.[159] They could only manage a 0–0 draw and were relegated to the Championship. The poor performances of a number of players signed by Bruce, including club record signing Abel Hernández, were identified as key factors in the club's failure to remain in the Premier League.[160]

In January 2016, Bruce won the Championship Manager of the Month after leading Hull to four victories; Hernández, who scored six times, got the players' equivalent.[161] Hull finished the season in fourth, qualifying for the play-offs, where they defeated Derby County in the semi-finals. In the final on 28 May, a 25-yard goal from Mohamed Diamé against Sheffield Wednesday won Hull promotion to the Premier League for the second time during Bruce's spell in charge. Bruce said after the game that he had considered resignation following the team's relegation, and would hold talks with the prospective new owners to be assured of his future.[162] In July 2016, with his future at Hull seemingly still uncertain, he was interviewed by officials of The Football Association concerning the vacant position of manager of England.[163] Three days later, Bruce met with Hull City officials and announced his resignation later that day[164] amid claims he became frustrated by a lack of transfer activity at the club.[165]

Aston Villa
On 12 October 2016, Bruce was appointed manager of Championship club Aston Villa.[166] In his second match in charge, Villa defeated Reading, the club's first win in 11 games and the first away win for 14 months.[167] He brought in Colin Calderwood as assistant manager from Brighton & Hove Albion and Stephen Clemence from old club Hull City as first-team coach.[168][169] In the 2017–18 season, Villa secured a play-off place and defeated Middlesbrough to reach the final,[170] but lost 1–0 to Fulham in the final and thus missed out on promotion to the Premier League.[171] On 2 October 2018, Villa surrendered a two-goal lead, drawing 3–3 at home to bottom club Preston North End. One spectator threw a cabbage at Bruce and there were calls from home fans on the Holte End for Bruce to go.[172] The following day, he was sacked by Villa after a poor run of form.[173]

Sheffield Wednesday
In January 2019, Bruce was appointed manager of Championship club Sheffield Wednesday with effect from the start of the following month.[174] On 27 January, his delay in taking up this appointment was criticised by Match of the Day pundits Danny Murphy and Ruud Gullit during a 3–0 FA Cup defeat away to Chelsea.[175] Bruce subsequently defended his decision, as he had had two operations since leaving Aston Villa and needed time to recuperate, as well as the need to recover from the death of both his parents in 2018.[176]

Newcastle United
BBC Sport reported in July 2019 that Bruce had resigned from his position at Wednesday,[177] after he earlier admitted that he had held talks with Premier League Newcastle United over their managerial vacancy.[178] His appointment at Newcastle was confirmed on 17 July.[179] Sheffield Wednesday, however, soon filed a report to the Premier League alleging misconduct in his appointment,[180][181] stating that there were still outstanding legal issues with Bruce having resigned just 48 hours earlier, whilst also suspecting that confidential details of Bruce's contract were leaked making it impossible for him to remain at the club.[182] Newcastle United denied any wrongdoing and stated that they were confident no case could be escalated.[183] Reaction from the fans was mixed, with some feeling Bruce would not achieve the standard set by his predecessor Rafael Benítez, whilst his recent lack of Premier League football and management of rival club Sunderland proved controversial.[184][185] Bruce acknowledged Benítez's popularity, and stated he hoped the fans would not rush to judgement and give him time to prove himself.[186] Bruce soon made six signings,[187] notably securing Joelinton from 1899 Hoffenheim for £40 million, breaking the club's transfer fee record previously set by the purchase of Miguel Almirón for £21 million six months earlier.[188][189]

In his first season in charge, Newcastle were tipped for relegation by some pundits but finished 13th, as the campaign was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[190] The following season, almost entirely played behind closed doors due to the ongoing pandemic, saw Bruce guide the club to 12th.[191] In October 2021, the club was bought for £300 million by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian government's sovereign wealth fund.[192] With the team close to the bottom of the Premier League, Bruce was widely expected to be dismissed from his job by the new owners, but remained in charge and was recognised by the League Managers Association as only the 34th manager in the modern era of English football to have taken charge for 1,000 competitive matches.[193] Newcastle lost that match 3–2 to Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park on 17 October 2021, and some Newcastle supporters called for Bruce to be removed from his post during and after the game.[194] Bruce left Newcastle by mutual consent three days later on 20 October 2021, after receiving a reported £8 million payout for the remainder of his contract.[195] He had a 27.4% win percentage from 84 league games at Newcastle, the 9th best compared to previous Newcastle managers who had been in charge of at least 20 matches in the Premier League era.[195]

West Bromwich Albion
On 3 February 2022, Bruce was appointed manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion, replacing Valérien Ismaël. Bruce signed an 18-month contract with West Brom who, at the time, were in sixth place in the Championship.[196]


A Look At Our Visitors


After a promising summer of recruitment at The Hawthorns, things haven’t started as well as West Brom would have liked this season.

Their signings included Jed Wallace and John Swift – who played a direct part in a combined 42 Championship goals last season – while they’ve recently added midfielder Tom Rogic, who has been a key factor in Celtic’s success in recent years.

The Baggies have taken just ten points from their opening 11 matches, though, and they’ll arrive at Deepdale sat 21st in the table, with Steve Bruce’s men claiming one win so far this term.

Going Head To Head


Games played: 116
PNE wins: 40
Draws: 27
West Brom wins: 49
Last meeting: West Brom 0-2 PNE, 26th January 2022

One To Watch


Having scored 11 goals and assisted a further 13 for Reading last season, John Swift made the switch to West Brom this summer.

While he’s not yet on a similar trajectory for the Baggies, that is more a case of chances being spurned at the top end of the pitch, with Swift averaging 2.4 key passes per game – a sign that he is very much a key creative spark for West Brom.

Swift has also previously enjoyed facing PNE, having scored five times against the Lilywhites – three of which came at Deepdale.

Match Officials


Josh Smith will referee PNE for the fifth time in his career on Wednesday night.

Smith’s first game in charge of North End was the 2-1 victory away at Huddersfield Town in October 2020, while his most recent was a 1-0 defeat to Swansea City earlier this year.

Smith has shown 39 yellow cards and two reds in eight matches this season, and he will be assisted by Shaun Hudson and Mark Stevens, while Ross Joyce is on fourth official duty.

MACS VIEW

Hadn't realised until Saturday that Albion were three from the bottom, hence the calls for the removal of the manager, with Parachute money ending this season the pressure is increasing for improvement, however tomorrow they have a lifeline with our shot shy team, suspect he'll change the side given the amount of games we play but the goal famine needs sorting out, yes we are creating some chances but there will come a time when we won't. Personally think there is a decent side in there but when are we going to see it.

Middlesbrough have sacked manager Chris Wilder, with the club 22nd in the Championship.

Boro have won only two of their 11 league games this season, with Wilder's last match being a 1-0 defeat at bottom club Coventry City on Saturday.

Wilder, 55, had only been in charge for 11 months after replacing Neil Warnock.

Goalkeeping coach Leo Percovich has been placed in temporary charge, along with coaches Craig Liddle, Lee Cattermole and Mark Tinkler.

Their first match in charge will be Wednesday's home game against Birmingham City.

Wilder won 18 of his 45 matches as boss at the Riverside, and saw his side just miss out on the play-offs last season after finishing seventh in the table. Boro also enjoyed famous FA Cup successes over both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

But Wilder, who led Sheffield United to the Premier League in 2019, was expected to lead a promotion challenge back to the top flight this season, but it has not materialised.

Instead, the Teesside club are in the bottom three and already 13 points behind Norwich City in the second automatic promotion spot.

The promotion specialist brought to Boro
Wilder took over from another former Blades boss Warnock in what many believed to be a coup for Middlesbrough and chairman Steve Gibson last November.

In Wilder, Boro believed they were getting a promotion specialist as they tried to end five years outside the Premier League.

He had achieved the feat with Alfreton Town and Oxford United in non-league, Northampton Town in League Two and then his boyhood Blades as he took them from League One to a ninth-place finish in the Premier League in 2019-20.

When he arrived, Middlesbrough were in 14th place in the Championship, but a run of 19 points out of 21 from late November to mid-January moved Boro up into the play-off places.

He then brought national headlines to Teesside as Boro went on a memorable FA Cup run.

Chris Wilder
Under Chris Wilder, Middlesbrough knocked both Manchester United and Tottenham out of last season's FA Cup
First they knocked Manchester United out 8-7 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the fourth round backed by 9,000 travelling supporters, and they then stunned Antonio Conte's Spurs with an 1-0 extra-time win at the Riverside.

The run ended with a 2-0 defeat by Chelsea in the quarter-finals but those added games had them playing catch-up in the league.

A bad run of two points from five games in April saw them fall out of the top six, before a 4-1 loss at Preston on the final day finally ended their hopes of a play-off spot.

This season, with the side tipped to be among the promotion challengers, Boro have not got going.

It took them six matches to record their first win and they are yet to record successive victories.

Becoming the first team to lose to Coventry all season proved to be the end of Wilder's reign, with Middlesbrough announcing his departure in a short statement on Monday.

'Wilder's departure inevitable' - Analysis
BBC Radio Tees sports editor Paul Addison

Chris Wilder's departure from Middlesbrough has had an air of inevitability about it for quite some time.

Boro have had a dreadful start to the season - no-one expected them to be in the relegation zone after 11 games, least of all the manager.

Recruitment has yet again proved to be a major issue.

The club's two most expensive signings in the transfer window - Marcus Forss and Matthew Hoppe at a combined £6m - were described by Wilder as "development players" who wouldn't be first-team regulars, which raised many an eyebrow.

At the same time they failed to land several targets and lost arguably their best player in Marcus Tavernier, who signed for Bournemouth.

Speculation linking Wilder with other jobs hasn't helped either. He was heavily tipped for Burnley when Sean Dyche was sacked towards the end of last season and more recently has been mentioned in the betting for the next Bournemouth manager.

Whatever the truth of the matter, it seems this had an effect on Boro's results, and a man with an outstanding track record up and down the leagues has now paid the price.

Been drawn to Anstey Nomads away who are the lowest ranked team left in the competition. Had to google where they are from turns out Leicester. They play at Step 5 and there ground holds 1000. Wouldn't surprise me if this game is picked for BBC red button but then again Blyth Spartans vs Wrexham could be put on instead.

THE MATCH

TUESDAY 4TH OCTOBER KO 7:45PM

v

LAST MATCH



Well it was another 3 points, again not the prettiest of football but a win is a win. It wasn't a game of many chances and the state of the pitch didn't help, Stockdale making a couple of saves and Heneghan & Bannan coming close for us. Onto the second half and Bannan went close with a free kick before Vaulks struck from about 25 yards, giving there keeper little chance and then added a somersault celebration. Vale had a chance in injury time but Stockdale saved comfortably.

THE MATCH



Our biggest test to date as we travel down to Plymouth and the league leaders. The Pilgrims have a 100% home record and have conceded just 1 goal in those 5 games. We ourselves have won 4 out of 5 away games conceding just 2. They are spreading the goals out, there leading scorer has 4, with four others on 3 goals. It might depend on how Darren "Southgate" Moore sets us up, I would be very happy with a point, but we know these like to bottle it when an important game comes along       

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 15
PLYM 15
DRAWS 13

CURRENT FORM

OWLS              -                                                            

PLYM              -                         

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

ANDY DAVIES
Mark Russell and Robert Smith
Fourth Official : Sam Allison

THE TEAM

Stockdale
Palmer Ihikwe McGuiness James
Windass Bannan Byers Johnson
Gregory Smith

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

2-1 Smith

ATTENDANCE

N/A

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

BML LEAGUE

Stateside 7
Imre 5
Wash 5
SCO 2
Pieowl 2
Maddix 2
Owlskev 2

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Inter Milan v Barcelona
Reading v Norwich
Ipswich v Cambridge
Walsall v Northampton
FC Halifax v York City

HAHAA

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE

WEREHAM




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC