or as I might have called it - The South of The River Dance - Part 1

The John McGaphsmiths Stadium
No Longer in the Shadow of the Big Gasometer
Will they rename Gasworks Street
Lower Fitzwilliam Street East?
Stadium Way West?
Don't forget The Stereophonics - 14th June
Book Early
HD1 6PG

Kick-off 15:00 UK Time
Saturday 15/03/25

Wigan Athletic have appointed Ryan Lowe as their new head coach on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

Lowe replaces Shaun Maloney, who left the Latics earlier this month.

The 46-year-old has been out of work since his two-and-a-half-year spell at Preston North End ended in August.

Wigan are 15th in League One in their second season since being relegated from the Championship.

Lowe will have a watching brief for the Latics' match at Charlton Athletic on Saturday while Glenn Whelan, Frankie Bunn and Graham Barrow take interim charge of the team.

They will remain in support of Lowe until the new backroom structure is announced.

Wigan are the fourth English Football League (EFL) club Lowe has taken charge of after Bury, Plymouth Argyle and Preston.

He won promotion out of League Two with Bury and Plymouth and finished 13th, 12th and 10th in the Championship with North End.

But he departed the Lancashire club after just one game this season.

'Get the Brick bouncing'
Following a seven-month break, he now returns to work at the Brick Community Stadium.

"I'm pleased to be here because it's a fantastic football club with history and tradition," Lowe told the club's website., external

"The club has had some good times and some bad times, and I'm here to bring the good times back.

"Hopefully, we can have the Brick bouncing every Saturday afternoon and Tuesday evening."

Lowe arrives with Wigan 10 points above the League One relegation zone and they are the division's lowest scorers with 32 goals.

"Ryan has experienced what we are striving to achieve as a football club, and is someone who is really passionate about our project," said sporting director Gregor Rioch.

"Ryan is aligned with our playing identity and naturally fits within our new structure."

Group A

Twerton 7
A.A.A. 5
Themaclad 3
Minizin 3
Zinman 2
Amelia 0

Dreadful week for Group A, in fact this was the second worse this season with not one player making double figures and every player blowing it on the Bonus. Thankfully one player managed to predict an easy win for the Owls so the Gamball was not quite a whitewash!!

Twerton was top this week with 7 points, he managed 2 CSs which put him ahead of the rest. AAA is second, he didn’t do much but was able to get a CR on the Gamball.

Themaclad seems to have a habit of having bad weeks when others also have bad weeks, so he will not be too perturbed with the 3 points he gained. Minizin is in full on collapse mode, sinking week by week and he needs to find some form quickly if he is to challenge the post season places.

Zinman had a poor week with just 2 points but his recent form allows him this bad one!! Amelia has been a bit resurgent lately, but this week saw her early season form return.

275 Themaclad
253 Zinman
241 Twerton
240 Minizin
190 A.A.A.
189 Amelia

Themaclad extends his lead to 22 points ahead of Zinman. Twerton is now back up to 3rd place with Minizin falling off the proverbial cliff now in 4th. Big 50 point gap to the wooden spoon fight where AAA is now a single point ahead of Amelia.

Cheers
SCO

Group B

SCO 12
BBB 12
Derby 10
Lady Jane 6
Snooty 5
Stairs 4
BaggieOne 2

Another distinctly average week for Group, accumulating the same number of points as last week but with fewer correct predictions but better ball playing. Some strange results meant that just 3 matches provided a double figure return while nobody predicted the Man U - Arsenal draw, a game which also blew 4 bonus predictions.

The previous 3 weeks saw either BBB or SCO at the head of the table - this week sees both of them there, each of them scoring 12 points in an identical manner. They only got 3 results right but as these included both the gamball and bonus, it made for a decent return. Derby made double figures and actually got more correct results than the top 2 but, like everyone else, he missed out on the bonus.

A drop off to the rest of the group - Lady Jane sneaks ahead of the rest thanks to a correct score and gamball. Snooty actually got the equal most correct predictions but no correct scores and missed on both the gamball and bonus. Stairs only scored on 2 games burt was saved from bottom spot by getting the gamball correct while BaggieOne once again occupies bottom spot - he did get a correct score and another correct result but failed on all his balls - the only player not to score on the scoreball this week.

242 Lady Jane
233 SCO
221 Derby
218 Stairs
202 BBB
182 Snooty
156 BaggieOne

Just 1 positional change this week with Derby and Stairs swopping places. Lady Jane's long time lead at the top is now down to just 9 points as SCO continues his recent resurgence - the automatic final play-off position isn't settled yet!

Zin

League One Barnsley have sacked head coach Darrell Clarke after nine months in charge.

The Reds have lost seven of their past 11 matches to drop out of play-off contention and down to 10th place.

Assistant coach and former Barnsley captain Conor Hourihane, 34, has been placed in interim charge for final 10 games, and will be assisted by coaches Jon Stead, Martin Devaney and Tom Harban.

"Darrell has worked extremely hard to try and get the team competitive and pushing for promotion, unfortunately, we find ourselves eight points away from the play-offs and feel that a change is needed," chairman Neerav Parekh told the club website., external

Clarke was appointed in May last year as Neill Collins' replacement.

The Scot had been sacked with one game of the 2023-24 regular season to play and although Devaney helped them secure a top six berth they lost to Bolton in the play-offs.

Former Bristol Rovers, Walsall, Port Vale and Cheltenham boss Clarke made a good start at Oakwell and four successive wins over Christmas and New Year left them in fifth place.

However, they then lost five of their next six and although they were able to put together a run of three straight wins at the end of February and start of this month Saturday's 3-0 reverse at home to Blackpool proved to be his final match.

Sporting director Mladen Sormaz added: "Whilst a list of replacements has been identified, we will take some time to ensure the next appointment is the right one with a focus on playing identity, returning to high pressing and attacking football.

"We believe that Conor can help to create enough bounce to keep us fighting for the top six until the end of the season.

"We will also be working in parallel to have a new head coach in place over the summer."

Barnsley are the 13th League One club to change manager since the season started in August.

Hourihane returned to Barnsley on a player-coach deal last summer.

He had skippered them to EFL Trophy success and promotion from League One during his first spell with the club before leaving for then Championship side Aston Villa in January 2017.

The Republic of Ireland international won promotion to the Premier League with Villa and also captained Derby as they went back up to the Championship last season.

He retired from playing in December to become Clarke's assistant after not featuring for the side since 24 August and now takes on his first lead coaching role, albeit on an interim basis.

"My intention was to play, but a combination of not feeling I could perform to the standard I expected and the amazing coaching opportunity that Barnsley have provided has meant I have come to this decision," he said at the time., external

His first game in charge will be Saturday's trip to out-of-form Mansfield Town.

If Barnsley are to mount a late challenge to reach the play-offs for the third successive season, they will need to improve a home record which has seen them win just five out of 18 games so far - only half the number of victories they have achieved away from Oakwell.


So Barnsley are searching for a new head coach, again.

Darrell Clarke is the ninth permanent boss to have been and gone at Oakwell in the last seven years, since Paul Heckingbottom's departure in February 2018.

Ultimately, with the club's stated minimum aim of being a Championship club, it's not the biggest surprise that Clarke has been sacked with Barnsley sitting 10th in League One.

The Reds' away record has been excellent, but they've struggled at home, themes that have carried across from Neill Collins' tenure last season.

Barnsley supporters have become increasingly disgruntled throughout this campaign, with frustrations aired widely from the club's board and sporting director Sormaz to Clarke, his staff and the club's players.

Recruitment is a key issue for Barnsley fans, but not the only one, with important players departing and not being adequately replaced and actions not being perceived to meet the words and aims from the club's hierarchy.

Hourihane is now charged with providing a bounce to keep fading play-off hopes alive, while the club works on a permanent replacement for Clarke in the summer.

Hartlepool United owner Raj Singh has resigned from his role as the club's chairman with immediate effect.

Singh has promised to fund the wages of the players and staff until the end of the season.

He said in a statement on the club's website , externalthat personal abuse from a section of the club's fan base was behind his reason to quit.

The businessman took over Pools in 2018 and oversaw promotion back to the English Football League in 2021.

But Singh put the club up for sale in April 2023 following relegation back to the National League, but nothing has materialised, with Hartlepool sitting 15th in that division.

Singh's tenure has seen him employ 12 different managers or head coaches, with three this season alone.

And against that backdrop, he has been criticised for the current state of the club.

"I have done my utmost to put Hartlepool United on a more secure footing," he said.

"I have genuinely dedicated my time, funding and energy to help, and always with the best of intentions.

"Regrettably, some supporters, and notably a certain supporter group, have made it clear that they want new ownership, no matter what the consequences, and there comes a point where the personal abuse and misrepresentation of information is untenable.

"In that sense those people are now getting their wish."

Singh insists that there have been no serious offers to take over the club in the past two years but believes that this is the right time for him to step away.

"In doing so at this particular juncture it will hopefully allow a new owner enough time to plan appropriately ahead of next season," he said.

"The team is in a relatively safe position in the league and there is the opportunity to negotiate both existing and new player contracts ahead of the summer."

An interim board will be set up to run the club and liaise with potential interested parties.

I'll start a new thread for this so any future news can find a happy home.

For me as I've mentioned on the other thread, would like to see Wagner return, if he was willing to do it that is. It would be worth the investment from nagel in all fairness as he would probably reignite the fans again in the most part. We know his old style of football, but he's seemingly changed to what he finished with when he was last here, it's no longer heavy metal football that klopp defined his style as, more sedate now, pop rock so to speak.

Yes his previous management jobs haven't been a success, schalke fell apart at the seams during COVID it seems and he played a part in that and the price, they haven't really improved and I'm sure I saw an article stating they were close to 3. Liga and oblivion. He didn't do that. Bad spending and a heavy reliance on gazprom of Russia for money is what cost them, Wolfsburg suffered too when VW were hit with a major scandal but they are slowly rebuilding. His time in Switzerland didn't go to plan, he lost out to Andre, or yb bern did, he didn't see the season out, I believe the gap widened and his replacement didn't last long. He did beat manure again, but that seems to be the highlight. Linked with a few jobs, including us, he ended up at Norwich and was unfavoured by fans before he started, he thrashed us at home 4-0, lost his main striker and finished in the playoffs albeit at a limp, some of the football was good, some not so much so. In the end they got thrashed by Leeds and he was shown the inevitable door. They tried to be smart with their replacement and aren't close to the playoffs this time really. He's been interviewed for the Blackburn job and was in the final two and he was apparently interested in the Bolton job, possibly the Markham factor but I doubt it, Markham left town because Wagner didn't want to use that department as much and the role became less and less. Would he come back, perhaps, especially if Bolton was an option, the question is would he come back minus Hoyle, be like moving into your old house after someone else has lived in it for a few years, it's the same, but different and so is Huddersfield town as a club. I think it'll all come down to what's on offer. The issue this time is, the market that made him successful is no longer new and with the esc laws we can only have two players that wouldn't normally qualify, we have one in balker, who, after his injury this season, will probably have to be one again, the other is bojan, who may lose the esc tag having played enough for us and being on loan in the Dutch top division, thats why rooskens didn't need it. But the whole thing means we can't find the likes of heff willingly and instead we have to be more prudent with it, but the options are definitely out there.

Now I won't be writing as much on the others don't worry.

I'm not sure what I can say about foreign options, I think Andre showed last season that you need to know the league or at least some of the players to have a chance of success. If not, you need a portion of the season as a free hit to learn and evaluate, much like Wagner did here, that would mean appointing someone now and letting them learn for the rest of the season. I don't really have names of people who could be enticed having never been over here, but ones who have would be the likes of Erol bulut, formerly of Cardiff, Tim Walter, formerly of hull and then the likes of slavisa jokanovic and slaven bilic, all of whom either wouldn't come or wouldn't fit in my mind.

Now domestically, is it going to be a case of approaching someone out of a job but fairly young. If so then the names I'd look at would be

Des buckingham- a quick look calls his style of football a 'reverse mullet" (bet snoots would rock that) whereby it's business at the back and all action at the front. Wingers get wide and two of the midfield three push high up the pitch, leaving one sat in front of the defence with relatively conservative full backs. High reactive pressure and the aim of getting around the back of the defence. He would be fairly high up on my list, not because he got Oxford promoted, which was a good feat and he started this well before fading, but this philosophy which could fit us well. If we had wingers...

Rob edwards- maybe not as good a fit, his style is more robust and direct aimed at two taller strikers, which we lack. Did quite well at forest green earning a move to Watford, where he struggled before going to Luton to replace Nathan Jones, ultimately getting them promoted via the playoffs and then relegated after one season. This season Luton struggled and he wasnt able to arrest their slide. Was it his system got sussed out and he wasn't able to change effectively or was it players, either way it could be a cause for concern as will his usage of Joe Taylor.

Luke williams- impressed at notts county getting promoted via the playoffs in his first season, with his side dominating possession, using short corners and overload the attack, he left in his second season to join swansea to replace duffball. He actually begun managing a decade ago at Swindon, but moved on when Tim Sherwood took more control as director of football. He became assistant manager to Russell Martin at mk dons and Swansea. He struggled at Swansea, despite implementing an attacking possession based style, they appear not to have had enough quality to match or out play other teams in the division and he was sacked last month.

Russell martin- one of two huge long shots, possession based football but maybe not as attacking. Somewhat doubt he would drop divisions having been sacked by Southampton after getting them promoted last season to the premier league beating Leeds at Wembley. I think Martin as a person would fit the club, but his style might be a struggle considering the types of player we have at the moment, but if he was given a rebuild then maybe, but I think he would want something higher up the ladder, and maybe in the summer.


Or maybe it would be someone in a job, for me that would be

Michael skubala - I was impressed by Lincoln when we played them at our spot, especially in the first half. Second half they tired a touch but once we got one back the atmosphere arguably drove the team, probably the only time it has done this season, and the only time they've given fans something to get behind. But they made us look poor at times. I liked the pace of their attacks especially out wide and would welcome that here. Although I think he will move on from the imps eventually, I think it will be in the next season or, into the championship

Dave challinor- Stockport are regular overachievers, I know there's a bit of money but not as much as some other clubs, including us. They've played the market well, Louie Barry in the first half of the season, using their links and locality to Manchester for other players. They are structured defensively and attack in an organised fashion. I think it may feel like a slightly more attacking version of duffball and may lead to early groans if it doesn't come off.

Some would say Richie wellens- I'm not so sure, he was struggling at orient and under pressure before going on a run. They have plateaued recently and I don't think he's as sought after as some fans would think.

I don't really see anyone in league two that are worth a go, you could argue mat sadler of Walsall, but would that just be because of where they are in the league? Elsewhere Graham Alexander at Bradford to throw a spanner in their works, but his football isn't exactly known for being great, I've said that just to piss the bantams off really. In our league, it's really a case of see above.

And then we have the inexperienced ones who would be early in their managerial career

Ryan mason- worked with the likes of poch, Jose, Conte and Ange in some way shape or form, these experiences should have moulded him well and given him new ideas each time, in relation to his own. Personally would want an experienced man alongside him, but this could be similar to lee clarks first season

Rob page- not been much of a club manager, instead been an international manager but like Southgate, I'm not sure how much he would like a return to club management

Brian barry-murphy - former man city eds manager and now first team coach at Leicester. Forget his early stint at Rochdale, his time at city saw him work with the likes of foden, Lewis and Palmer. His links to city could prove helpful, he probably knows which players could be available for loan and which city would be okay with letting go permanently. Will he play peps tiki taka, I doubt it, but there could be quite an influence there.

Pep lijnders- began at Liverpool as a coach under brendan Rodger before klopp arrived. He went solo in Holland with NEC, but was sacked after missing out on the playoffs. Rejoined Liverpool before moving Salzburg this summer. Was sacked with there being a fairly long wishlist. Would be a risk but could bring contacts and a good fresh outlook.

Jack wilshire- even more inexperienced and now a first team coach. Had often mentioned wanting to go solo but is now the ideal time we

John heitinga- current Liverpool assistant, knows English football fairly well and may be tempted in his first full role but it might be a case of wanting to seal the title first was a tough tackling defender which could be handy

Or then we have the dour, boring options that would probably take the job and see the switch off continue

Paul warne- we thought duff was dour, this goes one more. We should be fitter in general but we'd have to look and evaluate everything first. Think a lot of fans would switch off from the club with him at the helm. His positives are his promotiona front he league, but he has struggled after promotion

Ryan lowe-not for me. A striker who struggled to play attacking football. Our resident prestonian might be able to help, but I've been under the impression it's direct and fairly dull. Set a record for more draws

Ian evatt- came close with Bolton but not close enough wheels fell off this season. Hard to say what his position would be. But for me it's a good one to pass on

Michael beale- plays decent football, but prone to walking out on a club at the first chance of asking, they say there's no loyalty in football and very much so in this case.

Wayne Rooney - erm erm erm not good enough erm might bring money into the club from America via sponsorships erm did well at derby, nearly saved them. Erm his time at Brum was a disaster and didnt bring much revenue in. He continued in the same fashion at Plymouth. I think he needs to move abroad and find his system or stop and going into punditry

THE MATCH

TUESDAY 11TH FEBRUARY KO 7:45PM

v

LAST MATCH



We got back to winning ways with a comprehensive win at Plymouth. Plymouth started quick and had several chances but Beadle mad a couple of saves. We then took the lead when Ingelsson crossed and Ogbeta bundled the ball into his own net. Charles then shot wide before Pato side footed in from about 10 yards to see us go 0-2 up at the break. Onto the 2nd half and despite 3 subs by Plymouth at HT, we kept them quiet and then finished the game off when Windass found Gassama who controlled and finished well. Smith nearly added a fourth but shot wide.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB    

THE MATCH



Next up and another long trip as we travel down to Norwich. The Canaries are having a decent season and currently lie in 10th place just 6 points off the playoffs, but have only won once in there last 6 games drawing four of them in the process. If they can get back to winning ways they should have a shot at the playoffs, if not another season in the Championship beckons. They are managed by Johannes Hoff Thorup, who took over in May 24 and has W13 D13 L13. There leading scorer is Borja Sainz with 15 goals, with Sargent not too far behind with 12.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB    

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 25
NORW 20
DRAW 17

CURRENT FORM

OWLS  W L L L W L                                                                      

NORW D D W D L D      

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

BENJAMIN SPEEDIE
Robert Hyde and Hugh Gilroy
Fourth Official: Declan Bourne

THE TEAM

Beadle
Iorfa Ihiekwe M Lowe Hatsuse
Bannan Charles
Gasama Windass Ingelsson
Pato

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

1-1 Gassama

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

ATTENDANCE

N/A

BML LEAGUE

Imre 26
SCO 22
Maddix 21
Washington 20
Wereham 14

BMPL

Stateside 17
Owlkev 13
Southey 12
Pei 8

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Burnley v WBA
Portsmouth v Plymouth
Reading v Wrexham
Salford v Chesterfield
Oldham v Eastleigh

HHAHH

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

The World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Event is an open entry event for World Curling Member Associations and is being held once again in Stevenston, Ayrshire. The championship will see 23 teams compete for the World Title and the final qualification points for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Event.

England, represented by Karen Aspey and Stewart Pemblett, and Scotland, with Charlotte McKenna and Hugh Nibloe, have been drawn together in Group C. Their first fixture is a head-to-head on Tuesday at 13.00. Scotland have a second game on Tuesday at 20.00 against Turkiye.