Can we sack SB with immediate effect and get Bielsa in?

Leeds are falling apart again.

After shipping a Premier League record number of goals in a month, there's reports tonight that the permanently crouching Marcelo Bielsabub has been sacked.

Today's 4-0 drubbing against Spurs at Bellend Road seems to have been the last straw.

Premier League

Silver        16pts 1CS 6CR 0GB 3BB 1SB
Snooty      15pts 1CS 4CR 5GB 3BB 1SB
BBB          11pts 0CS 6CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Derby        10pts 1CS 4CR -3GB 6BB 1SB
SCO            9pts 1CS 4CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
BaggieOne  9pts 0CS 5CR  -3GB 3BB 1SB
Sanjay        8pts 1CS 6CR -3GB -3BB 0SB
Minizin        7pts 0CS 5CR 0GB -3BB 0SB

It seems there are still some optimists out there. I would have thought that Albion's recent performances might have put anyone off predicting us to get anything out of a game against Bilston Town's youth team, but apparently not as the gamball didn't attract too many points this week. Only 2 of you predicted the inevitable loss - and one of those wasn't brave enough to gamble. Still, it was a relatively close week with only 9 points separating top from bottom.

Silver continued is consistent form to sit top of the table and continue to close the gap on leader Derby - but will he end up regretting losing the 3 extra points from a correct Gamball result? Silver scored from 6 games, equal best this week to sit just a point ahead of the other in-form player, Snooty. Not being an Albion fan, he had no problem predicting yet another loss (Huddersfield as the gamball selection this week to test his loyalty!) to give him a clean sweep of successful balls.

A small gap to the rest. BBB equalled the most correct results but failed to pick up a correct score though his 11 points is actually his best return since week 11. Derby improved on recent weeks but will be nervously watching Silver's scores from his mid season break in Nepal (you will be logging on to check I assume?) SCO and BaggieOne tied together on 9 points with Sanjay just 1 point further back. Minizin's struggles continued though it would have been worse if he'd played the gamball.

Derby 254
silver 239
SCO 216
Sanjay 216
BBB 214
Snooty 197
Minizin 193
BaggieOne 170
AAA 79 R

Though Derby retains a healthy lead, Silver continues to claw back the gap - he's now gained 22 points on Derby in the last 3 weeks. SCO, Sanjay and BBB are enjoying a close battle for 3rd place, separated by just 2 points and Snooty finally climbs out of the play off spot to be replaced by Minizin - I don't need to comment further!

Zin


Championship

Dingle  20pts 2CS 2CR 10GB 3BB 1SB
Salop  13pts 1CS 4CR NPGB 3BB 1SB
Zinman        12pts 0CS 5CR NPGB 3BB 1SB
Amelia        11pts 1CS 4CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Stairs    10pts 0CS 4CR NPGB 3BB 1SB
Themaclad    10pts 3CS 2CR -3GB -3BB 0SB
Lady Jane          9pts 1CS 3CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Blue Baggie 8pts 1CS 2CR -3GB 6BB 1SB
Twerton    1pts 0CS 3CR -3GB -3BB 1SB

Well the Gamball came back to bite most in the rear end this week but one player took full advantage of it.  Dingle managed a rare spot on Gamball and pulled in an excellent 20 points to finish in top spot.  He backed that up with a CR on the Bonus and the scoreball as well.  Second spot goes to Salop with 13 points, he scored on 5 games including the bonus.  Zinman keeps up his solid form with 12 points in 3rd spot, he would have taken second spot but he bottled the Gamball!!

Amelia is in 4th spot again with 11 points closely followed by Stairs and Themaclad with 10 points, they got there in different ways but solid scores for all of them.

Lady Jane is 7th with 9 points, she managed a correct score but missed on the Gamball.  Blue ended with 8 points on the back of a CS Bonus but little else and bottom this week is Twerton who fell from top spot to end with 1 point, missing the Gamball and Bonus will do that to your score!!

232 - Blue Baggie
228 - Stairs
204 - Themaclad
204 - Zinman
204 - Salop
188 - Lady Jane
186 - Dingle
156 - Amelia
152 - Twerton

Blue maintains his lead over Stairs but the battle for 3rd spot has really hotted up with three players now level on 204 points, looks like Themaclad, Zinman and Salop will fight it out to the end.  Lady Jane is slowly getting caught by Dingle and Amelia and Twerton trade places again for the second week.

Cheers
SCO

Another game in quick succession for Town and its another game against a team in blue, this time the brummie version, as Huddersfield travel to a Birmingham side that are still not 100% safe from relegation, although a 16 point buffer does make safety seem more likely. Town come into the game on the back of a dramatic turnaround at home to Cardiff, but you really don't need my words to tell you what happened, have the video instead.



And just because quite a few of us might have been wanting to do this when that second went in

https://twitter.com/htafc/status/1496817...gr%5Etweet

But enough of all that, we move onto a Birmingham side that is still being managed by Lee Bowyer, but things are far from rosy at St Andrews, with protests being held against the current owners, whilst performances on the pitch have been somewhat patchy at best. The club sit 18th in the table and come into the game on the back of a defeat to fellow relegation threatened side Reading. The Royals, fresh from appointing Paul Ince as interim manager, ran out 2-1 winners, scoring all 3 goals in the second half. Lucas Joao and John Swift scored for the home side, whilst Tom McIntyre scored an own goal to give Birmingham a chance of saving a point, but they were unable to make a further breakthrough.

The return fixture between the two sides was back in October when the two sides played out a boring 0-0, the result saw Town in the playoffs and Birmingham sitting down in 19th, so not much has changed really since then. But looking at the results of Birmingham since the turn of the year, it makes for fairly bleak reading, with the Blues only managing two wins in that time, coupled with 4 draws and 5 defeats, not including cup games, but they have still to hit the heady depths of Town last season. They began the year off with a home defeat at the hands of a strong QPR side, Albert Adomah and former Town loanee Chris Willock on the scoresheet for QPR, with Chuks Aneke emerging from the bench to score for City. They suffered the same fate as Town did in the FA Cup last season as they were knocked out by Plymouth and followed it up with a 1-1 draw away at Preston. Patrick 'Jack' Bauer scored in the first half, before Scott Hogan headed in a late equaliser moments after coming off the bench. They were on the receiving end of a proper thrashing at the hands of Fulham as they lost 6-2. Former Halifax defender Marc Roberts got the Blues off to an ominous start as he put into his own goal after just 10 minutes, Neeskens Kabano doubled the lead before Fabio Carvalho made it 3-0 moments later. Tom Cairney made it 4-0 just before half time, but Ivan Sunjic got one back for Birmingham in injury time of the first half. Birmingham looked to mount a come back when Gary Gardner halved the deficit, but that last just the minute when Carvalho scored his the second of the game. Antonee Robinson scored the Cottagers 6th of the evening in second half injury time, the goal marked Fulham's 19th goal inside of a week, after they had beaten Bristol City 6-2 and Reading 7-0. Birmingham managed to put that result behind them as they got their first win of 2022 with a 2-1 win at home to Barnsley. The Reds, who are starting to look like being cut adrift from the chances of safety, were consigned to defeat when Onel Hernandez and Scott Hogan put Birmingham 2-0 ahead, Victor Adeboyejo pulled one back late on for the visitors but it wasn't enough. The game saw the Birmingham fans protest against owners Birmingham Sports Holdings before the game, but it pretty much fell onto deaf ears. A dramatic late comeback was required against Peterborough at St Andrews, as Jack Marriott and Jonson Clarke-Harris scored to put the Posh 2-0 up going into the final 10 minutes. But a goal from Gary Gardner in the 85th minute and one from Scott Hogan in the 88th saved Birmingham and gave them a vital point against a fellow struggling team. They started February off on the receiving end of a turn around at home to Sheffield United. Lyle Taylor scored his first for the club since joining on loan from Nottingham Forest, but the lead was short lived as only minutes later Billy Sharp equalised before Jayden Bogle scored the winner for the visiting Blades. It was another match that saw Birmingham fans protest, this time by wearing white, expressionless masks, as a symbol of what they believe is a faceless ownership of the club, as well as blowing whistles during the game. The Blues would then travel to the south coast on a Wednesday night to face Bournemouth. They would leave with nothing. Despite being reduced to 10 men, Bournemouth came away 3-1 winners. Ryan Christie and Dominic Solanke scored for the Cherries in the first half, before Jefferson Lerma was shown a straight red midway in the second half. Birmingham would pull one back through Hernandez, but Jaidon Anthony would put the game beyond the reach of Birmingham not long after. Back on home turf against Luton and another protest, this time the fans threw tennis balls onto the pitch in an attempt to delay proceedings, not long after the delay former Town show pony Juninho Bacuna would put them 1-0 up before Lyle Taylor and Hernandez scored after the break, it would be Birminghams first win in 5 games and first clean sheet since November. The last game before they faced Reading was away at Stoke. The two midlands sides would play out a 2-2 draw with Jordan James opening the scoring for the Blues before Tyreese Campbell pulled Stoke level. He would score again after the break to make it 2-1, but that lead was short lived as Gardner scored his 5th of the season.



So what business did they do during the winter window? To say that the fans are unhappy with the way the club is being run, they did make a few signings, but then they are still feeling the effects of selling Jude Bellingham to Dortmund the other season. Sure the incomings didn't cost much in way of a transfer fee, but then nor did the players Town have signed this season. In terms of incomings, the Blues managed to loan Taylor Richards from Brighton but he has yet to feature since signing after picking up a freak injury during his medical. They also managed to sign Onel Hernandez from Norwich on loan, the Cuban winger has had a fair impact since arriving in the midlands, scoring 3 goals and setting up a further 2 and he has usually featured for over 80 minutes in every game, barring the defeat to Bournemouth. Also coming through the door was young defender Tenden Mengi who joined from Manchester United's under 23 side. He has played 8 times since joining on loan, but has not featured in the last two due to injury. The main two signings however have been those of Lyle Taylor in on loan from Nottingham Forest and Juninho Bacuna on a free transfer from Rangers. Montserratian Taylor has scored 3 in 6 games since joining on deadline day, whilst Curacao international Bacuna has also featured 6 times with 1 goal and 1 assist since signing his two and a half year deal.



In terms of outgoings, loanees Dion Sanderson, Matija Sarkic and Riley McGree all saw their loans end, whilst Chuks Aneke returned to Charlton on a two and a half year deal, just half a season after joining Birmingham from Charlton. Juan Castillo also saw his loan at the club end and he too went to the Valley to play for Charlton. Fellow winger Ivan Sanchez returned to Spain to Real Valladolid on loan with a view to making the deal permanent. Sam Cosgrove's miserable stint in the midlands continued as he was now sent on loan to AFC Wimbledon, it was only last year that he was bagging for fun in an Aberdeen shirt, it just hasn't transferred with him into a Birmingham shirt, or any English sides shirt for that matter. Finally Harlee Dean, one time club captain, left to join League One side Sheffield Wednesday after being told by manager Lee Bowyer that he didn't have a future at Birmingham whilst he was in charge of the club.

So who has been their leading performers and who should we be looking out for?

Scott Hogan leads the goal scoring charts for Birmingham with 10 goals this campaign, however he has been out injured recently but has just started training back on the grass so he is due back to first team action soon enough, but Saturdays game against Town could be too soon. Gary Gardner is second with 5 goals and he will be likely to line up in the middle of the park for the Blues, Troy Deeney sits 3rd with 4 goals, but he has been out injured with a thigh injury since November and a return has yet to be disclosed by the club. In terms of assists Jeremie Bela leads the way with 4, but due to injuries in the Birmingham squad, he has been forced to play out of position at left back. Deeney is in second with 3, whilst there is an extensive list of players on 2 assists including the likes of Hernandez and Jordan Graham, who has also been forced to line up out of position at right back.

In terms of who to look out for, well it bodes down to who is actually available. Going on their last line up Bacuna will be someone who needs to be watched, Town fans and a lot of the players know exactly what he is like, on his day he can be a game changer, but when he is rattled or off his game, he can be somewhat of a passenger. A returning Toffolo could be used to push Bacuna further into the defensive half where we know he can be somewhat suspect to a clanger as he tries too much, a player like Duane Holmes could be useful to try and wind him up as we know he is very prone to biting.

Gary Gardner has proven himself to be a consistent performer at this level and he is showing it once again this season despite the troubles that Birmingham are facing at the moment. A dependable box to box midfielder, he will need to be watched by the likes of Hogg, Obrien and Russell, as a quiet Gardner will mean a weaker Birmingham performance.



Lyle Taylor is likely to be leading the line on Saturday and has shown he too is capable of performing and scoring at this level during his recent career. The move from Forest seems to have given him the spark that he has been missing of late, mainly due to being slightly out of favour at Forest, the reuniting with former manager Lee Bowyer has made him start to feel loved and wanted once again and resulted in an upturn in his performances.

In regards to team news, the Birmingham squad is a little short on players at the moment through injuries. A number of defenders are out at the moment in the form of Marc Roberts, George Friend and Tenden Mengi. All are back outside on the grass now, with Roberts most likely to be back first. Hogan too is back outside but his timeframe has yet to be mentioned, Taylor Richards also looks likely to miss out. Another loanee and proper bright spark Tahith Chong has been out of action for a couple of months, but the Manchester United youngster returned to under 23 action this week and could be in line for a return to the bench for the weekend. Troy Deeney looks likely to be missing yet again with his long term injury. Left back Kristian Pedersen looks likely to fill in as an auxiliary central defender alongside Maxime Collin who usually finds himself lining up as a right back with wingers Graham and Bela once again looking likely to line up as fullbacks. Ginger Ninja Ryan Woods will likely lineup alongside Gardner whilst Jordan James is probably favourite to keep that spot, unless Bowyer sticks Bacuna there in order to bring Lukas in and go 4-4-2.

So 5 players who have a foot in either camp, and a little clue as into their identity, see if you get them.

Answers for Cardiff

1-Jazz Richards (Scott Malone)

2- Oumar Niasse

3- Anthony Pilkington

4- Emyr Huws

5- Anthony Gerrard

6- Jon Parkin

7- Martyn Margetson

8- Alan Alan Lee



And now for the Brummies

1- Began his career in another home nation, but was soon snapped up by an English Premier League club where he spent 5 years, including a short loan out to Nottingham Forest. Signed for Birmingham for £50,000 and spent 8 relatively successful years at the club and played a lot of his games in the Premier League. He moved south from Birmingham but was plagued by injuries and didn't settle into the club. His career saw him have two loan spells at Town, both were season long loans, but both saw him pick up injuries which restricted him to teen number appearances both times. Finished his playing career in Lancashire where he still resides today but in a coaching role.

2- A bit of a journeyman midfielder who began his career in Lancashire and probably who probably saw his time there and at Birmingham coincide with the answer to number 1. He played a bit further up field to begin with and saw his time at his first club being spent largely out on loan at the likes of Blackpool. He left Lancashire and went south to Colchester where he really made his mark and teams started to take notice. He lasted 2 years at Colchester before a recently relegated Birmingham came knocking. He would struggle to make an impact at Birmingham as they returned to the Premier League and was told he had no future at the club and so left to go to London. This would be where he settled the most, making over 100 appearances in his 3 years in the capital. He soared away from London to join another team who play in Blue. It started well there, even becoming captain for a time, but a reckless challenge saw him sent off and not selected again, instead being sent on loan to Bristol City and then Town. He spent half a season at Town but missed the end of the season through injury. That would be the end of his time at Town and he would move on loan again to the other side of the Pennines for the next season. At the conclusion of that loan he would move to that part of Lancashire permanently and spend a further 2 years. It would be from there that he became a proper journeyman, playing again on loan at Blackpool, as well as the likes of Bury, Connahs Quay and Macclesfield.

3- Spent a short time on loan at Town and had an impressive scoring record whilst wearing the blue and white stripes. Started his career in his native homeland before being spotted by a former England international. He moved to these shores and endeared himself to his new clubs supporters by scoring against one of their main rivals. He moved to a Championship Birmingham side and made over 100 appearances for them and scored just over 20 goals. His time at Brum included the loan at Town, but they recalled him, played him another couple of times before releasing him. Instead of resigning for Town as some expected, he would move elsewhere and play 135 times for his new club. He would move closer to home to finish his career before moving into coaching, he had two brothers who also played professionally alongside of him, one of whom died in a car accident in which this player was the driver, receiving serious injuries as a result.

4-A local boy who played over 100 games before leaving for a southern based club. His son too came through the academy, but never really made the mark, but can still be seen playing locally. The player in question played over 100 times again on the south coast before being loaned and then later sold to Birmingham, after a two year spell in Brum he moved back up north to the wrong side of the Pennines and would spend 4 years there before moving to play in a horrible yellow shirt. That spell ended with him feeling scapegoated and he returned to finish his career in the north of England.

5- Began his career at Preston but soon moved to Newcastle where a 2 year spell yielded just 3 appearances and a loan to Birmingham which would later be turned into a permanent transfer. He would have 4 goalless years at Brum and play 60 odd games before leaving. His time at Town saw him play over 100 games in a 4 year period and score a prolific 2 goals before moving to finish his career at the likes of Boston and Southport.


Town have a fairly healthy record when it comes to facing Birmingham, with the Terriers winning 42 games, drawing 35, and Brum winning 39. The last meeting was a 0-0 at the John Smiths earlier this season, whilst last season we lost at St Andrews 2-1 thanks to scrappy late goal from Lukas and drew 1-1 in Yorkshire, with Fraizer Campbells goal being cancelled out by Marc Roberts. The year under Cowley saw Campbell and Lukas score once again at the John Smiths, whilst a relegation troubled Town ran out 3-0 victors at St Andrews with Karlan Grant, Campbell and Elias Kachunga all on the scoresheet. Recent history has seen the two sides play out a couple of FA Cup ties, the last one being back when we were in the Premier League. The original tie was drawn 1-1 in Yorkshire with Lukas scoring yet again for the Blues, whilst Steve Mounie scored for Town. The replay saw Town win 4-1 after extra time, with goals coming from Mounie, Van La Parra, Tom Ince and a Marc Roberts own goal. Even more years back and Town would cause an upset as Peter Jackson's League One side knocked out Steve Bruce's Premier League outfit. Luke Beckett got Town off to a flyer before Garry O'Connor pegged the Terriers back, but a late Chris Brandon effort put Town through, where they would meet money bags Chelsea in the next round. Since Town returned from the doldrums of what is now League Two, both sides have won 4 league games apiece and drawn 7.



Now for the managers








how to get there

By Car

From the Town Ground the quickest way seems to be going down the M1 down to the A42 which then takes you onto the M42 and the M6 into Birmingham.
Alternatively you can go on the M62 around the top of Manchester and down the M6 past Walsall until you reach the A38 and on into Birmingham.
The ground is a mile and a half from the City centre so it is a relatively short distance.

By Train
Nearest train stations:

Birmingham New Street: 1.9 miles
Birmingham Moor Street: 1.4 miles
Bordesley Station: 0.6 miles

You can get the train from various stations around the Midlands including Birmingham Moor Street, Solihull, Longbridge and Redditch.

The last train before the match gets into Bordesley for 2.28pm, with trains arriving at 20 minute intervals before that.

The last train leaving Bordesley is at 5.52pm. We advise that you give yourself at least 15 minutes to walk from the stadium to the train station.

The prices from local stations, in case you'd rather park there and travel the rest are:

Birmingham Moor Street and Snow Hill - £2.30 Solihull - £4.20 Sandwell & Dudley - £4.20 Longbridge - £4.40 Dorridge - £5.20 Wolverhampton - £6.30 Redditch - £8.30

By Bus

The ground is served by a number of bus routes. Buses which travel to the stadium are the number 17 & 60 buses.

And now for the return of Snooties faves

1- Hustle On Bees

2- Boil No Rainwater

3- Sherry Or Tar

4- All Inhale Camels Hat

5- I Grim Clerk

6- Bowl At Batter

7- Rum Zest Tent

Altrincham 1-2 Dag & Red
Boreham Wood 0-1 Eastleigh
Dover 0-2 Grimsby
Halifax 2-0 Barnet
King's Lynn 2-3 Maidenhead United
Southend 2-1 Solihull Moors
Stockport 1-1 Weymouth
Wealdstone 0-2 Torquay
Woking 1-0 Notts County
Wrexham 2-0 Aldershot
Chesterfield 2-0 Yeovil

League Table After Matchday 40

Lord Snoots = 424
Amelia = 416
St Charles = 414
Devon = 410
Dancing = 402
Spireitematt = 358

The Coventry Building Society Arena (formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is home to the owners, rugby club Wasps and to the football team, Championship club Coventry City F.C. along with facilities which include a 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) exhibition hall, a hotel and a casino. The site is also home to Arena Park Shopping Centre, containing one of UK's largest Tesco Extra hypermarkets. Built on the site of the Foleshill gasworks, it is named after its sponsor, Coventry Building Society who entered into a ten-year sponsorship deal in 2021.[2] For the 2012 Summer Olympics, where stadium naming sponsorship was forbidden, the stadium was known as the City of Coventry Stadium.[3][4]

Originally built as a replacement for Coventry City's Highfield Road ground, the stadium was initially owned and operated by Arena Coventry Limited (ACL), with Coventry City as tenants. ACL was owned jointly by Coventry City Council and the Higgs Charity.

Following a protracted rent dispute between Coventry City and ACL, the football club left the arena in 2013; playing their home matches in Northampton for over a year before returning in September 2014. Within two months, both shareholders in ACL were bought out by rugby union Premiership Rugby club Wasps, who relocated to the stadium from their previous ground, Adams Park in High Wycombe.[5] A further dispute with Wasps prior to the 2019–20 season saw Coventry City leave the Ricoh for a further two seasons.[6] In March 2021, Wasps and Coventry City agreed to a ten-year deal to return to the arena and the city of Coventry.

The stadium was the first cashless stadium in the United Kingdom, with customers using a prepay smartcard system in the ground's bars and shops.[7] However, the stadium now accepts cash at all kiosks.[8]

LAST TIME OUT



FORM GUIDE

COVENTRY CITY 14 PNE 12

Tourist attraction

The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is Christopher Cocksworth and the current dean is John Witcombe.

The city has had three cathedrals. The first was St Mary's, a monastic building, of which only a few ruins remain. The second was St Michael's, a 14th-century Gothic church later designated as a cathedral, which remains a ruined shell after its bombing during the Second World War. The third is the new St Michael's Cathedral, built immediately adjacent after the destruction of the former.

Coventry had a medieval cathedral that survived until the Reformation. This was St Mary's Priory and Cathedral, 1095 to 1102, when Robert de Limesey moved the bishop's see from Lichfield to Coventry,[1] until 1539 when it fell victim to Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Prior to 1095, it had been a small Benedictine monastery (endowed by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Godiva in 1043),[2] Shortly after 1095 rebuilding began and by the middle of the 13th century it was a cathedral of 142 yards (130 m) in length and included many large outbuildings.[3] Leofric was probably buried within the original Saxon church in Coventry. However, records suggest that Godiva was buried at Evesham Abbey, alongside her father confessor, Prior Æfic.[4] It was the only medieval cathedral to be demolished at the Reformation.[5]

St Michael's Cathedral[edit]
First structure[edit]

The old cathedral, painted in 1802 by William Crotch

The interior of the old cathedral, c. 1880

The roofless ruins of the old cathedral.
St Michael's Church was largely constructed between the late 14th century and early 15th century from red sandstone. It was one of the largest parish churches in England when, in 1918, it was elevated to cathedral status on the creation of the Diocese of Coventry.[6] This St Michael's Cathedral now stands ruined, bombed almost to destruction during the Coventry Blitz of 14 November 1940 by the German Luftwaffe. Only the tower, spire, the outer wall and the bronze effigy and tomb of its first bishop, Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs, survived. The ruins of this older cathedral remain hallowed ground and are listed at Grade I.[7] Following the bombing of the cathedral in 1940, Provost Richard Howard had the words "Father Forgive" inscribed on the wall behind the altar of the ruined building. The spire rises to 284 feet (87 metres)[8] to the base of the weathervane, and is the tallest structure in the city. It is also the third tallest cathedral spire in England, with only Salisbury and Norwich cathedrals rising higher. When the height of the weathervane is included, it is 290 feet (88 metres) high.[8]

Present structure[edit]
The current St Michael's Cathedral, built next to the remains of the old, was designed by Basil Spence and Arup, built by John Laing[9] and is a Grade I listed building.[10]

The selection of Spence for the work was a result of a competition held in 1950 to find an architect for the new Coventry Cathedral; his design was chosen from over two hundred submitted. Spence (later knighted for this work) insisted that instead of rebuilding the old cathedral, it should be kept in ruins as a garden of remembrance and that the new cathedral should be built alongside, the two buildings together effectively forming one church.[11] The use of Great Gate sandstone for the new Coventry Cathedral provides an element of unity between the buildings.

The foundation stone of the new cathedral was laid by Elizabeth II on 23 March 1956.[12] The unconventional spire or flèche is 80 feet (24 m) tall and was lowered onto the flat roof by a helicopter, flown by Wing Commander John Dowling in April 1962.[13]

The cathedral was consecrated on 25 May 1962, and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, composed for the occasion, was premiered in the new cathedral on 30 May to mark its consecration.[14][15]


The Angel with the Eternal Gospel, one of the panes of Hutton's 'Great West Screen', which was smashed in 2020
Coventry's new cathedral adopted a modernist design. The interior is notable for its huge tapestry (once thought to be the world's largest) of Christ, designed by Graham Sutherland, the emotive sculpture of the Mater Dolorosa by John Bridgeman in the East end, and the Baptistry window designed by John Piper (made by Patrick Reyntiens), of abstract design that occupies the full height of the bowed baptistery, which comprises 195 panes, ranging from white to deep colours. The stained glass windows in the Nave, by Lawrence Lee, Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke, face away from the congregation. Spence's concept for these Nave windows was that the opposite pairs would represent a pattern of growth from birth to old age, culminating in heavenly glory nearest the altar—one side representing Human, the other side, the Divine. Also worthy of note is the Great West Window known as the Screen of Saints and Angels, engraved directly onto the screen in expressionist style by John Hutton. A pane of the Hutton window, depicting The Angel with the Eternal Gospel, was smashed during a burglary in January 2020.[16][17] (Although referred to as the West Window, this is the 'liturgical west' opposite the altar which is traditionally at the east end. In this cathedral the altar is actually at the north end.) The foundation stone, the ten stone panels inset into the walls of the cathedral called the Tablets of the Word, and the baptismal font were designed and carved by the émigré German letter carver Ralph Beyer. The lectern has a bookrest in the form of an eagle, by the sculptor Elisabeth Frink.[18] She also designed the canopy for the Bishop's throne.[18]


Famous Coventry person

Delia Ann Derbyshire (5 May 1937 – 3 July 2001)[1] was an English musician and composer of electronic music.[2] She carried out pioneering work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her electronic arrangement of the theme music to the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who.[3][4] She has been referred to as "the unsung heroine of British electronic music",[3] having influenced musicians including Aphex Twin, the Chemical Brothers and Paul Hartnoll of Orbital.[5]

In response to today's rumours with regards to ownership of the club, we can confirm that since Mr Hemmings' untimely death we have had a number of expressions of interest in the club, including in recent weeks.

Unless or until there is anything more definitive to say, we will not make any further comment.

Lancs live report

American businessman Chris Kirchner is closing in on a deal to buy Preston North End after making an offer, LancsLive understands.

It is believed that Kirchner does not intend for the club to incur any debt as a result of any deal potentially being completed - and that he has the sufficient cash available.

Reports first emerged earlier this month after the Slync.io owner attended the 0-0 draw against Huddersfield Town at Deepdale, with him keen to view the facilities on offer at North End.

LancsLive learned that Kirchner then tuned in to watch the win at Peterborough United from Los Angeles, before attending Tuesday night's draw versus Nottingham Forest - having stopped off after a business trip in Munich. He took the game in alongside sports executive Garry Cook and football agent Paul Stretford.

He plans to return to England soon, having flown back to the USA for now, and anticipates things moving quickly. Discussions have taken place remotely and any potential deal would not be done by taking debt to operate the club.

The American's worth has been a talking point among supporters; private companies in America are not required to disclose financial information to the public, hence it being difficult to find with regards to his successful software company.

The 34-year-old was linked with Derby County earlier this season but ended interest in the Rams and is believed to be making progress with PNE. He has plans to grow North End, but also make the Lilywhites sustainable long-term. As previously reported, Kirchner views the club as one capable of competing for promotion regularly and he is attracted by the history and potential.

THE MATCH

SATURDAY 26TH FEBRUARY KO 3:00 PM

v

LAST MATCH



Well in true Wednesday fashion we made hard work of it before eventually seeing off Donny. We enjoyed the vast majority of possession but didn't create too much and then bang on halftime Luongo fouled one of there players in the box and Gardner smashed in the penalty. Onto the 2nd, we changed the front two and we continued to huff & puff before finally getting level when Pato headed in from close range. We then got a penalty but Bazza's spot kick was saved by the keepers feet, but we did take the lead when Berahino turned in the box and finished clinically. Bazza made up for his penalty miss when he flicked in the third from a Johnson cross. 

THE MATCH



Next up and Charlton make the journey north to Hillsborough. Charlton lie in 16th place atm but are 9 points above the relegation zone but aren't in the best of form but probably will have enough to stay up - they have lost 4 games in a row, and we all know what that means     Jayden Stockley is there leading score with 11 and are currently managed by Johnnie Jackson who used to play for them. We drew with these on the first day of the season 0-0 in what was a bit of a dull game with only 1 shot on target the entire game - bet Maddix cant wait for Satdi.

CURRENT FORM

OWLS               -                                                    

CHAR                -                                

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

OLIVER LANGFORD
Matthew Jones and Bhupinder Gill
Fourth Official : Marc Edwards

THE TEAM

Peacock-Farrell
Storey Hutch Palmer
Hunt Byers Bannan Luongo Johnson
Pato Berahino

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

2-1 Berahino

ATTENDANCE

21211

BML STANDINGS

SCO 11
Pei 10
Wereham 10
Kev 8
Maddix 6
Imre 5
Wash 4
SS 3

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Milton Keynes Dons v Bolton Wanderers
Morecambe v Ipswich Town
Oxford United v Cambridge United
Plymouth Argyle v Rotherham United
Portsmouth v Fleetwood Town

HAHAH

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE

OWLKEV
SCO
WASHINGTON




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

https://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/article/preview-celtic-h
Hibs are taking on a Hoops' side that is battling to win every Scot Prem match and is unbeaten for quite a while, a big challenge for them on Sunday TBH and a big "step up" from the previous match v the Staggies. However, Celtic have shown some defensive "chinks" in previous matches on a defence that definitely lacks height. Therefore one hopes Shaun Maloney and his coaching staff are focusing on set piece and attacking ploys to try and exploit this weakness in Celtic's pen box. Also focus on marking Rogic as closely as poss - stop him playing effectively as he clearly makes a difference to the way they play. Hibs defence attained a "clean sheet" in their last game v Ross Co. Gotta try to emulate that achievement. C'mon Hibs!

GGTTH

An interesting though very concerning statistic, if the Albion had gone beyond 80 minutes tonight without scoring a goal, it would have been the worst goalless run in the clubs history. So it doesn't just feel bad, it is bad.