hated sam to start with
but now the players are getting used to his system(too late in my opinion)
we aint conceding a shed load of goals
some of his team selections are..yes baffling
he is starting to convince me he should actually stay
maybe..and it is a bloody big maybe...he could actually persuade players to stay for a stint in the championship?

and on last nights game:
spent more time having my fingers bitten by my 5 month old grand daughter
even she was bored watching it
not that you could really see much in the last 10/15 minutes due to the shocking weather

but(and here is where i get slated) both sides deserve credit for trying to playing in such atrocious conditions

So another cup semi-final beckons and this is a "big match" which Jack Ross and Hibs will try to win and progress to another Scot Cup final. Ross needs to try to rid himself of this perceived bogey of not winning crucial matches like play-off finals or huge "winner takes all" cup matches like this one. I think we've conceded that he is unfortunately a "plan A manager" unlike Neil Lennon who, during his best period at ER Stadium, would adjust his Hibs teams to any challenging situation on the pitch. So JR will hopefully deploy what he thinks is his best strategy to beat United just like he has done previously. However, Hibs must keep a close eye on the threat of Marc McNulty and Lawrence Shankland. Hibs have consistently beaten United since 2016 and the players know what is required to do it again. C'mon Hibs! No f###### about and scorning lotsa scoring opps - TIME TO GRASP A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN THE SCOT CUP AGAIN AND JUST "GET ON WITH IT"!!

GGTTH

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/news/for...d=msedgdhp

Calum McGregor has certainly been a "car crash" of a midfield player on so many different occasions incl that recent game v Rangers where he has had another "accident" that messed up team chances of winning a match. But it is good to see through Kenny's awful performance as well even though he is not the only failure. For Everton to apparently demand £10M for this poor standard of player is really "having a laugh" and Celtic should return him after a trial period that he has clearly failed - seek and find a better performer than that for less money! And do the same for the "main spine" of the team - a vg goalie required, a solid CB, a proper centre forward after Edouard "moved on", a respected and effective captain and a top midfield player who can dominate a match. However, before all that happens, perhaps the Celtic board should start communicating properly with their own fans re the acquisition of a new manager, a new recruitment official and a new sporting director - lots to do in the coming weeks to get lotsa disenfranchised Celtic fans "back onside"!! Celtic FC definitely has the financial muscle to do this compared with any other footie club in Scotland and I think they can turn it around a lot quicker than many media critics seem to think but they need the right people in place to do it.

points for a correct result
4 points for a correct score
2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score      
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Random Badger gives you 2 points

The random badger is used for any random prediction used once in each matchday sequence. For instance, a scorer at a particular match, the number of red cards in the matches or yellow cards or own goals or owt you want really within reason, I do need to be able to check whether it's correct or not. Please don't put stuff like....."Commentator says...."  
The joker   is played for one match in each sequence and if correct you get double points. So if you've predicted 1-0 and it finishes 2-0, you get 4 pts, but if you've predicted 2-0, that's 8 pts. But if you get it wrong, it's minus 2.
Jokers and badgers are optional. You don't have to play one if you don't want.


Cup games:
In the event of a draw, it's half the points if you've predicted a draw when it gets to 90 mins and the full points if it's still a draw after extra time. Half the points will be awarded for correctly predicting the winner of the match if it goes to penalties.

Random score generator: I will be using the random score generator again for those who miss predicting, so we shouldn't get some people too far behind that after missing a couple of weeks they lose all interest, because I know it's not easy getting on here every week.
To be fair to everybody, this is going to be like, say if three people in one week miss their predictions, the first one in the table will be given all 0-0, the second one down the line will get 1-0 and the third will get 0-1 and so on, like if there's four missing the 4th will get 1-1, then 5th 2-1, 6th 1-2. and if there are so many missing, might as well pack in.
And if you miss two weeks on the trot, I'll stop until you come back on again. Not doing it for half a season like I did t'other year.  

Saturday 8th May: (all 12:30 ko)
Reading v Town
Town scorers:
Reading scorers:

Barnsley v Norwich City
Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City
AFC Bournemouth v Stoke City
Bristol City v Brentford
Cardiff City v Rotherham United
Coventry City v Millwall
Derby County v Sheffield Wednesday
Middlesbrough v Wycombe Wanderers
Nottingham Forest v Preston North End
Queens Park Rangers v Luton Town
Watford v Swansea City

Bonus match:
Premier League:
Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur

Table after Matchday 35:

1. Baggiebob(BBB) = 910 pts
   
2. jjamez = 875 pts
   
3. St Charles Owl = 848 pts
   
4. theo_luddite = 846 pts
   
5. themaclad = 837 pts
   
6. Lord Snooty = 824 pts
   
7. SHEP_HTAFC = 786 pts
   
8. ritchiebaby = 774 pts
   
9. neonfoxinthebox = 767 pts
   
10. Amelia Chaffinch = 670 pts
    
11. Beefy 1965 = 356 pts

Boreham Wood 5-1 King's Lynn
Bromley 1-0 Hartlepool
Chesterfield 0-0 Torquay
Dagenham and Red' 2-1 Woking
Maidenhead 2-0 Wrexham
Solihull Moors 4-0 Altrincham
Stockport 7-2 Wealdstone
Weymouth 3-1 Barnet
Yeovil 2-0 Halifax Town

Do it if you want.
Dev

I didn't see that coming. What, losing? Naah, pairing Nathan Tyson and Danny Rowe up front in an important game. Together they are older than me. Kairo Mitchell, who I thought would start with Rowe, waited until the game was effectively over to get on.

James Rowe has managed us brilliantly. He's made decisions I'd never have made and signings I wouldn't have considered yet made us a much better team ............ but Alex Ferguson wasn't beyond a strange selection or three, so why should James Rowe be any different?

Just for me James, against Torquay, play Mitchell and Rowe and bring Tyson on when the opposition are tiring. Please start Whelan. He scores goals, but you kept his bottom on the bench all day yesterday and to win we have to score more than the other side apparently.

I read today our real deadline day target wasn't Danny Rowe, but Joel Nouble from Aldershot. Must say he was the kind of signing I was expecting.

And if managers is strange reportage is stranger still. The crap BBC website National League coverage which shows players in fairly random positions, listed Denton as playing, but mentioned Rowe in its cursory report. Stranger still the Non-league paper also lists Denton in the team in the Results section, but has Rowe in the report. Apparently we're bringing Mbappe on second half against Torquay.

Newport County 1 Cheltenham Town 0

Manager Mike Duff caused a surprise by changing his tried and trusted formation to 3-4-3 with May, Smith and Lloyd playing up front.
None of these players are anywhere near six foot tall and to be frank the system was not likely to work against a strong and rugged Newport team.

A very early goal by Newport skipper Josh Labadie settled this tie as early as the fourth minute when he hit a 25 yard screamer past Griffiths.

To be fair, the Robins could not adapt to the pitch which was bone hard, dry and gave the home team a complete advantage.
For the best part of half an hour Cheltenham were under the cosh and could have been 3-0 down but for incredible saves by on loan goalkeeper Josh Griffiths. Cheltenham gradually came into it but, their normal efficient passing game was nigh impossible on this scrapheap of a pitch.

There was some controversy soon after going behind, when the Robins justified appeal for a penalty was turned down. Indeed the referee was poor throughout and allowed several agricultural challenges, mainly by Newport, to go unpunished.

The second half saw Duff make several changes to give the Robins more control in midfield. The Newport players, hoping to gain 3 points to possibly gain a play off place began to sit deeper and deeper to protect their lead. By the end of the game, such was the defensive tactics employed by Newport that Cheltenham, over the 90 minutes, had 58% possession.

But the story nevertheless still has a very strange ending as both of the Robins main rivals, also lost. Bolton conceded an injury time goal to lose 1-2 to Exeter and the Robins next opponents, Harrogate had won a crazy nine goal thriller against Cambridge the night before.

So all three main contenders blew up on the finishing line but, now only Cambridge can stop the Robins claiming the League 2 title!!

   

Brighton 2 Leeds 0 ......

Need thirteen points minimum from fifteen, to surpass the Seagulls and the Saints. The clarets and the toon still to play.

Only small mercy .... not losing to the vile, should have been row z and three points, we cannot be mathematically relegated by the dingles.

Fat lady has got dressed up, climbed on stage, cleared her throat, orchestra has turned up, the intro is now playing ..... The singing is about to start.

An appropriate song is Vienna by ultravox, because it's nearly goodnight Vienna.

The end is neigh, well of the season that is, and Huddersfield are doing their level best to make sure that we have everything to play for over the last two games, unfortunately, we're playing for survival rather than anything else. Speaking of the end, I'm sure it's going to be the end for quite a few that have donned the white and blue of Huddersfield this season, and boy will I be glad to see the back of some of them...here's looking at you the lesser spotted Pritchard. With all the players that are out of contract at the club, it is possible that there will be upwards of 100k a week saved from the wage bill, not even including any player sales. 100k a week saved and we'll only use 20k going by how the club has been run, the other 80k + will vanish into oblivion like the rest of the money. That being said, on the other town forum, one of the trusty itk posters has said there is a glimmer of hope that things will be better after this season, whilst another claims to know Phil is ambitious and that we shall soon see. Well, its the hope that kills you and I can't say I'm overly eager to hold my breathe, I can't quite say I trust those in power at the club to get it right. I will say that I believe they are trying their best, it's just their best isn't good enough and they aren't the right people for the jobs, with some of them it's almost like having a shelf stacker promoted to chain manager overnight, the guy will try to do the job, he's just not qualified for it.


A little ray of light for us


And the lesser spotted Pritchard or tit to be exact

The meaning behind being sent to Coventry and other Coventry stuff.

To send someone to Coventry is a British idiom meaning to ostracise someone, or act as if they are not present. The origins of the phrase are not known though it is likely its roots are in some historical event involving Coventry.

It is a common belief that the phrase refers to a particular situation that arose during World War II. British intelligence had deciphered encrypted German communications indicating that a devastating air raid on Coventry was being planned. But the government were reluctant to inform the general public in Coventry about the planned attack in case the Germans discovered their cover had been blown and developed a more sophisticated form of encryption. Hence the people of Coventry were kept in the dark. However, people who were alive before the war will attest that the phrase was in usage before.

The origin of the phrase may be in the 17th century, arising from incidents in the Civil War in the 1640s. Royalist troops were captured in Birmingham and taken to Coventry, where they were ostracised by the Parliamentarian-leaning Coventry population.

I wish some of ours got sent to the proverbial Coventry, maybe not the team, because they would obviously become world beaters.

Largely rebuilt after the 1940 wartime bombing of the Coventry Blitz, Coventry was the birthplace of the British motor industry and is also known for the legend of Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom. The short of that story goes like Today, she is mainly remembered for a legend dating back to at least the 13th century, in which she rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband, Leofric, imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend, in which a man named Thomas watched her ride and was struck blind or dead. Run by Coventry City Council, the city has two universities, while places of interest include Coventry Cathedral, Ricoh Arena, Belgrade Theatre, Herbert Art Gallery and Coventry Transport Museum.

The final home game of the season sees former Town manager Mark Robins return to the John Smiths Stadium at the helm of Coventry City, the team Town poached him from in the first place. He has been around a few clubs since he walked out on Town after the first game of the season a few years back and he has now found his way back to the Sky Blues, managing to get them promoted despite the shambles going on at the board room level and the shenanigans with the ground. This season they have been forced to play at Birmingham Citys St Andrews having also played at Northamptons Sixfields stadium due to a dispute between the owners of the club and the owners of their original home, the Ricoh Arena, they are due to move back to the Ricoh for next season, which will be welcome news for fans of a Sky Blue disposition.



It's fair to say that Coventry have relatively overachieved this season, they sit one place above Town in 19th, but are 4 points ahead, meaning that they are safe as whilst Rotherham can still catch them, well equal them, Derby cannot, with the Rams only being able to get 49 points maximum this campaign. Derby still have Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday to play this term, with Swansea manager Steve Cooper already having said that he may put out a weakened side out to play Derby. So it would appear to be a 3 horse race for relegation going into this weekend, with Town needing to win or Derby to lose to guarantee safety. Now some will complain if they were to do that, but, Town did the exact same in the promotion season against a struggling Birmingham side and lost, much to the displeasure of the other struggling sides. A Swansea side with rested players would still be expected to win against Wayne Rooney's Derby County but it would still be best if Town got the victory on Saturday and made sure we stay up on our own volition. With regards to Coventry, as Mark Robins said on Saturday its nothing short of a miracle that they have stayed up, having one of the lowest budgets in the league, I wouldn't go as far as saying its a miracle, but it is certainly an achievement and as the saying goes, the table doesn't lie, so they deserve to be in the championship next term. They made some good signings in the summer window with the likes of Gustavo Hamer and Tyler Walker both joining and becoming key figures for them in this campaign, Hamer cost a reported 1.3 million, so they must have had some sort of cash lying around to sign players or this low budget is a wee bit of a fib.



Their winter window business was a little more quieter with two notable loan signings in the shape of Premier League winner Matty James from Leicester and Viktor Gyökeres from Brighton. The latter had spent the first part of the season on loan at Swansea but failed to make an impact, failing to score during his time there. James also spent the first half of the season in the Championship, on loan at promotion chasing Barnsley, the former Manchester United trainee made 15 appearances for the Tykes before being sent to Coventry.

Last time out, Robins' side lost 1-0 at home to manager less Preston North End it what was described as a game lacking in quality and urgency, Alan Browne scored the only goal of the game from the spot in the second half. Prior to that, Coventry had had a decent April, picking up valuable points in the battle for survival, beginning the month with a 3-0 defeat away at QPR, it wasn't the greatest of starts, but they bounced back with 3-1 win at home to Brizzle City. They followed that up on the road with a 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth, still better than us, but made amends in a relegation dogfight at Rotherham, Østigard scored the only goal to pick up a vital 3 points. They returned to 'home' comforts with a win over Barnsley, Hyam and Godden scoring the goals that day before coming out on top of a goal fest at Stoke, they were pegged back twice before scoring the winner with ten minutes to go.



Tyler Walker, son of Des, leads the scoring charts for Coventry with 7, the same as Josh Koroma and Fraizer Campbell at Town, Maxime Biamou and Matt Godden both sit 2nd in the charts for Coventry with 6 goals each. Callum O'Hare is their main creative force with 7 assists, the closest to him is 2, with 5 players all sitting on that number.

Ones to watch

1) Maxime Biamou- Powerful French striker that signed from Sutton United back in 2017, not overly prolific in his time at Coventry, but will prove to be a handful to whoever is at centre half, freeing up the pitch for his selected strike partner, likely to be Gyökeres.



2) Callum O'Hare- The former Aston Villa midfielder made the loan move to Coventry last season and went there permanently in the summer. The midfielder has been the Sky Blues main creative player and will likely feature in the attacking midfield slot and drift onto the flanks. Likely to try and drag Hogg out of his comfort zone.



3) Gustavo Hamer- The Brazil born Dutchman signed in the summer from PEC Zwolle in Holland and has featured 40 times for the Sky Blues this term and has that hot headed nature about him, a battle between him and Lewis O'Brien could be interesting to watch. Hamer has chipped in with 5 goals and 2 assists this season, one of those goals being a long range header against Ben Foster, which isn't too bad considering he's only just taller than Alex Pritchard and is smaller than Duane Holmes. Probably their real talisman.

Shall we slot in the played for both quiz? sure, why not.

1) My time at Town was one to forget both for me and you at home, I spent the vast majority of it out on loan up and down the country. My time at Coventry was far better, but the bar was pretty low, I played 54 times at Coventry and scored 14. I currently play under a former Town boss.

2) I played over 200 games for Town during my time there and was a key feature during my time there. I played under 8 different managers, one of whom didn't rate me and as such I was shipped out on loan a few times before leaving to move to the capital full time. After a few years I came back North for a little bit before moving to Coventry. I still play, albeit at a non league level.

3) I started my career on Merseyside before moving around a bit, I finally settled in Lincolnshire for 5 years, where I would play over 200 games, I then moved to Coventry where I'd play a further 100+. By time I came to Town I was an experienced player and only appeared 9 times for the club, finding myself loaned out on a couple of occasions. I'm now back where it all began.

4) I featured on a quiz the other week, I played over 20 games for Town in a disappointing time at the club. My time at Coventry was a short term loan where I played my last bit of professional football.

5) I appear every other week, just guess me...

6) I had a loan at Coventry from one of the biggest teams in the world (just about). The next season I would join Town. My Town career consisted of 80 appearances over 2 seasons, before I was allowed to become a member of the Royal family for another 2 seasons and 80 appearances. A less successful stay on the south coast followed with a couple of loans away, before I sharpened up and became a Premier League player once again. I have quite a few promotions to the Premier League under my belt.

7) An Irish international, I've had two spells at Town, one on loan early in my career and a permanent one later in my career. I spent a couple of years at Coventry before moving to the midlands where I would play the vast majority of my career games. My career looked to be over but it has managed to be resurrected for a final swansong.

8) I had an ill fated loan spell at Town but it has since transpired I had an undiagnosed health issue, I've since bulked up and a spell at Coventry was the real start of my career, although my current club is where I have played the majority of my games.

9) I had a slow start to my Town career, mainly due to being played out of position, but when I did move into my favoured position I flourished and earned a move to the Premier League. Following my move I started well but ultimately ended up bouncing between the top two leagues. I came back to Town eventually but didn't have the same impact and ended up moving down the leagues which resulted in a famous journey, before settling at a midlands club for a 4 year spell.

10) My first two clubs in senior football both played in the same place, I would score 50 goals in over 150 appearances for the two clubs in total before I moved to Coventry. I didn't really do much at Coventry and it could be easily forgotten. By the time I joined Town I was making a step down in leagues, but I struggled to make the impact desired and found myself drift down the pecking order after suffering injuries. After leaving Town I bounced around a bit before returning home and finding some success again. I currently manage in non league.

Manager talk

Carlos Corberán: "For us this a very, very important game. We want to show this on the pitch. We want to arrive to the game against Coventry with a lot of concentration and determination to make a good performance. We want to show our best on the pitch."

"It's normal that results affect confidence, but I think the mentality of the group is strong. We know our target and we have to get it."

"Álex Vallejo training yesterday with the group, but not today. I don't expect to have Fraizer Campbell in the squad. Isaac trained with the group yesterday, but he didn't today. We will see how Álex and Isaac are tomorrow."

"Coventry City have reached their target and their dynamic in the last few games has been positive for them. They're good on counter-attacks, set pieces and long throw-ins. They have a clear mentality and are a very competitive team."

"Everything is in our hands and our future depends on us. What we need to show is a good performance; that will help us reach our target. We want to keep the team in the Championship before we concentrate on anything else."

In regards to team news, Jodi Jones will miss out with a cruciate injury, he's not expected back until August, while Tyler Walker is managing a hip injury, however he featured for the last 20 minutes on Saturday so could feature more on Saturday. It is expected that they will line up in their usual 3-4-3 formation, or 3-4-1-2 to be precise, wonder if Robins will put an academy player in an unfamiliar position for no reason at all?

Town meanwhile could welcome Alex Vallejo back, he is trained Thursday but not Friday, Pipa and Harry Toffolo will continue to be managed but with a week since the last game, it is expected they will be able to feature. Fraizer Campbell and Isaac Mbenza will have had another week and may be back in contention, whilst Richard Keogh may be absent after limping off against Blackburn. Alex Pritchard misses out after straining himself standing up. Chris Schindler remains a long term absentee.



Head to head

Not really many to go on here, the two sides have met 16 times, with Town winning half, drawing 3, most recently in the return fixture to this and have lost the other 5. Prior to this season the last meeting was in the league cup with Coventry coming out 2-0 winners, this was back in 1977. The Coventry side that day featured a future Town coach and assistant manager, without looking, who was it?

The season quiz, not just Town related- no cheating!!!

1) Which player scored the first league goal of the season?

2) Who was the first player to see red?

3) Who has the most own goals? (I'm picking the player with least appearances, as his own goal per min is better/worse)

4) Who is the youngest player to feature in a game this season and who for? (that is a nasty one)

5) And who is the oldest?

6) Who has the most yellow cards?

7) Which two players have linked up for the most goals this season?

8) Which team has the best possession stats for the season?

9) Which team has given foreign players the most minutes?

10) And finally, who has given the most minutes to domestic players?



Why don't we take a trip down memory lane and look back at everything that has happened over this season to Huddersfield Town?

The season suffered a delayed start and instead began on the 5th of September with a League Cup tie against current League One strugglers Rochdale. Town had the bulk of the game but a lack of finishing ability would bite them on the rear when Eoghan O'Connell headed in a Matty Done free kick just after the break, Mbenza went close to levelling in the final minutes but Town suffered a cup 'upset'. The season would start the week after, when Town would welcome relegated Norwich City to the John Smiths Stadium. The visitors dominated the game for the large part, with Town defending stoutly, however, ten minutes before time, Teemu Pukki was put through on goal by a bad back pass from Richard Stearman, who had been fouled by Todd Cantwell in a challenge that could have seen the long haired pri midfielder sent off. The Finnish hitman elected to square it to Adam Idah to score the crucial goal. Towns first away day was to the capital where they would face Brentford in their brand new shiny stadium which was allowed 0 fans in for its grand opening. Brentford were happy for Town to have the ball, seeing as there was no sign of causing any threat, the Bees on the other were ruthless in front of goal, Josh Da Silva, Marcus Forss and Bryan Mbuemo, put Town to the sword in the second half as Town threatened to go the first month of the season without scoring. That was not to happen as Town would beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 through a Frazier Campbell goal, which is a contender for goal of the season. Town were lucky to have 11 men for the game as Hogg could have seen red for a challenge on Harry Arter, he doesn't seem to be the nicest of blokes at times so we shall let the ref off for missing it. The game also marked an assured debut for Romoney Crichlow who managed Lewis Grabban well and a debut for Carel Eiting who replaced Hogg in the first half.



October began with a trip to New York to face Rotherham, the Millers took the lead midway through the first half and for all the world it seemed as if Town would see all the ball and conjure nothing, until in the 96th minute a wayward Pipa strike got deflected past the goalkeeper to give Town a point. Town continued their foreign adventure, this time landing in Wales to face Swansea. In what was a fairly even game, with Swansea arguably having the better of the opportunities, Town took the lead through Harry Toffolo when he flicked a well worked corner routine. Swansea were given the chance to equalise when they were awarded a dubious penalty after Korey Smith had been felled by Ben Hamer, the leagues highest paid player, Andre Ayew duly obliged and the sides went in level at half time. Midway through the second half Josh Koroma scored his first Town goal when he prodded the ball home from close range. Next up for Town was a Derby side that looked like they had never heard of a set piece, let alone practise one, with pretty much every one of them a drastic failure. Derby were missing Wayne Rooney and bottle as a Juninho Bacuna effort won the game for Town to lift Town up to 8th. From a team that couldn't take a set piece to one that lives off them, Preston North End were next to visit the John Smiths and soon found themselves behind when Frazier Campbell opened the scoring for Town, however, two goals in two second half minutes from Alan Browne turned the game on its head and Town were back chasing the game. Whilst chasing the game Town were left open on the break and found themselves down to 10 men when Naby Sarr was adjudged to have brought down Jakobsen as last man. Town finished the month off on the road, firstly a trip to St Andrews to face Birmingham where Town would see most the ball but found themselves behind through a Gary Gardener header, Mbenza scored his first Town goal in 18 months with a free kick into the top corner with just 5 minutes to go, but with time running out Lukas Jutkiewicz fired past Hamer after Jonathan Leko had hit the bar. The second trip was to the capital to face Millwall and Town took the lead through Josh Koroma, the game became a tight affair until the last few minutes when Town scored from two counter attacks, firstly Pipa scored his first Town goal, with a long range effort that the keeper should have done better with, then Lewis O'Brien was put through on goal by Bacuna and he slotted the ball away to give Town a 3-0 victory.



November was a poor month for Town and probably signs of what was to come later in the season, it began with a home defeat to Bristol City, despite taking the lead shortly before half time when Josh Koroma converted an Isaac Mbenza cross. The introduction of a former Town loanee changed the game in favour of the Robins as Town couldn't deal with Jamie Paterson (he's supposedly going to be a free agent this summer), firstly Antoine Semenyo teed up Jay Dasilva, before the scorer turned provider for Paterson to score the winner. It was back on home turf quickly as Luton came to town. The Hatters had been relegation threatened the year before and had torn Town apart in that fixture, Town faired slightly better this time out, but fell behind when George Moncur volleyed past Hamer. Town had a number of chances and saw a Koroma effort ruled out for offside, but Harry Toffolo and Carel Eiting combined on the hour mark for the Dutchman to score his first goal in Town colours and give Town the share of the spoils. Next up was a trip to the Potteries for a game against Stoke that could only be described as a goal fest full of mistakes, mainly from Town. Eiting made it two in two when he stroked the ball past debutant Joe Bursik, seven minutes later Tyrese Campbell would level things up, firing home unchallenged after a set piece in the Town box. Two minutes later he would fire past or through Towns debutant goalkeeper Pereira to put Stoke ahead before Mbenza would fire past Bursik to level things up once again, however, shortly before half time Richard Stearman would divert Campbells cross into his own goal as he was trying to clear, meaning Town went in at half time 3-2 down. After the break Sam Clucas would fire in Stokes 4th goal only to see Town hit back when Sarr nodded in Mbenza's freekick and whilst Stoke defended nervily, Town were unable to get the 4th. Following a goal fest usually comes the drab and dreary game, it happened again as Town would travel to Wycombe and play out a goalless game on a cold Tuesday night, Naby Sarr came closest when he hit the post but not much else happened in the game. Back at home and Town found themselves in a 5 goal thriller against Neil Warnock's Middlesbrough. The visitors took the lead when Johnson powered down the right flank and fired past Ryan Schofield, minutes after Britt Assombalonga produced one of the misses of the season. Eiting would find himself on the scoresheet once again when he levelled up midway through the first half and Campbell would send Town in at half time 2-1 up when he slipped and managed to kick the ball onto his own foot and over the Middlesbrough keeper. The game livened back up in the last 10 minutes when Sarr was harshly adjudged to have fouled Assombalonga and the DR Congo man calmly fired past Schofield from the spot, however, Town went down the other end minutes later and found themselves back in the lead when Koroma curled in his 4th of the season.



December began with a trip over the boarder and back into Wales, only the result wasn't as favourable this time as Town left empty handed and with a 3-0 defeat. Keifer Moore was once again the scourge of Town and his double helped Cardiff to the three points with Robert Glatzel scoring the third goal. A more complete performance would follow as Town welcomed QPR to the John Smiths Stadium and Town would find themselves ahead after just 3 minutes. Koroma picked the ball up on half way and hit QPR on the break curling his 5th of the season into the top corner. Just after the half hour mark Koroma would turn provider as he teed Toffolo up to strike home his first goal on home turf. The second half was quieter and Town had the better opportunities, but the game was marred by a serious looking injury to Chris Schindler, one that looks likely to end his time at the club, unless he decides he wants to stay. Another 2-0 home win would follow and it would be another that could be highlighted as the turning point of the season, but not in a good way. Koroma tormented the Sheffield Wednesday defence and opened the scoring after 11 minutes when he fired home from close range. Mbenza doubled the lead in the 24th minute when he curled a free kick into the top corner after Koroma had been fouled on the edge of the box. The second half saw Bacuna fouled in the box and the Curacao show pony fired his spot kick wide of the goal, it could prove to be pivotal as shortly after Koroma injured himself trying some trickery down the Wednesday right, slipping over the advertising mats behind the byline, it would keep him out for months. The loss of two key players obviously impacted Town as they got thrashed on their trip to the south coast to face Bournemouth, Solanke bagged a brace, David Brooks, Junior Stanislas and Sam Surridge scored the rest to give Bournemouth a 5-0 win, although Town seemed to be in with a shout of getting back into the game early on but saw ex Chelsea keeper Asmir Begovic on fine form. The result saw a timid Terriers play out a 0-0 against Saturdays visitors at St Andrews, Isaac Mbenza came closest for Town as he rounded the keeper but hit the side netting from a tight angle. Back in home comforts and Town put in a stoic performance against promotion bound Watford. Campbell opened the scoring when he pounced on a Ben Foster mistake, made after being put under pressure by Mbenza. Mbenza played a role in the second goal as his corner was turned into his own goal by Etienne Capoue under no pressure. Watford would rain efforts down on Towns goal but found Schofield on form to keep them at bay. Next up was a boxing day trek all the way to Barnsley where the two sides would play a game devoid of quality. Edmonds-Green scored his first goal for Town when he nodded in Eitings cross, but Barnsleys Polish defender Helik would equalise from a Barnsley corner. The Pole would strike again as he prodded home for the hosts from a foul throw in the 94th minute. The year would end with a 2-1 win at home over Blackburn Rovers, after a slow first half, the second came to life when Sarr headed in Mbenza's freekick only for Sam Gallagher to equalise with 4 minutes of normal time remaining. With the game in injury time Sarr somehow found himself on the wrong side of the Rovers defence and scooped a left footed effort into the top corner to give Town fans the last thing to cheer about for a while (unless some cheered when Diakhaby left in January)



January was a bad month to be a Town fan, not only did they disappoint in the transfer market, but they disappointed more on the pitch picking up just the solitary point. The year started off with a 2-1 defeat at home to Reading, Campbell had got Town off to a flyer when he headed in Mbenza's cross after 6 minutes, however, that was as good as it got as Schofield kept Town ahead come half time. Lucas Joao turned the game on its head in the second half, his first came when he got behind the Town defence and slotted past Schofield, his second came when he was afforded the time to turn and pick out the bottom corner and Town were unable to find an equaliser. Next up was the FA Cup where Town welcomed Plymouth to Yorkshire. Crichlow headed in a Pat Jones corner after just 4 minutes but Plymouth equalised after 24 minutes through Blackpool loanee Ryan Hardie. Aaron Rowe scored his first senior goal for Town when he cut in off the right flank and fired a left foot shot into the top corner, but Plymouth levelled once again through Panutche Camara before Edwards tapped home the winning goal in the 70th minute to knock Town out of the cup at the third round for the third season running. A trip to the hornets nest was next for Town, Town managed to keep it low key for the first half, dealing with what Watford threw at them but created little in reply. In the second half, Schofield fell asleep on a back pass and former Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverly managed to beat him to the ball and put it into an empty net, Joao Pedro sealed Towns fate when he got on the end of Kiko Fermina's cross at the back post. Another old boy came back to haunt Town, like he usually does, Scott Malone scored the only goal of the game as Millwall beat Town 1-0, Town had the chance to level from the spot not long after Malones goal, but Campbell fired the spot kick against the crossbar. Next up for Town was a trip to Bristol and how Town managed to come away without even a point is still baffling. Town dominated the game but themselves 2-0 fairly quickly when Famara Diedhou scored two in quick succession. Bacuna hit back for Town but they were unable to get another goal, Vallejo rattled the crossbar and Campbell hit the post as Town registered 26 shots on goal and hit the woodwork 4 times. Town finished the month with a draw at home to Stoke. Town took the lead when Pipa's deflected effort found the back of the net. Stoke equalised through former Sheffield Wednesday striker Steven Fletcher who scored from the spot after Naby Sarr fouled Jack Clarke. Stoke were reduced to ten men just before half time as Rhys Norrington-Davies was shown a straight red for a challenge on Juninho Bacuna. Town failed to make their numerical advantage count as Stoke held out for a point.



What can we say about February? was it better? yes, by a lot? no. It began with a journey to Luton where the sides would play out a 1-1 draw. Luton had the better of the match and took the lead through James Collins, Town equalised late on through Sarr when he turned in the rebound from a Bacuna free kick. Town saw Toffolo sent off in the 93rd minute, but it later transpired that he had been playing through injury and would be out longer than the three game suspension. Town then went and threw away a 2 goal lead at home to Wycombe, ending up losing 3-2. Bacuna headed in from close range before Mbenza completed a counter attack with a left footed finish. On the stroke of half time Anis Mehmeti halved the deficit and only Wycombe would come out for the second half. Ikpeazu was fouled in the box to allow Jacobson to score from the spot before Josh Knight scored to give the Chairboys a vital 3 points. A midweek trip to Middlesbrough followed and Town took an early lead through a Mbenza freekick, but Boro equalised as Town allowed Duncan Watmore to weave his way into the box and curl past Schofield. Ashley Fletcher put Boro ahead from the spot after O'Brien had fouled Darnell Fisher, the penalty was tame but managed to squeeze under Schofield, Kieran Phillips looked the most likely to score for Town, but Boro managed to hold on despite seeing Paddy McNair sent off in the latter stages. An upset played out next as Town beat Swansea to complete the double over them for the season and get their first win of 2021 on the board. Campbell opened the scoring for Town in the 22nd minute with Aston Villa loanee Connor Hourihane catching Schofield out to equalise on the stroke of half time. In the second half Town took the ascendency with Lewis O'Brien scoring his first home goal for Town, before Duane Holmes scored a double. Aaron Rowe teed him up for his first when he laid the ball in his path behind the Swansea defence and Holmes fired past Freddie Woodman. Holmes second came when he cut in from the left and fired a right footed effort into the top corner, which may have been helped by a fortunate bobble just before he struck the ball. Normal service was resumed for Town when they went down 2-0 away at Derby. George Edmondson and Martyn Waghorn scored in either half for the rams as Town also saw Jaden Brown sent off for two yellow cards, it took him 14 minutes from coming on to be given his marching orders. The last game of the month saw Town travel over the Pennines to face Preston, which doesn't usually go well for Town and it didn't go well yet again. Town saw a decent penalty shout turned down by the ref before Brad Potts opened the scoring for PNE, Town fell away in the second half as Ched Evans and Scott Sinclair completed a routine victory for Preston.



March was a less hectic month for Town in terms of games played and it began with a fixture against Birmingham. A scrappy game was awoken in the 63rd minute when Campbell rifled in an effort from outside the box, but the lead was short lived as Mark Roberts blasted in from close range as Town failed to deal with a Brum set piece. Scott Hogan could have given Birmingham all three points but he fired over from close range. Playoff chasing Cardiff then came to the John Smiths and the sides played out a 0-0 in a game lacking quality, apart from a thunderous volley from Will Vaulks that was well saved by Schofield, new signing Yaya Sanogo had the chance to win the game from the spot for Town, but like every other spot kick this season, he missed. A trip back to the capital for Town yielded a crucial three points for them as Bacuna fired in the second half to give them a 1-0 win over QPR. Rangers failed to create anything of note and Town had  the better chances but could only take the one but it eased the pressure of relegation that was building up on the side. The month finished with a trip to Owlerton to face Sheffield Wednesday. Ex town players Josh Windass and Jordan Rhodes linked up to see Windass fire in past Schofield. Town got fortunate with the equaliser as Sarrs attempt was saved by Westwood and rebounded in off Callum Patterson, it was otherwise a drab encounter.



Entering into the final straight of the season and Town hosted promotion chasing Brentford over the Easter weekend. Town battled hard and took the lead when O'Brien capitalised on a defensive mix up to fire in from out side the area. Mads Sorensen turned in Vitaly Janelt's cutback 5 minutes into the second half to level the game, before Ivan Toney hit the post and the sides settled for a draw. Town then lost 7-0 away at Norwich and we say no more on that and failed to turn up against Rotherham next time out, but luckily got away with a 0-0. The rearranged fixture against Bournemouth was next and Town old boy Phil Billing had a big say in proceedings as he opened the scoring before Solanke doubled the Cherries advantage. A rare collectors item of a goal in the second half from Jonny Hogg gave Town hope, but no one told Town they were losing as they settled for a defeat. A vital three points were picked up on the road away at Nottingham Forest. Forest started the brighter of the two sides but a stray pass from James Garner set Aaron Rowe clear and he calmly slotted home past Brice Samba. Bacuna scored a well struck goal as Town hit Forest on the break and seemingly eased the worries of relegation. Two more non performances followed to bring those worries back, first Town succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at home to Barnsley through a Daryl Dike overhead kick, which was routinely ignored by Town and insipid passing between centre halves followed. Then came the game against Blackburn and we don't really need to talk about that either do we?



And to finish this thread like many others of this season, some Try Ye Convict anagrams.

1) I Do Dig Half Her

2) Jay Pop Sale

3) Calmly Beg Air

4) Zig Votes Or Vice

5) Reticular Boron

6) Losers Hijack Nor Ran

7) Hit Iron Ranchers

8) Vote Tees Ban

9) Rejoined Dad

And finally it's awards time of the season so;

who is your player of the season?
young player of the season?
your moment of the season?
best player you've seen against Town this season?
Town player you've got high hopes for
and where do Town go from here over the summer?

Saturday 1st May

Brighton v Leeds
Everton v Aston Villa
Sheff Weds v Nottm Forest (12.30 KO)
Huddersfield v Coventry
Rotherham v Blackburn
Swansea v Derby County
Walsall v Morecombe

Sunday 2nd May

Newcastle v Arsenal
Man Utd v Liverpool  
Rangers v Celtic