Yes 70% possession for the Robins tonight and again the first goal.

But sadly it turned into another Port Vale performance and result.

Rueben Reid put the Robins in front on the half hour only for Oldham to square the match just 4 minutes later.
Reid, to be fair, was looking much sharper tonight but, again I don't think the no.10 role really suits Alfie May. So hurry back Georgie Lloyd and hopefully Albion loanee Finn Azaz both out injured at the moment.
With the Robins enjoying almost total possession in the middle third and making most of the play, the Latics were being pressed back into their final third but, were defending resolutely.
The Robins were throwing more and more players forward in search of a winner but, with just 6 minutes left Oldham sprang the trap and although Josh Griffiths blocked the first shot, the rebound was hammered home.

Just 3 extra minutes but the Robins almost equalised when yet another shot was blocked on the line. The ball came out to Searcombe who, from 30 yards out, hit a fierce shot which went just wide of the post.

So Oldham record their first home win of the season and the Robins yet again come home empty handed.

Who is Yasha Ge??

https://www.westbromnews.co.uk/2020/11/0...y-handed-w

DD

I'm already listening to a lotta Scot footie media people seriously "getting carried away" over an away match that is obviously massive for Scot international footie - 8 x matches unbeaten but some of these games were not v top quality opponents at all plus we recently "robbed" a Czech B team (due to COVID infections) that "played us off the park"! And we are not playing at home. We have a great team spirit and motivation within this group of players but I can see another Scottish tragedy and a loss in Belgrade v a winning team at home that definitely has some vg players in their ranks. I think we have a chance but I'm not getting "carried away"!

LAST TIME OUT

COVENTRY CITY 3 READING 2



PRESTON NORTH END 1 BIRMINGHAM CITY 2

LAST SEASON

READING 1 PRESTON NORTH END 0

Abysmal game settled by a goal late in injury time

FORM GUIDE MAX 25

READING 16 PNE 10

Ejaria 3.5 million
Semedo and Esteves both loan
Laurent free from Shrewsbury

First ever meeting we scraped home 18-0 athough that was at Deepdale, however in Berkshire lost teh first league meeting in April 1927 3-0, our first win was in 1930 4-1.
Last win for us April 2016 2-1.
Been the last couple of time got zip expect less than that tomorrow.

MACS VIEW

The thought of this one is enough to make you want a Biden win, off to the league leaders tomorrow night a game which we will not be expected to get anything even though we have an away record to die for compared to the home record which is abysmal.
New manager Veljko Paunovic has hit the ground running big time with his side sweeping all before them although losing against Coventry on Friday.
They have conceded one at home this season surprisingly losing to Luton however since then been full steam ahead.
Swift far better than Championship level and Ejaria is a non too shabby player and up front they have Lucas Joao and Meite probably one of the fastest players in the league does not bode well for us luckily not on Red button. A point is a good result here.

Preston North End will be looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season on the road when they head to league leaders Reading on Wednesday night.

The Royals have had an impressive start to the season, winning seven of their first nine games and only losing for the first time at Coventry City on Friday night.

The appointment of Veljko Paunovic as manager in the summer has so far proved to be a masterstroke and he has found a formula that has worked for a talented and expensively assembled squad at the Madejski Stadium.

For the Lilywhites, they have won their last three away games and will look for another three points at a venue that hasn’t always been their happiest hunting ground, but will look to continue their run away from Deepdale

Team News
Manager Alex Neil will again wait until last minute before checking on the availability of the two Ben’s, Pearson and Davies, who have missed the last four games.

Andrew Hughes, Declan Rudd and Darnell Fisher will all also need to be assessed, having all had difficulties in the weekend’s clash with Birmingham City.

Reading boss Veljko Paunovic looks like he could be without Liam Moore, stating after their loss to Coventry, that the defender would see a specialist in the coming days to assess the seriousness of his injury.

Match Officials
For Wednesday evening’s away game, we have a referee for the second time this season.

The match official for the trip to the Madejski Stadium is John Brooks, now in his third season on the Select Group Two list of referees.

The Leicestershire ref was in charge of North End’s 3-2 home win over Millwall in December 2018 and the 3-1 home victory over Stoke City in front of the Sky Sports cameras back in August 2019, as well as the New Year’s Day clash with Middlesbrough in PR1 and the first game after lockdown, at Luton Town back in June.

Last season, in the month before the pausing of the Championship, he also refereed the Lilywhites’ victory over Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium, when Tom Barkhuizen and Alan Browne were the scorers.

So far this season he has officiated nine games issuing 24 yellow cards and no reds; he will be assisted by Nick Greenhalgh and Akil Howson – who also ran the line at Norwich when he refereed the game - whilst the fourth official will be Mark Russell.

FAMOUS READING FOLKS

Alma Angela Cohen Cogan[1] (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966) was an English singer of traditional pop music in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era.
She was born on 19 May 1932[1] in Whitechapel, London, of Russian-Romanian Jewish descent.[1] Her father's family, the Kogins, arrived in Britain from Russia, while her mother's family were refugees from Romania.[2] Cogan's parents, Mark and Fay Cogan, had another daughter, the actress Sandra Caron,[3] who went on to play "Mumsey" in The Crystal Maze,[4] and one son, Ivor Cogan. Mark's work as a haberdasher entailed frequent moves. One of Cogan's early homes was over his shop in Worthing, Sussex.

Although Jewish, she attended St Joseph's Convent School in Reading.[5] Her father was a singer, but it was Cogan's mother who had showbusiness aspirations for both her daughters (she had named Cogan after silent screen star Alma Taylor). Cogan first performed in public at a charity show at the Palace Theatre in Reading, and at the age of eleven, competed in the "Sussex Queen of Song" contest held at a Brighton hotel, winning a prize of £5.

Aged 14, she was recommended by Vera Lynn for a variety show at the Grand Theatre in Brighton. At 16 she was told by bandleader Ted Heath "You've got a good voice, but you're far too young for this business. Come back in five years' time." Heath would later say: "'Letting her go was one of the biggest mistakes of my life."[6] But Cogan found work singing at tea dances, while also studying dress design at Worthing Art College, and was soon appearing in the musical High Button Shoes and a revue, Sauce Tartare.[7] She became resident singer at the Cumberland Hotel in 1949, where she was spotted by EMI producer Walter Ridley, who became her coach and signed her to HMV.

Cogan's first release was "To Be Worthy of You" / "Would You", recorded on her 20th birthday.[citation needed] This led to her appearing regularly on comedian Dick Bentley's BBC's radio show Gently Bentley, and then becoming the vocalist for the BBC Radio comedy programme Take It From Here, replacing Joy Nichols, from 1953 to the end of its run in 1960.

In 1953, whilst in the middle of recording "If I Had a Golden Umbrella", she broke into a giggle; she then played up the effect on later recordings. Soon enough, she was dubbed the "Girl with the giggle in her voice" ("Giggle" has sometimes been quoted as "chuckle".)[8]

Many of her recordings were covers of U.S. hits, especially those recorded by Rosemary Clooney, Teresa Brewer, Georgia Gibbs, Joni James and Dinah Shore. Her voice was often compared with Doris Day's. One of these covers, "Bell Bottom Blues", became her first hit, reaching no. 4 on 3 April 1954.[9] Cogan would appear in the UK Singles Chart eighteen times in the 1950s, with "Dreamboat" reaching no. 1. Other hits from this period include "I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango", "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", "Sugartime" and "The Story of My Life". Cogan's first album, I Love to Sing, was released in 1958.

Cogan was one of the first UK recording artists to appear frequently on television, where her powerful voice could be showcased along with her bubbly personality and dramatic costumes. Her hooped skirts with sequins and figure-hugging tops were reputedly designed by herself and never worn twice. Cliff Richard recalls: "My first impression of her was definitely frocks – I kept thinking, how many can this woman have? Almost every song had a different costume. The skirts seemed to be so wide – I don't know where they hung them up!"[10][11] Cogan topped the annual NME reader's poll as "Outstanding British Female Singer" four times between 1956 and 1960.[12]

Alma cannot attend tomorrow no fans allowed and probably the fact she dead would make it equally difficult


And dating myself I remember her

Well this is not an easy fixture for Hibs to take on after the disappointment of that Scot Cup semi-final. However, I gather that the Dons are down on 3-4 players, all injured. Lets hope the Hibs can take advantage of this position and try to overcome what I perceive to be a "bogey" for Hibs v them in league matches. There is no time for the players feeling sorry for themselves and the perfect remedy is to win this match. In order to do that lets start converting the scoring opps when they are created and stop squandering them. C'mon Hibs! Lets push on and add another good away result to a vg away record so far this season plus we can "pull away" from the Dons' 4th place spot in the Scot Prem.

GGTTH

SMILIES/BALLS

 Bonus Ball
 Score Ball, Free to use Ball , play it on a game that you think both teams will score in !
 Gamball,

New Scoring System

Incorrect Result =  0 point
Incorrect Result (Bonus Ball) = -3
Incorrect Result (Gamball) = -3
[/color]
Score Ball = 1 added Point if both teams score.  !

Correct Result = +2 points
Correct Result (Bonus Ball) = +3
Correct Result (Gamball) = +5  
Correct Score = + 4 points
Correct Score (Bonus Ball) = +6  
Correct Score (Gamball) = +10  

Just a reminder you DO NOT have to play the Gamball if you dont want too, the score will then be marked normal.  


Again the third from bottom of the premiership will play off against the third in the table from the Championship to keep even more excitement going, they will have to predict through all the Playoffs and the winner obviously takes their place in the Premier League the following season  

Beefy, Bomber, Zinman & SCO  


If you do not predict,...........
If in your league everyone scores above zero you will receive Zero points,
However if in your league the person with the lowest score is below Zero (eg -4) you will score -5 and receive your first strike, Remember 3 strikes and you're out.

All scores must be in before MIDDAY SATURDAY,(For The Early Kick Off If Applicable) If the early kick off is missed the rest of your predictions must reach us by 2.45pm or none will be counted.



* NEW & UPDATED 2020/21 PARTICIPANTS,

Premiership
                           
1/ AAA
2/ Amelia
3/ BBB
4/ Bomber
5/ Derby
6/ MacLad
7/ Sanjay
8/ SCO
9/ Snoots
10/ Twerton                
                         
Championship

1/ BaggieOne
2/ Beefy
3/ DD
4/ LadyJane
5/ Joker
6/ MiniZin
7/ OneTrueBaggie
8/ Silver
9/ Somerset
10/ Stairs
11/ Zinman


                        
                             
I'm almost 100% sure Myself & the Scorers get the scores added up correctly, From time to time over the season we may get now and again get this wrong, SO IN THE EVENT OF ANY POINTS DISCREPANCIES can i ask all you guys to check your predictions and if you feel they are incorrect in anyway contact me Via PM within a week of the TABLES & SCORES being presented and they will be corrected the following week.
Anything later unless it is a Major error will NOT be corrected. It is as much your responsibility to check your scores as much as it is ours to try and score them correctly.
Beefy  

Sat 7th Nov

1/ Everton V Man Utd 12:30
2/ Crystal Palace V Leeds
3/ Reading V Stoke
4/ Birmingham V Bournemouth
5/ Huddersfield V Luton
6/ Sheff Wed V Millwall

Sun 8th Nov

7/ WBA V Spurs
8/ ** Leicester V Wolves
9/ Man City V Liverpool
10/ Arsenal V Aston Villa

Player Pts CS CR GB BB SB
Sanjay 21 1 5 10 3 0
Snooty 18 2 3 10 -3 1
Bomber 13 1 5 -3 3 1
Amelia 13 0 6 5 -3 1
Twerton 13 1 5 -3 3 1
Derby 8 1 3 -3 3 0
St Charles 7 0 4 -3 3 1
B.B.B. 6 0 4 -3 3 0
Themaclad 5 1 3 -3 -3 1
A.A.A. -1 0 2 -3 -3 1

Much better week than last weeks debacle!! Lots of points gained on better use of the balls certainly makes a difference to the scoring overall!!

In 1st place this week is Sanjay with a nice 21 point haul. Getting the Gamball spot on of course helps but he backed that up with a CR Bonus and scored points on 6 games. Close behind in 2nd spot is Lord Snooty with 18 points, another recipient of the max from the Gamball and a weeks high 2 CSs. 3rd spot is shared by three predictors on 13 points - Bomber, Amelia and Twerton. Amelia picked up a CR on the Gamball but missed on her Bonus, whereas Bomber and Twerton managed a CS in the 6 games they scored points on and while they missed on the Gamball they both picked up a CR on the Bonus.

Bit of a gap down to Derby on 8 points in 6th, a score that is better than his last couple of weeks but could still see him drop down the table. A point back in 7th is St Charles with 7 points, the scoreball keeps him ahead of our PL leader BBB this week who managed 6 points. Themaclad was a further point back, he at least managed a CS but picked up negatives on his balls to wipe out that advantage.

Bottom spot this week goes to AAA who went backwards ending on -1 point. I can only assume he had been drinking heavily when he made his predictions because this week he actually played the Gamball for the first time in months and promptly got it wrong!!!! Doh

A few movers in the table, BBB retains his lead but the gap is down to 9 points to a new 2nd place player in Sanjay. He replaced SCO who is now a point back in 3rd. Bit of a gap down to Amelia in 4th who leapt over AAA after his negative score. At the bottom as I feared although Derby improved his score, Twerton improved his by more and climbs off bottom spot which is now occupied by Derby. Themaclad now sits in the relegation PO spot, 10 points adrift of safety!!

Cheers
SCO


BBB 80pts
Sanjay 71
SCO 70
Amelia 57
AAA 53
Bomber 46
Snooty 45
Themaclad 35
Twerton 32
Derby 29


Stairs 18pts 2CS 6CR 0GB 6BB 0SB
Minizin 15pts 1CS 5CR 0GB 6BB 1SB
Lady Jane 13pts 1CS 6CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Beefy 10pts 1CS 4CR -3GB 6BB 1SB
Joker 9pts 2CS 3CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Somerset 7pts 1CS 5CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
DD 7pts 0CS 4CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
BaggieOne 7pts 0CS 3CR 5GB -3BB 1SB
Zinman 5pts 0CS 4CR 0GB -3BB 0SB
Silver 0pts 0CS 3CR -3GB -3BB 0SB
1TrueBaggie -1pt - no predictions

A better week (for most) but the gamball again proved costly with only 2 players predicting a Wycombe win and one of those chose not to gamble. Huddersfield's win at Millwall caught everyone out with 2 players losing their bonus points.

A clear leader this week is Stairs with his highest score of the season so far. He got 2 scores spot on - his bonus and the gamball......pity he didn't play the latter costing him 6 points though I don't think he'll be complaining. Minzin got his season back on track after his nightmare last week to claim 2nd place with 15 points.Like Stairs, Minizin got his bonus spot on and like Stairs he din't play the gamball though in this case it saved him 3 points. Lady Jane had one of her better weeks to take 3rd place, like Mini recovering from a negative score last week.

At one point Beefy looked set for a high score with another maximum on his bonus but he was let down by his gamball and a blank Sunday to leave him off the pace in 4th place. Joker was late to the party missing the first 2 games but recovered with 2 correct scores from his 8 predictions and a reasonable 9 points. Normally being the only player to score extra points on the gamball would secure a high league placing but BaggieOne managed to be the exception due to scoring on just 2 other games. He sits in mid-table on 7 points with Somerset and DD.

Zinman had a poor week, no scoreball, minus 3 on his bonus (but at least he didn't play the gamball) and no correct scores. Silver fared even worse with just 3 correct results, no scoreball point and losses on his other balls to register a blank week. No show again from One True Baggie.

Quite a few changes in the overall table this week with the Championship beginning to split into 2 groups. Minizin moves into the lead with Somerset dropping to 2nd place. After a good week, Stairs climbs 4 places to third with Beefy. Joker drops one place ahead of this week's big mover, Zinman, dropping from 2nd to 6th. The top 6 are separated by just 9 points (I think - to be confirmed by Bomber's official table) but we see a big gap of 16 points to Lady Jane whose good week sees her climb off the bottom to be replaced by DD and Silver. Still early days though.

Zin


Minizin 64pts
Somerset 60
Stairs 57
Beefy 57
Joker 56
Zinman 55
Lady Jane 39
Onetrue 39
BaggieOne 36
DD 33
Silver 33

that was shocking  made Fulham Look like a top 6 side
i have never advocated a manager to go
but it looks like ours is out of his depth here
no backing from the board
has to work with what he has got
we were found out several time last season with daft team selections

slaven i think ya time is up mate

that was shocking  made Fulham Look like a top 6 side
i have never advocated a manager to go
but it looks like ours is out of his depth here
no backing from the board
has to work with what he has got
we were found out several time last season with daft team selections

slaven i think ya time is up mate

Huddersfield welcome Brizzle to west Yorkshire for another midweek match as we look to cram in as many fixtures due to the delayed start.

The two sides come into the game on the back of two different results. Town travelled to the den and came away with a fine 3-0 victory, goals coming from Josh Koroma, Pipa and Lewis O'brien. Bristol City on the other hand hosted recently relegated Norwich and lost 3-1, with former town striker Nahki Wells giving a masterclass in how not to take a paneka penalty, the Bermudian striker managed to clip the ball straight over the top, with his side 3-1 down already, it could have made things interesting. Another former town player in Jack Hunt did manage to find the net for the Robins, but a brace from Finnish Finisher Teemu Pukki and a third from Emi Buendia consigned Bristol to a third defeat of the month.



It had all starter so well for the Robins as they got through September with maximum points, a 2-1 at home to Coventry, a 2-0 win away at Stoke and finally a 2-0 win at home to Sheffield Wednesday. October, however, hasnt really been a great month for Bristol, with them only managing to pick up 5 points of a possibly 18, their one and only win of the month came away at a then hapless Nottingham Forest and the Robins sat perched on the top of the league. They followed that up with a point away at then managerless Barnsley, who needed a 102nd minute penalty to equalise. After that, a home defeat against Middlesbrough saw them lose both their place at the top of the league and their unbeaten start to the season. A late Nahki Wells goal rescued a point for Bristol at home to Swansea, whilst the boot was on the other foot when they conceded a late goal away at Bournemouth and they continued to slide down the table. They now sit 10th, just one point above town.



So whats new down at Ashton Gate?

Well, the manager for one, Lee Johnson was given the boot at the end of last season, with Town managment duo Danny and Nicky both heavily linked with taking over the reigns. The brothers however were unsuccessful and the job was handed to former Oldham manager Dean Holden, who had been assistant manager at the club since 2016. The results at the start of the season suggested that the right decision was made, but the downturn in form could easily see the club deciding to make another change pretty sharp, especially when managerial luminaries such as Garry Monk is likely to be available pretty soon...



In terms of incomings, the new boss has been rather frugal or equally, not fully backed, as the Robins only brought in 5 new players. Joe Williams joined from cash strapped Wigan for an undisclosed fee, whilst free agents Chris Martin and Chris Brunt joined from Derby and West Brom after their contracts expired. Elsewhere, Steven Sessegnon and Alfie Mawson both joined on loan from Fulham.



Leaving the club, Nikki Maenpaa and Ashley Williams were both released, whilst Niclas Eiliasson was allowed to join Nimes for 2.7 million. Also leaving the club, Joe Morrell joined fellow championship side Luton for an undisclosed fee and Sammie Smozdics rejoined Peterborough. Bailey Wright and Matty Taylor both joined league one clubs Sunderland and Oxford on free transfers, whilst Korey Smith departed for sunnier pastures in Swansea. Kasey Palmer too joined him at Swansea on loan with Marley Watkins being exiled to scotland to ply his trade at Aberdeen on loan.

Coach Talk

Carlos

"Pritchard suffered an injury in the first half. He will have a scan today. Hopefully it isn't something dangerous. He won't be available tomorrow. Danny Ward started back in training today. We will use the international break to help him."

"Álex Vallejo is training with the group now too. He will need a little bit of time to get ready."

"We will need fresh players during the next period of games. Every players has to be ready to help the team. We need to manage the minutes of some players. We have to protect some players a little bit."

"We have to play as a collective. When you have a collective mind and a collective feeling as a team then it makes the game easier. You can find the solutions easier."

"Bristol City started strong because they have a good squad. They have one clear identity with their new coach. Some of the results Bristol City have had doesn't show their performance."

"We want to use our possibilities as a team to try and beat them. In this league you have to recover and prepare for the next game as soon as possible. We will try to show the team's best performance tomorrow."

"Our strength as a team is for everyone to give their best for the team. Every player can be involved in a goal and every player can be involved in defending. Our spirit is that we are a team that depends on a collective performance."

"The most important thing is the spirit of the team. When you find motivation to help your teammates, you're strong as a team."



Team news

Town remain to be without Danny Ward who has now returned to training, whilst Alex Pritchard joins a list containing Tommy Elphick, Rarmani Edmonds-green and Alex Vallejo, who is also training with the team after a quarantine period, but tuesdays game will be too soon for him.

But going by Carlos' presser, it seems like there could be another rotation of players, with the likelyhood being Campbell returning to lead the line, probably at the expense of Diakhaby, whilst stearman and Pipa may both return to the back line. The one enforced change could see Eiting or Bacuna replace Pritchard.

As for Bristol

Nathan Baker, Steven Sessegnon and Andreas Weimann remain City’s long-term injuries, with Liam Walsh and Joe Williams continuing with their respective recoveries. Alfie Mawson has undergone knee surgery but there is no current timescale on his injury.

Ones to watch

Nahki Wells- The former town striker Bristol back in January of this year from Burnley, having spent the first half of the season on loan at QPR. Since then he has played 26 league games and scored 8 times

Tomas Kalas- Spent 9 years at Chelsea and had numerous loans out including one at Bristol, he turned that loan permanent in 2019 and has been a solid defender for them since. Usually has a good game against town.

Jack Hunt- Beware of the returning players, luckily for this one, he wont be getting abuse from the town fans. Left town for better things (apparently) to join Crystal palace but never featured for them and instead had to deal with loan spells out at Barnsley, Forest, Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday. Later signed permanently for Wednesday and could only watch on as Town knocked them out of the playoffs at Hillsborough. Joined Bristol in 2018 and has featured heavily at right back for the Robins.



Played for both anagrams

1) Makes Replay
2) See Janitor Map
3) One Fake Bib
4) A Prominent Star
5) Send A Jot
6) John Pelvis Lip
7) Me Jab Me Comic
8) Ran En Jabs Men
9) Anyone Was Ill
10) Hack Dog Hirer

And finally. We know that Bristol City are the Robins, Bristol Rovers are the Gas and Bristol is Brizzle, but there's another Bristol in the world, whats its nickname, without looking?