With the Governments announcement of no fans being allowed at sporting events could it put the whole season in jeopardy? National League say they don't want to start without fans and then furlough runs out in October and that means if there are no fans and clubs have no money coming in then it won't be long till they have to shut down altogether and call it a day and the worrying thing is we could be one of them.

If grassroots, non-league go then it won't be long till it hits L2, L1 and the Championship. Premier League will carry on due to TV money but the rest of the football pyramid will slowly disappear.

What I don't understand is you can go to the pub before 10pm and see 6 of your friends socially distanced of course or go to a cinema or a restaurant but you can't sit outside in the open air socially distanced to watch football. Apparently its all ok if you do grouse shooting though.

Proposals for limited amount of fans to be allowed back into grounds from October has now been overturned.
No date has been given as to when we will be allowed to return.
Thank heavens we got promoted and can rely on the PL cash cow for this season.
All clubs outside the PL will now be in serious financial trouble. 
How they will survive is anyones guess.

There was a big article on Shwan Jalal and his retirement in Sunday Non-League Paper. He is going for FA goalkeeping coaching qualifications. Sadly I fear that may be exactly the root of the problem with England's keepers.

Goalkeepers are taught to coach in the wrong way, so they do and the result is that far the best keeper in the country was dropped from an academy, missed out on several years of fully-pro' coaching, made his way through non-league, then loans when back full-time, before becoming a much finished article than his apparent rivals. Still ...... good luck to Shwan. Coaching tip No 1, here's the starfish, helps you block with your boot so you don't know where the ball is going to go and you'll find it really difficult to get back to your feet quickly .... ideal for maintaining the astonishing goal scoring rate in the Premier League.

He sounds a very nice bloke though. Apparently he had decided to retire on a high with Macc's elevation to the EFL and then Martin Allen rang him and he thought it was too good an opportunity to miss. We always knew he was old, but did we know before that he had already mentally retired?

I can remember we thought Martin Allen knew non-league football. I had the impression he was non-league's Marcelo Bielsa, unfortunately it became obvious that he didn't actually know that much at all, though he talked an excellent game. One thing he did turn out to be right on, by sheer ignorance, was Kepa, Chelsea's goalie. He said he'd never heard of him and would rather have Shwan Jalal. Turns out Shwan on a free would have kept much more of Abramovich's money safe in a holding company in the British Virgin Islands and he'd have been hard-pressed to make more embarrassing mistakes than poor old Kepa, who must be wondering what will go wrong next.

39 DD

...................................... CR .......... CS .................... PTS

1/ BBB ............................. 5 ............ 1 ..................... 22
2/ SCO ............................. 5 ............ 1 ..................... 18
3/ Sanjay ......................... 5 ............. 0 .................... 10
4/ McLad .......................5 ............. 0 ..................... 10
5/ AAA ......................... 4 ............. 0 ...................... 10
6/ Amelia .......................... 4 ............. 0 ....................... 8
7/ Bomber ........................ 4 ............. 0 ....................... 7
8/ Snoots ......................... 4 ............. 0 ........................ 7
9/ Derby ........................... 4 ............. 0 ....................... 2
10/ Twerton ....................... 2 ............. 0 ...................... -2

So this week sees a wide range of scores 2 Very good ones, two decent ones, then tailing of to average, then rock bottom is the look away moment for the week.

You get the Gamball spot on and you should really be finishing top, this week sees BBB do just that and claim 22 points, SCO may be on Holiday but has a very good week and finishes just 4 points off the pace. Sanjay, AAA & Maclad finish tied on 10

5th place goes to Ameila with 8

Down in 7th and struggling this season is our CHUMP Bomber #champ and by his standards had a bit of a shocker he scored just 7 points along with snoots,
A poor week for Derby with just 2 Points and as mentioned earlier the look away moment for the week belongs to Twerton, with just two correct results and useless use of his Balls means he did not trouble the scorers, in fact ended worse than that with a Minus to his name (-2)

SCO should be back next week and give a much improved write up than I have mustered up at 1am in the morning.....

So its goodnight from me and it's Goodnight from him !!!!!

Goodnight

SCO 37pts
BBB 34
Snooty 28
AAA 20
Sanjay 17
Amelia17
Themaclad 15
Bomber 11
Derby 9
Twerton 2


OneTrueBaggie 16pts 1CS 5CR 5GB 3BB 0SB
Beefy 15pts 0CS 5CR 5GB 3BB 1SB
Somerset 14pts 0CS 6CR 0GB 3BB 1SB
Zinman 12pts 0CS 4CR 5GB 3BB 0SB
Minizin 10pts 0CS 6CR -3GB 3BB 0SB
Stairs 8pts 0CS 5CR 0GB -3BB 1SB
Joker 7pts 1CS 3CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Lady Jane 6pts 0CS 3CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
DD 4pts 0CS 5CR -3GB -3BB 0SB
BaggieOne 4pts 0CS 3CR -3GB 3BB 0SB
Silver 4pts 0CS 3CR -3GB 3BB 0SB

Correct score predictions were about as rare as an Albion defensive header this weekend - just 2 from 110 predictions (OK, that probably makes them more common that an Albion defensive header). Mixed results on the gamball but, unusually no individual match produced minus points and only Lady Jane failed to predict a Leeds victory (more on her bonus ball later). 2 players chose not to play the gamball, one losing 3 points, one saving himself 3 points.

A new face at the top of the table this week, so congratulations to OneTrueBaggie in just his 2nd week of predicting. 1TB was one of the 2 players with a correct score and also gained points from his gamball and bonus. By contrast in second place we have an old, wizened and frankly knackered face - yes Beefy, or Two Tongued Beefy as he should now be known. Beefy scored on all of his balls but should be very grateful for the sharp eyes of that kind Uncle Zin for pointing out his original posting error.
Just a point back in third place is another newcomer, Somerset who chose not to play the gamball - wisely in his case. Somerset got a week's high of 6 correct results but failed to convert any into correct scores. 2 other players got into double figures, both of them Zins. Zinman only managed 4 correct predictions but 2 of them were the gamball and bonus. Minizin matched Somerset's 6 correct results but lost out on his gamball - I'm sure he'll get the hang of it one day.
Stairs had an OK week but would have scored more if he'd risked the gamball, Joker only got 3 correct predictions but was the other player with a correct score.

Lady Jane was in danger of repeated her zero score of last week until the gamball came riding to her rescue and lift her off the foot of this week's table. That honour (?) is shared by DD, BaggieOne and Silver on just 4 points. DD got a decent 5 correct predictions but was the only player this week to fail on all his balls. BaggieOne and Silver had identical results with both grateful for a correct bonus ball prediction.

So by my calculations (to be confirmed by Bomber), Beefy has retained his place at the top of the table followed in second place by Zinman, both seemingly looking for an immediate return to the Premier League after last year's shock relegation. 3 newcomers, Minizin, 1TB and Somerset have started well with Joker also nicely placed. Silver, Lady Jane and BaggieOne have started slowly but it' a .....(insert Beefy cliche here)....

Zin

Beefy 33pts
Zinman 28
Minizin 26
Onetrue 25
Somerset 24
Joker 21
Stairs 17
DD 10
BaggieOne 8
Lady Jane 6
Silver 6

2 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.  

Friday 25th September:
Town v Nottingham Forest
Town scorers:
Forest scorers:

Saturday 26th September:
Wycombe Wanderers v Swansea City (12:30)
Barnsley v Coventry City
Birmingham City v Rotherham United
Cardiff City v Reading
Derby County v Blackburn Rovers
Millwall v Brentford
Preston North End v Stoke City
Queens Park Rangers v Middlesbrough
Watford v Luton Town

Sunday 27th September:
Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday (13:00)
AFC Bournemouth v Norwich City (16:00)

Bonus matches:
Premier League:
Saturday:
West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea (17:30)

Sunday:
Sheffield United v Leeds United (12:00)

Table after Matchday 3:

1. Baggiebob(BBB) = 51 pts
   
2. themaclad = 46 pts
   
3. Lord Snooty = 44 pts
   
4. ritchiebaby = 44 pts
   
5. theo_luddite = 44 pts
   
6. Beefy 1965 = 41 pts
   
7. jjamez = 40 pts
   
8. St Charles Owl = 39 pts
   
9. SHEP_HTAFC = 36 pts
   
10. neonfoxinthebox = 32 pts
    
11. Amelia Chaffinch = 31 pts

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54127817
So the Bhoys ended up dropping from a winning 3-1 position and "coasting" to a precarious final quarter where they conceded a "cracking goal" by a Monaco loanee, Serrano, to make it 3-2 and not managing out the game particularly well to the point where they could well have lost an equalising goal in the last min of the game - probs to ponder for Lennon! The big "positive factor" is that they have now caught up with Rangers top position. All eyes now looking towards Easter Road Stadium tomorrow and see how Hibs fare v Rangers.

A great game and performance on the road today against Tranmere.

The loss of Alfie May through illness could have proved crucial but young George Lloyd proved to be a more than capable deputy.
Gone was the kick and rush tactics of last weekend and back to the smooth interchangeable passing we saw last season. The Robins were running rings around newly relegated Tranmere and after just 6 minutes a corner from the right by Chris Hussey to the far post saw central defender Charlie Raglan rise high and unchallenged to score with a simple header.
Just a quarter of an hour later saw a well worked and deserved second goal. This time West Brom loanee Finn Azaz broke quickly and found Andy Williams outside him. Williams doubled the Robin's advantage with a shot partially parried by the Rover's goalkeeper.
Then just 6 minutes from half time the Robins added a third. A diagonal ball into the box saw two Rovers defenders get in each other's way and a glancing backward header from one of them saw the ball once again in the net.
Not surprisingly the second half was, in comparison, a relative non event. Tranmere rallied and had more of the play than in the first half but, never really threatened the Cheltenham goal. It was all about game management.
What of the two West Brom loanees?
Finn Azaz looked composed on the ball and will surely develop further in this team. He was replaced just after the hour but had by then done a useful job.
Josh Griffiths (goalkeeper) didn't have lot to do; making one important save in the first half but, I worry a little about his ball distribution. Some of his clearance kicking is very wayward, often going straight out of play. And kicking out of hand usually finds a member of the opposition. And yet his kicking from ground is much better and he seems capable of effortlessly putting the ball at least halfway inside the opponents half.
Still he is after all only a youngster and is still developing that necessary understanding with his fellow defenders.

COYR

Oggy's Top 5 games (May 2020)

• Town v Sheffield Utd play-off final 2012 @ Wembley
  
• Town v Bournemouth play-off semi 2011 @ home
  
• Town v Barnsley last game of the season / two YORKSHIRE clubs survival day 2013 @ home 
  
• Town v Birmingham last day of the season relegation day 2001 @ home
  
• Reading v Town promotion to the premier league play-off final 2017 @ Wembley