Woking have appointed former AFC Wimbledon and Notts County boss Neal Ardley as their new manager.

The 52-year-old replaces Michael Doyle, who was sacked on Sunday with the Cards languishing 19th in the National League.

Ex-Coventry and Sheffield United midfielder Doyle was appointed in December 2023 and helped the club finish 17th last season.

But Woking have won just five league games this season and are without a win in four games. They were comprehensively beaten 4-0 at Gateshead in Doyle's final match in charge on Saturday.

Ardley has been out of work since he was sacked after 34 games as manager of York City in February.

"The diversity of his journey illustrates his flexibility, his promotions and play-off achievements tell us that he can take us to where we hope to be one day," director of football Jody Brown told the club's website., external

Ardley has 'values wanted' at Woking
"His battles with relegation and team rebuilding processes are all invaluable experiences that he'll have learned from. Neal has the values we want in our head coach."

Ardley scored 26 goals in 301 appearances for Wimbledon FC as a player before the club moved to Milton Keynes to form MK Dons.

The former midfielder also represented Watford, Cardiff City and Millwall in a 16-year playing career.

After taking over as manager at AFC Wimbledon in 2012, Ardley steered the club to League Two safety on the final day of his first season in charge and to promotion to League One in 2015-16.

He also had stints in charge of Notts County and Solihull Moors, leading both clubs to a National League promotion final but losing on both occasions.

Woking are in the process of being taken over by a group led by former Dagenham & Redbridge vice chairman Todd Johnson.

THE MATCH

SATURDAY 21ST DECEMBER KO 12:30PM

v

LAST MATCH



We got back to winning ways as we came from behind again to see off Oxford. It was Oxford who struck first, Leigh prodding home from a flick on from a cross. We levelled things when Windass scored from close range from a Charles corner. 1-1 at the break. Onto the 2nd half and we were the better team and quickly took the lead when JLowe scored from close range after Oxford failed to clear a cross. We then made it 1-3 when Bannan and Smith combined and the latter set up Gassama who finished brilliantly. We created further chances but there goalie made several saves to keep the score down.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB    

THE MATCH



So our final home fixture of the year and our visitors are Stoke. Stoke have been languishing in the lower half of the table for most of the season and they haven't won for 7 games, so if they have enough quality to avoid the relegation dog fight only time will tell. They are managed by Narcis Pelach (Spanish), who took over in September after being a coach at Huddesfield then at Norwich. There leading scorer is Tom Cannon who has 8 goals and 1 assist.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB    

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 39
STOKE 35
DRAWS 25

CURRENT FORM

OWLS W L D W W D                                                            

STOKE D D L L L D                        

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

SAM ALLISON
Andrew Fox and Hugh Gilroy
Fourth Official: Josh Smith

THE TEAM

Beadle
Palmer Bernard Iorfa Johnson
Bannan Charles
Ugbo Ingelsson Lowe
Smith

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

2-1 Smith

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

ATTENDANCE

27852

BML LEAGUE

Maddix 11
SCO 10
Imre 10
Washington 9
Wereham 7

BMPL

Stateside 11
Southey 10
Owlkev 9
Pei 4

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Aston Villa v Manchester City
Sunderland v Norwich
Lincoln City v Reading
Notts Co v Bradford
Barnet v Halifax

HHDHH

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

Hibs meet Aberdeen again, this time at Pittodrie. Given past results there should be plenty of goals to come, so let's hope Hibs start off the game a lot better than they did against Ross County. The Staggies didn't punish us as they might have done, but I'm sure Aberdeen will be much more clinical.

If we can get firing on all cylinders, we could sneak a win up there, but to be honest even a point would be an improvement.

Group A.

Minizin 20
Zinman 16
A.A.A. 16
Amelia 12
Themaclad 11
Twerton 11

Second best scoring week of the season so far for Group A with 86 points in total. Two players recorded their highest weekly scores and the Boro v Millwall game produced the most points for a game so far this season!! Minizin leads the way this week with a seasons high 120 points for him. He was one of two players to get a max on the Gamball, backed that up with a CS and a CR on the Bonus. Zinman and AAA were joint second with 16 points, AAA was the other one to get a CS on the Gamball, with Zinman getting a CR. Zinman did have the luxury of 2 Bonus balls after last week postponed game and he did manage a max on one of them but missed on the other to keep his score down a bit.

Amelia is 4th this week with 12 points, she missed on the Gamball but got a max on the Bonus. Our top 2 going into this week ended up as the bottom 2 in this weeks scoring, both with 11 points. Themaclad got a CR on the Gamball and the Bonus but not much else, Twerton missed on the Gamball and the Bonus but did manage 2 CSs on other games.

155 Themaclad
137 Minzin
129 Twerton
128 Zinman
112 Amelia
108 A.A.A.

Themaclad stays top but his lead has shrunk by 1/3rd as Minizin moved above Twerton into second place. Zinman is just a point behind Twerton in 4th. Amelia and AAA are still adrift a bit but at least AAA reached the century mark!! Themaclad has been leading for ages but has struggled recently, lets see if the pack can chase him down!!

Group B

Stairs 26
Snooty 21
SCO 18
BBB 13
Lady Jane 11
BaggieOne 7
Derby 7

A record week for Group B in a few ways:
The first week to see a total of over 100 points.
The highest individual score.
The first time more than 1 player has scored in the twenties.
The highest total score on the balls.

A great week for Stairs with a score of 26 points with 4 correct scores including the gamball. While most of us were laughing at Ipswich's last minute winner, Stairs was unhappy as it prevented him from hitting 30 points. Snooty's 21 points was only good enough for 2nd place - just 4 correct predictions for him but 3 of them were spot-on including both the gamball and bonus. SCO took 3rd with a solid 18 points from 5 correct results but was held back by turning just 1 of them into a maximum (though at least it was the gamball!)

BBB was one of only 2 players not to get a correct score and was the only one to miss out on the scoreball, but 5 correct predictions including both major balls saw him comfortably in double figures. Lady Jane recovered a bit of form to gain 11 points - she was not helped by the other hilarious last minute goal by Forest (Derby was another player to miss out on 4 points from that game).

Not such a good week for BaggieOne and Derby who prop up this week's table. B1 was the only player to miss out on both major balls while Derby only got 3 correct predictions and no correct results.

[b]162 Lady Jane
137 Derby
137 Stairs
126 Snooty
125 SCO
109 BBB
94 BaggieOne[b]

Despite some moderate form over recent weeks, Lady Jane maintains a healthy 25 point lead at top, up from 21 last week. This increase is due to Derby's relatively poor week which sees him caught in 2nd place by Stairs. Snooty and SCO swap places and BaggieOne remains at the foot of the table and the only player yet to reach 3 figures.

Gamball:
West Ham - Brighton

Others:
Villa - Man City
Brentford - Forest
Portsmouth - Coventry
Sheff W - Stoke
Burnley - Watford
Millwall - Blackburn
QPR - Preston
Leicester - Wolves
Spurs - Liverpool

This will be the last set of fixtures for 2024. I'll post the next set for the weekend of Jan 4th/5th next week if I get the chance.

As Christmas is coming and there are Friday matches I thought I'd help Matt out with the fixtures to predict. Hope this is helpful.

Fri 20 Dec 2024 19:45 ko

Crewe Alexandra v Colchester United
Gillingham v Cheltenham Town

Sat 21 Dec 2024

Barrow v Fleetwood Town (ko 12.30)
Doncaster Rovers v Tranmere Rovers (ko 12.30)

Sat 21 Dec 2024 15:00 ko

Accrington Stanley v Salford City
Chesterfield v AFC Wimbledon
Harrogate Town v Walsall
Morecambe v Bromley
Newport County v MK Dons
Notts County v Bradford City
Port Vale v Carlisle United
Swindon Town v Grimsby Town

Former Blackburn Rovers and Dundee manager Gary Bowyer has been appointed head coach of League One strugglers Burton Albion.

The 53-year-old has been out of management since guiding Dundee to promotion to the Scottish Premiership in 2023.

His exit came as a shock, having been named Championship manager of the season after his side sealed the second-tier title just days earlier.

The former Salford and Bradford manager now returns to the third tier of English football - a division he previously worked in as Blackpool boss after guiding them to promotion from League Two in 2017.

Bowyer takes the helm of a Brewers side that are just one place and one point off rock bottom after 19 games.

Why Burton's rebuild is more than just flatpack football
Published
9 October
Hounsell damning of much-changed Burton after cup exit
He is the second permanent managerial appointment made by the Nordic Football Group since they bought the club from long-time owner Ben Robinson six months ago.

Mark Robinson was the handpicked choice to oversee the football revolution at Pirelli Stadium, leaving his post as development squad manager at Chelsea to take the helm of a Burton side that has spent recent years fighting to avoid relegation from League One.

He lasted just 14 games - becoming the club's shortest-serving boss when sacked on 23 October.

Tom Hounsell, who left Fulham's academy in the summer to move to Burton as Robinson's assistant, has spent almost as long in caretaker charge of the side - overseeing 12 games in the past eight weeks.

While Bowyer brings vast experience with him to the Burton job, he also has a grounding in youth development - having worked with youth and under-23 sides at Derby County - that fits with the way the Scandinavian owners have reimagined the club.

An almost entirely new squad was built after their summer arrival, with 23 players signed and 24 moved off their books from the end of last season.

The focus of their recruitment was youth and potential.

Gary Bowyer is a shrewd appointment by Burton Albion. Not only is he someone that has brought success in terms of two promotions, he's shown his ability to blend a club and a dressing room together with his personable approach and one thing's for sure - those players will know exactly what they're fighting for under his leadership in a relegation battle.

His experience isn't just at first-team level which will benefit this young group at Burton. He's known down the A38 at Derby County for being a key component in their academy system over two spells with the Rams bringing through players like Tom Huddlestone in his first spell, and in his second spell working with the likes of Eiran Cashin.

His step back into men's football since then has been a fruitful one, stabilising a precarious situation at Salford City and taking them close to the play-offs twice before being dismissed, then winning the Scottish Championship in style with Dundee back in 2023.

Experience, knowhow and a track record is what Burton Albion need and Bowyer is a man that ticks all three of those boxes.

Former Glentoran manager Warren Feeney has been announced as the new boss of National League side Weymouth.

Weymouth are bottom of the National League South with just two wins and six draws from 20 matches.

Feeney, who won 46 caps for Northern Ireland as a player, previously managed in the National League with Welling United in 2022.

He then moved to Irish Premiership side Glentoran the following year but left his role after nine months in March.

The 43-year-old has also managed Linfield and Ards in his native Northern Ireland as well as Newport County and Bulgarian side Pirin Blagoevgrad.

Weymouth chairman Paul Maitland said the club's board were "overwhelmingly in favour" of appointing Feeney, who was selected from six interviewed candidates.

"We are excited to have him join us," he added.

"Our primary mission is to remain in the National League South, and the board will support Warren in every possible way to achieve this goal.

"Looking beyond survival, our medium-term objective is for Weymouth Football Club to once again compete for league titles and push for promotion."

Bristol Rovers have sacked boss Matt Taylor after their defeat by Birmingham left the club two points above the League One relegation zone.

Taylor, 42, was appointed on 1 December last year on a three-and-a-half year deal and oversaw 10 wins as the club went on to finish 15th last season.

However, Rovers have won only six out of 19 league games this season and the 2-0 defeat by Blues was their third straight loss, leaving them 20th in the table.

Taylor's assistant Wayne Carlisle has also been relieved of his duties, with coaches David Horseman and Lee Cattermole taking interim charge.

The club said they would undertake "a thorough recruitment process for a new first-team manager".


03:15
Media caption,
BBC Radio Bristol's sports editor Richard Hoskin chats through it with Joe Sims as they discuss who could be next in line at the Mem.

"The club would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Matt and Wayne for all their hard work during their time with Bristol Rovers, and we wish them both every success in their respective future careers," a Bristol Rovers statement read., external

Rovers won only twice in 10 games in all competitions during August and September to put Taylor under pressure, and he said he had an "honest conversation" with the players regarding the stability of his position, before brief a turnaround in form.

They squeezed past Barnsley in the FA Cup on penalties at the end of November, but lost 2-0 at home to Blackpool and 3-0 away at Leyton Orient either side of it before Saturday's game at Birmingham.

Rovers have won only one league game in their past seven and their goal difference of -11 is the worst in the league, aside from the four sides in the relegation zone.

Matt Taylor watches on from the sidelines during his time as Bristol City boss
Image source,Getty Images
Image caption,
Matt Taylor is the seventh League One boss to leave their club this season

Asked after the defeat by Birmingham whether he was worried about his job future, Taylor said "yes, but I can't control that".

Taylor previously spent 13 months as manager of Rotherham United and led Exeter City to promotion to the third tier in 2021-22.

He was appointed at the Memorial Ground following the departure of former boss Joey Barton and a few months after Kuwaiti businessman Hussain AlSaeed purchased a majority stake in the club.

In November it was announced that AlSaeed is to acquire the remaining 45% ownership of the club from Wael and Samer al Qadi over the next 18 months.

Days before Taylor's departure, former Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Wigan midfielder Cattermole was brought onto Rovers' coaching staff.

Taylor said it had been a "club appointment" and that the duo had not met prior to his first day.

In the end it was a question of when, and not if, Rovers would part company with Matt Taylor.

A manager who's been a pleasure to deal with since his appointment last year has struggled to win over the fan base.

Rovers made 16 summer signings – but many have failed to find form or fitness.

A lack of goals – Jamie Lindsay and Scott Sinclair are top goalscorers with just three goals each – has seen Rovers drop dangerously close to the relegation zone.

It is fair to assume the "club appointment" of Lee Cattermole last week undermined the manager.

Now there's a lot of work to do on and off the pitch as Rovers head into the New Year.

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