Carlisle United have appointed Wales legend Mark Hughes as their new head coach.

Hughes has signed a rolling contract to replace Mike Williamson who was sacked on Monday with the club bottom of League Two.

The 61-year-old, who will have Glyn Hodges alongside him as assistant coach, has been out of work since being sacked by Bradford City in October 2023.

Hughes has managed six clubs in the Premier League as well as the Wales national team after a glittering playing career.

He spent 18 months at Bradford and in his only full season in charge the Bantams finished sixth before they were beaten in the League Two play-offs by Carlisle.

That was his only managerial job outside the top-flight, having previously been in charge of a total of 466 Premier League games at Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR, Stoke City and Southampton.

Before that, he had managed Wales for five years, leading them to a play-off for Euro 2004, but he was not able to guide them to a major tournament.

Hughes won 11 major honours during a playing career as a centre forward with Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Southampton, Everton and Blackburn Rovers. He also won 72 caps for Wales.

'Mark will instantly command respect'
But his new job is to try to drag Carlisle away from relegation to the National League.

They are 24th in League Two, five points from safety, and he is their third boss of the season after the departures of Williamson and Paul Simpson, who left in August.

The Cumbrians have won only twice at Brunton Park all season, and brought Williamson's reign to an end after a humiliating 5-1 defeat at home by Swindon Town on Saturday.

Williamson's exit came despite bringing in 11 new players in the transfer window, backed by the club's American owners, the Piatak family.

But sporting director Rob Clarkson has acted quickly to bring Hughes in for the final 18 games of the season, starting at Grimsby Town on Saturday.

"Mark's experience and stature in the game speaks for itself," Clarkson told the club's website, external.

"He is someone who will instantly command respect from all staff and players and I am really excited to work with him.

"The players we have here will suit the way he wants to play and I'm sure our fans will really get behind him and the team in our remaining 18 games."

THE MATCH

SATURDAY 8TH JANUARY KO 12:30PM

v

LAST MATCH



We dropped 2 points after missing a number of chances in the 2nd half. We weren't at the races in the first half, only having 1 shot, and although Luton didn't create a host of chances, they did take one of them, a 25 yarder, belted in by Doughty. Onto the 2nd half and a couple of subs came on, Smith and Armstrong, and we looked much better and were on the front foot and creating chances. We were rewarded when Gassama went on a long run and was brought down for a pen, which Smith put away. We continued to have chances but couldn't find that elusive 2nd goal and had to settle for a draw despite having 17 attempts in the 2nd half.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB    

THE MATCH



Next up and a trip to the Midlands to take on the Baggies. The Baggies are having a decent season and are currently in the final play off spot. The Automatics look gone at the moment but if they can keep up there form they should have a pretty good chance at making the playoffs. They are managed by Tony Mowbray, who has returned to the club after previously being in charge 16 years ago, after recovering from bowel cancer which forced him to leave his last job at Birmingham. There leading scorer is Maja with 12 goals and 2 assists.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB    

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 55
WBA 39
DRAW 28

CURRENT FORM

OWLS  D W D L L D                                                                      

WBA    L W L D D W                  

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

TOM NIELD
Johnathan Hunt and Bhupinder Singh Gil
Fourth Official: Sam Purkiss

THE TEAM

Beadle
Palmer Bernard Iorfa Johnson
Bannan Ingelsson
Musaba Windass Gasama
Smith

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

2-1 Gassama

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

ATTENDANCE

N/A

BML LEAGUE

SCO 21
Imre 20
Washington 19
Maddix 18
Wereham 11

BMPL

Stateside 15
Owlkev 13
Southey 12
Pei 8

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Norwich v Derby
Bristol C v Swansea
Huddersfield v Reading
Colchester v Walsall
Solihull v Oldham

HHHAA

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

Group A

Minizin 15
A.A.A. 9
Zinman 7
Twerton 1
Amelia 1
Themaclad -2

Another poor week in Group A with the top 3 scoring a half decent 31 points and the bottom 3 scoring zero!!! Only one player scored positive points on the Gamball and only one on the Bonus and that was the same player, so the continued struggles on the balls is keeping the scores down.

Big week for Minizin at the top of the table with 15 points, he scored a CRT on both the Gamball and Bonus and then proceeded to add two CSs to boost his score. AAA had a better week than he has been having, he wisely did not play the Gamball so saved a pointy as he got it wrong anyway. Zinman rounds out the top 3 with 7 points, he mossed on both main balls but did manage a weeks high score on 5 other games including one CS.

Twerton and Amelia scored a single point each, which in both cases ended up being the scoreball in the Arsenal rout of Man City. Themaclad posted his worst score of the season with -2 points, he missed on all his balls and managed just one CR, a really poor week from him!!

222 Themaclad
215 Minzin
195 Zinman
188 Twerton
171 A.A.A.
152 Amelia

So while there were no positional changes this week we did see some significant closing of gaps. With Minizin adding 15 points this week to his 15 points last week, compared to Themaclad total of only 10 over the same period, the gap between them at the top has shrunk to just 7 points!!! Closest it’s been since the early weeks!! Zinman also closed the gap on Themaclad and increased his lead over Twerton in 4th. AAA is not firmly in 5th and Amelia is rooted to the bottom.


Group B

Lady Jane 9
BBB 8
SCO 5
Stairs 4
Snooty 1
BaggieOne 0
Derby -1

Another spectacularly bad week for Group B. Nobody in double figures, a full set of misses on the bonus ball and just 2 players securing a correct score.

After a few poor weeks, it's a familar name at the top of this week's table. Lady Jane only scored on 2 matches but she did get those 2 spot on and one was the gamball. BBB was by some distance the best predictor of the week with 4 correct results and matching Lady Jane's 2 correct scores, but yet again he was let down by his balls, failing on all 3, something of a regular occurence for him this season!

SCO and Stairs both scored on the gamball to at least give them some points as not much else went well for them. Snooty was saved from a big fat zero by being one of 3 players to score on the scoreball but only got 2 correct predictions. BaggieOne matched Snooty but missed out on the scoreball leaving Derby adrift at the bottom with minus 1 point. Derby got just 1 result correct but at least got the scoreball right!

211 Lady Jane
182 SCO
180 Derby
178 Stairs
162 Snooty
152 BBB
126 BaggieOne

At last we see some movement at the top of the table! SCO's magnificent 5 points sees him overhaul Derby and climb into 2nd place (the move may be more to do with Derby's performance rather than SCO!). With just 4 points separating 3 players, the battle for the 2nd play-off spot is getting interesting!

Just a brief stat on the balls for Group B - Lady Jane has now scored 61 points from these over the season while BaggieOne has minus 8. BBB is in danger of joining him in the list of negative ballers as his total currently stands at just one single point. The bonus ball has contributed minus 42 points to the total score so far - I guess the games I choose aren't very predictable!

Group A fares a bit better with a total of 205 points from the balls but like Group B they are only on -6 on the Bonus Ball!! Themaclad leads the way with 64 points from his balls with Minzin just behind with 61. Zinman is on -21 on the Bonus ball alone but thankfully for him he is second on the Gamball and top on the Scoreball!!

Lennie Lawrence is stepping back from his role as Hartlepool United manager with Anthony Limbrick becoming head coach.

Lawrence, 77, became caretaker boss in October after Darren Sarll left the club, before getting the job to the end of the season in November.

But he is now handing over to Limbrick, who had been assistant to Lawrence, with immediate effect with Hartlepool 12th in the National League.

"I recommended to the board and the owner that me and Anthony should flip it, with me stepping back to number two and that Anthony should step forward as head coach," Lawrence told the club's website.

"That was decided last week on my recommendation."

Lawrence was in charge of Hartlepool for 17 matches and only lost three on those, but real progress in the league was hampered by drawing eight of those games.

The Pools job was Lawrence's first permanent managerial role since he had left Cardiff City in 2005, while he was also one of the first Premier League managers with Middlesbrough in 1992.

"I'll be there to support and fit in wherever I'm required and I'll give Anthony whatever support he needs to make a success of it," Lawrence added.

"I felt it was the best time to do it. Hopefully the transition will be smooth."

Tuesday 4th

Newport 2-0 Morecambe
Salford 1-0 Bromley

Thursday 6th
Chesterfield 2 -1 Doncaster

Wycombe Wanderers have appointed Mike Dodds as their new head coach on a contract until the summer of 2028.

He replaces Matt Bloomfield who left Adams Park last month after two years in charge to become manager of Championship club Luton Town.

Dodds was assistant head coach at Sunderland, where he also had three spells as interim boss, winning four of his 18 games in charge.

"His track record in improving individual players [and] developing young talent was a key factor in our decision, as we believe this will be crucial to our long-term success," said a Wycombe statement.

"In addition, Mike shares our vision of building the club through innovation and data, ensuring that we continue to evolve and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape.

"He also strongly aligns with our commitment to the academy being an integral part of our future strategy, and we are confident that his leadership will help us further strengthen our pathway from youth to first-team football."

The Chairboys are second in League One following Saturday's 1-1 draw with Cambridge United, four points behind Birmingham City but five clear of Wrexham in third.

Dodds, 38, will take up his new role on Thursday.

Until then, the interim management team headed by Sam Grace, who have helped Wycombe take eight points from four games since Bloomfield's departure, will remain in charge.

The club have already signed defenders Sonny Bradley and Anders Hagelskjaer, midfielders Alex Lowry and Magnus Westergaard and winger James Berry during the transfer window, and brought back Caleb Taylor from West Bromwich Albion for a second loan spell.

But they will be anxious to hang on to top scorer Richard Kone, who has 19 goals this season, throughout Monday's deadline day.

On his departure from Sunderland, Dodds said: "I depart with a deep respect for their leadership and vision for the club's future.

"I've had the honour of working alongside some incredible people, including Alex Neil and Tony Mowbray, who were both fantastic mentors.

"The club is in a strong place and I have no doubts that Regis (Le Bris) will lead it to even greater successes alongside an incredible group of players, whose unwavering professionalism and desire to improve meant every day was a privilege.

"Finally, I must express my gratitude to the club's fans for their passion and support, which is truly unmatched. It's never easy to say goodbye, but I leave Sunderland with a full heart and great anticipation for what lies ahead."

His first game as Wycombe boss with be an FA Cup fourth round tie at Championship club Preston North End on Saturday.

They will return to league action with a trip to Crawley Town on 15 February.

2 points for correct result
4 points for correct score
2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score   (correct score on a joker would give you 8 points)
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Badger gives you 2 points

The prize for winning the league is one rep point.

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. However, if you do predict a draw and it's a match that won't be going to a replay, you can get a possible extra point by stating which of the two teams you think will eventually win.

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.  


At the end of the season, the winner of group 2 and the bottom of group 1 will swap places in what is commonly known as "promotion" and "relegation". It's something that most football fans will be familiar with, unless you're a fan of Liverpool or Arsenal or one of those other fashionable clubs.

The second placed player in group 2 will then have a play off with the player who finishes second from the bottom in group 1 to decide whether they will be going up, down or staying where they are.

We're going to have two seasons in one though, just to try and make it a bit more interesting and not so long drawn out. The first season will end on the Boxing Day fixtures, with the play offs being on the dates of the Twixtmas fixtures and the NYD fixtures.

The second season will start the following week, which is usually the FA Cup 3rd round, finishing on the last game of the League One season. Then another period of relegation/promotion play off games, taking in such fixtures as the EFL play offs, FA Cup Final, UEFA finals and such like.

Each group will have it's own set of fixtures. Both groups will have the Town games, with scorers to predict as before. Then it will be a split of League One fixtures and bonus matches, hopefully around ten, eleven or twelve games per Matchday.

The random badger is restricted to three goal scorers in any of the fixtures in your group.

Here's how that will appear at the end of the fixture list. All you have to do is fill in the blanks.......


*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

Any of those will score two points if correct. No minus points for getting it wrong.

Postponed matches will only count if the match is re-played before the next Matchday is under way. Abandoned matches will be awarded half the points for the score at the time of abandonment, so 1 point if you have the correct result, 2 points if you have the correct score.

Substitute or scorer in one of the Town games:- These will be only be allowed if you change them before the match involved has kicked off.

Prediction League Archive: https://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=12830



Division One table after Matchday 4:

1. neonfoxinthebox = 54 pts
   
2. jjamez = 53 pts
   
3. Baggiebob(BBB) = 50 pts
   
4. Lord Snooty = 46 pts
   
5. St Charles Owl = 38 pts
   
6. themaclad = 31 pts
   

Friday 7th February:
Mansfield Town v Northampton Town

Saturday 8th February:
Town v Reading
Town scorers:
Reading scorers:

Stockport County v Barnsley (12:30)
Burton Albion v Blackpool
Lincoln City v Cambridge United
Rotherham United v Shrewsbury Town

Tuesday 11th February:
Charlton Athletic v Peterborough United
Crawley Town v Stevenage

Bonus matches:
FA Cup 4th round:
Friday:
Manchester United v Leicester City (20:00)

Saturday:
Coventry City v Ipswich Town
Everton v AFC Bournemouth
Preston North End v Wycombe Wanderers
Birmingham City v Newcastle United (17:45)
Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea (20:00)

Championship:
West Bromwich Albion v Sheffield Wednesday (12:30)


*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

1. ritchiebaby = 79 pts
   
2. theo_luddite = 64 pts
   
3. SHEP_HTAFC = 61 pts
   
4. Devongone = 60 pts
   
5. Amelia Chaffinch = 46 pts
   
6. WakeyTerrier = 34 pts
   

Saturday 8th February:
Town v Reading
Town scorers:
Reading scorers:

Charlton Athletic v Stevenage (12:30)
Bolton Wanderers v Crawley Town

Tuesday 11th February:
Birmingham City v Cambridge United
Blackpool v Rotherham United
Bristol Rovers v Stockport County
Leyton Orient v Mansfield Town
Reading v Shrewsbury Town

Bonus matches:
Thursday:
EFL Cup semi final 2nd leg:
Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur (Agg 0-1) (20:00)

Friday:
Scottish Cup 5th round:
Ayr United v Hibernian

Saturday:
FA Cup 4th round:
Leeds United v Millwall (12:15)
Wigan Athletic v Fulham

Sunday:
Blackburn Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers (12:30)

Monday:
Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace

Tuesday:
Exeter City v Nottingham Forest (20:00)


*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***

Gamball:
Everton - Bournemouth

Others:
Coventry - Ipswich
Preston - Wycombe
Southampton - Burnley
Birmingham - Newcastle
Brighton - Chelsea
Sunderland - Watford
WBA - Sheff Wed
Blackburn - Wolves
Villa - Spurs