Announced today that Wigan Athletic have gone into administration.

That might throw a lifeline to our friends at Huddersfield as Wigan could be deducted 12 points and hence drop into the relegation zone.

Who'se next???

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 * Changed from -2
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  * Changed from +4
Correct Score = + 4 points
Correct Score (Bonus Ball) = +6  
Correct Score (Gamball) = +10   * Changed from +8

As you can see the incorrect scoring has not really changed apart from a wrong Bonus this will be now scored at -3 instead of -2 the reason for this are the gains on the new Gamball scoring you will make (see below) in the hope this encourages you to use it most if not all of the time.

So to the Gamball, the use of the Gamball was tactically not used in some cases last season as the gains we not considered to great compared to the losses, it's for this reason we have decided to change the scoring, The loss will stay the same at -3 but the reward will be a correct result will go up by one from 4 to 5 points and the correct score will go up by 2 from 8 to 10 points !!!
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 2018/19 PARTICIPANTS,

Premiership
                             
1/ Zinman
2/ ST Charles Owl
3/ Derby                            
4/ Bomber
5/ Sanjay
6/ Beefy                                                      
7/ AAA
8/ BBB 
9/ MattWBA
10/ MacLad                  
                           
Championship

1/ Joker
2/ Stairs
3/ MightyBrom
4/ Baggieone
5/ 4eva
6/ Amelia                          
7/ Twerton
8/ Snoots
9/ Lady Jane

                        
                             
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  

Saturday 4th July

1/ Norwich V Brighton 12:30
2/ Wolves V Arsenal
3/** Derby V Notts Forest
4/ Blackburn V Leeds
5/ Fulham V Birmingham
6/ Huddersfield v PNE
7/ Stoke V Barnsley

Sunday 5th July

8/ Liverpool V Aston Villa
9/ Swansea V Sheff Wed
10/ WBA V Hull

Matchday number 3 of this COVID mini season sees us travel to st andrews to face up against Birmingham city. Now to say that our restart has been poor would be an understatement and if I am being honest the performances from the players and just the general perceived lack of spark for want of a better word, at the club, just makes me feel really apathetic towards everything. So much so that whilst it would hurt being relegated, I wouldnt be bothered either, purely because the club deserves it, the only ones who dont are us the fans, but everyone from the hierarchy to the playing staff, they would deserve it if we went down, and i would suggest that if they had a pair of balls between them, theyd give money back to the club. I wonder if Amazon would like to do a documentary on us to rival chunderland?



Anyway, I'm not going to rant on about what i think of the clubs situation. instead we have a chance of hopefully using the last too games as ammunition, and trying to pick up 3 crucial points that could be key to keeping us in this division.

We travel to Brum for what is a 6pm kick off, a game that can be watched via ifollow, should it decide to work after the wigan debacle, to face a birmingham side that are currently being managed by our friend garry monks old assistant pep clotet, although he wont be there much longer as he has already announced that he will be returning to spain once this season is over to be back close to his family.

Birmingham come into the game on wednesday on the back of a 3-3 draw at home to our fellow strugglers Hull City. Hull were 2-0 up at one stage, but brum managed to fight back to 2-2 before scoring another equaliser late on in the game to make it 3-3. Their other game was against West Brom, which saw the two sides play out a 0-0 draw. Obviously town on the other hand, have been truly woeful, but if Hull can score 3 then maybe we can too, especially if we are able to put out a stronger front line.



So what has cowley had to say?

"We've had two good days. It's been a good opportunity for us to re-group. The boys are in good spirits ahead of a very important game against Birmingham City. I have trust in the players. What we have to show is a resilience."

"For us it's about being calm. We know that isn't everyone's emotions, but as a leader of this group we have to be calm and composed. We keep communicating to the players clearly and trying to instil the confidence and belief we have in them."

"Both Fraizer Campbell and Steve Mounie have been on the grass. We are hopeful to have them both available; that'll be a boost."

"It's a huge frustration for us. I don't understand why other clubs are allowed players back, who have been on loan, and we can't have ours. I understand how difficult it is for the EFL because these are new times, but they should make a rule for everyone."

"We went to watch Birmingham on Saturday after training. It was a good game. We learnt a lot from it. Birmingham are a good team and their forwards are a real handful. They ask a lot of questions of you physically. We need to be ready for that challenge."

"We are pretty clear on the injury front and delighted to bring the two number nines in the group. We need to have a balance of fitness and freshness."

"We are forever appreciative of the htafc supporters and how they've supported us since the first day. We are working really hard with the group to give them happier days. There's deep care in this squad now and we are working hard to find the right answers."

"We have seven games left and 21 points to play for. Ultimately it's about us. We have to get a consistent performance in both parts of the game. We have to stay laser focused and concentrate on what we can control. It's about affecting what we can affect and we are determined to do that. We've been knocked down a couple of times. We have to get up and fight back."

Team news for town, well the brain dead, braided head, dutch kid is missing for three games after his mindless antics on sunday, but Steve Mounie has been training and will be fit to be in and around the squad one would hope, whilst fraizer campbell could be given a starting berth to allow Karlan Grant to move out to his more successful left wing role. Elsewhere, it will be a straight shootout between ESR and Pritchard for the number 10 role, although personally i would be tempted to try and fit them both in and rotate which one plays out on the right throughout the game. We need to be trying to create as many chances as possible and im afraid willock just doesnt seem to be all that.

For me personally after the last two games i would be tempted to make a few changes to the line up and the style itself.

I would keep Jonas Lossl in goal, i feel he is the best option at the club.

Whilst I would start Chalobah at right back as i think he may have a bit more about him on the ball, plus he offers a little more height in both boxes considering the fact that Birmingham have a few tall players. Stearman for me to continue at centre half, yes he got caught out on their 2nd on sunday, but we are needing the experience back there too, and to be honest he seemed our most potent threat in the forest box on sunday. Alongside him, Im tempted to say stankovic, as I just get the impression that something is wrong with schindler physically as he keeps getting caught out, much like hudson did near the end, although im hoping it is an unjury that he has, which he is playing through, rather than something more, my dad pointed out that he looked to be running with a limp during the game on sunday. At left back it would have to be toffolo again, although he has been off the pace for the last two games, hes still one of our better players going forward.

In the centre of the park, i would be picking hogg and O'brien. With the main emphasis on hogg doing the same role as he did in the promotion season- splitting the two cbs when we are attacking to allow the full backs to go forward, last two games the two cbs have looked isolated and have been easily got at. O'brien will do O'brien stuff and get up and down at fly into a few challenges, before being replaced for the more pedestrian king sometime in the second half.

As i've mentioned, out on the right and in the number 10 slot i would be rotating pritchard and smith-rowe, we need the creativity, and with that we cant afford to be starting one and subbing him off, we need both on the pitch at the same time, plus if the two can link together well then it would make us a far better proposition in the final third. On the left would be karlan grant with mounie or campbell leading the line should mounie not be fit.

On the bench, i would have coleman, stank/schindler, dd, king, quaner, kache, willock, mounie/campbell, daly



As for our hosts, they put the following side out, and notably only made 2 subs during the whole game, so either expect wholesale changes or a rather tired side. Im hoping they are tired and we can make the most of it. They have a few injuries still in and amongst the squad, with josh mcechran out with a knee injury whilst former barnsley defender marc roberts and ivan sunjic both missed the hull game with minor thigh injuries, whether they will be back tomorrow remains to be seen.

1 Camp
5 Colin
12 DeanBooked at 76 mins
14 Clarke-Salter Booked at 66 mins Substituted for Gordon at 87'minutes
3 Pedersen
7 Crowley
6 Kieftenbeld Substituted for Belaat 45'minutes
20 Gardner Booked at 45 mins
22 Bellingham
10 Jutkiewicz
40 Hogan
Substitutes
2 Harding
11 Bela
27 Trueman
44 Boyd-Munce
45 Burke
47 Stirk
48 Concannon
49 Reid
50 Gordon



its not been a season to write home about for blues fans, but sitting in 16th on 49 points, probably makes them fairly secure of their place in the division for next season. with only 13th placed sheffield wednesday having anything to worry about, with the efl apparently deciding if there should be any punishment for the owls sometime this week, with a points deduction ranging from 8-21, with the norm being 12. Our hosts tomorrow also were under investigation by the efl for similar reasons, but escaped with just a reprimand. The third championship club to be under investigation is derby, who have yet to find out if they will be under any punishment, although they are chasing a playoff place, so it may get brought forward pretty sharpish.

So who has been doing the business for the blues this season? Well our old friend Lukas Jutkiewicz leads their scoring charts with 13 goals this campaign, whilst aston villa loanee scott hogan is in second with 7. in terms of creating goals for the side, danny crowley has 5 assists, maxime collin has 6 and jeremie bela 7.



In terms of players to look out for, outside of the assists and scoring charts, then the obvious candidate would be young jude bellingham who is being courted by some of the biggest clubs in england and Europe, with man united said to be keen, but at the moment it is believed that borussia dortmund are leading the way for the teens signature. Whilst former brentford centre half harlee dean is an solid centre half at this level and gary gardener has been a consistent performer around the top two divisions for most of his career.


played for both, so other than the previously mentioned lukas, who else has donned the blue of both clubs?

1) goalkeeper who was sent off on his town debut, think that is a give away. left town to join birmingham after three years in yorkshire. won promotion whilst at brum.

2) another goalkeeper who played in the prem with birmingham and spent over a decade there before moving onto the likes of sheffield united, leeds united and coventry united city, before eventually winding his career down at the john smiths.

3) A current town player who has played very few games for the terriers, spent the second half of the season out on loan in league 1, but has reportedly said he wants to try and earn a place in the side before moving one elsewhere. began his career at birmingham, where he was eventually released for rumoured attitude problems.

4) one of the best players to play for town, unfortunately i never got to watch him, but some on here may remember his long hair and his occasional drink

5) corner flags beware

6) carpets beware

7) canadian wannabe footballer. played at town on loan

And thats your lot, hopefully three points can reinvigorate us fans and get us feeling more positive

Sol pictured playing for both sides in the North London derby at the same time

Former England defender Sol Campbell has left his role as manager of Southend United by mutual consent.

The 45-year-old took charge of the Shrimpers last October, but won only four of his 23 games in charge.

Southend were relegated after the League One season was ended in June, three months after matches were halted by the coronavirus pandemic.

"Whilst it was a difficult time fighting relegation, I still enjoyed the experience," Campbell said.

Southend were in 22nd place and 17 points from safety when the season was ended and the final positions were decided on a points-per-game basis.

Premier League, EFL and PFA announce scheme to help BAME coaches
Former Macclesfield manager Campbell had been appointed on a deal until the end of the 2021-22 season.

Southend were 22nd having managed just one win from 14 games when the former Tottenham and Arsenal defender replaced previous boss Kevin Bond. They won just three further league games during Campbell's time in charge.

His assistants Hermann Hreidarsson, Andy Cole and Tony Colbert have also left the club.

"There are obviously frustrations with how the season ended abruptly, and with what points we feel we could have been amassed," he said.

"The club have an exciting future with the plans for the new stadium in place, but with the current global Covid-19 situation having a profound effect on businesses, I am keen not to be a financial burden to the club."

As well as relegation from League One, Southend have also experienced financial problems during Campbell's tenure.

They include facing a winding-up petition for unpaid tax bills currently adjourned until 22 July, misconduct charges for failing to pay players on time, and criticism from the Professional Footballers' Association for furloughing players at the start of the coronavirus lockdown.


Glenn Speller, BBC Essex sports editor

Campbell was not first choice to replace Bond and a failed courtship of Henrik Larsson meant it was 47 days before he was appointed. By then he was inheriting a squad with a firmly embedded losing mentality and a hangover from the previous season's last-day escape from relegation.

Constant financial issues and transfer embargos did not help, but becoming more organised the defeats kept coming and it was nearly three months before he registered his first three points.

An FA Cup first-round loss at Dover, after which a player was pictured in a club tracksuit on a night out with celebrating opponents, rubbed further salt into the wounds.

v



Last time out

PRESTON NORTH END 1 CARDIFF CITY 3



DERBY COUNTY 2 READING 1



LAST MEETING

DERBY COUNTY 1 PRESTON NORTH END 0



Another televised game to enjoy this time at the even more obscure timne of 5 pm on a Wednesday afternoon against the very inform Derby side who since our return to the Championship we have not beaten, this is attempt number 10.
Although only three points outside the play offs a defeat in this will basically mean impossible to get the final play off place given the fixtures we have  to come. Saturday's woeful effort does not suggest a surprise, need to be better in all Departments cannot remember when both centre backs had as bad a game as they did on Saturday, both full backs didn't cover themselves in lory and our forwards do not seem to know were the net is, which brings me to a stat I saw on Social media.
We have scored 52 goals this season, 5 by defenders, 44 by midfielders 3 from forwards a pitiful return. No doubt  one change will be Maguire for Stockley, given the Irishman has scored 1 in 30 games hardly breeds confidence in him.
Derby will be without Lawrence sent off on Saturday also Andre Wisdom who was stabbed and robbed in an attack, hopefully he will return as soon as possible finally the renouned Wayne Rooney will no doubt get thousands of name checks on Sky.
Tough one sadly think an away wins beckons.

Match Officials: Derby County Home

Australian referee Jarred Gillett will take charge of his second Preston North End game for Wednesday evening’s 5,000th Football League game involving the Lilywhites.

The Aussie joined the EFL lists last season, after taking up an educational position in Liverpool, but he has been a top class official in his home country’s A League for many years.

He took charge of his first Championship game at the end of last season and joined the Select Group Two list this season, when he has refereed 24 games, issuing 84 cautions and two red cards.

His first trip to Deepdale was over the Christmas period when he took charge of our last game of 2019, against Reading, the festive period was also the only time he refereed the Rams.



Their Boxing Day draw against Wigan Athletic was the only Derby game he has so far officiated, when former North Ender Joe Garner was on the scoresheet for the home side.

Jared will be assisted by Mark Dwyer and James Mainwaring, with Anthony Backhouse the fourth official.

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 3rd July:
Charlton Athletic v Millwall (20:15)

Saturday 4th July:
Town v Preston
Town scorers:
Preston scorers:

Derby County v Nottingham Forest (12:30)
Blackburn Rovers v Leeds United
Brentford v Wigan Athletic
Bristol City v Cardiff City
Fulham v Birmingham City
Luton Town v Reading
Stoke City v Barnsley

Sunday 5th July:
Swansea City v Sheffield Wednesday (12:00)
Middlesbrough v Queens Park Rangers (15:00)
West Bromwich Albion v Hull City (15:00)

Tuesday 7th July:
Reading v Town (18:00)
Town scorers:
Reading scorers:

Nottingham Forest v Fulham (17:00)
Brentford v Charlton Athletic (18:00)
Cardiff City v Blackburn Rovers
Luton Town v Barnsley

Wednesday 8th July:
Millwall v Middlesbrough (15:00)
West Bromwich Albion v Derby County (17:00)
Birmingham City v Swansea City (18:00)
Bristol City v Hull City (18:00)
Wigan Athletic v Queens Park Rangers (18:00)
Sheffield Wednesday v Preston North End

Thursday 9th July:
Leeds United v Stoke City (17:00)

Table after Matchday 35:
jjamez = 751 pts
neonfoxinthebox = 748 pts
Baggiebob(BBB) = 743 pts
themaclad = 728 pts
theo_luddite = 709 pts
St Charles Owl = 687 pts
ritchiebaby = 669 pts
SHEP_HTAFC = 654 pts
Lord Snooty = 653 pts
Amelia Chaffinch = 608 pts
Beefy 1965 = 590 pts

Player Pts CS CR GB BB SB
St Charles 22 1 7 5 3 0
B.B.B. 17 0 6 5 3 1
Themaclad 13 1 3 5 NP 0
Bomber 12 1 4 5 -3 0
Sanjay 12 0 4 5 3 0
Derby 12 0 6 5 -3 0
A.A.A. 3 1 1 NP -3 0
Zinman 3 0 3 NP -3 0
Beefy 2 0 4 -3 -3 0

A much better week for most after last weeks stuttering start post-pandemic layoff. In first place this week is relegation threatened St Charles with 22 points. He managed to score points on 8 of the 10 games including a CR on the Gamball and the Bonus. In second spot for the second week on the trot is BBB with 17 points, he scored on half the games and like SCO picked up points on the Gamball and Bonus, plus he was the only one to get the bonus point on the Scoreball. Third spot on 13 points goes to Themaclad, he could have scored more points had he not broken the rules by playing the Bonus on the Gamball game, thus making his Bonus null and void.

Three players shared 4th spot on 12 points - our league leader Bomber, Sanjay and Derby. Interesting how they all got there in completely different ways, Bomber got a CS to go with his Gamball CR but missed his bonus, Sanjay got a CR on both his scoring balls but didn't get any CS' and Derby managed 6 CR but no CS to keep his score down.

There is then a big gap to 7th spot where we find AAA ad Zinman with 3 points. Neither played the Gamball, both missed the bonus and had it not been for Sunday's games would have had a combined score of zero instead of 6. Small consolation for them but any dismay is tempered by seeing Beefy back to his usual form and position of last place!!! Beefy has just simply struggled with the step up to the PL this season and this week showed that perfectly, he got 4 CRs but missed on all his balls to wipe out most of those points to end with just 2 points for the week!!!

There are certainly going to be changes at the bottom of the table this week after these scores, Beefy may well just have relegated himself, SCO is now out of the relegation places and Zinman will be back in trouble by falling into the bottom 2. Derby will drop into the relegation PO spot. At the top no places will change hands but for the 2nd week in a row the two chasing Bomber have closed the gap a bit to keep their hopes of catching him alive and kicking!!

Cheers
SCO


   



BaggieOne 14pts 1CS 4CR 5GB 3BB 0SB
Lady Jane 13pts 1CS 5CR 5GB -3BB 1SB
Amelia 13pts 0CS 4CR 5GB 3BB 1SB
Snooty 12pts 0CS 4CR 5GB 3BB 0SB
Joker 10pts 1CS 4CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
Twerton 10pts 0CS 5CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
Stairs 6pts 0CS 3CR 5GB -3BB 0SB
MightyBrom No scores submitted

A better week but one that won't see much change in the overall table. For once the Gamball had no impact on scores as everyone got the correct result (I though Beefy was supposed to choose a match that was difficult to predict?) but the bonus and score balls proved more difficult for most.

BaggieOne heads this week's table with 14 points though he will need to do much better in the remaining weeks if he is to make a late challenge for promotion. Lady Jane lies second just a point further back, scoring on half the games and benefiting from an excellent Sunday, though she was let down by her bonus. Also on 13 points is Amelia, continuing to pull away in the second promotion slot. Since she discovered her balls she has shown us all how to play with them properly - another full set this week! Amelai and Lady Jane were the only players to gain the extra score ball point.

Snooty had a decent week just a point further back and was the third player to collect from his bonus. He is beginning to pull away from the foot of the table which, given his early season form, is something of an achievement. Joker and Twerton both hit double figures, Twerton now seems certain to claim the championship title while Joker continues to see Amelia open up the gap in the charge for second place and the coveted promotion place.

Stairs woeful form continued (though some of us wish we could have managed 6 points this week) and he will remain at the foot of the table needing a miracle to avoid this season's wooden spoon.

No show again from Mighty Brom.

Zin


   

THE MATCH

WEDNESDAY 1ST JULY 7:45PM KICK OFF

v

LAST MATCH



We got back to winning ways with a deserved win at Bristol. We kept an unchanged side from the Forest game and stuck to the same formation. Wildsmith made an early point blank reaction save and a few minutes later we took the lead as City left Wickham with a free header and duly put it away. The rest of the half was pretty quiet with Rhodes having a close range shot blocked. Onto the 2nd half and we started on the front foot and extended our lead as Luongo finished from 6 yards after a corner fell to him. Wickham should have made it three but put it wide. Then out of the blue City pulled one back after Wildsmith saved but Wells put the rebound in. City had one late chance but it went wide.

THE MATCH



Promotion hopefuls West Brom make the trip north trying to get back to winning ways. They have are now winless in 4 games either side of the lockdown and now only have a 5 point lead over Brentford in third. They have a good squad and good manager in Bilic but have gone off form at wrong time. They  have the likes of Robson-Kanu, Austin, Phillips & Pereira so are more than capable of finding there form again. They beat us 2-1 at the Hawthorns earlier in the season with a late penalty.

CURRENT FORM

OWLS               -                              

WBA                 -                                  

THE BASTARD IN THE BLACK

DAVID WEBB
Matthew McGrath and Nik Barnard
Fourth Official: Scott Oldham

THE TEAM

We won so leave it unchanged.

Wildsmith
Palmer Iorfa Borner
Murphy Lee Bannan Luongo Harris
Wickham Rhodes

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

1-1 Wickham

BML STANDINGS

SCO 20
Washington 18
Imre 17
Wereham 17
Pei 16
Owlkev 13
Stateside 10
Southey 8

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Arsenal v Norwich City
AFC Bournemouth v Newcastle United
Everton v Leicester City
West Ham United v Chelsea
Nottingham Forest v Bristol City

HAAAA

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC





One for Washington



The thread awaits the Meggo of Statesides choice.[/b]

After all the oo's and rrr's it's still in our own hands.

July

1st Away - Sheffield Wed 
5th Home - Hull 
8th Home - Derby
11th Away - Blackburn
14th Home - Fulham
18th Away - Huddersfield
22nd Home - QPR

17 Points needed to ensure promotion