Third game in a week for Mongomerys Hibs and having bagged 4 points so far they must be looking to make that 7 today.

Ross are scrapping for their SPL lives so it won't be easy and in the past I remember that this is the sort of game that Hibs make a pigs ear of!

They have some good forward thinking players so with Hibs defense not being the best there could be a few goals.........watch it be a 0 . 0 draw now. Simon Murray in particular will be keen to put one over his old club and he is a good predatory striker.

I wonder if VAR will again play a part and for one I hate it. It should be used for the absolutely obvious glaring errors ( Griffiths freekick a few years ago which was about a yard in) but apart from that just let the ref get on with it. Mistakes will of course happen but I am a firm believer that they balance out........except against the uglies. I much prefer watching Hereford and you know you can celebrate when the ref awards a goal and there is none of this nonsense of the game being called back minutes later due to some marginal / possible offside.

Winter has passed and spring is upon us, a fresh leader stands a front his troops, bringing hope after a winter of discontent.

His troops have battled saints, grappled with mauling tigers, kicked the hornets nest and vexed the black cats, two have seen their leaders fall to the wayside as a quest for survival reigns supreme, further ambitions of glory are but a pipe dream, that even the most optimistic of us can only envisage at this moment.



The biggest challenge of this new dynasty is fast approaching as the White Wankurs march on south together, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake, the mighty Leicester Foxes the latest to be put to the sword in the league by Farke and the monstrosity behind him. They did succumb and retreat north after failing to dispatch the Blue Pensioners of Chelsea, they came close but a last gasp winner saw them have to withdraw from the quest for the FA Cup. Propped up by the wealth bestowed upon them by the Premier League for failing, after an Argentine mad man ushered them in amongst the big boys after over a decade in the bleak footballing wilderness, Farke still has the capability to call upon individuals who came from foreign fields to chance their arm against the elite, whilst funds have been used to pillage defense less villages of the most abundant of resources, with the likes of Swansea losing their talismanic Joel Piroe. A ruthless approach has also beseeched them as they disposed of the services of long time servant Like Ayling over the winter months leaving him further north defending in the Middles Borough.



Many mercenaries have offered their services to both clubs over the years, each claiming to honour the badge before moving on. Many have been designated leaders like Neil Warnock and Simon Grayson, both whom had relative success at the helm of at least one of the clubs, others have not had success such as Andy Ritchie, some like Warnock have gone there after us and learned the errors of their ways and eventually come back. In Warnock's case he turned down a return in favour of trying to tame a mad tyrannic Italian, but failed. Others achieved legendary status among the lunatics of Beeston, like John Charles, but his kin, Jake failed to live up to his name here, despite at one point being very highly rated, but plays in non league for the seaside settlement Scar Borough. Some others that have given their sword to the fans of both clubs can be seen in a jumbled mess below.



1) ben in a tent
2) never aghast
3) frown honking tart
4) reptile eel
5) raccoon barrels
6) a customary alpha
7) a lunchtime ego
8) jacked fireman orb
9) calorie mop
10) a calm blank jam

The White Wankurs have a stronger set up at their disposal and were able to rest players for the trip to Chelsea ahead of the local derby. Some that feature were younger players that took their chance to impress, imperative to their conquest back to the Premier League promised land has been the likes of Crysencio Summerville, who joined the set up back in 2020, departing his Feyenoord to move to the north of England. He has amassed 16 goals and 9 assists in the league so far this season, bagging a brace in the earlier fixture. Although he did miss the meeting with Chelsea through 'injury', he is expected to return for Saturday, as is leading assist maker Georginio Rutter, the Frenchman joined last winter as Leeds splurged £25 million for his services. Former Inter Milan and current Italian international Wilfried Gnonto will likely line up on the other flank to Summerville, the club fended off expensive approaches for his services since they we relegated, although he hasn't set the world alight.



A side from the already mentioned White Wankurs, the other mercenaries to look out for on Saturday include the likes of former Chelsea defender Ethan Ampadu, the youngster who is still only 23 began his career down on the south coast at Exeter until the blues came calling. He made just the three appearances for the club and instead saw continental football at the likes of RB Liepzig, Venezia and Sheffield United before signing a 4 year deal in Yorkshire. Ampadu is the son of Arsenal midfielder Kwame, who played the vast majority of his career at the likes of Swansea and Exeter. He was from Bradford originally, but can currently be found stateside as assistant manager to Wilfred Nancy at Columbus Crew.



Another who is likely to influence the game is Dan James. The Welsh winger, born in Hull, has had a topsy turvy career to date, beginning at Hull before moving to Swansea's set up. He would go out on loan to Shrewsbury and struggle to make an impact before breaking into the Swans side a season later. He would have a breakthrough season and find himself looking for a move away come the winter window as Leeds came calling (mercenary) he agreed all the terms and passed the medical etc but Swansea pulled out of the deal at the last minute, leaving James with egg on his face and having to mope his way back to Wales. That summer he would make the move to Manchester United, a rather left field move by the Red Devils and during his three seasons there he struggled to make an impact whatsoever, even missing out on a few Wales squads through lack of form. He would finally get his move to Leeds as the made the move for the Welshman once again, he struggled to recapture the form that made them interested a few seasons prior and he spent his second year at the club our on loan to fellow Premier League side Fulham, he failed to make the mark there once again and found himself back at Leeds, with another move away likely, but under Farke has been given a new lease of life and has scored 10 and created 8 so far this season.



It would also be prudent to keep an eye on young Archie Gray, He is the son of Andy Gray, grandson of Frank Gray, and the great nephew of Eddie Gray, all of whom played for Leeds United and represented Scotland at international level. His brother, Harry, also plays for the Leeds United academy. Currently only 17, the youngster has been tipped to go right to the top level with the likes of Liverpool showing keen interest in his progress. Grey made his first appearance for Leeds on the bench as a 15 year old against Arsenal, but his debut didn't come until this season. Capable of playing in midfield or at full back, it is likely that he will start at right back on saturday.



Some team news from Herr Farke,

“Some good news overall. We had a training session already today and Georgi was able to train, looked good today. He’s definitely available for the game if his body won’t react. It looked good. The same with Cree Summerville and Patrick Bamford, both were unable to train on Monday, both had a full session today and everything works in the session tomorrow they’re fully available. Overall definitely some good news.

“Ilia Gruev is just on individual training today so it will be a late call. We have a few more hours, he would need to train at least tomorrow with the team. There’s still a chance, it depends if he’s capable.”



After rotating key players for the FA Cup clash on Wednesday, Leeds should return to as full strength as possible.

Illan Meslier is likely to keep his place in goal and will want to return to a clean sheet, having managed six in 2024 already.
The back four will probably see one change with Liam Cooper coming out of the side to be replaced by Ethan Ampadu, with Archie Gray moving back into right-back for Connor Roberts, while Joe Rodon and Junior Firpo retain their places.

A midfield pivot of Ilia Gruev and Glen Kamara is the hopeful outcome, but hinges on the Bulgarian’s late fitness test, which could provide Farke with an unwanted selection headache in his double pivot, as he’s yet to have Gray and Kamara play together yet in the middle.

Crysencio Summerville and Gnonto came off the bench and posed a real threat to Chelsea, and they will be looking to pick up where they left off the league starting on either flank – with the returning Georginio Rutter in attacking midfield. Starting up front is likely to be the much maligned Patrick Bamford, but Mateo Joseph’s starring performance this week means that Leeds know they have another option to lead the line if needed.

As for Town, Michal Helik is rumoured to be back fit for a place in the squad, whilst the likes of Jaheim Headley and Bojan Radulovic are both said to be ready to feature. Danny Ward will be hoping his performance against Watford will be good enough to get him a starting role, whilst Sorba Thomas will definitely be involved after missing the last game for the birth of his child. The bad news for Town fans is that Balker and Brodie Spencer are both rumoured to be out for this fixture through a combination of injury and illness. Rhys Healey, Oliver Turton and Josh Ruffles remain long term absentees.





In terms of head to heads, Town just about have the upper hand, with 32 victories, 19 draws and 30 defeats. The first meeting between the two sides came back in 1924 when Town were under the guidance of Herbert Chapman one would presume, and Town wouldn't taste defeat until the 30's, before that, Leeds were on the reverse of a couple of 4-0 and 4-1's and also one 6-1. Really, since the 30's it hasn't been a happy fixture for Town, with a hell of a lot of red on the form charts, since Town got promoted to the Championship, the side had a couple of tight wins as well as a few hammerings, including a 5-1 and a couple of 3-0, the arrival of one David Wagner would see the club register 3 straight wins against them, one being a 4-1 hammering at Elland Road, the others being tight wins, with Aaron Mooy scoring the only goal at Elland Road whilst who can forget the game at the John Smiths? Since then Town haven't won a game against them and have scored just the one goal.



If you are wondering why there is no transfer update for the White Wankurs, well basically it was boring as only Connor Roberts joined on loan and no one of note really left apart from Ian Poveda, Luke Ayling and Leo Hjelde.



So all that is left for today is to share this incase you have some free time

Dorking Wanderers 1-2 Chesterfield
AFC Fylde 2-0 Maidenhead United
Boreham Wood 0-2 Gateshead
Bromley 2-1 FC Halifax Town
Dagenham & Redbridge 3-2 Altrincham
Eastleigh 2-0 Solihull Moors
Ebbsfleet United 0-1 Rochdale
Hartlepool United 2-0 Barnet
Oldham Athletic 3-1 Southend United
Oxford City 0-2 Aldershot Town
Woking 1-3 Kidderminster Harriers
York City 2-1 Wealdstone



League Table After Matchday 41

SaltergateBorn - 739
Spireitematt - 724
Amelia - 633
Lord Snoots - 603
St Charles - 596
Dancing - 591
Devon - 550

Premier League

B.B.B. 14
Blue B 9
Zinman 7
Derby 3
Minizin 3
Lady J 3
Stairs 2
Dingle 0

Poor scoring week in the PL this week, not the worst but in the bottom 5 and not helped by the Manure game setting a new low scoring record for a single game this season!!. BBB kept his side of the bargain though with a decent 14 points. He was the only player to score positive points on the Gamball, I really have to questions the faith of the rest of you on this one!!! Our top two in the table were once again in the top three of the weekly scores, Blue ended on 9 points and Zimnan on 7. Both managed a CS but Blue was able to pick up points on the Bonus to give him the advantage.

Three players finished joint 4th with just 3 points - Derby, Minizin and Lady J. Each of them missed on the Gamball and the Bonus and added very little else!! Stairs ended with 2 points and wasn't even able to add anything!!!

342 Blue Baggie
341 Zinman
296 Derby
294 Minizin
286 BBB
262 Stairs
214 Lady Jane
204 Dingle

If there was an emoji for a drum roll I would now be adding it, but there isn't, so you will need to use your imagination!!!!!.................................................WE HAVE A NEW LEADER IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE!!! Its taken a while but Blue Baggie is our new leader after spending a few weeks clawing back his deficit, then drawing level only to fall back again but now finally he has overtaken Zinman!! Its only by a single point but still worth celebrating!!!

Everything else stays the same, talk about a high, followed by a low!!!

Cheers
SCO


Championship

Twerton 20
SCO 16
Snooty 11
AAA 7
Themaclad 7
Sanjay 5
BaggieOne 4

A week with a few unpredictable scores - notably Man Utd's sad defeat (obviously, I don't mean the sad part) blew a few bonus balls and Bolton's defeat also led to a negative overall score for that game. It was a bad week for bonus balls with not a single player getting any points from them, but, in contrast the gamball scored high and would have been higher if only.....

Quite a spread of scores with Twerton leading the pack with his 2nd 20 point week thanks to 7 correct predictions and a max on the gamball. That's 4 weeks of double figure scores for Twerton. SCO maintains his recent form with 2nd place - he also maxed on the gamball, so a double celebration for him. Snooty crawled into double figures - now a five week run for him.

Not such a good week for the rest. AAA could have joined Snooty on 11 points if he'd only played the gamball but instead he has to share 4th place with Themaclad on just 7. This week's bottom 2 are also at the foot of the overall table so it shouldn't be a surprise. Sanjay scored on just 3 games but that was 1 more than BaggieOne as he added just 4 points to his overall total.

294 SCO
283 Twerton
264 Snooty
264 AAA
244 Themaclad
226 BaggieOne
200 Sanjay

The top 2 are opening a bit of a gap with a 19 point cushion between automatic promotion and the play-offs. Our only positional change comes in that play-off race as Snooty draws level with AAA. At the foot of the table Sanjay finally breaks the 200 mark but is still some way off catching BaggieOne.

Zin

THE MATCH

SATURDAY 2ND MARCH KO 3:00PM

v

LAST MATCH



We made it back to back wins as we saw off the Robins. We took the lead early as Ugbo controlled a ball into the area before turning and curling coolly inside the far post. Our lead didn't last too long as Knight headed in from a corner. We took the lead again on halftime, Ugbo heading in Johnson's shot. Onto the 2nd half and we were having the better chances with Ugbo and Valentin going close. With just over 10 mins to go Bernard was shown a 2nd yellow card. We should have put the game to bed, but Smith had his shot saved but we managed to hold on for 3 more precious points.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB    

THE MATCH



Next up and a short visit to nailed on relegation Rotherham. Rotherham have had a very tough season and currently are bottom of the Championship, 16 points from safety with just 12 games to go and seemed doomed for relegation. There last win was on Boxing Day when they beat Middlesbrough. They are managed by Leam Richardson, who was appointed on the 11th December, but have just won 1 of the 15 games he has been in charge of. There leading scorers are Tom Eaves & Hakeem Odoffin who both have 4 goals each.

DEJPHON CHANSIRI, GET OUT OF OUR CLUB    

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 22
ROTH 15
DRAWS 7

CURRENT FORM

OWLS              -                                                                                                  

ROTH              -                                                        

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

DAVID WEBB
Rob Smith and Jonathan Hunt
Fourth Official: Sam Barrott

THE TEAM

Beadle
Palmer Ihiekwe Bernard Johnson
Musaba M Diaby Vaulks Bannan Gassama
Ugbo

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

1-2 Ugbo

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

ATTENDANCE

N/A

BML LEAGUE

Imre 22
Washington 17
Maddix 13
Owlkev 12
SCO 9

BMPL

Wereham 8
Stateside 6
Pei -2
Southey -14

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Brentford v Chelsea
Millwall v Watford
Wycombe v Barnsley
Newport v Mansfield
Bromley v FC Halifax

HHAAH

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

Just read on news now that there are rumours of a new stadium for us after the takeover, it stated that there was talk of extending capacity to 40000 and or a new stadium.

I know it’s only rumours but what is the general feeling on a new stadium?

My personal view, I hate the current crop of soulless, cut and paste stadia. I love the Hawthorns and the fact it has been our home for over 124 years.
I also know, in order to compete with and in the greed league we need bigger crowds, more revenue but do we want to sell our soul to become just another copybook football club with profit put before the fans.

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 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.

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. Similarly with the badger, if your random prediction is affected by this, it'll be half the points.

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.  

End of season Play Offs: The one who finishes top of the league will still be champion, but after the season finishes there will be Play Offs between the top 4, with 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd. This will take in stuff like the EFL Play Offs, FA Cup Final, final day of Prima Donna League, European Finals etc. It will be one matchday for the semis and one for the Final. It will be the individual scores for each matchday against the allotted opponent, with some kind of tie breaker for a drawn match.

The prize for winning will be enormous. Another rep point.

1. St Charles Owl = 194 pts
   
2. ritchiebaby = 190 pts
   
3. Lord Snooty = 185 pts
   
4. jjamez = 174 pts
   
5. Baggiebob(BBB) = 162 pts
   
6. themaclad = 156 pts
   

Saturday 2nd March:
Town v Leeds (12:30)
Town scorers:
Leeds scorers:

Tuesday 5th March:
Blackburn Rovers v Millwall
Coventry City v Rotherham United
Hull City v Birmingham City
Leeds United v Stoke City
Sheffield Wednesday v Plymouth Argyle
Sunderland v Leicester City
Ipswich Town v Bristol City

Wednesday 6th March:
Cardiff v Town
Town scorers:
Cardiff scorers:

Middlesbrough v Norwich City
Southampton v Preston North End
Watford v Swansea City
Queens Park Rangers v West Bromwich Albion

Bonus matches:
Scottish Premiership:
Saturday:
Hibernian v Ross County

Premier League:
Sunday:
Burnley v AFC Bournemouth (13:00)
Manchester City v Manchester United (15:30)

Champions League round of 16 (2nd leg):
Tuesday:
Bayern Munich v Lazio (agg 0-1)


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

1. theo_luddite = 181 pts
   
2. Devongone = 177 pts
   
3. neonfoxinthebox = 172 pts
   
4. SHEP_HTAFC = 165 pts
   
5. Amelia Chaffinch = 124 pts
   
6. WakeyTerrier = 112 pts
   

Friday 1st March:
West Bromwich Albion v Coventry City

Saturday 2nd March:
Town v Leeds (12:30)
Town scorers:
Leeds scorers:

Bristol City v Cardiff City (12:30)
Birmingham City v Southampton
Leicester City v Queens Park Rangers
Millwall v Watford
Norwich City v Sunderland
Plymouth Argyle v Ipswich Town
Preston North End v Hull City
Rotherham United v Sheffield Wednesday
Stoke City v Middlesbrough
Swansea City v Blackburn Rovers

Wednesday 6th March:
Cardiff v Town
Town scorers:
Cardiff scorers:

Bonus matches:
National League:
Saturday:
Dorking Wanderers v Chesterfield (12:30)

Premier League:
Saturday:
Luton Town v Aston Villa (17:30)

Monday:
Sheffield United v Arsenal

Champions League round of 16 (2nd leg):
Wednesday:
Manchester City v FC Copenhagen (agg 3-1)


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

Wednesday night throws up an interesting Edinburgh derby clash.

Hearts will be smarting after their visit to Ibroke last Saturday, whilst not affecting their foothold on third in the SPL they will want to get it out of their system, especially in front of their own supporters. Most Hibs were hoping Shankland would score and make the score 5 . 1

There are a couple of green shoots appearing down Easter Road way with some of their new players showing they can do a job for Nick Montgomery. NM seems to have 3 midfielders in his starting 11 these days which has given a better balance to the team.

From what I have seen the Hibs defense is still not the best and with Shankland and Vargas coming into some form they will have to be at their best to keep Hearts out.

Tough one to call and I usually go for a draw in an Edinburgh derby with very little good football .........whichever team wins their fans won't care about that.

Sorry Hibs fans but feel Hearts at Tynecastle will be too strong and will win by the odd goal.

Lets hope for an entertaining game and good luck to both sides.

GGTTH or HHGH