[jjamez]

Another quick turn around, as is the norm in December, with town moving from facing the blue and white hoops of QPR to the blue and white stripes of Sheffield Wednesday.

Town come in off the back of what could be considered to be our most complete performance of the season, a comfortable 2-0 win, although it could be said that they were there for the taking and we could easily have turned the screw and gone for 3/4/5, QPR seemed to be a team that had a lot of individuals and most out playing for themselves with only a few playing for the manager. We've seen that before, not so long ago with the ill fated Jan Siewert tenure, but with QPR now only 6 points from the drop zone and having finished comfortably midtable, the aim would have been to move on up the table, one would question how long Mark Warburton has left in his roll in this era of sackings for fun.

Town took the lead through a pearler of strike from Josh Koroma, taking his tally to 5 for the season so far. He received the ball from Carel Eiting just before the half way line and took the ball to the edge of the QPR area, the QPR defence retreating back to London, before curling his effort into the top corner from 20 yards out. Town nearly doubled the advantage on a number of occasions with Harry Toffolo coming close to his first goal at home, linking up well around the QPR area and getting a shot off on goal, only to see Seny Dieng pull off a good stop to prevent him. Campbell was next to have a chance following a sweeping counter attack which saw Lewis O'Brien pick out Koroma, who held on to the ball too long before laying off to Campbell who could only shoot at the keeper, had the pass been a touch sooner, Mbenza would have been stood unmarked. Town did manage to double the lead and Toffolo did manage to get his first home goal, once again linking up well with Koroma in another sweeping move which saw Ben Hamer find Toffolo, who nodded inside to O'Brien, who in turn set Koroma free to run at the QPR defence again, the Rangers defence never tracked the run of Toffolo and a nicely weighted through ball allowed him to stroke home with aplomb.

The second half saw Town have a couple more chances, O'Brien forcing Dieng into a good save, whilst Dieng produced an unorthodox save to prevent a driven effort from Pipa, there was not many chances to note in the second half other than a deflected Barbet shot from a corner. The main talking point from the second half was a serious looking injury to Chris Schindler which looks like keeping him out for a fair while, maybe the rest of the season.

short highlights

longer ones

Our guests on Tuesday meanwhile suffered a defeat at the hands of Norwich City. Wednesday took the lead on the hour mark through former Town trainee Josh Windass, son of Dean. The forward headed home Adam Reach's cross to set the Owls on their way to an unlikely win, however, two late goals put ends to that. Sub Josh Martin grabbed his first senior goal and highly rated Canaries defender Max Aarons scored his first goal in 2 years to move Norwich back to the top of the Championship.

Its been a difficult period for the Owls, starting the season with a 12 point deduction for breaching financial rules, although that has since been halved allowing them to break into positive points, something that Garry Monk took credit for upon his sacking, as if he had overseen them winning their way out of the deficit. He has since been relieved of his duties as manager and been replaced by someone who can actually call themselves a manager in the shape of Tony Pulis, does he still stand for his press conferences? The result on Saturday means that they come into the game on Tuesday back at the foot of the table, two points behind Derby following their victory at Millwall.

They began the season with a penalty victory away at Walsall, before moving on to beat Towns conquerors Rochdale 2-0, eventually going out in the third round 2-0 to Fulham. The league campaign started with a 2-0 away at Cardiff, former Town boys Windass and Jordan Rhodes scoring past Alex Smithies in the first half. The first game back on home soil ended in a 0-0 draw against recently relegated Watford, but it took them to -8 points as they continued to erode the deficit. That's how it would finish for September as they lost the final game of the month 2-0 away at Bristol city, former Town loanee Jamie Patterson scoring in injury time. October began with a 1-1 at home to QPR, Barbet scoring an own goal, with Bonne scoring in the 96th minute to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat. It was back on the road and back to winning ways at Birmingham when a Barry Bannan penalty just after the half time interval saw them past Aitor Karanka's men. However a defeat back on home soil followed Ivan Toney netting on either side of Callum Paterson goal to give Brentford a 2-1 win. It was another home defeat for Monks men the next time out, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu scoring after Wednesday had seen Joost Van Aken given his marching orders. The poor month continued with a 3-0 defeat to fellow South Yorkshiremen Rotherham and a 1-0 defeat at fellow relegation battlers Wycombe, giving the Chairboys their first win of the season. David Wheeler sealed the win for Wycombe, whilst Jamie Lindsey bagged a brace with Daniel Barlaser scoring a penalty for Rotherham, Wednesday also saw defender Tom Lees sent off for a last man foul in the build up to the penalty. The poor month meant that Wednesday were still stuck at the bottom, 8 points adrift of Wycombe.

It was a surprise result that started November for the Owls, a 1-0 win over Bournemouth thanks to a Barry Bannan penalty. Bournemouth saw Steve Cook sent off for conceding the spot kick and the Owls too had a man see red with Kadeem Harris was sent off in injury time. In the build up to their next game, Wednesday saw their deduction halved and moved into the positive and off the bottom of the table for the first time in the season only on goal difference. The next game was at home to Millwall and finished 0-0, Monk was given his marching orders and was swiftly replaced by Tony Pulis in time for a trip to Preston North End. Wednesday saw Windass sent off for a high challenge in the 17th minute and Tom Barkhuizen capitalised on a mistake from Kieran Westwood on his return from the abyss. Pulis picked up his first point in charge of Wednesday away at promotion chasing Swansea, Adam Reach gave the Owls the lead midway through the first half, but the highest paid player in the championship on circa 80k a week in Andre Ayew levelled in the 60th minute. It was another draw that rounded off November, this time at home against the club Pulis is most famous for managing, Stoke. It again finished 0-0 and Wednesday finished the month in 23rd on 8 points. They began December with, you guessed it, a draw, 1-1 against Reading. Paterson gave the Owls the lead early in the first half, but they were reduced to 10 men when Liam Shaw saw red for a dangerous tackle, former Wednesday man Lucas Joao equalised for Reading, but they were unable to go on and claim victory. The defeat against Norwich saw them move back to the foot of the table, but having played a number of promotion candidates recently they now move onto a run of fixtures where they will feel like they could pick up a few points, games against Town, Barnsley, Forest and Coventry are all on the horizon before a boxing day trip to Blackburn.

In terms of goals, Josh Windass leads the way with 3 in all competitions, notching the one assist to boot, Barry Bannan and Callum Paterson both sit on 2 goals, with a few players having bagged the solitary goal. In terms of assists, Adam Reach leads the way there with 3 in all comps, with 2nd being those with one assist. After Saturdays game, Koroma has moved further clear with 5 goals, with Eiting and Campbell still second on 3 and Toffolo joining Mbenza with 2 goals. Toffolo still leads the way in the assists chart with 5, whilst Koroma and Eiting both moved onto 2 with their roles in the two goals.



So what's new at Hillsborough?

Well Wednesday got themselves a few new beach t'owls this summer, spending just shy of 1 million pound for the pleasure. A few former Town players were amongst the bunch with former Town loan star Izzy Brown joining on loan from Chelsea, his spell at the club has been impacted by injuries, which seems standard for him now and the Wednesday fans aren't overly enamoured by him and his performances, he had a good spell last year at Luton, but it could be injuries, the tactical systems or as some have said, attitude that is causing the problems for him. Also joining was Josh Windass, son of Dean and former Town academy player, he was released by Town and after a spell at Harrogate Railway, found himself back in the football league at Accrington Stanley. A move north of the boarder beckoned as he joined Rangers, before coming down to Wigan, Wigan's cash flow troubles saw him move to Wednesday on loan before turning it permanent in the summer for 500k. The final former Town player to join Wednesday this summer was Elias Kachunga, 4 years at Town saw him become a firm favourite, more due to effort than ability. He had a fine first season at Town, scoring 12 in the promotion campaign, but injury and the step up in level saw his performance output diminish and he could only manage the one premier league goal away at Watford. He played 36 times for Town last season, but was one of the players scarred by the dreadful premier league campaign and could never quite get going again for all his hard work, he scored three times for Town last season and was released at the end of his contract. He has appeared 11 times for Wednesday this time, but has yet to score a league goal for the club.



Also joining the Owls this summer, Derby striker Jack Marriott made the loan move to South Yorkshire, which seemed a strange move on the face of it with Derby not having a plethora of strikers, maybe less than the 5 we allegedly have, and because he had been appearing for the Rams before his move, but Cocu saw fit to allow the Beverley born man leave. He's also yet to score for Wednesday in his 7 appearances, with his solitary league goal coming for Derby against Luton. Wednesday also completed the free transfer of Manchester City youth player Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, the young midfielder has been in the squad for every game and has appeared 5 times, starting in 2 of those. Big defender Aden Flint made the loan move back up north from Cardiff, he has had a history of causing Town problems from when he was down at Swindon. He has only played 4 games for Wednesday this season, having picked up a hamstring injury against Rotherham, he has been back training, but hasn't been involved in the last 2 squads, but is very much a Pulis type of defender. Another former Wigan player to join the club was Chey Dunkley. The 28 year old made his name at Oxford before moving to Wigan, but with the cash flow issues he left and joined Wednesday on a free transfer but is yet to play due to a fractured leg. The final player to join Wednesday for just under 500k was Callum Paterson, in what was another strange transfer. The Scotsman signed for Cardiff as a fullback for free in 2017 and played 106 times for them scoring 21 goals, winning promotion to the Premier league with the Bluebirds. Highly versatile, he's a player I've long wanted at Town due to his ability to play multiple roles and positions, he's played 13 times for the Owls this term and scored twice.



There was quite a few being disposed by Wednesday like wet paper towels, amongst them was experienced and long serving midfielder Kieran Lee, he had had multiple injuries whilst in Sheffield but amassed 217 appearances in his 8 years at Hillsborough, he's yet to find himself a new club. Experienced goalkeeper Paul Jones was also allowed to leave having never made an appearance in his year at the club. The club also released academy players Jack Stobbs, Fraser Preston and Connor Kirby, they joined Grantham, Boston and Harrogate respectively. Amongst the bigger names to depart the club, Sam Winnall left for Oxford, Steven Fletcher and Morgan Fox both made the move to Stoke, whilst Sam Hutchinson and Atdhe Nuhiu both made their way to Cyprus to play for Pafos and APOEL Nicosia. Huddersfield fan favourite Fernando Foresteri also left the club to return to Udinese, the side he left originally to come to England and Watford, where he endeared himself to Town fans...

In case its not been mentioned or you've missed it, the club also dispensed with the services of Garry Monk and his coaching set up and appointed former Stoke manager Tony Pulis as manager, with former Birmingham stalwart Craig Gardner coming in as one of his coaches.

Caption it

Ones to watch

Adam Reach- Began his career up at Middlesbrough, before making the move to Sheffield in 2016. Plays primarily on either flank and has been a mainstay over the last few seasons. Was one player I would have been looking at when we first got promoted due to the potential he had. Is now 27 and has played 181 games for Wednesday and scored 19 times, making 33 assists. Has an eye for a special goal.

Callum Paterson- Versatile player that can be instrumental in the general build up play of Wednesday due to his strength and hold up play, Can be a threat in either box and has been known to possess a long throw, not quite to Delap standards, but Pulis does know how to utilise set pieces.



Barry Bannan- Talking of set pieces, now 31, the little Scotsman plays a huge part in how Sheffield Wednesday play in midfield, with the game generally going through him. He's now captain of the side and will be the man taking most of the set pieces on Tuesday, his two goals this season have come from the penalty spot.

Our head to head record with Wednesday over the last few years has been woeful with Town not managing to register a home league goal since Anthony Pilkington scored way back in 2011, it was a good goal, but not that good that we don't need to score again for 9 years. Since then Town have drawn 6, won 3 and lost 7, this is including the play offs and counting the penalty win as a win. Overall, Towns record against Wednesday isn't that bad, with Town having won 25, lost 21 and drawn 14.

Last season Town played out a dull 0-0 at Hillsborough, but it was a key point upon the resumption of the season and helped secure survival. Earlier in the season at the John Smiths, the two sides had just appointed Danny Cowley and Garry Monk as managers and it was boths first game in charge, both have been sacked since then, did you know Monk had been fired? Fletcher and Winnall scored either side of half time to get Cowleys reign off to a losing start.

Wednesday did the double over Town in the normal season during the promotion campaign, Wallace and Forestieri scoring at Hillsborough, Town seeing Jack Payne sent off, whilst Forestieri scored a penalty in the reverse fixture. The last time Town actually won a league game against Wednesday was back in November 2013, goals from Adam Clayton and Martin Paterson secured Mark Robins' side the 3 points, in the same week that the two players had been banned for fighting at the training ground (on a side note I was down at the training ground and was told to wait before coming and I saw Clayton leaving in his car crying) the two linked up for the first goal and marked the occasion with a special celebration.



One of the most memorable games between the two sides came in the December of 2011, when the two met at Hillsborough. The game finished 4-4 with Jordan Rhodes scoring all 4 of Towns goals. Town took a 2-0 lead but some very shoddy defending allowed defenders Rob Jones and Rede Johnson to level the game up. In the second half Ben Marshall got the better of Jack Hunt and slotted into the bottom corner, before Chris O'Grady scored a looping header running with his back to goal to make it 4-2. Rhodes bagged his hattrick minutes later and then in injury time a long ball somehow found itself in the path of Rhodes who duly slotted in his 4th in the 90th minute to make it 4 all.

  Ignore the commentary and don't cause yourself harm by watching the defending.

One of the most famous games though in modern Huddersfield Town history came in the promotion season with the second leg of the play off semi finals. With the sides level after a 0-0 draw at the John Smiths Stadium it was still all to play for. Town welcomed Danny Ward back between the sticks for this game. In what was tight cagey affair, the hosts took the lead through a thumping Steven Fletcher header, and with all the phone lights from the crowd blaring out, Colin Quaner replaced Kachunga and it was his run and cross that lead to defender Tom Lees turning the ball into his own goal and take the sides into extra time. Extra time came and went and the game went to penalties. Town went first and scored through Chris Lowe, whilst Sam Hutchinson saw his spot kick saved. Hefele scored Towns second kick, with Bannan netting his, Wells took and scored Towns third and Kieran Lee scored his. Aaron Mooy and Jack Hunt both scored their kicks, Jack Payne had the chance to put Town through to Wembley but saw his kick saved by Kieran Westwood, the pressure was then on Forestieri, and the little guy had his attempt saved by Ward to cue pandemonium amongst the Town faithful.

Need and excuse to watch it all again? here you go.



team news and manager speak.

Town will be without Schindler, Elphick and Stearman, the three experienced central defenders are all long term absentees, with the club still waiting to find out the results of Schindlers injury. Edmonds-Green looks most likely to come in and partner Naby Sarr in defence, but Crichlow has started training again, whilst town will have Vallejo back from a minor knock too, both of whom are central defence options, a left field choice would be to move Hogg back into the back line and have O'Brien take over his role. It otherwise looks like it will be the same squad as last time out barring any last minute injuries.

"We are still waiting to see the result of Christopher Schindler's scan. Hopefully we will have him with us as soon as possible, but we need to wait for his results. I am never happy when I lose one of my players and my Captain."

"We will continue with the same number of players we had available against QPR. We can add Alex Vallejo to the squad too after he recovered from his injury."

"Before this injury to Christopher Schindler appeared, we were thinking that Edmonds-Green has the conditions to help the team in certain types of games."

"Sheffield Wednesday have changed with the new Manager. They have changed their style a little bit; they are very strong and solid in defence. The team is now very dangerous with the counter-attack. They have some very good players."

"We watched their game against Norwich and Norwich scored their last two goals in the last 10 minutes. We know it'll be a high challenge for the team. We want to make the fans feel proud. We need to prepare the game like we always do; try to know the opponent and be focus on how to perform."

"Romoney Crichlow will work with the team today. He has missed quite a long period of time, so after training today we will evaluate how he is and then make a decision."

"Tommy Elphick continues in the same process. He will continue working with the medical staff."

"When they try to attack more then Barry Bannan is one of the key players. But at the same time, they have a lot of players that can do that well."



As for Wednesday

Windass picked up a dead leg in the defeat against Norwich but should be fit to play on Tuesday. Dominic Iorfa stepped up his recovery by playing 53 minutes against Norwich and will be hoping to go a bit further on Tuesday. Massimo Luongo is back from suspension and will be available for selection, whilst Liam Shaw will still be out after his red card against Reading. Kieran Westwood missed the Norwich game through injury and is likely to miss the game on Tuesday.


So the answers to the last quiz

Club Links.

1) Wahki Nells
2) Alex Smivvies
3) Joe L Lynch
4) Chris Willock
5) Jack Robinson
6) Robert Green
7) Ozzy Gobern
8) Danny Simpson
9) Kevin Gallen
10) Neil Warnock
11) Leon Knight
12) Steve Yates

Anagrams

1) Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium- the current name for Loftus Road
2) Tony Fernandes- Current owner or one of them
3) Ray Wilkins- Oldest player to represent QPR
4) George Goddard- Record scorer
5) Les Ferdinand- held pretty much every position at the club, currently Director of Football
6) South Africa Road- where the stadium is located
7) Bill Bailey- a famous hoops fan
8) Alec Stock- Longest serving manager- 9 years exactly
9) Tommy Docherty- Shortest serving full time manager, his second spell in charge lasted 29 days, Paul hart had 29 days also but managed one game more
10) Christopher Samba- the clubs record signing at 12.5 million from Anzhi Makhachkala of Russia. They once had Samuel Eto'o and Roberto Carlos play for them, they are now in the third level of Russian football after financial and licensing issues.



And now for round 2

Club Links, its a big one, so everyone can have a go

1) Striker who had two spells at Town either side of his time at Hillsborough. Still at Town
2) Spent a year as a permanent fixture in our midfield, but his career has spiralled ever since he left. Had a loan spell at Wednesday as well as playing for the likes of Barnsley and Bradford
3) Spent 4 years in total at Town making 104 appearances for the club, made 85 in total for Wednesday before moving to pastures new. Had an ill fated premier league spell that yielded no appearances and multiple loans out
4) Had a brief loan spell at Wednesday towards the end of his top level career, played for Town when he was in his prime scoring a few landmark goals in the process, left Town and managed to achieve an unlikely promotion to the premier league
5) A talented youth player that looked destined for big things, wasn't really prolific for Town, but knew how to hold his own. Injuries played a role in hampering his development and Wednesday didn't see the best of him. Was involved in one of the weirdest transfer deals of modern English football. Currently playing on the continent
6) Joined Town for the one season to offer a bit of experience to the midfield from Sheffield Wednesday. Could play the holding role or the more advanced role and chip in with a few goals. Never really 'did it' at Town and his legs were a bit gone and it showed. Had 2 decent years at Wednesday though, scoring 10 in 54.
7) Part of a professional footballing trilogy. Signed for Town from the non league after a successful trial spell at the club, only played 7 games for the club, failing to score, before moving on to the likes of Port Vale. A move to Wednesday beckoned and he scored 9 in his time there before moving down to the capital and then to Scotland and abroad, before coming back to play in league one and below.
8) Had a short loan spell at Town from a premier league club and played 16 games before going back to his parent club. He joined Wednesday on a short term contract a year later but failed to make a real impact being released at the end of the season. Began his career at a prestigious academy and has also been in trouble with her majesties law enforcement.
9) A striker who didn't do well at Wednesday and ended up being loaned out to us, where he scored 9 in 16, just failing to help the side to promotion, the loan never got made permanent and he moved on loan to Bradford where he didn't have as much an impact. A journey down the leagues followed featuring for Torquay, Lincoln and Gillingham amongst others.
10) A defender who had a 2 year playing spell at Town, making 56 appearances for the club before moving closer to home in the north east for a few years before a long stay at Nottingham Forest. Never played for Wednesday, but managed them in a 3 year stint. Can sometimes been seen wandering around Meadowhall.
11) Had a loan spell at Wednesday from Birmingham early in his career making just the 6 appearances for them. A 4 year spell at Ipswich followed where he made his own name before a short unsuccessful move to Leeds, which saw him come to Town on loan. He then moved to Hull and found himself playing in the top flight. After leaving Hull his career finally wound down to his retirement.
12) Started his career in Sheffield before moving to Town for a 6 year stay that saw him play 121 times, scoring 9 goals. Bounced around a bit after leaving Town but made his home at the likes of Southampton, Stockport and Birmingham. Finished his career at Wednesday where he played 15 times before injury forced him to retire.
13) Started his career at Forest, where he is at now. Joined Town and played 107 times over a 3 year stay. Left Town to join Wednesday, but his 3 year stay there was marred by injury and he could only manage 35 appearances before leaving. Had a new club nearly every year after that until retirement featuring for the likes of Cheltenham and Forest Green
14) Still at Town, made 100 appearances for Wednesday in a 6 year stay before moving across the city to United, where he would make another 100+ appearances. A brief adventure down south saw him move back on loan to United, before resigning permanently. His second full time stay didn't last long as he was moved on to Leeds United where a severe knee injury forced him into retirement
15) A striker who had a brief loan spell at Town, didn't score much, but did the job that we really needed. Had a year early on in his career at Wednesday but only managed the 3 goals for them. Made his name more at Norwich where he made 154 appearances, scoring 68 times. Also had a rather fruitful spell at Forest a couple of years before.
16) Began playing at Manchester United and scored one vital, history changing goal. By time he got to Wednesday he had played in multiple countries and was winding down his career ahead of a move into management. Walked out on Town after a year and has since earned promotion back to this division.
17) Played for both Town and Wednesday in the same year, amassing 10 appearances and scoring no goals. Was a full Scotland international and had a fairly long stay in the premier league featuring for Coventry and Blackburn, but two serious injuries at Blackburn caused him to lose his effectiveness.
18) A welsh international who began his career at Wrexham before moving to the south coast to play for Portsmouth and Southampton. Had a long spell at Everton before joining Town from Birmingham. Loved for his hard tackles, he played 64 times for town before moving on for a short stay at Wednesday. Finished his career at Walsall and Kidderminster.
19) A defender/midfielder who came through the Town system and captained the side before being moved over the Pennines to Oldham. After making 231 appearances for Town, he finally settled at Guiseley making a further 151 appearances there, won promotion to the national league before being released and retiring. Is now a development coach at Wednesday.
20) A once highly rated striker who had 2 spells at Town but spent a lot of those times injured and never really found the net much in his 70 games for Town, only managing the 8 goals. Had spells at Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield United early in his career before ending it up at Carlisle. He moved into coaching and earned his coaching badges whilst working for Sheffield Wednesday.

And a few anagrams for you

1) Hid On Jasper Chin
2) One Lb Awry
3) Tarry Thy Ore
4) Go Live Over
5) Shrunk Triad Coin

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one, jjamez.

I nivver knew Bill Bailey was a Hoops fan. thought he'd be more of a Yeovil Town supporter.

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Number one is Andy Booth
Number two is Andy Booth
Number three is Andy Booth
Number four is Andy Booth

We all dream of a team of Andy Booths
A team of Andy Booths
A team of Andy Booths

[Lord Snooty]

Caption competition:

Monk: And then I said, I was brought up to have class, humility and respect.

Pulis: Oh f*** off you smarmy little prick!

[Lord Snooty]

1. Boothy
2. Buttercup
3. Jack Khunt

[Lord Snooty]

4. Jordy Rhodes
5. Oh Benik Afobe
6. Tommy the Miller

[jjamez]

Number 4 wrong snoots, the rest are right, anyone else want to steal these from snoots?

[Lord Snooty]

7. Akpo Sodje
8. Leon Knight

[jjamez]

7 yes 8 no

[Lord Snooty]

9. David Graham
10. Brian Laws
11. Alexis Bruce

[jjamez]

3 more right

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1-0 Koroma. First home goal against t'owls since pilks, hopefully not the last tonight