[theo_luddite]

V

QPR v Huddersfield Town
EFL Championship
Saturday 11th February 2017
15:00 kick-off
Loftus Road Stadium
South Africa Road,
Shepherd's Bush,
London
W12 7PJ


Advanced warning - you might need to find somewhere quiet to read this - it's a bit of a long'un. Don't complain that you haven't been warned. A long train or coach ride might be appropriate, or get your mate to drive. You know me, I don't usually have much to say when it comes to all things Town.

Intro

After making UK Sky Sports footy fans (and others globally) finally start to sit up and take notice of Li'l ol' 'udders twice in 3 days against top 6 opposition, Town head down the M1 to that there Larndan Tarn's glamourous West End to take on QPR on Saturday. Well there's the glamourous Westfield Shopping Centre (which could be handy for that Feb 14th thingy you've maybe forgotten to buy, or maybe not)


and the once glamourous but now mostly demolished (and rebuilt/remodelled into posh apartments) BBC TV Centre.   

It once housed in the grounds both the Blue Peter Garden and a bunch of folk that now own their own little piece of soap-on-a-rope. No wonder they all buggered off to Manchester, well most of them. (Maybe not quite the best turn of phrase I could have used given recently reported events, but what the hey? ) If you want an apartment at the former BBC TV Centre, prices start at around £500,000 apparently. Very affordable!  

If, on the other hand you fancy buying something a tad cheaper, like maybe a Trevor Francis tracksuit from a mush in Shepherds Bush there is also Shepherds Bush Market just down the road and easily accessed from the Tube station of the same name.


Before and after apparently  

Del Boy and Rodder's have an honourary pitch for selling dodgy Rolex about halfway down on the left. To be honest, it's more likely to be Rodney Marsh than Rodney Trotter that you'll bump into by the by the way.


Can I get you a drink Dave?  
OK, so they were from Peckham, but what the heck? Come on Grandad, Uncle Albert, it's only a few miles away across the river, innit bruv?  

The Ground and The Club

A little further west of here, down South Africa Road is where you come across the compact stadium that is Loftus Road.


Originally opened in 1900 and frozen to death (1917 actually), it was extensively rebuilt by Blue Peter Architects, John Noakes and Peter Purves from a collection of old shoe boxes, some used lollipop sticks and a couple of rolls of sticky backed plastic in the 1960's. They finished it off with a can of blue spray paint that they had bought for a Ford Anglia they used to drive. They have been wanting to build a new stadium for a few years, so they brought the latests architects in from the Blue Peter prog that is now on kids TV to design it for them, this is how it turned out.



Not a single used and scrubbed down, gaffertaped Fairy Liquid bottle to be seen, amazing. :

QPR have flipped between Loftus Road and the once nearby but long since demolished White City Stadium a few times in their history from way back when, but have been permanently at Loftus Road since 1963 following the sublime work done by the lads from Blue Peter. Not a bad job for a lad that supported Halifax Town and another that supported Spurs in between bonking Val Singleton and Lesley Judd, apparently or allegedly, while Biddy Baxter only paid them slaves wages. They all kept us kids amused when we got home from school while waiting for our mum to cook the tea*

The club was formed in 1886, when a team known as St Jude's (formed in 1884) merged with Christchurch Rangers (formed in 1882). The resulting team was called Queen's Park Rangers, because most of the players came from the Queen's Park area of north-west London. QPR became a professional team in 1889 and played their home games in nearly 20 different stadia (a league record), before permanently settling at Loftus Road in 1917, although the team would briefly attempt to attract larger crowds by playing at the White City Stadium for two short spells: 1931 to 1933 and the 1962–63 season. White City was built for the 1908 Olympics and originally housed a running track, a banked cycling track, and a swimming and diving pool in the middle of the arena. The 1966 World Cup game between Uruguay and France was played there because the owner of Wembley Stadium at the time said it clashed with his regular greyhound racing night and he wasn't for budging.  



Meet the Manager

"He's behind you"

QPR are of course managed by our old mate and pantomime villain Ian Hollowmouth. Hollowmouth has since claimed his new defence isn't quite so wooden as the one shown playing in the new Blue Peter Stadium. I haven't got it on good authority yet from any QPR fan that it really is the case and it's suspected there may still be a few pegs playing in the wrong shaped holes. A bitter and twisted numpy as far as many Town fans are concerned, he never forgave us for taking the leading scorer at Brizzle Rovers that was Marcus Stewart off his hands after we beat them in the Wemberlee play-off final in 1995. I'd like to say I remember the final well, but as I'd just moved to Canada I never got back for the final. (Me mum would have killed me if I'd sneaked back for the weekend and gone back without seeing her) and at that time, League 1 (or whatever it was called back then, Division 2?) Play-off matches including the Finals were hard to find anywhere on UK TV, let alone anywhere abroad. Marcus is now back at Rovers as an Assistant Manager.

Hollowmouth has never really given us much credit for anything since to be honest, and he got so wound up the last time he came to ours as a Manager he even attacked Ann Hough after the match apparently/allegedly. A nicer lady in football you could never wish to meet. She is however ready to meet him again thanks to Deano's Christmas prezzie.


(Sorry, I don't have Photoshop and if I did I've have only made her look far too skinny and made her boobs and backside look far bigger apparently, I think that's how it works, according to t'interweb anyway?)

I might have misheard him (Hollowmouth) but I think I did actually hear him say something nice about us on Sky TV towards the back and of last year after swallowing a bit of humble pie regaring his pre-season predictions. I was in a pub at the time so I may have misheard him. Please post it in the thread if you have a copy or a link.

Of course, he took over mid-season(ish) on 17th November(ish) from Jimmy Floyd Hassawaink (JFH - I'm not copying and pasting Hassawaink for another dozen mentions, so live with it) who wasn't able to deliver a promotion chasing side in this part of Wes' Larndan after his previous success at The Brewers. Appointed on the 4th December 2015, it took JFH several games to light a fire under the team that was, in his own words, low on confidence. They finally won their first game on 16th January 2016, 3-0 at Rotherham, despite the board cashing in on leading scorer Charlie Austin on the same day. That was when he maybe realised he wouldn't get as much of a say on transfers as he thought, and someone on a high-ball maybe wasn't holding the (Roman Abrahmovic type) candles for him that he was maybe promised? Some say his style lacked sparkle(rs), some say he didn't put enough rockets up the squad's backsides, either way the team finished 12th at the end of the season, well short of the play-off places after a real damp squib of a season. All we know is that after another poor start to the 2016-17 season he soon had some on the board plotting against him and they finally dropped the bombshell that many Hoops fans were expecting when they lit the blue touch paper and asked him to walk slowly away and not return, handing him his P45 on 5th November 2016. He certainly didn't

'Light up the sky with Standard Fireworks'  in case you didn't get it, in his time at QPR and was most recently seen doing some punditry for Sky at The McGalphsmith's last Sunday (possibly in place of Hollowmouth. What goes around and all that ). This despite the millions thrown at it by the QPR board and owners Tune Group (66%) and Lakshmi Mittal (33%), co–Chairmen Tony Fernandes and Ruben Gnanalingam, over the last few seasons in a so far futlile attempt to return to the Prima Donna League. That having been said, they have also shifted some seriously expensive players off their wage bill in that time and to some extent undermined what JFH was trying to do by not letting him play some of these players in order to give them the hint to move on. (Yes, I'm looking at you Rob Green).

JFH's record at QPR

Played 47
Won 13
Draws 19
Defeats 15

So, on that bombshell, we'll move on.

Hollowmouth, in his more recent life as a Sky Sports pundit did a great deal of (no obvious) research (what-so-ever) on the way clubs in this Division were going about their business over the last Summer's tranfer window and apparently before and he famously came up with this prediction for the Championship.

Well to some extent fair play, he's got a few clubs that look like being somewhere near where he predicted they would be, including, as much as they didn't like it at the time, Aston Vanilla, but Brentford and Town to get relegated? Really? Look, I don't think any of us in our wildest dreams last August thought we'd be where we are now in February, but we'd have been sorely disappointed if we weren't in the top half of the division and as for Brentford too? Letting a bit of the old red mist and local rivalry get in the way of your better judgement there old chap by any chance? Well if he's been watching his old mates on Sky for the last week, he will have had some free homework handed to him on a plate with Town playing Brighton off the park for 90 minutes last Thursday and then running L666s ragged in the second half on Sunday.

Wagbo sends his regards to Hollowmouth
http://www.examiner.co.uk/sport/football...n-12582697

Mr. Hollowmouth recently claimed 'You'd struggle to have a better transfer window than QPR's'. Well he would wouldn't he?

He brought in 8 players including the loan arrival of Ravel Morrison from Lazio, former Fulham and L666s striker Matt Smith. Sean Goss (is he by any chance related to Matt or Luke Goss of When Will I be Famous fame?) and Luke Freeman (is he related to Alan 'Fluff' Freeman by any chance?) were brought in for a combined £800,000 whilst Pawel Wszolek’s loan deal (from somewhere or another, let me look that up - Hellas Verona) has been made permanent. That sounds like a Greek/Italian Ice Cream Factory. Who's providing the wafers, vampires blood, sprinkles and the flakes for the 99's then?

Hollowmouth was also able to shift several underperforming high-earners off the Rangers’ wage book, including Sandro and Sebastian Polter. Tjaronn Chery also departed for the Chinese Super League plus 3 others. The Ev'nin' Stannid didn't name the other players or clubs involved and I'm not really that bothered about looking them up but if you want a full list of the innies and outies - look here http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/queens-pa...on_id/2016.

So, this is his second coming at Loftus Road as a Manager, he kicked the bag of wind around for them a few times too, and so far he's been successful in moving them up from a somewhat nosed stuffed up 17th place when he took over to er, a highly constipated 19th place. He's a long way to go before he gets them up to the 11th he predicted at the start of the season and the Top 6 that the Board think they probably should be involved in. Look chaps, just throw another £20 million at it and you should be sorted. What was that about financial fair play? Well you pissed all over the Football League the last time you chose to ignore it, so don't let it bother you again this time eh?

Current Town links
Well we all know about Alex Smithies and Joel Lynch being there. It looked like Fulham v Smithies in the highlights for a lot of their recent game, saving a penalty and several one-on-one's and there there were similar hand-bags at dawn scene's towards the end of that game to our match against L666s on Sunday. A few fines have been handed out, I wouldn't be surprised if we see some coming our way too, maybe along with a touchline ban here or there.

Smithies has saved six penalties this season. Six? We haven't even been awarded one yet. He's saved 7 out of ten for them and wasn't too shabby at it at our place either when it came to stopping them from 12 yards. Ask Chef Utd about that one. In recognition of the excellent campaign he is having, Smithies has been nominated in the Football League Player of the Year category, as well as for the London Goalkeeper of the Year accolade.
Read more here

Since I found that link it has been reprinted word for word in The Unexamined.

Jack Robinson, who we had on loan before we sent him home broken is currently out with the same hammy type problem as Casey Palmer.

In the backroom staff there is also a certain Mr. Simon Ireland (Academy Head of Coaching and Coach Education), who used to stand on the old Leeds Road Terrace as a lad before going on to play for Town in the early 90's and quickly being snapped up by Blackburn Rovers for a few 100,000's plus add-on's (I think, can't find the actual sum they paid), where he made, er, 1 appearance. SO WE DIDN'T GET ANY OF THE ADD-ON'S!!!!  He made a few more appearances at Mansfield and Donny Rovers before getting into coaching. There were rumour's of Smithies moving to Aston Vanilla in January, but then again, Vanilla were rumoured to be buying everyone and anyone in January that moved and that wasn't going to Old Trafford, but that's just Steve Bruce for you. It's just the way he goes about bankrupting the clubs that he manages before storming out in a huff claiming the board won't back him anymore. He doesn't change his spots and he constantly improves his fitness as he puts on about a stone a year. 'Just one more wafer thin mint Mr. Creosote?' Not that I haven't put any timber on myself over the years


A New Stadium
(Yawn, this is getting worse than Jackanory, Bob The Builder, Hectors House, Sponge Bob Square Pants and Ivor the Engine combined. Don't get me started on The Wombles and The Clangers).

Just north of Loftus Road is a prime piece of Crown Real Estate known as HMP Wormwood Scrubs. It's one of Her Maj's Hotels that is not about to be moved anytime soon, but it is more than likely in need of a major refurb if only on the toilet and soap-on-a-rope facilities. Just north of that is a fairly nice piece of parkland called Wormwood Scrubs Park where the escapees and drone fliers connected to HMP Scrubs tend to gather.

Just north of that are some old railway yards called Old Oak Common.
(looking west)

About 5 years ago QPR got involved with some property developers (the Directors are apparently called Dipsy, LaaLaa and Po, the other one, Tinky Winky is still trying to build a career in TV and with a name like that could just go far in the gay old world of BBC TV) to build a load of housing, including some properties that were once over called 'affordable', whatever that means in London, and a new 40,000 seater stadium. This was the situation in 2015 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31019498 when they hadn't yet decided where to put the stadium despite artists renditions showing a stadium somewhere in the plans at least 2 years earlier. They may or may not still have put a shovel in the ground for some or any of the housing/offices, but they certainly haven't for the new football ground that I can find, and why the hell they think they need a 40,000 seater ground is beyond me?  This was 12 months ago - http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/ol...94581.html.
This was 6 months ago - http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2016...n-project/
I'm guessing the price of land is increasing nicely in that part of the world at this moment in time?
Or maybe not, as this was 3 months ago. Another Boris Blunder.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/ol...83996.html
There was a rumour about 6 months ago that the JCB's would be moving in at the start of this year ...... anyone got any photo's to prove this has happened yet? Attach them to a 5'er and send them to me will ya if you've got some.

Breaking News
This news broke just as I pasted (yes pasted, not posted) the final draft of this thread - they now want to build a 30,000 seater Stadium at the Lynford Christie Athletics Stadium.
A bit more practical that I think.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38919141
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football...62671.html

Where to eat and drink, park, ride
and all that other good stuff that helps to make it a cracking day out (or weekend) darn The Smoke.
Now, normally I just provide the link but I thought on this occassion I'd also do a copy and paste of a part of it.

PUBS FOR AWAY FANS
There are no pubs for away fans in the immediate vicinity around the stadium. (Booooooo).
In nearby Shepherds Bush Green there are a number of bars however most do not welcome visiting fans and employ doormen to enforce this. (Booooooo).

(Sorry, I couldn't find anyone in the cast of anything called West Enders to do this).
One exception is Belushi's Bar, which is located in the Vue Complex. This basic bar also shows Sky and BT Sports. (Yay) Otherwise alcohol is generally available inside the Loftus Road Stadium, although for some high profile games the Club opt not to sell any to visiting supporters. (Boooooooo).

On the eating front David Frodsham adds; 'On my travels to many football grounds, I have yet to find a wider selection of food available than on the Uxbridge Road. The cosmopolitan inner city nature means that you can almost eat your way around the world. From the normal range of cafes, burger bars, fried chicken outlets and chippies, there are Indian, Chinese, Thai and Jamaican outlets. There are Lebanese and Indian kebab shops, the latter selling "doner" kebabs made with Indian spices!

I wonder if they get the irony of that? People from all over the world come to live, work and eat here, and maybe even support QPR (or someone else), but you're not welcome in any of our pubs on a match day if you support another football team. Brilliant that!!

The above and more of the important stuff you will need can be found in here.
http://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagu...ngers.html

Who'll be playing?

Well we know a few who won't.
Back in the 70's when we had Frankie Worthington running rings round West Ham in the FA Cup, before he went off to play for every team in the country and we went off to play against all of them too (oh, what must it be like to be a glory hunter?) The West End, BBC Match of the Day and ITV's Sunday football show The Big Match (this was on Larndan Weekend, it had other names in other ITV regions) was lit up by a number of entertaining footballers, these being just two of them.
Rodney, and no I don't mean Del Boys gangly little brother

who was closely followed by this chap with the long dark hair

Name those commentators?

That was back in the day when training was a couple of laps round the pitch, a few shooting and dribbling drills, where to stand for a corner/free kick/throw-in and who was taking them. The rest of the day (and/or evenings) was spent down the local bookies, in the snooker hall, down the bars and night clubs of the West End and finally a bit of horizontal jogging with anything that wore a little white mini skirt and knee length boots. Good for the hamstrings apparently. Jack Robinson and Casey Palmer are yet to comment.
Nando's was but a far off twinkle in someone's eyes in those days.

I wonder how that lot would react to Wagner's, double/treble training sessions and sessions that start at 3:00 pm or 7:30-8:00 pm depending on the time of the next kick-off? I suppose we coach the flamboyance out of players these days and the 'characters' rarely make it to the pro levels either. All of which makes QPR's signing of Ravel Morrison and all the baggage that has followed him around so far an interesting move. Is it a gamble that Hollowmouth thinks he can pull off or will it all go flash, bang, wallop, what a photograph and all end in tears again?

For Town, I expect more changes from the sides that beat Brighton and L666s, just because we've all come to accept that that is what Wagner does. Other than Ward in goal (provided he isn't ill or pick up a knock in training) your guesses are as good as mine. Lolley and Smith are being assessed prior to the match. Casey Palmer is on paternity leave for 2 months while he gives his hammy's a work out.

Our squad v L666s


I expect Smithies and Lynch to be in the squad for them and probably Morrison and either leading scorer Idrissa Sylla (6 goals, if he's fit or Hollowmouth has forgiven him for throwing a strop when he got subbed at Reading, he hasn't played or been in the squad since the home defeat to The Brewers when he didn't play particularly well either apparently). Maybe Hollowmouth thinks he's now got better options or will he play Matt Smith at Centre-Forward (would he play both?) though it was 2nd leading scorer Washington (5) who's header hit the bar at Blackburn, again subject to illness and injuries. Beyond that I don't know if Hollowmouth will do a "best 11" or a "tinkerman" job, especially with all the new faces around. Despite their lowly position they have picked up some useful results recently, including a draw at the Newcy Broons, a win at Reading and the draw with Fulham, though losing at home to Burton kind of spoils all that good work. More results and form guides below. Meanwhile Town's only recent defeat was against Wendies in the middle of January, with a good 6 points against top 6 opposition in 3 days last week. (I might have mentioned that before   ).

Their squad at Blackburn


Hollowmouth was calling for Video Technology after losing at 1-0 at Blackburn last weekend. He said it wouldn't cost a thing as all you'd have to do is stick the 4th official upstairs and have him look at a TV replay. Well, maybe he means Goal Line Technology because from this angle and with the dodgy video quality it's hard to say whether the ball was on the line, not over the line or over it. I didn't see the Goals on 5 repeat on Sunday for some reason so no idea if they covered it. In the YouTube replay they couldn't show the ball on the ground at the point they stopped it, so hey what else can you do?
https://youtu.be/sBydfHoUPdE
(about 25-35 seconds in).

Well you can try stopping it yourself.

Not the world's best camera resolution but I think he might have a point. You can see the white line, but from this angle, does that mean the ball was all over the line?

or you can look at a piccy taken from behind the line

So really we need a dodgy Del Boy millions of megapixies with react-to-a-football technology built in camera on the line and the world's your lobster.   That or something on the line that has sharper eyes than one of the three blind mice with a flag in his hand. You know, like what they 'ave in the Prima Donna League. It costs a bit of dosh though.

In Summary
If Wagbo hasn't picked up a touchline ban by the weekend (we have until Friday to respond, so it will probably be next week at the earliest before he gets his legs smacked again) then I expect him to be tied to the dugout on a reasonably short leash, or at least one that goes no further than the Technical Area until the final whistle.


Hollowmouth is another one that doesn't sit quietly in the dugout and to be honest I don't think he really does 'Park-the-bus' football either, so can we expect a goal rush? Whether it is or it isn't, I can't see it being the snorefest that was Wigan.

Celeb fans?

Apparently they've got enough to fill the stadium, which begs the question why don't they? Maybe that's why they think they need a new 40,000 30,000 seater stadium?
Anyroad, here's one of my fave's of theirs, a Yorkshireman singing a song we all know some slightly different words to.

Maybe he got lost one night and nobody thought to Take Him by the Hand and Lead Him Through The Streets of Larndan, to Kings Cross Station for a train back home to Yorkshire, where we could help him change his mind? (Sorry Ralf, not meant to scan either.)


Back to the Football
Better put some stat's in now or Mirf will be on giving me a reminder.

Recent results




Head2Head scores

We've never won at theirs. Another bogey we need to put to rest.

Form guide


Table


They can't both win

At our end
Wendies v Brum - who are just about hanging in there, but won for the first time on Saturday since they stupidly sacked Rowlett
Reading v Barnsley

At their end
Villa play Ipswich who are both on 36 points, just about every remaining fixture this weekend can and will affect where they eventually finish up this season but the Forest (at Norwich), Burton (at Brighton), Brizzle (at Derby), Wolves (home to the Newcy Broons and on the telly man, why-aye) and Cardiff at L666s games are the one's that most affect them this weekend. See below.

Fixtures

Another Chapter of War and Peace again chaps and Chapesses. Sorry about that but we ain't had a game for a couple of days so I needed something to fill the time in and it's fun doing these. Could have gone for a game of golf instead but as the Heff might say it's as muddy as f*&k round here in Muddled England and it pissed it down about when I would have been half-way through the round. It's all right saying pick, lift, clean and drop for Winter rules, and that's only when you go to the portaloo, but you've got to find the plugged buggers first when they disappear into the swamp they haven't drained or under the dead leaves they still haven't shifted. Over to you lot and any QPR fans on their forums that are fishing around for some banter.

* At no point were we kids of the time aware of any bonking that was going on between Blue Peter presenters. We weren't even aware of what bonking was at that age to be fair. We were only later to find out that "get down Shep" was really a euphemism which resulted in the cameras moving to another view of the studio when Peter Purves recently published his memoirs and Noakesy unfortunately lost his marbles. I never had Val Singleton down as a bit of a goer even through my teens and even now, but apparently she was gagging for it. Never trust a guy that admits on live TV to being a Spurs fan I say though for spilling the beans on you when you least expect it. Fortunately Noakesy didn't shout out 'get down Shep' too loud when Lulu the baby elephant pulled the zoo keeper through the big pile of piss and poo in the best and most hilarious bit of live TV ever seen and he was then seen pissing himself laughing stage right (to us, left to him). That was of course until the infamous Simon Groom "what a beautiful pair of knockers" episode a few years later, otherwise who knows what we would have seen going on down in the studio's of Wood Lane? I've finally understood why it is called Wood Lane by the way and I'm not going anywhere near Top of the Pops with that one. Otherwise, sticky backed plastic, used Fairy Liquid bottles, old shoe boxes, Papier Mâché, egg cartons, clothes hangers, balloons, some bits of tinsel and empty cereal boxes have a lot to answer for in the way we were brought up. For those of you that weren't born in the late 50's, early 60's and went glory hunting when Town won the 2nd Division (now Championship) in 1970, ask yer mam, or for some of you, yer gran. They'll put you right and then you'll maybe, just maybe, realise why we are like we are.

[Amelia Chaffinch]

Ann Hough is lovely. She came to sit with whilst we waited to do the parachute jump.

[jjamez]

always had hollowhead as a defensive manager tbf, always thought that his eccentric character is more to make up for the lack of entertainment that his side produces on the pitch. at worst he's very conservative and it kind of explains why his sides chase games.

never been to qpr's ground or the surrounding area, never been something that appeals to me, seems a little bit worn out now.

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one, Theo.

Reading this whilst watching the Leeds match again. Just got to half time when I'd read it all.

[theo_luddite]

M'lud - :doffs cap:

Reading thru a QPR forum, they say that Hammersmith and City and Circle line are both suspended this weekend beyond Edgware Road going Eastwards, so there will be no direct route from Kings X to Shepherds Bush (Wood Lane/Market/Goldhawk Road). Get down to the Central Line to Shepherds Bush if using the choo choo's.

[Lord Snooty]

Only been there once. First match of the Bruce era. We lost 3-1.

[SHEP_HTAFC]

Brilliant thread theo A real belter.
Used to live in Shepherd's Bush for a couple of months way back. It's a nice area...used to have some really good pubs too.
Many a time I used to see the cast and crew of Doctor Who in the pub. Met Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy a few times.....decent guys.

Anyway back to the footy.
I can see us winning this fairly comfortably. It's a smaller pitch so our pressing style might work better here.
Comfortable 3-1 win for the Terriers.

[theo_luddite]

Changes to Grand Central services per the Town website (there may be other rail company services affected not shown here).
TRAIN ENGINEERING WORKS

Engineering work will be taking place between Peterborough and Biggleswade from Saturday 11 Feb through to Monday 13 February. This will mean travel alterations with club partner Grand Central.

On Saturday 11 February 2017, the following alterations will apply:
- 06.55 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross will terminate at Doncaster. Passengers to travel forward to London on 06.43 Sunderland to London Kings Cross which will call additionally at Doncaster.
- 08.51 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross will not run.
- 10.21 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross will be diverted via an alternative route and journey time will be extended by approximately one hour.
- 5.21 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross will start earlier and will be diverted via an alternative route and journey time will be extended by approximately one hour.
- 10.48 and 15.48 London Kings Cross to Bradford Interchange will not run.
- 16.36 London Kings Cross to Bradford Interchange will start at 15.57 and will be diverted via an alternative route and journey time will be extended by approximately one hour.
- 19.23 London Kings Cross to Bradford Interchange will start at 18.20 and will be diverted via an alternative route and journey time will be extended by approximately one hour.

On Sunday 12 February 2017, the following alterations will apply:
- 07.55 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross will be diverted via an alternative route and journey time will be extended by approximately one hour.
- 12.05 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross will start earlier and will be diverted via an alternative route and journey time will be extended by approximately one hour.
- 15.05 and 15.59 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross will not run.
- 11.50 London Kings Cross to Bradford Interchange will start at 12.20 and will be diverted via an alternative route and journey time will be extended by approximately one hour. - 15.50 and 18.46 London Kings Cross to Bradford Interchange will not run.
- 19.22 London Kings Cross to Bradford will start at 18.20 and will be diverted via an alternative route and journey time will be extended by approximately one hour.
Read more at http://www.htafc.com/news/article/2016-1...imVEad9.99

[jjamez]

for this one as shep said it is a smaller pitch so i would really only make one change from the side that played leeds and its the obvious one of palmer out and brown in. think the smaller pitch will result in less space for nahki to operate in so, using collin to wear them down and then letting nahki run at them later in the second half maybe the better option

[WakeyTerrier]

Sacked this one off thanks to the rail disruption, didn't fancy three and a half to four hours sat on the train either way.
I'd take a point now but I've a sneaky feeling Big Coll is going to open his account with a winner tomorrow