Wednesday 28 March 2012

Last night's results- 28/03/12

Hi scorers-

I've got another article coming up in the afternoon, which I hope shall interest yous- but firstly I'd like to run through last night's games.

Whilst I thought there were quite a few surprising results last night, I've followed this Championship league for so long it's got to the point where nothing surprises me- anyone can beat anyone on their day- it's just such an unpredictable league.

Ipswich 1-1 Middlesbrough

Okay, kicking off at Portman Road, and it's a fifth consecutive game without a win for Middlesbrough. I said before the game that they needed to put an end to their winless run relatively quickly, but they still hold onto their play-off place and Tony Mowbray has dubbed that a decent point, albeit from a goal ahead late on. As for Ipswich, I'm struggling to see them be one of the teams to make a late dash for a play-off place. I think Paul Jewell setting the aim of winning all of their remaining games was unrealistic in my opinion. Sorry Ipswich fans, but we'll see you in the Championship next season.

Leicester 0-0 Nottingham Forest

Whilst Nottingham Forest fans might not want to admit it, this is a good point for them. They have dealt another blow in Leicester's play-off hopes and have cleared memories of their 4-0 thumping by Leicester in the FA Cup in January- moving to 5 points clear of the relegation zone. Not a bad Tuesday night for Forest fans in the grand scheme of things- it could have been a lot worse.

Whilst a win for Leicester would have seen them go to 2 points away from the play-off places, Foxes fans can still sleep easy with relatively straightforward games against Peterborough, Doncaster, Ipswich and Millwall coming up. They're still in the race.

When they get home, neither side will be too disheartened by the result- the club's respective aims are still well within their grasp and hopefully the result will mean less violence provoked afterwards.

Peterborough 0-2 West Ham

This match certainly had more impact on West Ham's ambitions this season than Peterborough's. The Hammers put a run of 5 successive draws to an end with a comfortable win- they are now 1pt off Reading and an automatic promotion spot. I predicted a comfortable win for West Ham before the game- simply because they had to win, and Posh had nothing to play for. Well done to Sam Allardyce's side for getting the result under a bit of pressure- I think this is going to be a 'fight to the death' between West Ham and Reading for 2nd place.

As for Peterborough less significantly, my only concern for them in terms of their relegation battle, is the risk of the team being in effect 'on the beach' before the season ends, continue their poor form of late- and all of a sudden, find themselves in the relegation mixer and not being able to psychologically adjust their focus essentially. Although this has been known too happen to some teams, on balance with a 9 point gap- I don't think that will happen to them.

Portsmouth 2-0 Hull

An incredible result. Portsmouth never feel sorry for themselves, do they. Never throw the towel in. When they lost 2-0 at Coventry on Saturday, I thought- they've had it. Because they'd beaten my team, Birmingham, 4-1 the Tuesday before, but they couldn't follow that result up when they played the next game- which is always important when you get a big win. With that result, they have struck 7pts from their last four games, now 3pts off safety and games against Burnley, Millwall and Doncaster coming up coupled with the derby at St. Marys. Credit to them, I really hope they stay up. What character.

Nearly forgot about Hull there! As for them, they are still hanging on in there despite that result, and have winnable games against Doncaster, Millwall and Watford coming up, as will as a crucial game against Middlesbrough. There aren't out of it.

Crystal Palace 1-1 Doncaster

It was hardly what Doncaster deserved, ending the night at the foot of the table, after they showed some fighting spirit to bag a point away to Crystal Palace. The south London side opened the game with a lacklustre first half, which makes me think that they may have even ruled themselves out of the play-off race- they would need to win these games with a bit of urgency shown if that was their aim. I can only see a midtable finish for them. For Doncaster, they certainly put in a performance which didn't suggest they were struggling at the foot of the table. I'm glad that they were able to turn their performance into a result when Chris Brown (no, not one who's mates with Usher) cancelled out Jermaine Easter's earlier strike late on. But, with Portsmouth and Coventry starting to pick up the pace at the bottom, time is ticking and I think that Doncaster could just pay the ultimate price for a poor start to the season, with relegation.

Thanks for reading, I know this was just a quick look at the results but I've seen something quite funny on the BBC Sport gossip page.

Apparently, Roberto Mancini has travelled to a reknowned Bosnian religious site of 'miracles'. I love that, trying to connect with the gods. They'd probably say: 'Roberto, your just two points behind United, and you've still got to play them at home. Why aren't you at training?'

Anyway, if you liked the blog, do follow it and leave a comment. I've also got an article this afternoon so stay tuned...

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Thanks.


Tuesday 27 March 2012

Tuesday night- 27/03/12


The Score

Hiya scorers- a quick look at tonights games:
Ipswich vs. Middlesbrough
Last week’s defeat to Watford put an end to Ipswich’s 5 matches unbeaten and saw them drop down to 15th. Games against Barnsley, Derby, Leicester and Crystal Palace after this, they have a chance to get ahead of the teams around them.

Despite retaining a play-off spot throughout, Middlesbrough have failed to win in their last four league games, two of which have ended in defeats for Tony Mowbray’s side.
In the last five meetings between the sides, there has been 3 draws, and a win apiece.

Verdict- 0-1
Leicester vs. Nottingham Forest

Over a rather unpredictable month for the Foxes, they have recovered from their cup exit to Chelsea with a dramatic 3-3 draw away to Blackpool and an impressive victory against Hull. With some easier games forthcoming, derby victory today could propel them to a late play-off chase.

If their opponents, Nottingham Forest can win this one, I’m counting them safe. They have followed up a spectacular 7-3 win away to Leeds with a comparatively lacklustre draw with Brighton. However, once they further themselves away from the relegation zone, they may have little to play for.
The last time these teams met was in the FA Cup this season, ending in a 4-0 win for Leicester.

Verdict- 2-1

Peterborough vs. West Ham
In January, I thought West Ham were destined to go up. Southampton were stuttering and their current superiors, Reading, were merely holding out for a play-off spot. Now, West Ham have drawn their last five matches, four of those 1-1. They are now third, and have to win this game in hand to stay in touching distance of the automatic promotion spots.

Including shock 3-1 wins over Reading and Blackpool, Peterborough have had, like Leicester an unpredictable March. The aforementioned wins were merged with 4 defeats, including a 3-0 home defeat to Millwall.
Due to the teams contrast histories, they have only played each other 3 times so far.

Verdict- 1-3
Portsmouth vs. Hull

A marvellous 4-1 win over Birmingham a week ago was failed to be backed up- a 2-0 defeat at Coventry shows that result was just a one-off- that being their only win in March up to now. With Burnley and Southampton after this, Pompey will certainly need to show some battling spirit to get out of their situation.
Hull City have somewhat dropped under our noses in the play-off chase, their shock 3-0 win away to Cardiff a fortnight ago their only win in March and will need to put a run together now to get back in it. This is the perfect time to do so, though, with Portsmouth, Coventry and Millwall next.

Verdict- 0-2
Crystal Palace vs. Doncaster

For Crystal Palace, they have been involved in quite a few close games this season. Before a spirited comeback in their 3-2 defeat to Derby at Pride Park, Palace had beaten Peterborough and Barnsley and drawn away at Burnley. With the Dons and Forest coming up for them, they will need to get the points in quickly before they play Birmingham and Southampton.
Without a win in 5, Doncaster have also lost their last two games and don’t appear to be demonstrating much battling quality, and are five points from safety. With Palace, Birmingham and Leicester coming up, its do or die time for Ron Saunder’s men.

Verdict- 1-1
Cheers for reading,
Gabriel

Monday 26 March 2012

New kid on the blog

Hi everyone-

Welcome to my blog. Now before I start, I'd like to explain for those of you who might recognise this blog. I did have one, also a football blog called 'the score', but I can no longer access it. I've brought a new computer today and, on a 'fresh start' type whim, I, quite carelessly, deleted my google account to start a new one. Everyone likes a new start. As I changed the email address, I couldn't log into my blog and it wouldn't let me type the old one in. Hence the new blog.

Anyway, for those of you who don't know me I'm Gabriel, nearly 20 and I'm a part-time comedian from Birmingham. I love talking about football, I've got a real passion for it and am a Birmingham City fan. Loads of people have suggested that I should write about it, and well, this is it.

Now, I know topics like the Tevez affair (and more literally, the Giggs affair) from the Premiership are already covered widely by English press- I would assume you will be sick to death of hearing about it. No? Get out. Go on. I'll wait... 
Are they gone? Great. I digress. That's why I've decided to dedicate this blog, for the most part, toward the nPower Championship. I think the league has everything, derby clashes, unpredictability and true grit.

In that respect, I'm hoping that my writing will catch a wave of backlash against a very corporate society within football that became increasingly money-orientated. Now that the reign of Rupert Murdoch over the British press appears to be coming towards an abrupt end, people are more aware of the power of money in our society. Hopefully in football, this will shine through and we can see the real people who are what real football is all about.

So there you have it, I really hope you enjoy this blog, do follow it and spread the word- tell your mates down the pub about it, or whatever.

One final thing, every Thursday I will be making a round of predictions for all of the Championship games on the Saturday- if you wanna send in your predictions for the games which will be posted, send 'em to:


If the e-mails flow, I might start up a prediction game- we shall see.

Cheers for reading

Gabriel