Newcastle and Middlesbrough entered the Championship from the wrong direction yet still boasted two of the most talented squads in the history of the division. With Newcastle's off-field dramas threatening to do serious damage, many expected Middlesbrough, with their more settled structure, to prosper. Newcastle were always likely to lose the likes of Owen and […]

Of the 24 teams that kicked off the Championship just under a year ago, eleven now have new managers. In the majority of cases, the manager was removed due to perceived failings. Being a Championship manager is like being a duck at a shooting gallery. It's a question of 'when', not 'if', no matter how […]

With West Bromwich Albion's fate sealed last week we can now prepare ourselves for a dramatic conclusion to the Premier League season on Sunday. The neutral (including yours truly) will relish it and will want to see as many twists and turns as possible. Anyone supporters involved will have struggled to sleep for a week. We all have our […]

On Friday, during my game previews, Sam wondered how Wigan could score? Today, Chelsea gave us an answer, complacency. For much of Wigan's trip to Stamford Bridge, it was Chelsea on the back foot. Completely against the run of play, John Terry put Chelsea ahead twenty-five minutes in. Before that, Chelsea saw Wigan have five […]

Chelsea's first leg clash with Juventus is all about one man, Claudio Ranieri. The manager who was first fired by Roman at Chelsea, after getting one season, knew he was a lame duck and insists the fact he didn't give up shows the character he has. For a man who thinks he did ok, he […]

The firings of Tony Adams by Portsmouth and Big Phil Scolari by Chelsea brought the total number of clubs that have changed managers this season to seven, and the number of managerial changes to eight.  That turnover rate seems quite high and quickly cycling managers seldom leads to success.   It would seem that managers […]

I wonder if Steve Bennett will be more careful with who he talk to in regards to his job. Now I'll be honest with everyone. When Jeffrey Hash linked me to this story earlier Sunday morning, I simply went "It's the News of the World...why should I care?" What I read woke me up. His […]

On Wednesday night, Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate became incensed when Man City's Shaun Wright-Phillips dived to win a foul. After the dimunitive star was substituted, Southgate and Wright-Phillips got into a verbal spat that resulted in SWP giving the two-fingered salute to Southgate. Now, SWP may face a FA charge of bringing the game into […]

It's taken me a little while to catch up on the goings on this week as I was away over the weekend. My wife and I took a camping trip and got away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a while. We ended up with some rainy weather but made the best […]

This week's match was against Liverpool. Though I had to work, I managed to keep an eye on the game (gotta love Slingbox and P2P technology) and saw Boro forced into a late change to the line-up as keeper Brad Jones injured a hand in the warm-up and Ross Turnbull took his place between the […]

The most impressive side I watched, by far, on Saturday was Middlesbrough. The link-up play between Tuncay, Alves, Downing, Aliadiere and, later, Mido was sensational. Wheater was also impressive. At times, it was like watching Brazil with all of the backheels and blistering attacks. Seriously. While Spurs controlled a lot of the possession in this […]

Who'll be the first manager of the new season to get sacked?
( polls)

Arsenal 2- Birmingham 2 Eduardo's injury – a horrific broken leg – stole the headlines.   But, it did not decisively affect the outcome.  Luck controlled much of it.  Birmingham capitalized upon one free kick – a questionable call – and one penalty – a blatantly wrong call.  Fabregas had two goal-worthy efforts, one stopped by […]

After this weekend a Google search for "Sven" and "Up the Arse" won't lead you astray as Arsenal defeated Manchester City 3-1 away from home to move to the top of the table. Adebayor dropped a deuce, scoring in his eighth straight match. Eduardo also controlled a ball magnificently with his chest to set up […]