Premiership? You're 'avin a laugh! (Championship, League One, League Two, and lower thread 2005/06)

However, last time I came on to ILx and was all optimistic about the coming season we went out of the League. Brrrr.

ps looking fwd to the league cup? i'm not

: /

Having said that, I've been pleased with the standard of player we've brough in in the close season - I think we've made 10 new signings now, with 7 or 8 leaving. Our midfield is looking shit hot, with two former Conf South captains marshalling the middle with a former Man U and Aston Villa prodigy roaming behind the front two.

Where we have an advantage is that our squad is probably bigger than almost all our rivals - but they may have better individual players. Teams like Heybridge, Billericay and Fisher have all been strengthening already strong squads, and realistically we're hoping for a play-off spot.

How far do the playoffs go down this season? There was a plan to move to 6 teams in the playoffs (byes for the top 2, single-leg throughout), but I don't know if that is coming in now, or what.

We have signed a useful looking attack minded right-back called Sito, but he is short on fitness having been a free agent over the summer, but this will do little to stem the flow of goals against us, especially as Wilnis is not getting any younger.

The same can be said about midfield playmaker Magilton, who must surely now be on his final season (everyone was saying that 4 years ago) and it surely must be up to Currie to push on a cement his place as Jim's replacement. We have kept hold of Horlock who, in the absence of the departed Miller, should start every game and be able to form a much tighter barrier in front of the defense than last year. Westlake will be hoping to put last years indifferent form behind him and recapture his 'player of the season' form from the previous year - and we have two interesting young wingers in MacDonald and Peters to look out for.

I imagine a similar story to last year, challenging near the top, but losing out towards the end to teams with more strength in depth. This year, however, does see a stronger looking crop of teams, than the last couple of seasons so my gut says play-offs at best.

Please beat us! Every time we score a "shock" win in the early rounds of the cup, we go on to have a complete pig of a season. When we just get turned over 3-1 by Southend in a lacklustre performance, we tend to be "there or thereabouts" at the season's close.

The best I'm hoping for is third, really. League Two looks the weakest its been for a few seasons, but that's still nothing to get excited about.

Saints... hmm. Really, we shouldn't do too badly - losing Crouch is annoying - though for £7m? To Liverpool? Eh, worse things happen at sea, plus the strikers we've got left have either already proved themselves at this level (Fuller, think Blackstock scored a few on loan at Plymouth) or certainly ought to. Plus, Kenwyne Jones was apparently shit-hot at Wednesday last season, and really ought to be doing the same again. Probably time for those much-mooted youngsters to be stepping up a bit. A midfield containing any four of Prutton, Oakley, Quashie, Delap, Fernandes, McCann or (gulp) Wise isn't Premiership standard but ought to be bossing the Championship no bother, and at the back... we appear to be roughly the same as we ever were, except we've added Tomasz Hajto and Darren Powell. Yay. Hanging onto Niemi would be a huge plus, but Smith ought to be able to handle himself if he goes.

Basically, if this was our Premiership squad we'd be stuffed. In the Championship, though, the play-offs will be a very bare minimum, and we really should be going back up. The one concern is a certain lack of pizzazz, but I suppose that at this level you can never have too many workhorses on your staff.

But that momentum won't be enough to give us dominance after a second successive promotion, I don't think - this season we're well aware there are better players than we have in our division - players who can win matches on their own, and squads who are more disciplined than any we've faced so far.

Also, our most skilful player (by a factor of 1 million) has done his posterior cruciate, so we've probably lost him for the season :(

There is also the factor of how easy it is to change a team's mental condition from one that is looking to not lose and pick up enough points to survive, to one that must win three-quarters of their games to go up.

Be afraid, be very afraid!

Still, I wish you all the luck, but I fear Naaaaaridge (boo!) and Crystal Palace are much better equipped to get promotion.

SWFC to thread.

That said, Danny Higginbotham looks oddly similar to Nick Southall. Make of that what you will.

Championship

Crystal Palace
Norwich
Sheff Utd

League 1

Nottingham Forest
Bristol City
Barnsley

League 2

Northampton
Wycombe
Wrexham

Peterborough
Oxford
Boston
Mansfield

Conference

Stevenage Borough
Hereford

Someone ask Paddy Power? or William Hill?

Sheff Utd [Winners]
Wolves
Leeds
Preston

''as for Southampton - they will rot in the Championship for years - Rupert the Toff want allow Harry to spend the Crouch Cash.

It's the booze talking. Sorry.

seems a bit optimistic. i think we will get into the lower rungs of the play offs, back where we belong. almost get to the play off final, but be thwarted at the last minute.

can anyone tell me about jon macken or jobi mcanuff? the latter has just equalised for us, but i dont know anything about either, and im kinda predjudiced cos they both have funny names beginning with 'j' (yeah i know jon isnt a funny name but i always do a double take when i see that spelling)

also, peoople on the cpfc.org board are talking about mcanuff being a much better replacement for routledge and that makes me angry

Robinson

McAnuff is (I think) a winger who was in the crop of half-decent youngsters (Reo-Coker, Agyemang, Leigertwood, some others) that Wimbledon had around the time that they became Not Wimbledon. I can't remember what he did since then, though.

Saints' Road To The Play-Offs has started by drawing 0-0 with Wolves (didn't see 'The Championship' - oh god, a whole season of Ally McCoist - but apparently didn't miss anything beyond Theo Walcott being Rather Exciting for a bit), which isn't too bad, and tonight we dropped a 2-1 lead to go down 3-2 to early season surprise packages Luton Town. Vultures aren't circling, but it's not quite the stuff dreams are made of...

Boy I can't wait till the Peterborough match.

Last night AFCW played Conference club Crawley Town away. We took a 3-0 lead, and lost 4-5. Crazy game.

One English Pound with William Hill will give you back around £5000.

Mind you, I was extremely surprised that Barnet won as well as they did last year.

i'm sure everyone is well sick of ian holloway by now but here's his first of the season all the same:

"I told them they should have been in front by more than two goals. That prickly character at Chelsea [Jose Mourinho] could teach us a lot about those things. If two flies were crawling up a wall, he would want one of them to win - and I want to be more like that."

sorry.

i like luton, i like their ground, i like their colours, and by rights i should be a luton fan really, genetically.

Also, the reason a lot of people don't like Luton is the memory of their chairman's twattish support of ID cards.

As much as I hate Sheffielf United, and Neil Warnock, I find myself chuckling at that pun. I'm also looking forward to seeing how The Blades nasty football is going to fair in The 'Shit. I'm just glad their isn't going to be a world cup next year.

http://media.putfile.com/FC-United-cemetary-end-april-06
http://media.putfile.com/FC-United-parade-the-trophy-april-06

However who will join them ? there are 7 [yes SEVEN] clubs that will go into the final game next saturday sweating to the beat the drop out of the football league.

clubs / games/ points / goal diff/ goals scored

Bury 45 52 -12 43
Macclesfield 45 51 -12 57
Torquay 45 51 -13 53
Barnet 45 51 -14 42
Notts County 45 51 -15 46
Stockport 45 51 -21 57
Oxford Utd 45 49 -13 41
Rushden & D'monds 45 45 -31 43

next week's matches

06-May-2006 Bristol Rovers V Macclesfield
06-May-2006 Notts County V Bury
06-May-2006 Oxford V Leyton Orient
06-May-2006 Rushden V Barnet
06-May-2006 Stockport V Carlisle
06-May-2006 Torquay V Boston Utd

Come next week: one of these clubs will join Rushden & Diamonds in the conference

Bury
Macclesfield
Torquay
Barnet
Notts County
Stockport
Oxford Utd

Oxford United are under most pressure. They have to win to have any chance of staying up.

It will be very, very tough, but come on Leeds!

Reading will being going to new Arsenal stadium next season, meanwhile Oxford will be going to the likes of Aldershot and Woking

Who are the local team for London School of Economics?

I've never seen Oxford play, despite having been here for six years. I only found out they were at risk of relegation from the football league yesterday. And I like football. Most Oxford students who claim to like football actually mean "I have an Arsenal shirt", which is orthogonal.

This "fans of big teams aren't real fans" schtick is really fucking boring. Sorry. I moved to Paisley seven years ago and I've never been to see St Mirren. Bad me.

I'm very glad MK Duds are down, Mark - apart from anything else, it means my Rotherham-supporting workmate (and, in our cramped office, he's only about 15 inches away from me) won't be quite so grumpy on Monday.

My brother used to go and see Stoke, Port Vale and (for a bit of Euro glamour) Nottm Forest when he was at Keele in the '70s. Different times. He drew the line at Crewe Alex though.

I'm specifically talking about fabulously wealthy Oxford undergraduates who have never been to a football match in their life despite having the financial resources to buy/acquire tickets and the ability to travel with ease.

The other nice irony was that 44 years ago Accrington Stanley dropped out of the league and became a joke club. They were replaced by Oxford. Yesterday the roles were reversed.

Preston 1 Leeds 3

2 players sent off for Leeds = 2 Leeds players will miss the final

Villa to get relegated, next season !

Paddy Power/William Hill will take your money !

against either:
Watford - firm faves 3 up from first leg
or
Crystal Palace - if then can get a shock result

lol Wigan

Charlton 4 Stockport 3 (Charlton 2-0 up then Stockport 3-2 up) reads like a smashing roller coaster ride at The Valley

and i was at a gig ;_;

p.s. there's an 07-08 thread somewhere

ha ha, I have just won the draw we have here at work to use the two work season tickets for Oxford United's match against Torquay on 11th October, but argh! I will be in Poland then....I'm hoping they'll put my name down for a different match.