63 replies to this topic

[Dummy Hoy]

I know this board has fans for second division clubs Wednesday, Millwall, and Brighton. I'm sure there are a few others (Bolton? Maybe Blackburn? Wolves?)

Point being, there should end up being more than the 43 replies that greeted last year's thread. I'll put in a small Wednesday write up in a few days, but right now is just chaos, rumor, and innuendo.

[cjdmadcow]

Edit: Wrong thread! Time for bed.

Edited by cjdmadcow, 29 May 2012 - 06:01 PM.

[HampshireCounty]

On the subject of underappreciated leagues, does anybody have favorite English-language sources for news on European top-flight leagues outside the big five (or eight, or whatever)? (Mods, if this deserves its own thread, please move.) I really like Portugoal for news on the Portuguese league. Is there an equivalent for, say, the Allsvenskan, or the Ukrainian Premier League? Soccerway is great for scores, but not much beyond that.

I'm particularly interested in the summer leagues. My daughter is three months old now, so I'm beginning to emerge from my media blackout. The only places they're playing soccer in Europe right now are Scandinavia and the Baltics, so it would be fun to be able to follow them more closely. Plus, Scandinavian soccer looks kind of awesome. Take a look at the highlights from last weekend's Tromso game:



I'm ready to buy plane tickets.

[Dummy Hoy]

Sheffield Wednesday's Jose Semedo was named PFA Fans' Player of the Year for League One. He was given POY at the Wednesday awards banquet as well. He was tremendous all year as a DM- a physical but smooth presence who could quickly turn any attack the other way. He had a huge goal down the stretch during Wednesday's amazing run to promotion as well. He quickly became a fan favorite at Hillsborough, and has on numerous occasions reciprocated with his love for the Wednesday faithful. I'm hopeful he can perform at the championship level, because he was a blast to watch. I think he can; he's magic you know.

[dirtynine]

Brighton's off-season objectives include increasing the capacity of the new Amex stadium (by filling in the corners), acquiring a playmaker/striker type (Michael Owen - blargh - seems to be everyone's favorite recurring rumor; I hope not), sorting out the keeper situation (interestingly, Brad Guzan might be in the mix!), and holding on to manager Gus Poyet, who now comes up for every rumored mid-level EPL job.

Last year was the "wow, good to be here!" year with the Championship and the new stadium. This year is about finding a way into the top 6.

Edited by dirtynine, 19 June 2012 - 11:04 AM.

[Dummy Hoy]

Ha. Owen seems to be every team's favorite rumor. If he was willing to play at appropriate wages, he'd probably be an excellent Championship striker. Word is that he wants to be paid EPL wages, which wouldn't be the worst thing, if he could stay on the field. I'd pass as well.

[MarkInLondon]

All quite on the London, SE16 front.

[dirtynine]

And just like that, Brighton sign long time Man Utd. #2 Tomasz Kuszczak for the keeper spot. Very good news, though Guzan would have been pretty cool too.

[americantrotter]

Ahh, I needed a thread to post in. Bolton don't have any other fans here so i never made a thread for them in the Prem.

We've got a new kit, shed the dead weight, hopefully have our best players fit, and most of our fans are looking forward to playing some old rivalries.

COYW

[dirtynine]

Brighton sign Wayne Bridge on a season-long loan! Not too shabby considering where the club was a few years ago.

[goyangfc]

No confirmation yet, but it looks like Cardiff will sign 22-year-old South Korean winger Kim Bo-Kyung from Cerezo Osaka before the Olympic Football Tournament.

http://www1.skysport...eading-Kim-race

[sachmoney]

I guess this is the correct place to put this (unless Zomp wants to break this out). Fabrice Muamba was forced to retire today.

[Dummy Hoy]

Wednesday draws 2-2 at Derby to open their Championship campaign. Wednesday fell behind 2-0 early, but Chris O'Grady put one in late in the 1st half, and Reda Johnson tied it up in the 90th minute after sustained pressure. Derby tried to park the bus with about 25 minutes remaining and paid for it.

Wednesday opened Monday's League Cup game against Oldham by falling behind 2-0 early as well (before winning 4-2). Not a good start for the defense (new keeper Chris Kirkland has been great by all accounts), although there is something to be said for two clean second halves. Of course Derby stopped going forward a bit earlier than they should have.

I think this was a solid result though, especially for a team that should aspire to end up mid-table. They've got a mix of talent right now, and some of their Championship level talent is still young and probably not ready to make a major impact this season. I'd be satisfied with any non-relegation finish, pleased with a finish in the top 10-15, and estatic with any sort of threat at a playoff spot.

[Dummy Hoy]

Real solid home opener for the Owls, beating Birmingham 3-2, although the game wasn't that close. Newly signed and sought after striker Rodri (on a season long loan from Barca B) netted a goal in his debut, following Reda Johnson's 2nd of the year. The incredibly frustrating Jermaine Johnson scored late to put the game away, although a stupid penalty by Reda gave Birmingham a PK in added time. Nice to not start down 0-2.

Millwall comes to Hillsborough on Saturday. Mark- any thoughts on what we'll see?

[DLew On Roids]

Not sure if you saw this about Rodri, DH:

45]
Guillem BalagueVerified‏@GuillemBalague

SWFC fans asking about Rodri: bit of a character, has eye for goal, not quickest or strongest, but confident, instinctive natural finisher.

[Dummy Hoy]

Thanks DLew.

Dave Jones claimed a PL manger contacted him after he signed Rodri and asked "how the...he got him out of Barcalona." With Wednesday's fan base, stadium, and upwards trajectory, they're acquiring some talent that they would not have been in a conversation with at almost any point in the last 15 years; talented young players who want a chance to get some burn. Rodri is apparently on a year long loan, but with a thought of transferring after this season if he likes the English game. Good news is that Rodri already seems to like playing for Wednesday. After watching the 2-2 draw at Derby he said "I was at the game on Saturday and I thought the team did very well in the second half, the fans on a scale of 0-10 were definitely a 10. It was a massive crowd that came from Sheffield...That was an away game for the club so I can't wait to see them in a home game. I come here with a lot of excitement and I want to start as soon as possible." The Hillsborough crowd reciprocated, roaring when he backflipped after scoring and chanting his name when he came off in the 2nd half.

I really like how Jones is going about it, signing a mix of older, Championship or higher experienced players (Kirkland, Gardner, etc) and rolling the dice on some young upside guys (McCabe, Amado, Mayor, Rodri). They've also brought back some key parts from last year (Reda, Semedo, Antonio, Llera) who are capable of making a difference at this level. I don't expect an assault upon promotion quite yet, but for the first time in a long, long time, I'm feeling confident that I'll see Wednesday in the Premiership again someday.

[Dummy Hoy]

Well, the Owls lost for the first time since last February (Jones out now!), conceding a late goal and falling 2-1 at Crystal Palace (sorry dirtynine). CPFC is not a squad I would have liked to have lost points to, but it's inevitable that they lose at some point under Dave Jones. Good news is that they strengthened the squad on the last day of the transfer market, getting QPR's Jay Bothroyd on a 6 month loan and signing Martin Taylor to a two year deal, which should help the back line (which needs a bit of help). I remain optimistic heading into the first break, but Wednesday has Brighton in two weeks, followed by Huddersfield, Bolton and Wolves (with a League Cup match at Southampton mixed in somewhere). I'll have a better feel for the team after that stretch.

[Dummy Hoy]

Happy 145th birthday to The Wednesday Football Club.

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

I don't think they read this thread so I hope you sent a card.

Aldershot are doing very poorly in the tables so far and are playing even worse. Streakiness was a big problem last seaso and we are starting the year on a bad streak.

Blech.

[Dummy Hoy]

Wednesday with a terrible run of form, losing their 4th in a row and sinking to 21st in the table. Over that span they've played well in spurts, and got hosed when Huddersfield got two penalties, but they also got outplayed pretty badly by Brighton and looking spotty against Bolton today.

Much as their hot start didn't get me too excited, this run doesn't have me too worried, although some fans have been fairly open in their contempt for the current run of play. I don't really get that attitude, as people know (or should have known) that this was/is a process, and success isn't going to come overnight in a league that is significantly more difficult than L1.

One interesting general soccer note/question- One of the big complaints from fans (even the reasonable ones) is that while Chris Kirkland is a fabulous shot stopper, they feel he's not vocal enough and is a large part of the reason that the defense is so porous. Not having played organized soccer since I was in high school, I was a bit surprised that people felt that was such a major part of the goaltender's duty. Given that, how does one really judge/rate that skill for a keeper?

[Spacemans Bong]

I think that's a bit of a copout but a goalkeeper definitely has some responsibility in communicating with his defense as he's in a perfect position to see the opposing team's movement.

[dirtynine]

Brighton, top of the league after five straight wins. (Palace, 15th.) Early days, but life is good in the Championship.

[Dummy Hoy]

Brighton looks real strong.

[dirtynine]

Not to bump too many old threads, but the Championship is coming down to the last few jostles now.  Congrats to Cardiff, who are going up as Champions.  Here's how the league looks now:

 

 1 85 Cardiff             clinched league championship / promotion
 2 78 Hull                clinched at least playoffs
----------
 3 74 Watford             clinched at least playoffs
 4 69 Brighton
 5 67 Crystal Palace
 6 66 Bolton
----------
 7 65 Leicester
 8 64 Nottingham Forest
 9 61 Charlton
10 60 Birmingham
11 58 Derby
12 58 Middlesbrough
13 58 Leeds
14 57 Ipswich
15 56 Blackburn
16 55 Burnley
17 55 Blackpool
18 55 Sheffield Wednesday
19 55 Millwall
20 54 Huddersfield
21 51 Peterborough
----------
22 51 Wolverhampton Wanderers
23 51 Barnsley
24 41 Bristol City       clinched relegation

 

 

Playoff dates 

two-legged home/home semis; final at Wembley

 

Thu 9 May – 6th place v 3rd place 

Fri 10 May – 5th place v 4th place 

Sun 12 May – 3rd place v 6th place 

Mon 13 May – 4th place v 5th place

Mon 27 May – play-off final

 

Games to keep an eye on

Fri 26 April: Leicester v. Watford promotion implications

Sat 27 April: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Burnley relegation implications

Sat 27 April: Peterborough v Sheffield Wednesday relegation implications

Sat 4 May: Crystal Palace v Peterborough pro & rel implications

Sat 4 May: Huddersfield v Barnsley HUGE rel implications

Sat 4 May: Nottingham Forest v Leicester  promotion implications

 

Brighton clinch at least the playoffs with a win at Leeds this coming Saturday.  If things stand as they are, they'd match up with rivals Palace in an epic two-legged playoff matchup. 

[tulse_luper]

Watford beat Leicester tonight to close the gap behind Hull City to 1 point.

Mighty Tigers away at Barnsley tomorrow and then at home vs Cardiff on last day.

Hard fixtures to read - Barnsley crap but with a lot on the line, and Cardiff the class of the division but perhaps not that arsed with nowt left to play for.

I really fear we're gonna screw this up, from a position that looked all but unfuckupable about 10 days ago.

[Dummy Hoy]

Ouch.

 

 

Hull win or tie would have guaranteed Wednesday staying up (with Wolves losing). Proverbial squeeky bum time now.

[tulse_luper]

The shit trickling down their legs was visible from space. Abysmal.

[Dummy Hoy]

And Wednesday follows suit with an uninspired performance at Peterborough. Game was on Sky Sports 2. I wish it hadn't been.

 

One of five teams could end up in the final relegation slot. 

[americantrotter]

A win for Bolton against Blackpool and we're in the playoffs. Other results can put us there too but a win is best.

Squeaky bum time.

[Dummy Hoy]

A win for Bolton against Blackpool and we're in the playoffs. Other results can put us there too but a win is best.

Squeaky bum time.

 

I thought I may have misspelled squeaky.

 

Blackpool is crap, you're in.

[dirtynine]

Brighton is in! Only question now is if a Palace matchup in the opening round is in the cards. If that does indeed happen, I urge everybody to make the effort to watch. Strange rivarly but it'll be blood sport.

[Dummy Hoy]

HT in the UK right now.

Wednesday with a commanding 2-0 lead at home over Middlesbrough.
Away squad Barnsley with a 1-0 lead on Huddersfield.
Palace just tied up Peterborough 1-1.
Bolton has come back from two down to tie Blackpool 2-2.
Leicester up 2-1 on Forest.
Leeds up 1-0 on Watford.

It's all very complicated, but at this point Peterborough is out, Hull gets the second automatic spot, and Leicester beats out Bot.on for the last playoff spot on goal differential.

9th place is 6 points up on 21st. What a season.

Edit: in the last 8 minutes of game time, the 3rd relegated team has gone from Huddersfield to Peterborough to Barnsley. Whew.

Also awesome, apparently Wolves fans started singing "que sera sera, whatever wil be wil be, we're going to Shrewsbury."

Edited by Dummy Hoy, 04 May 2013 - 08:03 AM.

[CSteinhardt]

As of this moment, if Huddersfield score one more goal they finish 12th, and if they concede one more they finish 22nd and down.  

[Dummy Hoy]

There's your conceded goal.11+ minutes for the Terriers to equalize.

And there it is. 81st minute.

Edited by Dummy Hoy, 04 May 2013 - 08:29 AM.

[Dummy Hoy]

Hull trying to give this away...conceded a penalty to 10 man Cardiff in the 90th minute which opens the door for Watford if they can score again.

Peterborough is the third relegated team, Leicester is the last playoff team on GD, and 4 min of regulation left for Watford.

[Dummy Hoy]

Leeds just scored in the 90th minute.

Congrats TL.

Playoffs are Watford/Leicester and Brighton/Palace. Good luck with that one dirtynine.

[CSteinhardt]

The end of our match consisted of the Barnsley keeper with the ball at his feet, being told by his players to stay there and not kick it, while we sat back at midfield and waited for the referee to blow the whistle. 

[americantrotter]

It's another year in the Championship for Bolton. Hopefully we consolidate this seasons gains and put forth a full season next year.

Down to the last minute. Ugh.

[Infield Infidel]

14 pts between playoffs and relegation. Amazing.

[URI]

What's more amazing to me is something I read on the Twitter today.

15 years ago, the bottom 5 places in the Football League were:

20 Swansea City
21 Cardiff City
22 Hull City
23 Brighton Hove & Albion
24 Doncaster Rovers

In 2013/14, Swansea, Cardiff, and Hull are up in the Prem and Brighton have a shot.

[dirtynine]

Leeds just scored in the 90th minute.

Congrats TL.

Playoffs are Watford/Leicester and Brighton/Palace. Good luck with that one dirtynine.

 

I expect these playoffs to be some can't-miss football.  Brighton/Palace will be wild, and Watford is a fascinating club right now. Wonder how their keeper situation will look at that point. 

[Dummy Hoy]

What's more amazing to me is something I read on the Twitter today.15 years ago, the bottom 5 places in the Football League were:20 Swansea City21 Cardiff City22 Hull City23 Brighton Hove & Albion24 Doncaster RoversIn 2013/14, Swansea, Cardiff, and Hull are up in the Prem and Brighton have a shot.

Do you mean at the bottom of league 2?

[URI]

Yes the Football League. Positions 88, 89, 90, 91, and 92 on the Pyramid.

[soxfan121]

What's more amazing to me is something I read on the Twitter today.

15 years ago, the bottom 5 places in the Football League were:

20 Swansea City
21 Cardiff City
22 Hull City
23 Brighton Hove & Albion
24 Doncaster Rovers

In 2013/14, Swansea, Cardiff, and Hull are up in the Prem and Brighton have a shot.

 

Doncaster sucks.

[Royal Reader]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUCK PETERBOROUGH.

[URI]

Doncaster sucks.

 

Just got promoted to the Championship.

[tulse_luper]

Bloody hell. That was excruciating. Lucky lucky lucky boys.

 

I hope someone has confiscated that Watford keeper's shoelaces.

If we can use some of the pots of Premier League £££ to disappear Nick Proschwitz and have everyone pretend he never happened, that would be good. 

[Dummy Hoy]

Just got promoted to the Championship.

 

and they'll go right back down like last time.

[soxfan121]

Just got promoted to the Championship.

 

It didn't say that in your post about the successes of the other four clubs. Good times for everyone on that list.

 

Or, I'm dumb. Take your pick.

[DLew On Roids]

 

Just got promoted to the Championship.

 

And how they got there was un-be-leeeeeev-able:

 

The finish starts at about 2:33.