The Championship - Week 11 review / Week 12 preview

By Andrew Iddon

Week 11 - Things are starting to look worrying for Ipswich manager Roy Keane after his side failed again to notch up their first win of the season. Having conceded a stoppage time equaliser to Sheffield United in midweek, this time a goal in time added on cost them even a point. Jon Macken - a former trainee with Keane’s old side Manchester United - struck from the edge of the area to give Barnsley all three points. The game could have been the Tykes’ before Macken struck, with Iain Hume hitting the woodwork from the penalty spot. Hume had put Barnsley ahead early on only for on-loan Liam Rosenior to head an equaliser for the Tractor Boys. With just five points from eleven games, the pressure is on Keane, and it showed with his angry handling of the post-match media.

It was Barnsley’s second straight win, and another side at the bottom end of the table to achieve this feat were Plymouth. Rory Fallon gave the Pilgrims the lead, heading home a Gary Sawyer cross. Gary Hooper levelled from the spot for visitors Scunthorpe before the hosts got a penalty of their own a minute later, dispatched by Alan Judge to make it six points out of six for Paul Sturrock’s side after seven straight defeats.

Nottingham Forest picked up their third consecutive win as they triumphed at Peterborough. Forest are unbeaten on the road this season and they came from behind with goals from Radoslaw Majewski and Paul Anderson to win at London Road. Aaron Mclean had given the home side the lead moments before Majewski’s goal and it is now three games without a point for Darren Ferguson’s Posh. Joining Peterborough in the bottom four are Reading who crashed at home to Middlesbrough. Sean St Ledger and Royals old-boy Leroy Lita grabbed Boro’s goals to leave Reading winless in 14 attempts at home.

There were goalless draws for the clubs beginning the weekend in the top three. Preston and West Brom cancelled each other out at Deepdale, whilst Newcastle were held by Bristol City. It was the Magpies second straight home draw having previously won their first four games at St James Park, and the first time they had failed to score in any league game this season. The points were also shared in the M69 derby at the Ricoh Arena, with Leicester’s Martyn Waghorn cancelling out Sammy Clingan’s opener for Coventry, as well as in the game between Sheffield United and Doncaster.

Crystal Palace continued their good form with a convincing win over previously high-flying Blackpool. Palace are struggling for fit strikers at the moment but still managed four different names on the scoresheet. Neil Warnock’s side still have a game in hand and a win in that match would put them into the play-off spots. Cardiff made it ten goals in two games with a four goal win at Watford, although for once Michael Chopra was not among the scorers. Cardiff’s midweek victims Derby bounced back with a win over Sheffield Wednesday, whilst there was a victory for Swansea boss Paulo Sousa against his old side, nine-man QPR.

Full Results

Saturday, 3 October 2009
Barnsley 2-1 Ipswich
Coventry 1-1 Leicester
Crystal Palace 4-1 Blackpool
Derby 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Newcastle 0-0 Bristol City
Peterborough 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Plymouth 2-1 Scunthorpe
Preston 0-0 West Brom
Reading 0-2 Middlesbrough
Sheffield United 1-1 Doncaster
Swansea 2-0 QPR
Watford 0-4 Cardiff

Week 12 - A club who will not be relishing the international break are Cardiff. Having scored six against Derby and four against Watford, the Bluebirds have been scoring for fun and look to have rediscovered the form that saw them start the season with a bang. Michael Chopra is clear at the top of the goalscoring charts and Peter Whittingham is also in form - the midfielder having netted four times in the last three games. Opponents Palace are enjoying their best spell of the season so far and both will hope to pick off where they left off before the international break.

It's derby day in South Yorkshire as Doncaster entertain Barnsley. Rovers have drawn their last four games and are unbeaten at home but a failure to find a consistent goalscorer has attributed to them winning just once this season. Donny have picked up as many cards as they have goals, including red cards for former Premier League players John Oster and Quinton Fortune, and boast James Hayter as top-scorer with just three goals. The arrival of Mark Robins has given Barnsley new impetus and the Tykes have taken ten points from five games. They too lack a regular scorer, but the return from injury of Iain Hume after a long time out with a fractured skull has given them a boost, even if he did miss from the penalty spot last time out.

After two defeats in a row on the road, Blackpool have the chance to defend their unbeaten home record against Plymouth. Having been the surprise package of the season so far, the Tangerines have struggled in their past couple of games to cope with the new-found expectations, but in Ian Holloway they possess a manager with the character to bounce back. His team have conceded just twice at Bloomfield Road this season and are the only team to beat Newcastle, so should have enough to see off the Pilgrims. The team from Devon have enjoyed an upturn in recent games, winning the last two, but with due respect to Scunthorpe and Peterborough, the victories did not come against struggling opponents.

West Brom have no win in four games in all competitions and have found the net just once in this period. Roberto Di Matteo has been reluctant to stray from the attractive football that has been the club’s trademark in recent years but may have to compromise and add a more functional aspect to their style of play. The visitors are Reading, a team who look more confident on the road than they do at their Madejski Stadium home, and a failure to win could put the Baggies as low as fifth in the table. The Baggies are another to lack a regular goalscorer with midfielder Chris Brunt their leading scorer with four goals and Roman Bednar the pick of the strikers with just three strikes. As a team they have not been shy of goals for the most part, with 21 so far, but they really need someone who can be relied on to find the net when the team are not playing well.

Week 12 fixtures

Saturday, 17 October 2009
Blackpool vs. Plymouth, 15:00
Bristol City vs. Peterborough, 15:00
Cardiff vs. Crystal Palace, 15:00
Doncaster vs. Barnsley, 15:00
Ipswich vs. Swansea, 15:00
Leicester vs. Derby, 15:00
Middlesbrough vs. Watford, 15:00
Nottingham Forest vs. Newcastle, 17:20
QPR vs. Preston, 15:00
Scunthorpe vs. Sheffield United, 12:00
Sheffield Wed vs. Coventry, 15:00
West Brom vs. Reading, 15:00

The Championship 2009/10

0 Comments

The Weekly Poll