Archive Page 2
Championship Review 2007-2008
1 – West Bromwich Albion
Prediction: 3rd – “the West Brom squad is still one of the best in the league and will definitely be near the top next spring”
Tony Mowbray’s side have played the best football in the Championship this season and deserve to finish top of the pile. As with last year consistency has proved an issue, but with the other big guns all failing to fire, a return to the big time always looked on the cards.
2 – Stoke City
Prediction: 5th – “Tony Pulis has been slowly adding a bit of class to his brand off energetic, aggressive football”
Whilst West Brom were flashy but frail, the Potters were all about endeavour and organisation. Sure, it wasn’t always pretty, but given limited resources Pulis can be more than pleased with his seasons work.
3 – Hull City
Prediction: 19th – “Brown’s managerial record to date is hardly inspiring and he will have learn fast if Hull are to avoid another season of struggle”
Along with Bristol City, Phil Brown’s side have been the league’s surprise package this season; proof that a little money spent wisely can go a long way. The defence has been solid throughout (Myhill and Brown especially) whilst Windass and Man Utd loanee Campbell have kept the side in goals.
4 – Bristol City
Prediciton: 18th – “City have enough quality to pick up regular points at home if not on the road”
Gary Johnson’s side always looked the best placed of the promoted sides to survive in the Championship this year, but nobody could have predicted a top six finish. Marvin Elliott has to be one of the buys of the season.
5 – Crystal Palace
Prediction: 16th – “Peter Taylor could be the first manager to go if his side get off to a slow start”
Wigan’s Dave Whelan was spot on when he noted that appointing the right manager is the most important signing any club can make. Neil Warnock has worked miracles at Palace this season, relying on youngsters rather than his usual wheeling and dealing – and all whilst his former club Sheffield United (whom he left in the summer) floundered under Bryan Robson.
6 – Watford
Prediction: 4th – “Adie Boothroyd returns to the Championship with a better side than when he left last May and should be feeling optimistic for the new campaign”
Watford looked all set to dominate proceedings after a blistering start to the campaign, but fell away badly as their home form collapsed. Many will feel this is nothing less than Boothroyd’s side deserved given their negative bully-boy tactics.
7 – Wolverhampton Wanderers
Prediction: 1st – “They may not dominate proceedings, but don’t bet against them being up there when it really counts come May”
Wolves never really got into gear this year and whilst the January arrival of Sylvain Ebanks-Blake from Plymouth spurred them into an end-of-season revival, 7th is probably all they deserved. Injuries to key personel (especially Michael Kightly) took their toll, but the fact that Mick McCarthy’s side finished lower than in 06/07 despite serious investment will hurt.
8 – Ipswich Town
Prediction: 13th – “No relegation fears, but hardly likely to set the world alight”
A decent season for the Tractor Boys all things considered even if only three wins away from home is hardly good enough. With financial muscle having arrived in the form of the reclusive Marcus Evans, the pressure will be on manager Jim Magilton for at least a top six finish next time around.
9 – Sheffield United
Prediction: 6th – “Having Bryan Robson as manager is a severe handicap for any team no matter how good”
An accident waiting to happen, appointing Bryan Robson as a replacement for Neil Warnock was a terrible mistake on so many levels. Fortunately the board eventually saw the error of their ways and got former Leeds chief and all-round Blades legend Kevin Blackwell on board.
10 – Plymouth Argyle
Prediction: 15th – “Perhaps fans should not expect the top half heroics of the last campaign, but relegation will never be an issue”
Yet again Plymouth have punched above their weight this season, depsite the disruption of losing manager Ian Holloway and stars players such as David Norris and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake. The returning Paul Sturrock spent well in the January window and can be proud of a highly credible tenth place finish.
11 – Charlton Athletic
Prediction: 2nd – “Charlton have managed to retain a decent nucleus of players from their Premier League squad and look the best placed of the relegated teams to make an immediate return”
Whilst looking odds on for at least a top six finish for much of the campaign, the Addicks lost the ability to win just when it mattered most. Goals were a problem throughout the season, but all too often manager Alan Pardew was tactically naive and failed to utilise the talent at his disposal.
12 – Cardiff City
Prediction: 17th – “With goal machine Michael Chopra gone, it would be very surprising to see the Welsh side bothering the top ten”
Cardiff started slowly, but gained momentum as the season progressed. Overall Dave Jones should be relatively happy with what his side have achieved this season, especially given their amazing FA Cup run.
13 – Burnley
Prediction: 12th – “Whilst the Burnley first eleven looks pretty sharp, Steve Cotterill has worryingly little squad depth”
Steve Cotterill bowed out in the Autumn after three and a half years in charge with former St Johnstone boss Owen Coyle left to pick up the pieces. Home form may have been iffy throughout the campaign, but the Claret’s away record turned out to be the best in the bottom half.
14 – Queens Park Rangers
Prediction: 20th – “By rights QPR should probably be relegated this season, however they are fortunate in so far as there are a least three clubs with a worse chance of beating the drop”
A season of two halves for QPR, who utlilised some of their new found fortune to mount a post-Christmas turnaround. Officially now the wealthiest club in British football (taking into account the financial clout of their backers) fans can expect some big arrivals at Loftus Road over the summer.
15 – Preston North End
Prediction: 14th – ” You have to wonder about where the goals are going to come from for Preston this season”
For much of the early part of the campaign Preston jusr couldn’t seem to find the back of the net and ultimately this cost Paul Simpson his job. Former Everton assistant boss Alan Irvine arrived with no real track record, but did excellently to guide the Lilywhites to safety with a couple of games to spare.
16 – Sheffield Wednesday
Prediction: 11th – “Wednesday are yet to spend a penny this summer and the squad looks as thin as ever, but this is no reason not to expect another mid-table finish”
Brian Laws had a tremendous first season with Wednesday in 06/07, leading his side to a top ten finish. However just as everything seemed to go right last year, everything went wrong this time around. Next season will be massive for both Laws and Wednesday.
18 – Norwich City
Prediction: 10th – “Much will rest on whether Cureton can develop a partnership with gangly Czech Strihavka in the same way that he did with Iwelumo last season”
A dreadful season for Norwich which must have left many fans wondering how a club that was in the Premier League only three seasons ago has been left with so few decent players. New man Roeder led a partial revival mid-season, but 18th place is hardly good enough.
18 – Barnsley
Prediction: 21st – “Home form kept Barnsley up last season and they will need to continue to make Oakwell a fortress if they are to repeat the feat”
Simon Davey’s side started brilliantly, but fell away badly and found themselves dragged into the relegation battle as the season wore on. Goals proved a problem, particuarly on the road, and Barnsley will be in a long queue of sides looking for new striking talent in the close season.
19 – Blackpool
Prediction: 22nd – “Given their somewhat underwhelming activity in the transfer market Blackpool are going to do well to escape the drop”
07/08 has been a fantastic season for Blackpool given the resources available to manager Simon Grayson. A good start provided the solid grounding needed to mount a survival campaign and whilst wins were few and far between in the post-Christmas period, the Seasiders deserve another season in the big time.
20 – Southampton
Prediction: 8th – “If everything comes together promotion is a real possibility, just don’t bet on it”
Whilst Southampton started the season with the players capable of mounting a promotion challenge, increasingly shambolic management both on and off the pitch saw them plunge down the league. George Burley then jumped ship and it was left to rookie Nigel Pearson to save the day – just.
21 – Coventry City
Prediction: 9th – “Dowie appears to have recruited well with a good mix of youth and experience”
Manager Ian Dowie blotted his copy book yet again with a poor showing in admittedly difficult circumstances, but it was no real suprise when new owner Ray Ranson sent him on his way and whilst new man Coleman did scarely any better in the hot seat, he is surely a stronger long term bet.
22 – Leicester City
Prediction: 7th – “It’s difficult to know what to make of Leicester City. Signings like DJ Campell and Carl Cort are hardly inspirational, but Martin Allen has brought success to every club he has managed and should probably not be doubted”
Nobody could have predicted the sorry tale that has been Leicester City’s season. Milan Mandaric’s stewardship of the club has been a disaster from day one and City’s fate this year should prove a cautionary lesson for trigger happy chairmen everywhere.
23 – Scunthorpe United
Prediction: 24th – “The Championship is all about goals and without Billy Sharp you have to wonder how Scunthorpe are actually going to score”
Ian Atkins’ side battled gamely throughout the season, but always seemed likely to come up short. Nevertheless there has been no disgrace in the way the Iron have performed this year and in Martin Paterson they have a player who will be in demand come the summer.
24 – Colchester United
Prediction: 23rd – “Having lost arguably their four most influential players over the summer 2007-2008 looks like being a real struggle”
A defence with more leaks than a very leaky thing indeed cost Colchester dear this season; only one clean sheet in their last 20 matches tells its own story. Admittedly the U’s have been short of resources throughout their two year stay in the Championship, but there’s no excuse for defending as badly as they have this year.
Click here to see my pre-season Championship predictions in full
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Tags: football, football championship
David Gray is the sort of musician who just quietly gets on with the business of writing and performing without ever really getting the credit he deserves.
The wobbly-headed-folk-tinged wonder may have only ever had two top ten hits (‘Babylon’ in 2000 and ‘The One I Love’ in 2005), but the quality of songs performed on his latest ‘Greatest Hits’ tour only serves to underline his status as the UK’s #1 singer songwriter.
Gray begins each set with a number of acoustic tracks before moving on to the full band numbers, almost as a nod to his folk beginnings.
‘Babylon’ was dispensed with in this opening section – in good style with a nice crowd sing-a-long – however it was not until the epic ‘Sail Away’ that things really started to liven up.
Throughout the performance Gray’s stage manner was vaguely reminiscent of a singing Jack Dee (grumpy but in an endearing way), only really pausing between songs to mock a man who kept shouting random compliments during the quiet bits.
In many ways perhaps the most surprising aspect of Gray’s set was a tendency towards experimentation which saw a number of tracks stretch well over their regular length.
‘Lately’ from 2005’s ‘Life In Slow Motion’ probably didn’t deserve the ten minute treatment – the three or so minutes of the original track being more than enough – however the version of ‘Nightblindness’ performed in the encore was just astonishing.
Indeed the final third of the set (‘Nightblindness’, ‘Be Mine’ and ‘The Other Side in particular) showed Gray to have a real flair in terms of arrangement, which given the sometimes mundane production on the bulk of his recordings was very welcome.
Overall though, the whole show just had the feeling of top pro performing right at the top of this game. I got home and immediately had to listen to the CDs – you can’t get better than that.
Next up for Gray is a new studio album. If this gig is anything to go by it should be a cracker.
Set:
Shine
Living Room
Babylon
Long Black Veil
From Here You Can Almost See The Sea
You’re The World To Me
Sail Away
Late Night Radio
Slow Motion
Lately
This Year’s Love
The One I Love
Everytime
Hospital Food
Be Mine
The Other Side
Nightblindness
Please Forgive Me
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Tags: cambridge corn exchange, david gray, indie, live music
He’s Back!
Shefki Kuqi has returned to Ipswich on loan from Crystal Palace until the end of the season and personally I couldn’t be more delighted.
With Jonathon Walters seemingly out for the rest of the season and Danny Haynes increasingly named in the starting eleven we needed a new striking option – Kuqi is just the man.
Sure, he’s never been particularly great on the ball and he can’t head for toffee, but in terms of work rate and enthusiasm, you will not find a better player.
As long as expectations aren’t too high, Kuqi will do a more than passable job of adding to the forward mix with Alan Lee and Pablo Counago.
If we could just get Darren Bent back too, then we’d really be laughing…actually probably not with our defence.
Shefki’s record as an Ipswich player:
Signed from Sheffield Wednesday – September ‘03 (Free)
Signed for Blackburn Rovers – July ‘05 (Free)
2003-2004 – Games 44, Goals 12
2004-2005 – Games 48, Goals 22
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Tags: football, ipswich town, shefki kuqi
February 29th 2008
Given that February 29th only comes around every four years it seems rude not to make some sort of post.
But why the picture of Bono? Well, I was trying to think of some sort of clever pictorial reference to the number 29 and after a bit of surfing discovered the following:
29 Palms is apparently the name of a small city in the Mojave Desert, which is home to the Joshua Tree National Park, where U2 took the inspiration for their most famous album ‘The Joshua Tree’.
So I decided to represent February 29th 2008 via an image of Bono. Okay, so not all that clever…but up until now I’ve never posted about Bono on my blog before which I think could have been very damaging for his ego should he have ever found out.
So I’ve killed two birds with one stone and now everyone’s favourite political campaigner and sometime rock star can now sleep safe in the knowledge he has finally got the Peter Swan blog recognition he deserves.
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Tags: bono, february 29th, leap year, the joshua tree, u2
Sympathy for Taylor
It goes without saying that Arsenal’s Eduardo must be feeling awful following the horrific injury he sustained in yesterday’s match with Birmingham. You can check the photos out in a variety of places on the net and it’s fair to say it doesn’t make nice viewing.
I have to admit, however, to feeling a certain tinge of sympathy for the perpetrator of the tackle, Birmingham captain Martin Taylor. Sure, it was a bad challenge which deserved a red card, but no decent human being could ever intend to hurt someone in such a way.
Taylor must be devastated by what has happened, and genuinely I hope people won’t be too harsh by the Brum captain. At the end of the day, he was out skilled by a better player.
Like with anything else, footballers can make mistakes. Lets just hope it’s a long while before anything like this happens again and that Eduardo can be back playing for Arsenal before too long.
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Tags: arsenal, birmingham city, eduardo, football, martin taylor, premier league, Uncategorized
Q’s Best British Albums…Ever
As we all know, those folks at Q Magazine just love publishing lists. Best albums, best songs, best haircuts, worst albums, worst songs, worst haircuts – you name it Q will have listed it.
This month it was the turn of ‘Best British Album’ apparently to celebrate fifty years of British pop or some such. Q readers – along with people who shop in HMV – were encouraged to vote for their favourite British albums of all time.
Below is the top ten. Can you spot which bands record company has clearly been fixing the vote?
1 Oasis – Definitely Maybe
2 Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
3 Radiohead – OK Computer
4 Beatles – Revolver
5 Stone Roses – Stone Roses
6 Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
7 Clash – London Calling
8 Keane – Under the Iron Sea
9 Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
10 Verve – Urban Hymns
That’s right, we all just love ‘Under the Iron Sea’.
To be fair to Tom Chaplin and co, I own it and do listen to it from time to time (there’s a very fine bit of organ in ‘Hamburg Song’), but 8th greatest British album of all time? I think not.
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Tags: hmv, keane, oasis, pink floyd, q magazine, radiohead, the beatles, the clash, the stone roses, the verve, tom chaplin
Inter’s Foreign Legion
Since England bombed out of the European Championships last November, the perceived lack of English talent turning out for the top Premier League sides has come under increasing scrutiny.
More than once, I’ve heard it argued that England will never be a force on the international stage until the top clubs are forced to give a chance to more home grown talent.
However when Liverpool took on Inter Milan this evening, the players named by the top domestic side in the country that currently holds the World Cup were as follows:
GK – Julio Cesar (Brazil)
RB – Maicon (Brazil)
CB – Ivan Cordoba (Columbia)
CB – Marco Matterazzi (Italy)
LB – Christian Chivu (Romania)
RM – Javier Zanetti (Argentina)
CM – Dejan Stankovic (Serbia)
CM – Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina)
LM – Maxwell (Brazil)
FW – Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
FW – Julio Cruz (Argentina)
S1 – Francesco Toldo (Italy)
S2 – Nicolás Burdisso (Argentina)
S3 – Patrick Vieira (France)
S4 – Maniche (Portugal)
S5 – Luis Figo (Portugal)
S6 – David Suazo (Honduras)
Hardly flush with top Italian players are they?
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Tags: england, football, inter milan, liverpool
Ski Sunday
What is going on with BBC Two’s ‘Ski Sunday’ programme?
I appreciate they wanted to do something different with the format after dropping it a few years back, but what used a be the skiing equivalent of ‘Match of the Day’ has now become a soft peddled fusion of sport, travel and light entertainment.
Basically the BBC have come up with a show that seems to want to please everybody, but in reality will please nobody. By adding celebrity challenges and odd bits of holiday programme style reporting, the producers are basically saying that skiing in itself is not popular enough to warrent a serious programme all of its own.
Which is probably why they axed the whole thing in the first place!
So fair play, they didn’t just want to peddle the same old show just to see to fail yet again. But rather than ramming together a collection of poor ideas stolen from other shows, surely the production talent of the BBC could have come up with something a little more imaginative and coherent?
Don’t expect a second series.
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Tags: bbc, ski sunday, television
Fog Stops Play
Arguably fog is one of the less disruptive forms of bad weather, but for all of that it’s still pretty rubbish.
I was watching Histon play Stafford Rangers in the Conference Premier on Tuesday night when the first bits of whispy mist started to descend. Having sat through a pretty foggy game at Ipswich a few years back I didn’t really think much of it to begin with, however as the game got into the second half it was becoming increasingly difficult to see the players on the far side.
Then, all of a sudden, the fog was everywhere. The ref tried to carry on, but all was in vane – not least because luminous balls aren’t standard issue in non-league! The players were confused, the management were confused, the supporters were confused. Nobody could see anything. By the time the game was finally abandoned, the fog was so thick you literally could see no more than five paces ahead of yourself.
When I eventually left the stadium – after grabbing an interview with new Histon man Jack Midson – everything was deserted like some sort of apocalyptic Hollywood film set. Nothing, it seems, gets people indoors like a good bit of fog. Then, to make things even worse, it’s all still hanging around the next morning. Rubbish.
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Tags: conference premier, fog, football, histon, weather
Richard Naylor = Legend
Richard Naylor made his first start in Town colours for over a year last night against Crystal Palace. The former striker turned defender hadn’t played since aggravating a toe injury in the game away at Palace last season.
Naylor has been awesome for us in defence over the last few seasons and has been a real loss over the last twelve months. I was a bit worried that after so long out he would struggle with the pace of a full Championship match, but by the sounds of things both he was De Vos were outstanding last night.
Hopefully Naylor can give us the boost we need in defence over the next few weeks, especially with Alexander having gone. If we’re to make the play-offs this season Naylor is surely going to have a big part to play.
Height: 185cm
Weight: 85.8kg
DOB: 28-02-1977 (30 years old)
Nationality: English
International caps: 0
Signed for Ipswich: From academy (1995)
Appearances: 233(112)
Goals: 40
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Tags: football, ipswich town, richard naylor
