Category Archives: Lower divisions

News, views, and reports pertaining to Europe’s lower divisions.

Port Vale: The Potteries see a contrast in fortunes across the City

  By O-Posts Team | April 10, 2013 - 13:46 | , , ,
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On Saturday, Stoke were booed off at half-time against Aston Villa and the mood failed to improve in the second half as Matt Lowton and Christian Benteke earned the visitors a pivotal victory in the relegation battle. Villa left the Potters just three points off the drop zone with six matches remaining, having won just one game in their last twelve games and scoring just four times in their last eight.

A malaise has set in at the Britannia through dull football and poor results to put Tony Pulis under severe pressure. Supporters are refusing to renew season tickets through the utmost concern of where the club is heading under a manager that has spent £77 million since gaining promotion in 2008 and has failed to yet land a top half finish. Now, the prospect of relegation is looming and the discontent is emanating vocally from the crowd.

The night beforehand, across town and three divisions lower, Port Vale were hammering Burton Albion 7-1 in a League Two fixture that positioned them on the brink of promotion, a margin of six points provides their cushion on the automatic places. It has been a season founded on the attacking intent of a 4-4-2 with the flying wing-play of Ashley Vincent and Jennison Myrie-Williams, providing striker Tom Pope, who got his 32nd goal of the season against Burton.

The 27 year old was named as League Two’s player of the season a fortnight ago and before Lee Hughes arrived in January to contribute 9 goals in 14, he was single-handedly firing Vale’s promotion charge. His 32 goals have accounted for a significant portion of their club total of 81, the highest amount in all of England’s top four divisions.

It is in stark contrast to the years of misfortune that Vale fans have been forced to endure at Boardroom level. Financial mismanagement brought last season’s administration that ultimately cost them a play-off spot and, last March, the club were staring down the barrel of extinction over unpaid tax bills and an outstanding £1.8 million loan from the city’s council.

Transfer embargoes and unpaid wages followed before November’s takeover over Paul Wildes, a businessman from the Wirral, and Norman Smurthwaite bought brighter days. The duo have renovated the outlook of the club, from a previously insular, uncommunicative board that issued numerous false promises, they have been on a charm-offensive, holding Q&A nights and promising a new superstore, a new ticket office and price initiatives. The game against Burton for example, a huge night in the race for promotion, attracted 10,000 fans as prices were reduced to £9. The new chairmanship have also promised to finalise the building work on the unfinished Lorne Street stand.

“I think the club has the potential to be a Championship club” Wildes has said, stating his ambition to lead the club into more successful times, and there’s no reason, with such healthy backing, why cannot return there after they departed in 2000. After 41 years, they are the second tier’s longest serving members out of the clubs who have yet to reach the top division. Vale Park holds 19,000 fans and the relentless drive by the owners to appeal to the supporters bodes well for the future, they have also planned for a highly competitive budget should they finish the job of getting to League One next year.

Adams.... has managed to steady the Port Vale ship.

Adams…. has managed to steady the Port Vale ship.

Despite some rocky form in March, Micky Adams has managed to steady the ship and put them on the brink of finishing the job he has been intent on completing since returning to the club in 2011. He has achieved it with a close-knit squad that with the likes of Doug Loft, Louis Dodds, John McCombe, Adam Yates, Pope and Rob Taylor was built on the basic principles of experience and camaraderie.

Lee Hughes and Darren Purse arrived in January to add further lower league know-how whilst Chris Birchall and Anthony Griffith, former loyal Vale servants, returned to bolster a midfield that contains the hugely promising 20 year old Sam Morsy. Adams also has a talented teenage defender in Joe Davis but the criticism remains that not enough talent is emerging from the youth set-up, something that the Wildes regime has sought to solve by planning to improving training facilities. In the meantime, Vale have been taking advantage of their Staffordshire base to train at the National Football Centre at Burton.

The promotion party will be even sweeter to the Vale fans who witnessed the poisonous era of Perry Deakin, Bill Bratt and co. that formed the previous board in which progression was sacrificed for personal profit and greed. It was described the the supporter’s group at the time as a “perfect administration” and, after the arrival of Wildes and his partner, it can be argued as being just that.

The good times are back in Staffordshire, but only in the white half of town.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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English Championship: Pursuing Promotion

  By O-Posts Team | March 23, 2013 - 16:46 | , , ,
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The dog fight – the title best describing the Championship.

Cardiff are the only team consistently taking home three points. Leaving a dog fight for the second automatic promotion place. There is such a high level of expectancy for Malky Mackay’s men, as they have failed to get through the play-offs year after year. They now open a seven point gap on their promotion chasing rivals, with a game in hand.

Hull sitting in second place are trying to secure the remaining automatic promotion place to the Premier League. Steve Bruce has to take the praise for his signing of David Meyler from Sunderland, who has turned out to be a real talisman for the Tigers.

Controversial Watford lie in third thanks to the loan signings from the Pozzo families other club Udinese. Zola’s side have really been a joy to watch with their elegant passing and clinical finishing, evidently the Italian roots have surely played a part.

Just a point behind Watford in fourth are Crystal Palace who really have caught everyone’s eye this season. One player that deserves a tremendous amount of credit is Glenn Murray who really has had an eye for goal this season. He is currently the Championships top scorer, netting 29 times so far in the current campaign.

Nottingham Forest are the next team to lie in a play-off place. Billy Davies has made an immediate impact on his return to the City Ground, picking up 19 points from a possible 21 including six wins a row and remains unbeaten. This has pushed Forest up to a convincing fifth position when many people thought they were down and out for the Premier League chase.

Davies..... immediate impact.

Davies….. immediate impact.

Leicester are the final team to fill up the last remaining play-off place. Only by goal difference over Brighton, they sit just a point behind Billy Davies’ side. Nigel Pearson’s Leicester have been a breath of fresh air in front of goal this season up until now. Recent weeks indicate that the forwards have suffered with David Nugent and Chris Wood only bagging one goal between them in the last five games.

It would be a brave man to predict the outcome of the end of the season. Watford and Crystal Palace would be most suited in the top flight purely on their playing style it may seem. That is if Watford can keep hold of their loanees and Palace can retain the services of the reliable Glenn Murray, following Wilfried Zaha’s departure to Manchester United next season.

With eight games to go and only nine points separating second and seventh it will be an exciting run in to the end of season, with teams stepping up a gear and fighting for promotion to secure Premier League status.

 

Written by Ben Miller

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Special Feature: The 5 Most Shocking Football Disasters Ever

  By O-Posts Team | March 14, 2013 - 18:18 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Live football is enjoyed all around the world, and as much is done as possible to keep these events safe. Unfortunately, disaster can strike, and over the years there have been a few tragic disasters that have led to fans being seriously injured or even killed.

These events and the people lost are still strongly remembered by everyone in the football world. In no particular order, here is a countdown of 5 of the most shocking disasters to have struck.

 

1.            Hillsborough, Sheffield, 1989

Memorial

The match was a semi final cup tie against Nottingham Forest. Perhaps the most high profile disaster, this saw 96 Liverpool fans die in a horrific crush at the start of the game. This notorious disaster is thought to have occurred due to poor crowd management with too many fans entering in the same pens.

 

2.            Burnden Park, Bolton, 1946

After a football game

This disaster is another crowd management issue which saw roughly 85,000 fans try to get into the stadium to see Bolton v Stoke in the FA Cup. This was over capacity and the resulting crush caused two metal barriers to break, subsequently killing 33 fans and injuring a further 400 people.

 

3.            Valley Parade, Bradford, 1985

Flag in a stadium

A wooden stand structure in the Bradford Stadium was set alight when a fan supposedly dropped a match or lit cigarette. A fire started below the stand when the rubbish beneath caught fire. Extinguishers could not be found and the fire brigade was called but, terribly, 56 fans were killed and a further 265 suffered wounds.

 

4.            Estadio Nacional, Lima, 1964


After a football game

This may be the worst recorded stadium disaster in history. A disallowed goal saw an angered fan chase the referee and take him down, which is said to have upset other supporters that then retaliated. It caused 300 people to die amongst stampedes, crushes and an ensuing battle between police and football supporters.

 

5.            Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, 1971

Black and white photo

When a fan tried to leave towards the end of an Old Firm match and accidentally fell down a stand, there was a domino effect. This caused multiple fans to fall as a result, causing a crush and build up of bodies. 66 people were killed and 200 more were injured.

These tragic events are still remembered strongly by everyone in the football community as well as in history. Now as much is done as possible to ensure that similar tragedies do not happen again and full support is given to those left behind.

 

Featured images:

 

John Greenberg has been writing about sport since his interest started when he was 15 years old. He likes to write about current affairs but also like to go back to the past and write about various things, including the safety of the football crowds.

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Swindon Town: Paolo the polariser quits with his character still unknown

  By O-Posts Team | February 22, 2013 - 16:31 | , ,
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For Swindon Town, a Premier League club of just fifteen years ago who have been beset by two administrations and a series of HMRC wind-up orders as they spent their time yo-yoing between the second and third tier, a rise back up to the Championship was never going to be smooth. In fact, with Paolo Di Canio in charge, the Italian who can win the FIFA fair play award of 2001 just as easily he can receive an 11 match ban for pushing a referee, it was going to be a roller-coaster.

On Monday night, that roller-coaster ended as Di Canio quit the club citing “broken promises” from the club’s potential new owners. A sequence of events starting with the sale of star winger Matt Ritchie, unauthorised by Di Canio, in order to fend off the problem of rising debts and a growing threat of another administration, had finally broke the Italian’s resolve.

He announced that a resignation had been tendered the previous Tuesday, before reneging after a meeting with the new owners on Friday. Their takeover had passed Di Canio’s reported deadline of 5 o’clock on the 18th February and in his true blunt and forthright nature, he was gone.

Perhaps he was reaping the seeds he had sewn himself. His march from League Two to the higher reaches of League One with a double promotion firmly in his sights was achieved with one of the highest budgets in the fourth tier and a summer’s transfer activity that broke Football League rules on the amount of money spent on fees and wages.

An embargo was placed on the club preventing them from signing players in January and Di Canio, having taken the club and its fans right to his heart, offered £30,000 of his own money to keep some loan signings. A storm had been brewing, as a result of forced player sales and injuries, the manager was forced to name just 4 substitutes from 7 on the bench in a recent away game at Colchester. Di Canio’s hands had been tied.

Regardless of the expenditure, there is no doubting the remarkable impact Di Canio has had at the County Ground. In his first year in professional management, he marched to the League Two championship with an impressive 93 points and a goal difference of a massive +43, achieved with just 32 goals conceded.

The momentum didn’t stop there, Swindon have continued their upward curve to lie sixth in League One at the time of Di Canio’s departure having lost just six games this campaign. In total, the fiery Italian won 44 of his 77 league games to record a win percentage of 57%.

However, with links to West Ham now popular amongst the press, there has to be caution over Di Canio’s viability for a higher level. Will his incredibly volatile nature be attractive for a club exposed to the intense media spotlight of the Premier League?

Factor in the ex-Hammer’s history of fascism, his open support of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, his bust-ups with Leon Clarke, Paul Caddis, fitness coach Claudio Donatelli, goalkeeper Wes Foderingham and former loanee Jonathon Tehouie whilst at Swindon. “When we got to know each other it was like two boxers sparring” said his chairman at the County Ground pre-takeover, Jeremy Wray.

With a charge sheet of misdemeanours which continues to split opinion unlike any other manager and just 18 months of professional management under his belt, Di Canio and his confrontational nature will represent a massive gamble for any club at a higher level, especially West Ham who are reportedly trying to improve their image from the pragmatic, bullish rule of Sam Allardyce.

There will also be a question as to how Di Canio will perform when subjected to the budget restraints other lower league managers have had to deal with. The ex-striker was always significantly backed by Swindon almost to the extent that such willing support was abused. In his season and a half in Wiltshire, there were a total of 58 departures under Di Canio’s stewardship and another 50 arrivals, it has been a huge overturn of players that would be unsustainable for a club preaching stability.

The 44 year old boss, even though he’s been a huge success in his first job, has not yet shown he can keep a constant squad or that he can work with budget restraints.

Football as a sport however, will be hoping Di Canio is in line for a quick return to the dugout as his volatility, his outspoken nature and his typically blasé approach to management will be hugely missed by the neutral fan often subjected to the banal, humdrum opinions and cliches that now circulate through the game.

Di Canio, through all of his imperfections, was perfect for Swindon and Swindon was perfect for him, until that sticky ending. English domestic football will be sad to feel his absence.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Jordan Rhodes: Flying Scotsman can cut it with the best

  By O-Posts Team | February 7, 2013 - 18:58 | , , , , , ,
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The £8 million spent by Steve Kean on a player who had never played higher that the third division raised plenty of eyebrows, but the Scot has proved he can be one of the great British strikers of his generation

It is often said that, in the enticing world of the football league,a player always faces a great challenge in making the step up to the next division unless he possesses either exceptional talent or vast experience. Many have tried and failed; their careers being somewhat stunted by the failure to adapt.

One player who certainly has the natural flair and determination to not only make the switch – but to make it seem effortless – is Blackburn’s Jordan Rhodes.

Rhodes, 23, started his career with Ipswich town and has shown goal scoring prowess ever since his first season in English football. After less than a year with the tractor boys’ youth squad he was called up to the England Under-17 squad. His knack for scoring goals has been evident at all of Rhodes’ clubs, and he has proved his worth by shining at all levels from League Two to the Championship.

In 2011-12 whilst at Huddersfield Rhodes, who cost (recently departed) Simon Grayson’s team a mere £350,000, was in marvellous form. The Terriers had an astounding season, earning promotion to the Championship, and Rhodes set the standard. He registered a staggering 36 goals in 40 games, winning him the division’s player of the season award and earning him a call-up to the Scottish national team, for whom he qualifies having schooled there for over five years.

Last summer inevitable speculation surrounded Rhodes’ immediate future; would he stay with Huddersfield and attempt to prosper in he Championship alongside his longstanding team mates? Would he make the perilous step up two divisions to the Premier League (as was heavily touted) by joining Fulham?

Jermaine Beckford once decided to make this ambitious leap when joining Everton after having, like Rhodes, an impressive season in League One with a Yorkshire club.

This ultimately backfired for Beckford, whose career at Leicester City is currently in doubt. Rhodes sensibly chose not to follow the same steps as Beckford, but instead to join recently relegated Blackburn in a deal which could accumulate to £8 million. The record fee for a Championship player, this was seen by many as crazy money but he has proved doubters wrong by showing that he is a top striker.

With a hectic series of events occurring off the pitch at Ewood Park, Rhodes has managed to prove to the club they were right to invest so much money in him. By scoring an impressive 20 goals already, he has won over fans and lead us to pose ourselves the question: ‘Would Jordan Rhodes make it in the Premier League?’

From watching Rhodes this season, I, for one, can make the assumption that he demonstrates all the qualities required by a top flight striker. He has a wide variety of traits: aerial prowess, which he demonstrated in 2009, when he scored a hat trick of headers in an astonishing 8 minutes; robustness; great movement; shrewd anticipation and most importantly superb finishing ability.

 

The young man is improving rapidly, and unless Michael Appleton’s team can re-establish themselves in the Premier League, it would be a surprise if Rhodes saw out his 5 year contract with Blackburn.

If he does seek pastures new, global advisor Shebby Singh and his friends at Venky’s would be adamant on at least recouping the £8 million – which now seems to be a bargain. There is no doubt in my mind that Rhodes will be playing in the Premiership before too long.

With Arsenal’s lack of an out-and-out centre forward capable of replacing Robin van Persie, I feel Arsene Wenger could do a lot worse than bringing the Scot to The Emirates, despite his inexperience.

That undoubtedly would be a big leap for Rhodes, who is progressing rapidly. I look forward to seeing him form a partnership with another striker in top form, Steven Fletcher, for a Scotland team under new management.

Wherever he ends up, the future is definitely bright for Jordan Rhodes.

 

Written by Richard Burn

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Wilfried Zaha: One of England’s most talented youngsters faces pivotal month

  By O-Posts Team | January 16, 2013 - 20:40 | , , , , , , ,
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“It’s all happening so fast”, these were the words Wilfried Zaha took the modicum of Twitter to announce his reaction to an England call up back in November having just turned 20 years of age. The call came on the back of some scintillating performances for Crystal Palace of the Championship, raising high interest from the higher reaches of the Premier League to the kid who became on the second outfield player this century to represent his country.

Now, just two months later in the transfer month of January, Zaha has again pontificated with Twitter over a potential move up a division. “It looks like I’m on my way to the top of the Premier League” he wrote, before it was removed from the social network soon after.

Many construed his Tweet as a hint towards a move to Manchester United who have been continuously linked with an £11 million move for the winger, but Arsenal also remain in the hunt. “He’s just too good for you” as Crystal Palace fans serenade their majestic attacker, and that seems to be the case to all clubs apart from two of the country’s biggest.

Ian Holloway, Zaha’s manager at Crystal Palace, has backed down from his initial bullishness upon inheriting the majestic talent of the youngster to compromise with a possible January sale being supplemented with an immediate move back to the London club.

It is approaching just three years since Zaha made his debut for Palace against Cardiff aged 18, now 121 appearances later and he faces one massive decision that will have a major bearing on the rest of a career that promises to be extremely bright.

The attacker, born in Ivory Coast but persuaded to play for England by Roy Hodgson, is arguably the best player outside of the top division with consistent performances of pace, power and trickery that have been embraced by first Dougie Freedman and now Holloway as Palace lie on course for a surprise promotion back to the top.

Zaha has only managed five goals, but his game is based on so much more, his creative instinct and presence on the wing allows other to thrive, centre-forward Glenn Murray for example has helped himself to 22 goals.

It is credit the south London club for producing Zaha, the latest on a production line that fed the Premier League with Victor Moses, Nathaniel Clyne and John Bostock. Now of Swindon in League One, the latter should serve as a reminder how a move can easily go wrong if premature and ill-advised. It is vital for the player’s own progression, and as England’s shining beacon for the future, that he carefully presides over any impending decision with utmost caution.

Zaha has played 30 times so far this season and has been instrumental in guiding the Eagles to fourth in the Championship with some wonderful performances; he was influential in a 5-0 drubbing of Ipswich Town, virtually single handedly won a game 1-2 at Wolves whilst Darren Ferguson described him as “unplayable” after Peterborough were scourged by the winger in a 1-2 home defeat.

His father has more terrorising memories of the player however, after Sir Alex’s United were victim to his majestic ability in last season’s League Cup elimination to Palace. It was that display, they say, that has triggered Ferguson to monitor his progress ever since and now he seems convinced Zaha is worth the investment.

He faces reported competition from Arsene Wenger who seems to have targeted Zaha to add to the youthful homegrown revolution of his Arsenal squad that also houses Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson.

Few would be better placed than Wenger to help progress the 20 year old with the Frenchman having helped along, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas and Nicolas Anelka, to name a few, the career’s of some of the league’s best exports. Yet it is Arsenal’s domestic struggles, they are looking at an eighth year without a trophy, and strict wage structure that may discourage Zaha from a move to the Emirates.

Manchester United meanwhile, remains arguably a more attractive proposition. While Arsenal will provide a regular first team place, any plan to sign Zaha then lease him back to Palace will fit perfectly with Old Trafford’s current left-wing incumbent Nani seemingly edging over a closer to the exit door.

His expected summer departure will free the space, and like at Arsenal, he will find himself alongside a strong English core of Wayne Rooney, Tom Cleverely, Danny Welbeck, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young. That is without mentioning Ferguson can offer the same background in guidance as Wenger, plus the added advantage of a constant stream of success, at Arsenal it remains to be seen if the club can even offer Champions League football next season.

Palace will hope that if any promotion to the top league is completed, Zaha would remain with them and carry on the journey, but the allure of money is all-powerful in the modern game and that is something Holloway has appreciated in his climb-down over the sale of his talisman.

A £15 million fee has also been reported and if Palace can draw that sort of money for their player and have him back to galvanise the remainder of the journey to the Premier League, it would be a satisfactory deal for Holloway who would be armed with the money to invest back into his squad for the trip back to the top.

Such a move would assist the course of Roy Hodsgon greatly too, as a season in the build up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil being spent in the company of the very best would be the best tonic to aid the fledgling ability of such an exciting prospect. That is the future however and beyond, all hinging on this month and any decision Zaha should make on any possible move.

For somebody who could be the most exciting English talent since Paul Gascoigne or Wayne Rooney, everybody should hope he gets it right.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Will Hughes: Derby County’s Teenage Sensation

  By O-Posts Team | January 1, 2013 - 20:07 | , , , , ,
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Will Hughes- the white haired 17 year old from Derby who’s taking the Championship by storm. Even though he is so young, this doesn’t stop him gaining first team opportunities – he has made 26 league appearances so far this season alone, scoring on two occasions and making the same amount of assists.

That’s not a surprise though, with his eye for a killer pass, his capability to find space with such ease and his mazy runs through the opposition to create space for his team mates.

Hughes has represented both the England u17 and England u21 squads with 7 appearances in total, scoring 1 goal. England u21 manager Stuart Pearce also had this to say about the teenage sensation:

”Will’s technically a very sound player and he played very well when he came on for his under- 21 debut at Blackpool a couple of weeks ago. He settled in well and was very comfortable on the ball at such a young age. He rarely gave the ball away in training or in the game, which is vitally important at international level.”

With managers like Stuart Pearce giving a player like Hughes such high plaudits it’s no surprise teams like Arsenal, Fulham and Liverpool have been linked with the 17 year old in January. Thus, Derby have reportedly placed a £4m price tag on the midfielder.

In November 2012, the teen sensation picked up the Football League Young Player of the Month award for his displays against Blackpool, Barnsley, Cardiff and Milwall. Hughes also picked up the Derby County Scholar of the Year for 2012.

When typing in ‘Will Hughes’ on Google  the second thing that comes up on the drop down part? Will Hughes Barcelona. If that doesn’t show the midfield magician has got a great future ahead of him, I don’t know what does.

Definitely, a potential world beater in the making. Worth keeping a watchful eye on.

 

Written by Alex Thornley

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MK Dons: Negative press overshadows the good

  By O-Posts Team | November 28, 2012 - 16:49 | , ,
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This weekend, the spotlight will fall on the town 60 miles north of London which now houses a football club, more specifically the heir of the liquidated Wimbledon, which Pete Winkelman still attracts unparalleled contempt for ripping an historic club from the heart of its south London community and shifting it to a new life in Milton Keynes.

This weekend, memories will be cast back to the anger of the whole situation as AFC Wimbledon, a phoenix club created by fans in the aftermath of their old Wimbledon’s demise, travel to the place that now houses their old club in its new guise for an FA Cup tie.

Winkelman, the chairman of MK Dons, has spent the week expressing his regret of his decision made eight years ago, wishing that this 2nd round tie can draw a line under the whole story that has seen AFC, the fan’s revival of Wimbledon based now in Kingsmeadow, jump with dramatic haste through five divisions in nine years in order to retake its place in the Football League.

Winkelman has also made known his desire that this Sunday’s game will see a “line drawn in the sand”, that perhaps with a degree of blind optimism, both sets of fans can accept the unfortunate sequence of events that has led to a match between the two bred forms of a once established football club.

Winkelman also spoke of his belief that his club are well run, which as they sit third in League One after a promotion from League Two and a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win over the past four years is a fair assessment. As the chairman also points out, the MK Dons’ successful existence, as controversial it may be, has been achieved the right way, with an indulgence in a productive youth set-up that has stuck closely to the expansive football preached by current manager Karl Robinson and from past managers, Roberto Di Matteo and Paul Ince.

It was Robinson who faced questions earlier this month of his team’s ability to keep hold of 16 year old midfielder Dele Alli, the star of the 6-1 route of Cambridge in the first round of the cup, scorer of a goal in his first professional start. Robinson was glowing in his review of the England under-17 international’s performance, “we have just witnessed the beginning of a star”, said the young manager who has also handed a debut to 18 year old defender Mason Spence this season.

It is a philosophy of giving youth a chance that has seen 20 year old defender Tom Flanagan impress on loan at League Two table-toppers Gillingham, while Adam Chicksen has developed into a first team regular at the age of 22. Seyi Ojo, a 14 year old schoolboy, was snapped up by Liverpool last year after rumours surfaced that Chelsea were prepared to spend £1.5 million on the attacker who had already earned 2 caps for the England under-16s.

Striker Sam Baldock made the move to West Ham from which MK Dons pocketed £1 million, the type of product and sell business plan that fits in with Winkelman’s belief that his Dons are indeed well-run, despite the ugly history that has belied its creation. Daniel Powell, a 21 year old winger, has also made the graduation to the full squad and could be the next to move from a squad that also houses Dean Lewington, the defensive ever-present since emerging from the youth ranks a full decade ago, and 16 year olds Brendon Galloway and Georgio Rasulo, both of whom have been given first team exposure this year by the resourceful Robinson.

Robinson himself is also an epitome of the Dons’ willingness to give youth a chance, the manager is the youngest manager in league football at the age of 32, while Roberto Di Matteo’s odyssey to Champions League winning coach at Chelsea began at the humble beginnings of the MK Stadium at the age of 38.

Di Matteo… first managerial experience with MK Dons.

Robinson, in tandem with his number 2 John Gorman, narrowly missed out on promotion last season after defeat in the playoffs and this year, just three points off top spot with League One’s best defence after the opening 20 games, could finally see them continue their hasty rise into the Championship.

It is this type of potential, based on an expansive style and a talented crop of young players that has the Mirror predicting Robinson will follow Di Matteo into the top flight before he is 35.

The Dons will face their messy past on Sunday lunchtime and for Winkelman, it presents a chance for both parties to move on, which in his case, is to continue a successful era based on some of the more elusive traits in the modern game, stability in the form of a young manager with the constant production of talented young players.

Most importantly, the Dons are seeing ambitions realised as a result of it, and there is nothing AFC Wimbledon or anybody disillusioned at Winkelman’s Milton Keynes outfit can do to stop it. It maybe a messy past for MK Dons, but it’s promising a very bright future.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Championship so far: Burnley

  By O-Posts Team | November 23, 2012 - 23:54 | , , ,
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Taken from Flickr

Taken from Flickr

Many people seem to forget that it wasn’t too many years ago that Burnley were playing in the Premiership. However, even though the Clarets were playing top flight football just several years ago, they are rarely considered as a big force in the Championship.

It would be fair to say that the Turf Moor outfit have experienced a hugely turbulent start to the new campaign and with the club currently in 15th place, many have already written them off for a push on the top places.

 

The Results

Having amassed a total of twenty three points from their opening seventeen games, it’s clear to see that Burnley have been the victim of a lot of inconsistencies over the course of the season.

In fact, following an indifferent start, few supporters were too bothered when Eddie Howe decided to leave his post and join League One outfit Bournemouth – allowing the highly rated Sean Dyche to take over. In terms of Howe’s reign, the Clarets got off to a terrible start and actually lost their opening four games of the season.

Things never really got much better and even though the club experienced some positive results, they never really forced any sort of prolonged form. In terms of the impact Dyche has made, it really is too early to tell. The initial signs were certainly promising, after Burnley won their first two games under his leadership in 2-0 and 1-0 fashion against Wolves and Leeds respectively.

However, since then they have proceeded to lose against relegation battlers Ipswich and Charlton and bearing this in mind, it will certainly be interesting to see how they fare over the next few weeks.

 

The Summer Buys

Out of all of the transfers that Eddie Howe was responsible during the summer, the acquisition of Jason Shackell was probably the most significant. However, despite arriving from Derby with a fantastic reputation, some fans have voiced concerns that Shackell might not be the ideal centre half the club were looking for.

Unfortunately, the jury is still out on another big buy, with Sam Vokes struggling to make an impact despite signing from Wolves for several hundred thousand pounds. He’s hardly started a game for the Clarets, while his goal returns stands at a meagre one.

Vokes….. poor form.

Perhaps the best piece of business that Howe masterminded was Brian Stock, with the former Doncaster midfielder managing to force his way into the Burnley midfield and while he has struggled to become a threat in front of goal, he’s at least impressing in other areas.

 

The Verdict

Even though Eddie Howe arrived at Turf Moor with a sterling reputation, most people would agree that things just never really worked out for him and the club are probably better off with Sean Dyche – who performed miracles at previous club Watford.

It’s certainly going to be interesting to see just how Dyche will fare in this post although if he can keep hold of top scorer Charlie Austin, we don’t see any reason why Burnley can’t make a push for the top half by the end of the season.

 

Author Biography

This was another addition to the ‘Championship So Far’ series written by Liam. He owns his own sporting website and attempts to compare betting offers for fellow sports enthusiasts.

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Blackburn: All Rhodes lead to Jordan for the Rovers’ future

  By O-Posts Team | November 19, 2012 - 18:35 | , , , ,
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After Blackburn’s hapless owners Venky’s finally lost patience with Steve Kean seven matches into this season, the decision was made to turn to Henning Berg, former centre-half at Rovers and fans’ favourite, charged with the unenviable task of guiding the Lancashire club back to the Premier League at the first time of asking by the club’s Global Advisor Shebby Singh.

The ever-diminishing reputation of Rovers’ distant owners spawned little interest in a job that promises to balance a need for immediate success against a backdrop of financial risk, so Berg, a manager of limited experience in his native Norway, was the man left to carry out Singh’s challenging remit.

After six years in management to relative success with Lyn and Lillestrom, Blackburn would be Berg’s first coaching job in the high-pressure demands of domestic English football. Factor in the fact the employees are a processed foods-group that has endeavoured to alienate the fan, it becomes a very imposing challenge for the 43 year old. Yet, the Norwegian took it, perhaps a decision facilitated by the identity of his main striker, one Jordan Rhodes.

Things are made considerably easier for a manager when he has at his disposal a player of Rhodes’s ilk, a fine goal-scorer operating at a near-unbelievable strike rate. His hat-trick on Saturday afternoon away at Peterborough bringing him to a tally of 14 so far this season, building on his 40 goal haul for Huddersfield last season which saw him make the £8 million move to Ewood Park this summer. Just 8 goals short of a league century at the age of 22 is an incredible record, one that stands the Scotsman as perhaps the best centre-forward outside of the Premier League.

Rhodes seems destined for the top tier and if it wasn’t for a degree of hesitancy from the top clubs towards his 79 goals for Huddersfield being confined to League One, then he may have already made the jump. Blackburn, necessitating the need to return to the top table at the first attempt, saw fit to gamble a club record £8 million on the striker and he has immediately set about repaying such a grandiose fee; 9 goals have been notched for his new club, including vital winners at Bristol City and at home to Watford, a strike to earn a point at Derby and of course Saturday’s hat-trick, ensuring Berg’s maiden Blackburn win at the fourth attempt.

His treble showcased his poaching talent, 2 headers were supplemented by a coolly taken finish past Robert Olejnik in the Peterborough goal, a performance to remind everyone that he can convert chances regardless of how they are provided, just as long as he is fed in his spiritual home of the 18 yard box. It capped off a superb week for Rhodes in which he struck twice for Scotland in Luxembourg on Wednesday night, only denied a hat-trick there by the presence of a linesman’s raised flag as he headed past the keeper. It was the perfect riposte in the aftermath of Craig Levein’s passing as Scotland coach for whom, bizarrely, Rhodes was not a regular, a refusal to recognise such a potent goal-threat perhaps hastening Levein’s sacking.

The red-hot striker bemoaned his failure to net a third in Luxembourg but he represents a hopeful future for the Tartan Army should one expect he would be given a permanent place in the squad. His presence for Scotland will be inevitable should he continue in the same clinical vain for Blackburn who have returned to the play-off places in the wake of Rhodes’s salvo at London Road.

A hefty reliance on him to keep scoring will be vital for Rovers as well as Berg’s own hopes to fulfil his remit of promotion should even if that fails, Rhodes’s goals would still be of interest to a Premier League club, rendering the perhaps-over inflated £8 million signing a safe investment for the future as well as a calculated gamble.

So far under the stewardship of his new Scandinavian coach, the Scottish striker has hit four goals in four games and it is maybe not a coincidence that a surge in form has arisen under a fresh influence.

Rhodes was operating as a lone frontman under Steve Kean, a role he admitted he struggled with: “I play a lot with my back to goal here, there were other players to do that at Huddersfield” he said, “it is something I definitely need to improve upon but I’m enjoying myself here and I’m hoping to spend years with he club if they’ll have me.” His response possibly giving a window into the humility and desire that stands the ingested in such good stead for the future.

Berg may alter Rhodes’s role in order to maximise his goal threat and allow other players to support the goal-scoring burden, Mauro Formica netted his first goal since April to provide the colour to the Rhodes hat-trick on Saturday.

Whatever Berg does to bring the best out of Rhodes in front of goal, he needs it to work, both for his future, and the future of Blackburn Rovers.

 

Written by Adam Gray

Follow him on Twitter @AdamGray1250

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