League 1′s top-eight looks, as things stand, much like the masses predicted back in August, with the monied Charlton, Huddersfield, Franchise, Preston and Sheffields United and Wednesday all present and correct. Yet, defying convention and sticking it to Big Boyz are two of the division’s less chic teams, Notts County and Brentford. The pair meet at Meadow Lane this weekend.Following a tumultuous 2010-11 for both, this term has been about tightening up and bedding down new systems but, given a little momentum, could either side go all the way this season?Focusing on the Magpies, form certainly suggests that a crack…
All posts tagged League 1
Paul Dickov creates Latics in his own image
Our latest guest post features a club we have perhaps covered less than we might have done since starting the blog two and a half years ago. My twenties features many memories of derring-do from a string of great Oldham Athletic sides and we hope to feature their promotion winning squad under Joe Royle in our Great Teams series at some point. For the moment though, Craig Worswickconfines himself to an analysis of the seventeen month reign of Paul Dickov at the Boundary Park tiller: When Paul Dickov signalled his intention to extend his football career further by becoming a manager…
On Fandom - With the Fervour of a Convert
It’s an oft heard cliché that football is ‘like a religion’. That’s never an assertion I’ve been wholly comfortable with. In large part this is probably coloured by a personal lack of faith, but having been raised and schooled (at least until the age of 11) in the bosom of a strong Northern Catholic community and subsequently lived in some of the country’s most ethnically diverse post codes I’d suggest the converse is also true. Whilst many football fans make personal sacrifices at the altar of their chosen brethren their investment in their chosen club is never as absolute as that…
The Monday Profile: Paul Scally
Having insisted in July that Gillingham’s budget should provide enough wherewithal to challenge for promotion this year, the early signs have been encouraging for chairman Paul Scally. Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Burton Albion was comfortably earned and Danny Kedwell, uprooted from AFC Wimbledon with the promise of a return to his native Kent, scored twice to take his tally for the season to four.The Gills sit sixth in a division that no club has taken a true grasp of yet so have as good a chance as any to step up into League 1. Scally was busy over the Summer…
The Monday Profile: Andy Hughes
In last week’s profile of Joe Bennett, I ruminated on the nature of the attacking full back and although we have no intention of focusing the Monday Profile on archetypes alone, this third study of September again concentrates on a boilerplate figure.For Andy (like Mr. Cole, seemingly now known as Andrew) Hughes is surely the epitome, the quintessence, the very embodiment of that well known footballling character - the willing trier.And yet we could go even further - for in being this, Hughes is perhaps the dictionary definition of the British sportsman in general. Watching Mike Tindall attempt to bludgeon…
Lanterne Rouge: I didn't know these nuggets - cheers for enlightening us Alexandriang...
alexandriang: Another factor is probably that both the TItans and Panthers played th...
P Squires: Interesting read, but '...which by train is comfortably further from L...
Lloyd: An enjoyable, snappy piece of writing Will.
Going through Worcester...
Frank Heaven: LR - yes, that's right, with Albion and Wolves being in Staffordshire....
