Billy Paynter's Excellent Adventure: Football League, Blue Square and Beyond, 2010/11

The new season kicks off, for some reason, with Norwich v Watford on Friday night.

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/images/photos/000/998/658/David_Jamesx_12_68_1095932a_crop_340x234.jpg?1280504860

HE'S READY

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/still595.jpg

HE'S READY

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/resources/images/691385/?type=display

HE'S COMPLETELY READY REGARDLESS OF WHAT ANY SCURRILOUS NAYSAYERS MIGHT POSSIBLY SUGGEST

http://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/javaImages/af/53/0,,10417~4674479,00.jpg

HE'S... well, it's Grimsby. You don't make predictions with Grimsby.

http://www.cafc.co.uk/uploads/charlton34501news1.jpg

It's his world. We just live in it.

YES to title

So psyched for Norwich beginning another run of finishing lower mid table for the next few years. We can do this!

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f14/snouts/QPR/Bernie-Ecclestone-has-bee-001.jpg

HE HOPES WE'RE NOT READY

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f14/snouts/QPR/boutique-1.jpg

THAT'S STILL READY IN CASE ANYONE USES IT SOMEDAY

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f14/snouts/QPR/horse_02.jpg

HE'S JUST HAPPY HE GOT A FOUR YEAR CONTRACT OUT OF IT ALL

so i started pondering a championship prediction preview and basically decided i wouldnt be surprised at damn near anything happening pretty much - i know this is what's said every year but truly there are no outstandingly good or bad sides in there this year.

your favourites are decidely not, as the bookies would hilariously tell you, qpr. (more on that later if i summon the strength but it's doubtful tbh.) imo you're looking at boro's spl select xi (huge lol @ scotland if they don't go up), a solid but unspectacular burnley, and nottingham forest who may just instead implode due to play-off hangover and billy "temperate" davies not throwing a massive signature wobbly cos david pleat still hasnt signed anyone. depending on the skillz of their respective managers, watch our for leicester, hull and bristol city possibly making a push too and tbh i wouldnt be surprised if promoted leeds, norwich and millwall (doing a blackpool) keep their runs going and end up in the mix either. see what i'm saying?

i'd suggest cardiff and portsmouth will be too crippled by financial strife to make any impact. sheff utd with a miraculously not-sacked kevin blackwell in charge will continue their slow slide. darren ferguson, brendan rodgers, and malky mackay at preston, swansea and watford will be looking to arrest alarming slumps in managerial reputation but i don't fancy them to pull it off. conversely reading's brian mcdermott will be looking to keep a meteoric rise going.

scunthorpe will probably struggle without hooper; barnsley probably also faves for the drop too.

qpr... i would be grimly happy with midtable, and some sort of signs that whatever it is that's so rotten at the heart of the club is being addressed. chances of that being as fat as taarabt's arse.

(weird how yr proverbial chances can be slim or fat and still mean the same thing eh? adel analogy still applies i suppose.)

So psyched for Norwich beginning another run of finishing lower mid table for the next few years. We can do this!

― Andy Cole (Dwight Yorke), Saturday, 31 July 2010 20:16 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

eh i dunno, paul lambo seems pretty good and surman's a quality signing. simeon jackson bit overrated i think but i could be wrong... elliott ward is shite though... hmm maybe ur right after all.

any reason to believe southampton aren't a lock for the league 1 title? i can't see past them.

Boro's SPL select is a bit hit and miss imo and probably won't be good enough to win the league.

Barry Robson: solid player, gets stuck in, chips in the odd goal including at least two long range spectaculars a season
Willo Flood: did absolutely nothing at Celtic, no idea why Strachan bought him, really no idea why he bought him again. Looked good at Dundee United against SPL opposition
Scott McDonald: on his day one of the best finishers in the game - rarely on his day in the last two seasons - frustrating - blames his team mates for everything that doesn't work - fat
Lee Miller: big target man who doesn't score - surprised Celtic didn't buy him tbh
Stephen McManus: looked a good young prospect, given the captain's armband at Celtic too early, couldn't live up to it - prone to diving in and giving away cheap fouls & occasionally running backwards as all his mates play the offside trap
Kevin Thompson: great buy if he stays fit and controls his temper, good in the tackle, good passing and vision, good engine - but prone to torn muscles and red cards
Kris Boyd: instinctive poacher who thrives on good service, don't expect much tackling back or passing or hold up play or anything but stick it in the right area and he'll fill his boots, unless he's playing a good team in a big game

yeah robson looked pretty handy tail end of last season. mcdonald pretty disappointing though, him and boyd do seem like a particularly badly concieved partnership but as long as one of them's on their day i guess it'll work. strachan's wisely bought nicky bailey from charlton (who shouldve been a qpr player this summer if we had a clue imo) to compete/cover with thomson so no probs there either. flood anonymous as you say and miller's out the door already i think...?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efyhCz6nSRQ

wahey that looks familiar. fraser forster not coming back i take it?

league one preview: OO-ER LOOKEE ALAN PARDEW

miller's out the door already i think...?

I don't think so, though he's been linked with a move back to Scotland a couple of times.

I was about to say I'd forgotten Chris Killen then I discovered he's now playing in China!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPArcRmgINU

Possibly the best goal ever scored by anyone in an Orient shirt.

Oh Matt Spring, your talent so profligate ;_;

any reason to believe southampton aren't a lock for the league 1 title?

Well, being the biggest fish in the pond always worked so well for Leeds... I think a Gary Johnson-inspired Peterborough will probably be a sizeable threat, Huddersfield should keep pushing on and will definitely challenge the automatic spots, Charlton have the potential to do something (but Phil Parkinson has still got a bit to prove - for a side that came in fourth last season, they were oddly uninspiring), it'll be interesting to see if Swindon can keep hold of their momentum after losing Paynter, and I suppose you can't really ignore a club of Wednesday's size, even if they're financially floundering - but a Clinton Morrison-Neil Mellor forward pairing should do serious damage at this level.

And then there's The Rest. Brighton probably the best of said bunch. Will be interesting to see how the promoted sides cope - three of the smallest clubs in the division, and one 'project' of indeterminate financial strength (albeit that, again, Jon Harley and Liam Chilvers are both solid signings). Wouldn't bet against at least one of them springing a surprise.

bugger yeah forgot about peterborough.. surprising they havent had to sell anyone. grant mccann is probably the signing of the summer for that league too.

Charlton's signings have been surprisingly excellent, and we've kept hold of a few good'uns too (Jose Semedo for club captain, please) - reckon we'll be at least play-offs

HE'S

http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Queens+Park+Rangers+v+Preston+North+End+uPEPI3L9etLl.jpg

READY

AND GOD HELP US ALL

in other news, forest sign (the v good) ryan bertrand on loan from the scum which means no nicky shorey to go with no darren pratley. billy davies strop-ometer reaching critical mass....

They're not ready

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/141843427.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0ZRYP5X5F6FSMBCCSE82&Expires=1281187950&Signature=f6ekc2QmVNQVbUQEOFTjNweuHbI%3D

YAYYYY FOOTBALL YAYYYY

FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTY FOOTBALL FOOTBALL

sadly I have to go to the library so I'll be keeping up via BBC live updates. FOOTBALL FOOTBALL.

Hmm, that jpeg doesn't appear to be working.
http://twitpic.com/2cg737

It's sort of sad-but-great that I can tell who the keeper is because he's the only one I've not heard of.

And then I look at our starting 11 and see three full-backs and two centre-backs. I'm assuming one of said full-backs played out wide, but... that is really quite odd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOqKKr4-3Bw

HOLY SHIT HE'S READY

also well played lads, backs against the wall etc etc

holy shit seconded

Plymouth Herald 1, Saints board 0

:DDDDDD

ALSO! Swansea have signed Scott Sinclair! For keepsies!

RIP Exeter City's Adam Stansfield, age 31. Fuck cancer, seriously.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/exeter_city/8902976.stm

RIP; also that shit is never not terrifying

rip :(

Saints owner Markus Liebherr has died. Whoa.

Wiki: Liebherr died of causes yet to be disclosed on 11 August 2010, he will be sadly missed, as seen on Facebook.

Oh, that's just not fucking fair.

Although if the club gets a fairly moderate percentage of his fortune and some kind of trust set up to run it, that could be a pretty awesome legacy.

Sad times.

lolz coppell's done it again!!

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44645000/jpg/_44645889_coppell512.jpg

"I can't enjoy management. I work all week to win a game. If we win, I have an unbelievable high for 20 minutes, but then it is thinking about the next game, who's in training, can we get videos over, who's in physio. If we are beaten, it's a bottomless pit. I have a depression after a defeat.

I don't have any hobbies, pastimes. Sometimes my family don't cope very well, and keep out of the way. It goes through my mind when I get beat: 'Do I need this?' Then I wake up the next morning, the sun is shining and I crack on with it again. Other managers are perhaps more resilient than me."

lolz nothing, that's just terrifying

whoa.

yeah dude has never enjoyed the job, and never pretended to tbh. he's a quote somewhere along the lines of 'my dad would turn in his grave if i walked away from 20 grand a week, otherwise meh'

jeezo, I prescribe 1x early retirement. Or a lucrative position managing someone like the United Arab Emirates national team.

I think everyone should be prescribed that tbf

O VALIANT MEN OF TEAK AND STEEL

So one week into the new season, and it's two managers down - Sheffield United have finally run out of patience with Kevin Blackwell.

No doubt Bernie Ecclestone desperately trying to sell his shares comes next.

1:24 Sent off
The referee sends off Neil Taylor for professional foul.
0:52
Free kick awarded for a foul by Neil Taylor on Lewis McGugan.
0:33
A cross is delivered by Chris Cohen, Ashley Williams makes a clearance.
0:00
The referee gets the game underway.

some hit from britton

jesus another absolute cracker from dobbie

A Swansea vs Cardiff play-off final could be good.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/17/west-ham-hotel-brawl

My mistake, I was about to post that on the Premiership thread

poor old Forest

would have bothroyd as an option at spurs

JET rubbish so far. Wants as much time as every other gunner playing inferior opposition

super finish that bywater a moron

cannot stress how shit JET has been so far, every single incidence of possession has been laughably slow and incompetent.

howard webb gives a penalty for a really stupid wrestling manouevre from a corner

Long to take

cardiff will prob have a case in sayin that their goalie was punished for his ill-judged rush while federici's handling ten yards outside the box wasn't spotted, and they've had a good penalty shout turned down too. But they've not really offered much tbh, movement really poor up front.

dont matter now mcanuff let waltz through for 3

nazi at swindon

that's unfair. he's a fascist.

ACTUAL WIMBLEDON ARE IN THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE!

That's awesome.

Great stuff.

love it

prefer mk dons

oooh cruising for an SBing

love thatcher and hitler too btw

You are Lars Von Trier and I claim my five pounds.

i'm just saying if an mk dons player scores a cracker the fa should give it GOTS

Great news for AFC Wimbledon (and also good that MK Dons lost in their play-off). I would have been happy (though less so) to see Luton come back up as well. Well, not 'as well', 'instead'.

Outranking the Scottish Cup final on the Guardian home page as well, these are great/dark days.

Just back from Manchester, what a day! Most tense I have ever been, such an exciting game but with few clear chances, always felt like the first team to score would win. I ordinarily love watching penalties (I feel cheated if I have to watch 30 mins of extra time and dont get pens) but this was really torturous.

Anyway yeah we are in the league, and our chairman has said that he hopes to announce news of some movement in our quest for a stadium in Merton... everyone getting very excited about a possible 10-12k stadium to replace the wimbledon greyhound track.

This and the peterborough result in one week, it's too much!

Martin Allen finds new ways to damn Ishmel Demontagnac with faint praise:

"I met him in London a few days ago and he turned up early and he was well presented.

"He got the directions himself to where I was meeting him, I had a real good long chat to find out more about him and I like him.

Demontagnac is always a goal machine when I come up against him in FM2010

I understand that his teeth are mostly his own

OMG John Madejski dad dancing at Wembley BEST THING EVER!

Oh, Reading.

man, what a massacre

wonder how many goals Scott Sinclair will get next season

Khizanishvilli is just................

my bet on 4-3 to Reading is going to plan so far

yeah, they might need to start having a few shots on target to get the 4 though

SWAN RAKE

boo ya

Khizanishvilli is just................

― oppet, Monday, May 30, 2011 2:55 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark

Reading must be wishing Dowd had just sent him off when he gave away the pen. Sure they'd be down to 10 men but seeing as he played a part in goals 2 and 3 they'd probably have been better off!

I used to work with Jay Tabb's dad. </boringfactsaboutmylife>

Dowd has a known aversion to sending off Eastern Europeans for clumsy last-ditch fouls at Wembley

fuck off with this comeback, just the one team wearing b&w hoops singing "come on you rs" in the prem please.

matt mills supposedly bullied this guy i don't like when they were at school </boringfactsaboutmylife>

I really like Jay Tabb, from his Brentford days. Seems like a 'good sort'.

I also have a few quid on him to score today, for sentimental reasons. I do feel he's got a big goal in him this season, in all honesty.

phew

btw lol at the commentator saying "mark gower.. relaying some message from the bench..." as he runs on screaming "OI FUCKING COME ON" at anyone nearby

Yeah that was great.

Nice touch from the Swansea players wearing t-shirts for Besian Idrizaj.

Craig Bellamy has been made the frontrunner for the Cardiff City job after the sacking of Dave Jones

LOCK THREAD

Ah poor Dave.

The movers and shakers of the 72 Football League clubs will fly to Cyprus on Wednesday for their two-day annual general meeting.

It might sound like the pretext for a jolly in the sun but Football League chairman Greg Clarke is optimistic that some important decisions will be taken during the get-together to help safeguard the future of his clubs.

Arguably the most significant point under discussion is the issue of spending. Given Championship clubs have been unwilling to embrace any plans to restrict their ability to fulfil their Premier League ambitions in the past, it is sure to be a hot topic of debate.