A month ago, one would have had to be mad to predict that this fixture would be between two teams at the top of the League One form table. Both sides are in the middle of their best run this season, with Oldham unbeaten in five and Scunthorpe having won four of their last five. Scunthorpe… Read more →
Cambridge are on a good run. Only Northampton, Barnet and Carlisle have conceded fewer goals in their last six games and we can see that the defence is shaping up. One of the first things Shaun Derry did at Notts County was re-organize the back-line and clearly that has been his main objective at the Abbey. The… Read more →
It has been a good season for Mansfield Town. Tipped by many to be relegation candidates (excluding this blog, it may be noted – season preview here), the Stags have defied common expectation to challenge for a top seven finish. What does the future hold? The Football Lab spoke to supporter Sam Binch (@SamBinch) of the Mansfield… Read more →
These are challenging times for Bolton Wanderers. While the club has it’s battles on the field, six points adrift of safety in the Championship, it has battles off it that are just as taxing, in more ways than one. New owners have finalised a takeover for as little as £7.5 million, in hope of clearing all debt… Read more →
Middlesbrough went a fifth game without a win after a 0-0 draw at Leeds on Monday night. Their West Yorkshire opponents put in an aggressive, intensive display and for long periods, stopped the promotion challenges from finding their passing rythym. Positive substitutions gave way to an open second half in which both teams had their… Read more →
A long held criticism of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been his stubbornness, his refusal to acknowledge the strengths of the opposition and change his tactics accordingly. And yet, after a 2-1 victory over Leicester on Sunday, the Frenchman deserves at least an ounce of credit for the way he set his side up. Any plans… Read more →
Burton Albion went eight points clear in the League One promotion race on Friday night, as Calum Butcher’s first half strike saw them to a 1-0 win over Chesterfield. The grand scale of their achievement was perhaps not matched with the most memorable performance, yet there were also signs of why the Brewers are top of… Read more →
There has always been one ‘Geordie’ in the hearts of Blackburn Rovers fans, and manager Paul Lambert will hope he has signed another. Jordi Gomez joins on loan from Sunderland and he is a player who could inject some much-needed creativity into this Rovers midfield. At Middlesbrough, Lambert changed his system to accommodate Gomez. He switched from… Read more →
This blog was sceptical of Sheffield United’s promotion credentials in pre-season but not for a moment did anybody think they would be 11th at this stage. The main problem appears to be the lack of pace in their team. With the large budget Nigel Adkins was afforded in the summer, he went for what you might think would be… Read more →
More often than not this season, Crawley Town’s matches are decided by the first goal. According to Soccerstats, The Red Devils have won nine of the 12 games in which they score the game’s opener, but lost 13 of the 16 games in which they concede it. They have kept more clean sheets than half the teams… Read more →