2011-12 was torrid for the blogs. Two trailblazing club websites, Viva Rovers and Boy from Brazil called it a day and the circumstances behind these closures made a significant impact, provoking a serious amount of existential, ‘why do we do this?' mutterings. Then, just a fortnight ago, Ben Mayhew decided to discontinue his Greenwich Gull site although he will remain active via his Experimental 361 persona.

Of the 699 players who appeared for Championship clubs during the 2011/2012 season 387 were English. As you'd expect the other nations from the British Isles also featured heavily with (and no, this isn't a joke) 52 Scotsmen, 50 Irishmen, 28 Welshmen and 19 Northern Irishmen.

The table below shows data on each of the twenty-four clubs in the Championship and the nationalities who played during the 2011/2012 season.

Signing his professional contract in December 2006, the world was at the young Welshman's feet. Having lightning fast pace, great stamina and positional awareness put Ribeiro's name on the radar for the bigger clubs such as Everton. Ribeiro opted to stay at Ashton Gate stating: ''I felt I had a better chance of playing regular football for Bristol City at the time'' Only making 14 appearances due to an injury-hit 5 seasons at Ashton Gate saw his contract finally terminated by City this summer.

Eco-Friendly Footballers - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Contrary to popular belief, not all athletes have air or rocks for brains. In fact, there are quite a lot of athletes who defy the stereotype. For example, the late Brazilian legend Socrates earned a medical degree during his playing career, and after retiring, he made full use of the degree.

P TIMES PG J 1 Reading 89 46 2 Southampton 88 46 3 West Ham United 86 46 4 Birmingham City 76 46 5 Blackpool 75 46 6 Cardiff City 75 46 7 Middlesbrough 70 46 8 Hull City 68 46 9 Leicester City 66 46 10 Brighton & Hove Albion 66 46 11 Derby County 64 46 12 Watford 64 46 13 Burnley 62 46 14 Leeds United 61 46 15 Ipswich Town 61 46 16 Millwall 57 46 17 Crystal Palace 56 46 18 Peterborough United 50 46 19 Nottingham Forest 50 46 20 Bristol City 49 46 21 Barnsley 48 46 22 Portsmouth 40 46 23 Coventry City 40 46 24 Doncaster Rovers 36 46
Promovidos para a Premier League: Reading e Southapton
Playoffs:
West Ham x Cardiff City
Birmingham x Blackpool
Rebaixados para a League One
Portsmouth
Coventry City
Doncater Rovers
Promovidos da League One:
Charlton

P TIMES PG J 1 Reading 89 45 2 Southampton 85 45 3 West Ham United 83 45 4 Blackpool 74 45 5 Birmingham City 73 45 6 Cardiff City 72 45 7 Middlesbrough 70 45 8 Hull City 68 45 9 Brighton & Hove Albion 65 45 10 Leicester City 63 45 11 Derby County 63 45 12 Burnley 61 45 13 Leeds United 61 45 14 Watford 61 45 15 Ipswich Town 58 45 16 Millwall 56 45 17 Crystal Palace 56 45 18 Peterborough United 49 45 19 Bristol City 48 45 20 Nottingham Forest 47 45 21 Barnsley 47 45 22 Portsmouth 40 45 23 Coventry City 40 45 24 Doncaster Rovers 36 45

P TIMES PG J 1 Reading 89 45 2 Southampton 85 44 3 West Ham United 80 44 4 Blackpool 74 45 5 Birmingham City 73 45 6 Cardiff City 72 45 7 Hull City 68 45 8 Middlesbrough 67 44 9 Brighton & Hove Albion 65 45 10 Leicester City 63 44 11 Derby County 63 45 12 Burnley 61 45 13 Leeds United 61 45 14 Watford 61 45 15 Ipswich Town 58 45 16 Millwall 56 45 17 Crystal Palace 56 45 18 Peterborough United 49 45 19 Bristol City 48 45 20 Nottingham Forest 47 45 21 Barnsley 47 45 22 Portsmouth 40 45 23 Coventry City 40 45 24 Doncaster Rovers 36 45

P TIMES PG J 1 Reading 88 44 2 Southampton 85 44 3 West Ham United 80 44 4 Birmingham City 72 44 5 Cardiff City 72 45 6 Blackpool 71 44 7 Middlesbrough 67 44 8 Hull City 65 44 9 Brighton & Hove Albion 64 44 10 Leicester City 63 44 11 Burnley 61 44 12 Leeds United 61 45 13 Derby County 60 44 14 Watford 60 44 15 Ipswich Town 58 44 16 Crystal Palace 55 44 17 Millwall 53 44 18 Peterborough United 48 44 19 Nottingham Forest 47 44 20 Barnsley 47 44 21 Bristol City 45 44 22 Portsmouth 40 44 23 Coventry City 40 44 24 Doncaster Rovers 33 44

The game of the year in European soccer, between Barcelona and Real Madrid, headlines today's packed schedule of soccer action, but it is hardly the only marquee match-up on the slate, with London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal set to collide this morning in a match with plenty of implications.

P TIMES PG J 1 Reading 88 44 2 Southampton 85 44 3 West Ham United 80 44 4 Birmingham City 72 44 5 Blackpool 71 44 6 Cardiff City 71 44 7 Middlesbrough 67 44 8 Hull City 65 44 9 Brighton & Hove Albion 64 44 10 Leicester City 63 44 11 Burnley 61 44 12 Leeds United 60 44 13 Derby County 60 44 14 Watford 60 44 15 Ipswich Town 58 44 16 Crystal Palace 55 44 17 Millwall 53 44 18 Peterborough United 48 44 19 Nottingham Forest 47 44 20 Barnsley 47 44 21 Bristol City 45 44 22 Portsmouth 40 44 23 Coventry City 40 44 24 Doncaster Rovers 33 44

P TIMES PG J 1 Reading 85 43 2 Southampton 82 43 3 West Ham United 79 43 4 Birmingham City 71 43 5 Blackpool 68 43 6 Cardiff City 68 43 7 Middlesbrough 66 43 8 Brighton & Hove Albion 63 43 9 Leicester City 62 43 10 Hull City 62 43 11 Burnley 60 43 12 Leeds United 60 43 13 Derby County 60 43 14 Watford 59 43 15 Ipswich Town 57 43 16 Crystal Palace 55 43 17 Millwall 50 43 18 Peterborough United 48 43 19 Nottingham Forest 47 43 20 Barnsley 47 43 21 Bristol City 44 43 22 Coventry City 40 43 23 Portsmouth 37 43 24 Doncaster Rovers 32 43

Okey cokey, off we go. Firstly, Birmingham City will surely beat Bristol City at home. Brizzle have improved of late to take themselves out of the relegation zone, but wins against Forest and Coventry are slightly different to winning at St Andrews, where Brum have lost once all season. Will combine that with Burnley beating [.

P TIMES PG J 1 Southampton 82 42 2 Reading 79 41 3 West Ham United 76 42 4 Birmingham City 70 42 5 Blackpool 67 42 6 Cardiff City 65 42 7 Brighton & Hove Albion 63 41 8 Middlesbrough 63 42 9 Leicester City 62 42 10 Hull City 61 42 11 Derby County 60 42 12 Burnley 59 42 13 Watford 58 42 14 Leeds United 57 42 15 Ipswich Town 56 42 16 Crystal Palace 54 42 17 Peterborough United 48 42 18 Barnsley 47 42 19 Nottingham Forest 46 42 20 Millwall 44 41 21 Bristol City 43 42 22 Coventry City 39 42 23 Portsmouth 34 41 24 Doncaster Rovers 32 42

If this past weekend's action did not satisfy your craving, you are in luck. Monday has a handful of quality matches worth watching, including arguably the day's biggest game between Fulham and Chelsea.

Clint Dempsey will aim to continue his goal-scoring ways when the Cottagers host Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard and Chelsea.

A frustrating game in front of the TV cameras saw Forest's four match unbeaten run come to an end against a resilient Bristol City. James Bolton reports from the City Ground. Steve Cotterill unsurprisingly named an unchanged starting XI to the one that beat Crystal Palace 3-0 at Selhurst Park last weekend.

P TIMES PG J 1 Southampton 78 40 2 Reading 76 40 3 West Ham United 74 40 4 Birmingham City 69 41 5 Blackpool 66 40 6 Cardiff City 63 40 7 Brighton & Hove Albion 62 40 8 Middlesbrough 60 40 9 Leicester City 59 40 10 Hull City 57 40 11 Burnley 56 41 12 Leeds United 56 40 13 Watford 56 40 14 Ipswich Town 55 40 15 Derby County 54 40 16 Crystal Palace 53 40 17 Peterborough United 48 40 18 Barnsley 46 40 19 Portsmouth 44 40 20 Nottingham Forest 43 40 21 Millwall 41 40 22 Coventry City 38 40 23 Bristol City 37 40 24 Doncaster Rovers 29 40

Saturday EPL on ESPN2: Sunderland - Spurs at 7:30am. On Fox Soccer: Chelsea - Wigan at 9:30am, Stoke - Wolverhampton at 12pm, and Bolton - Fulham at 5pm. Fox Soccer Plus has Liverpool - Aston Villa at 9:45am and Norwich - Everton at 5pm. Championship on FS+: Nottingham Forest - Bristol City at 7pm. Scottish Premier League on FS+: Kilmarnock - Celtic at 7am.

P TIMES PG J 1 Southampton 77 39 2 Reading 73 39 3 West Ham United 71 39 4 Birmingham City 63 39 5 Blackpool 63 39 6 Brighton & Hove Albion 62 39 7 Cardiff City 60 39 8 Middlesbrough 60 39 9 Hull City 57 39 10 Leicester City 56 39 11 Leeds United 56 39 12 Watford 56 39 13 Ipswich Town 54 39 14 Burnley 53 39 15 Crystal Palace 53 39 16 Derby County 53 39 17 Peterborough United 47 39 18 Barnsley 46 39 19 Portsmouth 43 39 20 Nottingham Forest 43 39 21 Millwall 38 39 22 Coventry City 37 39 23 Bristol City 34 39 24 Doncaster Rovers 29 39

It has taken less than two months and if the more paranoid among Bristolian football fans expressed worry when Steve Lansdown became the majority shareholder of Bristol Rugby Club in February, that step has now been revealed as a mere staging post in the master plan – for today the formation of Bristol United Football Club has been announced.

It has taken less than two months and if the more paranoid among Bristolian football fans expressed worry when Steve Lansdown became the majority shareholder of Bristol Rugby Club in February, that step has now been revealed as a mere staging post in the master plan – for today the formation of Bristol United Football Club has been announced.

As the end of the 2011/12 league campaign draws near, Bristol City have improved their ranks – and their chances of surviving relegation – by bringing in some fresh blood.
The Robins have signed QPR's Hogan Ephraim and Andre Amougou, of Burnley fame, on loan until the end of the season.

By Chris Wright

Bristol City lost 2-0 to Watford in the Championship last night, the first goal of which was a classic David James foul-up the kind of which we haven't been treated to in a good while.

While coming to get a 'big fist' on Carl Dickinson's frontward hoof, James rose like a spawning salmon and majestically managed to punch the ball backwards into his own net.

There was a time when David James' flapping and disastrous ability in the air led to him being called Calamity James. In recent years, including his stint as England's number one, James did plenty to repair his reputation. But it was back to old tricks for the Bristol City keeper in last night's defeat to [.

24 hours ago I was jumping around my spare room cheering Jason Scotland's equaliser against Southampton.
Yet another good result came Town's way last night and it's become a bit of a tradition for me to support the boys by listening to the commentary on Ipswich Player when I can't make it to a game.

-
- (L-R) Rodney Marsh, Ian Morgan, Roger Morgan, Keith Sanderson, Ron Springett, Frank Clarke, Mick Leach, Ron Hunt, Tony Hazell, Mike Keen & Alec Stock - See series of further Great Photos from QPR's Unbelievable 1967-1968 Promotion Season (From the Bushman Archives)
- Follow QPR REPORT on TWITTER!

While the race for the Premier League title hots up, let's not forget there is plenty of football being played outside the top 20 teams in England.

Here are seven stand-out players from the Championship, all of whom could be playing in the top flight next season:

Albert Adomah

Despite making almost 200 league appearances for non league Harrow Borough and League Two side Barnet, Adomah was a largely unknown quantity when he arrived at Bristol City in the summer of 2010.

Chasing The Big Leagues Southampton and the challengers (English Championship) is a post from: Just Football

Tales from Tier Two is a series on Just Football in partnership with @tiertwofooty, in which we assess the promotion chances of the clubs in tier two of Europe's major leagues at the midway point of 2011/12.

Signing of the season?

So one of the most exciting days of the season is over, and Jim White's excitable gossip-hungry clone can go back into suspended animation until next year. Yet spending is down nearly 70% versus last year's January deadline, where Torres and Carroll dominated the headlines.

P TIMES PG 1 West Ham United 54 2 Southampton 50 3 Cardiff City 50 4 Middlesbrough 45 5 Hull City 43 6 Blackpool 42 7 Reading 42 8 Leeds United 42 9 Brighton & Hove Albion 41 10 Derby County 41 11 Birmingham City 40 12 Burnley 40 13 Crystal Palace 37 14 Barnsley 36 15 Leicester City 35 16 Portsmouth 32 17 Peterborough United 31 18 Watford 30 19 Bristol City 30 20 Millwall 29 21 Ipswich Town 26 22 Nottingham Forest 24 23 Doncaster Rovers 23 24 Coventry City 22

Coventry City's Alex Nimely celebrates scoring their second goal of their terrific win against Middlesborough

Every week, my brother places an accumulator on various Football League results, only a few quid, but enough to make it fairly interesting. To this date, he has never won.

Jonjo Shelvey has spoken of his admiration for fellow central midfielder Jay Spearing and commented: 'I look up to Jay'.
Liverpool's No.33 netted his first goal in a red shirt during the FA Cup 3rd round victory over Oldham Athletic as he partnered Spearing at the heart of the Reds' midfield.
"Jay is a top, top player.

Jonjo Shelvey has spoken of his admiration for fellow central midfielder Jay Spearing and commented: 'I look up to Jay'.
Liverpool's No.33 netted his first goal in a red shirt during the FA Cup 3rd round victory over Oldham Athletic as he partnered Spearing at the heart of the Reds' midfield.
"Jay is a top, top player.

P TIMES PG 1 West Ham United 51 2 Southampton 50 3 Cardiff City 47 4 Middlesbrough 45 5 Hull City 40 6 Derby County 40 7 Blackpool 39 8 Burnley 39 9 Reading 40 10 Leeds United 39 11 Brighton & Hove Albion 38 12 Birmingham City 37 13 Crystal Palace 37 14 Barnsley 36 15 Leicester City 35 16 Watford 31 17 Portsmouth 32 18 Peterborough United 31 19 Bristol City 27 20 Millwall 26 21 Ipswich Town 26 22 Nottingham Forest 24 23 Doncaster Rovers 23 24 Coventry City 19

Two points separate the top four sides in the Championship going into this weekend's action, with leaders Southampton in danger of falling out of the automatic promotion spots for the first time this season.
Nigel Adkins' men wasted no time in acclimatising to life back in the second tier, surprising those who bet on the Championship to quickly build up a healthy lead over the rest.

photo by Neil Tingle/ISIphotos.com

Shay Given has recovered from his groin injury and has returned to training for Aston Villa, but that does not necessarily mean he is going to supplant Brad Guzan as the Villans' starting goalkeeper.

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish is keeping his options open in terms of who to start between the goal posts on a permanent basis as a result of Guzan's string of strong performances since filling in for Given since early December.

Matches in the Third Round of The FA Cup frequently draw attendances that are lower than they would be otherwise. The simple fact that tickets are not usually provided as part of annual season tickets combined with the possibility of people feeling the pinch in the weeks after Christmas is usually enough to keep many away.

1. Poor old Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy probably had another busy Sunday explaining that he's not a referee to irate Manchester City fans. 2. Great to see Paolo Di Canio at the centre of the biggest shock of the weekend as Swindon saw off Wigan. He might be left disappointed by his hopes to [.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

FA Cup ties are the major draw in England this weekend, while Italian and Spanish sides return to action for the first time in nearly a month as winter breaks draw to a close.

Manchester United and Manchester City are still the heavy favorites to take home the Premier League title this year, but it's the FA Cup that provides another exhibition of one of the most heated rivalries in the world.

When Aston Villa starting goalkeeper Shay Given went down with an injury in an early December match against Manchester United, Alex McLeish was forced to turn to American backup Brad Guzan, who has been patiently waiting for a starting role in the Premier League ever since joining Villa from Chivas USA in 2008.

There are not many games on New Years Eve Eve, and I would advise to stay away from a home victory at Anfield. Liverpool may have not lost at home this season, but with Andy Carroll the principal striking option available, I would rather eat more turkey. Instead bet on Southampton to beat Bristol City [.