At the start of 2012-13, Rotherham United were very much among the favourites to escape League Two come the end of April. Currently in sixth place, there is still a chance that the scenario could come to pass of course although the visit of Exeter City to the New York Stadium tonight will go some way to defining this.
"It won't change the passion and the drive and commitment that I have". Rotherham manager Steve Evans there, speaking of the result of his latest brush with the FA, the small matter of a six-match stadium ban and £3000 fine (not a six-month ban, as the Independent seem to be reporting - nothing like a good sub-editor, is there?
In April, David Rawson caught the imagination of football's online community with a striking post
following the arrival of Steve Evans at Rotherham United. Here, with the Yorkshire club about to
take up residency in a new stadium and with the new season a month away, David is in wistful mood:
'If this were a manufacturing company, I'd have shut it down as soon as I walked through the door.
Yesterday, Steve Evans took over as manager at Rotherham United. Lifelong Millers' fan David Rawson
here provides his reaction. It's probably three-quarters of a mile, if that. It just feels further.
The red paint on the wooden gates at the back of Millmoor's Tivoli End has faded a little now. In
places, it's flaked off, exposing grey undercoat and the wood beneath.
I don't wish to gloat, I really don't, but the tomfoolery witnessed at the close of Tuesday night's
game between Swindon and Southampton was just, well, all too predictable. Back at the beginning of
August, I contributed towards a League 2 prediction piece for Two Footed Tackle, and questioned why
bookmakers were backing the Robins to do well.
(Written with considerable assistance from Scarf.)After my team's brief sojourn in the Championship
last season, I'm now back to watching The Football League Show as an interested neutral. There are
a few things you can guarantee happening every week: Manish Bhasin will begin speaking to the wrong
camera; Mark Clemmit will be seen acting out some forced jollity with a bemused manager; Steve
[F]irst up in our recommended reading for this week is a fascinating piece from Oxford United blog, The Boys from Up the Hill: Luke McCormick: Another Fine Mess, The Boys from Up the Hill The moral conundrum that presents itself when your club signs a player with a dark past is not easily solvable.
Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell is desperate to get his hands on a 20-goal-a-season striker to
reignite the Blues' Championship promotion hopes for 2011/12. The Suffolk side have toiled in the
absence of an out-and-out goalscorer for several seasons and it has left Town hamstrung in the
midst of the Championship table for a number of seasons.
After 5 games without a win you could say it is must win time for Boro as they entertain Oxford
United at the Lamex tomorrow evening. After Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Shrewsbury Westley's men must
react or the slide down the league could continue. Oxford won't be an easy game as our head to head
record shows only one win in the 8 games against the Yellows.
Rotherham have signed teenage Liverpool striker Adam Morgan on a youth loan, subject to Football League ratification. The 18-year-old, who has played three times for the Reds in the Europa League this season, will join up with the League Two Millers until February 9 and could make his debut in the FA Cup at Aldershot on Saturday.
The general disbelief at Tranmere Rovers' spectacular beginning to 2012-13 has all the same brought with it a highly pleasurable set of sensations – with most onlookers happily surprised at the Wirral's finest's unbeaten start and clear lead in League 1. Even the manager himself has seemed perplexed infront of the microphone– for while clearly confident in his players' abilities, he is aware as anyone of the limitations placed on a club of Tranmere's size by budget and resources.
The devil, as so often in these cases, is in the detail. While the reflex reaction to this weeks
leaking of documents concerning the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 may be to focus on the word
"drunk", it may be more informative to focus on the use of the word "Merseyside", in terms of which
police force it was that was making unfounded claims with regard to the behaviour of Liverpool
supporters in a broader sense.
Liverpool's reds and blues supporters plan a joint Football Quarter
Will it be second time lucky for detailed proposals to spread the success of Liverpool and
Everton FCs into their needy surroundings? Supporters of Liverpool's rival clubs are having a
second go at a joint attempt to create a 'Football Quarter' between their famous stadia at Anfield
and Goodison Park.
A landmark day in the fight for justice when this evening Hillsborough was debated in the house of
commons. A truly moving and inspirational opening speech by Steve Rotherham was applauded by the
house and families watching in the gallery.
The home secretary has promised to release the files without making any changes to them and handing
them over to the panel and the families.
This evening, at the Houses of Parliament, we saw a revelation. After twenty-two and a half long
years, the Members of Parliament present decided unanimously and without the need for a vote that
the government should release all of its documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster of 1989,
bringing, at long last, a chink of light to the ongoing battle of the families of those that died
that day after years of struggle.
A landmark day in the fight for justice when this evening Hillsborough was debated in the house
of commons. A truly moving and inspirational opening speech by Steve Rotherham was applauded by the
house and families watching in the gallery.
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is flattered by calls for him to be awarded a knighthood by
relatives of victims of the Hillsborough disaster.
Families of the supporters killed in the 1989 tragedy have asked Liverpool Walton MP Steve
Rotherham, the city's former Lord Mayor, to put down an Early Day Motion requesting the Queen
confer a knighthood on the Scot.
[O]nce upon a time, the PFA Awards were the undisputed measure of a season's most valuable players.
Voted for by the Professionals themselves, the response to their announcement was one of awed hush
and consent – how could mere onlookers presume to know better than those involved in the rough
and tumble of the actual sport?
It's always a difficult time for a football club when a manager leaves unless that manager is Steve
Evans. The mascara-wearing convicted tax fraudster has left Crawley Town to join their League Two
rivals Rotherham. And his former players couldn't be happier. The squad decide they're "gonna
singing a song ‘cos the fat man's [.
Admittedly I was a bit slow to publish this...so with the added benefit of one performance,
here's the League Two preview!
Who's Looking Good?
Crawley Town: Most bookies favourites, Crawley have the biggest budget in the
league, momentum to die for, and probably the deadliest striker in the division in Matt Tubbs.
In the end, it didn't matter what happened at Broadhall Way yesterday afternoon because
Chesterfield secured the League 2 title by beating Gillingham, therefore confirming that the
minimum position we would achieve would be 7th. With Torquay also losing in South Yorkshire against
Rotherham, Boro's point was enough to earn them 6th position and a playoff tie with Accrington
Stanley with the hope of progressing onto Old Trafford and ultimately League 1.
The first series to be resurrected from The 72's archives, AFC Wimbledon's Jack Midson - the Not So
Secret Footballer - writes about his thoughts on last season; what he's been up to over the summer
and what we can hopefully expect from the Dons - who start with a tough opening fixture at home to
Chesterfield - this term.
With just three weeks to go before the start of the season, one of the most surprising aspects of
this summer is the enhanced quality of the ‘out of work' list – a roster of players that can be
pondered with increasing incredulity here. In the past, the directory was populated with the kinds
of players one might expect – journeymen who had reached the end of their shelf life and eternal
fringe performers.
With the Championship starting last night, the Football League season is already underway, but
League One kicks off later this afternoon. And after a season where so many sides looked strong at
the top, there don't appear to be any sides as strong as those that won promotion last season. With
no real makeweights on paper either, we could well be in for one of the tightest division for a
while.
On a cold and wet night at Broadhall Way, Stevenage and Oxford played out a 0-0 draw full of
incidents but little goal mouth chances. Boro opted for 4-4-2 and made 4 changes from the team that
started against Shrewsbury on Saturday. New signing Taiwo Atieno was left out completely after a
quiet debut and replaced by Ben May.
After the excitement of the Newcastle win 3 weeks ago, Boro's latest FA Cup game didn't quite
have the same effect despite a good performance in front of a sold out Lamex Stadium. On paper it
was always going to be a tough game with Reading having a steady season in the Championship but
this was the FA Cup and you always felt anything could happen.
Rotherham are the visitors this Tuesday night as Boro look to continue where they left off on
Saturday. The games are coming thick and fast now as Boro effectively begin their Christmas period
after the original fixtures were postponed due to the poor weather at the back end of 2010. This
game was initially pencilled in for the 8th January, but our 3rd round tie against Newcastle meant
that the game had to be put back.
Our latest guest post sees us very pleased to welcome Paul Harper, co-host of the Totally Tranmere
podcast and the author of an eclectic blog. Here at TTU, we would admit to having covered the
Prenton Park club less than we would like to have done in our three years of existence so to be
able to call upon the services of Paul is something of a boon.
Ep.28 Andre's Very Brief by Off The Post on Mixcloud It was all business as usual in the Premier
League this week – Chelsea sacked a manager, Robin van Persie notched up a couple more goals, and
Lee Cattermole somehow managed to pick up a booking and also a straight red in the same game. [...]
Confessions of a Football Reporter...another Biggs at Large By Alan Biggs Published by Vertical
Editions, August 2011 £12.99 ISBN: 9781904091516 In the second of three book reviews we should be
publishing this week, we welcome back Ian Rands of A United View on Football. Ian was lucky enough
recently to secure an interview with football journalist Alan Biggs - the BBC's go-to guy for South
Stevenage 3-0 Rotherham (Winn 44, Harrison 85, Laird 90)
BBC Report | Official Report
Winning is beginning to become a habit again after an inconsistent start to life in League 2.
Boro have now won their last four home games in all competitions, the latest being a 3-0 demolition
job of 3rd place Rotherham.
More Paolo action Paolo Di Canio has been scrapping with his players again but this time it was all
fun and games. Following his scrap with striker Leon Clarke last week, Di Canio was flattened by
Matt Ritchie on Saturday. The Robins managed a 3-2 victory over Rotherham, but it turned out Di
Canio [.
More Paolo action Paolo Di Canio has been scrapping with his players again but this time it was all
fun and games. Following his scrap with striker Leon Clarke last week, Di Canio was flattened by
Matt Ritchie on Saturday. The Robins managed a 3-2 victory over Rotherham, but it turned out Di
Canio [.
Saturday 9th April - Football League 2
Apparently prescriptions for anti-depressants are at an all time high. Walking through the blossom
filled parks of Cheltenham on the way to Whaddon Road you wouldn't credit that the town's football
team was responsible for this surge in consumption. That is until you got to the sparsely populated
ground.
Derby County have signed Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones on loan until the end of the season.
The Rams have brought in the 29-year-old as a replacement for Matt Duke, who has been recalled by
his parent club Hull City.
Manager Nigel Clough told the Rams website: "Brad fits the bill perfectly.
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QPR Report "Spot The Ball #4"
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Football League
The Football League has announced the final shortlists ahead of The Football League Awards 2011
with the release of the nominations for the npower Player of the Year in each division, The
Football League Young Player of the Year and EA SPORTS Outstanding Team Performance awards.
