Football

[Drogba11CFC]

North Leigh 2...Winchester City 0 (Searle og 27, Seacole 52)

Winchester City suffered a setback in their attempts to finish in the top five as they were beaten in a tight game. The hosts took the lead when right-back Olly Searle turned the ball into his own net midway through the first half before George Seacole headed home at the back post early in the second half. City were arguably the better side but couldn't find the net and drop to tenth in the table.

Elsewhere, Evesham's match was abandoned in broad daylight when the floodlights failed and the referee refused to wait for the backup generator to go on, taking the first opportunity to leave the field. To add insult to injury, the floodlights went back on two minutes later. The referee was actually booed off!

Other Results:

AFC Totton 1...Tiverton Town 3

Bideford 2...Yate Town 0

Bishops Cleeve vs Paulton Rovers Postponed

Bridgwater Town 1...Shortwood United 2

Evesham United vs Swindon Supermarine Abandoned after 52 minutes due to floodlight failure with Evesham 2-1 ahead

Hereford 2...Wimborne Town 2

Mangotsfield United 1...Larkhall Athletic 1

Salisbury 3...Slimbridge 0

Taunton Town 3...Didcot Town 0

Wantage Town 2...Barnstaple Town 1

Table:
1. Hereford 31/82
---------------------------------
2. Tiverton Town 30/63
3. Evesham United 30/60
4. Salisbury 29/56
5. Taunton Town 27/55
----------------------------------
6. Mangotsfield United 28/54
7. Swindon Supermarine 29/52
8. North Leigh 26/48
9. Bideford 30/46
10. Winchester City 28/46
...
17. Paulton Rovers 28/25
18. Yate Town 29/23
19. Slimbridge 29/22
20. AFC Totton 30/21
----------------------------------
21. Wantage Town 30/13
22. Bridgwater Town 29/10

 

[Groningen]

Leicester; champion and the next season relegated?! Wait and see. I could (still) happen!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Leicester; champion and the next season relegated?! Wait and see. I could (still) happen!

There are three "interesting" fixtures this month for Leicester City....

Saturday, 18th February
Away to Millwall, FA Cup 5th round

Wednesday, 22nd February
Away to Sevilla, Champions League Round of 16

Monday, 27th February
Home to Liverpool, Premier League.

 

[scott118]

Leicester; champion and the next season relegated?! Wait and see. I could (still) happen!

Man City 1937/38, were the last English champions to be relegated.

 

[scott118]

What if?
It's a hypothetical conundrum that's frequently being discussed in the football community, the prospect of Leicester City, once more, doing the impossible. After last season's astounding Premier League triumph, the Foxes saw such great form translate to the UEFA Champions League; Ranieri's men topped 'Group G' with 13 points, losing just once to Porto.At the same time, though, arose an equally surprising dip in league form, with the champions of last season now in the midst of a relegation dogfight, following a 2-0 defeat to Swansea City on Sunday.At 14 defeats (four times more than their tally last term), the Foxes have lost the third highest number of games in the division and are being tipped by many for the drop. In the Champions League, though, the top spot in the group phase means an okay draw in the last sixteen where they'll face Sevilla, a strong side but beatable given Leicester's form in the competition.It's highly improbable that Ranieri will mastermind a Champions League victory but if it were to happen, the team's focus would almost certainly have shifted away from domestic success, rendering the chances of both happening possible. So, what if Leicester City get relegated but win the Champions League?

Leicester City Champions League
Leicester’s form in the Champions League isn’t one to moan about
From a monetary perspective, the combination of both such events would be incredibly beneficial for the Foxes. A naturally affluent league, even the bottom three in the Premier League are due great financial reward, with Aston Villa receiving £87 million over a course of three terms after finishing rock bottom in the 2015/16 season.In fact, parachute payments seem to outweigh the winnings of a Champions League winner in the long term. The campaign before last Barcelona won just over £61 million for lifting European football's elite crown, just under £20 million what Villa will recoup over three seasons. Therefore if Leicester were to win the Champions League but suffer relegation, they'd immediately receive a big total for their continental successes, as well as a very reasonable package in the few seasons to follow. Of course, there'd be a need for the money to repair the damage of relegation, though, including squad revamping, so it wouldn't be all sunshine and rainbows.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Gabriel Jesus, after such a promising start with Manchester City, will be devastated to learn that his injury has been diagnosed as a broken metatarsal, which usually requires quite a period of time to recover from.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Gabriel Jesus, after such a promising start with Manchester City, will be devastated to learn that his injury has been diagnosed as a broken metatarsal, which usually requires quite a period of time to recover from.

Very disappointing to lose a player to injury so soon after signing. On the plus side, it means less chance of Aguero starting in the cup against us with Citeh also having Monaco to contend with next week.

 

[Kite159]

PSG 4-0 Barcelona

Oops to Barcelona!

 

[507021]

That was close, but a very well taken brace from centre back Vincent Sasso either side of a Danny Graham equaliser was enough for us to get another three points. That result makes it three wins on the run for The Owls, giving us a four point advantage over Norwich City in seventh place. We've got a game in hand as well, so if we win that, we'll move up to fifth place.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

When you've been behind TWICE against the bottom side, then bag a winner in the 93rd minute, you start to wonder if this might be our year... another 2 points closer to the top 2!

 

[Drogba11CFC]

Mangotsfield United 3...Winchester City 3 (Groves 43 pen, Monelle 45, Tippins 81; Green 16, Feeney 49, Jenkinson 64, Roberts s/o 90+4)

Winchester City came away from high-flying Mangotsfield with a point in what was by all accounts a thrilling game. The visitors had a chance after 15 seconds and were ahead on 16 minutes when Howard Neighbour's shot was saved and Stuart Green pounced on the rebound. The hosts, however, went into half time in front after a quickfire double from a soft penalty and a long distance shot hit a bobble on the pitch. City came out determined however and Craig Feeney found the net after running onto a through ball before a bullet header from Andy Jenkinson gave them the lead just after the hour mark. Jamie Barron went close for City before the hosts equalised and forced a save from Lewis Noice immediately afterwards, before City had two chances of their own and Adam Roberts picked up his second yellow card. Next up, the visit of third-placed Evesham.

Other Results:

Taunton Town 2...Wimborne Town 1

League Table:
1. Hereford 31/82
-----------------------------
2. Tiverton Town 30/63
3. Evesham United 30/60
4. Taunton Town 28/58
5. Salisbury 29/56
-----------------------------
6. Mangotsfield United 29/55
7. Swindon Supermarine 29/52
8. North Leigh 26/48
9. Winchester City 29/47
...
17. Paulton Rovers 28/25
18. Yate Town 29/23
19. Slimbridge 29/22
20. AFC Totton 30/21
-----------------------------
21. Wantage Town 30/13
22. Bridgwater Town 29/10

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

PSG 4-0 Barcelona

Oops to Barcelona!

Not all that many teams come back from a 4-0 first leg deficit such as this in the second leg of a knockout stage of the Champions League.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

If you are a betting person, put your money on Charlton to beat Oldham on Tuesday night.

Oldham seem to be putting a good run of form at just the right time and their 1-0 win over Charlton on Tuesday night means that since Sheridan returned as manager, they have won 5 of their last 8 league games since his appointment.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Cheshire Senior Cup....Quarter Finals

Hyde United 2....Altrincham 1

Yet another match that shows the recent improvement in form by Hyde still continues.

 

[familyguy99]

Oldham seem to be putting a good run of form at just the right time and their 1-0 win over Charlton on Tuesday night means that since Sheridan returned as manager, they have won 5 of their last 8 league games since his appointment.

Sheridan have done quite well with us in short period of time and if he stay with us at end of last season Oldham could be challenging play offs.

This win for Oldham lift them up one place to 19th and now three points clear of drop zone. Other big game on Saturday as we play Swindon but if we beat them we could found ourselves five/six points clear of drop zone something I thought it took until April to do so.

 

[96tommy]

Cheshire Senior Cup....Quarter Finals

Hyde United 2....Altrincham 1

Yet another match that shows the recent improvement in form by Hyde still continues.

Have you got Paddy Miller playing for you now? Was a great player at Tad Albion, a real coup for you

 

[Kite159]

Arsenal heading out at the last 16 again, losing 5-1 to Bayern Munich in the 1st leg.

At least they did better than their North London neighbours

 

[backontrack]

Arsenal heading out at the last 16 again, losing 5-1 to Bayern Munich in the 1st leg.

At least they did better than their North London neighbours

Arsene Wenger should get a loyalty card. That way, every time Arsenal play Bayern he gets a free coffee.

 

[Kite159]

Arsene Wenger should get a loyalty card. That way, every time Arsenal play Bayern he gets a free coffee.

Finish runners up in the group - draw Bayern Munich
Finish winners in the group - draw Bayern Munich
Finish 3rd in the group - Draw Bayern Munich in the Europa League

 

[Howardh]

How close - or far away - are England from losing a place in the Not Really Champions trophy?

I lost interest years ago when teams finishing third or even fourth could qualify for it. Would be more appropriate if it were champions only - or at a push champions AND cup winners?

 

[EbbwJunction1]

How close - or far away - are England from losing a place in the Not Really Champions trophy?

I lost interest years ago when teams finishing third or even fourth could qualify for it. Would be more appropriate if it were champions only - or at a push champions AND cup winners?

I realise that it's not answering the question, but the last English club to win the European Cup whilst English Champions was Liverpool in 1983 / 1984. No English club has won the Champions League whilst English Champions.

 

[JamesT]

I realise that it's not answering the question, but the last English club to win the European Cup whilst English Champions was Liverpool in 1983 / 1984. No English club has won the Champions League whilst English Champions.

Not champions at the start of the season, but both of Manchester United's wins came a couple of weeks after clinching the domestic titles

 

[45rpm]

Not champions at the start of the season, but both of Manchester United's wins came a couple of weeks after clinching the domestic titles

Wrong! MUFC won the Premier League in 2007,then won the Champions League in 2008.

 

[backontrack]

How close - or far away - are England from losing a place in the Not Really Champions trophy?

I lost interest years ago when teams finishing third or even fourth could qualify for it. Would be more appropriate if it were champions only - or at a push champions AND cup winners?

Agree that this could happen. Serie A often throws up 5 or 6 CL contenders - as well as Juventus there's Napoli, Roma, Inter, Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and even Torino (plus one other team always does well, such as Atalanta, Sassuolo, Sampdoria and Udinese) - so there could be potential for a fourth CL spot. However, that could make the league less competitive or lead to more match-fixing...we'll have to see.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Wrong! MUFC won the Premier League in 2007,then won the Champions League in 2008.

I stand corrected .... you are right!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I stand corrected .... you are right!

Nevertheless, it says a lot about the marketing department of UEFA that the word "Champions" only appeared in the name of the competition when the nature of that competition changed so that many of the teams competing weren't necessarily champions.

 

[JamesT]

How close - or far away - are England from losing a place in the Not Really Champions trophy?

I lost interest years ago when teams finishing third or even fourth could qualify for it. Would be more appropriate if it were champions only - or at a push champions AND cup winners?

http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2017.html has the country coefficients that determine things, top three countries get the full four places. So as long as we keep pace with the Italians, we'll be ahead of them for the places for next season.
However, in the placings for 2018/19, the results for 2012/13 will drop off. We gained about 2 points more in that season, which is the size of our current lead.
So if the Italians do better than us this season and/or next season, we could drop back to 4th in the standings and only get three champions league places.
We're about 4.5 points behind the Germans, so it would take much better performances to overtake them (not that there are any extra places available).

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Agree that this could happen. Serie A often throws up 5 or 6 CL contenders - as well as Juventus there's Napoli, Roma, Inter, Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and even Torino (plus one other team always does well, such as Atalanta, Sassuolo, Sampdoria and Udinese) - so there could be potential for a fourth CL spot. However, that could make the league less competitive or lead to more match-fixing...we'll have to see.

Though unfortunately the first three you list are the only ones anywhere near the quality you need to boost your coefficient for places allocated, I'd even go as far to say Juventus are the only ones realistically you can bank on making it to the Quarter Finals. The days of Inter and AC being anywhere near Champions League titans are sadly long gone, which pains me as watching the likes of Adriano, Pirlo, Del Piero, Nesta and Inzaghi playing for all those Italian greats back in the day was one of the things that got me into football.

 

[familyguy99]

Couple of cup upset so far in round Five.

Burnley 0-1 Lincoln
Millwall 1-0 Leicester
Huddersfield 0-0 Man City

League One
Swindon 0-0 Oldham

Sound like fair result but it did seen like Oldham were hanging on toward end. seven point from last three games I would took that before last Saturday but I see Bury won mean Oldham are now only point ahead from safety, may need to get something against Millwall next Saturday to avoid dropping back into bottom 4.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Couple of cup upset so far in round Five.

Burnley 0-1 Lincoln
Millwall 1-0 Leicester
Huddersfield 0-0 Man City

League One
Swindon 0-0 Oldham

Sound like fair result but it did seen like Oldham were hanging on toward end. seven point from last three games I would took that before last Saturday but I see Bury won mean Oldham are now only point ahead from safety, may need to get something against Millwall next Saturday to avoid dropping back into bottom 4.

We didn't disgrace ourselves today, and probably just about edged it performance-wise. Having a replay means the old issue of fixture pile ups, but that's always a double-edged sword: all those sides that went out of the cup early have stuttered since in the league, whereas there's nothing better than having a winning mentality. We've yet to concede a goal in the FA Cup, though I fully expect we'll lose the replay. Today was also the first goalless draw we've had since Wagner took over.

Based on today's game though, if we do win promotion we have nothing to fear...