Walsall 3 Colchester United 1

You'll spot Walsall fans this morning by the inane grins on their faces.

This was a cracking performance by the Saddlers against a decent team pushing for a play-off spot. But Colchester were just brushed aside.

Mat Sadler struck his first senior goal in 222 appearances to help lift Walsall out of the drop zone.

U's keeper Ben Williams palmed a corner from Alex Nicholls straight to former Birmingham City star Sadler and the full back buried a ten yard drive one minute before the break.

Argentine striker Emmanuel Ledesma had pulled the home side level with a twenty yard free-kick in the 38th minute.

And Substitute George Bowerman sealed the win by nodding home an Nicholls cross from six yards in the 74th minute.

Midfielder Andy Wordsworth had given Colchester the lead in the eleventh minute when he fired in his 12th goal of the campaign from twenty yards. But Wordsworth's goal only seemed to stir the home side into action.

Sadler had been left with his head in his hands before his goal after Williams saved at his feet from ten yards and when central defender Manny Smith beat the keeper, his bullet header came back off the bar.

The star of the show though was Ledesma who rejoined the club for his second spell only a couple of weeks ago. The striker linked up well with the midfield and everything good about the Saddlers last night seemed to go through him. 

At the end of last season  Ledesma returned to Argentina after failing to settle in the West Midlands, but last night he looked right at home!

My clipping from this morning's paper

Walsall v Colchester

I will be at the Bescot this evening to watch Walsall take on Colchester and it could be a tough game for the Saddlers.
Colchester are unbeaten in nine games - although the last five have been draws - and Walsall will be hoping to dent their push for the play-offs while moving clear of the drop zone themselves.
A draw could see them replace Wycombe in the 'coverted' fifth from bottom spot, but John Ward's visitors know that three points will put them right in the mix for the final play-off place.
Ward has understandably already given up hope of the top three places, but is long enough in the tooth to know that a couple of wins will heap the pressure on the other contenders (Carlisle, Stevenage, Notts County and Brentford). As Ward was ditched as manager by Carlisle (currently in sixth place) I'm sure it would give him enormous pleasure to overtake them ... although he's too much of a gentleman to admit it.
A win for Walsall would be a massive boost to confidence as they have only chalked up one victory in the last seven games despite recording five draws.
I saw Colchester take on Wycombe recently and the Chairboys had to work their socks off for a draw. The lads at Walsall will need to work just as hard - if not harder - if they are to take anything out of this one and I predict an away win, although by a narrow margin.

Cheltenham Town 0 Oxford United 0

Cheltenham edged most of the game, but both teams had great chances to break the deadlock.
Oxford keeper Ryan Clarke had to be at his best to shut out striker Darryl Duffy in the sixth minute .
Clarke then beat away an angled shot from defender Sido Jombati five minutes later and tipped Duffy's follow-up header over the bar. 
In the 12th minute Robins midfielder Luke Summerfield nodded a gilt-edged effort wide from eight yards and Oxford striker James Constable's diving header flew over the bar from a similar distance fourteen minutes later.
Oxford had a very good shout for a penalty turned down in the 42nd minute when full back Sido Jombati clipped the heel of winger Dean Morgan, but referee Paul Tierney waved play on.
And one minute before the break, Cheltenham midfielder Pack rattled the bar with a thunderous 25 yard free kick. 
On loan Notts County striker Ben Burgess battled with the Oxford defence for most of the match, but blew the chance of a win when he re-directed team mate Marlon Pack's goal bound shot wide from only 6 yards in the 63rd minute.
U's midfielder Peter Leven curled a free kick just wide with two minutes left as the visitors tried to notch up a third straight win to boost their own promotion ambitions.
Sido Jombati hopes this result will trigger a change in fortunes for play-off contenders Cheltenham.
Jombati definitely had luck on his side three minutes before the break when he appeared to clip the heels of Dean Morgan in the box, only to see the Oxford winger's appeal turned down.
But Portuguese full back Jombati insisted:
"I did get a slight touch on the ball and you could see it change direction, so the referee made the right decision. 
Every team has a bad patch in the season and we lost four games before this one and so I hope that's our bad patch finished and our luck has changed. If we end up in the play-offs we have the players to win them."
Winger Morgan was convinced that a spot kick should have been awarded and asked:
"If the ref didn't think it was a penalty, why didn't he book me for diving? It doesn't make sense. But why would I dive anyway? I was through and could've scored."
And the Chesterfield loanee still hopes to make up for missing yesterday's Johnstone's Paint Trophy final at Wembley. He said:
"I don't know what the situation is yet, but it would be great to help Oxford get to the play-off final and end the season and play at Wembley myself, but the decision is out of my hands. It's up to the two clubs."
Oxford manager Chris Wilder was satisfied with the result which keeps Oxford in the promotion hunt. He said:
"It wasn't a great performance, but it was a gritty one. We're not underestimating what a very good point this is. They pushed us back and were going for the win. I thought it was a penalty, but that would've been harsh on Cheltenham. It wasn't a great performance from us, but it was a gritty one."
And Cheltenham manager Mark Yates was delighted to end the losing streak and said:
"Sometimes you need a small step before you take a big one. Chris said he thought we deserved more and he's an honest man. If we play like that we'll be alright, so it's onwards and upwards from now on."

My clippings from Sunday and Monday (top)

Cheltenham v Oxford

I've heard the expression "the business end of the season" used several times in recent weeks, but this game really should be 'the business'.

Oxford look extremely focused now and will have one eye on an automatic promotion spot while Cheltenham aren't out of the running themselves - although recent form (four defeats on the bounce) would suggest that a play-off position might be more realistic.

However, manager Mark Yates is remaining positive as you would expect and has told the local media:

"We are four points off third and six points off eighth so we are still in a good position to build from."

Yates and his players will be hoping the fans get behind them and not on their backs as some of them did last Saturday against Gillingham.

The Oxford fans seem to have settled for the fact that their side won't be trying to impersonate Barca in the remaining fixtures. I spoke to a few after the midweek win at home to Wimbledon and they will be happy to just grind out results in whatever manner it takes if it means they'll close the gap on their buddies from Wiltshire and secure promotion to League One.

Chris Wilder talked of patience being needed at this point in the season and while he was talking about his team, I couldn't help but feel the message was also being directed at the supporters.

It is time for everyone - at both clubs - to hold their nerve and keep (or start) doing the things that have put them in contention.

While I'm a definitely a neutral for this one, nothing would give me more pleasure than to see both teams go up.

Yates as a full squad to pick from in tomorrow's fixture and has also added Yeovil Town's Steve MacLean (who played for the U's last season) on loan until the end of the season along with 6'3" co-striker Ben Burgess from Notts County.

Oxford will be without Tom Craddock, Jon-Paul Pitman, but otherwise have a healthy looking squad to pick from.

Despite the fact that the visitors have only lost one game in the last eleven, I predict that this will be one hell of a game with one hell of an atmosphere and I haven't looked forward to a fixture this much all season. So it'll be a scoreless draw then!

Best of luck to all. Jeff

Oxford United 1 AFC Wimbledon 0

Dean Morgan opened his account to keep Oxford's promotion plans on track.

Striker Morgan struck in his third outing since joining on a one month loan deal from Chesterfield.

In the 57th minute Oli Johnson passed to Morgan on the left of the box and his fierce drive hit keeper Seb Brown on the way in.

Johnson came close himself, but his header off the bar and boss Chris Wilder was sent to the stands after disputing an injury time free kick.

Oxford dominated most of the first period and when Dons keeper Seb Brown was beaten, defenders Sam Hatton and Pim Balkestein cleared shots off the line.

Brown also turned a Andy Chapman free kick past the post and opposite number Ryan Clarke blocked an angled shot from George Moncur with his chest.

Oxford boss Chris Wilder was delighted with the win despite being sent to the stands by referee Keith Stroud in injury time and said:

"I thought it was a great game of football and I haven't seen a better one all season. We scored a cracking goal, but we gave the ball away too cheaply in the last the last ten minutes and that resulted in my frustration.

I've apologised to the players. I abused two drinks bottles, one Powerade and one Gatorade, so I apologise to them too, but I shouldn't have done it."

Wimbledon manager Terry Brown groaned:

"I'm absolutely gutted. I thought we had a nailed on penalty and thought if we'd scored a goal we could have had two or three. I thought we got it down and passed it well, but there's no point in playing pretty football unless you win."

The big talking points after the game seemed to be the penalty shout by Wimbledon when midfielder Sammy Moore went over in the box in the first half and the foul committed by Asa Hall in the dying minutes which led to some frantic 'body on the line' defending.

From where the Press Box is situated, I didn't see the penalty incident clearly, but the reaction of several Oxford players AFTER play had been waved on, suggested they were pretty unhappy with the Wimbledon player to say the least. For this reason alone I felt the decision was correct, but it does beg the question as to why the ref didn't show a yellow card for diving.

I felt that Hall was the pick of the bunch last night, but that he was at fault for giving away the free kick and the ref got that one right - and it should be noted that Wilder's vicious attack on the energy drinks was sparked by the way his lads were playing at that point and not by the decision itself.

Finally, if a manager is going to be sent to the stands for throwing plastic bottles on the ground, we may as well all go home. Wilder wasn't swearing at the officials or opposition - he was just being passionate.

My clipping from the morning paper

Oxford v Wimbledon

I will be at the Kassam for tonight's League Two fixture when the Wombles come to play. Fans are asked to refrain from littering around the stadium as the visitors do not need distracting from matters on the pitch (okay, you have to be of a certain age and even then I'll admit it wasn't a side-splitter!).


Chris Wilder's latest loan signing from West Ham, striker Cristian Montaño, 20, may make his first start for the U's this evening and the Colombian could have a major impact on Oxford's promotion push if he brings his shooting boots with him. 


Montaño was sent on as a sub for the last twenty minutes in Saturday's home win against Rotherham and drew a blank, but in other loan spells, he managed to notch up four goals in four games for Notts County and three in ten for Dagenham.



He has yet to make a start for the East London club, but apparently models himself on fellow countryman and former Toon loon Faustino Asprilla - so expect to see Special Branch checking his Nike kit bag for small arms when he arrives for the game! Then again, if he has half the skill Asprilla had in his pomp, he could be a really exciting addition to Wilder's squad for the next month.


Former Oxford striker Jack Midson returns to the club with whom he won a Wembley play-off final and is an amazingly rich run of form. Midson took a knock in Saturday's defeat at Bristol Rovers, but is expected to turn out tonight and will be looking to add to the twenty goals he has scored this season. With eighteen league strikes to his name, he is by far the most potent threat that Don's boss Terry Brown has at his disposal.


Midson told the Don's website:


"I am raring to go - I would shake off any knocks because it is against Oxford. If my limbs were hanging off I would still make my way out there. When I was at Histon I played regularly and scored 20-odd goals, but I did not play as much as I would have liked at Oxford. Since I have come here, I have been playing every game again and have scored goals."


A man on a bit of a mission? 


But Midson will have to do without Jason Euell who has been sharing the load for the last two months as he was recalled by host club Charlton who will need to have all hands to the pumps as they home in on promotion to the Championship.


Oxford will welcome back Midson's former strike partner, James Constable, after his red card and subsequent suspension during the derby clash with Swindon. And defender Damian Batt is also available after serving a ban for a red against Brentford.

Time for everyone to muck in at Whaddon Road

"Cheltenham will be challenging for promotion by next March."

Not a statement you would have heard from many football fans last August. Even in Gloucestershire the thought of a return to League One was not foremost in the minds of the most blinkered Robins supporter.

Let's be honest, Cheltenham Town are a smashing little club - with the emphasis on the word 'little'.

They don't have too much money and can't rely on big gate receipts and have punched well above their weight since gaining promotion to the Football League. They are effectively a non-league club - like several others in League Two - defying the odds by bouncing between the Leagues One and Two.

And so to hear the jeers ring out at the end of the game on Saturday was quite surprising.

Did Cheltenham play well? No, they were well below par. Did they deserve a rollicking? Yes, and you can be sure that Mark Yates gave the players both barrels in the dressing room. He was seething after the game and training yesterday wouldn't have been much fun!

But just one week before they had narrowly missed out at runaway title favourites Swindon - and understandably felt hard done by getting something from the game.

What team goes through the full season without putting in a dodgy performance or two at the very least? Cheltenham are having a spell at the moment when it isn't going for them and they need everyone pulling in the same direction if they are to finish the season on a high - and that includes the fans.

As Yates walked over to show his appreciation of them - despite his own disappointment - he was greeted with jeers. He then cupped his hands to his ears and waved a dismissive hand at them. In my view they were lucky not to get a two fingered salute.

I remember chatting to John Ward one day after a game had been postponed at Whaddon Road and he told me that he was having a tricky time of it. Half of the supporters remembered the days in non-League and so were just happy to b playing in League One or Two, the other half hadn't known the hard times and expected to be challenging for the Premier League. He was spot on and highlighted the fickle short-term memories of most football fans.

The damage some Bristol Rovers and Swindon fans did with their jeering last season contributed to both clubs being relegated. I spoke to players who questioned "the point of busting a gut for people like that".

Of course Cheltenham won't go down - Yates and his squad have already done more than enough to guarantee league football next season - but if the Whaddon Road faithful think that supporting their team with vitriol is acceptable, they might just find that they end up jeering the club out of unlikely play-off contention.

The argument is that "we pay our money and so have a right". Rubbish! A true fan should play a positive role and make life uncomfortable for the OPPOSITION DURING the game not slag off their own players after it. A football fan pays for the pleasure of being a club volunteer.

Too many supporters these days see it as their right to attend games just to get the week's trials and tribulations out of their systems, but rather than direct it at the visitors they don't appear care who it's directed at.

And true fans chant and sing for their team while the game is being played - on Saturday you could have heard a pin drop during the game such was the impression the home support made.

Cheltenham Town 0 Gillingham 3

Jordan Obita's brace kept Gillingham's makeshift squad in the promotion mix.

Manager Andy Hessenthaler was forced to field a patched up team with TEN players missing through injury or suspension, but he still saw them notch up their fifth win in six outings.

And Reading loanee winger Obita was the pick of the bunch as he made it three goals in two starts to keep Gillingham in touch with the play-off places.

Obita's opener came in the 45th minute.

Midfielder Oliver Lee's pass left the Robins flat-footed and Obita shrugged off a weak challenge from defender Sido Jombati to drill home from 16 yards.

In the 54th minute Gill's Argentine keeper Paulo Gazzaniga launched the ball forward and as central defender Alan Bennett and  England U-21 keeper Jack Butland dithered over who should deal with the punt, Obita nipped in to hook home from 20 yards.

Midfielder Chris Whelpdale sealed the points in the 83rd minute when he tapped home a low cross from skipper Danny Kedwell from four yards for his eighth goal of the campaign.

Both teams had carbon copy chances to break the deadlock before Obita struck.

In the 25th minute Gillingham midfielder Chris Whelpdale bustled through on goal, but Bennett pinched the ball off his toe as he was about to drill home from eight yards.

Five minutes before the break Darryl Duffy was snuffed out by defender Danny Jackman from the same distance with the goal begging.


Meanwhile, Obita has his sights set on a pair of promotions.

Obita, 18, shrugged off a lame challenge from Sido Jombati for his first just before the break and took advantage of more dithering defending in the 54th minute to make it three goals in three outings following a one month loan deal from Reading.

England U-19 winger Obita then said:

"I don't know what will happen at the end of the month, but everyone at Gillingham has made me feel welcome and it would be great to see the club get promoted and be part of it. Obviously I also want Reading to get back into the Premier League as well and so it could turn out to be an excellent season."

"Reading's a great place to learn your trade and they have a habit of bringing on a few young players each season. I'll do whatever the gaffer there wants me to do, but I'm behind players like Robson-Kanu, McAnuff and Kebe and so I didn't expect to play much this season."

But Reading manger Brian McDermott is keeping his eye on the exciting youngster and Obita revealed:

"He has told me that I'm doing well for Gillingham. It's nice to know he's watching and so I've just got to keep on working hard to impress him."

Chris Whelpdale, 25, sealed the win with a 83rd minute tap in - his eighth of the campaign - before saying:

"We've got quite a lot of players out at the moment, but the youngsters have come in and done a great job. It's the business end of the season and if we carry on doing what we're doing we'll definitely be in the play-offs."

Loa nee winger Obita was definitely the pick of the bunch as he made it three goals in two starts to keep Gillingham in touch with the play-off places.


Both teams had carbon copy chances to break the deadlock before Obita struck the opener.

In the 25th minute Whelpdale bustled through on goal, but Bennett pinched the ball off his toe as he was about to drill home from eight yards.

Five minutes before the break Darryl Duffy was snuffed out by defender Danny Jackman from the same distance with the goal begging.


Delighted Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler said:
"I thought everybody was terrific. To come to Cheltenham, score three and keep a clean sheet. We all want to achieve something this season and even they players who aren't involved are fully behind what we're doing."

Cheltenham boss Mark Yates was seething and blasted:

""That was the worst performance of the season by a country mile and I apologise to the fans. The fans can boo at they end and that is fine but I need them to make some noise and get behind the players.. I take responsibility for picking the team, but the players have to take responsibility as well." 

My clipping from The Sun on Sunday

... and this morning's edition

Cheltenham v Gillingham

As the horse boxes disappear over the horizon and make on their way back over the Irish Sea, normal service will be resumed at Whaddon Road tomorrow and focus will once again turn towards the town's football club and its attempt to clinch promotion.


It seems a long time since I visited the club, but I still maintain that they have played the most entertaining football I've seen this season in the bottom two divisions.


However, the Robins go into this fixture on the back of a couple of defeats and having slipped out of the automatic promotion places. No doubt they will be looking to recapture some of the form that has seen them gate crash the so-called fancied sides in the table.


Boss Mark Yates is considering adding to his squad before next Thursday's transfer deadline, but may have to do with the lads who are already there and have done so well for him. If they can stay fit and avoid suspensions, I think Mark will be happy enough.


And even Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler has been impressed with Yate's efforts this season. He told the Gloucestershire Echo:


"Mark would be manager of the season for me. You have to give him so much credit for what he has done. Cheltenham are very organised and difficult to play against and he has shown everyone he can build a team on a shoestring budget there."


Gillingham legend Hessenthaler is a decent manager himself, but will have his work cut out for him tomorrow with four players suspended and the squad ravaged by injuries and illness in recent weeks. Some bodies will return to the squad, but it will also contain a sprinkling of youngsters as Hessenthaler attempts to make up the numbers.

In a way, this fixture may just go to show that the fine line between success and failure for cash strapped clubs often rests on luck. Cheltenham have enjoyed a relatively good season as far as injuries and suspensions are concerned, while Gillingham are losing key players at just the wrong time.

However, if anyone in the Cheltenham camp feel that the visitors are there for the taking, they don't know Hessenthaler. Whoever he sends onto the pitch will give their all ... or face a long walk back to Kent.

Quiet week

Looks like it's going to be a quiet week for me.

There are no midweek games to cover in my geographic region and so barring any major breaking news from the local clubs, I just thought I'd stare at my navel and mull over some of their efforts so far.

Bristol City:

Certainly not where anyone at Ashton Gate would have expected them to be at this point in the season - or where I thought they would be following the replacement of Keith Millen at the helm. New manager Derek McInnes saw an initial improvement, but this was then followed by a slump which has seen City drop into the relegation scrap. Personally I think they have too much in their locker to go down, but they need to pick up a couple of quick wins to dump more pressure on the only three teams below them - Coventry, Doncaster and Pompey.

Wycombe Wanderers

Wycombe have picked up in recent games, although they slipped up against fellow relegation strugglers Scunthorpe. The next two games will probably determine whether they have a chance of getting out of trouble and surviving - Bury and Exeter. Unfortunately for Wnaderers, it looks as though there is going to be one almighty fight to stay up with the bottom eight or nine clubs still candidates for the drop. The Chairboys big advantage is that they have been fighting for their lives from day one and already have the tenacious mindset needed. Some of the other clubs have hit poor runs of form and may start to panic as confidence at Adams Park continues to grow.

Swindon Town

It looks as though the Robins will go up. Aside from a defeat to local rivals Oxford, the form of the County Ground boys has been excellent and they just appear to be getting stronger and stronger as the season wears on. Champions elect.

Cheltenham Town

The best football I've seen this season in League Two has been played by the Robins and so I'd love to see them go up automatically. Realistically though, it's going to be a tricky run-in and Mark Yates is really going to earn his corn if they manage to finish in the top three.

Oxford United

A play-off spot would have been acceptable at the beginning of the season and I think that's where they will end up. From that point on it's going to be a lottery, but the U's have players of experience in the squad as well as recent experience of a successful play-off campaign - so it might just suit them.

Bristol Rovers

This has been a wasted season for the Gas. Twelve points off the play-offs, but a club of this size should be challenging for the title. Since coach Shaun North took over following Paul Buckle's sacking - and then Mark McGhee's subsequent arrival as the new manager - Rovers have started to look the part. McGhee already has one eye on re-building for next season and each player is currently under-going one long job interview.

Hereford United

The Bulls have under-achieved this season. Harsh words? I don't think so. They haven't got a lot of money, don't attract big crowds and don't have a large squad, but the players the club do have possess enough quality to steer it to safety. I don't think anyone expected a promotion push this season, but I personally felt they were good enough to reach mid-table. Maybe if they put a little run together now, this can still be achieved.

Wycombe Wanderers 0 Colchester United 0

Nikki Bull went from zero to hero in seconds to earn relegation candidates Wycombe a valuable point.

Steven Gillespie should have sealed a win for play-off hopefuls Colchester in the 53rd minute when he charged down Bull's clearance, but the Wycombe stopper made amends by blocking the striker's follow up shot with his chest.

But Wycombe cranked up the pressure as the game wore on.

In the 53rd minute, midfielder Stuart Lewis had keeper Ben Williams scrambling across his goal to save a 25 yard shot.

And central defenders Dave Winfield and Charlton loanee Gary Doherty both came close with headers in the dying stages.

Colchester's leading marksman Anthony Wordsworth saw action at both ends before the break.

In the 16th minute eleven goal winger Wordsworth chested a header from Winfield off his own line, but then seven minutes later saw his shot come off Doherty and hit the Wycombe post.

Colchester chief John Ward was pleased with the point and his team's fourth clean sheet in five games. He joked:

"The Chairman can go off and enjoy his skiing holiday now.

Whilst we haven't been able to win this game, we're looking very strong. We've hit a spell at the moment where everyone's prepared to put in a good shift and the guys are enjoying it. We're in a good position. My back four and my goalkeeper were once again very strong and very solid. I think that’s one goal conceded in the last five games and we’re really pleased about that."

Gary Waddock, boss of relegation candidates Wycombe, was encouraged by his team's first scoreless draw of the campaign and said: 

"I played under John (at Bristol Rovers) and so know how well organised his teams an be.

I thought we might snatch a win, but it wasn't to be and it was probably a fair result. The players have dug in and showed everybody how much they want to put the situation right. We now need to transfer what we are doing here a home into our away fixtures.


We've been Jekyll and Hyde, but we've turned up again today and put in a performance. If they continue to perform like that, it gives us a chance to pick up points." 
 
Meanwhile John White is looking forward to mixing clean sheets and dirty nappies for the rest of the season.

U's defender White, 25, helped shut out the opposition for the fourth time in five games before rushing off to hospital to pick up new born son Jacob.

And the new dad revealed:

"It's been a bizarre couple of days. We had to get to hospital early on Friday morning and spent the day having cuddles. As soon as the warm up started I was in football mode, but I'm back in baby mode now. I'm in a happy daze now the game's over and can't wait to pick him up, get him home and be put on nappy duty."

And White hopes that Colchester can still make a push for the play-offs. He said:

"It's nice to be seen as the underdogs in the run in. It takes the pressure off and so we'll take each game as it comes and see where it takes us."

Midfielder Matt Bloomfield believes that Wycombe should build on the draw as the club attempts to beat the drop. He said:

"Confidence should be building in the squad now on the back of two good results. We should take a lot of self belief from of this result and target four points at least from our next two games."

My clipping from yesterday's edition

My clipping from this morning's paper

Wycombe v Colchester

I’m in Wycombe again tomorrow for the second game in one week to see whether the Chairboys can repeat the performance they gave against Orient.

Colchester are the visitors this time and they will also be in high spirits following an excellent 2-0 win at league leaders Charlton.

In fact the Us have only lost once in seven games and won the last couple so confidence will be high.

After Tuesday night’s game I asked Gary Waddock how he managed to get his players to perform as they did - in the first half especially – on the back of what was 'apparently' a real shocker at Scunthorpe. The Wycombe manager told me he had just asked his players to sit down and remember how they were feeling and what they were thinking before the 5-0 win against Hartlepool ... and then approach Orient in the same frame of mind. It obviously worked.

It would be easy to criticise and ask why Wycombe didn’t pick up where they left off at the break on Tuesday, but there were also eleven other pros on that pitch who had just been given the rollicking of their lives by Russell Slade ... and were in danger of being made to walk back to East London.

Personal pride will also have kicked in. I’ve known very few professional footballers in my time who have not tried to salvage some when they’re in that situation.

And so the second half was never going to be as easy, but credit to Wycombe, they showed they were going to scrap and battle to win that one.

It would also be easy for the club to panic and get shot of Waddock, but in my opinion that would be short-sighted and Chairman Ivor Beeks  obviously feels the same and has told the Bucks Free Press:

"He continues to have our respect and support. There is no issue, he’s got a job to do."

When a football Chairman backs his manager these days it's often time to start checking the Situations Vacant columns in the League Managers Association newsletter, but traditonally, Wycombe are made of sterner stuff.

Beeks - and most fans - were aware that this was going to be a backs-to-the-wall season from day one. 

Wycombe midfielder Bloomfield made a big point of highlighting the importance of the home support when he told the Bucks Free Press:

"The players care about the fans and the club. We want to win first and foremost for our points tally, but we want to give our fans something to cheer about on Saturday against Colchester."

Bloomfield is obviously one of those players who is very aware of the debt owed by players to fans as he also took time out to talk about them on Tuesday night (there's a sneaky clip below, but the full interview is probably on the cub's website). It seems as though some players pay lip service to their followers, but even off camera and off the record, I can assure you that Bloomfield cares.

In John Ward, Colchester have one of the lower leagues’ top football brains and so it will be an intriguing tussle between the two coaches.

Colchester’s leading scorer is midfielder Anthony Wordsworth who has found the net eleven times this season and he has certainly not given up on a play-off place – even if the boss is playing it cool.Wordsworth has said: 

“I don’t see why we can’t make the play-offs. When you look back on the points that we’ve dropped in the past, it’s a bit frustrating. But after taking six points from our last two games, it’s definitely doable.”

I spoke to Ward a few times when he was managing Cheltenham and he is a likable and knowledgeable football man. Interesting to see that he also has a few old Robins players on the staff including Steven Gillespie who has made a reputation for himself as a dangerous lower league goal scorer.

It should be a cracking encounter tomorrow. A home win and maybe everyone in Adams Park will start to believe. An away win and maybe the visiting Essex boys (and girls) will, er, start to believe!

Are you Messi in disguise?

Given the lack of anything serious to write today, I thought I'd mention a chat I had with Chairboys fan last night during the Barca game. Following Matt Bloomfield's fine goal against Orient on Tuesday, this supporter pointed out that it was Messi-esque in its execution and followed up by pointing out: "Of course no-one's ever seen Lionel and Matt on the same pitch at the same time. Makes you wonder doesn't it?"
At this point my friend slumped into a unconscious, drunken stupor on the bar, but it stirred my investigative juices and so after hours searching on the Interweb, I found the following:

Matt Bloomfield celebrates his first of the season ... well for Wycombe anyway!

Source: Footy-shop Pictures, Inc.

Perhaps things aren't as bad as they seem at Adams Park after all!

When words aren’t enough ...

... or when you can’t use enough words!

As anyone with half a brain is probably aware, newspapers tend to focus on the bigger games, the bigger clubs and the largest potential readership. All of which makes sense.

So when there is a fairly full midweek fixture list and limited space available, the order for copy from the sports desk can be fairly small. You would think that the fewer words required, the easier the job. Yeah, you’d think.

Before last night’s game I was asked for a mere one hundred words. Not a great deal, but once you throw six goals into the mix, it becomes a little tougher to tell the full story.

After Stuart Beavon’s opener last night I had a comfortable piece arranged in my head focusing on the prolific Wycombe hit man - and maybe a little something about Orient keeper Paul Rachuka’s debut following a loan move from Leeds earlier that day.

Paul Hayes second didn’t trouble me too much either. I could just tag on something about his third goal in three games since arriving from Charlton and then add something about the superb threaded pass by fellow loanee Craig Eastmond – an impressive young midfielder  from Arsenal.

The star of the show though was Matt Bloomfield. He added a third with a little drop of the shoulder in the 33rd minute that left three defenders for dead before he slotted home his first goal of the season.

Great goal by him, great for the home support, but not too good for me – there was still about an hour to go.

Six minutes later Bloomfield – who I have a lot of time for on a personal level – twisted the knife by setting up Ben Strevens for the fourth.

As Orient left the pitch to a chorus of boos and cries of “we want our money back” from the travelling support, I was preparing myself for worse to come (as were most of the visiting back room staff I suspect).

Immediately after the break – and presumably with manager Russell Slade’s words of comfort ringing in their ears – the Os started with a bang ... and another bloody goal to write about.

Skipper Matt Spring buried a scorcher that left keeper Nikki Bull (who made several decent stops during the game that were all worth writing about) with no chance.

In the 74^th minute Marc Laird nodded in a long ball from Terrell Forbes as the confidence seemed to ebb from the home side.

It’s worth mentioning the funniest incident of the night at this point and with due respect to the travelling fans it wasn’t the chant of “we’re going to win 5-4” following Spring’s goal.

Seconds before Laird scored, midfielder Dean Cox was flattened about 20 yards from the Wycombe goal. He was furious with referee David Philips who had played advantage. As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, Philips caught Cox’s eye and cupped his hand to his ear. The midfielder patted official on the back as he jogged to the half way line for the resumption.

As the Chairboys desperately clung on to their lead, the bookings started mounting up and I had visions of a red card or two needing to be described as well.

Veteran midfielder Gareth Ainsworth was sent on by manager Gary Waddock in the 79^th minute – presumably to use his experience to settle to team down – and was promptly scythed down by central defender Ben Chorley who was shown a yellow card.

It looked an awful challenge, but it was also a daft one with ten minutes (plus five minutes injury time as it turned out) to go.

I’m not for one minute saying Ainsworth did this, but if I had been around the block as often as him, I would have been lying on the turf thinking “well that’s worth more than the 30 seconds the ref is going to add on” and stayed where I was to run a little extra time down. As I say though, that’s what I would have done!

Having sent off the report you saw on my blog earlier today, I called the office to ensure they had received it and was greeted with “you could have added a more description”. The guy at the office was laughing as he said it ... and I hung up with as much joviality as I could muster!

So there you have it, an account of last night’s game at Adams Park – in 757 words.

Wycombe Wanderers 4 Leyton Orient 2

(more on this one later when I get the time!)
Stuart Beavon sparked a six goal thriller to edge Wycombe off the foot of the table.

Beavon nodded in his 17th of the campaign in the seventh minute and nine minutes later co-striker Paul Hayes slotted in the second from eight yards.

Midfielder Matt Bloomfield prodded in his first of the season in the 33rd minute before setting up substitute Ben Strevens's tap in six minutes later.

One minute after the break Orient skipper Matt Spring fired in a 22 yard scorcher and midfielder Marc Laird nodded in in the 74th minute, but the damage was done in the first half.


Wycombe manager Gary Waddock was delighted to see his team bounce back from a 4-1 weekend mauling at Scunthorpe and said:

"In the first half we were very, very good. It was an important three points and very pleasing on the eye. We needed to win the game and had enough goal scorers on the pitch to do it.

After the game on Saturday it was important we didn't lie down and die and we showed we  have players with character who are prepared to stand up and fight.

We're consistent at being inconsistent and that's frustrating. You pull your hair out sometimes, but they've shown what a good group of players they are."

Furious Orient boss Russell Slade said:

"I can't think when I've been as disappointed in any of my teams as I was in the first half. As a group we were so poor it was horrendous.

We needed to put some pride back into the shirt in the second half, but it was too late."

My clipping from this morning's paper

Wycombe Wanderers v Leyton Orient

Following Saturday's 4-1 reverse at Scunthorpe, it is vital that Wycombe start stringing some wins together and I will be at Adams Park tonight to see how they get on against Orient.

The Chairboys are now propping up League One and - if results are anything to go by - look like they have given up on survival. It will be interesting to see what the mood in the camp is like. I hope that I'm wrong.

Their task isn't going to be made any easier if they are missing striker Stuart Beavon who has a groin strain and whose goals have given the club any hope of staying in the division.

On a positive note, central defender Dave Winfield may return to the side tonight having been out since mid-February.

Following tonight's game, Wycombe have a home fixture against Colchester on Saturday and then two away trips to Bury and Exeter. Given the weekend's defeat, it would be daft to say that they are games Wycombe should win, but I'd suggest that this run of four games could prove to be the turning point in their season or the beginning of the end in League One.

Orient will be without loanees Marek Štěch and Ryan Dickson following juries they picked up in Saturday's draw at Walsall. Russell Slade may also be without David Mooney and Scott Cuthbert are also doubts, while the east London club are waiting to learn the result of their appeal against  Solomon Taiwo's red card from the weekend tie. Nigerian-born Taiwo is currently on loan from Cardiff.

Jamie Pitman, Richard O'Kelly and ... QPR

Sadly, Hereford United boss Jamie Pitman was 'relieved of his duties' this morning according to an official club e-mail to the media. At two o'clock the club announced that former first team coach Richard O'Kelly, 55, will be taking on the role.

Given the club's position in League Two, some fans might question the use of the word "sadly", but I speak as I find and on a personal level, I found Jamie to be a pleasant guy to deal with. He was also passionate about his role and the team, despite the fact that it is a club limited in financial resources.

O'Kelly was a player with Walsall, Port Vale and Grimsby Town and a coach with West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers and Hereford United, where he was assistant manager to Graham Turner for two years. He knows the club and learned from one of its legends and has a good reputation within the game.

It's good to see that the directors appear to have also noted Pitman's positive qualities and have asked him to stay on in a coaching capacity.

I suspect that a few Bulls fans will be glad to see the change made now while there is still time to secure their league status and, of course, they may well be right. However, I hope the supporters will always remember the job Pitman did last season when things looked to be going pear-shaped.

To be fair to the club's directors though, they haven't rushed into any knee-jerk decision and following last night's BBC programme " QPR: the Four Year Plan", it's obvious that there are plenty of people in football less qualified to run a club! If you haven't seen it, it's well worth 90 minutes of any football supporter's time.

The way  Flavio Briatore and Gianni Paladini treated people like Iain Dowie (f***ing stupid), Gareth Ainsworth (pr*ck in the dug-out), Paulo Sousa and Jim Magilton with utter disdain and a total lack of respect, was nothing short of a disgrace.

When you think that someone like Ainsworth has played for nearly one dozen clubs and is still well thought of - and respected - by fans of all of them, it just goes to show how little Briatore and Paladini know about the game.

Frankly, with people like this in charge of a club it's not always the manager's head the supporters should be calling for (as the QPR fans quickly identified). In my opinion, if these two jokers ever try to involve themselves with the sport again, the FA, should take a long hard look at the "fit and proper person" clause before agreeing to let anywhere near a football stadium.

Bristol Rovers 0 Macclesfield Town 0

Richard O'Donnell is already a big Macc hero, but has unfinished business with his boyhood idols.

Keeper O'Donnell's arrival on a 28 day emergency loan deal from Sheffield Wednesday ended an eight match losing streak that had left Macclesfield just outside the drop zone.

And O'Donnell, 23, hopes to catch the eye of new Owls boss Dave Jones so he can add to the fourteen games he has made for the League One promotion hopefuls.


In the 73rd minuted striker Mustapha Carayol drifted into the box and hit a blistering shot from 16 yards, but O'Donnell, 23, dived to brilliantly beat the ball away.

And four minutes from time O'Donnell had to be at his best again to turn winger Lee Brown's low drive - from the same distance - past the post.

It was a dire affair on a poor pitch, but both teams could have broken the deadlock in the 58th minute and, again, O'Donnell was involved.


The 6' 1" keeper managed to claim an attempted lob from midfielder Matthew Lund and then immediately started a move that led to striker George Donnelly who flashed a shot just wide of the far post from a tight angle. After the game, Gas midfielder Lee Brown said that home keeper Scott Bevan had actually got a finger to the shot and so credit goes to him as well.

Wednesday sacked boss Gary Megson last week, but O'Donnell is fully focused on the Silkmen's survival bid to shut out in-form Rovers. He said:

"I'm from Sheffield lad and always been a Wednesday fan, so playing for them is living the dream. The manager's sacking was a shock, but it happens in football and so you just have to concentrate on the future. It's my club and so I obviously want to play for them, but I'm at Macclesfield at the moment.

That was the first clean sheet for quite a while and! on the back of three draws, we have something to build on."

And Brown told the media that the Rovers players were under no illusions that they could now sit back and see out the season. He pointed to the fact that the squad knew they were playing for their futures at the club. They now all have what amounts to a ten week job interview  and given the precarious nature of the profession these days with very little job security on offer in the lower leagues, I think Gasheads can be forgiven for expecting a barnstorming end to a disappointing campaign.


How much the Memorial Ground surface allows them to play passing football is going to be open to question though I'm afraid!

Macclesfield boss Gary Simpson compared league survival last season like swimming the Channel and admitted:

"This time it's a more like the Atlantic. We rode our luck a little bit, but there was some great defending. That's three unbeaten We've stopped the rot and now need to put a few wins together and buy some time to get some of our injured players back.""


Rovers have lost only one game in seven since manager Mark McGhee's arrival and he said:


"We did enough to break them down, but we did not do enough to beat their goalie, I thought he was terrific. We dominated the game and defended well and we passed the ball well on a difficult surface.
We played a very resolute opposition who were very well organised."

My clipping from this morning's paper

And a little bit more of a 'show' from yesterday's edition

Bristol Rovers v Macclesfield

I'm back to the Mem tomorrow for the fixture against Gary Simpson's Silkmen.

I remember that Simpson told me last season after a game at Hereford that survival in League Two would "like swimming the channel". We the club managed that and Simpson is now looking to build on last year's effort.

I noticed a few weeks ago that they also have a lad called George Donnelly playing for them now. Donnelly is a striker who was turfed out of Liverpool as a kid and told he wouldn't make the grade. After a period packing lorries in the rag trade, his dad persuaded him to get of the couch and go and get a game for Skelmersdale United where he went on to score something like 36 goals in forty-odd games.

Plymouth then picked him up, but in the financial turmoil that was Argyle at that time, he became a bit of a victim of their financial woes and was farmed out on loan to Luton and Stockport before finally signing for Fleetwood Town in January of last year. In September he signed for Macc and has now scored five goals in twenty outings.

I first saw Donnelly when he scored the winner for Stockport away to Oxford and remember thinking what a decent player he was. A bit of a poacher. It's good to see him back in the league and re-building his career and I'll bet he's glad his old man kicked him off that couch!

In the last two of games Macclesfield have picked up a couple of draws and stopped the rot following an eight game losing streak.

However, Donnelly and his mates will come up against a Rovers team that is starting to believe in itself under Mark McGhee and coach Shaun North and will be looking to continue the form that has seen them lose only one game in eight.

It appears that I'm in a minority of one when it comes the promotion chances of the home side this season - and understandably so given what has gone on there - but , you know, I can't shake off the memory of the amazing run that took them to promotion to League One under Paul Trollope a few seasons ago.

There are only fourteen games to go and the club are eleven points adrift of the play-offs, but a good run will unsettle a few of the clubs above them and so, who knows?