Blackpool one step closer to Premier League

A second half hat trick from Blackpool striker D J Campbell stunned Nottingham Forest in last night’s second leg Championship play-off at the City Ground.

Twice coming from behind, Blackpool’s counter attacking game proved decisive as Forest’s unbeaten home run of 20 games disappeared along with their chance of a place in the Premier League.

The writing may have been on the wall prior to the game as Blackpool were the last team to win at Forest and have now beaten their rivals in all four of this seasons games.

Nottingham Forest had scored the early goal in what many critics assumed would be a tight low scoring game, and for seventy odd minutes there was little sign of what was about to happen.

Forest appeared to grab a hold of the game on 66 minutes when Earnshaw put them back in the driving seat to make the score 2-1, but within minutes Blackpool had levelled the score 2-2 on the night.

The tie went in Blackpool’s favour with two goals in quick succesion leaving Forest with a mountain to climb and although they did score another to make the final score 4-3, it was little consolation.

Blackpool’s 6-4 aggregate win takes them to Wembley for the play-off final, where they will meet Cardiff or Leicester for the chance to make next seasons Premier League.

Barnsley

It is the second defeat on the trot in the Championship and third in a week including the Carling Cup loss at Arsenal for the Baggies and has put a temporary dent in their attempt at marching straight back to the Premiership.

Barnsley, who are at the other end of the Championship table, were much the better team and deserved the win with a performance that belies their position in the league.

Michael Chopra scored four in Cardiff’s mauling of Derby County as the Welsh team found their early season form and thrashed Nigel Clough’s side 6-1.

Promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough and Preston were both beaten, the latter by lowly strugglers Reading who won away 1-2 and lifted themselves up the table but will need to build on this result to avoid a relegation battle later in the season.

Gareth Southgate was booed by the home crowd following the 0-1 defeat by Leicester who are now just one point behind Middlesbrough after an indifferent start to the campaign.

Roy Keane’s Ipswich were robbed yet again as Sheffield United scored an equalising goal in injury time to make the score 3-3. Ipswich had led 3-1 and will be disappointed at letting the game slip away, although one point is better than none.

Ipswich Town’s Simon Clegg was quick to dispel any rumours that Keane’s time at the club was coming to an end by issuing a statement to say there is no pressure on the Irishman.

Coventry staged a late comeback to take all the points from their visit to Watford, trailing 2-1 the Sky Blues scored twice in the last ten minutes or so to seal the win 2-3.

Bristol City beat Blackpool 2-0 who are now both on 16 points just outside the play off places which is becoming very congested with five teams on the same points.

Crystal Palace were held to a 0-0 against visitors Sheffield Wednesday, the same result as at Doncaster who entertained Swansea. The bottom of the table clash between Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough and Plymouth was won by the south west team 1-2, their first win of the season.

Newcastle have the chance to stretch their lead to five points at the top of the league when they take on QPR tonight, while Nottingham Forest will host Scunthorpe in the other game.

Adam made 13 appearances for Blackpool and scored twice, and according to manager Ian Holloway, played a massive part in keeping the club in the Championship. Holloway says;

“I am absolutely delighted to have signed Charlie, having watched all the DVDs from last season and listened to the staff and supporters, I know exactly what he can bring to the club.”

Adam scored eighteen goals in 86 appearances for Rangers, if he arrives fit the midfielder is likely to be in the starting line up for the Championship’s opening game against QPR on Saturday.

Euell is the second free transfer to arrive at Blackpool this summer following 21 year old Billy Clarke from Ipswich Town. Blackpool manager Ian Holloway says that he has long been an  admirer Euell who he says is one of the fittest 32 year olds you will find, adding, “He can play in a variety of roles and although the lads might not know it yet we’ve got a good player on our hands.”

Euell started his career in 1995 with Wimbledon where he spent six years before moving to Charlton for £4.75million in 2001. A misguided move to Middlesbrough in 2006 was followed a year later with a transfer to Southampton, where he has recently had to endure the politics of a club going into administration as well as being relegated.

The Canaries have been in desperate need for a striker with a physical presence. Darrel Russell – who normally operates in midfield – has been forced to move up front in recent weeks to partner either Jamie Cureton or Arturo Lupoli. Now that Antoine Sibierski has arrived, the Norwich fans will be hoping they can pick up their first win of the season against Plymouth Argyle in their next game.

So what type of player are Norwich getting? Well, as with any 34-year-old moving down a division, he will bring experience to what is a relatively young Norwich squad. He will also provide Glenn Roeder with the ‘target man’ he has been craving since the departure of Dion Dublin at the end of last season. It is the second time Glenn Roeder has signed the Frenchman, he brought him to Newcastle United on transfer deadline day in August 2006.

In terms of some other moves involving Championship clubs yesterday, there were two others that stood out to me. Blackpool have made a good loan signing by securing Rangers midfielder Alan Gow until January. The 25-year-old – who could sign permanently in January – is an attacking midfielder and should excel in the Championship.

Then there is departure of Coventry midfielder Julian Gray to Premier League side Fulham. This is a strange transfer really and I’m not sure why a loan deal was agreed as opposed to a permanent transfer. Regardless though, it will be a huge loss for Chris Coleman at Coventry. He is one of their better players and considering they have lost their last two games, it isn’t ideal that he is leaving. They will be searching for a replacement in the loan market I’m sure.

One of the most significant factors of the whole transfer window though, in my view, is that fact that Reading have managed to hold onto prize assets Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt. With reference to Championship football odds, they remain one of the promotion favourites having kept these two players.

As ever, it will be interesting to see how the players that have moved to the Championship – such as Antoine Sibierski – will adapt to playing in what is a very physical and competitive league.

Steve Lansdown believes that he could be the ‘missing link’ between Bristol City and the automatic promotion places. He also believes that the amount of money they spent on Nicky Maynard shows how far they have come as a club.

He’s not wrong. This time last year after winning promotion to the Championship, a look at the football odds would have told you they were expected to be relegated. Instead they only just missed out on promotion, losing in the play-off final to Hull.

The key to them going one better this season is quite simply – scoring more goals. Remarkably, they scored 34 fewer goals than West Brom last season and even Colchester United – who finished bottom – scored eight more goals than them. That maybe highlights the competitiveness of the Championship more than anything else, but Bristol City could certainly do with upping their goal tally. They can’t always rely on 1-0 victories.

It seems that Nicky Maynard is the man they believe will solve this problem and make sure they are one of the promotion favourites. The 21-year-old striker – who attracted interest from Ipswich Town – scored 15 goals in League One last year and certainly arrives with a positive reputation. Whether he can score goals at Championship level remains to be seen, but I think it is clear he has the ability. He would have been brought up well at Crewe and will be relishing his new challenge. I presume he has an ambition to play in the Premier League one day, so this is the start of his journey to doing just that.

The big question is though – will he make it with Bristol City this season? Well, as much as I am unsure about their automatic promotion credentials, they certainly have a chance of securing a play-off spot. Should they do that, they will have as good a chance as anyone – it is a lottery at that stage after all!

One thing for sure is that it is not going to be easy. The Championship is stronger than ever and if Bristol City are to recapture the form that saw them finish fourth last season, they are going to have to up their game even further. Nicky Maynard will be hoping to help them do just that.

Glenn Roeder has been actively seeking a left winger since he decided not to renew Darren Huckerby’s contract at the end of last season and now it appears that he has got his man. Considering that Wes Hoolahan was one of Blackpool’s best players last season, it seems he has got his man at a very reasonable price as well.

So, what type of player are Norwich getting? Can he fill the shoes of the departing Darren Huckerby? Well, I think they are different types of players. Darren Huckerby relied more on bursts of pace and a direct approach to taking on defenders, whereas Wes Hoolahan is more of a skilful player who can ‘thread the ball through the eye of a needle’ according to his new manager.

One thing is for sure – if Wes Hoolahan can win over the Carrow Road faithful in the same way that Darren Huckerby did during his time at Norwich, he won’t go far wrong. The former Manchester City winger was a huge player for Norwich and it will be interesting to see how Wes Hoolahan adapts to his new club.

This is Glenn Roeder’s second signing of the summer after he secured the signature of Sammy Clingan from Nottingham Forest earlier this month. However, it is a list the one time Newcastle United manager must continue to add to as Norwich’s squad is rather depleted following a summer clear-out.

A look at Championship football odds will tell you that Norwich are one of the favourites to be relegated to League One. However, if Glenn Roeder can secure more players in the Wes Hoolahan bracket of quality, he will be hoping that this is far from the case.