Buzzin Championship Football

brian laws sacked

Sheffield Wednesday have predictably parted company with Brian Laws following the 3-0 defeat to high flying Leicester City, that plunged the Yorkshire club into the Championship relegation zone over the weekend.

Despite the urgency of Laws dismissal, the Owls say they are in no rush to sign a replacement manager, with the Academy boss Sean McAuley taking the reins as caretaker boss.

In a statement from the club, Wednesday chairman Lee Strafford praised the efforts of Brian Laws, particularly in his first two years with the club;

“A very positive legacy has been left by Brian in terms of the quality of the playing squad we now have at Sheffield Wednesday and we will now focus our attentions on securing the right manager to help these players push up the league in the short term and make us competitive for a return to the Premier League in the long term.

Brian has put in an immense amount of work as manager at this club and he should be remembered for some genuine achievements on the pitch and for stabilising Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.

We are very fortunate to have someone of Sean’s capabilities within our club to drive change and ensure that Sheffield Wednesday’s best interests are served. We will not rush into the next permanent appointment as this will be a key appointment in terms of determining the long term future of our club.”

Northern Ireland manager and former Sheffield Wednesday player Nigel Worthington has thrown his hat into the ring according to media reports, his contract with the International team expires at the end of the year and he is said to be considering his options for the future.

Worthington told the Belfast Telegraph;

“Let’s be honest about this, in two weeks time I will be out of work and I have to weigh up my options. I spent 11 great years at Sheffield Wednesday as a player and the club means a lot to me. If the opportunity arose to speak to them, then I would have to listen to what they have to say. It would only be fair to myself and my career but at this moment in time there has not been any contact and I am still under contract with the IFA and enjoying working with Northern Ireland.”

Others who are being tipped for the Wednesday shortlist include Darren Ferguson who was recently sacked by Peterborough and former Burnley coach Steve Cotterill.

jim magilton

Queens Park Rangers have suspended manager Jim Magilton pending an internal investigation relating to an incident in Monday night’s 3-1 loss to Watford at Vicarage Road.

The suspension takes immediate effect and Magilton has been told to stay away from the club until they have conducted a thorough investigation into the incident that is believed to involve a ‘bust up’ between the manager and QPR player Akos Buzsaky.

Magilton is reported to have been involved in an angry confrontation with the player in the changing room after the game, with Patrick Agyemang attempting to calm the situation. Buzsaky is alleged to have left the dressing room early in the wake of the confrontation.

A statement on the QPR website gives no further information, saying:

“The club can confirm that manager Jim Magilton has been suspended with immediate effect, pending an internal investigation. The suspension relates to an incident which occurred at Monday’s Championship fixture against Watford at Vicarage Road.”

QPR started the season in fine form, losing just one from the first nine games, but recent results have gone against them and they have picked up one point from the last four games. To add to their woes, Monday’s beating by Watford followed a more humiliating 5-1 home loss to Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Magilton was brought in this summer as a replacement for Paulo Sousa who lasted for 26 games in charge of the perhaps over ambitious London club.

Newcastle United midfielder Kevin Nolan has been voted the Championship Fans Player of the Month in November, hanging on to the award for the second month in succession.

The former Bolton player has been in impressive form for the Magpies scoring nine goals so far this season. While the 29 year old is chuffed with the award he says his main goal is returning to the Premier League with Newcastle at first time of trying.

He said he would be happier for Newcastle to win every remaining game without scoring himself, to get back to the Premiership.

Stern John, who joined Ipswich from Crystal Palace on loan until the end of the year, says he would be up for making the deal permanent if he is wanted by the Suffolk club.

John made his debut for the Tractor Boys in last weekends 2-1 win over Cardiff and said he is keen to leave Selhurst Park and will see what happens in January.

He is contracted with Palace until next summer, with a possible one year extension, but admits that the chances of remaining with Palace are slim with the current financial difficulties at the club.

Derby County are keen to terminate the contract of Australian midfielder Ruben Zadkovich, who was brought to the club by previous manager Paul Jewell, but has spent 10 months out injured and has yet to feature in the first team under current boss Nigel Clough.

Zadkovich has been offered a termination agreement to cover the remaining six months of his contract at Derby and Clough said they are waiting for a response from the player’s agent. The Australian has made seven appearances for Derby since joining the club in April 2008.

Nigel Clough says he is keen to re-sign Everton striker James Vaughan on loan in January. The 21 year old was injured soon after arriving at Pride Park on a previous loan agreement in September.

Vaughan has recovered from surgery on the injured knee and is back in training with Everton and Clough said he is hoping to get him down to the midlands to train with Derby in an effort to re-sign the player on loan in the January window.

The Rams face losing the services of Paul Dickov and DJ Campbell in the New Year, both players are on loan from Leicester City until the end of the year.

football league

The Football League are inviting fans across the country to take part in its third online supporters consultation, giving supporters the opportunity to influence the future of professional football.

The Football League Supporters Survey 2010 lets fans have their say on a range of important issues that are relevant to the future of the game. The survey covers controversial subjects such as the introduction of goal line technology, sin bins and salary caps to refereeing standards, diving and football on television.

Fans are also invited to give their views about the club they support with a range of topics up for discussion including ticketing, stewarding, communication with supporters and whether they feel valued by their club.

The 2010 Survey follows on from previous supporter consultations in 2006 and 2008, both of which saw more than 40,000 fans contribute their views.

Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney said at the launch of the 2010 survey;

“This is the opportunity for fans to tell us their views on the football they watch.The opinions expressed by supporters in our two previous surveys contributed to our thinking as we developed our Regulations on Agents, our new Home Grown Players rule and our smoke-free policy at matches. They have also given clubs a better understanding of what their fans like and dislike about watching football, which has helped The League identify best practice at club level and improve the supporter experience. I hope fans to take this opportunity to make a difference, once again.”

Take part in The Football League Supporters Survey 2010 here.

By completing the survey, which is being run in conjunction with sports research specialists SportsWise, supporters will have the opportunity to win a ‘money can’t buy’ prize to see their team train and meet the players. There are also 100 Mitre Official Football League balls on offer to lucky winners.

The results of The Football League Supporters’ Survey 2010 will be published in the New Year

kevin nolan sends magpies top

Preston will have every right to feel hard done by following last night’s Championship game at home to Newcastle, the hosts produced the better football throughout the game but succumbed to a Kevin Nolan goal in the 74th minute that saw all three points go to the Magpies.

Newcastle are now two points clear at the top of the table, ahead of West Bromwich Albion and six clear of third placed Leicester City, and manager Chris Hughton will no doubt claim, Alan Hansen style, that playing badly and winning is the sign of a true championship contending team.

Preston had made the better chances during a fairly drab affair at Deepdale with Neil Mellor forcing good saves from Steve Harper on two occasions and firing wide on another attempt when he was clear on goal. Michael Tonge making his first appearance since joining Preston on a loan deal, also made an impact and should have been rewarded following a long range effort that shaved the crossbar.

But it was Kevin Nolan’s eighth goal of the season that secured the points for Newcastle, pleasing Hughton but leaving Preston manager Alan Irvine ruing his teams misfortune, he said after the game;

“I don’t think we should have lost the game, certainly. I thought that we matched Newcastle for many parts of the game. I felt as if we had some good chances to score ourselves. But we didn’t take our chances and Kevin Nolan finished his chance, which was maybe not even that much of a chance, very well.”

Preston are currently in 12th place in the Championship with 24 points, one point behind Middlesbrough and only three points off the play off positions with a long way to go in the season.