Lower Leagues 2009/10

Well, Charlton won, as you didn't want!

They and Leeds have made great starts to the new season; looks like the heavyweights might be going back up next year.

Sheffield United won the Sheffield derby 3-2 over Wednesday, gaining a slight bit of revenge for Wednesday winning both legs last season, results which helped deny United direct promotion to the Premier League. But United still trail the top three who were last season's relegated clubs-West Brom, Newcastle and Middlesbrough in this season's table. Separating those three and the Blades from Sheffield are surprising Preston.

Southampton started life in League One with a points penalty, but their bitter south coast rivals Portsmouth have zero points from six matches. It will be interesting to see who finishes the season with the higher total!!

He came, he saw, but he did not conquer, he left!

Sol Campbell Leaves Notts County

Any word on why he's leaving? Didn't think it was worth it playing against inferior competition?

Here's what Sol had to say on joining Notts County: "The hard work starts now but I am confident that something special is being created at the club which will yield a club and a team able to match the ambitions of the new owners, management and proud fans."

He's 35 years old and County gave him a 5-year contract! He won't get that anywhere else. Eriksson says he feels let down by Campbell, and this article is pretty interesting: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...nty/8273411.stm

It says he wasn't too impressed with the facilities at County, but had been shown around them before signing. Besides this is the fourth tier we're talking about, what did he expect? Manager Ian McParland suggests he got on very well with his team-mates as well. But apparently he'd rather sit doing nothing until January rather than help them out, let alone seeing out the season and even his contract.
He is an odd bloke though. You may remember that in February 2006 Campbell went AWOL from Arsenal, only to return a few weeks later with no (public) explanation. At the time, Robert Pires said "He certainly has a big worry on the private side and that is what is upsetting him." But there was no explanation for his actions then, so perhaps there won't be this time either!

Gareth Southgate has been sacked as manager of Middlesbrough. On the face of it, this may seem a strange decision for the chairman, Steve Gibson, to take, seeing as he kept Southgate on after relegation last season and with Boro currently only a point behind the leaders. However, crowds are down and there's been a lot of talk about how Southgate had lost the respect of his players for various reasons. It's a brave decision, though, let's put it that way.

Newcastle seem to be coming off the rails a bit, but as usual the Championship seems to be anyone's to grab hold off and make a run, with only 10 points separating leaders West Brom from 21st place Reading.

Aren't crowds down because they are playing in the 2nd division? If Southgate lost the respect of the players, they at least are doing somethings he wants by the looks of their league position. As Sporting writes, a strange decision at this time of the season and considering their league position.

I thought this was some kind of April Fool joke but it seems to be true. The mind boggles!

I thought this was some kind of April Fool joke but it seems to be true. The mind boggles!

Mike Ashley's ownership has turned Newcastle United into one massive all-year round April Fools Joke.

I thought this was some kind of April Fool joke but it seems to be true. The mind boggles!

Mike Ashley's ownership has turned Newcastle United into one massive all-year round April Fools Joke.

Wow, what a horrible name but where would football be now without all the sponsorship money from betting companies? Look at England and Spain especially, seems like half the teams in thsoe countries' leagues have betting companies as shirt sponsors! And the Real Madrid-Milan Champions League game matched two teams sponsored by the same betting company which had specially designed shirts for the visiting team in each leg of their matches.

Newcastle's Mike Ashley always reminds me of how the boy on the cartoon show "King of the Hill" would look if he was an adult!

You are certainly right about the sponsorship (the reason that Lyon played without a sponsor tonight was that the French have yet to lift their state monopoly on betting sponsorships, despite it being in violation of EU law), but:

Sportsdirect aren't a betting company.

They are Ashley's own sporting goods retailer, somewhat comparable to The Sporting Authority in the US (though with more of a focus on "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap" and reliance on the great British public's apparently insatiable demand for replica football shirts).

No surprise then the owner is going to want to publicize his own company.

I had a look and Newcastle are in first place in the English Championship (aka 2nd division) so it may only be a matter of time before they bounce back up to the Premier League.