Great Uncle Bulgaria 1,051 Posted September 24, 2023 21 minutes ago, maryportfuncity said: Aye, contract to May 26 if memory serves me right, so not the cheapest sacking if Sheff Utd decide to kick him out tomorrow, also - they might at least wait to line up someone else. Guardiola couldn't keep that squad up, they're nowhere near good enough - in fact they weren't even before they lost their best forward (Ndiaye) and arguably best midfielder (Berge) from last season's championship squad. No point sacking him really (although they probably will at some point). 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 597 Posted September 24, 2023 1 hour ago, maryportfuncity said: Aye, contract to May 26 if memory serves me right, so not the cheapest sacking if Sheff Utd decide to kick him out tomorrow, also - they might at least wait to line up someone else. Given that Luton have likely bagged one relegation spot you'd think Sheffield United fancy their chances of just avoiding the drop so that's likely how the board are thinking. Warnock's just become free... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,017 Posted September 24, 2023 2 hours ago, Great Uncle Bulgaria said: Guardiola couldn't keep that squad up, they're nowhere near good enough - in fact they weren't even before they lost their best forward (Ndiaye) and arguably best midfielder (Berge) from last season's championship squad. No point sacking him really (although they probably will at some point). So, a sort of poll, then - Eddie Jones' stint as Aussie rugby coach is in the same place as Heckingbottom's time at Bramhall Lane - which one will be out first? Jones has a five year contract but qualification beyond the pool stages is now out of his hands, he was booed when he appeared on the big screen tonight and he's rumoured to have agreed to jump ship and manage Japan soon, despite insisting he's building Australia towards a tilt at the 2027 World Cup. Oh aye, and he's managed eight games and won once. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 3,486 Posted September 24, 2023 10 minutes ago, maryportfuncity said: So, a sort of poll, then - Eddie Jones' stint as Aussie rugby coach is in the same place as Heckingbottom's time at Bramhall Lane - which one will be out first? Jones has a five year contract but qualification beyond the pool stages is now out of his hands, he was booed when he appeared on the big screen tonight and he's rumoured to have agreed to jump ship and manage Japan soon, despite insisting he's building Australia towards a tilt at the 2027 World Cup. Oh aye, and he's managed eight games and won once. Jones will be gone very soon. Heckingbottom will last at least a few more weeks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,017 Posted September 24, 2023 10 minutes ago, RoverAndOut said: Jones will be gone very soon. Heckingbottom will last at least a few more weeks. With you, I think Jones has one more game - not that I follow rugby but if someone as uninformed as me knows that this is a meltdown by Aussie standards that says everything about the quality of Jones' management. How do you regain the dressing room when the Welsh have hammered you 40-6? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 3,486 Posted September 25, 2023 8 hours ago, maryportfuncity said: With you, I think Jones has one more game - not that I follow rugby but if someone as uninformed as me knows that this is a meltdown by Aussie standards that says everything about the quality of Jones' management. How do you regain the dressing room when the Welsh have hammered you 40-6? Lost 7 of the 8 games since he retook charge. I think they'll wait til the end of their World Cup campaign (not sure if they've 1 or 2 matches left) and then dismiss him, barring an astonishing turnaround that sees them qualify. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,017 Posted September 25, 2023 13 minutes ago, RoverAndOut said: Lost 7 of the 8 games since he retook charge. I think they'll wait til the end of their World Cup campaign (not sure if they've 1 or 2 matches left) and then dismiss him, barring an astonishing turnaround that sees them qualify. Aye, so assuming Sheffield United temporarily right off this weekend's tanking as a one-off, Jones will be gone before Heckingbottom, then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 8,662 Posted September 25, 2023 42 minutes ago, maryportfuncity said: Aye, so assuming Sheffield United temporarily right off this weekend's tanking as a one-off, Jones will be gone before Heckingbottom, then. The three teams at the bottom of the Premiership after this weeks games are the three promoted teams so the SUFC board can't be looking round and saying things like well Luton are doing fine why aren't we? I think if they start losing against their relegation rivals then it would be a different matter (when do they play Chelsea?) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,017 Posted September 25, 2023 11 minutes ago, Bibliogryphon said: The three teams at the bottom of the Premiership after this weeks games are the three promoted teams so the SUFC board can't be looking round and saying things like well Luton are doing fine why aren't we? I think if they start losing against their relegation rivals then it would be a different matter (when do they play Chelsea?) A good point, there's a regular "pre-season prediction competition" in the London Branch of the Carlisle support and I scopped third place in it last year. You have to call the top and bottom three in each division along with winners and runners up of the cups. I'd be amazed if any of us have some team other than Luton as bottom of the Premiership and I've picked Sheff Utd second bottom. Haven't picked Burnley, though, though they'd go better than their current start. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 8,662 Posted September 25, 2023 10 minutes ago, maryportfuncity said: A good point, there's a regular "pre-season prediction competition" in the London Branch of the Carlisle support and I scopped third place in it last year. You have to call the top and bottom three in each division along with winners and runners up of the cups. I'd be amazed if any of us have some team other than Luton as bottom of the Premiership and I've picked Sheff Utd second bottom. Haven't picked Burnley, though, though they'd go better than their current start. They has a game with Luton postponed on the second weekend and if you predict they win that they would be currently level on points with Everton and Wolves and one point ahead of Bournemouth 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Great Uncle Bulgaria 1,051 Posted September 25, 2023 I agree that Burnley will stay up. Bournemouth, Everton and Wolves are pretty weak and Palace, Fulham and Brentford (till January) have all been shorn of their top scorers from last season without replacing them and will also be somewhere in the bottom 9. And that's without mentioning Forest (or Chelsea!). Never mind the bottom 3, the bottom half of the league is really poor this year. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 597 Posted September 25, 2023 8 hours ago, Bibliogryphon said: The three teams at the bottom of the Premiership after this weeks games are the three promoted teams so the SUFC board can't be looking round and saying things like well Luton are doing fine why aren't we? I think if they start losing against their relegation rivals then it would be a different matter (when do they play Chelsea?) Not until December. Could be a massive relegation six-pointer! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 3,486 Posted October 1, 2023 The 3 teams that have Enzo Maresca haven't got a chance of winning. Sat at Ewood Park and Leicester are going to walk the Championship this season. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 3,486 Posted October 1, 2023 After 3 defeats in 7 Premiership matches this season, Rangers have sacked Michael Beale. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66818135 This is good news for @ladyfiona and @Sly Ronnie who both had him in their teams! Lady Fiona gets a second hit to move into joint-3rd, but Sly Ronnie gets a 4th hit to move level with Great Uncle Bulgaria at the front! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 597 Posted October 2, 2023 On 01/10/2023 at 13:49, RoverAndOut said: The 3 teams that have Enzo Maresca haven't got a chance of winning. Sat at Ewood Park and Leicester are going to walk the Championship this season. He'll probably get the boot in November 2024, and this game will probably still be going then. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 3,486 Posted October 2, 2023 2 hours ago, BuffaloPhil said: He'll probably get the boot in November 2024, and this game will probably still be going then. Only chance I've got - he's in my team! I'm not sure the game is going to last the season, there's so much turmoil these days, but we'll see! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sly Ronnie 617 Posted October 4, 2023 Mark Hughes sacked by Bradford City and Xisco Munoz sacked by Sheffield Wednesday 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Commtech Sio Bibble 1,369 Posted October 4, 2023 Wow! I now have 2 points and am no longer in last place. Pinch me I'm dreaming. 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 3,486 Posted October 5, 2023 I was too tired last night to log into my laptop and update the scores but my hand has been forced tonight with yet ANOTHER sacking! Neil Harris has been sacked by Gillingham. This is despite winning the first 4 matches this season; 4 losses in the last 7, dropping them to 8th is enough to finish him off! After sacking Darren Moore (who led them to promotion), Sheffield Wednesday are rewarded by sacking their replacement Xisco Munoz after 10 games, having drawn 2 and lost 8 of them. This was good news to the 5 players who picked him, including yours truly, who picks up a second hit, as does @MariNisia. There's a third hit for @wannamaker and a fifth hit for @Sly Ronnie (putting him in front!) but - most importantly - @Commtech Sio Bibble gets off the mark with his first hit, meaning all players are in play! And, that's not all! Mark Hughes pays for a poor start for promotion hopefuls Bradford City in League Two and becomes the 9th scoring hit already in this game. He was picked by 3 players, all of whom also scored with Munoz's departure! So Wannamaker goes up to 4, Sly Ronnie is up to 6 and Commtech Sio Bibble goes from 0 to 2 in one day! As for Neil Harris's dismissal, that brings up the first 10 of the season by October 5th, and two more players score a hit, as he was on the teams of @ladyfiona and @Bibliogryphon, who both score a 3rd hit! Up to date scoreboard: Sly Ronnie - 6 Great Uncle Bulgaria, Wannamaker - 4 Bibliogryphon, Lady Fiona - 3 Rover and Out, MariNisia, Commtech Sio Bibble, Diego - 2 Maryportfuncity, Buffalo Phil - 1 Let's see what tomorrow brings! 4 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 3,486 Posted October 5, 2023 Forget waiting until tomorrow, just did a cursory check of all the more obscure picks to make sure I hadn't missed anything and it turns out Elgin City's Ross Draper stood down as player-manager on September 5th and was replaced by Barry Smith! https://www.northern-scot.co.uk/sport/elgin-city-appoint-new-boss-as-draper-departs-after-11-games-325569/ This gives @diego a second hit and he joins me, MariNisia and Commtech in joint-6th! Scoreboard above updated. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuffaloPhil 597 Posted October 6, 2023 This game and Fantasy Football this season are making me feel that I actually know nothing about the beautiful game 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 8,662 Posted October 9, 2023 @ladyfiona hits the back of the net with John Eustace at Birmingham City with Wayne Rooney tipped to take over 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Great Uncle Bulgaria 1,051 Posted October 9, 2023 Failed to spot this at the time, but Ian Dawes got sacked by Tranmere last month... https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gcwkxk 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bibliogryphon 8,662 Posted October 9, 2023 41 minutes ago, Great Uncle Bulgaria said: Failed to spot this at the time, but Ian Dawes got sacked by Tranmere last month... https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gcwkxk That puts me up to 20% Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RoverAndOut 3,486 Posted October 9, 2023 Not sure how I missed Ian Dawes' departure from Tranmere last month, given Neil Harris's and Mark Hughes's sackings this month both made headlines, but the Tranmere board lost patience after 7 losses in their last 8 matches and showed the former caretaker manager the door on September 11th. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ian-dawes-sacked-tranmere-rovers-27687368 Doesn't sound like he got a great deal of help in the summer, but since he went they've won 2 and drawn 1 of their next 5 games so it's maybe worked, although they're still 22nd out of 24. Anyway, in these here parts, this is good news for @Great Uncle Bulgaria and @Bibliogryphon who both had him in their teams! This takes GUB up to 5 hits, 1 behind Sly Ronnie and Biblio moves up to 4! Then, today, Birmingham have fulfilled a weekend rumour by dispensing with the services of John Eustace. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67053921 This is despite Birmingham being 6th in the Championship table and winning their past 2 matches. The fact their new owners are American and Wayne Rooney left DC United this weekend is purely coincidental, I'm sure. Hopefully they get what they deserve, just as the previous ownership group did, when they sacked Gary Rowett while in the play offs, appointed a big name in Gianfranco Zola and he proceeded to win 2 games in 24 as they barely stayed up on the final day of the season (although they should, by rights have gone down - play off certainties Huddersfield played a severely weakened side and lost to Birmingham in April, having smashed all comers for months - those 3 points kept Birmingham up and sent Blackburn down, not that I'm bitter about the blatant fixing 6 years on...) Anyway, back to the game at hand and @ladyfiona was, perhaps surprisingly, the only one to choose Eustace and so gets her 4th hit too! Scores on the doors: Sly Ronnie - 6 Great Uncle Bulgaria - 5 Wannamaker, Bibliogryphon, Lady Fiona - 4 Rover and Out, MariNisia, Commtech Sio Bibble, Diego - 2 Maryportfuncity, Buffalo Phil - 1 5 players now at 20% completion, 2 of those at 25%+ completion! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
