Grass roots Footie 2016/17 season

[magpie73]

point in it between you's and Swindon with three games in hand would be better to have points on the board instead of games anyway good luck trying to get out off relegation

[BobHelm]

Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 Derby County

Bit of a stroll in the park for Brighton to get all 3 points last night. It takes them to equal on points, having played a game more, with table toppers Newcastle. With 9 matches left for them they have a fairly comfortable run in after next Saturday when they face Leeds.
Steve McLaren has not had very good 2017 and are now 10 points behind 6th. place Sheffield Wednesday. Surely season over for them after a match where they started with old stagers Darren Bent and David Nugent up front!!

Norwich City: Manager Alex Neil sacked by Championship club

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39232229

They have not won in 5, but Mr. McLaren might like (or not ) to note that Norwich are 2 places above Derby!!!

[Drunk Monkey]

Todays big game is Tbar Steves Gillingham v Scunthorpe ... the laters home of Isaans SUFC SUPPORTER Club being The Udon Tap Taste House ... heres hoping for a good game and of course a much needed away win .... bearing in mind Scunny couldnt beat an egg at the moment its not looking good ..

up the iron

DM

[Zidane]

In the FA Cup its hard to look beyond Manchester City,Arsenal,Tottenham and Chelsea making it through to the semi finals.
Millwall have gone 17 games unbeaten and only conceded one goal in their last 10 games,so if The Spuds are complacent they might have a battle on their hands.
I'd love for United to knock out Chelsea but cant see it happening somehow.....

[BobHelm]

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Boro got off to the worst possible start, conceding after only a couple of minutes. Citi then had all the game but could only go in at half time the one up. For a long time it looked like one of those games where the side under the cosh sneak a goal for the draw. With 10 minutes to go Citi finally took that dream away as well..
Playing out of their depth finally caught up with Lincoln. It looked like they would go in at half time an embarrassingly all square but the Gunners managed a goal at the death, It pretty quickly became 3 nil when the second half started & that was a bridge too far even for the heroics of the smaller side..

Leeds United 0-0 Queens Park Rangers
Newcastle United 1-3 Fulham
Gillingham 3-2 Scunthorpe United
Port Vale 3-2 Swindon Town
Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Cheltenham Town
Dagenham & Redbridge 2-1 Forest Green Rovers
FC United of Manchester 1-0 Tamworth

The FA Trophy
Macclesfield Town 1-1 Tranmere Rovers

Fulham still look like the side who are going to crash the party of play off hopefuls. After this huge away win & with Wednesday losing out at Villa they are now only 2 points off a spot, with a game in hand. Huddersfield close within 6 of the leading pair but do have a game in hand.

Josh Wright scores 3, all from the spot, to sink his former club, The Iron. With both Bolton & Bradford winning, sink to 4 in the league. At the other end of the table, a vital first win in 9 lifts Vale above Swindon. They must convert their 3 games in hand to points though as they are still 2 points away from safety..

Town have a man sent off, but Doncaster have been unbeaten at home all season, so the result is hardly a shock. Leyton Orient also lost so Town's recent run of form keeps them 7 points from danger.

The win takes Dagenham & Redbridge above Forest Green into second place. Despite their cup defeat Lincoln have remained firmly in charge of the league while that competition went on.

I didn't realise that the Trophy game was a two leg affair. Advantage Rovers, who went ahead very early on thanks to a penalty. Town looked the better side for most of the remaining match though & will feel unlucky to be going to the second leg without a lead..

[Zidane]

In the FA Trophy semi final first leg,Macclesfield got off to the worst possible start conceding a dubious penalty in the first minute.But from then on Macc looked the better side scoring a deserved equalizer and being unlucky not to have a lead in the first leg.
Difficult for them to get a result away at Prenton Park but you never know.....

[Drunk Monkey]

DISASTEROUS !!!!!

The only word than can be used to describe Scunnys day out in Gillingham .... the Iron 2 nowt up n happy then go and loose 3-2 with the dodgy ref giving 3 yes 3 penalalties to the Gills ..all converted by former Scunny man Josh 'THE TRAITOR" Wright ..

** THIS FROM A SCUNNY FAN THRU N THRU - LOOKING PRETTY GRIM AT THE MO AND IM PREDICTING THE IRON WONT EVEN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS NOW AFTER SPENDING MOST OF THE SEASON IN THE TOP 2 OR 3 ... looks like my plan to give FREE BEER for a week at the Tap IF Scunny get automatic promotion is not gonna happen ..DAM was looking forward to that .

Its only a game !!

DM

[BobHelm]

It would appear that the UdonMap Grass roots thread has some very high profile readers back in the UK...

Steve McClaren: Derby County sack manager for a second time

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39251254

All I can say is sorry Steve... Always struck me as a nice man, just not a very good football manager.

The Emirates FA Cup - Sixth Round

Tottenham Hotspur 6-0 Millwall

Spurs found it all too easy against Millwall. Son Heung-min scored a hat trick, but it was a pretty good display by all the side.

Citi, Gunners, Spuds & Chelsea/United - looks like there will be cracking semis & final to come.

[Zidane]

I understand Stan Kroenke,the Arsenal owner,is an avid follower of the Grass Roots Footie thread and your views on Arsene Wenger are being closely monitored,Bob !

The Spuds thumped Millwall but look to have lost Harry Kane for a while with an ankle injury.

Chelsea v Manchester United,FA Cup quarter final tonight,2.45am Thai Tuesday.

[BobHelm]

The Emirates FA Cup - Sixth Round

Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United

Given the way that the 2 sides have performed this season, this was always going to be an uphill struggle for the visitors. They were further restricted, by injury & suspension, to only having Marcus Rashford as a front man, although I don't think that would have seriously altered Jose's approach to the game. However, once Ander Herrera was sent off with 10 minutes of the first half remaining the final nail was in United's coffin.

Semi-final draw:

Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur

Arsenal v Manchester City

Both semi-finals will be played at Wembley on the weekend of 22 and 23 April.

Looks like 2 cracking semi - finals that should produce one of the most evenly matched finals for the last few years..
When 4 of the current top 5 Premiership sides are contesting the semi-final you know that the FA Cup is being taken seriously by the sides & managers..

[BobHelm]

Tuesday 14th March 2017

Scunthorpe United V Rochdale 19:45
Exeter City V Cheltenham Town 19:45
Macclesfield Town V Gateshead 19:45
Sutton United V Forest Green Rovers 19:45

[goodison]

I see The T-Bar a.k.a. Gills defeated TAP a.k.a. Iron at the weekend, trust Steve enjoyed his day off!

[BobHelm]

Northampton Town 2-1 Port Vale
Scunthorpe United 2-1 Rochdale
Exeter City 3-0 Cheltenham Town
Macclesfield Town 1-1 Gateshead
Sutton United 1-2 Forest Green Rovers

No joy away for Vale. & even worse news as Oldham win at home to put Vale 5 away from safety. They do still have at least 2 games in hand on those above them, but need a couple of wins desperately.
The Iron needed the same after a poor run but have at least stopped the rot. They were behind at half time & eventually won the game deep into injury time. They remain in 4th. though as the 3 above them all also pull off wins..
Exeter are going for a play off place, Town are trying to stave off relegation. Unfortunately for Town supporters it was pretty obviously why after a very poor display. With Hartlepool & Crewe both winning Town sink to 22nd. spot. The only light in the tunnel is that the two below them in the actual relegation spots are still 7 points adrift. Newport climb off bottom spot with an away win but Leyton Orient get thrashed away at Accrington.
Gateshead have been on a real play off push so it was a good point for the Silkmen. Probably means that their own faint hopes of a play off spot are over though.
Forest Green climb back to second spot, although the title very much still looks like Lincoln's to lose. They are 3 points in front with 2 games in hand. However they stumbled a little last night in their first leg of the FA Cup semi-final match. That ended York City 2, Lincoln City 1. Both the semis still anybodies to win!!

[BobHelm]

League Two side Cheltenham Town announce that their manager Gary Johnson is to have heart surgery.

The 61-year-old missed last Saturday’s match at Doncaster Rovers with a heavy cold.

But the Robins explained he suffered more serious symptoms.

"He continued to feel unwell and was admitted to hospital over the weekend," they said on the club website.

"He will undergo a procedure today and looks set to miss the next few weeks away from work while he recuperates. It is anticipated that the surgery will be straightforward and the prognosis for a swift and full recovery is good."

Assistant manager Russell Milton will remain in charge of the team in Gary's absence with support from the existing backroom staff.

Dam, get well soon!!!!

[Zidane]

Hope he makes a full recovery.
Cheltenham should survive ? ......Leyton Orient look doomed but the danger comes from Newport who sacked their manager recently and have been reviving a bit.

[BobHelm]

Couple of interesting games in the early hours for the Championship & Vale hopeful that a Friday night will bring 3 points!!

Saturday..

Birmingham City V Newcastle United
Leeds United V Brighton & Hove Albion 17:30
Oxford United V Scunthorpe United
Cheltenham Town V Cambridge United
Forest Green Rovers V Wrexham
Alfreton Town V FC United of Manchester

The 2 FA Trophy second legs of the semi finals also take place..

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[BobHelm]

2 Championship play off pushing sides suffer unexpected defeats in the Friday night games.
City had only won twice in 22 games & then beat fellow struggler's Wigan last time out & now this thrashing of automatic spot hopefuls Huddersfield Town. Those 6 points have moved City 2 points out of the danger area to 19th. The loss leaves Huddersfield 6 points off the 2 at the top, all now having played 37 games.
The Reading result cements their play off place & leaves Sheffield Wednesday's place precarious to a rampant Fulham side now only 1 point behind & with a game in hand.

It was a fight for survival in the Friday night game in League One &, although a 2 nil scoreline might have flattered them, it was a resounding success for Vale. Still in the last drop out spot but only by 2 points & still with 2 games in hand. A loss to fellow strugglers, Shrewsbury, would have seriously damaged their hopes of avoiding the drop.

[BobHelm]

Birmingham City 0-0 Newcastle United
Leeds United 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Oxford United 2-1 Scunthorpe United
Cheltenham Town 0- Cambridge United
Forest Green Rovers 3-0 Wrexham
Alfreton Town 2-1 FC United of Manchester

Leeds have a very satisfactory weekend, but possibly the 9 points they need to overall Brighton with only 8 games remaining is just too much.
After my big build up, Fulham have a stinker at home against Wolves & are still a point away from Sheffield.
The Iron were leading at half time but fall to a very late Oxford goal. Bradford win to go into 4th, Fleetwood can only draw so a winning Bolton grab second spot.
Town were still at the races when the visitors scored almost from the kick off. Luckily both Newport & Leyton Orient take heavy beatings. It looks like they may remain in the league due to the incompetency of 2 others rather than any personal skill on display!!
Any easy day out for Rovers as they go joint on points with Lincoln City, the year's near cup winning specialists do have 3 games in hand though..

FA Trophy
LINCOLN CITY 1-1 YORK CITY AET (AGG 2-3)
Tranmere Rovers 0-1 Macclesfield Town (Agg 1-2)

I think everyone excep Zid will be surprised that the finalists for the Trophy will be York against the Silkmen. Both were the underdogs going into the second legs & both away from home. York won the game with a penalty in the 105th. minutes - there is no 'away goals' rule in the Trophy. The other tie was a very tight affair with few chances either way. Macclesfield clinched the game with a strike in the second half to make their way to Wembley.

[Zidane]

No,I thought a Lincoln v Tranmere final was nailed on when the draw was made.
Lincoln,top of the league and Fa Cup quarter finalists.....Tranmere,a big club all but but assured of a play off spot.

York,fighting against relegation from the Conference certainly caused a big upset.
Macc....not such a big surprise,I suppose,as they beat Tranmere in the Conference 4-2 on New Years Day.But Prenton Park always a difficult place to go to and win and I understand Macclesfield were deserved winners on the day.Attendance was 6,100.
This will be Macclesfieds 4th trip to Wembley for an FA Trophy Final but they will underestimate York at their peril as the Minstermen have had a good run of form of late.

[BobHelm]

It seems that Leyton Orient's off pitch situation is improving...

Orient owner given extra time to pay debts

Leyton Orient owner Francesco Becchetti has been given until 12 June to pay off remaining debts or sell the club at a winding-up hearing at the High Court.

The club were the subject of a winding-up petition brought by Revenue & Customs over unpaid taxes.

Those debts have been paid in full, but money is owed to four other creditors.

Chief executive Alessandro Angelieri gave the court a statement saying Becchetti would invest £1m to pay off remaining debts in eight to 10 weeks.

Being a Town fan I do have to say that I hope that it isn't followed by an on pitch improvement.

Although there are Internationals this week that does not halt Grass Roots football..

Monday 20th March 2017
Vanarama National League North

Curzon Ashton V FC United of Manchester 19:45

Tuesday 21st March 2017
Sky Bet League One

Coventry City V Port Vale 19:45

Vanarama National League

Chester V Macclesfield Town 19:45
Forest Green Rovers V Solihull Moors 19:45