Chelters

Wednesday 19 January 1994 FA Cup Third Round Replay Nottingham Forest (away) Having turned in a somewhat disappointing – albeit injury affected – performance in the first game, Wednesday had given themselves a tough task if they wanted to progress to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Nottingham Forest were riding high in the First Division with a Premier League quality squad and would be fancying their chances of causing an upset, especially as they were probably the better side in the game at Hillsborough and were on a 14 match unbeaten run. Wednesday were still having trouble in the full back positions, with Brian Linighan continuing at right back and Andy Sinton replacing Simon Coleman as a makeshift left back (but not the first time this season he had played that position). Sinton’s move back allowed Chris Bart-Williams to regain a place in midfield. Forest made just the one change from the first game with one-time Wednesday target Kingsley Black replacing Lars Bohinen. Forest started the game on the front foot and gave the Owls a rough ride in the first half. In fact it was bad enough for Trevor Francis to claim afterwards that it was ‘the worst 45 minutes since I became manager of the club’. Not for the first time this season the Owls were grateful for Kevin Pressman’s fine form, as he denied both Ian Woan and Steve Stone. The home side would have been scratching their heads as to how the first half ended goalless. Wednesday needed the half-time break to settle down, and then gave Forest a lesson in taking chances. A few minutes after the restart, Sinton swung in a cross after his initial free-kick was cleared, it fell to Andy Pearce who swept it home for his second goal in two games after previously having failed to hit the target (surely the chances of him making it three in three must have been tiny.....). Just a few minutes later, the Owls effectively put the game to bed, as Sinton’s cross was diverted to the recalled Bart-Williams, and his low drive found the bottom corner with a little help from a deflection. Future Owl Mark Crossley probably deserved the bad luck for sporting a pair of joggers. Forest’s race was run, and they probably still felt somewhat deflated that they had failed to progress despite arguably being the better side for three-quarters of the tie. Wednesday were not complaining though as they progressed to the next round where they would face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Never mind that though, there were only three days to prepare for the big one as the Blades were due to trot into S6 looking to take advantage of Wednesday’s injury issues to help them bridge the clear gap in quality. Would they be successful?.....find out in a few days time (even though you already know the answer) Full time : Forest 0-2 Wednesday Forest : Crossley, Lyttle, Pearce, Cooper, Chettle, Stone (Crosby 73), Phillips, Webb, Black (Bull 65), Glover, Woan. Unused sub : Wright Wednesday : Pressman, Linighan, Sinton, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Jones, Palmer, Hyde, Watson (Jemson 73), Bright. Unused subs : Poric, Woods Attendance : 25,268

To Owen Beck is RoY Hodgson’s favourite ever episode of Only Fools and Horses

Did Wes Burns write in with an offer?

Saturday 15 January 1994 FA Carling Premiership Wimbledon (away) Having achieved an impressive League Cup quarter-final win at Selhurst Park in midweek, the Owls went back to the same venue to take on the same opponents. Wednesday were on a great run of form, whilst their hosts were a few places below in midtable, and no doubt keen on revenge for that Cup reverse in the week. Interestingly both teams lined up in different kits to the midweek game (FFS Chelters will you stop going on about kits.....), with Wimbledon reverting to their dark blue home kit and Wednesday sporting the lesser seen white and black third kit previously worn in the Newcastle game. Trevor Francis decided to stick with the same team that had won in midweek, meaning the somewhat unlikely full back partnership of Brian Linighan and Simon Coleman continued, with Gordon Watson keeping his place up front. The Dons made one change, with the experienced Lawrie Sanchez coming in for Andy Clarke. That change seemed to work as the home side took the initiative in the first half, with the opening goal coming after just 12 minutes. John Fashanu did well to set up midfielder Neal Ardley, who smashed a low shot into the corner. Wimbledon continued to have the better of the play, meaning a somewhat scrappy and tetchy game, with Kevin Pressman the busier of the two keepers. But, a few minutes before the break, he was beaten again as Fashanu headed home a Gary Elkins free-kick to crown a successful first half for the Dons. It had been some time since Wednesday were two goals down, and indeed had struggled so much in a game, so Francis reorganised at half time with Chris Bart-Williams replacing Linighan. As a result, the Owls looked a lot better in the second half and started to make some chances, with Ryan Jones and Carlton Palmer both having decent efforts. Midway through the second half a deserved goal back arrived, and it was a first Wednesday goal for defender Andy Pearce. Andy Sinton’s corner was initially cleared, but as the same man swung the ball in Pearce was there to power a header into the net. The big ex-hod carrier had come close a few times in previous games and it was perhaps a surprise that it had taken him this long to get off the mark. The Owls kept pressing, with Watson going through from a Mark Bright through ball, only to see his effort blocked by Hans Segers and Bright head the rebound wide. Segers saved again from Watson later in the game, even Des Walker got a shot in at one point and the hosts survived a goalmouth scramble in injury time. It was one of those games where it was just not to be, and Wimbledon stood firm. The damage had been done in the first half and Wednesday had just left themselves too much to do. It was only the second defeat in 22 games for the Owls and also marked the end of impressive run for Bright, who scored in the previous seven games, becoming only the second Wednesday player in 40 years to do so (Paul Warhurst the other of course). Next up was the FA Cup replay at the City Ground, before the Blades were due to visit Hillsborough the following weekend. Final score : Wimbledon 2-1 Wednesday Wimbledon : Segers, Barton, Elkins, Fitzgerald, Scales, Ardley, Sanchez, Jones, Earle, Holdsworth, Fashanu (Blissett 83). Unused subs : Blackwell, Sullivan Wednesday : Pressman, Linighan (Bart-Williams 45), Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Palmer, Sinton, Hyde, Jones, Watson, Bright. Unused subs : Jemson, Key Attendance : 5,536 (wow)

Tuesday 11 January 1994 Coca-Cola Cup Quarter Finals Wimbledon (away) After the somewhat disappointing FA Cup game against Forest at the weekend, the Owls travelled down to London to take on the tenants of Selhurst Park, Wimbledon, in the quarter finals of the League Cup. Wednesday had, of course, had some recent success in the competition, with the win in 1991 and being losing finalists in 1993. This looked like a tricky draw though, particularly for a Wednesday team that was still struggling with injuries. The newest additions to the physio’s table were full backs Roland Nilsson and Nigel Worthington, who had both gone off with ligament damage in the Forest game. This led to the Owls fielding a somewhat unfamiliar line-up in defence, with centre back Simon Coleman in at left back and debutant Brian Linighan on the right. Brian was the younger brother of Arsenal’s Andy (boo) and Ipswich’s David, as well as being the older brother of John, a regular in the Wednesday reserves who never managed to break into the first team. Wimbledon were managed by the delightful Joe Kinnear and still retained the Crazy Gang spirit, with ringleaders John Fashanu and Vinnie Jones still very much prominent. Easy to see why this was not a nice draw. Not for the first time this season there was a bit of an oddity on the kit front as the Dons appeared in their away kit of white shirts and black shorts, while Wednesday lined up in the new all gold strip that had been worn at QPR in the previous round. The first half was mostly dictated by the home side, with the best chance coming just before the break when Kevin Pressman was alert to make a decent save from a Dean Holdsworth header. However, just after half time, it was the Owls who got themselves in front as Mark Bright’s flick-on was chased down by the in-form Gordon Watson, who beat Gary Elkins to the ball and fired an angled shot in past Hans Segers. The goal got Wednesday in front but it didn’t swing the game in their favour as Wimbledon continued to have chances. Pressman saved from John Scales and Gary Blissett, Coleman did well to hook a clearance off the line and Andy Pearce made a great saving tackle on Fashanu to stop him getting clear on goal. With 13 minutes left though the goal arrived. It was a typically scrappy Wimbledon effort as a bit of penalty area pinball ended with a Blissett header being forced over the line from close range by Holdsworth. In these days, a replay was on the cards rather than extra-time and penalties so yet another game in the already hectic schedule was looking likely. Not for Bright though as, with a few minutes to go, he won a header in the Wimbledon half then, as the ball dropped, hit a cracking volley from outside the area that flew past the stranded Segers. It was a rare long-ranger from the Owls striker, probably the best goal of his Wednesday career. As the Dons pushed for an equaliser, it was actually Wednesday who had the chances. Graham Hyde hit the bar and Carlton Palmer missed a chance in the final few minutes. But the Owls had done enough, and saw out the game to set up a two-legged semi-final against either Manchester United or Portsmouth. Wednesday had just a few days to recover for another trip to London at the weekend to play, er, Wimbledon. Final score : Wimbledon 1-2 Wednesday Wimbledon : Segers, Barton, Elkins, Scales, Fitzgerald, Ardley, Clarke (Blissett 74), Jones, Earle, Holdsworth, Fashanu. Unused subs : Blackwell, Sullivan Wednesday : Pressman, Linighan, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Palmer, Sinton, Hyde, Jones, Watson, Bright. Unused subs : Poric, Bart-Williams, Woods Attendance : 8,784

Saturday 8 January 1994 FA Cup Third Round Nottingham Forest (home) Wednesday’s hectic schedule continued with a first outing of the season in the FA Cup, against relatively near neighbours Nottingham Forest. Forest were in the first season of the post-Brian Clough era, having been relegated the previous season as the great man’s powers (and health) began to wane. Frank Clark had taken on the task of getting them back into the Premier League, but he had a very strong squad at his disposal for a First Division (as it was then known) team. To start with, no less than the England captain was in their ranks as Stuart Pearce stayed loyal to the club. Add to that players such as Stan Collymore (who was not to feature in this game), Lars Bohinen, Steve Stone and David Phillips, and it was clear this was not going to be a walk in the park for the Owls. These were, of course, the days when there was no question of resting players for an FA Cup fixture. In fact, if anything, this was a competition to take very seriously (as borne out by the attendance of over 32,000), particularly having come so close to actually winning it the previous season. As a result, Wednesday made just one change from the win over Spurs, with Nigel Jemson replacing Gordon Watson up front. It was to prove a difficult day for the Owls, as the visitors were keen to show what they could do against an established Premier League team and prove to themselves that they belonged back in the top flight. The game started well enough though as Wednesday took the lead after just nine minutes, Nigel Worthington flighted a free-kick into the area that was headed in by that man Mark Bright – scoring for the sixth consecutive game. A few minutes later Bright headed down for Jemson but he was off balance and off target. To be fair to the visitors, they caused Wednesday problems throughout. Kevin Pressman had to be sharp to save from Phillips in the 20th minute after a quick free-kick, then later in the half made a couple of decent stops from Lee Glover. In the meantime, Roland Nilsson had been forced to go off with what turned out to be ankle ligament damage. To make matters worse, Worthington was then injured in the second half meaning Wednesday had lost both full backs, knee ligaments in his case. This did not help the cause at all and Forest continued to press, Pressman making a brilliant one-on-one stop from Glover, then Stone missing an unbelievable chance three minutes from time when it looked easier to score. Just when it looked like the Owls would hold out for the win, Forest got their equaliser and there was a bit of luck about it as Colin Cooper’s header was deflected past Pressman. It was hard to argue that Forest didn’t deserve it though. So this meant a very tricky looking replay at the City Ground, and more hard work for Wednesday in a packed fixture list with injuries still an issue. Next up was a trip to Selhurst Park to play Wimbledon in the quarter finals of the Coca Cola Cup, another tough looking game..... Final score : Wednesday 1-1 Forest Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson (Pearce 32), Worthington (Watson 68), Palmer, Walker, Bart-Williams, Sinton, Hyde, Jones, Jemson, Bright. Unused sub : Woods Forest : Crossley, Lyttle, Pearce, Cooper, Chettle, Stone, Phillips, Webb (Bull 76), Bohinen, Glover, Woan. Unused subs : Black, Wright Attendance : 32,488

The poor dears would get scared of the lack of room in the away end.

Monday 3 January 1994 FA Carling Premiership Tottenham Hotspur (home) Having played on New Year’s Day, another round of fixtures was set for the following Bank Holiday Monday just two days later. No doubt the pampered players and managers of today would stop it happening now, but the festive period fixtures of 4 games in 9 days was brilliant for the football fan back then. The conditions were not helping either as the weather was strangely reminiscent of today with every match seeming to be played in wet conditions and, with Desso pitches very much a thing of the future, the pitches were getting heavy and more and more difficult to play football on. It may therefore seem somewhat surprising to the fan of today that Trevor Francis decided to name an unchanged line up from the team that had won at Loftus Road just two days earlier. No squad rotation back in these days. This was not a Tottenham side that were challenging at the top of the table, in fact they were just below halfway under the managership of ex-player Ossie Ardiles. They certainly had some talent amongst the ranks, with names such as Nick Barmby, Darren Anderton, Teddy Sheringham, Sol Campbell and, er, Vinny Samways. They played in a style synonymous with Ardiles but their passing game did not really look suited to the conditions. It was the perfect start for the Owls as they took the lead just 11 minutes into the game. Steve Sedgeley dallied on the edge of the box and was dispossessed by Mark Bright, the Wednesday striker then skipping past Erik Thorstvedt before knocking the ball into the empty net. Wednesday continued to press and the rest of the first half was pretty much one-way traffic. Bright went close but volleyed over from a Roland Nilsson chip then headed straight at Thorstvedt from a Gordon Watson cross. Just before half-time, Chris Bart-Williams went close with a shot that was dragged just wide, and it was a mystery how the Owls were just a goal up at the break. The second half continued in much the same fashion as Spurs tried to persevere with their passing football as the conditions deteriorated and the pitch turned into a quagmire. Wednesday had realised that they needed to be more direct and the one-way traffic continued as Bright and Bart-Williams both missed further chances to increase the lead. The visitors did have a late rally but Wednesday stood firm and saw the game out for a fourth win in five games. After the poor start to the season, the recent run of form had seen Wednesday rise to sixth in the table following this win, something that seemed highly unlikely just a few weeks previously. The fixtures would continue to come thick and fast, with a couple of Cup fixtures on the way next. Final score : Wednesday 1-0 Tottenham Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Palmer, Walker, Bart-Williams (Pearce 81), Sinton (Jemson 81), Hyde, Jones, Watson, Bright. Unused sub : Woods Tottenham : Thorstvedt, Kerslake, Edinburgh, Calderwood, Sedgeley, Anderton, Caskey, Hazard, Samways, Dozzell, Barmby (Campbell 68). Unused subs : Austin, Walker Attendance : 32,514

Rooney will end up getting paid zillions to manage a team in Saudi. Or Wrexham.

Saturday 1 January 1994 FA Carling Premiership Queens Park Rangers (away) It can’t be 2024 surely. 2024 is the future, right? If, like me, you find New Year somewhat bittersweet as the festive period draws to a close and you are reminded of how quickly the years race by, join me for another dose of Owls related nostalgia as we see what happened when 1993 became 1994...... Wednesday had, of course, visited Loftus Road a few weeks earlier (exactly a month in fact) and triumphed 2-1 in the League Cup, so the Rs would no doubt be out for revenge here. The Owls were, as we know, on a good run or form, but the hosts were not doing too badly themselves and, in fact, were above Wednesday in the top half of the table. The Owls made a couple of changes after the frustrating draw against Swindon, with Chris Bart-Williams and Ryan Jones returning to the starting line-up in place of Andy Pearce – with Carlton Palmer reverting to a centre back role again - and the injured Chris Waddle. The QPR team looked solid, with names such as Trevor Sinclair, Ray Wilkins and Les Ferdinand standing out. The first half was a fairly low-key affair, with a couple of half-chances for Jones and Gordon Watson the only events of note from a Wednesday perspective. The second half saw the hosts get on top and Kevin Pressman (increasingly looking like a future England international at this point) had to show his mettle. First he saved from a Michael Meaker effort then turned aside a powerful effort from Ferdnand. The real action of the match was squeezed into the final 20 minutes and the catalyst was Rangers taking the lead. Meaker caused trouble down the left again and hit a low shot which Pressman did well to save. Unfortunately he could only palm it across goal where Ferdinand managed to turn the ball in from a tight angle. Having shown little going forward for once, a Wednesday win looked unlikely at this point, but a few minutes later everything changed following the double substitution of Pearce and Jemson for Bart-Williams and Sinton. First Roland Nilsson got in down the right and his driven cross was headed in powerfully at the near post by Mark Bright. No sooner had the dust settled on that goal than the Owls scored again, this time Jones was the provider with a lovely chipped pass over the top. Watson was in the clear and instinctively turned to fire the ball high past Jan Stejskal into the net. And so it was another 2-1 win at Loftus Road for the Owls and the Rs’ manager Gerry Francis perfectly summed up the Wednesday team of this vintage : “The only good thing I have to say is that you don’t have to play that lot too often”. Final score : QPR 1-2 Wednesday QPR : Stejskal, Bardsley, Brevett, Peacock, Yates, Sinclair, Meaker, Wilkins, Wilson, Ferdinand, Penrice. Unused subs : Impey, Witter, Roberts Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Palmer, Walker, Sinton (Jemson 75), Bart-Williams (Pearce 75), Hyde, Jones, Watson, Bright. Unused sub : Woods Attendance : 16,858

I’m sure I read recently that he’s injured atm?

No that was Mark Cooper. Both sons of managers so probably why you thought of it.

And the fact you can drink during the game. Lovely to have a pint while you’re stood on the terrace but as always there are a few that think they can take drinking but can’t.

Wednesday 29 December 1993 FA Carling Premiership Swindon Town (home) There are a few teams who have only had a single season in the Premier League (did someone say Barnsley?) and it would be hard now for anyone under the age of 30 to believe that one of them was Swindon Town. They had, of course, been denied relegation in 1990 due to ‘financial irregularities’ (various rumours of dodgy dealings which we won’t go into here) but, under the management of Glenn Hoddle, had been promoted via the play-offs in 1993. Hoddle had promptly buggered off to Chelsea at the first opportunity, leaving his assistant John Gorman with the almost impossible task of trying to keep the little club from Wiltshire in the league. They arrived at Hillsborough to face an in-form Wednesday, fresh from wins and clean sheets against West Ham and Everton. It looked like an easy three points for the Owls, but the visitors – predictably bottom and with just two wins all season, none of them away from home – were battling and it was not as straightforward as expected...... With a busy Christmas and New Year period, Wednesday made a couple of changes to the previous two games. Andy Sinton had recovered from injury and replaced Chris Bart-Williams, whilst Gordon Watson replaced Nigel Jemson up front. The visitors, as you might expect, were short of top flight experience, and fielded Sheffield-born Fraser Digby in goal. The first half certainly did not go to plan for the Owls. With just five minutes on the clock, Swindon took a surprise lead, as John Moncur’s corner was flicked on by Keith Scott for Andy Mutch to prod in from virtually on the goal line. This shook Wednesday into action, and an equaliser came just three minutes later. Chris Waddle fed Watson in the box and his volleyed low cross was finished easily from close range by Mark Bright for his tenth of the season. One might have expected normal service to resume but it was not to be the case as the Robins retook the lead on 19 minutes. Wednesday’s defence went AWOL as Roland Nilsson was caught too far forward, allowing Craig Maskell to latch onto a diagonal ball over the top, advance into the area, and finish low past Kevin Pressman. Wednesday were just not at it and could have gone further behind on two occasions : Andy Pearce was well placed to save what looked like a certain goal with a brilliant tackle and then Pressman denied Nicky Summerbee with a great save. Something had to change and it took a double substitution midway through the second half to get Wednesday firing as Chris Bart-Williams and Ryan Jones replaced Pearce and Sinton. This led to two goals in three minutes for the Owls but not without controversy. First, a cross into the box by Bart-Williams was clawed away by Digby, but at some cost to himself as he collided with Watson. With the Swindon keeper lying prone on the floor, the referee somewhat surprisingly allowed play to continue and, after a bit of pinball in the box, Watson fired home into the Kop net. Another goal followed soon after, again there was a bit of pinball in the box, but Graham Hyde took charge and his run and low cross was finished by Watson. Once again the feeling was that the job was surely done for the Owls, particularly as Watson raced through in the last minute for what looked to be his hat-trick. Unfortunately he dragged his shot just wide rather than squaring for Bright to tap home, and it was to prove costly as Swindon got an injury time equaliser. With Watson tracking back to try and atone for his error, Match crossed from the left and Maskell got there ahead of Pressman to power a header into the roof of the net. It was a strange game, maybe a bit of tiredness was creeping in but at least Wednesday had shown some fight by twice coming from behind. Swindon, for their part, probably deserved something and were understandably upset over the Owls’ second goal. But, as someone who grew up in Wiltshire and knew a few Swindon fans, I never liked them so tough s**t. Final score : Wednesday 3-3 Swindon Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce (Jones 63), Walker, Waddle, Sinton (Bart-Williams 63), Hyde, Palmer, Watson, Bright. Unused sub : Woods Swindon : Digby (Hammond 68), Fenwick, Horlock, Whitbread, Taylor, Summerbee, Maskell, Moncur, Ling, Mutch, Scott (Fjortoft 80). Unused sub : McLaren Attendance : 30,570

Monday 27 December 1993 FA Carling Premiership Everton (away) After the fantastic performance and victory over West Ham, Wednesday continued their Christmas fixtures with a trip to old foes Everton. With Boxing Day landing on a Sunday, the games were played on the 27th (which might have actually been Boxing Day because technically it can’t be on a Sunday? Answers on a postcard please). As those of a certain vintage (I.e. everyone on OwlsOnline) will testify, Goodison Park had not been a happy hunting ground over the years, with the Owls having picked up just one win there in their previous 32 attempts, just two seasons before this thanks to a David Hirst goal. On this occasion however, the form book was very much in Wednesday’s favour, with just one defeat in their last 15, whilst Everton were on a dodgy run and sinking towards the relegation zone. In fact, the run of poor form had led to Howard Kendall – in his second spell at the club – chucking in the towel with Jimmy Gabriel taking over as caretaker manager for what proved to be a pretty disastrous spell. For the third time this season – and second in three games – the Owls were live on Sky, not a particularly good omen given the defeats to Newcastle and Arsenal in the previous two. And, with Everton seeming to be the main story for this one there was definite concern that this one could go the wrong way as well. Unsurprisingly Wednesday were unchanged from the West Ham game, but Ryan Jones returned to the squad to take a place on the bench. Everton lined up with the experience of Neville Southall in goal and Dave Watson in defence, but with a distinct lack of experience further forward with young Stuart Barlow the only recognised striker. The hosts seemed to be pretty fired up early on and had the better of the opening exchanges, forcing Kevin Pressman into some early action. Firstly the Owls stopper pushed away a deflected effort from Barlow, then made a fantastic double save from John Ebbrell and Graham Stuart.. Having stood firm for this opening salvo, the Owls managed to settle into the game and started to show their quality. Ten minutes before half time Chris Waddle crossed from a short corner, Andy Pearce rose to head what looked like his first Wednesday goal but was denied by Mark Ward on the line. Thankfully, the ball fell to Mark Bright who was able to prod home from close range and give Wednesday the lead. Bright almost got another a few minutes later but Southall was on hand to save. By this stage, the Owls were starting to dominate proceedings and, just before half time they increased their lead with an unusual and memorable goal. Once again it came from a corner, this time with Roland Nilsson sending a ball in which Southall punched away, only for Carlton Palmer to send a 20-yard header looping back over the keeper and in off the bar. Whether Carlton meant it or not (I’m sure he will claim he did), and whether it was a goalkeeper error or not, was up for debate but either way it sealed the game for Wednesday. The second half was comfortable for Wednesday as Everton’s lack of confidence meant they were never going to get back in the game and they offered little, with Pressman only called into action once from a Peter Beagrie effort. In fact it was Wednesday who could have gone further in front as Waddle, Bright and Gordon Watson all had chances but were denied by Southall. So, after that barren run at Goodison, it was now two wins in three for Wednesday who finally seemed to have dealt with that particular hoodoo, as well as getting a win on Sky. The hosts were to have a difficult season, only just escaping relegation, whilst the Owls continued to go from strength to strength. The next game was just two days away against bottom club Swindon, another three points surely? Final score : Everton 0-2 Wednesday Everton : Southall, Jackson, Ablett, Snodin, Watson (Preki 11, Warzycha 75), Stuart, Ebbrell, Ward, Horne, Beagrie, Barlow. Unused sub : Kearton Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker Waddle, Bart-Williams (Jones 56), Hyde, Palmer, Jemson (Watson 83), Bright. Unused sub : Woods Attendance : 16,777

Well yes that would help. But, as Tee suggested, an experienced keeper is a better shout for us than a youngster, and probably why Vasquez isn’t the answer.

Interesting point about the keeper and the wider impact on the defence. There are a few keepers around who don’t sound like exciting signings but have that extra bit of know how. It struck me on Saturday when Cardiff played Jack Alnwick, who seems to have bounced around loads of clubs but showed the value of experience. Anyway, yesterday’s result is not really that much of a concern for me but highlights how the bad goalkeeping, bad luck and bad refereeing really cost us on Saturday.

5 shots on target against us in the last 2 games, 4 goals.

Here’s a cheery stat for you. Since being relegated from the PL we have not won a second tier game at either Coventry or Preston. We are 13 without a win at Coventry and only one win in 15 at Preston (which was in League One)

Suspect it’s two, like most pictures.

Just leave this here. Merry Christmas one and all.

Merry Christmas one and all, next instalment of 30 years ago on the 27th!

Yeah I left feeling quite positive yesterday, just annoyed that the luck deserted us against a beatable team.

I think I was being too kind to Dawson on the second goal. But the first one is in no way his fault, he is correctly leaving a shot that’s going wide and then gets diverted in the corner. Very unfortunate goal to concede. Their manager is absolutely deluded if he can’t see that his team completely spozzed a win.

I genuinely cannot remember such an undeserved win in all my years of going to Hillsborough. We were the better team and even a point would have flattered them. But that’s how football goes sometimes. As an ex keeper I will put my tin hat on and defend Dawson as both shots were deflected, the second just enough to stop him gathering it cleanly. Thought Palmer, Vaulks, Bambo and Bannan were all very good today. Musaba kept giving the ball away in our half and had to go off in my view, was the right substitution. Another awayer ref, yet again giving soft free kicks one way but not the other and bottling a penalty decision. It was a pen, no argument, although Fletcher could probably have stayed on his feet. And Perry Ng is, always has been and always will be a horrible cheating c**t, absolute disgrace of a player.