The View From Churchmans

The change in defence was probably expected tonight, although the double change in midfield may have been more of a surprise; whatever the case, this was quite a different Town lineup to Saturday. And for 45 minutes, it worked. Admittedly, Preston played nothing like their recent form has suggested they would, but Town moved the ball around sweetly, looked very confident, and might have had more than two goals to show from a ... More...

There are five-one defeats and there are five-one defeats. This wasn't a defeat of the Wimbledon kind, where the team lost because it didn't seem to care; this was a defeat against a much better team, which took all of its chances clinically. Although I'm not putting West Brom in the same class, I was reminded of the home defeat against Liverpool, where you just had to sit back and admire the way ... More...

What a truly great afternoon's entertainment. I didn't feel that confident before the game, although I did expect it to be an exciting match - and not just because we've had several decent encounters with Sunderland in recent years. They're obviously under a lot of pressure to prove themselves, and spurred on with the inevitable large away support, I thought they'd give us a worthwhile test. But while the game easily surpassed any expectation ... More...

Let's imagine it's 7pm this evening, and you're in the bar, having seen the team sheet, and are writing a script for how the evening's events will unfold. Let's not be too radical; how about this? With a fairly solid defence, a lively midfield and a static front two, we pass the ball around well for 45 minutes, but there aren't any goals. Then after the break, Coventry come out with a plan ... More...

Only one decent performance separates us from the awful early-season displays and this afternoon, but that one performance against QPR meant the whole squad, as well as the home crowd, seemed to begin the afternoon feeling as if we really could be challengers this year, rather than relegation fodder. It doesn't take much, does it? However, it took about two minutes for the defence to be exposed as the same old shambles it's been ... More...

I think we're getting the rough stuff out of the way while many of the faithful are still on holiday. Nineteen thousand and a bit, amongst the lowest Saturday afternoon crowds for a few years, saw what must be one of the most nondescript matches in that time. Apparently I shouldn't be too alarmed, I'm told we were worse at Leicester, but even so, if I see two teams as poor as this ... More...

A gloriously sunny afternoon which started off with a wave to new club president Lord Bobby on the pitch, and the blue-tinted spectacles firmly in place. The start of a new season, the anticipation of some new names and perhaps a new approach ...and a huge reception for one of the most popular managerial appointments in the club's history. What could possibly go wrong? Yes, you at the back. That's right. We could start ... More...