The View From Churchmans

So the second half of the season starts just as the first half did, with a disappointing home defeat illustrating just how much work Jim still has in front of him. We can't afford to lose another ten in this half of the season, or that would be relegation form. So where do we stand? What's the half-term report? Jim apparently had a full squad to pick from today, and half of his ... More...

A satisfying result against an unadventurous and occasionally unpleasant side. It's almost as if Ken Bates thought: "Hmmm, is this the Leeds I remember? No. Let's bring back the Leeds everyone knows and hates, shall we?" So with Roy Keane already snapped up, it was natural that he'd turn to the odious Dennis Wise as manager, and it shows already. Charitably, you could suggest Wise has tried to install some steel into his underperforming ... More...

I'm rather partial to the north west, and obviously it would be ridiculous to stereotype an entire region in terms of the football its teams play, and yet... and yet... somehow, you expect a match against Burnley to be at bit grim. And I guess it was. Burnley were an uncompromising team who (to put it kindly) built from the back; for once I could have forgiven any manager for using the cringeworthy cliche ... More...