Potential upsets, Premier League clubs needing to take it seriously and old foes meeting after taking diverging pathsSwindon and Manchester City were regular combatants in the 1990s, meeting in the second tier and during Swindon’s one season in the Premier League, 1993-94. Friday’s visit to the County Ground will be a first meeting in 20 years. On 5 January 2002, former Swindon man Kevin Horlock scored the second in a 2-0 home win at Maine Road. The years since have seen the clubs move in radically different trajectories, and they now operate on different planets. Swindon arrested a slump with a 5-2 defeat of Northampton on New Year’s Day, and lie in the League Two play-off positions. The club have...
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is proving his tactical ability every week but Accrington’s manager could not see the magic of his Cup tieIt was a pity John Coleman saw fit to savage Jon Moss, stealing the headlines when his players’ tremendous performance against Derby deserved more attention. The referee did not get everything right but the Accrington manager was wrong to describe his decisions as horrendous, particularly as his supposedly worst call only led to the corner that resulted in the goal. Frank Lampard was on safer ground talking of the magic of the FA Cup. “We had 2,500 fans here and I thought it was great, it felt like a proper game,” the Derby manager said. “I’ve played in Cup...
The No 10 has captivated the crowds at Loftus Road and helped Steve McClaren’s side turn their Championship season aroundAt Loftus Road, there is a new No 10 in town. Eberechi Eze has a long way to go until he is mentioned in the same breath as Rodney Marsh or Stan Bowles, but there is no doubting the Queens Park Rangers playmaker’s ability to astound. A buccaneering performer, there are shades of the audacity of Adel Taarabt and the brain of Akos Buzsaky, but Eze is carving out a reputation in his own right as one of the most exciting young talents in the country.But Eze has not had it easy. Released by Millwall in 2016 the 20-year-old struggled as...
League One leaders win 4-0 to puncture euphoria at AFC Wimbledon after club was cleared to return to their spiritual home of Plough LaneEmotions ran high at Kingsmeadow on Saturday, when Wimbledon got their celebrations in first and Wigan Athletic went home with a 4-0 win, emphasising their right to top League One and sending them from 20th to 23rd.Wimbledon’s celebrations were nothing to do with the match but rather the news that, barring a judicial review, for which there is a six-week window, the club have cleared the last hurdle on their way back to Plough Lane, their spiritual home for 100 years. The plan is for a £25m, 11,000-seat ground 250 yards down the road, on the site...
Wimbledon’s home game against Everton on this day in 1993 garnered the lowest attendance in Premier League history – but those who were there saw a game to rememberThey used to say of the 1960s that if you could remember them, you weren’t there. The same principle also applies to Wimbledon’s home game against Everton on 26 January, 1993. The reason, however, is nothing to do with intoxication or spiritual awakening. It’s because there was barely anyone there to remember it in the first place. The match boasted a crowd of just 3,036, the smallest in Premier League history.Come the end of the 1992-3 season Wimbledon would finish above Everton, one point and one place higher in 12th position. The...