Championship League News
Coventry moved into the Championship play-off places after a dramatic 1-0 victory over visitors Portsmouth.
The game seemed destined for a frustrating stalemate from the Sky Blues’ perspective, but Jamie Paterson had other ideas.
Continue reading...Burnley were knocked off the top of the Championship on goal difference after yet another goalless draw – their 12th of the season – against Derby.
On a night of more twists and turns, the third side in the automatic promotion chase, Sheffield United, slipped to third after a 1-0 home defeat against Millwall.
Continue reading...Scott Parker said he was “immensely proud” after watching his Burnley side go top of the Championship with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Coventry on a day when their title rivals slipped up.
Haji Wright put the hosts in front after five minutes before Jaidon Anthony scored either side of half-time to make it 27 games unbeaten.
Continue reading...With delays in paying players and an owner who has lost the faith of fans, the Championship club urgently need a plan
It is highly unlikely a statement including the phrase “impacted on the club’s immediate cashflow” can result in anything positive. Sheffield Wednesday announced their latest financial issues on Monday after failing to pay their players on time at the end of March, putting the Championship side under a dark cloud.
This is the latest cause for concern among Owls supporters who have become increasingly frustrated by the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri, and the longer the players are not remunerated the greater the risk of punishment. An English Football League charge could come next week if the players remain unpaid. A fine, transfer ban or points deduction would then be among the options open to the league, which is in dialogue with Wednesday, if the matter is not resolved quickly, which the club is confident it will be.
Continue reading...Sheffield Wednesday have failed to pay their players their salaries for March on time due to “cashflow” problems.
The Owls say the delay in payment is only temporary and chairman Dejphon Chansiri is attempting to resolve the issue.
Continue reading...Manchester City’s fire still burns bright, Marcus Rashford reminds critics of his ability and Eberechi Eze’s great week
A seventh semi-final in succession showed that Manchester City, at least, see magic in the FA Cup. The quarter-finals saw them cast as unwelcome outsiders, lacking the romance of their fellow hopefuls. None of the other seven had won a major trophy this century, four never in their history. Pep Guardiola’s frenzied reaction after Omar Marmoush scored his team’s second at Bournemouth showed his fire still burns brightly. Surely nearing the end at City, Kevin De Bruyne played the 90 minutes, remaining influential and mobile throughout. He and his teammates have played better this season but this display at the Vitality saw real gutsiness, a key part of the makeup during the glory years. If the hosts, shorn of Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez, were incapable of holding City’s hand to the fire as they had in November, a new City is emerging. Nico O’Reilly added impetus from the bench. So did Marmoush, both offering the pace, strength and vigour their manager now desires. John Brewin
Match report: Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City
Match report: Preston 0-3 Aston Villa
Match report: Brighton 0-0 Nottm Forest (3-4 on pens)
Match report: Fulham 0-3 Crystal Palace
Continue reading...Leeds missed the chance to return to the top of the Championship as they conceded in the sixth minute of added time to draw 2-2 at home to Swansea.
The hosts made the ideal start as they looked to respond to Sheffield United’s Friday night win over Coventry, with Brenden Aaronson bundling the ball home inside a minute. Swansea were handed a chance to level from the spot in the 14th minute, only for Illan Meslier to turn Josh Tymon’s penalty behind.
Continue reading...Sheffield United made light work of playoff hopefuls Coventry at Bramall Lane as a 3-1 win swept them back to the top of the Championship.
Gus Hamer opened the scoring against his former club with a brilliant free-kick and after Tyrese Campbell had put the Blades 2-0 up at half-time, Rhian Brewster slammed home a game-clinching third.
Continue reading...The Preston forward Milutin Osmajic has been charged by the Football Association after an allegation of racist abuse.
The incident took place during Preston’s Championship match against Burnley on 15 February, where Osmajic was alleged to have made a racist comment towards the Clarets midfielder Hannibal Mejbri.
Continue reading...Daniel Farke blamed himself after his Leeds side were forced to battle back from two down to salvage a 2-2 draw against QPR. Farke considered starting with the defensive midfielder Ilia Gruev but instead opted for a more attacking approach, which backfired as goals from Koki Saito and Steve Cook put Rangers, who had lost their previous four matches, into a surprise lead.
Morgan Fox’s own goal gave the visitors a much-needed boost before the interval and Jayden Bogle equalised soon after the restart. QPR ended the match with 10 men after Saito was sent off in stoppage time for a studs-up challenge on Dan James.
Continue reading...Manager opens up on losing his baby son, how close he came to quitting and the Premier League promotion push
After victory at Middlesbrough in October, Bristol City’s players headed towards the pocket of the Riverside Stadium housing their supporters. As the away fans sang on loop the name of their head coach, Liam Manning, the squad unravelled a giant red and white banner displaying the words “Fly High Theo” in block capitals. Manning, on leave after the death of his baby son eight days earlier, was watching from a rural cottage 300 miles south, on a much-needed getaway. “I sent a long message to the lads about it afterwards … yeah, lump in the throat,” he says. “The celebrations epitomised everything. It was above football.”
It is not the only heavy moment in a raw and moving conversation but the one thing Manning stresses, as he discusses the hardest episode of his life in an interview for the first time, is that this is not a sob story. He takes huge pride in sharing Theo’s name.
Continue reading...Leeds moved back to the Sky Bet Championship summit after defeating Millwall 2-0. Jake Cooper’s own goal gave Leeds the advantage only three minutes into the game before Ao Tanaka wrapped up three points with a thumping finish in the 85th minute.
Victory means Leeds sit two points clear of automatic promotion rivals Sheffield United and four points clear of third-placed Burnley after both teams drew their respective games on Tuesday night.
Continue reading...Mark Sykes struck a last-minute equaliser to snatch Bristol City a 1-1 draw at Championship promotion-chasers Sheffield United.
The point was enough to lift the Blades back to the top of the table, but they were denied a seventh win in eight matches by Sykes’ last-gasp effort after Tyrese Campbell had given them a second-half lead.
Continue reading...Colby Bishop fired a second-half winner as Portsmouth beat the Championship leaders, Leeds, 1-0 at Fratton Park.
After their promotion rivals Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland won on Saturday, Leeds’s 17-match unbeaten league run stretching back to November ended through a combination of poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from Nicolas Schmid.
Continue reading...Burnley and Sheffield United had a contrasting day but both came up with victories to put pressure on the Championship leaders, Leeds, who visit Portsmouth at lunchtime on Sunday.
Sheffield United were made to work for their victory over Preston at Bramall Lane, with Tyrese Campbell scoring the only goal 11 minutes after half-time. Campbell had a huge chance within the first 90 seconds when Harrison Burrows’ low cross fell to Campbell at the far post but he somehow missed the target, albeit from a tight angle. Moments later, Ryan Porteous nearly turned Ben Brereton Díaz’s cross into his own net before Gustavo Hamer had a go from distance but his curling shot sailed harmlessly over the bar.
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