All change at the bottom

17 October 2011 10:00
After the weekend's Championship fixtures we have the same top six in the league, but down at the bottom there are two changes in the bottom three as Doncaster Rovers and Nottingham Forest join Bristol City.

Donny were right down at the bottom for weeks but a good run of results following the appointment of Dean Saunders had seen them pull out of those relegation places. There was suddenly confidence in South Yorkshire that they could push right up the table.

That they may do, but for now they are going to have to fight their way back out of the bottom three after suffering a heavy 3-0 home defeat to Leeds on Friday.

They slipped back down because Coventry beat Nottingham Forest and Millwall got a surprise point at Middlesbrough. Coventry's win saw them swap places with Forest who, with Steve Cotterill taking over today, are now next to bottom, below Doncaster on goal difference and two points ahead of managerless Bristol City on goal difference.

Millwall's draw meant changes at the top as well as the bottom with Middlesbrough being replaced in the automatic promotion places by West Ham. who had the biggest win of the day against Blackpool.

There's been some obsession over West Ham's inability to win home games, but this was their third victory at the Boleyn Ground. If there is a club up there who are clearly struggling to get points at home then it's Middlesbrough who must be thankful for their very impressive away record.

They have more points than anyone on the road but Saturday's draw was their fifth in six home games. Still, they remain the only unbeaten club in the league and are only behind West Ham on goal difference.

If Forest are the big surprise for me down near the bottom then it's Hull and Crystal Palace when I look at the clubs in the top section of the table. Palace, in particular, I expected to struggle but they scored two superb goals to record their third away win of the season at struggling Watford.

Finally, well done to Birmingham yesterday. Their season is suffering disruptions because of the Europa League and again this week they miss out on a fixture, but their win against Leicester yesterday means they remain the only club in the division who have scored in every game.

The results, fixtures and the usual stats are shown below.

The Weekend Results Friday 14th October Doncaster Rovers 0 Leeds United 3   Saturday 15th October Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Hull City 0 Derby County 1 Southampton 1 Bristol City 1 Peterborough United 2 Middlesbrough 1 Millwall 1 Burnley 0 Reading 1 Portsmouth 2 Barnsley 0 Cardiff City 2 Ipswich Town 2 Watford 1 Crystal Palace 2 Coventry City 1 Nottingham Forest 0 West Ham United 4 Blackpool 0 Sunday 16th October Birmingham City 2 Leicester City 0  

 

The Weekend Stats Biggest Win

West Ham United 4-0 v Blackpool (home)

Total Goals Scored 27 (15 home - 12 away)

Player Scoring Most Goals

2 - Sam Baldock (West Ham United) Highest Attendance 33,010 - Derby County v Southampton Lowest Attendance 11,261 - Portsmouth v Barnsley Total Yellow Cards 34 Total Red Cards 1 Most Cards in a Game Bristol City v Peterborough United (5Y) Ref: Lee CooteDerby County v Southampton (5Y) Ref: Mark Brown

 

Leading Goalscorers (League Only) 9 Rickie Lambert (Southampton) - includes 3 penaltiesRoss McCormack (Leeds United) 8 Chris Wood (Birmingham City) 6 Charlie Austin (Burnley) 5 Ashley Barnes (Brighton & Hove Albion) - includes 2 penaltiesSteve Davies (Derby County) - includes 1 penaltyMichael Chopra (Ipswich Town)Marvin Emnes (Middlesbrough)Lukas Jutkiewicz (Coventry City)Craig Mackail-Smith (Brighton & Hove Albion)Kevin Phillips (Blackpool) 4 Keith Andrews (Ipswich Town)Carlton Cole (West Ham United)David Connolly (Southampton)Adam Lallana (Southampton)Grant McCann (Peterborough United) - includes 1 penaltyGary Taylor-Fletcher (Blackpool)Lee Tomlin (Peterborough United)

 

Hat Tricks  Date Player & Game 20/08/11 3: Lee Tomlin - PETERBOROUGH UNITED v Ipswich Town 10/09/11 3: Rickie Lambert - SOUTHAMPTON v Nottingham Forest 11/09/11 3: Chris Wood - BIRMINGHAM CITY v Millwall

 

Disciplinary Record (League and Cup) Club Y R Y R Club Y R Y R   League   Total   League  Total  Barnsley 16 0 17 0 Ipswich Town 13 2 13 2 Birmingham City 12 0 12 0 Leeds United 20 4 24 4 Blackpool 22 0 23 1 Leicester City 20 3 24 3 Brighton and Hove Albion 29 1 35 1 Middlesbrough 16 2 17 2 Bristol City 18 0 19 0 Millwall 22 0 25 0 Burnley 13 1 17 1 Nottingham Forest 15 0 18 0 Cardiff City 12 0 18 0 Peterborough United 15 0 17 0 Coventry City 10 1 11 1 Portsmouth 23 2 26 2 Crystal Palace 15 0 17 0 Reading 13 0 15 0 Derby County 17 1 17 1 Southampton 11 1 11 1 Doncaster Rovers 15 0 15 0 Watford 14 0 15 0 Hull City 18 0 18 0 West Ham United 14 1 14 2

 

Highest and Lowest Attendances Highest Lowest Att Fixture Att Fixture 33,465 West Ham United v Portsmouth (10/09) 7,778 Doncaster Rovers v Bristol City (27/08) 33,010 Derby County v Southampton (15/10) 7,901 Peterborough United v Burnley (17/09) 31,448 West Ham United v Blackpool (15/10) 7,928 Peterborough United v Ipswich Town (20/08) 29,895 West Ham United v Peterborough United (24/09) 8,500 Peterborough United v Doncaster Rovers (01/10) 28,252 West Ham United v Leeds United (21/08) 8,685 Peterborough United v Hull City (10/09) 27,709 West Ham United v Ipswich Town (27/09) 9,362 Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace (24/09) 27,356 Nottingham Forest v Derby County (17/09) 9,464 Doncaster Rovers v Nottingham Forest (16/08) 27,210 Derby County v Birmingham City (06/08) 9,497 Barnsley v Coventry City (01/10) 25,860 Southampton v Leeds United (06/08) 9,733 Barnsley v Watford (17/09) 25,680 West Ham United v Cardiff City (07/08) 9,786 Doncaster Rovers v Hull City (27/09)

 

The Next Fixtures Tuesday 18th October Barnsley v Burnley Millwall v Brighton & Hove Albion Blackpool v Doncaster Rovers (20:00) Nottingham Forest v Middlesbrough Crystal Palace v Bristol City (20:00) Peterborough United v Cardiff City Ipswich Town v Portsmouth Reading v Derby County (20:00) Leeds United v Coventry City Southampton v West Ham United Wednesday 19th October Leicester City v Watford  

Source: FOOTYMAD