The Sporting Hack

Former Wrexham manager Dean Saunders crosses swords with former Racecourse Ground veteran midfielder Darren Ferguson for the second time this season. The Welshman was victorious over the Scot in the sweltering heat of London Road back in October as Rovers prospered 2-1 thanks to a thirty yard wonder strike from Brian Stock and Kyle Bennett’s winner. The only win in the last five games for either team was Peterborough’s 3-0 demolition last weekend of troubled Bristol City which saw the Posh rise to the comfort of 18 th place. Rovers, by contrast, will have to show character if they are to get a maximum for the first time since the start of the year and try and climb out of trouble as they languish in 24th. Rovers will also have to try and avenge last week’s 3-2 defeat suffered at Elland Road without injured quartet James Coppinger (cheekbone), Habib Bamogo (hamstring), George Friend and Martin Woods (both knee). Mamadou Bagayoko, the rangy Malian striker, who had given Rovers a tw...

A little over a year ago I left the Keepmoat Stadium on a Tuesday night a disgruntled fellow – local rivals Barnsley had eased to a 2-0 win over Doncaster Rovers. The only solace was to be found, of all places, in Blackpool. At Bloomfield Road to be precise, where the Tangerines had thrown away a two goal lead against Manchester United to lose 3-2. It was consoling for the fact that, as very much an anti-Manchester United fan, I was also in the miniscule minority of the footballing world who also wanted Blackpool to struggle and accordingly had struck a £5 bet with my father that they would be relegated despite their lofty – and comfortable – position of twelfth. Why? From a hazy recollection I was watching Match of the Day while inebriated and said that I thought the Seasiders were the sort of side who were either red hot or ice cold – far too inconsistent, and therefore said “These lot will go down.” My dad, who does not part with money easily, smelled a bet – and one that ...

Huddersfield Giants 66-6 Widnes Vikings Stobart Super League, Galpharm Stadium, Attendance: 8,869 Huddersfield Giants stormed to the top of the Super League table after dishing out a twelve-try masterclass to potential new whipping boys Widnes Vikings. The 66-6 scoreline did not flatter the hosts and the omens look good for the early pace setters who had home debutant wing Luke George (above) to thank for a hat-trick of tries, but even he was eclipsed by teammate Leroy Cudjoe who nabbed four – his first three coming in the opening 25 minutes. The imperious Luke Robinson got the hosts off to a flyer with his quick feet and even quicker brain, touching down under the sticks with less than three minutes on referee Steve Ganson’s watch. Cudjoe took over from here though, despite the best efforts of Scott Grix’s sumptuous shimmying – scoring three of the Giants next four tries – as he nonchalantly strolled past a static defence which brought applause, before his 80 metre dash, afte...

Sheffield United 3-0 Wycombe Wanderers npower League 1, Bramall Lane, Attendance: 17,165 Loan signing Will Hoskins came off the bench on his Sheffield United home debut to break the stubborn resilience of relegation threatened Wycombe. The introduction of the former Rotherham United striker (right) on his return to South Yorkshire provided fresh impetus to a frustrated Blades outfit and triggered further strikes from his forward partners Ched Evans and Chris Porter. The win moved United up to third place within a point of city rivals Wednesday - who fell at Exeter – and with two games in hand. It was no less than Danny Wilson’s men deserved too, accounting for 70% of possession, as the Buckinghamshire side invited wave after wave of pressure from the first minute. Chances came with an alarming regularity in the first period, but forcing Wanderers ‘keeper Nikki Bull into anything strenuous seemed a bridge too far. Despite Scottish winger Ryan Flynn replacing the ineffectual Le...

Fabio Capello’s resignation from the England head coach position was met with a raised eyebrow, a tilt of the head and a curl of the bottom lip before a slight nod (a bit like Harry Redknapp pictured above) – the right decision? Definitely maybe. But what’s done is done and the England national side is once again at a crossroads. The (sometimes) ponderous Italian, Capello who had a healthy habit of winning, also had a tendency to ‘put his foot in it’ and the media could not wait for their mock-up of pizza eating clown to make another error. The latest ‘gaffe’ centred around an interview on Italian television station where ‘The Don’ expressed his backing of now former captain John Terry – stripped of the armband for his major role in a much protracted race row of course. It wasn’t naive of the 65-year old manager to think no one might actually translate this interview from his mother tongue, it was stupidity. Speaking of mother tongue, Capello arguably did not endear himself to ...

A Manchester United fan from Macclesfield rang a radio phone-in on Saturday night to express his desire to see the club he supported field a ‘B’ side in the English leagues. It is an idea that has been mooted by foreign managers from Arsene Wenger to Andre Villas-Boas but has been declared ‘fanciful’ by traditionalists and many ‘morally correct’ former professional footballers. The presenter of the radio show, rightly, quizzed his caller as to a) why he didn’t support Macclesfield and b) what would happen if Manchester United reserves took the 16 th position of League 2 which the Moss Rose side currently occupy? His answer that he was desperate to travel to Torquay on a Tuesday night to see a mixture of kids and crocks play took some believing. At this point, and after a bit of internet research, I’d like to highlight the case of a German-born Spaniard called Joselu (above). A ‘promising player, one for the future’ – but then again, who at the Santiago Bernabeu isn’t? The only ...

It’s possible to suggest that Sunday’s Manchester derby had everything you could wish for from a football game – goals, controversial talking points, and the potential for a City shock, which had it been achieved would, at 3-0 down and with 10 men, have eclipsed that John Macken winner in February 2004 at White Hart Lane. It was not to be. However, the quality of the game, which United won 3-2, means that the main controversy and talking point - Vincent Kompany’s red card - seems to have partially slipped the radar. Maybe not to the blue half of Manchester though, who could wishfully remonstrate all day that, with a full complement of players, they would have made an even better fist of it. Chris Foy, a referee berated to the hilt by Spurs boss Harry Redknapp in recent weeks, for a dreadful refereeing performance in a league game at Stoke, was the man entrusted with making split-second decisions in one of the fiercest games in the land. He was bold, he was decisive, he was unluc...