I don't think it is necessary to give much attention to England v San Marino tonight, and clearly neither do you if you are reading this preview on a Friday night! So let's talk Football League.
It's been a chaotic week in England's lower divisions and the managerial merry-go-round has been in full swing. We reported to you that earlier this week that Owen Coyle had lost his job at Bolton, incredibly becoming the 8th manager to part company with their club within just eleven games of the new season having passed (ten in the Championship). Since then, we've also seen Neal Ardley appointed at AFC Wimbledon, Eddie Howe swap Burnley for Bournemouth and now Edgar Davids (yes, the guy with the goggles) pitch up at Barnet as joint head coach! The last two on that list came as real shocks - Eddie Howe has gone back to the South Coast citing family reasons and given he lost his mother earlier this year the drop down a division is understandable in these circumstances. But Dutchman Davids certainly can't say the same for Barnet! Davids, whose last notable contribution in English football was an excellent assist for QPR's Adel Taarabt whilst wearing Crystal Palace colours (he massively underhit a backpass, wish I could find it on YouTube to share with you!), has finally found a club where he has a chance of getting into the first team for the rest of his life, whilst even doing some coaching at the same time. I can't believe for one moment that he's gone to North London for financial reasons.
That might not be the end of the managerial casualties for a while either; Aldershot's board have given Dean Holdsworth the dreaded vote of confidence as they sit in 23rd place in League Two, whilst Milan Mandaric has issued the same kind of backing for Owls chief Dave Jones, who must be an awful manager to play for.
This bizarre week in the footballing world also saw Luis Boa Morte sign for Chesterfield until January. Boa Morte, aged 35 going on 53, says there is method in his madness, explaining that he is a good friend of Spireites goalkeeping coach Mark Crossley. We can't wait for Davids vs Boa Morte in League Two - for those of you excited by this (i.e. all of you), it's 27th October at the Proact Stadium.
Tranmere go marching on at the top of League One and this weekend's visitors Yeovil don't really look like ending the Wirral club's unbeaten start. Incredibly, three of their players have scored seven goals each after just eleven games and they are just one shy of half of their points total from last season already! Andy Robinson, Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and Owain Fon Williams are big misses for the hosts so perhaps there is some hope for the Glovers, but I can't look beyond the home side here.
Prediction: Tranmere 2-0 Yeovil
After a solid if unspectacular start to League One life under Paolo Di Canio, Swindon find themselves in the playoff places ahead of the visit of lowly Coventry City this weekend. The Sky Blues won't be the easy game they were in the opening weeks of League One though, as they finally look to have turned the corner under the guidance of Mark Robins - they've won two of their last three games and produced an emphatic performance away at York in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy midweek. Still I expect the Robins (of the team variety) to take all three points here given the quality they have.
Prediction: Swindon 3-1 Coventry
There aren't really any stand out fixtures in League Two this weekend, but Sky Sports have gone with Port Vale v Oxford as their prime time Monday night blockbuster. The Valiants have mustered 25 goals in their 11 league games this season so far and unsurprisingly are League Two's top scorers. Tom Pope has notched 11 of those and is currently in the most prolific form of his career. But the side from Stoke have found points harder to come by on home soil, winning just twice in five games at Vale Park this term. Oxford stopped the rot with a win over AFC Wimbledon and a draw at home to early League Two pacesetters Gillingham to end a run of six straight defeats which had had U's fans calling for Chris Wilder's head and he, too, got that dreaded vote of confidence from the board. Such is the patience level of fans, the media and board these days that a few defeats on the bounce no longer goes unnoticed and you will soon come under fire. I fancy Vale to put the pressure back on Wilder here (though surely they won't dispense of him if he loses away at the team 2nd in the table), but not without an early scare of going a goal down early on.
Prediction: Port Vale 2-1 Oxford
With just one of our regular sides in action, it would be foolish to pass on the opportunity to go and see them. C and J will be in the away end at Fratton Park this weekend to observe crippled Portsmouth host Crewe Alexandra. Both sides go into the game having found a bit of form of late, so this should be a good game. Portsmouth have assembled a team of Championship/League One quality freebies which on paper is quite a formidable side at this level. Having said that, all of their players are on monthly rolling deals so theoretically could walk away from the club at the end of the month, which probably suits the players but certainly isn't ideal as far as the fans are concerned. One such player is QPR legend Akos Buzsaky, who, presumably like his colleagues, views the opportunity at Portsmouth as a chance to put himself in the shop window for a couple of months in the hope that a bigger fish will come in at the end of one of the said months and offer him a longer term deal. How Pompey can sustain the kind of wage he was on at QPR is beyond us. All that aside, it really is a sorry state of affairs at the South Coast club and I genuinely hope that they don't go to the wall - I wouldn't wish that upon any football club, even Luton Town!
Use the international weekend profitably and get down to support your local football league club this weekend. We'll be back early next week with a match report and a weekend review.
C&J
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