Daily Question #18 - 31/12/12

Today's Question: In what year did Sir Alex Ferguson become Manchester United boss? For extra credit tell me the exact date he was unveiled!

I can also confirm that the answers to yesterday's question were the MK Dons and Stadium MK. Congratulations to James Wildgoose, who answered both parts of the question correctly! I would also like to say well done to hazzer97 who got the team (MK Dons) correct!

Oh and happy New Year, guys!

Daily Question #17 - 30/12/12

Today's Question: Can you tell me what the name of this football ground is and who plays there?

Clue: This ground is linked to a very controversial team!

I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's question was indeed one. Congratulations to hazzer97 who as always got the right answer!

Daily Question #16 - 29/12/12

Today's Question: How many Premier League titles have Blackburn Rovers won? 

The answer to yesterday's question was Adebayo Akinfenwa! Congratulations to hazzer97 and James Wildgoose who both answered the question correctly!

Images: My visit to New York Stadium

Rotherham United 4-1 Accrington Stanley - My Pictures

Programme and ticket.

The Main Stand as it filled.

The Morrison Stand as it filled.

The KCM Recycling Stand as it filled.

My view of the game (from the Ben Bennett East Stand).

Looking towards the Morrison Stand.

Looking towards the KCM Recycling Stand.

Full Time: 4-1

The KCM Recycling Stand as it emptied.

The Morrison Stand as it emptied.

The Main Stand as it emptied. 

Preview: Rotherham United vs Accrington Stanley

Rotherham United will be looking to bounce back to winning ways after falling to defeat at the hands of Port Vale on Boxing Day. The Millers now find themselves on a run of four home games without a win. Three of these games ended in League defeat with only one draw against Notts County in the FA Cup.

Accrington Stanley are currently on a run of eight games without a win and are yet to taste victory in December. One of the games during this run-of-form was a home 2-1 defeat to the Millers where two goals from Daniel Nardiello were enough to seal victory for Rotherham.

The Millers currently sit in sixth place, five points off the top three. Whereas, Stanley find themselves 18th in the table. Only eight points off the bottom two.

Daily Question #15 - 28/12/12

After some more advice from hazzer97 on how I can shake up my Daily Question, I have decided that I'm going to do different types. For example, one day I might have just a normal question whereas on another I may have a photo with a question alongside it. So, I have decided to start off with a picture question today!

Today's Question: Can you tell me who's face is covered up in the picture below?

Clue: He currently plays for Northampton Town! 

I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's question was indeed eight games! Once again, congratulations to hazzer97 for answering correctly - well done!  

Daily Question #14 - 27/12/12

Today's Question: In how many Premier League games have Manchester United come from behind to take all three points this season?

Congratulations to hazzer97 and James Wildgoose, who both correctly answered yesterday's question with the answer of Frank Lampard!

Henning Berg sacked by Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rover's manager, Henning Berg, has been sacked after only 57 days in charge. This is due to a poor run of form with five defeats in their last six games. During the time that he spent at the club he only managed one victory in the 4-1 demolition of Peterborough.

The ex-Rover's defender was announced as boss on the 31st of October to replace previous manager, Steve Kean. His tenure did not start as planned with defeat away to Crystal Palace in his first game in charge. He secured his first, and only win, against the Posh on the 17th of November in front of the Sky TV cameras.

However, after Rover's poor run of form, the 43 year old was sacked after the 1-0 away loss to Middlesbrough. This was only the Norwegian's tenth game in charge however, the board thought it was necessary to relieve Berg of his duties.

Mark Hughes, Kenny Dalglish and even Roberto Di Matteo are amongst the favourites to replace him. Mark Hughes and Kenny Dalglish have both previously managed the club with Dalglish leading Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995. Whereas, Di Matteo has previously managed West Brom to promotion from the Championship as runners-up to Newcastle United.

Blackburn will now face struggling Barnsley on Saturday.

Daily Question #13 - 26/12/12

Today's Question: Can anybody tell me who scored the winning goal for Chelsea in the FA Cup Final 2009?

Hope everyone had a great Christmas yesterday! I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's question was Manchester United! Unfortunately, nobody correctly answered the question.

New Pages/Tabs

As you may have now noticed, I have made some changes to the blog! I have added three more pages: My Grounds, Grounds Visited and Daily Question.

'My Grounds' is a page dedicated to showing you pictures from my visits to football grounds and I will hopefully update the page as quickly as possible after visiting a new ground.

'Grounds Visited' is a page dedicated to showing you a list of the grounds I have visited in my lifetime. After some great advice from hazzer97, I have now started to add brief descriptions of my experience of each ground and will hopefully be completing these descriptions soon, as they are quite time consuming!

'Daily Question' is a title that says all you need to know about the page. It quite simply contains every daily question and answer that there has been so far!

Please find the time to visit all of the new pages and tell me what you think in the comments section at the bottom of each page! You can visit these pages by clicking on the tabs at the top of the blog. Any suggestions of improvement or new pages are welcome and would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Toby!

Daily Question #12 - 25/12/12

Today's Question: Since today is Christmas (as you all know), I have decided to go with a festive question for today! Which Premier League team has the best Boxing Day record by winning 15 of their previous 18 games on this famous day?

I can also announce the answer to yesterday's question was Tom Pope, who has scored nineteen npower League 2 goals this season... with him being an ex-Miller you can imagine for me, this is very frustrating! Unfortunately, for the second day running, nobody answered the question correctly! It would appear hazzer97's football knowledge only stretches so far?

Boxing Day Football!

As it does every year, tomorrow will see a full set of fixtures for every league up and down the country. Except, of course, for the few postponements that there will inevitably be! Yet, for some reason, despite all of these games being on, I will not be attending a football game tomorrow. UNBELIEVABLE!

However, I'm going to get over this and look into some of the most exciting fixtures tomorrow has to offer! For me the most exciting game has to be Cardiff City (1st) vs Crystal Palace (3rd) in the npower Championship. A win for Cardiff would see them open up a seven point gap between them and the Eagles, whereas a win for Palace would leave them just one point behind their rivals.

The game won't be easy for either side though, as Palace have lost just once in their last twenty matches whereas Cardiff have won fourteen of their last twenty. It is also promised to be a high scoring game as both teams have scored in 22 of their 23 league games this season.

Rotherham United (5th) vs Port Vale (2nd) also promises to be an entertaining encounter. This fixture takes place in npower League 2 with the Millers desperately looking for revenge over Vale after suffering a 6-2 defeat in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Ex-Miller Tom Pope scored four goals in the game to contribute to the destruction of his former team to not only show them what they were missing but also why Port Vale paid for his services.

A win would see Rotherham go level on points with Vale and they could rise to third in the table. Whereas a win for the Valiants would see them go six points clear of Rotherham and guarantee second place at the beginning of the new year.

To keep up with all the action tomorrow, either tune in to Soccer Special on Sky Sports News (channel 405) from 3pm onwards or visit the BBC Sport site for regular score updates from up and down the country!

Daily Question #11 - 24/12/12

Daily Question: Can you tell me who the leading scorer is in npower League 2?

I can also announce that the correct answer to yesterday's question was Phoenix Park! Unfortunately, nobody was able to give me the correct answer!

Daily Question #10 - 23/12/12

Today's Question: At which ground do Dinnington Town play their home games?

I can also announce that I received two correct answers to yesterday's question, from hazzer97 and James Wildgoose! The answer being 1993!

Daily Question #9 - 22/12/12

Due to the world not ending yesterday, there will indeed be a ninth Daily Question for you guys to answer - get in there!

Today's Question: In which year did Sheffield Wednesday lose to Arsenal in the FA Cup Final?

I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's question was indeed 2004! Well done to hazzer97 for answering the question correctly!

Images: My visit to Hillsborough

Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Charlton Athletic - My Pictures

Programme and ticket.

My view of the game (from the South Stand).

Looking towards the Leppings Lane End.

Looking towards the Kop.

Full Time: 2-0

The Kop as it emptied. 

Leppings Lane End as it emptied.

The North Stand as it emptied. 

Pitch-side. 

An empty Hillsborough! 

Poll Result: Premier League Champions

Question: Who do you think will be Premier League champions come May?
Results:
Manchester United - 6 votes (46%)
Manchester City - 2 votes (15%)
Chelsea FC - 2 votes (15%)
Arsenal FC - 3 votes (24%)
Tottenham Hotspur - 0 votes (0%)

This means that you have voted Manchester United as the team you think will be Premier Champions by May. Thanks to everyone that voted!

Please remember to vote on the latest poll that will once again be on the right hand side of your screen!

Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs Charlton Athletic

Tomorrow I will be going to Hillsborough for just the third time. This being due to my Brother's football team gaining free tickets to the game. I was also, then offered the chance to go and there is no reasonable explanation as to why I'd turn down going to a football match!

My first visit to Hillsborough was back in 2009 when Sheffield Wednesday lost 1-0 to Derby County in a fairly even game on the 11th of April. The atmosphere at the match was brilliant up until the Rams scored the eventual winner and so I'm hoping for a fairly similar atmosphere, just for the whole 90 minutes this time!

My Grandad is a passionate Wednesdayite and had been wanting me to go to a game with him for years, however fixture clashes between the Millers and the Owls had meant that I had been unable to go. Then, on Tuesday 16th 2010, I made my second journey to Hillsborough only to see Wednesday lose 2-0 to local-rivals Doncaster Rovers. Once again, the Owl's fans seemed to be easily silenced and this some what ruined my enjoyment of the game.

Sheffield Wednesday, who currently sit second bottom of the Championship, with only one win in their last eight, will face Charlton Athletic with the chance to gain back-to-back wins. This comes after beating Barnsley 1-0 in last weekend's South Yorkshire derby. A win could see the Owls climb out of the bottom three, whereas three points for Charlton would consolidate their mid-table spot.

I will be uploading pictures of my visit, tomorrow night and possibly a match report to go along side them.

Daily Question #8 - 21/12/12

Today's Question: In what year were Leeds United relegated from the Premier League?

I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's was 1930. Arsenal beat Huddersfield Town at the Old Wembley Stadium to win their first FA Cup after losing the final of 1927, to Cardiff City, by two goals to nil! Congratulations to hazzer97 for once again answering correctly!

Daily Question #7 - 20/12/12

Today's Question: In what year did Arsenal first win the FA Cup?

I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's question was in-fact Notts County. Yes, Sheffield FC are the oldest football team in the world however, they are not in the Football League. Commiserations to hazzer97 who fell for this trick!

Special Report: Chester FC, soon to be back in the Football League?

Today, I have decided to delve into the affairs of Chester FC. After numerous administrations Chester City FC finally dissolved in 2010 after being unable to pay off excessive debts. Then, under fan-ownership, the club reformed as Chester FC in the same year and have began a sharp rise up the English, football pyramid. The possibility of a Football League return is not far from the Blues' sights and this has intrigued me enough to discuss the possibility of this sensational return.

For a number of years Chester City FC were plagued by not only debt but on the pitch problems as well. However, these on the pitch matters were soon put to the side, when in 2004, they were promoted into the Football League. This meant that, for a while at least, financial difficulties were cast aside and the football took centre stage. However, said football was not always of the quality required, and Chester often found themselves flirting with relegation back to the Non-League.

The 2008/09 season did not start well for Chester. They may still have been in the Football League, but their league position wasn't the prettiest and they were soon dumped out of all cup competitions. This lead to financial difficulties appearing once again and a transfer embargo being placed upon the club. On  the final day of the season the Blues were relegated from the league after a 2-1 defeat to Darlington.

Financial problems however, did not disappear as their league status had done previously. They continued to cause the club problems such as unfulfilled matches, unpaid wages and shortage of players until finally, on 10 March 2010, the club was wound up and soon ceased to exist. It was announced that the club was to reform as Chester FC and were to begin their journey in the lower divisions of Non-League football.

After two successive promotions, Chester now find themselves in the Conference North. They currently sit twelve points clear at the top of the table and look set for a third successive promotion, this time to the Conference Premier. This would leave Chester only one more promotion away from a sensational return to the Football League, and who knows, if Chester can carry their current passion and commitment into the Conference Premier, they may soon find themselves back in the Football League!

Daily Question #6 - 19/12/12

Today's Question: Who are the oldest football league side in the world and in which year was the club formed?

I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's question was 20 clubs. Unfortunately, nobody answered the question! This is including hazzer97 who had not yet got a question wrong!

Daily Question #5 - 18/12/12

Today's Question: How many clubs did Steve Claridge play for in his long-spanning career?

The answer to yesterday's question was seven, congratulations to hazzer97 for answering correctly!

Hull City to leave KC Stadium in May?

Hull City owner Assem Allam has announced that the Tigers could leave the KC Stadium after only ten years of playing there. However, he also said that this move would only happen if Hull achieve promotion to the Premier League in May.

"I don't see the future of the club being at the KC Stadium. If we get promoted, then there are other plans."

The Tigers currently share the KC Stadium with Rugby League outfit, Hull FC. Hull City Council currently own the ground. However, Allam would either want to be the out-right owner or leave. This is due to the fact that he does not want to pay to re-develop a stadium that he and Hull City do not own.

"There is no future for me and the KC Stadium unless it is freehold. If you rent a house, then you don't pay to put an extension on it."

Reminder!

Remember to vote on the poll on the right hand side of the screen! Vote for the team that you think will be Premier League champions come May! You can vote from these options:

• Manchester United (Currently on five votes) 
• Manchester City (Two votes)
• Chelsea (Two votes)
• Arsenal (One vote)
• Tottenham (Zero votes)

The winner of the poll will be announced in just four days time. So check the blog then to see who you've voted as winner/winners!

Thanks,
Toby

Daily Question #4 - 17/12/12

Today's Question: Who can tell me how many senior, international goals Emile Heskey scored for England?

The answer to yesterday's question was indeed Uruguay. Well done to hazzer97, once again, for getting the right answer!

Marouane Fellaini handed three match ban by the FA

After headbutting Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross, during Everton's 1-1 draw with the Potters, Marouane Fellaini has received a three match ban. The match officials may not have seen the incident however, cameras around the ground caught the incident and he will now miss Everton's crucial next three games. These matches would all have been Premier League encounters against: West Ham, Wigan and Chelsea.

The incident occured in the 59th minute of the game and afterwards he had this to say about it: "I apologise completely to Ryan Shawcross, my team-mates and to our fans at the game. I lost my temper and it was unprofessional."

Daily Question #3 - 16/12/12

Today's Question? Who won the the first FIFA World Cup in 1930?

I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's question was Nicolas Anelka. Congratulations to hazzer97 who once again got it right, eventually!

Daily Question #2 - 15/12/12

Today's Question: Can you tell me who missed the decisive penalty in the Champions League Final, 2008?  (Manchester United vs Chelsea)

I can also confirm that the answer to yesterday's question was five. Congratulations to hazzer97 for correctly answering the question!

Special Report: Do English football grounds need protective corner netting?

After Rio Ferdinand was struck by an object (believed to be a key-ring) in last weekend's Manchester derby, there has been yet more speculation as to whether players need more protection from fans sat around the pitch. However, many Premier League managers and players have come out and said that protective netting is not needed. General consensus would appear to be that better stewarding is needed to help spot the hooligans who throw objects onto the pitch. Today, I take a look into whether or not English football needs protective corner netting.

Rio Ferdinand quite obviously took the incident as a joke. As he later tweeted after the incident saying: "Whoever threw that coin, what a shot! Can't believe it was a copper 2p....could have at least been a £1 coin!"

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has today come out to say that he is not in support of protective netting. He also added that he believes an improvement in stewarding is a better idea, "It's not a consistent thing. Stewarding is a better policy."

Brendan Rodgers followed along the lines of Sir Alex, by coming out and saying that he was also against the idea of netting. He then commented that a few supporters should not ruin the enjoyment of a game for the majority of fans who are well behaved.

As a football fan, who regularly visits games, I have to say that the thought of netting obstructing my view is certainly not a pleasant one. I agree with Sir Alex's point of stewarding being a better policy. However, I have to ask the questions: How much can stewards do? And can they really spot everything that goes on in the crowd? For me the answer to both of those questions has to be no. Despite these problems with stewarding, it does not make me look any more positively on netting. Thankfully though, it is not my decision to make as to whether netting should be used and so, we will have to sit back and wait for the FA to make a decision.

Daily Question #1 - 14/12/12

After taking some advice from a friend, I have decided that I should try to make my blog more interesting for  you visitors! In order to do this I am now going to be running a daily question for the for seeable future. Feel free to answer the question by placing your answer on the comments section of each post. I will then post the correct answer along with the next day's question

Today's Question - We'll start with an easy one! How many times have Brazil won the FIFA World Cup?

Remember to post your answer in the comments section below! 

Preview: Sheffield United vs Tranmere Rovers

Tomorrow will see only my second visit to Sheffield United's, Bramall Lane. My first visit was back in 2007, when the Blades were still in the Premier League and managed to gain a point after a 1-1 draw with Everton. I must say that I have been looking forward to this game for a number of weeks now, due to the fact that it will be the first League 1 game that I have been to. 

Sheffield United, who currently sit in third, will take on top of the table Tranmere Rovers. However, if results go United's way they could instead find themselves top by the end of Saturday. The Blades are currently unbeaten at home and this gives me hope that they will go on to beat Tranmere tomorrow. 

I will be uploading some pictures from the game tomorrow and a match report to go along side them. 

FA Cup: Hastings United 1 - 1 Harrogate Town (aet) - Hastings win 5-4 on penalties

Hastings United and Harrogate Town would meet for their second-round replay in front of a record home crowd, at the Pilot Field Stadium. Harrogate Town sat one league above their opponents, currently in 14th place in the Conference North. The Arrows however, sat 17th in the Ryman League Premier Division. For a semi-professional team, at the level they are, Hastings United have a rather impressive stadium with a maximum capacity of 4,050 and there was no doubt that it would be sold out for the evening. A third-round tie, against high flying Championship outfit Middlesborough, awaited the winners of the replay.

Hastings had the more positive start of the two sides and on numerous occasions went close to gaining the lead. However, Harrogate stayed strong and went into the break all square. This good work was undone however, as a soft penalty was given against Harrogate just a minute into the second-half. Matt Bloomer brought down Zac Attwood and the referee quickly pointed to the spot. Lee Carey then stepped up to calmly slot the penalty home and give Hastings a 1-0 lead.

The Arrows then dominated the rest of the game and bravely defended up until the 90th minute, when their defence was finally broken. A left-footed corner was whipped in by Harrogate's number three, Dave Merris. The 'keeper then pushed the ball into the feet of Tom Platt who calmly volleyed the ball into the back of he net to send the Harrogate coaching staff into ecstasy and take the tie to extra-time.

The game then went to penalties after the two sides couldn't be separated by an extra half an hour of play. The first two penalties were confidently slotted home however Harrogate missed their second spot-kick and Hastings seized the initiative to take a 2-1 lead. Then, with the score at 4-4, Hastings had the chance to win the shoot-out, however Danny Ellis skied his penalty over the crossbar. This meant that Lee Elam would have the chance to bring Harrogate back into contention in the shoot-out but he also sent his penalty high over the cross bar. Once again, Hastings had the chance to win and this time Dee Okojie struck the ball into the top left corner of the net to send Hastings' fans into raptures. They will now face Middlesborough away, in round three of the FA Cup.

Final Score: Hastings United 1-1 Harrogate Town (aet) - Hastings win 5-4 on penalties.
Attendance: 4,028

Coventry City to move to Hinckley's Greene King Stadium?

Talks have commenced between Coventry City and Hinckley United with regard to a possible ground share between the two footballing sides. This is due to the possibility of the Sky Blues having to leave their Ricoh Arena stadium, as they believe that their current rent for the ground is too high compared to other teams in the league.

The Ricoh Arena's current capacity is 32,609 whereas Hinckley's Greene King Stadium can only hold 4,329 fans. This could prove problematic for Coventry fans as the team's average attendance this season is currently just over 10,000.

The Sky Blues have until Boxing Day to pay the owners of the Ricoh Arena (Arena Coventry Limited) £1.1 million or face a winding-up petition.

Club World Cup: Monterrey 1 - 3 Chelsea

Chelsea progressed to the Final of the Club World Cup after they defeated Monterrey at the International Stadium, Yokohama. They will now face Brazilian side Corinthians in the final on Sunday. Corinthians defeated Al Ahly of Egypt 1-0 in the other semi-final.

Chelsea took the lead in the 17th minute, when Juan Mata fired home into the bottom left corner of the net. This came after some fantastic build up play from Ashley Cole and Oscar. Mata's goal was Chelsea's first in the Club World Cup however, it would prove not be their only goal of the game.

The lead was doubled almost immediately in the second half. Straight from the kick-off, Chelsea played the ball forward before Eden Hazard played a decisive pass across the box and a huge deflection off a Fernando  Torres shot, meant the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Then, only a minute later, Chelsea all but ended the game. A brilliant ball from Fernando Torres was controlled by Juan Mata on the edge of the box. As he attempted to play the ball back to Torres, a cruel deflection off Chavez meant that, courtesy of an own goal, Monterrey were now 3-1 down.

Monterrey did pull back a goal in the 91st minute, when De Nigris was rewarded for some hard work as he slotted past Petr Cech into the Chelsea net. However, this proved only to be a consolation. Monterrey will now face Al Ahly in the third place play-off.

Final Score: Monterrey 1-3 Chelsea
Attendance: 36,648

FA Cup: Mansfield Town 2 - 1 Lincoln City

Mansfield Town will go through to the third-round of the FA Cup after defeating Lincoln City by two goals to one and will face Liverpool as their next opponents. The two teams played out a fairly even contest, which wasn't quite as entertaining as the original 3-3 draw at Sincil Bank just eleven days before. 

Mansfield took the lead in the 14th minute of the game. Andrew Boyce gave away a free-kick in a dangerous position outside the Lincoln City box and this would prove to be costly. Chris Clement played in a ferocious ball that was flicked on by John Dempster. His header then bounced off Lincoln 'keeper Paul Farman and into the back of the net. 

Mansfield then went close to a second goal as Farman made up for his earlier blunder by making a fantastic double save to keep Lincoln in the game. Then, in the 41st minute, Lincoln equalised when Dan Gray sent a high ball over the top of Mansfield's defence. This was then taken down by Adam Smith who fantastically chipped Alan Marriott to bring Lincoln level, just before half time.

The winner of the game came in the 77th minute. Anthony Howell made a short run down the left hand side of the pitch before playing a low ball into Louis Briscoe, who superbly side-footed the ball into the roof of the net.

Mansfield will play Liverpool at home on Sunday, 6 January 2013. 

Final Score: Mansfield Town 2 - 1 Lincoln City 

Attendance: 5,304

FA Cup: Oxford United P-P Accrington Stanley

The FA Cup second-round replay, that was due to be played between Oxford United and Accrington Stanley, has been postponed. A frozen pitch at the Kassam Stadium means that the game will now take place on Tuesday, 18 December. The winner of the tie will host Sheffield United in round three.

Hello!

Hello! Just a quick introduction to my blog. I will be posting team news, match reports, reviews/information on grounds that I have been to and basically just anything else that comes with football and sport. Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog.
Toby!