EFL news: Lampard has Coventry City dreaming as Bristol Rovers, Huddersfield continue to struggle

The English Football League (EFL) returned to action at the weekend after a brief hiatus for the international break, immediately producing some instant classics and no shortage of talking points at both ends of the table.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Charlie Gardner takes a look at what happened in the recent matchweek.

League Two

League Two was packed with drama as leaders Walsall dropped points in a 2-1 loss at home to Barrow while MK Dons recorded another decent win in a 3-1 success against Crewe Alexandra.

Grimsby Town continued their strong start, seeing off a nine-man Gillingham team, and Colchester United seem to be putting a run together after a win over Harrogate Town.

Apart from those, here’s the two matches I think were talking points this week.

Accrington Stanley 4-0 Swindon Town: Madden masterclass

Accrington Stanley are a club often mocked for being irrelevant and disregarded.

Since their relegation to League Two, it would be fair to say they’ve made little progress towards a return to the third division.

Meanwhile, Swindon Town seem a club reborn under the management of Ian Holloway.

Last season laid the foundation for a solid, reliable side after a period of uncertainty and shortcomings over the past couple of years.

Striker Ollie Palmer of Wrexham fame had impressed in the two games prior, looking a worthy replacement for main man Harry Smith, who is now sidelined long-term with a ligament injury. 

With Swindon in the play-offs and looking tidy this season, many would’ve expected the scoreline to go in favour of the away side on Saturday. 

Unfortunately for Swindon, an all-time great goalscorer of the lower leagues plays for Accrington.

Paddy Madden absolutely had his shooting boots on for this match, grabbing a tidy hat trick to put the side away, completing it deep in injury time.

Madden is a veteran of the football league and a man who deserves his plaudits.

Winning the league with Stockport County as recently as two years ago, I think Stanley quite simply have a gem on their hands, even at the ripe old age of 35.

On the other hand, I think Swindon can put this behind them.

Despite middling expectations around his appointment last season, Holloway has stabilised the club and set up a strong team who can dominate all over the pitch.

While I don’t think they’re automatic contenders just yet, Swindon Town are finally in a good place, and they could well finish in the play-offs and finally get back up the divisions again.

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Bristol Rovers 1-4 Tranmere Rovers: Bouncing back?

Bristol Rovers could be in a pickle.

Last week, they got a feature as they suffered a 4-0 defeat to the force that MK Dons are proving to be, something I assumed would provide an opportunity for the Gas to come back and prove themselves as a serious team.

Tranmere Rovers are, in contrast, a side in crisis.

Season after season, it seems they aren’t far off solving their problems, only for them to stumble back into mediocrity again.

After a big summer signing promotion-winning leaders and improving the squad greatly, they once again seem unable to put a convincing campaign together.

As fan anger grows at both clubs, the two teams will have to start showing something convincing soon.

The weekend’s result was a comprehensive and dominant one for Tranmere, but it also sparked question marks over whether or not Bristol Rovers have what it takes this season.

If I were a Bristol fan, I’d look forward to a match like this, against another side who are struggling at a time where a response is crucial.

I do believe that Tranmere have the worse of the two squads, with summer recruitment not seeming to have worked out at all.

This win could be great for them as it now allows for a confidence boost and gives them a chance to finally kick on.

The same would’ve gone for the home side if they’d won it, but unfortunately it seems they’re still struggling to find their feet.

I would say a poor defensive setup is mostly to blame, looking at the ‘keeper in most of the goals they’ve conceded recently.

It’s also worth remembering that there are only five points between Bristol and the play-offs, so a good turn of form could change the outlook of the season.

For now, though, back-to-back losses conceding four just isn’t good enough.

Finally, I’ll leave you with some post-match words from Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke, who insisted his side were going to be back in training on the Sunday morning.

“They’ve ruined the fans’ weekend, so I’ll ruin theirs,” he promised.

Brilliant.

The Gas next play a Crawley side in abysmal form, a side that came down with them, at a time where the pressure will be on to grab a big win.

Tranmere take on Chesterfield at home – a big challenge, but one they may now have the confidence to rise to.

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League One

League One was finally back in full, this time with changes of management at Luton Town, who brought in Jack Wilshere, and Blackpool, who have only just replaced Steve Bruce.

Doncaster Rovers recorded yet another loss and Wimbledon managed to get a big win against a Plymouth Argyle side who were beginning to flex their muscles.

Huddersfield Town 1-2 Bolton Wanderers: Oh dear…

The mood at Huddersfield Town seems to be hitting boiling point now after a third successive loss in all competitions, while Bolton Wanderers seem to be shrugging off that massive loss to Burton Albion last week.

The Terriers struck early as Leo Castledine leapt to head a ball in from a corner, with the scoresheet remaining pretty quiet after that.

Huddersfield seemed to invite pressure from then on, particularly in the second half when it seemed Bolton were throwing everything at it.

The game progressed into a six-minute period of stoppage time, where Wrexham’s former starlet Sam Dalby rose incredibly to head in a ball from Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Amario Cozier-Duberry in the 93rd minute.

Cozier-Duberry continued to impress by putting away Mason Burstow’s through ball in the 95th minute, producing some of the best limbs of the season.

He is an absolutely fantastic player – that’s his second late goal of the season already.

The personnel at Bolton is admittedly fantastic, with the style of play often exciting, but it’s been a bit of a wait for it all to fall into place.

The loss to Burton last week produced worries that maybe they weren’t going to be able to consistently get results, but this is the very definition of being rewarded for strong play.

If Bolton can keep getting results to match their performances, they’ll very soon rise much higher in the table.

Huddersfield, though, seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, with their only league win in the last five coming against a weak Exeter City side. 

Fan frustration is skyrocketing now and with good reason: the side has been heavily invested in and the results just aren’t good enough.

With a team full of some of the division’s best players on paper, they aren’t putting in the performances of a top side and that is something that’s cause for concern.

Manager Lee Grant has been backed to the hilt, but this is his first time being in charge as a head coach and given the performances of late, it seems he might not be up to the job – I’d be inclined to agree.

A squad like this at a club like this should be ‘taking the proverbial’ when it comes to this division and they’re just not doing it, so I honestly think Grant should go.

Town face a shaky Wycombe Wanderers side next and would love a big win, while Bolton take on league leaders Cardiff.

The latter is a big game and one I’d most certainly keep an eye on if you want a high quality match.

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Bradford City 2-2 Barnsley: What a hit!

A fantastic Yorkshire derby was held at Valley Parade this week, with a strong away following and a thrilling end-to-end match to go with it. 

Barnsley arrived in spectacular form, at a venue where Bradford have rarely failed to win since the start of last season.

With key players back from injury, the pressure was off and that gave them an opportunity to go for it with confidence – they did just that.

Bradford, on the other hand, came with as much confidence as they have in any other fixture.

After a disappointing solitary point against relegation-threatened Rotherham United, a home game was the perfect opportunity to respond.

However, Barnsley’s intent was clear from the off: to go at their opponents and take advantage of any counter-attacking possibilities.

The home side were the first to score, though, after Antoni Sarcevic fired in a rebounded save.

It wasn’t long before the biggest moment of the match, when young star Reyes Cleary shot from deep within Barnsley’s half, catching ‘keeper Sam Walker off his line and scoring one of the most impressive goals I personally have ever seen live.

Bradford soon responded with an impressive, flashy backheel off a set-piece by ex-Barnsley man Stephen Humphrys.

The second half was fast and end-to-end, with Barnsley getting an equaliser and the points ultimately being shared.

Barnsley fans will be delighted with a point and a great performance on a tough away day, while Bradford fans seem to be equally satisfied.

As a Bradford fan, Barnsley are comfortably the best side to face us in the league so far this season, and I certainly think they’ll finish higher in the table than they are right now. 

Barnsley fans will be full of confidence ahead of their game against Rotherham next week and if they play like they did against us then the Millers are goners.

Despite their recent run of poor results, the performances have been there throughout.

With players back from injury, there’s no reason to believe Barnsley can’t put together a win of some sorts.

Meanwhile, the Bantams will look towards a trip to Stevenage, a side who have exceeded expectations and now sit second in the table.

The challenge will be met with optimism considering the fact City are now fighting for top-end spaces.

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Championship

The fight for Premier League promotion continues in England’s second division, with Middlesbrough holding strong for the three points against Ipswich Town and Stoke City beating Wrexham to further the Welsh side’s misfortune.

Birmingham City manager Chris Davies faces even more scrutiny following a big defeat to an improved Hull City and Sheffield United got more points on the board against Watford.

Here are the two matches that I think deserved the spotlight this week.

Norwich City 0-1 Bristol City: Liam Manning

Last campaign, Bristol City boss Liam Manning led his side to a taste of the top flight through the play-offs before ultimately being unable to lay a finger on opponents Sheffield United.

Manning then left for the opportunity to manage Norwich City, a side he’s struggled to get going at all this season.

Bristol City have managed to kick on without Manning, though, making this clash a bit of a “told you so” moment for them.

With the fixture being played around a year after Manning’s son passed away, it just felt like this fixture would be an emotion-filled one for a multitude of reasons.

Looking at the statistics for this one, it seems as though retaining possession did nothing for the Canaries, who despite having a fair few shots really didn’t create any solid chances.

As far as the match goes, there’s not much to say, but there’s the talking point of Manning and whether he’s in the right place or not.

I don’t know much about Bristol City’s new man Gerhard Struber apart from his stint at Barnsley if I’m honest, but it’s clear he’s been able to follow the trajectory that the Robins were on last season, and that makes me wonder whether or not Manning was the one totally responsible for success in recent years.

On the Norwich side of things, they’ve got decent players and are doing well to keep hold of players like Josh Sargent.

Unfortunately, this season has been dire.

Manning’s commitment and passion have been questioned by the press, but to be entirely honest I don’t think he’s a man who does not commit to a job.

It feels to me like Bristol City is a club in a drastically different situation to Norwich, a club that seems to have got itself stuck in limbo as opposed to being the yo-yo it once was.

Norwich are out of the bottom three by a point, something I think is unacceptable for a club with their recent history.

From the outside looking in, it also seems that Manning just isn’t the right fit and I wonder whether it would be that unreasonable for him to step down.

He might not be a quitter and is surely desperate to prove himself, but I simply can’t see him managing to salvage the season.

Bristol City are a point off the play-offs and it would be fantastic for the city to finally make it to the Premier League.

With that said, it is important to consider that only eight points separate the two clubs – the league is tight this season and Norwich putting a run together could make me eat my words entirely, something I’d be happy to do as Manning is not a bottom-end manager.

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Coventry City 2-0 Blackburn Rovers: Super Frank!

Coventry are absolutely flying and it’s all to the credit of manager Frank Lampard.

At the opposite end of the table, Blackburn Rovers still sit in the relegation area, right behind ex-manager John Eustace at Derby County.

Two absolutely stunning strikes from outside the area secured the points to keep Coventry top of the league and maintain a fantastic unbeaten streak to start the season.

Furthermore, the match rather defined the bigger picture at each club at the moment.

Both clubs have had an interesting last couple of years, with Blackburn sinking lower in the league and Coventry constantly missing out on promotion, most notably in their play-off defeats to eventual winners Luton Town and Sunderland.

Blackburn evaded the drop thanks to John Eustace in the 2023/24 season before coming close to the play-offs last year when he suddenly departed to save a relegation-threatened Derby.

Replacement Valérien Ismaël has since struggled to replicate past fortunes.

On the sky blue side of things, Coventry had a rough start last season that resulted in the dismissal of club hero Mark Robins, who now has Stoke sat in third. 

The departure proved controversial for many who were aware of how much Robins has done for the club in his seven-year second stint in the dugout.

Lampard came in and made a tangible difference immediately and the club are now reaping the rewards of the difficult decision they made last year.

Many Rovers fans believe there’s issues with the ownership at the club, something I’d agree with given the shock departure of Eustace to his former club.

In the end, a manager doesn’t leave a club in a good place without justification.

Coventry City are another side I believe would be welcome to the Premier League, given their absence for over twenty years.

Will Frank Lampard bring them back this season? I’m convinced.

Meanwhile, Blackburn still seem to be struggling to maintain any consistency and, again, losing a manager like Eustace doesn’t paint a strong image for the state of the club at the moment.

Final words

It’s great to have the EFL back and this week was full of thrilling moments.

There have been some great strikes and some interesting movement in the table going into the end of October.

Eyes still remain on Blackpool, who have now announced the appointment of Ian Evatt.

Other managerial question marks are at sides like Norwich or even Crawley Town, who sit 23rd in League Two.

That’s it for this EFL recap. See you next week for more discussion from the world’s greatest league system.

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Charlie Gardner

Charlie is a sports writer with a passion for all things football and the foundations of England’s greatest sport.

Studying Sports Journalism at University of Chester, he finds his passion in the English Football League (EFL), all stemming from his support of Bradford City.

Charlie strives to give the lower leagues the attention they deserve, focusing on the clubs that prop up the pyramid, along with the thriving, diverse communities they represent.

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