EFL recap: All the EFL talking points amid yet another international break
The international break is back again, and to be fair to it, it’s been pretty interesting this time. Ireland got the playoffs and Scotland qualified, both in cinematic fashion, with Wales also making it to a playoff spot.
But less about them - here’s everything that happened in the EFL, with some of League One and all of the Championship called off as expected.
There will still be some Championship talk, but here, Sports News Blitz’s Charlie Gardner reflects on some of the matches.
League Two: Big games
Plenty occurred in League Two this week, as a red card saw goalkeeper Christy Pym sent off for Grimsby in an eventual loss to fellow promotion chasers Chesterfield.
MK Dons put another win on the board against what has been an impressive Salford City this year, but still look unable to replicate their winning run.
The two games this week are Bromley vs Barrow and Shrewsbury vs Newport; here’s what happened:
Bromley 2-1 Barrow: Into the playoffs!
First things first, what a job head coach Andy Woodman has done so far at Bromley.
From their brilliant rise from the National League to an impressive first season in the Football League, the success continues as a win against Barrow ensured the side a playoff position.
Bromley took the lead early in this one thanks to a well-struck shot from outside the box by Marcus Ifill.
Ifill’s goal was eclipsed early in the second half by another brilliant goal from range from Barrow’s Ben Whitfield, a player who seems to have always put in a good shift during his three stints at the club.
Some tidy work by veteran striker Michael Cheek found its way to Nicke Kabamba, who found the back of the net at an angle, giving Bromley the lead in the 88th minute.
Bromley and Barrow sort of have similar stories in recent years, with Barrow’s promotion to League Two a couple of years ago seeming to act as a springboard for a great run of form.
Barrow have struggled in League Two since the dismissal of manager Pete Wild, with replacements being unable to put pressure on the playoffs like Wild was.
Andy Whing is clearly a respectable manager, but it might be a case of Wild fitting the club better than others.
This could be somewhat reflected by what we see at Bromley. Wild isn’t the man who promoted Barrow like Woodman at Bromley, but he seems to have things running well at the club, and a lot of this can be put down to the solid style he’s implemented that makes them so hard to beat.
Woodman has been approached before and rejected the move, so there could very well be reason to believe he’s found his club for now and with them in good form, he will probably be happy to stick with the project a little longer.
The league is still tight, and with Barrow playing Cambridge next, both teams will be hunting a win to push themselves a good few places up the table.
For now, I just struggle to see Barrow putting anything impressive together, and so I would say this one probably won’t go in a favourable direction.
Next for Bromley is another home game against Salford, and for some reason, I’m confident in them.
Salford are a good side, but it feels like this season Bromley might just surprise us all and make their way to a playoff finish - they might just win this one.
Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Newport County: Not looking good
Newport finally bit the bullet this week and sacked manager David Hughes almost immediately after a defeat to relegation rivals Shrewsbury saw them remain rock bottom of the league.
A game of missed chances was decided only a couple of minutes into the second half by former Colchester man Anthony Scully, who was left free to strike from range.
There’s not much else to discuss from the match, but both sides seem to have somewhat become lost causes in recent years.
Shrewsbury were always going down last year, and it feels this is the case for Newport, who the bookies have tipped for relegation for a few years now.
The departure of David Hughes I can’t imagine would go to fix any issues in what personally seems to be a lost cause at this stage.
Thankfully, a couple of other teams are struggling too, and a mildly decent run paired with a strong January window could turn things around in a flash for Newport County.
Shrewsbury also doesn’t look inspiring, and in the past few years, there’s been a couple of newly-relegated teams doing the double dip from League One (Carlisle and Forest Green).
Crawley are also struggling, but manager Scott Lindsey has proven himself to defy the odds over there in the past.
Shrewsbury could go down sooner, but for now, it’s a valuable three points that sets them on their way.
Shrewsbury come up next against a solid Fleetwood side that have underperformed so far, one that I could see them drawing, thanks to Pete Wild’s way of making teams hard to break down.
Newport will visit Oldham next, and Micky Mellon must be drooling at the opportunity to take advantage of an out-of-form side that could see them move up the table with a win.
Sorry, Newport, I don’t think you’ll get anything there.
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League One: Turning tables
League One was mostly on pause this week, so there were only four games on.
Two Imps goals in a minute gave Lincoln another win as Doncaster were unable to capitalise on a good performance, extending a disappointing winless run that’s lasted over a month.
Rotherham managed a point against Luton and Port Vale got a valuable draw against Wycombe, both games ending 0-0.
But one game takes the cake here as Gary Bowyer’s Burton Albion continued a run of improved form to take them into the top half of the table.
Burton Albion 1-0 Blackpool: Bowyer’s boys defy the odds
Let’s get it out of the way - Burton Albion aren’t the best side, and they don’t play the flashiest football.
Manager Gary Bowyer is the biggest reason for their recent success, and he deserves his praise.
The match, much like the Shrewsbury one, saw a fair bit of action but only one goal, which came as Jake Beesley scored his second goal in two weeks, thanks to a dominant header in the box.
Blackpool did play well, but a trait of Gary Bowyer’s sides is their defensive excellence and ability to pounce on opportunities to counterattack.
This is something many Blackpool fans will know after his promotion with them out of League Two for the first time of asking.
Bowyer’s appointment certainly suits Burton, who were nine points adrift in the relegation spots when he joined in December last year.
Their win against Bradford City last week was one of control. This one was, but in a different sense of doing a job at both ends of the pitch to ensure a win.
Burton had significantly fewer shots, generated fewer chances and made fewer passes, but at the end of the day, they left with all three points - again, that’s “Bowyer Ball.”
Ian Evatt has clearly breathed new life into Blackpool, too.
The Seasiders had found themselves putting together a decent two wins in the league before this, but a loss to Burton puts them back where they started in the relegation spots.
It seems Burton aren’t going to be looking towards League Two come the end of the season, thanks to their pragmatic style, but could Blackpool be in trouble?
Peterborough looked convincing against Wimbledon, but they also haven’t played this week. The same goes for a lot of other teams down there.
If they were to go down, I think Blackpool have great potential under Evatt, who probably just needed to finally move away from Bolton.
Burton Albion visit a low-ranking Exeter side next, with a chance to continue a playoff charge.
Exeter are solid but at the same time not particularly threatening, so if Burton are really serious about their stuff, they’ll go on and win it.
Blackpool will go to a respectable but still underwhelming Leyton Orient, who always prove a challenge. I suspect this one will go the way of a draw.
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Championship: Manager news
Norwich
Norwich City have finally announced their replacement for Liam Manning in the form of Phillipe Clement.
The Belgian manager has the experience of winning titles with Club Brugge and winning a Scottish Cup up North with Rangers.
He’s held many a job and also boasts some decent win rates, although admittedly in leagues that many fans of English football might find less competitive than the Championship.
What Norwich have bought into here is experience and qualification. Manning has a tidy Championship CV, but this guy is a winner and has plenty there to give the impression that he’s up to the task.
Middlesbrough and Swansea
The Rob Edwards fallout continues, as Middlesbrough search for a new manager. But so do Swansea.
Reports say that Swansea had lined up a new manager following the dismissal of Alan Sheehan.
However, according to reports, the deal has been hijacked by Middlesbrough as they seek to piece themselves back together after what will surely be a great setback.
The replacement in question looks to be Kim Hellberg, a young manager who is currently plying his trade in Sweden’s highest league, the “Allsvenskan.”
He has promoted a team to the top tier before, guiding them to a respectable fifth-place finish in their first season (out of 16).
Lyle Thomas, a Sky Sports reporter, went as far as describing Hellberg as a manager who is known for developing youthful talent as well as an attractive style of attacking football.
Swansea were rumoured to sign the young talent before going for their last one, so it’s gotta hurt if they miss this one, but for now, it seems like Middlesbrough are probably going to beat them to it.
Closing remarks
It’s interesting how many twists and turns there are in the league system here in England.
It’s always fascinating to see a team completely written off jump up the leagues, or even to see how a side can be a league above one year and sometimes offer so little.
It’s a brutal sport where the winner (obviously) takes it all, and that’s something that can be seen through the misfortunes of other clubs being capitalised on, whether they be Newport and their poor season so far, or Middlesbrough losing Rob Edwards but responding by potentially intercepting Swansea’s target.
It makes everything all that little bit more interesting, with managers still worth looking at.
There are new bosses all over now, which of course will be something taking up the attention moving forward.
That’s all for this week, the roundup will finally be away from some pesky international breaks for a bit, and so we will be back to normal soon!
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