[Stiff Little Fingers]

Florist away on the final day, that could be very fun...

[dan_oufc]

Bristol Rovers away 1st game for us, personally gutted about that as I will be away at uni for the new season in Bath so could really have done with that game coming in mid season!

[Stiff Little Fingers]

So then, Notts Forest have apparently been taken over by some Kuwaiti bloke

Al Hasawi, a member of one of Kuwait’s richest families and who resigned as president of Kuwaiti club Qadsia earlier this year, was granted a period of exclusivity by the East Midlands club 10 days ago while he carried out due diligence.
He has made no secret that he was aiming to buy a second-tier English club, with the two-times winners of the European Cup having just retained their Championship status and on the market since the sudden death of owner Nigel Doughty in February.
Al Hasawi announced the takeover had been successful last night on his Twitter account. “I can officially announce that the acquisition of Nottingham Forest is complete,” he said. His news was greeted with delight by the playing staff.
“Great news,” said striker Dexter Blackstock in a tweet of his own.
There have been suggestions that the potential new owners would want to replace Steve Cotterill as manager, with Neil Warnock, who is currently in charge of Championship rivals Leeds United, mentioned as a likely candidate.
Forest are one of only eight clubs to have retained the European Cup, securing their second crown in 1980, but they have fallen on hard times and have not played in the Premier League since being relegated in 1999.
The club ended last season in 19th place in the Championship. However, Al Hasawi spelled out a golden vision for Forest last Friday.
“We wish to bring the club back to where it belongs in the top division. Together we can bring the glory days back,” he said.
His family’s main business interests are in property, hotels and air conditioning, while Fawaz recently quit as chairman of Kuwait’s Qadsia football club, which has won the past four domestic championships.
On June 25, a company called NFFC Group Holdings Ltd was registered with Britain’s Companies House. Omar Al Hasawi is a director of this firm, according to the Director Check website.
The Hasawis, while wealthy, are unlikely to rival the lavish spending of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour at Premier League champions Manchester City.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur are understood to have tabled a bid for Forest defender Jamaal Lascelles, 18.

Could make for an interesting season next year - just hope Cotterill gets to blow that money on some ridiculous ****.

[Alpharius]

(Original post by Alofleicester)
Could make for an interesting season next year - just hope Cotterill gets to blow that money on some ridiculous ****.

Cott's has just been given his marching orders

Curbishley would be a great replacement.

[sr90]

(Original post by Alpharius)
Cott's has just been given his marching orders

Curbishley would be a great replacement.

Heard a fair few rumours about Mick McCarthy coming in.

Very good appointment if true, he knows how to get you out of the division. Would like to see Forest back in the top flight.

[Alpharius]

(Original post by sr90)
Heard a fair few rumours about Mick McCarthy coming in.

Very good appointment if true, he knows how to get you out of the division. Would like to see Forest back in the top flight.

Whereas I do agree he would be a great appointment to get promotion and keep us up, the football he promotes is not very pleasing on the eye.

Curbishley also has a track record for getting teams promoted, but his teams played attractive football.

[Miller693]

Just saw Fleetwood (Lg2) signed Joey Barton on loan. I'm guessing QPR will be paying most of the wages, although fleetwood are rich, I don't think they're that rich.

I'm guessing this is a way of getting his 12 match ban over with quicker?
EDIT: my bad, I think he's just training with them for a week

[Rock Fan]

Well the new season is just under a couple weeks away for the football league and the beauty of it all is that it is more unpredictable each year especially in the Championship.

I suspect though the usual suspects will be up there, I suspect Bolton and Blackburn will be eyeing an immediate return although we seen in the past this will not be easy with the league littered with several ex Premier League clubs trying to get back up, I would however guess at least one both will be up there by the end of the season, out of the newly promoted teams I wouldn't be surprised to see both Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday mount a challange as well, Huddersfield I suspect will be happy to be around the mid-table and to consolidate their position for a season before pushing on.

Also think we'll see Birmingham, Brighton, Middlesbrough and the East Midlands clubs looking to get up there as well, Birmingham have a good manager who likes to play attacking football, if they can hang on to their best players then they should challange, looking at Nottingham Forest and Leicester both with new owners and money to spend. However I can't see Blackpool making the play offs again.
I would say the likes of Millwall, Bristol City and Barnsley will be the one's who struggle, but as I said it will be virtually impossible to predict.

In League one, I tip Sheffield United to put the disappointment of last season behind and go up this time, behind them it is any bodies game, wouldn't be surprised if someone in the play offs last season battles relegation this time, however I suspect MK Dons will be strong again along with the likes of Stevenage and Notts County, i;d bet on as well seeing Coventry being there as well. Wouldn't be surprised Crawley are battling up there again as well, very ambitious club
Have to worry about Portsmouth though, assuming they even make it to the start they will struggle with a 10 point deduction, and other smaller clubs like Walsall, Yeovil, Bury and Bournemouth.

In league two, I will go with Fleetwood to go up along with Rotherham and Oxford, suspect Wycombe and Plymouth will be strong this season, nothing against Barnet but I think they will struggle again.

Who will you be following in the football league? who do you think will go up or down?

[ipswichblade]

(Original post by Rock Fan)

In League one, I tip Sheffield United to put the disappointment of last season behind and go up this time, behind them it is any bodies game, wouldn't be surprised if someone in the play offs last season battles relegation this time, however I suspect MK Dons will be strong again along with the likes of Stevenage and Notts County, i;d bet on as well seeing Coventry being there as well. Wouldn't be surprised Crawley are battling up there again as well, very ambitious club
Have to worry about Portsmouth though, assuming they even make it to the start they will struggle with a 10 point deduction, and other smaller clubs like Walsall, Yeovil, Bury and Bournemouth.

Who will you be following in the football league? who do you think will go up or down?

Hope you're right. Been impressed with a few of our signings (McMahon from Middlesbrough, Miller from Crewe and Cofie on loan from Man U) so hopefully this will be our year. Touch wood, we have only lost Lowton and out of Lowton and Maguire, I would have rather we got rid of Lowton!

[sr90]

(Original post by Rock Fan)
Well the new season is barely 4 days away for the football league and the beauty of it all is that it is more unpredictable each year especially in the Championship.

I suspect though the usual suspects will be up there, I suspect Bolton and Blackburn will be eyeing an immediate return although we seen in the past this will not be easy with the league littered with several ex Premier League clubs trying to get back up, I would however guess at least one both will be up there by the end of the season, out of the newly promoted teams I wouldn't be surprised to see both Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday mount a challange as well, Huddersfield I suspect will be happy to be around the mid-table and to consolidate their position for a season before pushing on.

Also think we'll see Birmingham, Brighton, Middlesbrough and the East Midlands clubs looking to get up there as well, Birmingham have a good manager who likes to play attacking football, if they can hang on to their best players then they should challange, looking at Nottingham Forest and Leicester both with new owners and money to spend. However I can't see Blackpool making the play offs again.
I would say the likes of Millwall, Bristol City and Barnsley will be the one's who struggle, but as I said it will be virtually impossible to predict.

In League one, I tip Sheffield United to put the disappointment of last season behind and go up this time, behind them it is any bodies game, wouldn't be surprised if someone in the play offs last season battles relegation this time, however I suspect MK Dons will be strong again along with the likes of Stevenage and Notts County, i;d bet on as well seeing Coventry being there as well. Wouldn't be surprised Crawley are battling up there again as well, very ambitious club
Have to worry about Portsmouth though, assuming they even make it to the start they will struggle with a 10 point deduction, and other smaller clubs like Walsall, Yeovil, Bury and Bournemouth.

In league two, I will go with Fleetwood to go up along with Rotherham and Oxford, suspect Wycombe and Plymouth will be strong this season, nothing against Barnet but I think they will struggle again.

Who will you be following in the football league? who do you think will go up or down?

I think Leicester will have a much better season under Pearson. If Bolton hang on to Holden and Lee they'll be up there too, they would have stayed up comfortably last season if those two were fit. Leeds will be a tough nut to crack under Colin and Brighton to win the play offs has to be worth a punt.

Everyone expects Sheffield United to win League One but i don't think it'll be that simple. Yes they'll be up there but Notts County, Swindon, Milton Keynes and Preston have very strong squads and would all be fancying their chances. Outside punt on someone like Carlisle, Colchester or Bournemouth for the play offs.

Will be suprised if Portsmouth even exist at the end of this season.

[Rock Fan]

(Original post by sr90)
I think Leicester will have a much better season under Pearson. If Bolton hang on to Holden and Lee they'll be up there too, they would have stayed up comfortably last season if those two were fit. Leeds will be a tough nut to crack under Colin and Brighton to win the play offs has to be worth a punt.

Everyone expects Sheffield United to win League One but i don't think it'll be that simple. Yes they'll be up there but Notts County, Swindon, Milton Keynes and Preston have very strong squads and would all be fancying their chances. Outside punt on someone like Carlisle, Colchester or Bournemouth for the play offs.

Will be suprised if Portsmouth even exist at the end of this season.

Well if I am right Portsmouth have 4 days left to get rid of two players, the fans are trying to mount some sort of a takeover as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see Leeds in the play offs under Warnock.

[sr90]

(Original post by Rock Fan)
Well if I am right Portsmouth have 4 days left to get rid of two players, the fans are trying to mount some sort of a takeover as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see Leeds in the play offs under Warnock.

TBH finally gone. They're going to survive now Hopefully whoever takes over will learn, but i doubt it. Remember this quote?

But Andronikou said: "We have had to push out the boat for Kitson and Lawrence.

"Their wages are £19,000 and £20,000 but it was something we are comfortable with.

"Gone are the days when extraordinary pay packets put the club in financial trouble.''

Give it 6 months and Pompey's ''impending liquidation'' will be all over the news again.

[Rock Fan]

(Original post by sr90)
TBH finally gone. They're going to survive now Hopefully whoever takes over will learn, but i doubt it. Remember this quote?

But Andronikou said: "We have had to push out the boat for Kitson and Lawrence.

"Their wages are £19,000 and £20,000 but it was something we are comfortable with.

"Gone are the days when extraordinary pay packets put the club in financial trouble.''

Give it 6 months and Pompey's ''impending liquidation'' will be all over the news again.

This is it they owe so much money, whether they just write off the debts I don't know but with the stricter rules, I can see them still being in real trouble financially. Trouble is there will be another few clubs getting into trouble like this.

[LUFC Tom]

Created a league for the championship fantasy football league if anyone is intrested. Website is http://fantasy.football-league.co.uk/index.aspx and the league code is 10801.

[DannyW94]

(Original post by LUFC Tom)
Created a league for the championship fantasy football league if anyone is intrested. Website is http://fantasy.football-league.co.uk/index.aspx and the league code is 10801.

I've requested to join. Should be good this year with so many good teams in the Championship

[sr90]

(Original post by Rock Fan)
This is it they owe so much money, whether they just write off the debts I don't know but with the stricter rules, I can see them still being in real trouble financially. Trouble is there will be another few clubs getting into trouble like this.

Without a doubt. Its quite silly that its been allowed to go on for this long. Surely the FA have to postpone Saturdays game to maintain the integrity of the competition? Fielding a team of boys in every game as they did on Tuesday is benefitting noone.

I'd happily donate but they've had chances to recover before and have only gone on to take the piss once more. They were days away from doing it yet again, a limit of £5k per week is excessive for League One, yet their manager has the cheek to moan about it. I feel for the genuine supporters but i wish they'd just liquidate the club and be done with it.

[Introvert2020]

On another forum I'm a member of, a few people have posted guides to their clubs ahead of the new season. Here's what I wrote for my club (Stevenage) if you're interested. Would be interesting if any other members did one too, if they wanted to.

Stevenage

Players In
Lucas Akins (Tranmere Rovers)
Steve Arnold (Wycombe Wanderers)
Matt Ball (Norwich City)
James Dunne (Exeter City)
Anthony Grant (Southend United)
David Gray (Preston North End)
Marcus Haber (St. Johnstone)
Lee Hills (Crystal Palace)
Filipe Morais (Oldham Athletic)
Bondz N'Gala (Yeovil Town)
Greg Tansey (Inverness Caledonian Thistle)

Players Out
Chris Beardsley (Preston North End)
Michael Bostwick (Peterborough United)
Joel Byrom (Preston North End)
Phil Edwards (Rochdale)
Ronnie Henry (Luton Town)
Alan Julian (Newport County)
Scott Laird (Preston North End)
Stacy Long (AFC Wimbledon)
Ben May (Dover Athletic)
John Mousinho (Preston North End)
Darren Murphy (Port Vale)
Jennison Myrie-Williams (Port Vale)
Craig Reid (Aldershot Town)
Lawrie Wilson (Charlton Athletic)
Peter Winn (Macclesfield Town)

There is a genuine concern that our adventure may be over. After finally exorcising the demons of 1996, when we won the Conference but were denied promotion by the FA, we had shaken the reputation as the non-leagues perennial also-rans and edged out Luton Town and Oxford United to become 2009-10's Conference champions. Mid-table mediocrity was expected in our debut season in the Football League, and this looked to be the case up until mid-February, when a run of form that saw us win nine games out of eleven (including six wins in a row) meant we took the last play-off place on the final day of the season. Victories over Accrington Stanley and Torquay United confirmed consecutive promotions, and we were into League One. Nobody expected anything from the Boro in League One, where we were invariably placed among the bottom four in the predictions of fans and journalists alike. However, by January we had recorded victories over Sheffield's United and Wednesday and ended Charlton Athletic's undefeated streak, and we proudly sat in the play-off places yet again.

Graham Westley's mid-season departure to Preston North End caused problems, and under his replacement Gary Smith we retained our tough defence but seemed to lose our edge in front of goal, and we would draw nine out of eleven games at the business end of the season, dropping out of the promotion race. A tremendous run of form at the end of the season saw us yet again take the final play-off spot in a tense last day, but an unprecedented third promotion was not to be, as a narrow 1-0 aggregate loss to Sheffield United saw our tremendous season end. And as expected, this would signal the end of the most successful period of our history, as the vast majority of the players that brought us this success moved onto pastures new, many to rejoin Westley in Preston. And now, only six of last seasons' squad remain at the Lamex Stadium. A plethora of comings and goings mean that Stevenage's 2012-13 season is impossible to predict.

BEST CASE SCENARIO: That our vastly different squad means we retain the "element of surprise" that has helped us so much in the past few seasons and yet again we shock a few people by finishing closer to the top than the bottom. A second successful season in this division should be enough to solidify our status as a proper League One side, and our reputation and attendances should rise to reflect this.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: The new players fail to gel, leaving our centre-back pairing who were the spine of our recent success, Mark Roberts and Jon Ashton, to grow frustrated and move on in January, following Luke Freeman who moves up to the Championship. The fans, spoilt for success, turn on Gary Smith and we finish the season in complete disarray, with relegation confirmed by April.

KEY MAN: Luke Freeman. I was as shocked as anyone when he signed for us permanently, as it was announced whilst Westley was finalising his move to Preston, and following a loan spell where he already looked too good for League One. His tremendous season has quickly made him a favourite, not just in the club but in the league, and some rumours even claimed that Everton wanted to bring him back to the Premier League.

PREDICTION: As I said before, impossible to say, but I'd be content with a midtable finish and absolutely no involvement in the relegation battle at any point.

[Stiff Little Fingers]

Leicester

Players In
Jamie Vardy (Fleetwood)
Ritchie De Laet (Manchester United)
Matty James (Manchester United)
Zak Whitbread (Norwich)
Anthony Knockaert (Guinguamp)
Marco Futacs (Portsmouth)


Players Out
Sol Bamba (Transponspor)
Matt Mills (Bolton)
Steve Howard (Hartlepool)
Matt Oakley
John Paintsil
Aleksander Tunchev
Darius Vassell
Chris Weale (Shrewsbury)
Lee Peltier (Leeds)

A good FA Cup run last term didn't cover over the cracks of another poor league showing, a multi-million pound spending spree didn't give the spark Sven Goran Eriksson was looking for and after an uninspiring start resulting in the Swede being shown the door, the club turned back to Nigel Pearson, given his marching orders 15 months earlier as part of the Thai take-over.
Pearson's first foray with the big money backing led to the arrival of solid centre back Wes Morgan, now club captain, midfielder Danny Drinkwater and young winger Ben Marshall - underwhelming perhaps after the arrival of Beckford and Mills amongst others 6 months previously - but all three showed hints of quality as the foxes worked their way into a mid-table finish. With a summer to work on the team, out went trouble making captain Mills, replaced by the former Norwich man Zak Whitbread, while De Laet and James joined their ex-team mate Drinkwater from Man Utd. In an attempt to bolster the front-line, Jamie Vardy arrived in a record fee for a non-league player and Marco Futacs joined from relegated Portsmouth, while tricky French winger Knockaert is tasked with adding a creative spark missing at times in the 11/12 season.
With these signings and the return of a manager widely regarded as the club's most successful since the days of O'Neill, fans are quietly confident that this will be the season we at least make the play-offs after the last two seasons near misses.

BEST CASE SCENARIO: A stable season off the pitch, and finally a return to the premiership after a 9 season absence.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: We get off to a slow start and, like Sousa and Eriksson before him, Pearson sends the revolving door into action before November - resulting in another transitional season.

KEY MAN: Ben Marshall. In his half-season following a January move from Stoke, the boy showed flashes of brilliance and, with a full season, could give many a defence sleepless nights.

PREDICTION: Play-off finish.

[Rock Fan]

(Original post by sr90)
Without a doubt. Its quite silly that its been allowed to go on for this long. Surely the FA have to postpone Saturdays game to maintain the integrity of the competition? Fielding a team of boys in every game as they did on Tuesday is benefitting noone.

I'd happily donate but they've had chances to recover before and have only gone on to take the piss once more. They were days away from doing it yet again, a limit of £5k per week is excessive for League One, yet their manager has the cheek to moan about it. I feel for the genuine supporters but i wish they'd just liquidate the club and be done with it.

I think their only chance is for the fans to take over and run the club, but before long I think they'll fold sadly.

[ipswichblade]

Well the football is back!

A nice 3 points to start the season off with. Would have liked a more comfortable score line when it got towards the end of the game but a win is a win!

Coventry away up next on Tuesday night.