Championship | my sports thoughts

DAVID WATSON: HART STOPPER

Posted on September 1st, 2009 by mysportsthoughts

I was delighted that Joe Hart signed on loan until the end of the season from Manchester City. I think he’s a top goalkeeper and one I think is going to be a world class stopper in the years to come. It was nice of him to say that when he joined Birmingham, it was because of me. I’m honoured he would say something like that and I am determined to get Joe performing on a regular basis and hopefully after a successful season with us he can make England’s World Cup squad next summer.

It’s a fantastic challenge for both of us, firstly to get Joe playing well in the Birmingham City first team, which will help us stay in the Premier League but at the same time our other challenge is to get Joe on the plane to South Africa next summer.

He’s a young boy with his own goals and knows where he wants to be so it’s great to have someone so determined to succeed. He has a very open mind when it comes to the modern world – he works with Prozone and watches video playbacks of his matches and training sessions to develop his game. He is a very determined lad and I hope we can make him a much better goalkeeper. Keep an eye out on his developments over the season.

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DAVID WATSON: A CHAPTER CLOSES AT OAKWELL

Posted on August 26th, 2009 by mysportsthoughts

I thought I would start my first blog on here by looking at events at my old team Barnsley. It was sad to see Simon Davey leave the club earlier this season. He brought exciting times back to the area in the three years he was at Oakwell. His cup runs had ultimately kept him in the job up until recently; he took them on a phenomenal cup run a couple of seasons ago which increased the profile of the club and the town when they reached the semi-final of the F.A. Cup with a trip to Wembley.

With a very low budget, I think Davey’s side were punching above their weight in the Championship and I think he did a fantastic job keeping them in that league. A club like Barnsley need to be in that league and if they are ever to progress as a more stable club they will need to make changes at the top i.e., someone to come in with a bit of money but until that happens they will remain in and around the bottom of that league battling it out with other teams for survival.

Being my home town club, I would love them to do well. I still have friends who are season-ticket holders so I get to see the odd game here and there, but because of my commitments with Birmingham City it is hard to see them play. Obviously I would like to get down there more, but my contact with the club has diminished over the years and the only name I know there is the old kit man, Norman Rimmington.

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SEAN ST LEDGER: TOUGHER THAN EVER!

Posted on September 29th, 2008 by mysportsthoughts

It’s Swansea tomorrow and we know it will be another tough match. I have not been surprised how well they seem to have adapted to live in this league.

They did really well last year and they are a passing team and if you are a passing team then it makes the step up a lot easier. We get all the stats sent through to us and I think they are the team who made the most passes last month, so they have come up and they are trying to play football the right way.

They had a great result against Cardiff last week and it will be another tough game but i think every game in this league now is really tough.

You look at the three teams that came up, Nottingham Forest, Swansea and Doncaster all massive teams and then obviously the three that came down in Derby, Birmingham and Reading are three massive clubs again so the league is obviously a lot stronger now than ever before.

A lot of those teams are averaging crowds of over 20,000 for every home game, so when you do play these clubs there is a great atmosphere, they have a great away following as well so that helps them.

We are expecting it to be pretty loud at Deepdale on Tuesday but it is down to us to make sure it our fans doing all the singing.

Posted in Championship, Preston North End, Sean St Ledger | Comments Off

SEAN ST LEDGER: I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE DERBY

Posted on September 25th, 2008 by mysportsthoughts

It’s a really big game on Saturday the two games I have played in at Burnley have both been really exciting games with loads of action. I think Preston’s record at Burnley is good and everyone is really looking forward to it. There is no better game than playing in a local derby, especially after the way we performed against Wolves, we all feel we have got a point to prove.

Last year there were a couple of sending offs at Turf Moor and the games are really heated and I am sure because of last season it will give it an added edge and bit more spice to the game.

There is also the added spice with Graham Alexander now at Burnley and Richard Chaplow is here. They have swapped sides but we don’t really think about that too much, that is probably more of a personal issue for them. For Chappy he wears the Preston shirt with pride and I am sure he will be putting in 100% if he is picked to play on Saturday.

I don’t know too much about the history of Preston and Burnley but the rivalry is quite strange because the two towns aren’t that close. Coming from Birmingham, Birmingham v Villa was the main derby and that’s only a couple of miles apart, obviously there is the Liverpool and Manchester derbies where the rivalry is understandable.

But whatever the reason for the intense rivalry I love playing in these games, it is what you play football for and it is why I became a professional.

Posted in Championship, Preston North End, Sean St Ledger | Comments Off

SEAN ST LEDGER: WE’RE READY TO BOUNCE BACK

Posted on September 24th, 2008 by mysportsthoughts

Saturday’s game was probably the toughest I have ever had in a Preston shirt. Wolves are a good team and they came to Deepdale and didn’t let us settle and they went away with the three points but credit to them they did their homework on us and stopped us from playing.

We were all disappointed to lose at home first of all and obviously to lose the unbeaten run but we have had a good start to the season, probably better than anyone expected so we have just got to move on and concentrate on the big game we’ve got on Saturday.

The Gaffer said after the game that we had done really well and he wanted to concentrate on that and not on the one bad game where we haven’t performed. It was just one of those games and some of the decisions didn’t go for us but that happens and I think over 46 games that will even itself out.

I was a bit surprised to see Chris Iwelumo’s red card upheld. If both sets of players are saying nothing happened then it is quite surprising but the referee is there to make a decision and obviously the panel are there to back the referee and that is what they’ve done but he has got to take the decision and get on with it. I did the best I could for him but it was nothing really, I think we came together and that was probably it but it is just one of those things that happen in football and unfortunately for him he got the bad end of things.

Referee’s seem to have been in the spotlight a lot this week, I still can’t believe what happened between Watford and Reading. I honestly don’t know how a goal was given, it is one of the strangest things that has ever happened and probably will ever happen in football.

Posted in Championship, Preston North End, Sean St Ledger | Comments Off

BILLY DAVIES: I STILL KEEP AN EYE ON PRESTON AND DERBY

Posted on August 22nd, 2008 by mysportsthoughts

I still keep an eye on Preston and Derby, irrespective of what people say, what people write and what people think.

I had without doubt a wonderful wonderful time at Preston North End. I made some great friends and I had a very enjoyable time there. Sadly at the end there was a lot of innuendo and mischief making, things being written and a lot of things being said but in a nutshell I couldn’t thank the fans and the people at the club who supported me enough for what they gave me, it was a wonderful time.

Then I went to Derby County, in much more difficult circumstances. he club had just been taken over, had only 17 players and one recognised striker. The infrastructure there was a shambles, which needed to be changed. There were six members of the new board, six co owners and trying to build that club up from the very bottom to the very top was extremely difficult. The biggest problem for me, as you know, was that we had a three year plan.

The plan was to try and secure a top six finish, in the third year, and try and get promotion but sadly it was done in 11 months and everything changed but that’s football.

Arsene Wenger said to me, at the Emirates last season, that I had created a rod for my own back and I was a victim of my own success and after I thanked him for the stuffing at the end of the game, I also thanked him for his programme notes because he said after what I had achieved over the last number of years that ‘this boy has something special’, so that was a great bit of encouragement for me.

Posted in Billy Davies, Championship, Derby County, Premier League, Preston North End | Comments Off

[FIRST POST] BILLY DAVIES: I HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Posted on August 15th, 2008 by mysportsthoughts

When I left Derby County I promised my family that between the months of December and June I would devote my time to them and we have spent a lot of time travelling. It has also been great to watch my two boys training with their football teams, here in Scotland, and watching them playing in their games on Saturday’s and Sunday’s as well as meeting up with family and friends. I have also spent time on myself and getting myself fitter, losing a bit of weight and just generally getting myself in a much healthier condition.

The last four years, have been without doubt 24/7 and during that period I certainly did forget about Billy Davies. I was so focussed on games, training, video analysing and everything else that goes with managing football clubs and with getting to play-off semi finals, finals and then promotion that basically spoils your summer and reduces the time you are able to take a rest. That certainly did take its toll so that is why it was important this time around to go and get a real good break.

It was a disappointment in the end, what took place at Derby, but the most intriguing thing about it all was that the day I was told I would be parting company with Derby County, that evening I was heading to Birmingham for the BBC East Midlands awards to pick up the Coach of the Year award, which is quite unbelievable but that is the nature of the game.
I found out pretty early on that apparently Paul Jewell had been approached for my job. I got on very well with Peter Gadsby, the last Chairman but there was effectively a takeover and Adam Pearson came in and his very first words raised alarm bells. When he said that ‘under no circumstances would Billy Davies be leaving this club and also if we do go down then there is not a better man in place to take us straight back up again’ I was worried because we all know the nature of football.
I am very proud of what I achieved at Preston and Derby, very proud of the last four years and my track record. My biggest disappointment is that I still feel that although I managed in the Premier League I never had the chance to compete in the Premier League.

My burning desire now is to get back to the Premier League because I have unfinished business.

Posted in Billy Davies, Championship, Premier League | Comments Off

[FIRST POST] SEAN ST LEDGER: HOPEFULLY I CAN GET BACK IN THE IRELAND SQUAD

Posted on August 14th, 2008 by mysportsthoughts

I know a lot of players set themselves specific targets when a new season kicks off but for me I just want to do as well as I did last year. If I can do then hopefully it will be good enough to get me back in the Republic of Ireland squad but first and foremost my main priority is to make sure I am playing every week and playing well at Preston.

This weekend’s match is going to be pretty special. Not only is it the first home league game of the season it is also the grand opening of our new stand.

The ground looks tremendous now, it really is built for playing in the premiership with the four stands finished and hopefully the fans will create a really good atmosphere for us.

Hopefully everything that is going on will create a better atmosphere but we have got approach it as a normal home game. It is a little bit more special being the first one but we’re looking forward to it.

Crystal Palace came to Deepdale last year and beat us, so we want to get one over them because not too many teams come here and win. They are a good side, they drew 0-0 with Watford on Saturday
but we are full of confidence and hopefully we can get another three points and another clean sheet.

Posted in Championship, Sean St Ledger | Comments Off

[FIRST POST] KEVIN FOLEY: SETTLED AND READY TO GO

Posted on August 13th, 2008 by mysportsthoughts

I’ve been at Wolves for a season now and it really did fly by they’re always going to be a team that will hopefully be there or thereabouts. The last few years we’ve always been in and around the play-offs and have been unlucky a few times. We were in the Premier League not too long ago so it’s a big club and hopefully the aim is to get back the Premier League as soon as possible because I think the squad is good enough.

This time last season I had only just moved so things weren’t ideal for me off the pitch. I grew up in Luton so I was quite comfortable there at the time. Moving to a bigger team, a bit further up the country, you have to sacrifice things like seeing your family and being at home. The first five or six weeks I was in a hotel in Wolverhampton which makes you feel a bit unsettled, so the sooner I could get out of there and into an apartment the better.

I’m feeling a bit more settled, which I think is important when it comes to how you perform on the pitch.

I was quite focused anyway going into training and into my games. It’s just after training when you come back and you want to chill out and do your own thing like watch sky television or play the computer, maybe sleep for a bit, that sometimes in a hotel you’re a bit restricted but now I am happy both on and off the pitch which can only help me this season.

Posted in Championship, Kevin Foley | Comments Off

[FIRST POST] SEAN ST LEDGER: CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS

Posted on August 13th, 2008 by mysportsthoughts

The season couldn’t have started much better, in fact we have had a top start, it is just good getting two wins from the first two games and hopefully we can make it three on Saturday.

Before the game on Saturday everyone wanted to win but thinking it and doing it at a place like Ipswich are completely different but getting a win there has given everyone the confidence to push on now.

We had a poor start to last season and if we had gone there and lost then some people would have thought it was going to be the same old story but we didn’t. We probably kicked off with the toughest and the longest away game in the league and got three points and it probably gave people more confidence because it did come at Ipswich.

There were a lot of games last season when we went one nil down and then that was it, we lost the game but we have had a good pre season, the manager has instilled confidence in all the players and I think that showed, to come back from a goal down so early on.

The big difference about the manager Alan Irvine is how organised he is and I think being organised is half the battle. Last season we conceded 20 odd goals from set pieces and we have worked hard to address that and if we can cut out that many goals then I think we will do pretty well.

If you look at the squad, there are some great players in there but to be honest it hasn’t changed too much from the last couple of seasons. We have added a few players but I think everyone thinks we have got a good chance. We have had a good start and if we can do well at home like we have over the last few years and pick up points when we can away from home then I think we stand a good chance.

Although the league is important it was also nice to finally win a Carling Cup tie last night, it’s been four years since we made it through the first round.

A cup run is always good and I think this competition gives you a massive chance to do it as well, Premier league teams don’t always take it too seriously and if you keep winning then before you know it you’re in the latter stages and that is when everyone starts taking note.

Right now we just want to keep winning games whatever competition it is.

Posted in Championship, Sean St Ledger | Comments Off