Football News

Many thought, including Valuechecker, that the momentum reading brought into the play-offs last seaosn that they would progress to Wembley and untimately return to the Premier League. As it is, winners Swansea City saw them off in emphatic styel and Reading had to start looking at another promotion push for 2011/12. Platers that will not be contributing to this seaosna effort include, Julian Kelly and Scott Davie who have moved to Notts County and Crawley repectively. Dave …

Nottingham Forest ended up missing out on promotion going down to eventually promoted Swansea City through the play offs in 2010/11. They will offer another challenge this season as long as Steve Maclaren can maintain the momentum built by Billy Davies. Worryingly, there has been a clean out of sorts since last season finished, with eight players going out and just three coming in with just a week to go to the start of the season. Robert Earnshaw has moved on a free to…

The start of the Premiership is getting very close and this season could be even more competitive than last season but it still looks as though Premiership favourites Man Utd are the most likely winners of the Premiership and that would make it 20 league titles for Man Utd. It would take a huge leap of faith to back any side to win the league who finished outside of the top four last season, even if the league was more compressed last season than it normallly is. That is bad…

Leeds United are a best priced 6/1 to get promoted to the Premier League this season. Whilst laying is for the brave only, Valuechecker would have confidence in making a lay of this outcome. Leeds United spent most of last season in the play off positions, only to blow it late on and fall out of promotion contention with Reading making the late charge to gain a place. Eventually they finished three points shy of Nottingham Forest in 6th position. So, the 2011/12 season…

Doncaster finished the 2010/11 season in the final safe position in the Championship, although they were by the final day clear on points and in no danger. Just 2 wins since the turn of the year did not help their cause. For most of the season they were doing no more than holding their own against better sides. But they found enough to survive and get a second bit of the cherry in 2011/12. Very little activity transfer wise thus far for a club on a budget. Waide Fairhurst…

The Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League kicks off on July 23rd which is notably early. In fact, it almost caught me out with regards to posting my pre-season thoughts! Last season was a highly memorable one but mostly for the wrong reasons. The Old Firm Derby matches were famously ill-tempered affairs, so bad in fact that the Scottish Parliament became involved in trying to sort things out. In addition, Celtic boss Neil Lennon was targeted with letter-bombs, assaulted and…

Following a prolonged spell of Serie A supremacy, Inter Milan were dislodged as the Scudetto’s No 1 side by city rivals AC last season, and the Beneamata’s prospects of wresting back the title from their San Siro co-habitants could take a big blow if, as seems likely, their playmaker-in-chief Wesley Sneijder completes a £35.2million move to Premier League champions Manchester United. All in all, the 2010/11 campaign was a disappointing one for the Nerazzurri. …

On Sunday night there was a shock for Birmingham with Alex McLeish, who won the Carling Cup just a few months ago, resigning from his job by email. On the same day Nottingham Forest sacked Billy Davies and he became the early favourite to replace McLeish although Steve Cotterill has quickly emerged as the leading contender. Billy Davies was a short priced favourite early on but quickly drifted when the interest in Steve Cotterill emerged and it could no be between the pair.…

Another season without a trophy has gone by for Arsenal and more and more fans are beginning to ask questions about Arsene Wenger, it could be that he leaves Arsenal or is moved upstairs sooner rather than later and speculation has begun about who will replace him at the Emirates Stadium. It seems likely that in the summer of 2012 Pep Guardiola will leave Barcelona and will probably end up in the Premiership. given that Arsenal have been compared to Barcelona because of their…