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2024-25 EFL Championship 29/46: Burnley hold out another draw this time against another title contender in Leeds United

by Sports Benches

Another week, another draw between two of the Championship title contenders in 3rd-placed Burnley & 1st-placed Leeds United at Turf Moor. The good news is that Burnley is still three points away off top spot with Sheffield United standing in the way by one place & point behind in 2nd, so still plenty of time as of Matchday 29/46 + a bit more if they end up outside the Top 2.

It would be awesome if Scott Parker can add that Championship trophy to his silverware cabinet like the Leeds manager (Daniel Farke) has done twice before when he was managing Norwich City (although his record at the PL wasn’t great much like Parker) so he can complete his hat-trick of Championship honours 1 (champion), 2 (runner-up), 3 (play-off winner).

However, it’s been frustrating and insipid at times when it comes to Burnley’s final third attacking play unlike Leeds and even Sheffield United except their defensive record including the goalie James Trafford is ever so strong. They wish they could do that more often like the Plymouth Argyle game last week 5-0 but then Burnley would rather hope for the best for a draw, especially when it’s against a top side.

Yes, the January transfer window isn’t the best time as always but it can also be a good time to make a few changes that could hopefully help them with the distance on the road towards May & be accepted back in the Premier League. 

So far two of the signings they made were free transfers on short term deals with another being a young right back from Denmark while a few have already left to get more minutes on-loan.

They could’ve also done any better when it comes to signing right winger Morgan Whittaker who did extremely well at Plymouth Argyle last season but again, it seems Burnley weren’t serious enough to get over the line at all and Middlesbrough won that race instead. Although you can tell he had attitude issues having declined to play v Burnley the other day just 48 hours before he joined Boro for £6m + another £2m in add-ons.

You never know what could happen like they did by surprise lately going into deadline day. Even if they don’t sign more after January 31, maybe giving Mike Tresor a chance initially as a sub in the second tier while starting out for their next FA Cup game v Southampton would be great – as he still has something to offer despite his setbacks in last recent months.

Burnley will be back a few days later this weekend on the road to Fratton Park v Portsmouth and Leeds return home at Elland Road v 18th-placed Cardiff City.

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2024-25 EFL Championship Match 27 of 46: Burnley sees off 0-0 draw thanks to James Trafford’s back-to-back shot-stopping saves v high-flying Sunderland AFC at Turf Moor

by Sports Benches

Well, Burnley may have been gone into the weekend with some signs of relief despite their 0-0 draw v Sunderland, with thanks to super towering goalkeeper James Trafford, who saved not one but two late penalties against opposing striker Wilson Isidor, as hats off to the club’s strongest defensive efforts + Trafford hands down.

While Isidor was disappointed not to push Sunderland back closer towards the Top 2 when he tried to score a few times even during penalties, Burnley needs to keep Trafford at all costs for at least the next one-and-a-half years, as we do understand his ambitions to play for a Top 6-7 Premier League club like Newcastle United at some point. We know Sunderland has been like this season so far under new coach Regis Le Bris and even though they may have slipped away a bit outside the Top 2 automatic spots, they’re still flying high especially when they gave a good scare against the Burnley defense in attack. 

What Burnley could’ve done better though is the way they attack on their own which can be frustrating at times. Like nothing against Zian Flemming (currently on-loan) who can give his fans some really good moments every time he knicks a goal, but it seems he would be better off behind the striker at No.10 rather than lead the line (No.9). At the end of the day though, Scott Parker continues to be happy with his striking options, especially wanting to do things differently as their head coach.

Maybe Burnley should think about that instead with only a week and a bit to go in the January transfer window, although they might as well another Championship-quality winger in Morgan Whittaker from Plymouth Argyle as their primary signing target. So a new striker may not be necessary when they aren’t a prolific scoring team – that’s okay. However, injecting more pace into the final third though would probably be a game changer – as long as the tactics are right.

For now, they are joint leaders with Daniel Farke’s Leeds United on 53 points; Although not for long with Leeds United most likely going to beat Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow morning & so would Sheffield United v Norwich City. That means, Burnley would be in 3rd but still there’s still a fair bit of work to do if they wish to dominate the Championship – they’re currently 3 points shy off top spot. 

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Thoughts on David Moyes coming back to Everton with a huge relegation battle alongside a brilliant list of strikers he will inherit that will suit his tactics perfectly to a tee

by Sports Benches

It was great to hear for some section of Everton fans welcoming back David Moyes as manager of the club who previously had a successful 11-year spell from 2002-13 before he moved onto Manchester United in place of the retired Sir Alex Ferguson that didn’t work out unfortunately after 7-8 months followed by a couple of unsuccessful stints across Real Sociedad in Spain as well as relegating Sunderland, although he redeemed himself at West Ham over the last few years with a succession of Top 10 finishes plus a Conference League trophy – despite the fact his tactics nowadays is deemed unacceptable when fans prefer entertainment that requires their team to attack more, score goals and go all in rather than hoping for the best by full-time.

But he has worked wonders once before on a limited transfer budget and surely he can do so once again with the expected relocation to the Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium around the corner come next season regardless of their league status. But his first job is to help Everton stay up and not get relegated once more as they are currently sitting just one point above the bottom three in 16th place with a game to spare behind most other clubs. Like what we saw with West Ham’s Graham Potter whose first game was against Aston Villa last night in the FA Cup which was an unlucky 2-1 early-exit loss, David’s first game is also against Villa but this time in the Premier League on Thursday morning at 6.30 am AEDT.

One thing for sure when he comes back to Finch Farm first thing on Monday next week is that he will have a good group of physical-minded strikers that suit his system well – something he could not make the most out of his second West Ham stint that saw him left his previous job back in May last year from Dominic Calvert-Lewin to Armando Broja (the one he previously kept tabs with when he was flying high on-loan at Southampton two years ago whilst being West Ham boss) and even Beto.

Wow! What a time to be alive when his strikers doesn’t have to be prolific but can play a key role for the team’s sake if he can look to steer clear of the bottom three by locking up mid-table between now and this May and the best part about his return today is that he will be contracted with Everton again for a maximum of 2.5 years unless things go wrong badly along the way.

It remains to be seen what his wish-list is going to be like this January transfer window as well as the summer if he can keep them up but remember, he has been dithering with players he’s after as always before which will be a concern Everton fans and directors alike will have to live this again. At the end of the day, all he wants to do is put Everton back on the map like it was last time by challenging Top 6-8 regularly alongside an extended Cup run while we could see him challenge at least in the UEFA Europa League once again, so he can try to succeed with the 2nd-tier European trophy next time around.

That’s why he’s onboard to try make things happen once again off the back of the club having new owners recently and Sean Dyche reached his celling the other day. For now, best of luck as welcome back to “The People’s Club” at Goodison Park and potentially the brand new Everton Stadium at the Bramley-Moore Docks.

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Thoughts on Valencia CF unveiling a major set of announcements today with Nou Mestalla now good to finally finish off the works through June 2027 

by Sports Benches

Today’s the day Valencia CF has finally resumed their long-awaited works of the Nou Mestalla venue when construction was suddenly stopped due to financial problems coupled with ownership changes since 2009 having originally promised to get things done throughout the last decade.

But hey, following a host of revisions even as realistic as possible through ways and means, Valencia sought some much-needed funding lately from Goldman Sachs with their refinancing deal as well as La Liga’s minority shareholder CVC.  

Now it’s on the club to turn this around from an abandoned field into a state-of-the-art stadium that everyone has been long waiting for having first announced their plans to move from their still current Mestalla venue nearly 20 years ago (2006).

Yes, have heard a few times about Nou Mestalla being able to host the World Athletics Championships by building a large surface over the lower-tier stand in order to make an oval running track and then break it down by going back into football mode once it’s over – take note of that West Ham with their London Stadium from the 2012 Summer Olympics as they can still host Athletics but maybe make the permanent lower-tier structures more closer to do with Football.

However, it’s still too way early to say other than a bare-bones like structure they’ve built so far between 2007-09; if so, the earliest they could do is years after the FIFA World Cup during the 2030s.

So much has been happening since then but good to hear that Valencia CF is still on track in spite of their current league position (19th) as well as their poor owners who doesn’t seem interested in this project by choice but decided to finish off the project anyway out of necessity where die-hard fans still want Peter Lim and his group to go home in Singapore.

Not only the machines have now arrived back into the half-built building, the club also unveiled a logo for the new stadium itself including a 3D model version too for those who want to see it and it’s free of charge anytime between 9-5 weekdays.

Then we’ll see once the works are finally done by the summer of 2027, we could see Nou Mestalla being named one of the final venues for the co-hosted 2030 World Cup by Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

It’s still early days yet again but at such a crucial time when there’s a World Cup around the corner, Valencia has taken the first step once more with a still a long way to go before they can feel like home at Nou Mestalla in the hope of challenging Real Madrid & Barcelona for silverware domestically again + European Football.

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EFL Championship: Thoughts on Carlos Corberan heading back to Spain from West Brom with a huge relegation battle ahead at the struggling Valencia CF side in La Liga

by Sports Benches

Well, it’s Christmas Day today and Valencia CF has decided to change managers having just swiftly sorted a replacement in Spanish compatriot Carlos Corberan via £2.5 million/€3 milloon compensation from West Brom – something West Ham wouldn’t want to do under their current owners.

This comes not long after their 2-2 all draw v Alaves the other day even though it wasn’t enough to keep Ruben Baraja in the hot seat at least a bit longer when they’re currently four points off to escape the bottom three in 19th. The time is now for Corberan to try keep the once-decorated club in the La Liga top flight as his first game will be the postponed game v Real Madrid next Saturday morning (7am AEDT 4th Jan) at their home Mestalla venue due to the floods that impacted the city two months ago.

Yes, he has yet to have won a trophy as manager before other than U23 level with Leeds United but he has been very established at Championship level for a number of years. He helped Huddersfield Town finish 3rd only to lose in the Play-Off Final two seasons ago v Nottingham Forest before he quit shortly after, as well as the two-legged Play-Off semi off the back of 5th last season at West Brom when they lost to also eventual Play-Off winners this time by Southampton. 

Now he will leave the Black Country club in 7th by just a goal difference shy or two from the Top 6 spots at 35 points that could give West Brom the chance either way back to the Premier League. I know it’s such an incredibly difficult league with the Top 2 being handed automatic and the other being the Play-Off winner but whoever comes in would be at the right time to keep up with the Top 6 ahead of the January winter transfer next month.

And once he arrives at the Mestalla soon enough as said above, sure he will continue to unpack his tactics like his mentor Marcelo Bielsa, who spent some time with him before as assistant coach at Leeds prior to his first top job a few years ago.

We wish him all the best as not only Valencia will get out of this on the field but off the field as well when they will finally be allowed to finish their new half stadium come January 10.

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Thoughts on Valencia CF’s half-finished Nou Mestalla Stadium now set to resume their long-awaited construction works beginning Friday January 10, 2025

by Sports Benches

Valencia CF may be rock bottom right now in this La Liga season so far down in 20th ahead of their next match v Alaves not too long from now, but at least they will finally be able to resume works of their half-finished Nou Mestalla stadium (the one is still sitting there over the past 15 years that dates back to 2009) starting Friday January 10th. This credit comes after the club’s refinancing structure with Goldman Sachs that was struck a few months ago, who will give them half of the €325 million euros, in order to finish the works just 30 months between now through June 2027.

Then it remains to seen even if Nou Mestalla finally comes into life & move there at some point as to whether or not Valencia can host some of the 2030 FIFA World Cup games where Spain is sharing it as co-hosts with Morocco and Portugal.

First of all, it’s sad to see Valencia sunk this low who was once a dominant force in this competition and across Europe back in the early 2000s to now trying to just stay up at the bottom half of the league.

If Valencia lose to Alaves later tonight, we could see the last of Ruben Baraja as head coach irrespective of the board management situation. Regardless of that, glad to hear that Nou Mestalla can be saved with construction workers now allowed to arrive back at the building & finish things off not too long from now rather than knocking it down for something else that isn’t to do with the club. It would be such a pity if this has happened but again, they’re good to go – as long as board politics don’t stand in their way once more like it was before.

Let’s hope they can make the most of the next 30 months that will benefit the club’s full potential including surrounding places like bars, restaurants and mixed-use businesses in the Benicalap area as well.

Time will tell as everyone will be keeping a close eye on this even if Valencia is not able to stay off relegation and had to play the second division competition next season. See West Ham who was once relegated from the PL back in 2010-11 down in 20th, spent a season in the Championship and got that promotion back via Play-Offs, and now have been established back in the top-flight since then including a move to the Olympic Stadium over time back in 2016 despite its drawbacks & yet they’ve also won a European club trophy (Conference League). If West Ham could do it with bad owners, why can’t Valencia – although the ownership could change at some point.

Update on the Valencia v Alaves game: This turned out to be a much-needed draw thanks to Diego Lopez’s last-gasp goal that secured their 2-2 draw right before full-time at the 98th minute. There’s still a long way to go though just four points off the bottom three in 19th.

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24/25 EFL Championship: Hull City celebrate Christmas now out of the bottom three with Ruben Selles & Mason Burstow following their 2-1 home win over Swansea City

by Sports Benches

It’s been a while but Hull City were able to celebrate Christmas on home soil with the win 2-1 earlier this AM over the Welsh side Swansea City thanks to that game winning strike from summer striker signing Mason Burstow with about ten minutes to go and not only that, they now sit just above the bottom three League One (third-tier) relegation spots in 21st place.

Fair play to Swansea off the back their good defensive line coupled with Harry Darling’s good header when they made some progress right before half-time, who plays centre-back & has been a great addition to the squad for 2-3 years now, when now sacked Southampton manager Russell Martin brought him over to Wales in the first place during that time from MK Dons.

It’s just a shame that a few hit and misses on the counter-attack including the goal kick restart allowed Hull to take back with their 2nd goal before it was too late.

They remain 12th on the ladder after 22 games of 46 where Swansea is currently nine points off the 6th-placed Playoffs bubble at 27. So still lots of work to do if they are going to bridge that gap between now and May under another former MK Dons coaching alum in Luke Williams.

Meanwhile, looks like the Ruben Selles era is so far, so good – having came in there to try and turn this around like he did with the troubled Reading FC side over the past 18 months over in League 1 (third-tier). Good to see them score one early while making the most out of their chances up front. 

Yes, they may have been bossed by Swansea later on when it comes to the possession. But at least Hull got away with it as said above when they had the chance to regain the lead once more thanks to Swansea’s late goal kick error and Hull has done enough to hold off the Swans through full-time 2-1. 

Plus, good to see Mason Burstow registering Goal No.2 this term and that came under the new management initially  with Andy Dawson and now Selles when German Tim Walter didn’t treat him well until he was shown the door three months ago. He’s still got lots to prove having came over during the summer from Chelsea following his underwhelming loan spell last season at Sunderland. 

Yes, he’s seeing another raft of coaching changes yet again but looks like he’s happy this time for the minute as scoring at least 10 + will do it at this level since he doesn’t score as much – as he’s got the same height as Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and the ability of Cameron Archer and also Armando Broja too (still on Chelsea’s books but is currently on-loan though at Everton).

The fight continues for Hull to climb up the ladder and steer clear away from the bottom three (depending on results of course) when they head off to Lancashire against Preston North End on Boxing Day Thursday (Friday 2 AM AEDT) with Swansea hosting London side QPR at the same time (Swansea.com Stadium).

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24/25 EFL Championship: A goal apiece from each of their own right backs saw Middlesbrough deny Burnley the chance to go up the table 1-1 this weekend at Turf Moor

by Sports Benches

It’s been a draw between the two sides earlier this morning and the bottom line is that Middlesbrough denied Burnley the chance to top the EFL Championship table by a single point the other way round ahead of Sheffield United (38 points) after 19 games in out of 46 at Turf Moor. 

Middlesbrough currently sitting 5th off the back of their excellent summer recruitment drive like Tommy Conway up front to suit Michael Carrick’s coaching tactics from Bristol City that led to some valiant progress as of late. 

They’re just inside the Top 6 Play-Off spots with still a long way go if Middlesbrough wish to at least lock up the automatic Top 2 promotion in order to get back to the EPL ahead of Watford by a single point at 31 and three ahead of both West Brom (7th) & Blackburn Rovers (8th).

Good start by the way thanks to right-back Anfernee Dijksteel earlier on, although the opposite team’s right-back Connor Roberts snatched one back for Burnley later in the first half. But then things were quiet since then, especially when it’s now winter over in the UK. 

It could’ve been any better for Burnley other than the solid defensive structure/line-up they’ve got when their attack hasn’t been that good at times. But with more attacking firepower, particularly when they need a No.9 Centre-Forward up front to help out the ageing & experienced Jay Rodriguez, would help them set the benchmark ahead of the likes of Leeds, Sheffield United and Sunderland between the January transfer window and May.

The good news is though that they can go into next week still 2nd depending on this weekend’s results before there’s mid-week soccer coming up in a few days’ time. 

So Burnley take on Derby County (14th) still at Turf Moor while Middlesbrough still away but not far within Yorkshire when they will take on fellow Top 2 contenders Leeds at Elland Roar – both matches taking place just before 7am Wednesday.

Elsewhere, there has been a ring of head coaching changes lately beginning with Frank Lampard’s appointment at Coventry City in place of long-term former manager Mark Robins after nearly eight years – slow start but we’ll come back in a few months’ time.

Plus, Cardiff City decided to install another first-time manager yet again until the end of this season in none other than Omer Riza following another top job uncertainty since they’ve sacked Erol Bulut earlier this season. 

And having seen Hull City sack Tim Walter, they’ve now prized Spaniard Ruben Selles away from Reading after he did a fantastic job there whilst the club is still currently in crisis currently 6th in League 1. 

Wondering who that may be? Considering they are still no closer towards accepting new ownership at the Majeski Stadium ahead of the January buy/sell window next month. Just found out now that it will be Noel Hunt who will be taking over full-time effective immediately on a two and a half year deal. Now that was quick so fans can move on fast in the hope of going back to the second tier (Championship) at season’s end either way.

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2024-25 EFL Championship Round 18/46: Sheffield United start the weekend as table-topping leaders at Bramall Lane following their 1-0, 10-man contest win v Sunderland AFC

by Sports Benches

Yes, Sheffield United may have started the season with two points down following their demotion from the Premier League to the Championship, having finished at the bottom end of the table once again last season, with Chris Wilder back onboard midway despite the battle for survival being too much to beat the bottom three. 

Fast forward to today and it looks like they’ve made a lot of ground now in such short notice as Sheffield has just now topped the charts once again following their 1-0 win over Sunderland on what has been a 10-man contest between either side on home turf at Bramall Lane.

Yes, things were ugly earlier on right before half time-time when both of their own centre halves had to be sent off with a red card – like Chris Mepham in the 40th minute for Sunderland followed by the Socceroos’ player Harry Souttar not long later following his 2nd yellow card who is currently on loan there from Leicester City.

But the match though isn’t over yet for a quite a while before reaching full-time and in the end, Sheffield United had the final say thanks to Tom Davies’ one and only goal in the 83rd minute. 

Depending on this weekend’s results, Leeds United may come back to push them down 2nd if they can beat Blackburn Rovers overnight. Sure, don’t count out Burnley just yet if they can beat Stoke City at the same time – they not have a consistent top-class No.9 at the minute but looks like they’re keeping a close eye though when it comes to the Top 2 spots.

But for Sunderland, their outstanding start has nosedived a in some way lately from 1st to now 4th. Sure, the new head coach Regis De Bris from France has made a massive difference; it’s a shame that injuries have taken their toll – they’re just five points off from where they once were back in Round 1 but only 2-3 points shy if they can get back & hold onto at least the automatic promotions back into the PL.

There’s still a lot to play for after 18 out of a long 46 round season but good to see the current Championship play being closely fought right now when it comes to the Top 2 automatic spots between Sheffield United v Leeds, with Burnley hoping to cut the ribbon between those two teams on what is going to be a busy festive month of December. Let’s see who will get the early presents ahead of January spending time to hunt and sell players in the hope of a May promotion wish back in the PL where they belong either way even via the $$$ Play-Off Final.

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2024/25 EFL Championship Soccer: West Brom & Cardiff City settled for 0-0 draw after a frustrating afternoon at The Hawthorns

by Sports Benches

Both sides may have not been able to get away with it when it comes to scoring goals where shots were flying everywhere that could’ve been 1-0, 1-1 or even 2-1, especially when West Brom played on the home front  at The Hawthorns v Cardiff City. However, at least West Brom and Cardiff settled the score though without a goal following a frustrating and scrappy 0-0 draw at full-time. Cardiff is currently sitting just above the bottom three relegation zone in 20th while West Brom remains within the Top 6 Play-Off places at 5th in the English Championship with 12 weeks in out of a long 46 round season.

First of all, West Brom thought they could’ve done any better when a few shots on goal didn’t quite go towards the net while some have gone outside the crossbar – even though they had 2nd half possession. What could’ve possibly have been if it wasn’t for those three goalkeeper saves by Jak Alnwick from Cardiff? But again, despite yet another draw – West Brom need to re-start winning somewhere as still plenty of time, and their next match will be against Luton on Friday night UK/Saturday morning AEDT.

And as said for Cardiff, yes, they could’ve also done any better had they spent more time when it comes to those conversions within the final attacking third box. Despite not having much ball in the 2nd half, how good was these three saves by the keeper Jak Alnwick?  He was the man who at least frustrated the West Brom attack all afternoon that gave the interim coach Omer Riza something to be content about after recording his yet another undefeated match under his watch. Time will tell if Riza will get the permanent job but lots of first-time managers start there without huge success, so up to Cardiff if they want this to keep on going or hire someone else who may be young but with a bit more experience.

Elsewhere, Sunderland still on a roll currently five points clear in 1st place following a 2-0 win today v Oxford United while Burnley unable to get away with another win thanks to a 0-0 draw v Queens Park Rangers as a few other top teams are circling around them for that 2nd placed automatic Premier League spot – such as Sheffield United (3rd) who def. Stoke 2-0 and Leeds United (4th) who still have a few games in hand despite an also 0-0 draw yesterday v Bristol City.

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