nPower Football League Thread 2011/12

[therockbox]

Schteve's resigned.

[Starvinho]

More on his resignation, the chairman has resigned too.

Manager Steve McClaren and chairman Nigel Doughty have both resigned from their roles at Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest.

McClaren, who was in charge for 111 days, held a two-hour meeting with Doughty after Sunday's 3-1 defeat against Birmingham.

Forest are currently fourth from bottom in the table, having collected eight points from 10 games.

McClaren was reportedly unhappy about being unable to sign two loan players.

"He was going to walk out anyway, I understand," said BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Murphy. "He'd hoped to go out on a high note after the game today against Birmingham.

"He was upset at not being able to secure two Premiership players on loan terms. The chairman felt the wages would be too high."

Edited October 2, 2011 by Starvinho

[Lineker]

Decent of him not to seek compensation, I suppose. Hope they sort themselves out.

[IAceI]

Who would touch Schteve now? Reputation in absolute tatters surely.

[Lineker]

Bristol City have sacked Keith Millen.

[Adam]

Doncaster Move For Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra

This is apparently a mix up as Radio Sheffield's Seth Bennett misidentified our target as Lass, when actually we're after the free agent Mahmadou Diarra...which is still a pretty big signing if it comes off. We've also been linked in the last coupl of days with Dan Gosling, Alan Smith, Robbie Fowler, Frederid Piquionne, Stuart Taylor among others. We've signed Herita Ilunga and Pascal Chimbonda already, John Oster has tweeted that Piquionne is definitely signing and we also have Danny Shittu and Herold Goulon on trial. Some of these names are very 'meh, no thanks' but I'd take Gosling in a flash, and Fowler if only to see one of my heroes playing for the club.

Silly season truly is upon us at the Keepmoat!

[Lineker]

Roy Keane is supposedly the favourite for the Nottingham Forest job.

Poor Forest

[Matt]

Who would touch Schteve now? Reputation in absolute tatters surely.

Off to Thailand/Singapore/some other footballing graveyard, I'd guess.

[Matt]

Hey, Adam:

[Adam]

+1'd.

I didn't even know it was an overhead kick til this morning. Couldn't see very well from the far end, thought he'd just lobbed Kirkland. I'll give McCormack his due for that, but nopt for his world class dive that earned the free kick for ther first goal. The referee was a joke all night too.

Moaning about circumstances out of the way, let's move on to the two reasons why Leeds won that game 3-0.

1. They were far better than us.

2. We are awful.

Ilunga and Parkin were the only playerts I cannot slate. And only the three substitutes looked interested in winning the game. Coppinger needs to piss off, 12 bad performances in a row cannot be excused. He can take O'Connor and Oster with him too. I maintain, as I have all season, that we are not long for the world of the Championship. Well done to Leeds, outplayed us in much the same manner as they did at Elland Road in March.

[IAceI]

3-0 Carlisle away at Yeovil and Liam Noble scored.

And he was out in Carlisle on the night throwing bats. Hope he smacked the lad who cleaned my clock. His Sunderland senses must have been tingling.

[Matt]

In important football matters, as things stand we're in the top 6, 1 point outside the automatic spots with a game in hand. I really hope we get another goal though, its surely too much to ask for us to go 3 games without conceding

Edit: Grr, stupid Derby, we're now 3 points outside automatics with a game in hand.

[Lineker]

Looks like unbeaten Middlesborough are finally set to lose, to Steve Cotterill's new Forest side.

[Matt]

In important football matters, as things stand we're in the top 6, 1 point outside the automatic spots with a game in hand. I really hope we get another goal though, its surely too much to ask for us to go 3 games without conceding

Edit: Grr, stupid Derby, we're now 3 points outside automatics with a game in hand.

What did I say? Useless fucking cunts.

[MJB]

Coventry

[Adam]

With you on the "OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD AN INJURY TIME GOAL" tonight Matt. Least yours wasn't a losing goal!

Down we go...really sick of this season already.

[Matt]

I guess, it's just so bloody frustrating, Grayson clearly thought the game was won at 1-0 and he should really know better, taking off Keogh, McCormack and Snodgrass (presumably to rest them for the weekend) was dumb, alright, take Keogh off because you can replace him with Becchio but don't take off the league's joint leading scorer and the league's leading assister ( ) when we could still do with another goal. At least we're still up there.

[Lineker]

When did Crystal Palace become not shit? I've completely missed this.

[Lineker]

Doncaster Rovers have ended Chris Kirkland's loan spell from Wigan after the goalkeeper suffered a recurrence of a back problem, after just one appearance.

Facepalm.

Also,

Football League clubs have voted to abolish the tribunal system that sets fees when clubs cannot agree a transfer for home-grown youth players.

The Premier League had threatened to withhold funding for youth development if the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) was not accepted.

The new proposals will guarantee clubs more funding for youth football over a guaranteed four-year period.

But it could mean clubs receive lower fees for players under the age of 17.

A Football League statement read: "Following lengthy consideration, Football League clubs have voted to accept the Premier League's proposals on the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP).

"The League will now continue discussions with the Premier League on the implementation of the EPPP across professional football."

BBC Sport understands the Football League reluctantly advised its members to vote in favour at Thursday's meeting at the Bescot Stadium in Walsall.

If clubs had opted against the proposals, the annual funding they receive from the Premier League for youth development - over £5m-per-season - would have been withheld.

The clubs voted 46 in favour and 22 against, with three no-shows and one abstention - while the Premier League decided in favour of adopting EPPP at a meeting in June.

But many in the Football League are concerned the current tribunal system will be replaced by a set of fixed prices.

The new tariffs will see a selling club paid £3,000-per-year for every year of a player's development between the ages of nine and 11. The fee per year from 12 to 16 will depend on the selling club's academy status - but ranges between £12,500 and £40,000.

The incoming system will put an end to the type of deal which saw West Ham sign Sam Baldock, 22, from Milton Keynes Dons for £2.5m in August.

Chelsea also reportedly paid the same club £1.5m, rising to £2m, for 14-year-old Oluwaseyi Ojo this week.

In addition to the sale of Baldock and Ojo, MK Dons have a thriving youth setup and have used seven players from their youth ranks in their first team this season.

But boss Karl Robinson, a former member of the Liverpool academy coaching staff, said: "If we lose our youth players for nominal fees how are we going to survive?

"I don't think it is fair. Kids develop at a phenomenal rate at the highest level but are these kids going to play in people's first teams at the age of 16 or 17?"

Peterborough director Barry Fry reckons many Football League clubs could eventually close their youth academies.

He said: "What frightens me is that a lot of clubs will pull out of having a youth system altogether.

"Lower league clubs will look at how much it costs to run their academy or school of excellence and think that, if the Premier League can nick their best players for a low price, what is the point of investing in it?"

Fry estimates the sale of home-grown players such as Luke Steele to Manchester United in 2002, plus Matthew Etherington and Simon Davies - both to Tottenham in 2000 - generated Peterborough in the region of £6m.

But he added: "We would not get anything like that under the new system.

"The Premier League wants everything and they want it for nothing."

EPPP will lead to the introduction of a four-tier academy system next season.

It will range from category one "super academies" down to category four status, where clubs will pick up 16-year-olds that have been released by other teams.

Clubs with category one status will have programmes that vastly increase the contact time with young players, with the aim of ensuring the most-talented youngsters have the best opportunity to fulfil their potential.

The new programme will also see the end of the 90-minute rule, which currently states an academy player must live within an hour-and-a-half's drive of the club they play for.

The Premier League is keen to stress the new proposals will result in an increased youth development payment for all 92 Premier League and Football League clubs over four years.

That money will be gratefully received by Football League clubs due to lost revenue from the latest television deal.

Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP)

• A new four-tier academy system
  
• Set tariffs to replace the tribunal system for the sale of home-grown players
  
• End of the 90-minute rule
  
• Increased payments to all clubs for youth development
  
• Will be introduced from the 2012-2013 season

[Adam]

So, that's football ruined then?

As for Kirkland...I hope we've done that so we can bring somebody else in. He'll go down in the annals though as one of our greatest goalkeepers...Played: 1 Conceded: 3. Excellent.