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LEEDS UNITED 1 FULHAM 0 Lukas Nmecha came off the bench to score a 91st-minute winner as a dominant Leeds ended Fulham's six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League. 3 got this spot-on, and a further 12 had the outcome, all going for a 2-1 in what was equally the weeks most predicted score.
SUNDERLAND 2 CRYSTAL PALACE 1 Brian Brobbey scored a second-half winner as Sunderland recovered from a goal down and end a five-match winless run in the Premier League. A magnificent 7 had this spot-on, and another 10 got the outcome.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 0 PORTSMOUTH 1 Adrian Segecic's second-half strike was enough to help Portsmouth edge to victory. A sublime 5 got this spot-on, and a further 6 had the outcome.
STOKE CITY 0 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 0 Stoke passed up an opportunity to claw themselves back into the Championship play-off places as they were held to an uneventful bore draw. Nobody had this spot-on, and only unitedwhites and bwildered got the outcome. The other 22 predicted a win for Stoke.
WREXHAM 1 NORWICH CITY 2 Norwich's resurgence under Philippe Clement continued as they ended Wrexham's five-game winning run. Only blueeagle and BFG got this spot-on, and nobody had the outcome. 19 predicted a win for Wrexham.
BARNSLEY 2 BLACKPOOL 1 Veteran striker David McGoldrick ended his 16-game wait for a league goal with a double – including a 93rd minute winner – in Barnsley's win. A massive 12 had this spot-on, in what was the weeks other most predicted score, and another 3 got the outcome.
LUTON TOWN 2 LINCOLN CITY 2 Resurgent Luton hit back from 2-0 down to draw with second-placed Lincoln. Well done to oxfcolu for being the only one to get this spot-on, and 3 more had the outcome.
CRAWLEY TOWN 1 NOTTS COUNTY 2 Second-half goals from Jodi Jones and Alassana Jatta gave Notts County their first league win in five games as they beat 10-man Crawley. A great 8 had this spot-on, and a further 10 got the outcome.
GRIMSBY TOWN 1 BARNET 0 Grimsby maintained their winning start to the new year with a triumph over 10-man Barnet. 4 got this spot-on, and another 15 had the outcome.
SWINDON TOWN 2 SALFORD CITY 3 Kallum Cesay's winner completed a five-goal thriller to bring Salford level with Swindon on points. Nobody had this spot-on, and only mfb_cufc and NME_cufc got the outcome. 17 predicted a win for Swindon.
After the last two weeks had hardly produced a point, and it felt like the Happy League had gone into a winter break, it was good to get back on track in a big way this week. With an exceptional 42 spot-ons, in a weeks 189 total points, this was the second best week of the season so far. It also produced a unique week where every member got at least one 3 pointer. In fact thirteen managed to get at least two, with the top performance coming from concordman, who was the only one to get four, the wins for Sunderland, Portsmouth, Barnsley and Notts County, and the Leeds and Grimsby outcomes, to make him the weeks top scorer with a magnificent 14 points. Three members did well to have three 3 pointers, with the best coming from BFG, who got the wins for Portsmouth, Norwich and Grimsby, and three outcomes to give him a superb 12 points. Also RSCOSWORTH, who had the wins for Portsmouth, Barnsley and Notts County, and oxfcolu, who got the wins for Leeds and Notts County and the Luton 2-2. They each also had two outcomes, to give them both an excellent 11 points. Best of those to get two 3 pointers were blueeagle who had the wins for Norwich and Barnsley, and noah4x4 who got the wins for Leeds and Barnsley. They each also had three outcomes, to give them both a marvellous 9 points. Best of those to have one 3 pointer were Sector4, who got the Sunderland 2-1, and unitedwhites, who had the Notts County 2-1. They each also got a good six outcomes, to give them both a marvellous 9 points.
In the Premier Plenty of points scored, but little change to overall positions. The top scoring performance from concordman enhanced his position at the top, to give him the biggest lead he has held this season, at a time when the pack were closing in. After a good week, Sector4 will be disappointed to fall further behind, but he remains second. A decent week for Jorash63, that included having the wins for Notts County and Grimsby spot-on, keeps him in contention in third. In fact the top seven places remained the same as last week. It was at the bottom where a significant change took place. The bottom three have remained the same for the last nine weeks, and RSCOSWORTH has been there since Week 2. 13 points in Week 22 moved him a lot closer to safety, and then another excellent one this week finally got him out of the relegation zone, as he moved up a couple of places. The marvellous week for unitedwhites also moved him up a couple of places, and out of the bottom three. Their places have been taken by bwildered and Daniel, who both drop into the relegation zone for the first time this season.
In Division One Plenty of points here as well, but again very little change from last week. A marvellous week for noah4x4 has reignited his chance of breaking the 3 pointers in a season record, and the magic 200 points still looks on with still over 100 games left to achieve it. With durham_exile and Tropical_Us both getting the wins for Sunderland and Barnsley spot-on, they remain second and third. Decent weeks for Blue4U2, having the wins for Portsmouth and Barnsley spot-on, and basher2010, another to get the wins Sunderland and Barnsley spot-on, moved them both up a place to fourth and fifth. The superb week for BFG moved him up a place, and back into the final play-off spot, he last held in Week 14. Despite having the Notts County 2-1 spot-on, gerry_us drops three to seventh. The excellent week for oxfcolu couldn't move him up, but more importantly he moves to within 3 points of the play-offs. A decent week for wessex_exile, that included having the wins for Sunderland and Barnsley spot-on, keeps him in contention for the play-offs.
THE TABLES (179 out of 280 played) (Tie-breaker: Most 3 pointers, and then the first to post)
Week 26 Fixtures This is now a 9 game week to make up for the postponed fixtures in Week 24.
BURNLEY v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR BLACKBURN ROVERS v WATFORD HULL CITY v SWANSEA CITY LEICESTER CITY v OXFORD UNITED DONCASTER ROVERS v WIGAN ATHLETIC PORT VALE v EXETER CITY STEVENAGE v MANSFIELD TOWN MILTON KEYNES DONS v SHREWSBURY TOWN WALSALL v ACCRINGTON STANLEY
After back-to-back postponements Danny Cowley takes his well-rested squad down the M4 to face Bristol Rovers. Whilst we haven’t played since the stoppage time victory over MK on New Year’s Day, the Pirates also had their two league fixtures postponed but did return to action with a 4-3 defeat at home against League One Plymouth in the EFL Trophy.
With no recent first team action in a while it’s not easy to predict who will play tomorrow but, as far as I know, apart from long term absentees our only injury concern is Bishop so I’m expecting the U’s to line up as follows:
Macey
Vincent Young Tucker Araujo Iandolo
Bishop Read
Lisbie Edwards
Payne
Mbick
Subs
Smith Hunt Goodwin Tovide Terry Gape Williams
I think Bishop is likely to be in the squad it’s just whether he starts or not. If he doesn’t start I expect Hunt to take his place in the starting XI.
The Gas were relegated from League One last season and didn’t get off to a great start in League Two but a run of five wins in six matches helped them to 17 points and seventh by the end of September. An incredible 10 consecutive losses in the league would follow as they dropped into the bottom two resulting in Darrell Clarke getting the boot. The ever unpopular Steve Evans was given the task with saving their season and has managed one win, one draw and two defeats (both at home) in his four games in charge. Bristol Rovers reportedly have one of the biggest playing budgets in League Two so it’s a bit of a surprise to see them struggling, a bit like Carlisle last season, but I do expect them to be much improved in the second half of the season and I can see them finishing somewhere around mid-table. When they came to the Jobserve earlier on in the season they were on a four match winning run but we were the better team on the day and they were lucky to escape with a draw. According to the BBC, it’s just five wins against seven in our 16 meetings across all competitions but one of those wins was the incredible 5-4 victory at Layer Road on the 8th January 2000. If you have an hour or so to spare you can relive one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Colchester United.
MATCH REPLAY: Colchester United 5-4 Bristol Rovers 08/01/2000
I’m not sure there are any players in the current Bristol Rovers squad who have figured for the U’s. Even though he lost my respect with the way he forced a move out of the club, we can’t really talk about Col U and Bristol Rovers without mentioning Jamie Cureton and his time at Col U were arguably two of the greatest seasons in our history. Off the top of my head I can’t think of too many other players that have played for both the U’s and The Pirates but big Sam Walker did have a loan spell there before his time at Col U, Scott McGleish also spent time there towards the end of his career in the football league (it continued for a fair while outside of the football league). Please feel free to add any others.
The weather at the Memorial Stadium is set to be dry and sunny with a gentle breeze and a high of nine degrees. Pretty good footballing weather for January. I think Bristol Rovers are still a bit fragile and despite some rustiness from not playing I’m going for a 2-1 U’s win with Mbick and Payne grabbing the U’s goals.
No agenda here, just a revisit of a music thread I recall doing back in the day. Let's start with what you consider to be a top cover of a classic song. I have loads on my list, but to kick things off, here's my first contribution.
For those not familiar with how it works, just find what you want on YouTube, click "Share", copy the link and post it here.
Those of you that watched the Beyond 90 Minutes feature with former goalkeeping coach Yilmaz Aksoy may recall that there was a piece on it about teamsheets now having to be submitted to the officials electronically, rather than on paper.
We'll there's now been a balls up in a game with Swindon naming a wrong player in their teamsheet. It'll be interesting to see how the EFL deal with it.
With the news that some members sadly passed away in 2025 (and others have chosen to leave), I thought it might be nice to check who's still around. We have plenty of lurkers, and the Happy League remains popular, but not so many contributors to posts these days.
Drop a quick reply if you're still reading the forum in 2026!
(Apologies for the title - it's something I often see in YouTube comments when revisiting old videos, and thought it was appropriate!)
With the 2 Col U matches postponed over the last week or 2, I came across this Col U related Podcast on YouTube and gave it a listen.
I have not listened to any of the Match Reviews. However, I have listened to the 'Past and Present' features with Izzett, Duguid and Halford and thoroughly enjoyed them. The one with Kem was very honest! I still have the Frank Nouble one to go.
Here are the links. Have a listen and see what you think:
BRADFORD CITY v ROTHERHAM UNITED POSTPONED Due to a frozen pitch
LEYTON ORIENT 1 CARDIFF CITY 1 A 12th league goal of the season from Yousef Salech earned Cardiff a draw, after a 12th league of the season from Dom Ballard had given Orient the lead. No points for anyone from this game, as 22 predicted a win for Cardiff, and the other 2 went for an Orient victory.
PETERBOROUGH UNITED 3 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 Peterborough's rise up the League One table continued as they defeated sixth-placed Bolton. Nobody had this spot-on, but 8 did get the outcome.
ACCRINGTON STANLEY v BARNET POSTPONED Due to a frozen pitch
CREWE ALEXANDRA 1 HARROGATE TOWN 1 Tom Cursons netted a 93rd minute leveller for bottom club Harrogate as they claimed an unlikely draw. Well done to unitedwhites for being the only one to get this spot-on, and nobody had the outcome, as everyone else predicted a win for Crewe, with 12 going for a 2-0 in what was the weeks most predicted score.
OLDHAM ATHLETIC v NOTTS COUNTY POSTPONED Due to a frozen pitch
TRANMERE ROVERS 0 BROMLEY 2 Michael Cheek struck twice as Bromley maintained their impressive run of form with their seventh consectutive league win. Only Sector4, Lewis_1 and oxfcolu had this spot-on, and a further 12 got the outcome.
I thought we may be in danger of losing all this weeks fixtures when Storm Goretti hit the country, but in the end we lost three games due to the deep freeze that preceeded the storm. As for the four games that did survive. most members probably wished they had been called off as well, as it was only the Bromley 2-0, that gave us 21 of the weeks 32 total points. proving easy to predict. In fact it was only the outcomes from Bromley and Peterborough that gave 16 members their solitary one point. It was two of the four members, who got a 3 pointer, sharing the honour of being the weeks top scorer with unitedwhites and Lewis_1 both getting an outcome each to give them both a useful 4 points.
On a quiet week I thought I would see how the season is going. Things have changed a little since I last looked five weeks ago. The 169 games have finished with 88 (52.07%) homes, 49 (28.99%) aways, and 32 (18.94%) draws. The change has seen the homes drop about 4%, and aways increase by that 4%. The top result is now a tie between the 1-0 and the 2-1, both with 17. Followed by the 1-1 on 15. The surprise fourth continues to be the 3-1 with 14. Best for an away is the 0-2 and 1-2 with 12 each.
Week 26 will now be a nine game week to make up for the postponed fixtures in Week 24.
In the Premier In such a low scoring week there is not much to report. At the top the Bromley outcome kept concordman there for another week, but his lead has been cut to just 2 points by Sector4, who moved up a place into the runner-up spot once again, thanks to having the Bromley 2-0 spot-on. Just the Bromley outcome for Jorash63, and he drops back to third. There are no changes to the rest of the division, but a special mention for the bottom two, as the top scoring performace from unitedwhites and Lewis_1 greatly improved their chances of survival. Two weeks ago the former was 7 points from safety, but the 7 points he has got since, has moved him to within a point of safety, and the later was 24 points to safety, but after 8 points in the last two weeks, has cut the deficit to a more manageable 16 points.
In Division One With ten of the twelve members getting one point, it is only the other two that caused a change. With Blue4U2 taking advantage of basher2010 firing a blank, to move up a place, and oxfcolu moving up a place, after getting the Bromley 2-0 spot-on.
THE TABLES (169 out of 280 played) (Tie-breaker: Most 3 pointers, and then the first to post)
Week 25 Fixtures 10 games picked by this weeks guest Tropical_Us.
LEEDS UNITED v FULHAM SUNDERLAND v CRYSTAL PALACE SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY v PORTSMOUTH STOKE CITY v QUEENS PARK RANGERS WREXHAM v NORWICH CITY BARNSLEY v BLACKPOOL LUTON TOWN v LINCOLN CITY CRAWLEY TOWN v NOTTS COUNTY GRIMSBY TOWN v BARNET SWINDON TOWN v SALFORD CITY
My Spireite mate Craig reports that Saturday's game is already postponed due to a frozen pitch. Nothing that I've seen on our social media channels yet.
One for Wessex. There is a Great British Rail Sale on until 12th January for VERY cheap railway tickets between 12th January and 25th March. Might save you a few quid
EVERTON 2 BRENTFORD 4 Igor Thiago scored a hat-trick to end his brief goal drought in style as Brentford leapfrogged Everton in the Premier League with a comfortable victory. Nobody got this spot-on, and only Blue4U2 had the outcome. 22 predicted a win for Everton with 10 going for a 2-1 in what was equally the weeks most predicted score.
FULHAM 2 LIVERPOOL 2 Harrison Reed scored a stunning 97th-minute equaliser to cancel out Cody Gakpo's 94th-minute goal as Fulham and Liverpool drew a Premier League thriller. Well done to Jorash63 for being the only one to have this spot-on, and only Daniel and NME_cufc got the outcome. 20 predicted a win for Liverpool with 10 going for a 2-1 in what was the weeks other most predicted score.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 SUNDERLAND 1 Sunderland increased the pressure on Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank as Brian Brobbey's late equaliser gave them a point. 3 got this spot-on, and nobody had the outcome. 18 predicted a win for Tottenham.
BLACKBURN ROVERS 2 CHARLTON ATHLETIC 2 Moussa Baradji scored twice as Blackburn came from 2-0 down to earn a deserved draw. Well done to Blue4U2 for being the only one to have this spot-on, and another 3 got the outcome.
BLACKPOOL 1 BRADFORD CITY 2 Bradford bounced back from defeat on New Year's Day with this victory. A sublime 5 got this spot-on, and a further 3 had the outcome.
NEWPORT COUNTY v TRANMERE ROVERS POSTPONED Frozen pitch
As the deep freeze set in over the country, one game bit the dust, but fortunately we had three fixtures from the Premier League, though they didn't do many members a favour, in what was another extraordinary week, it ended with eleven members firing blanks. Despite being another poor week, it did actually produce a respectable 10 spot-ons in total, but with only 9 outcomes in total, this was easily the worst week of the season so far. The only member who did well to have two 3 pointers was BFG, the Spurs 1-1 and the Bradford 2-1, to make him the weeks top scorer with a decent 6 points. Best of those to get one 3 pointer was Jorash63, with the Fulham 2-2 and the Blackburn and Bradford outcomes, to give him a solid 5 points.
Happy Cup Just a reminder to those who have yet to post their predictions, the Quarter-finals take place this weekend, with the deadline Saturday 10th January 15.00.
In the Premier Having the Bradford 2-1 spot-on made sure of concordman staying top for another week. After his solid week Jorash63 moved up a place, and back into the runner-up spot again. Despite having the Bradford 2-1 spot-on, Sector4 drops back to third. The rest of the division remains the same as last week, with the only other notable performances coming from the bottom two, with unitedwhites getting the Spurs 1-1 spot-on, and Lewis_1 having the Bradford 2-1 spot-on. Moving both that little bit nearer to safety.
In Division One Just the Bradford outcome for noah4x4, but it was enough for him to increase his lead by that point, as the four immediately behind him all fired blanks. A useful 4 points for Blue4U2 keeps him in the final play-off place, but he moved closer to those four above him. The only change in this league had the top scoring performance from BFG moving up a couple of places to seventh, as he reignites his play-off bid.
THE TABLES (165 out of 280 played) (Tie-breaker: Most 3 pointers, and then the first to post)
Week 24 Fixtures This is now a 7 game week to make up for the postponed game in Week 23. FA Cup 3rd Round week, so we have 7 fixtures from the decimated programme in Leagues 1 & 2.
BRADFORD CITY v ROTHERHAM UNITED LEYTON ORIENT v CARDIFF CITY PETERBOROUGH UNITED v BOLTON WANDERERS ACCRINGTON STANLEY v BARNET CREWE ALEXANDRA v HARROGATE TOWN OLDHAM ATHLETIC v NOTTS COUNTY TRANMERE ROVERS v BROMLEY
Just looked at the Wolves starting lineup for today's match.
1, José 37, Krejcí 4, Santiago Bueno 15, Mosquera 3, Hugo Bueno 36, Mané 8, João Gomes 10, Arias, 38, Tchatchoua, 11, Hwang Hee-Chan 14, Arokodare, What does that say about the Premier Div. and for the chances of English footballer and the English team. Not many Wulfrunians amongst that team. Thank goodness for Div 2
As the round of matches over the festive period draws to a close, we have the visit of Accrington Stanley on that most rare of events in our football history, a Sunday afternoon kick-off. If you filter out play-off and cup games, in the league this accounts for just 25 games since we were formed, seven won, six drawn and 12 lost. As you would imagine, Sunday games are generally focussed around Christmas and the New Year, or more recently, Sky-mandated final games of the season. It’s been a pretty positive holiday schedule for the U’s too, eight points from four games, and with other results often going our way, we’re now just two places and three points outside the play-offs.
Before we consider Accrington Stanley, a word or two first about the MK Dons match. It wasn’t as free-flowing as I had hoped, I’d even go so far as to say sluggish at times. I didn’t know about the frozen irrigation pipes preventing the ground staff from watering the pitch. I could, however, see dust/sand kicking up off the pitch, particularly for spot kicks, but didn’t have the knowledge to put two and two together. Others on social media have also commented about the definite ‘bobble’ the pitch seemed to have – so who knows, maybe there really was something in what Danny said post-match?
Nevertheless, although the energy and drive seemed diminished, and despite losing Bishop early on to injury, we still had much more about us than MK Dons, who I thought were very poor in the first half, but without carving out many clear-cut chances of our own. MK Dons found a bit more rhythm second half, and for a spell I genuinely though they might nick it. However, the defence held out no problem (apart from Rob Hunt’s suicidal back pass, but Macey pulled off a good double-save to keep them out). The substitutions on the hour mark made the difference, although I thought Samson had quite a good game, with the pace of Lisbie and Mbick finally started to turn the tide. Deep in added-time I had almost given up hope we’d find the winner, until Lisbie was hauled to the ground and Payne blasted home the winner – oh my days, the celebrations!
Since returning to the football league in 2006, Accrington Stanley have proved themselves to be no pushovers, grinding out generally lower mid-table finishes season after season. It was Andy Holt’s takeover in 2015 that changed that, taking them from plucky League 2 battlers to League 1 promotion in 2018, and where they stayed for several more seasons until relegation back to League 2 in 2023. They’re not doing too bad this season either, again in their customary mid-table slot, but with three wins on the bounce they are now only three points behind the U’s and really shouldn’t be underestimated on Sunday.
But don’t just take my word for it, our record against the ‘Owd Reds says it all – in nine league matches since Accy's return to the football league, the U’s have just a solitary victory, two draws and the rest defeats – talk about a bogey team. That victory btw was under caretaker manager Scott Marshall during the infamous Wagmi-gate debacle, when Matty Etherington had to stand down for a game whilst our lawyers checked the fictitious contract hold that Crawley claimed they had over him. With the benefit of hindsight, maybe we should have stuck with Scott Marshall?
As for tomorrows line-up, unfortunately we continue to be plagued by injuries, with Bishop limping off early against MK Dons with a calf strain, Kuffour Jr reportedly out with an ankle ligament injury, Oni a hamstring injury in training, even Harvey apparently has a minor injury, and Anderson seen at the New Years Day match wearing a knee brace. With all that in mind, I can’t decide whether Danny might stick with the general theme from the last game with Tovide on the right, Lisbie on the bench and possibly Mbick and Goodwin leading the line, or reverting to our more regular line-up with Tovide and Mbick up front and Lisbie starting? I’m going for the latter and fingers-crossed everyone comes through the game unscathed.
I may be getting old, but although there was a stunning sunset on New Years Day, it was bitterly cold. Tomorrow will be more of the same, a bright sunny day but barely above freezing, and in a gentle breeze from the west, it’ll feel well below freezing. Wrap up warm if you’re heading to the JobServe, and I do hope they’ve sorted out the frozen irrigation pipes.
It’ll be a tough game tomorrow, but the U’s to win 2-0 with Read opening the scoring.
After two hard fought 1-1 draws away from home across the festive period we kick off the New Year with a home match against Milton Keynes. Tickets look to be selling well, although not in the West Stand it seems, so should be a decent crowd providing MK bring more than their normal coach load. I know it doesn’t count for anything but the calendar year League Two table has us in fifth with 72 points from 46 matches played so 2025 hasn’t been a bad year to be a U’s fan.
We had kept the same starting lineup for a few matches but Danny made changes for the Gillingham game with Hunt and Payne coming in for KVY and Tovide also Anderson looked to have picked up an injury on Monday night so I’m going to assume he’s unavailable which will be a big miss for us. I’m expecting the U’s to line up as follows:
Macey
Vincent Young Tucker Araujo Iandolo
Bishop Read
Lisbie Edwards
Tovide
Mbick
Subs
Smith Hunt Goodwin Tovide Terry Gape Gordon
I think Mbick has looked tired recently so wouldn't be surprised to see Tovide start. I’m not sure whether Akande is ready to play but he can’t be far off and I’m also unsure as to the fitness of Williams, Anderson and Oni so have left them out of the matchday 18.
MK had a difficult time in League Two last season, sacking two managers, but ended the season with the experienced Paul Warne in charge who, in my opinion, was a very good appointment. They’re probably not doing as well as they would’ve liked this season, given that they have one of the bigger budgets in the division, but are still in fourth position with the most number of goals scored and highest goal difference. I fully expect them to finish in the top seven but more than likely in the top three. They’re in decent form too with three wins and two draws in their last six league matches. They also have a 3rd Round FA Cup tie against Oxford to look forward to after knocking us out in the 1st Round back in November. In my head we don’t have a great record against MK and, according to the BBC, it’s just nine wins against 15 in our 28 meetings across all competitions. We did manage the rare feat of beating them three times last season and let’s hope they don’t do the reverse on us this season.
Aaron Collins, who had a loan spell at the U’s, is likely to start up front for MK but their top scorer, and captain, is Alex Gilbey who came through our academy making over 100 appearances for us before leaving for Wigan. His Wigan stay was short lived but he followed it up with successful periods at MK, Charlton and Stevenage (loan) before returning to MK in 2023. His goal return in his second spell is nearly one in every three matches which is pretty good going for a striker let alone a midfielder. I always rated Gilbey when he was here, his family used to live in my road and I once ate a steak cooked by his dad on his BBQ during a Royal street party, and I figured he would go on to bigger and better things but he’s not quite reached the heights I expected him too. He’s had a decent career though and arguably a better career than say Wordsworth or Moncur and even at 31 he’s probably still too good for League Two. Let’s hope we can keep him quiet tomorrow. Other players that have played for both the U’s and MK include Clive Platt, Izale McLeod (barely) and Clinton Morrison. Please feel free to add any others.
The weather at the Jobserve is set to be dry and sunny with a moderate breeze and a high of just six degrees after overnight frosts. Wrap up warm U’s fans, it’s going to be a really chilly one! I know we need to start winning games again but I just can’t see us beating MK so I’m going to have to go for another 1-1 draw with Lisbie grabbing the U’s goal.
COVENTRY CITY 0 IPSWICH TOWN 2 Coventry lose their unbeaten home record, as Ipswich do the double over them. No points for anyone from this game, as 20 predict a win for Coventry, with an incredible 16 going for a 2-1, in what was the weeks most predicted score, and the other 3 went for a 1-1.
LEICESTER CITY 2 DERBY COUNTY 1 Leicester beat Derby for the second time in three weeks to once again ease the pressure on manager Marti Cifuentes. A massive 10 had this spot-on, and a further 6 got the outcome.
MIDDLESBROUGH 0 HULL CITY 1 Darko Gyabi's goal earned in-form Hull a win with their only shot on target, and take their unbeaten run to five games. and moved them to within two points of their second-placed opponents. No points for anyone from this game, as everyone predicted a win for Middlesbrough.
MILLWALL 2 BRISTOL CITY 1 Macaulay Langstaff came off the bench to score a late winner as Millwall beat Bristol City for the second time in three weeks. A super 6 had this spot-on, and another 8 got the outcome.
WREXHAM 2 PRESTON NORTH END 1 Wrexham signed off a memorable 2025 by securing back-to-back league wins for the first time since returning to the Championship, and extend their unbeaten run at home in the Championship to 10 matches. A magnificent 7 got this spot-on, and 7 also had the outcome.
CARDIFF CITY 2 STEVENAGE 1 Yousef Salech scored a late winner as Cardiff came from behind to beat their promotion rivals. A sublime 9 had this spot-on, and a further 13 got the outcome.
BRISTOL ROVERS 0 BARNET 2 Adam Senior and Ryan Glover goals proved enough to earn a victory for Barnet, and condemn Rovers to a seventh successive home league defeat. Only gerry_us and BFG got this spot-on, and another 4 had the outcome.
CHELTENHAM TOWN 0 SWINDON TOWN 2 Second-half goals from Aaron Drinan and Filozofe Mabete sealed a West Country derby win for Swindon. A super 6 had this spot-on, and a further 9 got the outcome.
CHESTERFIELD 0 CAMBRIDGE UNITED 1 Shane McLoughlin's first goal for Cambridge enabled them to extended their unbeaten league run to nine games with this victory. Nobody got this spot-on, but 3 did have the outcome.
MILTON KEYNES DONS 1 NOTTS COUNTY 1 Callum Paterson scored a second-half equaliser as these promotion rivals played out a League Two draw. Well done to Madeira163 for being the only one to have this spot-on, and only NME_cufc get the outcome. 21 predicted a win for MK Dons.
There will be a full update sometime tomorrow (Tuesday).
Happy Cup All the details for the Quarter-finals are now available on the separate Happy Cup thread.
U'sual Champions League After today's results we finally know who this seasons 12 qualifiers are. The current holder Sector4 qualifies automatically. The other 11 are the top points scorers over the two divisions. They are:- noah4x4, concordman, Jorash63, durham_exile RIP, thrillseeker, ghughes11, Tropical_Us, gerry_us, blueeagle, basher2010 and mfb_cufc. With the new format in the UEFA Champions League, the Round of 16 starts later on Tuesday 10th March. This competition will start on that date, and all details will be on a separate thread towards the end of February.
THE TABLES (160 out of 280 played) (Tie-breaker: Most 3 pointers, and then the first to post)
Week 23 Fixtures
EVERTON v BRENTFORD FULHAM v LIVERPOOL TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v SUNDERLAND BLACKBURN ROVERS v CHARLTON ATHLETIC BLACKPOOL v BRADFORD CITY NEWPORT COUNTY v TRANMERE ROVERS
ACCRINGTON STANLEY 1 MANSFIELD TOWN 1 2-2 AET Mansfield win 3-1 on penalties.
CHELMSFORD CITY 0 WESTON-SUPER-MARE 2
CHELTENHAM TOWN 6 BUXTON 2
FLEETWOOD TOWN 2 LUTON TOWN 2 AET Fleetwood win 4-2 on penalties
GRIMSBY TOWN 4 WEALDSTONE 0
PETERBOROUGH UNITED 0 BARNSLEY 1
PORT VALE 1 BRISTOL ROVERS 0
STOCKPORT COUNTY 0 CAMBRIDGE UNITED 0 AET Cambridge win 5-4 on penalties
SWINDON TOWN 4 BOLTON WANDERERS 0
WIGAN ATHLETIC 2 BARROW 2 AET Wigan win 4-3 on penalties
Final scores
Blue4U2 4 wessex_exile 3 A game of outcomes, with Blue4U2 just edging it.
concordman 6 bwildered 3 Having the Port Vale 1-0 spot-on was the defining result for concordman.
NME_cufc 5 Jorash63 5 The Weston 2-0 spot-on for NME_cufc, but Jorash63 gets five outcomes to force a replay.
RSCOSWORTH 3 BFG 3 Outcomes can not devide them, so it is another replay.
noah4x4 5 blueeagle 4 Being the only one to get the Grimsby 4-0 spot-on wins it for noah4x4.
unitedwhites 0 gerry_us 3 Three outcomes were enough for gerry_us to go through.
Sector4 7 thrillseeker 5 The Port Vale 1-0 spot-on for thrillseeker, but it is Sector4 making it through, as he has the Weston 2-0 spot-on, and four outcomes, to make him the rounds top scorer.
oxfcolu 4 Daniel 6 Having the Port Vale 1-0 spot-on was the defining result for Daniel.
2nd Round Replay's results
CHELSEA 2 EVERTON 0
BIRMINGHAM CITY 1 CHARLTON ATHLETIC 1
MIDDLESBROUGH 3 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 1
MILLWALL 1 HULL CITY 3
BLACKPOOL 2 LINCOLN CITY 2
BURTON ALBION 0 WYCOMBE WANDERERS 0
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 1 ROTHERHAM UNITED 0
CHELTENHAM TOWN 1 HARROGATE TOWN 1
GILLINGHAM 2 BARROW 2
NEWPORT COUNTY 0 FLEETWOOD TOWN 2
Final scores
NME_cufc 2 Jorash63 8 Having the wins for Chelsea and Middlesbrough spot-on takes Jorash63 safely through to the next round.
RSCOSWORTH 0 BFG 8 With RSCOSWORTH failing to post BFG goes through. Though with having the 2-0 wins for Chelsea and Fleetwood spot-on, 8 points would have set a stiff target.
As in previous rounds there will be a replay for any drawn games. The tie-breaker rule will only apply for any replays. Any replays will be 10 matches from the following Saturday's League games. The draw for the Quarter-finals has been made by mrs mfb, and is as follows:-
concordman v Daniel
Sector4 v BFG
Jorash63 v Blue4U2
noah4x4 v gerry_us
Quarter-final Fixtures There will be 5 games on the Saturday, and 5 on Sunday from the FA Cup 3rd Round, to keep the suspense going. There are no replays in the FA Cup, so all games will be settled on the 90 minute result. If any matches are postponed the Quarter-finals will be decided on the games left. No more than four predictions the same as your opponent please.
DONCASTER ROVERS v SOUTHAMPTON (Sat 15.00) FULHAM v MIDDLESBROUGH (Sat 15.00) SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY v BRENTFORD (Sat 15.00) CAMBRIDGE UNITED v BIRMINGHAM CITY (Sat 17.45) TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v ASTON VILLA (Sat 17.45) DERBY COUNTY v LEEDS UNITED (Sun 12.00) PORTSMOUTH v ARSENAL (Sun 14.00) NORWICH CITY v WALSALL (Sun 14.30) WEST HAM UNITED v QUEENS PARK RANGERS (Sun 14.30) MANCHESTER UNITED v BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (Sun 16.30)
First and foremost, I hope you are all having a pleasant Christmas break relaxing with family and friends, and wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. This will be our final match of 2025, with a trip to Priestfield to face old adversary Gillingham, our second game against them this month and our third this season. This will be our 112th game in all competitions against the Gills, a relationship that started with a Ted Davis U’s side winning 2-0 at Layer Road on 27th August 1938. At the final whistle tomorrow we will also be at the halfway point of the season, so considering at the end of September we were 20th, plenty of optimism for the second half of the season.
As for the U’s and the travelling faithful of nearly 800 at Crawley, I had family over on Boxing Day, so I couldn’t really give the game my full attention. Crawley’s early goal on the balance of play at the time didn’t appear undeserved. It was well struck, might have got the faintest of deflections off Tucker, but Macey will still be disappointed that he let it slip under him so easily. However, the equaliser was equally deserved, an excellent run to the line and cutback from Samson, Read should have buried his chance but the keeper’s parry fell nicely to Lisbie who drilled in off the inside of the post. Thereafter, it seemed quite an even (though dare I say dull) game. We created chances in the second half, but in truth Crawley probably should have won it at the death, only foiled by the feet and then hands of Macey in a last-ditch double-save, with Loft then blazing the final rebound wide of the far post. On balance, a solid point, another game unbeaten away, but the gap to the play-offs is growing again.
Since our return to the football league, Priestfield has often been quite a happy hunting ground, with only five out of our 21 most recent visits ending in defeat for the U’s, the last one under Kevin Keen exactly ten years ago today (28th December). Gillingham are in a somewhat indifferent run of form at present, yes only three games lost in the last ten, but only one victory and the other six drawn – and that victory was at imploding Bristol Rovers back in early November. Their long-suffering home supporters haven’t seen a Priestfield win since beating Notts County 1-0 on 13th September - I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of those kinds of stats. That early run of form took the Gills to the top of the table, but they’ve floundered since then and currently sit one point and two places behind the U’s.
Incidentally, probably one of our most noteworthy, and certainly memorable games at the Priestfield Stadium wasn’t even against Gillingham – it was the 4-4 draw against exiled Brighton and Hove Albion on Boxing Day 1997. Goals from Isaiah Rankin (two) and Tony Adcock saw the U’s storm into a 3-0 lead at half-time. A second half 20 minute hat-trick from Paul Emblen wiped out that advantage, Scott Stamps rekindled hope that we might leave with the three points on 75 minutes, only for an 86th minute penalty from Jeff Minton to dash that hope entirely.
I’m not aware of any (new) injury worries following on from the Crawley game, so I’d expect the line-up at Gillingham to be broadly along the same lines. However, following two 30+ minute appearances from the bench, I have a feeling Jack Payne might be ready for his place back in the starting XI, with Bishop making way.
The weather in Kent tomorrow evening will be overcast with a gentle breeze blowing in from the Thames Estuary, making the chilly 6 degrees temperature feel like 4 degrees. Fortunately for the travelling faithful on the big open terrace, no rain is expected. Our initial allocation of tickets has sold out, with a new block now made available, so I would expect another sizeable following for the U’s.
Boxing Day in proper football leagues means football matches and the U’s face one of their shortest trips of the season as they venture across the Thames to face creepy Crawley. Crawley’s “stadium” is one of the few grounds I’ve gone away with the U’s (the 3-1 League Cup win back in 2019) and it felt like a ground that should be in the National League South but Crawley have been established in the football league since 2011 with two promotions to League One during that time which is impressive given the relative size of the club. We don’t have a huge history against Crawley Town, with just 24 meetings to date of which Crawley have won 11. In fact since that memorable League Cup win we hadn’t managed to beat Crawley until the, not as memorable but probably more important, 3-2 away win towards the end of the 2023/24 season that went a long way to helping us stay in this division.
Unless we have any new injury or illness worries I can’t see Danny making any changes to the starting XI that dismantled Newport County so comfortably on Saturday so I’m expecting the U’s to line up as follows:
Macey
Vincent Young Tucker Araujo Iandolo
Bishop Read
Lisbie Anderson
Mbick
Tovide
Subs
Smith Hunt Goodwin Payne Edwards Terry Williams (Gordon if not fit)
Payne and Edwards did their case for a starting spot no harm with their performances on Saturday and Akande must be close to making the matchday 18 too.
Crawley somehow made it into League One the season before last but their stay was short-lived and they haven’t hit the ground running on their return to League Two with Scott Lindsay back at the helm after a disappointing spell at MK. They currently sit a point above the bottom two and haven’t won since they beat Fleetwood on November 8th. They have had a tough run of games though with trips to Swindon, Bromley and somewhat unbelievably also led 3-2 at Salford before conceding two late goals to lose 4-3. They were also by far the better team against Swindon but didn’t take their chances and lost to a second half penalty, the kind of stuff that happens when you’re at the wrong end of the table.
Not sure there’s anyone in the current Crawley squad that has ever featured for the U’s and I can’t think of too many players that have played for both clubs. Luke Gambin is the only one that comes to mind. A player we signed from Luton in 2019 who had spent the previous season on loan at Crawley with his only goal for the U's being the third goal in the 3-1 victory against Crawley. I’m sure there must be others though.
The weather at the Broadfield Stadium is set to be dry and sunny with a moderate breeze and a high of just six degrees after overnight frosts. Wrap up warm U’s fans, it’s going to be a chilly one! I feel this may prove to be a trickier challenge than their league position suggests but these are the games we need to be winning if we want to climb up the table so I’m going for a hard fought 2-1 victory with goals from Mbick and Read.
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