Typically Unpredictable
05/11/02 | by Daniel Harding

This weekend’s results showed something bout this league - it's unpredictability. Unpredictability for farcical decisions from referees; teams pulling off shock wins over the promotion chasers are the norm.

The big match of the weekend was of course Portsmouth against Leicester. This match never should have gone ahead due to the ever so slightly waterlogged qualities of the Fratton Park pitch. The referee would have abandoned the game, but by the time he made this decision Leicester were already two goals ahead from a smart finish from James Scowcroft and a header from a corner by Matt Elliot. If the score had been even, the referee would have called the game off. This was totally unfair on Portsmouth, as they could not win - but curiously, Leicester could.

Kevin Cooper rescued a point for Wolves in injury time with a deflected effort from 25 yards. Neil Cox had earlier powered Watford ahead from a Neil Ardley corner. Wolves could have turned a corner and are lurking outside the playoffs which is surely the minimum of what they should achieve this season. Their opponents, Watford, have been playing very well but I’m not sure if they will be able to sustain it for the whole season.

The two new managers, Joe Royle of Ipswich and Tony Pulis of Stoke, both suffered defeats this weekend.
    P + - Pts
1 Portsmouth 16 35 15 38
2 Leicester City 16 25 14 34
3 Watford 17 24 23 31
4 Norwich City 17 28 15 30
5 Forest 16 29 15 29
6 Sheffield United 17 26 23 28
7 Coventry City 17 22 20 27
8 Reading 16 20 14 26
9 Wolverhampton 15 31 18 24
10 Derby County 17 20 22 24
11 Rotherham Utd 17 29 22 23
12 Crystal Palace 16 28 21 23
13 Gillingham 17 19 24 23
14 Burnley 17 24 32 22
15 Preston 16 24 25 20
16 Walsall 17 26 29 19
17 Wimbledon 17 20 25 19
18 Bradford City 17 18 24 19
19 Millwall 17 17 27 19
20 Ipswich Town 15 19 20 16
21 Stoke City 17 19 31 14
22 Grimsby Town 17 17 32 13
23 Sheffield Wed. 17 14 25 12
24 Brighton 15 14 32 7

Divison One table: 06/11/02

Walsall beat Stoke 4-2 at home with a brace from Leitão among others. Substitutes Andy Cooke and Chris Greenacre pulled a consolation goal each back for the Potters. Greenacre seems to be settling into the league now after his early-season injury. I think he would have been a very good addition to our squad over the summer - let us hope he can put a spanner in the works of our promotion rivals.

Ipswich, suffering a slight striker injury crisis, after Alun Armstrong was injured after half an hour against Crystal Palace, crashed to a 2-1 defeat at home. Andy Johnson, the pacey striker signed from Birmingham, put Palace in front after 19 minutes before 18-year old Darren Ambrose equalised with his eighth goal of the season. Danny Butterfield drove in a late winner from a tight angle to seal the points for Palace.

Brighton got a much-needed win at home over Bradford with two penalties from Bobby Zamora helping them to victory. Ex-Red Andy Gray got 2 goals for Bradford, one from the spot. He has hit the back of the net, quite regularly for Bradford, which comes as a slight shock for Forest fans since he only got one in his extensive stint here.

Gary McAllister inspired his Coventry team to a 2-1 win over Rotherham, getting both goals in what must have been a very satisfying afternoon for him. Grimsby drew 1-1 at home to Gillingham and Reading beat Millwall 2-0 at home with goals from Nicky Forster and Andy Hughes.

Lee Morris hit two goals as Derby beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 at Hillsborough. Izale McCloud’s persistence paid off as he latched onto a sloppy back pass to beat Kevin Pressman for his side’s third goal. Matthew Hamshaw fired in a 20-yard free kick, which turned out to be a consolation in the end.

Wimbledon put a slight dent in Norwich’s aspirations as continued their good form with a 4-2 win at Selhurst Park. Republic of Ireland’s David Connolly helped himself to a hattrick, which may have impressed Mick McCarthy - not that it matters now he has resigned. Neil Shipperley also got his 8th league goal of the season for the Dons. Norwich replied through Ian Henderson and David Nielsen, the ex-Don, but it was not enough.

Next up for Forest is Crystal Palace who are on a good run of form. They got a brilliant win at Portman Road with their strikers seemingly snatching the limelight. Their pacey striker, Andy Johnson, has scored 7 goals in his past 3 games including two hattricks. The other danger will be Dougie Freedman who always seems to score against us - he takes this one very personally for all the unfair shit we used to give him. Depending on which Dougie turns up, Forest may be in for a rough ride. I think if the defence can handle these two they should be able to cope with Dele Adebola. The prodigious Wayne Routledge, not to be confused with the wunderkid Wayne Rooney, could cause problems with his quick feet. Danny Butterfield is also a great prospect on the right hand side.

If the ‘Scabs’ can defeat Palace with the panache and passion that broke down the Blades, it really will show the rest of the division that we mean business and give them a fight to keep us out of the top two.