Capital One Cup 13/14: First Round Draw

picture: telegraph.co.uk

With the new season just over a month to go, the draw for the first round of the Capital One Cup was made. Although this competition plays second fiddle to the FA Cup, last years competition proved there is still as much entertainment as the FA Cup provides. It was Bradford City who stunned everyone last season as a mesmerising run saw them make the final having beaten Arsenal and Aston Villa on their route to Wembley. The fairytale was ended by Swansea as the Premier League side ran out comfortable 5-0 winners.

This years first round draw sees relegated QPR travel to Exeter while Football League new boys Mansfield and Newport County will face Tranmere and Brighton respectively. Runners up from last year Bradford face a tricky tie as they travel to Championship side Huddersfield Town.

Teams from the Championship down to League Two will compete from the first round with 14 teams from the Premier League entering at the second stage of the competition. The remaining six teams: Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs and Swansea will come in at the third stage as they are competing in Europe and to avoid fixture congestion. Wigan Athletic of the Championship will also enter at the third stage due to European commitments following their FA Cup final win. Reading will come in at the second round.

All first round ties will be played the week commencing the 5th August while the final will be held at Wembley on March 2nd 2014.

Keep up to date on EnglishFootball4U as we follow each round of the competition.

First Round Fixtures:

Bury v Crewe Alexandra
Shrewsbury v Bolton
Middlesbrough v Accrington Stanley
Doncaster v Rochdale
Preston v Blackpool
Barnsley v Scunthorpe Utd
Tranmere v Mansfield
York City v Burnley
Notts County v Fleetwood Town
Sheffield United v Burton Albion
Oldham Athletic v Derby County
Carlisle v Blackburn Rovers
Morecambe v Wolves
Notts Forest v Hartlepool Utd
Leeds Utd v Chesterfield
Huddersfield Town v Bradford City
Rotherham v Sheffield Wednesday
Port Vale v Walsall
Gillingham v Bristol City
Bournemouth v Portsmouth
Wycombe v Leicester City
Brentford v Dag & Red
Exeter v QPR
Charlton v Oxford Utd
Southend v Yeovil Town
Millwall v AFC Wimbledon
Swindon v Torquay
Birmingham City v Plymouth Argyle
Stevenage v Ipswich Town
Cheltenham v Crawley Town
Bristol Rovers v Watford
Northampton Town v MK Dons
Leyton Orient v Coventry City
Colchester Utd v Peterborough Utd
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newport County

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League One & Two 2012/13: Season Review

It has come to that time of the year again where we have completed yet another season in League's One and Two.

We begin in League Two where it was Barnet and Aldershot Town who were relegated and ends their time in the Football League, as they now face at least a season in the Blue Square Bet Premier. Barnet, now under Edgar Davids, have escaped relegation numerous times over the past few seasons, but not this year. The former Dutch midfielder has vowed to continue as manager at Barnet as they play in the non-league for the first time in eight years. Aldershot, another former non-league side join Barnet in the top tier of non-league, as they make a return to the BSBP for the first time since 2008. The Shots entered administration in early May with players being unpaid. The situation has yet to be resolved with 13 players being made redundant as they begin to prepare for the up and coming season in the non-league. Replacing Barnet and Aldershot will be Mansfield, who won the BSBP title, and Welsh side Newport County who were promoted after beating Wrexham in the Conference play-off final.

At the other end of the table, it was Gillingham who claimed the league title and made a return to League One alongside Rotherham and Port Vale who also achieved automatic promotion. Perhaps the surprise of the season was Northampton Town who finished in a play-off position. The Cobblers had escaped relegation the previous season and under Aidy Boothroyd this year, finished in sixth. Unfortunately it wasn't their year as they were beaten by Bradford City in the play-off final 3-0 at Wembley. Cheltenham Town and Burton Albion were the other two teams who made it to the play-offs but were beaten in their respective semi finals.

Player of the season: Tom Pope
Port Vale striker Tom Pope finished the season with an excellent 31 goals in League Two. Voted League Two player of the year, Pope's excellent goal scoring was one of the main reasons Vale earned automatic promotion to League One. His excellent exploits didn't go unnoticed by other clubs, but Pope was rewarded by Vale with a new contract during the season that will see him stay at Vale Park till 2015. Having played in the non-league, Pope will have another step up next season as he looks to prove himself at League One level. At 6ft 3' Pope is excellent in the air, and as a target man brings others into the game. As well as this he is a natural finisher and certainly knows where the goal is.

Port Vale's Tom Pope

Moving onto League One, and the final day of the season proved to be as dramatic as football can get. With seconds to go, Brentford were awarded a penalty in the dying moments of their final game of the season against promotion rivals Doncaster. A draw or win for Brentford would've seen them go up automatically. But having seen Marcello Trotta crash the penalty against the bar, Doncaster went up the other end to score and win the game, meaning they made an immediate return to the Championship at the expense of Brentford. The Bees made it to the play-off final but were beaten 2-1 by Yeovil Town, meaning more play-off heartache for Brentford and their fans. Sheffield United and Swindon were beaten in the semi-finals and face another season in League One. Bournemouth were the final team to go up to the Championship as they finished second to gain promotion automatically.

At the bottom of the table, four teams made the drop to League Two. Relegated from the Championship last year, Portsmouth were deducted ten points at the start of the season making it very difficult for them to remain in League One. It was exactly that, and the South Coast side finished rock bottom of the league and will play League Two football next season. They were joined by Hartlepool, Scunthorpe and Bury who were also relegated. 

Player of the season: Patrick Madden

The Yeovil striker from Ireland ended the season as the leading goal scorer in League One. With 25 goals to his name, Madden helped his side achieve promotion to the Championship. His exquisite finish with the outside of his boot in the play-off final summed up what a clinical season the forward had. Madden only joined Yeovil in October 2012 in a one month loan deal which saw him score once in three appearances. The one month loan was extended a further two months and on January 1st, Madden made his loan spell permanent by signing a two and a half year deal to stay at Huish Park. 

Paddy Madden

Fixtures for the 2013/14 season for League's One and Two will be released on 19th June 2013 at 9am

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FA Cup Fifth Round: Ones to watch

It's that time of the season again where we are down to the last sixteen of the FA Cup. This years fixtures will see seven of the eight games played this weekend with Chelsea and Brentford playing their replay of their fourth round fixture on Sunday.

1# Luton v Millwall

picture: www.standard.co.uk

All eyes will be on this game as it opens the weekend's FA Cup games. Luton have flown the non-league flag throughout the competition having knocked out Norwich City in the last round at Carrow Road, becoming the first non-league side to do this in 24 years. It may have not been the 'big' tie Luton fans and players may have wanted, but a home tie against mid-table Championship side Millwall, offers them another opportunity to produce a shock. Millwall have lost their last three games in the league, are appearing in the fifth round of the cup for the second successive season having fallen to Bolton Wanderers at the same stage last season. Prediction: 1-1

2# Oldham v Everton
League One side Oldham produced one of the shocks of the round three weeks ago as they produced a stunning performance to knock out Liverpool in the fourth round. Their reward for the win sees another Merseyside team face the trip to Boundary Park in the form of Everton. In the time since their memorable victory, former boss Paul Dickov left the club having seen the club's league form see them hover around the relegation zone. Everton have not been dumped out of the cup by a third tier side since facing Oldham back in 2008 where they were beaten 1-0. Everton reached the semi finals of the cup last season and will be looking to repeat the success as they aim to continue their excellent season under David Moyes. Prediction 1-2

3# Manchester City v Leeds United

picture: bbc.co.uk

The last time Manchester City found themselves in the last sixteen of the cup, was two seasons ago when they went on to win the competition. Roberto Mancini's side were beaten by rivals Manchester United last year in the third round but have progressed nicely this season beating Watford and Stoke on their way to the fifth round. Opponents Leeds United produced one of the shocks of the fourth round having beaten Tottenham 2-1 at Elland Road. The last time these two sides faced each other was way back in 2004 where Leeds came out 2-1 winners at Elland Road in the Premier League. With the league title looking unlikely for City, winning the FA Cup is a must for the Premier League side. Prediction: 3-0

4# MK Dons v Barnsley
Two teams you may not expect to be fighting for a quarter final place in the FA Cup. However both MK Dons and Barnsley have produced some excellent performances to make it this far. Home side Dons comfortably overcame QPR in the last round beating them 4-2 at Loftus Road. Struggling in the Championship, Barnsley will welcome the cup tie as they find themselves in a relegation scrap at the bottom of the second tier of English football. Wins over Burnley and Hull City have made this years FA Cup the most successful for Barnsley since 2008 where they reached the semi finals. As for the Dons, they are on their most successful run in the competition since being founded in 2004. They have scored 14 goals so far with Shaun Williams bagging three of them. Prediction: 1-2

As mentioned, Chelsea and Brentford will play their fourth round replay on Sunday, and the winners of this tie will face Middlesbrough on 27th February at the Riverside.

Other 5th Round Ties:

Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers Prediction: 3-0
Huddersfield v Wigan Athletic Prediction: 1-2
Manchester United v Reading Prediction: 4-1

FA Cup Fourth Round: Ones to watch

Having witnessed a number of shocks in the third round, the FA Cup makes it's appearance again this weekend. The last round saw non-league sides Luton Town and Macclesfield fly the flag with shock victories over Wolves and Cardiff respectively. The last round also saw just the one Premier League side knocked out by lower league opposition. Newcastle United fell to Championship side Brighton at the AMEX which saw them continue their poor form this season.

#1 Brentford v Chelsea

picture: hounslowchronicle.co.uk

After being knocked out of the Capital One Cup semi finals this week, Chelsea will want a similar run in the FA Cup. The Premier League side are the current holders of the competition having beaten Liverpool in the final last season. Rafa Benitez has had a mixed spell as interim manager with defeats at home to Swansea in the cup, and to QPR in the league. Benitez will be expected to field a strong team that will be without Eden Hazard who got himself stupidly sent off against Swansea this week. The form of Fernando Torres continues with the striker failing to score since the 8-0 drubbing of Aston Villa in December. They come up against League One side Brentford who currently sit third in the table. The West London side have only lost once in the league since mid October, and have striker Clayton Donaldson to thank with the big man scoring 19 goals in all competitions for them this season. The former Crewe forward scored the winning goal in Brentford's third round replay against Southend.

Prediction: Brentford 1-4 Chelsea

#2 Norwich City v Luton Town

Non-league side Luton Town disposed of Championship side Wolves in the last round, resulting in the Midland's boss then being sacked. The current Conference side are currently battling for promotion from the top tier of non-league football having missed out narrowly in the play offs last season. Paul Buckle's men have a number of games in hand over their play off rivals and will certainly take pleasure in travelling to Premier League side Norwich City this weekend. The Canaries comfortably overcame Peterborough United in the last round beating the Championship side 3-0 at London Road. Chris Hughton's men have since been struggling in the league having not produced a win since 15th Dec where they beat Wigan Athletic 2-1 at home. Goals have been a problem this season, with Robert Snodgrass their top scorer with five goals. Norwich have only reached the fifth round once in the last four seasons, where they lost to Leicester City last season. 

Prediction: Norwich City 3-0 Luton Town

#3 Oldham Athletic v Liverpool

These two sides met in the competition last year in the third round, where Liverpool came out comfortable 5-1 winners. The Premier League side went on to the final last year ending up as runners up to Chelsea. Oldham currently sit 19th in League One fighting a relegation battle so a big FA Cup game has come as a useful distraction for the club and the fans. Striker Jose Baxter will certainly be looking forward to the game as a former Everton player and with 11 goals to his name this season, the forward will fancy himself to get on the scoresheet. Brendan Rogers' Liverpool will once again look for another cup run having won the competition seven times. Rogers' team currently sit in seventh place in the Premier League and have certainly improved over the season. New January signing Daniel Sturridge could not have asked for a better start to his Liverpool career having netted in each of is three appearances for the reds. The former Chelsea man has struck up an excellent partnership with Luis Suarez with the Uruguayan man who has 20 goals to his name this season. 

Prediction: Oldham Athetic 0-2 Liverpool

#4 Brighton v Arsenal

picture: telegraph.co.uk

Brighton reached this stage last season beating Newcastle United at home. The Championship side went on to the fifth round where they were beaten by Liverpool. Gus Poyet's men beat Newcastle again this year in the last round where they secured a home tie against Premier League giants Arsenal. The Championship side are again enjoying another season in the second tier of English football as they fight for a play off place. Striker Craig Mackail Smith is once again proving what a top player he is at this level with 11 goals this season to his name. Arsenal will not find it easy getting to the fifth round. Despite a 5-1 thumping of West Ham in the week, Arsene Wenger's side have been very inconsistent this season. They needed a replay to get past Swansea in the last round and had Jack Wilshere to thank for his late winner. The midfielder has been a much needed return for the Gunners as they aim to secure a Champions League place in the league. 

Prediction Brighton 1-2 Arsenal

#5 Macclesfield Town v Wigan Athletic

Having knocked out Cardiff City in the last round, non-league side Macclesfield Town will be looking for a similar result, this time against Premier League opposition. Two goals in the space of three minutes saw the shock of the round as high flying Cardiff City were dumped out of the cup. Striker Matthew Barnes-Homer is one to watch with the striker having scored 20 goals this season. The Conference side sit ninth in the league as they aim to get back into the football league. They come up against Wigan Athletic who needed a replay to get passed Bournemouth in the third round. Roberto Martinez's side will hope to avoid another cup upset as they were beaten by League One side Swindon in last year's third round. Wigan are again fighting another relegation battle in the Premier League, and a cup run for the Lancashire side would do no harm at all. Watch out for this game as another cup upset  is more than possible in this fixture.

 Prediction: Macclesfield 1-0 Wigan Athletic

Other fourth round ties:

Millwall v Aston Villa (Prediction: 1-1)

Stoke v Man City (Prediction: 1-2)

Bolton v Everton (Prediction: 1-2)

Derby v Blackburn Rovers (Prediction: 2-2)

Huddersfield v Leicester City (Prediction: 0-2)

Hull v Barnsley (Prediction: 0-1)

Middlesbrough v Aldershot (Prediction: 3-0)

QPR v MK Dons (Prediction: 2-0)

Reading v Sheff Utd (Prediction: 2-1)

Man Utd v Fulham (Prediction: 3-0)

Leeds Utd v Tottenham (Prediction: 1-2)

FA Cup: First Round Draw

Having seen rounds upon rounds of qualifying, the first round of the FA Cup begins seeing clubs from non-league face clubs from League One and Two. Teams in the Championship and Premier League don't come into the competition until the third round, giving some of the lower sides the opportunity for a cup run. 

picture: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Last years final was played in front of a massive crowd at Wembley which saw Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1. Goals from Ramires and Didier Drogba saw the London side win the cup beating Liverpool whose goal was scored by Andy Carroll. Chelsea's win saw them go level with FA Cup final wins with Liverpool with both clubs on seven wins. Manchester United lead the table with 11 wins.

This year's final will be once again played at Wembley on Saturday 11th May 2013.

The first round will see 40 ties played between clubs from as low as the fourth tier of non-league in the Evo-Stick league. Arlesey Town of the Evo Stick Southern Premier league will face 1987 winners Coventry City in one of the ties of the round. Isthmian League side Met Police have also progressed through qualifying and face a first round game at home to League One side Crawley Town. 

Current conference leaders Newport County needed two late goals in their final qualifying game to take their tie against Yate Town to a replay. If they come through the test against the Evo-Stick southern south and west side then they will face League Two side Cheltenham Town. Cambridge City will host MK Dons while an Essex derby is guaranteed as Colchester United face the winner of Chelmsford City and East Thurrock who need a replay. 

Luton Town and Wrexham both made it through their qualifying games as they both face non-league opposition. The Welsh team face Alfreton Town while Luton have to also wait for a replay as they will host either Nuneaton or Telford United. Winners of the competition in 2008, Portsmouth, face fellow League One side Notts County, while Sheffield United travel to League Two side Bristol Rovers. 

The ties will be played the weekend of 3rd/4th November 2012. 

First Round Fixtures:

Kidderminster Harriers v Oldham Athletic

Boreham Wood v Brentford

Chelmsford City/East Thurrock v Colchester United

Met Police v Crawley Town

Luton Town v Telford Utd/Nuneaton

Portsmouth v Notts County

Bishop's Stortford v Hastings Utd

Fleetwood Town v Bromley

Forest Green Rovers/Dartford v Port Vale

Torquay Utd v Hyde/Harrogate Town

Bournemouth v Dag & Red

Morecambe v Rochdale

Swindon Town v Macclesfied Town

Cambridge City v MK Dons

Cheltenham Town v Yate Town/Newport County

Dorchester Utd v Plymouth Argyle

Coventry City v Arlesey Town

York City v AFC Wimbledon

Bury v Exeter City

Chesterfield v Hartlepool Utd

Doncaster Rovers v Bradford Park Ave

Gillingham v Scunthorpe Utd

Aldershot Town v Hendon

Lincoln City/Halifax Town v Walsall

Wrexham v Alfreton Town

Southend Utd v Stockport County

Crewe v Wycombe

Bristol Rovers v Sheff Utd

Hereford Utd v Shrewsbury Town

Mansfield v SLough Town/Gosport Boro

Barnet v Oxford Utd

Rotherham Utd v Stevenage

AFC Fylde/Ilkeston Town v Accrington Stanley

Gloucester City v Leyton Orient

Burton Albion v Altrincham

Guiseley v Barrow

Northampton Town v Bradford City

Preston NE v Yeovil Town

Braintree Town v Tranmere Rovers

Carlisle Utd v Ebbsfleet Utd

Deadline Day: A Summer of Transfer Madness

We saw a huge amount of activity last week as the transfer window came to an end on Friday. We look at the winners and losers of the window and round up which players made the biggest moves to and from England on the final day.

Deadline Day Winners:

picture: Manchester City

Unlike their rivals, Manchester City left it to the final day to make any moves. Roberto Mancini had only brought in Jack Rodwell in the window before the last day, with the former Everton youngster moving for £12million. The midfielder was joined by a number of players on the final day, as Mancini left it late to improve his squad. Brazilian full back Maicon made the move to the Etihad from Inter Milan for around £3million. The new arrival was joined by another defender with Fiorentina centre back Matija Nastasic moving to Manchester in a part exchange deal which saw Stefan Savic go in the opposite direction. Other arrivals brought in by Mancini included winger Scott Sinclair moving from Swansea, and Benfica midfielder Javi Martinez who cost the club £16million. Moving out of Manchester, winger Adam Johnson went to Sunderland, midfielder Nigel De Jong went to AC Milan whilst striker Roque Santa Cruz went to Malaga on a season long loan.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

As well as City, Tottenham Hotspur had a successful last day as new manager Andre Villas Boas took advantage of the window. AVB had previously completed the permanent signing of Emmanuel Adebayor who had spent the previous season on loan at White Hart Lane. The Portuguese manager had already captured Gylfi Sigurdsson and defender Jan Vertonghen earlier on in the summer. The surprise move of the summer was American Clint Dempsey who had looked set to move to Liverpool. Spurs had taken advantage of the Merseyside club's inability to match the asking fee for Dempsey who made the move across London for £6million. Dempsey joins his former Fulham team mate Moussa Dembele who also joined Spurs the previous day for a fee of £15million. Moving out of Spurs, Luka Modric made the expected move to Real Madrid for £30million which also saw Rafa Van Der Vaart return to Hamburg where he played before moving to Spurs.

Deadline Day Losers: 

picture: liverpoolfc.com

It was a deadline day to forget for Liverpool and Brendan Rogers. Despite managing to bring in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini earlier on in the window, Rogers was unable to strengthen the squad much to many fans annoyance. Having let £35million man Andy Carroll leave on loan to West Ham the previous day, Liverpool were expected to replace the striker. American Clint Dempsey had been linked with the reds all summer but having fallen short of the valuation of the midfielder, Liverpool missed out meaning he made a last gasp move to Spurs. Having failed to sign another striker during the window, it leaves Rogers with only Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini as options in attack. Deadline day at Anfield saw midfielders Charlie Adam and Jay Spearing leave, with the latter on a loan deal to Bolton Wanderers. Adam, who had only spent a year at Liverpool, made a £4million move to Stoke City where he signed a four year deal.

No-one may have been as unlucky or as unfortunate as Liverpool in the window, but Arsenal may feel they could have done slightly better over the summer. Having already brought in Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski, Arsene Wenger was keen to bring in an additional midfielder. Having lost Alex Song to Barcelona, and with Jack Wilshere still injured, Arsenal had been close to capturing playmaker Nuri Sahin on loan. But having failed to come to an agreement, Sahin moved to Liverpool leaving Arsenal finding themselves one Abou Diaby injury away from having to play youngster Francis Coquelin.

Premier League round up:

picture: stokecityfc.com

Fulham were heavily involved in transfer activity this summer seeing players come in and out of Craven Cottage. Bulgarian front man Dimitar Berbatov made the switch on deadline day making the move from Manchester United for a fee in the region of £4million. He was joined by Kieran Richardson who moved from Sunderland for £3million. Stoke City were also busy in the window and captured the services of free agent Michael Owen. The 32 year old had been released from Manchester United in June and signed a one year deal with The Potters. Tony Pulis had looked set to bring in Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone on loan but having failed to reach an agreement, Pulis brought in Blackburn man Steven N'Zonzi, paying £3million for his services.

Other Deadline Day movers:

Yossi Benayoun: Chelsea - West Ham (season long loan)
Danny Rose: Tottenham - Sunderland (season long loan)
Gaston Ramirez: Bologna - Southampton (£12million)
Hugo Lloris: Lyon - Tottenham (£11.8million)
Stephane Mbia: Marseille - QPR (£4.5million)
Bryan Oviedo: FC Copenhagen - Everton (£5million)
Christian Benteke: Genk - Aston Villa (£7million)
Pablo Hernandez: Valencia - Swansea (£5.5million)

Football League round up:

picture: examiner.co.uk

Blackburn Rovers sealed one of the biggest deals of the window by capturing Jordan Rhodes who moved from Huddersfield Town for £8million. It looked likely that Rhodes would stay with the Terriers, but with Leon Best out through injury, Steve Kean needed a replacement. Fellow forward David Goodwillie moved out of Ewood Park though going to Crystal Palace on a season long loan. Palace were again involved on deadline day as they captured defender Damien Delaney who moved on a free transfer from Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys were the talk of the Championship on deadline day as they were in talks with Peterborough United duo George Boyd and Paul Taylor. Both were transfer listed at London Road and it was the latter of the two that made a permanent move. Despite on going talks, Boyd rejected the chance and remains at Peterborough for the forthcoming months.

picture: pnefc.net

In League One, Sheffield United were involved in transfer activity on deadline day as they brought in Dave Kitson from Portsmouth and saw midfielder Stephen Quinn move out as he went to Hull City. Promoted from League Two last year, Paolo Di Canio's Swindon saw many comings and goings during the window. The Italian brought in striker Adam Rooney from Birmingham City, with Paul Caddis moving in the opposite direction. Despite financial worry, Portsmouth were able to make deadline day moves as they saw Darel Russell, Josh Thompson and Johnny Ertle all make their move to Fratton Park on free transfers.

In League Two, Southend striker Kane Ferdinand made the step up to the Championship as he went to Peterborough United for £200,000. Another mover out of League Two was Wycombe forward Stuart Beavon who moved to Preston North End for an undisclosed fee. Beavon had scored 25 times for Wycombe last season. Despite losing Beavon, Wycombe had previously brought in striker Jo Kuffour who moved from fellow League Two side Gillingham on a free transfer.

Other Deadline Day movers:

Jay Bothroyd: QPR - Sheffield Wednesday (season long loan)
Craig Noone: Brighton - Cardiff (£1million)
Billy Sharp: Southampton - Notts Forest (season long loan)
Andrea Orlandi: Swansea - Brighton (undisclosed fee)
Nicky Maynard: West Ham - Cardiff (£2.5million)
Iain Hume: Preston - Doncaster (season long loan)
Martin Taylor: Watford - Sheffield Wednesday (undisclosed fee)
David Stephens: Hibernian - Barnet (Free transfer)

Capital One Cup: Second Round Draw

As the football season begins to get into full swing, eyes drew to the second round of the Capital One Cup. The first round games threw up some cracking games and some excellent entertainment. Seven Championship teams fell at the first hurdle with last years runners up Cardiff losing to League Two side Northampton Town the shock of the round. Derby were involved in a ten goal thriller at Pride Park which ended 5-5 after extra time. Their opponents Scunthorpe came out the eventual winners 7-6 on penalties and will face Norwich in the second round.

picture: thisisscunthorpe.co.uk

Other Championship casualties included Brighton, who were well beaten 3-0 by Paolo Di Canio's Swindon Town. Paul Benson struck early on in the second half for the Robins, and an Alan Navarro brace soon after booked them a second round tie against Premier League side Stoke City. Bristol City also crashed out losing 2-1 to League Two side Gillingham Town at Ashton Gate. 

Relegated side Wolverhampton Wanderers needed a penalty shoot out to get past Aldershot Town at Molineux. Michel Rankine had cancelled out a Sylvain Ebanks Blake goal in the second half and after the first 13 penalty kicks had been successful, Wolves keeper Carl Ikeme kept out Jordan Robert's penalty to give the Championship side a second round tie away at Northampton Town.

All Premier League sides come into the second round bar the clubs competing in Europe meaning there are 13 top flight clubs playing for a third round tie. Everton are involved in one of the stand out games playing at home to League One side Leyton Orient. Morecambe's reward for dumping Blackpool out of the cup, is a trip to the North East where they will play Sunderland. 

Both Wigan and Fulham will have to play to their best if they are progress as they both travel to a Championship club. Having been dumped out of FA Cup by Swindon last season, Wigan face a tough task in playing Nottingham Forest. Fulham face newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. 

All ties will commence the week beginning the 27th August 2012

Second Round Fixtures: 

Aston Villa v Tranmere Rovers

Burnley v Plymouth

Carlisle v Ipswich Town

Coventry v Birmingham City

Crawley v Bolton

Doncaster v Hull City

Gillingham v Middlesbrough

Leeds United v Oxford United

Leicester City v Burton Albion

MK Dons v Blackburn Rovers

Norwich v Scunthorpe

Notts Forest v Wigan Athletic

Preston v Crystal Palace

QPR v Walsall

Sheff Wed v Fulham

Stevenage v Southampton

Stoke City v Swindon Town

Sunderland v Morecambe

Swansea v Barnsley

Watford v Bradford

West Ham v Crewe Alex

Yeovil v West Brom

Reading v Peterborough

Everton v Leyton Orient

Northampton v Wolves

2012/13 Championship: Season Preview

With eyes firmly fixed on the Premier League beginning this weekend, we turn to the Football League and the Championship. All 72 teams begin their seasons this weekend and will all be aiming for a good start. Cardiff and Huddersfield kicked off the season on Friday night where the Bluebirds clinched a late goal to claim their first three points.

picture: zimbio.com

We begin with the three relegated clubs from the Premier League. All of them will be big  favourites to make an instant return. Bolton Wanderers failed to stay up last season, failing to get a needed win against Stoke on the final game of the year. Owen Coyle's men look big favourites to go up having kept the likes of David N'gog and Martin Petrov in their ranks. The signings of Matt Mills and Keith Andrews will add further strength to the squad. Blackburn and Wolves will also look to make an immediate return, with Rovers boss Steve Kean adding Danny Murphy, Nuno Gomes and Leon Best to his squad. Since finishing bottom of the Premier League, Wolves brought in new boss Stale Solbakken who will look to regain the players confidence for the new season. Newly promoted Huddersfield Town made the jump via last seasons play off's having beaten Sheffield United in a close penalty shoot out at Wembley. Striker Jordan Rhodes looks set to remain with the Terriers and after scoring 40 goals last season, his goals will be important if they are to remain in the Championship. Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday join Huddersfield in the Championship having gained automatic promotion from League One last year. Wednesday boss Dave Jones had brought in a wealth of players including injury plagued keeper Chris Kirkland from Wigan, and defender Anthony Gardner who made the move from Crystal Palace. 

The chase for the play off's will be hotly contested this season with a number of clubs eager for one of the four places up for grabs. Cardiff City will be amongst the positions as will the likes of Leicester City and Leeds United. Nottingham Forest have been recently taken over by new investors and immediately brought in a new boss and new players. Defenders Greg Halford and Danny Collins made the move and were joined by West Brom striker Simon Cox who will add to their strikeforce, who last season struggled to find the net. New boss Sean O'Driscoll will be eager to get off to a good start as they begin their campaign against Bristol City. Watford are another side who have new owners as they were taken over by Italian Giampaolo Pozzo. He immediately brought in new manager Gianfranco Zola, who has since brought in a number of players including former Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia.

picture: posh.footballblog.co.uk

Down at the bottom of the division, the relegation battle with be contested by a number of clubs. Bristol City and Barnsley escaped last season and will once again become favourites to go down. The newly promoted sides will also find themselves down at the bottom, if they don't get a good start to their campaign, As mentioned, Jordan Rhodes will be critical to Huddersfield if they are to stay up and with Charlton, striker Bradley Wright-Phillips will also need to be hitting the net regularly if the Addicks are to remain a Championship side. Having finished in a very respectable 18th place last season, Peterborough United will want to improve their position this season. The Posh were relegated straight away the last time they achieved promotion, but boss Darren Ferguson brought in experience and quality to his squad meaning they comfortably stayed up second time around. Despite being placed on the transfer list, key players Paul Taylor and George Boyd will begin the season as Posh players, and alongside experienced midfield man Grant McCann, Posh will continue to be difficult opponents, especially at home.

2012/13: League One & Two season previews

picture: stevesfootballstats.co.uk

League One was won by Charlton Athletic last season by a massive 8 points. They achieved automatic promotion along with Sheffield Wednesday who pipped rivals Sheffield United to second place. United had go through the play offs where they were cruelly beaten on penalties to Huddersfield in the final. Along with Sheffield United, Stevenage and MK Dons were the unfortunate teams to fall short in the play offs and remained in League One. MK Dons will once again be favourites for a top six finish having finished there in the past two seasons. Relegated from the Championship were Coventry, Doncaster and Portsmouth, who will start the season with minus ten points having entered administration.

Pompey have had to clear out their squad to remain in existence and the deduction at the beginning of the season makes them strong favourites to drop another division once again. Manager Michael Appleton has done a sterling job and through fielding youth team players, he has managed to put some sort of squad together for their pre-season.

Coventry will be favourites for a return to the second tier of English football, and will be joined by Paolo Di Canio’s Swindon Town who won League Two last year. The Italian has a squad filled with quality with the likes of Matt Ritchie and Paul Caddis who have remained with the club over the transfer period.  Along with Swindon, Shrewsbury and Crawley Town were the other two sides to achieve automatic promotion. Crewe were the fourth and final team to achieve promotion via the play offs. They went 19 games unbeaten to reach the play offs, and with the summer signing of creative midfielder Abdul Osman, they will be looking for a good finish in the league.

The relegation battle last season saw Leyton Orient narrowly escape along with Walsall who finished 20^th and 19^th respectively. These sides will want to get off to a good start to the season to avoid another battle at the bottom. Yeovil Town are another team who will be favourites to take the drop, but will go into this season playing their eighth successive campaign in the third tier of football.

picture: ftfcphotos.com

Moving onto League Two, we welcome Fleetwood Town and York City, who achieved promotion from the Blue Square Premier League last season.  Despite it being their debut season in the Football League Fleetwood lead the way along with Southend and Cheltenham for automatic promotion. Bradford City are another side who may fancy their chances, but will need to get off to a great start if they are to be challenging anywhere near the top of the division. Manager Phil Parkinson has brought in a number of players including Gary Jones from Rochdale signalling that his side mean business this year. Don’t rule out the relegated sides from League One, as they will be desperate to make an immediate return. Wycombe, Rochdale, Chesterfield and Exeter City all struggled in League One last year and their poor form resulted in relegation. It has been a summer of change at Rochdale with John Coleman newly appointed as manager. He has made wholesale changes to the team and will want an instant return back to League One.

Oxford United fell away near the end of last season and missed out on a play off place. The team suffered with some rotten injury luck last season, with the club investing £150,000 in a new fitness and sports science department. Manager Chris Wilder has added some new faces to the squad and fans will want at least a play-off place by the end of the season. The battle for the drop was hotly contested last season and saw Hereford Town and Macclesfield Town take the tumble out of the Football League. Barnet, Northampton Town and Plymouth were all amongst the teams that were lucky enough to keep their status. Once again, these teams will be amongst the favourites to fight out the relegation spots again. 

Capital One Cup: First Round Draw

With the fixtures for the new season set to be announced next week, the newly named Capital One Cup first round draw has taken place today. Formerly known as the Carling Cup, the competition was renamed after the company Capital One, a credit card company, agreed a four year sponsorship deal with the Football League.

picture: blogs.bettor.com

The draw has thrown up some excellent ties which sees relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers host League Two side Aldershot Town. Blackburn and Bolton, who were also relegated alongside Wolves last season, will enter the competition in round two. Other ties that catch the eye include Fleetwood Town, who were promoted from the Conference last season, host Championship side Nottingham Forest. York City, who also gained promotion to the Football League face a trip to Doncaster Rovers. Runners up in last season's final Cardiff City, start with an away trip to Northampton Town. League Two side Barnet face a tricky tie with an away tie to Championship Birmingham City who reached the Championship play off's last season.

Having suffered poor league form last season, it was Liverpool who claimed victory in last seasons competition. The Premier League side needed extra time and penalties to overcome their Championship opponents Cardiff City. Winger Joe Mason opened the scoring for the Bluebirds before Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel equalised with a scrambled effort.

Dirk Kuyt thought he had won the game in extra time for Liverpool, after scoring an excellent goal from 25 yards. But after indecision in the Liverpool box, Cardiff defender Ben Turner poked home to take the final to a penalty shoot-out. It was the Premier League side though, that came out victors winning 3-2 in the shoot-out.

Teams from the Championship to League Two will compete from the first round with 13 Premier League teams coming into the competition in the second round. The remaining seven teams are all competing in Europe this season and will therefore not enter the competition until the third round to avoid fixture congestion.

Fixtures below:

Derby County v Scunthorpe United
Rochdale v Barnsley
Port Vale v Burnley
Notts County v Bradford City
Hull City v Rotherham United
Fleetwood Town v Nottingham Forest
Carlisle United v Accrington Stanley
Doncaster Rovers v York City
Crewe Alexandra v Hartlepool United
Bury v Middlesbrough
Chesterfield v Tranmere Rovers
Sheffield United v Burton Albion
Blackpool v Morecambe
Leeds United v Shrewsbury Town
Preston North End v Huddersfield Town
Oldham Athletic v Sheffield Wednesday
Cheltenham Town v Milton Keynes Dons
Ipswich Town v Bristol Rovers
Stevenage v AFC Wimbledon
Exeter City v Crystal Palace
Yeovil Town v Colchester United
Birmingham City v Barnet
Bristol City v Gillingham
Northampton Town v Cardiff City
Plymouth Argyle v Portsmouth
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aldershot Town 
Walsall v Brentford
Millwall v Crawley Town 
Torquay United v Leicester City 
Dagenham & Redbridge v Coventry City 
Peterborough United v Southend United
Swindon Town v Brighton & Hove Albion 
Watford v Wycombe Wanderers 
Charlton Athletic v Leyton Orient 
Oxford United v AFC Bournemouth

The first round fixtures will take place the week beginning August 13th. The final will be held at Wembley on 24th February next year.

League One and Two: 2011/12 season reviews

It was a fantastic season in both League One and League Two which saw joy and tears for both fans and players. Charlton Athletic and Swindon claimed the league title in League One and Two respectively. Both club's managers were former players and had not been in management long. Chris Powell, a former Charlton player guided the Addicks to the Championship next season. For Swindon, the ever humorous Paolo Di Canio guided his side to the League Two championship as well as an appearance at Wembley in the Johnstone Paint Trophy final where they were defeated by Chesterfield.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

The race for second place and the final automatic promotion spot in League One was one of the closest race for it in a while. Sheffield Wednesday were the eventual winners taking it ahead of arch rivals Sheffield United who had to settle for the play off's. With 40 goal man Jordan Rhodes, Huddersfield were also in contention for the place during the season but like Sheffield United in the end had to settle for a play off place. They were both joined in the play off's by the ever present MK Dons and newly promoted Stevenage. Promoted via the play off's in League Two last season, Stevenage were narrowly beaten by Sheffield United in the semi finals, which saw Huddersfield overcome MK Dons in the other semi final in a close fought encounter. It was Huddersfield though that came out winners in the final at Wembley, beating Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United in a penalty shoot out. United keeper Steve Simonsen missed the decisive penalty which saw Huddersfield win 8-7.

picture: wearegoingup.co.uk

Looking down to the bottom of the division, four teams were relegated from the League down to League Two. Having been promoted automatically from League Two last season, both Wycombe and Chesterfield failed in their bid to play another season in the third tier of English football. They were joined by Rochdale and Exeter who will bemoan a poor season in League One. Having finished in a respectable ninth the season before, Rochdale surprisingly found themselves in the bottom four for the majority of this season only managing eight wins in their 46 league games. Just like Rochdale, Exeter narrowly missed out on a play off place the season before, but by only managing two away wins all season, they will now play their football in League Two next year.

picture: thisisswindontownfc.co.uk

Moving onto League Two, it was Swindon Town who took the title under manager Paolo Di Canio. Having been relegated from League One last season, Di Canio's men have made an immediate return to League One. They were joined by fellow sides Crawley Town and Shrewsbury who secured automatic promotion. Having been promoted to League Two from the conference last season, Crawley secured back to back promotions. Their season also contained a memorable FA Cup run beating the likes of Hull City and Bristol City before falling to Premier League side Stoke City. Having also lost strikers Matt Tubbs and Tyrone Barnett to bigger clubs, getting promoted again this season is some achievement. With three of the four promotion places gone, there was one more promotion spot available to the four teams in the play off's. It was Crewe that took the initiative and achieved promotion after beating Cheltenham in the final at Wembley. Crewe had beaten Southend in the semi finals, while Cheltenham overcame Torquay United in their semi final tie.

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Joy for some was despair for others, as two teams from League Two made the drop from the Football League into the Blue Square Premier Division. Despite a final day victory over Torquay, relegation wasn't prevented for Hereford Town. The Bulls were relying on fellow side Barnet to slip up in their game, but after they beat Burton, Hereford slipped out of League Two into the Blue Square. Defeat meant that Hereford dropped out the Football League for the first time in 15 years. Despite winning their last two games, poor form over the season was their downfall. They are joined by Macclesfield Town who endured a dreadful season. A 22 match win less run stretching to the end of December ended their 15 year stay in the Football League. The run included 15 defeats with the 2-0 home defeat to Burton the game that sent the Silkmen down. Fleetwood Town and York City will take their places after they were promoted from the Blue Square Premier Division.

After another exciting season in the Football League we are sure to see as much even more drama than we have this season in the coming twelve months. The fixtures for the Football League are released on the 18th June at 9am giving plenty of time for fans to start organising their trips to games for next season.

League One play off final preview: Huddersfield Town v Sheffield United

As everyone starts to concentrate on the upcoming European Championships, there are still a couple of games that will decide which teams will be playing in both League One or League Two next season. Both play off finals take place this weekend at Wembley. First up is the League One play off final on Saturday which sees a Yorkshire derby between Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United. Both teams will be desperate to gain the final promotion spot having both had seasons which thoroughly deserve promotion. Huddersfield Town will be eager to gain the final place having missed out last season after being beaten in the final to Peterborough United. On the other hand, Sheffield United looked certain to go up automatically but were narrowly pipped by arch rivals Sheffield Wednesday and will want an immediate return to the Championship following last seasons relegation.

Huddersfield Town:

picture: dailymail.co.uk

This will be the third time Huddersfield Town will be in a play off final after making it in 2004 and 2011. The first time they reached a play off final was when they played Mansfield Town in the old Division Three play off final winning 4-1 on penalties. As already mentioned their most recent appearance came against Peterborough United last season where they were beaten 3-0 at Old Trafford in the League One play off final. Town progressed to the final this year after overcoming MK Dons over the two legs winning 3-2 on aggregate. Striker Jordan Rhodes scored twice over the legs making it an incredible 40 goals in all competitions this year. The forward has been a key figure in the club's charge for promotion this year scoring a number of hat tricks including an impressive four goals in the 4-4 draw away at Sheffield Wednesday. Huddersfield will fancy their chances on Saturday against opponents Sheffield United after beating them 3-0 at Bramall Lane earlier on in the season. Boss Simon Grayson has excellent history in the play off's having managed former clubs Blackpool and Leeds United to promotion while in charge.

Sheffield United:

picture: dailymail.co.uk

Relegated from the Championship last season, Sheffield United will be keen to make an immediate return. Having narrowly missed out to on an automatic spot to arch rivals Sheffield Wednesday, United have good enough reason for wanting promotion to the Championship. Their last appearance in the play off's came in 2003 where they were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 in the old Division One play off final at Millennium Stadium. Since, the Blades have had appearances in the Premier League and the Championship before being relegated last season to League One. United could feel lucky to be playing at Wembley on Saturday after struggling to get past their semi final opponents Stevenage. The Blades came out 1-0 winners on aggregate after a last minute winner in the second leg from forward Chris Porter. Goals have not been hard to come for United this season having had striker Ched Evans in great form notching 35 goals in all competitions. But after being found guilty of rape, Evans was sent to prison leaving United boss Danny Wilson with problems up front. If selected it could be up to semi final hero, Porter to provide the goods if United are to go back up.

Prediction: Huddersfield Town 2-0 Sheffield United

Preview: League One play off semi finals

With the Football League season now over, there are still games to play for clubs fighting it out in the play off's in all three divisions. After seeing the Championship play off's kick off last week, its the turn of the teams in League One on Friday and Saturday. Having failed at the same stage last season, MK Dons will hope for better luck this time after being beaten by winners Peterborough Utd last year. They face Huddersfield Town who were also beaten 3-0 by Peterborough last year in the show piece final at Old Trafford. The other semi sees two teams, who entered the division at different ends last year, fight for a final promotion place. Sheffield United who were relegated from the Championship last year take on Stevenage who were promoted last year via the League Two play off's.

#1 MK Dons v Huddersfield Town

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Both MK Dons and Huddersfield will be looking to succeed at the play off's this year after both falling to Peterborough United in last year's League One play off's. After only managing one win in five games before Saturday, Huddersfield's 2-0 home win against Yeovil on the last day of the season will give the team confidence going into the first leg lunchtime clash on Saturday. They travel to MK Dons, who were five games unbeaten before defeat a surprise home defeat to Walsall on Saturday.  Dons and Huddersfield drew both league games between them this year meaning a close encounter will be expected over the two legs. Town boss Simon Grayson has a lot of experience in the play off's having guided former club Blackpool to play off success in 2007 where he saw the Seasiders gain promotion from League One to the Championship. Grayson also guided old club Leeds United to the League One play off's in his first season at |Elland Road but defeat to Millwall in the semi final's ended the clubs chance of promotion that year. MK Dons go into the tie having never won a two legged semi final play off tie after three attempts. Defeat to Shrewsbury Town in 2007 in League Two was followed by defeats in League One in 2008/09 by Scunthorpe and then by Peterborough United last season. 

#2 Stevenage v Sheffield United

picture: mirrorfootball.co.uk

After being beaten to the final automatic spot by rivals Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United have the difficult task of the play off's if they are to make an immediate comeback to the Championship. The Blades looked certain to achieve automatic promotion, but after only picking up just two points from the last three games, were pipped to the finish by their arch rivals. They come up against newly promoted Stevenage who have had an excellent season. Promoted via the play off's last season from League Two saw Stevenage achieve back to back promotions after achieving promotion from the Conference the season before. Having changed manager in January this year, Stevenage secured a play off place with a home win against Bury on the final day of the season and also enjoyed a decent cup win taking Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur to a replay in the FA Cup. The clubs will play the first leg on Friday night where Sheffield United look set to be without veteran striker James Beattie who was sent off against Exeter at the weekend. Having already being without top goal scorer Ched Evans, it leaves United struggling for strikers in their bid for promotion. 

Jordan's on the Rhode to the Olympics

Huddersfield striker Jordan Rhodes has been in incredible form this season scoring 27 league goals in only 24 league games. The Scottish international is only 21 years old and has proven this season what a goal threat he is. With the Olympics closing in, names will be thrown around for the British football team and Rhodes will surely be included in those names.

The former Ipswich man has shown this season he is a predator in the box. Scoring four goals away at Sheffield Wednesday and an incredible five goals against Wycombe, Rhodes certainly knows where the goal is. With back to back hat tricks against Exeter and Preston this season, the Scotsman became the first Huddersfield player to achieve this since the 1920s.

Rhodes has not only been scoring goals for Huddersfield this season, but has been firing them in for the Scotland U21 side as well. Six goals in six appearances for the Scottish U21's has made Rhodes the all time joint top goalscorer for the team.

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Rhodes has yet to receive any letter or notification asking whether he is willing to play for the British side at the Olympics, but if he was to be given the chance to play, he would definitely be a good player to have in the side. Manager of the GB football team, Stuart Pearce was in attendance when Huddersfield put 6 past Wycombe when Rhodes scored five goals, giving the view that Pearce may have Rhodes in his Olympic plans.

The majority of the British squad in the Olympics is more than likely going to contain English players alongside the likes of Gareth Bale and perhaps Wales captain Aaron Ramsey. It will be difficult for players from Scotland and Ireland to get their chance as England have a lot of players from their U21 side that will get into the Olympic team with ease. The likes of Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck would be definite selections if the two miss out on a trip to the Euros this year.

If Rhodes continues with his goalscoring into the second half of the season, there is no reason why the striker can't make it into the Olympic side. He has shown in his short career, that he is lethal in the box and can score any type of goal. He has proven that he can cope at international level even if it is for the U21s and it wont be long until you see him starting and scoring for the senior team.