I think Calum Davenport can lay claim to quite possibly the worst loan spell EVER this past week, by turning out for Watford for a grand total of 40 minutes before breaking his neck.

Yes, you read correctly, BREAKING HIS NECK. The West Ham defender was drafted in to provide cover for Danny Shittu, currently on duty with Nigeria at the African Cup of Nations. After Hornets teammate Darius Henderson fell on top of him 40 minutes into the first half of Saturday’s match with Charlton, he went off with a fractured neck bone.

Watford skipped Aidy Boothroyd had this to say: “Calum heard a crack in his neck and he lost the sensation in his fingers.” YIKES.

From the BBC: “The injury has triggered an immediate end to the 25 year old’s loan spell and he will return to the Hammers.”

Which pretty much seals the worst-loan-spell-ever Award for Mr. Davenport.

Let’s hope he has a speedy recovery.

The pick of the bunch in terms of results surely has to be Colchester’s shock 2-1 result over Charlton. The U’s currently lie in the relegation places and a win over 5th placed Charlton will certainly boost spirits around Layer Road.

Tuesday’s Other Results:

Blackpool 3 Burnley 0
Bristol City 2 Coventry 1
Cardiff 1 Plymouth 0
Palace 1 Norwich 1
Ipsqich 2 West Brom 0
QPR 3 Leicester 1
Scunthorpe 2 Barnsley 2
Wednesday 2 PNE 1
Watford 3 Southampton 0
Hull 1 Stoke 1
Wolves 0 Sheff Utd 0

Also- as many of you know at this point, Motherwell skipper and former Wednesday player Phil O’Donnell passed away during their match with Dundee United on December 29th. A model professional and a wonderful family man, he will be sorely missed by the footballing world.

Rest in Peace Phil

(O’Donnell scoring in the 1991 Scottish Cup Final for Motherwell)

Hopefully you all got just what you wanted for Christmas, which was without doubt this fine effort from Norwich City circa 1994. And I hope everyone will also enjoy the annual Boxing Day bash when just about every football team in England suits up and takes to the pitch.

No huge surprises in the table at Christmas time, although Bristol City has maintained their playoff form, and a resurgent Stoke side now sits pretty in 4th spot.

At the other end of the table, Leicester manager Ian Holloway will be enjoying the coal he has gotten in his stocking as the Foxes occupy 22nd position, the last of the relegation spots. Former club Plymouth may be in bit more festive mood as they sit in 8th spot.

Quite an entertaining fixture list in the CCC on the 26th, some highlights include:

West Brom v Bristol City

Hull v Wolves

Sheff Utd v Blackpool

Plymouth v QPR

The case received much publicity in the UK and abroad, as it has been rare that a person of such profile as a Championship footballer was faced with deportation. Especially considering the fact that Bangura has an English wife, a newborn child, and is generally in good standing as a citizen, this was quite a shock to many.

The one thing I have seemed to miss in all of this (and excuse my ignorance if it has been reported), but exactly why has the Home Office ordered his deportation? Was it simply a case of a permit expiring? Surely then this could have been brought to Watford’s attention earlier that this could potentially happen, and they could have taken steps to renew the permit.

Watford supporters let it be known exactly how they felt on Saturday, December 15th when they held aloft placards of Bangura’s face with the words ‘He’s Family’ printed on them, during a half time protest.

All in all, it was a ludicrous decision on the part of the Home Office, and perhaps best framed by Hornets manager Aidy Boothroyd: “We thought we could put our faith in British justice but obviously not. We have to keep trying everything we can to make sure he stays”.

HOPE ABOUND

It seems that the common sense Boothroyd was looking for may prevail in due time. The H.O. has agreed to allow Bangura to remain in the UK while they review his case, which is a drastic improvement on last week, when a return to his stricken west-African nation seemed imminent. Let’s hope that all works out and he can continue on in the Coca Cola Championship, and more importantly, with his life as a father and husband in the UK.

Club- Player
Barnsley- Neil Redfearn
Blackpool- Stanley Matthews
Bristol City- John Atyeo
Burnley- Jimmy McIlroy
Cardiff City- Phil Dwyer
Charlton- Derek Hales
Colchester- Karl Duguid
Coventry City- Steve Ogrizovic
Crystal Palace- Ian Wright
Hull City- Ken Wagstaff
Ipswich Town- John Wark
Leicester City- Steve Walsh
Norwich City- Kevin Keelan
Plymouth- Tommy Tynan
Preston NE- Sir Tom Finney
QPR- Stan Bowles
Scunthorpe Utd- Jack Brownsword
Sheffield Utd- Tony Currie
Sheffield Wed- Chris Waddle
Southampton- Matt Le Tissier
Stoke City- Stanley Matthews
Watford- John Barnes
West Brom- Tony Brown
Wolves- Steve Bull

Some pretty good players mind you. Now while I was a bit too young to remember many of the above names, I can say quite definitivley who would be my number one. Team loyalties aside, Matt Le Tissier was just an absolute joy to watch. While their may be players above who will go down in lore as perhaps better than the Tiss, he was absolute magic in a time when wizardry was not exactly in abundance across the pitches of England. Think Harry Potter but better. And taller. And on a football pitch. In candystripes.

“Le God.”

Charlton 3 Cardiff 0

Bluebirds get destroyed by Charlton, who move up to second in the table.

Ipswich 6 Bristol City 0

This would have gone down as surprise result of the weekend but for the one below, but who saw this coming? Ipswich was stunned by Norwich in the East Anglian derby a fortnight ago, and Bristol City has been flying high, playing some wonderful football. Well the Tractor Boys brought them right back down to earth in this one, as Jon Walters ran riot with a hat trick.

Highlights Here:

Hull City 3 Preston North End 0

Tremendous win for the Tigers as they make it two on the bounce and move three points out of the playoff places. Preston must be absolutley gutted as they really shouldn’t be losing three nil to a Hull side that isn’t miles ahead of them in terms of quality.

Plymouth 3 Norwich 0

Solid win for the Pilgrims as they move up to 7th spot in the table. No big surprise really, and I would love for Plymouth to move up to the Premiership, simply for the fact that we would get to hear Ian Holloway more often. Although they would probably like Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to stop breaking bottles over the doormans head at pubs.

Result of the Week:

Sheffield Wednesday 5 Southampton 0

Ouch.

Crystal Palace v QPR

The super hoops travel to Selhurst Park off the back of a stinging loss to Coventry on Tuesday. That aside, they have been in good form, lifting themselves out of the relegation zone, where there weekend opponents currently lie. I was at Selhurst Park recently, and it was like a Wednesday night trip to the Library during exam week. I would expect resurgent QPR to keep it that way, although they won’t be able to do much about Warnock’s big mouth, regardless of the result.

Prediction: QPR 2-0

Blackpool v Scunthorpe

Battle of the newly promoted sides, and each team as seen varying fortunes over the course of the season. I’ve only seen Blackpool versus Hull earlier this year, when they nicked a good win, but have struggled as of late. Scunthorpe has done well, despite their vaguely Communist crest, but I would pick the Tangerines to steal a draw at home.

Prediction: Draw 1-1

To be honest none of the other weekend games really stood out, but here is a full list of fixtures and the table for the weekend.

Ok ok, your favorite Scientologist won’t actually be anywhere near Bramall Lane on Wednesday night (nor ever), but this Tom Cruise very well could be, as Wenger usually unleashes his cosmopolitan kiddy corps on all Carling Cup foes. They do well too, one instance that stands out was in 2004/2005 when Fabregas and co. skewered a Man City side that boasted the likes of Distin, Danny Mills and other vets. Ok ‘boasted’ may be a bit of a stretch, but you get the point.

Roeder Takes Over at Norwich

Ex-Newcastle boss Glen Roeder has taken the reins for the Canaries, as they head into their weekend match with bitter rival Ipswich at the foot of the table. I always thought Mr. Roeder didn’t get quite a fair shout as Magpies boss, I mean he did after all have Titus Bramble in his team. Yikes. No wonder they did nothing to end their trophy drought.

Future England Star Makes Debut for Palace

15 year old John Bostock made his debut for the Eagles versus Watford on the weekend, in their two-nil loss to the league leaders. By all accounts and purposes the youngster had a strong debut. It will certainly boost Palace supporters spirits, as lets face it, they are utter rubbish. I was at the Hull City vs Palace game at Selhurst a few weeks ago and I believe I counted ONE time that someone in Red and Blue took a run at a Hull defender. Amazing that they score at all. Oh wait. They don’t.

Here’s a vid of Yank Dan Karbassiyoon scoring in the aforementioned Carling Cup match, which was also his Arsenal debut.

Having been relegated from the Football League less than a decade ago, it’s been all downhill ever since, with volunteers now required to help spruce up their ground should they be around to play in it.

There has been a small piece of good news today, as a full decision on the future has been put back a week — but things certainly don’t look too good, it must be said.

In the event of the Clubs demise (in its current form), there is a supporters trust set up to possibly help resurrect a football club in Scarborough anew. Best of luck to all involved.

Despite terracing being completely banned by The Premier League and The Championship, the Pilgrims’ Mayflower terracing had been allowed to be used under a three year grace period, following promotion from League One (sighs).