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.

Top Ten

1. Kevin Phillips, WBA-16
2. Michael Mifsud, Coventry-15
3. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Plymouth/Wolves- 13
4. James Beattie, Sheffield Utd- 13
5. Andy Gray, Burnley- 13
6. Clinton Morrison, Crystal Palace- 12
7. Ricardo Fuller, Stoke- 12
8. Martin Paterson, Scunthorpe- 11
9. Marlon King, Watford- 11
10. Pablo Counago, Ipswich- 10

For me the most impressive name on the list is Ricardo Fuller of Stoke City; the fact that he is banging them is basically why the Potters are currently laughing in 4th position.

Kevin Phillips isn’t too much of a surprise, although he is certainly on the wrong side of his prime, so that he leads the list is a bit of a nice surprise for Baggies fans.

The other names are more or less usual suspects, but Michael Mifsud’s legendary performances in the Sky Blues cup run certainly deserve special mention. Enjoy these crackers from the Maltese marauder as the Sky Blues demolished Man Utd:

Fairly ho-hum weekend in the Coca Cola Championship this past weekend, and rightly so with the focus being on the rugby in France, where the Springboks got it done for their second RWC title.

A few results did stand out on the round ball side of things, a tremendous 4-2 victory for the blue half of Sheffield over Stoke, and new boys Bristol City pounding hapless Norwich to remain at the heady heights of second in the table. It will be interesting to see how they fare down the stretch, they are side who plays football down on the deck, and as the weather deteriorates, so do the pitches.

Top of the table Watford were able to sneak a 1-0 win over Hull City, who haven’t won in ages it seems. With speculation over Phil Brown’s potential candidacy as Bolton manager, Bridges move to Sydney, and injuries to key players (Okocha, Folan), the Tigers have been through a rough patch, and will look to bounce back against Barnsley on Monday night.

In terms of the table Watford and Bristol City currently occupy the automatic places, with Charlton, Wolves, WBA and Plymouth in the playoff spots. Wednesday, despite their big win remain in the relegation zone, with Norwich and QPR propping up the table.

Weekend Highlights

There’s usually an edge between the ‘yokels’ of Norwich and the ‘London suburbanites’ of Ipswich — hence the noon Sunday kick-off.

When Ipswich fans self titled themselves the ‘Tractor Boys’ in the late 90’s, the Norwich faithful were slightly bemused as Ipswich had previously thought of Norwich as the most rural (read: backward). Both clubs are comfortably mid-table in the Chamionship, so this edition of the derby is strictly for bragging rights only.