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Monday, October 17, 2011
Tevez and Twitter rants
Will Tidey
Welcome to The Trawler, your weekly submersion through the teeming waters of life in the Championship, League One and League Two. You might be surprised what you find down there.
Cotterill walks into Forest fire
Newly-appointed Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cotterill was served notice on the scale of his task on Saturday. Having watched from the stands as Forest dropped in the bottom three with a 1-0 defeat to fellow strugglers Coventry, Cotterill will not have been amused by Ishmael Miller's headline-grabbing outburst after the game.
"I don't wanna hear anything bout I didn't look interested!" Miller posted on Twitter. "Everyone can f*** off if don't like it don't follow me."
Forest's £1.2 million signing from West Brom later offered an explanation of sorts. "I apologise to the fans for my language but I heard one fan say I was passion-less, dats so far from being me I apologise."
Cotterill's work begins in earnest with Tuesday's game against unbeaten Middlesbrough, by which time you can only imagine Miller will have been given a severe dressing down with regard to his social media activity by Cotterill, and hopefully a talking-to about his sloppy spelling and grammar, too.
Tevez to West Ham?
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce did a little harmless flirting with Carlos Tevez on Friday, attempting the lure the lovable Argentine back to Upton Park with a challenge to prove himself in the Championship.
"I don't think there's anywhere else in the world he could move to between now and January's transfer window. The Championship is the only option," Allardyce said of the Manchester City striker. "He's too good for the division but he would find it very tough. We could get him back here based on what he did last time and he says he loves the club."
Derby striker rammed on Twitter
Derby striker Theo Robinson has hit back at fans who've been abusing him on Twitter. Robinson was on target in the Rams' 1-1 draw with Southampton, and took the opportunity after the game to respond to home fans who don't think he's worthy of the shirt.
"Believe it or not I've been getting stick from our own fans," Robinson told The Sun. "It's a bit strange considering we started this match third in the table. They just think I'm sh**e. It's only a minority and they all have their opinions but I try not to take any notice of them."
Try a little harder is clearly the message here.
The next Sheringham?
Teddy Sheringham's son, Charlie, is on the verge of joining League One Bournemouth. The Cherries have had an offer accepted by non-league Dartford for the 23-year-old, and expect to complete the formalities in the next week.
Sheringham Jnr is a striker like his father, and both men began their playing careers at Millwall. Charlie has previously struggled to make an impact in the professional ranks with Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Ipswich, but his recent performances for Dartford have convinced Bournemouth he's ready for another crack.
Back to reality for Blackpool
This week's "telling it like it is" award goes to Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, who called for a reality check after his team were mauled 4-0 by West Ham at Upton Park.
"Blackpool has changed," Holloway said. "The tower is still there. The lights are still there but the fame has gone. We were famous for one year and you have got to fight and you have to come to places like this, believe in yourself and hurt them."
Crawley overcome flu epidemic (and Shrewsbury)
Crawley Town survived a flu epidemic in the squad to beat Shrewsbury
2-1 and go top of League Two on Saturday - recording their fifth straight league victory in the process. Sergio Torres and Dean Howell got the goals.
"Scott (Davies) wasn't even in the squad as he was ill and we had five or six players who were really struggling on Thursday," Crawley manager Steve Evans said. "In the second half we were worried how their legs would hold up and how their stamina would be but credit to them for keeping going. Some of them must have gone through the barrier."
Next up for the Red Devils are AFC Wimbledon, in what promises to be a hotly-contested local derby between two sides eyeing automatic promotion.
Teenage kicks
Plymouth striker Matt Lecointe has been linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United in recent weeks, and the 16-year-old showed why with his first goal for the club in their 3-2 win against Dagenham.
But not even Lecointe's youthful effort could outshine Conor Hourihane's early contender for goal of the season. The Irish midfielder's sweet volley for the Pilgrims was an absolute humdinger, and arguably the best goal scored anywhere in England on Saturday.