Prediction League - Week Eight

It's becoming one of the great mysteries of life - just how is Nobes still top of the Prediction League? A blistering start has given way to a few rounds of very low points scoring, yet he retains his lead by a single point.

It could have all very different had Preston not leaked two late goals against Tottenham in the League Cup on Wednesday evening. If they hadn't, it would have been Lakes going into this weekend top of the tree.

All three sides away from home this weekend, Boston are in FA Cup action, and Forest wait until Sunday to get into the action.

Leicester City vs. Preston North End

Lakes: Leicester City 1-0 PNE
Nobes: Leicester City 2-1 PNE
Turls: Leicester City 2-1 PNE



Lowestoft Town vs. Boston United

Lakes: Lowestoft Town 1-2 BUFC
Nobes: Lowestoft Town 1-3 BUFC
Turls: Lowestoft Town 1-3 BUFC


Plymouth Argyle vs. Nottingham Forest

Lakes: Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Forest
Nobes: Plymouth Argyle 0-2 Forest
Turls: Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Forest

Big Match Preview

League One

Milton Keynes Dons vs. Leeds United

Saturday September 26, 15:00, stadium:mk

League One pacesetters Leeds United make the trip to Buckinghamshire this weekend to take on fellow high-flyers Milton Keynes Dons in a battle between two of the division's fancied sides.

It's also a clash between two young and up-and-coming managers. Leeds' Simon Grayson built his reputation taking Blackpool into the Championship, and then keeping them there before moving to Elland Road and his boyhood team.

Across Lancashire, Paul Ince failed during his brief tenure at Blackburn, but has had previous success at Macclesfield and in his first spell with the Dons before returning to the club during the summer.

And MK, losers in the play-offs under Roberto Di Matteo last season, have got off to a good start this time around. Five wins have been collected in their first eight games, including an unbeaten away record where they've only conceded one goal.

Their form has been a little more patchy on home soil though, including a defeat to Huddersfield and a win over Norwich in their last couple of games at stadium:mk.

Leading lights in the Dons side include striker Jermaine Easter, a summer signing from Plymouth, who has already bagged seven goals in all competitions.

Indeed, no other MK player has scored more than one, so much will depend on the former Argyle man finding the back of the net. The midfield creativity of Jason Puncheon and Jemal Johnson should also prove a threat to the visitors.

Their defensive solidity, emphasised by their 1-0 win at local rivals Wycombe last weekend, is built on erratic goalkeeper Willy Gueret, and defensive pair David McCracken and Darren Powell.

Leeds boss Grayson led Blackpool to promotion from League One in 2007

They're likely to be busy too. Leeds are averaging two goals a game in League One so far this season, with top scorer Jermaine Beckford on six, and Bradley Johnson chipping in with five from midfield.

Grayson's squad is enviable, with the likes of Jonny Howson, Robert Snodgrass, and Luciano Becchio to call upon, the West Yorkshire club look to be the strongest contender for promotion to the Championship come May.

Their success has arguably been built from the back though. Just four goals have been conceded, with keeper Shane Higgs, a summer signing from Cheltenham, in top form. Centre halves Leigh Bromby and Patrick Kisnorbo have also struck up a sound understanding.

The side's home form is almost impregnable, with last weekend's 4-1 win over Gillingham their 15th consecutive league victory at Elland Road. However, the unbeaten Whites have also already taken maximum spoils on the road at Colchester, Wycombe, and Walsall.

Grayson was also pleased with his side's performance in their League Cup defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday night, when Rafa Benitez's side were more than matched in the 1-0 loss.

With both sides liking to play football, Saturday's game has all the makings of a classic. The emphasis will be on Ince's side to take the game to Leeds, which may well leave them vulnerable to the away team on the break and another United victory.

Nobes's Prediction: Milton Keynes Dons 1 Leeds United 2

A Lost Sol

Sol Campbell, it appears, didn't enjoy being beside the seaside this weekend. His long-awaited Notts County debut ended in a 2-1 loss to Morecambe, with both goals for the home side being conceded via set-pieces.

Now, less than a month after joining the League Two club on a five-year deal and declaring his ambition of reaching the Premier League with them, Campbell has left by mutual consent.

Defeat at Christie Park saw County slip out of the top-seven, piling more pressure on manager Ian McParland. And in the Lancashire resort famous for its quicksands, the former England international defender seems to have had that sinking feeling too.

Having spent his entire career in the top flight of English football, Saturday was bound to be a culture shock for the 34-year-old. Playing in front of packed houses at Wembley must have seemed a long way away when stepping out at Morecambe's less than salubrious surroundings.

The Shrimps were also searching for their first win of the season, and are a committed and hard-working side under Sammy McIlroy. Defenders, being pressed and harried, don't have the luxury of having time on the ball to pick out a pass.

Likewise, if Campbell didn't look forward to facing the like of Didier Drogba in the Premier League, big, strong centre forwards are the order of the day in League Two. Any journey up the pyramid was always going to be a rough ride on the pitch, if not off it.

Perhaps Campbell underestimated the physical challenge he would be facing? Or perhaps the experience of playing with professionals below the standard he was used to, who struggle to do the things he considers basic, or who are just not on the same wavelength, was simply 90 minutes too long.

The prospect of toiling his way through the last years of his football career in the bottom divisions was something that, suddenly, didn't appeal to him very much. The challenge he described as "refreshing" may soon become very stale, £60,000 a week wages or not.

Campbell signed a five-year deal at Meadow Lane in August

The cynics would suggest money was the greatest motivating factor behind his move to Meadow Lane, although Campbell himself cited the chance to link-up again with his former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, now working at Notts, as one of the reasons for joining the club.

No mention, interestingly, of current County boss McParland. Earlier this week, Executive Chairman Peter Trembling intimated that the manager's position was under pressure and is being reviewed "all the time" following their third successive away defeat.

A manager constantly looking over his shoulder and a set of players knowing that the man who picks the team could change any week is not the sound basis that a successful club is built upon. McParland's days, it seems, are numbered.

Is this just a sign of things to come for the oldest Football League club though? With great riches comes great oppurtunity, but also massive pressure. Any Notts manager will be expected to deliver instant results.

And are the board likely to be patient with the current group of players should they win promotion to League One? No. They will radically overhaul the squad in order to gain promotion to the Championship as quickly as possible.

Clubs need stability and continuity, not constant changes. Success requires a sensible transfer policy, not signing big-name players on huge wages. They need a manager too who will be given the support and time he needs, who knows what the lower leagues are all about, and that's not Sven.

County's dreams need a solid foundation. After all - shifting sands are no place to build on. They need only ask Morecambe that.

Nobes.