In the latest round of Championship action, there was a feisty and passionate derby which finished 1-1 between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United.
However, it won’t be the scoreline or the excellent quality of the match that will be remembered. Instead, it will be remembered for the disgraceful scenes after Leeds equalised at Hillsborough on Friday evening.
Seconds after Michael Tonge’s tremendous strike made it 1-1, a Leeds fan ran onto the pitch and attacked Owls goalkeeper Chris Kirkland (pictured).
The 31-year-old was struck in the face and fell to the ground, requiring treatment, while the clueless lunatic ran back into the crowd, seeming to have no regret for his dreadful actions.
With his face clearly visible on CCTV cameras, TV broadcasts and a witch-hunt which began on social media after the match, the 21-year-old has been since arrested on suspicion of assault.
He has been jailed for 16 weeks and given a banning order from football grounds for six years.
This incident is another sign of potential dark days returning to the game.
Awaiting reports
The Football Association is awaiting the report of the referee before decided whether to investigate allegations of serious crowd trouble.
There were reports of vicious chanting from both sets of supporters. Leeds supporters mocking the Wednesday boss Dave Jones on allegations of child abuse, an issue he was cleared of back in 2000.
The home supporters weren’t much better, replying with disgusting songs about two Leeds supporters who were killed in Istanbul in April 2000 before a UEFA Cup semi-final with Galatasaray.
Bottles were thrown, seats were ripped from the stands and there were clashes with police.
After the game, Jones told Sky Sports: “I thought it had gone out of our game. The authorities have to look at it and sort it.
“I’m talking about an incident when we should be talking about the football. We’re talking about vile animals. That’s what they are. We talk about racism, but that (referring to Kirkland’s attack), we need to sort that.”
He went on to say that all Leeds fans should be banned from away grounds in England.
In a statement shortly after the game, Leeds said: “Leeds United Football Club would like to publicly apologise and condemn the action of the fan who came on the pitch and attacked Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.
“The club will fully co-operate with the police and the football authorities in identifying the individual concerned.
“After the week football has endured there is no place for this type of behaviour and the majority of Leeds supporters will be ashamed of his actions.”
Questions need to be asked
Looking at the sickening TV footage again, it isn’t just the fan who ran onto the pitch that needs to be dealt with seriously.
There were several supporters who had jumped over the advertising hoardings after Tonge’s equaliser and were celebrating practically on the field.
This indicates that the crowd control at Hillsborough failed once again. For a passionate local derby when security should be at maximum capacity, the standards of high security and policing at the Leppings Lane end of the ground were simply not good enough.
While people will sing what they want to sing in the stands, some of the chants left a bitter taste with many. That was unnecessary and both clubs need to be punished.
Leeds boss Neil Warnock said that the fan who got on the field ‘should be put in jail.’ However, his actions to go over with the team and applaud the supporters afterwards were also in bad taste.
On a week when England players suffered racial abuse in Serbia, organisation was exposed in the Warsaw rain and John Terry finally said sorry and accepted his punishment for an incident that happened last year, this was the last thing the game needed.
Questions will be asked about police levels and security but some also should be aimed at Sky Sports.
Why was the live televised game broadcasted on a Friday night? Trouble was always more likely at this scheduled appointment.
A Sunday lunchtime slot would have been a better fit and when other local derbies like Wolves v Leicester and Nottingham Forest v Derby both having been screened by Sky in a lunchtime Sunday timeslot – why wasn’t this game?
All in all, it is another bad episode for football to deal with and it is just fortunate that Kirkland was only shocked and not badly injured by the idiotic actions of a Leeds ‘supporter.’
Bolton approach for Freedman accepted
Away from the Hillsborough issue and the managerial merry-go-round continues with Bolton making an approach to talk to Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman.
After their approach was initially turned down by the Eagles, the south Londoners have decided to give Freedman permission to speak to the Trotters.
The statement read: “Following further discussions during the day, Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that permission has been granted for Dougie Freedman to speak to Bolton Wanderers regarding their vacant managerial position.”
On the field, Wanderers produced the comeback of the weekend under caretaker boss Jimmy Phillips.
Trailing 2-0 at home to Bristol City after 21 minutes, they stormed back to win 3-2, with the winner arriving eight minutes from time from Martin Petrov.
Palace themselves were denied a seventh straight victory in the Championship after being held at home by Millwall in a frantic south London derby.
The home side were 2-0 up inside 40 minutes through Mile Jedinak and Damien Delaney’s header but a Liam Trotter penalty brought the Lions back into the contest.
Dean Moxey was dismissed for deliberate handball in the incident leading to Millwall’s first goal and Mark Beevers made the extra man advantage count, heading the equaliser in with 13 minutes left to play.
Blackburn’s winless run stretched to five matches after conceding a late equaliser to Derby County, drawing 1-1 at Pride Park. Theo Robinson cancelled out Jordan Rhodes first half effort.
Jewell hanging on
Paul Jewell has decided to stay on as Ipswich boss after receiving the backing of his owner at Portman Road.
He was considering his position after another demoralising defeat at Hull City.
Substitute Nick Proschwitz scored twice in the last quarter of an hour to earn a 2-1 victory at the KC Stadium, his first goals for the Tigers since a summer move from German football.
Just below Ipswich in the table are Peterborough United. Darren Ferguson watched his side crash to a ninth defeat in 11 games as they went down 1-0 at Watford.
A last minute penalty from Matej Vydra sealed the win for Gianfranco Zola’s Hornets, extending their unbeaten run to four matches.
In the post Eddie Howe era, Burnley began with a 1-0 victory against a Blackpool side low on confidence in the Saturday evening kick-off.
Charlie Austin’s first half header was the difference at Turf Moor in this Lancashire grudge match. Austin is in unstoppable form at the moment, already having scored 16 times for the Clarets this season in all competitions.
Youth team coach Terry Pashley will remain in charge for now but a successor to Howe is expected to be announced within the next week.
Lastly, there are new leaders in the Championship table. Cardiff’s 3-1 defeat away at Nottingham Forest opened the door for Leicester City.
Ben Marshall’s equaliser earnt a 1-1 draw at struggling Birmingham but that wasn’t the major story on a difficult weekend for the game in general.
NPOWER CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Friday, 19 October
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Leeds United
Saturday, 20 October
Birmingham City 1-1 Leicester City
Bolton Wanderers 3-2 Bristol City
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Middlesbrough
Burnley 1-0 Blackpool
Charlton Athletic 0-1 Barnsley
Crystal Palace 2-2 Millwall
Derby County 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Huddersfield Town 2-1 Wolves
Hull City 2-1 Ipswich Town
Nottingham Forest 3-1 Cardiff City
Watford 1-0 Peterborough United
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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