The latest action in the Championship was another difficult weekend for the teams at the bottom of the table.
The team that is now propping up the division is Bristol City. Derek McInnes watched his side continue their dreadful run of form on Sunday as they lost 2-0 to Charlton Athletic.
That means they have now lost their last seven matches, equalling an unwanted club record.
There has been plenty of chopping and changing in regards to managerial appointments in the Football League as a whole in recent weeks and it is no surprise to see McInnes being linked with being replaced as boss at the troubled club.
Majority shareholder at Ashton Gate and former owner Steve Lansdown has come down in support of the manager, saying he is not under pressure regarding his job security.
Struggling to survive
Telling BBC Radio Bristol, he said: “Derek is not under pressure from the board at all.
“Where the pressure comes from is from these sorts of conversations and from the fans, which is understandable.
“We have a responsibility to perform for our supporters and we’re not doing that at the moment.
“All I’ll ask is for the supporters to stand by us; nobody wants to be in this position and we didn’t anticipate it.
In 59 matches in charge since succeeding Keith Millen in October 2011, McInnes has only won 14 games.
The former St Johnstone boss (pictured) managed to just about keep the Robins away from relegation last season.
Already four points adrift of safety, it is easy to panic in this game but the fans of Bristol City look set to be in for a painful winter.
The gloom deepened for Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night, as they slipped to another defeat.
Out of form and lacking any sort of confidence whatsoever, Dave Jones witnessed his side crash to a 3-1 defeat at high-flying Middlesbrough.
Wednesday remain just three points above the relegation places and have only taken one victory in the league since August.
Goals from right back Justin Hoyte, Ishmael Miller and Lukas Jutkiewicz stretched Boro’s unbeaten run to eight league matches.
Lamenting defensive errors
It also gave Tony Mowbray’s side the leadership in the Championship table for 24 hours.
Jones lamented defensive errors afterwards. He said: “That was frustrating. We got back into the game, we’re in control of it and then we give away a suicidal ball in the middle of the park (leading to Miller’s goal).
“We let ourselves down and that’s where the frustrating part comes into it."
At least the Owls remain above their Yorkshire rivals Barnsley who lost again at Oakwell, this time 1-0 to Huddersfield Town.
Simon Grayson’s side returned into the top six, thanks to a Jermaine Beckford header. He powered home Simon Church’s cross.
Church was starting his first game for the Terriers after an emergency loan move from Reading.
The Tykes seemed totally inept when it came to attacking their opponents, something that is leaving manager Keith Hill dismayed.
After the game he said: “It’s not about the performance, it’s about the result.
“Again, the performance was lacking penetration and I think it’s obvious to everyone why we’re not winning games and we’re losing games."
A late winner from DJ Campbell helped Ipswich to a 2-1 triumph at home to Burnley, ensuring Sean Dyche tasted defeat for the first time since succeeding Eddie Howe at Turf Moor.
Unfortunate break for Austin
The Tractor Boys still hold down a place in the Championship drop zone but have strengthened their defence with the signings of Kelly Youga and Bradley Orr.
Orr has not played for Blackburn Rovers since Henning Berg took charge at Ewood Park but the Norwegian is still looking for his first victory in charge after three games.
Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to inconsistent Birmingham City pushed Rovers out of the play-off positions.
At the top, Crystal Palace stretched their unbeaten run to 13 games with a late show at London Road.
Two goals in the last 10 minutes gave them a 2-1 win away at Peterborough United.
Posh have now lost their last three games and stay in the dreaded bottom three positions alongside Ipswich and Bristol City.
The performance of the weekend came from Gianfranco Zola’s Watford, who thrashed sorry Leeds United 6-1 at Elland Road.
Jason Pearce was sent off and Rodolph Austin suffered an unfortunate broken leg as the home side ended with nine men.
Despite reports of an imminent takeover at the club and the embarrassing result which stretches a winless run to six games for Leeds, manager Neil Warnock’s thoughts were fully with his injury-stricken player.
He said: “I’m not devastated about the game but I am about Rudy, he has broken his leg in two places.
“I wanted to try and win the game with 10 men, but everything is irrelevant tonight (Saturday), it’s the least of my worries when I think that we have lost Rudy for so long. When our lads knew about it, they were distraught."
NPOWER CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Friday, 9 November
Middlesbrough 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Saturday, 10 November
Barnsley 0-1 Huddersfield Town
Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Birmingham City
Blackpool 2-2 Bolton Wanderers
Cardiff City 2-1 Hull City
Ipswich Town 2-1 Burnley
Leeds United 1-6 Watford
Leicester City 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Millwall 2-1 Derby County
Peterborough United 1-2 Crystal Palace
Wolves 3-3 Brighton & Hove Albion
Sunday, 11 November
Bristol City 0-2 Charlton Athletic
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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