Burnley

For years Andy Cole has assaulted opposition defenses and terrorized them and now that he is nearing that end of his career and failing to do what was once his habit, the former Manchester United striker appears to be taking his frustration out on his wife. It is reported that he was arrested on charges of assault on his wife and was released only on bail by the Cheshire police.

Cole is currently on loan from Sunderland to Burnley and it is anticipated that Cole will draw a curtain on his career at the end of this season. Yet the news that he has been physically assaulting his wife Shirley Dewar whom he married in July 2002 after a long-term relationship is indeed pathetic.

A Cheshire police spokesman said:

At 2.27am on February 25, police were called to a house in Alderley Edge following an allegation of assault by a man against a woman. A 36-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and was taken to Middlewich custody suite. He was interviewed and released last night on police bail until a date in April pending further inquiries.

What is happening to Cole at the moment? His playing career is virtually over and he is turning out to be a beast in man’s clothing. He is out on bail until April and thereafter the Andy Cole circus will resume. Not that too many people will relish following it.

Arsene Wenger yesterday admitted that his side were lucky to scrape through to the FA Cup fourth round after staggering to a victory against Burnley. Goals from Eduardo and Bendtner pulled the Gunners out of the mire and after the game Burnley gaffer Owen Coyle said:

“That was a compliment coming from someone like Arsene.

“He came to me and said they’d got a bit lucky there and that we’d passed and moved the ball well. That’s a measure of him as he didn’t have to say that.

“When someone of his stature says something like that you have to use it and take it forward. That’s what we’re looking to do.”

And Wenger himself uncorcked some bubbling praise and drizzled it over Burnley, Wenger said:

“I’m surprised to see where they are in the Championship — maybe it’s better to be in the Premier League. This division must be very difficult!

“They had a good early chance and if they had got the first goal it could have had a big impact on the game.”

So it looks like for now Arsenal have stopped winning comfortably and turned on the luck, which may be the last piece of the puzzle to bring a couple of trophies back to north London.

Watch Arsenal live online

The whole Wigan manager thing has gone very quite. Paul Jewell looked a dead cert last week, well, not anymore.

Paul Jewell, the former Wigan Athletic manager, has ruled out a return to the Barclays Premier League club.

And that’s according to The Times, they would have no reason to lie to you. Sorry Wigan fans. It just never really looked like happening.

He was approached by Dave Whelan, the owner, over the vacancy after expressing his interest in a newspaper column, but, after a short period to consider his options, decided against a return to the JJB Stadium. It is understand terms between the parties were not discussed.

So where now, Sammy Lee?

Jewell’s decision leaves the Wigan position wide open with the club not thought to have a top target. Joe Royle is the bookmakers’ favourite, with former Newcastle United manager Graeme Souness and Steve Cotterill, who surprisingly resigned as manager of Burnley last week, also among the frontrunners.

Well, that doesn’t look too promising. Should never have gone with Hutchings in the first place. Who would want to be a Wigan fan? Maybe a Burnley fan would:

Hutchings, meanwhile, expects to have his payoff from Wigan resolved within the next fortnight and is known to have his eyes on the manager’s job at Burnley.

It seems all we ever report on the Championship is the end of a manager’s reign or a loan signing. Today’s big story is the former and it concerns Steve Cotterill’s spell at Burnley. Being over. But you guessed that already.

However, brace yourselves, this isn’t a sacking! No, we can’t believe it either. And the reason, well he just started to get a bit pissed off.

“We’ve gone for three or four players this year who have opted to go elsewhere in the Championship,” Cotterill said earlier this week. “There’s not a lot I can do about that.

“I’ve been here for three and a half years now and I’ve busted my back to get this squad together - and we need to do better.”

And so it would make sense that he is apparently heading for Leicester where you will not be short of a new player or two under the maverick chairmanship of Milan Mandaric. That’s what the The Times thinks, anyway.

Milan Mandaric, the Leicester City chairman, seeking stability as he pursues his fifth manager of the calendar year, may turn to Steve Cotterill, the longest-serving manager in the Coca-Cola Championship until he left Burnley by mutual consent yesterday.

Good appointment?

It’s not been a great year for Auntie, what with losing a load of funding, being found out to be dirty rotten cheats ripping of quiz contestants and Gary Lineker still smirking at the camera. So it with a smile on our face that we bring you better news from White City, the Beeb will be broadcasting Football League matches from 2009. Well, it worked for ITV Digital.

So, what are the details?

The BBC will show Football League and Carling Cup matches from the 2009 to 2012 seasons after winning the contract in a joint bid with Sky.

Oh yeah, the Carling Cup too, we forgot that.

It means Championship matches will be screened live on the BBC for the first time, with 10 first-choice games per season exclusively live on the BBC.

And what’s more…

The Carling Cup final will be simulcast live with Sky, and two semi-final legs shown exclusively live on the BBC.

No, we don’t know what that means either. So, is this a step forward for the Championship or just another sign that BBC sport ain’t what it used to be?

For a while it was Kevin Phillips, for ages it was Jason Koumas, there was even some rubbish talked about Robert Earnshaw at some point. But who is currently the best player outside the Premiership? Well, here are some options, but feel free to pick your own?

Kevin Phillips (West Brom) - Is he past it? Probably, but a bit of expeience never hurt anyone.

Darius Henderson (Watford) - Scores a shed load of goal, but is he just a flash in the pan?

Zolton Gera (West Brom) - Top class midfielder, who really should be playing in Premiership soon.

Robbie Fowler (Cardiff) - Stop laughing at the back, he used to be the next Jimmy Greaves, that’s got to be worth something.

Jimbo Beattie (Sheff United) - The only good thing about Bryan Robson’s reign?

Peter Halmosi (Plymouth) - An outsider for the title, this Hungarian winger is leading Ollie’s Argyle revolution.

Any better suggestions?

While many people may have been distracted by Arsenal and their showing off at the Emirates, the Championship continued to show itself to be as unpredictable as Rafa Benitez’s substitution policy last night (Zing! An oldie, but a goodie). Charlton were leapfrogged by Plymouth, who beat them 2-1 at The Valley. Sheffield United won for the first time in 184 games against Leicester, while their former manager lost his first home game in charge of Crystal Palace against the ugly-but-effective Stoke.

So just like those bastards following the Premier League we ask you to tell everyone the three things you learned from the midweek results, it’s a chance to share your thoughts and see what others felt as well. Here are the results as a refresher:

Burnley 2-1 Norwich

Charlton 1-2 Plymouth

Coventry 0-3 Watford

Palace 1-3 Stoke

Ipswich 3-1 Colchester

Leicester 0-1 Sheff Utd

Preston 0-0 QPR

Sheff Wed 1-2 Scunthorpe

West Brom 2-1 Blackpool

It was back to the rat-race for Championship players at the weekend and they looked more than happy about it; turning in some great performances.

Sheffield Wednesday continued to get their season back on track with a impressive win at Stoke while Watford continued to steamroll their way to the Premiership as Marlon King grabbed another goal against Hull. Meanwhile, Neil Warnock almost got off to a winning start before Palace returned to their usual form and Man Utd’s Lee Martin proved to be a wise loan signing for Plymouth with a man of the match performance.

But here’s your chance to tell everyone what you learned from the weekend’s Championship results, and to see what others thought as well. Sort of a lower-league love-in, only not quit as disgusting.

Barnsley 1-1 Burnley

Blackpool 1-1 Palace

Colchester 3-2 West Brom

Norwich 1-3 Bristol City

Plymouth 1-0 Coventry

Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Ipswich

Scunthorpe 0-0 Leicester

Sheffield United 1-1 Preston North End

Stoke 2-4 Sheffield Wednesday

Watford 1-0 Hull

Wolves 2-0 Charlton

Like the first day back at school after half-term, domestic football returns tomorrow and it doesn’t look too appealing. But wait, don’t run off to MFI to buy that decking for garden just yet, their are some appealing fixtures in the Championship. How about Neil warnock’s first game in charge of Crystal Palace? Then, of course, there is the battle of the B-ley teams at Oakwell (ok, we’re stretching it here). What will happen is anyone’s guess, but why not show your guess is better than ours by challenging our predictions, below:

Cut and paste into the comments with your own predictions, or just put down a few thoughts:

Barnsley v Burnley - away win

Blackpool v Crystal Palace - draw

Colchester v West Brom - home win

Norwich v Bristol City - home win

Plymouth v Coventry - draw

QPR v Ipswich - home win

Scunthorpe v Leicester - away win

Sheff Utd v Preston - draw

Stoke v Sheff Wed - home win

Watford v Hull - home win

Wolves v Charlton - draw

Southampton v Cardiff - away win

With a full programme of Championship games this week, it is time for punters to show that they know their stuff outside the Premiership by beating Caughtoffside at our predictions game. Simply go for a home win, away win or draw.

Here are the fixtures, check out our picks and cut and paste into the comments to show your own:

Barnsley v Bristol City - draw

Burnley v Ipswich - home win

Coventry v Blackpool - home win

Hull v Charlton - draw

Leicester v Wolves - away win

Norwich v Scunthorpe - home win

Plymouth v Crystal Palace - draw

Preston v Southampton - away win

Sheff Utd v Cardiff - draw

Watford v Sheff Wed - home win

The winner will get a pat on the back and a firm handshake. And maybe some crisps… but probably not.