League One relegation scrap takes a twist, Blades and Black Cats take a turn for the worse, and Tony Mowbray takes no time
27 January 2025 | Weekend Notes brings you the biggest stories, stats and insights from the EFL weekend.
● BIG STORIES ● CHEAT SHEET ● 5IVELIGHTS ● THE VIEW FROM ● FORM BOOK ● FANTASY FOOTBALL ●
You say goodbye, I say hello…
Hello, hello! We say goodbye to a Weekend Notes feature this week. Watching Brief section has gone, replaced by The Form Book — a simple way to keep tabs on the best and worst performers over the past four games.
Elsewhere, there’s a lot coming up on NTT20.COM this week. Watch your inbox for more Done Deals, more Under The Lights (a podcast recap of the midweek action), and a one-off Transfer Clinic with Ali Maxwell and George Elek on Friday — access all of that by signing up for a paid subscription.
Welcome to Weekend Notes.
🚨 Big Stories
A selection of decisive moments from across the EFL.
⛔ Blades blunted; Black Cats clawed back — Sheffield United 0-3 Hull, Sunderland 2-2 Plymouth Argyle — Hull paired a solid defensive block with razor-sharp counter-attacking instinct for an emphatic win at Bramall Lane. Matt Crooks’ sublime 6th-minute opener set the tone, and the hosts never looked comfortable as Hull denied them space centrally and pushed them into wide areas. The second half compounded Sheffield United’s misery and secured Hull’s third consecutive away win to nil – a remarkable turnaround for a team that kicked off in the relegation zone.
The real surprise, perhaps, was Sunderland’s failure to capitalise on Blades’ defeat despite dominating the first half against Plymouth, who hadn’t taken a point on the road from any top-half side… until now. Argyle improved in the second half, missing a golden chance before taking the lead and also hitting the post at 1-1, then ultimately sealing a deserved draw at the death. At last, a memorable trip for the travelling Pilgrims in the stands. All eyes now on Burnley v Leeds tonight…
🧱 Walsall hit the wall – Bradford 3-0 Walsall – If you’re going to lose a club-record nine-match winning streak, lose it in style. Yet Walsall have largely got away with it, as every other League Two top-half team except Doncaster (just) and their own conquerors dropped points. Bradford’s superb display was headlined by Antoni Sarcevic’s great strike and Alex Pattison’s well-taken brace, but the defence coped brilliantly with a Saddlers attack averaging more than two goals per game; Jack Shepherd’s foul on Oisin McEntee went unpunished from the spot at 3-0 and other than that, they restricted Walsall to 0.5 xG. The Bantams are into the play-off places.
🚨 Not too Posh to push the panic button — Lincoln 5-1 Peterborough — “What have I got to lose?” said Darren Ferguson in the fire and fury of his post-match interview. Peterborough’s manager threw his players under the bus with his first sentence, then into the abyss, the storm and the lion’s den. Will they come out fighting? That is surely Ferguson’s intention – and he wasn’t wrong that the performance was “embarrassing” – but to call the league’s youngest squad “the softest group of players I’ve ever had” seems counter-productive, with more than a whiff of buck-passing. Posh have taken 6 points from their last 10 games, conceding 22 goals. They are 6 points above the relegation zone, and cannot wait another 10 games to arrest the slide. They also have only 8 home matches remaining and 11 away, where they average 0.67 points per game. In a mire, in a mess – Ferguson may have decided he has nothing to lose, but Posh and their players sure do.
🧟♂️ It’s aliiiiive! – Burton 4-2 Rotherham, Cambridge 3-2 Mansfield, Fleetwood 1-2 Carlisle – Behold, the corpse twitching to life: wins for 23rd and 24th in League One and 24th in League Two. Carlisle, stitched together from various new parts, were reanimated with nine January signings featuring in a tenacious win at Fleetwood. Cambridge shocked Mansfield, then held on, for Garry Monk’s fifth league win of a 32-match reign. And Burton had a hulking brute to thank for their three points, as one J.D. Bodvarsson scored two to show Steve Evans who’s the Dadi. Just look what two wins in a week, and three goals from their new Icelander, have done for Burton:
🦾 Sargent Bash – Norwich 5-1 Swansea – In the 63rd minute, with Swansea having just equalised, Josh Key won the ball from Norwich’s restart and drove forward. He was tackled. Josh Tymon won it back. He was tackled. Norwich retook the lead. This then happened on repeat for the rest of the second half. Turnover, goal; ground duel, goal – the hosts took regenerating candy from a baby. Josh Sargent scored twice on his long-awaited return, supported well by Emiliano Marcondes, Lewis Dobbin, Onel Hernandez (remember him?) and substitute Ante Crnac. Luke Williams’ Swans have lost their last four away games 4-0, 3-0, 3-0 and 5-1, and the fans are restless.
⭐ The Fault in League One’s Stars — It was a weekend to forget for the majority of the promotion pack. Huddersfield’s 16-match unbeaten run came to an end as beleaguered Bolton turned up managerless and left with all three points. Wycombe were kept out by Northampton’s Nik Tzanev, who made four big saves to ensure it remained goalless. The biggest winners were probably Birmingham, despite coming under the cosh in the second half against Wrexham: drawing away to an automatic promotion rival leaves the Blues with a five-point cushion and two games in hand.
Wrexham (3rd) 1-1 Birmingham (1st)
Wycombe (2nd) 0-0 Northampton
Huddersfield (4th) 0-1 Bolton (9th)
Stockport (5th) 2-0 Crawley
Barnsley (6th) 0-1 Stevenage
Leyton Orient (7th) 2-0 Reading (8th)
As for the teams gathered just below them, Barnsley lost to a Stevenage side who had won just once in 18 away games while Reading lost to Leyton Orient, the O’s leapfrogging them to sit one point off the playoff places with a game in hand. The sole winners were Stockport, who made ground on all around them.
💙 Nice guys start fast – WBA 5-1 Portsmouth, Barrow 3-0 Grimsby – Tony Mowbray is one of the EFL’s most popular figures, so everybody enjoyed seeing him return to management and The Hawthorns with a triumphant trouncing. Well, everyone except Portsmouth, who are becoming increasingly Plymouthian in their reliance on home form – they’ve even conceded more goals on the road than Argyle now. Grady Diangana was Mowbray’s hero (tune into the Monday pod for more on that), and just to show there’s enough wholesome content to go around, the universally popular Andy Whing began his EFL managerial career by bringing Barrow only their second win in 16. Message received:
📊 Monday Morning Cheat Sheet
From the WhatsApp group to the watercooler: stats to keep you ahead of the game.
🆚 Stoppable force meets pliable object — Going into Saturday’s relegation clash, Millwall hadn’t won any of their last six away games while Luton, despite poor form, had lost just once in eight home games. What happened next? Luton 0-1 Millwall. Ouch.
🐦 Bluebirds singing in tune — Cardiff’s 2-1 win v Derby County made it 7 games without a defeat (W3 D4), their longest unbeaten run since 2021.
🤕 Rapid recovery — Back from injury, Josh Sargent scored a double for Norwich, taking him to a clinical 17 goals from his last 19 Championship home appearances.
🔁 ’Always scores against us’ #1 — With his winner at the weekend, Preston’s Emil Riis has scored 7 league goals in 8 Championship games against Middlesbrough – nearly a fifth of his 37-goal tally in the division.
🔂 ’Always scores against us’ #2 — Bristol City’s Nahki Wells has scored more league goals against Blackburn in his Football League career than any other opponent; the winner last weekend was his 10th against Rovers.
🤠 DRAW! — No, really, please draw. Salford and Walsall haven’t seen a game end honours-even over their past 20 fixtures combined. Feast. Famine. And nothing in between.
⏱️ The late late show — Charlton Athletic have scored 44% of their goals after the 75th minute of games in League One this season. With so many small-margin matches, they’ve been ahead for only 16.5% of minutes and drawing for a whopping 60% – the most in the league.
📝 A Grade — Grady Diangana scored twice and assisted twice before half-time in WBA’s 5-1 thumping of Portsmouth; it was the first time he has ever had 3+ direct goal involvements in an EFL match, in what was his 197th appearance.
🔢 Age is but a number — Four is also a number, and Accrington Stanley’s 37-year-old wide man, Shaun Whalley, has scored four goals in January – the most in the league – which has resulted in a huge 9 points gained for his relegation-threatened side. Check out his goal in 5iveLights, below…
🎦 5ivelights
In no particular order, a collection of our favourite goals or clips from across the 72.
Putting the can in Cantona — Accy’s Whalley pours some sugar on the not-so-humble chip.
Ivan the Terribly Good — Millwall win it with a vicious Ivanovic volley.
Imperial Leather — Bayliss didn’t need Harding to hit this clean freekick for Lincoln, less leather and more lather.
Delightful Tranmere team goal from Sol the not-so-solo Solomon.
Sky Blue Torpedo — Cov ace with a thundercrack of a freekick.
The View From…
The stormy winds of Éowyn rattled through the open window – a fitting metaphor for the January transfer window. Sometimes it’s all just hot air. Other times, it delivers players who make an immediate splash. So, who’s catching the eye this time around?
This weekend, we saw debut goals from Louie Sibley (Rotherham), Thomas Waddingham (Portsmouth), James Collins (Lincoln) and Joe ‘son of Graham’ Westley (Swindon), as well as one from Lars-Jørgen Salvesen in his first Derby start (but second appearance). Curiously, most of those goals came in losing efforts. Still, they’re part of a larger wave of new arrivals making waves. Let’s take a closer look at a few more who are turning heads:
Michał Helik (Oxford) — Since Helik landed, the Yellows have kept two clean sheets. Small sample size? Sure. Big impact? Absolutely. The aerially dominant centre-back isn’t just holding the line – he’s thriving on the ball. Helik has been Oxford’s most prolific and accurate passer in his last three games and even bagged a vital goal in a dramatic 3-2 win over Blackburn.
Tom Bloxham (Blackpool) — Bloxham’s made himself at home fast, with an assist on his debut, followed by a goal and assist this weekend in just his second start. He’s taking on a more central role for Blackpool than he did at Shrewsbury, and it’s working.
Ollie Norburn (Wigan) — Arriving mid-January, the central midfielder hasn’t sparkled with goals or assists but that’s not why Wigan signed him. Whether it’s cutting off passing lanes to make interceptions or breaking up play with tackles, the 33-year-old has brought much-needed nous to a young Latics midfield.
Jaheim Headley (Port Vale) — Fresh legs, fresh energy. Headley’s been a revelation for Vale, contributing an assist on debut and finding the back of the net in his second game. With an impressive average of four touches in the opposition box per match, he has added a new attacking dimension on the left flank.
Owen Dodgson (Burton) — The Brewers landed the left-back a couple of weeks ago and have gone unbeaten in the three games since. That’s not all down to Dodgson, but the new signing is adding pep to their attacking play, providing two assists from wing-back already.
Jón Dadi Bödvarsson (Burton) — The beneficiary of one of those assists has been the new Böd up top. Two starts, two wins, and three goals for DadBod have given Burton a sudden whiff of the good stuff: hope. He’s only three goals behind their current top scorer, Danilo Orsi.
Tommy Backwell (Cheltenham) — First start, first goal: Backwell opened his account 31 minutes into his Cheltenham career, providing a much-needed threat from midfield. He’s exactly what they have been missing.
Dilan Markanday (Leyton Orient) — Markanday’s transition to League One looks seamless. He scored his first Orient goal this weekend in just his second outing. In those two games, he’s racked up 13 touches in the opposition box, adding firepower to a squad suddenly eyeing a very realistic play-off push.
📕 The Form Book
Which sides are topping the four-game form guide and which sides are bottoming out?
Championship
🟩 Coventry | 9pts | W3 L1 | GD +3
🟩 QPR | 9pts | W3 L1 | GD +1
🟩 Sheffield United | 9ts | W3 L1 | GD +1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
🟥 Luton | 1pt | D1 L3 | GD -3
🟥 Swansea | 1pt | D1 L3 | GD -8
🟥 Derby | 0pts | L4 | GD -5
League One
🟩 Leyton Orient | 10pts | W3 D1 | GD +4
🟩 Birmingham | 8pts | W2 D2 | GD +4
🟩 Lincoln | 7pts | W2 D1 L1 | GD +4
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
🟥 Crawley | 2pts | D2 L2 | GD -5
🟥 Peterborough | 2pts | D2 L2 | GD -5
🟥 Exeter | 1pts | D1 L3 | -4
League Two
🟩 Bradford | 10pts | W4 D1 | GD +6
🟩 Wimbledon | 10pts | W4 D1 | GD +4
🟩 Walsall 9ts | W3 L1 | GD +4
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
🟥 MK Dons | 1pts | D1 L3 | GD -4
🟥 Gillingham | 1pts | D1 L3 | GD -5
🟥 Grimsby | 1pts | D1 L3 | GD -6
🟥 Newport | 0pts | L4 | GD -5
🏆 Fantasy Football
Go head-to-head against team NTT20 in our EFL Fantasy Football league
Another low-scoring weekend, another top 20 finish for Team NTT20. Matt Watts was on hand to pick the players this time around, and there were solid contributions across the board, especially at the back. We’re coming for ya!
A 61-point haul takes up to 115th place, but we were 10 points off the weekend’s top scorers, The 1% Club, and that leaves Mr Browne’s Boys streaking ahead now in first place.
In the league 1 play off chase, aren’t Charlton a winner, 2 points off, game in hand, on a run that’s only just behind Orient