And with that, we shall leave you. Goodnight, and thanks for reading. Hopefully you have a better evening than the officials at Millwall...
Match officials have requested a police escort out of the ground at Millwall after the late 97th minute Middlesbrough equaliser. Only five minutes went up on the board #boro #millwall
— Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) August 4, 2018
And here’s another match report: it’s Ben Fisher’s account of Bristol City 1-1 Nottingham Forest. Get it down you.
More football! Swansea start life under Graham Potter at Sheffield United, and Scott Murray has the minute-by-minute ready for you. Lovely.
A match report: from Celtic 3-1 Livingston.
Oof.
#wba had 72% possession and 20 shots, but just 3 on target.
— Matt Wilson (@mattwilson_star) August 4, 2018
Scottish Premiership full-time scores
Celtic 3-1 Livingston
Hamilton 1-4 Hearts
Kilmarnock 2-0 St Johnstone
St Mirren 2-1 Dundee
League Two full-time scores
Bury 1-0 Yeovil
Cheltenham 0-1 Crawley
Crewe 6-0 Morecambe
Exeter 3-1 Carlisle
Grimsby 1-4 Forest Green
Mansfield 3-0 Newport
Northampton 0-1 Lincoln
Notts County 0-0 Colchester
Oldham 1-2 MK Dons
Port Vale 3-0 Cambridge
Stevenage 2-2 Tranmere
Swindon 3-2 Macclesfield
Still waiting for a couple of results to come in, one of which is Swindon v Macclesfield: Macc were winning 2-1 until the 96th (ninety-sixth) minute, but Swindon were awarded two penalties and Michael Doughty has scored both of them. 3-2 Swindon. Heartbreak.
League One full-time scores
Accrington 0-2 Gillingham
Barnsley 4-0 Oxford
Burton 1-2 Rochdale
Coventry 1-2 Scunthorpe
Fleetwood 0-1 Wimbledon
Peterborough 2-1 Bristol Rovers
Portsmouth 1-0 Luton
Shrewsbury 0-1 Bradford
Southend 2-3 Doncaster
Walsall 2-1 Plymouth
Wycombe 0-0 Blackpool
Updated
Championship full-time scores
Birmingham 2-2 Norwich
Brentford 5-1 Rotherham
Bristol City 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Ipswich 2-2 Blackburn
Millwall 2-2 Middlesbrough
Preston North End 1-0 QPR
West Brom 1-2 Bolton
Wigan 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Full time whistles going around the country. We’ll get you some full-times post-haste.
GOAL! Brentford 5-1 Rotherham (Vaulks 90+2)
Oh, Rotherham.
GOAl! Millwall 2-2 Middlesbrough (Friend 90+7)
Oh my! Boro have apparently been no good at all down at the Den, but they’ve grabbed themselves a point, as George Friend pokes the ball over the line in the seventh (7th) minute of added time.
GOAL! Birmingham 2-2 Norwich (Hernandez 90+4)
Scenes! Three goals in the closing stages at St Andrew’s! Birmingham thought they’d won it, but Hernandez has nicked a point with his second!
GOAL! Brentford 5-0 Rotherham (Macleod 90)
Oh, Rotherham.
GOAL! Ipswich 2-2 Blackburn (Edun 90+1)
Late joy for Big Mick! Tayo Edun sends in a cross that drifts home, but no matter for Ipswich: that looks to have saved a point for them.
Red card for Big Da...sorry, Atdhe Nuhiu. Wednesday still 3-2 down at Wigan, and their chances of levelling things look to have gone down the lav.
GOAL! West Brom 1-2 Bolton (Wildschut 89)
There’s a nasty feeling that it all might go very wrong for Darren Moore as permanent West Brom boss. The Baggies are behind as Yanic Wildschut, Norwich loanee, scrambles a scrappy goal in to surely claim the points for Bolton.
GOAL! Birmingham 2-1 Norwich (Otabor 89)
Hope snatched away! Norwich were level for six minutes, but it looks like they’re toast now, as Otabor scores to surely win it for Birmingham.
GOAL! Millwall 2-1 Middlesbrough (Braithwaite 87)
Boro have a sniff at the Den. Martin Braithwaite smuggles one home with a few minutes remaining - Millwall sounded comfortable, but not any more.
GOAL! Birmingham 1-1 Norwich (Hernandez 83)
On the ball City! They’re level at St Andrew’s, having apparently put their opponents under plenty of pressure, Onel Hernandez firing left-footed into the bottom corner to equalise.
Updated
Well, apologies Coventry fans: ever since I wished good things for you...no good things have come for you. 2-1 to Scunthorpe now, Andy Dales having scored to put them ahead. Meanwhile, another for Barnsley, who have gone 3-0 up over Oxford United, Brad Potts with the strike.
Yeovil are the designated naughty boys of the day: they’ve now had two players sent off against Bury, Jordan Green joining Tom James in the early bath. Meanwhile, Stephen Humphrys has equalised for Scunthorpe against Coventry.
GOAL! Wigan 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday (Forestieri 67)
A glimmer of hope? Fernando Forestieri wasn’t really a factor for Sheffield Wednesday last season, but if he can play more of a part this term they’ll be laughing. Lucas Joao sets him up for this one, and Wednesday have one back at the DW.
GOAL! Brentford 4-0 Rotherham (Maupay 60)
Yikes. Obviously too early to draw big conclusions, but it’s going to be long ol’ season for Rotherham by the looks of things. Maupay with his second, and this is a battering.
GOAL! Wigan 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday (Powell 60)
Emphatic stuff from Wigan, back in the Champo, Nick Powell extending their lead against Sheffield Wednesday, who are in real danger of being known as Beleaguered Sheffield Wednesday if this continues.
Bad news for motivational speaker Joey Barton, whose Fleetwood side are losing: 1-0 to Wimbledon, for whom Joe Pigott has scored.
Joey Barton looking like he’s about to tell us why the iPhone 11 costs two grand. pic.twitter.com/FzxkwY00uK
— Dave Downie (@daviddownie17) August 3, 2018
GOAL! Birmingham 1-0 Norwich (Maghoma 56)
Their transfer embargo was apparently lifted in the week, and more good news for Birmingham as Jacques Maghoma belts one in after a corner was half-cleared.
A goal for Coventry, back in League One, Tony Andreu getting their first of the season against Scunthorpe. With apologies to Scunny fans, a little more good news for Coventry is no bad thing. Although Richard Keys is likely to be happy, so swings and roundabouts...
GOAL! Brentford 3-0 Rotherham (Watkins 48)
Wandering into hammering territory here, as Watkins comprehensively belts one in off the bar to confirm Brentford’s proper superiority at Griffin Park.
Just going back to Millwall’s second goal earlier, described in some haste, I missed the fact that it was Boro’s Aden Flint, with a horrible back header, that put Gregory clear. To the Pulis Gulag with him.
GOAL! Preston 1-0 QPR (Browne 50)
Unsurprisingly Preston have apparently been much the better team against QPR, and they’ve taken the lead through Alan Browne, looping a header home.
Celtic have scored. Oh the tension. 3-0. Olivier Ntcham. Penalty.
GOAL! Bristol City 1-1 Nottingham Forest (Murphy 47)
Daryl Murphy has been the designated whipping boy among a certain number of Forest fans this season, so it’s good fun that he’s scored to get them level at Ashton Gate.
Updated
Scottish Premiership half-time scores
Celtic 2-0 Livingston
Hamilton 1-1 Hearts
Kilmarnock 0-0 St Johnstone
St Mirren 1-1 Dundee
League Two half-time scores
Bury 0-0 Yeovil
Cheltenham 0-0 Crawley
Crewe 2-0 Morecambe
Exeter 2-1 Carlisle
Grimsby 1-0 Forest Green
Mansfield 1-0 Newport
Northampton 0-0 Lincoln
Notts County 0-0 Colchester
Oldham 1-2 MK Dons
Port Vale 1-0 Cambridge
Stevenage 2-1 Tranmere
Swindon 0-0 Mansfield
League One half-time scores
Accrington 0-2 Gillingham
Barnsley 2-0 Oxford
Burton 0-2 Rochdale
Coventry 0-0 Scunthorpe
Fleetwood 0-0 Wimbledon
Peterborough 2-0 Bristol Rovers
Portsmouth 1-0 Luton
Shrewsbury 0-1 Bradford
Southend 0-0 Doncaster
Walsall 1-1 Plymouth
Wycombe 0-0 Blackpool
STAT
3 - After scoring Bradford’s opener against Shrewsbury today, midfielder Jack Payne has now either scored or assisted on each of his last three league debuts, doing so for both Oxford and Blackburn in League One last season (one goal, three assists). Glee.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 4, 2018
Championship half-time scores
Birmingham 0-0 Norwich
Brentford 2-0 Rotherham
Bristol City 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Ipswich 1-2 Blackburn
Millwall 2-0 Middlesbrough
Preston North End 0-0 QPR
West Brom 1-1 Bolton
Wigan 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Updated
GOAL! West Brom 1-1 Bolton (Barnes 45)
And the Baggies are level: Leicester loanee Harvey Barnes has scored a blooter...
Barnes cuts in off the right flank and curls a gorgeous shot into the top far corner with his left foot. Absolute pearler. That'll make Moore's half-time team talk a bit easier.
— Matt Wilson (@mattwilson_star) August 4, 2018
GOAL! Brentford 2-0 Rotherham (Canos 45)
By the sounds of things Brentford have been mopping the floor with new boys Rotherham, and the scoreline now more accurately reflects that. Sergi Canos zips a shot into the net to make it 2-0 to them Bees.
The first half of the season is coming to a close, so there are plenty of meltdowns occurring on Twitter. Among others, the seasons of Middlesbrough, Forest and Wednesday are all over already. Sorry guys. See you again next August!
GOAL! Millwall 2-0 Middlesbrough (Gregory 37)
Another for Millwall! After setting up the first, Gregory finds himself behind the Boro defence, he pokes it past Randolph in nets and slips the ball into the empty net.
Another for Barnsley, another for Thiam. 2-0 at Oakwell, a low drive virtually repeating his first from earlier.
GOAL! Ipswich 1-2 Blackburn (Dack 29)
More woe for Big Mick. He sighs as Bradley Dack apparently wanders into the Ipswich area unmarked to put Blackburn ahead. Mick sadly shakes his head.
GOAL! Wigan 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday (Jacobs 26)
Hello! Ding dong old tussle at the DW, where Michael Jacobs has his second of the game and Wigan retake the lead.
And another for Celtic: Odsonne Edouard with this one, 2-0 ahead against Livingston now.
MK Dons 2-0 up now, Ryan Harley scoring their second against Oldham. Meanwhile Barnsley are ahead against Oxford, Mamadou Thiam scoring the first goal of the Daniel Stendel era.
GOAL! Wigan 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday (Nuhiu 20)
Another equaliser. This time Big Dave bags one for Sheffield Wednesday, although actually I think Atdhe Nuhiu likes being called Big Dave. Still, he will presumably like having scored for Wednesday today.
GOAL! Ipswich 1-1 Blackburn (Graham 20)
Sky have got Mick McCarthy reporting on the Ipswich game, which I don’t think is a great idea. It’s like asking a man to describe his ex-wife’s new boyfriend take his kids to the park. Danny Graham snaffles a chance to equalise for Blackburn at Portman Road.
GOAL! West Brom 0-1 Bolton (Magennis 18)
Welcome to the Championship, Baggies. A smack in the chops as Josh Magennis heads down and up into the net for Bolton.
Updated
Portsmouth could be handy in League One this season: they’re 1-0 up already over newly-promoted, big-scoring Luton, Jamal Lowe with the goal.
Updated
GOAL! Millwall 1-0 Middlesbrough (O'Brien 12)
Whatever we don’t know about the Championship, we know for certain that any Tony Pulis side will keep things tight from the off. Right?
Oh.
Aiden O’Brien puts Millwall ahead.
GOAL! Wigan 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday (Jacobs 11)
They’re back in the Championship, and Wigan are ahead straight away, Michael Jacobs shooting from the edge of the area, scoring via a deflection.
Paul Tisdale is managing someone other than Exeter for the first time since 2006, and it’s started pretty well for him at MK Dons: Kieran Agard slotted home a penalty against Oldham, and that’s 1-0.
Speaking of themes, Celtic are ahead, Tom Rogic with the goal against Livingston. 1-0 to Brendan’s bhoys.
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Rotherham (Maupay 4)
They’re flying in! Neal Maupay puts Brentford in the lead against Rotherham, and you fear that might become a theme for Paul Warne’s men this season.
GOAL! Bristol City 1-0 Nottingham Forest (Weimann 5)
And another! Forest have laid out some significant bunce but they’re already behind, former Derby forward Andi Weimann heading home for Bristol City.
Updated
GOAL! Ipswich 1-0 Blackburn (Edwards 5)
And there’s the first goal in the Championship 3pms. Gwion Edwards heads in at the far post to give Paul Hurst a fizzing start as Ipswich manager.
Updated
And one of those Posh debutants has a goal: Matt Godden has put them 1-0 up against Bristol Rovers in the first minute.
A report from Sunderland 2-1 Charlton earlier, featuring that 96th minute winner...
Here’s a fact for you...
A reflection of Peterborough's mad summer: of all the players that featured in their last seven League One games of last season, only one (Joe Ward) is in their starting XI today.
— Joe Brewin (@JoeBrewinFFT) August 4, 2018
As far as I can work out, it’s 15 in and 19 out for them this summer. You’ve got to feel sorry for their HR department.
Quick note before the games kick off: today sees the first safe standing area at an English league ground, at Shrewsbury as they host Bradford City.
According to the BBC, Sheffield Wednesday are under a transfer embargo...
Understand #swfc are under a transfer embargo, but there are potential financial implications which prevent them from confirming officially at present. Expecting more details on Monday.
— Andy Giddings (@Gids1980) August 4, 2018
If you’re going to be sponsored by a boiler company called Ideal Boilers, you might as well go all out...
Yes, that is what you think it is. An ideal boiler mascot! pic.twitter.com/M6yj3zakVt
— Matt Wilson (@mattwilson_star) August 4, 2018
In case you missed the beef earlier, here’s Paul Clement responding to criticism from his old player at Derby Darren Bent...
I sense some bitterness here, which is normal if a player does not play much.
— Paul Clement (@PaulClement1972) August 4, 2018
It is never a difficult decision to leave out a player who is over weight and lazy.
The two Football League games so far this season have seen injury-time winners by a team who had come from behind. Your move, everyone else.
GOAL at Sunderland. Who has it? You’ll have to click here, there’s no other way to find out.
Team news
Birmingham City v Norwich City
Trueman, Pedersen, Morrison, Dean, Colin, Gardner, Kieftenbeld, Jota, Maghoma, Jutkiewicz, Adams Subs: Weaver, Roberts, Dacres-Cogley, Harding, Ndoye, Lubala, Solomon-Otabor.
Krul, Marshall, Hanley, Klose, Husband, Tettey, Pukki, Trybull, Stiepermann, Hernandez, Rhodes. Subs: McGovern, Zimmermann, Leitner, McLean, Srbeny, Thompson, Cantwell
Brentford v Rotherham United
Bentley, Dalsgaard, Konsa, Mepham, Barbet, Macleod, McEachran, Canos, Sawyers, Watkins, Maupay. Subs: Yennaris, Mokotjo, Judge, Clarke, Benrahma, Jeanvier, Daniels.
Rodak; Vyner, Ajayi, Wood, Mattock; Taylor, Vaulks, Palmer, Newell; Ball; Smith. Subs: Price, Raggett, Robertson, Jones, Williams, Wiles, Vassell.
Bristol City v Nottingham Forest
Maenpaa, Bryan, Webster, Baker, Brownhill, O’Dowda, Weimann, Eliasson, Paterson, Pack, Hunt. Subs: O’Leary, Pisano, Smith, Taylor, Walsh, Kelly, Eisa.
Pantilimon; Darikwa, Dawson, Fox, Osborn; Watson, Guedioura; Dias, Carvalho, Goncalves; Murphy. Subs: Smith, Figueiredo, Colback, Grabban, Cash, Robinson, Lolley.
Ipswich Town v Blackburn Rovers
Bialkowski, Spence, Donacien, Chambers, Knudsen, Chalobah, Skuse, Downes, Edwards, Sears, Harrison. Subs: Gerken, Roberts, Dozzell, Edun, Kenlock, Woolfenden, Morris.
Raya, Nyambe, Lenihan, Mulgrew, Williams, Smallwood, Evans, Bennett, Dack, Samuel, Graham. Subs: Leutwiler, Rothwell, Bell, Nuttall, Travis, Conway, Palmer.
Millwall v Middlesbrough
Archer, Meredith, Hutchinson, Cooper, Williams, Wallace, Gregory, Romeo, Morison, O’Brien, Saville. Subs: Amos, McLaughlin, Onyedinma, Tunnicliffe, Elliotti, M.Wallace, Skalak.
Randolph, Shotton, Flint, Fry, Friend, Clayton, Leadbitter, Howson, Downing, Braithwaite, Assombalonga. Subs: Konstantopoulos, Wood, Wing, Tavernier, Johnson, Chapman, Fletcher.
Preston North End v QPR
Rudd, Fisher, Clarke, Davies, Hughes, Pearson, Barkhuizen, Harrop, Browne, Robinson, Moult. Subs: Gallagher, Woods, Horgan, Ledson, Burke, Maxwell, Huntington.
Ingram, Kakay, Leistner, Lynch, Bidwell, Luongo, Scowen, Samuel, Freeman, Eze, Smith. Subs: Cousins, Washington, Lumley, Manning, Baptiste, Smyth, Sylla.
West Bromwich Albion v Bolton Wanderers
Johnstone, Nyom, Hegazi, Bartley, Gibbs, Phillips, Brunt, Livermore, Barnes, Robson-Kanu, Rodriguez. Subs: Myhill, Adarabioyo, Townsend, Barry, Burke, Morrison, Harper
Alnwick, Taylor, Lowe, Beevers, Vela, Ameobi, Buckley, Murphy, Olkowski, Magennis, Wheater. Subs: Williams, Little, Le Fondre, Noone, Hobbs, O’Neil, Wildschut.
Wigan Athletic v Sheffield Wednesday
Walton, James, Kipre, Dunkley, Robinson, Gibson, Morsy, Massey, Powell, Jacobs, Grigg. Subs: Power, Vaughan, Bruce, McManaman, Roberts, Naismith, Jones.
Dawson, Lees, van Aken, Pudil, Palmer, Bannan, Pelupessy, Hutchinson, Reach, Nuhiu, Forestieri. Subs: Fox, Fletcher, Lucas Joao, Marco Matias, Boyd, Wildsmith, Jack Lee.
Updated
Here are a couple more EFL-related pieces that are worth your time.
Dave Hytner, with some exceptional detail on Marcelo Bielsa, new Leeds manager who begins his reign of terror/glory tomorrow.
Don McRae talks to Joseph Barton, new manager of Fleetwood, who play Wimbledon today.
Stu James talks to new Swansea manager Graham Potter - they play Sheffield United in the evening kick-off.
GOAL at Sunderland. Scott Murray with the details of who’s scored it, here.
A little reading before the team news starts rolling in. Previews, and plenty of them.
20 things to watch out for the in the Football League this season, by Jacob Steinberg
The Championship, by Paul McInnes
Fans from all 24 clubs preview the Championship
League One, by Ben Fisher
League Two, by Ben Fisher again
The Scottish Premiership, by Ewan Murray
Preamble
It’s back! Football’s back! Admittedly, it only loosely went away, the World Cup ensuring that we weren’t bereft for too long. And, let’s be honest, we could all have probably lived with another couple of weeks off, before the grind begins again. But the grind is comforting, the knowledge that you’re never more than a day or two away from a game of some description, and it will be this way, give or take, until May.
The English Football League season is two games old, Frank Lampard’s Derby County (FLDC for short) having beaten Reading in thrilling fashion last night, and at the time of writing CCCA (Crisis Club Charlton Athletic) leading CCSAFC (Crisis Club Sunderland Association Football Club) 1-0. And there are a stack more this afternoon, to delight, frustrate, anger and bore you.
Where to start in the Championship? With Tony Pulis and Middlesbrough, who travel to last season’s nearly boys Millwall? Darren Moore’s West Brom, starting afresh after relegation last season with a trip to Bolton, a fixture that would have been a stodgy one to avoid in the Premier League a few years ago? Nottingham Forest, who take their ersatz Wolves stylings, having spent a packet on three attackers from Jorge Mendes’s approved list of Portuguese youngsters, to Bristol City? What about Preston, consistently the most under-appreciated side in the division, facing Steve McClaren and QPR? Or your team, that I have neglected to mention because of the worldwide conspiracy against them?
Then there’s League One, which is frequently a barrel of laughs. How will Shrewsbury do without Paul Hurst? Will Portsmouth go one further having just missed out last season? Will Barnsley bounce back like Alan Partridge, the appointment of Jose Morais last season being their equivalent of driving to Dundee in their bare feet? What about Chris Powell at Southend? Will Steve Evans think Steve Evans can do the business at Peterborough?
And League Two! We keep going! Will MK Dons be able to deal with the gales of laughter that accompanied their relegation last season? Will Kevin Nolan get past that he sometimes looks like he slept in his car and take Notts County up? What about the Cowleys, still at Lincoln despite much talk of a move elsewhere?
So much to keep track of. We’ll also be keeping tabs on the Scottish Premiership, where Celtic kick off their latest procession to the league title, with only Steven Gerrard in their way. Probably.
There are 35 games kicking off at 3pm today, and we’ll try to keep you abreast of them all. It’s back. Even though it never really went away.
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