Championship

AMAD DIALLO has been accused of disrespecting Bristol City’s Alex Scott after missing out on the Championship Young Player of the Year award.The Manchester United youngster has spent this season on loan at Sunderland in the second tier.
Amad Diallo has performed brilliantly for SunderlandCredit: PA
His impressive performances saw him nominated for the league’s prestigious Young Player of the Year gong alongside Scott and Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney.
Scott, 19, went on to bag the award, apparently to Diallo’s ire.
The Ivorian, who joined Man United for £37million from Atalanta in January 2021, appeared to mock the decision on Twitter.
Followed by two laughing emojis, Diallo wrote: “Youg (sic) player, who?”
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One United fan wrote: “I understand he is frustrated but should not be going public and show a lack of respect.”
A number of Bristol City fans mocked Diallo’s response.
One wrote “don’t be sad” with a “there is no need to be upset meme” featuring a headshot of Scott.
While a second posted a snap of Scott doing a crying gesture.
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Bristol City fans posted a series of memes in response to DialloCredit: TWITTER
Bristol City fans revelled in Diallo’s tweetCredit: TWITTER
One supporter even posted a clip of Nigel Pearson dancingCredit: TWITTER
A third even responded with a video of Nigel Pearson dancing.
Diallo, 20, has performed brilliantly for play-off-chasing Sunderland this term.
He has scored 12 goals in 35 Championship appearances for Tony Mowbray’s side.
Sunderland sit sixth in the table with two games remaining.
Scott, meanwhile, has been a revelation for Bristol City.
His performances have drawn lavish praise from Pep Guardiola – as well as transfer links to Liverpool and West Ham.
Alex Scott poses with his well-earned awardCredit: Rex More

A FORMER Millwall hooligan called “Ginger Bob” has opened up about life on the terraces.In an eye-opening interview, the ex-thug revealed he had his first proper fight aged just 13.
A reformed hooligan has opened up over life in the Millwall Bushwackers
Ginger Bob had his first fight at 13 and once took on 2,000 Cardiff thugsCredit: Exclusivepix Media
And the toughest firm he faced had 2,000 men on their side.
Ginger Bob, 65, joined the infamous Millwall Bushwackers when he was just 11 years old.
Two years later, he experienced his first footy brawl against West Ham’s Mile End mob while on a train.
And after working his way up through various sub-firms, Ginger Bob went on to become one of the Bushwackers’ top chiefs.
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But the highlight of his hooligan career came during a huge brawl against Cardiff, with Millwall outnumbered at huge odds.
Referring to one encounter, Ginger Bob told the Anything Goes podcast: “I’ve got to give it to Cardiff City.
“Cardiff had an around 3-4,000-person-strong firm while Millwall – with around 300 – had nowhere to run. 
“Some of my mates thought they were going to die.”
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Referring to another Cardiff scrap he was involved in, Ginger Bob added: “We had 300 firm they had 2,000. Some of our people were getting stabbed. 
“One of my friends got captured by Cardiff and he was being beaten to death… so I’ve gone back into Cardiff’s firm and pulled him along the floor.
“People were attacking me but because of the adrenaline I managed to block them.
“When we got back to the station, Cardiff’s firm and the police were all laughing.
“We kicked the gates in, ran riot, and smashed all the pubs up. The police had to come back and force us back.
“That was 28th March 1976, the day before my 18th birthday – it was just like the Wild West.” More

BURNLEY are in trouble with the EFL after playing a weakened team against Reading last week.The Royals forced a draw and picked up a precious point in the relegation fight – and that has angered rivals Huddersfield.
Vincent Kompany’s Burnley could face a potential points deduction and fineCredit: Getty
The Terriers are in a battle with Reading to stay up an cried foul when they saw six change to the Clarets’ side last Saturday.
Burnley had already won promotion and Vincent Kompany threw in a handful of fringe players for a match during their busy schedule.
The EFL have written to Burnley who may be fined or even hit with a points penalty if found guilty.
The Clarets are adamant that they made changes because they were using their squad to the full and some fringe men needed a game.
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Ironically Burnley were at full strength against another survival fight QPR – and lost 2-1 at home.
Huddersfield are on 44 points while Reading are on 43. They play each other in the final match.
As for Burnley, they sealed promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The league’s top scorers and tightest defence, Burnley have become a joy to watch under Kompany.
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They have played with a style and swagger rarely – if ever – seen at Turf Moor, with another £120million coming into the coffers now to splash this summer.
According to reports, Kompany’s rising stock has seen him become a wanted boss – with Spurs, West Ham and Chelsea have been linked to the Man City legend. More

BLACKBURN attempted to give their play-off chances a hilarious boost.That’s after one star attempted a diving “Hand of God” to leave fans in hysterics.

Sammie Szmodics had a ‘Hand of God’ goal ruled out in Blackburn’s draw with PrestonCredit: Reuters
Fans were left in hysterics by the blatant handball dive
Sammie Szmodics led the line for Rovers in their Championship clash at Preston on Saturday.
The visitors are dreaming of making the playoffs after an impressive season under Jon Dahl Tomasson.
And with the scores level after an hour, it appeared Szmodics had made that dream look like a reality.
A ball was swept in from the left wing as the striker charged towards goal.
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And he sent his effort sweeping into the Preston net before wheeling away in celebration.
However, the goal was swiftly ruled out.
That’s because video replays showed Szmodics had clearly handballed with an outstretched arm as he dived to make contact.
Incredibly, it was also spotted live by the linesman – none other than Constantine Hatzidakis, who was not punished by the FA for allegedly elbowing Liverpool star Andy Robertson.
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The incident came after Blackburn saw Coventry goalkeeper Ben Wilson score a controversial equaliser during the week, appearing to punch the ball in.
And fans were left in tears by Szmodics’ attempt, with one saying: “Blackburn player just punched it into the net, ironic.”
Another declared: “How could the Blackburn player run off and celebrate the most obvious handball known to man.”
One noted: “That Blackburn lad should be ashamed of himself for not just the handball, but for chasing down the ref in protest after.”
Szmodic’s fortunes changed late on as he finally did fire Blackburn ahead with an 80th minute strike.
The visitors looked set to nab all three points to rise up the table.
But disaster struck in the fourth minute of added time with Dominic Hyam equalised for Preston, forcing Blackburn to share the points. More

CHRIS WILDER launched an astonishing rant at his Watford players after their 3-1 defeat to Cardiff on Wednesday night.The Hornets led 1-0 through Ismaila Sarr’s 11th minute goal before things quickly went downhill.
Chris Wilder delivered a scathing assessment of his playersCredit: Getty
The Hornets lost 3-1 to Cardiff City on Wednesday nightCredit: Getty
Three goals in 11 minutes saw Cardiff go into the half-time break leading 3-1 at Vicarage Road.
The result saw Watford fall five points behind the play-offs with three matches remaining in a major blow to their promotion hopes.
After the match, Wilder ripped into his team – calling them “weak mentally and physically”.
He said: “We allowed the opposition to get back into the game.
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“They sniffed we were weak mentally and physically, and scored three.
“All of a sudden everybody wants to flick it and do their own thing. People are playing out of position, hitting cross-field balls… you lose your rhythm quickly.
“Basically, you say to the opposition: ‘There you go, there’s an opportunity to get back into the game’.
“And they took it. We gave a daft free kick away and we can’t defend set pieces.”
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Wilder, 55, then went on to accuse his players of lacking “courage” – while suggesting that some of them just simply don’t care.
He continued: “Players haven’t got the courage to dig each other out, they’ve not got the courage to say: ‘Get off my toes and go and play in your position’, and that’s basically because they’re individuals.
“It’s quite difficult to analyse 20-odd players. Some might just be not bothered and underneath their breath saying: ‘I’m not bothered, there’s no consequence for me as a player’.
“Some might care, they might take it on board. Some might not even know who I am.
“But I know who I am. I know what principles I’ve got and I know what I’ve achieved through being a team player and a team man.
“I’ll keep being that team man. I’ll sacrifice everything to be involved in the team.
“I don’t think anybody will be able to get a tune out of this firm if they go individual.”
Watford recently released a statement saying that Wilder would remain in charge until the end of the season, amid widespread reports that he was on the verge of being replaced by Francesco Farioli.
‘IT’S A STRUGGLE’
The former Sheffield United and Middlesbrough boss is Watford’s third manager of the campaign, after Rob Edwards and Slaven Bilic were both sacked earlier this season.
Asked if his players are unmanageable, Wilder assessed: “I think it’s a struggle. I think six have had a go now recently. It’s a struggle and it’s been difficult for the supporters.
“Two relegations, a mid-table finish and the Covid season, where it was good. I don’t think it is unmanageable, but there are certain things that really have to change, in my opinion.
“There has been the model and there has been success with it. The owners might try and recreate that.
“I personally think the supporters want something a little bit deeper than maybe what’s happened.”
Asked about his own future, Wilder replied: “I’m not going to talk about myself. It’s not about me or what I’m going to do next year.
“I’m not going to get caught up in any of that regarding me, I don’t think it’s right at this particular moment to talk about my future.”
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The Hornets are next in action on Saturday, when they travel to Hull City.
They then finish their season with an away trip to Sunderland and home clash with Stoke.
Slaven Bilic was sacked by Watford earlier this seasonCredit: PA More

A WATFORD fan stormed the pitch in an attempt to confront the players during a defeat to Cardiff.The Hornets took the lead against the Championship strugglers before falling to a 3-1 loss.
The fan invaded the pitch and began gesticulating towards the players
He lashed out after trying to return to his seat
The supporter was escorted away by stewards
In the second half a disgruntled Watford supporter went on to the pitch and began to calmly approach goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.
He could be seen gesticulating towards the Watford players before stewards intervened.
The fan was then escorted off the pitch and headed for the direction of his seat.
And when the steward prevented him from stepping back over the advertising board the fan lashed out and almost hit the steward in the face.
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He was then taken to the side of the pitch but continued waving his arms angrily in the direction of the players.
Hertfordshire Police released a statement confirming an individual was arrested. It read: “A 37-year-old man from St Albans was arrested in connection with the incident and remains in police custody at this time.”
There is growing discontent at Vicarage Road with Watford 12th in the league after picking up just one win in six games.
That has led to speculation manager Chris Wilder could be sacked after just over a month in charge.
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Fans have had banners protesting against the owners confiscated, including one that read “Pozzo Out”.
One supporter named Richard was even thrown out of the recent 3-2 defeat to Huddersfield.
He attempted to display a towel with the words “Pozzo Out” and has subsequently been banned from purchasing tickets, according to The Athletic.
The report adds the fan must attend a meeting with the stadium operations manager before he is allowed to attend home or away matches.
Watford FC have been contacted for comment. More