League One Round-up: Bristol Rovers striker under fire, Bolton manager moans about punishment

Sol’s Back

Macclesfield at home was another game I missed, the only one last season. Sol Campbell earned a 1-1 draw for his side and proved that he was cutting it as a manager. He kept them up, but left at the beginning of the season amidst a cash crisis.

He’s back in our division, but we won’t get to see him this season as the side he’s joined, Southend, have already been comfortably beaten here. He was second choice at Roots Hall, they had been close to putting Henrik Larsson in the hot seat before Tommy Johnson helped pull the plug on the deal. Long story.

Anyway, Sol’s back and he’s raring to get stuck in with the Shrimpers. He watched his side get stuffed 7-1 in midweek against Doncaster and he’s under no illusions of the job ahead. “We’ve got to change a lot of stuff,” he said, in what seems like a wild understatement. 

“We need to be more structured and we need to be on it every day. We can’t waste any moment in training or on the pitch and we have to go for it.”

Personally, although I think they’re doomed, he does look like a decent appointment.

Marcus Maddison Hints at Posh Exit

Although we lost at Posh earlier this month, their much-admired central trio of Eisa, Maddison and Toney didn’t play well. Toney scored, granted, but the current league leaders didn’t look all that much better than us in the first half.

Maddison has been a big name in this division for a couple of seasons now. He was thought to be heading to Derby when Jack Marriott left, but nobody took a punt. This summer it looked like Sunderland might be in for him, but again it didn’t happen.

He is from that area of the country and has been linked with a move there again. In a recent interview, he seemingly refused to rule out a move to the Black Cats, saying; “I was at Sunderland before I came to Newcastle [academy], and I was a Sunderland fan growing up. Then, when I went to Newcastle, I tried to become a part of it there, which wasn’t easy when most of my family are Sunderland fans. I had to ignore all of that.

“You never know in football [about a future move to Sunderland]. It was nice to score against the team who didn’t want me. I don’t know where my career will take me.”