L1 | S4 | W6: Harrogate stun Liverpool as four clubs deadlock at the Division 1 summit

📰 Week 6 in Review – Season 4

Four clubs on ten points. One of those clubs was supposed to be pulling clear by now. Another came into the week with momentum after winning four of their first five. Another just got a new manager. And Harrogate Town – sitting eighth at kick-off – went and beat Liverpool 3-0. Week 6 in the PBM Old Boys League delivered the kind of chaos that makes you check the table twice.

Across the four divisions, the headlines belonged to the unexpected. Peterborough United thumped Plymouth Argyle 4-1 to scramble the Division 1 title race all over again. Cheltenham Town are quietly becoming the most consistent side in Division 2. In Division 3, Leicester City are climbing fast while Tranmere Rovers – four weeks ago the most woeful side in the league – have now won two in a row. And in Division 4, a Bossio brace rescued Hibernian a point against Chelsea, but Hull City and Sheffield United are making this a three-horse race.

🏆 Division 1 – The Table Turned Upside Down

Going into Week 6, Port Vale, Plymouth Argyle and Rangers were all locked on nine points. Now there are four clubs on ten – Rangers, Nottingham Forest, Walsall and Norwich City – and none of them particularly look like champions. What a week to be watching Division 1.

The biggest story of the week had nothing to do with the title contenders. Harrogate Town – eighth at kick-off, on eight points – put Liverpool to the sword at Wetherby Road. Mayer scored twice, at 16 and 32 minutes, before Saka added a third after the break. Liverpool’s Stuart Merry will need answers. A side that looked to be finding form last week has now conceded six in two games on the road.

💡 Harrogate have now scored seven goals in their last two home games. Mayer has been involved in all three goals this week and has four league goals to his name already. Jeff Galdas’s side are doing this quietly, without fanfare – and they’re now one point off the top.

The other big upset: Peterborough United 4-1 Plymouth Argyle. Carl’s side came in having won four of their first five and were genuinely looking like quiet title contenders. Lampard opened things up early before Smertin pulled one back for Plymouth, but the second half was all Peterborough – two from Herrera and a late Balotelli effort turned this into a rout. Plymouth drop to eighth. At this point, it is hard to pick a favourite in Division 1.

Port Vale, who had been flying since beating Rangers in Week 5, ran straight into Nottingham Forest and lost 0-1 – Berbatov with the only goal after 23 minutes. Jay and Charles’s side are up to second, their form table the best in the division over the last five games. Walsall, newly managed by David Griffiths, started with a 1-0 win over Sutton United – Rillo with the goal just before the hour. Whether that’s continuity or a new chapter remains to be seen, but three points on day one will do.

⚠️ Newport County and Wigan Athletic are both on five points – and both already looking nervously at the bottom. Newport drew at home to Wigan but neither side could find a winner. Liverpool’s poor away form leaves them on seven points but with a goal difference that’s beginning to slide.

💙 Division 2 – Stockport Still Lead, Cheltenham Won’t Go Away

Stockport County drew 2-2 at Hearts and still lead Division 2 on twelve points. They have now gone six league games unbeaten, picking up points even when they are not at their best. Matt Rose’s side are setting the standard – but Cheltenham Town, on eleven points after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Barrow, are not going anywhere.

Cheltenham are the form team of Division 2 over the last five games – eleven points from fifteen, the best record in the division. Bob Hope’s side are winning ugly when they have to and picking up points on the road. Aston Villa’s new manager rondanger, arriving at Villa Park this week, walks into a side that is ninth on nine points – within touching distance of the top six, but with work to do.

Cambridge United are quietly climbing too, winning 2-1 at home to Stoke City and moving up to sixth. Keller and Silva both scored inside the first half-hour. Ross County joined them on nine points after a comfortable 2-0 win against York City, with Haller and Schweinsteiger on the scoresheet. Brighton & Hove Albion, on the other hand, have now lost five of their six league matches. Ian Dance’s side sit in the relegation places on three points, bottom of the division, with nothing yet to suggest the run is turning.

🔍 Huddersfield Town are an outlier that deserves attention. Three home wins, no away points – a 1-1 draw at Sunderland this week maintains the pattern exactly. If Tim W’s side can find a way to take anything on the road, they have the firepower to push much higher.

❤️ Division 3 – The Survivors and the Stragglers

Manchester City continue to set the pace in Division 3. A 2-1 win at Ipswich Town – Dedič and Heskey on the scoresheet in a second-half comeback after trailing at the break – extends their lead to three points. Eusebio 21’s side have now won five of six, conceding just four goals all season. Arsenal and Stevenage are level on twelve points behind them, but neither can land the telling blow on City’s lead.

The story at the bottom of Division 3 is more pressing. Crystal Palace have now gone six games without a win – one point from six, three goals scored, ten conceded. Leicester City are the team doing the damage at the other end of the table, winning 1-0 at Elland Road through a Bellamy goal on 69 minutes to jump five places to fourth. Dings’s side have now lost only once in their last four.

⚠️ Crystal Palace, Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town are all on four points or fewer after six games. Blackburn remain unmanaged. Crystal Palace have lost four at home already. Any of these three sides would be in serious trouble if the run continues past the ten-game mark.

Tranmere Rovers are worth a mention for the second week running. A 2-0 win at Crystal Palace – Aranbide in the first minute, Barnes with a late second – gives Luke Finnegan’s side back-to-back wins after a dreadful start. They’re up to eleventh, and that early-season form table which had them bottom is starting to look like a distant memory. On the flip side, Everton drew 1-1 with Stevenage at Goodison – O’Brien equalised for Marc Murphy’s side but Bianchi snatched a point for the visitors late. Everton have now failed to win any of their last three away games.

💛 Division 4 – Hull City Crash the Party

Chelsea and Hull City are level on fourteen points at the top of Division 4. Loz Newbold’s side dropped two points at Hibernian – Bossio twice from the spot levelling up a game Chelsea had led through Kanu and Harbi. Steve Earl’s Hull City, meanwhile, won 1-0 at Celtic through a Gomis strike in the 18th minute. Chelsea still lead on goal difference, but the gap has been cut and Hull City are now very much the story.

The form table tells an even sharper story. Sheffield United, sitting third, have the best recent form in the division over the last five games – twelve points from fifteen with a 2.40 points-per-game average. Steve Ray’s side are actually outperforming both Chelsea and Hull City on form right now. Two Kamara goals in the second half put Southend United to the sword 2-0, and with the league cup Last 16 approaching in Week 8, Sheffield United are building momentum at exactly the right time.

🔍 Hull City’s goal difference is now identical to Chelsea’s at +8, and Gomis leads the Division 4 scoring charts with nine goals from six games. If Hull can keep him fit and firing, they have the individual quality to go to the very top. The top of Division 4 is tighter than it looks.

At the bottom, Exeter City remain the only pointless side across all four divisions after six games – a 1-1 draw against Manchester United was actually their first point, but a GD of -7 tells its own story. Michael Kensett’s side have a mountain to climb. Celtic, Colchester United and Leyton Orient are all on three points. It is early, but the relegation battle in Division 4 has its candidates.

🗞️ Around the League

The score draw pool rolls over again. Fourteen draws this week and not a single manager guessed correctly – the pool now stands at £1,600,000. That is a significant prize waiting to land. Five new managers joined the league this week: rondanger takes over Aston Villa, David Griffiths arrives at Walsall, Bradley Murray takes the chair at Hibernian, Garysean Wilson joins Southend United and Tony Jordan is the new man at Leyton Orient. Welcome to all five – you’ve picked quite a week to start.

The Police Report had some notable entries. The most costly incident came at Sunderland vs Huddersfield Town – 85 arrests, 8 officers injured and just over £90,000 of stadium damage. Port Vale vs Nottingham Forest was not far behind with 64 arrests and £89,000 of damage. West Ham and Exeter City also had crowd trouble this week. It adds up to a grim afternoon for the match day stewards.

Televised games were off this week – a dispute with ground staff stopped transmission. On the squad rankings front, Sutton United lead the overall standings, with Norwich City second and Everton third. Harrogate Town sit fourth – which puts their form this season in sharper context. The squad is there; they just needed to click.

On the friendly front, Stockport County won 3-0 at Southend, Ross County won 1-1 at Leyton Orient, and Everton beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 in a result that will raise a few eyebrows given Forest’s league form. Heart of Midlothian reached the Rival Awareness milestone this week and will now begin formally monitoring their rivals.