Championship/League One/League Two/Conference (now Blue Square) Thread 2007/8 And Everyone's Invited

Charlton to win the championship, obviously.

So below the conf we need our own thread?

I need advice for who to put my money on for my ALL BRITISH LEAGUES season-long accumulator. So come on - who?

What will happen to Leeds United this season? It's anyone's guess.
http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/large/lol-46383.jpg

RIP big man

Worst of all, they've just sold star striker Richard Cresswell ;_;

So depressing.

If by depressing you mean hilarious, then yeah.

We don't have any LUFC fanssufferers on ILX, do we?

I'm gonna regret this with every superstitious bone in my body, but Michael Kightly to set the Championship on fire this season.

Also Bates in jail and Leeds defunct by December pleez kthxbye

We don't have any LUFC fanssufferers on ILX, do we?

Me. alas.

This I did not know. Commiserations, your team is undergoing perhaps the most spectacular fall from grace in English league history.

Okay sorry Michael it's all good fun until somebody loses an eye etc

Let's hate on Millwall instead! :D

I'd love Leeds to stay up if it meant Millwall going down. Apologies in advance to surreptitious ILX Lions.

I eagerly await us losing an ill-tempered match 1-0 to Leeds at Sixfields.

Still, though, you gotta laugh!

Michael White supporting Leeds United feels a bit like Noel Coward being really into bear baiting.

Do Sheffield United really have the best attack outside the Premiership now they've signed Beattie and Billy Sharp?

I raise you Svetoslav Todorov, Luke Varney and Chris Iwelumo...

The Blades sophisticated brand of hoofing it up the middle of the park and kicking to death anybody who gets in the way can only be improved by those signings.

Not sure that's an entirely fair characterization of the way we play. We haven't played route one for fifteen years. It's not like watching Arsenal, but it is certainly entertaining, especially against high quality opposition -- where we basically go insane. The kicking to death bit is true though.

I ended up warming to Warnock last season, partly cos you weren't competing with the Wolves I guess. But Robson is without doubt the least competent manager in the history of professional football. He'll need a very strong coaching team around him.

MICHAEL RICKETTS SCORED

that was disappointing. scunthorpe score with their only chance of the second half. with an unmarked header from a corner. it's all well and good being the slicker passing side, the more skillful team, but you gotta stick it away more than once against cloggers like SUFC.

We were shit.

I don't even wanna think about our lot. We currently have four first-team defenders fit. We're waiting on Claus Lundekvam and Darren Moore to come back and sort us out. We should get enough goals to keep us clear of real trouble, but this season's not going to offer us much more than a furious battle for 13th with, oh, Coventry or someone.

At least you three actually have a season to look forward to, rather than "17th with a bullet, looked like 15th for a while but Andy Kirk out for two months over Christmas"

At least there were plenty of people in the crowd (i.e. not very many premiership plastics). And the half-time Cornish pasty was delicious! Is it me or are standards of food at English league grounds improving?

I dunno, I can't afford to eat at the KC Stadium.

I thought you played at Molineux...

...but I live in Hull, innit?

So we lose to Peterborough in the cup, then Burley admits we sold 3/4 of our defence over summer because otherwise we'd have gone into administration. Quite how he thought saying he was now in a position to turn down a £5million bid for Kenwyne Jones would help matters, I'm not really sure.

We screwed.

you STILL have claus lundekvam??! he must be your longest-serving player! unless jason dodd is still there under an assumed name.

Dodd's a coach at Southampton now. FM2007 data packs = educational

Paddy McCarthy is officially signing of the season.

Kudos to Mick McCarthy on loaning out Jody Craddock despite the fact that he's our best centre half and we're not exackly over-blessed with defensive options.

RIP Ray Jones

A real tradegy, one of our brightest prospects for a long time. Had his head turned by Premiership interest in him last season but had so much potential. After eveything else that has gone on at the club over the years i wouldn't be surprised if the potential take over of the club falls through which means liquidation for us. RIP.

just don't know what to say. terrible.

RIP

Martin Allen's won the Championship sack race, after just four games in charge of Leicester. And we've got rid of Kenwyne Jones to Sunderland for £6million plus Stern John.

lol at Passantino's entire Fantasy League gimmick being obliterated

haha

How does this work:

Southampton sell Danny Higginbotham to Stoke in August 2006 for 225K, and then in August 2007 Stoke sell him to Sunderland for over ten times that amount.

Sunderland seal Higginbotham deal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/6967059.stm

Martin "Mad Dog" Allen and Milan Mandaric - was never going to work out.

Briatore: “Dream Totti and Capello to the QPR, but costs too much”

:D

wish i'd kept the evening standard that claimed rangers were set to replace sir les with roberto baggio

I'm off to see the lads take on Milac Mandarin's misfiring minions in a bit. I wonder if they'll let OUR goalie score in the first minute?

Wednesday get their first points on the board, which makes the Wolves' midweek defeat by Hull look even worse than it was. We get a win at last, but I'm kind of alarmed that we didn't capitalise on playing 9 men.

Leicester's defence today = the less said the better :D

(2nd and rising btw! This looks like our most cohesive, determined outfit in two years...)

"And I thought that Dennis Wise was, basically, a complete idiot."
Lloyd Cole on stage at the City Varieties last night. (Personally, I'm giving Gus Poyet all the credit.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/images/2006/02/08/body_killer_cup_470x250.jpg

yeah well we lost to fucking luton, boohoo

also, the side (more or less to a man) who rolled over and died against us four days ago are suddenly capable of turning villa over. what is going on?

it must be the magic of the cup

TONIGHT WE DINE IN HULL

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_01/075hullcity_468x369.jpg

FUCKING Jay Bothroyd

are ALL our shit ex-strikers going to score against us this season?

COME ON YOU WOLVES

Sorry mate. Important win for us tho.

HAVE IT JAGGER

HAVE IT

The only Plymouth Argyll fan in the entire university has already found me. I expect a similar reaction to this latest debacle. Christ we're playing shite at the moment.

you lot were bizarrely passive in the 2nd half, i gotta say. didn't collapse or get overly rattled or anything, just... sorta lay down and accepted it. especially strange since we missed a penalty against the run of play and all

We play in such a way as that games are quite controlled, but we'll never overrun a team (or be overrun ourselves). It then comes down to the taking of chances. Our strikers have done tit-all in the last three games.

lolz

http://www.canaries.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/ec/a6/0,,10355~3450604,00.jpg

"As a person I like to live on the edge and sail close to the wind and that's what this club is doing at the moment."

what carling cup matches are on tv tonight?

Where the hell did Bothroyd find his work ethic? KIU Big Man.

i await william swygart's taunts in about 90 minutes' time

Judas McIndoe with the assist for the equaliser :-(

BBC's Live Text seems to be really effed up today.

GOOD FUCKING LORD

this will give us hella belief

Leeds lost at last.

crikey, we might be playing CARLISLE next season

jimmy glass, where are you now

After quitting, he worked as an IT salesman and a now owns a Taxi Company in a quiet Dorset town, he reportedly scored six goals two weeks running while playing Sunday league football in Bournemouth, playing as a striker. He has written an autobiography, entitled One Hit Wonder. He also enjoyed a brief stint in goal for non-league Lewes.

The closest he came to a trophy was reaching the final of the Auto Windscreens Shield with Bournemouth in 1998 - unfortunately Glass scored an own goal in the match, and Bournemouth lost 2-1. This was the first time a goalkeeper had scored an own goal at the old Wembley.

So, Swygart then.

The board's perseverance with Laws is getting payback, big time.

jeeeeeesus

bristol city getting one in the arse as well by the looks of things

and Big Chris In The Last Minute does it again, albeit in the last minute of the first half

I suspect Ipswich are spiking away teams' tea.

C'mon lads let's get a couple more!

Happy times.

definition of pathos: me going off to find somewhere in cambridge showing preston-charlton instead of (or as well as) chelsea-derby

boils down to: who DOESN'T have Setanta

wish me luck, homies

From my Facebook status updates:

L*** M***** is pissed off with the clueless Cobblers - GRAY OUT! 21m ago

Apparently DJ Martian has relatives in the Northamptonshire area.

It Takes a Nation of Martians to Make Us Laugh

Has DJ Martian even BEEN to East Hunsbury this season?

GET IN (I found a place!)

Nicky Weaver for England!

Wolves 4-5-1 :-/

Charlton were also 4-5-1, but fortunately we responded to Preston's wave of pressure by adapting to 4-4-2, bringing one-time Hollyoakes potential Luke Varney on to join Iwelumo up front. The results were deadly.

It sounds like McCarthy's got it right at the moment. But man we have frustratingly failed to progress from last season.

We're homing in on that 12th spot that we will doubtless make our own by season's end. Our boardroom... let's not be going there.

"Swing Lowe...Swing Rupert Lowe..."

The Championship is some kind of Twilight Zone where logic, consistency and any possibility of making a prediction from one result to the next have disappeared.

Still it could be worse. I could be a Liverpool fan.

Okay that was a hell of a result all things considered. We were 4-4-2 by the end.

Right, where's that Caek so'n'so? ARE YOU PREPARED FOR HU-MI-LI-A-SHUN?

rule #38 of internet: don't ever phrase anything ambiguously, for fear it might come true in the way you least want.

ROBSON OUT

Do you wanna swap him for Stuart Gray? Five losses on the bounce, no goals scored, and a team still revolving around a clapped about Danish guy with no final touch or pace. AWESOME.

(I'm the Wolves Dom.) I doubt if Sheff U could swap him for a set of spanners at the moment tho.

charlton back on the rails (sort of)

woohoo! good atmosphere today, great first half, darren ambrose with the gentlemanly non-celebrations in front of his former fans, having scored a header, then a blinder. afterwards, as we've come to expect, the nervous second period. less than impressive, but the job had already been done. pablo counago scored a ridiculously brilliant goal, eerily similar to the thierry henry one all those years ago. the flummoxed defender? i do believe it was jon fortune on both occasions! :D

speaking of which, i've FINALLY seen a red card at a charlton game, and it came after the final whistle. fortune you MUPPET

We're shit. McCarthy is shit. Football is shit. :(

this has also exorcised my first ever charlton game, in which we lost 3-1 at home...to ipswich :D

lol last time Ipswich won away

I only saw the second half, but Burnley looked fairly decent - they were lumping it out of defence a lot, admittedly, but their wingers looked very useful, their defence was nicely organised... they might surprise a few people.

In other news, we're ninth, three points off the play-offs. How?

Burnley were nice altho they stepped off the gas in the second half and a better team than Wolves would have punished them for it. We were uncohesive, couldn't seem to pass a ball to feet, and had a defence that made a laugh of being the allegedly meanest in the division. I honestly don't see where McCarthy's gonna go with this because it's neither pretty nor effective, and beyond Hennessey (who was towering except for the cock-up for the first goal), Kightly and Henry we have nobody who looks remotely Premiership class.

Grey out

I quite liked the look of Olofinjana, actually, he seemed decent at cleaning stuff up and bringing it out of defence. He also seemed like the kind of player you see in the photos in Observer Sport failing to tackle Cesc Fabregas, but that's only to be expected, I suppose.

He's been a good servant but I think he tends to go missing for patches of the game. He could probably pass as a mediocre Prem player tho, yeah.

idiocy :(

Really, really want QPR to be the world's first billionaire third tier team.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f14/snouts/yes.gif

The "Six steps on" piece in last month's WSC about this was pretty lulz, especially as three of the steps were "Fire ex-Chievo coach, hire ex-Messina coach", "Fire ex-Messina coach, hire ex-Siena coach", and "Fire ex-Siena coach, rehire ex-Chievo coach"

I'm gonna regret this with every superstitious bone in my body, but Michael Kightly to set the Championship on fire this season.

http://www.expressandstar.com/2007/12/19/kightly-in-new-injury-setback/

Yet again, Charlton - Hull results in a brawl. This time, however, the result is probably gonna be the wrong one as far as I'm concerned. Apparently we're shite. Glad I slept in for once.

Ah, we've scored. :D

Stoke are whipping the baggies

stoke are the dark horses this year. me, i'm still waiting for ipswich to get a winner against burnley who have been down to 10 men all second half.

sent off for two separate instances of talking-back, danny mills you absolute moron

our first draw in something like 3 months, undeserved

Cobblers won their first in eight last night. So, yeah, more midtable anonymity.

He is not afraid to finish from any angle and has made the zero degree finish his own.

Your strikers appear to be capable of witchcraft.

Northampton town are widely regarded to play a very boring brand of football, with fans constantly singing " why oh why cant we play like leeds, play like leeds, play like leeds!", reffering to the attacking and fluent football played by the yorkshire club.

lol wiki vandalism

grrrr

http://images.sportinglife.com/07/12/330/Leeds_Jermaine_Beckford2_614954.jpg

Jermaine Beckford looks like a penis.

hate list:

leeds
leeds
steven gerrard
leeds
charlton defenders getting sent off every fucking game
leeds

Hull fans singing "Sacked in the morning, you're getting sacked in the morning" to McCarthy yesterday. God I hope they're right.

less than a day into 2008 and i'm through with the fucking year, that was the fucking pits

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7166724.stm

truly a great, great day for charlton

Could be worse, you could be Ian Holloway.

Ha. Leicester are the only team I've seen us play this season who were shiter than us for all 90 minutes.

I discussed QPR at length with a friend today. We couldn't agree on whether they'd be in the Champions' League within five or six seasons. Fucking trendy West London suburbia shit-eating billionaire tossers. They're gonna make the play-offs this season. Probably win 'em too.

Thing is, everyone's gonna make the play-offs this season. The top three spots in the league are separated solely by goal difference. The third spot is still in the hands of Bristol City.

6th-11th is covered by three points, with sixth spot (the final play-off place) today being gifted to Ipswich Town by virtue of them beating league leaders West Brom. This is the same Ipswich Town who have lost nine and won none of their 13 away games this season. In 11th? Why, it's Cardiff City, who've won five of their last seven games meaning that no-one is currently talking about sacking Dave Jones for the first time this season. Warnock is effecting a similar transformation at Palace in 8th, while Plymouth are currently not-entirely-pissing-it-up-the-wall in 7th.

Oh, and Hull are 9th, possibly because no-one's remembered that they're in this division.

Also, Burnley and Barnsley aren't out of the running yet. Blackpool and us probably are, though,

Thing is, everyone's gonna make the play-offs this season.

This is the reason why QPR will.

If Brizzle City go up this season, and (as looks more likely), Brizzle Rovers go down, will this be the first time in British football history that city rivals have been in the top and bottom leagues?

No it won't. Nottingham Forest were in the top flight from 1957 until 1972, when Notts County spent loads of time in the bottom division.

If McCarthy isn't unemployed by Monday tea-time then they might as well withdraw from the rest of this season's fixtures.

I missed this one to get some work done in the British Library. My consolation is that it probably wouldn't have been 4-1 had I turned up.

Matt Smith you have the worst presenting style of anyone in history.

Hey Swygart, your team are on the front page of a newspaper for the first time since the FA Cup final!

I've had to Google this... oh dear.

What's happened?

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/sunday/2008/03/09/southampton-football-stars-bradley-wright-phillips-and-nathan-dyer-in-barmaid-bag-theft-scandal-98487-20345281/

Amazingly, the URL does kind of say it all.

Okay I've found it. That's pretty bad.

QPR 3-2 Blackpool

Under the gaze of the King of Ghana and Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon, Buzsaky put QPR ahead after only 11 minutes with a deft volley.

lol leicester also

At least Holloway will have more time to write his high-larious BBC columnn when he's unemployed over the summer.

oh has he finally jumped the shark with everyone else then? i know rangers and plymouth fans are sick to the back teeth but then we did have previous.

Staying on the pylons theme, 'Leicestercity4ever' says: "Hi Ollie, did you know that if you rearrange all the letters in Leicester City you get 'Electric Yetis'?

Ha ha! I need a few of them for Saturday against Bristol City! Pick a team of electric yetis - that might do the job!

christ.

It's like watching the Big Brother contestant you warmed to because they were marginally less annoying than the rest of that year's shower get given his own TV show.

If McCarthy isn't unemployed by Monday tea-time then they might as well withdraw from the rest of this season's fixtures.

-- Noodle Vague, Saturday, 12 January 2008 16:50 (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

Matt Smith you have the worst presenting style of anyone in history.

-- Just got offed, Sunday, 13 January 2008 10:52 (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

^^^This isn't true, as anyone who has watched Five's Italian football coverage will know

At the moment, I think the one thing Leicester have got going for them is that Coventry are possibly in even worse form.

Leicester and Coventry are two teams I have soft spots for, but fuck it, the more teams that join the League 1 Leeds/Forest "Wait, what are doing here? I can't get out. Shit." brigade the better

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bristol_city/7289241.stm

He said 'left' and I said 'thank you'.

(kind of a non-story as goalies go but just that partic exchange made me roffle)

1 Swansea 36 33 74
2 Doncaster 37 22 68
3 Carlisle 36 19 68
4 Nottm Forest 36 23 59
5 Southend 37 9 58
6 Walsall 37 12 56

11 Northampton 38 4 54

Dare to dream

CONGRATULATIONS THE WOLVES ON EQUALIZING AT HOME AGAINST RELEGATION CONTENDERS S-CUNT-HORPE

Bristol, Hull, Stoke and Plymouth are the four biggest cities in England not to experience Premier League football, so far - could this change for some of these?

current table: over 50 points

played / points / goal diff / goals

Stoke 39 67 12 61
Bristol City 39 67 2 46
Watford 38 64 14 57
West Brom 37 62 26 73
Hull 39 62 13 54 3-1 FT v Colchester
Plymouth 39 58 11 51
Crystal Palace 39 57 7 44
Wolverhampton 38 57 1 41 2-1 FT v Scunthorpe
Ipswich 38 56 8 56
Charlton 39 56 6 53
Burnley 39 55 0 52
QPR 39 51 -2 53
Sheff Utd 38 50 0 41

That whole "Premiership" football thing is a red herring tho DJ, Bristol City and Stoke have both played in the old Division 1. Hull are the biggest city in Europe never to have played in the top flight. They do look like they're putting a promotion run together, but that team is gonna need a hell of a lot of re-tooling to survive the Prem.

re: That whole "Premiership" football thing is a red herring tho DJ,

come of it ! Football radically changed from 1992-1993 onwards. None of those cities have it experienced.

Bristol City and Stoke city fans haven't experienced top flight football in years ! 1980? and 1985

Dude you're supporting that "Best League in the Universe" bullshit!

(Dammit missed chance to do "Bristol City & Stoke fans haven't experienced top flight football since the 19th century carpet-zing)

I think that's more or less set the seal on Scunny and Colchester, then. Room for one more...

Still got 9 matches left tho - look at Preston's current position compared to a fortnight ago - but maybe yeah. 22nd place looks thrillingly uncertain cos none of those teams within reach are in an obvious death spiral.

We've got Richard Wright on loan because, according to the Beeb:

First-choice keeper Kelvin Davis is out after dislocating a finger when he caught it in another player's shorts.

Oh, and apparently Rupert Lowe is angling to re-seize power, just before our big six-pointer with Cov at the weekend. Whoo.

Grimsby fanzine Cod Almighty have a little something for the AFCW fan in your life.

I got to watch Leeds v Walsall at work. It was rubbish, but Jermaine Beckford scored two and looked very tidy in so doing - lots of pace, reasonably assured finisher; they go up, he might do a decent job in the Championship.

Speaking of which:

P GD PTS
1 Stoke 40 12 68
2 Bristol City 40 1 67
3 Hull 40 15 65
4 Watford 39 14 65
5 West Brom 38 26 63
6 Plymouth 40 11 59
7 Ipswich 39 9 59
8 Crystal Palace 40 7 58
9 Wolverhampton 39 1 58
10 Charlton 40 6 57
11 Burnley 40 -1 55
12 Sheff Utd 39 1 53
13 Cardiff 38 2 52
14 QPR 40 -2 52
15 Preston 40 -4 50
16 Blackpool 40 1 49
17 Norwich 40 -9 49
18 Barnsley 39 -13 46
19 Southampton 40 -17 46
20 Coventry 39 -13 45
21 Leicester 40 0 44
22 Sheff Wed 38 -5 44
23 Scunthorpe 40 -22 38
24 Colchester 40 -20 33

Yes, that's Hull City in third spot, just waiting for Stoke and Brizzle Siddy to cock up and let them in. On current form, it's not impossible that that's going to happen. A lot depends on the games-in-hand situation with Watford and the Brom, but expecting either of those two to be consistent or anything is asking for trouble.

And then there's the hilarious game that's fun for all the family, "Hunt The Fourth Play-Off Spot!" - from Tyco! Everyone from Plymouth all the way down to Cardiff can play! Will you put together a decent run of away form and surge up the table, or will you hang around and wait for everyone else to somehow fail to beat Blackpool at home? With a bit of skill, and a bit of luck, it could be YOU losing to an injury-time Danny Shittu header at Wembley! (Ages 4-6+)

Oh, and relegation. Us drawing with Cov today doesn't really help anyone, cos everyone had a fairly crappy time of it with the exception of Norwich and Preston. Barnsley will probably be the most worried, though - losing a derby game at home does not augur at all well.

Idiot eyes up Mansfield Town

I just discovered thisisextratime.com. I could be reading for days.

Actually, the realisation has only just struck me - at least one of Carlisle and Doncaster is gonna be in the Championship next season (if not both of them). Given their recent (i.e. past 10 years) history, that's kind of remarkable, isn't it?

yep, especially so when they will hopefully be playing in higher division than the stripey st.marys lot

WBS prepare for trips to mk dons, peterborough, hartlepool, yeovil and northampton

"I will budget for no fans turning up at the ground, which really every club should do. As you will have seen from my replies, I am not trying to attract negative thinkers, either get behind this, or watch football somewhere else. IF I am successful in achieving ownership, this will be MY club, MY business and up to me to provide entertainment, it is MY risk. Come and watch if you want. I'm sorry if all of that sounds a bit brutal, but those would be the facts of life, and I do not want to get off on the wrong foot by telling anybody something that is misleading, as I said in an earlier response I have that T-shirt. What do you want? I would have thought that it would be better to start off with honest responses. I am in this to make money."

This guy should take over Leeds.

Charlton - Wolves was a 5-Goal CLASSIC btw. Louis says he agrees and the Addicks are shite.

FRANCHISE FC BUY THEIR FIRST MAJOR TROPHY SHOCKER PLANK INCE DUMP THOSE SUCKERS AND COME AND LEAD THE WOLVES TO PREMIERSHIP RELEGATION GLORY

Question to the AFCWILX-clan: you seem to have second place in Teh Rymans sewn up, does that get you automatic promotion, or just a play-off spot?

Play-offs:

2nd v 5th
3rd vs 4th

One-leg, winners play one-leg final for promotion at home ground of highest placed in regular season. So assuming we're 2nd, we'll play the semi at home, and if we win, the final too. Third year in the play-offs in a row. Fucking hate the things.

Especially since we keep losing and might not even come 2nd :(

Championship table: bottom

Blackpool 41 50 1 54
Norwich 41 49 -10 41
Coventry 41 49 -11 43 1-1 FT v Sheff Wed
Leicester 41 47 1 39
Sheff Wed 40 46 -5 42 1-1 FT v Coventry
Barnsley 40 46 -14 43
Southampton 41 46 -18 49
Scunthorpe 41 38 -23 38
Colchester 41 33 -21 55

So Southampton have been dumped in the relegation zone tonight - dour nigel pearson is taking them down ! and their remaining fixtures are...

fixtures
http://tinyurl.com/2qyx7e

Home: Bristol, Burnley, Sheff Utd
Away: Charlton and West Brom

^^^ Was so praying that link would be a rickroll

lol at leicester city

Kudos to the Sun for their headline marking the occasion of Jose Fonte scoring for Crystal Palace: "HE'S HAPPY FELLA FONTE"

Just a Southampton relegation update for djmartian:

I think we are going to make it. That tough run-in doesn't look so bad after beating Bristol City. I missed that one but sat through the utterly dismal draw with Coventry, and am one of 3200 going to Charlton on Sat.

16 Norwich 42 -8 52
17 Blackpool 42 -1 50
18 Coventry 42 -12 49
19 Southampton 42 -16 49
20 Sheff Wed 42 -5 48
21 Leicester 42 -2 47
22 Barnsley 40 -14 46
23 Scunthorpe 42 -23 39
24 Colchester 42 -19 36

Swygart, where do you stand on the Lowe/Wilde/Crouch shenanigans?

Lowe - Rupert the Toff is good comedy value
Wilde - Any relation to Oscar?
Crouch - the only Crouch I know is Peter - 'Arry will try to bring him back to Pompey this Summer

Barnsley smashing Watford away - pilling on the pressure for Leicester / Sheff wed / Southampton and Cov

i reckon it's going down to the last match of the season - where one goal late on will have massive ramifications of which club goes down

Yeah, how the hell did that happen? Crazy league! @**##!! It could well go down to the last day. I keep telling myself that if we'd been in this position at this point of the season in the prem all those years, I'd have thought it was an OK season!

Crouch is a local engineering magnate and current chairman. Wilde is the Jersey-based businessman and former fan saviour who ousted Lowe, but has now done an about turn and is backing the return of Rupert. I don't particularly care which megalomaniac plutocrat wants us as his plaything, but Lowe has a better record. Apart from appointing Redknapp, the decision that took us down, that is.

Still at least none of them are actually on the run from Interpol, like Gaydemak snr!

Congratulations to Aldershot on their return to the football league. Let's hope that Aldershot become the 2nd best club in Hampshire in the next 5 years.

I'd say Saints are probably going to go down on goal difference.

Unbelievably Stoke City don't appear to be headed towards fucking up their entire season at the last minute.

sad to see Wrexham going out of the football league.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swansea_city/7361268.stm

Leeds make more friends and influence people

One of these clubs will play in League 2 next year:

Burton Albion, Cambridge United, Exeter City, Torquay United

Exeter vs Torquay United - a passionate local Devon derby - who is going to "cream off" a play off final opportunity

Burton Albion Vs Cambridge United - will Cloughie Jnr take Burton a step closer to league football for the first time or will Cambridge United be the victors in their quest for a return to football league status?

(Exeter City v Torquay Utd - Thurs.May 1; Burton Albion v Cambridge Utd - Fri.May 2; Torquay Utd v Exeter City - Mon.May 5; Cambridge Utd v Burton Albion - Tues. May 6).

Look forward to West Brom vs Southampton tomorrow

AFC Wimbledon vs AFC Hornchurch in the Ryman Premier League play-off semi-final. Winner plays Staines Town (away) or Ramsgate (home) in the one-legged final.

Funnily enough (well, not hilariously so) I saw Staines Town a couple of weeks ago, when misplaced nostalgia sent me back to the town I grew up in for a bit of Ryman's League action. Harlow 0 Staines 1 - a dreadful game of endless hoofing in a windswept industrial estate on the edge of an Essex new town. I had a hangover, so wasn't best pleased to find some bloke had brought a big drum with him to enliven proceedings. Really not a great experience. If I'd waited a week I could have seen Harlow win at AFC Wimbledon in front of a crowd more than ten times bigger.

Norwich City player appears on MTV reality show The Hills. Yeah....

http://www.pinkun.com/content/columns/ManStands.aspx

Ooooofff... 1-1. Three points would've looked a lot sweeter, but a point drags Blackpool and Cov back into it. Basically, we need to win, and we need one of the four above us to lose (West Brom are basically up, barring a 12-goal swing to Hull, btw).

Last day fixtures:

Blackpool-Watford is a massive one - Watford's form has been pathetic for a while now, and losing 1-0 at home to Scunny on Saturday seems like a tip-of-the-iceberg thing. They've slumped that badly that a loss (or draw) here could see them go out of the play-offs. Blackpool will be safe with a point, but they've lost three of their last four.

Charlton-Cov - The Charlies have nothing to play for, Cov will be safe with a point and their recent form suggests they'll get at least that.

Palace-Burnley - Palace will get in the play-offs with a win against a Burnley side with nowt to play for. Didn't stop them turning us over at St Mary's last weekend, though. Basts.

Ipswich-Hull - Both sides need a win and for other results to go their way. Ipswich are three points behind Watford but with superior goal difference - they need to win with fails from two of Watford, Palace and Wolves (Palace and Watford need to lose, Wolves draw or worse) to make the play-offs. Hull's fate is simpler - they need to win and Stoke need to lose. Anything else and they're in the play-offs. Lucky basts.

QPR-West Brom - West Brom need to avoid losing by more than five goals, assuming Hull don't go beating Ipswich by more than seven. A win sees them champions, as does any other result so long as Stoke don't score more points than them. QPR are now safe from relegations. Basts.

Sheff Wed-Norwich - Norridge are now safe too. Wednesday will be alright if we lose, they need a win to guarantee safety. At home against a side with nothing to play for and who aren't really much cop, their chances are better than most.

Your Friends & Mine-Sheff Utd - Both sides need a win but neither's got their fate in their own hands. Saints have to win and hope that Blackpool or Cov lose OR Wednesday or Leicester draw (or lose) to stay up. Sheffield United need to win with Wolves and Ipswich not doing better than a draw and one of Palace or Watford losing to make the play-offs, which is SO REMOTE A POSSIBILITY that they may as well not bother. They certainly have no need to field James Beattie. Bast.

Stoke-Leicester - A draw puts Stoke up, as does a loss if Hull don't win. Leicester will be OK with a draw if we don't beat United or Wednesday lose.

Wolverhampton-Plymouth - Wolves need a win with either Palace drawing or Watford losing. Plymouth can't do much other than finish 7th with a win.

We can do this. But it's entirely possible that we won't.

Predict Stoke to draw, Hull to draw, Watford to lose, Palace to win, Wolves to win. I'm sure we're capable of screwing up but Plymouth really have nothing to play for and who wants to risk getting injured on the last day of term? Wouldn't want to begin to guess what'll happen at the bottom, this league has been ridiculous all season.

I've decided I want Leicester City to go down, Holloway's butthurtedness would be something to treasure.

Swyglet, are the return of the Lowe/Hoddle tag-team to St Mary's rumours true?

Actually thinking again I can see Watford sneaking a draw at Blackpool and shutting Wolves out altogether.

Blades will not go up, but they will play hard on Saturday. They're on such a roll at the moment and they'll want to go out on a high.

Are any of these games on telly?

One match, still to be announced, but they'll be covering everything as it happens I should imagine.

But with classic Sky business nous they're running Arsenal v Everton at the same time. Trying to squeeze extra subscription money out of pub managers or general "fuck the Championship" twattery? You decide.

No idea about Hoddle, but Lowe and Wilde are looming heavy. The lack of other options is quite depressing.

Pearson deserves at least some of next season to sort things out - we've not had a settled back four since goodness knows when, and the fact that three of our back five (Richard Wright, Perry and Lucketti) are all short-term loans Pearson's made suggests that he's pretty desperate to try and sort that situation out. Given that our nominal first-choice keeper (Kelvin Davis) was on the bench tonight, I'd reckon Pearson has plans for pre-season... trouble is, our board-room is still playing musical sodding chairs, so god knows what resources he'll have. Or what eventualities he'll need to plan for.

FC United are winning 4-1 against Skelmersdale (who are down to nine men) in their play-off final and heading into the top flight (of the Unibond). I think AFC Wimbledon are in their play-off final today, too.

Apparently Wimbledon are winning 2-1.

We scored two in the last 8 to go up. Get the fuck in!

next season AFC Wimbledon will be in the same league as the HAWKS (Havant & Waterlooville) and Newport County

Portents start early.

I don't really have any expectations, but you can't help getting gee'd up for a day like this. Should be classic whatever happens.

To be relegated:

Southampton: 6/5
Leicester City: 6/4
Sheffield Wednesday: 8/1

Also, for the first time in (at least my) memory, betting was suspended on a Football League match yesterday due to irregular betting patterns, on Bury to beat Accrington Stanley. Yay corruption.

Yeah, heard Mawhinney talking about this on the radio this morning. Lol 300 Grand's worth of bets on Accrington-Bury. Amateurs.

STERN JOHN!

Ha, I didn't hear about that Accrington/Bury thing, which would have been fairly obvious to anyone watching my coupon getting busted as a result as I sat going WTF? BURY? to anyone who would listen to me.

Ian Holloway RIP. Heaven needed tortured syntax.

Wolves need at least 1 more goal or no play-offs for them

oop too late

http://www.stokecityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/1/b/0,,10310~3410689,00.jpg

Pottermus is pleased.

God, that was close. Never again, please.

Palace to take play-offs, I reckon.

hope Bristol or Hull do it

well, well, well those jammy stripy scummers of st.mary's get a win to stay up with a nail-biting narrow victory.

Stoke City's Carlo Nash made some dramatic saves against Leicester.

Anyway, If Leicester had got a late goal it would have been Chris "mogley" Coleman at Coventry heading for League One.

At times this afternoon i believed that Southampton were going down. But it was Leicester with 52 points then went down.

Will milan mandarich stick with Holloway or will he sack him for failure, and bring in Ian Dowie?

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44625000/jpg/_44625983_john2_getty416.jpg

I've just realised - if you read DJ Martian's posts with no idea of what actually happened in the football, they're actually quite informative!

p.s YOUUUUU DONNNNNNNNS!!!!!!!

It's only a shame we weren't the only Dons to get promoted. Ah well, I'll take it this way round.

Exeter City crush the Gulls

Torquay 1-4 Exeter (agg 3-5)

Exeter City are on their way to wembley for the play off final

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44627000/jpg/_44627067_nigel_pearson_203_getty.jpg

This is the best photo ever, you do realise? "Good job, fella!"

(I am drunk, a bit)

Yeah Palace to win promotion and then compete with Stoke for lowest ever Premiership points next season.

Ahhh, but Palace have YOUTH and TENACITY plus Victor Moses is really good on FM08. Whereas Stoke have Ricardo Fuller.

Stoke will finish safely bottom I think, yes.

Cambridge Utd 2-1 Burton Albion (agg 4-3)

Cambridge United march on to Wembley to face Exeter City in the play off final

2 esteemed universities, 2 similar populations, 2 clubs both relegated from the football league this decade...but there can only be winner to bounce back on Sunday 18th May at Wembley - let the battle commence

Exeter had better fucking win this.

I'm not from the UK but wondering, what kind of support does Bristol have? If they make the prem and play right will people go out to games? Do they have the capacity to maintain a high-champ-low-prem or even better team? Or is the city split pretty evenly between city/rovers?

cos it shocks me that a city that big has been out of the bigs for so long.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/q/qpr/7390743.stm

I'm shocked.

Or is the city split pretty evenly between city/rovers?

-- Will M., Wednesday, 7 May 2008 19:16 (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

If I remember correctly, one of the teams has the inner-city support while the other gets the burbs. Unfortunately I forget which is which.

Nah, more fundamental than that. North of the river (the Gloucestershire side) is Rovers, South of the river (the Somerset side) is City. Has been confused in recent years by incomers moving to the North and supporting the more successful side, and people aspirationally moving out of the ghetos of the South onto new sink estates in the North only to watch the prices of the houses they'd sold treble in value from New Money.

AFC Liverpool, then.

I declare Gas bias because of where I live anyway so take that as you want to.

Eastbourne Borough have won promotion to the Blue Square Premier. i.e The Conference after defeating Hampton and Richmond 2-0 at Stevenage’s Broadhall Way.

AFC Liverpool, then.

-- Mark C, Thursday, 8 May 2008 22:47 (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

AFC really played out as a prefix these days.

What will happen to Leeds United this season? It's anyone's guess.

taking it no-one's shedding many tears (except those of mirth) just now.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/noodle_vague/545613211a4212508150b602011815l.jpg

Couldn't happen to a nicer team.

seeing Leeds lose at home in a League One playoff against Carlisle gives me hope that one day we might see Villa go the same way too.

Ivan Sproule gets his enthusiasm curbed a bit:

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44653000/jpg/_44653706_trundle_sproule203pa.jpg

Come on you Tigers!

Yeah, I suppose. ;)

I'm going to the Piper to watch it now anyway.

In the last couple of matches of the season I thought they looked a bit tired. I'm impressed how they've stepped up now, they obviously feel like a side packing momentum. Not gonna kiss of death it but:

a) rearranging the traditional Bank Holiday weekend rota to play the Championship final on Saturday instead of Monday is some weak bullshit

b) next Saturday's gonna be pretty crazy

live radio coverage of Exeter Vs Cambridge now on BBC Radio Devon

Live sport commentaries
http://tinyurl.com/6f4efz

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Exeter 1 Cambridge O

EXETER CITY ARE BACK in THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE!

Up the bleddy city!

AFC Wimbledon - promoted
FC United - promoted
Exeter City - promoted

Come on Stockport County! Oh land of fan-owned clubs and Robinson's ale, your time awaits you.

Kudos on the promotion as well, DB.

^ what dom said.

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/09_01/tigerDM0309_468x478.jpg

Was gonna be all "Don't mind who goes up today tbh", then The Sun ran columns by Hull City fan Alan Johnson, and Bristol City fan Justin Lee Collins, so come on The Tigers.

Come on, only one of those teams has Dean Windass. No competition!

Nick Barmby, tho!

Come on Hull!

Come on Doncaster

Come on...Rochdale OR Stockport!

DEANO DEANO DEANO DEANO

If Alan Johnson is a City fan then I'm Betty Motherfucking Grable.

WINDASS!

I love him and his ridiculous haircut, and it is better than watching Rangers (most things are, to be fair)

just turned over, what's happened to this guy?

He scored.

sorry, I meant the guy that was stretchered off (am watching Scottish Cup Final as well)

Christ, I'm welling up now watching Windass.

What is the largest city in Europe never to have had a top flight football club now?

it's somewhere in germany that's larger than hull anyway, but i can't remember where off the top of my head.

It's Germany's Wiesbaden if you don't count Russia as Europe, if you do it's the town of Ufa. Both of which are significantly larger than Hull.

I dunno which thread to pop this on, but this will do: Who Is Joe Lewis?

sports news on the BBC news tonight just started with the "biggest team in Europe never to have experienced top-flight football" bollocks. DO YOUR RESEARCH!

biggest town, sorry.

Joe Lewis! Blimey.

Lee McEvilly to solve withdrawn striker dilemma. Entire Fort William first team called up for Scotland for "Some reason". Eto'o to Spurs.

Yay, go Donny.

Today we are all Doncastrians.

OMIGOD HAHAHAHAHAHA

If Rangers had lost yesterday this weekend would've been perfect.

Leeds and Leicester will keep each other company as "big time charlies" in the 3rd tier of English football next season.

Will MK Franchise Dons and Peterborough mount a challenge for promotion next season?

Will Scunny and Colchester bounce back?

Will Carlisle and Southend be up there?

Could have sworn there was another team in the same catchment area as Franchise and Peterborough that would have been a playoff team based on second half of the season form, that have a multi-million rated goalkeeper, and a fat Nigerian cult hero striker with a metal leg, that might be challenging next season.

http://www.theoffside.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/leeds-and-england-tattoo-2.jpg

What a shame for the bairn.

Dom suggesting >>>>>>>>> Northampton Town F.C. as promotion candidates

Dunno, I think McCarthy's attempt to sign every out of work striker in the lower divisions could pay huge dividends for Wolves as we step up our campaign to finish 7th next season.

You can have Poul Hubertz if you want, we just let him go on a free transfer. Every team needs a striker who plays as if he's permanently awaking from a pleasant slumber only to go "Oh fuck, am I still in this godforsaken town?"

We've got one of those, he's called Jay Bothroyd.

Bothroyd played at Perugia during the "Fire all South Koreans"/Gadafi's son/"We're looking to sign a woman" era though, dude has earned the right to phone it in for the rest of his career.

The perfect end to the week.

Can things get worse for Birmingham City?

Yes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9jJ8WoKVkQ

3 clubs will be playing in the City of Sheffield next season as Rotherham move to the Don Valley stadium !

The 25-year-old professional footballer has been arrested after a crash on the M6 in which two children died this morning is Luke McCormick of Plymouth Argyle, confirmed by the Press Association.