Football

Sheffield Wednesday are on a roll lately. They'd be my pick from the play offs. Would be nice to get the new Regi Blinker back in the premier league.

I suspect whoever misses out of the current top 3 could be the one to beat in the play-offs (unless one of them suffers a horrible collapse).

Just hoping that it doesn't end up with a point each for Brighton & Boro to seal promotion on the last day!

That's what they always say....

The disappointment of narrowly missing the automatic spot can have a massive negative effect and puts a lot of pressure on the squad. I'd choose a form team from the rest over a narrowly missed automatic team.

Agreed. If whomever finishes third did so because they got 2/3points from the final 3 matches it's difficult to be up for playing a team who snuck in to tge play offs on the back of three wins. It's not like the top three are dramatically superior and running away with it.

Back when York were good and vardy was the conference top scorer (2012) we beat Luton in the play off final and we'd both finished at least 16 points behind Wrexham in the league table.

Get to play them again next season yay...

Did Fernando just seriously let that happen?

Could be, that's why I'm hoping to avoid the play-offs. Being the third best is no guarantee, plus we did it a few years ago so I'm happy without a day at wembley.

Wow City. Finally mixing it with the big boys.

Looks like we've missed out this year, 7 points off the playoffs with 6 to play.

We need Derby to Derby it all up and we could still sneak in, though I'm really not sure what we'd do when we got there.

Derby are nicely poised for their annual play-offs bottle job

Big red R coming our way this weekend - 3rd earliest 'since football began'. I have forewarned the family that my mood might be a bit bleak.

At least we've designed a new club badge for next season in the Championship. Idiots.

£80k worth of badge at that.

Real Madrid LOL

@villa-ru I know it sounds horrible, but there's something honest about being in the Championship (though I don't watch much football). It's better to be somewhere and be excited and competitive than just being fixture fodder.

Of course, when we enter the hallowed halls of the premiership (if) then I will renounce the championship as a false god.

this

If you're going to watch games live then the Championship is fun. Games are competitive, there are very few games where the opposition are so shit/good that it's a dead rubber, not too difficult to get tickets and not too expensive.

If you're an armchair fan on the other hand then it's 30 seconds of highlights on the football league show, trying to track down pubs with two sky boxes that will show a championship game plus whatever shit premier league game is on, ...

Yeah, I really miss our days in the championship. The last two years since promotion have been incredibly dull.

You've done well though. Imagine if you went up, then got dicked over or struggled to stay in (you've done that). It's grim.

What's the alternative? Playing in the championship with no desire to be promoted?

Obviously that's Forest's plan...

Derby always seem to pull all the stops out in order to stay in the second best league in the world.

If any paper mentions it again that the play off final is the most valuable match in the world I'm going to vomit.

No. Playing to get to the next level is the thing to do.

But rather than trying to hang on grimly each season, it would be interesting to see more clubs have exit plans that allow them to fuck off the deadwood and start bringing in new players from reserves/kids.
Obviously, that would mean having functioning reserve teams and everything. And who's going to do that?

It is thought, because going up to the prem is worth even more than the CL even tho you wouldn't think so because its the CL.....hth.

.....Dave Whelan also broke his leg at Wembley.

Danny Welbeck has 10 GCSEs......10

If, as looks a distinct possibility, the three clubs promoted from the championship, stay up this season, they won't be needing an exit plan.

When was the last time this happened, statto?