MrsB
01-05-09, 04:20 PM
BBC Sport Paul Fletcher's Blog (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2009/04/weekend_of_drama_looms_in_the.html#080226) | 12:46 UK time, Thursday, 30 April 2009
Nine months of dreams, disappointment, hope and joy will draw to a close this weekend with the end of the regular season in the Football League.*
Each team has played 4,050 minutes of football over 45 games - and for many all their hard work, endeavour, desire and commitment boils down to one gut-wrenching afternoon.
In short, what will unfold this weekend is the drama of the final day of the season. Or, as a mate of mine put it, we are about to go split-screen.
Over the course of this season I have visited grounds that ought to host Premier League football and others that felt more like a homely social club.
For me, this is a central part of the beauty of the Football League, the fact that its 72 clubs take us across a rich and varied footballing spectrum. Rich and poor often exist cheek by jowl (they certainly will in League One next season) and, refreshingly, the wealthy don't always end up drinking the end-of-season champagne.
What I have discovered over the last nine months is that all are united by their incredible work ethic and an unwavering desire to succeed - but some will end the weekend nursing a disappointment of staggering proportions.
Starting at the top, Sunday is the final day of the Championship season and a three-way tussle for the Promised Land.
Birmingham, Sheffield United and Reading all harbour hopes of snatching the second automatic promotion spot.
It would already belong to Blues had they not surrendered a one-goal lead to Preston last weekend. Instead they now face a tricky trip to Reading, who are three points behind Alex McLeish's side but have a vastly superior goal difference.
I'll be there on Sunday, trying to capture the emotions of the victorious and the vanquished. The Royals must win to have any chance, while a draw might be enough for Blues.
The joker in the pack is Sheffield United.
The Blades are one point behind Birmingham and two above Reading. If Kevin Blackwell's team win and Birmingham don't it will be up, up and away for the Yorkshire club who are still hurting about the role Carlos Tevez played in their downfall the last time they were in the Premier League.
And who are they playing? Crystal Palace, wedged in the comforting if slightly underwhelming safety of mid-table and managed by lifelong Blades fan Neil Warnock, who was in charge at Bramall Lane during their fateful Premier League season two years ago.
Palace chairman Simon Jordan, to be frank, cannot stand the board at Birmingham, while Blades boss Kevin Blackwell used to be assistant to Warnock at Bramall Lane.
Warnock's claim this week that if Sheffield United play to their potential they will win has only added fuel to the fire of those who love a good conspiracy theory.
Equally intriguing is the three-way tussle for the last two play-off places.
Cardiff are in the box seat - a point for them at Sheffield Wednesday will do it - and a win for Burnley at home to Bristol City will guarantee that all the excellent work done by Owen Coyle and his team does not end this weekend.
Preston are hoping one of the other two will slip up.
North End are an excellent point in case as to why you should never give up. After losing to Blackpool on 11 April, the home fans trudged out of Deepdale groggy from the knockout blow their deadliest rivals had seemingly delivered to their play-off hopes.
Three straight wins later and they are poised to pounce on any last-day slip, providing of course they overcome the shambles that currently goes by the name of QPR.
Incidentally, if Cardiff lose and Preston win, North End will pip them on goal difference - a direct result of their 6-0 thrashing of the Bluebirds two weeks ago. Unbelievable - where did that one come from?
The relegation worries belong to Norwich and Barnsley. Any sort of positive result for the Tykes at Plymouth will condemn the Canaries to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1960. Jeremy Goss scoring against Bayern Munich seems a long time ago but, then again, this has been a season of unremitting misery for supporters of some of the Championship's supposed big-hitters.
Saturday is the final day of both the League One and League Two seasons - and each division features a straight shoot out for the final play-off place. Scunthorpe host Tranmere, who need a win to snatch sixth place from the Iron. Likewise, Shrewsbury travel to Dagenham & Redbridge knowing victory will see them move above their opponents. Sometimes the fixture calendar is a wonderful thing.
There are no other promotion issues in League One but there is trouble at the bottom. Realistically one of Northampton, Brighton and Carlisle will go down. Carlisle need to defeat Millwall at Brunton Park to have any chance of survival and hope one of the other two slips up.
Two automatic promotion spots remain up for grabs in League Two, with Wycombe, Exeter and Bury in the mix.
Wycombe have wobbled at times this season but a draw will do for them, while Exeter in third are a point clear of Bury.
I'm going to watch Exeter at Rotherham on Saturday to see whether they can clinch back-to-back promotions. It won't be easy for them against a Rotherham side, who would be considerably higher up the table were it not for the fact they started the season on minus 17 points. If the Grecians do seal promotion it would be a wonderful achievement for a club that has experienced its fair share of relegation and financial problems over recent years. Mind you, the same could be said of Bury, who play Accrington Stanley. Shakers manager Alan Knill must be applauded for the brilliant job he has done at Gigg Lane.
Spare a thought for Luton and, barring a miracle, Chester on Saturday. They will be waving goodbye to the Football League. I spoke to Luton chairman Nick Owen a few weeks ago. Clearly the bitterness they feel at the hands of their treatment by the football authorities, who docked them 30 points before the season started, has not faded over the last nine months.
Following the fortunes of the clubs in the Football League this season has been both fascinating and insightful. I have been amazed by the dedication of virtually all of the people that I have spoken to, all determined to acquire that little edge that might make all the difference. And in a world when the top flight can at times seem to be populated almost exclusively by automatons I like to think that there are plenty of characters left in the Football League.
And next season you'll be able to see a lot more of the Football League on this website. Every goal will be available to UK users to replay again and again (over the seven days after each match anyway), with plenty of divisional packages as well to take you through all the action.
I always think that a season feels like a very long time. It takes a long time for the table to take shape and there are long stretches when results don't seem to matter that much, after all there is always next week. Not any more.
* Unless your team makes the play-offs.
** If you want to predict the final weekend's results and see what difference your predictions would make to the final table, why not use our predictor - which is available for the Championship, League One and League Two.
Nine months of dreams, disappointment, hope and joy will draw to a close this weekend with the end of the regular season in the Football League.*
Each team has played 4,050 minutes of football over 45 games - and for many all their hard work, endeavour, desire and commitment boils down to one gut-wrenching afternoon.
In short, what will unfold this weekend is the drama of the final day of the season. Or, as a mate of mine put it, we are about to go split-screen.
Over the course of this season I have visited grounds that ought to host Premier League football and others that felt more like a homely social club.
For me, this is a central part of the beauty of the Football League, the fact that its 72 clubs take us across a rich and varied footballing spectrum. Rich and poor often exist cheek by jowl (they certainly will in League One next season) and, refreshingly, the wealthy don't always end up drinking the end-of-season champagne.
What I have discovered over the last nine months is that all are united by their incredible work ethic and an unwavering desire to succeed - but some will end the weekend nursing a disappointment of staggering proportions.
Starting at the top, Sunday is the final day of the Championship season and a three-way tussle for the Promised Land.
Birmingham, Sheffield United and Reading all harbour hopes of snatching the second automatic promotion spot.
It would already belong to Blues had they not surrendered a one-goal lead to Preston last weekend. Instead they now face a tricky trip to Reading, who are three points behind Alex McLeish's side but have a vastly superior goal difference.
I'll be there on Sunday, trying to capture the emotions of the victorious and the vanquished. The Royals must win to have any chance, while a draw might be enough for Blues.
The joker in the pack is Sheffield United.
The Blades are one point behind Birmingham and two above Reading. If Kevin Blackwell's team win and Birmingham don't it will be up, up and away for the Yorkshire club who are still hurting about the role Carlos Tevez played in their downfall the last time they were in the Premier League.
And who are they playing? Crystal Palace, wedged in the comforting if slightly underwhelming safety of mid-table and managed by lifelong Blades fan Neil Warnock, who was in charge at Bramall Lane during their fateful Premier League season two years ago.
Palace chairman Simon Jordan, to be frank, cannot stand the board at Birmingham, while Blades boss Kevin Blackwell used to be assistant to Warnock at Bramall Lane.
Warnock's claim this week that if Sheffield United play to their potential they will win has only added fuel to the fire of those who love a good conspiracy theory.
Equally intriguing is the three-way tussle for the last two play-off places.
Cardiff are in the box seat - a point for them at Sheffield Wednesday will do it - and a win for Burnley at home to Bristol City will guarantee that all the excellent work done by Owen Coyle and his team does not end this weekend.
Preston are hoping one of the other two will slip up.
North End are an excellent point in case as to why you should never give up. After losing to Blackpool on 11 April, the home fans trudged out of Deepdale groggy from the knockout blow their deadliest rivals had seemingly delivered to their play-off hopes.
Three straight wins later and they are poised to pounce on any last-day slip, providing of course they overcome the shambles that currently goes by the name of QPR.
Incidentally, if Cardiff lose and Preston win, North End will pip them on goal difference - a direct result of their 6-0 thrashing of the Bluebirds two weeks ago. Unbelievable - where did that one come from?
The relegation worries belong to Norwich and Barnsley. Any sort of positive result for the Tykes at Plymouth will condemn the Canaries to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1960. Jeremy Goss scoring against Bayern Munich seems a long time ago but, then again, this has been a season of unremitting misery for supporters of some of the Championship's supposed big-hitters.
Saturday is the final day of both the League One and League Two seasons - and each division features a straight shoot out for the final play-off place. Scunthorpe host Tranmere, who need a win to snatch sixth place from the Iron. Likewise, Shrewsbury travel to Dagenham & Redbridge knowing victory will see them move above their opponents. Sometimes the fixture calendar is a wonderful thing.
There are no other promotion issues in League One but there is trouble at the bottom. Realistically one of Northampton, Brighton and Carlisle will go down. Carlisle need to defeat Millwall at Brunton Park to have any chance of survival and hope one of the other two slips up.
Two automatic promotion spots remain up for grabs in League Two, with Wycombe, Exeter and Bury in the mix.
Wycombe have wobbled at times this season but a draw will do for them, while Exeter in third are a point clear of Bury.
I'm going to watch Exeter at Rotherham on Saturday to see whether they can clinch back-to-back promotions. It won't be easy for them against a Rotherham side, who would be considerably higher up the table were it not for the fact they started the season on minus 17 points. If the Grecians do seal promotion it would be a wonderful achievement for a club that has experienced its fair share of relegation and financial problems over recent years. Mind you, the same could be said of Bury, who play Accrington Stanley. Shakers manager Alan Knill must be applauded for the brilliant job he has done at Gigg Lane.
Spare a thought for Luton and, barring a miracle, Chester on Saturday. They will be waving goodbye to the Football League. I spoke to Luton chairman Nick Owen a few weeks ago. Clearly the bitterness they feel at the hands of their treatment by the football authorities, who docked them 30 points before the season started, has not faded over the last nine months.
Following the fortunes of the clubs in the Football League this season has been both fascinating and insightful. I have been amazed by the dedication of virtually all of the people that I have spoken to, all determined to acquire that little edge that might make all the difference. And in a world when the top flight can at times seem to be populated almost exclusively by automatons I like to think that there are plenty of characters left in the Football League.
And next season you'll be able to see a lot more of the Football League on this website. Every goal will be available to UK users to replay again and again (over the seven days after each match anyway), with plenty of divisional packages as well to take you through all the action.
I always think that a season feels like a very long time. It takes a long time for the table to take shape and there are long stretches when results don't seem to matter that much, after all there is always next week. Not any more.
* Unless your team makes the play-offs.
** If you want to predict the final weekend's results and see what difference your predictions would make to the final table, why not use our predictor - which is available for the Championship, League One and League Two.