The Round Ball Game - II

[Alison]

Poor Cloughie. A Fulham v Wednesday final would have been a great match you feel ...

[johncorrigan]

Sorry! But he shouldn't have taken off Fletcher!

[cloughie]

Poor Cloughie. A Fulham v Wednesday final would have been a great match you feel ...

I guess that's the way the playoff cookie crumbles! Got to be top 2 in 2018, and not end of season Russian Roulette!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Need to beat Motherwell and hope Hamilton don't get a win to get into the relegation play-offs.

That must be ambition at its most desperate level.

[teamsaint]

I guess that's the way the playoff cookie crumbles! Got to be top 2 in 2018, and not end of season Russian Roulette!

It strikes me that playing football matches is an inefficient way of sorting out big busines matters.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It strikes me that playing football matches is an inefficient way of sorting out big busines matters.

Yes indeed. The play-off system may be exciting for those who are not involved, but when the team that ends in 6th place is promoted, leaving behind the one in 3rd place and ended the season 15 points higher, there's a something not quite right.

[johncorrigan]

That must be ambition at its most desperate level.

Even that desperate ambition looked way out of reach a couple of weeks back, Eine. And getting to the play-offs is still going to be tough, and even if ICT get there neither the Arabs nor the Bairns will be any kind of walkover.

[EdgeleyRob]

Leicester City 1 Tottenham 6 Forum derby,Foxes already on the beach,Spurs have won 12 of last 13 league games
Partick Thistle 0 Celtic 5 Another Forum side on their hols,3-0 down by half time,will finish 6th

League 2 Play off semi final,2nd leg

Exeter City 3 Carlisle United 2 Through 6-5 on aggregate,from 2-0 up conceded 2 goals in the last 10 mins before scoring the winner on 95 mins

[EdgeleyRob]

Inevitable but sad news,ICT relegated

Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 Motherwell 2 Scored 3 in 4 mins,held on for the win,All to no avail as Hamilton won so Caley have finished bottom out the league

[teamsaint]

Yes indeed. The play-off system may be exciting for those who are not involved, but when the team that ends in 6th place is promoted, leaving behind the one in 3rd place and ended the season 15 points higher, there's a something not quite right.

Both the regular season and the playoffs are football matches, so I don't really follow your logic, EA.

I wonder what fans think about playoffs in general? My guess is that they would tend to stick with them. but as we have discussed before, a better weighted system , in the championship, might be 4th v 5th, for the right to play at the third placed teams ground in a final decider. Or Something. The Scottish system seeme to have more elements of fairness about it.

A bit like Uni tuition fees.....

[cloughie]

Both the regular season and the playoffs are football matches, so I don't really follow your logic, EA.

I wonder what fans think about playoffs in general? My guess is that they would tend to stick with them. but as we have discussed before, a better weighted system , in the championship, might be 4th v 5th, for the right to play at the third placed teams ground in a final decider. Or Something. The Scottish system seeme to have more elements of fairness about it.

A bit like Uni tuition fees.....

I think given the choice I would settle for the top 3 going up. The playoffs are a lottery and often an endurance test for tired teams at the end of the season. Having missed out two years running, would I feel miffed if they changed to 3 up and next season we ended 4th. Don't know. It would have been interesting to see how things would have panned out with Hull and 3 4 and 5 from the cauldron this year!

[johncorrigan]

Brechin have come up into the Scottish Championship after a rip-roaring game at Recreation Park. Eventually after it finished 4-3 to Alloa, (agg 4-4), it went to pens where Brechin prevailed 5-4. I've been to a few games over the years at Glebe Park which is pretty close to me, and I'm looking forward to a couple of games up there this coming season. Felt sorry for Alloa - apart from the fact that we nicked their Manager, Alloa had finished two places above Brechin and 12 points better off.

Great result for Cowdenbeath managing to come through against East Kilbride and retain their place in the Scottish League - the Blue Brazil scored all 5 of their penalties in the shoot-out after missing their last 6 penalties awarded during the season.

[EdgeleyRob]

Well this is it,final top flights round up of the season where does the time go ?

Just a cuppla cups with Forum interest to be decided after today

Arsenal 3 Everton 1 2-0 up after 27 mins,man sent off early on,sealed the win in the last min,finished 5th and out of the Champions League places for the 1st time in 20 years,FA Cup final to come
Chelsea 5 Sunderland 1 Easy win despite going behind on 3 mins,league record 30th victory of the season,won the Premiership by 7 points,FA Cup final to come
Hull City 1 Tottenham 7 Another storming away win,finished in 2nd place 8 points clear of 3rd,golden boot for Kane and the Forum
Leicester City 1 Bournemouth 1 Forum derby,Cherries Took the lead in the 1st min,Foxes equalised early in the 2nd half,finished 9th and 12th respectively
Liverpool 3 Middlesbrough 0 Scored the goals in an 11 min spell either side of the break,clinched the last Champions League spot by a point
Manchester United 2 Crystal Palace 0 Forum derby,Reds brought in the kids,scored twice in the 1st 20 mins,finished in 6th place,Europa final to come,Eagles 4 defeats from the last 5 games finished 14th
Southampton 0 Stoke City 1 Conceded the goal on 60 mins,7th home defeat of the season,finished in 8th place
Watford 0 unmentionables 5 Straightforward win,4-0 up at the break,ended the season with 4 consecutive wins and in 3rd
Partick Thistle 0 Aberdeen 6 Forum derby,injury hit Jags ended the season with 4 straight defeats and finished 6th,Dons scored 5 in the 1st half and ended the season 2nd with the Scottish Cup final to come
St Johnstone 1 Rangers 2 Scored on 76 mins after conceding either side of the break,finished the season in 4th place

FA Trophy final

Macclesfield Town 2 York City 3 Forum derby and win win for us,watched this on telly decent game,Silkmen Came back twice to be 2-2 at the break,Minstermen won it win 4 mins left to maybe ease some of the relegation pain,well done Lat

[Alison]

Yes, where does the time go?

Managerial situation perhaps not so clear cut at Leicester now.

Saints finish eighth but manager likely to go? Not much excitement at SMS all season according to Le Tiss. Think that's what Sainty was saying too.

[johncorrigan]

Honourable mention for Celtic who went through the domestic season up here unbeaten...first Scottish team to do it since 1899, though it says much about the demise of Rangers. Brendan Rodgers has had a terrific season and seems to have breathed fresh life into a number of players, not least Scott Sinclair. And all this with the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions European Cup Win v Inter Milan falling this week. Can Aberdeen stick a spoke in their wheel next Saturday? Not beyond the bounds of possibility, if you ask me.

On the subject of Rangers this is what their fans are up to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdP21SOFCAE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDmDfopy_RQ