The Round Ball Game

[Lateralthinking1]

Great stuff ER........a fitting way to mark our return to the top flight

Some thoughtful, measured comments here -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17814371

Matches will be played in the league next year at Highbury. It is the home of Fleetwood who easily claimed automatic promotion weeks before their final game with Luton. Interestingly, that match appears to have been the only time they lost twice in a row. Let's put that down to fairly strong form from their opponents towards the end of the season rather than anything more sinister.

[cloughie]

and you are the one who has been stressed about Stevenage............bet you are happy with them now !!

Anyway, what a day for you, forgotten who you have to play last, but its at home, so every chance.
Pleased for DJ too.....he is one of the good guys !!

Like you we finish the season against a relegated club - Wycombe - to a full house at Hillsborough, Blades away to Exeter, another relegated club.

Like the rhyme, Edge!

[amateur51]

Some thoughtful, measured comments here -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17814371

Matches will be played in the league next year at Highbury. It is the home of Fleetwood who easily claimed automatic promotion weeks before their final game with Luton. Interestingly, that match appears to have been the only time they lost twice in a row. Let's put that down to fairly strong form from their opponents towards the end of the season rather than anything more sinister.

Wrexham, who held a modest lead over Fleetwood for most of the season, were undone by a backlog of fixtures because of frozen pitches etc and are still second with a 5-1 win over Braintree.On to the play-offs (plays-off?) for the second season in a row

Bravo to Southampton

[teamsaint]

Wrexham, who held a modest lead over Fleetwood for most of the season, were undone by a backlog of fixtures because of frozen pitches etc and are still second with a 5-1 win over Braintree.On to the play-offs (plays-off?) for the second season in a row

Bravo to Southampton

Good luck in the play offs.....nerve shredding, but perhaps the best team will win through.
Time for 3 up and 3 down between the conference and the league, I think.

[BBMmk2]

Hmmm..............I shouldn't have said anything on Facebook! I have kep queit except for heree! Look what happened!

[vinteuil]

... I somehow didn't expect QPR to do all that well against Chelsea

I wonder if my borough of Hammersmith & Fulham will still be host to three Premier teams next year

[amateur51]

Good luck in the play offs.....nerve shredding, but perhaps the best team will win through.
Time for 3 up and 3 down between the conference and the league, I think.

Thanks teamsaint - your proposal would certainly make sense just at the moment

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

i shoulda put a tenner on it Torres and a hat trick ..... tho i would prefer him to score it against Bayern Munich not a dinky little West Lunnun outfit like QPR ...[mind you always been a bit shifty QPR] let us hope that the momentum and luck of jammiedom continues a while yet!

and well done Wigan yesterday, no offence BBM but they blew Newcastle off the park ...

[John Skelton]

Roberto Martinez is a special manager and a sophisticated tactician. I'll be delighted if (when, hopefully) Wigan stay up. Then it will all start again for them, with Victor Moses sold ....

Clint Hill was marking Torres . Quite where this leaves Mark Hughes and all that ambition Fulham couldn't satisfy I'm not sure ... we had our traditional why turn up trip to Goodison yesterday, but at least we've beaten Wigan of late, unlike Liverpool, Man U, Arsenal, Newcastle.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

er i was not mentioning Everton and Fulham John ... it was a slacking disgrace from the highlights ...

[John Skelton]

it was a slacking disgrace from the highlights ...

I gather it was. One or two on the beach or on their way to other clubs, perhaps. Even with Fulham's generally poor away record Goodison stands out as a disaster, though. Every season with fail. Amazing that we get any away support there.

[EdgeleyRob]

... we had our traditional why turn up trip

A bit like Blackburn at Spurs this afternoon.They look very poor and have had no shots on target yet (85 mins gone)* and they are supposed to be fighting relegation.Feel sorry for their fans who have made the effort to go there today.
*Apparently they had no shots AT ALL during the game

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

A bit like Blackburn at Spurs this afternoon.They look very poor and have had no shots on target yet (85 mins gone)* and they are supposed to be fighting relegation.Feel sorry for their fans who have made the effort to go there today.
*Apparently they had no shots AT ALL during the game

I feel sorry for Blackburn. They defied all prediction after promotion to the top flight. Many pundits expected them to be relegated in their first season. They were not, and went on to win the Premiership soon afterwards.

[teamsaint]

A bit like Blackburn at Spurs this afternoon.They look very poor and have had no shots on target yet (85 mins gone)* and they are supposed to be fighting relegation.Feel sorry for their fans who have made the effort to go there today.
*Apparently they had no shots AT ALL during the game

One thing that the fans have to do is trust the players , whose wages they in large part pay.
I have to say (easy now we are there ) that one down side of the PL is players on £1m plus PA who REALLY don't put in a good enough shift, and repay that trust. This no doubt happens further down the pyramid, but it's perhaps less evident.

All this is part of the reason why I think hard before shelling out £30 or more for tickets, when I consider, for instance, how much music I could get for that, or indeed the quality of concert ticket that the same money buys.
Mind you, it all goes out of the window for a "do or die " game, but that is life!

[teamsaint]

I feel sorry for Blackburn. They defied all prediction after promotion to the top flight. Many pundits expected them to be relegated in their first season. They were not, and went on to win the Premiership soon afterwards.

buying Shearer , and Jack Walkers squillions helped a bit !!