Football

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Bamber Bridge secured promotion to the Northern Premier League (7th tier) yesterday, unfortunately Chorley lost to a 93rd minute goal away at Harrogate to remain in the 6th tier.

Pleased for Bamber Bridge, as they gave Hyde United two good games this season and finished fourth in the division, so I am pleased you are coming up with us. You beat Tadcaster Albion 2-1 in the first play-off match, then beat Prescot Cables 1-0 in the final play-off match.

With regard to Harrogate Town (who finished second in their league to Salford City), they play Brackley Town in the play-off final on 13th May.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Depends what Chelsea do with the game in hand on Wednesday.

Hopefully they won't do much with it!

 

[Cowley]

Hopefully they won't do much with it!

Hm. I reckon they will. They see a chance to get into the top four and they’ll throw everything at it to achieve it.
Will Antonio Coste be there next year does anyone else wonder? It’s been a bit of a difficult season for him.

Are there any Arsenal supporters on here?
I thought Wenger’s send off was nice (sorry Burnley but you definitely played your part well today ).
Always liked the guy. The last few years have seen a steady decline but he’ll be remembered as a great.
Who next for them I wonder?

 

[SS4]

Who next for them [Arsenal] I wonder?

That's the million dollar question. Whoever they pick I can't see them getting top 4 next season without some major investment

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Hm. I reckon they will. They see a chance to get into the top four and they’ll throw everything at it to achieve it.
Will Antonio Coste be there next year does anyone else wonder? It’s been a bit of a difficult season for him.

Are there any Arsenal supporters on here?
I thought Wenger’s send off was nice (sorry Burnley but you definitely played your part well today ).
Always liked the guy. The last few years have seen a steady decline but he’ll be remembered as a great.
Who next for them I wonder?

You're probably right, but then again the best I could hope for yesterday was that we'd keep Citeh down to single figures!

 

[EM2]

Everything crossed for Slough Town, up against King's Lynn in the Southern League play-off final to reach the National League South. The Rebels are the form side, but KL are by no means a pushover.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Everything crossed for Slough Town, up against King's Lynn in the Southern League play-off final to reach the National League South. The Rebels are the form side, but KL are by no means a pushover.

Mad that five teams in that league finished in excess of 90 points, yet only two will get to go up. Gotta love non league.

(For anyone wondering, Hereford went up as champions, Kettering and Weymouth were the other two.)

 

[EM2]

Mad that five teams in that league finished in excess of 90 points, yet only two will get to go up. Gotta love non league.

(For anyone wondering, Hereford went up as champions, Kettering and Weymouth were the other two.)

As well as four teams with over a hundred goals (Weymouth 103, Hereford and Slough 111 and Kettering 122) and King's Lynn with 99.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I see that Fort William are once again having the type of Highland League season that they are well known for.

P34.....W0 D5 L29....F31 A184.....Pts 5

 

[Antman]

Everything crossed for Slough Town, up against King's Lynn in the Southern League play-off final to reach the National League South. The Rebels are the form side, but KL are by no means a pushover.

Congratulations..........late goal wins it for Slough, 1-2!

 

[507021]

I see that Fort William are once again having the type of Highland League season that they are well known for.

P34.....W0 D5 L29....F31 A184.....Pts 5

An average of 5.4 goals conceded per game.

Very very poor.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I see that Fort William are once again having the type of Highland League season that they are well known for.

P34.....W0 D5 L29....F31 A184.....Pts 5

At least they are still with us. There had been serious talk of them either folding or resigning on account of their board calling it quits, but thankfully others have stepped in to plug the gaps. Quite incredible they have been going as long as they have.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Nearly every team in those days had players who could 'put it about a bit'. Liverpool had Tommy Smith, Man City had roly poly hooligan Frannie Lee, Chelsea had Ron 'Chopper' Harris, Arsenal had somebody whose name escapes me.

I think you have omitted the "destroyer-in-chief", so I nominate Norman Hunter of Leeds United,

 

[EM2]

Congratulations..........late goal wins it for Slough, 1-2!

Some nice local away games for me now, Dartford and Welling, with East Thurrock just over the bridge

 

[DarloRich]

Salford City have parted company with their joint managers: https://salfordcityfc.co.uk/joint-managers-leave-mutual-consent/

Following a meeting held this morning Salford City Football Club and joint-managers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley have agreed to part company.

 

[Kite159]

Big 3 points for Southampton tonight against Swansea. West Brom's great escape has come to an end (I had a mental image of Swansea v Southampton ending in a draw, and both teams losing on Sunday with West Brom grabbing another victory to escape at the expense of Southampton in a repeat of a few years ago).

Assuming Huddersfield can pick up another point in their last 2 games, it will come down to Southampton losing massively against Man City & Swansea winning big against Stoke to turn the goal difference around

 

[bb21]

Huddersfield should just get a point tomorrow and put Swansea fans out of their misery,
...
...
...
until Swansea beat Stoke 3-0 and Southampton trail 7-0 against Man City by 90+4 minutes only for Ederson to make a massive doodoo in the dying seconds and relegate the Swans by goals scored after all.

This season still has plenty of drama written all over it.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Huddersfield should just get a point tomorrow and put Swansea fans out of their misery,
...
...
...
until Swansea beat Stoke 3-0 and Southampton trail 7-0 against Man City by 90+4 minutes only for Ederson to make a massive doodoo in the dying seconds and relegate the Swans by goals scored after all.

This season still has plenty of drama written all over it.

Wish I had your confidence!

I'm almost at the point where I'd forgive Wagner if he invited Arsene into his office on Sunday lunchtime and asked him to "go easy on us" Don Revie style...

***washes brain out with soap and water***

 

[Antman]

Wish I had your confidence!

I'm almost at the point where I'd forgive Wagner if he invited Arsene into his office on Sunday lunchtime and asked him to "go easy on us" Don Revie style...

***washes brain out with soap and water***

If Huddersfield can get a point at Manchester City they should be capable of getting at least the point they need at home to Arsenal if indeed they don't get it tonight.

The fat lady is clearing her throat as far as Swansea City are concerned and they have the double whammy of seeing Cardiff City swapping places with them.

And I wonder what the truth is behind the hotel problem incurred by the Southampton team?

 

[Antman]

Hm. I reckon they will. They see a chance to get into the top four and they’ll throw everything at it to achieve it.
Will Antonio Coste be there next year does anyone else wonder? It’s been a bit of a difficult season for him.

Are there any Arsenal supporters on here?
I thought Wenger’s send off was nice (sorry Burnley but you definitely played your part well today ).
Always liked the guy. The last few years have seen a steady decline but he’ll be remembered as a great.
Who next for them I wonder?

I wonder what the odds would be on Arsenal getting Poch from Tottenham?

I'm afraid I don't go along with this Wenger love in, I think he should have been sacked years ago.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

If you go up, it won't be unfair on anyone: everyone knows how play-offs work and the teams finishing higher get home advantage. It really annoys me when people disparage play-offs as unfair because they clearly aren't unfair: it shouldn't be a surprise that sometimes a team that finished 6th gets promoted, everyone knows the rules. If your team finishes 3rd and doesn't get promoted, it means a team from below beat them: ergo, they didn't deserve to go up.

Sorry, rant over. Without play-offs the season would be over by Pancake Day for most teams.

With Huddersfield having won promotion to the Premier league by a penalty shoot out after finishing fifth, I can see why you favour the play-off system! Our neighbours in Manningham were even less deserving, gaining promotion to the third tier after finishing 7th in 2013.

Having said that, Bradford reached Conference North in 2012 having only finished fourth - but we had at least finished 2nd and 3rd in the two previous seasons so I felt we had done enough to finally deserve it.

All three teams played by the rules but the system is hardly fair. What is the point of having a 42 to 46 game season and then letting a team with a barely better than 50% record go up on a penalty shoot out while others get 90+ points and stay down? Don't forget that teams are being relegated to make way for such clubs and in many cases the relegated sides are far stronger than the clubs replacing them.

This is particularly pertinent in the non-league football where the pyramid structure means we have leagues where three or four clubs get relegated and where there is only one automatic promotion spot. Once you are down it can be very difficult to get back. In my view, if you finish second in any league you should be promoted automatically. And if there are to be play-offs, the side in the league above in the last relegation spot should be allowed to compete - like in Scotland. We used to have that in England, indeed I remember Charlton famously retaining their top flight status by beating Leeds.

 

[Antman]

With Huddersfield having won promotion to the Premier league by a penalty shoot out after finishing fifth, I can see why you favour the play-off system! Our neighbours in Manningham were even less deserving, gaining promotion to the third tier after finishing 7th in 2013.

Having said that, Bradford reached Conference North in 2012 having only finished fourth - but we had at least finished 2nd and 3rd in the two previous seasons so I felt we had done enough to finally deserve it.

All three teams played by the rules but the system is hardly fair. What is the point of having a 42 to 46 game season and then letting a team with a barely better than 50% record go up on a penalty shoot out while others get 90+ points and stay down? Don't forget that teams are being relegated to make way for such clubs and in many cases the relegated sides are far stronger than the clubs replacing them.

This is particularly pertinent in the non-league football where the pyramid structure means we have leagues where three or four clubs get relegated and where there is only one automatic promotion spot. Once you are down it can be very difficult to get back. In my view, if you finish second in any league you should be promoted automatically. And if there are to be play-offs, the side in the league above in the last relegation spot should be allowed to compete - like in Scotland. We used to have that in England, indeed I remember Charlton famously retaining their top flight status by beating Leeds.

Whilst I can see the argument in favour of play offs I agree with what you say. At least in non league the higher placed clubs get some advantage although all the pressure is on them whilst those who just scraped in probably have more of a nothing to lose mindset. Dartford are a prime example, they were pipped to the National League South title and automatic promotion on the final day by a last minute Havant & Waterlooville goal which probably weighed heavily on their minds when they lost at home in the play offs to a Braintree side who had finished 17 points behind them in the league. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Fulham fall short for the same reason, had they won at Birmingham City they would be up now.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Without play-offs, there'd be an awful lot of "dead-rubber" games towards the end of the season. If you finish in the top of the play-off group then you should be able to win your semi-final: after all, the league table shows that you're a better team. If you fail to beat an opponent that finished 3 places below you, you don't deserve promotion.

I've seen Huddersfield lose play-offs too, and it is gutting to go through, but it is part of the game. The game as a whole is better off for having play-offs in my opinion. If it ain't broke...

 

[Antman]

Without play-offs, there'd be an awful lot of "dead-rubber" games towards the end of the season. If you finish in the top of the play-off group then you should be able to win your semi-final: after all, the league table shows that you're a better team. If you fail to beat an opponent that finished 3 places below you, you don't deserve promotion.

I've seen Huddersfield lose play-offs too, and it is gutting to go through, but it is part of the game. The game as a whole is better off for having play-offs in my opinion. If it ain't broke...

If it ain't broke could have been applied in the first place, the game managed for long enough without play offs.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

If it ain't broke could have been applied in the first place, the game managed for long enough without play offs.

That's true, but then the powers-that-be must've felt that there was a problem with the old ways, in order to introduce the play-offs in the first place. Whether this was a fall in attendances as more games had very little riding on them, or perhaps concerns over the integrity of competition if most of the teams in a division had nothing to play for in the last 2 months of the season.

 

[Antman]

That's true, but then the powers-that-be must've felt that there was a problem with the old ways, in order to introduce the play-offs in the first place. Whether this was a fall in attendances as more games had very little riding on them, or perhaps concerns over the integrity of competition if most of the teams in a division had nothing to play for in the last 2 months of the season.

From what I recall they were originally introduced because the number of clubs in the top flight had to be reduced in the late 80's? I'm sure somebody will correct me if I've got that wrong and the powers that be cottoned on to what a nice little earner they were and they've remained ever since. I do understand the case for them, reducing the number of meaningless end of season games but the whole concept just seems wrong to me.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

From what I recall they were originally introduced because the number of clubs in the top flight had to be reduced in the late 80's? I'm sure somebody will correct me if I've got that wrong and the powers that be cottoned on to what a nice little earner they were and they've remained ever since. I do understand the case for them, reducing the number of meaningless end of season games but the whole concept just seems wrong to me.

Why? Because sometimes the play-off winners weren't the third-placed team? Plenty of other sports (Rugby League for example) have a play-off style end of season which decides the actual championship, and in some countries even football has a "grand final" type finish. In any case as I said before, if your team has finished maybe 10-15 points ahead of their play-off opponents they really should be beating them without too much trouble. The fact that quite often the outsiders do manage to win... well, isn't that part of the game's appeal?

Having a lot of dead rubbers at the end of the season (rather than just a few, which is unavoidable) leaves the sport open to accusations of teams "not trying", and also more vulnerable to attempted match-fixing by those with nefarious intent.

 

[Antman]

Why? Because sometimes the play-off winners weren't the third-placed team? Plenty of other sports (Rugby League for example) have a play-off style end of season which decides the actual championship, and in some countries even football has a "grand final" type finish. In any case as I said before, if your team has finished maybe 10-15 points ahead of their play-off opponents they really should be beating them without too much trouble. The fact that quite often the outsiders do manage to win... well, isn't that part of the game's appeal?

Having a lot of dead rubbers at the end of the season (rather than just a few, which is unavoidable) leaves the sport open to accusations of teams "not trying", and also more vulnerable to attempted match-fixing by those with nefarious intent.

Were Burnley trying at Arsenal? Looked like they were on the beach to me.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Were Burnley trying at Arsenal? Looked like they were on the beach to me.

You'd have to ask them, but given their achievements this season perhaps one can forgive them from taking their collective feet off the gas slightly. At the start of the season, Arsenal beating Burnley 5-0 would not have been considered an outrageous prediction anyway. In any case, that game isn't really relevant as there are no play-offs in the top-flight.

 

[507021]

Thanks Huddersfield!

Chelsea can now only get a maximum of 73 points, so if Liverpool only manage to get a draw against Brighton on Sunday, then it wouldn't mean we miss out on finishing in the top four.