[Archived] Race To The Premiership

[Grabbi Graeme]

A win for Stoke and depending on other results would see Stoke promoted, also WBA can be promoted today even though they don't play till Monday again though it depends on other results.

[Hughesy]

1-0 there up!

[Grabbi Graeme]

Stoke have won but them and WBA are not up as Hull have beaten Palace 2-1

Also close at the bottom of the Championship Sheff Wed beat Leicester 3-1 and Southampton also in a dogfight and they face WBA on Monday.

[ABBEY]

THE SAINTS look like going to the old third division ,it doesnt seem long ago that the saints like coventry were part of the fixtures and fittings of the the first division,dont mind the saints i used to love going to the dell.

[brian_gallagher85]

Looking at that end of the table last week...I could have sworn I was looking at the 1999 Prem table !!

[philipl]

I see Darren Purse of Cardiff got red carded at the dingles today- I guess that means he misses the Cup Final.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

A bit of a meaty challenge from Purse on Cole:

[thenodrog]

I'm never that optimistic about our chances of staying in the top flight indefinitely given our limited resources, and certainly not one for gobbing off about it but the current top six in Div 1 are filling me with every confidence. 4th placed Bristol even have a goal difference of -2! Might be a decent bet if anybody's giving odds that the 3 promoted clubs bomb straight back down again.

......Maybe I'd think different if one of em were Coventry!

[Ronin]

Don't really see much of a Premiership challenge next season from the Fizzy Pop teams (maybe West Brom being the best of the bunch), seeing as most of their squads are taken up with loan players and chances are they won't have those players back for next season.

[Billy Castell]

I expect loads of old journeymen and nearlymen to move to the promoted teams for reasons recently stated. For example, Dwight Yorke, Tiny Taylor, Geoff Horsefield, Nathan Ellington, Rob Earnshaw, Herr Volz may have made the move to whichever teams go up. Or other players of that standard, probably great in the 1st division, but pants in the Premiership.

[1864roverite]

Your right BC, its gonna be a haven for the cash killer journeymen for next season.

Not one of the top 6 clubs fills me with dread.

Gotto say though, I am wanting Stoke to come up along with WBA and maybe Hull. All easy trips with decent stadia/facilities.

Looking forward to seeing Southamptons demise complete on Monday evening.

[Billy Castell]

Just think, 10 years ago, Southampton were an established Premiership team, and God knows where Portsmouth were. Leeds and Coventry were also mainstays in the top flight, even if the latter like the Saints flirted with relegation. Just shows how things change.

I feel sorry for Southampton fans, not only are they looking at relegation, Rupert Lowe seems hellbent on returning!

[LeftWinger]

Just think, 10 years ago, Southampton were an established Premiership team, and God knows where Portsmouth were. Leeds and Coventry were also mainstays in the top flight, even if the latter like the Saints flirted with relegation. Just shows how things change.

1. Blackburn

2. Man United

3. NOTTINGHAM FOREST

4. Liverpool

5. LEEDS UNITED

6. Newcastle

7. Spurs

8. QPR

9. WIMBLEDON

10. SOUTHAMPTON

11. Chelsea

12. Arsenal

13. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

14. West Ham

15. Everton

16. COVENTRY

17. Man City

18. Aston Villa

19. CRYSTAL PALACE

20. NORWICH

21. LEICESTER

22. IPSWICH

Interesting to see the table from our title winning season. 10 of the clubs are no longer in the Premiership. Blackburn and West Ham have both spent seasons out of the top flight, and Man City dropped a division lower than that. Interesting to see the so called "Big 4" finishing in 2nd, 4th, 11th and 12th.

[1864roverite]

after 20 mins, WBA are 0-0 at home to Southampton

[1864roverite]

0-0 half time. Miss of the season from Phillips, 4 yards out with an open goal.

[RevidgeBlue]

They only need a point though.

[RevidgeBlue]

Bloody 'ell Saints have scored.

No -one wants to come up from that division do they?

EDIT: Now 1-1 with 6 mins to go!

[RevidgeBlue]

Finished 1-1.

WBA now up barring a twelve goal swing in goal difference on the final day.

[Iceman]

Have the dingles been relegated,please say yes lol

[ABBEY]

huh??? they are nowhere near relegation??

[philipl]

Fascinating week-end of football ahead- 13 clubs in the fizzy pop league don't yet know whether they are automatically promoted, in the play-offs or relegated.

Interesting statistic in the Guardian that the Championship is the 4th best attended league in Europe. Looks like a lot of monster crowds tomorrow as well not surprisingly.

One curiosity- the points gap between the Champions and the first relegation place in the Championship could be the same as the gap betweeen 19th and Derby when the Premier League wraps up.

[Hughesy]

I think other than West Brom, unless mega money is thrown at it then any of the others coming up will go straight back down.

Im hoping that Hull & Stoke come up. No more cockney teams please and 2 new grounds to visit.

[philipl]

Big Ben Burgess has scored early for Blackpool for Watford.

Here's hoping the dingles can help keep the Prem a Warnock and Palace free zone as well. All the press eulogising Warnock's efforts reminded me of the pro-Palace bias when we faced them in the Play-offs.

No sooner had I written that than a stupid dingle conceeds a penalty and gets himself sent-off.

Now 2-0 to Palace...reminiscent of Palace's 5-0 win over the dingles in front of 52,000 at Selhurst back in the late'70s/early'80s which sent them up in front of their biggest ever crowd.

[brfcshabba]

Burnley are on target to finish in the bottom half. 3-0 now

Le Tissier is hilarious on SSN. Southampton constantly missing chances and he's watching the game

[Grabbi Graeme]

As it stands at the moment Southampton would go down, Matt Le Tiss going through the emotions on Sky at the moment

Palace 3 Dingles 0