English League Football [8th - 12th May 2010] **spoilers**

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Saturday, 8 May 2010


Championship Play-offs

[Semi-final Leg 1]

12.45 | Blackpool v Nottm Forest -

League One

15.00 | Brentford v Hartlepool
15.00 | Brighton v Yeovil
15.00 | Colchester v Leyton Orient
15.00 | Exeter v Huddersfield
15.00 | Leeds United v Bristol Rovers -
15.00 | Millwall v Swindon
15.00 | Norwich v Carlisle
15.00 | Oldham v Charlton
15.00 | Southampton v Southend
15.00 | Stockport v Tranmere
15.00 | Walsall v MK Dons
15.00 | Wycombe v Gillingham


League Two

15.00 | Barnet v Rochdale
15.00 | Burton Albion v Grimsby
15.00 | Cheltenham v Accrington Stanley
15.00 | Chesterfield v Bournemouth
15.00 | Crewe v Bradford
15.00 | Darlington v Dag & Red
15.00 | Hereford v Rotherham
15.00 | Lincoln City v Macclesfield
15.00 | Morecambe v Aldershot
15.00 | Northampton v Bury
15.00 | Port Vale v Shrewsbury
15.00 | Torquay v Notts County

23.10 - 00.20 [BBC1 & online]



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Sunday, 9 May 2010


Premier League

16.00 | Arsenal v Fulham
16.00 | Aston Villa v Blackburn
16.00 | Bolton v Birmingham
16.00 | Burnley v Tottenham
16.00 | Chelsea v Wigan -

16.00 | Everton v Portsmouth
16.00 | Hull v Liverpool
16.00 | Man Utd v Stoke -

16.00 | West Ham v Man City
16.00 | Wolverhampton v Sunderland


Championship Play-offs

[Semi-final Leg 1]

13.15 | Leicester v Cardiff -

22.25 - 23.55 [BBC1 & online]



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Tuesday, 11 May 2010


Championship Play-offs

[Semi-final Leg 2]

19.45 | Nottm Forest v Blackpool -

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Wednesday, 12 May 2010


Championship Play-offs

[Semi-final Leg 2]

19.45 | Cardiff v Leicester -

23.30 - 00.10 [BBC1 & online]

 

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Congratulations to Chelsea, there can be no confusion that they deserved it. It was a good title race that went to the final game of the season, a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for both sets of fans. Can't wait until next season and who buys who during the summer months. Drogba and Lampard have shown that age means diddly squat, their goalscoring has been immense this season.

It's all up to Ferguson to change the team dynamic from being reliant on a sole striker and to bring in some midfielders who can score goals and be more creative. Scholes has been fantastic these last few weeks, he has really dictated our play well like he did years ago. England would be a much better team if he somehow reversed his retirement decision for the World Cup.

How small time were the Stoke fans at Old Trafford yesterday? What a joke.

 

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We failed to retain the league title not because of single bad decisions during the season but because we relied on a single striker who was even still playing injured ahead of a £30m rated Berbatov. It really doesn't say much for Ferguson's faith in Berbatov if he was willing to risk Rooney multiple times instead of playing him. We simply couldn't find enough goals in the team when it mattered when Rooney was out. If I have to choose a single game that would have resulted in us in retaining the title it was the Blackburn 0-0 utter *******s match. Business end of the season, 3 points are an absolute must and we couldn't score a single goal. Pathetic.

 

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Yeah but at the business end when results seem to be more crucial as there are less games to make up any deficit, that Blackburn game was the one that stood out to me. It highlighted more than anything how Berbatov just doesn't perform for us when the going gets tough. It was in our hands at that stage, we only have ourselves to blame.

 

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Well, I can see again now

haha

What was his name?

 

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Oh, and his name was Beckford

Congratulations, hopefully we'll see Leeds back in the Premier League in a few years.

 

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The parachute payments that relegated teams now get from the Premier League, can anyone shed light on what these payments are exactly. Is it payment owed to them for competing in the league but paid in instalments, or is this another payment on top of tv money?

 

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If the payments are extra, it's hardly fair on the rest of the championship, money really needs to be addressed as it's only going to make the same top teams stronger, I'd personally give it to the bottom half of the championship. And watch as the competition got better.

 

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It isn't fair on the rest of the Championship, but the view is that these tea\ms have earned that cash through promotion in the first place.

Yeah but surely (at least) a season in the Premier League financially rewards promotion in the first place. In a few years time it'll be even harder for the middle placed teams in the championship to push up the table, when the teams above them are receiving millions in payments over a number of years and at some stage you could see 6-8 teams on a yearly basis getting these payments, financially they won't be able to compete with them.

edit: Yeah the money issue definitely needs addressing in football.