(Soccer) The Yaaaay! Brighton stayed up thread ..

[Marc Vaughan]

So anyone elses team had a last minute reprieve from relegation or sneaked into the playoffs?

(in Brightons case our last day win kept us out of the relegation places and we finished nearly mid-table it was that close at the bottom, if we'd lost instead of won we'd have gone down)

[Butter]

Peterborough United held off MK Dons to keep the #2 automatic promotion place into the Coca-Cola Championship.

It's going to be the highest league standing for the Posh ever. I'm pretty excited about it.

[Neuqua]

Is Newcastle really going to go down?

[Passacaglia]

I'm sure Jim will be really happy to hear this.

[flere-imsaho]

Looks like Oxford missed getting into the promotion playoffs.

Oh, and congrats Marc!

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Is Newcastle really going to go down?

Most likely, they are awful. Even if they beat M'boro who might be worse I think both of them will be going down.

[Neon_Chaos]

That's funny.

The one team that I've played in every iteration of FM is Brighton.

I don't know why. Lol.

[riz]

Cambridge United made it to the Conference Playoff Final at Wembley second year in a row !

After going 3-1 down in the first leg of the playoff semi-finals against Stevenage, United came back in the home leg today and scored twice in the second half to go 2-0 up and even the aggregate at 3-3. And in the final minute of the extra time (119 minutes) Scott Rendell scored his second of the day and U's are off to Wembley again. A true FM-esque last gasp winner after a huge comeback

Last year I was planning on going, but we had booked our summer holiday already well ahead of the playoffs and that clashed with the Wembley date. Cambridge lost 0-1 that day but this year I'm hoping they will go all the way and secure promotion back to the Football League. Flights and hotel are already booked for the final at Wembley, so hopefully it will be a grand day.

[Marc Vaughan]

Congrats Riz - fingers crossed they make it.

If anyone has a chance to go to a Cambridge game, the atmosphere is fantastic and for about the price of a standard Premiership ticket you can do the whole 'executive' thing and have a meal in the ground before hand WITH the manager coming out to talk to you before the match and explain his tactics and team selection - fantastic stuff
(end plug)

PS - If you don't get a chance to get to the final Riz it was broadcast on Sky last year I seem to remember ...

[SirFozzie]

Yay Cambridge!

Last year, the game was on Setanta Sports here in the US, hopefully it is again.

Foz

(who has his cambridge united scarf proudly on the wall)

[dacman]

I see AFC Wimbledon promoted AGAIN. Is that 3 in 3 years? Is SI going to be able to afford to continue sponsorship?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Is Newcastle really going to go down?

I am sad.

[ColtCrazy]

Congrats Marc. That's good news. If Brighton can stay afloat until their stadium opens, that'll be great.


My club, Crystal Palace, have a pretty mediocre side right now, explaining why they will finish mid table this year.

[MrBug708]

Go CP!

[Critch]

Well done to Brighton on staying up. 16th place is nowhere near relegation, I don't know what all the fuss was about

Despite the happy ending, a disappointing season though. If Deano Wilkins had been left in place they'd have made the playoffs at least, in my humble opinion.

[bulletsponge]

Carlisle united beat Millwall 2-0 on the final game to survive league 1 by 1 pt from the drop

[Mac Howard]

As an ex resident of Stevenage I don't see the Cambridge result with the same enthusiasm as those above. In fact I see, once again, the idiocy of a manager who thinks the best way to win a two match tie is to hang on to the lead you've gained in the first leg. Allow games to be played in your own third of the field and you'll have the deflection goal of the first, the set piece goal of the second and a 'keeper error for the third. Errors, when made in your own third of the field, lose matches and everone makes errors. Oppositions don't score very many from their own third.

Only when Stevenage went two behind did they start playing and their two central midfielders stop imitating centre backs and they were then at least the equal of Cambridge until the second period of extra time when being down to 10 men (thanks to another awful refereeing decision which this ref can't withdraw like the 1st leg ref) told on them.

The Stevenage manager needs shooting

I hope against hope that Alex Ferguson doesn't do the same in tonight's second leg CL semi-final against Arsenal but listening to his "if we score one they have to score three" I'm suspicious about his intentions.

How about "If we outscore them we're through to the final" Alex?

[Big Fo]

Hopefully Fletcher, Carrick, and Anderson dominate the midfield like they did last week. All three of them were rested against Middlesbrough so they should have the legs to press like crazy again. I wonder if Tevez will start instead of Berbatov again.

I'm feeling better about United's chances than I was before the second legs vs. Inter and Porto but who knows. Despite their league position Arsenal are pretty good when they're on and they just had a 21 game unbeaten run snapped in the first leg.

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Hopefully Fletcher, Carrick, and Anderson dominate the midfield like they did last week. All three of them were rested against Middlesbrough so they should have the legs to press like crazy again. I wonder if Tevez will start instead of Berbatov again.

I'm feeling better about United's chances than I was before the second legs vs. Inter and Porto but who knows. Despite their league position Arsenal are pretty good when they're on and they just had a 21 game unbeaten run snapped in the first leg.

Yes, I think you may be right, he'll go 4-3-3/4-4-2 with Rooney helping Evra out on the left with Walcott (what a waste of one of the world's best strikers is that?) and expect those three to spoil Arsenal's passing game. Not sure about Tevez and Berbatov. I'm a great fan of the latter but if Alex wants a pressing game Tevez will be better suited.

But I'm a little worried. Since he's moved into his sixties Alex has taken on a more cautious approach - perhaps influenced initially by Queiroz (who's currently making a pigs ear of a very talented Portugese squad). I didn't like it when I heard him saying that he'd be happy with a 1-0 win before the first game. What a lack of ambition - 1-0 home win is no more than a draw in a two match tie. You have the slight advantage that the away goal rule can only work in your favour. But you don't go into these ties hoping to win on the away goal particularly when Arsenal's defence is in such a mess.

Only once this season has Alex played as much as 45 minutes with Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo on the pitch in a 4-2-3-1 formation and they scored 5 goals in 22 minutes (I think they've been on together a couple of times for the last 10 minutes). But this only happened because Alex was forced into desperate measures when Spurs were two up at half time at OT. That 45 minutes must easily have been the best Utd have played this season.

But I've just seen that "hold what we have" idiocy again minutes ago. It was in the Asian Champions League with the Australian team Central Coast Mariners against Pohang Steelers - a Korean team. Pohang needed only a draw to go through and the Mariners needed to win. Straight forward as that.

So what happened. The Mariners started very cautiously and went in at half time a goal down. They came out fired up and scored two to take a 2-1 lead. And you know what the manager did at this point? He took off the striker that had scored the two goals and brought on a defensive midfielder with 30 minutes still to go.

The Mariners lost 3-2 !!!!!

So I just hope that these two results - Stevenage and the Mariners both losing overall from winning positions - is not an omen for the Utd game

Incidentally, seen this morning's report that Utd have made a $80 million for Ribery using Real's money for Ronaldo? Guardian I think it was. Bayern are supposed to have said it's true.

Yep. The Guardian (not usually given to outrageous rumours):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...stiano-ronaldo



EDIT

However I've just noticed a change from the story I read this morning which said that Bayern had confirmed the deal. Now it says "sources in Germany". Hmm.

[SirFozzie]

And what do you think of Sir Alex now, Mac?

[AlexB]

Brighton had the best record against us this year: beat us 3-2 at your place and drew at the Walkers - we took at least 2 points off every other team in the league!

Nice to see you stay up given the stadium fiasco - would have been cruel to have finally seen it open at the team be in L2.

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

And what do you think of Sir Alex now, Mac?

Just finished watching the game minutes ago, SirFozzie, and I'm delighted at the win but analyse the game and this wasn't a tactical win for Alex. He put this match in perspective himself in the post-match interview when he pointed out that the Gibbs slip simply took all the steam out of Arsenal. That was followed with another gift from Almunia and the game was over. Two down and only 11 minutes gone and Arsenal now needing four they were out of it and the players knew it. Nothing to do with tactics but all about two simple errors in the Arsenal defence - which was always on the cards.

Have to feel sorry for Fletcher. He'll miss the Final. I'm not a fan of these artificial red cards introduced by Blatter. A penalty is a perfectly adequate punishment. Even that was soft as Fletcher quite clearly got the ball and there wasn't that much contact with van Persie. It's not that long ago that would be seen as an excellent defensive tackle and it's a pity a young player should receive a triple punishment for it (penalty, sending off and match ban). According to Alex you can't appeal this red card so Fletcher's out for the Final.

I'm a bit fed up of watching silly red cards this week - two bad ones for Stevenage and a soft one for Utd. The red card really should be a punishment of last resort not something handed out so casually and they should always be available for review in a disciplinary hearing. Refs get it wrong. We shouldn't be amplifying the error by denying a hearing.

Incidentally saw the highlights of the Stevenage-Cambridge match last night and saw the winning goal for the first time (my pdr recording of the 2nd leg ran out 3 minutes before the end of extra time ). Not only did Cambridge get the benefit of two bad red card decisions but it's also clear the winning goal was offside

[Big Fo]

Yeah that was an awful decision. Supposedly the ref can say he made a mistake but Fletcher will be missing the final in all likelihood.

And then in the next minute or two Adebayor made an actual red card worthy "tackle" that was more of a stamp on Carrick's ankle but only got yellow.

Man Utd's third goal was sex on grass, so awesome. Loved Ronaldo smugging it up for all the boo-birds (or at least the ones who hadn't already left).

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Yeah that was an awful decision. Supposedly the ref can say he made a mistake but Fletcher will be missing the final in all likelihood.

And then in the next minute or two Adebayor made an actual red card worthy "tackle" that was more of a stamp on Carrick's ankle but only got yellow.

My reaction exactly. When I saw the replay of Adebayor's tackle I said out loud "Now that, ref, is a red card!"

Man Utd's third goal was sex on grass, so awesome. Loved Ronaldo smugging it up for all the boo-birds (or at least the ones who hadn't already left).

Ronaldo was up for that game right from the start. I think that was his best game this season. Clearly lucky with the second goal - Almunia really should have had that - but his game all round was superb. Not sure yet whether he's off to Real this summer and wonder if this was him saying "see what you'll be missing"

Now to see who it'll be in Rome tomorrow morning (2.30 AM kick offs here). I think I'd prefer Chelsea. Just don't like the idea of Messi up against Evra and I think we might miss Fletcher's energy in a midfield that will need it against Barca.

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

So anyone elses team had a last minute reprieve from relegation or sneaked into the playoffs?

Having seen Stevenage fail I'm now watching to see if my home town team Rochdale finally get out of Division Two. They've been in this league for 35 years, I think it is, and it's time they moved on

They failed in the playoff final last year (lost 3-2) and have a second chance now though their form for the last few weeks has been atrocious - a month or so ago they were in line for automatic promotion - and I've a horrible feeling they'll continue to choke

[SirFozzie]

Bumping for Cambridge fans. if you have Setanta Sports, the Playoff Final at Wembley will air live on Setanta sports, starting at 10:30 AM Next sunday (with the kickoff scheduled for 11).

Hope to see my U's make it back into the league

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Bumping for Cambridge fans. if you have Setanta Sports, the Playoff Final at Wembley will air live on Setanta sports, starting at 10:30 AM Next sunday (with the kickoff scheduled for 11).

Hope to see my U's make it back into the league

Oh, go suck a lemon

[SirFozzie]

Heheheheh. I thought about adding "And I'll even extend this to Cambridge haters like Mac" but I figured that would be rubbing it in