A Successful Weekend For Yorkshire Football
My friend texted me on Friday evening asking for an unbiased prediction on Saturday’s Championship play off final, with the end of his message saying “as long as you think we will win!” Sadly, he is a Bristol City fan. My thoughts were that it would be tight, that Hull would definetly score with the plethora of decent strikers they have and that one of the old boys, probably Windass, would get a goal as I could envisage the usual age-related Sunday headlines. Now I’m not saying you should take my word as gospel in the future and stake all your betting plans on my ramblings, but I feel I got this one spot on. Hull are in the Premier League, and Dean Windass became a journalist’s dream by scoring for his hometown club at the age of 39.
The victory parade is planned for Hull City centre this afternoon, marking the first time the city has ever had a top flight team. The statistic that Hull is the largest area in the country without having a team in the top tier has also been mentioned numerous times. They certainly have an arena, in the Kingston Communications stadium, that is fit for the Premier League and it’s array of star performers. The stadium is, like all modern theatres, a place that is busy throughout the week, due to its conferencing and banqueting functions and of course it’s Rugby League matches. The Tigers have an accomplished manager in Phil Brown, who has enhanced his reputation after having a very mediocre spell in charge of Derby County. Derby serve as an example of what Hull must strive to avoid- a team that invites a chorus of patronising pity from the Match of the Day pundits. They have quite an experienced side that include players with Premier League experience. Nick Barmby, Caleb Folan and Bryan Hughes are all players who were playing top flight football recently, and they clearly have enough financial backing to be paying good wages. This should mean the chasm between the Championship and the Premier shouldn’t be too great, as they are already dedicating a large chunk of their budget on wages.
The first rumour that has surfaced regarding transfer targets is the recently released Ivan Campo. Now 34, the Spaniard offers a lot of experience and good be a good acquistion if combined with some young blood. The permananent signing of Frazier Campbell from Manchester United will also form an integral part of Brown’s summer plans. The transfer deals the Tigers pull off will be vital in making them a competitive outfit this season- the squad requires a major refresh, despite this seasons success.
For Bristol City, a feeling of complete deflation abounds. The crescendo of the day, all the anticipation and then such emptyness at the end was vivid in the eyes of Gary Johnson. It’s an incredibly long campaign, that has brought increased media interest, repeated questions of “are you suprised to be in this position?” and to finish with nothing must be draining and destroying in equal measure. When in press conferences in the cramped gymnasium at Ashton Gate this past season, I have observed most journalists resorting to the normal questions about falling away from the pack, the bubble bursting and, the most patronising- asking whether Johnson is enjoying being where they are. At least from next season, these questions should have subsided- Bristol City have proved themselves this season. Next year they are no longer the suprise package.
In the League 1 Play off final, the White Rose battle resulted in Doncaster Rovers notching up a second 1-0 win of the Wembley weekend against Leeds United. James Hayter, who hasn’t scored since January though is famous for hitting the fastest ever football league hatrick, stooped to head in from a poorly defended corner. This gave his chairman, the ambitious silver-haired John Ryan, his dream of Championship football and repayed the record £200,000 that brought the striker from Bournemouth. In Ryan’s post match interview, it is clear he still has lingering aims that are yet to be furnished- most notably, Premier League football.
Doncaster deserved the win. Leeds barely had a shot on target and owed a lot to the flexibility of their goalkeeper Casper Ankergren. Leeds have rarely been out of the headlines this season and certainly have a recognisable man in Ken Bates at the helm of the club. Whatever bitterness may be felt at not getting their 15 points back, they had a good chance on Sunday but were beaten on the day by a better team. From listening to phone ins, I get the feeling Leeds fans are perfectly aware of this and are looking forward to a season without the politics next year. Had they been given the 15 points back, I feel it may have hurt their reputation amongst other fans- there is still plenty of empathy towards the club which may have been lost if the points were then given back. People recognise what a good achievement finishing in the play offs is, and it is generally assumed they will go up next year should they hang on to Jermaine Beckford and bring in one or two new faces. With the history and size of Leeds United, they are a very attractive club to play for as a prospective player, so they should have no trouble.
So with Hull and Doncaster moving up a league and Leeds hotly tipped for promotion next season, the white rose of Yorkshire has had a good weekend. Wembley stadium has been pretty much full (with just a few corporate seats being sadly left vacant) and although 2 games have only produced 2 goals, the headline writers have had a good weekend and the open top bus companies in the North will be rubbing their hands with glee.
