Weekend Football Roundup

April 27, 2008 by CLDsport

With the season coming to a swift end, and relegations, promotions and European qualification being hotly contested throughout the English League it’s getting exciting to say the least.

Here is a summary of the important results and league standings as of Sunday 27th May 2008;

In League 1 Nottingham Forest beat Hartlepool 1-0 to take 3rd place from Carlisle who went down 3-0 to Milwall respectively. Doncaster win 2-0 at home to Luton to keep hold of the second automatic promotion spot. Swansea remain 9 points clear at the top following their 4-1 win over Leyton Orient.

At the other end of the table Bournemouth’s win against Crewe leaves them in 21st - just 1 point behind Cheltenham who lost 2-1 away to Oldham. Gillingham managed a 1-1 draw with Swindon and leaves the relegation battle wide open. Only 2 points separate Bournemouth, Gillingham and Cheltenham with 1 game remaining. Two of the three will be relegated so the final day of the season will be a nail-biting tense affair for the fans.

The Championship saw Stoke beat Colchester 1-0 to take the top spot from West Brom who play tomorrow night (Monday) against relegation threatened Southampton. Hull continued their drive for second place - and automatic promotion to the Premiership - with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, who themselves are fighting for a place in the play off’s. Sheffield Utd beat Bristol City to give them an outside chance of gaining a play-off spot on the final day.

Wolves and Ipswich, however, failed to capitalise on the defeats of Bristol City, Watford and Crystal Palace. Wolves drew 1-1 with Coventry, and Ipswich 2-2 with Preston respectively. The final day promises to be a tense afternoon with all 5 clubs (Watford, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton, Ipswich & Sheff Utd) fighting for just 2 remaining play-off places. The title could go to Stoke, West Brom, or Hull - although Hull’s chances could be quashed if West Brom beat Southampton on Monday.

The relegation battle is just as open going into the round of fixtures. With 1 place in the relegation zone undecided, 5 clubs are fighting to stay up. Blackpool, Coventry, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester, and Southampton are all separated by just 3 points. Wednesday beat Leicester 3-1 on Saturday to boost their chances of survival and now sit 2 places above the dreaded drop zone. Blackpool went down 3-0 at Plymouth to leave them in trouble. Southampton face a tough task as they take on title contenders West Brom on Mon - but MUST go for the win.

In the Premiership the biggest story of the weekend was Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off as Chelsea met Man Utd at Old Trafford. With the premiership title on the line a dramatic winner from a Ballack penalty saw Chelsea win 2-1 and draw level on points with United. United have a far superior goal difference and this may be crucial come the end of the season. With 2 games left to play, it’s all to play for!

Liverpool virtually ruined their chances of finishing above Arsenal in 3rd place as they drew 2-2 with relegation threatened Birmingham City - however, they did fight back from 2-0 down. Sunday’s big match between Aston Villa and Everton finished 2-2 and leaves them both fighting for 5th place and a UEFA Cup qualification spot. Everton currently lead Villa by 2 points and both still have two to play.

At the bottom Fulham came from 2-0 down to beat Man City 3-2 away, but they still face a huge battle to stay up. Bolton managed a 1-1 draw with Spurs at White Hart Lane - despite being outplayed for the full 90 minutes. Reading managed a 0-0 draw with Wigan. The weekend’s results leaves Wigan, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Reading, Birmingham, and Fulham all fighting to avoid the drop - with 2 relegation places up for grabs and Derby County already down.

Other football stories included the brawl between Man Utd players and Chelsea ground staff on the Stamford Bridge pitch during a post-match ‘warm down’. Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Ji-Sung Park and Paul Scholes were on the pitch and were asked to move by ground staff. This - somehow - led to an argument/shoving on the pitch. The FA have asked for CCTV footage before taking any action. Both clubs have also said they will take any necessary action AFTER studying CCTV footage.

Spurs boss Juande Ramos has hinted that Dimitar Berbatov could leave in the summer if the price is right - thought to be in excess of £30million. Ramos said;

“We know the situation of Berbatov and we are calm about it. If a team comes along and pays the asking price the chairman wants then possibly yes, but we’re delighted to have him here.”

Meanwhile, Croatia coach Slaven Bilic believes Luca Modric - Spurs’ new £15million signing from Dinamo Zagreb - will be a big star for the North London club. Bilic said;

“Tottenham is a perfect club for Luka. Spurs are a better club for Luka than, for example, Chelsea. Chelsea could have bought him, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho and then Luka could have ended up on the bench.”

He continued….

“At Tottenham it will be different. Ramos will have patience with him so he gets used to the Premier League style of play, I’m certain that Luka will become their main power, the star of the team.”

Read Rob Scanlon’s article: This Season’s Climax - The Most Exciting One In Recent History?

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