Plymouth fans chanting "Portsmouth's a **** hole, I want to go home," as they lead 1-0 at Krap nottarF I know, they hardly live in paradise themselves, but funny.
They have my sympathy. Brighton minutes away from being virtually promoted to the PL. Another South Coast club
Like for Like Geograhically speaking Down to League 1 Rotherham and possibly Wigan and Blackburn Up to the Championship: Sheffield United, probably Bolton and possibly Fleetwood. PL to the Championship: Probably Sunderland and Middlesborough Championship to the PL: Newcastle and possibly Leeds, Huddersfield or Sheffield Wednesday. However I am expecting Fulham to enter the play-offs and win the final. Arguably the best footballing team in the division at the moment?
Jimmy Hill must be rolling in his grave. I was at a boarding school in the area many moons ago and went alonng to Highfield Road to see Coventry secure promotion to the First Division for the first time back in 1967 against Wolves in front of 51,000 fans. 50 years ago. At the time they were seen as a highly progressive club. Sad to see what has happened but they are too good to stay there long and if they could find a John Madjeski like figure, they will soon start to climb back.
The presence of some clubs in the Championship certainly raises the performance of the rest. I am thinking Newcastle this season and previously, and West Ham who brought the best out of us. There are going to be some big teams in the Championship next year with Sheffield United, Sunderland, Villa, one and posssibly both Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds, Derby, Forest if they survive, Wolves, Norwich and Ipswich - all have a good pedigree. We did well to get out of that division at the first time of asking in 2011-12.
The sad decline of Coventry City only serves to remind me how lucky Saints were when SISU elected to purchase them as opposed to ourselves. I am surprised than no one has made the contrast between City who look like being relegated to the fourth tier and Portsmouth who look like escaping it at the fourth attempt. The contrasting fortunes if both clubs are indicative of how capitalism has wrecked clubs ( just as it previously destroyed Portsmouth) whereas the tenacity of the Portsmouth board is demonstrative that things can be improved when fans take over the running of the club. Whilst it is common to ridicule Portsmouth on this board, I think what has been achieved has actually been commendable and it only remains to be seen whether promotion will see them tempted by the potential investment from America (by the owner of Top Trump cards! ) or if they remain true to their principles. I would have to admit that I always felt Paul Cook was too flakey a character ever to promote Portsmouth even though our friends from Fratton Park were always too big a club to be playing at that level. I think that the team can move on but, as the recent article in WSD suggests, it is open to conjecture whether the utopia of fans owning clubs can ever deliver the true potential. I can't see Coventry's situation being reversed without some outside intervention. Probably the biggest disgrace in football in recent years since Leeds and Portsmouth.
Brighton effectively promoted with a win today (GD) Skates could go up too if they win and Luton don't.
Good goal from Grealish, wouldn't mind Saints going for him in the summer, think there is a really talented player there. Now Fulham to score a couple more so Leeds finish outside the playoff places
