It would but of the options available I’d like them and Sunderland to go up as a combination of teams I kind of like and long/crap away trips. Burnley also long/crap but Parker is a cock.
As a youngster on the early 1970's I worked for Seismograph Service Limited (SSL) whose HQ was located at the nearby Holwood stately mansion at Keston, Kent, where I recall on the vast estate grounds there was a bench under an Oak tree where William Pitt the Younger was reported to have discussed the Slave Trade with William Wilberforce. I mostly worked overseas conducting Geophysical Seismic Survey oil exploration work, but on "Company" visits and later to attend Surveying School "practical" training (after 3 months "theory" at North East London Polytechnic) we stayed in Bromley, and one of our favourite watering holes (and meet up spot for hot & horny women) was the nearby Teacher's College Pub, and I have many fond memories of visits there and après bar closing visits to parties at on-campus residences. Now also on a 1960's family caravan holiday to Yorkshire and Scotland we stayed several days in Harrogate where I recall a Spa located in a fancy hotel hotel there. On one of my many country walks there, beautiful countryside I recall, I met a local lad my age and we became good chums and communicated as Pen Pals for several years afterwards (anybody remember those letter writing experiences, from a bygone era where kids actually knew how to write). His name was Gary Longstaff and likely followed Harrogate FC, so an interesting personal connection between those two towns!
Young Daniel Bennie had an excellent performance for the Australian under 20 team in the final of the under 20 Asian cup against Saudi Arabia. Australia won 5-4 on penalties after it was 1-1 following extra time.
Bromley was actually part of Kent until swallowed up by Greater London. If you'd travelled a few miles outward you'd be passing farmland. They're a non league club that have progressed as far as their fanbase permits but since they've come up are subject to policing rules that make them a less welcoming club. There was never segregation of fans before they reached the top division of the National League and it's worse now they are in League Two. I was in Bromley picking my wife up from work when they played Wimbledon and there was a big police presence I'd never seen before at the station. Welcome to the big league. Talking of police there was the worst overkill I've ever seen at yesterday's Palace v Millwall game. During the week we received a letter from the Met saying there was serious risk of disturbance at the match. We were advised to remove wheelybins or other articles from our front gardens and that there would be additional road closures before, during and after the match. I've lived here for 15 years and never seen anything like it. My wife was on her way home at 2.30 and got caught by police blockades around Norwood Junction, she was held for over half an hour and eventually made a long detour to get home. All the Millwall supporters were taken through the station route regardless of where they were from. It was siege mentality at it's finest...
Who'd ave thought " we received a letter from the Met saying there was serious risk of disturbance at the match"
Brighton KO Newcastle, love to see the underdogs upset the order. Anyone for a Brighton v Bournemouth final?...
Wembley isn’t gentrified enough for 80000 middle-class pensioners to descend upon it. The coffee shops would be busier than the pubs.
We certainly don't want another Manc final. Hard to see United making it the way they're playing now...
For no reason at all I thought it would be a Forest Newcastle final. Will go with Forest Bournemouth now.
Everything that's wrong about VAR was epitomised in the Newcastle v Brighton game today. Newcastle 'score' what would have been a winning goal at the death and the ground erupts. But wait, we need to take a couple of minutes to review this. I don't care if it gets more decisions right (it doesn't always even do that) - and this one was correct - but it just kills the spontaneous nature of the fan's enjoyment of the game.
Apparently VAR took 8 minutes to sort out an offside in the Bournemouth Wolves game.... the new fangled automatic offside technology didn't work so they had to draw the lines again, seems there were too many players in the penalty area for it to work property...... you couldn't make it up....
I still hate Arteta for the offside goal he scored against us in 2012. Think how peaceful and zen my life would now be had we had VAR then.
