The nPower Championship Promotion/Relegation

So here we are at the business end of the season. This has been one of the best seasons in some time, with the openness making it very unpredictable. At the start of the season, the two favourites were Bristol City (then under Steve Coppell) and Middlesbrough after their heavy spending spree recreating the Scotland XI.


Having looked certain of Promotion for some time have been QPR. In the top two for months, if they get at least a point this weekend they are promoted. This is of course dependant on the results of the FA investigation due to come out on May 3rd about their fielding of a player signed illegally using a third party agent. I suspect the FA are waiting for them to be clear of Cardiff and Norwich by enough that they can dock them 10 points without too much uproar.
That brings me on to Cardiff and Norwich themselves. Both have had great seasons, especially Norwich, this being their first year back in the Championship after their one year cameo on League 1. Both have scored fairly freely this campaign, especially that man people love to hate, Grant Holt. Personally I admit he's a good player, but the few times I've seen him play he's deserved a red card on each appearance, but I've never seen him get sent off. He is undoubtedly a great goalscorer for Norwich though, scoring so many vital goals usually late on to secure the points.
Although it is interesting to see the outcome of the QPR case and how this affects the automatic spaces, the most intriguing battle is that for 6th place. 
Reading Swansea and Norwich/Cardiff are secured a Play Off place, but Nottingham Forest's space is under siege from 3 teams currently, although only a few of weeks ago anybody down to 12th had a reasonable chance. Leeds, having slipped up against Crystal Palace in what seems oddly like an annual tradition; last season Leeds were 22 points ahead of Millwall in the second automatic promotion place in League 1, and Millwall ended up overtaking them for a short period after a dire run of form from the Yorkshire men.
In between these two teams are Burnley, who were expected to mount a strong charge having the quality in their squad and large funds at their disposal due to Premier League parachute payments.

Table Couresy of BBC Sport

Millwall have remained largely under the radar, and our fans will be quick to say that's just how we like it. We are now just two points from that sixth spot, and in fact were in 6th for a small period on Monday whilst Bristol City were holding Forest to a 2-2 draw, which Forest ended up winning 3-2. If they were to get anything less than 2 wins, and Millwall were also to get 2 wins then the Lions would occupy 6th, and have a third consecutive play off campaign to deal with. 
At the other end of the table, it was confirmed that Preston North End were relegated on Monday. Scunthorpe losing means they are as good as down, with a -40 goal difference they would have to make up 17 goals and 6 points to reach 21st place. Crystal Palace in 20th are as good as safe now after their perhaps surprising victory over Leeds at home. It is even more surprising that Palace have a higher win percentage at home than Leeds do, considering their positions in the league.
Doncaster are still not yet safe, although are also 6 points from the drop with a superior goal difference to the teams below them. I feel this pretty much condemns Sheffield United to League 1 football next year along with Scunthorpe and Preston. 


I feel special mention should be made for my team, Millwall, along with Norwich and Leeds. I personally predicted at the beginning of the season that The Lions would finish in the top 10, but did not expect us to be finishing so well, and to be honest would have been happy with simply avoiding the drop. Norwich have exceeded our achievements and Leeds have always been in and around, and for three newly promoted teams to take such a difficult league by storm is very impressive. I hope Millwall can get the play offs, although would not be surprised if the play off positions in 2 weeks are the same as they are now. Good luck to the teams that get promoted, it is even tougher to cut it in the Premier League. I feel that the Championship will be more difficult next season, especially for Millwall - who I feel have ridden a lot of this season on momentum from the Play Off Final victory against Swindon last year. Although that is not to say our squad is not capable enough of Championship football. There are also some big teams entering this division. Southampton have a lot of money to spend, and with the impending teams from the Premier League (hopefully including West Ham) it will be tough. 


So far it's been a great season, and I hope it ends well too.

Best In the World

Many argue about who the best player in the World is, but for me there is no contest. Proven against Real Madrid in the Champions League, Messi has once again displayed the sublime skill we have come to expect from him. A surging run from about 40 yards out, taking the ball past 5 defenders and slotting past Casillas.

Many people say Ronaldo is better than Messi, for which I can see no valid reasoning. Ronaldo does score a lot of goals, true, however his ‘good goals’ are simply long range shots. Ronaldo is not capable of the close control at speed that Messi has displayed throughout his short career so far. Ronaldo is selfish – he will only cross or slot in a team mate when he feels he cannot score from that position (and even then he will often still elect to shoot). Messi meanwhile plays in his team mates every single game. He has a striker’s instinct to shoot when he sees the option, but it is clear he values a team win more than goals for himself, which Ronaldo I’m afraid does not. Messi’s ‘good goals’ are either mazy runs cutting through a team where he feels it would be irresponsible to gamble with a long distance shot (although he is capable of long shots as you can see on youtube) and instead gets near to the goal to create an assist or score himself.

The two players are summed up quite effectively by the following statement:

When watching Ronaldo play, you hope for a good goal. When watching Messi, you expect one.

The standards which he has consistently set and then surpassed have made him a true legend. With two Champions League winner’s medals, four La Liga titles and the world player of the year in both 2009 and 2010 he was already a special player before this season, but this season he has enhanced his reputation even further. At time of writing, his current tally of 52 goals for the season (taking him to 179 in 264 games for Barcelona) is astounding. He is fast becoming the highest goal scorer for Barcelona (currently ranked third), at just 23 years of age. The main cup evading him so far is that of the World Cup, but I’m sure that will soon follow.

I’m sure that many others as well as myself would pay just to watch him play. When I turn on the TV for a Champions League game, it is almost with reluctance that I want the English team to win, as that would restrict us from watching the brilliance of Lionel Messi.

Whereas occasionally, if on their day, some of the World’s greatest players are unplayable, Messi is unplayable regularly. When he gets the ball defenders don’t know what to do, if they go to him he’ll take it past them, if they back off he’ll take it past them or slip in a ball to a fellow striker. He is so unpredictable yet so reliable. I am personally privileged to have seen him play, and am excited to see how he develops, as he has not yet hit what many consider to be the ‘golden age’ for footballers, around 26-31, but you have to ask yourself, can he get any better?

Welcome to the Blog

Hi guys!
I'm a football fanatic, and have started this blog to ramble in my own opinion about current issues and news in World Football.
I support Millwall FC in the nPower Championship, and desperately hope we can get the playoffs again this year!
Feel free to read and post here, and ask any questions you want, I'll endeavour to reply as soon as possible!


Thanks!