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Quarter Final Misery

England fought valiantly but were ultimately dumped out of the competition by the better team. Roy stuck to a rigid 4-4-2 attempting to soak up pressure from the Azzurri and hit them on the break however England were out-numbered in midfield and anonymous in attack.

The Italians, and specifically Andrea Pirlo, passed the ball well, with the latter dictating the game. After the first 20-25 minutes there was little ebb and flow to the game; Italy instead camped in England's half spraying passes around waiting for an opening, of which Balotelli had plenty. Playing the offside trap well he got in behind England's defence multiple times but tame shots or heroic blocking from John Terry and Glen Johnson  thwarted the infamous 'Super' Mario.

England looked like scoring first, with a good spell of pressure in the first 15 or 20 minutes, coming close with a flicked shot from Johnson in the 6 yard area, only to be beaten to safety by the experienced Gianluigi Buffon, and again with a diving header from Rooney that went wide.

This was the most England saw of the game. The two central midfielders, Parker and Gerrard, worked tirelessly chasing down balls trying to gain possession, and I believe this is where the game was lost. To be good at international level a team must be comfortable in possession and be able to keep the ball. England could not. The Italians enjoyed almost 70% possession, with Pirlo making more than 3 times the amount of passes of Ashley Cole, England's best passer of the game. England did well to hold on for 120 minutes against a confident and somewhat surprising Italy side. This is not how it should be, we should be more attacking. Ashley Young was largely anonymous with Milner not having the pace to truly trouble Italy down the wing. In fact, one of England's largest attacking outlets was wing back Johnson, who made various runs in to and around the box, supplying crosses and shots.

I personally believe the tactics were wrong, and outdated. I personally believe England would have done better to play an unfamiliar 4-3-3 formation that dropped back to 4-5-1 when defending. This would have swamped the midfield with another man, allowing one player to sit on Andrea Pirlo all night and preventing the Italy star from dictating the play. Without their pass-master, Italy would have looked a largely ordinary opponent.

The player choice was incorrect also in my eyes. Yes, Rooney scored against the Ukraine, but I am a firm believer of the motto 'don't fix what isn't broken'. I would have stuck with the same squad that fought back against Sweden against Ukraine, using Rooney as an impact sub if necessary. I think throwing him back in to the fold straight after unexpectedly good results against France and Sweden sent out a message that Rooney was, and is, bigger than the squad. No player is bigger than the squad.

In my 4-3-3, I would have played the same keeper and defence, with a midfield of Gerrard, Jones, Parker. Jones could have been swapped for Milner (who excelled in this role at previous club Aston Villa) as the game went on to gain a little more attacking intent. Jones has performed well in the central defensive role for club and country, and there's no reason why he would not have done a job preventing Pirlo from getting the ball.

My attacking three would have consisted of Walcott, Welbeck and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Walcott had a massive influence against Sweden, and his pace would have troubled the Italian defence. Welbeck has put in a lot of work in his games, and even against Italy he was tracking back to cover midfield, which meant we were essentially playing a 4-5-1 or a 4-6-0 at times, meaning there was no outlet when we did eventually win the ball. 'The Ox' has shone through in the recent weeks and months, both at club and international level. He would have been somewhat of an unknown, and again his pace, attacking intent and confidence could have caused problems. He could have been subbed for Young later in the game if he tired.

Rooney could have been used as an impact sub. Apart from scoring against Ukraine he did little else in that game, and certainly not enough to guarantee a place in the starting XI. Andy Carroll, after coming on in the second half, did well to win almost every aerial ball aimed towards him, but there was little outlet when he did this and few chances were created.

In terms of penalties, you can't blame anybody. You have to be incredibly brave to take a penalty at such a stage. What I would say is it is a little disappointing that Young actually missed the target - the most important thing to get right when taking a penalty. Even so, he is not at fault for England getting knocked out.

Throughout the tournament, certain players such as Young and Rooney have been largely anonymous, but on the flip-side some have excelled under the pressure. Welbeck has surely cemented his place in the squad for the World Cup 2014 qualifiers along with Scott Parker. Glen Johnson also has been a silver lining of Euro 2012 with his return to form under the cloud of many, including me, calling for Micah Richards to be England's first choice right back. Joe Hart has excelled this whole season, and shown the world how he is knocking on the door of goalkeeping greats. He is already one of the very best 'keepers in the world at only 25. Steven Gerrard gave everything for his country and John Terry was fantastic as well, even under the cloud of an impending court case. I'd probably name Terry my England player of the tournament for his pure heroics. He is happy to put everything on the line for England every time he's on the pitch with brave blocks and crucial clearances.

I don't portion any blame on the players or the management. It was difficult for Roy to be thrown in to the fold so late before a major tournament to manage a squad that has not looked like winning a tournament in some years. I would like to see, however, some more daring from the England boss. I'd like to see experiments with 4-3-3, after all, if we're going to get knocked out in the Quarters, we may as well go all out and try and score some goals for it!

With all said and done, let's turn our attention to Wimbledon, come on Murray!

The Impossible Job

So Stuart 'Psycho' Pearce is the interim manager of the England national side. He himself has said he doesn't want the job on a full time basis, for now anyway. He is in charge during Euro 2012 but then a successor to Fabio Capello will be announced.

Many have suggested Harry Redknapp to take the reigns of the England national squad after a very impressive spell at Tottenham Hotspur, where he claimed a top four finish last season and has almost clinched one this season too. He would be mad to leave the Tottenham job currently, where they are close to being real top of the table challengers for the title, albeit on much lesser resources than Manchester United and even more so Manchester City. He knows this. This is why he has been diplomatic in saying it would be an honour to manage the squad at some point, yet he is fully committed to the Tottenham job at the moment.

Other names have been banded about, including ex England manager Glenn Hoddle, sacked after controversial comments in an interview where he expressed his religious beliefs that he believed disabled people are suffering for misdemeanors in previous lives. It was not due to poor England performance, and I believe his comments did not deserve a sacking. Alan Shearer, the iconic England, Newcastle and Blackburn striker has spoken of his support for Hoddle, and claimed there is no reason for Hoddle not to be given a chance.

Roy Hodgson has been suggested too, however there has been less coverage of this. Hodgson would be more likely to leave his current club, a bottom half Premier League outfit, West Bromwich Albion, however to the younger generation not much is known of him past his impressive run to the UEFA Cup Final with Fulham. He has previously taken Switzerland to the 1994 World Cup and Euro 1996 (Their first major tournament qualifications since the 1960's) and taken Finland to their highest ever FIFA ranking of 33rd in the world. He has domestic honours too, having improved a faltering Inter Milan team, and guided Blackburn Rovers to a 6th placed Premier League finish with qualification for Europe after a dismal season prior to his employment at Ewood Park. He was even previously offered the England job before Sven Goran-Eriksson was hired as he had already signed to manage Copenhagen, although he is most remembered currently for his failure at Liverpool.

I personally, although I cannot see it happening, would like to see something different. I agree England need an English manager, but I think one of the main reasons we always seem to fail on the big stage is that there's too much pressure and it's all too serious. I know of one manager who would not only give England a different way to play but would also liven up the squad and get rid of some of the suffocating pressure, however he is not as experienced as the men I have mentioned, with only domestic clubs managed, and little top flight experience, although his Blackpool picked up a good haul of points in the first half of their 2010-11 season in the Premier League, although it ultimately ended in their relegation. They achieved these points through an entertaining emphasis on attacking play; almost always with three attackers in a 4-3-3 system, with the aim of 'We'll score more than you'. While effective for a while, they were soon found out and the lack of quality and depth in their squad meant they suffered. With the England squad, you would imagine it could be more effective.

The man I am talking about of course, is Ian Holloway.

I don't suppose he will be chosen, or barely considered for the role for his lack of experience, but I honestly believe a man like him could achieve success with the England squad by alleviating the pressure, putting the emphasis on attacking play (unlike in Fabio Capello's reign where it was almost a chore to sit through an England game for boring defensive displays) and putting the control back in an Englishman's hands.

We will see who is chosen, but I for one would love to see Holloway chosen.

The Season Ahead: Millwall

After a brilliant ninth placed finish at the first time of asking on our return to the second tier, how can we follow this up? A tough season ahead with trouble finding goals after the sale of Steve Morison, or much of the same, or even perhaps a higher finish?

Throughout summer I've been rather pessimistic of our chances this season, and I still hold a certain anxiety over where the goals will come from, and having attended today's pre-season friendly (Alan Dunne's testimonial) against local rivals Charlton Athletic I'm still in two minds even though we scored four.

The game wasn't brilliant, Charlton went ahead in the first 4 minutes when a poor ground cross went through Darren Purse's legs after a failed clearance under no pressure and fell for Bradley Wright-Philips. 0-1. Very soon after Millwall were awarded a corner, from which Marquis drew a smart save from Rob Elliott resulting in another corner. Just after the corner, Millwall got a free kick about 25 yards out, which James Henry converted, albeit with a sleight bit of fortune as it was almost straight at Elliott just below the bar, but the keeper was wrong footed and so didn't get there in time. 1-1.

Almost instantly Bradley Wright-Philips again picked up the ball, this time 40 yards out and run at the Millwall defence. He cut inside Purse with ease after the big centre back wrong footed himself and ended up falling to the ground, and although the finish was good I think David Forde's positioning was poor for this goal, which gave Wright-Philips a large gap to aim at. 1-2. Very soon after this, after some brilliant build up play, a ball was put in from the left by Tony Craig, which was chested down by Darius Henderson (who looked decent today, good passing, good reading of the play and good tracking back. Also executed more knock downs than I can remember Morison doing throughout the whole of last season! He may not have that pace, but I think we can rely on him for at least 10 goals a season, and hopefully plenty of assists) in to the path of the new number 9 John Marquis, who volleyed left footed in to the far corner. 2-2.

A minute later he doubled his tally for the day with a great header in to the top corner from a Scott Barron cross from open play, although Charlton equalised to make it 3-3 soon after with a cross from their left which Johnnie Jackson looped over Forde with a smart header, although I feel the marking wasn't great and again it was a sloppy goal to concede.

The best goal perhaps came last. Hamer Bouazza, only on the field for a matter of minutes, scored a sublime free kick from 20 yards out, even past a man on the line. The game finished 4-3.

It was a good pre season game, and a good way to celebrate Dunne's testimonial, but the performance wasn't great and will have to improve next weekend to get a result at the Madejski.
Although I'm all for players being fans of the club I really don't believe Purse to be good enough, he seems clumsy and a League 1 player at best, I hope he can prove me wrong. Marquis, in my opinion, didn't have a great game, but perhaps its the sign of a good player to bag two goals when not performing brilliantly, although this was against lower league opposition and he may not have scored both against a better team. Forde wasn't great but this is his first pre-season so hopefully he will recover his recent form for the Reading game.
Also, although I am a fan of Barron, he wasn't great today. I believe him to be too lightweight, for either LB or LM, and I'd prefer to see Craig at LB with Bouazza at LM but again, hopefully Barron can prove me wrong. The rest of the squad had a decent game, with Racon showing why Jackett has put his faith in him with some neat passing and movement, and good energy shown. Henderson, as mentioned, seems to have a good footballing brain with cross-field balls when the play is tight on one flank, intelligent knock downs for others and good tracking back. I don't suppose he will be prolific but hopefully reliable.

We could do with Townsend, although Sky Sports have reported this as unlikely (here) although I personally would think it more beneficial for him to ply his trade in the Championship with us as he did successfully last term for one more season, then he may be ready for the step up to Spurs' first team.
We could also do with another striker, we currently only have three in Henerson, McQoid (who excites me in the skill he shows pre-game and sometimes in game, although I've not seen much of him), and Marquis. A couple of injuries would really hurt us in this department, with only Bouazza who could really fill in as a striker.  That brings me on to the need for another left midfielder (obviously Townsend would fill this role if we could get him).

I'm looking forward to the season ahead although I am always conscious of the possibility of 'doing a Swindon' in selling out goal scorers and then getting relegated from finishing near the top the previous season. I don't think this will happen though (I hope not anyway) as we do tend to get goals from various sources, Henry, Trotter, Bouazza, Dunne etc. although I would like to see Jackett get one or two extra players soon.
Come on you Lions, lets gate crash the Premier League!

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Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli has already, at the young age of 20, an impressive CV. Having been successful at Inter Milan after a short spell at Lumezzane, he was bought by the new owners of Manchester City. He has talent, that much is given, but is he too immature for his stature?

Recently in the headlines is the story of how Balotelli, in a pre-season friendly in the US against LA Galaxy, chose to attempt a trick shot, almost a Maradonna turn, instead of simply slotting home. He missed, and was instantly substituted off for James Milner. The video of this is below. I personally find it incredibly disrespectful to attempt this in a game. Granted it is only pre-season, and against a somewhat lesser team, but nevertheless you should not set out to humiliate teams. The opposition players and fans were disgusted, although I think justice has been done in that he himself was humiliated, but even after being taken off he still has an argument with his manager. Does he not know when to stop? He needs to refocus and look at what stage he is playing at. If it was school play ground football, this would be accepted. For supposedly one of the best teams in the world against another high profile team, it is not.

Many say it is just due to his age, but I don't feel this is a reason or a valid justification. I've never seen such an obnoxious player on the pitch, with such over confidence. I remember a while ago when he was quoted as saying he was equal to Lionel Messi, which is of course nonsense. While I am mentioning Messi - did he ever display such ignorance? No, he did not, he is down to earth and is a respectable footballer.

This is not the first time Balotelli has been involved in controversy. At the end of last season when his Manchester City team won the FA Cup, he said on live television "My whole season has been s**t, can I say this?". No, Mario, you cannot. This is a completely stupid thing to say when you know it is a rude word, and the broadcast is live.

Even when playing for Inter Milan he had more than his fair share of controversy, I personally remember him being substituted from the Champions League semi-final, and subsequently throwing his shirt to the ground amid boos from his fans. His relationship with fans wasn't helped further by his appearance on an Italian TV show, wearing the jersey of massive rivals AC Milan, with whom Inter share the San Siro.

Not only does Balotelli risk being a laughing stock with football fans across the world, but he also risks wasting the genuine potential he seems to possess. I cannot possibly see him being as good as Messi as he claims, but he does have some skill, which coupled with his pace and shooting ability would make him a formidable opponent to many defenders.

He also risks losing the trust of his team mates and manager. It is clear that his relationship with Roberto Mancini is strained after several apparent bust ups between the two, but his team mates are also showing their frustration, with Nigel De Jong today criticising Balotelli for his decisions. I feel though that Balotelli is risking more than  relationships with fans and current players/managers; that he is risking future positive moves in his career. He already has this undesirable reputation of bust ups and controversy that I'm sure the majority of clubs who would normally look at signing him might think twice about it, especially after he couldn't get along with Jose Mourinho, whom many believe to be the best manager in the world.

Balotelli has unquestionable potential, but until he realises that his stupidity is preventing him from being truly successful he will not progress. When, and if, he realises this, he may finally decide to think before he performs such antics, and become a more popular figure, but until then he will still be the butt of many a joke from fans across the world. For instance, type Mario Balotelli in facebook, and see quite how many groups and pages there are mocking him (especially for his amusing defeat to a bib in pre-match training, see here).

Neil Harris - Millwall Legend

Although many might not know of Neil Harris because he has not played at the highest level, many do, especially Millwall fans. Millwall fans have gone through the high's and low's of his career not just on a fan level, almost on a personal friend level.


My first experience of Neil Harris was in 1999, the first season I was taken to The New Den by my dad. I don't remember much of the season, but I remember Neil's energy in getting round the pitch, his intelligence even then at around 20 years of age. I also remember he played a role in both the road to, and our first ever Wembley appearance in the then named Auto-Windscreens Shield Final. In the end we lost that game, but since then I have had a poster of Neil at this match in my bedroom.


My next real memories of Neil Harris are from our promotion winning season in 2001. This was my first season ticket season, and I remember not experiencing a loss in a long time, and when it finally came not feeling sure what to think as I had been so used to our old screen at the Den displaying 'Victory' at the end of a game! Neil was instrumental in our promotion, and on the way picking up the divisional Golden Boot, with an impressive tally of 25 league goals, 28 in total. He was being head hunted by bigger clubs, some in the Premiership, when both he and the club were rocked by the diagnosis of his testicular cancer.


Many players would have crumbled with that news, but not Neil. Supported by the club, the fans, and everybody associated with Millwall FC, of course as well as his family and friends, he overcame the battle with cancer and was declared fit for the new season. The character and strength he showed in his battle was inspiring, and unlike many players, the fans now looked on him as a friend, a part of the family, as well as a player. After the ordeal he set up a charity, the Neil Harris Everyman Appeal to raise funds for the treatment of testicular cancer - a charity he still regularly does fund raisers for including running marathons.

Watford 1 - 4 Millwall
The team holding Neil on their shoulders

It took a while for Neil to find his form again, but he got his first goal since the cancer on New Years day, 2002, away at Watford in an emphatic 4-1 win. This was one of the first away games I had been taken to, and it was by far the best I have been to since. On a freezing cold New Years day, we made our way to Vicarage Road. From what I remember we went 3-0 up with goals from other Millwall favourites, Richard Sadlier (who's career was tragically ended by a back injury just when he also was being head hunted by Premiership clubs), Steven Reid (now of West Brom) and Tim Cahill (now of Everton). Watford got a consolation goal late on. Mark McGhee the manager of Millwall decided to put Neil on in the last 5 minutes and told him to 'Get yourself a goal'. Neil has later said he was happy just to get a run out, but in added time as part of a counter attack the ball was played to him around the half way line. Neil ran at the Watford defence, and then struck his trademark goal of cutting in from the left and firing a superb curling shot past the 'keeper. Everybody was jubilant, the whole team came to him and lifted him on their shoulders, including the goalkeeper Tony 'Denzil' Warner. This is my favourite away day memory, and also perhaps my favourite goal I've ever seen. I've seen top quality goals from Gary Alexander and James Henry in recent seasons, but none of those goals have contained real emotion. Seeing Neil score again was like seeing a family member get well after illness.


Neil, although many will say lost a lot of his natural pace in his battle with cancer, continued scoring goals for the team, and some of his goals, including his fantastic goal against Tranmere, helped Millwall to the FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium in 2004, to face Manchester United. This must have been a great honour to Neil, and although few Millwall fans expected a win, it was our day. It also brought with it qualification to Europe.
Although at the end of the following season Dennis Wise sold him to Nottingham Forest, Neil returned to Millwall, much to the joy of the fans. Whilst helping Millwall to avoid the drop from League 1 after being relegated the season previously from the Championship, he also beat the clubs highest league goal scoring record of 93, previously held by Teddy Sherringham in the late 80's and early 90's. He went on to beat the overall goal scoring record in an away game at Gresty Road in a Tuesday night fixture against Crewe, and although it would have been great for him to achieve that at home in front of the home fans, it was a momentous occasion.


Recently, he has seen two more trips to Wembley. The first a loss to Scunthorpe in the League One Play Off Final of 2009, and the second a victory over Swindon in the same fixture but of 2010. This was an especially good day for Neil, as it capped off a great season, one of the best since the promotion of 2001, where he scored 18 goals, including two hatricks.


Last season he was a bit-part player, which must have been hard for him, and now he is off to join his home town club of Southend United. It is a footballing decision, in that they were prepared to offer him a 3 year deal, and he only had one year left on his contract at The Den. I am sad to see him go, I believe he still has the quality to perform at this level, and he has such an effect just being there. When he graces the pitch he raises the effort level of both the players and the fans. The atmosphere is raised a couple of notches. He is a true Millwall legend and I look forward to him visiting the Den again soon, I am sure he will receive the warmest of welcomes. He is a rare player, one that values loyalty over a slightly larger pay cheque, and this is recognised by the fans who have taken him truly to heart.


"...Everyone knows how much Millwall means to me, and I can assure you that I will be back at The Den as a supporter whenever possible..." 


He is one of the family, a good friend, and a true Millwall Legend.
Super, Super Neil, Super Neil Harris!

The End of the Season

Although plenty of promotions and relegations in the English game have already been decided, there are still some up for grabs/some to avoid.


Perhaps the one with the most anticipation is who will be relegated from the Premier League. With most of the teams at the foot of the table having 3 games left, there is still only three points between West Ham, in 20th, to Blackpool in 17th, and with only 1 goal separating their respective goal differences of -23 and -22.
Any team from Newcastle (12th) and below could find themselves in trouble, Newcastle being just 6 points away from a relegation scrap. However more likely is that the places will include 3 of 6 teams, West Ham, Wolves, West Brom, Blackpool, Blackburn and Birmingham. I could see Blackpool going down with Wigan possibly escaping, which is a shame as this season Blackpool have been a revelation with their 'we will score more than you' mindset. Although there are enough games for West Ham to survive, they have difficult (although potentially rewarding) fixtures against Blackburn, Wigan and Sunderland. If they were to beat Wigan and Blackburn, they would almost definitely be safe, and perhaps condemn one or both of those teams.
Wolves also must play Sunderland and Blackburn, but also have to play West Brom. Wigan have some very difficult games away at both Aston Villa and Stoke.
It is all to play for, and is sure to be an exciting couple of weeks.
At the other end of the table, it is between Man Utd and Chelsea for the top spot. They play each other this weekend in a must win encounter for both. I feel Chelsea could provide an upset, but still think Man Utd will win the league even if they lose to Chelsea. Man City seem to have claimed a Champions League spot, now 7 poitns clear of Liverpool who sit in 5th and Tottenham in 6th.
Two teams that are likely to find themselves in the Europa cup are Birmingham and Fulham also. Fulham, with that extroadinary run under Hodgson last season took them to the final where they ended up losing to Athletico Madrid, have a brilliance disciplinary record and look set to claim a place under the Fair Play league. Birmingham have already claimed their Europa League spot, today granted the license by UEFA, after they defeated Arsenal in the Carling Cup Final.


And so to the Championship.
QPR are Champions, and Norwich are also promoted - a brilliant feat of back to back automatic promotions. The hearing regarding QPR and the signing of Faurlin has again been postponed by the FA due to too much evidence to sift through so far. It is likely for there to be a hearing next week to decide their fate, but I very much doubt a points deduction will be put in place now seeing as the FA has also confirmed that QPR will be presented with the Champions trophy on the last day of the season.
The Play offs look decided as well, with Cardiff, Swansea, Reading and Nottingham Forest filling those spots after Millwall succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea, ruining their chances this season. Should the FA impose a 20 point deduction on QPR (very unlikely, but rumoured) then not only would Cardiff be handed automatic promotion but the 6th Play off place would be decided from Millwall, QPR and Leeds, who would all then be on 67, 68 and 69 points respectively, and with QPR v Leeds on the final day, it could leave the door open to Millwall. This is of course all reliant on a very unlikely 20 point penalty, and so I shall not delve any further into this possibility as I cannot personally see it happening.
At the other end, Preston, Scunthorpe and Sheffield United are all relegated.


League 1 sees Brighton's return to the Championship as champions, and Southampton accompanying them in the automatic places. The playoffs will be settled by Huddersfield, Peterborough, MK Dons and Bournemouth, who deserve special mention after their Promotion from League 2.
Relegated from League 1 is Swindon, surprising after their Play Off Final appearance last season, but perhaps not so after their summer clear out - selling Paynter and Austin, a strike partnership that reaped rewards with 49 goals between them, among other losses such as centre back and captain Gordon Greer. Joining them in League 2 are Bristol Rovers (again suffering without their star striker - Lambert) and Plymouth - hampered by their ownership and money issues on and off the field. Dagenham and Redbridge occupy the 4th Relegation place, although are only 1 point behind Walsall and 2 behind Notts County, so are still able to get out of trouble, although face a difficult fixture away at Peterborough this weekend.


On to League 2 and Chesterfield and Bury are now promoted, although the third automatic place could be taken by either Wycombe or Shewsbury. The playoffs, as well as featuring one of those two teams, also include Accrinton, Torquay and Stevenage, although Gillingham are only outside on goal difference. Port Vale are within touching distance points wise, but have a far lesser goal difference and so seem set to miss out this year. Relegated to the BSP are Stockport who have suffered from lack of funds in recent times. Also Barnet are in the relegation places, but are only two points behind Lincoln City. Should Lincoln fail to win at home to Aldershot this weekend (a team with nothing to play for in the final game of the season) and Barnet win, Lincoln would be relegated.


It will be an interesting week for Football League fans, and a few weeks for Premier League fans and fans of clubs reaching playoffs. Also interesting is the Champions League. I for one am looking forward to watching Man Utd vs Barca (Take 2!) after Utd's loss in the final to the Catalonian giants just a few years ago. A player who my first blog entry was about will again be the the centre of all attention - Lionel Messi. I am looking forward to see how United deal with the threat be poses.


And so the season is drawing to a close. I'll be back to discuss events after this weekend, good luck to your supported teams!

One game left

So QPR are finally up, Scunthorpe and Sheffield United finally down. There is really only two places being competed for, 2nd and 6th. 
Even though Leeds are now just three points from the playoffs, they have a lesser goal difference (10) than Nottingham Forest (16). For Leeds to gatecrash the playoffs they would need Forest to lose against a now safe Crystal Palace and for Leeds themselves to win away at QPR, which in itself is no easy feat.
QPR are promoted, and promoted as Champions. It has rarely been a question of if with QPR this season and instead has been a question of when. As mentioned in my last blog entry though, we still have the outcome of their FA investigation to come, although with the FA refusing to support the claims of a supposed source who supplied the Sun with news of a 15 point deduction, it looks more and more likely that the punishment will be ust a fine. I think the FA really need to look at themselves and maybe have a reform. It's up to them what manner of punishment they hand out for each infringement, but they need to be consistent, which currently they are far from being.
What do you make of the situation and what should their punishment be?


The FA are far from my favourite organisation; being a Millwall fan it is hard to find any love for them. Although it probably sounds like sour grapes and self imposed victimisation, the FA seem to continually be after a reason to punish Millwall FC, for example the charges against The Lions for 'failure to control fans' inside Upton Park a couple of years ago - not only did our fans not encroach the field of play, but what can Millwall FC do about fans behaviour when in an away stadium? These charges were eventually dropped. I was surprised however to see that the FA 'invited' Nathan Ellington to come forward and complain about alleged racial abuse he suffered at the Den. Now I know Millwall hold a certain reputation, but I have been going to the Den consistently for the last 10-12 years and have almost never heard any racist remarks, and especially no widespread chants. Ellington claims monkey noises and gestures were made, while none of the following complained about such an act:

• Nathan Ellington himself on the day of the match
• The Preston North End team/staff
• The Millwall team/staff
• The Millwall Stewards (70% of which are from an ethnic minority)
• The SKY TV camera crew and presenters
• The FA Representative we have had at every single home game since missiles were thrown against Middlesbrough

This leads me to believe it is purely out of spite and perhaps him being a sore loser that he has lodged these serious accusations on Twitter. I would be surprised if he complains officially for what seams to be a fictitious claim, especially seeing as the FA representative at The Den saw no untoward behaviour otherwise, and believe me on this, Millwall would already have been fined/docked points.
I feel I have rather gone off topic today, was just rather enraged by both Ellington and in fact the FA 'inviting' him to complain! 


Back on topic..


The race for second I think will be won by Norwich - already a point in front and seemingly 'easier' fixtures away at Portsmouth and at home against Coventry, as opposed to Cardiff's somewhat difficult fixtures against a Middlesbrough side just coming in to form, and a Burnley squad who although have missed out on the playoffs, still have plenty of quality in their squad and will be looking to finish as well as possible.
Either way, for the neutral is to be a very exciting week, and indeed month including the play offs (even though  my beloved Millwall will not feature!)


I think the playoffs this year will be very entertaining, although they could fizz out to 1-0 wins as teams don't want to attack too much for fear of getting caught on the break. The three best teams I have seen play this year are Reading, Cardiff and Swansea. Reading, in a 0-0 draw at the den utilized their wingers Kebe and KcAnuff very well. Cardiff have some top quality players, none more so than Craig Bellamy. Swansea passed the ball around very well yesterday where they ended up beating us 2-0, although I don't know quite how much of that was them making us look poor or us making them look good, we were disappointing yesterday, although it has been a great season for us and I hope we build on it for the coming season.


Who do you think will win the playoffs, who will clinch 6th and who 2nd?
Also, any fans from relegated teams, how do you think your team will fare in League 1, will it be a swift return?


Lets hope for an exciting end to the season!