Quite a few people are saying we are now safe after quite a few times telling us we were doomed and things needed to change. If we lose against Stoke, watch them predict doom and gloom again.
However, in terms of relegation, the result tomorrow doesn't matter. We were never going down because teams below us were always going to keep us up.
Birmingham City captain Stephen Carr has real relegation fears.
Carr admits they've taken the foot off the gas since winning the Carling Cup.
He said: "The Carling Cup was a bonus but only if we stay in the Premier League can we say it's been a great season. We'll have to do it. There are only four games left now, so we have to make a final push.
"It's been brilliant, but it'll be the biggest disappointment of my career if we go down. I don't want to be involved with a team that gets relegated at this stage of my career."
Click here for the No1 coverage of all the gossip and transfer news around Birmingham City.
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Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean insists a win against Bolton tomorrow will put the club just about where they want to be.
The Rovers are currently sitting 16th on the table on 35 points, just one above the drop zone, and the manager feels a victory over the 8th-placed Trotters at Ewood Park would ease a huge amount of pressure.
"A win against Bolton would lift us into a very good position,? he said.
?It wouldn't be done and dusted but it would be a massive step forward in taking us a step closer to being where we want to be.''
Midfielder Steven Nzonzi is back in the line-up for Kean following his suspension but the Rovers will be without striker Roque Santa Cruz and David Dunn are out with hamstring and calf injuries respectively.
Click here for the No1 coverage of all the gossip and transfer news around Blackburn Rovers.
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Wolves will continue fighting until the bitter end says winger Michael Kightly.
The Wolverhampton club currently sit second bottom on the Premier League table with four games remaining and Kightly has made it abundantly clear that the players will maintain their focus and fight hard for survival, starting with the visit of Birmingham City on Sunday.
?We?ve got four games left and they?re four cup finals ? and the chance to put things right starts against Birmingham on Sunday,? Kightly told Express and Star.
?We have to guarantee that spirit and fighting quality even if we can?t guarantee results. We?re going to fight every minute to survive in this league.
?We didn?t do it at Stoke (3-0 loss on Tuesday) but are determined to do it over the last four games.
?For the five seasons I?ve been here, the number one rule has always been to fight and battle when times are tough, even if we?re not playing well.
?That didn?t seem to happen against Stoke, which was disappointing.
?The way we lost just was not us ? even if we end up losing we have to go down fighting.
?There?s nobody in the dressing room that didn?t come off that pitch absolutely gutted ? we all know it wasn?t acceptable.?
Click here for the No1 coverage of all the gossip and transfer news around Wolves.
Sporting Kansas City defender Aurelien Collin has had his red card received on the weekend rescinded.
The 25-year old Frenchman was sent off in the 75th minute of the 3-2 loss to New England Revolution on Saturday but the MLS has stricken it from his record as it was a case of mistaken identity.
Upon viewing the footage, it has been established that the player who made high contact with a Revs opponent was in fact Birahim Diop.
As a result, Collin will not be suspended for the next league match. Further, Diop cannot be issued a red card retroactively, and was not sanctioned by the MLS Disciplinary Committee.
Paula Radcliffe has confirmed she will take part in the Bupa London 10,000 road race next month.
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Chelsea are set to get a clear run at Ajax defender Gregory van der Wiel.
The Guardian says reports in Germany suggest Bayern Munich, the defender's other principal suitor, have dropped their interest.
Van der Wiel, 23, has long featured on the Chelsea wish-list as they look to revitalise their squad following the January purchases of Fernando Torres and David Luiz.
The Dutchman's arrival would cast doubt over the futures of Paulo Ferreira and Jos� Bosingwa ? the latter will be entering the final 12 months of his contract ? though the club had anticipated moving some senior players on anyway.
Click here for the No1 coverage of all the gossip and transfer news around Chelsea.
As Manchester United's Darron Gibson quits Twitter after just two hours, it's time to mark those sports stars who have failed to come to grips with the brave new world of the internet. These are my favourite stories—feel free to add your own examples of social media fails in the comments.
Let's start with Gibson, though. He created his account this afternoon, and had deleted it within 120 minutes. He was apparently taken aback with the deluge of tweets he received criticising his performances for the Red Devils; unkind as some of those comments were, they're nothing like the abuse he'd get from the stands every Saturday.
Perhaps it was just because they were typed out on a screen in front of him that made the difference.
Here's a tip for you, Darron; if you're in a public forum, like Twitter, and particularly if you're a public figure, not everybody is going to like you, and certainly not everybody is going to say nice things to you. It's just the way things work.
Yes, some comments may be over the top, and they're the ones you ignore, but if the others can be construed as having any kind of truth to them, suck it up and smile. Engage with people, gain their respect for being a decent person even if they don't like your work, and for Pete's sake don't throw a tantrum.
QPR must wait for promotion to be confirmed after a storming draw at Cardiff, while Brighton lost their unbeaten home record
? Click here for all of Saturday's scores and scorers
? QPR were made to wait for confirmation that they will be a Premier League side next year after a barnstorming 2-2 draw at Cardiff, who missed the chance to jump above Norwich into the other automatic promotion place. QPR need two points from three games to be certain of going up.
? Hull's hopes of a play-off place were hit by a 4-2 defeat at home to Middlesbrough, with Scott McDonald scoring a hat-trick. At the bottom, Sheffield United kept their slim hopes of survival alive with a dramatic 3-2 win over Bristol City. Both sides ended up with ten men before Jordan Slew scored a late winning goal.
? The last unbeaten home record in England disappeared at the Withdean Stadium, where Jose Fonte's 89th-minute goal gave Southampton a 2-1 win over the League One champions Brighton. There had been some ill feeling before the game, as a result of this infamous early-season comment from the Southampton manager Nigel Adkins. One Brighton fan even offered to sell Southampton some points on eBay. Southampton got three of their own and the win put them back in the automatic promotion places with a game in hand over third-placed Huddersfield.
? Southampton and Huddersfield were the only movers in top eight and the bottom ten of League One. The bottom club Swindon, who conceded two late goals to lose 2-1 at home to Notts County, now need snookers if they are to survive.
? At the bottom of League Two, two goals from Antony Elding ? the second in the 87th minute ? gave the bottom team Stockport a 2-1 win at Port Vale and maintained their hopes of a miraculous escape. Barnet, second from bottom, pulled off a sensational 4-2 win at promotion-chasing Gillingham, with Izale McLeod scoring a hat-trick. They are now only a point behind 22nd-placed Northampton with three games to go. Burton Albion, who started the day in 22nd, leapt to 17th by beating Aldershot 2-1.
? At the top, Shrewsbury moved above Wycombe into the third automatic promotion place with a 2-0 victory at Hereford. Accrington Stanley jumped from eighth to fifth with a 3-0 defenestration of Bradford.
Manchester United hero Paddy Crerand can see Wayne Rooney emulating the feats of his former teammate Sir Bobby Charlton.
Forty-three years after Charlton so excelled in United's first European Cup final, the club has a player capable of emulating his contribution on that same Wembley stage.
"I see a lot of Bobby in Wayne Rooney," Crerand told the Daily Mail.
"They are both big-name players.
"Bobby was fantastic and Wayne is terrific too. Bobby always loved to get on the ball all the time and so does Wayne. Great players always want the ball. That's why clubs pay the most money for them.
"Bobby was more dangerous from distance. I know Wayne can hit them but Bobby could hit them with either foot, and you wouldn't know which foot was his best. Was he a natural rightfooter or a natural left-footer? I still don't really know. But they are the same quality of player.
"Bobby actually played more as a midfielder with England but he played that way for us.
"I think Wayne can do a great job there. I've always thought he would make a great midfield player. I've said that many times to people at Old Trafford over the years. He's very much like Bobby in that respect. It is a role that demands intelligence but football is like anything. As you get older you get wiser."
Click here for the No1 coverage of all the gossip and transfer news around Manchester United.
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It's all about pride now. It is all about the eleven on the pitch showing that they want the three points and that they want it for the club. Today, we need three points and they need to get them.
It won't be easy against Stoke but like I wrote yestetrday - they will have an eye on something else and while technically they are not safe, they are not going down, mostly for the same reasons we are not going down - there are teams that will keep them up.
A-League club Sydney FC have poured cold water on rumours linking them with Australian national team star Harry Kewell.
Reports suggest that the 32-year old, whose current contract with Turkish club Galatasaray expires in May, is set to return to his home city and continue his career in Australia?s domestic competition.
It was believed that the former Leeds United and Liverpool wingers? agent, Bernie Mandic, was putting his client forward to clubs in Australia.
But Sky Blues CEO Stefan Kamasz has come out and said that talk is nonsense.
?If we were interested in Harry, and of course what Australian club would not be at the right price, then we would have approached Bernie Mandic,? Kamasaz told The World Game.
?We have not done that, nor has Bernie come to us trying to flog Harry. So that is where things stand.
?I was not even aware that Harry was prepared to come back to the A-League and I have no idea what his price tag would be.?
But Kamasz made it clear that the two-time A-League champions were still very much on the lookout for a big name player.
?That is not to say we are not looking at bringing a star name to the club. We have a list of players and we are keen to bring back the glamour to Sydney FC,? he added.
Manchester United defender John O?Shea knows very well how much of a threat the German club FC Schalke can pose ahead of tomorrow night?s Champions League semi-final first leg.
The Red Devils meet the competition surprise packets at Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen and O?Shea is expecting a similar performance to what the Germans have produced to get themselves this far.
But the Irishman also feels that it is about time United showed the world why they are consistently a chance in Europe?s premier club competition.
"We have to make sure we show them our history, why we have got to finals, why we have won them, why we have been in this situation many times before," he said.
"We have to impose ourselves whilst understanding the threats they have, which we will have to cope with.
"Schalke have reached a Champions League semi-final. They have got to be a good team,? he added.
"We are favourites, which adds a bit of pressure but any side who can score so many goals against Inter Milan has to have something about them.
"We have to use our experience to quieten their crowd down. An away goal is always nice but it is not the be all and end all.
"We know if we are in sight when we come back to Old Trafford, we will have a great chance."
Click here for the No1 coverage of all the gossip and transfer news around Manchester United.
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Championship leaders QPR will have to wait at least another week before officially securing promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 15 years.
Hull earned a point at Loftus Road with a late leveller in a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, Norwich scored a last-gasp winner against Derby to leave Rangers needing another point to rubber-stamp the seventh promotion of Neil Warnock's managerial career.
"I'm disappointed not to have tied it up but it doesn't surprise me with this team, we keep things going until the end," said Warnock.
"It's disappointing but they have done brilliantly. We are five points clear (of Norwich in second) with two games to go, you can't ask for much more.
"I think the fans know the goal difference is good and it's a healthy position to be in."
So Rangers may be virtually home, but that did not stop Warnock laying into his players.
"To concede a goal from a kick from our keeper, it's Sunday league stuff really," he said.
"I had a few words in the dressing room, it was not acceptable. But we'll go out and try to win our last two games now."
Hull managed to extend their unbeaten run on the road to an impressive 17 matches, but they are now five points short of the play-offs.
"It's probably too much," admitted boss Nigel Pearson.
"We have to win our games and need others to slip up.
"But we've made great strides this season and it's important we finish on a positive note."
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Northampton coach Jim Mallinder brushed aside questions over England full-back Ben Foden playing the whole of their 26-20 win over London Irish at the Madejski Stadium which virtually sealed their Aviva Premiership play-off spot.
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said Paul Scholes had "one of his red mist moments" after the midfielder was sent off in their 1-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat by rivals Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday.
United were trailing to Yaya Toure's 53rd minute goal when Scholes, famed for his poor tackling technique, and Pablo Zabaleta went in with their feet high for a bouncing ball.
The City defender just about connected with the ball while Scholes' studs ripped a gash in Zabaleta's thigh and earned a straight red card after 72 minutes.
"With Paul we've seen it over his career. He's had unbelievable moments and is a great player, one of the greatest ever at our club," Ferguson said of the 36-year-old former England man who could be in his last season at Old Trafford.
"But he has these red mist moments and this was another one. He was a bit unfortunate, maybe, as he went for the ball and it bounced up and he's gone through and caught the boy on the thigh."
Ferguson, however, did not blame his team's defeat on the sending off and instead pointed to poor defending in the lead-up to the goal and two early misses by striker Dimitar Berbatov.
"The red card didn't kill the game, I thought we played better after it," he said. "The first 15 minutes after halftime cost us the game - slack moments - Edwin (van der Sar) had a bad kick out and Michael Carrick couldn't hold it and it was a goal.
"From then on, they were defending apart from a couple of counter-attacks. It's disappointing as we should've been ahead in the first half as we were the better team.
"The chances that Dimitar missed - there was a great save by the goalkeeper but the second chance, from under the bar, if he'd have scored there, I had a feeling whoever scored first would win the match."
The defeat ended Ferguson's hopes of matching his 1999 treble but United are still in the hunt for the Champions League, where they face Schalke 04 in the semi-finals, and the Premier League, where they lead Arsenal by seven points.
Arsenal, with a game in hand, play Liverpool on Sunday while United are back in league action on Tuesday at Newcastle United.
"We're getting recovered to get ready for the game on Tuesday. "You've got to recover and get on a winning streak again and it's a major game up at Newcastle."
(Writing by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ken Ferris, To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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Sean O'Driscoll's side have plummeted from play-offs hopefuls to fearing the drop. They badly need to beat Crystal Palace
This year started so well for Doncaster Rovers. On New Year's Day Scunthorpe were comfortably dismantled at the Keepmoat Stadium in a 3-0 win that left Sean O'Driscoll's side 13th, three points from the play-offs with a couple of games in hand on most of the teams above. O'Driscoll had committed himself to the club despite interest from Sheffield United. A top six finish was by no means out of the question.
Since then Rovers have won only twice. Only the rock-bottom Blades have picked up fewer points. After the 3-1 defeat against Hull at the weekend, O'Driscoll described his side as a "disgrace". They welcome Crystal Palace to the Keepmoat on Friday having tasted victory only once in their past 15 league games and not at all in their last eight. Relegation cannot be ruled out.
The Good Friday fixture is crucial. With Scunthorpe facing a tricky trip to in-form Coventry, victory could all but secure survival. Defeat would prolong the agony. The club's decision to offer free tickets means Rovers will at least have the backing of a full house.
After Thursday night's Old Farm clash at Portman Road, it is a big Friday at the other end of the table too. Nottingham Forest host Leicester with both teams desperately in need of points to sustain flagging their play-off hopes, while Leeds welcome a rampaging Reading side to Elland Road in the 7.45pm kick-off.
In League One the pick of the fixtures is at stadium:mk, where Huddersfield ? who have been sensational since the turn of the year ? can pile the pressure on second-placed Southampton ahead of Saints' trip along the south coast to Brighton on Saturday.
Wycombe's visit to Torquay, third v fifth, looks to be a pivotal promotion fixture on Friday in League Two.
Notts County don't play until Saturday, but Martin Allen has still managed to provide some entertainment this week. His bizarrely brilliant, slightly surreal stream-of-consciousness message to County fans ("The bus drivers are cool and calm and drive the bus smoothly and calmly. They are top lads!") is well worth a look.
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LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Didier Drogba was on target again as Chelsea, the only top-six team in Premier League action on Saturday, chalked up their 11th successive league win over West Bromwich Albion with a 3-1 triumph at the Hawthorns.
Peter Odemwingie had West Brom ahead after 17 minutes but Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Frank Lampard turned it round by halftime as Chelsea bounced back well from their midweek Champions League exit at the hands of Manchester United.
United, who play Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals later on Saturday, top the table with 69 points, seven ahead of Arsenal who host Liverpool on Sunday. Chelsea are third on 61 with Manchester City on 56 and Tottenham Hotspur fifth on 53.
Liverpool are sixth on 48 points, now only one ahead of Everton after their Merseyside rivals continued their hot streak with a 2-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers.
At the other end of the table Blackpool's dire run continued as a 3-1 home defeat by Wigan Athletic lifted the winners out of the bottom three and dragged Blackpool, who have won only once in their last 13, into it for the first time this season.
"I don't think I've seen a team this season keep Blackpool as quiet as we did, it was a great performance," Wigan boss Roberto Martinez told Sky Sports.
West Ham United are now second-last after conceding a late goal in a 2-1 home defeat by Aston Villa while Birmingham City beat Sunderland 2-0 in the day's other match.
After their Champions League exit, Chelsea's focus is now entirely on the Premier League and they now have Arsenal, and second place, firmly in their sights.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti, widely presumed by many in the British media to be on his way out of the club at the end of the season, started without Fernando Torres or Nicolas Anelka, his preferred strike duo at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Drogba, who came off the bench to score in that match, took his starting opportunity with aplomb as he scored his side's opener and had a hand in the next two.
West Brom started full of the confidence that a seven-game unbeaten run builds and went ahead with a neat chipped finish by Peter Odemwingie after 17 minutes.
Drogba tapped in the equaliser five minutes later and when Scott Carson parried his 26th-minute shot, Kalou banged in the rebound.
Drogba then combined with Florent Malouda to set up Lampard for the third just before the break.
Chelsea cruised home after the break with Torres eventually joining the fray for the last seven minutes and even having the ball in the net - only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
"It was a very important performance after the defeat at Manchester United," Ancelotti told Sky Sports.
"We were in focus, solid, played a good game and won. We reacted immediately (to their goal) and scored three in the first half."
The Italian said that Torres would feature more in the team's remaining games.
"I maintain my confidence in him," he said. "Maybe he's lost a bit of confidence but he has to know that everyone at the club has a lot of confidence in his quality." (Editing by Tony Jimenez and Brian Homewood; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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Andrew Gale's superb century and more wickets for Rich Pyrah and Ryan Sidebottom left Yorkshire on course for an emphatic win over Nottinghamshire in their LV= County Championship clash at Headingley.
Wales centre Tom Shanklin has announced his retirement from rugby due to a knee injury.
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I think we need one more point to stay up, as in I think 38 will be enough this season, but I also think we will end up getting seven or ten more and I think all those, and there are a lot of you, that were all doom and gloom and worried about our future, will be in a much better mood.
I think after that has happened and the club tell us for a third or fourth time that the manager is going to be backed, he might get a proper run next season to show us what he is capable of and I think, when that happens and the manager has a proper chance to lay real footballing foundations, something the previous manager could never really do, then rather than just flirt with the next level, we might just actually make it.
Alan Knill, Scunthorpe's new manager, has unearthed hidden talents to turn strugglers into a team to be feared
Sticky-bud time is past, succeeded by Sir Alex Ferguson's inelegant variation, but Scunthorpe United, 22nd in the Championship, have burst through the tension into flower. Their 2-1 win at Selhurst Park brought Crystal Palace within three points when it could have been nine, with four games left. Doncaster, whom Palace visit on Friday, are only five points clear of The Iron. There is much still to play for at the end of a difficult season for Scunthorpe.
"To cut the gap gives us belief that we can do it," said Alan Knill, their new manager. "The transformation from the defeat at Norwich a fortnight ago to today is easy to see." That defeat, by 6-0 and hardly Knill's fault two days after his arrival from Bury, left them bottom. Since then they have picked up six points from a possible nine, thrashing the leaders, Queens Park Rangers, 4-1 and threatening to halt Reading's run before going down 2-0. "We try to give the players a belief in their abilities and then, when they get the ball, they're quite good on it," Knill said. Scunthorpe, it seems, were a team of hidden talents.
The striker Chris Dagnall sheds light. "He's changed the type of football we play. He's told the front four to express ourselves, which is a really attacking move but does result in us playing decent football. Earlier in the season I was told to focus more on possession." On Saturday they did both to such effect that Dougie Freedman, Palace's manager, said: "I've no complaints about losing. They were two or three yards sharper. Maybe we were a bit tense."
It was Palace's first home defeat since October. If James Vaughan and Steffen Iversen, the front two, had tried harder to win the ball rather than free-kicks, they might have fared better. The referee, Keith Stroud, increasingly booed, was unmoved. He had his work cut out late on as Palace, getting back to 2-1 on 70 minutes, raised a feisty finale. United's Joe Garner was sent off for a second yellow; Palace's scorer, Sean Scannell, followed in one, for a wild tackle; but The Iron will prevailed through eight added minutes. David Mirfin's first-half header at a corner and a second from Ram�n N��ez, a Honduran international on loan from Leeds, of deft control and sweet dispatch won the day.
Knill left Bury on the edge of the automatic promotion places in League Two and is determined to avoid League One by the other door. "To play as well as we've done has surprised a few," he said, possibly including some of his own team. "We've had to convince the lads they're better than what they've shown." Marcus Williams, back on loan from Reading, had shown nothing but did so here, keeping countless crosses from the danger area when a draw threatened; Knill picked him specifically. The defence was resilient across the field, Sam Togwell strenuous in midfield. Somehow Scunthorpe do not do draws, which are little use to them now anyway. They have had four; the other 23 clubs average 11.
The Scunthorpe story is an unsung romance, charming as it is absurd. Crowds average less than 5,500, the lowest by 4,500 in the Championship. Nigel Adkins, promoted from physio in 2006, twice took them into this division and last season kept them there before leaving them in 15th place in September in favour of Southampton's potential in League One. Ian Baraclough, stepping up from coach, valued possession, which showed at Palace, but could not inspire penetration. Knill did not come blind to this footballing outpost. A tall centre-back, he played 150-odd games for them. As he said in another sense, Scunthorpe can take people by surprise. He is at home. So far it looks like one-Knill to the board under the chairmanship of a lifelong supporter, Steve Wharton.
Some in the club's modest fanbase want greater investment. All should be proud that they have never been in administration and have competed and achieved honestly, reluctantly but profitably selling on a string of strikers. Their next opponents, on Friday, Coventry City, have lately averted administration with an �8m injection of funds. A 10-point deduction would have dragged them into the scramble.
Palace could have put the lid on it on Saturday, when Preston and Sheffield United, the bottom two clubs, met in a hangdog-fight won by Preston. As it is, Scunthorpe, on a roll of form without fear, may yet pull chestnuts from the fire.
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LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - Scottish soccer club Rangers on Tuesday said it was considering an alternative to businessman Craig Whyte's takeover offer because Whyte had yet to prove he had sufficient funds to run the club.
Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston said in a statement that the vetting committee set up to approve a buy-out by Whyte were not satisfied with the financial commitment put forward by the businessman to run the club after a takeover.
"To this end the board has had an approach from one of its directors who wishes the board to consider an alternative funding option," Johnston said in a statement.
"This would involve a fresh issue of new capital to raise 25 million pounds ($40.1 million) to be invested directly into the club."
Johnston said the board had a responsibility to examine this proposal whilst continuing its review of the Craig Whyte transaction.
Whyte has been in talks to buy Rangers from Murray International Holdings (MIH), which owns more than 90 percent of Rangers and is chaired by former Rangers chairman David Murray.
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Craig Whyte's bid to buy Rangers hit a snag on Monday night with Ibrox chairman Alastair Johnston wanting talks to continue to the end of the season, sources have told Press Association Sport.
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Rangers forward Steve Naismith was last night named the club?s Player of the Year as well as the Players? Player of the Year.
The 24-year old Scotland international scooped the double prize at the Rangers award ceremony in Glasgow last night and was delighted to be awarded by both the fans and the players.
?I was surprised to be in the running for Player of the Year, but to collect the award is something special,? he said.
?I?m a bit of a moaner on the pitch so to get the vote from the lads, too, is fantastic. I just hope we all go on to have more success this season and win the title.?
Jamie Ness won the club?s Young Player of the Year award and the Goal of the Season whilst Steven Whittaker took the John Greig achievement award.
Make your predictions in our ongoing competition and take a look at the best betting suggestions in the lower divisions
Welcome to our tipping round-up. Most of you know the drill by now, but for those who don't, every week I post my betting suggestions for the weekend (which you may well wish to steer clear of), as well as our predictions contest. The blog can also act as a talkboard for any Football League-related discussions over the weekend.
Saturday's trip to Sixfields can settle the Shakers back into a sustained charge for the top three after the departure of boss Alan Knill, with a coach in situ for the game: Robbie Fowler. The former Liverpool striker has accepted an offer to assist caretaker Richie Barker, with the club hoping "some of his talent rubs off for the last month of the season". There's plenty of ability in the Bury squad and even after a recent dip in form, the 3-0 beating of Oxford suggested automatic promotion is still well within their grasp. Ryan Lowe scored his 24th in 39 League Two outings last weekend and the Cobblers defence is unlikely to provide a sterner test this time around. Winless in 14, albeit drawing nine of them, Northampton are suddenly staring over their shoulders: the visit of a Bury team with the best away record in the division isn't going to help matters.
For City, six wins in seven speaks volumes. For the Tykes, one win in 10 (at home to Scunthorpe) does likewise. City still represent the best-value options around at this stage of the season.
NB: prices with Betfair and correct at the time of publication
As you'll note from the scoring, we have a late-starters amnesty, with a any new contestants awarded a total of 25 points, rather than one point for every week they've missed. Last week's top performers were solo leader markier, Northy79 and Thewalthamstowone, who each correctly called four out of the six.
markier 78
PiggyPingoPiglet 77
captainmorganrum 71
Bobby142 68
stevegrant 66
horne94 65
Thewalthamstowone 63
Me 63
TheRealRingo 62
richardw 61
Barnsley v Bistol City
Swansea v Norwich
Colchester v Rochdale
Huddersfield v Peterborough
Barnet v Crewe
Northampton v Bury
I'm tipping Bristol City, draw, Rochdale, Peterborough, Crewe and Bury. You can also follow me on Twitter if you want more money-losing tips/predictions through the week.
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It’s only 9 AM on a Monday morning and my stomach is already turning over and over.
This time next week, we’re going to know if the treble is a realistic goal or if, perish the thought, we are bottlers just like Arsenal.
It’s not every week that contains two matches of any time as big as a Champions League quarter final second leg and an FA Cup semifinal.
The fact that they’re against Chelsea and Man City make them even more important to us.
If you’d said to me at the start of the season that, come April, the treble would be on with the league looking pretty good to be won with plenty of time to spare, I would have laughed at you.
That we’ve got this far is thanks in part to Fergie’s brilliant man management, the form of Nani, Berbatov and Hernandez and, crucially, the timely return to form of Wayne Rooney after nearly 12 months out in the cold.
The more difficult of the two legs against Chelsea is out of the way, but that doesn’t mean that the home leg is going to be easy.
It’s difficult to imagine Chelsea not scoring at some point in this match—although the longer they play Torres, the less likely they are to score.
A solid performance with a first half goal from us would be nice, but it's still going to be a bloody scary night tomorrow.
Then it’s City at the weekend.
One of the annoying things about this season has been the fact that it seems to fall to us, repeatedly, to prevent our rivals from winning anything.
With the Carling Cup last year and FA Cup this year, it’s almost like we, personally, are being tasked with preventing City from ending their trophy drought.
To be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
To deny City another showpiece final with another late goal would be absolutely delightful.
There’s no doubt that, at some point, City will challenge us for the league title given all the money that they have to throw about. If they have developed a taste for silverware by then, it’s going to be more difficult to stop them.
However, if we’ve drummed it into their heads that they ARE bottlers and that we ALWAYS come out on top, it’s going to make it a lot more difficult for them to pull through.
It matters for us, too.
In one week, this season could go from having one of the most exciting climaxes we can remember, to being a damp squib that we remember only for the missed opportunity.
The weeks of piss-taking at Arsenal for throwing away three trophies in a week will be a distant memory if we manage to throw away two, and then find ourselves scrapping to hold onto our lead in the league.
It will also hurt, deeply.
So, I know we say this every week, but this really is the biggest week of our season so far.
Unless we end up in two finals at the end of May, so it will probably remain.
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