lj2

To answer a few:

1 - Yes, the Championship and leagues 1 and 2 have a seperate TV contract with obligations to show each team from the championship and a certain number of games from below. Often the best games are those not involving premiership teams. My own team, Bristol City, have been on TV a fair few times this and last year despite having won promotion from leage 1 to the championship last year.

2 - Leeds and Swansea, I believe will be promoted... either way, the promoted team will need to improve but should be able to hold their own in the Championship as my own team, Bristol City, have shown. We were promoted last year, and this year are currently 3 points off the top spot in the Championship (we have sat in 2nd/3rd for some time and been in the top 6 basically all season!)!

3 (& 6 actually!) - As always, pick one of Man United/Arsenal (favourites) or Chelsea/Liverpool (possibilities). This is the problem with top flight football here - nobody outside of these 4 can win anything worth having.

4 - Who knows. Fact is, the influx of foreign money will only serve to further alienate football clubs from their fans and it is not good for our game. I would rather struggle in League 1 every year with a squad that cares like I care, than be a Chelsea fan...

5 - In my experience, not sensationalised. As youtube will show, this exists.

lj2

FYI - As a Bristol City fan, Stoke City and Milwall are still not very nice places to go. Nottingham Forest last year was the worst I have seen in a long while... Hooliganism is generally a thing of the past (70s - 90s) but it does still go on.

I read a brilliant description in the new russel Brand book (strange place to be eh?!) where he reminisces about going to see West Ham and says, quite rightly, that even where there is no physical violence, violence is still there at football matches. It is there in the abuse a ref or opposing player gets, it is there in the sickening frustration you feel when you conceed and the way you throw down your fist in anger at your defence, it is there in the way that you puff out your chest a bit when you walk through a crowd of opposition fans to the small section of the ground for away fans... it is there and it is part of the magic that is football.

For me, the aggresive feel of a football match is great, and I love when Swansea come to visit and every tackle means a whole lot more than the last one with 20,000 people cheering it in... phhysical manifestations of violence at football though are clearly wrong and we have done well to mostly keep them out of our game over recent times. Football matches should be a safe place to go, but should be sanitised no more IMO.. it's a tightrope.

Manc

Gary Johnson will be the next English England manager.
he's quality.

lj2

He is fantstic, can't be argued with.

He let the City lads have a Christmas party, but told them they needed to be outside of Bristol where they are well known (they went to Manchester/Liverpool I believe). He gave them some time off to travel, but a training session in the afternoon following the party. He then told 5 players, individually and unbeknown to the others, that they were in sole charge of making sure nothing went wrong. Naturally, with 5 stewards who all thought it was their responsibility to make things work, nothing went wrong. Brilliant management I would say.

Have been reading Alex Ferguson's autobiography and one of the things he learned throughout his career was how much of football management was abot management of individuals and psychology. Seems GJ has got that down to a tee..

Knight1979

how many teams come up from league one, just two? Bristol City are doing well, they could go up.

Is it still advantageous to be a one and done team? Even if Derby is going down this year will it still be worth it due to TV revenue and more exposure(though very poor exposure) to the team?

lj2

3 come up - two automatically and then 1 through the play offs (contested between the teams in 3rd - 6th). I dont expect City to make the premiership next year at all, but it has still been a great season.

If you get promoted to the premier league, and then relegated in the same season then you would earn about £50m in that season and the two subsequent seasons (through parachute payments) so provided you don't spend ridiculously, one season in the premier league should set you up for being a top championship team for some time (giving you the chance to build a team which could make the premier league for consistent seasons).

Knight1979

ah......I see....it would be good to have Forest and Derby back in the same division......I wish I could see some of the lower division games. I think some are played on Setanta here in the states but that's an extra $15 a month for that one channel.....I'll probably cave in and get it....

YorkshirePudding

Not in Sheffield United's case!

YorkshirePudding

They play just one Championship game on a Saturday per week on Setanta. The only way you'll see teams in divisions lower than that is if they're playing in cup matches. I only got Setanta to watch Shffield United, and they've been on twice so far this season...third time this Saturday against Palace. I'm cancelling it and watching on Sopcast on the computer in the future.

Knight1979

yea probably a waste......but they also play Irish Hurling and rugby from all over, I suppose I could be doing something more productive with my weekends

Knight1979

What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have the Man City and Blackburn live scoreboard up but not the game at work.

All of a sudden I see.........

City 1 BB 0: Vassell 27
City 1 BB 1: Santa Cruz 28
City 2 BB 1: Nelsen 30

What is going on???????

There has been some very strange football this holiday

Knight1979

Nelsen was OG, he's a BB player

????????!!!!!!!

lj2

I think you are speaking too soon.... that'll come back to bite you at the end of the season!

YorkshirePudding

Not at this rate it won't! The Blades fans were singing Warnocks name, for gods sake! That must have pissed Robson off!

Now we've lost the leagues top scorer, the Blades are destined for mid table mediocrity this season, I think. Unlucky for my brother who put a ton on them to go straight back up!