Search: ' Sheffield Wednesday'

Preston North End fan Martin Atherton explains that with the exception of a few teams, there was not a lot to choose from the teams in Division One

Having been a Preston North End fan since well before the club were last in the second level of English football 20 years ago, it was interesting last season to see how standards compared to the lower echelons we have inhabited for so long. Overall, I have to say that there was generally not a lot to choose between the top of the Second Division in 1999-2000 and the majority of the First Division last year.

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Dear WSC
I’ve heard some daft excuses for losing matches but Trevor Francis has surpassed even Manchester United’s grey shirts fiasco at Southampton with his moaning over Birmingham’s play-off penalty shoot-out at Preston. Perhaps the poor dear would like to consider the following points. At any ground other than Deepdale there would have been spectators behind both goals, and if the penalties hadn’t been at the Preston end they would have been at the Birmingham end.  Therefore, by his logic, that would be unfair on the Preston players. If Birmingham were a better team than Preston they would have finished above them in the league table, therefore the second leg of their play-off and the penalty shoot-out would have taken place at their own ground. They only finished fifth over 46 league games so they were lucky to have any chance of promotion in the first place. If his players are unnerved by taking penalties in front of opposition fans what chance would they stand of surviving in the Premiership? In a ground filled with paying spectators it makes sense for the deciding moments to take place at the end where most of them will have the best view. Who cares whether the referee or police changed their mind about which end the penalties should be taken? The notion that the whole match should be replayed because of that is absolutely ludicrous. If I was a Birmingham fan I would be embarrassed that the manager could come out with such a lame excuse for defeat instead of accepting that his team was simply not good enough.
Richard Watts, Sydenham 

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Roger Titford looks at the progress of Supporters Direct, the government scheme set up to help fans play a role in running their clubs 

“Who rules the game?” In an attempt to answer that age-old question, here are two extracts from the leading football fanzine of the day. “It is clear where the way to democracy lies but it will only be followed as part of the road to socialism as a whole… Eventually I would like to see democratic supporters’ associations withdraw paying support at the turnstiles in order to force financial crises on the boards until democratic control is handed over to them.”

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QPR aren't just coming to terms with the cost of relegation – there are stories behind the scenes too. Anthony Hobbs reveals all

The last time Queens Park Rangers were rel­egated, from the Premiership five years ago, things were very simple. We had a rich chairman with no real interest in football, who was completely unwilling to spend his own money, but content to realise the capital of our most liquid assets (ie sell our best players). In the five years leading up to our latest 40-point season, things have been bit a little less clear cut. This season in particular, it’s felt a little like being on a boat that hasn’t been properly tied up. We’ve just been gradually drifting away and nobody quite knows what to do about it.

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Sunday 1 Blackburn move into the second promotion spot in the First Division with a 5-0 thrashing of Burnley, prompting Graeme Souness to issue a warning: “We’ll be treating every fixture like it’s the last game of our lives.” After a 1-0 home defeat by Wolves, Birmingham’s sights are now set no higher the play-offs, where they could yet be joined by Sheffield United, who win their local derby, 2-1 at Hillsborough. Leicester’s European hopes fade with a 2-0 defeat at Charlton, but Peter Taylor has identified the problem: “We are missing a footballer.”

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