Sunday, 15 April 2018

A Championship Roundup - Promotion/Relegation


The season is fast coming to a close and there is a lot of number crunching on who’s going up or who’s going down. At the top end of the table Wolves were promoted without kicking a ball when Fulham could only manage a draw 1-1 at home to Brentford when the visitors scored a late, late goal in injury time in the (90+4) minute scuppered there plans to stay in the second automatic promotion spot.

Cardiff City have returned to second in the Championship table thanks to a 2-0 win at Norwich City where Kenneth Zohore and Junior Hoilett scored late at Carrow Road to edge the Bluebirds above Fulham. The Londoners draw sees them a point behind the Welshman in third.

There are seven teams in the race for the fourth play-off place although both Cardiff and Fulham have the required points for a play-off leaving three spots available. Aston Villa should be ok for at least a play-off place and being three points behind Cardiff still with a shout of an automatic promotion place. Villa had a 1-0 win on Friday night keeping the pressure on both Cardiff and Fulham.

Middlesbrough, Millwall, Derby, Preston, and Sheffield United are all in with a shout of a top six finish and that chance to what I call the back door to promotion.

Middlesbrough's 2-1 win against Bristol City lifted Tony Pulis's team into the playoffs at the expense of Derby who lost to relegation threaten Burton, while earlier in the day, Millwall edged into sixth thanks to their 1-1 draw at Sheffield United fellow play-off hopefuls. The sixth-placed Lions remain unbeaten in the league since New Year's Day and Sheffield United, who are ninth, have not lost at home since late January. Preston kept their hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs alive as they came from behind to win at QPR.

Has everyone knows I am a Cardiff City fan if you don’t where have you been.

While checking the league table out to see how many points City need for automatic promotion I found out we are possibly two games away. If Fulham lose their game, at Millwall Friday night, which is possible as the East End club, are not a pushover and need the points to secure a play-off position. If Cardiff were to win the next two games, home to Nottingham Forest and away at Derby then its promotion for Warnock’s blue army. Wouldn’t that be great it fills me with confidence?

At the bottom end of the Championship, it is just as important as at the top end of the table with six hoping to beat the drop to Division 1. There are a few big names down in the bottom Reading, Bolton, Birmingham, Barnsley, Burton, and Sunderland.

The Midlands derby between Wolves and Birmingham ended with a win for Wolves and it was party time at Molineux with promotion secure and that result kept Birmingham in the relegation mire and two points above the dreaded bottom three. At Oakwell, a stoppage-time equaliser to give Barnsley a 2-2 draw against relegation rivals Bolton Wanderers, but Barnsley stay in the drop zone.

Burton Albion moved off the bottom with a 3-1 win over local rivals Derby County with the win helping them off the bottom of the Championship table. Sunderland are now at the foot of the table after throwing away another lead, drawing 2-2 at Reading to sit six points from safety with only three games to go.

In a season Sunderland, fans, management, and players would love to forget the last thing you would want to be is reminded of the disaster. Well they have the chance with Netflix fly on the wall behind-the-scenes TV documentary due out in the summer.

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