Not so sure about the sun visor OR the Owen Coyle face-mask.
This coming weekend is Football League Play-Off Final weekend. Most of the readers on here, solely follow the Premiership. Well this entry is aimed at you.
The play off finals are usually high-drama events offering superb entertainment. And here's a nugget of information you may or may not know. The Championship play off final is the biggest money game in the WORLD. Sixty million smackers to the winner. After the jump, a look at this weekend's action and where/when you can watch.
Lets start with League Two. The Final is on Saturday and between Gillingham and Shrewsbury. You can watch this one on Setanta delayed. 6.45pm Eastern time. Will Gillingham be able to cope with the pressure? They lost 7-0 to Shrewsbury earlier in the season.
The League One Final is on Sunday and this one is LIVE on Setanta at 07.55 Eastern. Millwall will take on Scunthorpe, who look to bounce back to the Colaship at the first attempt. Look out for Gary Hooper for The Iron. He's their top scorer with 30 and will fancy carrying on his good season by finding the back of the net at Wembley. Hooper is attracting a lot of attention in the Championship and this could be his last game for Scunny.
Millwall will look to experienced forward (and Leed's killer) Neil Harris to find a winner. Their top scorer this season is Gary Alexander.
Goal machine: Gary Hooper.
Now on to the BIG one. The 60 million quid, winner takes all showdown between Sheffield United and Burnley. United are favourites but Burnley are a hungry side in form. I really can't predict a winner in this one but have a sneaky feeling that Burnley will be celebrating top-flight football when the dust settles. The referee for this one is the controversial Mike Dean. He is not a favourite with Blades fans after sending off Matty Kilgallon during the steel City derby against rivals Sheffield Wednesday back in October. This game should be a cracker. Both teams are a super match for each other.
You can watch Burnley V Sheffield United LIVE on Setanta and on ESPN360 at 10 am on Monday. What better way to spend Memorial Day eh?
Friday, May 22, 2009
Turn On, Tune In.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Take Me Out To The....Galpharm.
Huddersfield fans enjoying their football. The pies must be good!
This season the Football League enjoyed its highest attendance for over 50 years. Over 16 million punters enjoyed football outside the Premier League. The numbers dwarf the second and third tiers of other European countries. The Coca Cola Championship is currently the 4th most attended league in Europe after the Premiership, La Liga and the Bundesliga. My oh my what has happened to Seria A, home of such storied clubs as AC Milan, Juventus and Lazio?
Attendances in the Championship averaged 17,891. That's 5% more than last year. League One averaged 7,500. A number that is sure to swell next season with the addition of Southampton, Charlton and Norwich, who have sold more than 18,000 season tickets for next term already.
League One attendances are 40% larger than those of the third tier in Germany and three times the number of France and Italy.
Huddersfield Town pulled nearly 15,000 spectators for their final game of the season at the Galpharm stadium against Brighton. A sure sign that supporting your local side is back in fashion and lower league football is alive and kicking.
"Given the prevailing financial climate, maintaining this progress will be a significant challenge for clubs. A number of clubs are already using innovative pricing policies to enable them to continue making live football accessible to everyone in their local community." -Football League Chairman, Lord Mawhinney.
It really is pleasing to see the lower leagues flourishing in a World of billionaire owners and 60 million pound players.
Long may it last.
-Bigus
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