Lower League Quality

In the lower leagues in English football, the players are considered far inferior to their Premier League counterparts, yet there are some out there that could probably play in the Premier League and fit in well. Every weekend in the Football League you see volleys from 30 yards fly into the top corner or a player going on a one man mission taking on 5 or 6 defenders before beating the keeper with a cheeky chip or low drive in the bottom corner, and theses players are consistently doing this too only they are considered inferior due to their clubs status now. Whilst it it in fact true that not many could genuinely make it in the Prem, the point is a handful can and they are looked over by many clubs as the majority  of Premier League clubs look to Europe to sign their new talent. There have been a few good examples of players coming from the basement into the top division recently and one of them is Jermaine Beckford. He signed for Leeds and did very well for them and then a few years later Everton came knocking after he knocked Manchester United out of the 3rd round of the FA Cup with a great strike at Old Trafford. He scored a few good goals for Everton and his pace caused many defenders problems and was all in all a good Premiership player who came from lower down. If Premiership clubs looked to the Football League clubs for more players then the English game can only get stronger too as the majority of players in these leagues are home grown and could handle the pace and toughness of the top division and maybe they could unearth a few new England players in the process. It seems we are taking a backward step in our big for World Cup glory since all the England players only come from one league and in their club teams foreign players are more plentiful. It is good however to include many foreign players for your club of course as it adds something different to your game but for an England perspective, the lack of choice for the national team is astounding.

The Carling Cup

Would it just be fantastic if there was a big derby in the last few of the Carling Cup this year? Of course it would. A perfect tie would be Burnely vs Blackburn or Everton vs Liverpool because all these clubs there is, in all honesty, no silverware to be won apart from the Carling Cup, so why not win it the best way possible? By knocking out your main rivals of course! After coming through yet another tough tie against lower league opposition, Burnley have seen their way through and have the potential to face their fiercest modern day rivals, Blackburn Rovers. The fixtures in the Premier League saw arrests from both sets of fans after hooligans went on the rampage both times, and the hostility in the ground was definately evident. Everton vs Liverpool, the Merseyside derby, is seen as the "Friendly Derby" but only to the main sections of the media. It is far from it and the fact that that grounds are both a stones throw away from each other doe not help. The two clubs strive to be the best in Merseyside yet only Liverpool have really achieved that even though Everton have had a successful spell before. The hostility between the two is very much apparent as every time they play each other they play for bragging rights as well as points as Everton are (mostly) always up there contending for Europa League places. Everton of late have not been as good but saying that neither have Liverpool. Both may end up playing each other to decide the Europa League places or even the Champions League places this year, and do not put it past them as both teams will fight to the end as always. Everton have no money and Liverpool are lacking pride after their appaling start to last season and being tipped by many for relegation after their form. They pulled it back however and are now back at their best after showing their class in a 4-0 win against Tottenham whilst Everton, having won or drawn all of their top flight games except that of QPR, are on form at the moment and are set to carry on that form after some people are calling for the board to be more supportive after the lack of funds.

A Manchester Divide?

This weekend the top two teams in the Premiership played two relatively tough games against competitive oppenents that is certain. Despite Fulhams not so good start to the season and general inconsistency when playing Man City, they were still capable of bringing the end to City's 100% start to the campaign, and they did just that. With United, they faced a Chelsea side who were previously unbeaten in the league and with a few fresh enigmatic faces such as Juan Mata running midfield it was set to be one hell of a game and it did not disappoint. The only problem is for City is their inconsistency, just like Fulham are against them. While United hosted the tougher of the two opponents and won with a convincing victory, City let their 2 goal advantage at Craven Cottage slip to draw the game 2-2. This could not have come at a worse time for City as they blew their lead at the top of the table and United overtake them by 2 points and with the Manchester derby not a long time away, City will need every single point they can get in order to topple the dominance of United as the main force in Manchester and England. Could this spell a divide for the two teams as United continue their typical form and City suffer the odd defeat or will they bounce back and challenge all the way for the Premier League title? Whatever happens it is definately going to be an exciting race to the finish line for both teams.

Your thoughts are welcome

Champions League

Was last nights 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp in the Champions League between Barcelone and AC Milan all that surprising? All the papers seem to think so, but I however, do not. Now Barcelona are a truly fantastic team and rightly considered to be one of the best teams there has ever been but the fact of the matter is, they ARE beatable. Manchester United are proof of that in 2008, and so are Inter Milan when they knocked them out of the competition in 2010 before winning it themselves. It would appear the newspapers have this image of Barca being indestructable and impervious to conceding goals and that the mere thought of beating them is straight up impossible. The newspapers are clearly biased towards the best team then because they failed to credit the performance of AC Milan who in my opinion deserved a draw. They were lucky to score in the third minute of injury time, that cannot be disputed but then again every team needs a bit of luck on their side, even teams like Barcelona. When I ask my friends about this seasons Champions League every one of them thinks Barcelona will it. They might do. They definately have the team to repeat the success of last season but so do others and I cannot see how other teams have been just disregarded as non contenders. Before a ball was kicked in the Champions League, I predicted that the final would consist of one of these two teams, maybe even both - Manchester United or AC Milan. They are both tremendously experienced sides in Europe and very hard to beat at either of their home stadiums and are a formidable force away from home too. People cannot also rule out Inter, or Chelsea for that matter. Chelseas time will come but the only problem is predicting when. They have reached a final and been beaten, reached a semi final and were unlucky and they seem to be pushing around that mark where one good game could see them in another final and potentially victorious. Against Barcelona in the semi final a few years ago I thought they were robbed of their place in another final. A draw at the Nou Camp and a draw at Stamford Bridge until Iniesta scored that screamer sent them out but it was not without controversy. Chelsea attacked all game when they won the ball back and had it in and around the Barca area a good few time and definately without a shadow of a doubt should have had at least 3 penalties that game, which is why I believe they were robbed. Rubin Kazen seem to be Barcelonas bogey team and they always draw against them home and away in the Champions League, but fortunately for them this time round they will not be facing their Russian adversaries in this competition. All this goes to show that Barca are definately beatable if you play the right tactics and with a bit of luck on your side, so taking this into account the Champions League will hopefully seem like a less one sided affair now and hopefully people will realise theres more teams in contention than just one.

Thoughts please?

Manchester - Football Capital of the World

Is Manchester truly the football capital of the world? The evidence would certainly suggest so with both Manchester United and Manchester City competing for dominance on a domestic and European level. Whilst the rest of the teams in the Premier League chase them and each other, the Manc teams are running away with it so far brushing past all who face them with relative ease. Look at what happened not long ago when Manchester United played Arsenal at home. They beat them 8-2 and Sir Alex Ferguson even said he hoped his team did not score any more as to not humiliate his respected rivals anymore. Man City on that same day were away at Tottenham and put 5 past the London side which is very hard to do especially at White Hart Lane. With City winning the FA Cup last year relatively easily and United winning a record 19th Premier League title, many are tipping the title to stay in Manchester this year but for which club? City with their millions have spent very wisely this season bringing in talent such as Sergio Aguero and United have also bought well, not spending as much as City but buying new faces and making them settle in just as well as Aguero has for City. Both squads are stronger and it should be a tasty affair when both teams meet in the league and City will want revenge for their Wembley nightmare as United drew first blood winning the charity shield after City went 2-0 up in the first half. After 35 years of winning nothing, many feel the next few years will be Citys time to fill their dusty trophy cabinet and United will want to do whatever it takes to stop this and win the trophies themselves. United will have the advantage in Europe having more experience and a slightly easier Champions League group, but City will certainly aim to make an impressive European debut in the so called 'group of death'. If City can navigate their way through to the round of 16 then some will feel they have a genuine chance of possibly winning the most prestigious tournament in club football, if however they can manage to find their way past the might of Barcelona and the same goes for United. To win the Champions League would certainly assure the citys status as the football capital of the world with City being debutants in the competition, and United looking to add to yet another appearance in the final in such a short amount of time. Whatever happens domestically or in Europe this season, you can bet your bottom dollar either United or City will be up there testing the best that they can throw at them and it is set to be one hell of a battle to prove the dominance in Manchester, and not just the world.

Your thoughts please!

Goal Line Technology - Godsend or Complete Waste?

After hearing someone mention the phrase 'goal line technology' many football fans would tend to sit up straight and prepare themselves for a lengthy debate on the subject and point out all that is wrong with the game right now and the various high profile errors caused by lack of the technology. To start with, a fairly recent error at the World Cup in South Africa when Frank Lampard shot from long range and it clearly crossed the line by at least a foot but the referee or 4th official did not give the goal. Even the Germany keeper who England were playing against said it was a clear goal. Coming from behind and entering half time level would have changed the mentality of the England team and morale would have been boosted but they were left with the thought of having an obvious goal disallowed and how they were to come back from a deficit when it should have been an equaliser. I am not saying in any way England would have won if the goal was given, that is impossible to tell in fact it is even possible they could have lost by an even bigger margin, you never know but the point is that goal should have  been allowed and it seems an injustice to Lampard and the squad for having such a fine effort and meaningful effort disregarded. One reason FIFA will not allow goal line technology is because of the cost. It is said the cost of implementing the technology would be vast and time consuming also as tests would have to be run and many developments and prototypes would be built and installed, increasing costs but who is really paying for it? Is it the games governing body in monetry terms, money they can easily earn back in revenues by the way, or is it the paying fans who pay to see their team win and they see a goal disallowed because FIFA do not want to spend any money? Another high profile blunder is the game in 2005 between Tottenham and Manchester United where Mendes shot from a very long way out and the ball beat Roy Carroll by at least a yard before the keeper tossed it back out again. The referee and the 4th official saw it as a save and the goal was not given. If the technology was introduced, would it really diminish the powers of the referee as some say? Or would it simply help him do a job to a higher standard so players and fans can get the most out of the game without feeling cheated? The referee is only human and so is bound to make mistakes so that is why the technology must be introduced in order to reduce mistakes which  can prove to be costly otherwise we will be stuck with a game riddled with errors and misjudgements from referees who cannot always be in the best spot all the time.

Back To The Way It Was

Years ago, football grounds had standing up terracing where fans could congregate and come in their thousands to really get the atmosphere going. Now all this is gone, dead and buried due to law and health and safety. Gone are the days were you could go to a match, pay on the gate and worm your way through a capacity crowd to find yourself as near to the front as possible as fans wave their scarves and chant around you like a mad man whilst really enjoying yourself. In their place are the days were everyone must sit down or stewards will eject you, crowds have reduced slightly because seats are now were you used  to be able to stand and the atmosphere has died a little in comparison to the old days. I am not saying in any way that all seating stadiums are a terrible thing and are killing the game, but they do tend to create a duller atmosphere and if you are a paying fan you want as much noise and excitement as possible. Over stewarding at some clubs stops this completely and they will not hesitate to throw you out of the ground just for standing up and seat allocation means having to stand a whole row up just to go to the toilet before half time. In an all standing terrace ground this would not be a problem since it does not matter where you are, you are not bothering anybody and getting in anybodies way. The way the crowd moves when a goal is scored in an all standing ground is something to truly behold and it really shows a passion for the game which cannot be reproduced in any other way. Now some clubs are lucky to get a round of applause for scoring because you must remain seated surrounded by grumpy fans always complaining. All seated grounds do have their advantages though. It makes football stadiums more family friendly as there is little risk of losing your children when they are sat right next to you and nobody is pushing in front of you to see the action, also the issue of hooliganism can be resolved inside the ground if the fans cannot get to each other because of good segregation between the fans. All seaters were introduced as a measure to tackle any future disasters such as the Heysel disaster where 39 Juventus fans died after Liverpool fans charged at them. The Hillsborough disaster also had a major impact when 96 Liverpool fans died as a result of a huge crowd overload inside the stadium which caused a massive crush which killed the fans. Thankfully, this has not happened since seating stadiums and tough laws were introduced. There are both pros and cons of having all standing stadiums which I have briefly delved into, but personally I would love a return to the all standing days as opposed to all seating stadiums purely for the improved atmosphere, although crowd segregation would have to be a priority to avoid any trouble on the terraces.

What do you prefer, standing or seated stadiums and why?

A New Look For England - A Recipe For Success?

Tonight England will play Wales at Wembley in a game that should see England take 3 points with their fresh new image and youthful hungry team. For once, England fans can actually say honestly that Capello got it right this time round in their 3-0 win away at Bulgaria and we should see some of the same attacking flowing footbal tonight. The extra incentive though is that it is at home and against Wales, almost like an international derby game. Neither team will want to lose and Wales will want to capitalise on their victory over second placed Montenegro with a glorious win over England at Wembley tonight to really boost their qualification hopes. England will aim to remain undefeated in the qualification campaign and get another 3 points to almost ensure qualification and on home soil too. The youthful presence in the England camp is a breath of fresh air for most as the old guard such as Lampard and Gerrard may not have another chance. Time after time they have had the chance to prove they can play in the major tournaments but they have failed to deliver everytime. Not just these two of course but the rest of the old squad too which is why they need the younger players to come in for them and make them realise they are not guarenteed a spot in the squad as Lampard found out recently. Joe Hart was always going to be the stopper for the next few years as nobody comes near him in terms of goalkeeping ability in England and with a back four of Jones, Smalling, Cahill and Cole in front of him England should be defensively brilliant with both full backs able to bomb up the flanks and put in crosses and the centre halves always strong in the tackle and great in the air. Tom Cleverly is yet to play in the Euro campaign but when he finally does he shold give the midfield a well needed kick up the rear end. He plays like he has been a pro for ten years and his one two passing is fantastic and enables whoever he plays with to link up well with himself and the forwards. He is definately one for the future. Ashley Young has the tremendous ability to take on a defender with trickery, pace and a brilliant cross to match. Theo Walcott possesses vast amounts of pace and can cause any defence problems when on form, he just needs to work on his decision making to feed the early ball through occassionally instead of holding the ball up. Wayne Rooney needs no introduction or evaluation, he is simply world class. Adam Johnson will really fight for a place on the wing also with his skill and crossing ability. Also in the centre Gareth Barry or James Milner even could be there to stay with Tom Cleverly as both can pass well, run well and hold the ball well in time to release the wingers. Overall the manager is picking the team very wisely and the team can only improve with a mixture of youth, hunger and experience with leaders on the pitch such as Rooney and Cole, England's prospects for the future and especially Euro 2012 look promising.

What do you think?

Worlds Best Club Team

Many people would probably say the team they support is the best team in the world or the best of all time. With that slightly biased approach then Manchester United and Real Madrid would win the vote since they have the biggest worldwide fan bases in the world. However, deciding this debate is a little more intricate than that. Club statistics, trophies won, Champions League success and the players they have had all have to be taken into account to fairly assess each teams claim to be 'the best ever' or the current best in the world. Take Real Madrid for example. They have won the Champions League the most times (including when it was named just the European Cup) with a total of 9 victories and they are one of the most successful teams in current Spanish football. With the money they have they have been able to purchase world class squad after world class squad and they will always be able to continue doing this. When the current team gets old or players leave in a few years time they will most likely be easily able to replace them with more top quality talent as they have always done. Barcelona are Real Madrid's main threat to Spanish dominance now and are currently better in technical ability and passing and almost everything else. Barca are seen by most to be the current best team in the world and winning the Champions League in 2006, 2009 and 2011 showing their dominance in Europe. They are almost the most successful team in Spain on a domestic level too with 21 La Liga trophies to their name. They boast the best attacking force in Europe with Lionel Messi the best player in the world and Xavi and Andres Iniesta supporting Messi. Manchester United have won the Champions League 3 times and have reached the final 3 times in the last 4 years. On a domestic front, they have won the Premier League 19 times which is the most any English Club has ever won and they are currently top of the league pushing for a 20th title. They have one of the best managers to ever grace the game and were the only English team to achieve a treble in 1999. Ajax have won the Champions League a total of 4 times in a period where they dominated European football winning a treble in the 70's as well as consecutive European Cup glory. They are traditionally one of the top 3 clubs in the Netherlands with Feyenoord and PSV, and they always challenge for the Eredivise title. AC Milan are also a huge team and very successful winning 7 Champions League titles and 18 Serie A titles. The most successful team in Italy however, is Juventus and they have won the league 27 times. Milan share their ground with their fierce rivals Internazionale and it is one of the most impressive grounds in Italy with a capacity of 80,074.

I would love to know who you all think is the best club team of all time and the current best team. Please comment and subscribe!

Rochdale AFC - The Fall of the Basement Club

Rochdale AFC have been in League 2, the lowest tier in the football league for nearly all their existence. In the season of 1969, the achieved promotion however and suffered relegation in 1974 afterwards. This was the only time they would be promoted for 36 years. Many had dubbed League 2 'The Rochdale Division' after spending so much time in the league, and when promotion finally came knocking the fans could not believe their luck. Promotion was coming under the management of Keith Hill who took them to the playoffs twice and reached Wembley for the first time unfortunately losing out 3-2 to Stockport County despite taking the lead. It was their first season in League 1 in the season 2010/11 and Rochdale were fully expected to go straight down. Some bookies had them at 14/1 just to survive in the league for one year, let alone do as well as they did. They surpassed all expectations and beat teams like Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday and local rivals Oldham in their bid to remain in League 1 and they finished a fully deserved, yet still surprising 9th place. A very respectable place for a team with no experience of playing against the type of clubs in that league. At the end of the season however, Championship side Barnsley came in and offered Keith Hill a position as manager and he took the opportunity leaving Dale without a manager. Up stepped Steve Eyre, the current manager and now Rochdale are 6 games into their campaign and yet to record a win. They sit second bottom in the table and it looks like they are steadily declining as the influence of Keith Hill is no more and Steve Eyre really looks under pressure especially after their 4-2 drubbing at the hands of newly promoted Stevenage. With local rivals Bury and Oldham in the same league as Dale, they will want to try their best to stay up in League 1 not only for the clubs sake and the fans sake, but for bragging rights too as nobody wants to be the one to lose the most and suffer the most defeats. Pride is at stake as well as League 1 status and the way things are going they won't be counted as genuinely challenging opponents for anyone in the league unless something drastic can be done and rapidly. Rochdale look set to return to the league which haunted them for almost 4 decades and their rivals have every chance of staying up, so this spells out a bad few years to come for Rochdale AFC unless they find their attacking sharpness and eye for goal which carried them up to 9th last season. Rochdale will need a miracle as it stands, but as we know football is a funny game and anything could happen.

Rochdale prospects anyone? Let me know

Racism In Football

During England's 3-0 victory away in Bulgaria, certain groups of the Bulgaria national teams 'fans' directed monkey chants at Ashley Young. This was vile and out of order and should have been prevented by proper stewarding or policing at the match. Football is not a game for racists to display their hateful views, after all it is what I just said - a game. How can a game, especially one which unites countries in huge events such as the World Cup attract such a racist narrow minded crowd? Passions can get out of control in some instances, but to direct their hate at a man who is both doing his job and doing what he loves is just plain wrong. He respects his country simply by playing his heart out every time he pulls on the England shirt, and that is a respectable man regardless of his skin colour of beliefs. The type of so called 'fan' who portrays his racist views at a football match is probably a man who needs others around him to believe in what they believe in, otherwise he wouldn't dare chant racist garbage at the players as he would be too scared or feel too out of place so he needs his fellow narrow minded individuals around to spur each other on. This is as pathetic as a man can get. Ashley Young however shone as an example to others as he did not let it affect his game and he played on and had a decent performance to boot. He won't let these thugs get the better of him with their spiteful meaningless words and good on him, after all to re-iterate an earlier point, he is just doing what he loves. Racism has no place in football and every step should be taken to abolish it although finding a solution to this problem is easier said than done. Well done to the England team for getting a good win for Euro 2012 qualification and well done to Ashley Young for keeping his head held high during the game. You are a good example Mr Young!

The Problem With England

The England national football team is currently ranked 4th according to FIFA rankings. That's the 4th best in this world we live on. Out of the 203 teams currently receiving rank, England are the 4th best which is some achievement. If they really are the 4th best team on the planet at the moment then the question looms on why can't they do well in any major tournament? They have been labelled 'tournament bottlers' by some, 'donkeys' by others but nobody can take away the fact that England do in fact boast world class players on the team. Maybe that's the problem though, just world class players and not a world class team. It takes the players ability to gel together and support one another to be labelled as a truly world class team, something England do not seem to have. For years now Lampard and Gerrard, two of world footballs best central midfielders have underachieved in the Englad set up, is it because of the manager, or is it purely because they do not know how to play with each other? With the majority of the other top ranked teams, goals come through midfield with classy build up play and neat interchanging passes between the midfielders and forwards. Not England. England seem to hoof the ball up the field straight to the attackers, hoping they can nod it on to their team mate but since when has this yielded results? Maybe in the Conference or other lower leagues but this is the national team, a team with great pride and ability yet not the means how to use it. The managers England have had may be a small part to the huge problem too. During World Cup 2010, a fully fit and in form Joe Cole was expected to play to take the place of the ill James Milner (he had the flu) yet Milner started and Cole did not get a chance. This is outrageous as it seems the boss will only play 'big names' rather than use strategical subs and fielding a logical starting 11. Crouch, who for England has always been a top goalscorer could not get in the squad. And the reason? Emile Heskey. The same Emile Heskey who could not score for club or country for 2 years. The target man who gets it onto his head and nothing else materializes from it. The selection from the manager was a shambles but this was not the reason England crashed out of the World Cup rather embarrassingly. It was down to whether the players wanted it or not. Some did, Terry, Rooney and a couple of others but it seemed the rest were too busy messing around launching the ball from defence to attack instead of playing a good passing game and using the players we have to their full potential. Many have had a bad word or two about Rooney during the World Cup but I cannot see why. He always ran at defenders, he put together some great passes with the wingers and switched the play often, and he had to resort to shooting from anywhere just to get a shot off due to poor delivery or scarce delivery from the midfield. This was a man who was trying, maybe not successfully but trying nonetheless. The problems with England have cast a grey cloud over the nations footballing credentials for as long as I can remember. England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 with a disastrous qualification campaign which saw a goalkeeping howler or two and a lack of passion. Luckily there is a new crop of young talent coming through the ranks with many from Manchester United and Arsenal so they will gain their top level education and experience at their clubs so there is no need to worry whether they are ready or not. They play for club with their heart on their sleeves and give it their all, not to mention the talent some of these young lads possess. It should be out with the old such as Lampard and Gerrard, and in with the new with Tom Cleverly, Jack Wilshire, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling with a lethal, always hungry Wayne Rooney to lead and guide them. This new England team has a lot to live up too for such young heads and many will wonder can they hack it? I believe the answer is yes if the manager gives them a look in and grants them game time otherwise it will probably be the same old England in Euro 2012, boring and bitterly disappointing.

Whats your views on the current national squad?

Football Hooligans

This country has had a problem with hooligans since the game was invented way back when, but is it really a problem or they just misunderstood? A lot of people would say it is a big problem with damage being caused to property and people and the hooligans do not seem to care where they fight as long as they do it. A minority would say however, that hooliganism is what the media makes of it and is no problem at all. The hooligans themselves would support this view perhaps and knowing a few personally, they have compared it to a number of 'regular' hobbies. They say its the same concept as a jogger going for a jog.....simply because he likes to jog. They say they fight each other because they like to fight each other and they go on to say its both fun and exciting and not causing anyone else harm. To them, they fight only each other and not random people from the street, they only go for like minded individuals with one plan in mind, which is the main reason they see no problem. If they had it their way they would fight in a field out of view and just go at it until one firm wins, but unfortunately life isn't so simple and this would not be allowed by anyone so the way they see it is if they are going to 'have it' then they will have it on the streets away from the cameras and if anyone is there to witness then so be it. Many would say that hooliganism is not a problem though, simply because the media does not report it in this country anymore. They feel it adds a certain glamour to it and promotes it so they would rather not report it at all unless it is a major incident like the West Ham vs Millwall clash a few years back. This is not the case however, as football violence is still prevalent in todays society. CCTV seems to be working with the majority of fights either being recorded and used as evidence to prosecute people or fights taking place in areas with no cameras and away from the public in a way making it a bit 'safer' for the average passer by. If hooliganism was not a problem, then there wouldn't be so many bans but as it happens, People are getting banned every week for football related violence which goes to show the scene is still alive today. It is very much alive, but will it ever return to the levels we saw in the 70's and 80's or will it stay hidden away in the quiet areas of towns and cities across England, or diminish altogether?

Your thoughts please on whether its a problem or not and what level will it reach in the coming years.

Relegation Fodder

Why is it that when a decent team gets relegated after one poor season, they seem to carry on that same performance level in the lower league? What is the cause of this, as most would expect a team with higher level of experience and possibly better ability to bounce straight back up. Take Plymouth for example, a prime example I think. Years in the Championship meant they were a half decent side who could beat a few good teams on their day and did so on a lot of occassions. Unfortunately financial strain meant the club went into administration and at one point the club could not even pay its players although the players still remained loyal. This shows there was a good team spirit and a desire to play for the club which any club needs, yet they still went down which may have been expected. In League 1 however, their woeful end to their Championship season continued further and they finished the league in the relegation zone and are in League 2 where they are dead bottom. Another good example would be Sheffield Wednesday who have always been a good side with a large fan base and they regularly see crowds of 20,000 at Hillsborough. After relegation they were fully expected to go straight back up but, just like Plymouth, they totally underachieved. They finished the league mid table which for their standards with a team and a manager like they have, is very poor. To their credit though this season they seem to be winning more games and showing a ruthless streak in front of goal and are tipped by many to be at least in the playoff zone at the end of the season but only time will tell as its early in the season yet and they could end up worse off than last season, you just never know. Many teams have this habit of once being relegated they stay down or go down even further and I expect this strange phenomenon to continue this season but the question is with who?

Any opinions are welcome on this topic!