Championship Chaos Resumes With Millwall, Mr Roy And Much More

2 days ago

CHAMPING AT THE BIT

The Championship – a convention truthful chaotic it makes a soft falling down immoderate stairs lucifer a Zen plot – resumes pinch an old-fashioned Easter play double header. Automatic promotion, playoff places and nan driblet into nan abyss each stay up for grabs, pinch only beleaguered Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation rubber-stamped arsenic nan contenders jockey for position connected entering nan location straight. Not a Stone Island overgarment will spell unworn arsenic fans of each 24 clubs proudly get nan badge successful earlier heading disconnected to support their teams complete a hectic slope vacation schedule. At nan top, Frank Lampard’s Coventry City are successful nan container spot for automatic promotion, pinch an 11-point cushion betwixt them and Ipswich Town successful third. They will fancy their chances of astatine slightest maintaining nan spread successful tomorrow night’s televised Geographically Quite Near Each Other But Not Really A Derby derby against, er, Derby County. With nary Good Friday crippled owed to Southampton’s play FA Cup assignment pinch Arsenal, Ipswich will person further clip to de-Farage Portman Road for Monday’s sojourn of Birmingham.

In 1 of nan weekend’s cardinal matches, Middlesbrough big Millwall successful tomorrow’s early kick-off, wherever triumph for nan visitors would spot them gatecrash nan automatic promotion conversation. “I deliberation location are going to beryllium a batch of twists and turns betwixt now and nan extremity of nan season,” said nan Millwall manager, Alex Neil, during a property convention mostly devoted to downplaying nan value of nan fixture. It’s nary surprise, fixed nan very existent anticipation his broadside could return to nan apical formation for nan first clip since Tony Cascarino and Teddy Sheringham enjoyed a successful large man/slightly-less-big man business and were banging successful goals astatine nan Den for fun. The prime of nan 3pm kick-offs tomorrow is astatine nan Hawthorns, wherever unheralded low-key promotion hopefuls Wrexham will proceed their playoff push against West Brom. The Baggies yet decided to springiness James Morrison thing and person enjoyed back-to-back wins aft failing to triumph their erstwhile 13 games nether different gaffers.

While nan shame of losing astatine location to West Brom prompted Bristol City to dispense pinch nan services of Gerhard Struber, his up-and-coming replacement Mr Roy, really 78, will yet get to realise a career-long ambition of managing a broadside successful a lucifer against Charlton Athletic. We tin expect nary extremity of beachballs, sombreros and colourful towels to beryllium connected show astatine Bramall Lane, wherever Sheffield United big Swansea City successful a mid-table affair. As for Wednesday, they are hoping to extremity a tally of 33 games without a triumph against beach-bound Stoke. With 7 games remaining, nan Owls find themselves successful nan absurd position of needing six much points to decorativeness nan play pinch none.

Leicester are besides down among nan dormant men aft their ain points deduction, battling pinch Oxford, Portsmouth, West Brom and Blackburn to debar a descent into nan murky League One depths. Swimming successful nan different guidance are Lincoln City, who could seal promotion – and a first play successful nan 2nd tier since 1961 – pinch a location triumph complete AFC Wimbledon connected Saturday. “Tottenham away, olé olé” indeed.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I said to [Salah] astir that question and reply astatine nan clip and benignant of said to him, ‘don’t do what you’ve done and spell nether a cloud’. I said to him nonstop … it gave maine nan opportunity to opportunity to him: ‘Look, you’ve been present eight, 9 years, you’ve been king here, you’ve sewage this legacy, conscionable spell connected your terms, nan correct way’. He was successful and retired of nan squad astatine nan time, he was upset. I conscionable thought it would beryllium a shame if he conscionable near successful January” – nan ever self-effacing Steven Gerrard suggests Liverpool fans person him to convey for extending Mohamed Salah’s enactment astatine Anfield until nan summer.

Steven Gerrard slips connected nan armband for nan caller Liverpool legends crippled astatine Anfield.

“Re: Wednesday’s Football Daily connected Italy’s nonaccomplishment to scope nan Geopolitics World Cup. Can I beryllium 1 of 1,057 pedants who are prone to constituent retired that Francesco Esposito is lying supine (face up) connected nan turf pinch caput successful hands?” – Jim Broshar (and others).

“Could you please constituent retired to your writers that hardly anyone successful Australia says flamin’ these days” – John Groom.

“Congratulations to Phil Taverner connected winning Wednesday’s missive o’ nan day. Thoroughly DeZerbed” – Richard Prangle.

If you person any, please nonstop letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless missive o’ nan time is … Rollover. Terms and conditions for our competitions, erstwhile we tally them, are here.

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