Championship Playoffs

Kingp35

So tomorrow night sees the first of the Championship playoff games being played with all games being shown live on Sky Sports. The two ties will be played as follows:

Friday 4th May
Leeds V Preston

Saturday 5th May
Crystal Palace V Watford

Monday 7th May
Preston V Leeds

Tuesday 8th May
Watford V Crystal Palace

Im a little disappointed that Leeds didnt manage to finsih 4th and get the home match for the second leg. For whatever reason Blackwell decided to drop 8 players for Sundays game against Preston and so we lost 2-0 and finsihed behind them. I think this will make the tie that slight bit harder although im delighted that we are playing Preston who for me are the weakest team in the playoffs. Leeds havent been on great form lately and have struggled to score goals. Preston have the best defence in the league and so the strikers will really have to up their game in order to score, but with the likes of Healy, Blake and Hulse in the team they are well capable of doing so.

With a full house at Elland Road I think we can win. Leeds are a great side against the big clubs, we have done very well against them all this season and the team seems to raise their game in the big matches. With the side we have we should be well capable of beating Preston although everyone has to be on top of their game tomorrow night. I think it will be a 2-0 win for Leeds tomorrow. The important thing is for us to start the game well because Leeds have a tendancy to struggle at the start of games. The midfield needs to be on top form with Shaun Derry and Liam Miller being vital. I dont think Eirik Bakke will win a starting place but he will be great to bring on later in the game.

Its the biggest game in club has had in the last few years and im nervous already! Should be a great night of ball!

Paul Tergat

I'm hoping for a Preston - Palace final, and hope Preston will go up! C'mon the Preston

MrJoeSoap

The Premiership needs teams like Leeds, I'll be shouting for them anyway.

yom 1

Will defo be cheering for Leeds. Hopefully Blackwell's decision to rest a few will pay dividends for you. Best of luck Leeds fans.

mchurl

Big game for leeds and i think they will be able to take an advantage to deepdale with them. They havent been playing well but i think with a full house behind them they should have too much for Preston. As for the Palace Watford tie, i fancy Watford to come through over the tie. I feel their overall team is better than Palace's and I'd love to see Adi Boothroyd achieve promotion.

Paul Tergat

MrJoeSoap wrote:

The Premiership needs teams like Leeds, I'll be shouting for them anyway.

No it doesn't!

MrJoeSoap

p_larkin99 wrote:

No it doesn't!

They've so many great rivalries from over the years, I'd much rather see them than Palace, Watford or Preston.

Kingp35

p_larkin99 wrote:

No it doesn't!

Leeds are a huge club and would bring alot more to the Premiership than the other teams in the play-offs.

Paul Tergat

MrJoeSoap wrote:

They've so many great rivalries from over the years, I'd much rather see them than Palace, Watford or Preston.

I would like to see them stay in the championship for another couple of years, just to shut up their fans! Being from Bradford and a Man Utd fan i'm sick of hearing from them but the last year has been nice and quiet from the Leeds front

Paul Tergat

Kingp35 wrote:

Leeds are a huge club and would bring alot more to the Premiership than the other teams in the play-offs.

HUGE? and don't give me this fan base crap, because their average attendance has dropped 10,000 since being in the championship!!

Paul Tergat

However, would be nice to see them go up and then straight back down again (with 6 points guaranteed from them for Man Utd in the season).

Kingp35

p_larkin99 wrote:

HUGE? and don't give me this fan base crap, because their average attendance has dropped 10,000 since being in the championship!!

Yes huge. If you knew anything about the club you will know that the reason attendances have dropped is because many fans chose to boycott matches because of the ridiculous prices of the season tickets. Leeds are definitely one of the top supported clubs in England.

Paul Tergat

Kingp35 wrote:

Yes huge. If you knew anything about the club you will know that the reason attendances have dropped is because many fans chose to boycott matches because of the ridiculous prices of the season tickets. Leeds are definitely one of the top supported clubs in England.

admittedly PART of the problem, but you can't deny that a big part of it is the fact you were relegated, and all of the "hard-core" leeds "fans" couldn't be bothered with it anymore

and before you say it, i understand that this will happen at most clubs if they went down....it's just that leeds fans keep harping on about how loyal they are!!!!

Kingp35

p_larkin99 wrote:

admittedly PART of the problem, but you can't deny that a big part of it is the fact you were relegated, and all of the "hard-core" leeds "fans" couldn't be bothered with it anymore

and before you say it, i understand that this will happen at most clubs if they went down....it's just that leeds fans keep harping on about how loyal they are!!!!

No I dont think this is true. Look at last season when we had an average attendance of 31,000. That was by far the highest average attendance in the league. Now this season the ticket prices went up by some crazy amount, 40% increase is a number I have heard. For any average Joe that is a crazy amount of money. There was uproar among fans at the start of the season and many meetings etc were held to try and get the price brought down. Ken Bates held firm though and said if they were "real" fans they would pay the money.

I think all you need do is look at the amount of fans Leeds bring to away games, the allocation is always sold out.

Paul Tergat

Kingp35 wrote:

No I dont think this is true. Look at last season when we had an average attendance of 31,000. That was by far the highest average attendance in the league.

but that is down on your average attendance 2 yrs previously when the team was successful(ish) (i believe it was around 39,000) and so where did those "loyal fans" go then???

blu_sonic

i wonder how many wagon jumping man u fans would stick around if they went down??

i wonder how many reds will be blues in a few seasons??

success breeds fans. you never know the pedigree of the real fans untill your team hits a bad patch. Trust me as a Rovers supporter we used to get the Glory hound tag too

Pepe LeFrits

Come on Leeds.

Rollo Tamasi

mchurl wrote:

As for the Palace Watford tie, i fancy Watford to come through over the tie. I feel their overall team is better than Palace's and I'd love to see Adi Boothroyd achieve promotion.

not a hope. It's going to be a Palace vs Leeds final. Palace have a far stronger team than Watford and one of the best up and coming managers in the game. We beat Watford 2-0 about 3 weeks ago too. Andy Johnson will be out to prove a point to Sven this weekend with a place up for grabs in his squad. And i don't know how you think Watford have a stronger team, Palace only lost one first team player after relegation, Wayne "i'm on the bench now at Portsmouth" Routledge.

Palace on the bounce! Going straight back up!

Zaph

As a Leeds fan I have the standard inbuilt pessimism, but of the teams they could be playing Preston are definitely the most beatable. Watford have been on a great run for the past couple of months and I think are probably favourites to go up and Palace are always a tricky side and have plenty of playoff experience. Whether the gamble to effectively concede 4th place to Preston pays off remains to be seen, but I'm confident that Leeds can get a decent result tomorrow night. I may need copious quantities of alcohol to get me through it though.

Necronomicon

I don't know why but I've had this sneaky feeling about Preston. They are really consistent. Isn't this their 3rd straight year in the play-offs? Could be their year.

Rollo Tamasi

Necromomicon wrote:

I don't know why but I've had this sneaky feeling about Preston. They are really consistent. Isn't this their 3rd straight year in the play-offs? Could be their year.

also known as bottling it
Palace on the bounce!

kensutz

I want Watford to go up purely for Adi Boothroyd when he spent time at us and we regretted leaving him go.

Zaph

He went to Watford from Leeds. We shouldn't have let him go!

kensutz

In February 2001, Norwich appointed their first youth team coach for 15 years when they announced Adrian Boothroyd would replace Keith Webb. 30 year old Adrian joins from Peterborough where he had been Assistant Academy Director under Kit Carson. Despite his young age, Adrian already holds an UEFA A class coaching certificate. Adrian joined Peterborough as a player from Manfield. Earlier in his career, he had played for Bristol Rovers, Hudderfield and Hearts.

In October 2003, he surprised the Canaries by quitting their successful Academy (Ryan Jarvis, Ian Henderson, Dean Sinclair, Jason Shackell, Joe Lewis etc) to take over as Youth Development Manager at West Bromwich Albion - made all the more surprising by the fact that WBA do not have Academy status. Sammy Morgan will manage the day-to-day coaching of Norwich's Under-19s in the interim period

He quit the Baggies for Leeds United in July 2004 when he was offered the chance to join Kevin Blackwell's first team coaching squad.

On 29th March 2005, Watford surprisingly named Boothroyd as successor to manager Ray Lewington who had been sacked the previous week. he signed a 12month rolling contract. Experienced Keith Burkinshaw, the former Tottenham and West Brom boss, was named Boothroyd's number two. Boothroyd, who included Hornets former joint stand-in boss Nigel Gibbs and reserve team manager David Hockaday in his back-room staff, said: "I've been working for this moment for a long time. I'm absolutely delighted - I have fallen on my feet." Watford chairman Graham Simpson said: "The board were unanimous in
recognising Adrian's potential to become a great new, young manager." Boothroyd has departed Elland Road with the blessing of manager Kevin
Blackwell. He said: "I would never stand in Adrian's way when it comes to taking up a managerial vacancy. He has been a very valuable member of the coaching staff and we will all miss the experience he brought to his job and his jovial character."

Watford's impressive 2005/6 campaign saw Adrian linked by many papers on 11th December 2005 with the managerial vacancy at Southampton following Harry Redknapp's resignation and return to Portsmouth. I nstead, Adrian signed a four year contract with the Hornets.

Paul Tergat

blu_sonic wrote:

i wonder how many wagon jumping man u fans would stick around if they went down??

i wonder how many reds will be blues in a few seasons??

success breeds fans. you never know the pedigree of the real fans untill your team hits a bad patch. Trust me as a Rovers supporter we used to get the Glory hound tag too

In fairness i did say this earlier, so im not saying its just a Leeds thing!

p_larkin99 wrote:

and before you say it, i understand that this will happen at most clubs if they went down....

Kingp35

zaph wrote:

He went to Watford from Leeds. We shouldn't have let him go!

Exactly, he should never have been allowed go! Im nervous all ready about tomorrow night. For the first time in a few seasons there is a big game for us Leeds fans to look forward to.

kensutz

Just to sum it up, I want anyone except Palace to go up.

Paul Tergat

kensutz wrote:

Just to sum it up, I want anyone except Palace to go up.

Just to sum it up, I want anyone except Leeds to go up

Rollo Tamasi

kensutz wrote:

Just to sum it up, I want anyone except Palace to go up.

eh, why?

I want anyone except Watford, Preston or Leeds to go up.
Palace on the Bounce! Go on the Palace!

Kingp35

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

eh, why?
Palace on the Bounce! Go on the Palace!

Never gonna happen COME ON LEEDS

kensutz

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

eh, why?

I want anyone except Watford, Preston or Leeds to go up.
Palace on the Bounce! Go on the Palace!

2 guesses although you probably only need 1. I'm still angry because of a controversial decision and an unbalanced player. Plus Selhurst is a dive of a place and the cost for a ticket there is disgusting.

Rollo Tamasi

kensutz wrote:

an unbalanced player

you mean this hip dude?

kensutz

Lol, that be him. Although if someone walks past he has a tendency to fall over.

Q_Ball

damn jose gonzalez playing on monday, i want to see the game!!!! Made a point of watching the match on sunday, its not often that leeds are televised!!! I'll be in the pub to watch this too, copious amounts of alcohol implied!

My nerves are shot...

C'MON LEEDS!

The premiership needs a team like leeds, so many rivalries!

quarryman

C'mon LEEDS!

Jivin Turkey

p_larkin99 wrote:

HUGE? and don't give me this fan base crap, because their average attendance has dropped 10,000 since being in the championship!!

So what if their average attendance has dropped? It is still well in excess of plenty of Premiership sides.

Leeds are a big club and I'd like to see them go up. I'd win some money too

Big Nelly

Leeds aint as big as Shef Wed, we are class, didnt want to see Shef Utd go up but they did so I dont care now.

Kingp35

Big Nelly wrote:

Leeds aint as big as Shef Wed, we are class, didnt want to see Shef Utd go up but they did so I dont care now.

Haha stop would you Nelly. My sides are splitting

quarryman

meh would have liked to nick a win there. PNE manager Billy Davies looked delighted with the result. They've got a very strong central defense. It will be tough to get a win a Preston but its all to play for...

Definate peno for Leeds in the 2nd minute.
Sleepy defending for the Preston goal.
Great free kick from Lewis.

berengar

Kingp35 wrote:

So tomorrow night sees the first of the Championship playoff games being played with all games being shown live on Sky Sports. The two ties will be played as follows:

Friday 4th May
Leeds V Preston

Saturday 5th May
Crystal Palace V Watford

Monday 7th May
Preston V Leeds

Tuesday 8th May
Watford V Crystal Palace

Im a little disappointed that Leeds didnt manage to finsih 4th and get the home match for the second leg. For whatever reason Blackwell decided to drop 8 players for Sundays game against Preston and so we lost 2-0 and finsihed behind them. I think this will make the tie that slight bit harder although im delighted that we are playing Preston who for me are the weakest team in the playoffs. Leeds havent been on great form lately and have struggled to score goals. Preston have the best defence in the league and so the strikers will really have to up their game in order to score, but with the likes of Healy, Blake and Hulse in the team they are well capable of doing so.

With a full house at Elland Road I think we can win. Leeds are a great side against the big clubs, we have done very well against them all this season and the team seems to raise their game in the big matches. With the side we have we should be well capable of beating Preston although everyone has to be on top of their game tomorrow night. I think it will be a 2-0 win for Leeds tomorrow. The important thing is for us to start the game well because Leeds have a tendancy to struggle at the start of games. The midfield needs to be on top form with Shaun Derry and Liam Miller being vital. I dont think Eirik Bakke will win a starting place but he will be great to bring on later in the game.

Its the biggest game in club has had in the last few years and im nervous already! Should be a great night of ball!

Does the "away goals rule" (as in europe) count in the play offs ?

cruiserweight

Saw the game tonight and was disappointed, expected more! Good free kick by Lewis and unfortunate for Alexander! There is no way, at a higher level, that Nugent should have gotten that far!

arbeitsscheuer

berengar wrote:

Does the "away goals rule" (as in europe) count in the play offs ?

Nope.

Funny, I only found this out during Palace's 2nd leg in the Semi of the Playoffs 03/04. We'd won the 1st leg at Selhurst Park 3-2, but Sunderland went 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light... When Darren Powell made it 4-4 on aggregate in the last minute of normal time, it took a while for me (and 1 or 2 other Eagles nearby as well) to realise that this would take it to penos!
Which Palace won, natch.:D

Of course, in European competition, the Black Cats would've gone through by virtue of having scored 1 more away goal than Palace.

cruiserweight

SebtheBum wrote:

Nope.

Funny, I only found this out during Palace's 2nd leg in the Semi of the Playoffs 03/04. We'd won the 1st leg at Selhurst Park 3-2, but Sunderland went 2-0 up at the Stadium of Light... When Darren Powell made it 4-4 on aggregate in the last minute of normal time, it took a while for me (and 1 or 2 other Eagles nearby as well) to realise that this would take it to penos!
Which Palace won, natch.:D

Of course, in European competition, the Black Cats would've gone through by virtue of having scored 1 more away goal than Palace.

Still not as exciting as probably the best play off game ever Sunderland 4 - Charlton 4! And then 7-6 on penalties! Although it is a final that is a great example of where ignoring the rules like the rules about goals worth double etc can lead to great drama and excitement!

Rollo Tamasi

Palace Vs Watford kicks off in less than 30 minutes and i'm confident of a 2-0 Palace win. We beat them 3-1 at home this season and 2-1 away, every chance of doing the quadurable over em Johnson and McAnuff with the goals, Marlon King is the danger man for Watford[SIZE=-1]

[/SIZE]                     G Kiraly
D Ward       T Popovic       F Hall       E Boyce
 T Soares     B Watson    M Hughes      J McAnuff
              A Johnson        C Morrison[SIZE=-1]

vs
[/SIZE] B Foster
J Stewart
M Mackay
J DeMerit
L Doyley
J Chambers
G Mahon
A Young
M Spring
D Henderson
M King

kensutz

Come on Watford

Rollo Tamasi

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

Marlon King is the danger man for Watford[SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE]

argh!

kensutz

YESS!!! Come on Watford.

PHB

I don't want Palace or Leeds to come up, so right now I'm happy, I'd prefer Preston to come up as I feel they play better football.

kensutz

Looks like another trip to that dump in Selhurst next season.

arbeitsscheuer

I don't believe it. I don't think I've seen a second half implosion like this at Selhurst in a long time, if ever. We looked ok at half-time, wtf happened?
Gutting.

Rollo Tamasi

disaster