Play Off Question

[URZZ]

West Ham will get through - 2-1 tonight, and 1-1 at home

Birmingham will get through as well...1-1 and 2-0.

Birmingham to win on pens after 0-0 final.

50000 mockneys crying into their jellied eel pies and moaning about muggy Midlands clubs pissing on their history.

Please.

Nolan to miss the penalty that could win it for them, then Vaz te to hit the bar and Burke to score the winning penalty by putting it straight at Green who fumbles and baackheels it into the net.....life = complete

Absolute lol, I think I'd cry a bit with happiness

[Loyal Royal Royal]

from my point of view i would prefer a blackpool/cardiff final on the basis that if either go up they arn't going to spend large wads of cash and therefore we will have a decent chance of finishing above them.

even with their financial problems you can see brum splashing the cash and the hammers have spent bucket loads in the championship so it's open cheque book time if they go up

[dogzbollox]

Is this the forth time in a row Cardiff have been in them but failed to go up ?

Are you posting this message from the future?

Wow

[Royals-lad14]

i would much rather watch west sham implode in the final, would be much more satisfying as for who i want.. well Blackpool, but as long as Sham or Cardiff don't go up im not to bothered.

[Z175]

Is this the first time that all three clubs that went down from the Premiership that none of them got automatic and all three ended up in the play offs ?

Yes - it is the first time with the 3 relegated sides in the playoffs.

1995/96 came close - with Crystal Palace and Leicester making the playoffs, but relegated Ipswich missing out in 7th. Of course there was a 4th side relegated the previous season so the odds were different - Norwich ended up mid-table. Leicester ended up winning - this is the only example of a relegated side winning the playoffs, so it looks good for Cardiff this time round.

Its certainly not the first time none of the relegated clubs have got automatic. In fact in 19 seasons*, all of them failed to bounce straight back on 7 occasions.

Season - previous years relegated sides:
1994–95 Sheffield United Oldham Athletic Swindon Town
1998–99 Bolton Wanderers Barnsley Crystal Palace
2000–01 Wimbledon Sheffield Wednesday Watford
2004–05 Leicester City Leeds United Wolverhampton Wanderers
2005–06 Crystal Palace Norwich City Southampton
2007–08 Sheffield United Charlton Athletic Watford
2010–11 Burnley Hull City Portsmouth

So relegation from the premierleague rarely results in promotion - in the 56 promotions since 1993*, only 14 of these were teams bouncing straight back up.

Of these 14, the most common route is as Champions - 7 times out of 19 has the Champion been a relegated side, as below.

1993–94 Crystal Palace
1996–97 Bolton Wanderers
1997–98 Nottingham Forest
1999–2000 Charlton Athletic
2001–02 Manchester City
2006–07 Sunderland
2009–10 Newcastle United

6 times out of 19 the runner-up has been a relegated side.

1993–94 Nottingham Forest
2002–03 Leicester City
2003–04 West Bromwich Albion
2006–07 Birmingham City
2008–09 Birmingham City
2009–10 West Bromwich Albion

And of course, as above, the sole example of winning the playoffs

1995/96 Leicester City.

So interestingly, only 4 clubs have ever bounced back up without winning the league, but 3 of them have done it twice. Jammy.

* - I did this from 1993 as the first season featuring clubs form the Prem - so 19 seasons, not 20 like the PL.

[LWJ]

:arrow: General Football

[stickywhisky]

:arrow: General Football

Meh

[Winnershroyal]

Steve Claridge intimating that losing the play offs is a disaster it's harder to come back from, reason #10001 why our promotion as champions was phenomenal.

anyone but west ham to go up

[rhroyal]

WHU all over Cardiff.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Surely no one thought Cardiff would win tonight?! WHU will win both legs with ease.

IMO if Brum make it to the final they'll beat WHU, if it's Pool then WHU to go up.

[stickywhisky]

WHU all over Cardiff.

Yep and Collison just scored

[Chaney]

anyone know cardiffs actual play=off record?..it must be up there with ours

[rhroyal]

anyone know cardiffs actual play=off record?..it must be up there with ours

They have played 5 won 1; we've played 5 and lost them all so even if they lose this one, they're still better than us at them.

[Chaney]

anyone know cardiffs actual play=off record?..it must be up there with ours

They have played 5 won 1; we've played 5 and lost them all so even if they lose this one, they're still better than us at them.

so i assume they were promoted to the CC on the back of a play-off, don`t remember it TBH.

[rhroyal]

Think it was 2003 or so.

WHU haven't played this well since their first 40 minutes against us.

[stickywhisky]

Think it was 2003 or so.

WHU haven't played this well since their first 40 minutes against us.

It was QPR they played - just said on Sky

[Schards#2]

Think it was 2003 or so.

WHU haven't played this well since their first 40 minutes against us.

It was QPR they played - just said on Sky

In Cardiff, which probably helped.

I still wonder if West Ham's fragile confidence and fickle fans might yet give Cardiff a squeak if they were to score first in the 2nd leg

[Royal With Cheese]

I still wonder if West Ham's fragile confidence and fickle fans might yet give Cardiff a squeak if they were to score first in the 2nd leg

I understand what you're saying Schads but I can't see it happening. West Ham have got their act together at home now and, to be honest, I'll be amazed if Cardiff get through.

[Skyline]

Think it was 2003 or so.

WHU haven't played this well since their first 40 minutes against us.

It was QPR they played - just said on Sky

In Cardiff, which probably helped.

And the fact that the fire alarm in the hotel the QPR team were staying at was set off by one of Sam Hammam's former minders, at 4am the morning of the final.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1433533/Minder-admits-QPR-hotel-hoax.html

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Just a quick question on the play offs that thank god we are not in following last years great day with the terrible ending at Wembley. I could not stand the thought of a repeat as it was soul destroying to have all the black jacks cheering and waving their flags.

Is this the forth time in a row Cardiff have been in them but failed to go up ?

Is this the first time that all three clubs that went down from the Premiership that none of them got automatic and all three ended up in the play offs ?

As to who do I want... ...it has to be the weakest team, so Blackpool or Birmingham.