Weekend Football

[BRO_BOT]

I only watched the first half but felt that, despite all the flak that he gets, Leeds badly missed Bamford as the focal point of their attack.

Piroe and Rutter seem to wander around and just hope that something will happen and their attacks peter out when Gnonto and Summerville aren't on their best form.
Is Archie Gray as good as his hype?
Firpo is hopeless.

Without significant player investment I can't see Leeds challenging strongly for promotion or Saints surviving in the Prem.

Before a single transfer or ball is kicked, I predict that City will win the league and the three teams coming up, go straight back down again!

[Sutekh]

Play off final records for the sides that have lost the most finals

Lost
Won

The LEEDS UNITED play off final roll of honour

1987 - Charlton Athletic 2-1 Leeds United (one off replay after 1-1 draw over 2 legs) - Tier 2-1
2006 - Watford 2-0 Leeds United - Tier 2-1
2008 - Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Leeds United - Tier 3-2
2024 - Southampton 1-0 Leeds United - Tier 2-1

The SHEFFIELD UNITED play off final roll of honour

1997 - Crystal Palace 1-0 Sheffield United - Tier 2-1
2003 - Wolves 3-0 Sheffield United - Tier 2-1
2009 - Burnley 3-0 Sheffield United - Tier 2-1
2012 - Huddersfield Town 0-0 Sheffield United (8-7 penalties) - Tier 3-2

The READING play off final roll of honour

1995 - Bolton 4-3 Reading - Tier 2-1
2001 - Walsall 3-2 Reading - Tier 3-2
2011 - Swansea 4-2 Reading - Tier 2-1
2017 - Huddersfield 0-0 Reading (4-3 penalties) - Tier 2-1 also noted as the most tedious non event of a final ever

The BRENTFORD play off final roll of honour

1997 - Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Brentford - Tier 3-2
2002 - Stoke City 2-0 Brentford - Tier 3-2
2013 - Yeovil Town 2-1 Brentford - Tier 3-2
2020 - Fulham 1-0 Brentford - Tier 2-1
2021 - Brentford 2-0 Swansea City - Tier 2-1

[Stranded]

Are Huddersfield the only team to be promoted twice without scoring in the final?

[Sutekh]

Are Huddersfield the only team to be promoted twice without scoring in the final?

Huddersfield Town is the only club to have been promoted 3 times, via play off finals, without scoring or conceding a goal in the final. 2012, 2017 (as per above) and also v Mansfield in 2004 (4-1). They have won promotion to the 3rd, 2nd and 1st tier by being "shot shy" in play off finals. They've contested 6 finals in total and only actually won 1, they've drawn 3 and lost the other two. The only final they've scored in was the 1995 tier 3 match when they scored in the 45th and 81st minutes to beat Bristol Rovers 2-1. Since then they've played 5 finals and not scored a single goal, which currently is a drought of around 549 minutes. So, the last thing you want to do is play for penalties against Huddersfield in a PO final, sadly Stam wasn't one for taking statistics seriously.

[LUX]

If you add in semi-final defeats, us and Leeds are even worse .

[LUX]

I’d far prefer to go up via the play- offs at Wembley. Just to experience it once. I was at all four final failures, plus the Cup semi final.

[Snowflake Royal]

I’d far prefer to go up via the play- offs at Wembley. Just to experience it once. I was at all four final failures, plus the Cup semi final.

Same. Although a promotion to the Championship via the POs might be a bit anticlimactic.

[Sanguine]

Meant to post this last week - went to Fulham's home game with City, and it appears that it is now a thing, at Craven Cottage at least, to remove lids from drinks bottles. So my Coke Zero was sans bottle top. What's this about?

[BRO_BOT]

Meant to post this last week - went to Fulham's home game with City, and it appears that it is now a thing, at Craven Cottage at least, to remove lids from drinks bottles. So my Coke Zero was sans bottle top. What's this about?

Been a thing for a while...it's either to stop you throwing it or to encourage you to ditch the bottle and buy another one (from them) later

[genome]

Meant to post this last week - went to Fulham's home game with City, and it appears that it is now a thing, at Craven Cottage at least, to remove lids from drinks bottles. So my Coke Zero was sans bottle top. What's this about?

Yeah like Brobers said. Full bottle with lid becomes a missile, lid off it'll lose its momentum before it reaches the pitch

[genome]

Although I'd be surprised if you encountered that issue at a Fulham match

[Sanguine]

Meant to post this last week - went to Fulham's home game with City, and it appears that it is now a thing, at Craven Cottage at least, to remove lids from drinks bottles. So my Coke Zero was sans bottle top. What's this about?

Yeah like Brobers said. Full bottle with lid becomes a missile, lid off it'll lose its momentum before it reaches the pitch

Ha, of course. Basic physics. I was thinking they didn't want me throwing the lid.

Not sure I've perceived it a problem anywhere, tbh.

[Dirk Gently]

Meant to post this last week - went to Fulham's home game with City, and it appears that it is now a thing, at Craven Cottage at least, to remove lids from drinks bottles. So my Coke Zero was sans bottle top. What's this about?

Yeah like Brobers said. Full bottle with lid becomes a missile, lid off it'll lose its momentum before it reaches the pitch

Ha, of course. Basic physics. I was thinking they didn't want me throwing the lid.

Not sure I've perceived it a problem anywhere, tbh.

I've come across it at various grounds, and I have heard a chief steward justify it that if it's lying on the floor with no lid and you tread on it then it just crumples under foot, but if it's lying on the floor with a lid on it's a roller that'll make you slip over and potentially down the slope of the stand/terrace.

[Silver Fox]

That's what i've heard, although the time I heard it could easily have been on here last time the issue was raised

[Clyde1998]

Meant to post this last week - went to Fulham's home game with City, and it appears that it is now a thing, at Craven Cottage at least, to remove lids from drinks bottles. So my Coke Zero was sans bottle top. What's this about?

Yeah like Brobers said. Full bottle with lid becomes a missile, lid off it'll lose its momentum before it reaches the pitch

Had it at Reading for certain games over the past decade or so. Asked a steward about why it only happens for certain games and they said it was about risk for the specific match.

[Sutekh]

If you add in semi-final defeats, us and Leeds are even worse .

I make it that there are a total 104 clubs that have played in the football league play offs of which 20 clubs are no longer in the football league. Believe that this means there are only 8 clubs that have never competed in the play offs - Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Everton, Man Utd, Barrow, Bromley and Harrogate?

Preston, Huddersfield and Brentford have each had the most play off campaigns (10) and all have won at least 1 set of play offs though it took both Preston and Brentford until their 10th campaign to get that win.

Most successful clubs

Blackpool - 6 wins in 9 attempts
Crystal Palace - 4 wins in 7 attempts
Huddersfield - 4 wins in 10 attempts
Charlton - 3 wins in 6 attempts
Peterborough - 3 wins in 6 attempts
Swindon - 3 wins in 9 attempts

Least successful clubs

Sheffield Utd - 9 without a win
Lincoln - 7 without a win
Bury - 6 without a win
Franchise - 6 without a win
Leeds - 6 without a win
Reading - 6 without a win
Bristol City - 5 without a win
Hartlepool - 5 without a win
Wigan - 5 without a win

Most finals

Blackpool - 8
Huddersfield - 6
Brentford - 5
Swindon - 5
Barnsley - 4
Bolton - 4
Crewe - 4
C Palace - 4
Derby - 4
Gillingham - 4
Leeds - 4
Leicester - 4
Leyton Orient - 4
Millwall - 4
Northampton - 4
Preston - 4
Reading - 4
Sheff Utd - 4
Stockport - 4
Sunderland - 4
Swansea - 4
Torquay - 4

Most campaigns without a final

Franchise - 6
Portsmouth - 4
Barnet - 3
Oldham - 3

[Sanguine]

Interesting stuff. If I'm reading it right, Blackpool have won 8 out of their 9 play-off semi-finals, that's some record.

Lincoln City's record is particularly (un)impressive. Of their seven unsuccessful appearances in the play-offs, five of those were consecutive, from 2002-03 to 2006-07 inclusive, reaching two finals.

[Sanguine]

Tangenital stat - according to SSN only four current league clubs are yet to play at the new Wembley. I was surprised that two of them were 'big' clubs, being Blackburn and Ipswich. The others are Accrington Stanley, and Colchester United. Crawley Town broke their 'Wembley duck' this season, winning the play-off final against Crewe.

[Clyde1998]

Tangenital stat - according to SSN only four current league clubs are yet to play at the new Wembley. I was surprised that two of them were 'big' clubs, being Blackburn and Ipswich. The others are Accrington Stanley, and Colchester United. Crawley Town broke their 'Wembley duck' this season, winning the play-off final against Crewe.

Ipswich have only been in the play-offs once since the opening of the new Wembley (2015); Blackburn none at all. Blackburn have also been in three FA Cup quarter-finals since (2013, 2015, 2023); Ipswich have been in a single League Cup semi-final (2011).

Accrington have lost two play-off semis (2011, 2016) and been in the League Trophy semi-final (2023). Colchester have had one play-off semi-final (2020).

They've all been one round away from Wembley.

[South Coast Royal]

On "new Wembley" I find it a bit odd that there are stats for a ground/pitch in the same area with the same status as it has always had.
Will Spurs produce stats for their revamped ground or Liverpool after the new stand opened?

On bottles of water.
Over the years this issue has cropped up at many grounds, including our own, although in recent times at Reading it hasn't been an issue.

I can remember inventing illnesses to confuse stewards ,at grounds where with or without tops you could not take them in,by saying that water was essential to be available at all times.
It didn't work at Birmingham where none could be taken in but of course, once inside, you could buy an expensive bottle of their water.
Presumably theirs weren't great for throwing.