End Of Season Joy
Tue, May 26 2009
Warm sunshine greeted the end of the football season in what has to be one of the most exciting finishes the football calendar has had for some years.
The scrap to avoid relegation proved too much for both 'Boro and Newcastle but both George McCartney and David Healy will breathe a sigh of relief as Sunderland avoided the drop, but only just. It seems likely that Sausages McCartney will stay put and that Healy will move on with Ipswich a possibility. Many Sunderland fans would like to have seen more of Sir David especially given the lacklustre striking partnership of Cissé and Jones in the last half of the season.
The weekend saw Rangers clinch the SPL title ahead of Celtic. A Kyle Lafferty goal set Rangers on their way so both he and Steve Davis will be delighted with their achievement, although there are rumours abound that Davis is on his way back to the Prem as Steve Bruce has made no secret of his desire to bring him to Wigan.
Sunday saw a dramatic play-off final at Wembley as Millwall and Scunthorpe battled for a place in the Championship. It was an exciting and dramatic game that saw Martyn Woolford's 85th minute shot sneak victory for the Iron after Millwall had led for most of the game. Perhaps Grant McCann will not be quite so disappointed having not made the score sheet, but there were smiling faces all round as Scunthorpe return to what is probably the most difficult league in the world.
Not many Northern Ireland football supporters will have missed Burnley taking the Championship play-off at Wembley yesterday. A gutsy display saw them deserved winners following a phenomenal season. Unfortunately our own Jamie Ward got sent off for the Blades, but most of the GAWA will have been spurring on our friends from Lancashire. Northern Ireland players have a long history with The Clarets and it was fitting to see both Michael Duff and Martin Paterson playing such a pivotal role not only in yesterday's game but all season. We would like to wish Burnley every success for next season and recommend Turf Moor as a random away trip. They are an organic, friendly club reminding us all of what football is really about.
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