Championship - 2022/23

Blackburn still have 5 more games (which is a double-edged sword), all against teams who are either in the play-off race, and rivals Burnley who are already up and will probably win the league but can no longer reach the Championship points record. Millwall's is probably the easiest on paper, although they lost today to a poor Brum team with nothing to play for, and Blackpool and Wigan aren't dead yet

 

At least they had a lead against QPR to throw away in the first place...

 

Last season was crap.

But I’m really looking forward to this 4 game season coming up!

Going to be a great race to the play offs!
















And no doubt the few day bubble bursts tomorrow night.

 

If we won our last 4 games we would have a decent chance of sneaking in there .

Can we do that ? I doubt it , but one of the joys of football is being psychotically optimistic .

 

Yep. There shouldn't be a single person who's watched our bunch of misfits and layabouts all season and think we were about to launch into a five game winning streak. But I bet there's hardly any tonight who aren't thinking 'what if we can just click...?'.

I'm going to embrace it for a few more hours until we don't win tomorrow.

 

We *should* win tonight, but we haven't won away from home since New Year's Day, and that was at Carrow Road where we always win!

 

Same county but a long distance apart, Yeovil is nearer Bournemouth than WSM.

 

I don't understand what you are saying?

 

Today is a big chance to get back in the mix, but the likelihood is that we'll **** up at Hull or Sunderland in the two games after that

 

Hope they don't give false hope and they **** it up tonight instead of in one of those other games.

It's the hope that kills you.

3-1 defeat (late consolation JP solo effort). Send people like Davis, Sarr, Chaudhury and others soon to be departed to go on gardening leave until the end of the season and play da yoof dem in the remaining games.

 

This is typical Watford. Rubbish all season but somehow just about still in with a chance. I think we will win tonight and get ourselves right in the mix and will probably beat Hull and Sunderland away and find ourselves in 6th but then once I start believing again we will lose 3-0 at home to Stoke and finish 9th

 

Better than finishing 6th and getting smashed by Luton in the POs .

 

I've looked up directions on Google Maps from Yeovil to the other two, and actually going by the average distance Yeovil is nearer to WSM than Bournemouth by car, foot and bike - it looks nearer as the crow flies too but I haven't measured it. It is quicker by public transport though.

Not having ever been there (I don't recall ever going to anywhere in Somerset apart from passing through during a couple of drives to Bristol, and a couple of trips to Bath) I always forget where Yeovil is, probably because it seems to be pretty much in the middle of nowhere - it's not near a coast and is far from the great cities Bristol and Bath, but I imagine it's a pretty significant place, being famous for Yeo Valley yoghurt at least.

 

Dunno what version of Google Maps you are using but mine has about 55 miles between Yeovil and WSM and 48-50 to Bournemouth. Granted, it is slightly quicker to drive to the former (about 10 minutes), but that's because of the M5.

Anyway, the point is as you say in the last para - Yeovil is in Somerset but very close to Dorset. Still, I guess WSM would probably be the nearest thing to a local derby.

 

It's not.

It's not that either - the Yeo Valley company is indeed in Somerset, but actually up at Blagdon in the Mendips (nearer Bristol than Yeovil).

 

From my limited knowledge of the area I would have guessed their biggest rivalry would actually be with Weymouth given their proximity, and I think the economy and working population of Yeovil is linked a fair bit with West Dorset.

Looking at their wiki page their biggest old-standing rivalries are indeed with Weymouth, along with Bath City.

It also seems Yeovil attempted to be rivals with the Bristol clubs when they were in the EFL, but I don't suppose it was much reciprocated given Yeovil are generally a less successful club than them, plus the two Bristol clubs will have the main rivalry between themselves.

WSM don't seem to register at all.

C+P from wiki:

"The Glovers have their strongest traditional rivalries with Weymouth, which has been described as intense, and fellow Somerset club, Bath City, with Yeovil and Bath having played one another precisely 272 times.[41][42][43] The first game for which the grandstand at Twerton Park officially opened was an FA Cup-tie on November 12, 1932. Yeovil, at the time, were said to be much “much reviled” in Bath over the years. 5,345 watched the club beat Bath 4-2. The paper reported that the crowd were ‘strangely silent’, with Bath fans stating “Losing to Yeovil always hurt”.[44] However, both rivalries have dwindled significantly over the past decades due to the lack of competitive meetings with Weymouth and Bath.[45] The 2020–21 National League season marked the first league encounters between Yeovil and Weymouth since the 1988–89 Football Conference season.

A rivalry with Bath City dates back to numerous Southern League and Conference meetings, being described as 'fierce' during the late 1980s and early 1990s.[46] However, Since the turn of the century, Yeovil and Bath moved in opposite directions across the English Football Pyramid, with the two clubs being as many as five divisions apart from one another during the 2013–14 season. Having been promoted to the EFL Championship in 2013, Yeovil played second tier football for the first time in their history during the 2013–14 season, at the same time, Bath were struggling in the sixth tier. Whilst the club were having one of the best periods in their history, Bath City were having one their worst, thus, local animosity between Bath and Yeovil dissipated.

Similarly, Hereford United were also seen as rivals, before their dissolution in 2014, due to both clubs being fairly well matched during their time in non-league ranks.[47]

During their time in the EFL, Yeovil fans considered both Bristol Rovers and Bristol City to be rivals. In August 2009, Yeovil played Exeter City for the first time in the league, and both clubs have shared a rivalry since, with the match often being billed as a Westcountry Derby.[48] Swindon Town and AFC Bournemouth were also considered somewhat rivals due to geographical proximity.[49]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeovil_Town_F.C.

 

That is very true, would be very nice if we beat them though!

 

OK, I stand corrected - I didn't realize until now there are actually two River Yeos in Somerset, and the one going through Yeovil has no connection with Yeo Valley at all!

 

Indeed. I used to live in Blagdon - was quite nice, overlooking a big lake and lots of pubs. Few friends had summer jobs packing yoghurts at YV.

 

Indeed, but we're screwed for Hull and Sunderland away!

 

Didn't realize it was that bad - after looking it up, I thought as badly as we'd played at times this season our away record was pretty good - I must have looked it up around that time!

Mind you, we've had a fair opportunities to make that different, at Reading, Burnley and Coventry out of the top of my head...

 

Probably correct, makes my really look forward to my trip to Hull at the weekend

 

Very consistent CF.

 

I'm not sure Brum going down to 10 men would have much bearing on our game...

 

If you haven’t been to Somerset, I can recommend the Quantock Hills close to the coast in the north.

 

Some of us on here would prefer that!

 

Well, I've been thinking of exploring the Severn Estuary at some point, anywhere on the Somerset side I imagine would be lovely.

 

Both the Quantocks and the Mendips are very pleasant.

 

The Quantocks you say?

 

Parachute payments under scrutiny.
Can we have them canned the season that Luton are relegated ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65323385

One of the comments at the bottom of the article seems very relevant and sensible.

Andy, Newcastle fan: From the current 24 teams in the Championship, only five have never been in the Premier League. Two of those are in the top six and none in the bottom six. That still seems a fairly even spread of opportunity to me. Parachute payments don't get you promoted, retaining the competence that got you promoted in the first place does. Various clubs have slid further down Leagues 1 and 2 despite payments that have at least kept them solvent.

 

Somehow I think it’ll be worse if we win tonight and then just miss out on the play offs via GD or a point or two.

Will be interesting to see the banner situation tonight too

 

In fairness, that's over a 30+ year period, including periods where the Prem was less lucrative than it is now. Parachute payments aren't the be all and end all, but they are a bloody big help, what sort of crisis would we have fallen into upon our two most recent relegations without them? Sadly for the rest of the division without PP, they are absolutely necessary though, as long as the gap in finances between the Championship and the Premier League is as large as it is, how else can promoted teams compete, and how else can relegated teams avoid an extremely bumpy landing?

 

Eye thank yoooooo