Championship Round-Up: Surely one more win will be enough?

Today’s Championship results were almost perfect for the Canaries:

Norwich 2 Burnley 0. I went for 2-1 but 2-0 was even better. Thank you Dion, thank you Ched.

Colchester 2 Ipswich 0. The U’s would have been relegated had they lost to Ipswich, who didn’t exactly warm up for next week’s derby in the best way possible. The heart bleeds.

QPR 2 Preston 2. A draw would have probably been the best result for us, so no complaints. Both sides are probably safe but it’s nice to keep them around us.

Scunthorpe 1 Sheff Wed 1. The ideal result for us would have been a home win, but for Wednesday to drop another couple of points is still a good result for us.

Sheff Utd 3 Leicester 0. Oops.

Southampton 2 Bristol City 0. There had to be a fly in the ointment, and it was at St Marys. But with everyone else around us dropping points it’ll do.

Watford 2 Coventry 1. Kasper Schmeichel’s late error handed the Hornets a win, and I thank him for it.

So with four games to go six points separate the Canaries and the relegation zone. You’d think one more win would be enough to see us safe, and what better place to get it than at Portaloo Road next week?

Oh and if you’re feeling hopelessly optimistic, we’re only nine points off the play-offs!

Five reasons why the Championship is the place to be

As much as I want City to be in the Premier League, in my heart of hearts I have to admit it’s not going to happen for a while.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to make myself feel better by compiling this list of five reasons why it’s better to be in the Championship than the top flight…

1. The season starts sooner. The Championship usually begins the week before the Premier League, so we don’t have to wait as long for the season to start.
2. More teams. There are 24 teams in the Championship compared to the Premier League, so 8 more matches each season to look forward to.
3. Cheaper Ticket Prices. Have you seen how much it costs to go to the average Premier League ground these days?
4. Anyone can beat anyone. It’s an old cliche but that doesn’t mean it’s not true – pretty much any team really can beat any team in the Championship.
5. Most teams could win the league. Because most teams can beat each other any number of teams can win the league. Who thought that Bristol City, Stoke and Hull would be the top three today at the start of the season.

There, I’m beginning to feel better already. If you have any to add please let me know.

Burnley Preview

This afternoon the Canaries welcome Owen Coyle’s Burnley to Carrow Road.

After last weekends’ gut-wrenching loss to Bristol City left the Yellows just three points off the drop zone a win is crucial to keep distance between City and the chasing pack.

Gary Doherty could return to the centre of defence, Darel Russell should have recovered from illness in time for the game and it’ll be any two from Dion Dublin, Jamie Cureton and Ched Evans up top following Maceo Rigters return to Blackburn.

Burnley still have dreams of finishing in the play-off places, but you would have to say that realistically they would need to win all of their remaining matches for that to happen.

The Clarets could welcome Michael Duff back to the fold following a lengthy time out through injury, but are expected to play Steven Caldwell and David Unsworth at the back.

A few facts…

League Position: Norwich 17th, Burnley 10th.

Last Meeting: 23rd October 2007 – Burnley 2 Norwich 1.

Last Meeting at Carrow Road: 1st October 2006 – Norwich 1 Burnley 4. This game will be best remembered for it being Nigel Worthington’s last in charge, and for large sections of the Carrow Road faithful actually cheering when Burnley scored. Highlights (if that’s the right word) below.

Top Goalscorer: Norwich – Cureton (14), Burnley – Gray (13).

My Prediction: When I originally made my predictions I went for a home win, and I’m going to stand by that. Norwich City 2 Burnley 1.

FA Cup Semi-Final Predictions

My record on predictions hasn’t been too hot lately, but I can’t let an occasion like the FA Cup Semi-Finals go by without having a go can I?

West Brom vs. Portsmouth (Live on BBC1 from midday today): When the draw was made I was kind of hoping that this would be the final, but alas it wasn’t to be and arguably the two biggest clubs left in the competition face off in the semi instead. It should be a great game but I’m expecting Pompey’s Premier League class to come through. My prediction: Portsmouth to win.

Barnsley vs. Cardiff (Live on Sky Sports1 from 3pm tomorrow): We will doubtless hear plenty of people say that this game is exactly what the FA Cup is all about, and to be fair it’s hard to argue with that. I’m going to do this one “old school” as the kids might say, and stick with the English team – and not just in the hope that the Cup continues to distract the Tykes from the taks of staying in the Championship. My prediction: Barnsley to win.