As predicted by the entire football world, Chelsea sacked Avram Grant tonight.
To me Grant was always on a hiding to nothing at Stamford Bridge. If he’d have won the Premier League or Champions League people would have said it was Mourinho’s team and if he didn’t, he’d face the sack.
Still, now might be the time for a cheeky bid for some of their players so go on Glenn – offer them £750k for Joe Cole – you never know. 
Well done Joe Lewis, who has been called up to the Fabio Capello’s England squad for the games against the USA on Wednesday and Trinidad & Tobago.
Lewis was also named in the League Two team of the year last month in what has been a great season for the former Canary ‘keeper.
Some of the drivel coming out of Ipswich lately is beginning to get on my nerves. On Wednesday we had the Evening Star’s editor Nigel Pickover’s embarrasing tribute to sorry – meeting with – Marcus Evans.
(If you can stomach it and haven’t read it yet in all it’s pun-filled sycophantic glory you can do so here, although I prefer to read this version.)
That was followed with the incredible news that the Tractor Boys’ new sponsor was…the Tractor Boy’s owner – what a fantastic coup for the club!
But what finally tipped me over the edge was this story on the EADT24 website by Josh Warwick, which kicked-off with this:
SUCCESS-starved Norwich City fans are plotting a bumper celebration – to mark the 50th anniversary of LOSING an FA Cup semi-final.
The Canaries, whose sparse trophy cabinet is nearly as empty as their bank account, hope to boost flagging morale among fans by staging a series of events aimed at recognising the club’s heritage.
And ended with this:
Fortunately for Ipswich fans, Portman Road bosses have taken a more modest approach to marking success.
Had they not, supporters might be a little out of pocket celebrating an FA Cup win, a UEFA Cup win, a league championship, a Texaco Cup, an FA Cup semi-final, two league cup semi-finals, two top flight runners-up spots…
Do they ever actually report any news over there, or is it all brown-nosing and cheap insults? Judging by the previous story on the EADT site the answer seems pretty obvious. That little beauty starts with the line
The Blues have the backing of multi-millionaire owner Marcus Evans who has also sponsored the club.
It could be that this deal won’t affect Town as they are confident of winning promotion to the premiership and around £60m.
Ipswich have reported season ticket sales are going well and they are on target to slightly beat last year’s figures with around 15,000 expected to be sold.
Yes, yes, yes Ipswich now have lots of money again (well done) – and how it has come in handy so far! Eighth in the table when the January transfer window opened (i.e. when this new cash can be splashed) and where did they finish? Eighth. Job well done lads!
And also a job well done on the 15,000 season ticket sales. All this money and you still can’t get more than 15,000 people to commit to going to Portaloo Road once a fortnight.
Let’s not kid ourselves, we’ve got lots of work to do at our club after the disaster that was last season, but my God I wouldn’t swap that for what they’ve got at Ipswich if this is the sort of “journalism” that accompanies it.
So see you next season Tractor Boys. You’ll know who we are – we’ll be the ones with the sold-out stadium every week.
The Robins and the Tigers go head-to-head at Wembley this afternoon for a place in the Premier League in what is generally regarded as the richest game in football.
Bristol City have not played in top-flight since 1980, whereas Phil Brown’s Hull have never made the top tier of English football, so I think it’s fair to say that whichever team comes out in top will make certainly appreciate it.
The Tigers came out as favourites in the poll with 74% of the vote compared to Bristol’s 23% (1% aren’t fussed), but that goes against the odds offered at Betfair, where the West Country side are slight favourites.
In team news, Robins boss (and my Manager of the Year) Gary Johnson has a fully fit squad to select from, as does Phil Brown, so both could name unchanged sides from those that took care of Palace and Watford in the semi-finals.
Hull boss Phil Brown (on hullcityafc.co.uk:
Without a doubt this is the biggest game in the club’s history. There have been some big days in recent years – second division promotion, first division promotion, Cardiff last season was a massive game for me in terms of survival. That was almost like a promotion to me having come in so late in the season.
A three-year management game plan was then put in place. That stated the top 12 was the aim this season. To finish third was a fantastic achievement. To be only one step away from the Premier League means it’s been a fabulous season.
Bristol City’s Gary Johnson (on bcfc.co.uk):
We’ve left no stone unturned in our preparation. We’ve brainstormed everything. Everything which leads up to making sure we are 100% fit and ready for this game.
We are very confident that we have prepared in the right way and we know what Hull have got, know how dangerous they can be and how to alleviate that.
But at the end of the day it is about bringing out your own team’s strengths. If we do, we can have a very successful day.
A few facts…
Final League Position: Bristol City 4th, Hull City 3rd.
League Meetings this season: 27/11/07 – Hull 0 Bristol City 0, 01/03/08 – Bristol City 2 Hull 1.
Top Goalscorer: Bristol City – Byfield (8), Hull City – Fraizer Campbell (15).
My Prediction: Despite Hull’s dominance in the poll, I think the Robins have enough to see them through. Bristol City to win.
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