Done And Done

With apologies to fans of Stockport and Rochdale, if any such exist that aren't on their way to Wembley right now, that's another season wrapped up. While I try not to indulge in schadenfreude, it would take a better man than me not to have a chuckle as fans of Chelsea, (Glasgow) Rangers and Leeds end up crying in their snakebites. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys. Meanwhile my sympathies to those who had to clean up after them in Moscow, North London and particularly Manchester.

Congrats to Hull in the Championship, it does always appeal to an innate sense of rightness when the team who finished third win the playoffs. All go at QPR for next season of course under Iain Dowie ; if you're wondering why I haven't commented on this as yet it's because I'm just going to wait and see. Dowie said all the right things at a press conference but talk is, as ever, cheap. It's the first time in a good while that Rangers have changed the manager in the close-season rather than the more traditional panic measure after 8 games. For the most part the Rs are second favourites to Birmingham in the early betting, and when you look at the line-up, if Palace, Reading, Derby and Sheffield United are next favoured, it looks like we should have a fair chance if we can get our act together. The club have hiked up season ticket prices in many areas of the ground, which is not unexpected ; it's no odds to a balla like me but it would have been nice if there was some mechanism for people who have had season tickets for like 10 years to get some kind of discount. God knows they've suffered enough.

Finally my bets were mostly rubbish (LDO), Bolton at 6-1 for relegation was value in hindsight but they managed to scrape out of it, while my best bet of all was laying England to qualify for Euro 2008. Which is coming up pretty soon, easy as it is to miss it now. I'll be in Vegas so that can manage perfectly well without me. See you in August !