Champions By Degrees

So finally, as I'm sure you know, QPR were found guilty of 2 of the charges against them for a fine of £875,000, allowing them to receive the Championship trophy yesterday. It's very easy to comment on the verdict without knowing the facts - the lack of knowledge clearly didn't stop half of Fleet Street and Mark Palios after all, so you can hardly expect random Internet commenters to show any discretion. Predictably enough you can read plenty of comments about how QPR "got away with it" because they are rich, based in London or any other reason that people could think of.

My favourite was the guy who said that because Faurlin scored against Sheffield Wednesday in their relegation season, that shouldn't count and so Wednesday should be reinstated to the Championship immediately. He didn't say who he supported, but I think I could hazard a guess. Ridiculous as that was, everybody does it to an extent, even me. You pick the side that suits your team and then try to think of a justification.

I'm just glad it's settled, assuming of course that it is and Swansea don't appeal. You can bet your ass Cardiff would have done. Ideally Swansea will go up through the playoffs and that will be that, which I'd like to see anyway because they finished 3rd and play good football. In the event I think Forest might win through but we'll see.

It is a shame that QPR had to celebrate promotion "by degrees" as I imply in the title of this post. First of all they were almost there barring a massive goal difference swing and FA verdict ; then barring just the FA verdict ; and then it was confirmed. At least it was confirmed on the final day so they could celebrate at Loftus Road. And again, I'm not going to blame the FA for the delay, how do I know it wasn't QPR spinning it out (as some reports suggest it was). The only specific criticism I have is that it's ludicrous that three organisations are making rulings on the same competition - the Football League, the FA and the Welsh FA. The relationship betweem the League and the FA is so convoluted it may never be sorted out, but it's about time the Welsh FA were kicked to the curb. I have no problem with Cardiff and Swansea playing in the English league but is it too much to ask that they be subject to the English league's rules like everyone else?

Anyway, massive respect to Neil Warnock and all the players. They have done brilliantly. Have they received the credit they deserve? Meh, who cares. Life isn't fair sometimes. I think they rock and I'm sure no Rangers fan would disagree. From the flair of Adel Taarabt to the know-how of Clint Hill, Warnock has picked a system to suit most of the players he had, added to that squad in the right positions and generally managed the club, in the true sense of the word, excellently. Not every signing worked, but enough did to get the job done. I'm not going to talk about what Rangers will and/or should do in terms of preparing for next season, mainly because I'd like to enjoy this for a while without starting to think about matchups like Bradley Orr v Gareth Bale. And that's what I'm going to do.