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Thursday 30 April 2009

Leeds United v Northampton Town preview.

So our potential play off opponents are now whittled down to two, Millwall or the Franchise Dons.  As we won't know for definite who or when we're playing first until after the games on Saturday making travel arrangements become a bit of a lottery.  Clearly the prospect of visiting our friendly rivals from Bermondsey on their "manor" on a Thursday night doesn't fill me with glee as we would have to either go with the official buses from ER or go in the car and hope to find a secure car park spot in the Sarf London jungle..............Mmmm.  With all the permutations possible I've decided not to worry about the logistics until after our end of season Curry on Saturday night.
The last regular game of the season at home always brings with it a special atmosphere and with a crowd of over 35,000 expected for the visit of the mighty Northampton Town Saturday  should be no exception.  That special tingle that a full ground gives you makes you proud to be a Leeds fan although it does make you wonder where the "missing" 13,000 have been for the rest of the season!
Fabian Delph returns from suspension this week and I'm sure he'll be chomping at the bit to put his mark on the team in front of the play offs.  Robbo has been his replacement during his enforced absence and although he always looks dangerous when he's on the ball I feel he's at his best as an impact player coming off the bench when the opposing players are tiring and as such can't see him keeping his place.  The other notable absentee last week was Snoddy and although the silence from ER on his fitness has been deafening I think he will return to face the Cobblers.  That will be harsh on Brad Johnson but Snoddy has been our most consistent performer this year and he will be a vital weapon in the play off battles to come. 
The "Chink in the Sink" Murder Mystery in the village took a step nearer it's conclusion with North Yorks police announcing they had now identified the unfortunate victim as an illegal Chinese immigrant........all they have to do now is to decide which Triad gang it was that smashed his head in and the case is solved............as the Meerkat would say "Simples"
Elsewhere it has become apparent that Mr Rooney's latest attempts at dieting have been a disaster! (Cheers LUFC France)
On the football front this weekend many promotion and relegation issues will be resolved which in turn will generate floods of tears from passionate fans and players alike.  A special mention for poor old Southampton who have already slipped through the trapdoor into League One with the added handicap of a 10 point penalty to start next season in the third tier of English football.  Financial troubles have dogged the club over the last 18 months and in a similar vein to the mighty whites this was a weight too heavy for the South Coast club.  Now you might think that under normal circumstances there would be oodles of sympathy pouring from these pages.........but I was at St Marys when we lost 1:0 to the Saints, a result that in truth consigned us to relegation to League 1, and the sheer unbridled joy and goading from the pathetic Saints fans at our demise was something that I personally put in my memory bank for just such an occasion like this...............................So tough shit Southampton enjoy your trips to Brentford, Yeovil et al I hope we don't see you for a long long time. It couldn't have happened to a better set of fans.   Mmmm I feel better for that.
So after a long season our fate will be decided over 3 games in the next 3 weeks culminating in a Wembley victory and promotion to an ever increasingly competitive Championship.  The long awaited climb back up the league pyramid could be upon us.  Just let's hang in there and keep playing with the confidence and skill that has been evident in our play since that horrible night in Hereford and I think we should go up.  One thing for sure after Saturday it's definitely squeaky bum time.  Can't wait

2 comments:

Barbara Crowther said...

Hello,

Would just like to give my thoughts on the extra 13000 that turn out for the 'special' matches. The fans that attend home matches (other than season ticket holders) will not all be the same fans every match. Some can probably only go to one match a month or only so many a season, but they will all put themselves out to go to the 'special' matches (ie a fairly large contingent coming over from Ireland tomorrow. I therefore think that a good many of the 13,000, go fairly often. I haven't seen this mentioned on any forum, the 13000 being derided as plastic fans.

Love your blogs

Best Wishes
Barbara

Andrew Butterwick said...

Barbara,
Thanks for your comments. You make a good point about fans not all being the same ones for each match especially the Irish contingent and I dont subscribe to the "holier than thou" comments about the so called plastic fans on a lot of the websites. Lets face it Elland Road wouldn't be big enough if everyone turned up every week!
MOT

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