The football thread - relegation and running

[El Gordo]

That message was from Nigel, in case you hadn't worked it out.

(At least it demonstrates that you don't have to be registered to post a message.)

Yes, it looks like Sunday afternoon could become one of those "you'll never guess what I was doing when I heard that West Ham had won 8-2 at Man City, that season when we just avoided relegation at the last minute..." occasions.

I hope West Ham stay up but it's looking difficult, mainly because Bolton haven't hit the disastrous patch of form that was a necessary part of the survival scenario. Leeds and Fulham have hit bad times, but just too late.

There's only one faint consolation if West Ham do go down, and that's that there's a chance that they might be playing QPR next season. We're looking pretty good for a play-off place, though our recent record in cup competitions (which essentially is what the play-offs are) do not give me any confidence that we'll get to the final, never mind win the thing.

I was sorry to hear about Glen Roeder's illness. He's still remembered fondly at Loftus Road as the lynchpin of our successful early 80s side - the one that got to the FA Cup Final and won promotion under Venables.

As for your results strategy on Sunday. it may be out of your hands. When I did the Silverstone race, I heard a number of conversations about the Arsenal match that kicked off just after the race started. People obviously had radios or were being kept up to date by phone.

I think perhaps I'd try to avoid the score till after the end of the race. At least that way you can pass the time clutching at mental straws, and enjoying the final shreds of hope. I can't help feeling that if you heard they were losing it would not help your run.

Good luck on all fronts.

I'm expecting another race report of which Shakespeare himself would have been proud.