The R's close out the season in 18th place in the table after a 1-1 draw with Stoke in the final game of the season. Martin Rowlands scored in the 6th minute for his 10th goal of the season. QPR received NINE yellow cards (to just two for Stoke), including two to Sampsa Timoska, which meant we played with 10 men from the 68th minute onward. Stoke scored in the 83rd minute to earn the point. Had they won, they'd have finished tied Southampton on points for the final playoff spot, but would have had to win by at least 3 to catch them on goal difference since the Saints crushed Southend 4-1. At the top of the table, Birmingham lost to Preston, so Sunderland won the Championship by defeating Luton 5-0. Preston's win wasn't enough to get them into the playoffs, however, as their awful dip in form over the last month or so saw them finish in 7th. Sunderland and Birmingham will play in the Premiership next season. These four will fight it out for the final promotion spot: 3 Derby 46 16 84 4 West Brom 46 26 76 5 Wolverhampton 46 3 76 6 Southampton 46 24 75 Southend, Luton, and Leeds will play in League One next season. Moving up from League One into the Championship next season are champions Scunthorpe United and runner-up Bristol City. The following four will battle in the play-ffs to join the Championship next season. 3 Blackpool 46 27 83 4 Nottm Forest 46 24 82 5 Yeovil 46 16 79 6 Oldham 46 22 75 With just one game to go for all relegation-threatened Premiership teams (except for Charlton, who is trailing Spurs as I write in their second-to-last game), the three that will be joining us in the Championship look to be Charlton, Wigan and one other: 16 Sheff Utd 37 -22 38 17 West Ham 37 -25 38 ------ 18 Wigan 37 -23 35 19 Charlton 36 -24 33 20 Watford 37 -30 27 Wigan could pass either Sheffield United or West Ham next weekend. Wigan visits Sheffield United, so their destiny is in their own hands -- a one-goal win would bring them level on points and GD and they alread lead in goals scored by two. West Ham closes the season at Man United, who has locked up the Premiership title and has little to play for. The fixture list is due out on June 22nd. The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table FINAL TABLE Pos Team P GD PTS 1 Sunderland 46 29 88 2 Birmingham 46 25 86 ------ 3 Derby 46 16 84 4 West Brom 46 26 76 5 Wolverhampton 46 3 76 6 Southampton 46 24 75 ------ 7 Preston 46 11 74 8 Stoke 46 21 73 9 Sheff Wed 46 4 71 10 Colchester 46 14 69 11 Plymouth 46 1 67 12 Crystal Palace 46 8 65 13 Cardiff 46 4 64 14 Ipswich 46 5 62 15 Burnley 46 3 57 16 Norwich 46 -15 57 17 Coventry 46 -15 56 18 QPR 46 -14 53 19 Leicester 46 -15 53 20 Barnsley 46 -32 50 21 Hull 46 -16 49 ------ 22 Southend 46 -33 42 23 Luton 46 -28 40 24 Leeds 46 -26 36
Also, there were 16,741 at the game on Sunday. Gregory after the match: "I got unbelievably angry with the referee. I think the QPR chairman and kit man were the only people he didn't book. "But I don't want that to gloss over what has been a monumental achievement by my players this season. "Six teams have finished below us - at one stage all of them were above us." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/6602873.stm
Thanks for the end of season review! So glad we ended on a high note - can't wait for the fixtures to come out this summer. Need to pick a good match to head over for in the autumn.
Final day images, including Bircham and Furlong saying goodbye to the Loft: http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10373~1022366,00.html Awards dinner images, including Gallen, who was awarded player of the decade of the 00's, although it's not done yet! http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10373~1022228,00.html
Nice pictures. Sad to see Paul Furlong go, but I guess these things are bound to happen. One of my 3 favorite QPR players of all-time. And who would have thought that when he was bouncing around for years before we signed him. I still get teary-eyed thinking about the second goal at Sheffield Wednesday on promotion day.
Although Ferguson claims he's going to rest a few today against Chelsea (clearly nothing to play for, for either side), to field a full side against WHU. Something about respect for all teams fighting for survival, etc., blah blah. Being lectured on football ethics by Fergie is right up there with being lectured on nepotism by Paul Wolfowitz. Great summary, Atouk. Thank you!
...that was, of course, meant to be Charlton, Watford, and one other. My pleasure. Hope all's well with you!
I wondered about that...for God's sake, I was a math major in college! But I figured questioning you on these things was ill-advised! Very, thanks! Same to you, of course. And "Hello!" to Caroline. Need to start bookmarking any "offseason moves" threads. I'd sure love a return to EPL...or, wait, was it even called "EPL" yet in 96? Anyway, "promotion." I just worry about the conviction of the ownership. As I'm sure we all do.
Wow, If West Ham, Charlton, and Watford...although you can argue they aren't really London, all go down. The Premiership could certainly have more of a non-London feel next season. Although QPR could certainly save on travel expenses and count on more away support.
Hmm - that didn't even dawn on me. 3 London clubs going down, would be interesting. I was half wishing that Fulham would have gone down - at least we would have a derby match.
Wow. It's Sheffield United who gets relegated. I thought they were going to make it. Wigan beat Sheffield United, 2-1, in Sheffield to equal them on points and pass them by one goal in goal difference. Paul Jewell resigned after barely keeping Wigan up. Relegated: 18 Sheff Utd 38 -23 38 19 Charlton 38 -26 34 20 Watford 38 -30 28 Sheffield United is making noises about continuing to challenge the ruling that West Ham got a fine but no points deduction for their improper dealings. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/6652931.stm
So two more "London" clubs next season and the Blades, whom we have a fair amount of success against (including putting them out of the Carling Cup a few years ago). Charlton are a pretty big bogey club for us - they've knocked us out of cups and beaten us at this level for years, it seems.
Last week, the official site said the fixture list would be released on June 22nd (when you clicked on "next match"). Today, that same spot now says June 14th.
I doubt I'll do it, but I'm very tempted to go over for the week of August 18-26 -- I could catch two QPR matches on the weekends and, during the week, take Ryan Air or some other cheap airline over to Gothenberg for the US/Sweden match!
That would be great! RyanAir fly between Gothenburg and Stanstead daily Great resource, if you don't already know about it... http://www.flylc.com/directall-en.asp Easy tool for finding routes on cheap airlines all over Europe.
When I looked yesterday, that Stansted-Gothenburg r/t cost 50 pounds including taxes/fees! Thanks for the link. I didn't know a good place to search multiple airlines for European flights, so figured I'd have to do individual airline searches!