In here you can post all the latest news on Championship football.

Today Coventry beat Nottm Forest by two goals to nil, a twenty fourth minute penalty from Garry Mcsheffrey gave the sky blues the much needed lead and Dele Adebolas strike on 41 minutes sealed the win for the blues. This win has made Nottm Forest one step closer to League 1 and one step further away from Championship football for next season. This win ahs lifted the blues to 17th and they are now 3 points clear from relegation zone with 5 games to be played.

Here is the Championship table and the order is :-

position-games played-goal difference-points

1 Sunderland 41 33 84
2 Ipswich 41 27 79
3 Wigan 41 38 76
4 Preston 41 8 68
5 Reading 41 10 64
6 Derby 40 9 64
7 West Ham 40 6 62
8 Sheff Utd 40 4 62
9 QPR 40 -1 57
10 Millwall 41 3 55
11 Stoke 40 -1 55
12 Leeds 41 -2 54
13 Wolverhampton 41 6 53
14 Burnley 40 -3 52
15 Leicester 39 3 48
16 Plymouth 41 -11 48
17 Coventry 41 -12 47
18 Cardiff 40 -1 46
19 Crewe 41 -14 46
20 Watford 41 -7 45
21 Gillingham 41 -20 44
22 Brighton 41 -26 44
23 Nottm Forest 40 -20 39
24 Rotherham 41 -29 28


In other news Paukl Butler of Leeds has been released from hospital after swallowing his tounge against Sheffiel Utd when Leeds suffered a 4-0 loss to the Blades. And Burnley keeper Brian Jensen ahs signed a new contract until 2008. Also Tony Vidmar ahs signed for NEC Breda for nexts easo, Vidmars contract is up in the summer and he will be going to Holland to the club that his wife works for to finish his career.

MICK HARFORD NEW ROTHERHAM BOSS

Today Rotherham have appointed ex Swindon assistant manager Mick Harford as thei new gaffer, he has isgned a 2 year contract, which means Alan Knill who all the fans wanted didnt get it. Rotherham will be Harfords fourth club of the season as he started as assistant manager at Luton, then left Luton to be Notmm Forest's assistant manager and then he went to Swindon in November and now is at Rotherham.

Kevin Kyle return from injury - he scored 5 goals for his reserves!

Kevin Kyle emphatically returned to action on Thursday with five goals for Sunderland's reserves.

The Scottish international has been suffering with a chronic hip complaint since August and Sunderland had almost accepted he would not play again this season.
However, Kyle showed he is back to form if not quite fitness as he pounced five times in Sunderland's 7-5 win over Aston Villa at Durham.

Another player making his comeback in the same game was Villa's former Sunderland star Gavin McCann and he could soon press for a Premiership place after playing for more than an hour.

Ninian Park awaits an emotional return

Tomorrow at Ninian Park,Cardiff, there will be an emotional return for old player and skipper Graham Kavanagh who was told he had to leave to clear debts at Ninian Park said "i burst into tears when told to leave" Kavanagh said the first day he stepped on the pitch against Wycombe Wandras infront of 16,000 fans he saisd "I knew it was the club for me, i fell in love with it". Danny Gabbidon told BBC sport that Kavanagh cant wait for his return to the Niniaand some of the players had been sending Kav some text messages to wind him up about th return. The chant "Oh Ah Graham Kavanagh" is expected to row the stadium tomorow!

Tigersdelay move to Walkers Stadium

Tigers rugby football club have delayed there move to the walkers stadium untikl at least 2006, the Tigers will continue to play there home games at Welford road in 2005/2006, the Tigers and Foxes cahrimans both said it was down to a smal lnumber of unresolved problems. They said there are still a few things to discuss with the football and rugby authorities with the fixture clashes etc.

big blow for the Potters

John Halls Stoke City's big centre back has been ruled out for the rest of the season. The defender has been out since January with a back injury, and he has had a set back now and will not play again this season. Tony Pulis told the Stoke website "It's frustrating, but it's hard to hold him back sometimes. His enthusiasm sometimes gets the better of him," he added that hed rather John go on holiday until the end of the season, and then come back for the pre season to train.

fixtures

Brighton v Leicester, 15:00
Cardiff v Wigan, 15:00
Derby v Stoke, 15:00
Gillingham v Burnley, 15:00
Millwall v Crewe, 15:00
Nottm Forest v Plymouth, 15:00
Rotherham v Preston, 15:00
Sheff Utd v QPR, 15:00
Sunderland v Reading, 12:45
Watford v Leeds, 15:00
West Ham v Coventry, 15:00

the big games tomorow are Wigan vs cardiff as cardiff will need to get away from the dog fight and Wigan to get in the automatic promotion and also the return of club hero Graham kavanagh. Nottingham Plymouth both clubs need to get the points to get away from the relegation. also QPR vs Sheffield as the Blades are pushing for the play-offs and QPR for mid table consolidation. and finally Reading Sunderland for the promotion places.

April 9th results

Brighton 1 - 1
(0 - 1) Leicester
P Reid 80
D Connolly (pen) 34

Bookings:
S Hughes 50
M de Vries 64
D Tiatto 71
P McCarthy 75
D Connolly 78

Sent off:
S Hughes 62




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Cardiff 0 - 2
(0 - 0) Wigan
J Roberts 51
A Mahon 86

Bookings:
T Vidmar 89
Bookings:
G Kavanagh 42




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Derby 3 - 1
(2 - 1) Stoke
G Rasiak 8
M Bisgaard 45
IB Idiakez 79
G Taggart 7

Bookings:
G Taggart 45
C Hill 48




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Gillingham 1 - 0
(0 - 0) Burnley
D Henderson 56

Bookings:
D Byfield 90
Bookings:
J O'Connor 26




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Millwall 4 - 3
(1 - 0) Crewe
B Hayles 27
M Elliott 49
J Morris 50
B May (pen) 85
K Lunt (pen) 62
S Jones 68
L Varney 81

Bookings:
C Murdock 84
S Jones 85




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Nottm Forest 0 - 3
(0 - 2) Plymouth
D Blackstock 3
D Norris 23
D Blackstock 59

Bookings:
W Morgan 64
Bookings:
K Lasley 90




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Rotherham 1 - 2
(1 - 0) Preston
W Hoskins 23
C Sedgwick 51
Y Mawene 64

Bookings:
P Hurst 25
R Scott 36
C Swailes 76
Bookings:
G Alexander 71




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Sheff Utd 3 - 2
(1 - 1) QPR
D Webber 43
D Webber 53
A Gray (pen) 90
M Rowlands 26
K Gallen 66

Bookings:
L Cook 34
G Santos 70
A Davies 83
M Bignot 90

Sent off:
A Davies 90




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Sunderland 1 - 2
(0 - 0) Reading
J Arca 52
D Kitson 76
D Kitson (pen) 82

Bookings:
C Brown 45
S Wright 54
C Robinson 69
Bookings:
S Sidwell 21




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Watford 1 - 2
(1 - 1) Leeds
H Helguson 41
R Hulse 28
C Carlisle 67

Bookings:
J DeMerit 38
Bookings:
C Carlisle 9
D Healy 14

Sent off:
J DeMerit 50




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West Ham 3 - 0
(0 - 0) Coventry
R Shaw o.g. 76
T Sheringham (pen) 89
B Zamora 90

Bookings:
E Ward 62
Bookings:
R Duffy 48
R Page 56
M Hall 66
G McSheffrey 73

Table

P PL GD PTS
1 Sunderland 42 32 84
2 Wigan 42 40 79
3 Ipswich 41 27 79
4 Preston 42 9 71
5 Derby 41 11 67
6 Reading 42 11 67
7 West Ham 41 9 65
8 Sheff Utd 41 5 65
9 Millwall 42 4 58
10 Leeds 42 -1 57
11 QPR 41 -2 57
12 Stoke 41 -3 55
13 Wolverhampton 41 6 53
14 Burnley 41 -4 52
15 Plymouth 42 -8 51
16 Leicester 40 3 49
17 Coventry 42 -15 47
18 Gillingham 42 -19 47
19 Cardiff 41 -3 46
20 Crewe 42 -15 46
21 Watford 42 -8 45
22 Brighton 42 -26 45
23 Nottm Forest 41 -23 39
24 Rotherham 42 -30 28

mixed emotions


Report: Cardiff 0-2 Wigan
Graham Kavanagh admitted to confused feelings after helping Wigan to a 2-0 win at his old side, Cardiff.
"I was glad to get the win out of the way, now I truly hope Cardiff stay up," he said after a result that leaves the Bluebirds deep in the relegation mire.

Kavanagh, 31, laid on the second goal for another ex-Bluebird, Alan Mahon.

"I could have shot but saw Alan had a better chance," said Kavanagh. "Of course I would have scored, but to be honest I wasn't keen against Cardiff!"

Kavanagh, sold to Wigan for £350,000 last month following a cash crisis at Ninian Park, is now contemplating a Premiership future, the win moving his side above Ipswich into second place in the Championship.

I told the Cardiff lads coming off the pitch to make sure they stay up

Graham Kavanagh
"It was a massive result for us," he told BBC Sport Wales. "The pressure is on Ipswich now.

"I enjoyed the game, the reception at Ninian Park was brilliant and it felt like a real homecoming.

"It was very emotional at the end and I have to say a massive thank you to the fans.

"I told the Cardiff lads coming off the pitch to make sure they stay up, and I have every confidence that they will.

"The players, fans and management deserve it. They are a better team than their league position suggests."

Healy out
Leeds striker David Healy could be ruled out for the rest of the season after sustaining an ankle ligament injury at Watford.
The Northern Ireland striker will undergo a scan after limping out of Leeds' 2-1 win after 27 minutes.

The 25-year-old briefly returned to the action but was soon withdrawn again and later left the ground on crutches.

Depending on the extent of the ligament damage he could be sidelined for between two to six weeks.

Gills want boss to stay

Gillingham captain Paul Smith says the whole team wants manager Stan Ternent to stay at Priestfield.
Ternent has signed a deal until the end of this season - with an option of a further two years.

Smith told BBC Radio Kent: "I don't know if he's got something lined up, or whether he wants to get back up north because he's from that way.

"If we can persuade him to stay it'd be good for us because since he's been here he's turned it around for us."

Smith added: "We are eight games unbeaten and the players enjoy being around him."

Pulis agrees new deal

Stoke manager Tony Pulis has signed a new 12-month rolling contract at the Britannia Stadium.
Pulis has been in charge at the club since November 2002 when he replaced Steve Cotterill.

Chairman Gunnar Por Gislason told the club's official website: "We're delighted the manager has agreed to stay and sign a new contract.

"This is very good news for the football club and I'm sure our supporters will agree."

Stoke are now 13th in the Championship, while Pulis was named the manager of the month for February in the Championship.

And Gislason added: "The team has made steady progress for the last three seasons.

"And, although we're disappointed to have missed out on the play-offs, we should not lose sight of the fact this was our first season since 2002 we have not been worried by possible relegation."

hoddle puts future talks on hold

Glenn Hoddle says he does not want to talk to Wolves about his future at Molineux until the end of the season.
Chief executive Jez Moxey wants to open talks with the former England boss, who joined on a six-month deal in December.

Hoddle said: "We've mulled things over but not properly spoken about it yet. Jez wants to bring talks forward a bit.

"But I am concentrating on the football while the season is still ongoing. It's about trying to get as far up the table as we can and then starting talks."

The ex-Chelsea, Southampton and Tottenham manager has been in charge at Molineux for 22 games, after replacing Dave Jones.

I wanted to be in the top six by now and it was a real possibility when I came in

Glenn Hoddle

Of those matches, 14 have ended in draws, making it 20 for the season - a club record.

Wolves are currently 12th in the table, and resigned to another campaign in the Championship.

"I have had to say the word frustrated so many times in the last few months I am bored of it," Hoddle added.

"I wanted to be in the top six by now and it was a real possibility when I came in.

"We have come close to achieving what I wanted, which is where the frustration comes in."

Omerod extends Latics deal

Wigan manager Paul Jewell has signed on-loan Southampton striker Brett Ormerod for another month.
Ormerod joined the promotion-chasing Latics last month and has made four appearances for Jewell's side.

Jewell told Wigan's website: "Harry Redknapp's done us a big favour and allowed Brett to stay with us for another month.

"They have a recall clause to take Brett back at any time but hopefully he can stay."

The 28-year-old, who also had a loan spell at Leeds this season, has yet to score for Wigan but Jewell has nevertheless agreed a loan extension with the Saints.

But Jewell added: "Brett's got bags of energy and enthusiasm and has done well for us."

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16 April 2005
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Burnley 1 - 1
(1 - 0) Brighton
A Akinbiyi 23
D Hammond 52

Bookings:
G Cahill 54
Bookings:
P Reid 44




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Coventry 2 - 2
(1 - 1) Wolverhampton
G McSheffrey (pen) 19
S John 90
L Clarke 15
L Naylor 79

Bookings:
C Jorgensen 61




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Gillingham 1 - 1
(0 - 0) Crewe
N Southall 80
D Vaughan 73




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Leicester 0 - 2
(0 - 1) Wigan
B Ormerod 25
B Ormerod 59

Bookings:
P McCarthy 11
D Tiatto 36
N Dabizas 58
Bookings:
J Roberts 55
J Filan 90




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Preston 3 - 0
(0 - 0) Cardiff
D Nugent 67
D Nugent 79
R Cresswell 85

Bookings:
E Lewis 21
Y Mawene 40




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QPR 1 - 1
(0 - 1) Leeds
K Gallen 85
S Johnson 24

Bookings:
S Bailey 31
A Miller 51
Bookings:
R Hulse 80

Sent off:
A Miller 90
Sent off:
S Derry 71




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Reading 1 - 0
(0 - 0) Nottm Forest
J Harper 74

Bookings:
S Sidwell 66
Bookings:
P Gerrard 34
R Gardner 80

Sent off:
P Gerrard 71




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Rotherham 0 - 1
(0 - 1) Watford
H Helguson 32

Bookings:
J Mullin 71
M Butler 75
Bookings:
C Eagles 42
A McNamee 59
N Cox 80
B Gunnarsson 81




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Stoke 2 - 0
(2 - 0) Plymouth
K Jones 28
D Russell 41

Bookings:
G Taggart 50
D Russell 69
Bookings:
D Blackstock 69




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West Ham 1 - 1
(1 - 1) Millwall
M Harewood 35
B Hayles 12

Bookings:
D Livermore 90




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15 April 2005
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Sheff Utd 0 - 1
(0 - 0) Derby
M Bisgaard 74

Bookings:
M Bisgaard 63

league table
1 Sunderland 42 32 84
2 Wigan 43 42 82
3 Ipswich 42 25 79
4 Preston 43 12 74
5 Derby 42 12 70
6 Reading 43 12 70
7 West Ham 42 9 66
8 Sheff Utd 43 4 66
9 Millwall 43 4 59
10 Leeds 43 -1 58
11 Stoke 42 -1 58
12 QPR 42 -2 58
13 Wolverhampton 43 8 57
14 Burnley 42 -4 53
15 Plymouth 43 -10 51
16 Leicester 41 1 49
17 Watford 43 -7 48
18 Coventry 43 -15 48
19 Gillingham 43 -19 48
20 Crewe 43 -15 47
21 Cardiff 42 -6 46
22 Brighton 43 -26 46
23 Nottm Forest 43 -24 40
24 Rotherham 43 -31 28

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results 23 April 2005
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Brighton 2 - 2
(0 - 1) West Ham
D Hammond 54
D Hammond 90
N Reo-Coker 8
M Harewood 55

Bookings:
D Harding 33
Bookings:
N Reo-Coker 52




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Cardiff 2 - 0
(2 - 0) Reading
P Thorne 12
C Jerome 30

Bookings:
S Sidwell 16
M Keown 88
G Little 90




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Crewe 0 - 2
(0 - 0) Stoke
L Neal 79
G Noel-Williams 89

Bookings:
K Henry 57




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Derby 2 - 0
(1 - 0) Gillingham
M Bisgaard 33
P Peschisolido 72

Bookings:
I Cox 84




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Leeds 1 - 1
(1 - 1) Ipswich
M Spring 12
S Kuqi 11

Bookings:
D Bent 59




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Nottm Forest 1 - 0
(0 - 0) Burnley
K Commons 70




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Plymouth 1 - 1
(0 - 1) Coventry
T Capaldi 90
S John 45

Bookings:
M Doyle 70
R Duffy 71
S Hughes 71




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Sunderland 2 - 1
(1 - 1) Leicester
M Stewart 23
S Caldwell 60
A Maybury 5

Bookings:
S Wright 45
C Robinson 45
C Brown 56
Bookings:
J Gudjonsson 47
D Dublin 56
R Stearman 90




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Watford 0 - 0
(0 - 0) Sheff Utd



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wigan 0 - 0
(0 - 0) QPR



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wolverhampton 2 - 0
(0 - 0) Rotherham
K Miller 55
K Miller 90

League table

P GD PTS
1 Sunderland 44 33 88
2 Wigan 44 42 83
3 Ipswich 44 25 81
4 Preston 43 12 74
5 Derby 43 14 73
6 West Ham 44 10 70
7 Reading 44 10 70
8 Sheff Utd 44 4 67
9 Stoke 44 0 61
10 Wolverhampton 44 10 60
11 Millwall 43 4 59
12 Leeds 44 -1 59
13 QPR 44 -4 59
14 Burnley 44 -3 56
15 Plymouth 44 -10 52
16 Leicester 43 0 50
17 Cardiff 44 -4 50
18 Watford 44 -7 49
19 Coventry 44 -15 49
20 Gillingham 44 -21 48
21 Crewe 44 -17 47
22 Brighton 44 -26 47
23 Nottm Forest 44 -23 43
24 Rotherham 44 -33 28

Well the relegation is all but open theres about 7 clubs in it, I dont think its ever been this close, but lets see how it goes.

Congratulations Sunderland

Sunderland won promotion to the Premiership after they beat Leicester at The Stadium of Light.
Mick McCarthy's side came from a goal down after Alan Maybury put the Foxes ahead after five minutes.

Marcus Stewart and Steven Caldwell scored the crucial goals to clinch the Black Cats' return to the top flight.

Ipswich's failure to win at Leeds means they cannot catch Sunderland, with the news sparking wild scenes of celebration among the home fans.

It was an enthralling contest from the start with Stewart passing up the chance to put Sunderland ahead with just 57 seconds on the clock, firing a close-range effort just wide.

Leicester spent the early exchanges camped in their own half but took the lead with their first attack.

From inside his own half, Foxes skipper Danny Tiatto guided a pass through to left-back Maybury, who held off Stephen Wright and tucked the ball inside debutant goalkeeper Ben Alnwick's far post.

The visitors were looking to extend their lead and 18-year-old Alnwick had to show his potential with two fine saves to keep out David Connolly's effort and a Mark de Vries strike.

The action continued at break-neck speed, with a Stewart cross rolling across the six-yard box, Lawrence rifling a shot just wide and even Wright testing Foxes goalkeeper Ian Walker.

In the 23rd minute, the Black Cats were level. Wright knocked the ball up to Chris Brown, who guided the ball inside the full-back for Stewart to fire past Walker for his 17th of the campaign.

The start of the second half was not quite as energetic but that changed when Walker showed good reflexes to get a hand to Brown's header from Dean Whitehead's cross.

The home side's frustrations boiled over when Dion Dublin fouled Brown in front of the manager's dug-outs. Brown was furious and after going head to head with Dublin, had to be dragged away by his manager before both players were booked.

But Sunderland's patience finally paid off just before the hour, when Lawrence's corner was headed in by Black Cats defender Caldwell to spark raucous celebrations.

Sunderland's return to the Premiership ends a two-year exile from the division.

Good luck to Mick Mccarthy and his players next season.

wigna and Sunderland dominate team award
Promoted Sunderland have three players - Gary Breen, George McCartney and Julio Arca - in the Championship team of the year.
Wigan, who could yet join the Black Cats in the Premiership, also has three players in the line-up.



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PFA Championship team of season:
Kelvin Davis (Ipswich)
Graham Alexander (Preston)
Tom Huddlestone (Derby)
Gary Breen (Sunderland)
George McCartney (Sunderland)
Jimmy Bullard (Wigan)
Steve Sidwell (Reading)
Julio Arca (Sunderland)
Inigo Idiakez (Derby)
Nathan Ellington (Wigan)
Jason Roberts (Wigan)

Forest go down

Nottingham Forest have been relegated after they lost at QPR.
The City Ground club become the first ever former European champions to slip into the third tier of their domestic league, as they move into League One.

Forest had Darryl Powell sent off after half an hour and were sunk by goals from John Curtis and Marc Bircham.

Substitute Eugen Bopp pulled one back with a crisp finish 13 minutes from time but it was not enough for a Forest side who produced a tepid display.

Rampant Ipswich strike again

A rampant Ipswich brushed aside Crewe to take the automatic promotion race with rivals Wigan down to the last game of the Championship season.
Ian Westlake had a hand in Ipswich's first two goals as he set up Shefki Kuqi to touch past Clayton Ince and Jim Magilton to strike home a shot.

Tommy Miller curled in an effort and had a simple finish to add to Ipswich's tally before Pablo Counago made it 5-0.

David Vaughan scored a consolation goal for Crewe who could still be relegated.

goodbye highfiled road.

Coventry produced a thrilling victory to mark their last game at Highfield Road and banish their relegation fears.
The hosts were 4-0 ahead by half-time through a brace from Gary McSheffrey, Dele Adebola's individual effort and Stern John's header.

Derby hit back through Adam Boulder but John restored the four-goal lead.

The visitors struck again through Paul Peschisolido's low shot but substitute Andy Whing's superb half-volley gave Highfield Road the perfect send-off.

What a way to say their final farewells at highfield Hopefully the luck will continue at the new ground.

EDIT Ross please dont turn this into a chat topic.

Final day drama

Wigan will be in the Premiership for the first time in their history next season after beating Reading 3-1.
Wigan were only elected to the Football League in 1978.

Ipswich will have to be content with the play-offs where they meet West Ham while Derby face Preston, who they beat 3-1 to go fourth, in the other tie.

At the bottom, Gillingham are relegated to League One after they could only draw 2-2 at Nottingham Forest while Crewe hit back to beat Coventry 2-1.


P GD PTS
1 Sunderland 46 35 94
2 Wigan 46 44 87
3 Ipswich 46 29 85
4 Derby 46 11 76
5 Preston 46 9 75
6 West Ham 46 10 73
7 Reading 46 7 70
8 Sheff Utd 46 1 67
9 Wolverhampton 46 13 66
10 Millwall 46 6 66
11 QPR 46 -4 62
12 Stoke 46 -2 61
13 Burnley 46 -1 60
14 Leeds 46 -3 60
15 Leicester 46 3 57
16 Cardiff 46 -3 54
17 Plymouth 46 -12 53
18 Watford 46 -7 52
19 Coventry 46 -12 52
20 Brighton 46 -25 51
21 Crewe 46 -20 50
22 Gillingham 46 -21 50
23 Nottm Forest 46 -24 44
24 Rotherham 46 -34 29

Wise leaves

Dennis Wise has left his post as Millwall player-boss after a meeting with new club chairman Jeff Burnige.
"I've had a meeting with the new chairman, he told me his direction and I didn't agree," said Wise.

Wise led his team for the final time in a goalless draw with Burnley on Sunday as the Lions finished the season 10th.

Wise signed a new one-year contract in December but his future became unclear when chairman Theo Paphitis revealed he would quit at the end of the season.

Wise appeared alongside Paphitis after the game against Burnley to announce his decision.

"I have had a long chat with the players and have decided that as of now, I am stepping down as manager of Millwall," said Wise.

He has provided us with a couple of the most memorable years of our lives - it is unlikely to be repeated

Theo Paphitis

"I feel that it is important that the new chairman is allowed to get on with things; he has made it clear that he wants a fresh start and I think it is only fair that he is allowed to get on with it.

"I came in with Theo and I'm going with Theo. As far as (assistant boss) Ray Wilkins is concerned, he is meeting Jeff Burnige on Thursday, but he is totally separate to me."

Wilkins said earlier this season that he would not seek to replace Wise should he leave the club.

Wise took the managerial reins at the New Den in October 2003, having joined the club as a player in September 2002.

Have Your Say on 606
What next for Millwall?

In his first game in charge, Millwall beat Sheffield United 2-0 but Wise was sent off just four minutes after bringing himself on as a substitute.

The team reached the FA Cup final against the odds last season, losing 3-0 to Manchester United in the final but claiming a place in the Uefa Cup.

Paphitis said Wise's achievements were unlikely to be repeated.

"Dennis felt it was right to step down at this time," he said.

"It takes a very big bloke to put the club before himself, which is what Dennis is doing.

"He could have stayed, but Dennis feels it is right for Jeff and the club to move on.

"I would personally like to thank him for providing us with a couple of the most memorable years of our lives; years that are unlikely to ever be repeated."

Crewe sign Bailey

Crewe have completed the signing of teenage striker Mat Bailey on a one-year contract.
Bailey, 19, had spent the last month of the season with Northwich after being released by Stockport in March but has recently been training with Crewe.

Having been signed by ex-Stockport boss Carlton Palmer in 2002, he failed to earn a regular first-team place under either Sammy McIlroy or Chris Turner.

Bailey also had a month on loan at Scunthorpe last August.