The final weekend: the experts have their say
Published Date:
30 April 2008
IT'S the final weekend of the football season and Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to beat Norwich to ensure their Championship survival.
Defeats for Southampton and Leicester will also be enough for the Owls.
Here, an ex-player, a fan and the Yorkshire Post football writer Ian Appleyard, have their say.
Ex-player: John Pearson (1981-1985)
I think Sheffield Wednesday will win and stay up. I am expecting Sheffield United to win at Southampton and Stoke to beat Leicester. We know that we can't rely on favours from anyone else – although it would be great if Derek Geary was allowed to play in goal for United!
It helps that we are at home on the final day as there is going to be a massive crowd at Hillsborough. The club responded to a suggestion from Brian Laws and lowered prices to a tenner to encourage more fans into the game. That is a great idea and I am sure the players will respond.
Fan's view: John Gath, Sheffield
A draw should be enough, but my mind can't help harking back to that day all those years ago in 1990 when we only needed a draw to stay up against Nottingham Forest and we blew it. But I can't see both Leicester and Southampton winning to escape the drop.
Last weekend's win at Leicester was absolutely massive for us and hopefully it will have boosted the confidence of the players. It has certainly fired up the fans and there will be a red-hot atmosphere at
Hillsborough.
Yorkshire Post Verdict: Ian Appleyard
After last weekend's thrilling victory in the six-pointer at Leicester, the scales are tipped firmly in favour of the Owls avoiding the drop. I don't think Norwich will be push-overs.
However, if the Blades beat Southampton as I expect, the Owls stay up regardless of the result at Hillsborough. I know they won't like relying on anyone else, especially the Blades, but it may just happen that way.
The full article contains 340 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
30 April 2008 4:41 PM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Yorkshire