That concludes a marathon day at the terminal. Thanks for reading.
Dan Ballard is the latest hair-pulling miscreant.
Jacob Steinberg saw a punishing defeat for West Ham.
Louise Taylor saw Newcastle get that important win.
Who’s up, who’s down?
Championship: Coventry and Ipswich up; Oxford, Leicester, Sheffield Wednesday down
League One: Lincoln and Cardiff up; Exeter, Port Vale, Rotherham, Northampton down
League Two: Bromley, MK Dons, Cambridge up; Harrogate, Barrow down.
The EFL playoffs ahead:
Championship: Millwall v Hull, Southampton v Middlesbrough
League One: Stockport v Stevenage, Bradford v Bolton
League Two: Salford v Grimsby, Notts County v Chesterfield
Premier League table, ahead of Arsenal v Fulham
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 34 | 38 | 73 |
| 2 | Man City | 33 | 37 | 70 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 34 | 14 | 61 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 34 | 13 | 58 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 34 | 5 | 58 |
| 6 | Brentford | 35 | 6 | 51 |
| 7 | Brighton | 35 | 7 | 50 |
| 8 | AFC Bournemouth | 34 | 0 | 49 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 34 | 8 | 48 |
| 10 | Fulham | 34 | -2 | 48 |
| 11 | Everton | 34 | 0 | 47 |
| 12 | Sunderland | 35 | -9 | 47 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 35 | -2 | 45 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 33 | -3 | 43 |
| 15 | Leeds | 35 | -5 | 43 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 34 | -4 | 39 |
| 17 | West Ham | 35 | -19 | 36 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 34 | -10 | 34 |
| 19 | Burnley | 35 | -36 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 35 | -38 | 18 |
League One final scores and final league table
AFC Wimbledon 0-4 Huddersfield
Barnsley 1-3 Stockport County
Bolton 2-3 Luton
Exeter 1-2 Bradford
Leyton Orient 2-2 Burton
Mansfield 5-4 Cardiff
Northampton 2-3 Plymouth
Peterborough 1-3 Doncaster
Port Vale 0-2 Lincoln
Reading 0-1 Blackpool
Stevenage 1-0 Wigan
Wycombe 3-2 Rotherham
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln City | 46 | 48 | 103 |
| 2 | Cardiff | 46 | 40 | 91 |
| 3 | Stockport County | 46 | 13 | 77 |
| 4 | Bradford | 46 | 7 | 77 |
| 5 | Bolton | 46 | 18 | 75 |
| 6 | Stevenage | 46 | 3 | 75 |
| 7 | Luton | 46 | 12 | 74 |
| 8 | Plymouth | 46 | 12 | 73 |
| 9 | Huddersfield | 46 | 10 | 67 |
| 10 | Mansfield | 46 | 12 | 65 |
| 11 | Wycombe | 46 | 11 | 63 |
| 12 | Reading | 46 | 4 | 63 |
| 13 | Blackpool | 46 | -11 | 60 |
| 14 | Doncaster | 46 | -19 | 60 |
| 15 | Barnsley | 46 | -5 | 59 |
| 16 | Wigan | 46 | -9 | 56 |
| 17 | Burton Albion | 46 | -10 | 54 |
| 18 | Peterborough | 46 | -4 | 53 |
| 19 | AFC Wimbledon | 46 | -21 | 53 |
| 20 | Leyton Orient | 46 | -12 | 52 |
| 21 | Exeter | 46 | -9 | 49 |
| 22 | Port Vale | 46 | -25 | 42 |
| 23 | Rotherham | 46 | -30 | 41 |
| 24 | Northampton | 46 | -35 | 35 |
Updated
League Two final scores and final league table
Barrow 1-2 Newport County
Bromley 3-1 Walsall
Cheltenham 1-4 Colchester
Crawley Town 0-0 Salford City
Crewe 0-0 Cambridge
Fleetwood Town 1-1 Milton Keynes Dons
Gillingham 1-0 Shrewsbury
Harrogate Town 1-2.Barnet
Notts County 1-1 Bristol Rovers
Oldham 3-0 Accrington Stanley
Swindon 1-2 Chesterfield
Tranmere 1-1 Grimsby
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bromley | 46 | 25 | 87 |
| 2 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 41 | 86 |
| 3 | Cambridge Utd | 46 | 33 | 82 |
| 4 | Salford City | 46 | 10 | 81 |
| 5 | Notts County | 46 | 22 | 80 |
| 6 | Chesterfield | 46 | 15 | 79 |
| 7 | Grimsby | 46 | 24 | 78 |
| 8 | Barnet | 46 | 17 | 76 |
| 9 | Swindon | 46 | 11 | 75 |
| 10 | Oldham | 46 | 16 | 68 |
| 11 | Crewe | 46 | 6 | 67 |
| 12 | Colchester | 46 | 13 | 66 |
| 13 | Walsall | 46 | 0 | 65 |
| 14 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | -9 | 62 |
| 15 | Fleetwood Town | 46 | -1 | 61 |
| 16 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | -11 | 53 |
| 17 | Gillingham | 46 | -19 | 53 |
| 18 | Cheltenham | 46 | -26 | 52 |
| 19 | Shrewsbury | 46 | -27 | 49 |
| 20 | Newport County | 46 | -29 | 43 |
| 21 | Tranmere | 46 | -25 | 41 |
| 22 | Crawley Town | 46 | -24 | 40 |
| 23 | Harrogate Town | 46 | -29 | 39 |
| 24 | Barrow | 46 | -33 | 36 |
Updated
Full-time: Newcastle 3-1 Brighton
Big win for Newcastle, ending a run of four defeats. Brighton’s push for Europe stalls, that’s a disappointing result for them.
Barrow and Harrogate’s relegation from the Football League has been confirmed, while Newport and Tranmere survive.
Stevenage into the League One playoffs after that late goal against Wigan. They will play Stockport County in the playoffs.
Cambridge United are promoted from League Two after drawing with Crewe, as Salford failed to break down Crawley. That’s Bromley, MK Dons and Cambridge up into League One.
Full-time: Brentford 3-0 West Ham
All eyes on Sunday now for Spurs at Villa as the Hammers lose their London derby. Brentford up to sixth.
Bromley are confirmed champions of League Two, making it two promotions in a row.
Goal! Newcastle 3-1 Brighton (Barnes, 90+5)
With his Saudi overlords in the stands, Eddie Howe has a much-needed win. Relegation fears surely over, too, with Harvey Barnes getting the job completed.
Updated
Final score: Wolves 1-1 Sunderland
Is that the first end of season, on the beach game? Will Dan Ballard, sent off, be able to play the rest of the three matches remaining?
Luton lead at Bolton, but it may be too little, too late after Stevenage’s goal.
Newcastle 2-1 Brighton
Another miss, this time for Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa, who really needs a goal.
Updated
Stevenage have scored against Wigan in the 92nd minute through Dan Sweeney and they are on course for the League One playoffs. That’s bad news for Plymouth and Luton.
Updated
Newcastle 2-1 Brighton
Ooof! Yankuba Minteh has missed a sitter, laid on for him for Georginio Rutter. Newcastle clinging on.
Updated
Barnet have scored at Harrogate, making it 2-1 to the away team and all but condemning the North Yorkshire team to the National League. At Barrow, Newport have scored, and lead 2-1. That means Barrow and Harrogate are heading down. The scenes following Bobby Kamwa’s goal for Newport were uproarious.
Kari Tulinius gets in touch: “There were two 3-3 draws this afternoon in the Bundesliga. 10-man Stuttgart got a last minute equalizer away to Hoffenheim, after coming back from 3-1. This keeps Stuttgart in the last Champions League place, at least until Leverkusen host RB Leipzig tonight. Meanwhile, Heidenheim let in a heartbreaking last minute goal, when an Olise shot hit the post and went in off the diving keeper. If they’d held on for a win, they’d have given themselves a good chance to avoid relegation.”
Goal! Brentford 3-0 West Ham (Damsgaard, 82)
The Hammers are in dire trouble while Brentford are climbing up to sixth. What a job Keith Andrews is doing by the way.
Updated
Bradford lead 2-0 at Exeter, Antoni Sarvecic getting it, and that drags them down further towards League Two.
Billy Sharp has made it three for Doncaster at Peterborough. Is he trying to sign off with 300 career goals?
Newport have equalised at Barrow, and that drags Harrogate into the bottom two of League Two.
Brentford 2-0 West Ham
Crysencio Summerville has rattled the crossbar, as West Ham, having changed formation, push for a way back.
Plymouth lead 3-2 at Northampton, and climb into sixth in League One after Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu’s goal.
Updated
Newcastle 2-1 Brighton
Eddie Howe has made three changes as Brighton push on for the equaliser. Nervy moments for the Toon Army.
Stockport lead at Barnsley in League One, and climb into third. Billy Sharp has scored again for Doncaster at Peterborough; what a way to sign off.
Updated
Bromley, with open-top bus parade planned for Monday, will do so as champions, and now lead 3-1. MK Dons, vying with them, drawing with Fleetwood as the final minutes of the second half approach.
At the bottom of League Two, a huge goal for Tranmere, Nathan Smith getting it, heading home from a corner. Barrow and Newport are heading down at the moment.
Bromley lead Walsall 2-1 in League Two, and are on course for the title. In the battle for playoffs, Chesterfield lead Swindon 2-1, and that opens up a four-point gap, as it stands.
Luton have made it 2-2 at Bolton, Hakeem Odoffin getting it for Jack Wilshere’s boys.
Goal! Newcastle 2-1 Brighton (Hinshelwood, 61)
Could Newcastle be blowing a lead again? Danny Welbeck lays up Jack Hinselwood for a smashing finish.
Updated
Leyton Orient pegged back by Burton, it’s 2-2 after Alex Hartridge’s goal. Exeter, losing at home to Bradford, are still in the League One ejector seat.
Notts County’s automatic promotion hopes in League Two have been hit by a goal from Bristol Rovers’ Ellis Harrison.
Goal! Wolves 1-1 Sunderland (Santiago Bueno, 54)
The central defender heads home, and after a brief delay for a suspected tug, it will stands.
Updated
Billy Sharp, 40, has just scored for Doncaster at Peterborough, in his final game.
Goal! Brentford 2-0 West Ham (Igor Thiago, 54 pen)
Big moment but Thiago keeps his cool to beat Hermandsen.
Updated
Leyton Orient have just scored against Burton, with Dom Ballard getting the goal. That lifts them to 18th in League One.
Penalty to Brentford!?
Ouatarra has been fouled by Diouf, and VAR is checking whether it was inside the box.
Updated
In League Two, Barrow have missed a penalty, in that vital game at the bottom. Barrow are still bottom as it stands.
Read Barney Ronay’s report from The New Den.
Half-times in those key EFL games
League One
Barnsley 0-1 Stockport
Bolton 2-1 Luton
Exeter 0-1 Bradford
Leyton Orient 1-1 Burton
Northampton 2-2 Plymouth
Stevenage 0-0 Wigan
League Two
Barrow 1-0 Newport
Bromley 1-0 Walsall
Crawley 0-0 Salford
Crewe 0-0 Cambridge
Fleetwood 1- MK Dons
Harrogate 0-0 Barnet
Notts County 1-0 Bristol Rovers
Swindon 1-1 Chesterfield
Tranmere 0-1 Grimsby
OK, back underway for those second halves. I’m back in the chair.
James Humphries gets in touch: “One for the Knowledge, maybe, but is that gap between Leicester and the owls the biggest points differential between bottom and second bottom? You’d have to go some to beat a 46-point gap, surely, even allowing for deductions.”
In the week that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund finally pulled the plug on LIV golf Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Newcastle’s chair headed a 25 PIF delegation conducting an annual club review at Matfen Hall Hotel in Northumberland.
Al-Rumayyan and co rounded their trip off with a visit to St James’ Park to watch Eddie Howe’s team take on Brighton this afternoon. But the chair - who arrived complete with an expensive set of clubs - is understood to have enjoyed a round of golf at the excellent course adjacent to Matfen Hall yesterday/Friday.
Updated
Half-time whistles are blowing. In Leagues One and Two, lots of permutations are being tapped into calculators.
Another twist in League One. Luton’s playoff hopes take a knock as they fall 2-1 behind at third-placed Bolton. They’re now eighth in the live table.
In League One, Plymouth have now made it 2-2 at Northampton after being 2-0 down. One more goal and from looking down and out they’d move up into the playoff spots. That’s presuming everything else stays the same and, of course, it won’t!
Brentford 1-0 West Ham
The Hammers are doing everything to equalise. Mavropanos had a ‘goal’ ruled out while Castellanos has hit both posts. That said, Brentford have just had a huge chance to double their lead via Lewis-Potter but somehow it stays out.
Are Bromley going to snatch title glory in League Two? That’s how it stands right now as Ben Thompson puts them ahead against Walsall. They’re currently two… hang on, make that one point ahead of MK Dons, who have just equalised at Fleetwood.
Leyton Orient have conceded an equaliser to Burton in League One. They still look safe for now though with Exeter losing at home to Bradford.
Twists at the top in League Two. Leaders MK Dons trail Fleetwood so are in danger of being pipped to the title by Bromley. Third-placed Cambridge have missed a penalty at Crewe.
Key goal in League One. Exeter are heading to League Two after they fall 1-0 behind to playoff hopefuls Bradford. Plymouth have pulled one back at Northampton.
Red card! Sunderland's Dan Ballard sent off at Wolves
It’s another hair pulling incident, folks. Ballard yanks Arokodare’s barnet and that’s not allowed is it. Paul Tierney jogs over to the pitchside monitor and soon after shows Ballard the red card. Sunderland still lead 1-0 but they’re down to 10 men.
Updated
Goal! Newcastle 2-0 Brighton (Burn, 24)
Brighton had made the better start but suddenly they’re 2-0 down to Newcastle as Big Dan Burn heads home at the near-post to double the Magpies’ lead.
Updated
Key event
Brentford 1-0 West Ham
Mavropanos looks to have equalised but his effort is chalked off for offside. A shame. Always fun to see a player score at both ends.
Plymouth have a mountain to climb if they’re to nick a playoff spot as they’re already 2-0 down at Northampton. All happening at Bolton. Luton score a controversial penalty to go into the playoffs and then drop out of them again as Bolton equalise.
Goal! Wolves 0-1 Sunderland (Mukiele, 17)
And we have goals in all three Premier League kick-offs as Mukiele heads home Xhaka’s corner to put Sunderland in front.
Updated
Goal! Brentford 1-0 West Ham (Mavropanos og, 15)
Big goal in the London derby as a scramble in the West Ham box results in what is deemed to be a Mavropanos own goal. Brentford are in front; Spurs fans celebrating.
Updated
Goal! Newcastle 1-0 Brighton (Osula, 12)
Twists and turns at St James’ Park. Brighton go close again as Baleba has a pop from 30 yards but sees his shot smash off the bar. But at the other end, Brighton ‘keeper Verbruggen comes out of his goal to intercept, slips over and that allows Murphy to cross for Osula to head into the unguarded net.
Updated
Newcastle 0-0 Brighton
The visitors have come flying out of the blocks. Jack Hinshelwood is put clean through on goal but Nick Pope denies him. But, as I write this, Newcastle have strong penalty claims but nothing doing.
In League One, it’s a great start for Leyton Orient. Needing to win to guarantee staying up, they’re in front inside five minutes.
In the Women’s Champions League, Arsenal need a huge second half. Taha Hashim is on the live blog.
Peep peep!! The 3pm kick-offs are go!
Thanks John. A sunny day in London as Brentford and West Ham prepare to do battle. At Exeter, Bradford fans in fancy dress are more than happy to have hoods on their Bantams outfits as it’s lashing it down!
Updated
David Tindall is ready to take over for the first half in the Premier League. I’ll be back…
In the EFL, the games to pay attention to are the following, with promotion, playoffs and relegation to be decided.
League One
Barnsley v Stockport
Bolton v Luton
Exeter v Bradford
Leyton Orient v Burton
Northampton v Plymouth
Stevenage v Wigan
League Two
Barrow v Newport
Bromley v Walsall
Crawley v Salford
Crewe v Cambridge
Fleetwood v MK Dons
Harrogate v Barnet
Notts County v Bristol Rovers
Swindon v Chesterfield
Tranmere v Grimsby
Rod Wooden gets in touch: “The Hull keeper went down John, and immediately the whole Hull team rushed to the sideline for a team talk. Strange, that.”
Newcastle v Brighton teams
Newcastle: Pope, Miley, Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Tonali, Willock, Jacob Murphy, Osula, Joelinton. Subs: Ramsdale, Trippier, Hall, Wissa, Gordon, Barnes, Elanga, Woltemade, Ramsey.
Brighton: Verbruggen, Wieffer, van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Gross, Baleba, Minteh, Hinshelwood, Mitoma, Welbeck. Subs: Steele, Igor, Dunk, Rutter, Kostoulas, Ayari, De Cuyper, O’Riley, Veltman.
Wolverhampton v Sunderland teams
Wolverhampton: Bentley, Mosquera, Santiago Bueno, Toti Gomes, Pedro Lima, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Hugo Bueno, Armstrong, Mane, Arokodare. Subs: Doherty, Wolfe, Hwang, Rodrigo Gomes, Bellegarde, Tchatchoua, Angel Gomes, Edozie, Gracey.
Sunderland: Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete, Mandava, Xhaka, Sadiki, Hume, Talbi, Le Fee, Brobbey. Subs: Ellborg, Cirkin, Geertruida, Rigg, Mayenda, O’Nien, Isidor, Diarra, Bi.
To the Premier League
Brentford v West Ham teams
Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Yarmolyuk, Jensen, Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade, Thiago. Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Pinnock, Dasilva, Nelson, Ajer, Janelt, Donovan, Furo.
West Ham: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf, Bowen, Soucek, Fernandes, Summerville, Pablo Felipe, Castellanos. Subs: Areola, Wilson, Traore, Lamadrid, Todibo, Magassa, Wan-Bissaka, Scarles, Kante.
Here’s our Championship final day reports.
Championship 2025-26 final table
Coventry and Ipswich promoted; Millwall to play Hull, Southampton to play Middlesbrough in the playoffs; Oxford, Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday relegated; the Owls celebrate reaching zero.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 46 | 52 | 95 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 46 | 33 | 84 |
| 3 | Millwall | 46 | 15 | 83 |
| 4 | Southampton | 46 | 26 | 80 |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 25 | 80 |
| 6 | Hull | 46 | 4 | 73 |
| 7 | Wrexham | 46 | 4 | 71 |
| 8 | Derby | 46 | 8 | 69 |
| 9 | Norwich | 46 | 7 | 65 |
| 10 | Birmingham | 46 | 1 | 64 |
| 11 | Swansea | 46 | -2 | 64 |
| 12 | Bristol City | 46 | 0 | 62 |
| 13 | Sheff Utd | 46 | 0 | 60 |
| 14 | Preston North End | 46 | -7 | 60 |
| 15 | QPR | 46 | -12 | 58 |
| 16 | Watford | 46 | -12 | 57 |
| 17 | Stoke | 46 | -5 | 55 |
| 18 | Portsmouth | 46 | -15 | 55 |
| 19 | Charlton | 46 | -14 | 53 |
| 20 | Blackburn | 46 | -14 | 52 |
| 21 | West Brom | 46 | -10 | 51 |
| 22 | Oxford Utd | 46 | -14 | 47 |
| 23 | Leicester | 46 | -10 | 46 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 46 | -60 | 0 |
Championship final day final scores
Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Leicester City
Bristol City 2-0 Stoke City
Derby County 1-3 Sheffield United
Hull City 2-1 Norwich City
Ipswich Town 3-0 QPR
Millwall 2-0 Oxford United
Portsmouth 1-1 Birmingham City
Preston North End 1-3 Southampton
Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 West Brom
Swansea City 3-1 Charlton Athletic
Watford 0-4 Coventry City
Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough
There’s a pitch invasion at Hull, even though they have another game to play. Wild celebrations at Ipswich, too. Portman Road is, once again, a Premier League ground.
Full-time: Derby 1-2 Sheffield United
Derby fall short. At one point, a playoff position was in their hands. Instead, disappointment.
Hull go into the playoffs
Penalty call for Norwich? They want it, and Maghoma is booked for his complaints. It’s a corner instead. The final moments of the season and Ivor Pandur claims it. That’s the last of the action, and Hull claim sixth place and will play Millwall over two legs in the playoffs.
Ipswich promoted!
Ipswich are back, and in the Premier League after beating QPR 3-0. They made short work of the job in hand. Well done to Kieran McKenna’s men.
Updated
Final score: Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough
Kieffer Moore spoons his shot wide, and that’s the last of it. Wrexham fall short. They are relying on Norwich.
So, it comes down to Hull and Wrexham. The latter are in the final minute of time added on. Six minutes are added on at Hull.
Updated
Coventry now lead 4-0 at Watford, Victor Torp getting it. Leo Walta has made it 3-1 to Swansea against Charlton. Leicester’s horror season is over, and they sign off with a 1-0 win at Blackburn, Stephy Mavididi getting their goal. It’s full-time at Ewood Park, and Bristol City sign off with a 2-0 win over Stoke.
Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough
A huge scramble as Wrexham chase that goal. It’s remaining elusive.
Goal! Ipswich 3-0 QPR (McAteer, 86)
The job is done as the sub, Kasey McAteer, scores as QPR commit men forward and leae themselves open. Ipswich are back in the big time.
Updated
Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough
Close! Windass smashes over after a counterattack, Nathan Broadhead had laid that on a plate.
Swansea now lead again against Charlton, Adam Idah getting his second. At Hillsborough, Karlan Grant has got one back for West Brom. A Baggies equaliser would stop the Owls getting to zero points. Bristol City, in Roy Hodgson’s last game in charge – we think – now lead 2-0, Sam Bell getting it.
Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough
All guns blazing for Wrexham, as they seek the goal that takes them into the playoffs. Imagine the streaming content this would bring about.
Hull 2-1 Norwich
This game kicked off later in the second half than the others, and now the Hull keeper, Ivan Pandur, is down.
We’re into the last ten minutes of the Championship regular season.
By the way, Charlton have equalised, through Miles Leaburn, son of Addicks great Carl Leaburn.
Ipswich 2-0 QPR
Jack Clarke, who nearly got the job done at St Mary’s, is on and causing trouble for Rangers. This has been comfortable, and it might have been more when O’Shea heads back across goal, and McAteer can’t get there.
Swansea lead Charlton 1-0, Adam Idah getting the goal.
Millwall 2-0 Oxford
Femi Azeez, who has scored twice, is subbed off, to be kept for the playoffs. As it stands, Millwall will play Hull, and Southampton will face Middlesbrough.
Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough
News reaches Wrexham fans, looking pensive as they realise their own dream is dying.
Goal! Hull 2-1 Norwich (McBurnie, 67)
Another shift! Hull are in sixth, and Wrexham will go mad, and they’ve every right to go mad; that looked offside.
Updated
Goal! Derby 1-2 Sheffield United (Peck, 69)
The Derby dream is slipping away. Is it just Hull and Wrexham with a chance now? Sydie Peck’s goal has them sunk.
That’s been the fifth time the final playoff position has changed. The second-placed spot has been in full Ipswich command all afternoon. They cannot let this slip, can they?
Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough
News has reached the Racecourse, and the atmosphere is buoyant. Tom Cannon’s name is being heard in the stands, via transistor radio and 5g.
Updated
Goal! Derby 1-1 Sheffield United (Cannon, 62)
Tom Cannon’s equaliser puts Wrexham in the final playoff position.
Updated
Goal! Preston 1-2 Southampton (Dobbin, 60)
A breakaway goal, and Dobbin scores. Saints hoping for the best playoff draw possible.
Ellis Simms has made it a hat-trick for Coventry at Watford. The champions of the Championship are cruising.
Updated
Ipswich 2-0 QPR
Jaden Philogene almost finished it off, only to be denied by Joe Walsh. Life’s been good to Ipswich so far, though.
Hull 1-1 Norwich
A fine save from Kovacevic in the Norwich goal, after a McBurnie header.
Millwall 2-0 Oxford
Millwall are all over Oxford at the moment. All they can do is keep up the pressure and await good tidings from Suffolk.
Southampton now lead 2-0 at Preston, with Ross Stewart on the scoresheet.
Updated
Goal! Millwall 2-0 Oxford (Azeez, 48)
That man again, and Millwall are keeping up the pressure on Ipswich.
Updated
Ipswich appear to be taking their time coming back on. That could delay the conclusion being reached.
Back underway for the second halves
What fun awaits us in the next 45 minutes?
As it stands: automatic promotion
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 46 | 50 | 95 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 46 | 32 | 84 |
| 3 | Millwall | 46 | 14 | 83 |
| 4 | Southampton | 46 | 25 | 80 |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 25 | 80 |
As it stands: playoffs
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 25 | 80 |
| 6 | Derby | 46 | 10 | 72 |
| 7 | Wrexham | 46 | 4 | 71 |
| 8 | Hull | 46 | 3 | 71 |
Championship half-time scores
Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Leicester City
Bristol City 1-0 Stoke City
Derby County 1-0 Sheffield United
Hull City 1-1 Norwich City
Ipswich Town 2-0 QPR
Millwall 1-0 Oxford United
Portsmouth 1-1 Birmingham City
Preston North End 0-1 Southampton
Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 West Brom
Swansea City 0-0 Charlton Athletic
Watford 0-2 Coventry City
Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough
Ipswich 2-0 QPR
Rangers have come back into this one, having rained the last six shots. Have Ipswich blown themselves out? We’re into time added on of the first halves.
Updated
Coventry score a second, as does Ellis Simms, at Watford, their 95th goal of the season.
Goal! Wrexham 2-2 Middlesbrough (Strelec, 43)
Tommy Conway lays it up for a neat sidefoot, and Derby are back in sixth. Big cheers at Hull for that one.
Updated
Sheffield Wednesday are 2-0 up on West Brom, Liam Palmer scores and they will climb to zero points and win a first home game of the season it stays this way.
Goal! Wrexham 2-1 Middlesbrough (Smith, 41)
A brilliant header from Sam Smith and Wrexham are up into the play-offs.
Updated
Jamie Cowper gets in touch: “The Oxford away end at Millwall is a sell out, we’ve been put in the upper stand, plenty of us here cheering the team on as they’ve put up a fight to try and keep us in the division, “We’re going to Bromley, you’re going to Spurs.”
Safe home, Jamie.
Sheffield Wednesday, for whom there was already good news of a takeover, have taken the lead against West Brom; Nathaniel Chalobah scored in the 36th minute at a packed Hillsborough.
Updated
Goal! Millwall 1-0 Oxford (Azeez, 35)
The Lions roaring at last, with Azeez dropping the shoulder and smashing in a fine goal.
Updated
Ipswich 2-0 QPR
George Hirst, who didn’t start at Southampton, has been full of zest and almost lays up Darrell Furlong.
Goal! Hull 1-1 Norwich (McBurnie, 28 pen)
Norwich give away a cheap penalty, and the striker converts. Both Wrexham and Hull are just a point behind Derby now.
Goal! Hull 0-1 Norwich (Toure, 26)
Norwich lead but….
Updated
Goal! Wrexham 1-1 Middlesbrough (Windass, 28)
A free-kick, a beauty, a family trademark, from Josh Windass. Wrexham are fighting back.
Updated
Ipswich 2-0 QPR
QPR have been toyed with at Portman Road. Ashley Young, who retires after this game, is watching from the sidelines.
Preston 0-1 Southampton
Daniel Peretz, outstanding in Tuesday’s draw with Ipswich, has just made a fine save from Preston’s Alfie Devine.
For champions Frank Lampard’s Coventry, Ellis Simms has scored at Watford, 1-0 at Vicarage Road.
Updated
Birmingham have equalised at Portsmouth through August Priske. It’s 1-1.
Wrexham 0-1 Middlesbrough
Wrexham need to win this game but also to stay calm. Derby have the place they have been aiming for. There’s a bit of frustration at the Racecourse Ground.
Millwall 0-0 Oxford
A series of corners being forced by the home team at an away end that’s very empty.
AS IT STANDS: Ipswich promoted, Derby in the playoffs, Hull and Wrexham have to find a way back.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 46 | 48 | 93 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 46 | 32 | 84 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 26 | 82 |
| 4 | Millwall | 46 | 13 | 81 |
| 5 | Southampton | 46 | 25 | 80 |
| 6 | Derby | 46 | 10 | 72 |
| 7 | Hull | 46 | 3 | 71 |
| 8 | Wrexham | 46 | 3 | 70 |
| 9 | Norwich | 46 | 8 | 66 |
| 10 | Birmingham | 46 | 0 | 63 |
| 11 | Bristol City | 46 | -1 | 62 |
| 12 | Swansea | 46 | -4 | 62 |
| 13 | Preston North End | 46 | -6 | 60 |
| 14 | Watford | 46 | -8 | 58 |
| 15 | QPR | 46 | -11 | 58 |
| 16 | Sheff Utd | 46 | -2 | 57 |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 46 | -14 | 57 |
| 18 | Stoke | 46 | -4 | 55 |
| 19 | Charlton | 46 | -12 | 54 |
| 20 | Blackburn | 46 | -13 | 53 |
| 21 | West Brom | 46 | -9 | 52 |
| 22 | Oxford Utd | 46 | -12 | 48 |
| 23 | Leicester | 46 | -11 | 44 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 46 | -61 | -2 |
Ipswich 2-0 QPR
Party atmosphere at Portman Road, where they’re singing about going to Arsenal, and QPR facing Spurs.
Goal! Preston 0-1 Southampton (Harwood-Bellis, 12)
That’s the 80th goal of the season for Saints, scored by their captain. They will be a team to fear in the playoffs.
Portsmouth are 1-0 up on Birmingham, Adrian Segecic opening the scoring.
Goal! Ipswich 2-0 QPR (Philogene, 9)
As stated previously, Philogene is flying, and is played in by George Hirst to score. This has been awesome from Ipswich.
Updated
Sheffield Wednesday takeover completed
Sheffield Wednesday have been bought by American consortium Arise Capital Partners, the club have announced.
A Sheffield Wednesday statement and headed ‘Sheffield Wednesday Reborn’, read in part: “The Joint Administrators of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club Limited are pleased to confirm the successful completion of the sale of the Club to Arise Capital Partners LLC, a consortium led by David Storch, alongside Michael Storch and Tom Costin.
“The transaction has been completed following constructive engagement with key stakeholders, including the English Football League (EFL), and in accordance with all relevant regulatory requirements.
“As part of this process, the EFL Board exercised its discretion, as provided by the Insolvency Policy, and concluded that it would not be appropriate to impose a 15-point deduction on the Club following its exit from Administration. As such, the Club will begin the upcoming season on 0 points. A position has also been agreed on wage and transfer parameters that is both acceptable and supportive of the Club’s forward progress.
“The sale secures the long-term future of the Club and marks the beginning of a new era for Sheffield Wednesday - one built on stability, responsibility, and renewed belief.
“Throughout this turbulent period in the Club’s history, staff and players have shown unwavering professionalism and pride. Supporters - through uncertainty and frustration - have shown they are amongst the most loyal in the land.”
Ipswich 1-0 QPR
Ipswich have been rampant, Philogene is flying, they want to get the job done, four shot have rained down on the QPR goal.
Goal! Derby 1-0 Sheffield United (Szmodics, 5)
That goal means Derby climb into the top six.
Updated
Goal! Wrexham 0-1 Middlesbrough (Conway, 4)
That’s a huge goal, Boro keeping up the pressure and knocking Wrexham out of the playoffs.
Updated
Goal! Ipswich 1-0 QPR (Hirst, 3)
Ipswich in dreamland, Leif Davis sets up George Hirst to tap in.
Updated
Goal! Bristol City 1-0 Stoke (Burgzorg, 1 )
Roy Hodgson’s team get the goals started, after a horror error by the Stoke goalie.
Updated
Away we go on the final day of the Championship
In two hours or so, destiny will be decided, and the pitches are likely to be invaded, too.
Across the Championship, teams are making their way to the field. At Ipswich, it’s a sea of blue, and the pyro is out. Kick-off is but moments away.
Bill Preston gets in touch: “I think Wednesday beating West Brom and finishing on zero points, the same as they began the season with*, would be fitting. It would reflect a new start to the club, a fresh page, a story yet to be written.
“Although, one can’t help but feel I’ll be writing the same email again this time next year albeit into the League One finale if they get the expected fourteen points deduction post takeover and slide again.”
Derby v Sheff Utd teams
Derby: Zetterstrom, Ward, Langas, Clarke, Forsyth, Ozoh, Travis, Brereton Diaz, Szmodics, Banel, Morris. Subs: Vickers, Batth, Salvesen, Johnston, Sanderson, Fraulo, Eames, Clark, Allen.
Sheff Utd: Adam Davies, Seriki, Tanganga, McGuinness, Burrows, Hamer, Peck, Arblaster, O’Hare, Bamford, Cannon. Subs: Ings, Hoever, Soumare, Chong, Sasnauskas, Riedewald, Rothwell, Betts, McGlinchey.
Speaking of Wrexham:
Wrexham AFC, the football club part-owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, used taxpayer funds to re-lay its pitch, even though initial grant documents assessing the state investment did not make reference to it.
The club has been awarded £18m in grants, with the first £3.8m tranche in February 2022. However, legally required state aid documents relating to that initial grant made no reference to the pitch works.
Wrexham v Middlesbrough teams
Wrexham: Ward, Hyam, Scarr, Doyle, Kabore, Dobson, Matty James, Rathbone, Thomason, Windass, Smith. Subs: Okonkwo, Cleworth, Keillor-Dunn, Cacace, Sheaf, Moore, O’Brien, Broadhead, Longman.
Middlesbrough: Brynn, Ayling, Fry, Malanda, Targett, Browne, Morris, Brittain, Whittaker, Strelec, Conway. Subs: Wildsmith, McGree, Gilbert, Kaly Sene, Silvera, Castledine, Edmundson, Hansen, Sarmiento.
Updated
Should Sheffield Wednesday beat West Brom today, they will climb to a total of zero points, nil point, if you will
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Blackburn | 45 | -13 | 52 |
| 21 | West Brom | 45 | -9 | 51 |
| 22 | Oxford Utd | 45 | -12 | 47 |
| 23 | Leicester | 45 | -11 | 43 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 45 | -61 | -3 |
Updated
Millwall v Oxford teams
Millwall: Patterson, Leonard, Crama, Cooper, Sturge, De Norre, Bannan, Azeez, Neghli, Ballo, Ivanovic. Subs: Crocombe, McNamara, Mitchell, Doughty, Langstaff, Watson, Cundle, Smallbone, Mazou-Sacko.
Oxford: Cumming, ter Avest, Helik, Brown, Spencer, Vaulks, Konak, Mills, Donley, Emakhu, Lankshear. Subs: Ingram, Long, Brannagan, Harris, Currie, Jeon, Makosso, McDonnell, Peart-Harris.
Hull v Norwich teams
Hull: Pandur, Coyle, Hughes, Egan, Giles, Slater, Crooks, Belloumi, Gelhardt, Millar, McBurnie. Subs: Phillips, Lundstram, Ajayi, Hirakawa, Joseph, Gyabi, Dowell, Koumas, McNair.
Norwich: Kovacevic, Stacey, McConville, Cordoba, Fisher, Mattsson, Wright, Forson, Ben Slimane, Ahmed, Toure. Subs: Grimshaw, Darling, Gibbs, Maghoma, Field, Schlupp, Kvistgaarden, Springett, Mundle-Smith.
Ipswich v QPR teams
Ipswich: Walton, Davis, O’Shea, Greaves, Furlong, Matusiwa, Taylor, Burns, Nunez, Philogene-Bidace, Hirst. Subs: Palmer, Kipre, Neil, Johnson, McAteer, Akpom, Azon, Mehmeti, Clarke.
QPR: Walsh, Mbengue, Edwards, Clarke-Salter, Norrington-Davies, Bennie, Varane, Morgan, Madsen, Vale, Chair. Subs: Salamon, Adamson, Smyth, Saito, Hayden, Esquerdinha, Smith, Alemayehu, Scarlett.
Preston v Southampton teams
Preston: Iversen, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes, Potts, Devine, Whiteman, Moran, Vukcevic, Dobbin, Jebbison. Subs: Cornell, Valentin, McCann, Brady, Thompson, Smith, Small, Osmajic, Offiah.
Southampton: Peretz, Charles, Harwood-Bellis, Wood-Gordon, Welington, Bragg, Jander, Fellows, Archer, Scienza, Stewart. Subs: Long, Quarshie, Bree, Manning, Romeu, Edozie, Azaz, Larin, Oyekunle.
Preamble
It’s a big day in the north, and south. The east, too. It all comes down to this. It’s been a vintage Championship season, and though the bottom three has been decided – farewell, Sheff Wed, Leicester and Oxford – there’s automatic promotion and playoffs to be decided. Make no mistake: this is massive.
Automatic promotion, the key games:
Preston v Southampton
Wrexham v Middlesbrough
Millwall v Oxford
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 45 | 48 | 92 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 45 | 30 | 81 |
| 3 | Millwall | 45 | 13 | 80 |
| 4 | Middlesbrough | 45 | 25 | 79 |
| 5 | Southampton | 45 | 24 | 77 |
Playoffs, the key games:
Preston v Southampton
Wrexham v Middlesbrough
Hull v Norwich
Derby v Sheffield United
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Southampton | 45 | 24 | 77 |
| 6 | Wrexham | 45 | 4 | 70 |
| 7 | Hull | 45 | 3 | 70 |
| 8 | Derby | 45 | 9 | 69 |
| 9 | Norwich | 45 | 8 | 65 |
It all kicks off at 12.30pm, UK time.
Following that a huge day in the Premier League, and in League One and League Two, too. Join me.
