Dis is, I believes called... UPDATE TIMES
CHAMPIONSHIPWell, it's all said and done. The Saints (88) have prevailed in the race for automatic promotion, having pounded Coventry 4-0 to put themselves clear of Wet Spam (86) in spite of the fact that
they also won, 2-1 over Hull. Also, Middlesbrough lost, so they aren't in the playoffs this year. Here's how they line up:
Spammers vs. Cardiff
Birmingham vs. Blackpool
At the other end, the only hope for Pompey now is to get out of administration before the playoffs begin, which would condemn Barnsley (48) to relegation. But I don't think it'll happen, therefore Portsmouth will be joining Coventry and Doncaster in relegation. Whether or not they play League One next season is another story entirely, though.
LEAGUE ONEStill a match to go in Leagues One and Two.
Sheffield Wednesday (90) have pulled ahead of their cross-town rivals United (89) by winning a close one against Brentford (64) and eliminating the same from the playoffs. MK Dons (80) and Huddersfield (78) have clinched playoff spots, so no worries there. Stevenage (70, +22) still holds the last playoff spot on goal differential because of their 2-2 draw against United, although Notts County (70, +9) and Carlisle (69) are still nipping at their heels because of wins over Exeter (41) and Wycombe (43) respectively. The latter, by the way, was doomed to relegation by the loss and will be joining Chesterfield (42), Exeter, and Rochdale (38) in going under.
LEAGUE TWOWell, we know that Swindon (92) has clinched the championship, and we know that Shrewsbury (88) has clinched automatic promotion. The last auto-promo spot is still up for grabs between Crawley (81, +21), Torquay (81, +14), and Southend (80) and all of these plus Cheltenham (74) have clinched at least playoff spots. Believe it or not, though, Crewe (71) can still miss the playoffs if they lose and Oxford United (68) wins, because of Oxford's superior goal differential. Even one point from the Aldershot match, though, and Crewe has nothing to worry about.
At the other end, Macclesfield (37) has been doomed to relegation, but Hereford (41) is still hanging on by a thread. Barnet MUST win against Burton Albion to assure safety or hope that Hereford doesn't win. If Barnet loses or draws and Hereford somehow beats Torquay, Barnet's toast.
CONFERENCE PREMIERBoy, Kidderminster (76) blew it something fierce. They didn't even put up a fight against Mansfield, losing 3-0 and basically gift-wrapping the playoff spot for Luton (81). Now Luton themselves ended Fleetwood's season on a losing note, blanking the Conference champs 2-0, so they would have made the playoffs even had Kidderminster actually come to play
That said, here are the playoff lineups:
Wrexham (98) vs. Luton
Mansfield (89) vs. York (83)
The red was already set in stone. Check the last full update.
CONFERENCE NORTHQuite the finish. All four of the hopefuls for the three remaining playoff spots won their matches! Halifax beat Solihull, Nuneaton beat Blyth Spartans, Gainsborough beat Altrincham
, and Stalybridge beat Hinckley. So what does this mean? Well, because of their points disadvantage, Stalybridge (71) still misses the playoffs.
Guiseley (85) vs. Nuneaton (72)
Halifax (74, +21) vs. Gainsborough (74, +13)
The other end had a rather anticlimactic finish after Stalybridge beat Hinckley 4-2, condemning the team with the points disadvantage to descend to the feeders next season.
CONFERENCE SOUTHThey need to rename Basingstoke to Yaysingstoke.
They got the point they needed to sink Chelmsford. Not that they needed to, though - Chelmsford cocked their chances up on their own, coming up short against the champs Woking.
Not that I think Basingstoke will get past the first round, although I'll be happy if they do.
Dartford (88) vs. Basingstoke (71)
Welling (81) vs. Sutton (74)
At the other end, it came right down to the wire, as Havant & Waterlooville (44) condemned Maidenhead (43) (who themselves had gutted out a 4-3 win over Eastleigh, scoring the winner in stoppage time) with a win literally seconds before the ref would have blown the final whistle in a 3-2 nailbiter against Staines. Hampton & Richmond also won, but since Maidenhead won they would have been relegated anyway. Now had both teams gotten a draw, that would have been a different story, and H&R was the only team whose win wasn't in the dying seconds of the match!
FEEDERSNorthern - The playoffs have already started in the Northern Premier, to see who will join Chester in Conference next season. A bit of an upset in the first leg, too - FC United of Manchester beat Chorley 2-0. That said, Bradford Park Avenue destroyed Hednesford 5-0.
Southern - The season's end caught a bit of a snag because of Totton having to postpone their match due to waterlogged grounds. The only team needing to worry at this point though is Stourbridge, since Oxford, Chesham, and Cambridge have all clinched playoff spots, having played their last matches. The worst that could happen to the latter of those two is that they could move down a spot in the rankings, should Totton beat Bedford Town. A draw would still eliminate Stourbridge because it would put Totton and Stourbridge even in points, and Totton's far superior goal diff (+36 to Stourbridge's +21) would bump them. (It would also move Cambridge City down a place since they too have 72 points and are +26)
So we'll have to wait to see who joins Brackley in the Conference next season.
Isthmian - Although the season isn't officially done, the match tomorrow (Kingstonian vs. East Thurrock U) has no bearing on the playoff picture.
All four teams battling for the two lower playoff spots won, meaning the top two of those get playoff spots. Here's how the playoffs look then:
Hornchurch (82, +33) vs. Bury Town (75, +30)
Lowestoft (82, +27) vs. Wealdstone (75, +37)
Not signing off just yet.