The Championship Playoffs and Relegation Debate! CHAMPIONSHIP 365
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Transcript
is round 44 in the championship here is the state of play at the top and the bottom of the table [Music] you're here to hear about the football i'm here to hear about ben hd's hey fever how you feeling mate yeah up and down i must admit i have got the sort of tissues on hand in case of any sort of emergencies during the recording but i'm getting on all right so um benhd at donations.com to um donate to the best favorite fun ryan dilks how you doing i'm great thank you can we just point out before we started recording benjamin bloom asked ben hd is there snot coming out or not yes what's the most repulsive thing i think i've ever heard i think it was also the first thing you heard uh on the kill was it right it absolutely was yeah what a greeting what a greeting and what a greeting the um premier league will give to fulham congratulations fulham they are promoted that is one thing yes indeed that is one thing done and dusted so what we're going to do chaps we'll go through the permutations for the top six and the bottom three so extreme trigger warning if your team is below sixth we will not be mentioning them in terms of the permutations that does not mean we either dislike your team or do not think your team will be promoted we just got a finite amount of time uh ben let's get into it and talk about fulham so 86 um they can't win the title at bournemouth but it's the right opponent if fulham do beat bournemouth uh one more point to secure the title um so two games time we're looking at uh minimum um and i suspect mr mitrovich will be very motivated uh to score against mr parker yeah i'm sure that's going to be the case these quite an interesting one with fulham now because i think that prior to that preston game we probably saw them ever so slightly take the foot off the pedal and looking at the matches that they've got for the remainder of the season and they could have quite the same how the top six actually shapes up they've got you know bournemouth forest luton and sheffield united as their last four matches which is absolutely crazy so uh yeah it'll be interesting to see if they do sort of keep that pressure on and they were by far away the better team on tuesday against north end and became a bit of an exhibition match in the second half that one but yeah a few more goals for mitrovic but dare i say i think i think there could be a few slips in there for following from now i'm not that it really means anything at this stage for them is the record going ryan so the post premier league record or the premier league era record is guy whittingham which is 42 and there are four to play um and mitchevich is scoring a goal again uh it's a very even i can work out that math so but he'll score another four on the basis of the rest of the season and beat the beat the record if he stays injury clear on is it that simple well he should beat it based off the stats that you've just said but as ben was alluding to just then they have got four really really tough games haven't they so it's quite lucky really that they've managed to get promotion actually over the line by this point but he'll be motivated this weekend my question is how motivated will the rest of the team be because i'm very interested to see what marco silva does in terms of whether he gives other players a chance because we all know fulham's squad is absolutely huge so they can afford to give other players a go those players will still be very good but how motivated will they actually be because they were taking the foot off the gas prior to that preston win in the week um and i hope fulham don't take the foot off the gas because as we keep saying they've got big games coming up against teams who have still got plenty to play for pretty much all of their games apart from maybe luton have something on the line still so hopefully they don't take the foot off the gas but i'm not too sure whether they will or not because they might still be a bit drunk heading into the sport good segway um ryan let's talk about bournemouth so bournemouth are guaranteed um a playoff place um in terms of automatic and securing it so only huddersfield lewton and forest can catch bournemouth obviously forests still have the biggest upside and as we always reiterate they have games in hand on luton and huddersfield not on bournemouth which is the absolute key um it can't be done this weekend um huddersfield and luton could be out of the race if results go um bournemouth's way but honestly we probably will come onto huddersfield they're playing barnsley at home so we're not expecting them to drop out of that race um this round the perfect scenario for bournemouth is if they win and all huddersfield luton and forrest lose forrester playing peterborough as well so we've got two relegation or bottom three teams in here so probably not going to be the perfect scenario but i'll give my normal it's the championship uh caveat so they could do it on tuesday but then they're away at swansea and forrest have got fulham as well seems like we're going to be going to at least next weekend ryan doesn't it i'll start off by saying i'm so glad you've got all these limitations sorted because i was writing a piece yesterday i was trying to work out in my head i really wish you were around yesterday um but yeah i personally i i think it's just between forest and bournemouth for the top two i don't think huddersfield and luton are gonna catch up i just don't see that happening um but you'd expect that forrest can close the gap this weekend because i a lot depends on what fulham do in terms of how much they rotate the squad but bournemouth that was their first win in four once against coventry on easter monday so they've been a bit sloppy themselves whereas forester just storming past teams having said that peterborough have picked up massively i was looking earlier they've won more games in their last six than they had done in their previous 23 which is a remarkable turnaround but i do think forest will be too much for them so forest can certainly close the gap this weekend and um i'd be surprised if they don't a lot depends on what followed you though what's your reaction to that ben it's an interesting one with bournemouth because i think that what we've seen from them recently when they've come up against sides in around the top six i think there has been a sort of reluctancy to properly put the knife and then they have been happy to settle with points at times you know that goal destroyed against middlesbrough they didn't really throw the kitchen sink at that one same for sheffield united away as well so i just wonder whether parker will sort of be content with a point against fulham and then it's those two away matches against swansea and blackburn that he's thinking if we get six points from those two matches you know we've got enough of a cushion there going into that game against forrest so i think that if they do come out of these next you know three game weeks with you know seven points i think baltimore laughing really yeah yeah big sale big stuff um let's go on to huddersfield we'll stay with you ben um so we we could be due another round of applause on friday night because if huddersfield win they are guaranteed a playoff place which um i did a bit i'm writing the big weekend at the moment actually it's not done but i look back at round 44 last year and it's just complete opposite you've got barnsley and sixth heading upwards and you've got huddersfield where we've said a lot of the time last season if it had been 10 games longer they they've won three in 22 go which sounds very much like the stat you just gave me about peterborough as well that was what huddersfield were doing at the back end of last season but absolutely brilliant um in terms of them getting second i tend to agree with ryan um ben if they win the final three they land on 82 which means bournemouth would need to lose at least three of the last five and only win one you're sort of looking at win one draw one lose three it's not impossible but still i suppose the the the framing of this should be just well done huddersfield shouldn't it ben yeah i think so i think there is a likelihood that huddersfield get you know nine points out of their remaining three fixtures but whether that will be enough for second place i don't quite think so i think that both forest and bournemouth will probably um end up better in that really but uh yeah like we say up against barnsley this um in this one and then we've got a coventry away which could be a potential tricky one they like to be a little bit on and off don't they and bristol city on the last day so uh yeah more than likely a top six placebo you're not gonna comment on bristol city ben i don't know what to say about them at this point it was a guaranteed home room was it um let's move on um ryan so i'll ask you about luton so again they can still mathematically um catch bournemouth but it's even more unrealistic here that's the sort of case where luton can land on 80 bournemouth would need to not win between now and the end of the season and lose a minimum of three games as well you're looking at two defeats and sorry two draws and three defeats to get it in terms of the playoffs luton looked really strong after the last um two games so i'm calling it a five-point gap based on middlesbrough's game in hand and that extra upside meaning if luton win against blackpool millwall don't win at birmingham and borough don't win at swansea then they could have it wrapped up this weekend they essentially just need to win one more game don't they for them to be pretty much secured for the top six um which by the way would be a magnificent achievement but that's a discussion for another day the only thing that puts any doubt in my mind that luton won't be in the top six is because they had this flurry of injuries over the easter weekend which have really led to nathan jones having to really switch things around but still i think i'd be very surprised if they're not in the playoffs coming in the season because they've got blackpool this weekend blackpool a tough game but you'd expect luton to win considering their record at kennel road in this calendar year alone has been ridiculously good and then they've got ready in last game of the season as well reading will probably be secure by then you'd have thought so again six four there you go and so you you'd suspect that that would be one of those two games luton will get three points from and they may even get something from fulham um away as well depending on what fulham do for the rest of the season so luton look i i'm 98 sure luton will be in the playoffs it's just about actually getting it over the line can't see them getting top two as we were just alluding to with huddersfield no and um brilliant for i'm sure we'll all go back and look at our preseason predictions and lewton and huddersfield how does feel particularly i am going to be so far out it's not even hey hey i i had luton seventh just said oh well done i'm gonna give mine away now uh 11th fair enough could have been we weren't i think everyone had luton around mit improving yeah yeah like top half exactly um right i want to hear from both of you on forrest because they are kind of the one remaining potential big story if they can stay within six points five points going into that head-to-head game that we've uh mentioned so many times i made a third so um two games in hand on huddersfield and luton um seven point gap that that is such an issue because it's more than two games worth isn't it if it's six you can that's two games worth as soon as it goes over that that becomes um an issue and again ben you mentioned fulham we we can all ramble on about fulham um being a hard game for bournemouth forrest play fulham on tuesday so yeah you know it could be okay catch up and then and what might be a hard game for one might not be a hard game from the other both sides also play swansea as well forrest and bournemouth as well i don't feel i can make a pity statement ben other than steve cooper will just want to get to the head-to-head within six points preferably five or four won't he yeah i think that'll be the case through i think these next three matches for forest probably decide how their season's going to turn out heading into that bournemouth game like we said peterborough no longer the guaranteed three points that they probably were um a few months ago in swansea as well and can be a bit of a tricky one but i probably fancy forrest and the majority of the games they have left really even going that one away at fulham with them potentially having wrapped up things by then um i'd be fancy and forrest for that one but i tell you what if it does go down to the last day it would be fascinating wouldn't it with forest away at hull and bournemouth having a tricky home game against millwall if they're still in the race for the top six a potential slip could happen there but i think it's sort of the age-old thing where if the season had you know two or three more game weeks to run we could probably you know say that okay there's a real chance in here for forrest but for me i still think bournemouth have got enough in the bank and i think with two quite winnable away fixtures i think they probably get this done can i just throw in there you said if millwall is still in the race next two games of birmingham and peterborough going into photo so it should be trippy they could they could well still be in the race they could really be in the race couldn't they um run let's get you on forest as well yeah i reckon it's going down to the last day of the season i really really do i think forrest have got minus bournemouth and fulham they've got three games that they should be getting nine points from pretty comfortably swansea have picked up recently i said they picked up they picked up and now they seem to have dropped off again um all of a sudden so um and because forrest are just steaming through teams i think they should definitely be getting nine points from those it's just the big games against fulham and bournemouth as bem was saying as long as they've got bournemouth within reach heading into that game then they'll be fancying their chances and they've got to get three points from that game without a doubt so i i think it's going down to the wire the thing is with bournemouth they are so inconsistent the first winning four against coventry um and that was the next buster as well ryan wasn't it well yeah exactly and they'd fail to score in the three games prior to that so if they fail to get anything against fulham and then i can definitely see them well basically i could easily see them failing to win any of the all of their last five games um swansea is the one where i'm a bit like i'm not really too sure there but blackburn can't score but they're still defensively quite solid um bournemouth are just so unpredictable whereas forests are just flying so that's why i think it go down to the last day of the season um and a lot could be riding on that infamous bournemouth forest game i hope i hope that's the case if if we get there and it's seven points and we can all pack up and go home with two games to go it'll be jolly boring won't it it won't be boring for sheffield united though they're the team in the place where lots of people want to be but really no one wants to be because they're the ones everybody's aiming at you know if you get past sheffield united you're into um sixth look it's way way too complicated to make any kind of pithy oh they need to do this they need to do that all i'll say is they've dropped off the last three games and mill will have picked up um ryan and um who else was i going to mention middlesbrough with that game in hand and with chris wilder even though they've dropped off as as well looking at the actual you know really simplistically the red and green on the table millwall's the one out of those four where you've got blackburn dropping as well um how do you see sheffield united um go in and hold it on possibly to that sixth place well it's really interesting because millwall are the ones who have got momentum out of those teams who are vying for that last playoff place aren't they but sheffield united have also got two very winnable games coming up they've got cardiff at home and then qpr away qpr were awful before the easter weekend and then they got two decent results and now i'm not really sure where i stand with them but chuckles united should still be getting it should still be aiming for three points from that they're they're a funny society for united because i thought about february time they were 100 going to be finishing in the playoffs and that only seemed to get more and more secure up until the last month or so whether it's coincide with those injuries ryan as well doesn't it well yeah sharp in particular because they how sheffield united are relying so much on 97 year old billy sharp i don't really know we were saying that in 2017 yeah and he's only getting older and they're still relying on him just as much um but apparently he might be back for the cardiff game that'll be a massive boost for them might emphasis on might how i i keep emphasizing this point but how he is so important to this team of all stars i'm not really too sure but they need him back and they need him firing and then everything might click into place for sheffield united but alternatively he might not be back or it might not click into place and then that's for milwaukee's taking because they've got two very very winnable games coming up whereas sheffield united have got two games that they should be winning but i'm not confident that they will what do you think um ben the direction of travel is with millwall actually at the moment and i remember our prognostications a few weeks ago we're all a bit too far for millwall and then they i think it got one point in three games didn't they but i might have to change my tune on that knowing what i know now yeah is a tricky one with sheffield united because i think they've only scored more than one goal in one of their last eight matches now and obviously shot potentially coming back into the frame could be absolutely huge but they're relying on keeping clean sheets and keeping things tight at the back because i don't see them scoring more than one goal morgan gibbs white yeah yeah exactly and well they probably should be winning games against cardiff and qpr you know a cardiff goal from a set piece qpr i think still great chances even though they've not um been on a great trajectory in the second half of the season a draw in these next two i think could be fatal for sheffield united because i see millwall within the next two games if i'm being honest and then it's quite fitting really that sheffield nights on the last day are up against fuller when millwall are up against bournemouth so uh should be a fascinating one with that to play for as well but i am fearful if they do slip in these next two mill wall really could smell the blood is there any way luton can get third and we can get mu will luton in the playoffs i'm there just to watch from about half a mile away i think a flight drone over there that would be spicy as hell down at the kenny wouldn't it ah this is where we can hopefully on the next one start making up our um play-off match-ups uh down at the bottom ryan it's a lot now we've been now won't know ben it's a lot more simplistic um let's start with barnsley they are bottom and unless they beat huddersfield at huddersfield they are down on friday night not even a draw we'll we'll do um your thoughts i mean yeah we have seen a great escape with barnsley before in the championship haven't we but i think yeah the odds are massively stacked against them here their away form's been um really shocking all season and with hudd