A life lesson from the old Yugoslavia

I missed the England game last night because I was busy organising my socks into pairs. I find this slightly more stimulating. Yes, if Yugoslavia still had a team they would be world beaters but then again so would the Austro-Hungarian's!

I find all the consternating quite unbelievable. I mean the writings have been on the wall. Look at the last 8 of the Champions League, watch how Manchester United are running away with the Premier League with probably the most average and workmanlike side to ever win the title since Leeds in 1992.

The top sides pockets are full of cash and long-term debt and their academies are full of African and Latin American's. A young English manager or coach hasn't got a cat in hells chance of a top job and our best young players can't get a game.

I like Roy Hodgson and I'm convinced that he will do the very best with the resources available but until St George's Park begins to change the way the game is played at youth level - and let's really hope that is the case - the National team will continue to disappoint. Young players need to play more competitive games, the odd Development match or Friendly is not enough.

I was so disappointed watching the West Ham v Man Utd game recently. Sure, it was only a snapshot of one game, one night, but these young men were just going through the motions before they jumped in their 4x4's with their over-sized headphones on.

Natural talent will only get players so far and treated like little princes playing in meaningless matches or sitting on the bench being paid a shed-load of money is not enough. Technically they are not developed and any hunger they may have had chasing a professional contract is squeezed out of them.

Montenegro is the size of Sheffield and Rotherham combined yet they had a hunger and technical ability that the Home Nations can only purr over. It wasn't an embarrassment, it was a lesson.

In the media

"The two most difficult to referee were Paul Gascoigne and Ian Wright. Gazza could be laughing and joking with you one moment and a different character would appear moments later - you didn't know what you were going to get. Wright was similar, difficult in that he was a complainer but also someone who was not averse to leaving a foot in or being a bit sly."

The last of the amateur referees David Elleray interviewed on the BBC website.

Week 32

No points in Week 32 as it was International Week.

Week 33 this weekend.

Photograph of the week

New Reading manager Nigel Adkins hopefully won't get fired it Reading go down. Adkins who has won 6 titles/promotions in his short managerial career is a good choice and it is nice to see a young English manager get back into the game dominated by foreign coaches and little to the imagination famous ex-pros.

Week 31 overview

Reading gave up on Brian McDermott, who became manager number 33 to lose his job in English football this season. They lost at Man U, the champions elect.

But don't worry armchair fans the relegation battle will save the day as Southampton, Wigan and Villa all won!

Week 31 looked like this:

Sun 17 Mar 2013 - Premier League

Sunderland 1 - 1 Norwich
Tottenham 0 - 1 Fulham
Chelsea 2 - 0 West Ham
Wigan 2 - 1 Newcastle

Sat 16 Mar 2013 - Premier League
Everton 2 - 0 Man City
Aston Villa 3 - 2 QPR
Southampton 3 - 1 Liverpool
Stoke 0 - 0 West Brom
Swansea 0 - 2 Arsenal
Man Utd 1 - 0 Reading

Mitesh has it off with a fiver

Week 31 - MoW
A first weekly MoW for Mitesh who rammed home 54 points. Rob pulled out a 51, and Neil Wallis slided in 47, Paul Hodges copped a 46, Geoff rode in a 45 and Richard romped a 42.

Elsewhere Ricky Wood poked a 38, Paul Long nobbed a 34, Aaron lobbed in a 31, Dewbs slipped in a 28, Hilary Flynn stroked a 26, Sarah fingered a 21.... Woah, woah, stop there.....

Bears, Rangers, Smash & Hazard battle for top spot

N&R Division 2 - Week 31
7 points between Moral Hazard and Monster Smash. Jager Bombers move upto 5th and Mobotinho go 6th. Only 21 points separate the top 4.

Anfield Second XI are 7th, stwike him centuwion vewy woughly slip further to 8th. Aniseed Twists are now 9th with From SE6 to SB04 are back out of the promotion race.... damn.

Lower down Preston Pie Muncher slip a place.

14 still in with a shout

N&R Division 1 - Week 31

35 now the gap between title leader Ollympic Games and Guinness & eggs. Gooner win league are 3rd still in contention, then a gap to the rest that are unchanged.

To Elland Back moved into 11th in week 31 and I wou;d say all the way down to Armitage Shanks in 14th have a chance of a top 8 finish.

At the bottom Back in the Big Time continue their fall and the relegation zone looms a little large. This game should be played on paper move out of the bottom 12 and Bingo FC takes his place.

N&R Cup - 2nd Round Replays

Two replays from the 2nd Round.

N&R Cup 2nd Round Replays
Neil Wallis 47-25 Steve Merchant
John Hardiman 24-34 Neville White

Neil and Nev move onto the next round.

Upton Park

As regular readers will know I often write or post pictures of old British football grounds as I have i) a fascination with them plus ii) I grew up with them and iii) a lot of them I have visited.

An iconic old stadium is Upton Park, which will be bulldozed in the next 4 years as the Hammers move to the Olympic Stadium (or BetFred Arena or whatever unsightly name it will get called). See below post for more on this move.

I was at Upton Park a few weeks ago and not helped by the fact it was empty - it was an U21 Development League game with 800 in attendance - I couldn't help but think it was looking a bit of a rust bucket.

I read that Messrs Gold & Sullivan need to spend some short term cash on it to see it through to 2016 and if the Olympic move did not come about then the cost of revitalising the Boleyn Ground would be astronomical. The Safety Advisory Group have stated that the ground needs 'Substantial Repairs and after walking underneath and around the West Stand it hasn't aged well. Think it was only built in 2001.

Nonetheless the traditional amongst us will be sad to see West Ham leave their home since 1904. Charlton even spent some time lodging there waiting for the move back to The Valley. As lovely as the Olympic Stadium is night games under the floodlights with Bubbles being sung will never be replicated.

The Boleyn Ground often feels like it is one of last bastions of football hsitory and with a Tesco or a business park in it's place, it will just end up being another great old stadium added to a growing list of historic arenas.

I worry that in years to come people will be shaking their heads at another example of the destruction of our heritage. These grounds are the fabric and the history of the nation's favourite game.

The St Patricks Day Massacre - Video of the Week

The palace fans amongst you won't like this, but it is very funny.

Olympic disadvantage

I wrote this post on my own blog last weekend. I had a lot of criticism from West Ham fans but it wasn't a veiled dig at the Hammers, it was more a message to Charlton's non-communicative board. Anyway I will let you make your own minds up:

There has been a lot of recent conjecture about season ticket renewals amongst Addicks. Since the return to The Valley the club has done an excellent job of marketing and pricing season tickets just right in encouraging supporters to commit up front to home games. Much of this loyalty and not insignificant financial undertaking has been due to the bond between fan and board, a bond that no longer exists. Ironically this is all against the backdrop of the best supporter bond between manager and player for many a year.

Last week a couple of news stories made me concerned about the future of our fan base. West Ham's move to the Olympic Stadium was confirmed at significant cost to the local council and the taxpayer and not an awful lot to the club. For example I'd be surprised if the £2m a year in rent even covers the maintenance. Plus the sale of Upton Park will more than pay for the Hammers' outlay of £15m. Gold and Sullivan are not at silly as they look.

The capacity of the stadium will be 54,000 by the time they move in ready for the 2016/17 season, this after an additional £25m is spent by the department of community and local government towards installing a new roof, retractable seats and permanent toilets and catering facilities.

The question I have is how they, West Ham, plan to fill the Olympic Stadium, which will be almost 20,000 larger than the Boleyn Ground.

It is true that pretty much the entire population of Essex call themselves West Ham fans and would help explain the relatively low crowds at Colchester, Southend, Dagenham & Redbridge and of course Leyton Orient. Obviously West Ham don't get 1.3 million attendances (the population of Essex) and very few regulars come from the local area but they have consistently managed 30,000+ for many years, even last season in The Championship.

The majority of staunch Hammers' fans that I know have become lapsed or infrequent visitors to Upton Park owing to children, finances or simply losing the habit, all part of a bigger problem professional clubs are presently facing.

West Ham, who have been a yo-yo club in recent history, hope the move will propel them to the upper end of the Premier League riches. Undoubtedly the 1966 World Cup winners will soon lose their much-vaunted community and local spirit as the days of the Chicken Run come to cessation, but if exploited well the Olympic Stadium will attract a whole new market to call upon.

The financial hub of Canary Wharf is close, linked by an excellent transport system. Gold & Sullivan have suggested up to 5,000 hospitality seats to attract a different type of spectator to what is already proven to be a splendid and iconic event experience.

Gold & Sullivan have also promised cheap tickets to families and school children. These of course may all come from outlying Essex towns and villages and the novelty value will encourage lapsed fans, but where else are these families and kids going to come from?

Well how about the traditional heartland of Gillingham Charlton in North Kent. The fast rail link to Stratford plus a ton of free parking makes the Olympic Stadium almost around the corner. The growth areas of the so called Thames Gateway North Kent, a regenerated Medway and further away in Ashford will be places, that trust me, West Ham will already be considering marketing heavily in. All this coinciding nicely with Addicks' fans disgruntled with their board who have expelled anyone who previously masterminded it's own reach into potential supporter bases further afield and that are not interested in connecting with it's existing customers, let alone new ones.

West Ham's new stadium could prove costly in more than just taxes to Charlton Athletic.

Best Weekly Score

In case any one was wondering what the Season's Best Weekly Score was so far. Then the top 10 is below. These scores have been unchallenged since the bumper week 21.

1= Steve Black, week 21, 119 points
1= Paul Long, week 21, 119 points
3= Brett Davey, week 21, 110 points
3= Richard Richards, week 21, 110 points
5. Graham Ward, week 21, 109 points
6= Alastair Bigg, week 21, 107 points
6= John McGowan, week 21, 107 points
8. Richard Nathan, week 21, 106 points
9. Mitesh Patel, week 21, 105 points
10 Keith Read, week 21, 102 points
Up to week 31

N&R Cup Draw 3rd Round

This weekend sees the next round of probably the best Fantasy Football Cup Competition for insurance professionals and assorted other types in the world.

Tonight after dinner, my 3-year picked 32 names out of a hat, thus:

N&R Cup 2nd Round

Brett Davey v Lee Baughan

Peter Godfrey v P&C Long

Luke Sloan v Geoff McCormick

Neville White v Dan Weeks

Mark Gregory v Ben Guarino

Tim Harris v Alex Boswell

John McGowan v Graham Ward

Barry Paull v Neil Reynolds

Ryan Saveall v Soozie Saveall

Aaron Bardon v Neil Bixby

Neil Addington v Dan Duboux

Richard Nathan v Richard Richards

Ricky Wood v Mark Dewberry

Andrew Shepherd v James Stiff

Ian Kennett v Lee Horne

Kate Chillman v Neil Wallis

Some great games there but none better than Mr & Mrs Saveall playing (with) each other. Perfect, I can see the arguments now. Oh to be a fly on the wall or baby Sav to see that all kick off!!

Brett Davey v Sweaty looks lively, Luke v Geoff is a big game, Bardon v Bix is a bit tasty and how about Richard v Richard Richards? You couldn't make it up!

Good luck all, and a reminder that games will take place this weekend, week 33.

Photograph of the week

England completed the formalities of outclassing the minnows of San Marino to record their biggest win since October 1987. Roy Hodgson's side repeated the eight-goal Wembley victory against Turkey in a predictable mis-match when faced with the country ranked lowest in the world standings in 207th place, although a 8-0 win is not to be sniffed at eh Sweaties?

Week 30 overview

A Cup and League mix in week 30.

Sunday 10th March 2013 - Barclays Premier League
Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham
Newcastle 2-1 Stoke

Saturday 9th March 2013 - Barclays Premier League
Norwich 0-0 Southampton
QPR 3-1 Sunderland
Reading 1-2 Aston Villa
West Brom 2-1 Swansea

Sun 10 Mar 2013 - FA Cup (involving Premier League teams)

Man Utd 2 - 2 Chelsea
Everton 0 - 3 Wigan
Man City 5 - 0 Barnsley

N&R Weekly Predictions

Go Nobby, go Nobby, Go Nobby!

Nobby

Everton v Man City HOME Yes
Aston V v QPR HOME Yes
Man U v Reading HOME Yes

Stake £2
Potential Winnings £20.65
Balance £15.27

Ready
Man U v Reading HOME Yes
Tottenham v Fulham HOME No
Chelsea v West Ham HOME Yes
Stake £2
Potential Winnings £4.83
Balance £-9.56

Eggs are on the boil

N&R Division 1 - Week 30

Guinness & eggs moved into 2nd and are 35 behind Ollympic Games. Gooner Win League are 3rd with Too Big to Fail 4th.

We are the Darts are up to 5th and Blue Euro Champs are on a excellent run and land in 6th in week 30.

Loads of Roubles slip to 7th and Brox Banditos are back into 8th with OJ's Red & White Army slipping to 10th. Woody's Round up move up to 9th.

The Magnificent Eleven are 11th and Armitage Shanks 13th.

The bottom 12 remain unaltered, although Full Metal Jackett did make soem ground.

Top 4 - what can go wrong?

N&R Division 2 - Week 30
Moral Hazard remain top 6 points ahead of Monster Smash and 13 ahead of The Sloan Rangers.

Addington Bears are 28 behind the leader as these 4 chase the Div 2 silverware. All four look promoted unless a disaster occurs.

Mobotinho is 5th, Jager Bombers 6th and stwike him centuwion vewy woughly in 7th.

Aniseed Twists are 8th and Anfield Second XI, Leave Myarsealona, DTF FC, Bardzo lubię nie musieć nic and From SE6 to SB04 make up the promotion places.

Chillers, Dan's Dribblers, Stiffsters and FC Song Roi are all in the chasing pack.

Pot Black

Week 30 - MoW
Steve Black collected his second MoW of the season in week 30 as he chases Sav for N&R glory. Our Atlanta correspondent scored 47, a point more than Dan Duboux and Ken.

Luke Sloan hit 45 and then the Long's 43, tied with Sav himself.

Mark Gregory scored 42, Tony Murray and Wenners 41.

The week's lowest effort was Danny Rose, who managed a measly 1, easily the worst we have witnesses this season!

Michael Stout and Francey both scored 9.

Tony Gubba RIP

Another wonderful voice was lost last week when sports presenter Tony Gubba, whose voice became died of a short illness. He was 69.

The Manchester-born Gubba spent much of his career working for the BBC as a commentator and presenter for the Saturday sports show Grandstand as well as the midweek sports show Sportsnight. Joining the BBC in 1972, he worked on every World Cup from 1974 to 2006.

In addition to football, Gubba was a sports all-rounder who commentated on hockey, table tennis, golf, tennis, bobsleigh, ski-jumping and darts for the BBC. He also covered every Olympic Games, both summer and winter, from 1972 to 2012.

His more recent role as a presenter on ITV’s Dancing on Ice from 2006 also introduced him to a new audience. His colourful phrasing on ice-skating terminology was much loved. Phrases such as “a butterfly lift followed by a prawn wrap” and “laundry doesn’t spin that fast in a washing machine” endeared him to a new set of television audiences.

Very sad.

Top 10 Favourite Stadiums

Some awe-inspring classics here that are hard to disagree with. Our Fulham fraternity will be pleased.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11065/8562369/Top-ten-favourite-stadiums

Up your Harris

Week 29 - MoW

Second win in 7 weeks for Tim Harris as his team meander their way up the Div 1 table. 81 points won the fiver for Tim, it was only a point more than a resurgent Ricky Wood and the equally in form Brett Davey.

Dan Duboux and Graham Ward both scored 78, Sweats kept the pressure up with 75 for another good week and Neil Addington marked a 73.

Razor, Godders and Bingo each spotted a 72 and Neil Reynolds and Neil Bixby beat out a 70.

Other notables were Andi Turner 67, Mitesh 63, Martin Singleton 63, Paul Hodges 56, Mark Simmons 54, Greg Foulger 47, James Down 26 and lastly with just 12 Chris Minchell.

Hazardous materials

N&R Division 2 - Week 29
Moral Hazard after drawing level with rival Monster Smash in week 28 overtook him and became the sole leader in week 29.

Ben leads Aaron by 10 points with Addington Bears a further 10 behind in 3rd. Sloan Rangers are 4th and Mobotinho 5th.   Jager Bombers moved up but at the cost to Aniseed Twists and the gap between 12th and 13th incrreased to 23 points.   Dan's Dribblers jumped up some spots whilst Arsene Knows went backwards.

Blue moon

N&R Division 1 - Week 29

Ollympic Games are 34 points ahead of the pack led by Gooner win league. Guinness & eggs with Paddy's Day coming up are 3rd.

Too Big to Fail are 4th, with Loads of Roubles 5th, We are the Darts 6th, OJ's Red & White Army 7th and Blue Euro Champs replacing Brox Banditos in 8th.

This is the first time since week 2 when Brett was top, that Blue Euro Champs have been in the top 8. Woody's Round Up are ahead of Brox in 9th.

The Jager Squad climb into 11th and lower down Armitage Shanks move nicely away from any relegation trouble.

A gap has now expanded to 32 points between the bottom 12 and those above.

N&R Weekly predictions

Woah, Ready wins.

Nobby

Norwich v Southampton DRAW Yes

Reading V Aston V HOME No

Liverpool v Tottenham HOME Yes

Stake £2

Potential Winnings £27.86

Balance £-5.38

Ready

QPR v Sunderland HOME Yes

Reading v Aston Villa AWAY Yes

Newcastle v Stoke HOME Yes

Stake £2

Poential Winnings £21.56
Balance £-7.56

Road to Wembley - Benitez silences boo boys

Chelsea earned a fully deserved FA Cup quarter-final replay with an outstanding second-half comeback against our Road to Wembley boys Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. 

United looked on course to get some consolation for their midweek Champions League exit against Real Madrid as early goals from JAVIER HERNANDEZ and the recalled WAYNE ROONEY put them in complete control.

A place in the semi-final looked a formality as Chelsea struggled to make any impression - only for the second half to see a complete transformation in fortunes.

Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez once again felt the full fury of his own supporters when he replaced Frank Lampard and Victor Moses with Eden Hazard and Jon Obi Mikel not long after the restart.

The taunts were silenced by Hazard's superb strike just before the hour and another fine finish from Ramires soon after as Chelsea were revived in the most dramatic fashion.

And, as an enthralling tie reached its conclusion, Chelsea looked far more likely to secure a place in the FA Cup semi-finals and it took a save with his feet from United keeper David de Gea from Juan Mata a minute from time to deprive Benitez's side of victory.

The replay date is yet to be set.

Quotes of the week

"I proved in League One and Two that I was the best manager, and I now feel that I am ready for the next level. I believe I am at a stage now where I am a Premier League or Championship manager."

Paulo Di Canio who has driven his car from Upton Park round to the Madjeski Stadium in light of Brian McDermott's sacking at Reading

"There is no way he will ever be allowed to move on, because that is not the way Sir Alex works. Wayne has been our regular goalscorer - and he scores fantastic goals. Not only that, he has an influence on the rest of the team."

Sir Bobby Charlton forgetting that no one is really interested in what he has to say.

We do not care who we get in the quarter-finals."

David Villa of Barcelona after their 4-0 win over Milan. And why would they?

"David James has been excellent for us, I cannot speak highly enough of him. Unfortunately we've had to make some difficult calls. Financially we've had to re-adjust things, and re-align things at the club and this is is part of that. We thank David for everything that he's done for us and we wish him well in the future."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe on 42-year old David James who has left the club due to some financial cut backs.

"Unfortunately I am getting used to this, we have played three games away from home in a week. The first game was terrible, then we were by far the better team at Bolton and lost 1-0 and today if anyone said Barnsley deserved to win then I should retire. The good thing is the only people to blame is ourselves. It's not the opposition, the pitch, the referee or the weather. We have another nine games and we'll see. We'll try our best."

Brighton manager Gus Poyet after losing at Barnsley.

Photograph of the week

If ever anyone had any doubts! Barcelona hit 4 past AC Milan after being 0-2 down from the 1st leg.

Visitors

I bumped into a couple of holiday makers here in Bermuda in the last few days apparently here under the guise of doing some work.

Alex Boswell (third right in the photo) and I shared a couple of beers last Friday. He said he was here with a client, which also happens to be one of mine - very suspicious.

Then Ian France and I had a coffee and a croissant the other morning, Francey told me he was here doing some Treaty presentations to markets on behalf of his new company XL. He didn't explain why he had a beach towel and a bucket and spade with him however.

Anyway, jokes aside, it was great to see both of them.

N&R Cup 2nd Round Results

The 2nd Round of the most famous cup competition was completed and this was what happened:

N&R Cup 2nd Round Results

Chris Wright 56-80 Brett Davey

Alastair Bigg 40-67 John McGowan

Paul Hodges 56-70 Neil Reynolds

Rob Munden 58-75 Lee Baughan

Peter Doyle 16-63 Richard Richards

Luke Sloan 56-50 Ken Cobbett

Ben Guarino 61-41 Alan Oakley

Mark Wenman 37-53 Lee Horne

Paul Keaveney 42-78 Graham Ward
Mark Dewberry 42-16 Brian Rutter

Steve Merchant 55-55 Neil Wallis**

Ian France 30-67 Ian Kennett
Kate Chillman 59-25 Michael Stout

James Stiff 51-26 James Down

P&C Long 64-47 Tony Murray

Geoff McCormick 67-64 Henry Williams

Andrew Shepherd 54-47 Greg Foulger

Tim Harris 81-65 Mark Sterry

Dan Duboux 78-42 Steve Black

Jason Syrett 53-68 Barry Paull

Alex Boswell 42-34 Simon Newport

Mark Gregory 68-67 Andi Turner

Dan Weeks 61-12 Chris Minchell

Soozie Saveall 66-59 Barry Plummer

Danny Rose 17-72 Richard Nathan

Peter Godfrey 72-63 Martin Singleton

Alan Waters 28-51 Aaron Bardon

Ryan Saveall 59-38 Huw Thomas

Neil Addington 73-28 Kirsty Baillie

Ricky Wood 80-72 Simon Ward

Neil Bixby 70-46 Keith Read

Neville White 38-38 John Hardiman**

** Replays to take place over week 31.

Two games will go to replays, both Nobby and Ready will be able to concentrate on the league. Steve Black and Alastair Bigg will really be able to concentrate on the title.

Unfortunate losers were Mark Sterry, Simon Ward, Barry Plummer, Andi Turner and especially Martin Singleton and Henry Williams, who all scored big in week 29 but went out.

The tie of the round saw Dewbs edge out Rutts, whilst Wenners lost to Horne and Sav beat old mate Huw.

Current N&R Cup champ Kate goes into the hat for the 3rd Round draw.

Week 29 overview

Big win for Spurs in the North London derby, City put another nail in Villa's coffin and no one can stop United but wait, QPR are back up on their knees, this despite a large night out in Dubai. Allegedly.

Monday 4th March 2013
Aston Villa 0-1 Man City

Sunday 3rd March 2013
Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal

Saturday 2nd March 2013
Wigan 0-4 Liverpool
Chelsea 1-0 West Brom
Everton 3-1 Reading
Man Utd 4-0 Norwich
Southampton 1-2 QPR
Stoke 0-1 West Ham
Sunderland 2-2 Fulham
Swansea 1-0 Newcastle

N&R Weekly Bet

No wonder bookmakers are rich.

Nobby

Southampton v QPR HOME No

Everton v Reading HOME Yes

Swansea v Newcastle AWAY No

Stake £2

Potential Winnings £16.98

Balance £-3.38

Ready

Southampton v QPR DRAW No

Man Utd v Norwich HOME Yes

Chelsea v WBA HOME Yes
Stake £2
Poential Winnings £13.06
Balance £-29.12

N&R Weekly Bet

Another blank at the Bookies..

Nobby

Fulham v Stoke No DRAW

Arsenal v Aston V Yes HOME

QPR v Man U Yes AWAY

Stake £2

Potential Winnings £13.00

Balance £-1.38

Ready
Arsenal v Aston V Yes HOME
QPR v Man U Yes AWAY

Norwich v Everton No HOME

Stake £2

Poential Winnings £8.20

Balance £-27.12

League Cup Winners

In week 28 the first silverware was decided, well no silverware but the winners each collect £40.

Here were the results:

Div 1 League Cup Final
Ollympic Games 46-30 The Jager Squad

Div 2 League Cup Final
Bardzo lubię nie musieć nic 55-51 Leave Myarsealona

So, Ryan Saveall and Mark Simmons (that bugger always wins money) are the 2012/13 N&R League Champions. Congratulations to you both and tough love to Graham and Andi.

Photograph of the week

Well played ref.

Buzz off

N&R Division 1 - Week 28

The top 8 were unchanged in week 28 although 2Infinity & beyond moved to within 7 points in 9th.

The Magnificent Eleven were also big climbers up to 11th whilst Blue Euro Champs and Woodys Round Up fell.

Lower down Paris Eagles dropped to 18th and are a little too close for comfort to the relegation pack. In fact in recent weeks a number of the bottom sides have got their acts together and pulled in a number of other sides.

This Game Should be Played on Paper, John Terry loves a Choc Ice, Brighton Blues, I Hate Mark Hughes, Tanus Terriers and Full Metal Jackett all have a great chance of staying up and those above them perhaps all the way up to Back in the Big Time and Pure Irish need to been on their guard.

Joint leaders

N&R Division 2 - Week 28
Joint leaders now at the tip of Div 2. Monster Smash are joined by Moral Hazard in 1st place. Promotion for these two looks to be a formality but the trophy is still up for grabs.

The Sloan Rangers is also still very much in with a shout of the title as is Addington Bears. They swapped places in week 28.

By now Kennett is normally dropping down the table like one of those stick toys that falls arse over tit down the inside of a window, but stwike him centuwion vewy woughly moved into 8th and he with fork tongue Nobby and From SE6 to SB04 dropped out of the promotion places to be replaced by DTF FC.

Lower down Fulham Roadsters dropped like a rock after a bad week.

Plums out

Week 28 - MoW
Plums were out in week 28 and a fine MoW for Barry. 66 points and a five making it's way to the Surrey borders. Ken Cobbett was next with 64, which propelled him up the table. Ben G went joint top with a 61, Steve Black scored 59, Luke 57 and RR 56.

Our Polish correspondent Mark scored 55, Rosie 54 and Neil Reynolds and Tim both made a 53.

Some notables were Hilary with 49, Daniel Weeks 44, Sweats 40, Godders 37, Wenners 32, Doyley 22 and last and least Oakers with 10

Week 28 overview

Looking back at week 28. It belonged to Gareth Bale, Arouna Kone, Grant Holt and Carlos Tevez.

Monday 25th February 2013
West Ham 2-3 Tottenham

Sunday 24th February 2013
Man City 2-0 Chelsea
Newcastle 4-2 Southampton

Saturday 23rd February 2013
Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa
Norwich 2-1 Everton
QPR 0-2 Man Utd
Reading 0-3 Wigan
West Brom 2-1 Sunderland
Fulham 1-0 Stoke