Southampton To go Up ?

After a couple of months without speaking to the press, Southampton Manager Jim Leslie finally came out to a standing ovation on Monday evening. Everyone wanted to know how he was and what he has been up to. After a minutes silence Leslie said "I would like to thank everyone for coming here today. I know you are all wondering what I've been up to. The truth is, as much as I normally do. I've been masterminding our assault on div 1. However, we cannot get complacent. Bradford and Everton could still take the top two spots and see us stay in div 1 for another season. A point next week will see us mathematically safe from relegation for another season and that is our main concern at the minute. We also have to play those two teams also, with Everton looking to do the double over us, and Bradford seeking revenge for the 1-0 win we sneaked at Valley Parade. I have been scouring the foreign markets for possible signings, but nothing has come to fruition as of yet. But I am happy with my squad at the minute. If we do stay here though, there is a possibility of playing York next season which excites us here. We are always looking for an easy 6 points in the league, and they would be very useful in such a competitive division. Norwich proved that last weekend. They have a relatively inexperienced manager, but I predict a bright future for him in the game. My only regret of the season is that I have bonitis." This left the packed press conference stunned, and wishing Leslie all the best. However he said, "The doctors have encouraged me to drink as much alcohol as possible to reduce the effects of the disease, so if you excuse me, I'll be off to the pub."

from north

"Aberdeen supporters club today announced their player of the month awards.
First of all the young player award went to defender C_Bentham. He has been
consistant all season and really is developing into a solid defender.
Bentham was also given the job of back up captain after the departure of
C_Short.

The player of the month award however went to A_Barness. The defensive
midfielder has made the position his own after struggling to keep his place
after some excellent performances. he always works hard in training and is
an influence to the younger players."

Refreshed and Ready to Go

After a 2 week break from action, the Aberdeen squad are feeling refreshed
and are looking forward to the trip to spurs on sunday. The dons will be
without Djetou for the bottom of the table clash but are confident they can
get a result.
Obviosly we are out of contention for any success this season but we'll be
wanting to avoid finishing bottom if possible. The remainder of the season
will be used to build up the players for a promotion push nextseason with
many of the youngsters looking to improve by then. Spurs will be a tough
task though especially after their midweek signing of Raul.

Brazilian world cup winner signs for Bradford!

With Bradford City on the verge of a metioric rise from Division 3 up to the top flight in successive seasons, recent signs indicate that the club has far more pulling power than in the days of old. Before the arrival of manager Birch and chairman Rhodes, City were limited to signing has been's and never will be's and were mainly a selling team rather than buying and building. The best players were sold on without suitable replacements being brought in and the team languished in he basement division with no signs of life.

But since the arrival of Birch and Rhodes, the pair have worked hard together in order to build up a strong foundation with which to build up a world class squad and challenge with the games giants. The Bradford regeneration plan which was supposed to finally lead the Bantams to the Premiership in 4 seasons time is well ahead of schedule and the squad building has snowballed to such an extent that the City squad is looking like it might even be able to hold it's own with the big boys already. Some major stars have made dramatic switches to West Yorkshire in order to jump on the Bantams bandwagon and it seems nobody is too big to be a Bradford target these days.

Julian Rhodes "When I first became City chairman we had gone through some rough times and we couldn't attract the players we wanted. We had just sacked the previous manager as well as the board of directors and the club was in a hell of a mess and in severe danger of being thrown out of the league altogether. My ambitions at the time were just to make City a viable option and perhaps get them into Division 2. I did not really look much further than that. But when I recieved all the applications for the vacant managers position and Matt Birch's name stood out I was over the moon, we were incredibly lucky to land such a high profile manager as I'd expected to sign a manager with not much of a track record. As soon as Birch walked through the door we discussed where I thought the club could go and he scoffed at my predictions. He had a vision to transform the club into a top flight team on a tight budget within 8 seasons and his plans seemed realistic. Any other manager I would have had my doubts about but with Birch's track record and with his love and passion for his hometown club I really believed in him and just look at us now! We are on the brink of the Premiership, in the FA Cup semi final and had a good Inter Wing Cup run.

Over the past few weeks we've really made massive strides in our squad building, we've had the return of fans favourite Rufus Brevett in a cut price move to escape his Leeds hell. We've brought in Kristoffer Arvhage, a highly rated Swedish international, Nigerian international legend Finidi George and Aussie hero Harry Kewell. And to top that all off this week we managed to persuade world cup winning Denilson to join, he was so keen to come here that he took a massive pay cut to play for us. Having a player of his standing joining us is only going to attract more media attention to us, open up new merchandising avenues and send the signal out to everyone that we really mean business."

Aberdeen today confirmed the signing of M_Proctor in a 2.5 million deal
with bradford. The arrival of the 28 year old will end watsons search for an
am. Proctor played under manager watson at boston so will be well known. He
should be in the squad for the weekends game.
One player that wont make the squad though is backup striker C_Field. The 22
year old former sporting lisbon striker was injured in the reserve defeat to
spurs and will now miss most of the season. he is expected to be fit for the
last game of the season

After a season and a half of turning down offers, stu watson has shocked
the club by announcing that young prodigy A_Cerci will be leaving the club
at the end of the season. The highly sought after striker has been the
target of a number of clubs who have all been defiantly told he was not for
sale but he will now move to feyenoord. Terry Leightons persistance finally
paid off last night when a deal was struck with Aberdeen seeing Attacking
midfielder C_Bellamy and rising star A_Diamond move to the dons. Diamond
will spend the season developing at feyenoord before moving to Aberdeen and
should be a very established defender when he arrives and Bellamy is a very
accomplished versetile player.

manager stu watson

" I've always said that evryone is available if the right deal comes along
and finally I have recieved an offer that i deem worthy of taking cerci
away. he will be missed as he was developing into a good forward but we've
still got anelka and field to fill the role and bellamy will add a whole new
dimension to our squad."

That's more like it!

Derby County achieved a satisfying 2-0 victory over rivals Arsenal on
Sunday, and kept up the pace on top side Middlesboro. Goals from retirees
Zidane, in the first minute, and then Elber just before half-time, were
enough to secure the victory. However, at this stage, the Premiership is
still Boro's to lose, as they continue to hold a 1 point advantage over
County. Boro's last game is home to Man Utd, and although Derby could only
manage a draw against them, it is unlikely that Boro will commit the same
error. So, Derby's only hope is that boro slip up away at struggling West
Ham next week, and that Derby can win their last two home games, against
Dundee Utd and West Ham. It looks increasingly unlikely that Derby will win
the Prem, but stranger things have happened. Watch this space!

Ponder over Pompey

York City's manager launched a scathing attack on his team after their 2-0 FA Cup Semi-Final defeat to Portsmouth.

"It was an appauling display," commented the York manager. "Our fans have travelled a long way to follow us over the last 8 seasons, and although we have no trouble getting into the Semi-Finals, we cannot get into the Final."

York goalkeeper Iker said, "it was horrible out there today. We just couldn't get ourselves started and Portsmouth were up for it more on the day. At least we have the chance to make some sort of ammends in the league this season. If we beat Wolves and Pompey beat Charlton then we are going up. We are still hopeful, and I'm desperate to represent York City in the 1st Division next season."

When anyone from the club was asked about the recent departure of Lee Nogan to the old folks home, all the players said it was, "fantastic news" and that they'd all had a champagne celebration for a week after his departure. The fans leaving the Semi-Final were downbeat about the defeat to Portsmouth, but still up beat that Nogan had left the club. "At least that shitty sheep-shagging cunt will never disgrace us with his presence again" said one fan.

Elation at Pride Park.

In football, it is on very rare occasions that circumstances conspire to provide just what you hope for, but this past weekend that is exactly what happened for Derby County fans. At start of play in their home match against last year´s champions Dundee Utd, Derby were sitting in second spot, tucked in behind Middlesboro. Things were looking good for Boro, as their last two matches were to be played against struggling West Ham, who had just lost star player Gresko to Dundee United, and Man Utd, who had already given up by player their first team players in the reserves. The Premiership crown was theirs for the taking, it seemed. Derby began brightly against the Scots, but it was a very tight game and hard fought, providing few clear openings for either side, and the openings there were were ably taken care of by both goalkeepers. However, after a few tactical changes by County as they pushed for a goal, the winner came via the boot of midfield maestro Sean Gall with 15 minutes to play. That goal proved enough for the victory, but all ears in the ground were glued to transistor radios as the Pride Park faithful were anxiously awaiting the result from Upton Park. And it seemed as if the hard fought win by County would be in vain, as boro were ahead at 90 minutes and looking good for the win. However, deep into injury time, the Sham´s star striker Trezeguet found the back of the net and levelled the match. This goal sent the County crowd into raptures, and sent Derby top of the league with one match to play, home to the same West Ham. One way or another, West Ham have the honour of deciding where the Prem trophy will finish up this season. The Pride Park faithful will be hoping against hope that the silverware lands in the East Midlands.

Five Star County

The Pride Park faithful went more proud than ever of their footballing
heroes this Sunday. As the crowds filled the stadium before the match,
there was a subdued hush because everyone knew the significance of the
match as second played host to first in PBEMFF's top league. But that
tension erupted into celebration as early as the third minute when DiCanio
played an exquisite one-two and slotted the ball home to put Derby in the
lead. This was just reward for Derby's attacking tactic going hand in hand
with the bold move of playing three strikers.
After that goal, however, the rest of the first half was pretty even and it
remained very tense. However, it looks like the Derby players had extra
lucozade at halftime, as they came out looking like they wanted to tear
Middlesboro apart. On fifty minutes, midfield maestro played an exquisite
pass to veteran striker Elber, and he made no mistake, making it 2-0.Then,
nine minutes later, DiCanio struck again, this time taking the pass from
Montero. Having two goals seemed to inspire DiCanio, and one minute later,
he scored his best goal, as he completed his hattrick, with a beautiful
solo goal, making it 4-0. The rout was completed on 62 minutes, as defender
Repka turned provider and sent midfielder Sean Gall clear, and he made no
mistake. Sadly, Repka will now face a 3 match ban after picking up yet
another yellow, and will be accompanied by fellow defender Adani, who
picked up an injury and will be out also for three weeks. However, the fans
will not be thinking about that as they celebrate this historic victory
that puts Derby County top of the tree.

Norwich come Up Short

Aberdeen today confirmed that captain C_Short will finish his season and
carreer at division 1 strugglers norwich city. The 36 year old was destined
to finish the season on the bench due to the signing of Djetou from borussia
dortmund so when the cash offer came in for norwich it was inevitable he
would move on. Short has been a great player for the club and we hope he can
do something to save norwich from the drop.

Bantams crush Canaries!

Bradford City returned to the top of Division 1 in spectacular fashion yesterday with a 6-1 humiliation of Norwich City. The result puts City one point ahead of arch rivals Southampton and gives them a 5 point lead over the chasing pack with only three league games remaining. The result was a timely boost for City following a loss to bogey team Glasgow Rangers in the league which threatened to derail their promotion bid and a dissapointing IWC loss to Club Brugge.

Bradford boss Matt Birch "I'm delighted the lads responded so well after some recent dissapointments. We had been well beaten by Brugge midweek and the lads were feeling a bit down but I've brought in Denilson and his arrival has really perked up both the fans and the players. He really was a bargain at 14 million and everyone has really taken to him. I decided to throw him straight in at Norwich and told the lads to just really go for it and enjoy themselves and not to worry if we let in or two goals in, I was hoping we could get 3 or 4 goals to boost morale so to score 6 was a real delight. We ripped the Norwich team apart on their home turf and we looked fantastic. It was particularly nice to see all the new boys chip in today, Finidi bagged a goal, Denilson capped a box to box performance with an assist, Cudicini put his injuries behind him with a sterling display of goal-keeping and Arvaghe was in the middle of everything. With some tough games coming up to cement promotion and of course the big FA Cup semi final against the mighty Dundee United we really needed to get back on track and we now feel confident we can take on anybody."

Kitty Boosted by Reserves Exit

Aberdeen today confirmed that 3 reserve palyers will be leaving at the end
of the season. L_Mckenzie will join bolton immediatly with D_Griffin going
to Bayern and Grant_Mccann leaving for paris at the end of the season. The
combined fees will come to around 7 million which will go straight into the
transfer kitty for next season

VISIT FROM JIMMY LIFTS NORWICH AHEAD OF IBROX SHOWDOWN

Norwich this week received a huge boost before their
daunting trip to Ibrox, when Aberdeen legend Jimmy
Calderwood stopped by.

Calderwood knows all about beating Rangers,
masterminding an incredible 3-2 victory over the
Glasgow giants, and was on hand to give the Norwich
players advice before their trip to Govan this
weekend.

The visit left such an impression that Carrow road
gaffer Andrew Southwick is now convinced his side can
also pull off a famous result.

"Jimmy is a legend. Beating the huns 3-2 was class,
it should have been 5-2 really.

"We know we have a huge task this weekend if we're to
match that scoreline, even harder than Jimmy faced in
fact because the game is at Ibrox and we're just off
the back of a morale crushing 6-1 defeat.

"Mols has to be stopped as he seems to be their main
player, but apart from that they're just an average
side who get lucky with referees.

"I hate everything about Rangers, but I fully expect
I'll be laughing all the way home on Sunday."

There's no doubt the canaries could do with the three
points with only three games left to save their
season, however Southwick rules out any chance of the
Huns going easy in order to help get Celtic relegated.

"They won't want to lose their Old Firm game, the
dirty b*******."

Frustration at Pride Park

In possibly Derby County's worst performance of the season, in which the
midlands side could only manage a draw home to struggling Man Utd, Derby
seem to have thrown away their chances of winning the Premiership. Despite
playing with a hugely attacking formation, County could not break down a
resilient United defence, and then disaster struck in the 81st minute, as
Montero managed to place the ball into his own net, and it looked as though
United might get their first win of the season. And despite MOM Doni
equalising four minutes later, the damage was done. Man Utd took a point
from a match that should have been a no-brainer, and Middlesboro took full
advantage, beating Cardiff City and re-taking top spot. With Boro now
facing the bottom three sides in their last three matches, it is theirs to
lose. County, however, will be going all out to keep the pressure on, in
the hope that Boro also slip up soon.

ARSENAL MANAGER CONCEDES AFTER DEFEAT
Arsenal manager Steve arscott today told the press hed given up hope of a shock title challenge after defeat to long term rivals derby county. Steve and graham have been long term rivals but its all ways been a friendly rivalry with the two clubs doing many a deal between them. the mached ended 2-0 to derby county and with arsenal having a much lesser sqd.

arsenal where expected to struggle this season but have had a very good season and found them self in 3rd position with 3 games to go just 2 points off the pace and with a serious title challenge but that was all ended by derby this weekend.

arsenal can still be very proud of them selfs to see them selfs 4th in the table ahead of such teams as Dundee utd the current champions. arsenal are now 5 points behind the leaders boro with two games to go against Cardiff and Leeds utd.

this is what arsenals gaffer had to say:
I'm very happy with my boys this season they've out done them selfs. it will be sad to see many of them leave the club for pastures new at the end of the season. id like to give a big well done to every one and wish them all luck in there futures.

well i think arscott is hinting there will be lots of departures at the end of season and we have heard rumors already that star players drogba and humperdink have been in talks with French underachievers auxerre.

Bantams mind games earn shock FA Cup victory over Dundee United

Bradford City reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history following a surprise 2-0 victory over Premiership giants Dundee United. The Bantams had been playing mind games with Arabs boss Andy Grant in the week coming into the match and it resulted in Dundee United sacrificing their normal playing style and ultimately saw City taking the spoils. Bradford boss Matt Birch "I can't tell you how delighted I am after this victory. This result puts all our other results in the shade. I was amazed to see how much effect our pre-match antics had had as Grant made their whole team sit behind the ball. This is totally against the way they usually play and they looked very uncomfortable. We set out to play on the break and this had the effect of a very dull first half. I brought the lads in at half time and they were talking about trying to be more forceful but I told them to just stick with the game plan and wait for the opposition to change their way of play. I knew the longer the game went on, the more desperate Grant would become. They would have been favourites in a penalty shoot out but I was counting on Grant not wishing to take that chance. They changed their pattern of play towards the end of normal time and I don't think they ever really clicked into gear and with our boys fully settled we took control, created more pressure and scored two in extra time to clinch it. I'm sure Dundee United will feel hard done by after having two goals ruled out but I think the decisions were very fair, that's what you get playing the way they played and I think deep down they can have no complaints."

Bradford now go on to play Portsmouth in the final in Cardiff next month. Birch "I'm under no illusions about the final. We have beaten Pompey last season in the league and have beaten the reigning IWC champions, the reigning FA Cup holders and now the reigning Premiership champions in the FA Cup this season just getting to the final so you would probably have us down as favourites. But we like to take it one game at a time and concentrate on that and never go into a match expecting to win. Pompey are a tough proposition and are a team on the up and after the season we have had I would give them the edge. They have had the easier season in the league and in both cups so I think come Cardiff I think they'll have the edge physically and psychologically. Of course I'd love for us to take the cup back to Bradford but the whole club is just delighted to even be in the final."