David's Daily Diversions

Ups and Downs

I have been known to follow football (that's soccer to you lot in America) more attentively than this past season. I could be something to do with the work and stress of the teaching year. It could be the disapointment of last year's Conference Playoffs.

So here we are at the end of the season and Hooterville United once again finish second in the Conference, which means the playoffs instead of automatic promotion. The team who last year were given the ticket to the playoff final by the incompetent ref are once again in the bracket, but this time pitted in the semis against Carlisle United. Will Hooterville's Bulls make in back into the Football League for the first time since 1997? Don't hold your breath.

The first team I ever supported in English football used to be a powerhouse of the old First Division (now the Premier League). In the glory days of the late 1970s, they were European Cup winners. I once visited their ground and had lunch with the chairman. Yesterday, Nottingham Forest were mathematically relegated to what is now called the Coca-Cola Footbal League One, more recently Division Two, or the old Division Three. So a first-tier stadium is the home to a third-tier team. Will they ever return to top-flight football? Don't hold your breath.