So the season ends with a 1-1 draw at the PBS. And again i'm left thinking it should have been better.

As far as i'm concerned 3rd was a definite possibility this season, 4th should have happened but instead we ended 5th.

Hertz played total anti-football again, constant fouling, diving and time wasting, some of their fans were also an absolute disgrace. That said our response was panic, and launching of endless high balls forward. I know the hertz keeper made a couple of good saves but our tactics and game management were really poor again. Zero in the way of composure and quality.

As for the melee at fulltime, Naismith being a snide wee dick had a lot to do with it. I hate that prick with a passion, no doubt in my mind he told Shankland to do what he did early on. I really wish one of our guys had smashed him one.

A sour end to whats been a pretty strange season.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65654944

Celtic celebrating their Scot Prem title win on a sunny Saturday afternoon in their final league fixture of the season and they did it in style - a "brace" of goals for the deadly Kyogo and ditto for Oh plus a vg headed goal for Carl Starfelt. All in, a stunning performance by Ange's prob Scot Cup final team and all Hoops' players trying to justify their inclusion in next Saturday's showpiece Scottish Cup final-"treble" fixture with the traditional KO time of 3.00pm disgracefully amended to 5.30pm (because of a clash with the FA Cup final!!? Money talks eh!!) despite protestations from Celtic FC, ICT and various fans' groups. Kyogo injured during this match, but confirmed later to be a minor prob.
So the league season is finally over with the SFA being the subject of severe criticism. I'd luv to see this criticism of the SFA pushed a step further by lotsa clubs also asking the question, "Why Rangers FC have hardly been impacted negatively by SFA refs (or VAR in recent times!!) after 100s and 100s of hours of footie"???????? There are serious questions to raise re this Govan footie club and the damning stats that seem to indicate that their players behave/are treated differently from other normal players in the SPFL!!!!! It's high time the relative footie clubs and Scot fans' groups started challenging the SFA re such highly questionable ref officiation that has dragged on for a number of years and renders RFC a huge beneficiary after said 100s of hours of footie and yet UEFA ref decisions/stats show far more realistic ref data against Rangers compared with said domestic stats. This issue has been ignored for too long and really should be sorted for the overall good of the game up here.

MK Dons have appointed former Motherwell boss Graham Alexander as their new head coach.

The 51-year-old replaces Mark Jackson, who was sacked following the club's relegation from League One.

The former Scotland international defender guided Motherwell to a place in the Europa Conference League in 2021-22, but left last summer.

Alexander told the Dons' website he was grateful for a "fantastic opportunity" at a club with "great potential".

"Coming off the back of a difficult time, I fully understand what the supporters will want and expect from their team," he added.

"We want them to be able to look forward with positivity and belief. For all of us, nothing gets better than winning on a Saturday and we will work every single minute to give the MK Dons supporters a team that can be successful.

Dons sack Jackson after relegation
Winkelman says he 'blew it'
The reasons for Alexander's Motherwell exit
Alexander, who is joined at Stadium: MK by assistant head coach Chris Lucketti, added: "I am a head coach who is adaptable in my approach. It's the players who go out onto the pitch and win games so it's about analysing what they are best at and creating a framework which allows them to flourish.

"Ultimately, though, I've always set my teams out to score goals - without doubt that's something we'll be looking to bring to this job."

Alexander made more than 1,000 professional appearances during a playing career with Scunthorpe United, Luton Town, Burnley and Preston North End and has also managed Fleetwood Town, Scunthorpe and Salford City.

Lucketti is a former defender who played more than 600 career games and has worked with Alexander in all his managerial roles.

Dons chairman Pete Winkelman said the new managerial team "ticked all the boxes".

"This is a start of a new chapter for us," he added. "Graham brings with him the football experience and success, both as a player and as a manager, that we demanded of our next head coach.

"He knows exactly how he is finding us and is fully aware of the task in hand. We, as a club, will give him every bit of support we can and I have no doubt that our supporters will do the same."

Mk Dons reached the League One play-offs under Liam Manning in 2022 before losing to Wycombe.

But following just one win in 11, and with the Dons next to bottom of the table, Manning was sacked in December after 16 months in charge - and Jackson's reign only lasted five months.

Our first two friendlies have been announced We play Salford at the Peninsula Stadium on Wednesday July 19 July.

Followed by Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium on July 22.

I have mentioned before about the difference a good owner can make,

The same day we play Salford, Wrexham AFC are playing Chelsea in North Carolina, USA. Then the same day we play Burton Albion, they are playing L.A. Galaxy in Los Angeles.

On the 25th July, they play Manchester United in San Diego, California,

Also between the 1st - 4th July, they are taking part in a 7v7 tournament in Cary North Carolina, $1 million winner takes all.

Jonson Clarke-Harris, the joint-leading scorer in League One this season, has been transfer-listed by Peterborough.

The 28-year-old scored 26 goals as Posh reached the play-offs, losing to Sheffield Wednesday in their epic semi-final.

He is one of nine players made available for sale, with the club following their policy of listing those in the final year of their contracts.

Defenders Ben Mensah and Nathan Thompson have been released.

Peterborough have announced the news less than 24 hours after Darren Ferguson agreed a new three-year contract - after returning to the club for a fourth spell in charge in January.

Clarke-Harris, who joined Posh from Bristol Rovers for £1.2m in August 2020, only once went more than three games without scoring this term and grabbed Posh's final goal in their 4-0 win over Wednesday in the first leg of their play-off semi-final.

Despite being overwhelming favourites to reach Wembley, Posh were denied in sensational fashion by the Owls' record-breaking comeback in the second leg.

Ferguson defends Posh players after play-off loss
Clarke-Harris is joined on the transfer list by goalkeeper Christy Pym, defenders Frankie Kent, Josh Knight, Joe Tomlinson and Dan Butler and midfielders Oliver Norburn, Jeando Fuchs and Ben Thompson.

Former captain Thompson, 32, leaves Posh after four seasons, having been part of the squad that won promotion to the Championship in 2020-21.

Meanwhile, long-serving right-sided player Joe Ward has been offered a new three-year contract.

The 27-year-old has made more than 200 appearances for Posh since signing from Woking in January 2018.

This lot have hit hard times over recent years

The future of 1990s FA Cup giantkillers Hednesford Town is under threat after a failed takeover.

The Staffordshire club released a statement on Thursday to say a deal for a new owner to take over the Pitmen has fallen through.

They will not now take up their place in the eighth tier Northern Premier League West for the 2023-24 season.

The club said: "All options will now be explored to try and ensure Hednesford can restart for the following season."

"It is with huge sadness that we write to confirm that the prospective new owner and chairman has withdrawn from the takeover late this afternoon.

"Due to recent meetings with the league and the FA, the timing of this means that unfortunately, Hednesford Town FC will be unable to play in the 2023-24 season."

The peak days of the Pitmen
Hednesford were the top non-league club in the Midlands when they finished 10th in the Conference in 1988-99, having finished seventh in their first campaign at fifth-tier level the year before.

They spent four seasons at fifth-tier level before being relegated in 2001.

They also made national headlines when they reached the FA Cup fourth round in 1997, beating fellow non-league side Southport and winning 1-0 at Blackpool thanks to a late Joe O'Connor strike before victory over York City at Keys Park.

They then lost 3-2 at Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough, the eventual finalists, only going down to two late goals from Jan-Aage Fjortoft and Fabrizio Ravanelli.

Hednesford were top of Conference North when they last reached the FA Cup first round in November 2013, narrowly losing 2-1 at home to Crawley Town.

But they dropped away to finish fourth, behind champions Telford, and were then relegated to the Northern Premier League just two seasons later in 2016.

And they have been in the Northern Premier League West since it restructured in 2020.

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson has signed a new three-year deal with the League One club.

Ex-Preston and Doncaster boss Ferguson, 51, returned to the club in January for his fourth spell in charge.

Posh lost just two of their last 11 games to sneak into the play-offs - but then failed over two legs against Sheffield Wednesday despite winning the semi-final first leg 4-0.

"It was pivotal here that we had a complete refresh," said Ferguson.

"I had a long chat with the chairman [Darragh MacAnthony] and we spoke about the direction I felt the club needed to go in and that was to go younger, to develop players. I felt there were a lot of players that have been here a long time and we needed to freshen the squad up.

"Fortunately he agreed. We are very much aligned on that. I felt the chairman would go with it and he did.

"There is no denying that in the many years that Darragh and I have been together, it has a been a hugely successful period of time.

"We are not going to be shouting things from the rooftops, saying we are going to do this or that. We are very much looking as a club mid to long term. Of course, we want to be competitive. We will look to bring in players to supplement what we have, but it is important to have a bit of a reset."

MacAnthony added: "The owners are absolutely thrilled that the greatest manager of Posh in modern times is part of an exciting new chapter."

If Ferguson sees the contract out, it will take him close to 1,000 matches as a manager, having so far taken charge of 736 games.

Ferguson, who stood down as Posh boss in February 2022, has led the club to promotion four times, as well as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy title in 2014.

THE MATCH

MONDAY 29TH MAY KO 3:00PM

v

LAST MATCH



Of all the teams to come up with a miracle, we would have been bottom of the list, but somehow we beat the Posh 5-1 after extra time and then won the penalty shootout to book ourselves a place in the final against Barnsley. We got off to the perfect start, Johnson was fouled in the box and Smith tucked away the penalty. It was soon 2-0 when Gregory turned in from close range. Both team had chances but the score remained 2-0. Onto the 2nd half and we laid seige to the Posh goal. We were having chances but had to wait until the 71st minute when James poked in from close range. And then in true dramatic fashion Palmer levelled the tie in "Fergie Time" to send us to ET. Posh then took the lead when Gregory headed into his own net. But we didn't give up and Paterson prodded in the equalizer and the game went to penalties. Posh made 3 out of 4 while we scored all five, Jack Hunt with the decisive kick to send us to Wembley  

THE MATCH



So onto the final and The Dingles stand in our way from a return to The Championship. Barnsley did the double over us this season, winning 0-2 at Hillsborough and 4-2 at Oakwell. Barnsley edged out Bolton in there playoff semi final, 2-1 on aggregate. There top scorer is Devante Cole who has 16 goals, but they also have 2 other players in double figures, Norwood with 12 and Phillips with 10. They are managed by Michael Duff who has done a really good job since taking over in June 2022. As for the game, my worry is that DM reverses to type and will play is pragmatic 352 system instead of sticking to the all-out attack approach v Peterborough (yes I know we had to attack but look at the result). Maybe a combination of the two is a possibility, of course injuries might come into play too. I would love us to win of course but I am already preparing for a trip to the likes of Stevenage & Northampton for next season    

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 37
BARN 25  
DRAWS 17 

CURRENT FORM

OWLS              -                                                                                        

BARNSLEY        -                                                                                         

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

Referee: Tim Robinson
Assistant Referees: Shaun Hudson & Akil Howson
Fourth Official: John Busby
Reserve AR: Mark Russell
VAR: Tony Harrington
AVAR: Dan Robathan

THE TEAM

Dawson
Palmer Flint Ihekwe
Paterson Bannan Vaulks Johnson
Windass
Smith Gregory

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

3-2 Smith

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

BML LEAGUE

Owlskev 34
Stateside 27
SCO 25
Imre 25
Wash 22
Maddix 19
Peiowl 17

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Everton v AFC Bournemouth
Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur
Leicester City v West Ham United
Manchester United v Fulham
Southampton v Liverpool

HAHHA

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC

Salford City have released defenders Ashley Eastham and Jason Lowe.

Club captain Eastham, 32, joined the Ammies from Fleetwood in January 2020 but did not feature after November this season because of injury.

Lowe, 31, made 116 league appearances in three seasons with the League Two side.

The club are in discussions with Ibou Touray, Ryan Watson, Matty Lund, Conor McAleny, Joel Torrance and Liam Shephard over new deals.

Veteran defender Adrian Mariappa, 36, has also been released after joining on a short-term deal in March and making nine appearances.

Neil Wood's men finished seventh in the fourth tier but were beaten on penalties by Stockport in their play-off semi-final.