Staff at National League side Southend United have not been paid for the last two months, BBC Essex reports.

The majority of backroom staff at the club have not received their wages for April and are still awaiting payment for March.

Southend beat Wealdstone 2-1 in their final game of the season but results elsewhere meant they finished two points outside the play-off places.

The Shrimpers were put up for sale by chairman Ron Martin in March.

Two weeks prior to the announcement, Southend had a winding-up petition against them dismissed after the club paid £1.4m owed to HM Revenue & Customs.

That was the second such order in three years, with Southend having a previous winding-up order dismissed in January 2020.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/65369753

So it comes to pass that Celtic are on course to record a historic 8th treble-winning season - massive favourites to beat ICT in the Scot Cup final and an element of "pay-back" in this final after one of the most infamous and unfair refereeing decisions in Scot Cup history - in a 2015 Scot Cup semi-final v ICT when a CB named Josh Meekings clearly deliberately handled a goal-bound Griffiths header a foot off his own ICT goal-line and the incident bizarrely missed in a triangulated view from three different SFA ref officials/numpties - a pk and an automatic red card avoided, and ICT went on to win their 1st Scot Cup!! The Hoops won't bother re that piece of football infamy, but an absolute thrashing would be appreciated from many Celtic fans with little leniency applied and not so fickle either. Re the match, Celtic winning from a bullet header by Jota (Tavernier's defensive frailties exposed again while three other Rangers defenders "switch off" and expecting a free kick that never materialised!!), providing the all-important winning goal and Celtic's defence "toughing out" the match a bit more than normal with both CBs, Carter-Vicker and Starfelt, outstanding in the way they resolutely defended a "clean sheet" with Joe Hart doing everything asked of him in the Celtic goal. Unfortunately the Canadian full back, Johnston, picked up a nasty ankle injury after having an excellent game up to that critical moment in the 2nd half when he was injured. Again, Celtic not at their best, winning this match in 2nd or 3rd gear and still prob should've scored a couple more goals, but got the job done and the Rule Britannia brigade's season is done - no trophies won and lotsa debt into the bargain with few assets to sell on either!!

To say we were pants yesterday is an insult to pants. At least pants are functional. The first half was a vision of footballing purgatory. We only had three players. Clements looked like he'd seen full backs play before and was trying to do it. To his credit Colclough even managed to look vaguely dangerous. And Dobra was turning sharply and beating people, but his passing indicated an early appointment at Specsavers. The rest had peaked by managing to wear matching kit.

Second half we got slightly better and Maidstone took their cue to metamorphose into perennial losers. Dallas began inhabiting his own body and was fine. Clements continued to get crosses in and took his goal with a touch of class. Sadly Mandeville may be player of the year but wiry is becoming skeletal, he can play and produced one lovely pass, but he begins to look as though a puff of wind might deposit him on the Sheffield Road. Luckily King started to play and that means we improve in open play and become positively dangerous from dead balls. Our strange goalkeeper again achieved selection and inspired no confidence. Against a team which hadn't won in 21 games we again selected Jones so that restrained our attacking options, as did Oldaker's hair. Is there a barber's strike in Derbyshire?

But we're through to the semis. If we were against Boreham Wood or Bromley I can see the point of Dallas at centre forward, because lobbing balls in for McCallum or Quigley would be feeding their centre backs and helping them to another clean sheet. Dallas's pace would scare them if we can manage to play him in. Against Notts County (by some miracle) I'd go with a bigger option to keep their centre backs occupied and to stop them getting forward.

The bizarre thing is that there is some talent when Cookie decides to put it on the field and let it play. Akinola's energy would benefit us against any of the teams we might now play, but he has less chance of starting than Sheckleford or Horton ......... Notts County have several players capable of playing at a higher level, but they are also vulnerable, especially in defence and, like us, between the sticks. The play-offs are theirs to lose, but I can see ways they can achieve precisely that,

Former Eastleigh owner Stewart Donald has agreed a deal to purchase Eastleigh, five years after selling the club.

Donald was chairman of the National League side for seven years before selling the club in 2018.

He then led a consortium which took over Sunderland, but the former Premier League club failed to win promotion out of League One under his stewardship.

Donald sold a controlling stake in the Black Cats in 2021.

Last year, the businessman said that he would like to return to Eastleigh if he could sell his remaining stake in Sunderland.

Donald went on to sell a portion of his shares in Sunderland to owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus in June 2022 but said in an interview with with BBC Radio Solent that he still retains a 9% shareholding in the club.

Eastleigh said Donald's takeover was subject to approval by the National League, English Football League and Department of Culture, Media and Sport and that he would purchase a controlling stake from the four majority shareholders.

Premier League

Derby        17pts 3CS 4CR 10GB -3BB 0SB
Sanjay      15pts 3CS 5CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
SCO          11pts 1CS 3CR 10GB -3BB 0SB
Stairs          8pts 1CS 2CR 0GB 6BB 0SB
Zinman        5pts 1CS 2CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Blue Baggie  3pts 1CS 3CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
Minizin        -1pt 0CS 2CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
Snooty        -1pt 0CS 2CR -3GB -3BB 1SB

Well this may have changed things up a bit! A wide variation of scores with that last minute equaliser for Preston causing both great anguish or joy (or utter irrelevance for those of us predicting a Preston win!)

Derby is battling to hang on to his prediction league title and won't have done his chances any harm with a table topping performance thanks to 3 correct scores including the gamball. He is closely followed by Sanjay as he continues to climb towards safety - 15 points after losing on his gamball was a great return as he scored on the week's high of 5 matches. SCO was another beneficiary of Preston's late goal scoring a maximum on his gamball. Sadly he didn't get a lot else but that goal was enough to put him into double figures to help in his fight against relegation.

A bit average - or worse - after that. Stairs is in a familiar mid-table position thanks to avoiding the gamball and scoring a bonus maximum, his 2nd in a row after a season of failure with that ball. Zinman also secured a rare bonus point, but not a lot else as his bid for the title suffered while Blue looks to be on the beach though he could yet be pulled into the relegation battle.

A disaster for Minizin and Snooty in their efforts at both ends of the table. Both scored on just 2 games with no correct scores and losses on the major balls. They did however both collect the scoreball point - could that be vital as we approach the end of the season?

Derby 296
Minizin 289
Zinman 288
Stairs 271
Blue 245
Sanjay 237
SCO 221
Snooty 213

All change at both ends of the table. Derby leaps to the top of the table and with Zinman closing on Minizin just 8 points separate the top 3 as we enter the fianl 2 weeks of the season. We will have to check the rule book to see what happens if there's a tie - I seem to remember that it goes on reverse alphabetical order but SCO may have other ideas. Stairs isn't out of it but may have to play his gamball if he is to have any chance of crashing the title party - Derby's move this week shows what is possible so will he be tempted?

A few weeks ago Blue Baggie looked safe in mid-table but Sanjay's resurgence means that he is just 8 points away from being dragged into the play-offs. SCO's gamball maximum lifts him off the foot of the table but still some way off safety - both he and Snooty will need a couple of very good weeks to avoid the trap door.

Zin


Championship

Lady Jane 17pts 3CS 1CR 10GB -3BB 0SB
Themaclad 17pts 1CS 3CR 10GB 3BB 0SB
AAA 15pts 1CS 3CR 5GB 3BB 1SB
BaggieOne 7pts 1CS 2CR -3GB 3BB 1SB
Twerton 6pts 1CS 2CR -3GB 3BB 0SB
Amelia 2pts 0CS 2CR -3GB 3BB 0SB
BBB 1pts 1CS 1CR -3GB -3BB 1SB
Dingle -1pts 0CS 2CR -3GB -3BB 1SB

Well the rollercoaster season for many predictors continues!!!  Lady Jane puts in a much needed good result in joint first place with 17 points.  She was one of two players to get a spot on Gamball and backed that up with 2 other CSs but missed out on a great result by missing on the Bonus.  Themaclad, the epitome of a rollercoaster player, was the other one in joint first level on points with LJ, also getting a spot on Gamball and getting a CR on the Bonus.  AAA rounds out a solid top 3 with 15 points, he actually played the Gamball and scored a CR on it as well.

Big drop to BaggieOne with 7 points and Twerton with 6 points, both missed on the Gamball but scored on the Bonus, B1's scoreball kept him a point ahead in the end. 

Another drop off to the bottom 3.  Amelia, after a couple of good weeks drops to just 2 points, BBB drops to his standard form of missing on his balls and Dingle posted his worst score of the season with -1!!  He looked to have the title in the bag but as an Owls fan I know thats never the case unless the fat lady is actually singing!!!

319 Dingle
301 Lady Jane
295 AAA
293 BaggieOne
277 BBB
208 Themaclad
197 Twerton
189 Amelia

After a few weeks of no positional changes we see a number of them this week.  Dingle is still top but his lead has shrunk to just 18 points, exactly half what it was last week!!  LJ is up to 2nd place and is the second player to crack the 300 points mark.  AAA is up a place to 3rd place and the PO spot, while BaggieOne has dropped 2 places to now sit outside the promotion places!!  2nd, 3rd and 4th are separated by just 8 points going into the final weeks!!

BBB has lost touch a bit now with the top 4 but is still well clear of the bottom three.  After seeing it all get tight at the bottom, this weeks scores saw each gap stretch a bit, still all to play for in terms of the wooden spoon!!

Cheers
SCO

Hartlepool United have been put up for sale by chairman Raj Singh, citing supporter disenchantment and abuse, with Pools on the cusp of relegation from the English Football League.

Singh said selling the club was a "tough decision" and stated he was "hurting" at the on-field failure to compete in League Two this season.

The businessman reiterated he will be "fully committed" during the process.

John Askey will also continue as manager under Singh's stewardship.

Pools are currently second bottom of the division, six points behind Crawley - who they lost to on Saturday - with an inferior goal difference.

Latest League Two table
They would need to win both remaining games against Barrow and Stockport, Crawley to lose both of theirs and overhaul a minus-six goal differential in order to survive.

The Teesside businessman, who was previously involved with Darlington, took over Hartlepool in April 2018 and oversaw their last promotion back to the EFL in 2021.

"Plans have been put together and the manager will receive a budget of around one-third higher than the one that got us promoted a few years ago if we go into the National League," Singh said in his statement.

"We will back John and his team in either scenario to turn this situation around and we believe the ingredients are there to do so. In many ways the club is in a stronger position now.

"I have also given my assurances to the off-field staff that it will be business as usual and that they should continue with their good work and progress. The commercial team have a lot planned this summer.

"As long as the fans allow me the courtesy and don't force my hand, I will not just walk away and leave this club in a mess as some prior regimes have unfortunately done. My aim was always to leave Hartlepool United in a better position than what I found it, and I firmly believe that can still be done."

'Right intentions'
Singh's arrival in 2018 followed a period of upheaval at Pools, with two separate owners, relegation and multiple winding-up petitions lodged between Ken Hodcroft's sale of the club in 2014 and Singh taking over.

"As a local person I stepped in to help Hartlepool United when it was in danger of ceasing to exist and I have done my utmost," he added.

"Despite what some people might want to believe or portray, the club is in a much more secure position behind the scenes than when I arrived.

"I find some of the comments that are being made and the abuse that myself, my family and some staff have received incredibly difficult to hear and digest.

"I have dedicated my time, energy and money to help the club with the right intentions."

'One thing being up for sale, quite another to find buyer' - Analysis

Mark Drury, BBC Radio Tees Sport

It's not been a great few days for Hartlepool United's fans with defeat to Crawley at the weekend signalling a return to the National League and now the news that their club is up for sale.

In a club statement, chairman Raj Singh made reference to the calls for him to go - voiced by fans on Saturday - but maintains he will leave the club in "a better place" than he found it.

Singh also pledges to keep John Askey as manager and says his budget for next season will be a third bigger than the one that saw Pools to promotion in 2021.

One line of Singh's statement strikes an ominous tone when he says "As long as the fans allow me the courtesy and don't force my hand, I will not just walk away and leave this club in a mess as some prior regimes have unfortunately done".

As Pools fans know all too well, it's one thing to put a club up for sale, it's quite another to find a suitable buyer.

THE MATCH

SATURDAY 29TH APRIL KO 3:00PM

v

LAST MATCH



It was back to back wins for us, but after the results on Tuesday night, and although still in with a chance mathematically its going to be the playoffs for us. We were poor in he first half and never looked like scoring tbh and it was no surprise to go in at 0-0. Early in the second half Exeter's 2nd string took the lead, Key heading in from close range. It took us 10 minutes to equalize,  Gregory heading in Bannan's cross. Exeter had a couple of chances to take the lead but couldn't take them. We got the winner when Pato turned in Johnson's shot. We could have had a third in injury time but couldn't force the ball in.

THE MATCH



Next up and our final away fixture of the season and a trip to one of our bogey teams, Shrewsbury. We have only won once in eleven visits to Shrewsbury and that was 41 years ago. The Shrews are safe this season currently in 13th place in the league but have lost 6 of the last 7 games, a perfect time to play us then   There leading scorer is Luke Leahy, whos has 11 goals and 4 assists. They are managed by Steve Cotterill, who has been in charge since 2020.

ALL TIME H2H

OWLS 4
SHREWS 7  
DRAWS 13

CURRENT FORM

OWLS              -                                                                                   

SHREWS          -                                                     

EFL STOOGES

DOES IT MATTER THERE ALL CORRUPT  

DEAN WHITESTONE
Lee Venamore and Andrew Aylott
Fourth Official : Darren Handley

THE TEAM

Dawson
Palmer Famewo Flint
Adeniran Bannan Shipston Vaulks Johnson
Gregory Smith

SCORE & SCORER (HOME TEAM SCORE FIRST)

1-1 Gregory

WEDNESDAYS FIRT GOAL TIME

26

BML LEAGUE

Owlskev 34
Stateside 27
SCO 24
Imre 21
Wash 21
Maddix 19
Peiowl 16

OTHER GAMES OF MILD INTEREST

Brighton v Wolves
Reading v Wigan
Derby v Portsmouth
Northampton v Bradford
Boreham Wood v Yeovil

HAHHH

THE MUPPETT LEAGUE




KATE BECKINSALE TRIBUTE PIC