Barnet 0-1 Chesterfield
Eastleigh 2-1 Oldham Athletic
Rochdale 2-0 Wealdstone
Solihull Moors 3-0 Kidderminster Harriers
Southend United 1-3 Altrincham
Woking 0-2 Gateshead


League Table After Matchday 40

SaltergateBorn - 725
Spireitematt - 718
Amelia - 633
St Charles - 596
Lord Snoots - 589
Dancing - 585
Devon - 541

Gamball:
Preston - Hull

Others:
Brentford - Chelsea
Everton - West Ham
Fulham - Brighton
Birmingham - Southampton
Millwall - Watford
Norwich - Sunderland
Rotherham - Sheff Wed
Stoke - Middlesbrough
Burnley - Bournemouth

I am sure we used to have a thread where general posts could be put, maybe it is still here I did not see it.

Anyway popped onto YouTube earlier and on my recommended videos was something I don't remember seeing since going to the game, (an 8th birthday present) and that was the Birmingham City v West Brom 1968 F.A. Cup semi-final from Vile Park. I though someone else may like reminiscing, so here is the URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EvNFWwKrio

Hibs now get the chance to improve on last week's draw at Aberdeen with a home game against Dundee. All the statisitcs point to a Hibs victory, but at present Hibs can't buy a win for love nor money, whereas Dundee have won their last 2 games. Admittedly they were against Ross County and St Johnstone, but I've seen or heard nothing to suggest we would fare any better.

Nick Montomery on the game
“They’re all massive games. It’s at home, we have a good run of games at home in the last eight games before the split, so that’s a real opportunity for us. I’m hoping there’s a really good crowd there tomorrow to get behind the players because we really need that. Tomorrow is a really important game. Dundee are where they are because they deserve to be there, but we’ve got a real opportunity tomorrow to take the game to them, to try and win the game.”

I hope we can, because if Bushiri and Triantis play in the same back-line, I fear the worst.

This will be the last post from me on this thread for about a month, so if anyone fancies bringing some luck to the Hibees in the coming weeks, then come along and have your tuppencworth.

Torquay United are to go into administration after owner Clarke Osborne said he can no longer fund the National League South club.

The Gulls, who are 11th in National League South, have been owned by Osborne since 2016 after he bought the club from a fan-led consortium.

In his time Torquay have twice been relegated to the sixth tier.

They missed out on promotion to League Two in 2021 after losing to Hartlepool United in the play-off final.

Osborne has also stood down as club chairman and the club is set to be deducted 10 points, dropping them from 11th to 18th in the National League South table, four points above relegation to the Southern League.

"It is with sincere regret that I advise that circumstances beyond my control during the last five weeks have brought me to the position that I an unable to continue financial support for the club and I have today filed on behalf of the directors an intention to appoint an administrator for the club and company," Osborne said in a statement on the club website.

Osborne had kept Torquay afloat - the last set of accounts show loans of almost £4.3m to the club.

It is expected that that figure is likely to be well past £5m with new accounts for the year to June 2023 due soon.

"The financing of football in this country is precarious and can only thrive in the lower divisions where there is either a close collaborative relationship with the local authority, it is a trophy asset or is backed by substantial local individuals and businesses," Osborne added.

"I believe that it needs a fundamental overhaul of its financing structure, rights distribution in the lower leagues and recognition that many clubs represent a fundamental part of the local community and its visitor attractions.

"Ambitious clubs should, in my opinion, be given special status in their push to bring in investment, develop facilities, bring spend and employment to the local economy."

Controversial owner
Clarke Osborne
Clarke Osborne rarely attended Torquay United matches
The decision leaves Torquay searching for a fourth owner in less than a decade.

The Gulls got to the League Two play-off final in 2011 under a consortium backed by the money of late lottery-winning supporter Paul Bristow, whose widow Thea eventually assumed full control.

She sold the club for £1 in May 2015 to a consortium of local business people, but they did not have the finances to sustain the club and it was sold in December 2016 to Osborne through his firm Gaming International, which set up Riviera Stadium Limited as its parent company.

But Osborne's tenure at Plainmoor has been controversial.

He outlined plans for a new stadium but they never got any further than meetings and artists' impressions.

Gaming International also owns Swindon's speedway team and his plans for a new stadium for the club have also never borne fruit, while he was also part of a group trying unsuccessfully to build a ground for Bristol Rovers when the club sold Eastville to the furniture firm Ikea.

"He's an absent owner, he doesn't come and watch matches," Torquay United Supporters Trust chairman Nick Brodrick told BBC Sport, ahead of a planned protest against Osborne's ownership scheduled for Saturday's home game with Aveley.

"We are very vigilant as the Trust. We have a strategy group that's been meeting regularly for the last two or three years and we have plans for any particular scenarios that might develop, like administration, liquidation, or whether it might even result in having to for a phoenix club.

"We have plans for all eventualities depending on what happens with Mr Osborne's decisions about the football club."

But, in his departing statement, Osborne was still adamant that a new stadium was key to the club's future.

"The prospect of creating a new stadium and commercial facility was the driver for the investment, the excitement to deliver something truly transformative for the club and Torbay," he said.

"I would reiterate what I have said many times, that Torquay United is blessed with fantastic, passionate support and I am sorry that we have not been able to reach our goal for the club and fans, despite significant effort and investment."

He added: "Now is the time for the club, supporters, Torbay community and the Local Authority to come together and continue on the path to the future.

"I will assist a change of ownership where and when invited. The detailed plans, proposals and related data for the proposed developments will be gifted to the club as will any time requested to assist in the future planning and development."

The club says all money that it earns from now on will be used solely to run the football club adding "legal and administration fees will not be paid from the operational cashflow".

Premier League

Minizin 29
Derby 25
Blue B 23
Zinman 22
Stairs 17
Lady J 17
B.B.B. 5
Dingle 0

One of the best scoring week in the PL this season and were it not for Dingle being MIA it might have been a season's best!! Minizin did post a season's best score with a superb 29 points!! He scored on 9 games with 3 CSs, including one on the Gamball and a CR on the Bonus. Derby matched his best score of the season with 25 points, he too got 3 CSs but went one better than Minizin by getting the Gamball and Bonus spot on!! In 3rd place is Blue Baggie with a fine 23 points. Like the other two he got 3 CSs including on the Gamball but his failure to pick up any points on 4 games held his score back. Zinman rounds out the top 4 with 22 points, a score that would give you first place most weeks!! He only managed 2 CSs and only got a CR on the Gamball.

Stairs and Lady Jane were joint 5th with a very respectable 17 points each. Both missed on the Gamball and only got 1 CS each but they both managed to score on 8 games in total so it just shows the fine margins between a good score and an excellent one!!

Way adrift this week, and completely out of step with everyone else is BBB who managed just 5 points in a week where everyone else scored brilliantly!! He failed to score positive points on 7 games, thankfully one of the scoring games was the Gamball but he missed the Bonus. After a few decent weeks this one week may really hurt his season!!

Dingle was missing for the 4th week in a row. No idea what is going on here as he has been on the site during that time but has not been posting at all, his last post was 27/1. If anyone knows him in real life could you give him a nudge?

334 Zinman
333 Blue Baggie
293 Derby
291 Minizin
267 BBB
260 Stairs
211 Lady Jane
204 Dingle

Zinman and Blue stay neck and neck at the top of the table but are still a very healthy 40 points ahead of Derby in 3rd spot!! Minizin's excellent week now has him right back on the heel's of Derby and this week has seen them leave BBB behind in their dust, he is now 24 points adrift of them!! Stairs is now in striking distance of him and a chance to move out of the relegation PO spot. Lady Jane is finally off the bottom due to Dingle's absence but still 49 points off getting out of the relegation spots!!

Cheers
SCO

Championship

SCO 20pts
Snooty 19
Themaclad 18
Sanjay 17
AAA 14
BaggieOne 11
Twerton 11

This week's matches were clearly too predictable as the Championship secured it's highest points total of the season. Everybody made it into double figures, a season's first, and everyone scored on the bonus ball leading to the highest week's score from that ball. To complete the list of season's bests, we also saw the highest number of correct scores.

SCO is the week's leader, scoring on 7 games with 3 correct scores to lead the table with 20 points. Snooty takes 2nd place one point back, scoring on 7 games but only securing 1 correct score, with Themaclad a point further back, matching SCO's 3 correct results including one of three bonus maxima. Another point back is Sanjay who is enjoying quite a resurgence. He has scored more than half his season's points in the last 8 weeks - and that includes a no-show and one negative score!

AAA scored 14 points with 6 from his bonus. He actually played the gamball after avoiding it for a couple of weeks and, you've guessed it, got it wrong, but he sits 3 points ahead of both BaggieOne and Twerton who scored on just 4 games, the lowest total this week.

278 SCO
263 Twerton
257 AAA
253 Snooty
237 Themaclad
222 BaggieOne
195 Sanjay

No positional changes this week though SCO has extended his lead to a healthy 15 points. The chase for the 2nd automatic spot is hotting up with both AAA and Snooty closing in on Twerton. For once Themaclad and Baggieone did not swop positions.

Zin

Eastleigh 1-2 Bromley
Altrincham 3-2 Maidenhead United
Barnet 2-1 York City
Boreham Wood 1-0 AFC Fylde
Chesterfield 3-1 Rochdale
Dagenham & Redbridge 2-0 FC Halifax Town
Dorking Wanderers 1-2 Ebbsfleet United
Gateshead 4-1 Oxford City
Oldham Athletic 3-0 Kidderminster Harriers
Solihull Moors 1-1 Hartlepool United
Southend United 1-2 Aldershot Town
Woking 0-2 Wealdstone


League Table After Matchday 39

Spireitematt - 706
SaltergateBorn - 705
Amelia - 605
St Charles - 579
Dancing - 576
Lord Snoots - 575
Devon - 497