rarguile

Many folks think Newcastle are a sure pick to win the Championship - with Benitez as manager. The question is - what two other teams will follow them - getting up to the Premier League? Aston Villa or Norwich City?

My prediction:

1. Newcastle U

2. Brighton HA

3. Sheffield Wed

4. Norwich City

5. Cardiff City

6. Birmingham City

Any ideas?

West Ham, Tottenham or Crystal Palace and perhaps Chelsea and Arsenal. So, if you look at Reading and Watford as Greater London teams - it's possible that the fans for all four semi-finalists wil be from fifty miles of Wembley or less. Six out of eight teams are Londonish..

Can Everton and Man City provide some Northern interest?

The three promoted teams conceded 14 goals and scored 3 this last weekend yielding 0 points - can any of them survive the drop? Is the stress of Premier League football getting to them?

Since football has been around for over a 100 years, the average male height has increased. In 1912 the average 21-year-old male was 68.25 inches (5 feet 8.25 inches) tall. Now the average male in the US is 69.9 inches (5 feet 9.9 inches) tall. Teams automatically select taller more agile players for goalkeeper so a modern goalkeeper can"cover" a much larger goal. Why retain the old goal height? By raising the crossbar by 12 inches you could see more goals as the goal area increases to 24ft x 9ft (216 sq ft) from 24ft x 8ft (192 sq ft.) No rother rules would need to be changed and the dimensions of pitches would remain the same..

Huddersfield losing to Bournemouth at home; Leeds, losing to Milwall; Blackpool losing to Nottingham Forest; or Brighton losing to Sheff. Wednesday?

Which team will recover and which team is doomed?

Or do you think Leyton Orient, Peterborough, Preston N.E., and Swindon have a better chance. Do you think Coventry City would be contending if they played at the Rich Arena this season?

or do you think Gateshead, Grimsby, Halifax, or Kidderminster will get the automatic promotion spot? What other team do you think can fight for a playoff spot?

(does every football question have to be about the top end of the Premier League??)

Group A Mexico, Cameroon

Group B Chile, Australia

Group C Cote D'Ivorie, Japan

Group D Costa Rica, England

Group E Honduras, Ecqador

Group F Nigeria, Iran

Group H Ghana, USA

Group I Korea, Algeria

After Derby County thrashed Forest yesterday 5-0 I'd think Billy D is not likely to return next season - if we miss the playoffs entirely.

As it stands the Ryder Cup is decided over three days - eight foursomes on the first day, eight on the second day and twelve single matches on the third day. I think it would be more exciting if you added a fourth day - start with twelve single matches so everyone plays, then two days of foursomes and then finish with twelve single matches. Imagine Woods vs Garcia on day one and a return match on the closing day!

Blowouts would be less likely because the US team usually has more depth and success in singles

What do you think?.

What is so special about this number - 42 or 44 would result in two cars per row on the start?

When Liverpool played in the 2005 European Cup Final against AC Milan, all the goals came at one end of the pitch, 3 for Milan ni the first half, then they switched ends and Liverpool scored three unanswered goals in the second half. Can anyone beat six goals?