Archive May 2, 2025

After nine months of work, 540 football games are finished in just a few hours on Saturday.

The Championship has once more provided an incredible season of drama and entertainment, with the pendulum swinging back and forth between them. again and again. again and again.

With 12 teams still battling it out for the title, two play-off spots, and a relegation spot, the final-day fixtures (all 12: 30 BST kick-offs) are still a possibility.

What are their requirements? Without a footballing miracle, the Pilgrims are actually already down.

What are their requirements? They are down at Portsmouth, but Hull City’s fate is still up in the air. Their most simple pathway to staying up is to win – they would be guaranteed to finish above either Derby or Stoke who play each other – or at least better the result of one of Luton or Preston.

Hull would have a better goal difference if the Hatters or Lilywhites were to draw and lose.

If Luton and Preston don’t lose, Ruben Selles’ men could finish ahead of Derby in terms of goal difference with a draw and a three-goal defeat for Stoke.

There is also another unlikely scenario in which Hull could finish above Derby on goals scored if the Tigers draw 6-6 and the Rams lose by two goals. The Rams would stay in contention given their better head-to-head record in the equally unlikely event that Derby and Hull draw 5-5 and lose by two.

What are their requirements? If West Bromwich Albion wins or Hull loses, Luton will continue to lead.

The Hatters would only need to avoid an unlikely 14-goal swing in favor of Argyle to survive if Luton and Hull both lose and Plymouth win.

Things get slightly more complicated for Matt Bloomfield’s side if they do not pick up three points at The Hawthorns.

Luton will need to match their performance to maintain their lead in the event that Hull loses. If they beat one of Preston or Derby, Luton would continue to lead regardless of Hull’s outcome.

So what happens if Hull, Preston and Derby all win? Then, in order to finish ahead of Stoke and avoid falling, Luton would need to win.

They could also draw in that scenario and continue to be successful if either of the following happens:

What are their requirements? Preston will continue to lead if they defeat Bristol City, just like Luton does if Hull loses.

If not, the Lilywhites must match or surpass Derby or Stoke’s results in order to beat the drop.

Should Preston and Luton both lose and Hull win, Paul Heckingbottom’s side will survive on goal difference as long as they avoid the unlikely scenario of losing by 13 goals and the Hatters losing by one, or losing by 14 goals and the Hatters losing by two and so on.

The Lilywhites would need Derby to score four goals more than themselves to stay in the lead on goal difference (for example, Derby 0-5 Stoke, Bristol City 1-0 Preston) if Hull and Luton both manage to avoid losing.

What are their requirements? If Derby defeat fellow relegation rivals Stoke at home, or if Hull loses, they will claim the title.

The Rams also have the best goal difference among all the relegation teams, with just one.

If Hull win and John Eustace’s side do not, they will need to match one of either Preston or Luton’s results to stay up.

In the unlikely event that Preston and Hull draw, Luton win, and the Rams lose by three goals, as mentioned in Hull’s permutations, Derby would fall.

In the event that Preston, Hull, Draw, and Luton win, we can probably exclude these final two possible outcomes.

What are their requirements? Stoke City will stay up if they avoid defeat at Derby.

If Preston and Luton and Hull win, or at least draw, the Potters will only lose if they can score under five goals.

If Hull win, Preston avoids defeat, and Luton draw, there is a very unlikely chance that Stoke will be relegated.

What are their requirements? To have a chance of making the play-offs, Middlesbrough must win at Coventry.

If Millwall and Blackburn fail to win, Boro would advance to the top six.

What are their requirements? Any chance of Blackburn making the play-offs must be based on a win at Sheffield United.

What are their requirements? For any chance of making it to the play-offs, Millwall must win at Burnley.

Victory for the Lions would be enough if one of Bristol City or Coventry fail to win.

What are their requirements? Coventry City will finish in a play-off spot if they beat Middlesbrough.

The Sky Blues could only get a draw if either of the following occurs:

What are their requirements? Bristol City will secure a play-off spot if they beat Preston at home.

The Robins could use a draw, but they could rely on other teams’ outcomes. If any of the following occurs, City will finish in the top six with a draw:

Should Liam Manning’s side lose, they will only finish in the play-offs if:

Scottish Championship season finale: Friday, 2 May (19:45 BST)

Falkirk v Hamilton Academical

Venue: Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk

Coverage: BBC Scotland, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website & app

Livingston v Partick Thistle

Venue: The Home of the Set Fare Arena, Livingston

Not so much Helicopter Sunday, which famously decided the destination of the 2004-05 Scottish Premier League trophy, as People Carrier Friday.

Lurking on a quiet side street somewhere in a Central Belt sweet spot between Falkirk and Livingston, the occupants of a comfortably sized motor car will be tuning in with the rest of the nation in anticipation of a crashing crescendo in Scotland’s second tier.

Should Falkirk start banging the goals in against relegated Hamilton Academical, the ignition will fire and the silverware will start the journey north.

A win of any kind for Falkirk at home to the beleaguered Accies will almost certainly be enough to ensure the Bairns are crowned champions given their superior goal difference.

Not long ago, David Martindale, manager of chasing Livingston, had publicly conceded the title to John McGlynn’s side.

Should Falkirk lose or draw to Hamilton then suddenly the door is open for a Livingston title win if Martindale’s side secure a fifth consecutive victory by beating visitors Partick Thistle.

Defeating the fourth-placed Jags will be easier said than done, of course.

It was only last week – in front of the Sportscene cameras – that Thistle inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Falkirk, with the winning goal coming in the 98th minute.

If Falkirk and Livingston both win, they will each finish the season on 73 points.

In terms of goal difference, Falkirk have the big advantage of +37 compared to +29 for Livingston.

Livingston would need to pound Thistle into the stone age for goal difference to be a factor.

The Glasgow side sit in the final play-off place – on 52 points – and a victory over Livingston would seal the deal.

A Thistle defeat, though, would leave the door ajar for Raith Rovers – on 50 points – to leapfrog them into a Premiership play-off quarter-final against third-top Ayr United.

Barry Robson’s side are away to Queen’s Park, who are third bottom but safe from relegation.

A draw for Thistle should also be enough for the Glasgow side given they have a goal difference of +4 compared to Rovers’ zero.

Clearly, though, this margin is not altogether insurmountable. If the Kirkcaldy side can whip themselves into a goal frenzy at the national stadium against a Queen’s Park side who are without a win in 11 matches, then it could become interesting.

If Thistle were to draw and Rovers were to win 4-0 then the Fifers would finish fourth.

The goal difference between the sides would be the same, so it would go down to which side had scored the most goals over the course of the season – and that would be Rovers.

In such a scenario, the only way Thistle could draw and still remain fourth is if they somehow managed to score more than Rovers on the night. For example, a wildly improbable 5-5 draw.

In the admittedly highly unlikely event that Thistle and Rovers do finish level on points, goal difference and goals scored then it would come down to the points tally in the four matches between the sides over the course of this season.

That would result in Rovers finishing fourth in the table as they have amassed eight compared to two for Partick Thistle.

The points deduction for Hamilton, confirmed after their appeal was dismissed on Thursday, has drawn the sting from the relegation battle.

Accies are in a malaise and League 1 is their destiny after a 15-point deduction left them eight points adrift at the bottom, when they would have otherwise been safe in seventh place.

Second-bottom Airdrieonians – who had looked doomed for the majority of this season until a run of only four defeats in 16 since the turn of the year – will have a second chance at Championship life next season if they manage to see off their play-off adversaries from League 1.

Scottish Championship season finale: Friday, 2 May (19:45 BST)

Falkirk v Hamilton Academical

Venue: Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk

Coverage: BBC Scotland, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website & app

Livingston v Partick Thistle

Venue: The Home of the Set Fare Arena, Livingston

Not so much Helicopter Sunday, which famously decided the destination of the 2004-05 Scottish Premier League trophy, as People Carrier Friday.

Lurking on a quiet side street somewhere in a Central Belt sweet spot between Falkirk and Livingston, the occupants of a comfortably sized motor car will be tuning in with the rest of the nation in anticipation of a crashing crescendo in Scotland’s second tier.

Should Falkirk start banging the goals in against relegated Hamilton Academical, the ignition will fire and the silverware will start the journey north.

A win of any kind for Falkirk at home to the beleaguered Accies will almost certainly be enough to ensure the Bairns are crowned champions given their superior goal difference.

Not long ago, David Martindale, manager of chasing Livingston, had publicly conceded the title to John McGlynn’s side.

Should Falkirk lose or draw to Hamilton then suddenly the door is open for a Livingston title win if Martindale’s side secure a fifth consecutive victory by beating visitors Partick Thistle.

Defeating the fourth-placed Jags will be easier said than done, of course.

It was only last week – in front of the Sportscene cameras – that Thistle inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Falkirk, with the winning goal coming in the 98th minute.

If Falkirk and Livingston both win, they will each finish the season on 73 points.

In terms of goal difference, Falkirk have the big advantage of +37 compared to +29 for Livingston.

Livingston would need to pound Thistle into the stone age for goal difference to be a factor.

The Glasgow side sit in the final play-off place – on 52 points – and a victory over Livingston would seal the deal.

A Thistle defeat, though, would leave the door ajar for Raith Rovers – on 50 points – to leapfrog them into a Premiership play-off quarter-final against third-top Ayr United.

Barry Robson’s side are away to Queen’s Park, who are third bottom but safe from relegation.

A draw for Thistle should also be enough for the Glasgow side given they have a goal difference of +4 compared to Rovers’ zero.

Clearly, though, this margin is not altogether insurmountable. If the Kirkcaldy side can whip themselves into a goal frenzy at the national stadium against a Queen’s Park side who are without a win in 11 matches, then it could become interesting.

If Thistle were to draw and Rovers were to win 4-0 then the Fifers would finish fourth.

The goal difference between the sides would be the same, so it would go down to which side had scored the most goals over the course of the season – and that would be Rovers.

In such a scenario, the only way Thistle could draw and still remain fourth is if they somehow managed to score more than Rovers on the night. For example, a wildly improbable 5-5 draw.

In the admittedly highly unlikely event that Thistle and Rovers do finish level on points, goal difference and goals scored then it would come down to the points tally in the four matches between the sides over the course of this season.

That would result in Rovers finishing fourth in the table as they have amassed eight compared to two for Partick Thistle.

The points deduction for Hamilton, confirmed after their appeal was dismissed on Thursday, has drawn the sting from the relegation battle.

Accies are in a malaise and League 1 is their destiny after a 15-point deduction left them eight points adrift at the bottom, when they would have otherwise been safe in seventh place.

Second-bottom Airdrieonians – who had looked doomed for the majority of this season until a run of only four defeats in 16 since the turn of the year – will have a second chance at Championship life next season if they manage to see off their play-off adversaries from League 1.

Footballers wear brand new boots most weekends. Tennis players pull out fresh rackets during matches. And darts players are often happy to toss their flights away into the crowd after wins.

Nowhere in elite level sport is the bond between player and equipment more profound than in snooker, where once a player finds what they consider the perfect cue, they aim to treasure it for as long as possible. A lifelong alliance is considered the dream scenario.

But during the ongoing World Championship in Sheffield this week, the game’s most illustrious star Ronnie O’Sullivan has been ill at ease with his cue, labelling it “awful” and claiming it is causing “carnage” in his game despite a hitherto straightforward run to the semi-finals.

O’Sullivan is using temporary replacements from the workshop of world-renowned master cue craftsman John Parris, after snapping his previous long-serving design from the same manufacturer following a frustrating defeat in the Champions League in January.

“He is not settled,” Parris tells the BBC at his South East London workshop, which has been producing top-of-the-line cues for more than 40 years.

“I’m not sure what cue he’s coming out with every time he comes through the curtain. It could be a different one every day. He’s not happy with it but he’s managing. We’ll get there – we’ll get the perfect one in the end.”

Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan made a late decision to enter this year’s tournament, having not played competitively for four months, and called Parris with a last-minute request for new equipment.

“It was a bit heart breaking when Ronnie broke that last one,” Parris says. “It was just a tantrum, a rush of blood. It happens I guess. It takes a lot for Ronnie to do that. He has got a lot of pressure on him. Everybody wants a piece of him.

“Sometimes if it’s a clean break you can put it back together again. But this was a real job! It was never going to work. So you just have to say ‘oh well, here we go again’.”

Parris first designed a cue for O’Sullivan when the upcoming prodigy was just 11 years old, and he and his 14 staff members are now partway through the nine-month process of crafting what they hope will be O’Sullivan’s next long-term cue.

Parris travels to timber yards across the country and searches through stockpiles of wood looking for high-quality pieces of ash and maple. Over the following months the wood is cut, settled, rounded, spliced, planed, fitted with a brass tip and leather pad, sanded in nine different ways, oiled, and finally waxed, before being complete.

“It sounds a bit big-headed but yeah it is art”, Parris says. “I won’t be in the Louvre with a cue but a lot of pride goes into each one.

“We’ve got sizes that we know Ronnie likes. He is quite fussy! People go ‘oh Ronnie could play with anything’ and he could, but not to the level that he wants. He is just looking for that little flick here and there, the feel, and I think just wants to get back to what he had before… if the old one was still in one piece!”

Parris took a few cues to O’Sullivan before the World Championship to “glean what he’s looking for”.

“He’s really tuned in,” adds Parris. “It’s genius really. He’s not going to say ‘well I might be able to grow into this’, he wants something that feels right from the start. Finding one that ticks all the boxes for that. That’s when you’ll see me skipping up the road!

O’Sullivan’s natural showmanship and compelling character have made him one of the most popular sportspeople since he won the UK Championship as a 17-year-old in 1993. His maverick qualities form part of Parris’ willingness to work with O’Sullivan, even after the destruction of one of his workshop’s fine creations.

“People just love to watch him,” Parris says. “He is a little bit naughty sometimes. He is his own man. He does what he wants to do. So I guess people relate to that and love him for it.

“We’re mates, I suppose. He knows I’m there if he wants something. He doesn’t really need to ask for favours because I’ll always do it.”

When Parris is working with players like O’Sullivan, or fellow big-name clients Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor and Judd Trump, he is aiming to help them feel the kind of intrinsic trust sports stars must have in their equipment to succeed at the top level.

“You need to forget about the cue,” Parris insists. “When you’re playing, you don’t want to be thinking ‘oh I wish it was longer or wider’. You just want to pick it up and go ‘this is my cue and I know I can win with it’, and hopefully it gives people that sort of confidence. The old cliche about it becoming part of your arm is probably true.”

O’Sullivan’s semi-final pits him against China’s Zhao Xintong while favourite Trump faces Mark Williams in a high-quality final four.

For Parris, the thrill of victory is the reason he has no desire to stop offering his craft to the world’s best players now that he is into his 70s.

“You get a buzz,” he says. “That’s what it’s all about – seeing something we’ve created win. I’m never going to lift a trophy, but I just think ‘that’s little bit we’ve done for that player there’.

Footballers wear brand new boots most weekends. Tennis players pull out fresh rackets during matches. And darts players are often happy to toss their flights away into the crowd after wins.

Nowhere in elite level sport is the bond between player and equipment more profound than in snooker, where once a player finds what they consider the perfect cue, they aim to treasure it for as long as possible. A lifelong alliance is considered the dream scenario.

But during the ongoing World Championship in Sheffield this week, the game’s most illustrious star Ronnie O’Sullivan has been ill at ease with his cue, labelling it “awful” and claiming it is causing “carnage” in his game despite a hitherto straightforward run to the semi-finals.

O’Sullivan is using temporary replacements from the workshop of world-renowned master cue craftsman John Parris, after snapping his previous long-serving design from the same manufacturer following a frustrating defeat in the Champions League in January.

“He is not settled,” Parris tells the BBC at his South East London workshop, which has been producing top-of-the-line cues for more than 40 years.

“I’m not sure what cue he’s coming out with every time he comes through the curtain. It could be a different one every day. He’s not happy with it but he’s managing. We’ll get there – we’ll get the perfect one in the end.”

Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan made a late decision to enter this year’s tournament, having not played competitively for four months, and called Parris with a last-minute request for new equipment.

“It was a bit heart breaking when Ronnie broke that last one,” Parris says. “It was just a tantrum, a rush of blood. It happens I guess. It takes a lot for Ronnie to do that. He has got a lot of pressure on him. Everybody wants a piece of him.

“Sometimes if it’s a clean break you can put it back together again. But this was a real job! It was never going to work. So you just have to say ‘oh well, here we go again’.”

Parris first designed a cue for O’Sullivan when the upcoming prodigy was just 11 years old, and he and his 14 staff members are now partway through the nine-month process of crafting what they hope will be O’Sullivan’s next long-term cue.

Parris travels to timber yards across the country and searches through stockpiles of wood looking for high-quality pieces of ash and maple. Over the following months the wood is cut, settled, rounded, spliced, planed, fitted with a brass tip and leather pad, sanded in nine different ways, oiled, and finally waxed, before being complete.

“It sounds a bit big-headed but yeah it is art”, Parris says. “I won’t be in the Louvre with a cue but a lot of pride goes into each one.

“We’ve got sizes that we know Ronnie likes. He is quite fussy! People go ‘oh Ronnie could play with anything’ and he could, but not to the level that he wants. He is just looking for that little flick here and there, the feel, and I think just wants to get back to what he had before… if the old one was still in one piece!”

Parris took a few cues to O’Sullivan before the World Championship to “glean what he’s looking for”.

“He’s really tuned in,” adds Parris. “It’s genius really. He’s not going to say ‘well I might be able to grow into this’, he wants something that feels right from the start. Finding one that ticks all the boxes for that. That’s when you’ll see me skipping up the road!

O’Sullivan’s natural showmanship and compelling character have made him one of the most popular sportspeople since he won the UK Championship as a 17-year-old in 1993. His maverick qualities form part of Parris’ willingness to work with O’Sullivan, even after the destruction of one of his workshop’s fine creations.

“People just love to watch him,” Parris says. “He is a little bit naughty sometimes. He is his own man. He does what he wants to do. So I guess people relate to that and love him for it.

“We’re mates, I suppose. He knows I’m there if he wants something. He doesn’t really need to ask for favours because I’ll always do it.”

When Parris is working with players like O’Sullivan, or fellow big-name clients Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor and Judd Trump, he is aiming to help them feel the kind of intrinsic trust sports stars must have in their equipment to succeed at the top level.

“You need to forget about the cue,” Parris insists. “When you’re playing, you don’t want to be thinking ‘oh I wish it was longer or wider’. You just want to pick it up and go ‘this is my cue and I know I can win with it’, and hopefully it gives people that sort of confidence. The old cliche about it becoming part of your arm is probably true.”

O’Sullivan’s semi-final pits him against China’s Zhao Xintong while favourite Trump faces Mark Williams in a high-quality final four.

For Parris, the thrill of victory is the reason he has no desire to stop offering his craft to the world’s best players now that he is into his 70s.

“You get a buzz,” he says. “That’s what it’s all about – seeing something we’ve created win. I’m never going to lift a trophy, but I just think ‘that’s little bit we’ve done for that player there’.