SCALEY SAYS - WEEK 28

  '' ...........In football, you can never say anything is certain. The benchmark is 38 to 40 points. That has always been the case. That will never change........" Steve Bruce

FANTASTIC SWEDEN!

Trophy table at John Scott's

 A couple of busy weeks here at Harlington HQ, since the trip to Sweden, and a Saturday afternoon spent in excellent, yet limited company. It's a shame more managers could not have turned out for the celebration day. But the managers that were there, Mats, Anders, Lasse, Mariella, Berry and Rustan, thank you very much for making my trip all worthwhile. A few beers were sunk as well, the managers in attendance, making up for the managers that were not in attendance by drinking their beers!

Here are some photos from the afternoon:

ENGLAND IN JUNE

While we were all together, we decided on a date for the 30 years celebration here in Harlington. It's been a long time since we had a garden party to celebrate Swengland so it's only fitting that June 14, will see another celebration here. It was decided by the six managers in attendance, that this would be a convenient date for all of us, giving the opportunity to travel to the UK. For those of you who intend to come, there is bread and breakfast opportunities here in my village, and to make it even better I am a personal friend of the owner of Harlington Manor. Friends who have stayed there, I have reported it to be excellent accommodation with a brilliant breakfast, probably not as good as some hotels in Gothenburg, like the spa hotel in Myorna, which had one of the best breakfasts I have ever experienced on my travels! Looking forward to seeing you there.

SWENGLANDLIGAN

Firstly, let's not forget, it's the Arnold Bolt Trophy final this weekend. Old college mates, Andy Richardson and Laurence Barnett will be going head-to-head in the final and Mr Barnett has already been in contact with me regarding playing chips. So watch out Mr Richardson! Meanwhile, I had the pleasure of a knock on my door, just as I was serving up dinner (typical) from Don John Williams. There he was standing there in the dark shadows demanding attention. All he needed, was a hat, pull down over his eyes, and a cigarette slowly burning between his fingers to complete the image! He had come for his Trophies, last season's, Trophies, while he was in town for another matter. I want to pretend it wasn't good to see him, freshly up from Cornwall, but by the time he had fucked off my dinner was cold! See you in June Don JOHN. It's been a few weeks since I wrote a few notes on this website, due to, a trip to Sweden and another trip down to Brighton where I had the good fortune to suck a few beers with kamikaze manager, Rich. So I haven't looked at the top of the AllSwengland for a couple of weeks. But having done so, I can see that the usual suspects are still fighting it out at the top.

ALLSWENGLAND TOP TEN

Only Calzio and COYS are flying the flag foe 'The Outsiders' . The good thing is that the top four are very close and chasing pack do have a chance but only if there are a few slip ups between now and the end of the season.

At the bottom my struggling IFK side have pulled away from embarrassment basement thanks to a decent run of form and a top score of 103 points in gameweek 26. They have been replaced by Bowl Rock Rovers whgo are now managerless as Henry Symons has decided to jump ship midway through the season. In all the history of Swengland he is the first to officially do so. This coincided with Tom asking him to pay his subs! I do hope Plymouth go down without taking The Hatters with them. (see below)

IN THE REAL WORLD

I think the game is up for Luton Town this season. I was recently at the game against Portsmouth which they won. However, it was one of the worst games of football. I've ever seen in my life from a professional point of view, and I can't believe how in their next game Portsmouth managed to beat Leeds United, as they were even worse than the Hatters. I can't really understand how come it's got to this point. Who is to blame? Is it the players? Is it the managers, both of them? Or is it the management of the club? Most of the fans seem to be blaming the management of the club. Two years ago, when they were on the verge of the premiership, the managing directors could do no wrong.

CHAMPIONSHIP BOTTOM

But it seems that in the two years, since then, all they have been interested in is keeping together the Premiership millions, in order that the new ground in the middle of town, could be built. Fair enough, but it looks like by the time that the stadium is finished, The Hatters will be playing in League Two if their present form and management continues the way it is. I believe, that once they had got rid of Rob Edwards, the best thing, since sliced bread, two years ago, they should have invested some money in bringing in a manager, who knew what he was doing with experience in the championship, especially at the wrong end, like, for example, Steve Cooper, ex Nottingham Forest, saviour, or Neil Warnock, who knows exactly how to play in the championship, manage players and not be manipulated by management or egos. But no, they go for an inexperienced at championship level manager from Wycombe on the grounds that he has got that side into promotion contention. That has all backfired spectacularly.

But how about some good news? As you all know, I am a fan, also of my hometown club St Albans City and they have been having a desperate season. They to change their manager, appointing Steve Culverhouse midway through a desperate season. A few weeks ago, they were many points behind the team above them in the safety zone. Not so now. With only a couple of defeats (but too many draws) in the last 10 games they have inched themselves towards safety, and had they not let a one nil lead slip against relegation certainties Weymouth on Saturday, and a 1-1 scoreline last night in Chelmsford in similar circumstances (added on time at the end of the game), they would be now out of the relegation zone. They have more hope of escape than the Hatters and I shall be cheering them on shortly with Mr Richardson for company, at Clarence Park.

NATIONWIDE SOUTH BOTTOM

Lastly, a word about Barton Rovers. They play just 6 km down the road from me here in Harlington. They play in the eighth tier of the football pyramid as they call it here in England. They would have to achieve five promotions to get into the football league. Unfairly, only one team goes up automatically from their league, and at the moment there is a battle going on between Real Bedford, owned by Cryptocurrency millionaires, who are determined to get their acquired club, promoted those five times, who are not having it all their own way this season, and Berkhampsted, surprise team of the season who are neck and neck with them. The Rovers are currently in third place many points behind the leaders, but fairly confident of a playoff place to secure the second promotion spot. Personally I think it should be like the football league with three teams going up, two automatically and one more through the playoffs, in all leagues.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE SOUTH CENTRAL

THE F. A. CUP TRAIL

Here we go again with the ever popular FA Cup Trail. Let's see who wins the cup this year and if swengland can follow them all the way from the preliminary round to the final and victory! Here is how it works, I've chosen my local team Barton Rovers as the team to follow from the extra preliminary round qualifying all the way through to the final. As they get knocked out we follow the team that knocked them out and so on, until we end up at Wembley in May with our very own team.

At the moment we have won three 2019-20 Arsenal, 2020-21 Leicester and 22-23 Man City  and lost three 2018-19 Watford, 2021-22 Chelsea, 23-24 Man City

THE STORY SO FAR:

THE F.A. CUP TRAIL 2024-25

Another penalty shoot out for Forest, this time against Ipswich Town after a 1-1 stalemate. Their reward? A quarter final meeting at Brighton. Tough. Should be a good match.