Dark Munster

You're not missing anything, that is correct. But we do need to cheer Man Utd in the cup. Which may be painful for some of us.

Utd yes. But it doesn't matter if Liverpool win or lose. It only goes down to 2 EL if they finish in an EL spot but qualify for CL. For example, if they win EL and finish 8th they enter CL and the PL gets the usual 4 CL + 3 EL, plus a bonus CL for Liverpool (so 5 CL + 3 EL total). But if they win EL and finish 7th (say) and Utd win the cup, then their EL spot gets converted to CL for them, but no extra EL spot is opened up below them. So instead of 4 CL + 3 EL we get 5 CL + 2 EL. No-one gets punished, but 8th doesn't get rewarded either.

They don't have to mention EL. Liverpool would go into CL (an extra CL spot as they say) and everything else is unchanged.

As long as Utd win the cup.

4 CL + 3 EL is the usual maximum, not 4 CL + 4 EL, as far as I know. If a team qualifies for CL through winning the CL or EL then it can stay at 4 CL + 3 EL, or possibly go to 5 CL + 3 EL or 5 CL + 2 EL.

Doesn't matter if Liverpool win or lose. It only goes down to 2 EL if they finish in an EL spot but qualify for CL. For example, if they win EL and finish 8th they enter CL and the PL gets the usual 4 CL + 3 EL, plus a bonus CL for Liverpool (so 5 CL + 3 EL total). But if they win EL and finish 7th (say) and Utd win the cup, then their EL spot gets converted to CL for them, but no extra EL spot is opened up below them. So instead of 4 CL + 3 EL we get 5 CL + 2 EL. No-one gets punished, but 8th doesn't get rewarded either.

"It should also be stated," he added, "that an association with, for example, four places in the UEFA Champions League can increase their participation to five places should a club from their association win the UEFA Europa League in the previous season. "If that club has already qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their domestic league, then the association remains with four places in the UEFA Champions League. If that club has already qualified for the UEFA Europa League via their domestic league, it results in five clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League, and two – not three – participating in the UEFA Europa League." http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/execu...d=2226990.html

"It should also be stated," he added, "that an association with, for example, four places in the UEFA Champions League can increase their participation to five places should a club from their association win the UEFA Europa League in the previous season. "If that club has already qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their domestic league, then the association remains with four places in the UEFA Champions League. If that club has already qualified for the UEFA Europa League via their domestic league, it results in five clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League, and two – not three – participating in the UEFA Europa League." http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/execu...d=2226990.html

Correct! Provided Utd finish above us.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!! Bloody media! 8th cannot qualify for EL. The rules are quite clear about that. Why do they keep repeating that myth????

You don't have to support them. Them winning the final will neither hinder nor help us get into EL. Utd in the FA cup is a different matter.

Understandable, but for me I see him as someone who gave a number of good years for us (including our rise from the lower divisions). Unlike Lovren, who buggered off after just one season, and whose manner of departure was just as bad, if not worse.

I think that's very possible. As an example, City surely would've fielded a much stronger team against us if they didn't have the second leg against Real Madrid a few days later. So I am hoping they scrape through (after a tiring 30 minutes of extra time). Besides, Lovren aside, I don't have much against them (now that Brenda's gone). Unlike those north London yobbos.

They are (like many) wrong about that. 8th could never have qualified for Europe (except if it's Liverpool finishing 8th and winning the EL).

If we finish 7th we only need Utd to win the cup (assuming they finish above us) to get into EL. If Liverpool win EL and finish 8th then PL gets 5 Cl + 3 EL. Full details at http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?56310-Europa-League-qualification

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?56310-Europa-League-qualification

Bump.

Good news for Hants this year. Maybe we can draw our way to safety!

No thanks. Over the hill.

That would've been brilliant, but us losing and them then going on to pip Leicester would've been too unpleasant to bear. So I'll take yesterday's result: better safe than sorry. If we win at WHL I'm sure you're still going to enjoy it!

Barring a major collapse it's heading for a draw. Edwards out for the season. Major blow.

That part's true, but it's an opinion, not a fact. (Your last sentence is just your opinion). And most people use it if the odds against are astronomical, but not 200/1. In August Leicester winning the league at 5000/1 was "never going to happen" for many people. When we beat Plymouth in L1 in the second to last match, we all celebrated going up, even though Huddersfield were only 3 points behind with one match left. That's because they needed to overcome something like a 19 goal difference: it was never going to happen. I never buy lottery tickets, because although I could theoretically win, as far as I'm concerned it would never happen. But I don't tell those that do buy them that they're wrong. Anyway, enough of this tedium. I'm at stage 6 now, goodnight: Munster vs. Fry.

Dodgy indeed! Sigh. Mr. Fry isn't going to admit being wrong is he? Ok, I'm a mathematician, so I'll try to give some rough odds (bearing in mind this isn't an exact science since we can't give exact odds on any match). Let's say the Skates have 50% chance of winning each match (not unreasonable since they are a stronger team than most of the other crap in the division, and had everything to play for). So that is a (1/2)*(1/2) =1/4 probability of winning both matches. Plymouth had to not win both matches. If we assume that they had a 50% chance of winning each match it was again 1/4 of them winning both, so 1-(1/4) = 3/4 that they would fail in winning both (good enough for the skates). Bristol Rovers had to not win either of their last two matches. If we assume 50% they would draw or lose a match, that's (1/2)*(1/2) = 1/4 probability to fail to win either. Finally Oxford to lose one and at best draw their other match: so LL, LD or DL would suffice. Assuming 1/4 chance of L and 1/4 chance of D, that gives 3*(1/4)*(1/4) = 3/16. So for all of these to occur we have (1/4)*(3/4)*(1/4)*(3/16) = 9/1024 probability, i.e. odds of about 114/1. Now you could argue that the above estimates are too generous for the skates, but at worst maybe 200/1. Also note I have for simplicity ignored the possibility of Accrington losing both matches, which would improve the odds a bit. So for Mr. Fry odds of a couple of hundred to one are equivalent to "never going to happen." And since it didn't actually happen that's "proof". But, for those of us in the real world, we knew the skates had an outside chance before Saturday's matches. It reminds me of a conference I once went to. A physicist gave a talk (on mathematics) which was based on an incorrect assumption. I politely tried to explain that to him during question time, but he belligerently asserted it was true (without any proof). Afterwards one of my colleagues called his a "proof by aggression".

Here's another who get a retroactive ban.

Most of the team had to be taken off to avoid a second yellow!