Episode 8 Late Kick Off East

Peterborough, Col Chester could be playing in this season -- same

division next season. Some would Tonight, it could be the 5 million

planned goal that keeps them in the championship but they are taking

nothing for granted. No one has ever gone down with 54 points but

the job isn't over. Up and away. We are on the road going north with

the fans. And laying the foundations for the

future, why better facilities for all is the aim of the game.

Good evening. What an extraordinary weekend of football. Battling

performances. It must be a last ditch attempt to get in before the

season finishes. You would get in it every year.

Player, manager. It is going down to the final 90 minutes of the

championship next Friday. Half-a- dozen teams are scrambling to avoid

relegation but Peter Brett gave them a great charts are after the

victory against Sheffield Wednesday The early evening kick up -- kick-

off meant that supporters found their attentions were elsewhere.

Glued into TV sex about their rivals. Hopefully, Bernie would do

them a favour and beat Wolves and Hull City the same against Barnsley.

Barnsley it sprang a big surprise beating the promotion favourites

Carl. Posh dropped back into the bottom three and anxious times

ahead of kick-off. We have to win the next two games. If we do, we

will stay up, simple as that. Hopeful. We have the ability but it

depends on the performance, doesn't it? How optimistic are you? Can I

plead the Fifth Amendment. I think it will be a good win today. 2-one.

Thank you. Bye-bye. All to play for. Posh know they had to win to

maintain control of their destiny and Sheffield Wednesday needed a

0.2 secured their safety. Plenty of interest in the striker but a total

team effort was needed. Posh opened brightly. Really scored in the

first 10 minutes. By -- near leave. Peterborough enjoyed the better of

the court now. No gulls at the break so perhaps it would take

something special. How about this? Just over one hour played. A free-

kick 25 years out and Brian McCann set his sights with plenty to do

and he did it perfectly. A stunning free-kick, telling all way off the

inside of the far post and the goalkeeper beaten. London Road went

substitute came on and looked likely to poach a goal but he went

far and wide. Come the final whistle, three huge points. Posh

and lost their first seven league games of the season and they now go

to Paris next week with every chance of staying up. The face from

the manager looks like being repaid. Barry promised his wife a birthday

present to remember. But Posh are The results before the game were

awful so we had to win to get out of the bottom three. What a goal to

win the match! Oh, fantastic! It is his third year here and what a

free-kick. I was right behind it. I was up and I dived over the

barrier! A-grade winning goal, no doubt about that. Nobody has ever

gone down with 54 points but the job isn't over. Up to five the

sides could still go down so we know we have to go to Crystal

Palace -- Crystal Palace next Saturday and maintain our status.

The manager, the players and the fans deserve it.

Hide difficult do you think it was knowing the results from earlier in

the day? It sort of put more pressure on because you know what

you have to do so as it docked Sheffield Wednesday are a bit of

physical side. It was an excellent game. Throughout the course of the

season,... It losing the first seven games of the season, the way

they have responded... You have to take your hat off to the players.

All the results that went before had not gone right for them and

make dip the maths and they needed the win. If they get it air when

Looking at Peterborough, a great to - might go to Crystal Palace.

Barnsley play Huddersfield. Yes, two weeks ago we set the goal

difference could be really different -- important. This week,

they had such a brilliant crowd. One person who wasn't bad was

I call him boss. When I signed for Aberdeen, I caught him Alex and got

a five and find. It examine magic to win the game, didn't it?

a way to send the fans happy. important thing to remember is it

is not done yet. They have to get their focus for Saturday. I liked

Peterborough's team spirit. They are one of the form sides in the

Division so I expect them to stay at. Palace have been stuttering as

well. It will be a big game for both clubs. I c Peterborough

staying up as they have the promotion form. Next, a tale to

warm hearts. A Nong -- long trip north for Colchester United fans.

They knew it was them or Scunthorpe for the relegation place. It was at

an early morning for one group of My name is Jim French. Quarters do

United fan four more years than I care to remember. It is 25th April.

Somewhere in the far north lies Carlisle. Join me today with other

cultures to fans as we make our way for a date with destiny. Hello.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 53 seconds

It has been an anxious and quiet journey up with two or three songs

but the air of tension, you could cut with a knife. Three points.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 53 seconds

A golf for contest a United. The all-important strike there.

absolutely over the moon. This is the best I have felt in God knows

one now and have guaranteed from well for next season. He headed it

into the back of the net. He is celebrating now. They have actually

done it now. I told you we could hopefully we can go on to the next

season. A big thanks to Carlisle United you were very helpful on the

day. A massive result for them. They executed the game plan to

Yes. They closed people down. It was like changing for him and his

players and the club as a whole. If they had gone down, that puts them

back. Do you not think they could have bounced back? It would have

been difficult. Joe wants them to play an expansive game. When they

start next season, he wants them to relax a bit more and enjoy the game.

Job Done works incredibly hard. It was a life-changing moment and

very emotional. A massive thing for him and his staff and the players

and the chairman. With that Scunthorpe winning as well and

three late goals against Swindon, If you would have come off and

Scunthorpe losing or drawing, they did it right and prove that a

massive game, they can play under pressure and 500 Colchester fans

there which is a massive away from record, so far away from home. If

they had got beaten away, so massive congratulations to all the fans.

Later in the programme we will launch our traditional search for

the Late Kick Off East team of the season but picking the foundations

for future generations, how some of the ball's millions are put to use

in the region, benefiting the game at grassroots. All over bar the

shouting for some but others, plenty to play for. Rounding up the pick of

sacked Mick McCarthy, but Ipswich fans were only too grateful, he has

transformed the team. Ipswich totally different since McCarthy

took over, wrapping up things with Daryl Murphy giving town a 3-0 lead

to see Ipswich move into the top half of the table. Birmingham

grabbed a late consolation, the club is now level on points, McCarthy has

sights on the play-offs but next season. 3-1.

A battle for regional honours at Stevenage, won comfortably by MK

Dons. Patrick Bamford with their first. Last week Karl Robinson was

threatening a summer clear out but now grey massively was making

similar noises, sloppy defending would not have helped matters. The

Dons finished the season with a win. of a recurring theme, must be that

time of the year. Southend's manager was far from impressed by its

watching them and their season with a whimper, blasting over before

Andrew Fleming got the only goal of the game for the visitors. Big

changes suggested ahead of next season with talk of cutting short

the holidays. They may be facing a The season is still bury much alive

for Northampton, heading for the league to play-offs and promotion.

Roy O'Donovan on the scoresheet again to give the cobbler believe

with Edgar Davids one-time Champions League finalist and Dutch

international resigned to relegation out of the Football League. If fact

confirmed by Luke Guttridge at the end of the second half, 2-0 to

before so Martin O'Neill, they will be tough opposition but when you get

to the stage of the season and you are in the play-offs, you will only

be playing good teams so we must make sure we do the best for both.

Northampton in the play-offs, they knew that anyway, they relegated

Barnett unfortunately in the process but now the play-offs, they must

pick themselves up. Into-macro they have always got a goal for it, and

Gutteridge and O'Donovan, they will be going in with confidence. Home

form is important, fantastic crowds as well on Saturday, 17,500, it will

be important they get a good start. They will be the underdogs because

they have been beaten twice. Do you think that will play on their mind?

I don't think so. He will be using that underdog spirit to spare them

on, when the home game and hopefully they will be at Wembley so the way

they have performed this season it is deserved. White but there is

confirmation that they play Cheltenham in the play-offs and

Bradford city against Burton in the other semi-final at these are the

fixtures. On Sunday, they travel to chuck them and we will have the

action for that next week. fixtures, Perry? They have not lost

for 20 games in the league. So I can see this being the tightest of the

two play-off games. I hope they will be practising saving penalties.

know a bebop thread very well so I wish them all the best. -- I know

Aidy Boothroyd. Kicking balls around in their local park, even Perry

Groves, they started with jumpers for goalposts. The football

foundation has tried to improve gas roots level football. New pitches

have sprung up but still plenty of work to bring us up to the standards

of our European counterparts -- used in a night and cost 500

thousand pounds to build but the value to the community in Ipswich is

priceless. You can play in any weather. It is everything we wanted

and has helped develop the team and the club. It gets dark and you can

see where you are playing with the lights on. Forget frozen pitches,

soggy surfaces, whatever the weather, it is game on. Local

authorities do not have the funding any more and sponsorship is hard to

come by so this has been built because of a good partnership with

some funds between the schools but also principally the football

foundation. Funded by the Premier League, the Government and the

football foundation, it was set up several years ago to respond to a

chronic shortage of facilities fit for purpose. It is all too often,

played an quagmire is an pitches that are not suitable, far too many

matches get cancelled so we have got a long way to go yet but there is a

significant amount of money going into grassroots football but

unfortunately there is a lot further to go. Across the East, the football

foundation has made a real difference. County by county, the

numbers stack up. In total, just over 1500 products have benefited

from funding of over �50 million. Total money spent on new pictures,

sparkling changing rooms and to form new teams, just over �100 million.

As good as this facility is in care is grave, there needs to be more of

them built around the country. -- in Ipswich. In other places like France

and Germany, there are around 2000 of these third-generation pitches

but in England, just around 400 of them. While many facilities of light

his -- facilities have been given a makeover, they lack all the mod cons

to motivate young and old players. A recent survey found that most people

rate for facilities as the most testing issue. The function of the

football foundation is to ensure that the money that is interested in

us goes to where it is most needed. By definition, if more children are

playing football, we are tackling health issues particularly in

deprived areas where they will have the greatest impact. Rihanna also

keeping children active and creating a positive environment for them to

play football in and for the British -- we are also keeping children

active. You turn a session and the outlook is positive already. You can

see from the surface, it is fantastic for developing your

technical skills. At this time of year, lots of pitches have got grass

on them and they are hard and you will get a great surface all year

round on this. White actor around the country, 15-20 new

third-generation facilities are built every year. The latest is in

Chelmsford where many will benefit from quality time on a quality

service. An ordinary grasp it can be used about five hours per week. This

third-generation pitch can be used for 90 hours per week. If you look

at that in terms of people using it, 5000 people use it a week, 200,000

kids will play on that pitch, is a full-year -- in a full-year. But

allows us to deliver football training and other sports in the

area of Chelmsford. That allows. Lots of communication. Let's do it.

Better facilities create opportunities for coaches and

players. Another area where England falls well short of its European

rivals, coaching. Everybody comes here in DC loads of different

people. Before we played on the grass, that has been a great

improvement to be able to play on this. White ago what about the funny

surface, is that OK? Yes, because he would fall over and hurt yourself

because if the grass is hard, you will hurt your knee. Not the

finished article but teams like the kestrels here have every reason to

celebrate. You have to say that the football

foundation do a fantastic job and the aim is to increase participation

and it seems to be working. Anything that provides local kids with

butter, safe environments to play in has got to be a good thing. Get them

into sport and off the streets and when you put them in the local

communities, the local people feel proud of it and look after it and

that is the brilliant work they do. Good for the health of children as

well. The safety as well, they are playing on surfaces where they are

not getting hurt. Goalkeepers used to dive on the pitches at Luton town

and QPR. Do you think they like the surface and the places? Yes and the

coaches get a great opportunity as well. And the children are really

enjoying it. We can get on these pitches 90 hours per week which

makes a big friends. And you do not have to worry about frozen pitches

with no grass, and who cares about goalkeepers on the floor. Yes, who

cares about goalkeepers? You must now select the programme at 13 of

the season. Get in touch either by Twitter -- you must select the Late

Kick Off team of the season. Suggest to you want to be in the select 11.

Have you got any suggestions for the team of the year? I will go for a

centre half, Ipswich at ten clean sheets out of the last 16 games and

Tommy Smith was all part of that. Any goalkeepers? There is a shock!

Lee Nicholls from Northampton. may be big, to get them to Wembley

and the next league. # Tommy Nicole. And Dwight Gayle of Peterborough,

lots of scouts watching him. Hopefully that will keep macro posh

in the league. Angus is doing well, and make riches was involved, he is

heading in the right direction and learning from Joe Hart is training

with him every day. Who better to learn from? You are down to watch

the FA youth cup final. I am with a football agency so I am looking at

the best talent in the country and tomorrow night, they will have

Chelsea and Norwich City on show in front of about 20,000 people.

the first team, what have you made of their season? Big Norwich

connections. They must get the points but you look below and you

just hope the other teams will not get the points they need, we can

losing an drawing with Tottenham -- Wigan drawing. Big weeks ahead of

knowledge but they are just about safe, aren't they? -- ahead of

Norwich. Against Sunderland on Monday night, Grant Holt and