:00:02. > :00:05.We have one title winner, one promotion, one relegation, two
:00:05. > :00:08.survivors and a host of others battling to stay up. Oh, and a
:00:08. > :00:18.member of the Royal Family. I'm James Richardson. This is our
:00:18. > :00:30.
:00:30. > :00:33.Coming up, they are: Reading. The chairman mobbed, the fans delirious.
:00:33. > :00:36.Mad scenes at the Mad Stad as the Royals take the Championship.
:00:36. > :00:39.In the meantime, this calls for another round - the Hammers ensure
:00:39. > :00:41.Saints' promotion push goes to the weekend.
:00:41. > :00:48.Elsewhere, Bristol City celebrate not leaving the Championship, while
:00:48. > :00:52.yes we Di Canio! Swindon are back in League One. But will their boss
:00:52. > :00:56.still be with them? All that plus Portsmouth in the
:00:56. > :01:03.third tier for the first time for 30 years. But the support,
:01:03. > :01:06.undaunted. We will still be here, no matter
:01:06. > :01:09.what division we are in. Hello, and thanks for joining us on
:01:09. > :01:12.Late Kick Off. Graeme and Leroy will be along shortly, but first in
:01:12. > :01:21.a very special show today we're joined by Noel Hunt of newly-
:01:21. > :01:25.promoted Championship champions Reading.
:01:25. > :01:28.How are you feeling? Ecstatic. Joyeux Noel in a very real sense,
:01:28. > :01:31.fresh from celebrating what ranks as one of the most remarkable
:01:31. > :01:41.promotion campaigns in a long while, acampaign that over the last seven
:01:41. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :01:49.days has come to a happy conclusion. Midweek promotion party fever. Bits
:01:49. > :01:59.is what the pitch looked like last Tuesday when the motion was one.
:01:59. > :02:16.
:02:16. > :02:24.These begin it was business as were down to ten men. Jason Roberts
:02:24. > :02:34.was sent off for use of the elbow. Undaunted in the second half, the
:02:34. > :02:45.
:02:45. > :02:50.cue for the traditional fare well, but not the end of the day.
:02:50. > :03:00.Attention turned to Middlesbrough, where Reading's closest rivals
:03:00. > :03:03.
:03:03. > :03:11.had barely sat down to watch the Late Show. Right now the chances of
:03:11. > :03:21.a defeat to can be title to the Royal its -- hand the title to the
:03:21. > :03:28.
:03:28. > :03:33.Middlesbrough won the game up with through the second half. The final
:03:33. > :03:43.whistle meant Southampton's promotion were still uncertain, and
:03:43. > :04:04.
:04:04. > :04:11.the title had been handed to It is all about community. It is
:04:11. > :04:14.all about fellowship. We are not brash. We do it our own way. We do
:04:14. > :04:19.it the Reading way. Long may it continue.
:04:19. > :04:22.Reading's route to the Championship did not promising last autumn as
:04:22. > :04:28.Southampton and West Ham took command. But thanks to a brilliant
:04:28. > :04:38.form, the Royals have become upwardly mobile. Now the trophy
:04:38. > :04:44.
:04:44. > :04:50.We love it! My word, remarkable scenes. The
:04:50. > :04:56.graphics told the story. Was there a moment when you thought wow, we
:04:56. > :05:02.could do this? It was all about the run from after
:05:02. > :05:07.Christmas. The West Ham game was the one where we could have done it.
:05:07. > :05:14.When we beat them, we started to believe we could have got promotion.
:05:15. > :05:20.Last season in it so bitterly. -- ended so bitterly. It was the worst
:05:20. > :05:24.day of my life, horrible. A year later, we have turned it around. It
:05:24. > :05:30.is the best feeling in the world. You mention that you have kept
:05:30. > :05:35.going. This year has been different. 15 wins in 17? Were you shocked by
:05:35. > :05:41.that within the team? Everyone was shocked. But we knew we were
:05:41. > :05:47.capable of it. The manager never once said we could not do it. He is
:05:47. > :05:52.the man. He has never got one wrong for me in two years. In him we
:05:52. > :05:57.trust. Jason Roberts, that was quite
:05:57. > :06:01.impressive. Does that take practice? Years of practice!
:06:01. > :06:04.Jason Roberts was teat -- tweeting that he was in the dressing room
:06:04. > :06:07.thinking this could be the nicest group of people I have ever worked
:06:07. > :06:14.with. That is the Reading Wakeham is it?
:06:14. > :06:22.It is the Reading way. People are honest, hard-working. Off the ball,
:06:22. > :06:26.we proved that. Can that work in the Premier League? Yes, absolutely.
:06:26. > :06:31.Norwich and Swansea have kept the same bunch of players. They have
:06:31. > :06:36.done well. We asked how people felt about
:06:36. > :06:46.Reading becoming champions. Helen said, I refuse to watch. Why was
:06:46. > :06:49.too nervous. -- I was. I bet you can't wait for next season to
:06:49. > :06:53.start? And no, this is it. We have got one
:06:53. > :07:01.game left and we want to win it. Then it's the holidays and the hard
:07:01. > :07:04.work. The first game will be special for us all.
:07:04. > :07:06.Meanwhile the battle for the other automatic promotion will go to the
:07:06. > :07:09.final weekend. Southampton have been there or thereabouts all
:07:09. > :07:13.season, but West Ham's win at Leicester this evening means Saints
:07:13. > :07:20.still need a point on Saturday to clinch second place. This is the
:07:20. > :07:24.moment Saints' agony was prolonged. This one of West Ham's goals to
:07:24. > :07:30.keep the Hammers within touching distance of Southampton. For Saints
:07:30. > :07:33.fans across the south coast city, the nervy wait goes on. They need a
:07:33. > :07:36.point at home to relegated Coventry on Saturday to seal second place.
:07:36. > :07:41.But is that a consolation to the fans who watched West Ham win this
:07:41. > :07:45.evening? Not very happy but I knew it was
:07:45. > :07:50.going to go down to the end. I reckon Southampton have got the
:07:50. > :07:55.talent to finish it off. It will be a good day on Saturday.
:07:55. > :08:00.We are going to turn over Coventry and we will be up.
:08:00. > :08:05.It is going to be hot enough staff. I'm nervous, I admit.
:08:05. > :08:08.If we play to our best, we will walk it.
:08:08. > :08:13.It is going to be really tight again.
:08:13. > :08:17.Are they going to go up? Yeah, I think so. They have been fantastic
:08:17. > :08:20.all season. They have been consistent. They are a good second.
:08:20. > :08:25.What kind of opponents have they been?
:08:25. > :08:34.They were the hardest. St Mary's is a hard place to go and get a result.
:08:34. > :08:42.Not many teams have done it. Many congratulations and thank you
:08:42. > :08:52.for joining us on the show. Have you got a view on Reading's
:08:52. > :08:55.rise? Let us know on Twitter. Still to come on Late Kick Off,
:08:55. > :08:58.Paolo Di Canio. He's coming up, so are Swindon, not necessarily to the
:08:58. > :09:03.same place, though. And heading the other way but with heads high,
:09:03. > :09:06.Portsmouth. All that to come plus Leroy and
:09:06. > :09:10.Murts too. Right now, though, let's turn our attention to Leroy's old
:09:10. > :09:13.club, Bristol City. All season long the Robins have been flirting with
:09:14. > :09:17.relegation only to stand her up at the last and send her home with
:09:17. > :09:20.just a peck on the cheek. While she finds another, City will definitely
:09:20. > :09:30.be playing in the Championship next season. Here are the sights and
:09:30. > :09:37.
:09:37. > :09:43.sounds of a precious win over Nervous times, I think. Today is a
:09:43. > :09:53.big game for us. Absolutely massive. Very, very nerve-racking. It has
:09:53. > :10:11.
:10:11. > :10:21.Bristol City are looking for the goal. It will get their survival
:10:21. > :10:24.
:10:24. > :10:27.finds it! It does not get any better than that. A local boys
:10:27. > :10:37.scoring a goal which could go a long way to securing their place in
:10:37. > :10:49.
:10:49. > :10:59.ensures a second goal and steers Bristol City towards the
:10:59. > :11:01.
:11:01. > :11:08.Into the final markings for Bristol City. And the referee blows the
:11:08. > :11:17.whistle. We are staying up, they say.
:11:17. > :11:27.Absolutely phenomenal, mate. Loving it, mate. Another season in the
:11:27. > :11:27.
:11:28. > :11:34.Championship. Things are a bit more muted. Hello,
:11:34. > :11:38.by the way! Just saying, things are more muted inside the brittle city
:11:38. > :11:43.locker-room. They said they should not even have got it in that
:11:43. > :11:49.position. He has only signed a couple of
:11:49. > :11:56.players family. He has done it with nine players. It is a fantastic
:11:56. > :12:02.achievement. -- with unknown players.
:12:02. > :12:06.Is he going to have a good budget? They are not going to be left short.
:12:06. > :12:09.They don't want this to happen again. It is not going to be one of
:12:09. > :12:12.the best budgets in the division, but it will be something they can
:12:12. > :12:22.be competitive with. They are not going to be in the
:12:22. > :12:22.
:12:22. > :12:32.relegation but missed it has no I Graeme, you have put on your
:12:32. > :12:39.
:12:39. > :12:46.coaching cap. What am I working Third man. That takes hours of
:12:46. > :12:51.repetition and knowledge of where to go up. It just so happens that
:12:51. > :13:01.to go up. It just so happens that such as the Fletch and I went and
:13:01. > :13:08.
:13:08. > :13:15.put on a draw for the kids. Basma This is explaining the term Third
:13:15. > :13:20.man running. It happens everywhere on the pitch. It allows a third
:13:20. > :13:25.receiver to have an impact on the game. What we are going to do is we
:13:25. > :13:32.are playing to the centre forward. The defender goes tight, drops off.
:13:32. > :13:41.The wide man is going to come in. Lay it off. This centre forward is
:13:41. > :13:51.going to pull out. This player will go tight, open this bathe for the
:13:51. > :14:07.
:14:07. > :14:14.This is the third man money. -- You have got to have players who
:14:14. > :14:22.are willing to get forward. Indeed it sent a midfielder, someone who
:14:22. > :14:27.is going to sit. -- a centre midfielder. As much as everybody
:14:27. > :14:33.wants to come forward, you have got to have somebody prepared to sit
:14:34. > :14:43.back and be disciplined. So many times you see midfielder's getting
:14:44. > :14:45.
:14:45. > :14:49.in over the top. You get a late How often doesn't it come off?
:14:49. > :14:52.Defensive tactics are such that it would come off very often but when
:14:52. > :15:02.it does, it looks so fluid and wonderful. It's an example of
:15:02. > :15:04.
:15:04. > :15:07.fantastic football. I am sure it is. All right, well, Bristol City safe
:15:07. > :15:10.then, but they weren't the only ones battling the drop this weekend.
:15:10. > :15:16.Portsmouth, are down to the third tier, for the first time in 30
:15:17. > :15:23.years. For others though, the fight is not over.
:15:24. > :15:29.Robbie Williams's excellent free- kick... Whether they go up from
:15:29. > :15:39.lead to is still to be decided. They dropped out of the play-off
:15:39. > :15:53.
:15:53. > :16:01.positions after this. Well done to Walsall were in front at half-time.
:16:01. > :16:05.The Exeter defence opened up far too easily. The Gracias a year that
:16:05. > :16:09.anything less than a win would see them relegated. The prospect of a
:16:09. > :16:18.return to lead to was again on the cards when Walsall has restored
:16:18. > :16:24.their advantage to 2-1. Or sold then had a player sent off. Exeter
:16:24. > :16:30.had over 20 minutes left to find a winner over 10 men. This they did,
:16:30. > :16:34.thanks in no small part to this equaliser. Exton need to win both
:16:34. > :16:37.their remaining matches and hope the other results go their way if
:16:37. > :16:46.they are to stay up. They scored nine of goals in their last three
:16:46. > :16:53.matches. But there is a chance that Exeter can't believe they will do
:16:53. > :17:03.it. -- Exeter cannot believe. not a lot Wickham could do about
:17:03. > :17:07.
:17:07. > :17:11.Charlton's opener. Charlton became League One champions. Wycombe have
:17:11. > :17:16.to difficult league games to come. It is not looking good. Portsmouth
:17:16. > :17:26.chances were not very good. There were extinguished at full-time.
:17:26. > :17:27.
:17:27. > :17:30.Pompey came about strong in the second half. Varney equalise for
:17:31. > :17:40.Portsmouth but the odds were always stacked against them keeping their
:17:41. > :17:41.
:17:41. > :17:49.status. There was a penalty scored by Steve Davis. Portsmouth will
:17:49. > :17:54.Get some decent players in and we will be out of League One at the
:17:54. > :18:00.end of next season. For Pompey fans of the world's best. That is for
:18:00. > :18:05.certain. That is the situation at the bottom
:18:05. > :18:09.of League One. Wycombe at Exeter need to win if they are both --
:18:09. > :18:17.both their remaining games. That was someway go! What about
:18:17. > :18:21.Wickham? Can they stay up? I think they can, it is still possible.
:18:21. > :18:25.There is a possibility of them do it. He it doesn't look good for
:18:25. > :18:31.Exeter but at least they are prepared. They are prepared. They
:18:31. > :18:39.have been prepared to go down and the finances are in place. There
:18:39. > :18:43.are sticking to budget. Exeter almost went out of existence very
:18:44. > :18:47.recently. Face similar story to Portsmouth, there will be happy to
:18:47. > :18:51.be illegal. They are not happy to be going down that they are happy
:18:51. > :19:01.that as a club, the funds are involved. They are making sure that
:19:01. > :19:02.
:19:02. > :19:06.they live within their means. That is important.
:19:06. > :19:09.Back to the flip side of the whole teams going down business; teams,
:19:09. > :19:11.coming up - and next, Swindon! Where Paolo Di Canio has greeted
:19:11. > :19:14.promotion is his usual quiet, uncontroversial manner. All right,
:19:14. > :19:18.no, he hasn't! Paolo, in fact, telling the BBC, he was ready to
:19:18. > :19:23.walk out of the club a few weeks ago. And having a real go at some
:19:23. > :19:28.of his squad's attitude too. Swindon at a Gillingham and the
:19:28. > :19:35.Croat was awash with red after the game. The Robins bounced straight
:19:35. > :19:45.back into League One at the first time of asking. 45 days ago, he had
:19:45. > :19:55.threatened to resign. There was a secret. It didn't say why a was
:19:55. > :20:01.
:20:01. > :20:11.I gave my word to the fans and the board and my players. I thought if
:20:11. > :20:13.
:20:13. > :20:18.I go now, they will not go up. If they go to the play-off, they will
:20:18. > :20:21.lose. He has been caught by both personal and club crisis in the
:20:21. > :20:25.last few days. The death of his mother, and then a public
:20:25. > :20:30.embarrassment for the club, after players were involved in a drinking
:20:30. > :20:35.binge. Result? Age changes for this game. Four players dropped for
:20:35. > :20:38.their involvement in last week's night out. They were stupid. You
:20:38. > :20:48.can celebrate with one, two or three glasses of red wine or
:20:48. > :20:52.
:20:52. > :21:02.champagne. But why get drunk? I do not see why. I prefer to stay cool.
:21:02. > :21:13.
:21:13. > :21:22.A much time and Gillingham went I did a fantastic job. I can tell
:21:22. > :21:32.you now. I did a fantastic job. And maintained the attention of them
:21:32. > :21:33.
:21:33. > :21:43.all. We can lose easily to any solid but the job we did today is
:21:43. > :21:47.special. A special a fantastic. -- special and a fantastic. He has
:21:47. > :21:52.done a fantastic job but saying that he was going to resign, is
:21:52. > :21:55.that that right time to be carried out with that? It is a call to say,
:21:56. > :22:01.come and get me because I might be available. And to the board at
:22:01. > :22:04.Swindon, if I don't get what I want, will be off. It is a double-sided
:22:05. > :22:08.threat. I don't like to hear that because they've done fantastically
:22:08. > :22:13.well with the players have have worked extremely hard. It's not the
:22:13. > :22:20.right time. The was also say he didn't want to celebrate -- he was
:22:20. > :22:27.also say he doesn't want to be celebrating or for long. He is a
:22:27. > :22:34.winner but he wants it. We just had a champion sat here and the
:22:34. > :22:39.championship of your league is the thing to have. He is right to
:22:39. > :22:49.wanted. He is passionate. He doesn't feel that his parents --
:22:49. > :22:54.
:22:54. > :22:57.players wanted at the same intensity that he does.
:22:57. > :23:00.Now, behind Swindon, three more sides from our region are hoping to
:23:00. > :23:02.bust out of League Two. Let's see how they fared this weekend,
:23:02. > :23:06.starting with Crawley. Last week we showed you how these
:23:07. > :23:13.players did the twist like this! It is now 13 league games unbeaten for
:23:13. > :23:23.Crawley. A brilliant equaliser from a bigger move. Alexander Neelie won
:23:23. > :23:42.
:23:42. > :23:46.Both of Wimbledon's goals came late. Come on, Torquay! Be it is a big
:23:46. > :23:52.game because Crewe beat Cheltenham, who have now failed to score in
:23:52. > :24:02.seven of their last nine league games. They should still get into
:24:02. > :24:17.
:24:17. > :24:22.The you were talking about momentum. None of the sides there have got it
:24:22. > :24:27.right now. You could add at Crawley to that as well. They seem to have
:24:27. > :24:31.lost their way. They need to get there were at it over the line. If
:24:31. > :24:35.it doesn't matter how it comes, they just need a 1-0, and care how
:24:35. > :24:44.it goes, but get three points and get them automatic promotion or in
:24:44. > :24:48.the play-offs. He was looking best for the play-offs? Flip a coin. It
:24:48. > :24:53.is about who performs on the day. Get in there first and before the
:24:53. > :24:56.day. There are some teams that a
:24:56. > :24:59.wraparound centimes that Vendome. Then there are teams that are
:24:59. > :25:06.neither up nor down and it is to those size that we turn next. How
:25:06. > :25:16.ready are they for next season? It is seven without a win it now
:25:16. > :25:19.
:25:19. > :25:26.seagulls are now, probably. Brighton are definitely a team to
:25:26. > :25:30.tip for a top-six finish this time next year. Look for intelligent
:25:30. > :25:37.play from Thomas. He knows he is in an offside position so he doesn't
:25:38. > :25:46.move. He remains inactive. Thomas just fails to make contact at the
:25:46. > :25:50.end of this cross. Colchester have equalised late on. Gary Johnson was
:25:50. > :25:55.thrilled with the way his team performed to guarantee their place
:25:55. > :26:01.in League One and so he should be. They were heading for a third
:26:01. > :26:04.defeat but they came back strongly to a point. Andy Williams made it
:26:05. > :26:10.2-1 and then another player got a stoppage time equaliser. Other
:26:10. > :26:14.results went Yeovil's way and they can now look forward to next season.
:26:14. > :26:24.Gary will no doubt have plenty of plans in mind as he plots a way
:26:24. > :26:34.
:26:34. > :26:40.when you hear him speak, he now knows he is going and where he is
:26:40. > :26:45.taking Aldershot. This player got their third and 4th goals and was
:26:45. > :26:54.an excellent signing. Keeping him a fit and firing it could be a
:26:54. > :27:04.pointer as to how they will do. mentioned last week how Rovers are
:27:04. > :27:05.
:27:05. > :27:14.building well under Mark McGhee but this was a poor day. There was a
:27:14. > :27:19.red card for this awful challenge. What is it like at the end of the
:27:19. > :27:24.season? If it would be easy to turn off and to lose your focus. That is
:27:24. > :27:27.what the managers are looking out for. He is secure for those who can
:27:27. > :27:31.trust next year. If you are a player, don't switch off because
:27:31. > :27:35.the managers are looking for those players he can trust to build his
:27:35. > :27:39.own squad. There is only three-and- a-half months until the new season
:27:39. > :27:45.begins. The it is going to be the longest pre-season for some of
:27:45. > :27:50.those players. So many clubs have to learn lessons from this time
:27:50. > :27:56.around. Anyone in particular you want to pick out? How I think you
:27:56. > :28:05.Oval did fantastically well. They have done well to stay in League
:28:05. > :28:10.One and they will need to get players in more permanently.
:28:10. > :28:16.For thanks very much, Leroy, and thank you, Graham. Next week,