It’s a cruel line of demarcation for one of our shining beacons of morality and courage, Sven. The following capsule chronicles the run-in for each of the top ten in the table as it stands…

Hull City
League position: 10th – 56 pts
Form: 8th
Remaining fixtures: Millwall, Watford (a), Swansea (a), Doncaster, Boro, QPR (a), Crystal Palace, Bristol City (a)

Three trips away to members of the top six is pretty murderous, though QPR may have promotion sewn up by the time Big Nige rolls up to Loftus Road in round 44…

Watford
League position: 9th – 56 pts
Form: 6th
Remaining fixtures: Coventry (a), Hull, Norwich, Leeds (a), Barnsley, Leicester (a), QPR, Preston (a)

They too could benefit from the league champions easing their push on the accelerator…conversely they could find themselves at Deepdale on the final day witnessing Phil Brown serenading the fans with his own unique rendition of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’

Burnley
League position: 8th – 57 pts
Form: 9th
Remaining fixtures: Ipswich, Leicester (a), Forest (a), Swansea, Boro, Derby (a), Portsmouth, Leeds (a), Cardiff

Quite simply it’s the most daunting last three fixtures for any club on this list…the Pompey tilt could be a de facto elimination match for both, with the losers’ promo hopes doused for good

Reading
League position: 7th – 57 pts
Form: 3rd
Remaining fixtures: Portsmouth, Preston, Forest (a), Scunthorpe (a), Leicester, Leeds (a), Sheff Utd, Coventry (a), Derby

Chic pick to break into the top 6 and garner the final slot for ascension back to the Prem…a look at the remaining fixtures explains why: their final three could be the ones en route to League One

Nottingham Forest
League position: 6th – 60 pts
Form: 22nd
Remaining fixtures: Leeds (a), Reading, Burnley, Norwich (a), Leicester, Bristol City (a), Scunthorpe, Crystal Palace (a)

It’s been an awful run of form for the Trees, and failure to navigate the next five matches successfully could consign them to a disappointing mid table finish

Leeds
League position: 5th – 61 pts
Form: 13th
Remaining fixtures: Forest, Millwall (a), Derby (a), Watford, Reading, Crystal Palace (a), Burnley, QPR (a)

Burnley may have the toughest final three, but Dirty Leeds get virtually no respite until the final whistle blows in W12…Watford and Reading coming to Elland Road is a decided advantage this time of year

Cardiff
League position: 4th – 63 pts
Form: 12th
Remaining fixtures: Derby, Doncaster (a), Sheff Utd (a), Portsmouth, QPR, Preston (a), Boro, Burnley (a)

Tony Pulis, master of the obvious…of course Dave Jones is under pressure to earn promotion, that’s what choking and fading down the stretch in recent years fosters…they should be massive favourites for at least 7 of the remaining fixtures

Swansea
League position 3rd – 66 pts
Form: 7th
Remaining fixtures: Preston (a), Norwich, Hull, Burnley (a), Portsmouth (a), Ipswich, Millwall (a), Sheff Utd

It’s the generous final stage for the other Welsh aspirants who want to upgrade their league…an aversion to scoring goals knocked them off-track late last season…they don’t have that problem anymore…

Norwich
League position: 2nd – 67 pts
Form: 5th
Remaining fixtures: Scunthorpe, Swansea (a), Watford (a), Forest, Ipswich (a), Derby, Portsmouth (a), Coventry

We actually picked this lot to finish sixth…Paul Lambert brings indescribable qualities that equate to immediate, constant success…his squad displays a tremendous balance of grit and wisdom, like Grant Holt, melded with technically-proficient forward-thinking attackers

QPR
League position: 1st – 76 pts
Form: 2nd
Remaining fixtures: Sheff Utd, Scunthorpe (a), Barnsley (a), Derby, Cardiff (a), Hull, Watford (a), Leeds

There is a real chance of a home coronation, either after Derby or Hull…whenever it does occur we’ll be spared of the least enthralling end to a romping campaign since Newcastle last year…maybe they’ll league-swap with Fulham?

Based on absolutely nothing other than usual wild conjecture, here’s our final table:

6. Leeds

5. Reading

4. Cardiff

3. Norwich

2. Swansea

1. QPR

QPR and Swansea go up automatically – Norwich defeats Reading in the play-off final to garner consecutive promotions…

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• Tony Macca out – Justin Hoyte in at right full back…Seb Hines for the suspended Wheats

• Boro XI: Steele, Hoyte, Hines, Bates, Bennett, Thomson, Bailey, GON, Arca, Mac, Emnes

• Bates announced as permanent captain…impetus for Gary O’Neil to play well through well-channeled anger?

• Cardiff – 19 points out of 30 away…sterling form, especially compared with ours

• Hoyte in favour due to his pace…he must assert himself adequately to really wrest the position away from Tony Macca

• Emnes w/ a great turn and runs at the defender…stinging shot saved by Marshall

• Gilly at right full back the last time Boro beat Cardiff in 1985 at Ayresome…Mogga in the side too

• more of the same: Arca pinging quality balls into the box too classy for our attackers

• miserable miss from Mac…dragged wide…bobbled off knee/upper leg

• Cardiff ‘mean it more’ when attacking

• Emnes taken down…should have been a red for Gyepes…Arca converts with ease…Boro 1-0 Cardiff

• HT Boro 1-0 Cardiff… with the lead we’re less prone to their counter-attacking ambition…expect a strong response in the second half

• Bellamy gives referee Anthony Bates stick for the penna cos he’s from Sunderland, perceiving some sort of Arca-influenced bias…really?

• only one man to mark for Hines and Bates – sadly it’s Craig Bellamy and neither of them are that assured in the job…squeeze the space between you and play tighter

• Dave Jones erupting in the technical area, melting the snow with his vitriol…strong remonstrating w/ the officials

• Boro morphing into a 4-1-4-1 w/ Thommo playing deep and Emnes alone up front

• getting ‘tasty…very tasty’ down on the touchlines

• Chopra spears into Jason Steele, a clear yellow card, which should be his second, and Dave Jones has the temerity to scream at the fourth official demanding an explanation

• 4 mins added

• attendance – 14250 (505 Cardiff)

• GG MOM – Bates

• FT Boro 1-0 Cardiff – Emnes – a constant threat..Thommo – tidy…Bailey – put in a shift…GON – tireless

• outstanding discipline – remarkable tactically from Mogga – fill the holes, make it tight, not commit too many forward

• Mogga – amazing shift – overcame training challenges to execute a flawless game plan – the crowd drags the players on…massive boost – Seb Hines: immaculate…brave, put his head through things – midfield worked their socks off – Doncaster will be another test…string together a few wins and keep taking the new things on

• Thommo – delighted, still not 100% – hard rehab work pays off – resolved displayed by Boro commendable – Cardiff full of top players with loads of quality

• Julio Arca – still has to look after the knee, requiring a proper cool down after a professional shift – confident about the penalty, and the decision to step up and bang it

West Bromwich Albion – it’s their bi-yearly migration north…can they solve the riddle of consolidation? Roberto di Matteo goes from League One to the Prem in a meteoric two years…

Nottingham Forest – rode an amazing wave of form to control 3rd spot…tight, organised, fitter, and more up for it than most of the opposition…Billy Davies gets teams promoted…maintaining that status? not so much…

Cardiff City – overcame the usual late season bottle job, and
administration bother…bags of goals…they’d be entertaining if
promoted…

Leicester City – improbable cohesion – Nigel Pearson should be investigated for human cloning violations – a steely and determined side, crafted in the mould of the former Boro man
Blackpool – Ian Holloway has a little dance…the form side who slid into the playoffs – those types have a history of running the playoff gauntlet – Pool haven’t been in 1st division since ’71

Swansea – there’s your Welsh bottle job – top 6 stalwarts for most of the season were doomed by lack of goal punch – will Sousa stay?

Sheffield United – promising finish, though they rarely were serious
promotion contenders…welcome back Paddy Kenny!

Reading – major turnaround under Brian McDermott – strong cup run buoyed league form

Bristol City – seemingly couldn’t lose under Keith Millen – Nicky
Maynard bagged a quiet 20 goals, especially the cracker v Pool that nearly spoiled their party

Boro – more later

Doncaster Rovers – free flowing footie under Sean O’Driscoll was frequently pleasing to the eye…can’t complain over top half finish

Queens Park Rangers – survived the standard managerial merry-go-round – Warnock says they’ll have to be reckoned w/ next term as they mount a serious promotion push

Derby County – better from young Nigel – will continue to build and ideally push for a top 10 finish

Ispwich Town – disappointing…after Roy Keane got the job late last season they responded strongly…horrific start to campaign was insurmountable

Watford – decent football at times, though their stars were all loan players – Tom Cleverley was outstanding…

Preston North End – little Ferg has them more organised…can he work some of the old Posh promotion magic?

Barnsley – Mark Robins was a great appointment – never an easy game – he’ll get more time to change the culture

Coventry City – briefly flirted w/ playoffs for a spell, even after selling Leon Best

Scunthorpe United – tremendous achievement to stay up given their paucity of resources…will look to cash in on the popular goalhawk Gary Hooper

Crystal Palace – promotion attempts railroaded by administration…did just enough under Paul Hart to avoid possible extinction

Sheffield Wednesday – despair at final day relegation – American
investment and sound stewardship of Alan Irvine should see a quick return to the Championship

Plymouth Argyle – the affable Paul Mariner instilled a courageous
spirit after the sacking of Paul Sturrock…sadly they couldn’t ride
it out the basement

Peterborough United – out of their depth, and the resulting
instability – sacking Ferguson and Cooper – was too big a
specter…revived under Jim Gannon for a spell…now Gary Johnson is the man to architect a new push back up

Nickname(s): The Swans, The Jacks

Ground: Liberty Stadium

From Boro: a long slog halfway into Wales – 330 miles, or nearly 5.5 hours by motor

Kit: can we get a moratorium limiting any more red/white/black kits in this league?

The State They’re In: might be hard to capitalize on last year…Roberto Martinez has done one to Wigan, taking Jason Scotland and Jordi Gomez w/ him…Paulo Sousa assumes the managerial role this season, presumably w/ more security/support than what was offered at QPR

South Wales derby: this hostile tilt fully embodies hooliganism at it’s worst, or best, depending on your perspective: the latest depiction at Ninian Park on 05 April 2009 saw referee Mike Dean struck in the head with a single pound coin after a tangle between Michael Chopra and Jordi Gomez near the end of the first half; and who could forget the incident in 1988 where Cardiff supporters were chased into Swansea Bay by a throng of rabid Jacks fans? ‘swim away’ indeed…

Nickname: The Bluebirds

Ground: Cardiff City Stadium – new facility that replaces historic Ninian Park

From Boro: similar to Bristol, but just a touch longer at 300 miles

Kit: home strip is ace – classic colour palette w/ just the right level of modernity

Best Supporters Song: Always shit on the English side of the bridge (repeat) (to the tune of ‘Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life’)

Last Time We Faced Them: we were possessed w/ a phantom sense of entitlement during the 07/08 FA Cup quarterfinal – all the big sides were out…Portsmouth was the lone Premiership side remaining…surely Wembley was in the cards…this precipitated the drop into the current chasm