"I'm not going to drag it out or make a point, because points are pointless."

Poor Palace, poor AJ. Their sneering chairman, Simon Jordan, is one of the more intrinsically dislikeable people in football, even if he does sometimes say things that ought to be said (as he has about diving). And he seems bent on keeping them out of the Premier League.

Evidently taking a mediocre team as far as the Championship playoffs was not enough to keep Iain Dowie in his job. Well, you can bet that the former Northern Ireland international and Sam the American Eagle lookalike (there are so many of them in English football) will find a new job, and probably a better one.

As for AJ, apparently 8 million pounds isn't enough to get him back into the Premier League, where he almost certainly belongs. Heck, if Four-Goal Heskey still belongs there, then surely AJ does. That 8 million would likely buy Palace enough players for promotion next year, but no, Simon Gollum has to hold onto his precious....

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Sven has again - and inexplicably this time - ignored Ledley by bringing Neville #2 into the England squad for injured Reo-Coker. Is Ledley's recovery really so far off track? Phil certainly did blossom at Everton this year, but still, both Nevilles again? Also, why is a defensive midfielder being swapped in for Captain Wham, anyway? Wouldn't even Kieran Richardson have made more sense? Come on, now, Sven. As Ricky Ricardo would say, you got some splainin to do....