Sheffield United v Sunderland: Championship playoff final
Date: 2025-05-24T12:56:39.000Z
Title: Scott Murray is such a brilliant writer that he could make traffic entertaining.
Content: Here he is on the origin story of the playoffs, and it starts way before 1987.
The problem inherent in this scheme revealed itself during the 1898 Tests, and in some style. The play-off mini-league saw First Division failures Blackburn Rovers and Stoke take on the upwardly mobile Second Division pair of Burnley and Newcastle United. The first Tests panned out in such a manner that when Burnley and Stoke met in their final fixture, they knew that a draw would promote Burnley while also maintaining Stoke's first-tier status. And there wouldn't a single thing Blackburn or Newcastle could do about it. Goalless pact ahoy!
Update:
Date: 2025-05-24T12:56:39.000Z
Title: Preamble
Content: Hello and welcome to one of the biggest games in the English football calendar: the Championship playoff final at Wembley. Sheffield United and Sunderland will meet to decide which team gets the Premier League Experience next season.
The good news for both teams is that somebody has to win. The two clubs have dreadful playoff records: Sheffield United have never been promoted in nine attempts, Sunderland only twice in seven – and one of those came after defeat in the 1990 final to Swindon, who were subsequently demoted because of financial irregularities.
Sheffield United start as favourites, having finished 14 points ahead of Sunderland in the regular season, but that's rarely worth a damn in this fixture. May the best team win!
Kick off 3.01pm.
PS It's worth over £200m to the winners. And that's the first and last use of the pound sign today, because we're sick to the back teeth of glory being quantified.
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