Number 1 - Comments

Seems to be impatience that's got him. He was the 4th longest serving manager or something and I suppose no home win so far did for him. But its still a fairly dumb decision this early.

Fabulous strikes from Ruiz and Mutch at the Fulham game.

Rumours are going around Martin Jol is going to be dismissed this week. Not sure if its true or not but he can't have too long left if they continue playing shite.

Damien Duff scored at both ends as Newcastle secured Premier League survival with a very late draw against Aston Villa.

The Irishman's unfortunate own goal - deflecting in Gareth Barry's 20-yard shot seven minutes before the interval - made it look like Alan Shearer's mission to save Newcastle from relegation was set to end in devastating failure.

Minutes before referee Chris Foy blew the whistle on Newcastle's Premier League existence, defender David Edgar was handed a red card when he was sent off for his second bookable offence after fouling Ashley Young.

But just as all hope seemed lost for the men from the North East, an angled drive from Duff flew beyond Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel to secure survival and ensure Newcastle's Premier League stint will move into a 17th year.

Newcastle had opportunites to grasp at a lifeline in the first half, with Obafemi Martins firing off target and Mark Viduka having a shot cleared off the line by Carlos Cuellar.

But when Newcastle needed to find inspiration in the second half, all that was on offer was an almost passive acceptance of their decline as they failed to exert any serious pressure on Villa - at times seeming barely aware of the fate that awaited them if they lost.

The Magpies' performance was a prime example of why they have struggled this season, lacking any fire and urgency. For vast portions of the second half, it looked as if a passionless and surprisingly terrible second half display would be the Magpies' unravelling.

Michael Owen made an appearance as substitute midway through the second half, but he made no impact and barely touched the ball. Although the club survived, his future remains unclear.

Shearer led the applause for Newcastle's elated fans as the realisation of survival sunk in, and owner Mike Ashley must now try to persuade Shearer to stay on and provide some semblance of stability to this most dysfunctional of clubs as they attempt to rebuild and reclaim their place in English football's elite.

Despite survival, Newcastle's hierarchy must now indulge in serious soul-searching after a season that saw Kevin Keegan's reign as manager end in acrimony and Joe Kinnear's surprise temporary appointment, which ended prematurely after he suffered health problems. Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood could not stop the rot, and it required goal difference and an astonishing loss of form for Hull to stay in the Premier League.

Shearer's side were lively in attack during the opening exchanges. Villa keeper Friedel almost let Duff's deflected shot slip in and Cuellar smuggled Viduka's goal-bound shot off the line as Newcastle pressed for an early breakthrough.

Martins also volleyed over the top when he found space 12 yards out in the penalty area, with boss Shearer showing obvious frustration on the sidelines as another chance came and went.

Newcastle, however, were nowhere near as convincing at the back and Fabricio Coloccini was regularly threatened with embarrassment by Gabriel Agbonlahor's raw pace. Craig Gardner brought a fine fingertip save from Steve Harper before Villa took the lead seven minutes before the interval, helped by a liberal sprinkling of good fortune.

Barry's shot was struck with power, but it was a crucial deflection off Duff that took it out of the reach of Harper and into the bottom corner of the net.

Newcastle's fans, who were in ecstasy when news of Manchester United's goal at Hull filtered through, were stunned into silence as their Villa counterparts celebrated.

There was still time for another opportunity for Newcastle before the interval, with Martins sending a glancing header just wide from Nicky Butt's free-kick.

Newcastle could not apply any pressure in the early stages of the second half, leaving Shearer to make his first change after 56 minutes. Jose Enrique replaced Peter Lovenkrands, leaving Duff to move forward into a more familiar attacking role on the left-flank.

And Shearer swiftly followed this move with the introduction of Owen, giving the injury-plagued England striker the opportunity to possibly end an unfulfilling spell on Tyneside with a flourish.

Barry then missed the chance that would have condemned Newcastle to Championship football. He robbed Butt 20 yards out, but then sent a curling shot inches wide with Harper helpless.

Newcastle were surprisingly lacking any sense of real urgency, and Shearer played his final card with 20 minutes left by sending on Shola Ameobi for the tiring Viduka.

Carew then contrived to waste another opportunity to finish off Newcastle when he somehow failed to find the target after being set up by Agbonlahor six yards out.

Newcastle, despite the increasing desperation of their situation, were offering nothing and Ashley Young fired just over the top after a powerful run.

Enrique's speculative cross almost spared Newcastle in the dying seconds - but it drifted agonisingly wide.

But moments before Foy was due to blow his whistle, one final push from the Magpies saw the ball fall to Enrique, whose half-cleared cross fell to Duff. The Irish winger ran inside and fired a great drive from the edge of the area past Friedel to secure the unlikeliest of survivals.

Aston Villa: Friedel, Gardner (Heskey 75), Davies, Cuellar, Shorey, Milner, Petrov (Reo-Coker 84), Barry, Ashley Young, Carew (Sidwell 89), Agbonlahor.
Subs Not Used: Guzan, Delfouneso, Knight, Albrighton.
Goals: Duff 38 og.

Newcastle: Harper, Coloccini, Steven Taylor, Edgar, Duff, Guthrie, Nolan (Owen 66), Butt, Lovenkrands (Jose Enrique 57), Viduka (Ameobi 75), Martins.
Goals: Duff 90
Subs Not Used: Krul, Smith, Gutierrez, Ryan Taylor.
Sent Off: Edgar (90).
Booked: Steven Taylor, Edgar.

Att: 42,585

Ref: Chris Foy (Merseyside).

BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Aston Villa's Gareth Barry 7.09 (on 90 minutes).

FINAL DAY AS IT HAPPENS
May 24th 2009

1500: It's been another remarkable season of football in the Premier League this year. The season has seen plenty of remarkable stories and performances for all of the divisions 20 teams, and memories that will last a lifetime. But we're still not done, with just 90 minutes left between now and the end of the campaign. There are still things to be decided, with four teams living in fear of following West Bromwich Albion out of the Premier League for another year.

1505: After 37 rounds of the top flight, Sunderland and Hull City are still in the driving seat, with Newcastle United and Middlesbrough set to fall down. While the Teeside club look doomed to relegation after 11 years in the Premier League, they still very much live in hope. In contrast, Sunderland are in the driving seat, knowing they can lose and still remain a top flight club, although they will not want to take any chances against Chelsea.

1509: The hub of the action seems to concern Hull and Newcastle. The Tigers will look back on 08-09 with fondness even if they do go down. Their first top flight season in 104 years saw a remarkable first half of the campaign where they sat in the top 6 in November and registered away victories at Newcastle, Arsenal and Spurs, as well as taking a point away from Liverpool and losing out by the odd goal in seven at Old Trafford. But an equally remarkable collapse of form sees them here today, with victory over Fulham in March their only victory since December. They know victory over Man U today will secure survival, but they have to be wary today.

1513: Newcastle will look back on 2008-09 with something approaching disdain regardless of today. The resignation of Kevin Keegan following the end of the transfer window, and general upheaval and chaos, means the Toon Army will be glad to see the back of this season. But they'll be hopeful that Alan Shearer can lead the team to a final miracle that can keep them in the top flight and prolong their 16-year-long spell in the English top tier.

1517: The stakes for Magpies and Tigers fans are simple. Newcastle must better Hull's result to stay up. Defeat for Newcastle will ensure relegation, while Hull victory means Newcastle can only stay up if they win and Sunderland lose.

1520: Relegation is not the only issue yet to be decided. Everton and Aston Villa are still vying for fifth position, while the final European place is up for grabs between Fulham and Spurs.

1522: Final team news of the campaign. Starting with the game at Anfield where Liverpool are playing Spurs.

1523: Liverpool v Tottenham line-ups
Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Aurelio, Mascherano, Alonso, Kuyt, Gerrard, Benayoun, Torres.
Subs: Cavalieri, Hyypia, Riera, Lucas, Insua, Ngog, Degen.
Tottenham: Gomes, Hutton, Corluka, King, Assou-Ekotto, Modric, Zokora, Jenas, Bale, Defoe, Keane.
Subs: Cudicini, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, Bent, Gunter, Campbell, Chimbonda.
Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)

1526: Fulham v Everton line-ups
Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Murphy, Etuhu, Gera, Nevland, Kamara.
Subs: Zuberbuhler, Zamora, Dacourt, Gray, Stoor, Baird, Smalling.
Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Yobo, Lescott, Baines, Neville, Cahill, Rodwell, Pienaar, Osman, Saha.
Subs: Nash, Castillo, Jo, Vaughan, Jacobsen, Fellaini, Gosling.
Referee: Mike Riley (Yorkshire)

1529: Aston Villa v Newcastle line-ups
Aston Villa: Friedel, Gardner, Davies, Cuellar, Shorey, Milner, Petrov, Barry, Ashley Young, Carew, Agbonlahor.
Subs: Guzan, Sidwell, Delfouneso, Knight, Heskey, Reo-Coker, Albrighton.
Newcastle: Harper, Coloccini, Steven Taylor, Edgar, Duff, Guthrie, Nolan, Butt, Lovenkrands, Viduka, Martins.
Subs: Krul, Jose Enrique, Owen, Smith, Gutierrez, Ameobi, Ryan Taylor.
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)

1532: Manchester City v Bolton line-ups
Man City: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Bridge, De Jong, Ireland, Kompany, Wright-Phillips, Caicedo, Robinho.
Subs: Hart, Zabaleta, Bojinov, Petrov, Mwaruwari, Berti, Weiss.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Shittu, Samuel, Mark Davies, Muamba, McCann, Taylor, Elmander, Kevin Davies.
Subs: Al Habsi, Hunt, Riga, Puygrenier, Cohen, Basham, Andrew O'Brien.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)

1535: Wigan v Portsmouth line-ups
Wigan: Kingson, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa, Valencia, Cattermole, Brown, N'Zogbia, De Ridder, Rodallega.
Subs: Pollitt, Edman, Cho, Watson, Kupisz, Routledge, McManaman.
Portsmouth: Begovic, Kaboul, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Pennant, Hughes, Mullins, Traore, Utaka, Crouch.
Subs: Ashdown, Primus, Thomas, Pamarot, Cranie, Kanu, Basinas.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)

1538: Sunderland v Chelsea line-ups
Sunderland: Fulop, Bardsley, Davenport, Ferdinand, Collins, Malbranque, Whitehead, Tainio, Leadbitter, Richardson, Jones.
Subs: Colgan, Edwards, Cisse, Murphy, Reid, Healy, McShane.
Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Ashley Cole, Essien, Mikel, Belletti, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka.
Subs: Hilario, Di Santo, Ballack, Sinclair, Kalou, Mancienne, Stoch.
Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire)

1541: Blackburn v West Brom line-ups
Blackburn: Robinson, Andrews, Ooijer, Givet, Warnock, Diouf, Kerimoglu, Pedersen, Samba, McCarthy, Grella.
Subs: Bunn, Khizanishvili, Mokoena, Villanueva, Treacy, Olsson, Roberts.
West Brom: Kiely, Zuiverloon, Donk, Olsson, Robinson, Koren, Borja Valero, Greening, Brunt, Menseguez, Fortune.
Subs: Carson, Kim, Moore, Simpson, Downing, Sawyers, Wood.
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)

1543: West Ham v Middlesbrough line-ups
West Ham: Green, Spector, Neill, Upson, Ilunga, Noble, Kovac, Collison, Boa Morte, Cole, Stanislas.
Subs: Lastuvka, Lopez, Dyer, Nsereko, Tristan, Di Michele, Payne.
Middlesbrough: Jones, McMahon, Wheater, Huth, Hoyte, O'Neil, Bates, Arca, Adam Johnson, Sanli, Emnes.
Subs: Turnbull, Shawky, Bennett, Franks, Williams, Grounds, Walker.
Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)

1545: Arsenal v Stoke line-ups
Arsenal: Mannone, Sagna, Toure, Song Billong, Gibbs, Diaby, Fabregas, Denilson, Arshavin, van Persie, Walcott.
Subs: Szczesny, Vela, Ramsey, Silvestre, Djourou, Bendtner, Eboue.
Stoke: Simonsen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Dickinson, Lawrence, Diao, Whelan, Delap, Beattie, Fuller.
Subs: Sorensen, Olofinjana, Cresswell, Pugh, Kelly, Tonge, Sonko.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

1549: Hull City v Manchester United line-ups
Hull: Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Kilbane, Dawson, Garcia, Marney, Boateng, Barmby, Geovanni, Fagan.
Subs: Duke, Hughes, Mendy, Halmosi, Folan, Zayatte, Cousin.
Man Utd: Kuszczak, Rafael Da Silva, Neville, Brown, De Laet, Nani, Fletcher, Gibson, Welbeck, Martin, Macheda.
Subs: Amos, Tosic, Possebon, Eckersley, Corry Evans, Drinkwater, James.
Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire)

1553: The stadiums up and down the land are buzzing with anticipation. They know that, for the final time for a few months at least, the teams are about to take to the field. Some big stories still to be written for the fans of everyone club, not least the quartet divided by 99 miles fighting for their very Premier League lives.

1559: The teams have emerged and we're about to go for the final day of the season 2008-2009.

1601: Here we go.

1603: Fabricio Coloccini does well to deal with the pace of Gabby Agbonlahor, who, moments later, heads over from six yards. Nervy times already for Newcastle.

1604: Michael Essien heads a corner wide for Chelsea at Sunderland. A Hull corner causes Man Utd problems, too. Tense beginnings.

1605: Louis Saha hits the Fulham crossbar with a header for Everton. Remember, it's just Fulham and Tottenham who are vying for seventh and the last Uefa Europa League place.

1611: GOAL
Manchester City 1-0 Bolton
Robinho's quickly-taken free-kick finds Stephen Ireland, his chip is clipped across the six-yard box by Micah Richards and Felipe Caicedo taps in from close-range.

1612: Newcastle's Damien Duff cuts in from the left and fires a low right-footed shot at goal from the edge of the area that Brad Friedel clumsily shovels behind. The Magpies look to be settling after a nervy opening and moments later Carlos Cuellar clears off the line from Steven Taylor.

1614: GOAL
Arsenal 1-0 Stoke
Arsenal's short corner is fired across the goalline by Cesc Fabregas and James Beattie accidentally diverts it into his own net.

1615: Mark Viduka flicks the ball on and Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins volleys wildly over from 10 yards. They've got to take one of these chances while they're on top. The manager would've fair buried it.

1619: PENALTY TO ARSENAL
GOAL: Arsenal 2-0 Stoke
Arsenal double their lead early on after Ryan Shawcross fouls Robin van Persie and the Dutchman slots in the penalty himself.

1620: Nani's free-kick slaps into the gloves of Boaz Myhill at Hull. Steve Harper saves from Craig Gardner at Villa.

1621: GOAL
Arsenal 3-0 Stoke
The Gunners ending their season with a first half flourish against a flaky Potters defence already safe. Goals don't get much more simple as Robin van Persie swings over a cross and Abou Diaby heads in his fourth goal of the season.

1622: Middlesbrough need goals to have any hope of survival but their second kick of the day has flown into the laps of the supporters. Nerves are jangling. Highlights so far - a crunching Luis Boa Morte tackle and Junior Stanislas crashing a shot against the Boro crossbar.

1624: The game at Villa Park is more end-to-end than a Wimbledon tennis final at the moment as Newcastle keeper Steve Harper does well to get Stiliyan Petrov's cross away off the toes of Gareth Barry six yards out.

1626: GOAL
Hull City 0-1 Manchester United
Supposedly a reserve team out tonight, but Manchester United take the lead in fantastic style. Darron Gibson picks the ball up 35 yards out and unleashes a right-foot screamer that flies into the top, far corner. Incredible hit.

1627: As news of that goal filtered through to Villa Park, the Newcastle fans went crazy.

1628: GOAL
Wigan 1-0 Portsmoouth Charles N'Zogbia drives down the Wigan left and fires a ball across the six-yard box, which Sol Campbell completely misses, allowing Hugo Rodallega to tap into an empty net.

1630: Juliano Belletti has to go off injured for Chelsea and midfielder Michael Ballack replaces him.

1633: PENALTY TO STOKE
GOAL: Arsenal 3-1 Stoke
Denilson brings down Ricardo Fuller inside the Arsenal box and the striker slots it past Vito Mannone to make the score a bit more respectable.

1635: GOAL
Liverpool 1-0 Tottenham
Liverpool break the deadlock in a dull match at Anfield as Fernando Torres rises between two Tottenham defenders to head home the cross from Dirk Kuyt off the underside of the crossbar.

1636: GOAL
West Ham 1-0 Middlesbrough
The Boro defence are all over the place as Carlton Cole side-foots home past Brad Jones following fine work from Luis Boa Morte down the left. That is why they're going down.

1639: GOAL
Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle
Gareth Barry picks the ball up 40 yards out and hits a tame shot that is going nowhere - until Damien Duff sticks out his right foot and sends it spinning past Steve Harper.

1640: Newcastle were safe for all of 13 minutes from when Gibson scored for Man United and Duff's unfortunate own goal at Villa Park. As long as Hull are losing, one more goal will keep the Magpies in the Premier League. But time is running out.

1641: Danny Wellbeck nods on a long goal-kick and Federico Macheda works space in the area before dragging his shot only inches wide. Hull are rocking, while Man United's youngsters are growing in confidence.

1642: John Carew drives into the Newcastle box and his cross is diverted agonisingly wide by Gabby Agbonlahor. Another Villa goal and Newcastle's mountain will stand taller.

1645: GOAL
Arsenal 4-1 Stoke
A rampant Arsenal display continues, albeit aided by awful Stoke defending. Rory Delap's header back to Thomas Sorensen is woefully short and Robin van Persie chests it down and volleys it home from 12 yards.

1646: GOAL
Fulham 0-1 Everton
Everton go ahead - and there's hope for Spurs is the race for seventh. The brilliant Steven Pienaar slips in Leon Osman, who beats the offside trap and goes around Mark Schwarzer before slotting in from an angle.

1648: Florent Malouda slams a left-foot shot against the Sunderland crossbar after a lovely pass from Jon Mikel Obi. It's half-time now at the Stadium or Light and at West Ham.

1649: In the dying moments of the first half at Villa Park, Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins rose unmarked 12 yards out to meet a long free-kick, but he steered his header wide. It's half-time at Hull City and at Aston Villa now. Alan Shearer and Gareth Southgate face a very big 15 minutes.

1650: The other games have reached the halfway mark too.

1653: As it stands, the big issues will end the way they started, with Middlesbrough and Newcastle being relegated, Everton taking 5th and Fulham finishing in that final European spot.

1701: Remember, that if Newcastle score - and Hull lose - then the Magpies will be safe. One goal might be all Alan Shearer's men require. Can they do it?

1704: The players are coming out again, across England. Boro are gone, so this is about Hull, Newcastle and Sunderland for the remaining place. Someone, at some stage, is going to have to show that they really want to stay in the Premier League. Because they haven't so far.

1705: For the final time this season, we're underway. Can everything change in the final 45 minutes?

1706: GOAL
Sunderland 0-1 Chelsea
That's a blow for the Black Cats, but what a goal. Nicolas Anelka ensures he will finish above Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot, running from inside his own half and lashing a wonderful 25-yarder into the top corner. Stunning strike.

1708: So, all four teams who were threatened with relegation are now losing. As they have been doing for quite a while, it seems.

1710: GOAL
West Ham 1-1 Middlesbrough
Gary O'Neil crashes in his fourth goal of the season to give Boro a glimmer of hope, blasting in 15 yards out from the right after good work from Tuncay.

1712: GOAL
Sunderland 1-1 Chelsea
Grant Leadbitter's cross from the left is missed by Petr Cech, who was under pressure from Kenwyne Jones, and Kieran Richardson takes advantage to drill in a leveller. Breathing space restored for Sunderland.

1714: Ashley Young is threatening to put Newcastle to bed at Villa Park, first forcing Steve Harper to tip over direct from a corner and then curling inches wide when well placed on the edge of the area.

1715: It's gamble number one for Hull boss Phil Brown, with Caleb Folan coming on for Geovanni.

1716: Newcastle's managerial trio of Shearer, Iain Dowie and Chris Hughton are deep in conversation. We could well be seeing a few changes for the Magpies eleven in a few ticks.

1718: GOAL
West Ham 2-1 Middlesbrough
It's a disaster for Brad Jones and Gareth Southgate knows their fate is just about sealed. Junior Stanislas hits a shot from 20 yards that doesn't have much power, but creeps under Jones' attempted save. Shocker.

1719: Jose Enrique is on for Peter Lovenkrands at Villa and Newcastle sub Michael Owen is warming up.

1723: GOAL
Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham
Liverpool double their lead over Spurs, as Dirk Kuyt plays a one-two with Yossi Benayoun and his shot is deflected off Alan Hutton into the visitors' goal. It may go down as a Hutton own goal but that's one for the dubious goal's panel.

1727: Last throw of the Geordie dice - Alan Shearer throws on Michael Owen for Kevin Nolan. Can Owen be the new Messiah?

1730: SENDING OFF
Jason Roberts (Blackburn)
That looks a bit harsh on first replay, might need to see it again. The striker is sent off for an alleged elbow, but didn't look to be much in it.

1731: Newcastle are looking every inch the weary relegation-threatened side they are right now and Gareth Barry almost doubles Villa's lead when he curls inches wide. But, while it's still only 1-0...

1733: GOAL
Sunderland 1-2 Chelsea
Salomon Kalou picks up a half-clearance on the edge of the box and rifles a right-foot shot past Marton Fulop in the Sunderland goal. They're not out of it yet.

1735: Richard Eckersley plays a nice-one two at Hull and curls a right-foot shot just wide from the edge of the box. United still look more likely to score.

1737: GOAL
Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham
Spurs narrow the deficit at Anfield as former Reds striker Robbie Keane springs the offside trap and has an age to beat Pepe Reina. Stony silence from The Kop.

1740: That was Villa's chance to relegate Newcastle. Gabby Agbonlahor's cross finds John Carew at the back post as Steven Taylor slips, but the Norwegian doesn't make contact. Villa should have put them away by now - can Newcastle have the last laugh?

1741: GOAL
Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham
Yossi Benayoun makes sure of the win for the hosts as he shrugs off Ledley King's challenge to sidefoot past the advancing Heurelho Gomes.

1744: Steven Gerrard curls a free-kick inches wide and Sami Hyypia comes on to a resounding standing ovation from the Anfield faithful. He takes the armband as the Finnish defender comes on for his final appearance for the red half of Merseyside.

1745: GOAL
Sunderland 1-3 Chelsea
Sunderland have a shout for a penalty waved away and Chelsea go up the other end, Florent Malouda having a shot blocked and Ashley Cole firing in the rebound - with his right foot. It's like the last day of term, isn't it?

1747: GOAL
Fulham 0-2 Everton
Game over - and another exceptional goal from Leon Osman, who skips past two Fulham defender and spanks a shot into the far corner from 20 yards. Lovely stuff.

1748: Almost salvation from the unlikeliest of sources for Newcastle as Jose Enrique's wayward cross creeps inches past the Aston Villa upright. Five minutes left in that match.

1749: GOAL
Sunderland 2-3 Chelsea
Andy Reid swings over a left-footed cross from the right wing and Kenwyne Jones is there to head it past Petr Cech and into the Chelsea net.

1750: Sami Hyypia is so close to a farewell goal in front of the Kop, but his header is cleared off the line. Hull have four minutes of injury time left, Newcastle have four minutes too.

1752: Shola Ameobi heads a Jose Enrique cross over. Newcastle are finally getting the ball in the box but are they leaving it too late?

1753: We've had full-times at Blackburn, Fulham, Liverpool, Man City and Sunderland.

1754: SENDING OFF
David Edgar (Newcastle)
The young Magpies defender is shown a second yellow for a foul on Ashley Young. They are still playing, with two minutes to go.

1755: GOAL
Aston Villa 1-1 Newcastle
Just as salvation seemed to have fatally eluded the Magpies, they get the latest of late goals to secure their Premier League status. A cross from Jose Enrique is only half cleared to Damien Duff, and the Irishman's angled drive flies past Friedel to secure unlikely survival for the North East club.

1756: There's no time left to restart things at Villa Park. Its all over and Newcastle are staying up with a late goal when they seemed dead and buried. Meanwhile, at the KC Stadium, Phil Brown and the Tigers faithful is absolutely gobsmacked. Just as it seemed that his team were about to confirm their second season in the Premier League, it ends here and Hull City's first top flight campaign in 104 years ends in relegation.

HULL CITY AND MIDDLESBROUGH ARE RELEGATED FROM THE PREMIER LEAGUE

1758: Alan Shearer and his players celebrate en masse with their supporters. They will next be together in the Premier League in August - but how many of these players will still be at the club then? Shearer of course is not the permanent manager on Tyneside, and it remains to be seen which players may still be hankering for a transfer out of St James' Park.

1800: Its never nice to see fans and players crying but there's plenty of scenes of it at the KC Stadium. They were within a whisper of grabbing that final Premier League safety place and now they're gone. Middlesbrough fans also look dejected, although their safety was always a long shot even before today. By contrast, Sunderland fans are delighted they will be remaining in the top flight after their own chaotic season.

1802: So, to clarify: Manchester United are champions, Liverpool and Chelsea have qualified for the Champions League group stages for 2009-10, and Arsenal will have a qualifying round to join them. Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham will play in the UEFA Europa League. West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Hull City are relegated to the Championship, while Newcastle United and Sunderland will remain in the top tier for another year at least.

1809: What a day it has been. Especially for Sunderland fans, who were able to maintain their safety even in defeat, and Newcastle, who have won once in their last 13 games and genuinely looked doomed just 2 minutes from the finale.

1813: That's it for the 2008-09 season and after a belting final day I think its time to wrap up. Reaction to all the games results will follow here. I think we all need a lie down after such entertainment. Match of the Day will be on BBC One at 2220 this evening, and we will return in August.

Out for 6 months. So not as bad as out until after the World Cup, but still pretty bad.

A driving lesson and the DVD boxset of Breaking Bad season 2.

Considering I first heard of Breaking Bad about three years ago in the back of an old Q magazine, its slightly embarrassing to admit I waited until now to start watching.

Draw:
Sunderland v Southampton
Leicester v Fulham
Birmingham v Stoke
Man United v Norwich
Burnley v West Ham
WBA or Arsenal v Chelsea
Spurs v Hull
Newcastle v Man City

Dang... was hoping for an easier game. Suppose it won't be another 4-0 pummeling though.

Found the Newcastle-Leeds game.

'tis now 2-0. Good goal from Gouffran.

Gotta love joined up thinking eh?

Still, we're currently 1-0 up.

Teamsheet tonight:
Krul - Debuchy, Coloccini, Williamson, Dummett - Tiote, Anita - Marveaux, Gouffran, Sammy Ameobi - Cisse

Done that but I could only get July 2012 as a start date.

Derp, nevermind, read it again.

Dunno if this has been asked but what if you don't have an "Editor Data" folder in the associated directory?

Scored in their draw at Southampton, returned at the weekend after missing two, subbed off at half-time.

He has the potential to be a decent player but as said, their recruitment policy has been primarily scattergun. Certainly, Altidore is not a good replacement for Sessegnon, for example.

That's not hard tbf.

They look pretty decent but A looks the best.

Didn't Bramble get the PFA involved in a fairly minor dispute when he was leaving on a free transfer anyway?

Tbf Bardsley's been out of the squad since being photographed in a casino unconscious and surrounded by £50 notes.

The Daily Mail are reporting that yesterday, di Canio pulled his team to the club's traning ground for a bollocking and most of the team duly said "we don't want to play for you anymore", which Ellis Short saw as grounds for dismissal.

I suppose I can't really talk given he led them to a 3-0 win on Tyneside, which is probably the most fun Sunderland fans have had in about 3 years.

Five games does seem very early and they were really unlucky not to get all 3 from Southampton, plus showing bursts of potential in their games. I daresay not helpful was their painful fixture list upcoming (their next home games are Liverpool, Man United, Newcastle, Chelsea and Man City) and although it does seem early I daresay their board must have felt they were almost certainly going to go down with him running amok.

That obviously did not help. But what happened at WBA looked like the final straw.

Sunderland themselves have confirmed he's gone.

I suppose after the antics at the end of the West Brom game yesterday that him departing was inevitable. They looked fucked either way with their fixture list.

Sky Italia are claiming Paolo di Canio has gone.

Evra's in my fantasy team. That albatross more or less cancels out the advantage of having Southampton's Lovren in it.

Blimey United have been dreadful.

Wasn't Kelly on the bench?

Also, can't Wisdom - also on the bench - play RB too?

Less stream, more my internet - it struggles to properly load a 30 second YouTube clip, nevermind a full 90 minute game of football.

The curse of Pardew's half-time team talks is back again. Fuck's sake.

Stream has died, I've given up.

So too, worrying, have NUFC from the sounds of it.

God dammit.

My terrible stream stabilised just long enough to see Hull's equaliser. Blast.

All streams and YouTube videos on my computer are running hideously poorly at the minute.

That would be impressive.

Even if Liverpool win, victory for us over Hull takes us second or third for the night.

Walsall beat Wolves in the Derby and tweeted: "Better look next time you six fingered, inbred, dingle bastards!"