SAFE AT LAST

We did it the hard way with 10 men grinding out a 1-1 draw

WE have finally done it. We are safe. Once again we did it the hard way by grinding out a 1-1 draw with Forest and playing the last 20 minutes with 10 men.

But we were all buzzing in the changing room after the game and we were even given a few bottles of beer to celebrate, which means the chairman must be happy.

We did our annual half lap of honour, due to our two-sided ground. I think staying up this season is an even bigger achievement than last year as everyone is aware of the many previous victims of second season syndrome.

It's great to look at the league table and see ourselves above all these so called big teams that were recently in the Premier League. I'm sure we will be favourites to go down again next season, but we are already looking forward to proving everyone wrong again.

We had another fantastic comeback the week before, this time against Charlton. After watching the Addicks pass the ball around with expertise and witnessing some of the great players they have, it's hard to imagine they will be in League One next season.

Romp

If they keep the same team they would romp that division, but I think a few of their players will be cherry-picked by some big clubs.

One player who really impressed me was 18-year-old Jonjo Shelvey . . . I wonder if he fancies turning out in tangerine next season?

Any way it turned out to be another valuable point for us and once again it was one of our loan players, Lee Hughes who got the last-minute goal.

It will be interesting to see whether we go down the route of loaning another 20-odd players next season, but it has definitely worked this time around.

Despite us being six points clear of relegation we spent virtually the entire journey home from The Valley working out all the fixtures for teams below us and every possible scenario that could happen.

We certainly kept a close eye on how Norwich got on in the East Anglian derby.

Away from the troubles at the bottom of the league, I must congratulate Wolves on their promotion to the Premier League! The sad thing is that while the champagne is still being poured, experts are already saying they have no chance of staying up next season.

I hope they prove people wrong, but the step up to the Premier League is a giant one, so I hear. It would be great if Stoke and Hull can stay up this year, just to prove that it's not all about money. A lot can be achieved with team spirit, a clever manager and great support, which both of those teams have.

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PRANKS A LOT, LADS

I received an interesting phone call this week from someone seeking an interview with me. He started asking me questions like, 'Have you had any DIY disasters?' ,'What's the most money you have spent on something?' and 'What car do you drive?'. Strange questions I thought. I asked him again where he worked, he seemed genuine though.

I have to be careful who I answer questions to as footballers are notorious for stitching each other up with prank calls.

When I was on loan at Brentford a few years ago, I received a call while on my way back from a match. The guy said he was manager of a big club and would I be interested in moving there?

Obviously I said I was happy where I was, but I would listen to what he had to say.

Then I heard roaring laughter from the back of the bus . . . 1-0 to the boys then.

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2 Stands and we are staying up
2 Stands and we are staying up
2 Stands and we are staying up
2 Stands and we are staying up

Nice one Ben, Keep the sly digs going, you may get some new gym equipment in a few years time.... and the pitch rolled and reseeded by the start of the season.

By markobfc.. Posted April 26 2009 at 1:26 PM.

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