As Sundays go, Tottenham Hotspur had quite a good one.

Antonio Conte’s side knew exactly what they needed to do. Avoiding defeat away at already relegated Norwich City would hand them a top four finish and a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. The fact that they could do this at the expense of arch-rivals Arsenal was even sweeter.

The reality is that the Gunners originally had their fate in their own hands. Even after their crushing 3-0 defeat against Spurs in the North London Derby, Mikel Arteta’s men were aware that they would return to Europe’s elite for the first time since 2016/17 if they could win their final two games of the season. In theory, this should’ve been easy, seeing that neither Newcastle United nor Everton had anything to play for.

But Arsenal lost 2-0 at St James’ Park, and the pendulum suddenly swung.

Spurs had already beaten Burnley the previous afternoon, and it became clear that, unless Arsenal could overturn a 15-goal swing, a point would be enough away at already relegated Norwich City. The Canaries had only won once since the end of January and sat rock-bottom of the Premier League table. The Gunners were going to need a minor miracle to take place.

It didn’t happen.

After just 16 minutes, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg played Rodrigo Bentancur into the box down the left. He simply squared the ball to Dejan Kulusevski, who was able to force the ball into into the net to give Spurs the lead. Already, the mammoth task for Norwich (and Arsenal) began to look impossible.

If the first goal was bad, the second was downright embarrassing.

A Norwich throw-in was played back to goalkeeper Tim Krul, who proceeded to pass the ball straight to Bentancur, allowing the Uruguayan midfielder to turn provider once again. He set up Harry Kane to head the ball into an empty net, doubling Spurs’ lead just after the half-hour mark.

Just one minute earlier, Arsenal had also doubled their lead at home to Everton, but it became clear that their efforts would ultimately be in vain. The final nail in the Gunners’ metaphorical coffin took until the 64th minute to arrive. It also marked the moment when Norwich totally started to crumble, as Kulusevski shrugged off Max Aarons down the right flank before curling a stunning strike over Krul for 3-0.

There was only one thing missing for Tottenham.

Son Heung-min will have undoubtedly expected Mo Salah to be benched for Liverpool’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and that he would have the chance to match or even overtake the Egyptian international’s tally of 22 Premier League goals to win the Golden Boot.

It felt like an impossible task when Krul kept denying the South Korean forward, but seconds after forcing an incredible one-on-one save, Son finally found the back of the net. Once again, he was given too much space inside Norwich’s penalty area, but this time was able to fire the ball under the Canaries ‘keeper to get his 22nd goal of the season. His teammates celebrated it more than any of the three previous strikes, as did the thousands of travelling supporters.

In fact, they were the ones who made their team aware that Salah had come on against Wolves and scored the goal to put Liverpool ahead at Anfield. Son, realising what he had to do, picked up a poorly cleared free-kick outside of the box, before cutting inside and rifling a stunning strike into the back of the net to take his tally to 23.

This is even more staggering when you consider that Son has become the first player to win the Golden Boot without scoring a single penalty. He’s also the first Asian player to win the award, albeit that he ultimately had to share it with Salah.

It was the crowning moment in an incredible few weeks for Spurs. Although Son had previously claimed that he didn’t care about finishing as top scorer, the way that his teammates gathered around to lift him up in front of a jubilant away end to celebrate his second goal of the afternoon said otherwise.

Conte heaped praise onto Son after the game, but also credited his teammates for helping him to win the Golden Boot and guide Spurs back to the Champions League.

“First, we needed to get a place in the Champions League. Then, if there is the possibility to have Son to become top scorer in the league, we’re very happy. He scored twice, and I think he could’ve scored more. But at the same time, I want to underline the big effort that the team put in for him.

“I really appreciated the will and the desire for all his teammates to help him become top scorer. It means that there’s a great atmosphere in the dressing room and it means that the players are really good people, not only good players. It was good to match these two targets: to get a place in the Champions League, and then to allow Son to win the Golden Boot.”

Given that Conte arrived at Tottenham in November 2021, he admitted that he considered the achievement of qualifying for the Champions League at the same level of winning a trophy. This is quite a bold statement for a manager who’s won four Serie A titles and one Premier League in his career so far.

However, he refused to clarify whether or not he would look to stay at the club, only emphasising that he’s still under contract until the end of next season and would have discussions with the board at the end of next week about how to move forward.

The reality is that Spurs’ project can only continue with him at the helm. It’s clear that his methods have finally been drilled into the players, having lost just one of their last 11 league games. They also did the double over eventual champions Manchester City and took two points off second-place Liverpool. It shows that the North Londoners are not a million miles away from challenging at the very top of the table.

Fabio Paratici is still Spurs’ Director of Football, and his long-term friendship with Conte will be key in keeping him at the club and building for the future. However, it also relies on the pair being backed financially by the board in order to bring in top-tier players to compete across four competitions next season. This is something that has regularly let the club down in recent seasons and halted their progression since reaching the 2018/19 Champions League Final.

If this changes, Conte’s domestic pedigree should see Spurs become a genuine threat in the Premier League for the first time in five years. But the priority will be to end the club’s trophy drought that has lasted since 24th February 2008. Once they get that metaphorical monkey off their back, there is no limit as to what they can achieve with the right structure in place.

As for Sunday’s opponents Norwich, the hammering against Spurs came as no surprise. There were countless rows of empty seats at Carrow Road, albeit fewer than in recent weeks, and the five goals were met with boos and chants demanding that Sporting Director Stuart Webber and owner Delia Smith leave the club. Like the 4-0 defeat at home to West Ham at the start of May – this result epitomised Norwich City this season.

Once again, they finish the campaign at the foot of the Premier League table. They mustered just five wins and 22 points across their 38 games this season, conceding an astonishing 84 goals in that time. Somehow, despite scoring less and conceding more, the Canaries finished with a point more than in their previous top-flight campaign. Ultimately, it shows that no progression has been made at all.

Most fans think that Norwich will bounce straight back up from the second tier next season, and while that is a possibility, it will likely be much harder than in previous campaigns. They no longer have Daniel Farke, who guided them to two Championship titles in three years, and their squad is arguably in its worst state since 2017/18.

Valuable assets like 22-year-old right-back Max Aarons will probably be sold, while there will once again be a heavy reliance on striker Teemu Pukki. At the moment, Norwich’s squad isn’t Dean Smith’s, and a lot of work will need to be done over the summer in order to change this. If it doesn’t happen, it’s unlikely that we’ll see the Canaries back in the Premier League any time soon.

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The final day of the Premier League season is rarely a boring occasion.

Of course, Sergio Agüero’s stoppage-time strike against QPR that won Manchester City the title over rivals Manchester United in 2011/12 is always the moment that springs to mind. But the final day almost always presents drama at the top and bottom of the table.

It looks like this season will be no different. Leeds United and Burnley find themselves level on 35 points, with just goal difference separating the two sides. One of them will be relegated to the Championship by Sunday evening, with Jesse Marsch’s side travelling to Brentford knowing that they’ll need to better the Clarets’ result at home to Newcastle United in order to survive.

Elsewhere, the Premier League title fight will also go down to the final day. Just one point separates leaders Manchester City and Liverpool, meaning that the Reds will need to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield and hope that Aston Villa can avoid defeat against City at the Etihad Stadium. The added twist being that the Villans are currently managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who’ll be desperate to atone for the events of 2014.

Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping to avoid any drama in their match away to already relegated Norwich City.

Spurs have their fate in their own hands. Antonio Conte’s side know that avoiding defeat at Carrow Road will be enough to seal a fourth place finish, pipping arch-rivals Arsenal to the last Champions League spot after the Gunners lost the North London Derby and their following game away at Newcastle United.

On paper, this should be an incredibly easy task. Norwich have won just one game since 21st January, a 2-0 win at home to Burnley back in April. Dean Smith’s side have mustered just five wins all season, losing 25 games and conceding a whopping 79 goals across 37 matches so far this season. Their 4-0 defeat at home to West Ham unfortunately epitomised their season – a severe lack of quality and a clear mentality issue.

Canaries fans have been embarrassed about their club’s efforts both on and off the pitch, and finishing rock bottom of the Premier League for the second time in three seasons may see the situation reach boiling point. However, if they do manage to beat Spurs on the final day, Norwich would climb off bottom if Watford fail to win away at Chelsea.

This would obviously be a dream scenario for Arsenal, who would move back into the top four should they defeat Everton at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners would be playing Champions League football for the first time since 2016/17 if such a situation plays out.

The reality is that this is incredibly unlikely.

The bookies have installed Norwich as 9/1 underdogs going into the match, backed by the fact that they’ve lost every single one of 11 their games against the current top six by an aggregate score of 38-4. This includes a 3-0 defeat away to Spurs back at the start of December.

Arsenal fans and, possibly to a lesser extent, Norwich fans, will be praying that complacency could play a part in Tottenham’s potential demise.

There have long since been questions surrounding Spurs’ mentality. This lead to the term ‘Spursy’, being coined, even being listed in the Urban Dictionary as “to consistently and inevitably fail to live up to expectations. To bottle it.”

In recent years, there has been a genuine argument about Tottenham’s feeble mindset, but their current squad is looking to dispel any lingering doubts. A win against Norwich would take them to 71 points, their highest total since the 2018/19 campaign when they finished fourth in the Premier League and reached the final of the Champions League.

Their improvement this season doesn’t mean that they’ve not been on the wrong end of some humiliating results, however. Spurs finished third in their Europa Conference League group, albeit that they didn’t play their final game, losing to NŠ Mura, Vitesse Arnhem and Stade Rennais. They’ve also suffered defeats against Southampton, Wolves, Burnley and Brighton in the Premier League, while being knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship outfit Middlesbrough.

This is really a case of clutching at metaphorical straws, as the prospect of Norwich beating Spurs at Carrow Road on Sunday is almost unthinkable. Conte has, as many expected he would, turned Tottenham into a much more resilient and ruthless outfit, as was highlighted in their 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield two weeks ago.

It also can’t be forgotten that their star player, Son Heung-Min, could potentially win the Golden Boot on Sunday afternoon, and the South Korean will see a finale against lowly Norwich as the perfect opportunity to overtake Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who has not scored in over a month and may be rested on the final day in preparation for the Reds’ Champions League final against Real Madrid next weekend.

If complacency does kill Spurs’ season on the final day, it will undoubtedly go down as one of the most humiliating moments in the club’s recent history. They are on the verge of rejoining Europe’s elite, and they couldn’t have asked for an easier game to see them over the line.

While Norwich will play for pride alone, fans will be worried that they’ve not shown nearly enough of it to worry Conte’s men on Sunday. For once, Spurs’ mentality has them in the driving seat for achieving their goal.

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Football is a results business. It’s about winning, whether that be a league title, a cup final or promotion to a higher division.

But success in football isn’t purely measured by tangible accomplishments. Often, the most impressive achievements are the ones that nobody expects to happen, even if the outcome doesn’t lead to silverware. While Fulham and Wigan Athletic’s respective title wins cannot be ignored, their comparatively vast budgets and strong squads meant that their performances were almost universally expected.

These five clubs were not predicted to hit such heights, yet they all punched well above their weight and deserve significant recognition as a result.

Huddersfield Town – 3rd in the Championship

In reaching the playoffs, both Huddersfield Town and Luton Town have exceeded all expectations, which makes separating them incredibly hard. The Hatters are operating on one of the smallest budgets in the entire division, and their impressive FA Cup run certainly gives them some bonus points. But ultimately, the Terriers did finish three places higher than Nathan Jones’ side, and proceeded to knock them out in the playoff semi-finals.

It means that Huddersfield will make the trip to Wembley on May 29th, competing in the Championship playoff final for the second time in six seasons. In 2016/17, the Terriers beat Reading on penalties to reach the Premier League for the first time in their history. They’ll need to see off Nottingham Forest in the capital if they’re to return to the top flight next season.

Carlos Corberán’s side were listed at 3/1 for relegation at the start of the season, making them the third favourites to drop down into League One. Not only did they avoid that, but Huddersfield went on to accrue an astonishing 82 points, finishing just six behind AFC Bournemouth in the second automatic promotion spot.

A slow start to the campaign had fans worried. The Terriers drew 0-0 with a Derby County side in total disarray in their opening game, before suffering a 5-1 thrashing at the John Smith’s Stadium against eventual champions Fulham. Flash forward to the end of the season, and Huddersfield had suffered the same amount of defeats as Marco Silva’s runaway league leaders.

A disciple of former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa, Coberán doesn’t utilise the same high-intensity pressing that the Whites did in their promotion-winning campaign of 2018/19. Instead, Huddersfield are an incredibly resilient side who boast the highest number of set piece goals in the entire division (21). However, like Bielsa, Coberán does deserve immense credit for turning seemingly average footballers into promotion contenders.

The likes of Tom Lees, Duane Holmes, Danny Ward and Jordan Rhodes were all considered to be lower mid-table players at best before the start of the campaign, but they are now just 90 minutes away from being able to call themselves Premier League footballers. Even Sorba Thomas, who was playing non-league football with Boreham Wood as recently as January 2021, may be finding himself as one of the key players at a top-flight club in a few weeks time.

Regardless of whether they make it or not, Huddersfield have had a season for the history books.

Derby County – 23rd in the Championship

This one will come as a surprise to many, as Derby County were relegated from the Championship as everyone expected. Ultimately, the manner in which it happened makes them one of the biggest overachievers in the EFL this season.

Wayne Rooney was appointed manager of Derby in November 2020, having finished his career as a player for the Rams that season. He guided them to safety by the skin of their teeth, finishing in 21st place, just one point above Wycombe Wanderers in the relegation zone.

In July 2021, the club were confirmed to be in breach of financial fair play regulations, resulting in a transfer embargo being imposed. It left Rooney with nine contracted senior professionals in his squad, before the EFL relaxed their restrictions in order to allow Derby to sign players on free transfers.

Two months later, the Rams entered administration and were handed a further 12-point deduction, before facing a further nine-point deduction for breaching EFL accounting rules in November 2021. At the time, it left the club on -3, 18 points from safety. Furthermore, their squad was made almost entirely of veterans on the verge of retirement or youngsters from their academy with no experience of men’s football.

Off-field issues threatened the immediate future of the club, but Rooney somehow started to turn around the seemingly insurmountable points deduction. They recorded astonishing wins against both of the top two sides, Fulham and Bournemouth, while beating all three of their relegation rivals: Reading, Peterborough United and Barnsley.

Derby finished the season with 34 points, meaning that without their deductions, the Rams would’ve finished the season in 17th place with 55 points. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough, as they were relegated in 23rd, albeit that they finished above the Tykes.

The fight that they showed in the face of adversity was simply staggering. A new star was born in academy graduate Luke Plange, who played 26 games and scored four goals in his first season of professional football, earning himself a move to Premier League outfit Crystal Palace as a result. But, despite relegation, every single player in this Derby squad will be remembered for their efforts.

With Chris Kirchner now set to take over as owner of the club, fans are hopeful that next season can be a successful one on the pitch, with Rooney also confirming that he will remain as manager of Derby. An immediate return to the Championship may be a struggle, but is certainly within the realms of possibility.

Plymouth Argyle – 7th in League One

For a campaign that ultimately ended in heart break, Plymouth Argyle fans will feel incredibly proud of what their team has accomplished this season.

The Pilgrims were not amongst the bookies’ relegation favourites, although a number of pundits tipped them to struggle in their pre-season predictions. But after 12 games, Ryan Lowe’s side had risen to the top of the League One table, proving that they were capable of competing for promotion to the second tier.

Then things looked like they were starting to fall apart.

Lowe was targeted by Championship outfit Preston North End, who sacked then-manager Frankie McAvoy at the start of December. A move closer to his boyhood city of Liverpool was too good to turn down, as was the chance to manage a bigger club in a higher division. Lowe departed for Deepdale with Plymouth sitting fourth in League One, but his assistant manager, Steven Schumacher, opted to stay in Devon to take over as manager of the Pilgrims.

While many predicted that their season would soon begin to crumble, Schumacher looked likely to finish what Lowe had started, keeping Plymouth in the playoff places despite fierce competition from the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers. The Pilgrims finished the campaign having spent 182 days in the top six and just 85 days outside of it. Ultimately, their promotion hopes fell agonisingly short at the final hurdle.

A 1-1 draw away to eventual champions Wigan Athletic preceded a midweek win for Sheffield Wednesday at Fleetwood Town, meaning that Plymouth would have to match or better Wycombe Wanderers’ result on the final day. Gareth Ainsworth’s men won away at Burton Albion, while the 10-man Pilgrims collapsed at Home Park as they were thrashed 5-0 by MK Dons.

A seventh place finish is incredibly impressive for a seemingly mid-table side who had their influential manager poached midway through the season, but even more astonishing is that Plymouth ended the season with 80 points. This is the highest number that any League One team outside of the playoffs has collected since 2002/03.

In a top-heavy league that was almost totally dominated by comparative behemoths, the Pilgrims were always the anomaly. They were listed as 12/1 to win promotion, which is the same as Gillingham and higher than Doncaster Rovers (9/1) and Crewe Alexandra (11/1) – all three of whom were relegated to League Two.

Their 3-5-2 formation was incredibly resilient, conceding just 48 goals, fewer than three of the four sides that qualified for the playoffs. But their reputation was built off being a fluid attacking outfit, finishing with more goals than pre-season title favourites Ipswich Town, as well as being an incredibly hard-working side that never knew when to quit.

If they can keep the core of their current squad, there’s no reason why they can’t move a step closer to promotion next season.

Cambridge United – 14th in League One

Like Huddersfield and Luton, it’s nigh-on impossible to split Cambridge United and Cheltenham Town. The two sides have nearly mirrored each other’s progression in the last two seasons, finishing 14th and 15th respectively after winning promotion back to the third tier last season.

Part of the reason for choosing Cambridge, aside from the fact that they finished above the Robins and beat them 5-0 back in December, is because of their incredible FA Cup run that saw them eliminate Premier League outfit Newcastle United in front of a sold-out St James’ Park. The U’s also progressed to the quarter-finals of the Papa John’s Trophy and secured a comfortable mid-table finish despite being the bookies’s favourites for relegation.

Furthermore, this all took place in what was head coach Mark Bonner’s second season in senior management, having guided his boyhood club to automatic promotion the season before. Cambridge were tipped by fans and pundits alike to finish rock bottom of the third tier, operating with one of the smallest budgets in the division and, on paper, one of the worst teams.

The U’s had also lost top-scorer Paul Mullin (Wrexham) and right-back Kyle Knoyle (Doncaster Rovers) on free transfers, with both featuring in the League Two Team of the Season in Cambridge’s promotion-winning campaign. Yet despite all of the issues that they looked set to face, Bonner proved his doubters wrong yet again, and the U’s seem to be one of the most stable clubs in League One.

Fans will remember games where they bloodied the noses of the big boys, winning away at Portsmouth, Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic. But the reason that they didn’t spend a single day in the bottom six was because they beat the teams around and below them.

Many supporters spent much of the campaign calculating the gap to the playoff places rather than the relegation zone, and while they finished nearer to the latter, the ambition for Cambridge will be to improve upon this season and push for a top-half finish in 2022/23.

However, ‘second-season syndrome’ is a real thing, as Crewe Alexandra have proven by finishing 11th in League One after winning promotion and then rock bottom the following season after a tumultuous summer transfer window. If Cambridge are to avoid a similar fate and improve upon their impressive campaign, they’ll need to keep the core of their current squad together and significantly improve their squad depth.

The majority of the U’s squad is tied down for next season, albeit that most are out of contract in 2023, and the club will need to decide whether they cash in on them this summer or let them leave for free next year if they refuse to extend their deals. Replacements will also need to be found for Republic of Ireland legend Wes Hoolahan and Bolton Wanderers-bound Jack Iredale, who have both left The Abbey after their contracts expired.

Sutton United – 8th in League Two

Arguably the biggest overachievers in the EFL this season are Sutton United, who won promotion from the National League in 2020/21.

They did so with a game to spare, becoming a Football League outfit for the first time in their 123-year history. For a club who’s entire existence was as a non-league football club, this was a monumental achievement, especially when considering that they were operating as a semi-professional club when they won the National League title.

While no side that has been promoted to Football League has ever suffered immediate relegation back out of it, Sutton entered the 2021/22 campaign as 7/2 favourites for the drop. Manager Matt Gray did little to strengthen his team, instead relying on his current squad while bringing in the likes of Enzio Boldewijn and the returning Isaac Olaofe.

The Amber and Chocolates spent most of the first half of the season in the playoff places, but celebrated Christmas Day in the automatic promotion spots after a 1-0 win at home to Harrogate Town took them up to third. A 3-0 victory at home to Crawley Town had them in the top seven with two games to go, but a heavy defeat to Bradford City pushed them out of promotion contention, despite beating Harrogate once again on the final day.

While a number of pundits quietly predicted that Sutton would have a successful season, nobody thought that Gray’s side would challenge for a place in League One in their first season of EFL football. Alongside this, they also reached the final of the Papa John’s Trophy, taking the lead twice against League One giants Rotherham United at Wembley, before losing 4-2 in extra time.

The fact that the club were not running on a full-time basis just 12 months prior makes this season’s achievements all the more staggering.

Their greatest test still lies ahead of them, however, with most of their squad out of contract or approaching the age where they might be considering retirement. The likelihood is that this summer will see a lot change at Sutton, which is exactly what the club don’t want. The challenge will be to further improve their recruitment in order to handle the large turnover of players and climb into the playoff places next season.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

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There was a sea of yellow and green at Carrow Road on Sunday afternoon, but rather than fans donning replica shirts, it was the colour of thousands of empty seats.

Norwich City’s 4-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham summed up their season, but perhaps in an even more exaggerated way than many would’ve predicted. The Hammers had only just returned from a heartbreaking defeat away at Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt that ended their incredible run in the Europa League, and fans were expecting them to be both mentally and physically exhausted.

It didn’t take long to find out that that wasn’t the case. David Moyes’ side took the lead after just 12 minutes, as Saïd Benrahma’s deflected effort bobbled underneath goalkeeper Tim Krul. 18 minutes later, it was 2-0, as a mix-up between Krul and right-back Max Aarons allowed Michail Antonio to prod the ball into an empty net. The boos had begun well before the half-hour mark in Norfolk.

West Ham wrapped up the win before half-time, as Norwich players flocked to defend a throw in down the right flank, leaving the middle of the pitch totally exposed for Jarrod Bowen to square the ball to Benrahma, who rifled the ball past Krul in first-half stoppage time.

Many of the supporters who hadn’t left at the interval did 20 minutes after the restart. The Canaries improved with the introduction of Lukas Rupp and debutant Tony Springett, but eventually fell 4-0 behind after VAR penalised Jacob Sørensen for a hand-ball in the penalty area.

Lanzini was chosen to take it, dispatching a low, powerful shot into the back of the net, sending Krul the wrong way.

The final 25 minutes were arguably the worst, as West Ham understandably passed the ball around their team for the rest of the match. Norwich couldn’t lay a glove on them, and that was made worse by the fact that the Hammers never left third gear. The lethargic tempo at which the game concluded wouldn’t even pass for a pre-season friendly.

The full-time whistle was met by deafening boos, the likes of which have rarely, if ever, been seen in the Premier League this season. The fact that Carrow Road was half-empty at this point makes that even worse.

The Canaries will only play one more game here this season, when they host Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the campaign.

The hope, or even the expectation, is that everything will change after that. Some players leave, others are signed to replace them. Norwich win promotion back to the Premier League, or even a third Championship title, and everything will once again be forgotten. Such is the life of a so-called ‘yo-yo club’, right?

But the reality could be much harsher than that. There’s never any guarantee of success in the second tier, which has been regularly labelled as one of the most competitive divisions in Europe. Even Norwich, a side with immeasurable Championship pedigree in recent years, can’t say for certain that they’ll be back in the top flight in 2023/24.

The lack of quality in the Canaries’ squad has often been highlighted, which is a fair comment to make. Much of the squad that failed in their previous Premier League season are still at the club, while the none of the new signings have hit the heights expected of them before the start of the campaign. In truth, this is still Daniel Farke’s team, despite the German boss leaving Norwich on 6th November 2021.

It can’t be forgotten that Dean Smith was appointed just nine days after Farke’s sacking, and the former Aston Villa manager was given no support in the January transfer window. But the underlying issue at Norwich isn’t the quality on the pitch, it’s the attitude of the players, the staff and the football club as a whole. Their clear identity crisis was ruthlessly exposed by West Ham, extinguishing any doubt about the severity of their current situation.

Even Moyes himself admitted that he was worried about how his side would cope mentally after the crushing midweek defeat in Germany, but claimed that they “could’ve scored as many as they wanted”. This exposes Norwich for what they are in the top flight: a free win, an easy three points and an escape route for a struggling team to overturn their dismal form.

West Ham had lost four league matches in a row before Sunday’s game, but a trip to Carrow Road not only allowed them to end that run, but also to record their biggest win of the season. Those who don’t beat Norwich often end up paying the price: Rafa Benitez (Everton), Claudio Ranieri (Watford) and Sean Dyche (Burnley) were all sacked by their respective clubs are losing to the Canaries this season.

That means that more than half of Norwich’s league wins this season have resulted in the opposing manager being fired. The Yellows have won just five of their 35 Premier League games this season, finding the back of the net just 22 times and conceding a whopping 75 goals in those matches.

But the reality is that they do have more quality than what they’ve shown on the pitch in the top flight this season. Before the start of the campaign, many considered Norwich’s squad to be strong enough to put up a fight in the relegation battle, and a considerable number tipped them to survive. They were ultimately relegated with four games to spare.

To some, that explains the lacklustre performance against West Ham, but the lack of effort that the players showed was the most concerning. This has, for many, been a consistent theme throughout the season, but Sunday’s defeat was the epitome. There was no intensity to Norwich’s game and they hardly ever pressed. The mistakes that led to the goal would be an embarrassment in the Championship, never mind the Premier League.

They registered just 36% possession and eight shots, only two of which were on target.

The club has a mental block, something that prevents them from performing in the top flight. Their mindset has echoed a small fish in a big pond, whereas Brentford, for example, have never adopted that mentality since they were promoted from the Championship via the playoffs. As it stands, the Bees have recorded the same number of points this season as Norwich and Watford, the two teams who finished above them last season, combined.

Their opening fixtures won’t have helped. The Canaries were always going struggle in their first four games, losing to Manchester City, Liverpool, Leicester City and Arsenal. Those defeats totally destroyed the relentless winning mentality that they had the previous season, and it would take them until 6th November to register a league victory. By that point, the decision had already been made to sack Farke.

That may come back to bite Norwich in the long run. Farke won two Championship titles in his three seasons in the second tier, and many would’ve backed him to win another promotion from the second tier if he’d been given the time to turn things around. The decision to part company with the German manager was made in order to give them a chance of surviving in the Premier League, which obviously hasn’t happened.

So Norwich will now face a Championship campaign without Farke, and instead with Smith, who has finished no higher than 5th in his four seasons as a manager of a second tier club. His one promotion came with Aston Villa, who at the time had far greater resources than the rest of the division. While parachute payments will help the Canaries, this is a totally different situation for their manager, and a much bigger risk for Norwich.

Perhaps it’ll all be fine, and Smith will reshape the club after relegation in the same way that Farke did. But, while Norwich have shown that they can consistently win games in the Championship, there’s little to prove that they can bounce back from defeats. When the Canaries lose one game, many more seem to follow. As the old proverb goes, “it never rains but it pours”.

That’s the biggest problem for Norwich. If that losing mentality continues into the Championship next season, then they’ll stand no chance of getting promoted. It’s a division where a single mistake can be fatal, and a poor run of form can totally destroy a team’s campaign.

Equally as important are the off-field issues. Norwich’s last relegation was somewhat masked by the pandemic and ‘Project Restart’, but there’s no excuse for their performances this season.

Fans are concerned that their side cannot compete at the top level while Delia Smith is in charge as they are significantly weaker financially than their opponents, while Sporting Director Stuart Webber has also come under fire for a number of poor signings and the comments that he made in his recent interview in The Times (paywalled).

The fans have now turned too, much more than in previous relegations. Some have started taking their anger out on players and staff, whether that be the supporters who shouted at Webber after the 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United at the end of April, or those who apparently followed Manchester United loanee Brandon Williams back to his home in Suffolk after Sunday’s loss to West Ham.

The stability that Norwich have been known for is long gone. This is a new, post-Farke era for the Canaries, but it remains to be seen as to whether it’ll be for the better or for the worse. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s the latter, and that’ll continue to be the case until the club manage to change their losing mentality. If they don’t, an immediate return to the Premier League will be nothing but a pipe dream.

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Cambridge United were the bookies favourites for relegation before the start of the season.

Fans and pundits alike tipped them for an immediate return to fourth tier, with most predicting them to finish rock bottom of League One.

Perhaps this wasn’t a surprise. This was to be their first season back in the third tier since 2001/02, and the U’s were set to compete in one of the toughest League One lineups in recent history. In a division full of behemoths, Mark Bonner’s side were supposed to be making up the numbers, but Cambridge secured a comfortable 14th place finish, bloodying the noses of a number of bigger teams along the way.

That doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, as the U’s suffered their fair share of heavy defeats. But ultimately, they adapted far better to League One football than anyone expected, and will undoubtedly be considered a far bigger threat in the third tier next season.

Five key games

Portsmouth 1-2 Cambridge United

Cambridge started their campaign well, despite failing to win any of their opening three games. A 3-0 victory at home to Burton Albion (a game which narrowly missed out on this list) kickstarted their campaign, following it up by beating Bolton Wanderers 1-0 the week after despite registering just 26% possession.

But things suddenly unravelled in the space of 72 minutes. Lincoln City would visit The Abbey at the start of September after a poor start to their season, but the Imps ended up thrashing the U’s 5-1 to end their unbeaten home record. For the first time, some doubt started to creep in.

Those doubts were extinguished just one week later, as Cambridge secured an impressive 2-1 win away at promotion-hopefuls Portsmouth. Joe Ironside’s towering header was followed up by a stunning strike from Liam O’Neil, firing a fierce volley into the top corner from outside the box. While Ronan Curtis halved the deficit in the game’s dying stages, the U’s showed incredible defensive resilience to see out the win.

After their soul-destroying defeat against the Imps, this gave Cambridge an immeasurable amount of confidence that clearly helped them for the rest of the season.

Morecambe 0-2 Cambridge United

Bonner’s side found that, while they were putting in good performances, they weren’t necessarily getting the results they needed to match. A win at home to AFC Wimbledon would be their only victory in October, and fans were wary that their side needed a few more points on the board to avoid getting dragged into the bottom six ahead of a number of tough fixtures in the following month.

Cambridge’s trip to Morecambe had to be rescheduled due to international call ups, and was rearranged for a freezing Tuesday night at the start of November. The Shrimps had lost four of their five previous games, but had gained a reputation of being a strong attacking outfit with Cole Stockton becoming one of the top scorers in the division.

That’s exactly how things started, too, with Morecambe looking the sharper of the two sides in the opening stages. That all changed when Ben Worman picked up the ball on the edge of the area, flicked it over his head and fired a powerful volley with his weak foot into the back of the net to give the visitors the lead. Cambridge controlled the game, winning a penalty with just over 15 minutes remaining, which Ironside scored to seal a 2-0 win.

Given that the U’s went on to lose and draw one of their next four games, their win at the Mazuma Stadium became even more important in stabilising them over the winter period.

Cambridge United 1-0 Crewe Alexandra

January was the month when Cambridge sealed their safety in League One, albeit not mathematically. The U’s played five league games, winning four and drawing one. This included a crucial three-match winning run that started with a 1-0 win at Lincoln City, before Bonner’s men beat Doncaster Rovers 3-1 at The Abbey three days later.

Crewe Alexandra, like Doncaster, were in the midst of a fierce relegation battle, and their trip to Cambridgeshire was certainly categorised as a ‘must-win’ fixture. While they fared better than Gary McSheffrey’s men did earlier in the week, they too left The Abbey empty-handed as Adam May’s trademark long-range strike took a deflection and looped over Dave Richards to secure a 1-0 win for the U’s.

It won’t go down as one of Cambridge’s most memorable games of the season, but its importance can’t be denied and capped off a crucial period in their campaign.

Ipswich Town 0-1 Cambridge United

When Cambridge secured mathematical safety by beating Morecambe at The Abbey on 9th April, Bonner claimed that the U’s knew they would be safe when they won away at Wimbledon two weeks earlier. The 1-0 victory at Plough Lane actually ended a five-match winless run stretching over an entire month. During this time, they conceded 14 goals, worsened by losing 4-2 away at Oxford United and 6-0 against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

Despite ending their run of poor form, there was an uncomfortable feeling going into the U’s trip to Portman Road. Ipswich hadn’t lost in 11 league games and boasted an astonishing unbeaten home record that dated back to 23rd November 2021. After a disastrous start to the season that saw manager Paul Cook sacked, their impressive run had helped them close the gap on the top six, but they needed to beat Cambridge to keep their playoff dreams alive.

The U’s arrived as massive underdogs, but started the match well, regularly testing Christian Walton in the Ipswich net despite mustering little possession. George Williams came closest to opening the scoring in the first half, but the two sides went into the break at 0-0. 11 minutes after the restart, Ironside flicked May’s free-kick into the back of the net to give Cambridge the lead.

The visitors spent the rest of the match sitting deep with a low block, stifling Ipswich’s attacks and nullifying their threat in the final third. Portman Road was met with an explosion of boos as the full-time whistle was blown, with the home fans furious about Cambridge’s defensive set-up and second-half time-wasting. In reality, it was a perfect game plan from Bonner that helped his side secure local bragging rights.

Wigan Athletic 1-2 Cambridge United

Cambridge had secured safety, but their season wasn’t done yet. They were due to face league leaders Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium on Good Friday, but the game was moved to Easter Saturday, being selected for Sky Sports coverage. The U’s would get a chance to make amends for their last match on TV (a 3-0 defeat at home to Luton Town in the FA Cup) and show the world that they could compete with the big teams in League One.

In fact, they ended up doing much more than that. Shortly after the half-hour mark, Harvey Knibbs gave the visitors the lead, sneaking a low shot under Ben Amos. Ten minutes later, James Brophy was given too much space down the left flank, allowing him to lift a pinpoint cross onto the head of Sam Smith, who looped a beautiful header into the back of the net to give Cambridge a 2-0 lead at half time.

The Latics, unsurprisingly, made a number of attacking changes and reverted to their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation after the restart. Still, it would take them until the 77th minute to get on the scoresheet. Tom Naylor’s bullet header gave the hosts a chance, but the U’s defended for their lives, with Dimitar Mitov’s stunning last-gasp save sealing another famous win.

On a day that was supposed to be all about the top three in League One, Cambridge stole the headlines and blew the promotion race wide open. It also meant that the U’s secured four points from their two games against the eventual League One champions.

Bonus game: Newcastle United 0-1 Cambridge United (FA Cup)

This game technically missed out on the list because it wasn’t a league match, but it has to be mentioned as the biggest result of Cambridge’s season and one of the most important wins in their history.

In talking about it, it’s crucial to remember the three games that preceded it in their FA Cup run. This includes both games against Northampton Town in the first round and their 2-1 victory against Exeter City in the second round. Without big performances in each of those two games, their dream match at St James’ Park would never have happened.

The U’s were drawn to face Premier League outfit Newcastle United in the third round of the competition, with the Magpies recently becoming the wealthiest club in the world after their takeover by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. The match would also become Kieran Trippier’s debut, having joined Eddie Howe’s side from Atlético Madrid for £12 million the previous week.

As a result, the game soon sold out, with more than 4,800 Cambridge fans making the trip to the North East. Howe opted to play the strongest team he had available, with the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin, Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton all starting alongside their new arrival from the Spanish capital.

The U’s were, unsurprisingly, dominated for almost the entire match, although they could’ve felt aggrieved for not receiving a penalty after Matt Ritchie brought down Knibbs in the penalty area. Cambridge made it to half time level, but found themselves ahead just over 10 minutes later. May recycled the ball on the edge of the area, finding Ironside in the box who turned and fired a shot past Martin Dúbravka for the lead.

VAR looked set to rule out the goal, with May clearly standing in an offside position. However, Shelvey got a touch on Worman’s initial lobbed ball to him, creating a new phase of play and nullifying the offside position before of the goal was scored.

Cambridge defended for their lives, putting their bodies on their line to keep out Newcastle for the remainder of the game. Mitov was forced into an astonishing save in the final seconds of stoppage time, denying Joelinton from a corner to secure a historic win. The U’s won away at the richest club in the world while keeping a clean sheet, reaching the fourth round of the competition for the first time since 2015.

Player of the season: Dimitar Mitov

Mitov ended up sweeping four of the five end-of-season awards presented following Cambridge’s final game against Cheltenham Town, and it came as no surprise. While Ironside and Smith both boast incredible goal tallies, the amount of points and games that the Bulgarian goalkeeper has won makes him the obvious answer. He finished the campaign with 12 clean sheets in 42 League One matches.

In an overly top-heavy division, Cambridge’s goalkeeper was always going to be important this season because of the amount of time they would spend out of possession and the number of shots they’d face in each game. His saves against Lincoln, Ipswich and Wigan were crucial in Cambridge securing away wins against all of them, not to mention his stunning save against Newcastle in the FA Cup.

At just 25 years old, Mitov will undoubtedly draw a lot of attention over the summer transfer window as he enters the final year of his contract. The goalkeeper refused to rule out a departure, but emphasised his love for the club following their 2-2 draw against Cheltenham.

“I have another contract for next season so I’m definitely here for now. But you never know what can happen in football. I can’t say yes but I can’t say no at the same time because I love it here. It’s the club that’s given me everything in football.”

Young player of the season: Ben Worman

Although Bonner has worked at every level of Cambridge’s academy, there hasn’t really been a young breakout player in their first season back in League One. The closest has to be 20-year-old Ben Worman, who played 13 league matches for the U’s this season.

The midfielder became the youngest ever player to take part in a competitive match for the club at the age of 16, but only ever managed to make one league appearance before Cambridge won promotion in 2020/21. His stunning strike at Morecambe saw him gain widespread attention on social media, with many fans hoping that he could be the long-term replacement for Wes Hoolahan.

It remains to be seen as to whether or not this comes to fruition, as Worman struggled to nail down a regular spot on the starting lineup, despite making the XI away at Newcastle in the FA Cup. With Bonner having a number of midfield options at his disposal, the U’s academy graduate may find that his short-term future is better away from the club, with a loan to a League Two side surely a possibility for next season.

Goal of the season: Ben Worman vs Morecambe

Almost any of May’s five league goals for Cambridge this season could be labelled as goal of the season, as could Iredale’s screamer away at Shrewsbury Town in October. Worman’s strike against Morecambe has often been criticised for his heavy yet fortunate touch that allowed him to strike the ball so powerfully, but it doesn’t take away from what is a stunning move from start to finish.

Furthermore, the importance of the goal in terms of the result makes it all the more special. Iredale’s goal, as incredible as it was, came in a 4-1 defeat, while Worman’s turned the tide in what was one of Cambridge’s most important wins of their season.

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Stop what you’re doing and watch this absolutely ?????????? strike from Cambridge United’s Ben Worman! ? pic.twitter.com/6hnemsffSG

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) November 3, 2021

What’s next?

Bonner admits that the first aim for this season was always to secure survival. Cambridge never dropped into the bottom six at any point during the campaign, and confirmed mathematical safety with four games remaining. They ultimately felt just short of a top-half finish, finishing the season in 14th, so this is obviously what the U’s will want to achieve next season.

Bonner often describes League One as “a league of two leagues”, with the gap in quality between the top and bottom 12 sides so big. He describes his aim as being “the top of our mini-league”, but the Cambridge head coach will surely be keen on breaking into the top half and continuing their constant progression.

Although Wycombe Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth believes that the U’s can become a Championship side in the near future, Mitov indicated that the club won’t be expecting to challenge for the playoffs next season, before adding “you never know, stranger things have happened in football”.

However, ‘second-season syndrome’ is undoubtedly a real thing, as Crewe Alexandra found out this season. If Cambridge want to maintain and improve upon their current position, they’ll need to keep the core of their current squad together. This will be difficult, with the likes of Ironside, Smith and Mitov likely to attract increased interest after their impressive performances this season.

Bonner stated that Iredale is likely to leave the club this summer at the end of his contract, with Bolton seemingly the frontrunners to acquire his signature. Captain Paul Digby also confirmed that 39-year-old Wes Hoolahan will not be renewing his deal, and he too will leave the club, ending his two-year stint at the club.

May’s contract also runs out this summer, and he might feel that he can attract the attention of bigger clubs after his improved performances for the club this season. Harrison Dunk, Greg Taylor and Liam O’Neil are also at the end of their current deals, but are expected to be offered new contracts to remain at the club.

On top of this, Cambridge need to increase the numbers in their squad because they simply don’t have enough depth to compete throughout the course of a 46-game season. The U’s will need to add extra quality to their side too, with a number of strong teams set to compete in League One next season.

Ipswich, Bolton and Charlton will strengthen significantly over the summer, while three of MK Dons, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Wycombe will remain in League One and will undoubtedly be challenging at the top of the division. Both Forest Green Rovers and Exeter City will be aiming for a mid-table finish next season after they achieved promotion, while Barnsley and Derby County will be aiming for an immediate return to the Championship.

Peterborough United will be hoping to bounce straight back up as well, but they find themselves in the same division as Cambridge since 2001/02. It means that the Cambridgeshire Derby will be contested in a league game for the first time in more than 20 years, and the U’s will be hoping to beat their arch-rivals for the first time since 1998.

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When the fixture list was released last summer, Cambridge United vs Cheltenham Town caught the eye.

This wasn’t to be a blockbuster match. Neither the U’s nor the Robins matched the size of some of the division’s behemoths such as Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland. But the intrigue emanated from the fact that the two teams were promoted together from League Two, finishing first and second. Most people expected both of them to be already relegated by the time they met at The Abbey on the final day of the season.

However, as they prepare for their last 90 minutes of the campaign, Cambridge and Cheltenham find themselves in 14th and 15th respectively, with mathematical safety long since confirmed.

In fact, neither side was ever in immediate danger of dropping into the bottom four over the course of the campaign. Both had largely maintained their position in mid-table, allowing for a pressure-free run-in that has seen both sides flourish.

Since the start of the 2020/21 season, Cambridge and Cheltenham have largely mirrored each other. Both sides started with inexperienced managers in Mark Bonner and Michael Duff who had never coached at a higher level before. While the U’s adopted an ultra-attacking, gung ho attitude to the fourth tier, the Robins were much more resolute and cautious. They both sealed automatic promotion, but the Gloucestershire outfit took the title after Mark Bonner’s men slipped up at the death.

Regarding style, the two sides have almost swapped identities. Cambridge have maintained much of their swashbuckling attacking play, but have become renowned for grinding out results and striking on the counter instead. Victories away at Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic immediately spring to mind, as does their astonishing 1-0 win away at Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round.

Conversely, Cheltenham have become one of the most entertaining sides in the division, becoming the highest scoring team in the bottom half of the League One table and even finding the back of the net more times than pre-season title favourites Ipswich. However, they’ve had to sacrifice much of their defensive strength as a result, conceding the tied-fourth most goals in the division.

Of course, this hasn’t always been the case, and the reverse fixture is a prime example of that. Cambridge, fresh off a nightmare run of fixtures, travelled to Cheltenham and won 5-0. At the time, they became just the second side to win at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium, and the result remains the tied biggest away win of the League One campaign.

Yet going into the final day, just two points separate the teams. However, only one can still achieve a top half finish. That’s Cambridge, who sit just two points behind 12th place Charlton. This can only be achieved if the U’s beat Cheltenham at The Abbey, the Addicks lose away at Ipswich and 13th place Accrington Stanley fail to defeat AFC Wimbledon.

Regardless, what Cambridge and Cheltenham have achieved on two of the smallest budgets in the league is nothing short of remarkable, and both Bonner and Duff will undoubtedly be two of the most in-demand managers in the division after consecutive overachieving campaigns.

While their final day clash will undoubtedly be a celebration of that, it could also be used as a chance to prepare for the future and give a number of younger players some game time before the start of pre-season. This is a strategy that Cambridge used ahead of their run-in, albeit that their performance levels often dipped when fielding highly rotated teams.

At the same time, it may be a final farewell for Wes Hoolahan as well, and it would be a major shock if he didn’t start what could be his final ever match against Cheltenham. The Norwich City legend is set to turn 40 next month, boasting a playing career that has spanned over 20 years. However, with rumours of retirement or a return to boyhood club Shelbourne, it is expected that this will be his final match for Cambridge.

The same could be said for Jack Iredale, with the left-back set to leave the U’s on a free transfer after turning down a new contract at the club. While his achievements are dwarfed by that of Hoolahan’s, Iredale played a crucial part in Cambridge’s promotion campaign and was a near ever-present figure in their back-line before his injury in February. Bolton Wanderers are the reported frontrunners for his signature.

With most of the drama unfolding at the very top and bottom of the division, there will likely be very little attention on Saturday’s game at The Abbey, with both the League One title and second automatic promotion spot up for grabs, as well as three of the four relegation places. But a pressure-free final day may allow both sides to let loose and entertain the supporters one last time before the summer.

But as much as both Cambridge and Cheltenham have achieved in the last two campaigns, what really matters is maintaining it for as long as possible. Bonner and Duff will certainly have their eyes on a top-half finish next season.

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Sky Sports decided to make Easter weekend all about League One.

The broadcasters moved three games from Good Friday to Easter Saturday, meaning that all of the automatic promotion contenders would play at the same time, one after the other.

Rotherham United were up first. The Millers had seen their form nosedive in March, picking up just one win in their seven league games from the start of the month until the middle of April. While they did claim the Papa John’s Trophy in a comeback win against League Two outfit Sutton United, Paul Warne’s side also suffered embarrassing 3-0 defeats at home to Shrewsbury Town and away to Portsmouth, damaging their top two hopes.

They would host an Ipswich Town side who’s playoff aspirations were dented by a home defeat to Cambridge United and a draw away at Shrewsbury Town. Any lingering optimism was dealt a hammer blow at the New York Stadium, as Michael Smith scored with 12 minutes to play to seal the points for the hosts, reigniting their season at the crucial time.

This put a bit more pressure on Wigan Athletic, who knew that they would finish the day at the top of the table regardless of results elsewhere. The Latics hosted a Cambridge side that secured mathematical safety, but the U’s had won three of their last four games, highlighting them as a significant threat to the top teams in the division.

They certainly proved to be that, as Mark Bonner’s outfit edged the opening exchanges and took the lead after 33 minutes as Joe Ironside barged through the Wigan defence to set up Harvey Knibbs, who in turn fired a low shot underneath Ben Amos for the lead.

Concern turned to panic at the DW Stadium as the U’s doubled their lead just before half time. James Brophy was given too much space to deliver a pinpoint cross into the box, allowing Sam Smith to aim a looping header into the back of the net.

A change in formation for the hosts saw them spring into life, although it took until the 77th minute for Wigan to get on the scoresheet. Despite a number of attacking changes, it was defensive midfielder Tom Naylor who headed home to half Cambridge’s lead.

Although the Latics continued to push in the dying stages of the game, they couldn’t get past U’s goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, who pulled off a stunning double save at the death to deny Will Keane and Josh Magennis, securing a fourth win in five for Cambridge.

This gave MK Dons the chance to move just one point behind the leaders, with Sheffield Wednesday travelling to Stadium MK in Saturday’s late kickoff. But within 30 minutes, the hosts found themselves 3-0 down thanks to Saido Berahino, Lee Gregory and a screamer from Barry Bannan. Despite Troy Parrott finding the net shortly before the break and Scott Twine scoring in the sixth minute of stoppage time, they couldn’t complete the comeback.

While a Dons victory would certainly have made things tense for Wigan and Rotherham, the run-in is perfectly set up for the three teams to fight it out for automatic promotion.

The state of play

The League One title and the second automatic promotion place are both up for grabs.

Barring a miraculous turnaround that would push Plymouth Argyle back into contention, there are three teams fighting for a top two finish. The third-placed team will, of course, have to contest the playoffs.

Despite Wigan’s defeat, they still have breathing room at the summit of the division. The Latics hold a four-point lead on Rotherham and MK Dons, with the latter having played a game more than the two sides above them. This means that a win for Leam Richardson’s side at Ipswich coupled with a Dons defeat at Oxford United on Tuesday evening would see the current league leaders promoted at Portman Road.

This is because of MK Dons’ extra game, which means that Liam Manning’s men only have three games left to play. It also gives Rotherham United the advantage in the automatic promotion race, knowing that their fate is in their own hands.

Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United have the upper hand in the run-in.

MK Dons also have the hardest run-in, facing two sides aiming to cement a playoff place and one team in a fierce relegation battle. Ultimately, teams chasing automatic promotion will prefer to be playing opponents with little to play for, such as Wigan and Rotherham facing the likes of Ipswich, Portsmouth, Shrewsbury and Burton.

But that can also come with the risk of complacency, as Wigan found out at home to Cambridge on Easter Saturday. MK Dons have often performed better against teams in and around them, and will still fancy their chances of pouncing on Rotherham should they slip up.

No rest for the U’s

Mark Bonner considered Cambridge’s win at AFC Wimbledon to be the point where his side had secured another season in League One, even though mathematical safety wasn’t confirmed until two weeks after. This has allowed the U’s head coach to rotate his side, although their winning mentality hasn’t changed.

In fact, Cambridge’s best form of the campaign has come in the last five games, securing wins against Ipswich, Wigan and Morecambe. Although they have nothing to play for in terms of promotion or relegation, Bonner confirmed that his side were desperate to secure a top half finish.

This is certainly achievable. In fact, Cambridge are already sat in 12th place, but Cheltenham Town and Accrington Stanley are sat just two points behind them. Even Charlton Athletic, a side who’s form has spiralled in recent months, can move just one point behind the U’s with a win at The Abbey on Tuesday evening.

Bonner’s men seem to be thriving in a pressure-free environment, relishing the opportunity to beat Ipswich and Wigan in their own back yards in recent weeks. This certainly has Sunderland fans concerned, with Cambridge travelling to the Stadium of Light in the midst of the Black Cats’ playoff fight.

However, the U’s head coach told Prost International that he doesn’t see his side’s performances impacted by the lack of consequences that the results have.

“I think we’ve had so many spells where we’ve been very good and we’ve had good results. I don’t actually feel that we’ve ever played with pressure or fear of the situation. We’ve never been in the bottom six and we’ve never had a run of bad defeats, so in that sense I don’t think there’s ever been that pressure building on us internally.

“We think we’re quite good and we’re improving all the time. I think what we’re seeing is that there is certainly no pressure in that respect going into the game, but you have to put yourself under real pressure to play like that [vs Wigan]. So I’m delighted that we’re doing that and we’re not one of the teams that are drifting into the summer”.

The run-in has also given Cambridge the chance to rotate their first-choice lineup, with the likes of Ben Worman, Lewis Simper, Liam Bennett and Jack Lankester getting more opportunities to show their quality ahead of pre-season.

But the U’s have also been planning their outgoings too, with Bonner confirming that Jack Iredale is unlikely to renew his contract while Lorent Tolaj has returned to parent club Brighton & Hove Albion without making a single appearance for Cambridge. Jensen Weir (Brighton) and Sam Sherring (AFC Bournemouth) are both likely to resume their loan spells at the club after picking up injuries.

Charlton are in a similar position, with their inconsistent form resulting in their season fizzling out. Despite some impressive performances in Johnnie Jackson’s interim spell as manager, their results have worsened drastically since he was appointed on a permanent basis. As a result, many supporters have started to turn on new owner Thomas Sandgaard, as well as many of the players who are expected to leave the club in the summer.

Although the U’s and the Addicks are in very different positions, the overall atmosphere at the two clubs is vastly different. Another win for Cambridge would certainly add to that narrative, and further sour the relations between the fans and the board at Charlton.

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It’s been a strange season for Blackburn Rovers.

Despite releasing their majority of the squad last summer and selling top scorer Adam Armstrong to Premier League outfit Southampton, Tony Mowbray’s side look set to improve upon their 15th place finish last season and challenge for promotion.

This goes against many fans’ expectations, with the Lancashire-based side bringing in just one permanent signing and four loanees before the start of the campaign. But they currently find themselves just two points outside the playoff places in 7th, with a return to the Premier League still a possibility ahead of the run-in.

But still, Blackburn supporters aren’t too happy. After a red-hot start that saw them challenge Fulham and Bournemouth for automatic promotion, their side has fallen out of the race and their form has nosedived. The Blue and Whites have won just two of their last 13 games, dropping points against many of the teams around and below them.

This will give Peterborough United a lot of confidence, with the Posh in desperate need of points to stand any chance of retaining their Championship status.

The gap between Grant McCann’s side and safety has been cut to nine points after they drew 1-1 away at Bristol City and Reading were beaten 2-1 at home to Cardiff City. However, with just five games remaining, Peterborough would probably need to win all of their remaining matches and hope that the three teams above them go on an extended losing streak to finish the campaign.

This is nigh-on impossible, of course. While the Posh can’t be mathematically relegated on Good Friday, defeat at home to Blackburn coupled with an unlikely Reading win at Sheffield United would see them all but officially relegated due to their shambolic goal difference of -48.

Indeed, everyone seems to have accepted this. Most bookmakers have now withdrawn odds on Peterborough avoiding the drop, and both the board and the players seem to know that their fate is sealed. However, the Posh will still want to finish as strongly as possible in order to set themselves up for a successful campaign in League One next season.

In fact, they’ve actually put in a number of positive performances to give fans something to cheer about. Peterborough have only lost two of their last seven games, beating QPR and taking points off promotion hopefuls like Bournemouth and Luton. That’s only one less point than Blackburn have accrued in the same time period, despite the two sides being separated by 17 places in the Championship table.

So, despite Blackburn travelling to the Weston Homes Stadium as favourites, the Posh are more than capable of getting a result and denting the aspirations of another side at the top of the division.

Rovers will undoubtedly be relying on Ben Brereton Díaz to guide them back into the top six. The 22-year-old has had a breakout season in the Championship, earning a shock call up to the Chilean national team where he has become a cult hero and captured the hearts of thousands of fans.

Part of his allure stems from the randomness of his situation. That a young man born in Stoke-on-Trent with no knowledge of Spanish has been brought into one of the most successful national teams in South America after fans found out about his dual nationality whilst playing Football Manager.

But a large part also comes from his quality. Brereton Díaz has scored 20 goals in just 32 Championship matches, making him the third top scorer in the entire division. This is despite missing a number of games from injury, and failing to score in any of his last eight league appearances.

If Blackburn are to make a late surge to regain their place in the playoffs, they’ll need his goals. Although his teammates are contributing regularly, it isn’t enough to challenge some of the better sides in the division who are also fighting for a top six finish. Rovers, by all means, are exceeding expectations massively, which is partially down to their Chilean striker.

Sides like Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough are all competing with Blackburn to achieve the same goal, while Luton and Huddersfield Town have similarly overachieved after pre-season expectations of a mid-table finish. There is an incredibly high level of quality in the race for promotion, and on paper, Rovers have possibly the weakest squad.

Peterborough will also be relying on a star striker in Johnson Clarke-Harris. After an incredibly underwhelming, injury-hit campaign, the 27-year-old has finally found some form, scoring six goals in his last six games for the Posh.

His contract doesn’t expire until the summer, unlike Brereton’s, with the Blackburn striker regularly linked with a free transfer to the likes of Leeds United and FC Barcelona. But Clarke-Harris may be playing for a move at the end of the season rather than returning to League One with Peterborough, or he may be looking to rekindle his form in order to replicate his stunning 31-goal season that guided the Posh to promotion from the third tier in 2020/21.

Friday’s match may be a tale of two strikers and how much their respective teams rely upon their attacking output. The Easter weekend will be a crucial one for both sides, as by the end of it, Blackburn could find themselves back in the playoff places and Peterborough’s relegation could be made official.

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Everton’s midweek trip to Burnley was one of the biggest games of the Premier League season.

While the Toffees knew that they would finish the night above the Clarets regardless of the result, a home win would take Sean Dyche’s side to within one point of safety. Frank Lampard’s worst nightmare soon became a reality, as Nathan Collins popped up unmarked from a corner to flick the ball into the net after just 12 minutes.

Two first-half penalties from Richarlison saw the visitors take the lead into the break, but Jay Rodriguez’s close-range finish levelled the scores again shortly after the restart. Some calamitous defending allowed Burnley to find a late winner from a throw-in routine, as Ben Godfrey’s poor clearance landed directly at the feet of Matěj Vydra, who set up Maxwell Cornet to slam the ball past Jordan Pickford to seal the points.

As Everton have not been relegated since 1951, only Arsenal have a longer unbroken period in the top flight of English football. A bottom-three finish is now a very real prospect for the Toffees, and Burnley may be able to reap the rewards as a result.

The Clarets have regularly flirted with the relegation places since their second promotion to the Premier League in 2016, but it felt like this season would be a bridge too far for Dyche’s men. While they’ve boasted two top-half finishes in recent campaigns, the first of which saw them qualify for the Europa League, Burnley have always been a small fish in a big pond. The loss of Chris Wood to relegation rivals Newcastle United looked to be the turning point.

But the Lancashire side have profited from a number of clubs having abysmal seasons, allowing them to maintain their proximity to the teams above them despite registering just three wins all season before beating Everton on Tuesday night – the fewest of any side in the entire division.

With Brentford, Leeds United and Newcastle showing marked improvements in recent months, Burnley are now hunting down Everton. The Toffees have an incredibly difficult run-in, facing the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in the final weeks of the season. Regardless of how the Toffees approach their nightmare run-in, the Clarets need to make sure that they build on their midweek victory.

That starts with a trip to struggling Norwich City on Sunday afternoon, which many Burnley fans see as the perfect match to overtake Everton.

While another immediate return to the Championship is not yet certain for the Canaries, their chances of survival are slim to none. Dean Smith’s side sit bottom of the Premier League table, having failed to register a win in the competition in their last seven matches.

A 3-1 home defeat against Brentford was seen as the hammer blow to their aspirations of escaping the bottom three, but the reality is that Norwich are still only seven points off Everton with eight games to play. If they don’t beat Burnley on Sunday, however, the Canaries can all but rule out another season in the top flight.

Smith still doesn’t seem to be certain on what his best team actually is. Norwich’s last three games has seen them play in three different formations: a 5-3-2 against Chelsea, a 4-3-3 against Leeds and a 4-4-2 diamond against Brighton. The Canaries failed to win a single one of those matches, scoring just twice in the process.

Perhaps this is his way of planning for next season, as Norwich will hope to keep the core of their current squad together, given their previous success in the Championship. They aren’t able to convert their performances in the second tier into Premier League sustainability, however, which has seen them yo-yo between the two divisions on an alarmingly regular basis.

In that sense, they can learn a lot from Burnley, who have consistently survived in the Premier League despite operating on a tiny budget. The main difference is that Norwich, especially under former boss Daniel Farke, prioritise playing attractive football over achieving positive results. Their league position has been sacrificed as a result, having spent a matter of days outside the bottom three in their last two Premier League campaigns.

Conversely, Burnley do not play overly attractive football. Dyche has often been criticised for his incredibly direct style of football, but ultimately it has allowed them to become a sustainable top-flight club. Impressively, Burnley have spent just £41 million on transfers this season, with the bulk of those incomings financed by the sale of Wood to Newcastle. On the other hand, Norwich spent just under £60 million in last summer’s transfer window alone.

It leaves major question marks regarding the Canaries’ club structure and recruitment. Fans have been left feeling furious that their side has spent such a large amount of money on players who have proved ineffective in the Premier League. Teams like Burnley set the benchmark for low-budget success, and it’s a path that Norwich have failed to follow.

It means that Norwich have little to play for with more than a month left until the end of the season. A defeat on Sunday would certainly spell the end of their survival hopes, but Burnley know that three points could extend their Premier League sustainability for yet another campaign.

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Ahead of a crucial match, Morecambe’s recent record against Cambridge United won’t fill them with confidence.

In April 2016, the U’s recorded the biggest win in their club’s history against the Shrimps, beating them 7-0 at The Abbey. Since Mark Bonner’s appointment, Morecambe have lost all three matches against Cambridge by an aggregate score of 9-1. The worst of these was a 5-0 thrashing at the Mazuma Stadium, a game that ironically took place in the same season that both sides won promotion from League Two.

Saturday’s match will make up the reverse fixture of Cambridge’s 2-0 win in Lancashire at the start of November. Morecambe, then managed by Stephen Robinson, started brightly but found themselves behind after Ben Worman’s astonishing volley. The Shrimps suddenly crumbled as the U’s imposed their physical dominance, with Joe Ironside bullying the hosts’ defence, scoring a penalty to seal the win with just over 15 minutes to play.

Goal of the season? ?

Completed it mate. #CamUTD pic.twitter.com/qQ2E6sVsWt

— Cambridge United FC ?? (@CambridgeUtdFC) November 3, 2021

Their upcoming clash at The Abbey will likely be totally different. Robinson departed Morecambe for Scottish side St Mirren at the start of February, a move bizarrely broken by European transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. The Shrimpers opted to bring back former boss Derek Adams following his sacking at Bradford City.

Where Morecambe were a bit of a soft touch under Robinson, this certainly wouldn’t be the case under Adams. The Scotsman led the Shrimps to promotion last season by playing an incredibly physical, direct style of football. While Robinson tried to phase out some of those tactics during his short spell in charge of the club, Adams’ style of play may help them to maintain their position in the third tier.

Morecambe are in the midst of a fierce relegation battle. While it seems incredibly unlikely that either Crewe Alexandra or Doncaster Rovers could overtake the Shrimps, AFC Wimbledon, Gillingham and Fleetwood Town will all fancy their chances of avoiding a bottom-four finish. Only two of those sides will be able to.

Fleetwood remain the favourites to retain their League One status. The Cod Army are sat in 19th, and while they’re on the same amount of points as Morecambe, they have an extra game in hand. Conversely, Wimbledon seem the most likely of the four teams to go down. Their 22-match winless streak has seen them plummet to 22nd, and many fans are have accepted that they will likely return to League Two for the first time since 2015/16.

This leaves Gillingham as Morecambe’s biggest relegation rivals. The Gills looked long gone under former boss Steve Evans, but Neil Harris’ return to Priestfield has given them a colossal ‘new manager bounce’. Whether that will be enough to avoid relegation remains to be seen, as the Kent outfit face a number of top teams in their run-in.

This gives Morecambe a huge opportunity, and so far it’s one that they’ve been able to take. The Shrimps travel to The Abbey on the back of consecutive wins, beating Burton Albion and promotion-chasing Oxford United at the Mazuma Stadium. This is the first time that they’ve recorded consecutive league wins all season, and victory against Cambridge could push them nearer to the safety line.

The U’s were flying high after consecutive 1-0 wins against Wimbledon and Ipswich Town, but were brought crashing back to Earth after a 4-1 thrashing at home to Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday night. This was Cambridge’s second league home defeat in 2022, emphasising their impressive record at The Abbey since the start of the calendar year.

The defeat to Gareth Ainsworth’s men was the first match of Bonner’s experimentation period. The U’s boss has accepted that his side have done enough to remain in League One, allowing him to provide more opportunities to the bit-part players in his squad. Jack Lankester and Ben Worman were both given a chance to show their quality in the starting lineup, while left-back Jack Iredale made his return from injury by starting on the wing.

Bonner’s tweaks didn’t pay off in the end, but this is unlikely to deter him from making changes. Morecambe may benefit from playing a Cambridge side that are on the metaphorical beach. A number of key players may be rested ahead of two tough trips to Wigan Athletic and Sunderland in the coming weeks.

While the U’s won’t be sucked into the bottom four, they can secure mathematical safety by avoiding defeat on Saturday. From that point on, it depends on how determined they are to secure a high league position, with a top-half finish still on the cards despite Tuesday’s defeat.

Nonetheless, both Lankester and Worman will be expected to keep their places in the starting lineup despite their underwhelming performances in midweek. With Cambridge’s match against Wigan Athletic set to be broadcast on Sky Sports, Bonner may prefer to play academy graduates like Lewis Simper and Liam Bennett against Morecambe in order to rest some of his first-team regulars for the trip to the DW Stadium over Easter weekend.

A trip to Cambridge is rarely easy for any side, but Morecambe may have been presented with the opportune time to face the U’s. Turning two consecutive wins into three with their first win at The Abbey since 2019 would take them one step closer to securing safety.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

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