As the 2009-10 season comes to a close, let us take a moment to honor a manager who set himself apart from his peers, achieving a rare and historic feat that deserves to be recognized.

Yes, congratulations are in order for Brian Laws, who managed to get TWO teams relegated this season.

Laws started the campaign with Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.  In December, on the heels of three straight home losses that saw the Owls fall into to the league’s bottom three, Laws left the club by “mutual consent.”  The team’s record stood at a dismal 4-11-6.

Despite his “resignation” from Wednesday, Laws was surprisingly named manager of Burnley in January. The Premier League side selected their former player over a host of other (some could say better) candidates after Owen Coyle left for greener pastures at Bolton.

To say Laws picked up right where he left off at Wednesday would be an understatement.  In 17 league matches at the helm, Laws posted an unsightly record of 2-1-14.  In addition, he lost his only non-Premier League match to Championship side Reading in the FA Cup.

Burnley’s Championship pedigree was confirmed in embarrassing fashion on April 3^rd, when they conceded three times inside of the first eight minutes at home to Manchester City on their way to a 6-1 defeat.  Several fans were seen heading for the exits after the first ten minutes.

After the defeat, Burnley midfielder Joey Gudjonsson offered up this gem:

“He lost the dressing room long ago. I think all the players have lost faith in him, the performances say all that has to be said.”

Burnley were officially relegated from the Premier League on April 25^th, after the Turf Moor faithful endured another home shellacking, this time a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool.

If Laws were to somehow stay on at Burnley’s head man next season, he won’t have the opportunity to square off against his former side, because, like his new club, his old club is also heading down.  Sheffield Wednesday and their new gaffer Alan Irvine were unable to avoid the axe and will be playing their football in League 1 next season.

Laws’ achievement is certainly historical, but amazingly, it does have some precedent.  And in three consecutive seasons no less.

In the 1985-86 season, Ron Saunders left Birmingham City to take over fellow First Division strugglers West Bromwich Albion.  Both teams were relegated at season’s end.

The following year, Billy McNeill started the season with Manchester City, but departed early doors to take the helm at Aston Villa.  Neither team could avoid the drop from the First Division.

The very next season, Dave Bassett turned the trick as well, leaving Watford of the First Division in midseason to take over Sheffield United of the Second Division, with both clubs heading south at season’s end.

If Burnley had any sense, they’d add Laws’ name to another dubious group: managers who have been sacked by two teams in the same season.

Not that most of us need many reasons to keep watching for the remainder of this season, but the closing of this season gives us quite a few to keep our DVRs busy. We have, obviously, the race for the title starting to get really interesting with Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal all warranting reasons to be at the top by the season’s end. Also, the fourth Champion’s League place is incredibly exciting with Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, and even Everton making a charge. It’s still too early on for anything to be definitive but we’re starting to see the true contenders emerge. Related, this season could be historic in that I believe it could very well be the start of the decline of the big four.

However, there is another race that I would argue is much more important to the majority of English teams than who wins the title or who qualifies for the Champion’s League. Staying in the top-flight or being promoted to the top-flight is the central goal for many clubs in English football. With some clubs the goal of “staying up” could be considered near vital. Most of us here will agree that this system of promotion and relegation is great for many reasons. The fight in the Championship for this promotion into the Premier League is like nothing else and getting new clubs into the league keep it relatively fresh each season. I’m a huge fan of the idea and will often use it to pique interest in my non-football-watching Americans. It seems to be an aspect of English football that Americans find really interesting.

There are a few points of contention, however. To begin, the play-off system doesn’t seem fair to some supporters. It’s possible that a team that ended the season in sixth place would be promoted to the top-flight, while third through fifth spot are left behind wondering how this could happen. It’s certainly exciting but has to be frustrating when your team could have more points than the team able to reap the benefits of the Premiership. Wouldn’t just promoting the top three teams make it much fairer?

Also, there is the whole problem of competiveness. The argument is that certain teams have no realistic chance that they will be able to complete on the same level as a Chelsea or Manchester City and will not spend big or at all for fear of taking that debt into relegation. These teams are happy to just make 17th and, therefore, ensure the status-quo is kept. Why not just always have 20 teams that can build over the years without fear of relegation – thus making the Premiership more competitive over time?

As far as the current relegation battle is concerned, we’re definitely seeing it start to get more and more of a concern for clubs. Portsmouth look like they’ve secured last place but Hull City, Burnley, West Ham, Wigan Athletic, Wolves, or Bolton could find their club in the Championship next year.

Newcastle and West Bromwich have all but secured a spot in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Swansea City, Cardiff City looking to be the teams that will be entered into the playoff system. Blackpool, Sheffield United, and Middlesbrough may have an outside chance of making it into those playoff spots too.

As for my thoughts, I love the idea of promotion and relegation and feel that a play-off to determine that last Premiership team provides a great end to the season. Also, even newly promoted teams are getting more and more competitive with the so-called top clubs.

As for my picks, I’m going with Newcastle, West Bromwich, and Cardiff City to come up with Portsmouth, Burnley, and West Ham going down.

Who do you think will be promoted and relegated this season? Also, what are your thoughts on the current promotion and relegation system and do you think the play-off system is fair?

Fox Soccer Plus officially announced today that in addition to the Premier League, Serie A, FA Cup and Champions League, the network will televise Carling Cup games, the Coca-Cola Championship and marquee rugby matches.

The new TV network is scheduled to launch March 1, 2010. As of yet, no satellite or cable TV providers have announced that they will carry the channel beginning March 1.

In addition to the above named leagues and competitions, Fox Soccer Plus will also feature England international matches, and rugby games featuring the Guinness Premiership, Magners League and Heineken Cup.

“With these programming acquisitions, Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus become the definitive destinations for the world’s most popular sports,” said David Nathanson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Fox Soccer Channel. “Fox Soccer Plus presents us with a unique opportunity to expand on Fox Soccer Channel’s core mission, providing U.S. viewers with the best sports competitions worldwide and adds rugby to our impressive lineup of soccer offerings.”

According to Fox Soccer Plus, the channel will feature 130 Premier League games per season, 15 Carling Cup ties (beginning with the 2010-2011 tournament), 60 Coca-Cola Championship games, 3 England international games, 24 FA Cup games, 108 Serie A matches and 70 Champions League games. The rugby offerings will include 35 Guiness Premiership games, 40 Heineken Cup matches and 80 Magners League games per season.

The press release from Fox mentions that Fox Soccer Plus will be available as a premium service.

While today’s news is fantastic for rugby fans, supporters of lower league football and fans of the Carling Cup, it’s worrying news for fans of the other leagues that are currently carried by Setanta and will presumably not be shown on Fox Soccer Plus. Those leagues are Lique Un, the Russian Premier League and Scottish Premier League. We’ll have to wait and see if those leagues will be picked up by ESPN, GolTV or Premium Sports.

While today’s news from Fox goes a long way to filling in the blanks, there are still many unanswered questions. I’ll be contacting Fox today to request more details, so if you have any specific questions, please post them below.

Maybe I’m a sentimentalist, but watching a former top flight stalwart fight for promotion holds an undeniable appeal. Former league giants Leeds United nearly made it back to the top flight in 2006, and I found this notion exciting. Leeds repaid my interest with a disastrous season the following year and relegation in the spring of 2007.

Now, Wolverhampton Wanderers sit atop the Championship table, five points clear of Birmingham City.

The once mighty Wolves, who won three top tier titles in the 50s (and were a mere point away from winning a fourth in 1960), sunk as low as the fourth division in the mid 80′s until they were saved from an untimely death by an ownership change in 1986.

Eventually, Sir Jack Haywood bought the club in 1990 and invested in making Molineux Stadium into “one of the most modern in the country.”¹

Wolves made it to the playoff semi-finals in 1995, 1997 and 2002. They finally enjoyed promotion to the top in 2003, but were relegated again at the end of the season.

In the summer of 2007, Cheshire businessman Steve Morgan bought the Wanderers. “I remember the days when Wolves were the greatest club in the land,” said Morgan after taking over the club.² “And, although times have changed, we are going to do our best to take Wolves back to where they were.”

Now, Morgan’s Wolves may have a great chance at making the leap back to the top flight.

Wolves certainly have a fight in them. Their goal differential of 24+ is second only to Reading, who sit third. And they have one of the most exciting strikers in the Championship in 23-year-old Sylvan Ebanks-Blake who was named FourFourTwo Championship Player of the Year and also won Mitre Goal of the Year for a stunning individual goal against Charlton Athletic in 2008.

Nine points clear of the playoff zone, Wolves still have to face Birmingham, Southampton, Derby County, Queens Park Rangers and Barnsley. Wolves have a strong away record (11, 3, 6) and are unbeaten against the sides they still have to play away. Birmingham, who held Wolves to a draw when they visited Molineux, will likely be the biggest challenge as they too are fighting for promotion. Southampton who currently sit in the relegation zone will also have the motivation to cause problems for Wolverhampton as three points and some goals could deliver them to safety.

Wolves hit a five match rut in February, earning two points from five matches, but seem to be back on the right path lately, enjoying four wins and a draw since their slump.

A lot can still happen and who knows how Wolves will fare if they do win promotion, but this remains one of the most exciting times for Wolverhampton in years. The dream is in sight. If only the side can remain focused.