Sheffield And Schadenfreude

With West Ham having failed to qualify for the Europa League and settled into a position behind Fulham and Tottenham, you might think our season is as good as over. But there’s one more game – some would say the biggest of the season – that all of us will be looking forward to: No, not the game on Sunday against Middlesbrough, but the claret & blues of Burnley versus Sheffield United.

I must admit, as a West Ham fan I would feel a lot of schadenfreude (yes, this word is used in English, too!) if the Blades failed to qualify for the top flight and were doomed to play Championship football for a third consecutive year.

Well, we're not bitter, writes a West Ham fan in the Times. All Sheffield United took from us was money, and we’ve got used to being potless for a century and more. But football is a lot more fun if you care who wins, and on Monday afternoon (15:00 BST), I think every West Ham fan really wants Burnley to win.

PS: In einem anderen Play-Off Finale in Wembley - jenem um den Aufstieg in die Championship, das schon am Sonntag, 13:00 BST, stattfindet - trifft West Hams Lokalrivale Millwall auf Scunthorpe. Interessanterweise würde mancher West Ham-Fan Millwall den Aufstieg in die zweite Liga durchaus gönnen, und ich muss sagen, sie hätten sich's verdient, nachdem die "Lions" im Play-Off-Semifinale immerhin Leeds United geschlagen haben. 38.000 Fans werden den Weg quer durch London auf sich nehmen, um ihr Team auf dem Weg zurück in die Championship zu unterstützen.

-> Blog: Paul Fletcher, Who will win at Wembley?