Championship / Ralph Ellis / 29 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Three teams go in to Sunday's fixtures with a chance of securing the automatic promotion spot. And the game we're all looking forward to is at Selhurst Park where Neil Warnock extends the warm hand of friendship to his old club Sheffield United.

You sometimes wonder who writes the scripts for football. It can only be the bloke who used to do the Roy of the Rovers comic book cartoons because real life is becoming far more unbelievable than fantasy.

Take a look at Sunday's Championship fixtures if you want to see what I mean. Surely the fixture computer must have developed an evil mind of its own to choose Reading against Birmingham for the final day. And where else to send Sheffield United for a game where winning could mean a place back in the Premier League than to Crystal Palace - the club managed by the bloke who is still bitter about getting the sack from Bramall Lane after he got them relegated. (Lawyer's note: Remember it wasn't Neil Warnock who got them relegated, it was Carlos Tevez, but don't go there).

The permutations for automatic promotion are this: Birmingham must get an equal or better result than Sheffield United, providing they don't lose; Sheffield United will go up if they win and Birmingham don't lose; but if United don't win, Reading can snatch the automatic spot on goal difference by beating Birmingham.

Confused? Well it all means that Birmingham are [1.85] to go up, Sheffield [1.98], and Reading the outsiders at [2.26]. That's because, of course, whoever misses out gets another chance in the play-offs.

Sorting out your bets you need to consider one thing - how will the colourful and controversial Warnock approach the game? He is, after all, a Blades fan. And he's already agreed to letting Sheffield United have double the normal number of tickets normally allocated to visitors at Selhurst Park. The first batch of 3,000 sold out in hours.

"The club asked me if they should release more and I said 'yes' straight away," Warnock tells the Daily Express this morning.

"They asked me if allowing so many more would potentially cause problems, but I said that was not an issue as I know what those fans are like."

Just to add a bit more spice to the game he's also had a dig at United manager Kevin Blackwell.

"He will believe, as I have done all season, he has the best squad in the Championship and they should be going up automatically," says Warnock - thus implying Blackwell has failed by not finishing above Wolves.

"If United bring their best game to the table they will beat us. We've had to give some kids a chance although it will be difficult to do that against Sheffield United."

There's the rub. Palace are a tasty [5.8] to win their home game and Warnock's motivation in allowing extra Blades fans to see the game is actually to remind them about the manager they let get away. It's a shame you can't get a bet on a touchline fracas between Warnock and Blackwell because that's a certainty!!

Meanwhile, Reading are [2.3] favourites to beat Birmingham, and after winning so easily at Norwich on Monday night seem to be coming in to form at just the right time.

Five things you might not know about Neil Warnock...

1. Born in 1948, as a player he was a lively winger who scored 36 goals in 327 League games for eight different clubs.

2. When he left his last club Crewe in 1979 he qualified as a chiropodist before becoming part-time manager of Gainsborough Trinity.

3. He was the first manager to win automatic promotion to the Football League after the end of the re-election system. He was in charge of Scarborough.

4. Once asked what he'd do if he took over Sheffield Wednesday, he said: "I would buy some bad players, get the sack and retire to Cornwall."

5. Infamous for his outbursts at match officials, he's actually a qualified referee and often takes charge of junior games.