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Ask Steve Claridge

Steve Claridge
Claridge is a pundit for The Football League Show and Football Focus

Crystal Palace avoided relegation to League One on Sunday with a draw against Sheffield Wednesday that sent the Owls down instead.

I take a look at the immediate prospects for the crisis-hit Eagles now they have secured their place in the Championship.

I also give my view on Charlton teenager Jonjo Shelvey, who has just agreed a summer move to Liverpool for £1.7m, consider the relegation battles at the bottom of League One and Two and give my thoughts on what Shrewsbury's next move should be after sacking their manager Paul Simpson.

If you have a question for me, you can submit it through Twitter at http://twitter.com/AskClaridge or use the form on the top right of the page.


Hi Steve, now that Crystal Palace have secured their Championship status for next year, where do you think the club can go on from here?
Gwilym, England

Palace may be staying up but they are not out of the woods yet. They need to find a buyer and must sort out the situation with their ground.

Palace do not own Selhurst Park and that is a problem. People will not invest in a football club without any assets because there is nothing for them to borrow against.

Crystal Palace fans celebrate at Hillsborough

Draw saves Palace but relegates Owls

Of course, it does make them more attractive to potential buyers that they are still a Championship club, and I have to say that the administrators there have done a great job of getting things as good as they can be on the football side of things because, ultimately, that will decide how much the club is worth.

But, now their season is over, we are at a stage where the team is no longer the most important thing, because other people have to be paid. That side of things has to take precedence over what happens on the pitch. It might be that they lose a lot of players, and have to start again.

Whatever happens, it is not going to be a quick process, and that could cause them some huge problems in the future. Sorting out the mess with the ground is the key to Palace's future; if they don't, I'm not sure who will come in for them and what they achieved at Hillsborough on Sunday might count for nothing in the end.

Steve, my club Liverpool have just signed Jonjo Shelvey, how good is he and how good can he be? Is he the heir to Steven Gerrard?
Gareth Aherne, Ireland

Is Shelvey the heir to Steven Gerrard? No. I've seen him three or four times this season and I'm not convinced he is that good, although I'm very rarely convinced by players who are that young.

He's only just turned 18 so I'm certainly not going to write him off but, at this stage, I think he is a million miles away from someone of Gerrard's class.

JonJo Shelvey
Shelvey will move to Liverpool at the end of the season

Shelvey turned down a move to Chelsea this time last year and I can't help thinking he should have done the same again this time around. He's not going to get a game in Liverpool's first team next season and, with moves like this, the best thing to do would be to loan him straight back to the Addicks so he gets games.

I'd rather play in Aldershot's first team than in Liverpool's reserves and that's not just because of what you learn from playing competitive senior football; you just don't feel part of the club unless you're playing regularly.

So, I'm not sure the move is the best thing for Shelvey. We've seen it happen countless times before where a player moves to a bigger club and gets lost, and the size of his fee won't mean anything because £1.7m is a drop in the water for the likes of Liverpool.

Hi Steve, I am a nervous Tranmere fan. After our amazing performance and win against Millwall on Saturday, do you think we can stay in League One? On the final day, we take on Stockport - who can't defend - while Exeter play Huddersfield.
Dan, Tranmere

What has been the outcome of Hartlepool fielding an ineligible player against Brighton? Are the Seagulls going to be awarded the three points as boss Gus Poyet demanded?
Doreen Squires, England

Who do you think will win the last League One automatic promotion spot?
Eddie Sewell, England

BOTTOM OF LEAGUE ONE IF HARTLEPOOL HAVE THREE POINTS DEDUCTED
17. Leyton Orient... 51pts GD -9
18. Gillingham...... 50pts GD -13
19. Hartlepool....... 49pts GD -8
20. Exeter........... 48pts GD -13

21. Tranmere..... 48pts GD -30
22. Southend (R) 43pts GD -19
23. Wycombe (R) 42pts GD -23
24. Stockport (R) 25pts GD -57

We definitely haven't heard the last of the Hartlepool incident, in which Gary Liddle played in their 2-0 win over Brighton on 5 April despite being suspended. Pools are probably going to have the three points they won deducted; they have to lose them really, because you have to be punished if you field an ineligible player.

That would put Hartlepool right back in trouble on 49 points and I don't fancy them to get anything at Brentford on Saturday either.

Tranmere are going to be full of confidence after their win over Millwall and I think that, if they do beat Stockport on Saturday, they will stay up because one of the three teams above them that they can catch will lose.

At the other end of the table, Leeds have been really unconvincing but I'm pretty sure they will get the win they need against Bristol Rovers to clinch that second automatic place.

They are at home against a team who don't travel well and have nothing for which to play. If they win, they get promoted - if you Leeds offered that set-up at the start of the season, they would have taken it - and, if they don't do it now, they never will.

A few months ago, you would not have thought it would come down to this but Leeds have looked very average recently and, if they do go up, manager Simon Grayson knows he will have to spend a lot of money on his squad to compete in the Championship next season.

Hi Steve, I'm a Grimsby fan. A few weeks ago you completely wrote us off. Do you think you may have been a bit rash in doing so? We must be favourites to survive in League Two now considering how poor Barnet are.
Nathan Smith, England

Mark Hudson

Grimsby 2-0 Barnet

I'm really surprised it has come down to the final weekend, considering Grimsby went so long without a win earlier in the season, but that just shows how poorly the other sides down there have been playing.

I wouldn't say Grimsby are favourites to stay up, though, because survival is still in Barnet's hands.

They are capable of beating Rochdale on the final day because Dale have completely taken their foot off the gas in the last few weeks since they made sure of promotion and just don't seem interested.

Grimsby's plight is not their problem so I don't expect Rochdale to suddenly pick up again at the weekend.

It's a shame how it went wrong for Ian Hendon at Barnet. I played with him at Birmingham and he is a good lad so I was disappointed for him when he got sacked last week.

But the Bees had to do something because their decline has been going on for a long time, probably since the turn of the year. Believe it or not, they were top at one stage this season, back in September, and whenever I've seen them I always thought they looked quite solid, and certainly never looked like they would struggle.

BOTTOM OF LEAGUE TWO
21. Cheltenham.... Pts 47 GD -17
22. Barnet............ Pts 45 GD -17

23. Grimsby........ Pts 44 GD -23
24. Darlington (R) Pts 30 GD -52

I know Cheltenham can mathematically be caught but their goal difference is much better than Grimsby's so I think they are safe. The Robins got thumped 5-0 by Notts County at the weekend but they've got Accrington at home on the final day and I can't see another similar defeat then too.

Town boss Mark Yates will still be disappointed to get beaten by 5-0 and there might be a few players who won't be at the club next season because of that result.

Paul Simpson got sacked as manager of Shrewsbury Town on Friday morning. Do you think this was the right decision, 24 hours before a match and with only two games of the season left?
Kieran Farmer, England

As a big Shrews fan, I am wondering who you feel would be best to take over the manager's role? With the names of Paul Sturrock and Gareth Southgate being thrown around, we wonder who will do the job we want.
Carl, England

I almost expected Simpson to go, I think he did too.

I don't think many people realised he had a very good budget to play with there. I spoke to Paul a couple of weeks ago and he admitted that, if he didn't get in the League Two play-offs, he might get sacked. With the budget he had, that was the least he should have achieved and that is why he has gone.

As Kieran points out, the club could have sacked him two or three weeks ago, or as soon as it was clear they wouldn't finish in the top seven. Then they could have brought in someone until the end of the season to have had a look at the squad and make any changes ahead of the next campaign.

But, whoever, they go for next, they will certainly be able to attract somebody who has got a decent reputation. It is a job that people will fancy because they will know the club has not reached its full potential. The Shrews have underperformed this season so it is a good time to take over.

Someone like Paul Ince, if he wants to do it, would be ideal. Shewsbury are a club you know you could take somewhere, and they are a very inviting prospect. Part of being a successful manager is being at the right club at the right time and all the ingredients are there at New Meadow.


Steve Claridge is a BBC Football League pundit who played more than 800 matches for 15 clubs over the course of a 24-year playing career. He was talking to Chris Bevan.



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