TONY MOWBRAY has always said that Kris Boyd will score goals if the chances fall to him – and tonight the Middlesbrough manager was proved right. After a January in which Boro would have been happy to see the Scotsman's salary off their monthly wage
HAVING spent the second half of the transfer window fretting about a lack of strikers, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce might now concede he was concentrating on the wrong part of his team. On the evidence of tonight's absorbing 4-2 defeat to
Bishop Auckland gained three valuable points in their fight against relegation with a 4-1 home win over Tow Law at Heritage Park tonight. Tow Law keeper Stephen Robinson saved a 20th minute penalty by Chris Bell – Bishops’ third successive
EGYPTIAN President Hosni Mubarak said tonight he will not run for a new term in office in the September elections. The embattled leader pledged to work during the rest of his term for a peaceful transfer of power in a new attempt to defuse massive protests
Mark Cooper has handed a debut to John Campbell in one of two changes to his Darlington team for tonights game at title chasing Luton Town.Mark Cooper has handed a debut to John Campbell in one of two changes to his Darlington team for tonight's
NO date has been set for a decision on Hitachi's £7.5bn plans to bring train building back to the region, a transport minister said last night. But Teresa Villiers did reveal that David Cameron has been lobbied personally on the issue by his Japanese
I am, of course, all in favour of greater transparency and increased public access to information. There are, therefore, clear attractions in the idea of holding the police to account via the Government's new crime mapping website. In
DARLINGTON'S deputy mayor has endorsed the game of indoor bowls following an open day at one of the town's clubs. Saturday's event at Darlington Indoor Bowls Club gave newcomers to the sport a chance to have a go under the expert eye of some of the
JAMES Brown and Paul Murray return to the Hartlepool United side as they look to end a six-game winless run. Pools last victory was against tonight's opponents Oldham on New Year's Day. Leon McSweeney and Joe Gamble drop out of the side, with Scott
MARVIN EMNES and Julio Arca have been recalled to the Middlesbrough starting line-up that faces Scunthorpe United tonight.Following Gary O'Neil's departure to West Ham and Barry Robson's Achilles injury, manager Tony Mowbray has been forced to change
STEPHANE Sessegnon will make his Sunderland debut in this evening's Premier League home game with Chelsea. Sessegnon, who completed a £6m move from Paris St Germain, replaces Bolo Zenden in the only change from the side that won 2-1 at Blackpool
A SCHOOL'S governors have voted unanimously to consult on plans to convert to an academy. Governors at Hummersknott School decided to take the step to gauge opinion with members of the community. In November, the Government decided that all schools
RESIDENTS have called for action after a series of near misses at a busy junction. The people of Harrowgate Hill, in Darlington, have asked the borough council to pay the £5,000 needed to change the roundabout in Burtree Lane and Trevone Way into
A TEESSIDE man has been made a millionaire after his Premium Bond scooped the big prize. The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, bought his Premium Bond totaling £30,000, in July 1998. He said: "I can't believe I have won. Over the years I have invested
The new Volkswagen XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle (SEV) has been unveiled at the Qatar Motor Show. Pioneering construction techniques, an advanced plug-in hybrid drivetrain and innovative packaging all play a part in allowing the XL1 to return 313
AN arsonist could be jailed for setting fire to a house in his street and putting the lives of other people at risk. Daniel Barrowcliffe started the blaze in the upstairs of the property in Dalton Crescent, Shildon, County Durham. He appeared in court
World champion Sebastian Vettel is refusing to let stories linking him with Ferrari and Mercedes affect him. The obvious assumption in recent weeks in the wake of the 23-year-old becoming the youngest winner of the Formula One drivers’ title
THE official launch party to mark the 450th anniversary of Prior Pursglove College brought together young and old to kick start the festivities. Lesley Hunter, the oldest known former student at Guisborough Grammar School, the former name of the college
Long-term social problems will be caused by the inability of young people to get a foot on the property ladder, a report has claimed. The survey, commissioned by North East house builders Barratt warns of growing tensions between the generations and
HUNDREDS of pounds worth of power tools were stolen from a shed in St Helen Auckland. The shed, on Louisa Terrace, was broken into sometime during last night. The stolen items included a Makita drill, Makita electric plane, Bosch drill, and DeWalt drill
POLICE knocked down more doors as their crackdown on known criminals continues. Early morning raids across the Redcar and Cleveland area resulted in two men, aged 25 and 48, being arrested at addresses on the Lakes estate in connection with the supply
POLICE are appealing for information following a collision on the A19 which left two teenagers with minor injuries. A Peugeot 206 was travelling northbound near Elwick, Hartlepool, at around 12.20pm on Monday, when it collided with a lamp-post before
The 3000 GT (which was also known as the GTO) was born at the peak of the Japanese sports car war in the early Nineties, when every manufacturer suddenly gave their engineering teams carte blanche to go crazy. The result in this case was a two-seater
DETECTIVES hunting attackers who severely beat a man in a suspected attempted murder attempt have released a further appeal for public help. Dominic Conlan, of York, was left with life threatening injuries after he was attacked in the city
The boring – but functional – radiator has come out from behind the furniture and is now making a style statement all of its own. Gabrielle Fagan feels the heat. RADIATORS, once the ugly ducklings of the home and usually ignored unless they
The White House in Saltburn, once home to the town’s most famous smuggler, is on the market. Ruth Addicott finds out what it has to offer. THE chance to live in The White House doesn’t come around often, especially when it includes sea views and
Price: £49.99 Format: PS3, XBox, BC Publisher: Activision THANKS to financial woes at MGM there won’t be a new James Bond movie this year. Filming is due to start shortly, but so much work goes into a blockbuster these days that the next
NEWCASTLE manager Alan Pardew is confident that club owner Mike Ashley will give him all of the £35m the club received for striker Andy Carroll to spend during the summer. The Magpies boss was today coming to terms with playing the remainder
Here is one recipe from Linda McCartney Foods’ campaign to find the UK’s tastiest meat free dish. The winning recipe will be chosen by public vote, after appearing on ITV’s This Morning, and will hit supermarket shelves this September. SERVES
A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER has finally hung up her mop and retired from her cleaning job after 46-years of service. Nora Dobson, 83, of Kirkbymoorside, cleaned the public toilets at Farndale located on the North York Moors National Park. She
MIDDLESBROUGH Mayor Ray Mallon launched a blistering attack on the coalition Government today for the unfair cuts to public sector budgets. The elected Mayor of Middlesbrough said the effect of the budget reductions across the country would
Lauren Pyrah samples a massage that leaves her relaxed and loving...lava shells. IN this job, you get asked to do some very odd tasks. All manner of weird and wonderful requests, from the sublime to the ridiculous, land on my desk or come through
STEPHEN Ireland is two weeks away from making his Newcastle debut after arriving at the club with an injury. The 24-year-old midfielder yesterday joined Newcastle on loan from Aston Villa for the remainder of the season. The deal went through just hours
VOLUNTEERS have helped to maintain a hedge on a popular recreational area as part of an on-going project to improve the area. Members of the Thirsk Community Woodlands group headed to Carrs Field, Thirsk, to work on a hedge there. The team were helping
A GROUP to help people find work in Darlington has been launched. Volunteer organisation eVOLution has started its Work Club to help job seekers with a range of advice and support. It hopes it will reduce the unemployment rate in the town - which
TWO pubs are raising a drink in celebration after retaining Michelin awards. The Bay Horse, in Hurworth, near Darlington, and the Oak Tree Inn, in Hutton Magna, near Richmond, have retained their Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. The
A DARLINGTON law firm is predicting a significant rise in the number of cases relating to debt and housing problems. Clark Willis said the economic climate and changes in housing law would affect the number of people seeking advice under the legal
A MARKET has been named one of the best in the country. Durham Indoor Market shared the Best Private Market prize at the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) awards ceremony, held in Birmingham on Friday. Judges praised its range
A MARKET has been named one of the best in the country. Durham Indoor Market shared the Best Private Market prize at the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) awards ceremony, held in Birmingham on Friday. Judges praised its range
A QUICK glance around the auditorium, packed full of middle Englanders with their chinos and sensible shoes, and you know that their radio dial is glued to the Archers. Nothing wrong with that, or the surety that The Now Show is one of the
A Farmer’s Life For Me (BBC2, 8pm); Boardwalk Empire (Sky Atlantic, 9pm); Blue Bloods (Sky Atlantic, 10.30pm); Extraordinary Dogs (Five, 7.30pm). IT seems that every five minutes, Jimmy Doherty is back on the box with some food or rural-themed show
Mari Hannah, previous winner of a Northern Writer’s Award, has just secured a great book deal. But it’s been a long road, she tells Steve Pratt. YEARS ago, Mari Hannah was a published poet – “silly little poems”, she dismisses them as – but a nasty
OLD SOLDIERS have been overwhelmed by support for their plans to put up a national memorial paying tribute to their fallen comrades - with thousands of pounds pouring into their appeal. Fundraisers have collected more than £25,000 in just over a fortnight
THE news that thousands of Britons are planning to take holidays abroad at the time of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in April (Echo, Jan 25) will come as a surprise to many. The Spanish island of Tenerife is one of the most popular
OVER the past year or so we have increasingly seen examples of certain newspapers hacking in to the mobile phones of numerous high-profile individuals. We have also had the case of the football pundits caught engaging in pretty unprofessional
FOLLOWING an item of news (Echo, Jan 28) about the coalition Government’s proposal to accelerate the increase in women’s state pension age I’d like to point out to women born after March 6, 1954, that it is they who are going to have to accept
RE your recent correspondence about reintroducing dog licensing (HAS, Jan 20 and Jan 29). This just would not work. It costs too much to collect, and can you really believe the yobs walking our streets with huge “status symbol” dogs such as Staffordshire
I AM writing this letter as I recover at home after heart surgery. First of all, I would like to thank all the surgeons and doctors for a job well done. Also, the nurses on the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, the Heart Failure Unit and Ward 31 at
I WAS employed by Darlington Borough Council for 32 years and at the end of 2010 took voluntary redundancy (as five posts out of eight were to be lost in my team). I got a letter saying I was entitled to my 25-year long service award of £198, to
A SERIES of consultation events are to take place later this month to help shape the future of a town. A new masterplan for the development of Stanley is being drawn up and three drop-in sessions have been organised so residents can have their
I JUST can’t believe that the powers-that-be at Durham Tees Valley Airport can even be in the least bit surprised that the airport is losing passenger numbers and money (Echo, Jan 27). Well, I have just one thing to say to them: “Get some decent
ARE we expected to congratulate Malcolm Poole over refusing to keep his pet on a lead in the dog control area in Centre Square, Middlesbrough (Echo, Jan 20)? I hope not. As a dog owner myself, I suspect that, even taking account of his disability
THERE are many so-called “reality”” programmes on TV these days, some more interesting than others with more depth and purpose. One such has to be Michel Roux’s Service, currently running on BBC2. This is one show which is a pleasure to behold
‘BLISS was it in that dawn to be alive; and to be young was very heaven.” That’s what silly Willie Wordsworth wrote when the French Revolution broke out in 1789. Many commentators today, observing the uprising in Egypt, echo the same sentiments
IN my lifetime the period of greatest potential for social advancement, largely based on merit, seemed to be the grammar school era of the immediate post-war years. Given good fortune, clever children had a chance of advancement in most careers
As BBC bosses consider serving up more Porridge and blue-collar comedies, Dave Mark examines whether yummy mummies and the middle classes rule sitcom land. DEL BOY, Norman Stanley Fletcher, Harold Steptoe – there’s a good chance none of these salt-of-theearth
IN his mantra about the Big Society, David Cameron has placed great emphasis on the value of charities in plugging gaps in public services. But voluntary bodies nationwide will surely think twice about taking the plunge in view of the experience
‘TRULY awful”. “Disaster”. This was not a critique of Jonathan Ross’ bizarre beard. Instead, these emotive words were used to describe the release of a surprisingly low fourth quarter GDP figure in the UK last week. It was the reaction of
BUDGET airline Ryanair, which recently pulled its final route from Durham Tees Valley Airport, yesterday said it had made a loss in the final three months of last year. The airline was forced to cancel more than 3,000 flights as strikes and
* HSBC has launched a range of low-rate fixed mortgages which include a five-year fixed rate at 4.29 per cent, with £99 fee, and a seven-year fix at 4.69 per cent, with a £999 fee, in a sale ending February 6. The loans were introduced as demand
A CHURCH in Bishop Auckland is inviting people to a household sale. Woodhouse Close Church is hosting the event at its premises on Proudfoot Drive on Friday, February 11. Items on sale include furniture, glassware, kitchen accessories, cookware, linen
In this month’s success feature, in conjunction with the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), Louise Robinson talks to the managing director of Elddis Transport, a North-East family firm that is, literally and figuratively, delivering the goods
Jeremy Gates reports as figures show about £4bn is spent on private medical insurance each year. WITH the NHS poised for the most drastic shake-up in its 62-year history, it isn’t only the health unions and politicians who are alarmed by a dramatic
THREE fire crews were tonight called to a blaze involving 150 bales on the outskirts of a market town. The fire service was called to the scene, near the roundabout on Boroughbridge Road, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, at 8.30pm. A spokesman
WOODLAND courses are being held this month throughout the North-East by Northwoods. A one-day management course at Blagdon, Northumberland, will cover broad leaf and coniferous trees, teaching the basics of establishing a wood, choosing the
A THOUSAND farmers are expected to descend on Bishop Burton College next week. Bishop Burton College, Beverley, East Yorkshire, is preparing itself for an influx of farmers, food producers and rural and allied businesses. Organised by the college
SINGLE farm payments must continue if British beef farmers are to survive. Europe is currently considering a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2013. Caroline Spelman, Environment Secretary, wants an end to direct farm payments
FIRST Milk is raising the price for each of its three main milk pools. The cheese pool price increases by 1.25ppl to 24.52ppl, the balancing pool by 1ppl to 24.27ppl, and the liquid pool price by 0.25ppl to 23.88ppl. NFU dairy board chairman Mansel
FARMERS have been urged to remain vigilant and vaccinate their animals against bluetongue. Brian Rice, technical manager for Merial Animal Health, one of the leading companies producing bluetongue vaccine for the UK market and Europe, said that
RAWBURN Edge, the number one UK Aberdeen Angus bull, now has semen available from Cogent Breeding Ltd. Edge is the highest Terminal Index (TI) bull ever bred in the UK. In the top one per cent of the breed, his TI figure is +55 compared to
THE world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, has revealed it sells more ebooks, through its Kindle Book Store, than it does paperbacks. This year, the company expects to sell more than eight million portable e-book devices. In the final quarter
AN online firm that helps people find places on training courses has enjoyed rapid growth in its first six months in business. Helptrainingcourses.com was launched in July last year by County Durham entrepreneurs Craig Fantarrow and John Patrick
AS all businesses know, at some point a dispute may arise with suppliers, customers, employees and competitors. There are a variety of ways to resolve such disputes. Litigation is the traditional form of dispute resolution and normally involves
A FORMER Cambridge University lecturer has joined the Tees Valley’s largest law firm. Marta Studholme, 36, has joined TBI’s commercial disputes department. After carrying out her initial law training at the universities of Teesside and Durham,
A NORTH-EAST software company has signed an agreement to provide its services to a leading IT company, working in the social housing sector. Applaud, which has offices in Middlesbrough and Newcastle, has signed an agreement with Newcastle-based
A GLOBAL security firm that provides protection services to international pop groups and Russian billionaires has chosen a North-East software business to create a James Bond-style secure iPhone application. DEF Apps, based in Boldon. South
ELECTRONICS firm Filtronic yesterday reported a halfyear loss before tax of more than £1m, compared with a slight profit for the same period last year. For the six months ending November 30, the firm generated a pre-tax loss of £1.2m, compared
A ROUND-the-clock service for domestic violence victims is part of an expansion for a North-East law firm. Gordon Brown Associates has added a family law team that will offer an extended out-of-hours service for family clients and a 24-hour
A POND has been transformed into a haven for anglers and nature lovers. The Environment Agency has funded work at Wheatley Hill Pond and 14 acres of woodland at Wheatley Hill near Peterlee, which is leased from Durham County Council by residents.
A CHARTER aimed at clarifying business rights and responsibilities has been welcomed by North-East law firms. Business Secretary Vince Cable launched the Government’s Employer’s Charter last Thursday. Partners at Darlington-based Latimer
A MAJOR North-East employer has outlined the importance of buying from local suppliers after spending more than £1m revamping its van fleet. County Durham-based Esh Group, which employs more than 1,000 staff, has used dealers in the region
TWENTY-FOUR jobs have been saved after an engineering firm was bought from administration by two members of its former management team. Washington Precision Engineering (NSE) Ltd, which went into administration on January 7, has been sold to
A NORTH-EAST shipping company founded during the reign of Queen Victoria is expanding, thanks to the latest industrial revolution. Casper Shipping, in Middlesbrough, has recorded a 50 per cent growth in business over the past 12 months, and
A TEENAGER has become the 500th recruit to a scheme that offers youngsters their first step on the employment ladder. Ashleigh Elliott, 18, from Billingham, near Stockton, has been enrolled on a business administration apprenticeship by her
SHARE trading in troubled County Durham glass maker Romag was suspended last night following the discovery of a payment to the company by its executive chairman, John Kennair. An investigation is taking place into the transaction, which the board
BRIAN ELLISON continues in excellent form and the Malton trainer has a couple of good chances to trouble the judge once more at Southwell. Gold Story has finished second on his last four starts and surely his turn must come in the Ladies At
LIVERPOOL have completed the signing of Uruguay forward Luis Suarez on a five-and-a-half-year contract. The 24-year-old passed a medical yesterday and completed the final details on the paperwork after the Reds agreed a deal with Ajax worth
NORMAN WILKINSON, the very apogee of today’s flashflashy football star, has died after a long illness. He was 80, and bright shining, nonetheless. Norman became, and remains, York City’s leading goalscorer while training on his own – “even
FERNANDO TORRES last night sealed his record-breaking move to Chelsea and David Luiz also completed a mega-money deadline-day switch to Stamford Bridge. Torres and Luiz both beat the 11pm cut-off to join the Premier League champions, who splashed
Andy Carroll is the eighth most expensive player in the history of world football. Eighth. Of all time, ever. The £35m that Liverpool paid for him yesterday is more than Barcelona shelled out to sign World Cup winner David Villa last summer
The transfer window swung shut late last night, bringing a month of hectic activity to an end. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson assesses the incomings and outgoings at the North-East’s three biggest clubs. NEWCASTLE UNITED IN:
HARTLEPOOL UNITED have gone six games without a win, but Peter Hartley is adamant their target is a realistic one. Pools’ last win came on New Year’s Day at Victoria Park against tonight’s opponents Oldham Athletic. That victory put Pools within
MIDDLESBROUGH finally concluded the transfers of Maximilian Haas and Merouane Zemmama yesterday and then hit last night’s transfer deadline without any further dealings. Tony Mowbray, the Boro boss, had conceded earlier in the day that there
DARLINGTON return to action this evening at Luton Town with a new striker in the ranks following the transfer deadline day arrival of John Campbell. The 22-year-old put pen to paper on an 18-month contract yesterday after leaving STL Northern
STEVE BRUCE insists he is happy to wait until the summer to replace Darren Bent and believes new signings Sulley Muntari and Stephane Sessegnon show that the club’s ambitions have not changed. In comparison to rivals Newcastle, it was a
NEWCASTLE’S frantic attempts to secure a replacement for Andy Carroll came to nothing last night, leaving the club alarmingly short of attacking firepower in the final four months of the season. Carroll completed a clubrecord £35m move to Liverpool
Sad story on our front page this morning. A charity for the homeless called the 700 Club is facing ruin after a bruising employment tribunal which pitched it against the Salvation Army. In short, the tribunal ruled that the 700 Club has a legal responsibilty
ENGLAND have called up Durham’s Liam Plunkett to bolster their squad following a spate of injuries. After Graeme Swann (back) and Tim Bresnan (calf) flew home early last week England’s already-depleted attack was weakened further following injuries
A NORTH-EAST widow has appealed for help from former colleagues of her husband who died of an asbestos-related disease. Anne Metcalfe, 72, from Darlington, lost her husband Malcolm in August 2009 to mesothelioma, caused by exposure to asbestos
A TOP Thai boxing champion gave a motivational talk to young cheerleaders at their school. From 2006 to 2008 Rachael MacKenzie was British and European champion and ranked number one in the world at her sport. She was also the first woman
A MAN who pushed his girlfriend to her death from the top of a multi-storey car park was yesterday jailed for eight years. Shaun Foley, 45, was found guilty of the manslaughter of Teresa Parkin, 29, after a two week trial at Exeter Crown Court
A MUSEUM is offering locomotive fans a competition prize money cannot buy. The National Railway Museum is offering two tickets to ride in a carriage pulled by the iconic Flying Scotsman locomotive following her restoration. To win, fans must
CAMPAIGNERS hoping to land a multi-million pound train-building contract for the region will travel to London today to urge the Government to make a decision about the project. A delegation of North-East business representatives and trade union
THE first insurance policy of its kind to protect parents against bad weather school closures has been launched by a North-East broker. Under the policy, parents will be reimbursed by £100 a day if their child’s school closes because of snow,
AFTER a huge drop in the number of deaths from heart attacks across the region, a leading charity is appealing for help to conquer the growing menace of heart failure. While the number of heart attack deaths in the North-East and North Yorkshire
AN MEP has called on voters to support changes to the electoral system. A referendum to decide whether the UK should ditch the First Past The Post (FPTP) electoral system in favour of the Alternative Vote (AV) system for electing MPs to the House
A SECURE training centre severely criticised by an inquest jury last week has been given a satisfactory overall rating by an educational watchdog. An Ofsted report, released days after the conclusion of an inquest into the death of 14-year-old
A TEENAGER who stabbed a man through the heart in a random and motiveless attack was yesterday locked up for three years. Ian Jackson was moments from death after being knifed by 15-year-old Aiden Davison in Darlington last summer. Mr
PLANS to erect a second memorial statue for a war hero are nearing completion – but not as first planned. Aviation historians wanted to erect a replica statue for Andrew Mynarski, the Canadain airman who died trying to save his comrade on their
THE Church of England has announced it has no plans to sell Auckland Castle – but its future as the home of the Bishop of Durham remains uncertain. Andrew Brown, secretary to the Church Commissioners, said yesterday that the historic Bishop
A YOUNG mother-of-two is facing jail after she admitted responsibility for killing a man who died beneath the wheels of her car. Naomi Jane Myers, 22, was warned that a prison sentence was inevitable after she pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Shaun
A GREAT-GREAT grandmother’s 101st birthday was tinged with sadness yesterday as she prepared to be moved out of her care home – which has been closed because of council cutbacks. Hilda Finlow, who has lived in Stanfield House, Stanley, County
A FUND that has pumped £112m into poorer parts of the region – creating 25,000 jobs – has been quietly axed by the Government. The scrapping of the Grants for Business Investment (GBI) scheme will leave North-East companies seeking smaller
THE Salvation Army was last night accused of “corporate muscle-flexing” after a bruising employment tribunal left a small charity facing ruin. The 700 Club, which provides accommodation for homeless people in Darlington, is facing a bill in excess
Spennymoor Town manager Jason Ainsley is looking for a very positive response from his players at home to Jarrow Roofing tonight. Ainsley blasted his players for their shambolic defending in the shock defeat at Stokesley last Saturday, and asked whether
A FORMER soldier was yesterday jailed for two years for his part in a late-night gang attack on a man on his way home from a nightclub. Richard Doe acted as a lookout while two other men kicked their victim unconscious and stole his wallet, cash
THE first insurance policy of its kind to protect parents against bad weather school closures has been launched by a North-East broker. Under the policy, parents will be reimbursed by £100 a day if their child’s school closes because of snow,
OVER the course of the last few days it was apparent to everyone at Liverpool Football Club that Fernando Torres could be moving to Chelsea. When they realised the Spaniard was heading for Stamford Bridge in a record breaking deal, the money
TWO fire crews were called to a blaze in a house on Lansdowne Road, Hartlepool. The fire broke out in the kitchen of the property at 6.47pm last night, and was brought under control by 6.58pm. A spokeswoman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said a cooker in
FERNANDO Torres tonight sealed his record-breaking move to Chelsea and David Luiz also looked to have completed a mega-money deadline-day switch to Stamford Bridge. Torres and Luiz both beat the 11pm cut-off to join the Barclays Premier League
