F1 2014: More to come from Mercedes pair

MERCEDES boss Niki Lauda moved to heal a growing rift between his two drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg following a tetchy Monaco Grand Prix.

Rosberg won in Monte Carlo for the second year in a row to overtake Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship - but the weekend was punctuated by several events which frustrated the Briton.

First, in qualifying, Hamilton was prevented from a run on pole after Rosberg caused yellow flags to be waved by parking at Mirabeau.

It didn't look intentional - replays showed Rosberg locking up and struggling with the steering wheel - but it was understandable why Hamilton took a dim view of the incident and remained tight-lipped in a seriously awkward interview afterwards.

After all, pole position is everything at Monaco.

Since 2004, only one driver has won having failed to take pole - and that driver was Hamilton in 2008 in his only victory at F1's most glamorous venue.

Could he do it again? Well, ultimately, no he couldn't - but he felt he was even denied a fair chance in the race after Mercedes failed to bring him into pit when it was obvious a safety car was going to be needed to clear up Adrian Sutil's accident.

Hamilton said: "An opportunity occurred where I could have come in. When I was at McLaren, l would have been pulled in on that lap and that may have given me the smallest advantage to get the jump over the safety car."

It may be a moot point anyway. Having trailed his team-mate for most of the race by less than a second, Hamilton ultimately finished a distant in a second place after suffering a problem with his vision when a piece of debris became lodged in his eye.

Nevertheless, the wounds from the weekend will take longer to clear up.

Hamilton even went as far as to say he and Rosberg were "not friends" despite him having shared a close competitive relationship with the German since they were both teenagers.

Yes, it is not quite on the level of a Prost-Senna dispute just yet - but it is providing fascinating viewing in a season which has already effectively become all about Mercedes.

The F1 W05 is so superior to all of the rest of the cars on the grid that it has taken every pole and won every race.

Indeed, the Mercedes team is currently enjoying a streak of five successive 1-2s, which is something that was not even achieved by either the dominant McLaren MP4/4 in 1988 or Williams FW14B in 1992.

In the standings, Rosberg (122) leads Hamilton by four points despite two fewer race wins after the Briton had to retire from the season opener in Australia due to engine trouble.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso cuts a frustrated figure again in third on 61 points which is as many points as he is adrift from the lead.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo, in fourth on 54 points, is comfortably outperforming his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

The four-time defending champion sits sixth on 45 points, two behind Force India's Nico Hülkenberg - while Valtteri Bottas is an impressive seventh for Williams ahead of the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen.

Further down the grid, the big news in Monaco came from Marussia who finally scored their first points in a Grand Prix at the 83rd attempt thanks to Jules Bianchi's ninth place.

"Yes!!!!!!!!!!" was the reaction on the official Marussia feed on Twitter - and few would begrudge them their success after an agonising four-year wait.

F1 2014 now moves on to Montreal in Canada on 8 June before a first Austrian Grand Prix in 11 years on 22 June.

Then, in July, Hamilton and Rosberg will enjoy home advantage in successive races at Silverstone and Hockenheim.

Only time will tell if they are genuinely friends or just colleagues in a battle which already looks like going all of the way.

Date	TV		Pole position	Fastest lap	Winner
16 March	Sky	Australian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Rosberg	Rosberg
30 March	BBC	Malaysian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Hamilton	Hamilton
6 April	Sky	Bahrain Grand Prix	Rosberg	Rosberg	Hamilton
20 April	Sky	Chinese Grand Prix	Hamilton	Rosberg	Hamilton
11 May	BBC	Spanish Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Hamilton
25 May	Sky	Monaco Grand Prix	Rosberg	Räikkönen	Rosberg
8 June	BBC	Canadian Grand Prix
22 June	Sky	Austrian Grand Prix
6 July	BBC	British Grand Prix
20 July	Sky	German Grand Prix
27 July	Sky	Hungarian Grand Prix
24 August	BBC	Belgian Grand Prix
7 September	BBC	Italian Grand Prix
21 September	Sky	Singapore Grand Prix
5 October	BBC	Japanese Grand Prix
12 October	BBC	Russian Grand Prix
2 November	Sky	United States Grand Prix
9 November	Sky	Brazilian Grand Prix
23 November	BBC	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship

P	Driver	Team	Points
01	Nico Rosberg (Ger)	Mercedes	122 (2 wins)
02	Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)	Mercedes	118 (4 wins)
03	Fernando Alonso (Spa)	Ferrari	61
04	Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)	Red Bull-Renault	54
05	Nico Hülkenberg (Ger)	Force India-Mercedes	47
06	Sebastian Vettel (Ger)	Red Bull-Renault	45
07	Valtteri Bottas (Fin)	Williams-Mercedes	34
08	Jenson Button (Gbr)	McLaren-Mercedes	31
09	*Kevin Magnussen (Den)	McLaren-Mercedes	21
10	Sergio Perez (Mex)	Force India-Mercedes	20
11	Felipe Massa (Brz)	Williams-Mercedes	18
12	Kimi Räikkönen (Fin)	Ferrari	17
13	Romain Grosjean (Fra)	Lotus-Renault	8
14	Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)	Toro-Rosso-Renault	4
15	*Daniil Kyvat (Rus)	Toro-Rosso-Renault	4
16	Jules Bianchi (Fra)	Marussia-Ferrari	2
17	*Marcus Ericsson (Swe)	Caterham-Renault	0
18	Adrian Sutil (Ger)	Sauber-Ferrari	0
19	Esteban Gutiérrez (Mex)	Sauber-Ferrari	0
20	Max Chilton (Gbr)	Marussia-Ferrari	0
21	Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn)	Caterham-Renault	0
22	Pastor Maldonado (Ven)	Lotus-Renault	0

*= Debut season in F1

Constructors' Championship

P	Team	Points
01	Mercedes	240 (6 wins)
02	Red Bull-Renault	99
03	Ferrari	78
04	Force India-Mercedes	67
05	McLaren-Mercedes	52
06	Williams-Mercedes	52
07	Lotus-Renault	8
08	Toro Rosso-Renault	8
09	Marussia-Ferrari	2
10	Sauber-Ferrari	0
11	Caterham-Renault	0

The Season 2013/14: For the record

Manchester City - Premier League title winners 2013/14

THE SEASON 2013/14: FOR THE RECORD
THE WORLD CUP countdown can begin in earnest following the last game of the domestic season as Fleetwood Town beat Burton Albion 1-0 at Wembley in the League Two playoff final.

Lancastrians Fleetwood secured a sixth promotion in nine years thanks to Antoni Sarcevic's 75th-minute free-kick, and the Cod Army will play in League One for the first time ever from August.

At the other end of the scale, the biggest winner domestically this year was Manchester City, who overhauled Liverpool in the closing weeks for a second league title in three seasons.

And, at long last, there was joy for Arsenal who ended a nine-year trophy drought with a fine comeback in the FA Cup Final from 2-0 down against Hull City. The Gunners eventually won 3-2 in extra time thanks to Aaron Ramsey's goal.

Leicester City stormed the Championship and were promoted alongside surprise package Burnley, while Queens Park Rangers made it through the playoffs thanks to Bobby Zamora's last minute goal against Derby County.

Wolverhampton Wanderers won League One to keep their sojourn at the third level down to one season - but the other two promoted sides have waited rather longer.

Runners-up Brentford will play at Championship-level for the first time since 1993, and playoff winners Rotherham United for the first time since 2005 after they beat unlucky Leyton Orient 4-3 on penalties having come back from 2-0 down.

Chesterfield won League Two from Scunthorpe United with third-placed Rochdale also promoted and the aforementioned Fleetwood joining them through the playoffs.

But rock-bottom Torquay United dropped out of the Football League for a second time in the last seven years.

The more shocking news, though, came from the Memorial Stadium where Bristol Rovers were  relegated to the Conference for the first time ever.

And the Conference is an unforgiving division as Luton Town have discovered with the Hatters only finally promoted this year after enduring five seasons in the fifth flight.

Cambridge United, meanwhile, had to wait even longer - nine years - before a 2-1 win over Gateshead in the playoffs restored their Football League status last week.

In Scotland, the three big prizes went to three different clubs. Celtic unsurprisingly won the Premier League by a distance, but it was St Johnstone who won the FA Cup - for the first time ever - by beating Dundee United.

Earlier, Aberdeen had beaten Inverness Caledonian Thistle on penalties to win the League Cup for their first major trophy in 18 years.

But Hearts, who began the season with a 15-point deduction for going into administration, could not haul back their deficit and were comfortably relegated to the Championship.

There, they will face League One champions Rangers next season - and, incredibly, Hearts' Edinburgh rivals Hibernian joined them too.

The Hibees finished second bottom in the league but had seemed to gain a reprieve by taking a 2-0 lead in the away leg of their relegation playoff against Hamilton Academical.

At Easter Road yesterday, though, it all went wrong. Hamilton forced an equaliser with a last-minute goal from Anthony Andreu and then joined champions Dundee in the top flight by winning 4-3 on penalties.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, The New Saints and Cliftonville defended their respective titles with TNS going on to win the Double by beating Aberystwyth Town 3-2 in the Welsh Cup Final. Glenavon won the Irish Cup by the same score against Ballymena United.

A rather bigger occasion in Lisbon saw Real Madrid win La Decima - a 10th European Cup - as they beat city rivals Atlético after extra time.

Sadly, the eventual scoreline did not do justice at all to Atléti who had led the final until the dying seconds of normal time thanks to Diego Godín's first half header after a misjudgement by Real captain Iker Casillas.

But, with their last attack of the game, Real equalised through a pinpoint Sergio Ramos header from a Luka Modric corner.

Atléti hung on until half time in extra time - but they were unable to change the momentum of the game and Gareth Bale gave Real the lead by nodding in the rebound from Angel di Maria's saved shot.

Real then harshly added two late goals to the final score, with Marcelo's strike in the 118th minute and Ronaldo's record 17th goal of the tournament coming from the penalty spot. 4-1 to Real.

Los Rojiblancos can at least console themselves with a first La Liga title since 1996 - although none of the other major league winners in Europe can be considered much of a surprise.

Overall, La Liga in Spain still remains the most powerful top division.

As well as the Madrid derby in the Champions League final, Sevilla won a third Europa League in eight years, beating Benfica on penalties after a 0-0 draw in a match which was much more open than the score suggests.

That was Benfica's eighth consecutive defeat in UEFA finals, a sequence which stretches back to 1962 and the days of Eusebio. The curse of Bela Guttman had struck again.
 
ENGLAND
Premier League
Champions Manchester City
Runners-up Liverpool
Champions League Chelsea, Arsenal
Europa League Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Hull City
Relegation Norwich City, Fulham, Cardiff City

Championship
Champions Leicester City
Runners-up Burnley
Playoff winners Queens Park Rangers (beat Derby County 1-0 in the Final)
Relegation Doncaster Rovers, Barnsley, Yeovil Town

League One
Champions Wolverhampton Wanderers
Runners-up Brentford
Playoff winners Leyton Orient or Rotherham United
Relegation Tranmere Rovers, Carlisle United, Shrewsbury Town, Stevenage

League Two
Champions Chesterfield
Runners-up Scunthorpe United
Also promoted Rochdale
Playoff winners Fleetwood Town or Burton Albion
Relegation Bristol Rovers, Torquay United

Conference Premier
Champions Luton Town
Playoff winners Cambridge United (beat Gateshead 2-1 in the Final)
Relegation Chester, Dartford, Tamworth, Hyde

Conference North
Champions AFC Telford United
Playoff winners Altrincham (beat Guiseley 2-1 in the Final)
Relegation Oxford City, Histon, Workington

Conference South
Champions Eastleigh
Playoff winners Dover Athletic (beat Ebbsfleet United 1-0 in the Final)
Relegation AFC Hornchurch, Billericay Town, Truro City

Domestic Cup Finals
All matches played at Wembley
FA Cup Final Arsenal 3-2 Hull City (after extra time)
League Cup Final Manchester City 3-1 Sunderland
FA Community Shield Manchester United 2-0 Wigan Athletic
Johnstone's Paint Trophy Peterborough United 3-1 Chesterfield
FA Trophy Cambridge United 4-0 Gosport Borough
FA Vase Sholing 1-0 West Auckland Town

SCOTLAND
Premier League
Champions Celtic
Runners-up Motherwell
Europa League Motherwell, Aberdeen, St Johnstone
Relegation Hearts, Hibernian

Championship
Champions Dundee
Runners-up (promoted) Hamilton Academical
Relegation Morton

League One
Champions Rangers
Runners-up (not promoted) Dunfermline Athletic (lost 1-4 on agg to Cowdenbeath)
Relegation Arbroath, East Fife

League Two
Champions Peterhead
Also promoted Stirling Albion (beat East Fife 3-2 on agg)
Runners-up (not promoted) Annan Athletic (lost 4-8 on agg to East Fife)

Domestic Cup Finals
FA Cup Final St Johnstone 2-0 Dundee United
League Cup Final Aberdeen 0-0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle (after extra time). Aberdeen won 4-2 on penalties.
Challenge Cup Final Raith Rovers 1-0 Rangers

WALES/NORTHERN IRELAND
Welsh Premier League
Champions The New Saints
Europa League Airbus UK Broughton (runners-up), Aberystwyth Town (Cup runners-up), Bangor City (playoff winners)
Relegation Afan Lido

NIFL Premiership
Champions Cliftonville
Europa League Linfield (runners-up), Crusaders (third place), Glenavon (Cup winners)
Relegation Ards

Domestic Cup Finals
Welsh FA Cup Final The New Saints 3-2 Aberystwyth Town
Welsh League Cup Final Carmarthen Town 0-0 Bala Town (after extra time). Carmarthen Town won 3-1 on pens.
IFA Cup Final Glenavon 2-1 Ballymena United
Northern Irish League Cup Final Cliftonville 0-0 Crusaders (after extra time). Cliftonville won 3-2 on pens.

EUROPE
UEFA Finals
Champions League Real Madrid (Spa) 4-1 Atlético Madrid (Spa) after extra time
Europa League Sevilla (Spa) 0-0 Benfica (Por) after extra time. Sevilla won 4-2 on pens.
Super Cup Bayern Munich (Ger) 2-2 Chelsea (Eng) after extra time. Bayern Munich won 5-4 on pens.

Major European League champions
Spain Atlético Madrid
Italy Juventus
Germany Bayern Munich
France Paris Saint-Germain
Portugal Benfica
Netherlands Ajax Amsterdam
Belgium Anderlecht
Greece Olympiacos
Turkey Fenerbahçe

THE SEASON 2013/14
17.08 Preview: All change at the top
23.09 Mackems ditch Di Canio
05.11 Arsenal stride five points clear
22.12 Tyneside full of festive cheer
04.01 FA Cup Third Round features North London clash
04.02 Arsenal lead a three-horse race
14.04 Title tilts towards Anfield
27.04 Go ahead, Gateshead
12.05 Manchester City surface first
17.05 Comeback ends Arsenal drought (stats only)
19.05 Heed just fall short

Euro-thrashed

2014 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS

	MEPs	Gain	Vote
UKIP	24	(+11)	28% (+11)
Labour	20	(+7)	25% (+10)
Conservatives	19	(-7)	24% (-4)
Green	3	(+1)	8% (-1)
Liberal Democrats	1	(-10)	7% (-7)
Other	3	(-2)	8%

MEPs BY REGION

East Midlands (5)	Roger Helmer - Margo Parker - Emma McClarkin - Andrew Lewer Glenis Willmott
East England (7)	Patrick O'Flynn - Stuart Agnew - Tim Aker - Vicky Ford Geoffrey van Orden - David Campbell Bannerman - Richard Howitt
London (8)	Gerard Batten - Charles Tannock - Syed Kamall - Lucy Anderson Seb Dance - Mary Honeyball - Claude Moraes - Jean Lambert
North East England (3)	Jonathon Arnott - Jude Kirton-Darling - Paul Brannen
North West England (8)	Paul Nuttall - Louise Bours - Steven Woolfe - Theresa Griffin  Afzal Khan - Julie Ward - Jacqueline Foster - Sajjad Karim
South East England (10)	Nigel Farage - Janice Atkinson - Diane James - Ray Finch Daniel Hannan - Nirj Deva - Richard Ashworth - Anneliese Dodds Keith Taylor - Catherine Bearder
South West England (6)	William Dartmouth - Julia Reid - Ashley Fox - Julie Girling Claire Moody - Molly Scott Cato
West Midlands (7)	Jill Seymour - Jim Carver - Bill Etheridge - Neena Gill - Sion Simon Philip Bradbourn - Anthea McIntyre
Yorkshire-Humber (6)	Jane Collins - Amjad Bashir - Mike Hookem - Linda McAvan  Richard Corbett - Timothy Kirkhope
Scotland (6)	David Coburn - David Martin - Catherine Stihler - Ian Duncan Ian Hudghton - Alyn Smith
Wales (4)	Nathan Gill - Derek Vaughan - Kay Swinburne - Jill Evans
Northern Ireland (3)	Names

UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed a "historic" result in the European election as a party outside of Labour and the Conservatives topped a national poll for the first time in 104 years.

The Eurosceptic party increased its share of the vote by 11% to win 24 seats in the 11 regions of Great Britain under the proportional d'Hondt system.

Labour narrowly beat the Conservatives to second place in terms of seats and the popular vote thanks to a strong showing in London, just as it had in Thursday's local elections.

But the other big story was the fate of the Liberal Democrats who finished fifth behind the Green Party - and only avoided a total wipeout of their 12 MEPs by retaining their seat in South East England.

The thrashing prompted yet further calls on Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg to quit ahead of next year's general election.

Martin Todd, a member of the party's federal executive, told the BBC: "I am extremely concerned by what has happened. We have seen our share of support halve. There is a real issue with our strategy, there is a real issue with our leadership.

"Just saying more of the same just isn't going to cut it. I am really concerned that the initial response to what is a disaster is far too complacent."

At least, neither Danny Alexander - the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury - nor party president Tim Farron attempted to sugar coat this horrible result.

They did, however, both defend Mr Clegg's policy of being explicitly pro-European in the run-up to the elections, including his decision to take on Mr Farage in two live debates.

Mr Farage undoubtedly won those, just as he undoubtedly won last night. Twenty years ago, in its first European election, the party managed a barely-noticeable 1% of the vote.

But the earthquake of Euroscepticism, which Mr Farage had promised, has now struck - as votes for anti-disestablishment parties poured in all over the continent.

Nowhere was this more worryingly emphasised than in France where Marine Le Pen's far-right Front National topped the poll with 25%, a result which means she expects to take 25 out of the 72 seats.

It really is difficult to believe - given such an outcome - that, only 70 years ago, the French were still under Nazi occupation. So much for liberté, égalité, fraternité, eh?

In Britain, at least, the fascists of the British National Party were finished off as they lost both of their remaining MEPs, including party führer Nick Griffin's seat in North West England.

Humiliatingly, Griffin's defeat prompted him to write on his Twitter feed: "If anyone can tell me how to change my twitter title without losing the account I'd be obliged!"

Just weeks ago, that same account had been hacked - with amusing consequences - but, while the BNP ambitions are dead in the water, the debate in Britain over Europe can still only be viewed through a right-wing prism.

UKIP's stunning victory has brought the likelihood of an in-out referendum that bit closer with Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron already committed to holding one in 2017 if his party wins outright power next year.

Electoral mathematics suggest that remains unlikely - but, with Ed Miliband's Labour still failing to convince, a second successive hung parliament beckons.

If that indeed is the case, Mr Farage hopes that through a Lib Dem collapse and his own careful targetting of around 20 seats, UKIP may be able to guarantee a referendum by holding the balance of power.

But, as Mr Farage is well aware having already failed six times personally, winning even a single seat in Westminster is an entirely different proposition to winning in the Euro elections.

Election night: UKIP "earthquake" strikes

LOCAL ELECTIONS

	Vote	Councils	Change	Seats	Change
Conservatives	29%	41	(-12)	1359	(-231)
Labour	31%	82	(+5)	2101	(+338)
Liberal Democrats	13%	6	(-2)	427	(-307)
UKIP	17%	0	(-)	163	(+161)
Green	10%	0	(-)	36	(+16)
NOC/Other	-	32	(+9)	125	(+23)

UKIP produced a political surge last night to trouble all three of the traditional parties after taking 163 seats across the 161 local authorities which went to the polls.

Yes, of course, as it stands today, Nigel Farage's party still does not control a single council in England and it still does have a single MP in the House of Commons.

But a strong performance in Essex yesterday suggested that may well change in next year's general election.

UKIP gains meant that the likes of Brentwood, Castle Point and Southend in Essex fell from the clutches of the Conservatives into no overall control.

Notably, so did Basildon, where UKIP made an astonishing 11 gains to become the second largest party in a town historically famed for its working class support of Margaret Thatcher.

It was not just against the Tories that UKIP tasted success, though. Labour also had three authorities fall into no overall control including another Essex town, Thurrock, which Mr Farage visited after five gains there.

And, in Labour's northern heartlands too, UKIP made an impression, surely ending the myth once and for all that its vote only damages the Tories.

In Rotherham, it won 10 seats and finished second in the other 11 which were up for grabs. Meanwhile, on the basis of ward results, the party would have won the Westminster seat of Great Grimsby in a general election.

Indeed, the only area in which UKIP struggled was London, coincidentally the only area where Labour performed to a level required to win an outright majority next year.

The most noteworthy result in the capital came in what had previously been a flagship Tory council in Hammersmith and Fulham. There, Labour won 11 seats directly from the Conservatives to win back power for the first time since 2006.

Labour also overturned the Tories in Croydon and made other capital gains in Harrow, Merton and Redbridge which it controls for the first time ever.

Outside of London, Labour gained Crawley and Amber Valley in Derbyshire from the Conservatives, as well as Bradford and Cambridge from no overall control.

And, altogether, Ed Miliband's party gained more than 2,000 local authority seats to become the largest party in local government in England and Wales for the first time since 2004.

But the projected national share of the vote was not such good news for Labour with the party's 31% down seven points on 2012 and only two percent ahead of the Conservatives.

The Tories, as expected, had a tough night at the ballot box, losing control of 13 councils including Havering, Maidstone, Peterborough, Purbeck in Dorset, and West Lancashire as well as those already mentioned.

Prime Minister David Cameron doused calls from the Eurosceptic wing of his party for a pact with UKIP next year, stating the Conservatives would be fighting for an "all-out win".

But room for optimism was confined to strong holds in Swindon and Trafford, and a sole success in Kingston upon Thames against their beleaguered coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats.

In fact, across the board, Nick Clegg's party lost an amazing 41% of the seats which it was defending, being replaced by the Green Party as the official opposition in Liverpool and getting totally wiped out in Manchester.

Nevertheless, Mr Clegg vowed to fight on as leader, echoing a familiar refrain to that which he gave following similar local council losses last year.

But it has not only been Mr Clegg's future which has been challenged by these results.

Labour's lacklustre performance was greeted this morning by the Times newspaper running the headline 'Knives out for Miliband as Labour jitters grow'.

The story was based upon the assessment by a "senior" party insider that Mr Miliband "looks weird, sounds weird, is weird".

Meanwhile, Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton, Graham Stringer - a regular critic - lambasted the campaign, calling it "unforgivably unprofessional".

And he was joined by fellow backbencher John Mann. The MP for Bassetlaw criticised Mr Miliband for a "tremendously ill-judged campaign", and accused his own party of complacency in the belief that UKIP would only harm the Conservatives.

If that was indeed the Labour party strategy, it was undoubtedly a mistake - although it must also be accepted that UKIP was always going to do well in a year alongside the European elections.

By the way, the results of those Europe polls are announced from 10pm on Sunday evening.

And, with Mr Farage predicting a first ever win for UKIP in a national election, the other parties have already begun to brace themselves again.

SWITCHED COUNCILS
- Labour gains (9)
From Conservatives: Amber Valley - Crawley - Croydon - Hammersmith and Fulham
From NOC: Bradford - Cambridge - Harrow - Merton - Redbridge
- Conservative gains (1)
From Liberal Democrats: Kingston upon Thames
- No overall control gains (14)
From Conservatives: Basildon - Brentwood - Castle Point - Havering - Maidstone - Peterborough - Purbeck - Southend-on-Sea - West Lancashire
From Labour: Great Yarmouth - North East Lincolnshire - Thurrock - Tower Hamlets
From Liberal Democrats: Portsmouth

LONDON
All seats are up for election
Conservatives
Barnet - Bexley - Bromley - Hillingdon - Kensington and Chelsea - Kingston upon Thames - Richmond upon Thames - Wandsworth - Westminster
Labour
Barking and Dagenham - Brent - Camden - Croydon - Ealing - Enfield - Greenwich - Hackney - Hammersmith and Fulham - Haringey - Harrow - Hounslow - Islington - Lambeth - Lewisham - Merton - Newham - Redbridge - Southwark - Waltham Forest
Lib Dems
Sutton
No overall control
Havering - Tower Hamlets 

MAYORS
All five mayors held their seats
Labour
Hackney (Jules Pipe) - Lewisham (Steve Bullock) - Newham (Robin Wales)
Lib Dems
Watford (Dorothy Thornhill)
Independent
Tower Hamlets (Lutfur Rahman)

METROPOLITAN BOROUGHS AND UNITARIES One-third of seats are up for election (*whole council)
Conservatives
Solihull - Swindon - Trafford - Wokingham
Labour
Barnsley - Birmingham - Blackburn with Darwen - Bolton - Bradford - Bury - Coventry - Derby - Doncaster - Dudley - Gateshead - Halton - Hartlepool - Kingston upon Hull - Knowsley - Leeds - Liverpool - Manchester - Newcastle upon Tyne - North Tyneside - Oldham - Plymouth - Reading - Rochdale - Rotherham - St Helens - Salford - Sandwell - Sefton - Sheffield - Slough* - Southampton - South Tyneside - Sunderland - Tameside - Wakefield - Warrington - Wigan - Wirral - Wolverhampton
No overall control
Bristol - Calderdale - Kirklees - Milton Keynes* - North East Lincolnshire - Peterborough - Portsmouth - Southend-on-Sea - Stockport - Thurrock - Walsall

NON-METROPOLITAN DISTRICTS One-third of seats are up for election (*whole council, ^half council)
Conservatives
Adur^ - Broxbourne - Cherwell - Craven - Daventry - Elmbridge - Epping Forest - Fareham^ - Gosport^ - Harrogate - Havant - Hertsmere - Huntingdonshire - North Hertfordshire - Reigate and Banstead - Rochford - Rugby - Runnymede - Rushmoor - South Cambridgeshire - Stratford-on-Avon - Tamworth - Tandridge - Tunbridge Wells - Welwyn Hadfield - West Oxfordshire - Woking - Worthing 
Labour
Amber Valley - Bassetlaw - Burnley - Cambridge - Cannock Chase - City of Carlisle - Chorley - Crawley - Exeter - Harlow - Hastings^ - Hyndburn - Ipswich - Lincoln - Newcastle-under-Lyme - Norwich - Nuneaton and Bedworth^ - Oxford^ - Preston - Redditch - Rossendale - Stevenage
Lib Dems
Cheltenham^ - Eastleigh - South Lakeland - Watford - Three Rivers*
No overall control
Basildon - Basingstoke and Deane - Brentwood - Castle Point - Colchester - Gloucester - Great Yarmouth - Hart* - Maidstone - Mole Valley - Pendle - Purbeck - St Albans - Stroud - West Lancashire - Weymouth and Portland - Winchester - Worcester - Wyre Forest


NORTHERN IRELAND 
New councils
Antrim and Newtownabbey - Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon - Belfast City Council - Causeway Coast and Glens - Derry and Strabane - Fermanagah and Omagh - Lisburn and Castlereagh - Mid and East Antrim - Mid-Ulster - Newry, Mourne and Down - North Down and Ards

The Season 2013/14: Heed fall just short

Cambridge United 2 Hughes 51, Donaldson 71
Gateshead 1 Lester 80 

Cambridge United Smith - Roberts, Miller (c), Coulson, Taylor - Champion, Berry (Chadwick 65), Hughes, Donaldson - Elliot (Cunnington 76), Sam-Yorke (Dunk 45) Booked Champion, Cunnington Subs not used Bonner, Chambers
Gateshead Bartlett - Baxter, Magnay, Curtis, Clark (c) - Chandler (Lester 69), Turnbull, Oster, Larkin (Hatch 58), Maddison (O'Donnell 58) - Marwood Booked Maddison, Oster, Clark Subs not used Walker, Ramshaw
Attendance 19,613 at Wembley Stadium Referee Peter Banks
Kick-off 4pm. Live on BT Sport.

GALLANT Gateshead narrowly missed out on a return to the Football League after 54 years following a 2-1 defeat to Cambridge United in the Conference playoff final at Wembley.

Veteran striker Jack Lester scored with 10 minutes left to give the Heed hope of forcing extra time but the Us survived seven minutes of stoppages to hang on.

It was a bitterly disappointing way to end a campaign which had begun with one point out of 15 and yet still finished in the club's first ever visit to the National Stadium.

Nevertheless, Gary Mills' men can be proud of the way that they never gave in on a scorching hot day in the capital.

Backed by around 7,000 fans who had made the long trip down from Tyneside, Gateshead made a nervous start as former Heed forward Ryan Donaldson went close for Cambridge.

The Tynesiders were then almost their own worst enemy as Marcus Maddison, already booked for an early dive, escaped a second caution for a rash tackle.

And, by then, the most experienced man on the pitch - former Everton and Sunderland midfielder John Oster - had also gone into the book for bringing down Donaldson.

Gradually, though, Gateshead felt their way into the half, aiming to tire their opponents in the heat with a sharp, possession game.

But, with Cambridge happy to sit in and soak up the pressure, Heed had fashioned little in the way of chances with Jamie Chandler's long-range effort going straight to Adam Smith.

An improvement was needed in the second 45 and, in fairness, Gateshead began the half on the front foot as James Marwood let fly - but again the ball went straight to Smith.

Cambridge then forced a corner - and, with it, the lead - as Donaldson's cross evaded goalkeeper Adam Bartlett and left the unmarked Liam Hughes to head in from barely a yard.

It was time for a change up front with centre-forward Liam Hatch brought on for Colin Larkin, and Marwood moved out to the right wing. JJ O'Donnell also replaced Maddison and Lester was soon on for Chandler.

Hatch immediately gave Gateshead much more presence up front but the Tynesiders' delivery from the wings was not at its best. Meanwhile, Donaldson was proving a constant menace for the Us.

The Geordie had already scored twice for Cambridge at Wembley in March in a 4-0 win over Gosport Borough in the FA Trophy Final.

And, having won another free-kick after a challenge by Ben Clark on the edge of the Gateshead box, the 23-year-old capped another man of the match performance by bending the ball around the wall and just inside the post.

Two goals down, Gateshead were really up against it now - and yet Mills' side continued to stick to their principles, plugging away by dominating the possession.

On 80 minutes, Heed finally got their just reward as the three substitutes combined. O'Donnell crossed for Hatch and, though his header was saved, the ball fell straight to Lester to ram home the rebound.

Gateshead were back in it - and Marwood almost equalised with a shot which brought a fingertip save from Smith.

But the Heed's momentum was almost immediately disrupted by a bad injury to Us captain Ian Miller who left the field in agony having ruptured his Achilles.

Nevertheless, the delay left Gateshead with plenty of time to complete the comeback and force an extra 30 minutes - and there was always a feeling that a huge chance would fall the Heed's way.

It did and it fell to 'Mr Gateshead' himself, Jamie Curtis. Up from the back in his 505th game for the club, he sadly could not direct his header on target - and that was indeed the very last chance.

Gateshead had given their all but left themselves with too much to do.

Overall, though, the season can surely only be regarded as a success. The first Wembley appearance in the club's history only came about from a belief instilled by Mills that, arguably, was not previously there.

After all, Curtis himself had booked his wedding for this weekend - before hastily having to rearrange it for this coming Wednesday.

No doubt, the 32-year-old had hoped to walk down the aisle having got Gateshead into the Football  League - but, in the words of the Rolling Stones, you can't always get what you want.

What the Heed do have is a chairman, Graham Wood, with ambition and a manager, Mills, with bags of self-belief.

Gateshead may have missed out this time - but, if they keep that combination, a return to the Football League should not actually be that far away. Ho'way the Heed!

The Season 2013/14: Comeback ends Arsenal drought

Arsenal 3 Cazorla 17, Koscielny 71, Ramsey 109
Hull City 2 Chester 4, Davies 8
After extra time

Arsenal Fabianski - Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs - Arteta, Ramsey, Cazorla (Rosicky 105), Ozil (Wilshere 105) - Podolski (Sanogo 61), Giroud Booked Giroud Subs Szczesny, Vermaelen, Monreal, Flamini
Hull City McGregor - Davies, Bruce (McShane 67), Chester, Rosenior (Boyd 104), Elmohamady - Livermore, Huddlestone, Meyler, Quinn (Aluko 75) - Fryatt Booked Huddlestone, Meyler, Davies Subs Figueroa, Koren, Sagbo, Harper
Attendance 89,345 at Wembley Stadium Referee Lee Probert (Wiltshire)
Kick-off at 5pm. Live on ITV and BT Sport.

ARSENAL won their first trophy for nine years with a fantastic comeback in a brilliant FA Cup Final at Wembley.

ROUTE TO THE FINAL
Arsenal
3R beat Tottenham Hotspur (H) 2-0
4R beat Coventry City (H) 4-0
5R beat Liverpool (H) 2-1
QF beat Everton (H) 4-1
SF beat Wigan Athletic 4-2 on penalties, following 1-1 aet

Hull City
3R beat Middlesbrough (A) 2-0
4R beat Southend United (A) 2-0
5R beat Brighton & Hove Albion (H) 2-1 in reply, after 1-1 (A)
QF beat Sunderland (H) 3-0
SF beat Sheffield United 5-3

PREVIOUS FA CUP FINALS
Arsenal
1927 lost 0-1 v Cardiff City
1930 won 2-0 v Huddersfield Town
1932 lost 1-2 v Newcastle United
1936 won 1-0 v Sheffield United
1950 won 2-0 v Liverpool
1952 lost 0-1 v Newcastle United
1971 won 2-1 v Liverpool (aet)
1972 lost 0-1 v Leeds United
1978 lost 0-1 v Ipswich Town
1979 won 3-2 v Manchester United
1980 lost 0-1 v West Ham United
1993 won 2-1 v Sheffield Wednesday aet in replay, following 1-1 aet
1998 won 2-0 v Newcastle United
2001 lost 1-2 v Liverpool
2002 won 2-0 v Chelsea
2003 won 1-0 v Southampton
2005 won 5-4 on pens v Manchester United, following 0-0 aet

Hull City
None

The Season 2013/14: Manchester City surface first

(C) 1 MANCHESTER CITY (P38 W27 D5 L6 F102 A37 Pts 86) PL:WLWDWLWWLWLWWWDWWWWWWWWLDWWWWDWLDWWWWW
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Wigan Athletic (H) in QF
League Cup: won 3-1 v Sunderland at Wembley in Final
Europe: lost 1-4 on agg v Barcelona (0-2h, 1-2a) in Last 16
Top scorer: Sergio Aguero (28)
Timed to perfection, Manchester City won their last five games to overhaul Liverpool and win a second Premier League title in three years. It has indeed been an exceptional first season at the Etihad for manager Manuel Pellegrini whose side overcame early troubles on the road to draw four times and lose just twice in 27 games from the end of November onwards. The second of those defeats, at Anfield, took the title out of City hands - but, while the Reds then slipped up, City stepped up and they finished the season on 102 league goals, just one short of Chelsea's record from 2009-10. For good measure, Man City also won the League Cup against Sunderland at Wembley meaning it is now four trophies in the last three years.

2 LIVERPOOL (P38 W26 D6 L6 F101 A50 Pts 84)
PL:WWWDLWWDWLWDLWWWWLLWWDWDWWWWWWWWWWWLDW
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Arsenal (A) in fifth round
League Cup: lost 0-1 v Manchester United (A) in third round
Top scorer: Luis Suarez (31)
The best attacking duo in the Premier League, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, gave Liverpool genuine belief of a first league title in 24 years - and that belief grew bigger as the Reds embarked on an amazing 11-match winning streak. But the defensive failings which had become evident throughout the season would ultimately come back to haunt them. For, Steven Gerrard - of all men - slipped up in the 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea - before a crazy 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park effectively extinguished all hope. Exactly where Brendan Rodgers' men failed to win the title is not difficult to pinpoint - Liverpool had an attack which could blow away most of the league but the 50 goals conceded is actually the Reds' worst record since 1914-15. Clear at the top with three games left, one wonders if they will ever have a better chance.

3 CHELSEA (P38 W25 D7 L5 F71 A27 Pts 82)
PL:WWDLWDWWWLDWWWLWDWWWWWDWWDWWWLWLWWLWDW
FA Cup: lost 0-2 v Manchester City (A) in fifth round
League Cup: lost 1-2 aet v Sunderland (A) in fifth round
Europe: lost 1-3 on agg v Atletico Madrid (0-0a, 1-3h) in SF
Top scorer: Eden Hazard (16)
Despite heavy investment in strikers in recent seasons, it was a lack of firepower that left Chelsea short in the final reckoning. Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba scored only 17 goals between them - and, having completed doubles over their main rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, it was instead at some of the lesser lights where Chelsea struggled. Away defeats came at Stoke City, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa - and, even at Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho's men were not exactly exemplary. A 0-0 draw against West Ham in January led to the Portuguese branding the Hammers' tactics as "19th century football". Then later, the 2-1 defeat to Sunderland - Mourinho's first home loss in the Premier League - prompted an astonishingly unsporting reaction on the final whistle.

4 ARSENAL (P38 W24 D7 L7 F68 A41 Pts 79)
PL:LWWWWWDWWWLWWWDLDWWWWWDWLDWLWLDDLWWWWW
FA Cup: Final v Hull City at Wembley on 17-May
League Cup: lost 0-2 v Chelsea (H) in fourth round
Europe: lost 1-3 on agg v Bayern Munich (0-2h, 1-1a) in Last 16
Top scorer: Olivier Giroud (22)
Arsenal led the league for far more days than any other team this season but had dropped out of the title race by April after a run of just two wins in nine games. It was a sequence which included heavy defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea, the latter horror show actually coming on the occasion of Arsene Wenger's 1000th game. Nevertheless, the Gunners picked themselves back up to finish the campaign with five successive wins and a place in the Champions League for the 18th year in a row. Now, the next aim for Arsenal is for them to break their nine-year trophy drought on Saturday in the FA Cup Final against Hull City. Surely the North Londoners will do it this time, won't they?

5 EVERTON (P38 W21 D9 L8 F61 A39 Pts 72)
PL:DDDWWWLWWDDDWWDWWLWDWDLWLLWWWWWWWLWLLW
FA Cup: lost 1-4 v Arsenal (A) in QF
League Cup: lost 1-2 v Fulham (A) in third round
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku (16)
With a month of the season left, Everton went fourth and had an eye on a Champions League spot after beating their nearest rivals Arsenal 3-0 at Goodison Park. In the end, though, the Toffees' tougher run-in was the most telling factor. For, although a league double was completed over Manchester United and former manager David Moyes, defeats to Crystal Palace, Southampton, and Manchester City in the last five games, meant the Merseysiders were seven points short in the end. Nevertheless, this fifth-placed finish gives Roberto Martinez something to work on for next season which will feature European football at the club for the first time since 2010.

6 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (P38 W21 D6 L11 F55 A51 Pts 69)
PL:WWLWWDLWWDLLDWWLWDWWWWLDWWLWLLWLWDWWLW
FA Cup: lost 0-2 v Arsenal (A) in third round
League Cup: lost 1-2 v West Ham United (H) in fifth round
Europe: lost 3-5 on agg v Benfica (1-3h, 2-2a) in Last 16 Europa League
Top scorer: Emmanuel Adebayor (14)
Tim Sherwood is expected to leave Tottenham Hotspur despite the North London club finishing just three points short of their total from last year and level on points with their ill-fated fourth place finish in 2011-12. The reason seems to be Sherwood's inability to break through the glass ceiling above Spurs with heavy defeats against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool in the second half of the season simply repeating what had happened earlier under Andre Villas-Boas. The loss of Gareth Bale was pretty telling and a few of the players brought in using the money received for the Welshman endured difficult introductions to English football, Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela in particular.

7 MANCHESTER UNITED (P38 W19 D7 L12 F64 A43 Pts 64)
PL:WDLWLLWDWWWDDLLWWWWLWLWLDDWWLWLWWLWLWD
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Swansea City (H) in third round
League Cup: lost 1-2 on pens after 3-3 agg v Sunderland (1-2a, 2-1h) in semi final
Europe: lost 2-4 on agg v Bayern Munich (1-1h, 1-3a) in QF
Top scorer: Wayne Rooney (19)
Fallible to the last, Manchester United finished in their lowest league position since placing 13th in 1990. Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton completed league doubles while the likes of Newcastle United, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion have all ended long winless runs. The cups were no better with Swansea City recording a first ever win at Old Trafford in the FA Cup and Sunderland winning on penalties in the semi finals of the League Cup. Indeed, it had been so poor that, ultimately, Moyes' sacking after defeat on his return to Goodison did not come as much of a surprise. Club legend Ryan Giggs provided a lift as caretaker with Norwich dispatched 4-0 - but Sunderland, in their great escape bid, doled out one last sobering defeat. The next man, expected to be Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, had better hit the ground running for there is much work to be done.

8 SOUTHAMPTON (P38 W15 D11 L12 F54 A46 Pts 56)
PL:WDLDWWWDWDWLLLDDLWLLWDDWDWLLWWLWLLDWWD
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Sunderland (A) in fifth round
League Cup: lost 1-2 v Sunderland (A) in fourth round
Top scorer: Jay Rodriguez (17)
Set to become victims of their own success, Southampton's stylish team could be torn apart if the big boys have their way. Luke Shaw, the 18-year-old left back called up to the England World Cup squad, has already been reportedly subject to a £27m bid from Manchester United - while Adam Lallana is being pursued by Liverpool. Even coach Mauricio Pochettino could be off, possibly to Tottenham Hotspur, if he gets the impression he has taken the Saints as far as he can. And the Argentine may well be right if the south coast club begins to sell the starlets who have taken them to their highest points total in the Premier League era.

9 STOKE CITY (P38 W13 D11 L14 F45 A52 Pts 50)
PL:LWWDLLLDLDDWLDWDWLLDLLLWDDLWDWWWLWDLWW
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Chelsea (A) in fourth round
League Cup: lost 0-2 v Manchester United (H) in fifth round
Top scorer: Peter Crouch (10)
Stoke City reached a half-century of points for the first time in their six-year Premier League stay and, in fact, enjoyed their best top flight finish since 1975. Manager Mark Hughes has recovered really well from an uncertain start to build on the foundations laid by previous boss Tony Pulis. Of course, things didn't look so good at the end of January when defeat at Sunderland dropped the Potters as low as 16th - but, following their first win over Manchester United since 1984, City then won seven of their last 11 games and lost just twice - to Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur - in a thoroughly encouraging campaign.

10 NEWCASTLE UNITED (P38 W15 D4 L19 F43 A59 Pts 49)
PL:LDWWLLWDLWWWWLWDWWLLLWDLLLWWLWLLLLLLWL
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Cardiff City (H) in third round
League Cup: lost 0-2 aet v Manchester City (H) in fourth round
Top scorer: Loïc Remy (13)
Never mind a game of two halves, Newcastle United had a season of two halves with an encouraging first part of the campaign completely undermined by a disastrous second. Sitting sixth on Boxing Day after beating Stoke City 5-1, having already beaten Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, the Magpies then lost 14 of their last 20 league games, and seven of their last eight. Newcastle also failed to score in 13 of those last 20 and, across the season as a whole, lost by three goals or more on nine separate occasions, including against Sunderland at home - again. Manager Alan Pardew added to his own woes by getting banned for a ridiculous headbutt in the win at Hull - and now many fans, in open revolt, are hoping for Pardew's absence to be made rather more permanent. There are no signs of any movement from owner Mike Ashley yet, though.

11 CRYSTAL PALACE (P38 W13 D6 L19 F33 A48 Pts 45) PL:LLWLLLLLLLDWLWWLLWLDLWWLWLDLDLWWWWWLDD
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Wigan Athletic (A) in fourth round
League Cup: lost 1-2 v Bristol City (A) in second round
Top scorer: Dwight Gayle (8)
If the season had started when Tony Pulis was appointed Crystal Palace manager on 23 November, the Eagles would have finished eighth. As it is, a dreadful start under previous boss Ian Holloway meant that Pulis's side have spent most of the campaign still battling against the drop. It is a battle which has been won handsomely however, a fine achievement capped by five consecutive wins which took the south Londoners into the safety of mid-table . It also means that, for the first time since the Premier League began in 1992, Palace will play two successive top-flight seasons.

12 SWANSEA CITY (P38 W11 D9 L18 F54 A54 Pts 42) PL:LLWDWLLWDLDWLWDDLLDLLLWLWDLDLLDWLLWWLW
FA Cup: lost 1-3 v Everton (A) on fifth round
League Cup: lost 1-3 v Birmingham City (A) in third round
Europe: lost 1-3 on agg v Napoli (0-0h, 1-3a) in Last 32 Europa League
Top scorer: Wilfried Bony (22)
Europa League exertions and squad unrest threatened to derail Swansea City's Premier League project as the Welsh side endured a run of just two league wins in 17 attempts in a winter of discontent. Manager Michael Laudrup had been dumped during that period but, with Michu absent through injury for most of the season, the Swans nevertheless always looked to have enough firepower through Wilfried Bony to stay up under new boss Garry Monk. So it proved with Swansea finishing the season on a high after winning three of the last four.

13 WEST HAM UNITED (P38 W11 D7 L20 F40 A51 Pts 40) 
PL:WDLDLLWLDDLLWLLDLLDLWLDWWWWLLLWWLLLLWL
FA Cup: lost 0-5 v Nottingham Forest (A) in third round
League Cup: lost 0-9 agg v Manchester City (0-6a, 0-3h) in semi final
Top scorer: Kevin Nolan (7)
West Ham United failed to act as party-poopers at the Etihad where Manchester City won the Premier League on the final day. There is no shame in that, of course - but defeat in Manchester was the Hammers' 20th of a league campaign which was only saved from complete disaster by a stunning run of four successive wins in February. That sequence won Sam Allardyce a Manager of the Month award - but discontent with the boss remains high at the Boleyn Ground, and even a win over Hull City was greeted with jeers, coming as it did courtesy of an own-goal against 10 men. Since then, West Ham have won two and lost five and made it to 40 points - but no more.

14 SUNDERLAND (P38 W10 D8 L20 F41 A60 Pts 38)
PL:LDLLLLLLWLWLDLLDDWDLWDWWLLDLLLLLDWWWWL
FA Cup: lost 0-3 v Hull City (A) on QF
League Cup: lost 1-3 v Manchester City at Wembley in Final
Top scorers: Fabio Borini/Adam Johnson (10)
A stunning season on Wearside, and certainly one which was not for the faint-hearted. A dreadful start had left the Black Cats bottom on Christmas Day with Gus Poyet taking over from dumped fascist Paulo di Canio. And, while the Uruguayan manager inspired a first Wembley Cup final appearance since 1992 and a first double over Newcastle United since 1967, league form remained stubbornly poor. Well, at least it did until April when a stunning point at Manchester City and victory at Chelsea inspired a run of 13 points out of 15 which also included a first win at Old Trafford since 1968. The 3-1 home defeat to Swansea City on the final day was disappointing but largely irrelevant in the wider context of needing to keep Poyet at the Stadium of Light. 

15 ASTON VILLA (P38 W10 D8 L20 F39 A61 Pts 38)
PL:WLLLWWDLLDWDDWLLLLDWLDWLLDLWWLLLLDLWLL
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Sheffield United (H) in third round
League Cup: lost 0-4 v Tottenham Hotspur (H) in third round
Top scorer: Christian Benteke (11)
Aston Villa finished this season in exactly the same position as last year - and actually with three points fewer, having taken just four points out of the last eight games. Indeed, the campaign finished in appropriate style with Villa slumping to a meek 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur as the fans sang "We want our Villa back". At least the prospect of real change is on the horizon, though - disenchanted owner Randy Lerner has put the club up for sale - and if the American does depart, manager Paul Lambert will surely not be far behind.

16 HULL CITY (P38 W10 D7 L21 F38 A53 Pts 37) 
PL:LWLDWWDLLWLLWLDDDLWLLLLDWLWLLWLLWLDLLL
FA Cup: Final v Arsenal at Wembley on 17 May
League Cup: lost 7-8 on pens (after 2-2 aet) v Tottenham Hotspur (A) in fourth round
Top scorers: Matty Fryatt/Nikica Jelavic (6)
Hull City gladly got almost all of their 37 league points on the board by early April to avoid the drop quite comfortably despite an eventual finishing position of 16th. Of course, late-season collapses in the league are nothing new in Steve Bruce's management career - but at least the Tigers' boss has had the ready-made excuse of having been thoroughly distracted by the Humber club's first ever FA Cup Final appearance at Wembley on Saturday. Second favourites at odds of 7/1 in places, and beaten by the Gunners 3-0 in the run-in, it is fair to say, nevertheless, that surely all Hull fans would have taken this at the start of the season.

17 WEST BROMWICH ALBION (P38 W7 D15 L16 F43 A59 Pts 36)
PL:LDLDWWDDLWDDLLLLDDDWLDLDLDDLWLDWDLWLLL
FA Cup: lost 0-2 v Crystal Palace (H) in third round
League Cup: lost 3-4 on pens (after 1-1 aet) v Arsenal (H) in third round
Top scorer: Saido Berahino (9)
West Bromwich Albion scrambled over the line of a wretched season, as a 1-0 home win over West Ham United proved to be enough to finish on the right side of the safety line - just. That victory at the Hawthorns was one of only seven league wins all season - and the Baggies lost the other four of their last five games to finish on only 36 points. Spanish coach Pepe Mel had failed to impress since his arrival in January and his end-of-season meeting with chairman Jeremy Peace simply signalled the end of his brief sojourn in the Midlands.

(R) 18 NORWICH CITY (P38 W8 D9 L21 F28 A62 Pts 33)
PL:DLWLLWLLDLWLWLWDDLLDLWDLDLWLDLWLLLLLDL
FA Cup: lost 0-3 v Fulham (A) in third round replay, following 1-1
League Cup: lost 0-4 v Manchester United (A) in fourth round
Top scorer: Gary Hooper (8)
Norwich City ran out of the winnable games well before the finish line with those tough final four fixtures - against Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea - unsurprisingly producing just a single point. Yes, the Canaries' fate was effectively sealed having gone into that run still only on 32 points having acted too late on replacing the forlorn Chris Hughton with youth coach Neil Adams as caretaker. A total of just 28 league goals, the lowest in the division, tells its own story and £8.5m signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel should feel particularly guilty. The Dutchman netted just once all season - and that was on the opening day.

(R) 19 FULHAM (P38 W9 D5 L24 F40 A85 Pts 32)
PL:WLLDLLWWLLLLLLWLLWLWLLLLDLDLLWLLWWLDLD
FA Cup: lost 0-1 aet v Sheffield United (H) in fourth round replay
League Cup: lost 3-4 v Leicester City (A) in fourth round
Top scorer: Steve Sidwell (8)
A disastrous campaign brought to an end a 13-year Cottagers stay in the top flight, the club's longest streak in its history. There were three managers and an amazing 39 different players - but it was the same story all season long as the Premier League's leakiest defence conceded an eye-watering 85 goals, and lost 24 out of 38 games. Consecutive wins in April against Aston Villa and Norwich City had offered some hope - but only two points from the last 12 extinguished it almost as quickly, and relegation was confirmed in a 4-1 collapse at Stoke City.

(R) 20 CARDIFF CITY (P38 W7 D9 L22 F32 A74 Pts 30)
PL:LWDDLWLLDWLDLDLWLLDLLLLWLDLLWLLDLWDLLL
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Wigan Athletic (H) in fifth round
League Cup: lost 2-3 v West Ham United (A) in third round
Top scorer: Fraizer Campbell (9)
Having spent years trying to make it into the Premier League, including three successive failed playoff bids, the red-shirted Bluebirds were relegated after just one season in the top flight, and deservedly finished bottom after only seven league successes. Incredibly, one of those was an amazing 3-2 opening home victory over eventual champions Manchester City - and, indeed, Malky Mackay was doing a respectable job in the Welsh capital until controversial Malaysian owner Vincent Tan started to meddle. Form fell away badly over Christmas and the New Year - but Tan's answer, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, fared even worse overall as Cardiff ultimately limped out of the league on the back of three successive defeats.

EARLIER 2013/14 BLOGS
17.08 Preview: All change at the top
23.09 Mackems ditch Di Canio
05.11 Arsenal stride five points clear
04.02 Arsenal lead a three-horse race
14.04 Title tilts towards Anfield

Eurovision 2014: Will Europe be Smitten with Molly?

EUROVISION in the United Kingdom has ended in recent times with the proverbial gnashing of teeth before a good wail about tactical voting.

Former BBC commentator Terry Wogan even quit in 2008 after suggesting the competition was "no longer a music contest".

But, this year, the British might actually at last have something to cheer.

Even the BBC advert gives promise of a better outcome with current host Graham Norton announcing: "With Molly, the UK could finally win"...

Though he adds, for good measure: "No, really!"

After all, it is best if the United Kingdom does not get too carried away having spent quite a while in the wilderness.

In fact, in the past 11 years, the UK has had a truly abysmal record. It has finished bottom three times with Jemini (nul points in 2003), Andy Abraham (2008), and Josh Dubovie (2010) - while Javine Hylton (22nd in 2005), Daz Sampson (19th in 2006), and Scooch (22nd in 2007) fared little better.

Then, the last two years have seen the bizarre successive entries of Engelbert Humperdinck (2012) and then Bonnie Tyler (2013), at a combined age 137 - only for them to receive a combined total of 35 points.

In 2014, however, the UK has returned to the relative youth of 27-year-old Leicestershire lass Molly Smitten-Downes - and the critics suggest she stands a genuinely good chance.

Her song 'Children of the Universe' is a rousing anthem which will close the 26-nation extravaganza - and it has been well-received in promotional work on the continent.

As such, Molly is currently fifth-favourite with the bookmakers, and looks likely at least to score the UK's best result since Jade Ewen's fifth place in 2009 with 'It's My Time'.

The outright favourite is Swedish singer Sanna Nielsen with her uptempo ballad 'Undo', just ahead of Austria's Conchita Wurst.

Wurst - real-name Tom Neuwirth - is a bearded drag act with a decent voice, and thus a perfect fit at Eurovision.

But, while the Contest is, of course, fond of its gimmicks - e.g. Lordi in 2006 - they often haven't found much success in last few years with the much-hyped Russian grannies Buranovskiye Babushki finishing a distant second in 2012.

There are also some other Eurovision myths which can now be - at least partly - dispelled too, especially with regards to often controversial voting patterns.

As this fivethirtyeight blog notes, researchers found that, while there was a "moderate to substantial positive bias" between countries, this could be explained by "strong ‘cultural’ similarities".

Certainly, it is a fact that a country cannot win Eurovision on location alone - the Contest is now far too large for regional alliances to prove decisive.

Indeed, generally, it simply the best - or at least the most popular - song that ends up winning.

That was certainly the case last year for Denmark's barefoot Emmelie de Forest and her catchy hit 'Only Teardrops', the result of which has been to take the competition to Copenhagen.

Hopefully, Molly will have a wonderful, wonderful time - while the rest of us kick back to enjoy perhaps still the strangest popular annual event on whole the television calendar.

The show begins on BBC One at 8pm.

EUROVISION 2014 RUNNING ORDER
Click on the links for the official Eurovision videos of each of the songs. Odds supplied by Ladbrokes. See www.oddschecker.com/tv/eurovision/winner 

	Country	Artist - Song	Odds
01	Ukraine	Mariya Yaremchuk - Tick-Tock	16/1
02	Belarus	Teo - Cheesecake	200/1
03	Azerbaijan	Dilara Kazimova - Start a Fire	33/1
04	Iceland	Pollapönk - No Prejudice	50/1
05	Norway	Carl Espen - Silent Storm	33/1
06	Romania	Paula Seling & Ovi - Miracle	66/1
07	Armenia	Aram MP3 - Not Alone	7/1
08	Montenegro	Sergej Ćetković - Moj svijet (My World)	66/1
09	Poland	Donatan & Cleo - My Słowianie (We Are Slavic)	66/1
10	Greece	Freaky Fortune feat RiskyKidd - Rise Up	20/1
11	Austria	Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Pheonix	5/2
12	Germany	Elaiza - Is It Right	150/1
13	Sweden	Sanna Nielsen - Undo	11/4 fav
14	France	TWIN TWIN - Moustache	100/1
15	Russia	Tolmachevy Sisters - Shine	50/1
16	Italy	Emma - La mia città (My City)	50/1
17	Slovenia	Tinkara Kovač - Round and Round	200/1
18	Finland	Softengine - Something Better	50/1
19	Spain	Ruth Lorenzo - Dancing in the Rain	33/1
20	Switzerland	Sebalter - Hunter of Stars	100/1
21	Hungary	András Kállay-Saunders - Running	14/1
22	Malta	Firelight - Coming Home	100/1
23	Denmark	Basim - Cliché Love Song	25/1
24	Netherlands	The Common Linnets - Calm After the Storm	4/1
25	San Marino	Valentina Monetta - Maybe	150/1
26	United Kingdom	Molly - Children of the Universe	9/1

EUROVISION 2014 RESULT

	Country	Song - Artist	Points	Douze
01	Austria	Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Pheonix	290	(13)
02	Netherlands	The Common Linnets - Calm After the Storm	238	(8)
03	Sweden	Sanna Nielsen - Undo	218	(3)
04	Armenia	Aram MP3 - Not Alone	174	(3)
05	Hungary	András Kállay-Saunders - Running	143	(1)
06	Ukraine	Mariya Yaremchuk - Tick-Tock	113	(-)
07	Russia	Tolmachevy Sisters - Shine	89	(2)
08	Norway	Carl Espen - Silent Storm	88	(-)
09	Spain	Ruth Lorenzo - Dancing in the Rain	74	(1)
10	Denmark	Basim - Cliché Love Song	74	(-)
11	Romania	Paula Seling & Ovi - Miracle	72	(1)
12	Finland	Softengine - Something Better	72	(-)
13	Switzerland	Sebalter - Hunter of Stars	64	(-)
14	Poland	Donatan & Cleo - My Słowianie (We Are Slavic)	62	(-)
15	Iceland	Pollapönk - No Prejudice	58	(-)
16	Belarus	Teo - Cheesecake	43	(1)
17	United Kingdom	Molly - Children of the Universe	40	(-)
18	Germany	Elaiza - Is It Right	39	(-)
19	Montenegro	Sergej Ćetković - Moj svijet (My World)	37	(2)
20	Greece	Freaky Fortune feat RiskyKidd - Rise Up	35	(-)
21	Azerbaijan	Dilara Kazimova - Start a Fire	33	(1)
22	Italy	Emma - La mia città (My City)	33	(1)
23	Malta	Firelight - Coming Home	32	(-)
24	San Marino	Valentina Monetta - Maybe	14	(-)
25	Slovenia	Tinkara Kovač - Round and Round	9	(-)
26	France	TWIN TWIN - Moustache	2	(-)

RELATED LINKS
- Official Eurovision website (Facebook - Twitter)
- Official Eurovision Youtube website
- BBC Eurovision website
- Wikipedia Eurovision page