Residents of North-West London breathed a sigh of relief last night as Cardiff City lost 3-0 to Reading in their play-off semi-final second leg, thereby ending the prospect of an all-South Wales final on May 30.
In a frenzy of fear-mongering worthy of outgoing Fox News extremist Glenn Beck, we had been led to believe that some kind of hooligan apocalypse would have occurred had Cardiff booked their place against neighbours Swansea, laying waste to Wembley and the surrounding areas.
It was another major disappointment for Cardiff, who had hoped to build on last year's final defeat to Blackpool but the run of poor form which saw Norwich go up automatically in their stead continued into the play-offs.
Meanwhile, Dublin is preparing for a derby of sorts as the Aviva Stadium will this evening host the all-Portuguese Europa League final between Braga and league champions Porto. It is a showpiece that has not seen the saturation coverage which will herald the Champions League final in 10 days' time, but one which promises much.
Despite the two sides at least coming close to end-of-season success, both the Bluebirds of Cardiff and the Dragons of Porto will fear losing several of their best players this summer.
A wearisome Dave Jones admitted after losing at home to Reading that he may have to bid farewell to some of his most talented squad members after yet another year of missing out on promotion, and even expressed concerns over his own position.
After telling Sky how he worries about players wanting to move on to "bigger and better things", he added: "At the moment I feel lower than a snake's belly. I'll take stock of my life, my position and whether I want to (continue).
"And it's whether the owners and the hierarchy of the football club want you to. If they think there's someone better to take it forward then fine, I haven't got a problem with that."
Going into the play-offs, Craig Bellamy vowed to stay at Cardiff until they had secured promotion to the top flight for the first time since 1962, even if he ended his career there trying. However, a lot of that depends on his wages and parent club Manchester City letting him go for much less than the £14 million they paid for him a little over two years ago.
Fellow striker Jay Bothroyd has enjoyed the best season of his career, scoring 20 goals and earning his first England cap (yes, that really did happen). At 29 years of age, there may still be a few Premier League managers willing to take a punt on the much-travelled forward.
Even attacking midfielder Peter Whittingham could be targeted by a top-flight side after adding 11 league goals this season to the 20 he scored last term.
As for Porto, many have been quick to draw parallels between this side and the one which Jose Mourinho led to Champions League glory in 2004. The feeding frenzy which followed that triumph was clear right from the moment Mourinho stomped off the field in Gelsenkirchen, removing his winner's medal as his players celebrated with the trophy behind him.
Mourinho brought Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho with him to Chelsea, while the likes of Deco (Barcelona) and Pedro Mendes (Tottenham) also left that summer.
For Jose now read Andre Villas-Boas, who has predictably been linked with a move to Chelsea to replace Carlo Ancelotti.
The 33-year-old coach played down the rumours in the build-up to this evening's clash, saying: "I am very happy at Porto. It's the city where I grew up. It's my home club and I don't see it (being) easy to leave it.
"We are focused on winning the Europa League and next year we will go into the Champions League."
Even if the young boss does stay at the Estadio do Dragao to lead their Champions League campaign, he may have to do so without some of his star men.
Colombian striker Radamel Falcao will be on many a summer shopping list after he matched his league haul of 16 goals with the same numbers in this season's Europa League (in just 13 games), while partner in crime Hulk's record is none too shabby either, smashing home 23 goals in just 26 league games as Porto romped to their 25th title.
Midfield general Joao Moutinho has long been linked with a move to England, while Fredy Guarin, Nicolas Otamendi and Jorge Fucile have all put themselves in the shop window over the past year. And, if Tottenham want an upgrade on their current Brazilian keeper with a dopy expression then Helton could be their man.
At the very top of the game they say success breeds success, but go just a little further down and achievement brings with it the danger of an exodus.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "He has a five-year contract and has told us he wants to stay. He said that before. He never had any problem. I spoke with him many times in the last 20 days. It is my opinion that Carlos stays here next season. In December he had a problem. But everyone can change his opinion." - Despite what Carlos Tevez has said elsewhere in the past 20 days, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is confident that the striker will still be at the club next season following the Argentine's excellent brace in the 3-0 win over Stoke which sends them third.
FOREIGN VIEW: "My mother is coming to live in London next year. She is a preacher and she is coming to talk about God. But I have a challenge with Real Madrid. I don't want to think now about playing in the Premier League or going back to Italy. I want to get back in good shape and play for Real Madrid next season. I have a good relationship with Carlo but the truth is that I want to stay in Madrid, I want to play in Madrid and I want to live in Madrid." - Kaka explains his mother's reasons for moving to London, news of which sparked reports that the Brazil playmaker would be on his way to Chelsea.
COMING UP: Follow live coverage of Porto v Braga in the Europa League final at 19:45, while at the same time the first of the League One play-off semi-final second legs - Huddersfield Town v Bournemouth - also kicks off.
Meanwhile Jim White will be filing his latest blog and Andy Mitten will be giving us the lowdown on matters in La Liga.