With West Ham relegated, and up to five clubs fighting for Premier League survival tonight in the English Premier League, let’s see who YOU fancy to stay up, and who you think will be going down.
Courtesy of BBC Sports
The five clubs in contention, all separated by a meagre one point margin are:
19. Wigan (Roberto Martinez) 39 pts at Stoke
18. Blackpool (Ian Holloway) 39 pts at Manchester United
17. Birmingham (Alex McLeish) 39 pts at Tottenham
16. Wolves (Mick McCarthy) 40 pts vs Blackburn
15. Blackburn (Steve Kean) 40 pts at Wolves
There you have it, the five teams facing the potential drop. Birmingham, who beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup final will play in Europe next year, while Wolves and Blackburn’s encounter could potentially determine which of the two goes down. The BBC has run a fantastic guide on “How to beat the Premier League drop” if any of you are placing bets today.
This is not an official Soccer Reviews prediction, but I am interested in seeing what my colleagues would say about this, and of course what you think. Here are my dream predictions:
Blackburn and Wolves draw, Blackpool get a result against Manchester United (who might have one eye on the Champions League final against Barcelona, despite Sir Alex Ferguson pledging to field a strong squad. By his standards, the arguably poorest of his 25-man squad could be considered strong by some teams), Birmingham get a result against Spurs (who have been poor despite a 2-0 win against an in-form Liverpool suffering from Kenny Dalgish’s 3-year coronation), and Wigan beat or draw against Stoke (who might still be reeling from their double loss in the FA Cup final an in the league against Manchester City).
This would mean that BLACKBURN and WOLVES go down, with BIRMINGHAM, BLACKPOOL, and WIGAN playing in England’s top flight next year. How realistically this is is up for debate. My heart is telling me that Holloway’s men deserve to stay in the Premier League. At times, they have been among the better teams in the league and Holloway himself is a breath of fresh air (who hasn’t said that?) that I think this league needs. A bit of humour and stirring the waters is always healthy, and his team has provided that. That said, going to Old Trafford, where the newly-crowned champions have not lost this year, and picking up those vital three points is going to be Blackpool’s hardest test yet.
I am also not sure that Blackburn and Wolves will end in a scored draw. One of these will want to win it, and I fancy Wolves to pip it if I had to go for one of them. The Rovers were alright under Sam Allardyce and there was no reason to change management, but for their new Indian owners to go with Steve Kean is a slap in the face. Now, Kean’s not done terribly bad – they are the highest of the five teams fighting against relegation, but it’s a bit far from the Venky’s target of 5th.
I did fancy Birmingham to beat the drop until their apoplectic performance last week during which 11 planks of wood could probably have gotten a better result. They will need to come out all guns blazing and remind us why they won the Carling Cup in such style and why they have consistently been one of our favourite underdogs. Spurs seem in disarray with talk of Redknapp going places, his mind already on the summer and next season, Jermaine Defoe not happy about his sub-spot, and several other players disgruntled. This could be a perfect opportunity for the Blues to capitalise on a match that will mean more than their Carling Cup victory if they get a result.
Lastly, I unfortunately don’t see Wigan beating Stoke, but I said the same thing last week against West Ham, and I had further evidence when the Hammers went 2-0 up. Martinez’s men bounced back though and relegated Avram Grant and his team. Stoke are in form, but Martinez might be able to pull it off again.
We’ll have to wait until tonight to determine that. In the mean time, who do YOU think will beat the drop? Who are you relegating?
Wigan just need to go. I have been watching them for however many years they’ve been in the EPL, and they don’t offer anything special to the league. They are not a footballing town; not one of their home matches is ever filled up, and no disrespect to the supporters that do actually go, but they aren’t anything special. I appreciate the fact that Roberto Martinez has tried to establish and maintain an attacking mindset, but Wigan simply put are not fun to watch, whereas someone like Blackpool are. Blackburn should avoid the drop due to the decent side they possess, but what was Venky’s thinking when they sacked Big Sam? They were doing fantastic in the league, and while like you said Steve Kean is ok, he doesn’t have his players performing in the manner that Allardyce did.
Wigan just need to go. I have been watching them for however many years they’ve been in the EPL, and they don’t offer anything special to the league. They are not a footballing town; not one of their home matches is ever filled up, and no disrespect to the supporters that do actually go, but they aren’t anything special. I appreciate the fact that Roberto Martinez has tried to establish and maintain an attacking mindset, but Wigan simply put are not fun to watch, whereas someone like Blackpool are. Blackburn should avoid the drop due to the decent side they possess, but what was Venky’s thinking when they sacked Big Sam? They were doing fantastic in the league, and while like you said Steve Kean is ok, he doesn’t have his players performing in the manner that Allardyce did. However, my favorite lower league team (not so lower league anymore) in England, QPR are coming up, so I’m excited for that. I’m also excited for Norwich to be coming up simply because Jordon likes them, and we’ll all be able to delight upon his imminent Canaries posts.