There are less than ten game weeks left in the EPL, the race for the title heats up. But at the other end of the spectrum, we have a handful of teams which are vying to remain in the top league of England for another year. At the end of the day, three teams are to be relegated. Which ones will they be? Here are my picks, from the seven bottom clubs at the moment in the EPL.
1) Fulham: Change of managers has not worked with them. Felix Magath still hasn’t fit well into the team yet. Loss of Dimitar Berbatov hasn’t helped; and Kostas Mitroglou hasn’t yet fired on all cylinders. Others, like Maartin Stekelenberg and Damien Duff look very tired, playing week in week out. From the Europa League last season to relegation battles this year- the decline has been swift and steep for the Cottagers.
TO GO DOWN.
2) Swansea: The sudden sacking of Michael Laudrap, followed by the appointment of Gary Monk has been a rather difficult one, with fans at the Liberty Stadium still recovering from his sacking. The failure of last season’s delight Michu, due to constant injuries is a cause of worry; though Wifried Bony, Jonathan de Guzman and Michel Vorm have been at their best to make sure the Swans fight till the very end.
TO STAY UP.
3) Cardiff City: The Welsh team have struggled to play well under new man Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. Although five signings in the January transfer window were supposed to inject new force into the team, both Wilfried Zaha and Fabio da Silva haven’t really performed. Craig Bellamy looks a new player altogether under Solksjaer, but it will be difficult to do much damage control from here on.
TO GO DOWN.
4) Sunderland: It has been a roller coaster ride for the Black Cats this season. Perhaps the only team to have benefitted from managerial changes, Sunderland have fought their way out of the drop zone. Captain John O’Shea, Adam Johnson and striker Fabio Borini have proved to be fantastic in their roles. Their first-half performance at Wembley in the League Cup final was encouraging, with the fans back home at the Stadium of Light hopeful of enjoying another year of top-flight football.
TO STAY UP.
5) West Ham United: The Hammers look a team rejuvenated. Big Sam Allardyce has successfully got their season back on track, in spite of key player Razvan Rat leaving the club. Jussi Jaaskelainen, Mark Noble and new boy Marco Borriello have helped in their own ways. It remains to be seen whether WHU can reach the magic-40 mark.
TO STAY UP.
6) Crystal Palace: The Bluebirds have had a fairly good season since Tony Pulis took reigns at the club. Captain Stephen Jediniak and Julian Speroni, along with Jason Puncheon, have given them good games. However, their performances haven’t always translated into points, and as the games go down, there simply aren’t enough points on the board for them.
TO GO DOWN.
7) Norwich City: The Canaries started the season pretty well, but have been on a bit of a slump for some weeks now. New boys Leroy Fer and Nathan Redmond were expected to inject some much-needed pace into Norwich’s line-up, but it hasn’t shown yet. Their over-reliance on Anthony Pilkington and Robert Snodgrass is showing, and their loss in form has been co-incidental to the latter’s injury. However, Chris Houghton’s boys will look to improve as the games progress, but their position seems worrying as of now.
TO STAY UP.
Concluding this article, it’s interesting to note that I have chosen two of the three promoted teams to go back to playing second-division football. Hull City, on the other hand, have played some beautiful football, both in and away from the KC Stadium. A lower-half finish looks eminent for them.
Fulham, in stark contrast, have completely lost their season, with only a miracle capable of saving them from the dreaded drop. Also, I was personally surprised to see Swansea in such a position, given their superb run last season. They can only find fault in one thing- over-exhaustion. Due to their Europa League commitments, they have been travelling a lot. Same thing goes for Newcastle two years ago, when they were in a relegation battle.
Thus, one can only infer that European football is a double-edged sword- on one hand, you get to play at the highest level across countries, but the toll it takes on the team, especially on the key players, is a tough choice indeed.
-Mister GoogleHead [Follow on Twitter @Mr_GoogleHead]
1) Fulham: Change of managers has not worked with them. Felix Magath still hasn’t fit well into the team yet. Loss of Dimitar Berbatov hasn’t helped; and Kostas Mitroglou hasn’t yet fired on all cylinders. Others, like Maartin Stekelenberg and Damien Duff look very tired, playing week in week out. From the Europa League last season to relegation battles this year- the decline has been swift and steep for the Cottagers.
TO GO DOWN.
2) Swansea: The sudden sacking of Michael Laudrap, followed by the appointment of Gary Monk has been a rather difficult one, with fans at the Liberty Stadium still recovering from his sacking. The failure of last season’s delight Michu, due to constant injuries is a cause of worry; though Wifried Bony, Jonathan de Guzman and Michel Vorm have been at their best to make sure the Swans fight till the very end.
TO STAY UP.
3) Cardiff City: The Welsh team have struggled to play well under new man Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. Although five signings in the January transfer window were supposed to inject new force into the team, both Wilfried Zaha and Fabio da Silva haven’t really performed. Craig Bellamy looks a new player altogether under Solksjaer, but it will be difficult to do much damage control from here on.
TO GO DOWN.
4) Sunderland: It has been a roller coaster ride for the Black Cats this season. Perhaps the only team to have benefitted from managerial changes, Sunderland have fought their way out of the drop zone. Captain John O’Shea, Adam Johnson and striker Fabio Borini have proved to be fantastic in their roles. Their first-half performance at Wembley in the League Cup final was encouraging, with the fans back home at the Stadium of Light hopeful of enjoying another year of top-flight football.
TO STAY UP.
5) West Ham United: The Hammers look a team rejuvenated. Big Sam Allardyce has successfully got their season back on track, in spite of key player Razvan Rat leaving the club. Jussi Jaaskelainen, Mark Noble and new boy Marco Borriello have helped in their own ways. It remains to be seen whether WHU can reach the magic-40 mark.
TO STAY UP.
6) Crystal Palace: The Bluebirds have had a fairly good season since Tony Pulis took reigns at the club. Captain Stephen Jediniak and Julian Speroni, along with Jason Puncheon, have given them good games. However, their performances haven’t always translated into points, and as the games go down, there simply aren’t enough points on the board for them.
TO GO DOWN.
7) Norwich City: The Canaries started the season pretty well, but have been on a bit of a slump for some weeks now. New boys Leroy Fer and Nathan Redmond were expected to inject some much-needed pace into Norwich’s line-up, but it hasn’t shown yet. Their over-reliance on Anthony Pilkington and Robert Snodgrass is showing, and their loss in form has been co-incidental to the latter’s injury. However, Chris Houghton’s boys will look to improve as the games progress, but their position seems worrying as of now.
TO STAY UP.
Concluding this article, it’s interesting to note that I have chosen two of the three promoted teams to go back to playing second-division football. Hull City, on the other hand, have played some beautiful football, both in and away from the KC Stadium. A lower-half finish looks eminent for them.
Fulham, in stark contrast, have completely lost their season, with only a miracle capable of saving them from the dreaded drop. Also, I was personally surprised to see Swansea in such a position, given their superb run last season. They can only find fault in one thing- over-exhaustion. Due to their Europa League commitments, they have been travelling a lot. Same thing goes for Newcastle two years ago, when they were in a relegation battle.
Thus, one can only infer that European football is a double-edged sword- on one hand, you get to play at the highest level across countries, but the toll it takes on the team, especially on the key players, is a tough choice indeed.
-Mister GoogleHead [Follow on Twitter @Mr_GoogleHead]