Who will avoid the drop?
We're 11 games into the season for all bar Manchester United and Fulham who have one in hand on the rest, and the Premier League is shaping up for one of the most competitive ever seasons.
One of the things which is making this season so enjoyable is that the league table has been squeezed up from the bottom. Hull have quite rightly been attracting the most praise, but all the newly promoted sides have made a really good start and nobody looks like being cut adrift.
The league is so close from the bottom up that only four points separate West Brom in 19th from Everton in seventh.
In deciding to assess those clubs looking down rather than up, I couldn't resist checking on the points tallies from last season after the same number of games.
A year ago there were seven teams yet to make it into double figures. For the record they were Fulham, Sunderland, Wigan, Middlesbrough, Spurs , Bolton and Derby. One year later and only Spurs have fewer than 10 points. They may be bottom on nine points at the moment, but I don't think that even the most pessimistic White Hart Laner thinks they will stay there; such is the magic of Harry Redknapp.
Above Tottenham sit West Brom. I am sure that if you had offered Tony Mowbray 11 points from the first 11 games he would have taken it - after all, in the last 10 seasons only three sides have gone down with an average of a point a game. Yet they are still in the relegation zone.
There are good signs from Ishmael Miller and Roman Bednar for the Baggies and they have crucial games against Stoke, Wigan, Portsmouth and Sunderland before a tough-looking Christmas.
The relationship between Bolton fans and managerGary Megson has never looked a harmonious one. Actually I think Megson has done a fine job considering the club were in disarray in the months which followed Sam Allardyce's departure. Unlike West Brom, Bolton do not concede too many (less than Aston Villa at the moment) but scoring is a real problem. Johan Elmander has missed too many games to get into his stride and his goals can't come soon enough.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce seems to have unearthed the find of the summer in Amr Zaki who has the perfect foil in Emile Heskey, but there are question marks over the future of both. Wigan simply cannot afford to lose either in January. Their midfield is excellent but there are defensive problems which remain unsolved.
Fulham's problems are all away from home where they have just three wins from their last 41 Premier League games. Those three wins were the last three away games of last season when they escaped by the skin of their teeth.
Their squad looks much better this season but they must stop the rot away from Craven Cottage. A midfield of Simon Davies, Danny Murphy, Jimmy Bullard and Zoltan Gera is great to watch but I still think it may be a luxury in their position, being full of ball players rather than ball winners. You have to admire Roy Hodgson, though, for the way he is determined to play.
Some weeks Sunderland look all too ready to cave in and maybe still lack a little authority and experience, but I just can't see them being sucked into the real mire. They do need a partner for Djibril Cisse though. El-Hadji Diouf has never been a natural goalscorer and never will be.
Newcastle's soap opera has stumbled upon an unlikely hero in Joe Kinnear. One pundit labelled him a desperate appointment from a desperate club, but maybe people exuding unwarranted confidence was part of the problem. A few home truths have certainly had the desired effect so far. However, whether the club is sold and what happens next if it is will be crucial, and calamity may yet be just around the corner.
Paul Ince's first steps into top flight management at Blackburn have not all been assured. One or two transfers have raised the eyebrows as have one or two results. The January window will reveal whether some key players are ready to be tempted away but on their day they are a very capable side and should not be sweating come May.
Stoke have taken great delight in upsetting the elite. They are touchy about criticism of the way they play and I don't blame them; it's not their fault that visiting teams are panicking at the sight of a packed six-yard box as Rory Delap wipes the dirt from his hands on the touchline.
It's not all that great to watch at times but their fans couldn't care less. Actually they have some players worth keeping an eye on at Stoke and Tom Soares ,signed from Crystal Palace, looks a proper prospect. I think they are here to stay for a while so the Premier League had better get used to it.
West Ham look vulnerable to me. The squad needs thinning but how many are saleable assets at anything like the price they paid for them? I saw them at Manchester United recently and thought they were very poor; only their young substitutes Freddie Sears and Jack Collison showed the quality you would expect from some of the more established names. I am thrilled that Gianfranco Zola is back in England but managing West Ham is looking harder by the week.
That's the bottom 10 at time of writing; of those in the top half Middlesbrough, Hull and Portsmouth could yet fall away but probably not so far as to be consumed by relegation.
All 10 can make a quite reasonable claim for having what it takes to stay up, but three of them won't. Whoever goes down may be counting themselves very, very unlucky.
I’m Steve Wilson, one of the Match of the Day commentators. This season, I’ll be travelling round the country commentating on the Premier League and the Football League, as well as reporting for Football Focus. It’s shaping up to be an exciting season, culminating in the World Cup. On my blog, I’ll be sharing opinions and anecdotes and I look forward to reading your comments.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~41~RS~)
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I'd say thats a fair analysis. It's hard to say who's going down at the mo but I would love to see stoke,hull and west brom all stay up which i think theres a very good chance of. If i had to pick three it would be bye bye bolton and west ham and i would love to see newcastle go just to see the look on all those geordie faces
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Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool will definitely be playing Championship Football next season. MARK MY WORDS!
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This time Steve, you have presented a well-balanced and thoughful blog ;-).
Personally, I have no prime wish other than for Stoke (Hull and West Brom) to stay up. The pity is that 3 others will have to drop out - because this season it's a lot more exciting as the current mix is quite potent!
The sweetness of the current state of play is that all those arrogant, pompous afficianados at the start of the season were smugly assuming Stoke and the other 2 would: drop out of sight early on, no contest, etc!
The fact we've shaken and stirred their comfort zone is truly fascinating.
Makes your job on MotD easy doesn't it?
PS:
To Arsenal - Yours truly NemesisCuckoo
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Please god let Stoke be relegated. They're not exactly playing the beautiful game, are they??
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Looking at how competitive the Premier League has been this season, I expect Bolton and West Brom to go down. I'm really not sure about the third team to face the drop!
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At the risk of sounding sycophantic, you're my favourite commentator! :-)
Anyway, a good assessment of the Permier League so far. However, I don't think we'll really know who's for the drop until the end of January when the transfer window closes.
As you said, there are quite a few clubs futures that hinge on this period. West Ham look like they are going to have a fire sale and Wigan need to hang onto their 2 strikers or it may be curtains for them.
Everyone knows 'arry will get Spurs well up into the top half - his success is predictable. As is the soap opera that is Newcastle. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more twists and turns in that saga.
For some time now, I've been more interested in the relegation battle than what's going on at the top. Relegation battles are always more exciting due to the constant changing of positions - unlike the top. I think a lot of people are like this now.
Let's see what happens in January... :-)
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#4
LOL - you wouldn't be an AVFC, SFC, THFC or AFC fan would you? Or one of our potential next victims?
Now defend your statement: where precisely do Stoke play any aspect of the methods of play NOT llegitimately open to any team playing the "beautiful game"?
The term was used to encapsulate the sport you know, i.e. throw-ins, running, tackling, long-ball, short ball, beating teams, strength, stamina, skill, competitive spirit, accepting defeat without wingeing.
On the basis of the last item - a certain French person isn't playing the "beautiful game" - is he?
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Steve Wilson - loved the article, it's nice to see a man who observes and makes his own mind up dependent of the general consensus. Finally journalists are being fair to teams like Hull and particularly Stoke. Is it not fantastic that the pre-season predictions are currently being made to look foolish and premature? This is the most fascinating Premier League for years at the top and the bottom; for all the writing and talking about inequalities and vast differences in quality, this year is providing some serious shock...I just don't know who will win almost any match at the moment! Must be a betting man's nightmare! Well done for giving credit where it is due.
Evil_Stu - For gods sake, when will people like you stop harping on and on and on and on (etc) about the "beautiful game"?? The beauty of the beautiful game is in the fact that teams like Stoke CAN and DO beat the big rich boys with famous names. It's beautiful because it's a level playing field, it's diverse and it's compelling. I suppose you'd rather Arsenal had passed the ball around midfield with great technical brilliance before waiting for a positional weakness or human error and won 5-0. Well, some of the rest of us like a different beautiful game. We like a game where surprise happens, where tactics are diverse and threat can come from anywhere - yes, even a throw in. It's time people like you stopped towing the line of what you THINK is being purist, traditional and for the greater good of the game. Give these teams some credit and respect their success rather than deride it and wish for their demise.
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West Brazil to finish top of the bottom half of the table...
the beautiful game will prevail in the end!!
In Mowbray We Trust boing boing!
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Personally I would love to see the great under achievers like NUFC and Spurs go down
These 2 seem to think they are big clubs and too big and good to go down
Get down there ya dancer
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Well said number 8,the other guy must have been another pathetic whining gooner!!
wenger makes me laugh spouting on about stokes tackling. did u see van persies challenge on the keeper. horrendous challenge from an absolutely numpty!!
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Number 11 (I_amlukechadwick) - thanks mate, reckon you're right! Speaking of which, not so long ago Luke Chadwick was running up and down the wing at the Britannia Stadium....if they think Stoke are ugly now, imagine what they'd have thought then?!
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I do hope the cloggers go down. Hull, Stoke and Bolton would be good, be honest who would miss 'em?
I would have course have added Spurs, but I think they will get clear, can't have it all I suppose.
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Fulham
West Brom
Bolton
Theres the 3 i think are going down, based on what ive seen so far. Spurs wont go down, not in a week of sundays. Even with Ramos there i think they would have stayed up, the players just needed a bit of a kick up the behind.
Also, this Delap thing is hillareous. Cant believe how much attention this is getting, and why people feel somehow annoyed with this particular tactic. Pure Jokes..
Anyway man good blog ;)
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Another Gooner - who would miss them? Well, considering if it weren't for Hull and Stoke, we'd be talking about a) how bad Spurs and NUFC are and b) how great United, Chelsea and Liverpool are, I think the entire division would miss them. They've been a revelation and they've created some of the more interesting and unexpected talking points of the season. Thanks to teams like that, the PL is unpredictable again. Good on them, I would miss them if they were gone.
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Haha, chadwicks pretty little face is doing the rounds at MK Dons now. Milton Keynes lock up your daughters!!
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# 13 another whining gooner
We also played Spurs recently you know but, unlike Mr Winger et al against Stoke, Tony Pulis didn't whine, when Sorenson nearly lost his sight from a late challenge, and for other events in the game - and do please note the judicious avoidance of naming players.
Conveniently short memories of a thrilling Arsenal, in recent years, liberally laced with the worst yellow-card and sendings-off record, defines only one characteristic: hypocrisy.
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Evil_Stu - you want Stoke to get relegated because they don't play beautiful football?!
I'm no Stoke fan, but watching them beat Arsenal was pretty beautiful to me!
Good luck to Stoke, anyone who thinks they beat Arsenal because of throw-ins knows nothing about football, and the tactical complexity and phsyical effort that went into fending off a technically superior side for 90 minutes. The PL needs Stoke as much as it needs Arsenal, Man Utd or Liverpool. Diversity is vital.
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A couple of points
I don't think I whined once in my post.
My dementia makes my memory vague sometimes. The decent thing would have been not mentioning it.
My only complaint (please, not the boring whining motif again, get your own ideas just once) is the cost of the neck-braces required for away trips to the reebok, Britannia, and KFC.
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It's a bit of wish list but I'd love to see Tottenham and Newcastle relegated (even if was a dead cert that they'd be back after one season) and any one from the following
Middlesborough
Blackburn
Everton
It's about time the Premiership tree was shaken a bit. I forget the idiot's name but the guy who suggested that the Premiership should become a closed league wants his head tested. Without relegation/promotion issues throughout and at the end of the season ...what's the point?
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Anothergooner - in response to your points. Firstly, the whinging is implied in the fact that you dislike teams like Stoke so much. They actually play some nice football and without them and Hull it would be the same old Premier League of great disparities between big and small clubs. Teams like Hull and Stoke have really contributed and given English football a sense that smaller teams CAN surprise - things have got interesting again.
Secondly, a very witty remark about neck-braces. However, perhaps you should look to leadership from your bench and on the pitch for help, rather than God - who, Arsenal fans would have you believe, is fully against the Gooners. Pathetic!
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uhm, I think you mean inferred. I was neither explicitly or implicitly whining. One should check to see if that chip is still on ones shoulder.
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Hull and Stoke to stay up, their football may not be the most attractive but its winning and it gives people a talking point apart from the 'big four' (yawn).
Bolton, West Brom and Fulham down.
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When the big clubs and their fans speak out in favour of distributing money within the game in a fairer and more equal way then maybe they can start calling for the Stokes of this world to play good football. Until then I think it's great that they are using whatever tactics they can to upset the big boys and on a fraction of the budget. Anothergooner you are exibiting the classic symptoms of sour grapes and to wish for Hull's relegation is laughable given that their victory of Arsenal was prboably the highlight of the season so far and contained probably the goal of the seasonn so far.
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I honeslty think Arsenal are vunerable to the drop are only getting 1 point from relegation six pointers with Spurs and Stoke.
Its going to be a lond hard season for them..honk
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why pick on newcastle big joe is doing brilliant. Aston villa are looking for a champions league place and we beat them so a dont think we will get relegated
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As a Blackburn fan I was just picking up on one of your comments
"One or two transfers have raised the eyebrows as have one or two results..."
I think the signings (Simpson, Robinson, Grella, Andrews) have yet to settle in as they have been in and out of the side due to injuries.
Plus I think that once Ince has got a settled squad then he will string the results together.
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anothergooner,
Sorry mate, but the decent thing is off my agenda for the moment. Seems your loosing your eyesight as well as your marbles.
Lets have a look at
"I do hope the cloggers go down. Hull, Stoke and Bolton would be good, be honest who would miss 'em?"
Im sorry but that sentence just doesnt make sense.
1. Hull are not playing as cloggers, most teams that have played them have been surprised by their football and win loose or draw been more gracious post game then you lot. Just because you were out played at "your game" by an upstart "new money" club, doesn't give you the right to moan about it. Wengers comments recently have been amusing, but a lot of the fans comments...
Its like the moaning of the old aristocracy as other people started doing well for themselves.
2. Why should cloggers go down? What makes a purely physical approach to the game any less valid than a purely technical one.
Stoke will not win the PL playing their brand of football, they will however get some decent results and stay up.
I can write exactly the same sentence about Arsenal. So what if their style is "prettier"? Stokes is more spirited.
I don't see what's wrong with using the long throw weapon. If anything its more useful than a free kick as you can't be offside from a throw. Maybe you should get someone who can take them, you get caught offside quite a lot...
3. We don't want stoke back in the championship. Whilst the physical game is fine, they take it a bit too far at times. How you justify a sliding tackle, on a man off the pitch, when the ball has gone out of play, I do not know. I'm perfectly happy for Stoke to play the physical game, but just be a bit more careful eh lads? I don't think any harm was meant, but it IS dangerous, and even players who come back form injury don't always come back as the same player they were.
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For me it has to be West Brom, Fulham and Bolton to go down, if reckon that Stoke will stay up. Bolton just lack the firepower that Stoke have whilst Fulham are best their time in the Premier League and West Brom don't have much hope
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Delap's throws are something special, and should be applauded as such. It makes the game exciting to watch and they are a true test of a defence's abilities. I can harcly imagine the same negativity surrounding a dead ball specialist such as David Beckham. Delap is light years ahead of anyone else in the Premier League in terms of his ability from throw ins, just as Beckham is the best dead ball specialists I've ever seen. He can do things with the ball in his hands that nobody else can. He's unique, and in the beautiful game you can't get much more beautiful than that.
Just for the record, I'm a Liverpool fan
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28,
Now that is a good post.
Disagree with one though. Take a look at their win at West Brom, who try to play on the ground. One set piece and two great big hoofs from the keeper. It wasn't great and it's not the only example of their 'style' either.
Can't argue with two. I quite agree. After 38 games if your still in it fair play. I do think surviving in the EPL in the longer term requires more than just spirit though. One of these years Bolton are sliding through the trap door for sure.
Three's up to the referees. where the hell that leaves us I don't know.
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I would like see the following go down
Tottenham
Bolton
Tottenham
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West Ham are a good bet to go down
Dodgy defence
Lack of goalscorers that are constantly fit
When they win it's against the run of play
Otherwise they have a lot of bad luck
Have a squad full of ex-Newcastle crocks who are constantly injured
Have Lucas Neill
Need to offload in January probably without replacement
The squad has potential, but can't get out of the injury room
Shame!
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West Ham are a good bet to go down
Dodgy defence
Lack of goalscorers that are constantly fit
When they win it's against the run of play
Otherwise they have a lot of bad luck
Have a squad full of ex-Newcastle crocks who are constantly injured
Have Lucas Neill
Need to offload in January probably without replacement
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It was Phil Gartside chairman of Bolton who mentioned the idea about making the Premier League a closed shop. Shows just how much pressure he is under if they are coming out with ideas like that.
I'm a Preston North End fan and seeing sides like Hull, West Brom and Stoke cut it with the big boys gives me hope that one season we can do the same. People who deny smaller clubs like these the respect they deserve and moan about their negative tactics should really take a long hard think about what football is all about and what makes it great. It generally comes from supporters of larger clubs who think that its their devine right to steamroll teams that come up and mostly from the armchair fans who only support the big clubs because they like to associate themselves with the big clubs success. How do you honestly expect smaller clubs to play against the likes of Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea? Attack them with a 4-2-4 formation and get slaughtered?
As for Arsene Wenger he should have a bit of grace in defeat and really question the desire of some of his players because for all the so called beautiful football they play, at times this season they really are missing a workhorse in midfield to compliment fabregas. They really are missing flamini and a captain who is not a sulking whingebag like gallas.
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This year will be a high points total for relegation. West Ham were too good to go down a few years back with Cole, Johnsen, Defoe, Carrick, etc but still managed it with 42 points. However, they did have such stars as Breen and Repka in defence. Lucas Neill reminds me of Repka in that fateful season ie yellow card every game & free-kicks given away constantly in dangerous positions leading to goals
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Sorry my mails have been split. Howevre, the message is get your money on the Hammers going down, but hope that Tottenham, Bolton and Tottenham go down
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Why do Stoke seem to be getting so much earache about their approach? I havent had the opportunity to watch many of their games this season, but is it safe to assume that these long balls dont stop the oppositions teams shots on target, they dont tackle anybody, and none of them have gone directly in to the goal that I am aware of. Delap seems to be very gifted at delivering a fast and accurate throw in that benefits his team. David Beckham whips in a fast accurate ball with his foot and he is the best thing since sliced bread. When a team possesses a skill or talent that will gives it an edge, it would be foolish not to employ it. As for Hull, they seem to be a good footballing team, and it would take some sort of collapse for them to be dragged down in to the relegation battle. In an Ideal world, I would have liked Spurs and Newcastle to spend a season or two out of the premier league, just to get shot of the remaining delusions of grandeur once and for all. Unfortunately, Harry"quote of the week" Redknapp seems to be whipping spurs to safety faster than you can say "for sure" so I will take Fulham, Newcastle and the baggies, unless wigan lose Zaki and Heskey in January, whereupon they would find themselves up the creek without a paddle.
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Real quick, I'd say, no one should take the easy way and in thinking who will go down, think the last three teams at the moment save Tottenham are going down. But as for who is going down, I predicted weeks ago and before the present surge or even hiring Kinnear that Newcastle would break out of jail. West Brom may well be near bottom now but only weeks ago, they were in the top 10. I do think Stoke City will flounder and based on a lot of parity out there, they may be a shade weaker than the other teams in the long run.
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#38. Spot on! I love watching Stoke get a throw-in in the opposition's half. It's exciting and really puts the willies up the opposition's defence and goalkeeper. What Delap has is a skill that is much under-rated. Don't mock it. It's not like he is cheating, just deal with it!
Also football is not a game for namby pambies. Seems like Arsenal don't like it up 'em. They need to be giving some back. If the slick passing football is not working and the ref isn't protecting them they need a plan B which should be GIVE IT BACK
Turn the other cheek is for losers!
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hi all,
Have got to agree Steve, it looks like a tough season as regards who goes down. I think though unfortuantely Bolton's time in the premier league is up, unless elmander can find his shooting boots and stay injury free.
Like most others i cant see spurs or the toon going down, but it would be good if only to freshen up the league. my allegiances aside, its not impossible that pompey struggling with adams in charge, who hasnt really got a proven track record- especially if 'arry buys defoe, sol, james in january like ive heard. I do think though that for next season, hull and stoke will be dead certs (if they stay up this campaign) as it seems to be the trend with the so-called '2nd season syndrome'.
aside from that, im in marseille at the mo and went to watch the match vs psv. they played really well last night: allez OM!
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Laughing at Tottenham Bolton Tottenham, and I'm a Spurs fan!
Steve's spot on: you'd be hard pressed to accurately predict who's going down, there's a fair few teams that could get sucked in. I don't like to see any team go down (though I may grin on the day that Arsenal are at least involved in a relegation scrap), but if I was a Bolton, Blackburn or West Ham fan I'd be a bit worried. West Brom are by no means doomed but need to get themselves onto 20 points by Christmas. Fulham and Wigan have been here enough times in recent years to deal with a scrap, and Stoke scrap for everything!
Should all be a LOT clearer by January 31st... then again, I'd prefer it if eight teams were in danger of going down on the last day, rather than it being a 3-from-4 scenario!
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#30
I agree fully with the fact that Delap should be compared with the likes of Beckham but it is still a bit long ball tactic, but whoever said that the long ball tactic was wrong is incorrect, without it Crouch would never have got into the England Squad!
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It should be tight this season, i think Hull shall be safe though lol. Bolton, Fulham and Stoke i think are going to be relegated, though 1 out of 3 Promoted sides going down isn't that bad, but it should all change throughout the season as it goes on.
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I think Stoke (God bless them) and Hull can do enough to stay up. Like Reading, the real test may come the following season.
West Ham, Bolton and West Brom to go down is my prediction. But I'd love to be wrong about the Hammers because Zola was such a great personality when playing in England.
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If you want a clue as to who is going down, look at the goals against column. This is normally an excellent guide. At the moment the teams with the dodgy defences are
Blackburn
Stoke
West Ham
Everton
Newcastle
WBA
Hull
Man City
Portsmuff
Tottenham Hotspuds
I don't think there has ever been a season such as this for donkey defences.
This doesn't mean that Fulham, Bolton and Sunderland are safe, since they can't score for toffee.
Remember you read it here first
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I'm a West Ham fan, and I am worried, just one point from the last five games and only one goal in four. Apart from the game at Old Trafford, we're playing quite well but can't stick the ball in the net, and we have to stick a couple of wins together very soon (preferably our next tow games at home to Everton and Pompey) otherwise we will find ourselves in the drop soon and will find it hard to get out. With Ashton injured, nobody else seems to be able to score regularly (or at all!).
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i'd like to see west ham go down but i don't like wishing relegation for any team. when you think about all the players in each aquad you realise how much relegation affects a team.
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I do not think that Bolton nor Fulham will be going down this season. I know that they didn't do that well lasty season either, however, i do think that they will get out of it.
With Stoke and Hull- I am incredibally pleased for them. I think that they have played some high quality football this season and they do not deserve to go down - possibly next season though.
These are my bottom five, as it is so close this year.
Westham 18th
Wigan16th
West Brom20th
Sunderland19th
Stoke17th
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I dont want tottenham to go down even though i am a manchester united fan, i think
West Bromwich Albion
Fulham
Newcastle
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fulham fan here
think that west brom
fulham (unfortuately)
West Ham
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As much as this season has been made far more entertaining by the fact that it's very competitive - isnt that because it's somewhat mediocre?
three teams have come up and are getting results against the old order and it's hard to tell who will go down - there are no whipping boys this year
but I think that is more to do with a lot of poor quality - spurs and newcastle are obvious examples, but look at the top - only villa will really chase the top 4 this year, and only arsenal look weak out of them - unlike last year portsmouth, everton, city and blackburn are going nowhere - hull, stoke and west brom have come in as contenders because they match the poor quality of the bottom half of the table
I don't think this is a bad thing tho - i'd rather have entertainment than predictable results
anyway - as usual I think bolton or fulham could go down, hull surely can't now, and I think West Brom are the likeliest to 'boing' back down of the new 3 - the game against blackburn showed that - 2 crucial points wasted, and there aren't a lot of draws this season (hence the higher than usual scores), they need to get some wins - which stoke tend to do better
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Good Article
Based on current performance I think the three for the drop will be;
West Ham
West Brom
Fulham
Just want to say well done to Stoke and Hull for beating the Arse', it sure has wound the Gooners up on this site, lol.
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Oh and by the way who would I like to see relagated,
Arse'
Arse'
Arse'
or better still;
Tottenham
Blackburn
Newcastle
Mmmm that would make the championship worth watching next season.
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It's far too early to predict who will go down but at least this season we are seeing more of a game being made of it with both Hull and Stoke pulling off suprise wins already. Albion's next two games are Liverpool and Chelsea so the bets should be on;
£5 x 2 bets at about 20/1 each might be worth a go :-)
But in general one of the key things to look out for in struggling teams is the manager's hold on his position. Those 3 above are solid but can you say the same about the likes of Midds, Bolton, Newcastle, Fulham, Blackburn, West Ham even Portsmouth.
At the moment I would bet on at least two of those losing their manager before the end of the season.
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Its funny how people want the worst teams to watch stay up.
Id like the most boring, dull teams to go down... Although that could be anyone
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ok that would be the teams that are always last on MOTD then
Boro
Fulham
Everton
Still think that the following will go down tho
Tottenham Hotspuds
Notlob Wanderers
Tottingham
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its gona be a contest between
bolton
stoke
west brom
fulham
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Good article until the comment about Tom Soares. As someone who's seen him many times, Tony Pulis is going to have a tough job keeping the lazy side out of Soares' game.
The Soares that would let a ball in front of his foot run out for an opposition throw started the season at Palace, and most fans weren't that bothered by him going.
Overall Stoke have a decent squad though, and as long as their throw-ins continue to be effective, then they might stand a decent chance of still being in the top flight next season.
Good luck to them; seeing promoted sides doing so well gives all of us in the Football League hope.
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I expect to see the usual Midlands 'Double Drop' scenario - and both the Baggies and Stoke to go down. (Two Midlands teams always go down).
Hope I'm wrong.
It would be nice to have more Midlands clubs in the PL and less clubs from either London or the NW.
It'd be good to see Bolton, Wigan and West Ham go. Or Spuds instead of West Ham. Dont mind which.
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Evil_stu, stop using 'Please God' all the time. You are Evil and should not be calling for him. He told me he wants nothing to do with you. He/she/it hasn't forgiven you for supporting a crappy team who can't take pressure or losing. Good old Stoke. Admit it, it was men against Ladies last Saturday.
Here is my prediction for relegation:
West Brom
Bolton
Sunderland
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I made a mistake, i meant to say:
West Brom
West Ham
Bolton
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My three for the drop:
Stoke City
West Brom
Bolton
I just think that eventually the amount of goals from throw-ins for Stoke might dry out, for example, if Delap, or even Fuller gets injured, then if the rest of the season carries on like the start of it (7 of Stoke's 13 goals have come from a Delap rocket-throw) then where would the majority of Stoke goals come from?
Sorry, but that is my view, and i urge Stoke to prove me wrong.
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It is indeed too early to make relegation predictions. Even before Christmas the composition of the bottom could easily be radically changed. There are teams currently in the perceived saftey of mid-table who can still get dragged in But the January transfer window further complicates prediction. Those 'in trouble' could make useful additions, whilst those 'safe' could lose important players - either way seasons could still change suddenly.
Nonetheless, I'd prefer it if the likes of Spurs, Newcastle, Man City, West Ham and Everton kept themselves well clear of trouble. I'm of the view that love or hate these clubs, they still represent the best hope of the big four being broken up on a more sustained basis in the medium term. They all have big support, and currently have or are seeking large stadiums (i.e. 40,000+). As for past success, remember that Chelsea's contribution to English football was a mere footnote until about 10 years ago.
Lose any of these clubs from the EPL and the big 4 will be further strengthened to the point they could be talking European Super Leagues in a few years time.
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64#
good comment
the pl would never be the same without these teams. Newcastle are in the same state chelsea were in 10 years ago and spurs are just having no luck these teams dont even deserve to go down
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I think this is a fairly unbiased blog to all of the sides that are battling for the drop. Wigan should be safe along with the mighty Potters (hope so anyway).
We will cause alot of teams trouble this year and if we get Valencia's Nikola Zigic in the January window players of the opposition will find it even harder to deal with us with a 6ft 8" striker.
We are here to stay so the rest of the Premier League better ease off the criticism because we don't take it too well, that is if you already know your going to be Delaped.
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#65
To be honest, as it is we already have no Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday nor Nottingham Forest. Even these clubs appear a long way off a PL return. Again these clubs have strong historical success and/or big city support bases. If these clubs were in the PL we'd perhaps be placing these in the same category of the clubs mentioned in #64.
In the meantime clubs like Wigan, Bolton, Fulham, Portsmouth, Stoke, Hull and WBA can only make up the numbers at best (maybe with the odd venture into the top 10). I know this sounds elitist, but if the PL is to become more competitive on a sustained basis, we need the best equipped clubs there. I apologise to the footballing romantics when I say that these mainly derive from big cities AND possess stadiums with minimum capacities of around 30,000. Yes, clubs must still earn the right to be in the PL, but from a footballing point of view I believe that the current make up of PL clubs is imbalanced and will exacerbate the power of the big 4, over time.
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Look it's not about who you would like to stay up but who is going to stay up. A lot of people write for the sake of writing but know nothing about football. So stop being long winded and shut up.
West Brom has no depth and presently is not good enough to stay up.
West Ham can play good football one day and rubbish the next. Their financial crisis will force them to sell in January and that will leave them sadly short of good players to cope with a relegation battle.
Bolton have some good players but have been under performing for far too long now and I think under the manager the players' motivation is not really there. In the end the quality in the squad is really not premiership standard.
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"They do need a partner for Djibril Cisse though."
How can it be hard to forget our best player in Kenwyne Jones.
Disappointing.
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Good article and discussion. As a Blackburn fan I'm a tiny bit concerned - the defence is struggling and we lack for goals, which is not a good combination. The danger for Ince is that in trying to make us play more attractive football, he may be losing out on the grit which used to characterise out play, especially against the 'big' teams. I hope relegation's not going to be an issue, but I wouldn't rule it out just yet, sadly.
Otherwise, delighted that Hull and Stoke are confounding the patronising punditry. I fear this will be a season too far for Fulham and I would not shed any tears if Bolton succumbed. But on the whole, I'd like to see a "big" team (eg. Tottenham, West Ham) get relegated. It's not that I bear those clubs any particular animosity, but a Premierleague where Hull stay up and Spurs (or whoever) go down might just be one which has a little bit more to do with football, and a little bit less to do with money, than we've become used to.
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I think, having read all the serious predictions that it would be worth a punt to name Fulham, West Brom, Bolton and an-other to go down and place the bet as a yankee.
That's 11 bets with the possibility of a treble and three doubles.
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If you want a clear picture of who is going down, look at the goals against column on the table. This is normally an excellent guide. At the moment the teams with the chicken defences are
Blackburn
Stoke
Man City
Portsmort
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham
Everton
Newcastle
WBA
Hull
I don't think there has ever been a season with such marooned defenses and also compare goals scored against with that of last season.
This doesn't mean that Fulham, Bolton and Sunderland are safe, since they can't score goals.In short till the last week of December.
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Yeah,
A pink frock for the team of ladies. I think ladies have more spirit than they do so it is an insult to put them in the same bracket as the pretty players and their manager.
Hope Stoke, Hull, West Brom do well.
Congratulations to Hull on the ManU game, what spirit, what persistence. Am looking forward to the Stoke game. If we are beaten, well, that's why the game is interesting. Look at Celtic and what they did last night.
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the teams to go down will be West Brom, Bolton & Stoke. Mark my words!
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West brom, Fulham and Bolton to go down..
its really refreshing to see the smaller teams like stoke and Hull giving shock to Big Boys in PL.. its been same old story in PL for the last couple of seasons! same top 4 ( yaaaaaaaawwn) nothing intersting at top end of the table but its xiting to see these smaller teams teaching them a lesson or two!! I would love to see Hull and stoke stay UP only b'cos of their dedication and spirit to play for thier badge unlike these millionares trying to play safe and never gives 100 % to avoid injuries to re-negotiate thier mega million deals coming next may!! arsenal is not going to win any thing sooon if they play ' beautiful ' game and it cannot be considered as an achievement if they finish 4th this season but for Hull and stoke staying up by playing thier physical game is going to be a great acheivement!! Infact Hull already overachieved this season!
just for record am an aresenal Fan
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It is far too easy to talk about the relegation battle. I remember years ago Sheffield Wednesday being top of the league after eight games and getting relegated so who knows. Think Bolton are in trouble already though and probably West Brom. Would love it if Sunderland went down too. Roy Keane is one the worst managers in the league. 5 million on Chopra. haha
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Post 22 - anothergooner. No, I think I meant implied, it means very much the same as inferred when used in this context - nice try though mate. One should check one's information when one intends to patronise, shouldn't one. As for the chip on my shoulder, what would that chip be there for? Are you implying (or, should I say inferring) my jealousy of Arsenal? As a United fan I'm not sure why I would have that chip because I'm neither jealous of Arsenal nor worried that they're about to threated United's title bid. As far as chips on shoulders go, do you not think your criticism of Hull and Stoke might suggest it is in fact YOU who has a chip on their shoulder? Just because you can't admit you deserved to lose against these teams, even though, surely, with your superior brand of football and world-class players you should have won. Get a grip mate, give teams credit when they beat you fair and square. Good luck in the race for 4th place.
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Why do people believe everything they read. For the record a vast majority of Newcastle fans don't think we are a 'big' club, we have a big following and hope for success, what's wrong with that, doesn't everyone???
The only time Newcastle have struggled this season is when we were without a manger, our record with a manager reads P8, W3, D3, L2, these include away games against Man Utd and Arsenal. In my opinion thats not bad form.
Any 3 of the following 4 to go down...Fulham, Stoke, WBA, Bolton.
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I understand that West Brom are taking a lot of stick and should be going down.
But because this EPL season is going to be the tightest season in years, who knows who'll go down?
I'm not going to moan, but it's still early days at the moment.
Out of 11 games, west brom have got 11 points with a 3-2-6 record.
All we need, is some time in the january transfer market to find a natural goalscorer, then we'll be up and running.
We play beautiful football, and was once called the 'arsenal of the championship'.
That's got to mean something right?
Since last year, we've sorted out our defense and have a very decent keeper between the sticks.
Our main problem is Defensive errors
Once this is solved, we'll be back to winning days.
Conclusion to this..
my three to go down has to be:
Fulham
Bolton
Newcastle.
BUT this is only if kinnear does not succeed as interim manager and the club is in turmoil for further months.
otherwise,
West Ham
as they are injury struck and players need more time to settle with Zola.
They have had to adjust their style of play to a more attacking approach since being with Zola, and it may not be working out as well as it planned.
Then again, as i said earlier, it is only early days, this could be a very competitive season and im sure the three teams that do end up going down will be kicking themselves!
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Why on earth do so many 'fans' want to see the likes of Newcastle and Tottenham relegated?
Surely it's better playing ambitious teams in full, noisy stadiums with a bit of history than some of the teams with no past and half empty characterless stadiums?
I'm a newcastle fan and I've never heard another newcastle fan say we have a right to win the league. What we do demand, in return for the years we've been following the team with our hard-earned money is at least a match in commitment on the pitch and fulfilling potential.
Not sure why this to so much jealousy or loathing - surely everyone wants the best for their team?
West Brom, Fulham and Blackburn for me. Hull need to be careful next year if you look at the history of teams who surprise in the first year.
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A Stoke City fan showed me (pre-season) a text he had received from a colleague. The text claims that Richard Branson had declined Stoke's request for shirt sponsorship because he didn't feel comfortable with putting "Virgin" on the shirts of a team that was going to get scr*wed every week ...
Subsequent results show that the refusal was misjudged. Now, if the sponsorship had been requested by Spurs (up until 2 weks ago?) ...
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Steve - at least let us know who you think will go down rather than sitting on the fence. I think West Brom, West Ham and Bolton
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I really hope Stoke stay up. They might not be playing "the beautiful game", but they are playing the game well.
Take the Arsenal game for example. They scored from two throw-ins. Arsenal can play pretentious attractive football all day long for all I care but if they end up with less goals than the other team, then its not good football.
Football is about scoring goals and there is no right or wrong way to do it. They all count and so credit to Stoke for making use of their strengths. If they stay up this season then they can build on it next year and the more attractive football can come over time.
They don't have the resources that teams like Arsenal do so you can't expect them to turn up and try and play the way Arsene Wenger wants them to. Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool all play good attractive football so its Arsenal that need to change, not teams like Stoke.
Hopefully West Brom and Bolton will go down, they bring nothing new or exciting to the premier league at the moment.
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Can no-one else see wigan going down? They may have Zaki till the end of the season but they may have a tough time holding on to Heskey.
As the blog mentions they have a decent midfield but I believe Heskey is a huge part of that team who is also enjoying a fantastic run in the England squad. They may try and hold on to him but with his contract coming to a close they may be forced to sell him in order to make some cash from this.
I just think without heskey wigan will be lacking in something which will result in a huge dip in their current form.
As for my other picks I am thinking West Brom and Fulham.
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Stoke is unlikely to make it as I don't think they have enough against a lot of the mid table teams. The physical game and throws have given results so far. But physical only takes you so far and someone will find a way to take care of the throw-ins.
By the way, how close are you allowed to stand in front of the thrower? I mean if you can get close enough, you may be able to intercept or at the very least force the thrower to give the throw more of an arc rather than the flat ones we keep seeing, right?
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At 84.
Heskey may have been great for England but he's been terrible for Wigan this season.
We've played all our football on the deck and Heskey suits more long ball so he's not needed.
Sell him in January hopefully and get a replacement who's quick and nippy.
Heskey doesn't suit Wigans style, we've looked more threatening upfront when he's not played.
Our midfield has got bags of quality and outside the top 4 is one of the best.
In Kirkland we have one of the best keepers in the league.
Defensively apart when Scharners not played we've been solid. He's been dire this season. Edman is back soon aswell and he's a quality player.
Get rid of Scharner and Heskey in January and get replacements and anything less than top 10 will be criminal with Wigans current squad.
Bar the Villa and Fulham games we've been excellent this season and not get the results we've deserved points wise. We've got a decent run of fixtures till late January so hopefully the Portsmouth game will be the turning point and we'll put a few wins together. After all the leagues so congested that a back to back wins could put you 7th.
The leagues not taken shape yet, usually it happens by now so wait until December before you start to get teams settling into positions.
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I meant to say:
Defensively apart from when Scharners played we've been solid. He's been dire this season. Edman is back soon aswell and he's a quality player.
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It's so hard to predict who is going down this year, usually you'd say 2 of the promoted teams and one other. But this year, all the promoted teams seem capable whilst traditionally bigger teams are struggling. I think we can take Spurs and NUFC out of the equation, whatever happens I don't think these teams will go down because they have too much quality. I don't know why people particularly want these teams to go either, teams like these make the premier better because they fill big stadiums with passionate fans.
If I were to predict, at this stage I'd probably go for Fulham 18th Bolton 19th WBA 20th. That'll be wrong I have no doubt, but I really hope Stoke and Hull stay up. Hands up who said the Championship was a poor league last year? And that the promoted teams would have no chance? Ooops!
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I am West Ham fan and looking at the leauge we are mid table and only 2 points off the rel zone. I feel we do not have what I would call a world class player or just a player who stands out. We need to get a player like Tevez, and get rid of all the dead wood. So I think West Ham will be one of the teams relegated and I hope the Yides go with us as well. But I think it will be us bolton and west brom.
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What people forget about Hull, compared to
other promoted teams is that they went out and signed 13 players including 9 internationals to play alongside their existing 5 internationals. Maybe not all household names, but all hugely experienced. All have points to prove and even Scolari has suggested that the re-invigorated Geovanni could well be worthy of a recall to the Brazilian squad. On his performance at Old Trafford on Saturday, Bernard Mendy must have raised eyebrows at PSG and within the French heirarchy. Stelios Giannakopoulos wishes to extend his Greek international career. Kamil Zayatte and Daniel Cousin are established national players, with the former probably the BPL "find" of the season, especially as he is being played out of position. For a defensive midfielder he is rapidly showing he is an outstanding centre-back. George Boateng, with all his experience, is showing it game after game. And let's not for get the player who first captained the Tigers in the bottom flight, led them through 3 promotions and is captaining them in the BPL. Ian Ashbee has had his ability to "step-up" with each successive promotion questioned by pundits and supporters alike. He has done it every time. Phil Brown might be a rookie manager, but he has the vastly experienced Brian Horton whispering constantly in his ear. Hull spent under £7m during the summer, which will be matched in January when the 3 loanees sign permanent contracts. Plus Brown has earmarked up to 5 more players. His criteria are simple. They must be hungry for success, willing to work hard, put team before themselves, plus have experience and ability. The only time they have come really unstuck this season (the oft quoted 0-5 to Wigan) was when they were decimated with injuries and suspensions and played what was effectively the CCC team.
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I am a Bristol City fan and went to the playoff final V Hull City... on the way to the game and as i drove back i must have said atleast 100 times that whoever won would come straight back down with 0 points along with Stoke and be a bigger embarressment than Derby.... I am so glad that i was wrong - Stoke and Hull are proving that there is a point to trying to get promotion from the Championship and not just then "doing a Watford" and not trying to improve - and just taking the money.... I think this is great and i love what it is doing to the league!
This is brilliant - and as for the never ending amount of Gooners that go on and on about the beautiful game - i love the way you lot can only remember back as far as 1996... as far as i can remember even the holy arsenal weren't playing as beautifully before Wenger.... infact you were often derided as being boring and winning ugly!
and ontop of that... to moan about the "treatment" dealt out to Arsenal players is crazy.... football is a contact sport - and there are officials to make sure people don't over step the mark - if the "treatment" was half as bad as Wenger makes out (btw i think he is a great manager) then teams would end up with multiple sendings off everytime they play the gunners - and infact i think the stats show that Wengers Arsenal have had more than their fair share of sendings off and bookings....
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I'd love to see Arsenal go down.
Bunch of pansies.
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#91
For a closer inspection of the 'unfair' treatment that Arsenal have received, a quick peek at the fouls suffered table tells a story. Arsenal are 13th.
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I would like to make 2 main points.....
People will always have their own opinion and they are entitled to it, however, for saying that the likes of Stoke are not playing the beautiful game is ludicrious. If you saw their game against Arsenal they were tactically almost perfect.... does this not constitute playing the game correctly? The problem i have with the likes of Arsenal is that they doen't react well to the physical side of the game, yes i will concur that they do play very attractive football when given the space and the freedom, but they don't like it when the physical aspect comes in to it.
Anyway i digress..... i think Stoke, West Brom and particularly Hull have been a breath of fresh air for the premirship, Hull's game against Man Utd was a particular highlight for me. Even as a Chelsea fan i will say this, I love watching entertaining football and Hull's brand seems to fit the bill.
As for the relegation dogfight, it will be very interesting as the season gets to what is undoubtadly the hardest time of the season (Xmas period) how the likes of Fulham, Bolton, West Ham (although, i would like them to stay up) and so on will get through it.
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This is the first time I've posted on here. Sunderland supporter, I come in peace!! Right oh first of all I hope the mags stop up, who wants to not have the best game of the season?
I fear for Sunderland this season, a lot of pundits seem to think we've bought too well to go down, but I'm not too sure. It seems like a fair few of our players think they are a bit better than they are and they can pass their way to safety and that's good enough.
That brings me back to Stoke - I watched our game with Stoke last week - there was nothing 'illegal' about their approach, they have a lot of big lads in the team and they simply bullied us from playing our passing game, except for Keiran Richardson the midfield all bottled it, simple as that. Now I've no complaints about being beaten, I just think the style of football is awful to watch, the same goes for Bolton. Wigan used to be like that but old cushion head has changed that and they get it down and pass.
I hope the following go down
West Ham
Bolton
Stoke
But I think it will
be
Sunderland
West Ham
Stoke
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Have just seen that Stoke have to go to The Emirates on the last day of the season. Could be a very interesting if Stoke need a win there to survive.
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Blackburn, Bolton and West Brom for the drop
But Id prefer WBA to stay up and either Fulham or Newcastle to go down
Such boring teams to watch
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West Brom
Bolton
Fulham
in no particular order
the way things are going it would be nice to see the Wninging whining Gooners there. They play great football at times but it is getting very boring when they lose or concede goals or dont score. Its either the Refs fault, bad tackling, naivity, linesman, the other manager, injuries, premier schedule (as foreign teams dont have a league do they !) etc etc but never ever their fault. and Wenger never gives any praise to the opposition.
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Isn't it a bit early in the season for this kind of article ? For example, take Fulham last season : they were doomed with only a few weeks of the season left but managed to pull-off a remarkable escape. Therefore, who knows what will happen ? .... And that's excatly why we love the game !
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94 - crazyteknohed - great stat mate!!! although try getting any gooner to see sense on this subject is difficult... as they often just start rolling around on the floor saying it is unfair that you have stepped within 10 feet of them and that your style of standing / talking is ruining their beautifulness... lol
97 - good point - although once again ... if Arsene is actually correct i don't think we have any chance of making it to the last game of the season as we will be lucky if there are any Arsenal players alive by the last game of the season as the horrible nasty treatment they get will surely simply mean they would have all been murdered by the nasty people who play for Bolton, Wigan, Hull, Blackburn...basically anyone who isn't arsenal...
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#84. There is a rule regarding throw ins that you have to be 2 metres away from the thrower when he releases the ball. Dermot Gallagher was on Sky Sports News explaining that referees are having to be very careful with this rule, as when taking the throw in, you only have to be within 10 yards (I think) of where the ball crosses the line so encroachment is something they have to watch out for.
I expect plenty more debate around this, but isn't it great that someone's brought something new to the Premier League.
Now if only they could sort out the ridiculous offside rule nonsense. Inactive my a***!
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Sorry, I meant #85
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It would be interesting to see how many of the posters on here have seen any football this season.
I watch lots of it on tv and the net so have a pretty good idea of who should be worried.
The 3 worst teams so far this season have been Fulham, West Ham and Stoke.
West Brom will be looking over their shoulders all season long.
Newcastle should be ok, but if morale starts to faulter again, they will struggle.
Sunderland have enough about them, but they need to pick up the results.
Bolton have been playing good quality football, but until the strikers get a run of games their scoring prowess remains to be low.
Blackburn should be safe no problems.
Boro need to look to home form to help them.
Spurs, will be revived by Harry, although other than Spurs fans I think most would love them to go down.
Everton are the same as Spurs, to see a few established teams struggling and possibly going down is brilliant for the excitement, but I'm sure the Toffees quality will prevail.
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Forgot Wigan, who if they lose their strikers in Jan, could face a testing 2nd half of the season.
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Although it is too early to tell really, especially as it's so tightly packed this year, if I had to stick my neck on the line I'd say the bottom 3 will be Bolton, West Brom and maybe West Ham.
West Ham seem to be pretty poor recently and with all the financial troubles what will their squad look like come the end of January?
I've never been impressed by Gary Megson and while Bolton's performance last week was an improvement, they're still not the most impressive of teams!
West Brom, from what I've seen are starting to play a bit better and are capable of a good performance but can they do it on a consitent basis?
Just because Stoke and Hull (especially) have had good starts doesn't mean they can't be dragged into it either. Similarly, just becuase Newcastle and Spurs are established top-flight teams, doesn;t mean they're too big to go down. although, I can't see it happening to Spurs.
One thing's for sure it's gonna be exciting come April/May time!
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Also forgot Wigan! If they lose Heskey and Zaki they could be in trouble.
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Spurs fan here
Spurs have never believed we were too good to go down which is why we got Harry in and lost Ramos.
I believed Ramos was a better long term bet as a manager, but he wasn't communicating with the players and in the Premiership you don't have the luxury of waiting for manager to learn English.
The consequences of the drop are too awful to contemplate so Spurs will doubtless splash out in January....I think that would be a gamble as new players will take time to settle before any impact.
Spurs though will be fine
I go for
Fulham
Bolton
West Ham/Brom
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Good point about putting someone in front of the long throw, surely if someone was 6 feet in front of Delap and jumped as he releases the ball he wouldnt be able to get as much purchase on the throw?
I forgot about WBA I think they could well go down, now Mowbray is a muppet of a manager, he seems to think the players he has can outpass most teams in the division, I mean come on, they only just won the Championship and I think Stoke and Hull have better players than them, especially upfront, Ismael Miller can't even stay on his feet let alone score many goals.
Yes I have watched a fair bit this season and I play regularly!
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Spurs fan here...
Firstly, let's not forget we are still bottom of the league. We can't say we are safe at all yet, although hopefully we will be come the new year. It's so tight that anything could happen. Redknapp will hopefully buy in a couple in January (Defoe, Diarra, Kranjcar would all be very nice!).
These are the teams I really, really hope go down...
Stoke - sorry to their fans on here, but they need to go. Read the good point on F365 - why isn't Delap getting done for time wasting taking 30+ seconds on throw ins?
West Ham - a spiteful one, would be great to see them go again though, and they are looking weak.
Bolton - would be great to finally get rid of them...
I think it will probably be: Bolton, West Brom and Fulham.
We aren't safe though, don't forget that fellow Spurs.
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#104 and 105 garyma76
i would be very surprised if it was the case that no-one on this blog other than yourself has actually never watched a game... and as you quite emphatically say - you watch a lot of games on the TV... i would also be surprised if there was no-one else on this blog that didn't have a TV either....
anyway - thanks for giving us your absolutely brilliant insight into all the teams you have mentioned - i am sure that others, like me, thank you for singlehandedly taking the time out to educate me about football based on your priveledged and rare media of "the TV"
now please, before you get back in your box, advise us on any other opinions you would like to get off your chest to us mere mortals without TV or any football watching experience....
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FAO fingerbob69 and post no.20.
Why would you like to see Everton go down then pal? Are you some sort of glory hunter from Analfield who has probably never set foot in Liverpool?
Keith Mc
EFC
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To be fair, it's hard for him to be from Anfield and never set foot in Liverpool.
Does he hover?
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105 and 107
Wigan wont lose zaki they have him on loan for a season. I think he is enjoying himself so will at least see out the loan deal. At the end of the season though who knows what will come of him.
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Personally I'd love to see Bolton, Stoke and Fulham take the plunge. particularly Bolton and Stoke for the way they play the game. nobody wants to see games where long ball (and long throw) football is used to bully more skillful teams out of games, particularly at the highest level of English football. Its always pleasing when you do see these sides get totally outclassed by good football. I think my thoughts are backed up by the fact that Stoke and Bolton have been shown the least on TV this season.
Anyway enough of that rant, I actually think the teams for the drop will be West Brom, Stoke and one from Wigan, Fulham and Bolton (hopefully the latter)
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As it's too early to predict the champions, It's also too early to predict who's going down!
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It will come down to injuries of the usual suspect squads.
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For me Bolton and Fulham from the established names should go. Bolton are depressing to watch, scrappy and lacking quality coming forward though you can't knock the defensive record. Fulham, yes they do try to play the ball around but in reality they lack goal threat, the defence has always been shaky and in all honesty thy look weaker every year, I think a year out of the top flight to build a committed squad before coming back up in one or two seasons would be best.
As for the third side, it's tough to call. Stoke, in all honesty lean heavily on Delap but they play some decent football and Fuller looks a good forward. West Brom just look poor to me, in all areas, and where they've got something the opposition just haven't put them away, rather than their own achievement, Newcastle can pick up from here or get embroiled again and drop, and I think the consensus is that Spurs will survive.
Ideally Bolton, Fulham and West Brom but I wanted those two out last year and we lost Birmingham (who played very well under McLeish) and Reading (who I always liked for some reason, probably Coppel's honesty) while the worse teams survived.
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113. At 2:03pm on 06 Nov 2008, Tundra_Boy wrote:
To be fair, it's hard for him to be from Anfield and never set foot in Liverpool.
Does he hover?
In response to the rib-tickling wit of Tundra_Boy, my point was, is fingerbob69, like quite a lot of glory-hunters who follow the Liverpool Red Sox franchise, a non-Merseyside dweller?
Is that easier for you to comprehend Turda_Boy? If not let me know and I will see if I can arrange for somebody like Joey Deacon to explain it to you.
Keith Mc
EFC
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Alright mate, chill out...just pulling your leg. I do know what you were saying, don't worry, but if he's from Anfield he's been to Liverpool!
And if we are talking rib tickling, "Turda Boy" is right up with my comment :p.
Also, I don't know who Joey Deacon is...
In summary...it's just light hearted.
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Spurs Fan here ...
I for one, really hope we get a decent run going and reasults going our way ! I for one would love to see the following teams to go down ..
Newcastle
West Sham
Stoke
But I think it will be
West Sham
Fulham
Stoke
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why does everyone think newcastle will go down as we dont think we are a big club but we used to be back to the point as 80# said its our hard earend money that goes into this club (last year) filling the stadium every week. This thing with mike ashley will sort its self out as he will need to sell the club it is a similair situtation with spurs as they are just having a turn of fortune just 2 years ago they just missed out on a champions league spot to arsenal on the final day of the season. I personnally think that juade ramos was not the right manager for spurs. If bolton get a good manager back in charge i dont think that they will get relegated espicially if sam allerdace comes back
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I think the Premier league would be vastly improved if Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United were relegated.
How great it would be to see those egos redistributed over the remaining teams. Watch the superstars desert their teams for Wigan, Stoke and Hull (if they would have them)
However back on planet Earth I would hazard a wild guess on:
Bolton
West Brom
Fulham
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Why are so many still saying Hull will go down ? have these people looked at the table ? they might only need 16-20 points already. Even if the drop off which surely they will, it would take about 8 teams to turn around the points gap and that' not going to happen. If it does the 3rd from bottom would need to go down on 45-47 point and that won't happen.
I'm not a Hull fan BTW they beat my team luckerly 0-3 :-)
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I'm worried for Wigan. I feel that Heskey has one more move in him (I foresee an unsuccessful return to Anfield) and Zaki's form is likely to drop off. Even if it doesn't, a larger side will pick him up in January. I hear Chelsea are after a new striker?
I'm far, far less optimistic about their "excellent" midfield than the author.
Plus the less said about their defence, the better.
Fulham have been performing better than their results suggest, however I think that they have been overachieving. How you overachieve and under perform at the same time, I'll never know but Fulham have cracked the formula.
I think Sunderland should be safe; Keane has bought very well, acquiring Premiership-standard personnel, rather than relying on Championship folk. He seems to be getting the best out of an increasingly impressive Cisse.
Spurs have finally come to their senses and have gone a long way in removing the embarrassing tag.
West Ham could struggle; early results for Zola are far from positive and ownership and other backroom related issues hardly help.
West Brom will always find it tough in the Premiership. I don't think they will ever get rid of the "Boing Boing Baggies" nickname.
I expect Elmander to come good for Bolton and for them to do just enough to escape.
As for Hull, they have been nothing short of superb and a welcome breath of fresh air.
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CarefreeCoors - I agree about Wigan, I'm not convinced by their 'excellent' midfield at all. No matter how many times Bruce tells the world Palacios is the best player he's ever seen it still wont make him any good. But Heskey and Zaki and a good keeper in Kirkland will keep them up I think. I'm less convinced than you that Heskey is off to Anfield by the way...
To go down:
Portsmouth
West Brom
Stoke
Portsmouth may be the surprising prediction, but I genuinely believe it, especially as Hull are so much better than expected. Tony Adams is a manager in the McClaren mode - a decent coach who on promotion to being a manager is already trying to act as if he the wisdom of Wenger & Ferguson combined. He hasn't got a clue. Portsmouth will slowly sink between now and January, mercenaries like Diarra and Kranjcar will disappear then, and the freefalll will begin by March.
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I think the following teams are good candidates for the drop:
West Brom
Wigan
Fulham
How I'd love to be able to say I'm gunner see Arsenal go down. Wenger's whiney display of poor sportsmanship is more than I can stand. He would be better consigned to the Championship where, after all - no one can hear you scream... This is the man who said of Hull that they wouldn't even make an inpact in the Portugese competition and who also said that he was humiliated and embarrassed when Hull turned them over. He should be getting used to that by now!
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LOL
I think number 25 was high!
(Or he might just be a bit slow, who knows)
OH and for the article i reckon West Brom, Boltan and i would say fulham but they always seem to miss it so il go for Wigan even with Zaki i just think there deffence is to poor.
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No.8..
You,my friend,are spot on.i couldnt have said it any better myself! well done.good article and i hope Hull, and Stoke stay up... dont know about West Brom.. sorry!
I think its fantastic that Stoke can mix up the big boys by just having a player with a long throw... brilliant
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my bet is on west ham, west brom and stoke to down
west ham will go down because of their finacial crisis
west brom are just no capable of pl football that is not to say that they are not playing good football it is that because biggar clubs have bigger players but if you have a good team spirit eg hull you will go further up the table
stoke will lose out on a last day fight to stay up between them wigan if the cant get a replacemnet for zaki who looks like he might leave in january and unfourtunatly newcastle because of fat ashley but joe is doing good right now. i think bolton will struggle to but a replacement in maneger might spark a revelution like what happened to spurs. portsmouth might get dragged in to the relegation dog figth because radknapp has left but tony adams will do good for them but it mite be after a run of 3 or 4 defeats in a row
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Spurs will be fine, Harry will take them to mid table.
West Brom though I think will be in trouble. Looking at them, it's difficult to see where their goals are going to come from. So I think they'll end up going back down.
Bolton have the same problem and I think they'll go down too.
Joining them, in the end, I think will be Stoke. A great start, but when teams start dealing with the Delap throw in, they'll struggle.
So they're my three to take the dreaded drop.
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I think that it's shaping up to be the closest relegation battle for years, but from what I have seen so far this season, my view on the three for the drop, for what it's worth, is:
Bolton: I really like Gary Megson, and would love them to stay up - I just can't see it
Fulham: I'd also love to see Fulham stay up too; I have a lot of time for Roy Hodgson
West Brom: typical West Brom - lovely football, but don't hurt the opposition enough
I'd like to add 'well done Joe Kinnear'. I felt sorry for him when he went to Newcastle; so much undeserved flack (what was he supposed to do? Turn the opportunity down?), but has shown that with hard work and enthusiasm, you can win people over. I love to see an underdog do well, so long may it continue. It's good to have you back Joe.
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if i could choose a team to go down, it was have to be arsenal. for 2 reasons, arsene wenger is a whinging prat, for crying outloud just except defeat for once of atleast come up with a good excuse. also the PL is one of the most physical and fast paced league so stop running round like pansies and take a bit of contact like a man or run off back to the foreign league MOST of you came from!!!!
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The main message of this excellent article is that the competition is so fierce this season that no clear team or teams have thus far emerged as clear cut favourites for the drop, unlike previous seasons.
This is very true as Tottenham recently found out that despite winning 7 out of possible 9 points of their last three Premier league games yet they are still at the bottom and may need to maintain the same level of results, if they could, for the entire month of November and some of December to get out of their embarrassing position.
I believe this fierce competition will continue unabated till after the Christmas programme. But even then, there would be a fierce battle amongst no less than 6 to 7 teams contesting the relegation dog fight.
Very exciting indeed.
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west brom, wigan and stoke.
you read it here first*
*but dont put any money on it....
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nothing to do with this blog but me and my girlfriend met Martin Keown in an Oxford pub recently, he was a lovely guy. i told him that my great grand father played for Arsenal, here he is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alf_Haynes
could you pass this on to him?
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As a lower league fan, I'm hoping Stoke somehow goes down. I hate seeing WBA down there, as I respect them as an excellent footballing team.
All odds are against WBA - their defence are in sixes and sevens and they don't have a clinical striker, and at top flight level you'll pay a big price for that.
I still maintain they can get out of this mess, and luckily for them they are not adrift so they can still make it. Things are looking very dark for them, but I do hope Tony Mowbray finds some players in January that can help their cause.
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#137 - "as a lower league fan, I'm hoping Stoke somehow go down".
Why thank you kind sir - supporter of Port Fail or Crwho are we? Or the ex crazy-gang team MK Don?
I'm surprised you want to say that after we've just come back from 2 goals down at St James Park, having dominated the second half - most of it without Rory!
You should move with the times - even the pundits are saying Stoke have a lot more to offer than they were earlier credited with.
You are one sad person!
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I think this is a fair shake question is Aston Villa pushing to the top four who is ready to give up that spot well in my opinion i will say Arsenal. by the way steve wilson you are the best in my world
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