Friday 20 May 2011

Survival Sunday promises great drama

(Left to right) Blackburn, Wolves, Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan will battle it out for survival
Apparently, there are 81 different scenarios for the five teams involved in 'Survival Sunday' in the Premier League.

One thing is for sure, fans of all clubs will have their nerves shredded right to the final whistle.

Two of the five must go and join West Ham in being relegated to the Championship, and with four of the five having tough-looking away games, it is tempting to say Wigan and Blackpool will go down as they are currently in the bottom three.

However, the complication here is that goal difference is all that keeps them in the bottom three currently, so the teams will have to be careful not to go gung ho if they fall behind as a narrow defeat may see them move out of the relegation zone.

It promises to be another day of drama, nerves and excitement, similar to that of 2004-05 when four teams battled it out for one survival place, which will be great for the neutrals but agony for fans of those teams involved.

The team with the toughest mission appears to be Blackpool.
Blackpool fans have lit up the Premier League this season
Going to Old Trafford to face Manchester United is never easy, no matter what anybody says about Sir Alex Ferguson resting players in advance of the Champions League final.

The Red Devils will be ready for a party as they will lift the Premier League trophy after the game and will not want anybody to rain on their parade.

They will not want a repeat of 2006-07 when West Ham won at Old Trafford on the final day to seal their survival.

On that occasion, Ferguson rested players for the FA Cup final and while he is sure to do so again ahead of next week's match at Wembley, he will make sure the motivation for those on the pitch is to secure a place on the bench, if not the starting line-up, against Barcelona.

Talk of punishing United for naming an under-strength team against Blackpool is plain daft.

Teams have to name a 25-man squad now for the Premier League so they should be allowed to utilise that however they wish.

Blackpool also got fined for something similar earlier this season and that was unfair too.

Wolves were fined for naming an under-strength side against United last season but that punishment was justified as the 25-man squad rule only came into effect this season.

Whatever side United put out, they should be more than capable of beating Blackpool. They proved this when they demolished Schalke in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.

They may have lost to West Ham in similar circumstances four years ago, but two years ago they went to Hull - who were involved in a relegation scrap - on the final day and rested players yet still won.

It is disrespectful to say United will not try in this game as anyone who knows Sir Alex Ferguson and the way he operates knows he never wants to even contemplate losing.

Despite United possessing a strong second-string though, Blackpool will feel they are in with a real chance.

They have been a joy to watch this season and a breath of fresh air for the Premier League, so they deserve another crack at it next season.

The performance of Charlie Adam will be crucial for them as everything they do well goes through him, and if he can fire at Old Trafford the Seasiders may pull off a miraculous escape.
Charlie Adam has been Blackpool's catalyst this season
Ian Holloway has done an unbelievable job at Bloomfield Road and if he can keep the Tangerines in the Premier League, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

They have been playing well recently and have deserved more points than they have got, so if they can carry that form into this game anything is possible.

United will not roll over but Blackpool will be right up for this game and could be in with a shout of picking up the point or three they need to stay up. Realistically, they need at least a draw and there is no tougher place to get it, but with a bit of determination and belief they could do it.

Wigan start Sunday behind Blackpool in 19th and they go to Stoke, who appear to have nothing left in the tank after their FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
Charles N'Zogbia's brace against West Ham kept Wigan in with a chance of survival
There will never be a better time to visit the Britannia Stadium and the Latics appear to have the easiest game of the three closest to peril so should be confident of staying up.

They have taken eight points from their last five games and that form should see them go to Stoke in good spirits.

Their 3-2 comeback win over West Ham last week gave them a lot of belief and if they can produce a similar performance going forward against Stoke, they should get something from the game.

Charles N'Zogbia has hit form at just the right time for them and if he can produce a good display, Stoke will be in for an afternoon of headaches.

Stoke's motivation is to finish in the top half and that would be the perfect end to what has been an excellent season for Tony Pulis' side, but Wigan's desire could be enough to see them get at least a point.

Their story is quite remarkable as this is their sixth-straight year in the Premier League and for a club of Wigan's stature that is some achievement.

With Martinez at the helm, they will have a chance of bouncing straight back next season but they will not be thinking of that yet as survival now appears to be within their grasp.

Survival is out of their hands but they know a point may be good enough to save them and if they can carry their good form into this game they will be in with a great chance of staying up.

Birmingham have slipped into relegation trouble recently and are the team in the worst form of anybody involved in Survival Sunday.
Without the excellent Ben Foster in goal, Birmingham may have already been relegated
They go to Tottenham and while Spurs have dropped points at home against sides similar to Birmingham this season, it is hard to see anything other than a home win here.

Of course, Alex McLeish will feel his side have a great chance of getting something at White Hart Lane but they appear to be on a slippery slope and it is hard to see where their next point will come from.

They may have to rely on other results to stay up as, despite starting the day out of the bottom three, they seem to have no belief.

Their triumph in the Carling Cup earlier this season now seems a distant memory but if they can rekindle some of that form it will not be too late to save them.

They have only taken one point from their last five games and there is no other way to describe that than relegation form.

They have saved their worst form of the season for the worst possible time and that could see them fall through the trapdoor on Sunday.

The Blues are only separated from the bottom three by goal difference so even a win may not be enough to save them, but realistically a point should be enough to secure survival.

Tottenham, although Harry Redknapp has stated he doesn't like it in the past, need a win to seal a place in next season's Europa League and that gives them something to play for, so McLeish knows his team will not be in for an easy ride.

They need to snap out of their bad form now before it is too late.

Wolves and Blackburn are the other teams involved and they face each other, with both just one point above the relegation zone.

Wolves know a two-goal defeat coupled with draws for two of Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan is likely to send them down so they need to continue their recent good form.
Steven Fletcher has scored four times in his last three games to ease Wolves' relegation worries
They have been in and around the bottom three all season but have won two successive games at just the right time to give themselves a real chance of safety.

However, they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas as they are still right in danger and may need something to avoid the drop.

Steven Fletcher has been the key player for them recently after a frustrating season, so if he can carry his form into this game Wolves should be safe.

Mick McCarthy will have been drumming into his players all week that if they win, they are safe, so they should be well-prepared and confident of a win.

Blackburn are ahead of Wolves on goal difference and that could be the key factor which keeps them up.
Wayne Rooney's penalty last weekend kept Blackburn in the dogfight
They have hit form recently and perhaps deserved to beat Manchester United last weekend, although they may have been distracted this week by some negative headlines.

First, it was announced that manager Steve Kean had been charged with drink-driving.

Then Kean had to miss training to attend his monthly board meeting with the club's owners in India.

Then the news came the FA were investigating irregular payments made during the signing of defender Gael Givet.

This negative publicity can not have been good for squad morale and has hit the club at the worst possible time, but even so Rovers should already have done enough to secure survival.

They can only realistically go down if all the sides below them pick up wins and that is extremely unlikely as all have very tough fixtures.

It is hard to see Steve Kean remaining as manager for next season though as he hasn't proved to be up to the job since taking over from Sam Allardyce in December.

The squad will also need major renovation as they have an aging squad with a few very inexperienced youngsters.

They should have enough to stay up but they shouldn't have been in this situation in the first place.

In all likelihood, this relegation battle is between Wigan, Blackpool and Birmingham.

Two of those three are very likely to go down and all face very difficult away games, so it could be a case of keeping the score respectable and hoping for the best.

A draw may be enough for any of them to stay up and Birmingham are in the worst form of the three so face a very nerve-wracking Sunday.
Which sets of fans will be waving goodbye to the Premier League this year?
An end to the season like this is very rare so neutrals should enjoy Survival Sunday and all its permutations.

Most of those neutrals will probably be hoping Ian Holloway's Blackpool stay up but they have the toughest job at Old Trafford.

Neutrals will be grateful their team is not involved in this day as it is horrific for fans of teams embroiled in a battle like this.

No doubt we will be inundated with the 'as it stands' table as the games are progressing but this is what makes football so great. It is exciting, nerve-wracking, unpredictable and dramatic so this day is one to be enjoyed by anyone not involved.

As for anyone whose team is in the centre of this, get ready to bite your fingernails down to the core.

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