Home > Football > Reading, Fulham, Sunderland, Bolton and Birmingham: Which teams are going down with Derby?
Reading, Fulham, Sunderland, Bolton and Birmingham: Which teams are going down with Derby?
Take any two from five as the race for Premier League survival hots up. It's a close call.
by Jon Knights on 20 March 2008
Email this Article (14) Comments
We have come to it then, the great battle of our time...or at least of our season.
As the year dwindles ever-closer towards May, arguably the most passionate and important struggle gets underway as a whopping eight teams have their heads turned nervously to peer over their shoulder at the dreaded two relegation slots that remain undecided. So with Derby already doomed, which teams will join them?Currently occupying those slots are Roy Hodgson's relegation write-offs Fulham and Gary Megson's under-performing Bolton. Unfortunately, in those two, we have at least one standout candidate for relegation and it can only be the Hodgson's Fulham.
Despite picking up a superb win against Everton at the weekend that saw a glimmer of hope reappear on a decidedly bleak horizon, Fulham simply don't have the quality nor character to dig themselves out of the four-point grave they have dug themselves into.
Bolton, however, have hope. Despite the massive blow in losing key goalie Jussi Jaaskelainen for the rest of the season, The Trotters have some strength yet. Kevin Nolan lays the quality and character to drag his club kicking and screaming out of this mess, backed up by the attacking prowess of the ever-unpopular El-Hadji Diouf. Despite losing Nicolas Anelka to Chelsea in January, Bolton have looked like a side capable of escaping relegation - a fact perhaps not reflected in the results they have achieved. Just a stone's throw up the table lay Roy Keane's Sunderland. At the start of the season I'm sure most people would have pencilled the Black Cats into one of the bottom three. I was one of those people, with the memories of their last league campaign too fresh in the memory to give them any real claim to Premiership survival.
Comments (14)
by Loz on March 20, 2008
Derby realistically gone.... Fulham to go soon, and then sunderland/newcastle to go down on the last day
by John T on March 20, 2008
1. Its Dave Kitson not Steve 2. Looking for 3 points for Reading which will open up a 6 point gap to Bolton
by Jon Knights on March 20, 2008
My mistake, weird brain lapse there. Purhaps my brain made the link between him and the other ginge in the Premiership and formed some kind of horrid hybrid. Thats a scary though. And it's all ifa and buts, but 3 points from 27 speaks voluymes buddy.
by Dan Watts on March 20, 2008
It is actually 6 points from 27 (Reading beat Middleborough (away) just before Man City) and those 6 were in last 3 games.
by Ivor's tache on March 20, 2008
Fulham are playing better are more resilient, have Bullard and McBride back, new signings Hangerland, Andreasson and Salteri have all become definte starters are doing great. PLUS we have winnable games against Newcastle, Derby, Sunderland, Man City, Liverpool (H), Reading, Birminham and Portsmouth. Its in our hands.
by Lork Ocon on March 20, 2008
"Despite picking up a superb win against Everton at the weekend that saw a glimmer of hope reappear on a decidedly bleak horizon, Fulham simply don't have the quality nor character to dig themselves out of the four-point grave they have dug themselves into." We don't have the character? Did you not see the superb displays against Villa, Blackburn and Everton, or the unlucky goals we conceded vs Blackburn (a nice judo trip by Pedersen off the ball before he headed it into the net) or Spam (fly kicks the keeper before elbowing it into the back of the net)? Have you not known that since Roy has taken over we've played just two clubs in the bottom 10, both away, in his 10 prem games in charge. And we don't have the quality? How about the superb Jimmy Bullard, who is being looked at by many a top 10 club, McBride who is combative, great in the air and always gives 100%, Hangeland who is a rock at central defence and was looked at by Liverpool in the summer, Davies who can score and create goals, Litmanen who at the age of 36 still gets MotM performances aginst Finland, Dempsey, Konchesky, Andreasen, all quality players. Write us off, but don't come crying to me when your 100 pound bet on Fulham to go down doesn't come off.
by Judie Self on March 20, 2008
Just to point out that although Reading did lose 8 straight games if you compare for instance Birmingham's record against the same teams the only one they won which Reading did not was Bolton at home. It's just that they did not play thoses teams one after the other.
on March 20, 2008 on March 20, 2008
From the last 3 games Reading have 6 points and two clean sheets, their defeat coming at Anfield with a respectable performance. And they're out of form?
by r e on March 21, 2008
Derby, fulham & birmingham. Latter is playing worst football of 3 at moment.
by Johnny G on March 21, 2008
purhaps? "That's a scary though?" ifa? voluymes? Is English your first language? Football certainly is not.
by Deepak on March 21, 2008
Birmingham and Bolton will go down with Derby. Sunderland and Fulham will prevail.
by Jon Knights on March 21, 2008
Typos are the last resport of a petty argument. Fit back all you want, but 8 loses on the trot is the form of a club clearly out of their depth, and perhaps taking off your blue and white tinted shades would help you see that.
by B M on March 24, 2008
Mate, typos matter. Grammar matters. Facts matter. Style and accuracy matter. I am a director of a large publishing company, and you don't cut it (my advice; buy The Economist's Style Book). Plus I'm a Reading fan, and you're wrong. I'm biased, true, but you are plain wrong.
by stuart hinton on March 25, 2008
clearly a man who thinks doing his homework on football is to watch match of the day and form his opinions on the drivel that comes from the pundidts on there. might wanna think about a new vocation buddy;)
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Andy Murray shouldn't be in a hurry to break into the top five