[fazman]

Another week and its starting to hot up down the bottom of the league with fulham and bolton drawing closer to pack . Gary megson's men looking the more likely of the two to make the great escape . Bolton have been there and done it on many occasions and have the grit to do it in my opinion . As for fulham its a case of to little to late for me but its nice to see a former red in eric nevland knock one in for them . The truth of the matter these two tin pot outfits have been kicking and banging about the premiership for to long.

In the race for the title its been a good week for taggart but a bad week for the turtle kneck . Media speculation linking everyone from guus hiddink to doris the dinner lady to his job . Swaping and changing his eleven time and time again . And how many bad displays before they relise kalou is kapoo . Back to our boys who im going to knickname the bentley boys as they play with style and flair . Each one of midfield players can come in and do a equally good job as eachother . Hargreaves starting to look 18 million worth of player and carrick flowing in the united way . Next up is hughes blackburn who either put up the great wall of china or collapse like pete doherty after one of his benders . For me well win by two goals and id like to think that will be it in terms of the title .

Over at manchester (day dreamers) city yet more storys about players from far a shore have been and gone . But the main story is big sven looks like getting one of them mega pay offs again . Is it me or is this man starting to look like a manager who plays for pay offs . Some of the signings have been comical with the exception of petrov and maybe elano most have been utter wastes of money . The team in whole being held together by players already there . Look at bianchi , garrido , corluka , chicken birjani , and what happened to giovanni scored in about three of the first ten and has never been seen since . All in all the laugh factory is getting even more comical with money.


And a special shout out goes to liverpool for there all out war in the board room which is entertainment of the highest order . With benitez left to wonder whether jurgan klinnsman has his job for next season . Its is going to be a very hot summer in the office's of anfield and im loving it .


If you have anything to say or argue with me about this column then post your view

 

[Red Devil]

My god! We have our own columnist now

 

[Keano4taoiseach]

Faz is growing up before my very eyes *weeps*

 

[fazman]

cheers boys yeah i enjoying writing up about the weeks footy news and am glad you found it intresting.

 

[fazman]

faz is our columnist and we are glad he is
faz did you ask RD to become a mod

No mate I didnt and I dont intend to either if they want a moderator they know where I am I would love the responsiblity to be honest . Glad you enjoyed my column mate .

 

[spellbound]

 

[fazman]

Not sure what that means spellbound

 

[yangch0000]

i prefer fulham to stay up, they are starting to play some nice football, while bolton, well, we all know what bolton is all about, and i think epl would do fine without a side like that.
as for the title race, if we win against blackburn, i can safely say that chelsea has no chance of snatching the title, and we can pay more attention against barcelona.
and i cant agree with you more about city signings. they can have a worst signings of the season of their own and they have no problem filling up the top 5 spots. sven said he nvr actually saw some of the players he signed before, except from watching videos of them, and i think there is something videos could not tell him.
liverpool is making bids to being joke of the decade and they are doing a good job. they have as much chance as london getting to host the 2012 olympics. nice going, clash between dallas loggerhead and merseyside losers, that could make a good hollywood movie...

 

[fazman]

great post yang

 

[sparkic]

Good Column mate! I can't stop laughing at the Man City day dreamers part haha...but I do have one disagreement about the transfers..yes most have been comical besides Elano and Petrov but imo Corluka is also a very good signing and Garrido too...well everyone does have an opinion so yeah lol

And I too cannot wait to see the latest joke unfold at Anfield over the summer!! Going to be an awsome transfer period lol

 

[akash_reds]

good column mate.... very good
bolton does seem like they have a better chance of avoiding the drop but they have to find a good goal scorer on the coming games because although they defend well they are missing a great striker in anelka....they don have anyone to score a goal from...fulham is virtually going to drop to the championship unless someone for them too goes on a goal scoring riot......
man city did have good buys....their new players got aong with the current players well from the start itself.....corluka and garrido too were good buys for them...both very good.....
the anfield situation......no comment

 

[fazman]

good column mate.... very good
bolton does seem like they have a better chance of avoiding the drop but they have to find a good goal scorer on the coming games because although they defend well they are missing a great striker in anelka....they don have anyone to score a goal from...fulham is virtually going to drop to the second division unless someone for them too goes on a goal scoring riot......
man city did have good buys....their new players got aong with the current players well from the start itself.....corluka and garrido too were good buys for them...both very good.....
the anfield situation......no comment

very valid point akash a would like fulham and bolton to go down myself

 

[Red Devil]

faz is our columnist and we are glad he is
faz did you ask RD to become a mod

Shut up Abo!


Faz, I am moving this to banter s its not strictly United.

 

[fazman]

Shut up!


Faz, I am moving this to banter s its not strictly United.

Ok red devil will make sure its in banter next time

 

[red_devils4life]

Before attempting to solve this season’s relegation conundrum it’s worth taking a look over the past five years, and see just how many points have been required to survive. Last season 38 points was the mark, albeit on goal difference, to save Wigan Athletic from the dreaded trapdoor. In 2004/5 a lowly 34 points would have been enough, while in 2002/3 the bar was raised significantly at a staggering 43 points.

That works out at an average of 36.8 points but the figure is somewhat inflated by the 2002/3 season’s huge total. It is safe to assume that the managers of any side involved in this year´s relegation scrap will be looking to bank at least 36 of those magic digits before the final Sunday fixtures.

With just 4 more matches to go it seems sensible to consider that anyone below Tottenham Hotspur is vulnerable. With only nine points mustered all term it’s inevitable that Derby’s race has already been run, and most bookies have stopped taking bets. Their only saving grace is the fact they may have a say in who they take down with them, depending on whether they manage to beat any of their fellow strugglers.

Let’s take a look at which two teams will face the genuine possibility of playing Championship football with Paul Jewell’s battered side next year...

Birmingham City

With a chest-thumping manager like Alex McLeish it is unlikely the Blues will lie down to anyone this season. Just ask Arsene Wenger after he saw his Arsenal side throw away a 2-1 lead at St Andrew’s, against ten men.

To survive in the Premier League you do need a bit more than grit and determination. There may not be any title challengers left to play, but all remaining visitors to St Andrews’ have hopes of European qualification so McLeish may have to look on the road for those vital wins. Alex McLeish has done well to instill a hard-nosed approach to every game in his squad and that approach has helped them so far, but will it withstand meetings with Aston Villa, Blackburn and Liverpool? Yep. And believe it or not, if they had Fulham’s schedule remaining - the Blues would be on their way down.

Expect a real slug-fest from The Blues, as they travel face Fulham between now and the end of the season.

Reading

After doing so well to finish eighth last season it has surprised many to see Reading floundering in such a perilous league position this time round. The Royals have now lost their last eight league matches which must have had a debilitating affect on player confidence. The Royals weren’t just losing games, they were losing close games. The ones where you fight until the bitter end. Reading’s talent level and tenacity on the playing field set them up for that kind of disappointment in defeat, but sheer joy when the result goes in their favor.

Steve Coppell’s side have been handed their fair share of relegation six-pointers between now and the end of the season, but with key men like Leroy Lita, Dave Kitson and Kevin Doyle not hitting the heights of last year it could be real struggle.
Anytime that bounces back from 9 consecutive defeats to start the new year gets my nod to resist relegation.

Fulham

The Cottagers sit in a position they undoubtedly put themselves in. Many times this year they carried a lead into the final 15 minutes of a match only to be overtaken. Roy Hodgson has done little to turn around a team and many have said, Hodgson needs the full year to do so. The schedule is working against him though…nevermind the opponents.

The Cottagers might have games against Manchester City, Liverpool and Portsmouth coming up, but one troubling fact remains. They are away. And this is a Fulham team that hasn’t won away all year. If it was based on the personnel alone, Fulham certainly have the tools as long as they can service Brian McBride, Eddie Johnson, Simon Davies & Clint Dempsey.

Sunderland

The Black Cats’ guvnor Roy Keane recently called on his players to start believing they can compete in the Premier League. With four wins from their last four home matches it is perfectly clear that the players are answering that call. The Black Cats started admirably and have faded in the homestretch. Kenwyne Jones has been figured out and Keane’s talent pool has all but dried up.

Still Keane has shown a knack for putting in the right people at the right time and Michael Chopra’s entrance this past weekend secured a 1-0 upset win over Aston Villa, a vital three points to have. This is not the 2005/2006 Sunderland team. The difference - a battling Keane personality, a will to win in the last 15 minutes of tough matches, and a discipline that sticks against the big competition.

Wigan Atletic

Five points separate the Latics with Bolton and who is worse off? Bolton. Wigan was able to grab a 1-0 win over . If there was a team next in line behind Fulham and Bolton to go down, it’s the Latics. But Wigan hasn’t been piss-poor as of late.

Yes, they were routed by Blackburn even when they had a man advantage for half the game, but they squeezed points from Arsenal and beat West Ham and Derby. More than most of these relegation battlers can claim. Their schedule doesn’t help much with 5 games against top-half club. Wigan has also made it their habit to start slow and end strong, which will not fly against the likes of Pompey, Chelsea, and United.

Both Emile Heskey and Marcus Bent have returned to the line-up which could provide the jumpstart needed to slip just above the relegation zone.

Bolton Wanderers

I don’t care what Gary Megson has said or wants to say. Not having Nicolas Anelka in the homestretch destroys them. Not having Jussi Jaskaleinen in the midst of a relegation battle destroys them. The Wanderers’ only saving grace is Kevin Nolan, who continues to organize Bolton’s midfield well enough to grab points here and there.

Truth is, though, that Bolton’s recent tie with Manchester City at home was their first point in almost two months. Their final games see Arsenal coming to Reebok Stadium and a visit to Chelsea, Tottenham, and Aston Villa. That doesn’t paint a pretty picture, and - in all honesty - it’s about time sparkplug El-Hadji Diouf is brought down to Earth. Bolton is on their way down.

Verdict: Both Wigan Athletic & Sunderland are two teams whom I believe are capable of staying up eventually. While the two teams primed to go down, but will escape…probably at the final day of the season are Reading & Birmingham City. Last but not least, Bolton & Fulham are in the red to go down and join Derby.

Also, great column fazman. We have our very own journalist of ManutdTalk in you, so keep up the good job. Two thumb-ups!

 

[Keano4taoiseach]

Stop trying to upstage Faz rd4l

 

[fazman]

Stop trying to upstage Faz rd4l

rd4l gave me a thumbs up at the end so he 's ok I think he puts alot of effort into his posts and he is a young lad so he has my respect.