Premiership Relegation Battle
West Ham United, Charlton, Fulham,Wigan,Sheffield United and Watford
Avoiding Relegation from the English Premiership is worth millions of pounds to the six clubs involved - Watford, West Ham, Charlton, Sheffield United, Wigan and Fulham
The battle to avoid relegation from the Premiership is intensifying as the weeks progress. With three teams to lose their place in the top flight, Watford and West Ham United already look doomed. Over the past few weeks West Ham United and Charlton Athletic have shown improved form which has sent the alarm bells ringing around some of the clubs just above them in the League. Wigan, Fulham and Sheffield United who earlier in the season seemed to have done enough to reach safety suddenly saw the danger signals flashing.
Each club has dealt with it in a different way. Fulham decided to sack their manager, Chris Coleman, and replace him with Laurie Sanchez who is the current Northern Ireland manager. This is a temporary appointment until the end of the season but unfortunately for Fulham and Sanchez who has led Northern Ireland to unexpected wins over England, Spain and Sweden, they lost their first match under his control – a 1-0 defeat at Reading. They have a difficult task with two of their remaining games against Arsenal and Liverpool.
Wigan’s position improved slightly, they moved above Fulham, by taking a point in an exciting 3-3 draw at home with Tottenham Hotspur. Their disappointment will be that they were ahead three times but couldn’t hold the advantage, quickly allowing their north London opponents to equalise each time.
Sheffield United did themselves the biggest favour by defeating West Ham by 3-0 which took them out of a relegation place and worsened the position of the London club, almost confirming their place in the relegation zone. It also returned Charlton Athletic to a place in the bottom three. Earlier in the season Charlton changed their manager twice but having settled on Alan Pardew, improved form had taken them out of a relegation spot. However, their defeat at Everton to an injury time goal along with Sheffield’s win saw them drop below the safety line once again.
There will be numerous twists and turns over the final four or five games of the season but one of the most crucial could be the final day meeting of Sheffield United and Wigan Athletic. There are many millions of pounds at stake for survival in the Premiership and once a club has lost its status, it can be very difficult to regain it. Managers and players will have to hold their nerve over the next few weeks if they are to retain their place in the Premiership.
Sheffield United are the first of the relegation threatened teams to try and improve their position when they play Manchester united at Old trafford this evening. It will be a difficult game for Neil Warnock's team who always give a battling performance but with Manchester United vying with Chelsea for top spot in the Premiership, Sir Alex Ferguson's side will be determined to take the three points.
