Who Is Escaping From Relegation?
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Teams are leaving it a bit late if they are going to avoid relegation this season. It is still possible for one or two of them to turn things around, but highly unlikely.
Over the last couple of days it has become rather obvious who is going to be relegated from the English Premiership this season. I suppose mathematically there could be some swapping of places but it is highly unlikely right now. With two games to spare Brighton and West Ham look fairly comfortable.
What we already know is Norwich are done and dusted and that Aston Villa , Bournemouth and Watford are fighting for their survival. The only plus right now though is Watford have 3 more points than the other two right now. They also have a better goal difference which I would expect that to change as they play Manchester City and Arsenal in their remaining fixtures. Arsenal are having a late surge but Watford are desperate so anything is possible.
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Bournemouth are my bet if anyone is going to pull a magic trick as both games are not games they can't win. They thrashed Leicester the other day and need more of the same.
Bournemouth who seem to have been in the Premiership forever on a shoe string budget still have a chance as they play Southampton in the South Coast derby followed by Everton. One win and a draw may just be enough to extend their Premiership stay another year. They were promoted in 2015/16 and have done extremely well for the funds and resources they have. Eddie Howe has been a magician and the first time they have been in this type of trouble since they were promoted.
Aston Villa who spent a small fortune when they were promoted last season have Arsenal and West Ham to play. West Ham may turn out to be the game they could win as West Ham look comfortable on 37 points now with a massive goal difference advantage over the lower placed teams.
It seems strange as normally you would say 42 points is the normal safety mark teams need to reach. One can think of Crystal Palace as they were relegated twice having 49 and 45 points which seems a little crazy. Everton are sitting in 11th on 46 points so they would have been in dire straits if it had been one of those seasons.
Looking back at this season and the quality of foot ball I am rather disappointed as the standards have not been that good. A team like Chelsea who are not exactly brilliant are lying in third spot and could even qualify for Europe. The likes of Arsenal and Tottenham have had shocking seasons and has allowed teams to be in positions one wouldn't expect.Over the last 5 years the general standard of the Premiership seems to have dropped off somewhat besides one or two teams standing out. It doesn't bode well for the National team going forward.
I think my original prediction of Norwich, Villa and Bournemouth going down still looks pretty good.
I have to disagree in regards both the strength of the Premier League and the impact on the national team. The reason that teams like Spurs, Arsenal and United have had disappointing campaigns is that the level of competition is such in the Premier League that even a small drop in performance impacts outcomes. No other major European league can boast that level of competition.
Equally, England's age-group teams have been very successful over recent years. The U-19s won the European Championship in 2017 and you are starting to see players like from that squad like Reece James and Mason Mount make an impact in the Premier League. The under-21s also made it to the semi-finals last year with regular EPL starters like Dean Henderson, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, James Maddison and Phil Foden. I think you could argue that English football is healthier now than it has been at any other time since the beginning of the Premier League
You are possibly right as I hadn't followed the age groups coming through.Maybe this is just the older players making room for the youngsters. I was looking at the overall quality. I know it is tough to remain at the top as it normally operates in cycles with others getting their time. I look at teams like Newcastle though and just can't believe with so little quality they manage to remain in the Premiership.
Your predictions look spot on even though I feel sorry for Eddie Howe as what he has achieved with Bournemouth is remarkable. They should be back if everyone stays on.
Yeah, Bournemouth is everyone's 2nd favourite team. I don't think any football fan will take any pleasure from seeing them get relegated. It'll be tough for them in the Championship next season too
I was watching some more soccer this weekend. Not MLS this time, it was a couple of other countries that I wasn't familiar with. Okay the teams I wasn't familiar with. I have no clue what country they were from.