The Time For Heroes To Be Made

By Andy Jones

Well, in the last two weeks we have seen the title race go from a three horse race to a two horse race and the chase for fourth place looks like it’s going to right down to the wire. Will Spurs finally get their elusive chance in the Champions League or will City hit their target and finish in the top four, while Arsenal will want to make sure they don’t loose 3rd place and attempt to finish the season strongly. At the bottom end of the table Burnley, Hull City and West Ham are all still fighting it out, you might even say Wolves are still too near the drop zone while Wigan’s surprising 3-2 win over Arsenal may have just pushed them into safety. Liverpool, in the mean time, will be hoping that Villa slip up so that they can at least guarantee Europa League football seeing as the Champions League is well and truly out of their grasp.

With only about three or four games left for each team, every game is a “cup final” and a single loss at this stage could prove pivotal in a team getting relegated or a team losing the title. You can also be sure that every fan of the top eight teams knows who the team above and below them is playing that weekend and what happens if they lose and those other teams win and you know that the teams on the verge of relegation will have their fingers and toes crossed praying for salvation as well as always checking the score of their relegation rivals’ games.

Here’s the last couple of games broken down for those facing the drop, those chasing European dreams and those who are licking their lips at the sight of silverware that’s within their grasp.

Portsmouth are already relegated, so they’re irrelevant in terms of them needing results to go their way, however they still have a decisive role to play with a game against Wolves. I believe that Portsmouth will win this clash; they have nothing to loose and can play with that freedom that whatever happens it can no longer affect them, while Wolves will of course have relegation on their mind. This is the time that players get edgy, nerves are frayed and people aren’t 100% focused on the game, and if Wolves do loose and then don’t get results at Blackburn or Sunderland either and West Ham snatch a win from either Wigan, Fulham or Man City, the latter unlikely, then West Ham will be even on points, but ahead on goal difference, for the moment. But both teams have a tough run-in; Wolves will be playing against two teams right next to each other when they play Blackburn and Sunderland, each who will get stuck in and put in the hard tackles but with a little lucky they may be able to squeeze out a draw. While in West Ham’s three games, you would favour City to win, comfortably, while Fulham will be a tough opposition who will probably edge the encounter and steal all three points and if not, then a draw is on the card, while Wigan represents their only real oppurtunity to grab all three points, but with their win against Arsenal, they will be on a little high and will contest every 50-50 ball. The other team currently in the bottom three is Burnley, who with games against Liverpool, Birmingham and Tottenham, may aswell get ready for life back in the Championship, I can’t see them grabbing any points here except maybe a draw at Birmingham and even that I think is unlikely, but this is football and you never know.

Wigan are also perilously close to the danger zone, with the game against West Ham sure to have a decisive impact on who goes down and who stays up, their game against Hull is even more important, loose those two and they will be right on the edge and with the game against Chelsea already chalked in as a loss, you have to fear for them a little, but at least they are beating Hull on goal difference at the moment. Hull on the other hand need to win all their games if they want to stay up, but with games against Sunderland and Liverpool, you would say they’re going down.

At the other end of the table this is how it looks:

Arsenal are out of running for the title, but they can still have some influence over who comes fourth with their game against Man City, albeit with a battered squad. The boys from Eastland have a excellent chance to take all three points and put the pressure on Tottenham. It’s hard to decide who has the tougher run-in out of Spurs and City, as both have hard games. Spurs have yet to play United, with Bolton the easiest game of the three, but you know they can be a stumbling block for some of the big teams, while City have to play Arsenal and Aston Villa, who want to hold onto their Europa League place and fight off the challenge from Liverpool, before City play Spurs at Eastlands in their last game of the season. The most important match and the one who could decide who finishes fourth is tomorrow’s Spurs vs United fixture. Will Spurs score first and United come from behind as they so often have or will the giant killing continue and will they claim United’s scalp? I think they’re in with a genuine chance and if they don’t lose focus, it will be a very tight game.

With the two title challengers, each has one tricky game and another where they must keep the focus. United’s trickest is Spurs, while Chelsea travel to Anfield to play Liverpool. They should win against the Reds, but you wouldn’t put your house on it. Wigan should be another three points for Chelsea, but they’ll have to be alert when playing Sunderland. United should do the same when they play Sunderland but they must be thankful they are playing Stoke at Old Trafford and not the Brittania Stadium, because Stoke playing at home are alot tougher than playing away. The odds are on Chelsea to win the league, but let’s just see what happens.

This is a time when a lot of hearts are broken and heroes are made. Last year it was Macheda at United. This year, will there be a new hero at Old Trafford or will one of the old guard make himself a club legend at Chelsea if they hold on and win the league? Gareth Bale at Tottenham is fast building a great reputation for himself since the curse of not winning a single league game when he started, has gone; could he be the difference in Champions League or Europa League for Spurs?

Finally, my pick of the weekend games are two matches rather than one, Arsenal vs City and Spurs vs United. both City and Spurs will want to win to keep the pressure on the other. Arsenal will want to win and get revenge for earlier in the season and to shore up third place, while United must win to keep their title dreams alive.