David Harding
Chris Leahy
Cain LynchSurvival of the Fittest
With the English Premier League winding down the fans of the teams 14 and below are wondering if there team will stay up in arguably the best football league in the world and who will be relegated to Championship obscurity? So lets get to the current league table as it stands at 18:56 GMT 4/4/10.
GP GD P
14th - Wolverhampton 33 -23 32
15th - Bolton 33 -25 32
16th - Wigan 33 -34 31
17th - West Ham 33 -17 28
-----------------------------
18th - Hull City 32 -35 27
19th - Burnley 33 -39 24
20th - Portsmouth 33 -32 14*
As you can see it appears as though Portsmouth are already relegated as the only way they can stay up is if they were to win there remaining 5 games, and for the 3 teams above them to lose all there games. Sorry Portsmouth fans but I cannot see that happening at all so I will officially declare you relegated. For the 6 teams lets take a look at there Key Players down the stretch and there road home.
14th Wolverhampton Wanderers
Remaining Games: Stoke (H), Fulham (A), Blackburn (H), Portsmouth (A), Sunderland (H)
Difficulty Rating: 4/10 - I feel they can take away 7 points here and secure safety the easiest game is Sunderland at home while there most difficult game is Fulham away.
Key Players: Marcus Hahnemann and Kevin Doyle. The American goalkeeper has been in superb form in the last 5 games only letting in 5 games including a Man of the Match performance against Arsenal, if he were to go down then Wolves chances may go down as well. The Irish super striker is the best striker at the club leading the scoring charts with 7. With the next best tally coming from a defender you can see how he is key to his clubs chances and I predict he will score 2 goals in the next 5 games to keep Wolverhampton up.
15th Bolton Wanderers
Remaining Games: Chelsea (A), Stoke (A), Portsmouth (H), Tottenham (A), Brimingham (H)
Difficulty Rating: 8/10 - A very tough schedule where I can only see 4 points heading towards Bolton they have two away games to clubs in the top 5 another one to Stoke who aren't the easiest team to beat a fairly easy game at home against Portsmouth and a game which could be a potential hiccup for Birmingham however I can only see this game ending in a draw.
Key Players: Vladimir Weiss, Gary Cahill. Ok maybe its because I'm a Manchester City fan but Weiss is a great young player with a lot of flair and an impact player off the bench, he can turn the game on its head in a matter of minutes and if he gets going can create and even score multiple goals. Cahill is a defensive rock, capable of taking the ball away from great attackers with ease he has been a key for the Bolton defence as can be seen when he was out with a blood clot and if he can return to top fitness he can hassle the likes of Drogba and Defoe in there upcoming games.
16th Wigan Athletic F.C
Remaining Games: Portsmouth (H), Arsenal (H), West Ham (A), Hull (H), Chelsea (A)
Difficulty Rating: 6/10 - I believe they can get 6 points here, I just can't see them beating Arsenal, West Ham and Chelsea, maybe they can squeeze a draw at Upton Park which would help them increase there chances of staying up.
Key Players: Paul Scharner, Hugo Rodallega. Scharner is a great attacking midfielder who can supply his strike force and score with a punishing strike from outside the area and watch for him to do the same in the upcoming games. Rodallega is one of the best players (in my opinion) in the Premier League at the moment he can score them from anywhere and when he's on form he will score plenty hopefully his manager will be able to get the best out of him in this stretch of games.
17th West Ham United F.C
Remaining Games: Sunderland (H), Liverpool (A), Wigan (H), Fulham (A), Man City (H)
Difficulty Rating: 7/10 - I'm sorry Hammer fans there only getting 4 points here a draw against Sunderland and a win against Wigan your team hasn't been playing great football lately and it seems like the team has given up and I truly think you will be relegated come the end of the season, maybe you can get a win against Sunderland and surprise me by staying up.
Key Players: Robert Green, Scott Parker. Green will be England's Number 2 keeper come this summers World Cup (behind Joe Hart of course), and this is for a reason, he is why the Hammers are not in the relegation zone already because of his natural skill between the sticks and his talents will be called on to keep the club afloat again. Scott Parker has been in tremendous form since coming back from injury (Yes another one) and he has been one if the not the only bright spot in the West Ham team as of late and has been putting goalkeepers under pressure with his long range shots with the occasional ones going in, if he's able to keep this form going they might be able to stay up.
18th Hull City A.F.C
Remaining Games: Burnley (H), Birmingham (A), Aston Villa (H), Sunderland (H), Wigan (A), Liverpool (H)
Difficulty Rating: 8/10 - A difficult schedule where they will most likely only be able to get 4 points which would condemn them to relegation agony.
Key Players: Stephen Hunt, Jozy Altidore. Stephen Hunt is a great Irish Winger who is the best player in the Hull squad able to control the left wing and send in expert crosses into the box at will. Altidore is a big and bruising centre forward who is also capable of beating defenders with his pace, he has a great header and is an intimidating figure on the field, watch for him to spearhead the Hull City attack.
19th Burnley F.C
Remaining Games: Hull (A), Sunderland (A), Liverpool (H), Birmingham (A), Tottenham (H)
Difficulty Rating: 7/10 - A very tough run after coming off a 6-1 drubbing from Manchester City (SUCK IT!) I don't see them getting any points from there remaining games as there confidence will be shot and Brian Laws cannot manage at this level.
Key Players: Chris Eagles, Steven Fletcher. Eagles is the best winger on the side who hasn't been utilised as much as he should be under manager Brian Laws mainly because of his inability to manage effectively, when he is utilised effectively though he is able to score magical goals and send in nice crosses into the box. Steven was the player to score the only goal against Manchester City (Again SUCK IT!) and is one of the only players in the squad who is able to play at this level.
20th Portsmouth F.C.
Remaining Games: Wigan (A), Aston Villa (H), Bolton (A), Wolves (H), Everton (A)
Difficulty Rating: 7.5/10 - They have the potential to get a point from most of these games however that won't be enough to spare them from there fate.
Key Players: Yeah about that....
Predicted Standings
Points
14th - Wolverhampton 39
15th - Wigan 37
16th - Bolton 36
17th - West Ham 32
-----------------------------
18th - Hull City 31
19th - Burnley 24
20th - Portsmouth 15*
So the standings don't change except for Bolton and Wigan switching places and yes I do realise that my prediction earlier in this writing of West Ham getting relegated appears wrong but I will still stand by it.
(Note: Portsmouth deducted 9 points for going into Administration)
GP GD P
14th - Wolverhampton 33 -23 32
15th - Bolton 33 -25 32
16th - Wigan 33 -34 31
17th - West Ham 33 -17 28
18th - Hull City 32 -35 27
19th - Burnley 33 -39 24
20th - Portsmouth 33 -32 14*
As you can see it appears as though Portsmouth are already relegated as the only way they can stay up is if they were to win there remaining 5 games, and for the 3 teams above them to lose all there games. Sorry Portsmouth fans but I cannot see that happening at all so I will officially declare you relegated. For the 6 teams lets take a look at there Key Players down the stretch and there road home.
14th Wolverhampton Wanderers
Remaining Games: Stoke (H), Fulham (A), Blackburn (H), Portsmouth (A), Sunderland (H)
Difficulty Rating: 4/10 - I feel they can take away 7 points here and secure safety the easiest game is Sunderland at home while there most difficult game is Fulham away.
Key Players: Marcus Hahnemann and Kevin Doyle. The American goalkeeper has been in superb form in the last 5 games only letting in 5 games including a Man of the Match performance against Arsenal, if he were to go down then Wolves chances may go down as well. The Irish super striker is the best striker at the club leading the scoring charts with 7. With the next best tally coming from a defender you can see how he is key to his clubs chances and I predict he will score 2 goals in the next 5 games to keep Wolverhampton up.
15th Bolton Wanderers
Remaining Games: Chelsea (A), Stoke (A), Portsmouth (H), Tottenham (A), Brimingham (H)
Difficulty Rating: 8/10 - A very tough schedule where I can only see 4 points heading towards Bolton they have two away games to clubs in the top 5 another one to Stoke who aren't the easiest team to beat a fairly easy game at home against Portsmouth and a game which could be a potential hiccup for Birmingham however I can only see this game ending in a draw.
Key Players: Vladimir Weiss, Gary Cahill. Ok maybe its because I'm a Manchester City fan but Weiss is a great young player with a lot of flair and an impact player off the bench, he can turn the game on its head in a matter of minutes and if he gets going can create and even score multiple goals. Cahill is a defensive rock, capable of taking the ball away from great attackers with ease he has been a key for the Bolton defence as can be seen when he was out with a blood clot and if he can return to top fitness he can hassle the likes of Drogba and Defoe in there upcoming games.
16th Wigan Athletic F.C
Remaining Games: Portsmouth (H), Arsenal (H), West Ham (A), Hull (H), Chelsea (A)
Difficulty Rating: 6/10 - I believe they can get 6 points here, I just can't see them beating Arsenal, West Ham and Chelsea, maybe they can squeeze a draw at Upton Park which would help them increase there chances of staying up.
Key Players: Paul Scharner, Hugo Rodallega. Scharner is a great attacking midfielder who can supply his strike force and score with a punishing strike from outside the area and watch for him to do the same in the upcoming games. Rodallega is one of the best players (in my opinion) in the Premier League at the moment he can score them from anywhere and when he's on form he will score plenty hopefully his manager will be able to get the best out of him in this stretch of games.
17th West Ham United F.C
Remaining Games: Sunderland (H), Liverpool (A), Wigan (H), Fulham (A), Man City (H)
Difficulty Rating: 7/10 - I'm sorry Hammer fans there only getting 4 points here a draw against Sunderland and a win against Wigan your team hasn't been playing great football lately and it seems like the team has given up and I truly think you will be relegated come the end of the season, maybe you can get a win against Sunderland and surprise me by staying up.
Key Players: Robert Green, Scott Parker. Green will be England's Number 2 keeper come this summers World Cup (behind Joe Hart of course), and this is for a reason, he is why the Hammers are not in the relegation zone already because of his natural skill between the sticks and his talents will be called on to keep the club afloat again. Scott Parker has been in tremendous form since coming back from injury (Yes another one) and he has been one if the not the only bright spot in the West Ham team as of late and has been putting goalkeepers under pressure with his long range shots with the occasional ones going in, if he's able to keep this form going they might be able to stay up.
18th Hull City A.F.C
Remaining Games: Burnley (H), Birmingham (A), Aston Villa (H), Sunderland (H), Wigan (A), Liverpool (H)
Difficulty Rating: 8/10 - A difficult schedule where they will most likely only be able to get 4 points which would condemn them to relegation agony.
Key Players: Stephen Hunt, Jozy Altidore. Stephen Hunt is a great Irish Winger who is the best player in the Hull squad able to control the left wing and send in expert crosses into the box at will. Altidore is a big and bruising centre forward who is also capable of beating defenders with his pace, he has a great header and is an intimidating figure on the field, watch for him to spearhead the Hull City attack.
19th Burnley F.C
Remaining Games: Hull (A), Sunderland (A), Liverpool (H), Birmingham (A), Tottenham (H)
Difficulty Rating: 7/10 - A very tough run after coming off a 6-1 drubbing from Manchester City (SUCK IT!) I don't see them getting any points from there remaining games as there confidence will be shot and Brian Laws cannot manage at this level.
Key Players: Chris Eagles, Steven Fletcher. Eagles is the best winger on the side who hasn't been utilised as much as he should be under manager Brian Laws mainly because of his inability to manage effectively, when he is utilised effectively though he is able to score magical goals and send in nice crosses into the box. Steven was the player to score the only goal against Manchester City (Again SUCK IT!) and is one of the only players in the squad who is able to play at this level.
20th Portsmouth F.C.
Remaining Games: Wigan (A), Aston Villa (H), Bolton (A), Wolves (H), Everton (A)
Difficulty Rating: 7.5/10 - They have the potential to get a point from most of these games however that won't be enough to spare them from there fate.
Key Players: Yeah about that....
Predicted Standings
Points
14th - Wolverhampton 39
15th - Wigan 37
16th - Bolton 36
17th - West Ham 32
-----------------------------
18th - Hull City 31
19th - Burnley 24
20th - Portsmouth 15*
So the standings don't change except for Bolton and Wigan switching places and yes I do realise that my prediction earlier in this writing of West Ham getting relegated appears wrong but I will still stand by it.
(Note: Portsmouth deducted 9 points for going into Administration)
