Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
The only excitement that comes close to the battle for the Premier League is the fight to merely stay in it for another season. The financial rewards of the top flight are now so vast that relegation is no longer an occupational hazard that can be thrown off with one straight-forward recovery season in the division below. These days, it can cripple a football club and leave them circling the drain for years to come. A quick glance at the bottom half of the Championship will show you a host of down-on-their-luck former giants, swigging from a bottle in a paper bag and telling each other how they could have been contenders. Birmingham and Reading beware.
It's interesting that the two teams who survived the dogfight did so with such wildly opposed ideologies. Ugly Bolton kicked their way to safety with crude, effective football that brought back memories of the 1980s. Watching them at Stamford Bridge this weekend was an education in itself. They couldn't have tackled any harder had they found out before kick-off that the Chelsea players had been making moves on their girlfriends. Gary Megson may not be Arsene Wenger, but he must be doing something in the dressing room to coax such venomous performances from his men. Does anyone else suspect that it involves pointy sticks?
However, in life there must always be a balance and Fulham were as beautiful as Bolton were vicious. Roy Hodgson has had a strange career. He's enjoyed success at international level and is still so highly thought of at Inter Milan that, prior to his appointment at Craven Cottage, he was set to return to the San Siro in an advisory capacity. Yet, in his home country, he's never been appreciated. Eyebrows were raised at some of his signings, but he managed to sculpt a perfect blend of intricate, short-passing and painstakingly planned set-pieces, just about effective enough to save the club. The fact that Fulham were playing mindless long-ball before his arrival only makes their escape more extraordinary. It's one thing to save a team, it's another to do it while changing their mentality.
Birmingham changed their mentality as well this season, but unfortunately they went from patient and stable to desperate and needy. Their doomed flirtation with Carson Yeung and his reported insistence that, under his regime, Steve Bruce would be the first backside out of the door, wrecked the season. Bruce went on to prove his worth at Wigan, while the Blues never really got going under Alex McLeish. Birmingham fans hurled abuse at co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold this weekend, prompting them both to tearfully pledge the sale of the club at the first opportunity. If that mysterious Singaporean consortium that we keep hearing about would like me to make contact, they only have to ask.
Reading also slipped through the cracks, but their demise is a little sadder. Last season was a perfect example of what can be achieved at a small club with good management, but it all went wrong this term. Steve Coppell's touch deserted him and he made a number of questionable decisions. Reading seemed to concede defeat before they played big teams, lining up with huge defences and barely any intent of attacking. Leroy Lita, the England U21 striker, fell out of favour and was allowed to leave on loan and, by his own admission, Coppell's signings were no better than his existing players. In the Premier League, if you stand still you go backwards.
If there is a lesson to be learned from all of this, it's that there are no easy ways to survive. Continuity is vital, leadership is imperative, but even consistency cannot guarantee survival. Reading should have not been relegated, but they must know that they let their status slip through their fingers with anaemic, gutless displays. All in all, it doesn't look good for West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and whoever sneaks through the play-offs in a fortnight. The Premier League is more dangerous than ever.
It's interesting that the two teams who survived the dogfight did so with such wildly opposed ideologies. Ugly Bolton kicked their way to safety with crude, effective football that brought back memories of the 1980s. Watching them at Stamford Bridge this weekend was an education in itself. They couldn't have tackled any harder had they found out before kick-off that the Chelsea players had been making moves on their girlfriends. Gary Megson may not be Arsene Wenger, but he must be doing something in the dressing room to coax such venomous performances from his men. Does anyone else suspect that it involves pointy sticks?
However, in life there must always be a balance and Fulham were as beautiful as Bolton were vicious. Roy Hodgson has had a strange career. He's enjoyed success at international level and is still so highly thought of at Inter Milan that, prior to his appointment at Craven Cottage, he was set to return to the San Siro in an advisory capacity. Yet, in his home country, he's never been appreciated. Eyebrows were raised at some of his signings, but he managed to sculpt a perfect blend of intricate, short-passing and painstakingly planned set-pieces, just about effective enough to save the club. The fact that Fulham were playing mindless long-ball before his arrival only makes their escape more extraordinary. It's one thing to save a team, it's another to do it while changing their mentality.
Birmingham changed their mentality as well this season, but unfortunately they went from patient and stable to desperate and needy. Their doomed flirtation with Carson Yeung and his reported insistence that, under his regime, Steve Bruce would be the first backside out of the door, wrecked the season. Bruce went on to prove his worth at Wigan, while the Blues never really got going under Alex McLeish. Birmingham fans hurled abuse at co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold this weekend, prompting them both to tearfully pledge the sale of the club at the first opportunity. If that mysterious Singaporean consortium that we keep hearing about would like me to make contact, they only have to ask.
Reading also slipped through the cracks, but their demise is a little sadder. Last season was a perfect example of what can be achieved at a small club with good management, but it all went wrong this term. Steve Coppell's touch deserted him and he made a number of questionable decisions. Reading seemed to concede defeat before they played big teams, lining up with huge defences and barely any intent of attacking. Leroy Lita, the England U21 striker, fell out of favour and was allowed to leave on loan and, by his own admission, Coppell's signings were no better than his existing players. In the Premier League, if you stand still you go backwards.
If there is a lesson to be learned from all of this, it's that there are no easy ways to survive. Continuity is vital, leadership is imperative, but even consistency cannot guarantee survival. Reading should have not been relegated, but they must know that they let their status slip through their fingers with anaemic, gutless displays. All in all, it doesn't look good for West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and whoever sneaks through the play-offs in a fortnight. The Premier League is more dangerous than ever.
