2010/11 Season Preview Pt.4

Posted on August 06, 2010

junior

Battle for Survival

Last seasons survival battle turned in to quite a dull affair. With Portsmouth handed a 9-point deduction and Hull pushing the self-destruct button by sending Phil Brown on gardening leave.

The upcoming season might be a little different than others. Normally the usual candidates for the drop are the teams that have just been promoted to the premier league from the championship. This year we have Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool joining the premiership. Two out the three seem more than likely to retain their premiership status, with Blackpool being the odd one out.

The way I see it unfolding this season:

20^th Blackpool: The Premier League debutants have a daunting task in front of them and will find it mighty hard to prolong their stay in the top flight. Making matters worse is that they play only 3 games at home in the first 3 months, ruling out any chance of early points. A respective campaign could be their only saving grace.

19^th Wigan Athletic: Last season the Latics can be best described as being consistently inconsistent. Having beaten the likes of Chelsea 3-1 and then losing to Tottenham 9-1. They conceded a total of 79 goals, which was only 3 better than Burnley. In my opinion I don’t see them improving from last season. Which will prove to be a decisive factor as the teams around them have actually improved.

18^th Wolverhampton Wanderers: In a nutshell “Second Season Syndrome”.

17^th West Bromwich Albion: The “Yoyo Effect”. If that isn’t a term to describe a team that keeps bouncing from one league to another, than I might just have created the term. The Baggies essentially have been promoted to and relegated from the top flight, 5 and 3 times in the past 10 seasons respectively. It would not shock me if they claim their 4^th relegation.

16^th Stoke City: A very solid defensive line and an ability to master the art of “Throw Ins” have kept Stoke City in the premier league for the past 2 seasons. They actually improved in their last campaign. Finishing a respectable 11^th. In my opinion the league has gotten far more competitive this season as compared to the last ten seasons gone past. Which might make things tougher for teams like Stoke City.

15^th Bolton Wanderers: I have seen Bolton being successful playing one brand of football and that was under Big Sam. I agree it was not easy on the eye but it got them results (and a few kind words from Arsene Wenger). After Big Sam left, to basically bore other fans, every other manager has tried bringing a better style of football to the club, but have been met with very mediocre results. Dilemma!!