Foreign Invasion Continues

It seems a bit of a lop sided war going on between the Non-Americans and America in the soccer world. The Yanks invade England with the Glazers buying Manchester United. So the non-Americans retaliate by adding a team in the MLS, Chivas USA. Cleveland Browns owner, hungry to buy another mediocre team in a stagnant city buys Aston Villa. The non-Americans think they fight back by having Ajax add a PDL team in Florida. (BTW, Platini was heard mumbling in French We'll show them by fielding a team of players that don't get paid!). Then George Gillet and Tom Hicks decide to risk their wallets, quite literally, and buy the fabled English club Liverpool. So the non-Americans countered by putting a USL-2 team in Baltimore. Why Baltimore? Well, it was Crystal Palace making the location decision. Just be happy they didn't go with either of their other top choices, Toledo and Chattanooga.

It seems the Non-Americans are waking up to that they're getting their asses handed to the in this tit for tat stand-off. They need to step things up a notch and get ahead in the game. So they've turned to West Ham to establish a USL-1 team in Tampa, Florida. They say they're in it to improve their football (better players). Or are they just looking for a nice place for Curbishley to retire to next year?

What Was Barthez Thinking?

Who Will Be The Third?

As you may know by now, Charlton lost today and was relegated along with Watford. Charlton's loss with Fulham's win (finally) means that Fulham is now safe. The most Wigan can finish with is 38 points and Fulham has 39. The question is, which club will be the third to be relegated. Wigan looks the most likely to go down. They need to win at Sheffield United to stay up. If they do, they should at least be tied with Sheffield United with a -22 goal differential. Please correct me if I am wrong but after GD I believe the next tie-breaker is total goals for. If that's the case, Wigan will have Sheffield United beat. But that may be a moot point depending on how West Ham does at Old Trafford against Manchester United. If West Ham loses and Wigan wins, West Ham's -26+ GD will mean they'll go down before Sheffield United's -22+. That is unless Wigan, which has been playing horribly, wins by more than 3 goals on the road. It could happen but unlikely. And all of this could turn out to be a moot point depending on how any legal action turns out by Wigan, Sheffield United or other clubs. It stands to reason that if West Ham isn't relegated that they will bring a court action against the premier league for not deducting points from West Ham for playing players (Tevez, Mascherano) they admitted that they knew could not legitimately turn out for West Ham. If that occurs and the courts side with the plantiffs, it stands to reason that West Ham would be deducted more than enough points (3 or more) to have them relegated regardless of how they finished the season. Sheffield United - 38 points West Ham - 38 points Wigan - 35 points R Charlton - 33 points R Watford - 24 points And the remaining games : Charlton's remaining games : @ Man City April 6th ~ 0-0 Tie Reading April 9th ~0-0 @ Everton April 14th ~ 2-1 Loss Sheff Utd April 21st ~ 1-1 @ Blackburn April 28th ~ 4-1 Loss Tottenham May 7th @ Liverpool May 13th Sheffield United's remaining games : Newcastle April 7th ~ 1-2 Loss West Ham April 14th ~ 3-0 Win @ Man Utd April 17th ~ 2-0 Loss @ Charlton April 21st ~ 1-1 Watford April 28th ~ 1-0 Win @ Aston Villa April 5th ~ 3-0 Loss Wigan April 13th West Ham's remaining games : @ Arsenal April 7th ~ 0-1 Win @ Sheff Utd April 14th ~ 3-0 Loss Chelsea April 18th ~ 1-4 Loss Everton April 21st ~ 1-0 Win @ Wigan April 28th ~ 0-3 Win Bolton May 5th ~ 3-1 Win @ Man Utd May 13th Wigan's remaining games : Bolton April 7th ~ 1-3 Loss @ Aston Villa April 9th ~1-1 Tottenham April 15th ~3-3 @ Liverpool April 21st ~ 2-0 Loss West Ham April 28th ~ 0-3 Loss Middlesbrough May 5th ~ 0-1 Loss @ Sheff Utd May 13th

If Wigan and Sheffield United....

A friend pointed out why Fulham should be part of the relegation race in the Premiership. If Wigan beats West Ham at the JJB Stadium Saturday AND Sheffield United beats Watford at Brammal Lane, what Fulham does comes into play. At that point Sheffield United and Wigan would be at 38 points and GDs that were no worse than -18 and -19. And with West Ham's current -30 goal difference they, for all practical purposes, need 39 points to finish ahead of those teams. So what Fulham does matter. If Fulham wins, they're at 39 points and West Ham's hopes are 99.9% down the toilet. That said, West Ham and Charlton really do need to win their remaining 3 games and hope that Wigan, Sheffield United or Fulham slip up. After this weekend the picture of what has to happen will be a lot more clear. Fulham's remaining games : @ Everton April 6th ~ 4-1 Loss Manchester City April 9th~ 1-3 Loss @ Reading April 14th ~ 1-0 Loss Blackburn April 21st ~ 1-1 @ Arsenal April 29th Liverpool April 5th Middlesbrough April 13th

Who Will Avoid The Drop?

So who is going to end up going down? Watford at 20 points looks like a given for the drop. But with only 5 points separating West Ham United from safety and a mere point from Charlton and Wigan in the safety zone, we still may see Sheffield United (3 points clear) or Wigan going down to the Championship (division 2) next year. So who is going to end up going down? Watford at 20 points looks like a given for the drop. But with only 5 points separating West Ham United from safety and a mere point from Charlton and Wigan in the safety zone, we still may see Sheffield United (3 points clear) or Wigan going down to the Championship (division 2) next year. Charlton Charlton have 3 wins and a tie since they're 2-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford in February. With only a game left against Sheffield United, they won't be able to directly influence as much as others. And closing out the season against Blackburn (away), Tottenham and at Liverpool won't make it easy at the end. But if Pardew can save them it'll make for some juicy irony with his ex-employers West Ham the most likely to be relegated of this group. Charlton's remaining games : @ Man City April 6th Reading April 9th @ Everton April 14th Sheff Utd April 21st @ Blackburn April 28th Tottenham May 7th @ Liverpool May 13th Sheffield United Sheffield United hasn't won since 2-1 over Tottenham on Feb. 10. With their loss today and Charlton's 1-0 win over Wigan, they're only a point clear of the drop as much as the others. But they have the easiest schedule as the season closes. If they get the job done, especially at Charlton, they can ensure their own safety. Even though they're only a point clear now, they could find themselves being the ones sending Wigan down when they host them on the last day of the season. Sheffield United's remaining games : Newcastle April 7th West Ham April 14th @ Man Utd April 17th @ Charlton April 21st Watford April 28th @ Aston Villa April 5th Wigan April 13th West Ham It hasn't looked like West Ham's year including a recent 4-0 loss to relegation rivals Charlton. Bringing in Curbishley hasn't exactly righted the ship. But a few results, including today's 2-0 win over Middlesbrough has given them a chance at avoiding the drop. But it's going to be tight. And with Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United plus European hopefuls Everton and Bolton still to come their fate may be sealed by the outcome of their travels to Wigan on April 28th. And in the case of West Ham that fate still looks like a trip back down to the Championship. West Ham's remaining games : @ Arsenal April 7th @ Sheff Utd April 14th Chelsea April 18th Everton April 21st @ Wigan April 28th Bolton May 5th @ Man Utd May 13th Wigan With some results they looked like as though they could climb away from the pack at the bottom. But a few results from West Ham and Charlton, including their loss to Charlton at The Valley today have seen them become involved in the relegation fight again. But their schedule to close the season out is arguably the easiest of the bunch. If they don't get the job done before then, they may find themselves traveling to Bramall Lane on the last day of the season with their premiership future on line. Depending on how things play out the next few weeks, their hosts Sheffield United may be fighting for their own survival on the last day too. Wigan's remaining games : Bolton April 7th @ Aston Villa April 9th Tottenham April 15th @ Liverpool April 21st West Ham April 28th Middlesbrough May 5th @ Sheff Utd May 13th