Villa going down?

[roadrunner]

Unfortunately there are worse teams than Villa this season.

Wigan for me are nailed on to go down,I think Birmingham too. I fancy West Brom to take the other spot. It's really tight down there. More interesting than the top four IMO.

Pardew tonight confessed his Newcastle side were in the relegation scrap as well.

11 Newcastle 30 36
12 Fulham 30 35
13 Blackburn 30 33
14 Aston Villa 30 33
15 Blackpool 30 33
16 West Brom 30 33
17 West Ham 30 32
------------------------
18 Wolves 30 32
19 Birmingham 29 31
20 Wigan 30 30

[TBM]

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=103094

As I said a few months ago

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

No one is nailed on certainties, just depends who can string that 3 to 4 game run togethwer and escape, seems to always happen. It really does show how close the bottom teams are in the Prem tho.

[Royal Rother]

http://hobnob.royals.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=103094

As I said a few months ago

And as I said in early Feb...

Sadly, even with the revered Charlie Adam and Ian Holloway, they are going down this season.

[papereyes]

I can't find it but there's something a bit "too good to go down" about them.

I can't help but think the throwing the city game and then completly destroying his players' confidence was a masterstroke.

[PEARCEY]

I just hope Blackpool go down. Can't stand Holloway.

[Arch]

I think I doomed Blackburn earlier in the season when someone said they were on the brink of collapse and I rubbished the view. They're certainly dropping as freely as anyone at the moment. Agree about Wigan, so for me it's Wigan, Blackburn and.... Blackpool. Brum will jammy it.

[Wait, though. No midlands teams going down? That can't be right. Hell, relegate everyone currently on 33 or less. They're all rubbish anyway.]

[Ian Royal]

I think I doomed Blackburn earlier in the season when someone said they were on the brink of collapse and I rubbished the view. They're certainly dropping as freely as anyone at the moment. Agree about Wigan, so for me it's Wigan, Blackburn and.... Blackpool. Brum will jammy it.

[Wait, though. No midlands teams going down? That can't be right. Hell, relegate everyone currently on 33 or less. They're all rubbish anyway.]

I fancy our chances of promotion if about 7 are going up.

[Red]

Houllier out!

[prostak]

I think I doomed Blackburn earlier in the season when someone said they were on the brink of collapse and I rubbished the view.

I think that was me, and if their collapse is your doing then I cannot begin to thank you enough. Having said that, their feat of having stayed up for so long with such a very bad squad is one thing that gives me hope should Reading end up getting promoted.

[savage 4 england]

Hopefully Wigan, Blackpool and Wolves are relegated if we remain in the championship.

[Zammo]

Pat Murphy on Five Live last night was very interesting when talking about the Villa. Unusually for a radio hack, he was very forthright with his views, and used the phrase 'Houllier is a clown' more than once. Three of last year's superb back four (Dunne, Collins & Warnock) cannot be in the same room as the ageing Frenchman, with Warnock actually banished from all first team activities, and training with the reserves. Pires is apparently chauffeur driven to the training ground and Villa Park , and more than once this season, Houllier has got his facts wrong in press conferences. There was loads of other stuff too, it was a real stuff on how not to run a Premiership football club.

Oh, he also added that he had spoken to a number of WBA players, who confirmed that they have learnt more about football in the last three weeks under Hodgson, than they had ever done under Di Matteo or other club managers. Makes you wonder why he couldn't make it work with the highly paid prima donnas at Liverpool.

[papereyes]

"When my Marines put on their uniforms and the emblem of the Corps and went into battle and things got tough, they did not fight for their Commander, they fought for their brothers-in-arms, the men wearing their uniform and emblem.

"When a player puts on a kit and wears the club badge, I would expect the same. We have very good lads who know how to play with passion. We have all seen them do it and have cheered them on. They are professionals who have given 110 per cent in many games.

"What we need now is to quit pointing fingers and everyone look at the Claret and Blue of our kit and the badge they are wearing and go out and kick the c**p out of the next teams we play until the end of the season!"

errrrrrr

[Compo's Hat]

Have watched they game against Wolves and i can't remember a poorer Villa performance for a long time. Having said that i think they'll survive and it'll be Wigan, West Brom and Blackburn with Birmingham only just surviving.

Basically anyone but Blackpool please!

[Ark Royal]

Wigan, Brum and Wolves although I always (cough) enjoy watching Wolves play. Brum do nothing to stir the senses and I bet McLeish would swap the League Cup and Europe for staying up.

As for Wigan, if they go down, I think they will plummet through the divisions. I can see a mass exodus of players and they will be playing in front of 7,000 crowds - or less.

[Elmer Park]

Villa going down would be funny. Houllier's disrespect to the Club's fans with the Liverpool thing and the F A Cup has been quite amazing. Would like to see them go as I always do with so called bigger Clubs. In fact whatever happens to Reading each season I always find a small degree of comfort by laughing at the Clubs relegated from the Premier League. Others whose demise would make me smile

Newcastle, Blackburn, Wolves or West Ham. Don't mind if Blackpool go. I feel I should be behind the underdog but they are just so naff. In fact I can't think of a Club that I want to stay up really, bitter and twisted person that I am. To back that up I actually would like the Clubs who would suffer maximum financial pain to go down.

Taking everything into account though, overall would like to see Villa, Newcastle and West Ham go - Championship might be tough for Clubs like ours next season if they all go down. Hard to say who it actually will be but I will say our short local trips to Brighton and Southampton will be outweighed by trips to Wigan, Blackpool and Blackburn. Changing my mind every week though.

[Gordons Cumming]

This could be one of those odd seasons when a team with 40 points gets relegated.

I believe West Ham went down with 41 - 42 points about 10 years or so ago.

[T.R.O.L.I.]

Indeed - 2002/03 season.

West Ham finished 18th with 42 points. IIRC, the team in 17th got 44 points and had a vastly superior goal difference so even if West Ham had got 44 points they would have still gone down.

[Wax Jacket]

Don't mind if Blackpool go. I feel I should be behind the underdog but they are just so naff.

spot on

[Svlad Cjelli]

All part of managers trying to impose control over their players, rather than cosset them and ask them very nicely if they'd mind playing and doing what he asks of them.