Fourth-Place Playoff Plans for Premiership

So Game 39 was a non-starter, what else can the bureaucrats at Premiership HQ come up with to generate even more money? Eureka! Someone cried, “Let’s have a play-off for fourth-place.”  Is this a good idea?  Really?
There have been many blogs and articles written of late supporting this idea providing a variety of reasoning why it should be at the very least considered, with one of the strongest being that it might break the monopoly of the Big-Four on the Champions League places.  From the need to inject some excitement at the end of the season (what? the title race isn't exciting?) to the desire to break the stranglehold of the Big-Four.  But the need for change has to be carefully considered before drastic action should be taken.  Also, just because there are four teams that vie for the top four places every year, is this league not exciting?

Let's look at the example of The Championship.  After a long, hard gruelling season, a team finishes third only to have to engage in further battles against teams that have not proven themselves good enough over the course of a season as they fight for a place in The Premiership.  Think of it as the last-chance-saloon (or father Christmas)

The Football Edition of Monopoly

Notts County and Portsmouth. Both clubs will have to go through a “fit and proper persons test” to prove that potential new owners will be able to manage the club yet this isn’t the first time that both clubs have changed hands this year. For the fourth time this season, Portsmouth are looking for new owners once more after Ali Al-Faraj failed in his bid to attract new investors. The current “owner” does not wish to own the club and only took over after Portsmouth failed to pay back the money he had loaned the club.

Fight Club (Or the fight for fourth)

As the media circus over the Terry affair continues even after Capello's decision to demote the defender and the nation's army of bloggers are inundated with slavering, barely comprehendible comments from football fans, the issue of the fight for a top-four place renews with some interest today.  Liverpool have the chance to sneak into the top four, if only for a few hours, before Tottenham face Aston Villa at White Hart Lane if they can overcome an in-form Everton who have won their last three league games and produced a near-match winning performance at the Emirates before succumbing to a late Rosicky goal.  Victory is far from assured for Liverpool who are also on a good run, unbeaten in the last six league games, winning 4 and drawing two of those matches.

Graham's Weekly Predictions

So the time has come for battle to recommence!  The War in Iraq may be some brief entertainment on the six o'clock news for a little titillation as we return home from work, kiss the wife and sit at the table to eat our dinners.  But it is this weekends wars, fought on the green fields of Blighty that occupy the hearts and minds of this land.  Here, for your passionate deliberation, are my predictions for the weekend:

Saturday 30th January 2010

Birmingham 1-1 Tottenham

Chelsea 3-0 Burnley

Fulham 1-0 Aston Villa

Hull 2-1 Wolves

Liverpool 2-0 Bolton

West Ham 2-1 Blackburn

Wigan 0-2 Everton

Sunday 31st January 2010

Man City 3-0 Portsmouth

Arsenal 1-1 Man Utd

Yes, people this weekend is the battle to end-all battles - well, at least 'til next weekend.  It is the always-eventful Wenger-Fergie yearly-rematch.  The Blind Professor versus the saviour of Wrigleys Spearmint Gum factory.  Who will come out on top?  Both are in a good run of form but I can see Man Utd taking a point at the Emirates.  No Rio and a defence about as solid as OJ Simpson, they'll definitely concede but the midgets of Arsenal will have to score by passing their way through the middle and, if their accuracy is as good as at Stoke, the best they can hope for is just the one.  Rooney to score for Man Utd.

This season's Championship is like a box of chocolates...

January is already bidding us a swift exit. It’s where a football season in years gone by might’ve started to show signs of taking shape. Man Utd would be a million points clear at the Premiership summit, with Arsenal and/or Liverpool fighting over the scraps. Occasionally, this order would swap round. Villa would finish mid table. And rest.
Wind back to now, and witness the change. Certainly within the Premierships’ ranks. Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool, the omnipresent “Big Four”, have conducted themselves with about as much dignity as a Dad dancing at a Disco over recent months.

Liverpool: Camera-shy or simply shoddy(!) this season?

This season has been a major surprise for Liverpool supporters (but not to the management according to a recent interview with Benitez) who expected their much-loved team to continue the form of the second-half of last season and really challenge for the title.  The loss of Alonso, such an integral component to last season's challenge, was keenly felt and was a cause for some worry for most Liverpool supporters but the club assured fans that the purchase of Alberto Aquilani would improve the attacking play to such an extent that Alonso would not be missed.  Although he was injured for the first half of the season, Benitez felt confident that the side could cope until his new recruit was ready to fill in the creative hole left with the departure of Alonso.
Unfortunately, this season has not been a particularly happy one for the club and its

Today's FA Cup Action

Today sees only two matches in this weekend's FA Cup action with Stoke taking on a free-scoring Arsenal side brimming with confidence and lowly Scunthorpe tackling Roberto Mancini's miserly Manchester City.   This year's FA Cup has not thrown up too many surprises with only Reading and Leeds being the non-Premiership sides to shine against their more illustrious, and richer, opposition.  But Scunthorpe, who lie fourth-bottom in the Championship only four points clear of the last relegation place, offer an interesting conundrum considering Reading's win against Burnley yesterday.  Can the odds be upset again today or will form, and class, win out? 

Big Match Centre's Predictions:

Scunthorpe 1-3 Man City, R4, 16:00
Stoke          1-2v Arsenal, R4, 13:30

The woes at Pompey

Currently languishing in 20th place in the Premiership, Portsmouth seem to have it all to do this season. Their current on-pitch form has not been helped by the ongoing financial troubles at the South Coast club.
As of the 5th of Jan 2010, players & staff have not been paid for the month of December, which makes it the 3rd wages delay of the season, the news of this latest delay was further compounded by the FA’s announcement to withhold funds of up to £7million pounds to the club and

McCarthygate

The furore surrounding Mick McCarthy’s decision to field a weakened team against an injury-decimated Man Utd at Old Trafford has not died down despite Wolves winning against Burnley on Sunday. Hordes of fans and journalists are attempting to suggest that McCarthy’s decision to rest his “first-choice eleven” has been vindicated because of that win but a little perspective should be applied here. Wolves have won three of their last four games and have cleared themselves of the relegation zone but

Bad to worse? Or is this as good as it gets for Liverpool?

A finish of pure magic and a lucky deflection early in the second half put Liverpool to the sword in a game Liverpool needed to win to prove Benitez's claim that Liverpool will finish in the top four. His team looked like they wanted to prove that point as they outmuscled and harried Arsenal into conceding possession in the middle of the park. A swift counter attack in the 11th minute saw Gerrard sprint down the right to cross for an unmarked Torres in the area who, unfortunately for Liverpool's fans, shot tamely first-time at Almunia. The