The final quarter of the Premier League season approaching on the horizon, plenty of plotlines to be wrapped up over the next couple of months. Talk of who wins the title, evaluating who edges into Europe, debate regarding who suffers the drop.
Three teams will be swapping top tier status for EFL entry in just a few weeks, Wolves already looking like one of the trio – in fairness to the Molineux men, their demotion has been pencilled in before the festive period got underway.
No festivity in the West Midlands, the same can almost be said in East Lancashire and although Burnley are capable of getting points on the board. Performances such as the one at Chelsea last weekend have been few and far between.
Getting Turfed Out
Scott Parker’s men still with some hope of avoiding the drop and until that hope is extinguished for good, the Clarets will be giving their all. Then again, this is a league where you can give your all and still end up with nothing for your efforts.
Wolves as good as down, Burnley almost good as joining them. One more relegation berth to be filled and although the pair of Crystal Palace and Brighton have produced unsettling dips in form as of late, their respective weekend wins may already be enough to keep them in the division.
Not quite comfortable enough to get out the end of season deckchairs but approaching football’s version of the beach with flipflops instead of boots on. You get the feeling that the Eagles and the Seagulls are each just one win away from booking another season in the Premier League.
Which leaves us with a gang of four, all desperately hoping they avoid 18th place in the table. Someone has to finish there and although West Ham are in unwanted possession of the position, they are arguably the team with the most positive trajectory from those who are currently stricken.
Hammering the Forest
The Hammers have collected 11 points from their last 18 on offer – a run of results that has undoubtedly kept manager Nuno Espirito Santo in employment. The West Ham boss would love nothing more than to send down the team that sent him packing at the start of the season.
Then again, the Portuguese coach would love to send any of Nottingham Forest, Tottenham or Leeds packing. There be a personal grudge between himself and Evangelos Maranakis but if it has to continue in the Premier League next season, then so be it from Espirito Santo’s perspective.
If they were to both stay up, it would be toil at either Elland Road or the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Daniel Farke another manager who was feeling the heat earlier in the campaign, he has gone some way to extinguishing the flames with Leeds’s upturn in results.
Just one defeat in six as part of a run of that also includes recent draws at both Chelsea and Aston Villa. Two points that have taken them above Tottenham, Spurs supporters wondering if the nadir of their season is still yet to come.
Spurred into Action
Which leaves us with the North London outfit, recently rolling the dice in terms of managerial personnel. It is now down to Igor Tudor to stop this ship from sinking. Europa League winners under Ange Postecoglou seven months ago, in that time they have also said goodbye to Thomas Frank.
The Dane’s stint in N17 one to forget as the former Brentford manager could only turn it on in Europe. All very well mixing it with the elite on the continent but a big issue if you cannot back it up when at home.
Of course, there were no home comforts for Spurs last Sunday and although Igor Tudor spoke well both before and after the 4-1 defeat to local rivals Arsenal, there is a real sense of impending doom surrounding the club.
Europe and Bust
They say that a club can be too good to go down. Right now, Tottenham are not too good, they could go down. Some of their fans say this would not be the worst thing, draining the swamp as it were. The bean counters have other ideas.
Financial as much footballing peril at stake, a lot riding on Spurs’ last 11 league games of the league season. 11 in the league, at least two more in the Champions League – this competition could prove to be a hugely unnecessary distraction.
Especially when you consider just how fragile Tottenham’s squad is at present. A deeper European run is obviously tempting. Championship trips to Bristol City and Stoke next season as a consequence of extra exertion arguably less so.
A tough decision for Igor Tudor, tougher still if his newly inherited Spurs charges fail to get the better of Fulham on Sunday. How pivotal will this weekend be for not only the team celebrating in Bilbao last month but also the three teams also in direct danger of suffering relegation to the second tier?
Next, read Dan's analysis as he ask the question Are Tottenham Worthy Of Their Big Six Label.
