Premier League 
/ Richard Aikman / 20 March 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Gerard Houllier's team could well be dragged into the relegation reckoning
"Blackpool can’t defend for toffee and have mustered just five points from their last six matches, but how can they be [2.28] to get relegated when Villa – against whom they drew 1-1 recently – are [8.2]?"
The number of teams who are still unable to take their Premier League status for granted is a testament to the drama of the top flight, says Richard Aikman. Could a long odds candidate yet be be dragged into the relegation reckoning?
If the Premier League is not the best league in Europe in terms of quality it is certainly one of the most compelling. There are few championships in which the big guns can so regularly be toppled by the sides battling against relegation and in which, with eight games to go, over half of the division is still not technically safe from the drop.
Wolves were bottom of the league when they ended Manchester United's unbeaten record last month and they are still third from bottom despite collecting 11 points from their last six matches. In fact, it seems that no matter how well Wolves play there seems to be a force-field keeping them penned back in the bottom three. They can, however, take comfort from the trust of Betfair punters, who believe Mick McCarthy's men - at [3.25] to go down - will stay up.
West Bromwich Albion, meanwhile, have mustered seven points in the same timeframe, are unbeaten under Roy Hodgson and came within a whisker of completing the double over Arsenal yesterday. Yet the Baggies are hovering just a point above the trapdoor and rated even more likely relegation fodder than their Midlands rivals [3.05].
Despite beating Birmingham 2-1 on Saturday, and finding themselves within three points of 13th-placed Blackburn Rovers, rock-bottom Wigan are odds-on [1.45] to be playing Championship football next season, with the Blues [2.76] set for both the Europa League and the English second-tier next season.
Birmingham have been unfortunate with injuries of late. The loss of James McFadden and Scott Dann has hit them particularly hard this season but few tears will be shed outside of England's second city if the Blues do take a tumble. They are, at times, unwatchable. The purchase of Nikola Zigic tells you everything you need to know about Alex McLeish's gameplan, which largely consists of packing the midfield with warhorses and hoping for the big Serb or a central defender to get on the end of a set-piece. ESPN's interview with Alexander Hleb earlier this season was a telling insight into how desperate he was finding the football at St Andrews' ("Our game is kick and rush and fight and this is not the game I like. It's difficult, sometimes you don't take the ball for five minutes because... [looks up at imaginary long balls going to and fro overhead]."
McLeish's approach is in marked contrast to Ian Holloway's and, if there is any justice in this game, Blackpool will be around to entertain us again next season. But justice and football are seldom the best of bedfellows, as evidenced by Blackburn Rovers' last-gasp equaliser at Ewood Park, courtesy of a hail mary into the penalty area, a poor clearance and a deflected header into the net. The Seasiders, like Rovers, West Brom and Aston Villa have 33 points from 30 matches and yet they are rated the side most likely to go down [2.28] after Wigan.
Admittedly, Blackpool can't defend for toffee and have mustered just five points from their last six matches, but how can they be [2.28] to get relegated when Villa - against whom they drew 1-1 recently - are [8.2]? Part of the reason Blackpool have struggled recently is because their standout player this season, Charlie Adam, missed the Wolves and Chelsea matches through suspension, while DJ Campbell - who had scored seven goals in 11 matches before getting sent off at Molineux - has also been sorely missed.
Furthermore Blackpool have five home matches left to play and they will surely get points against Wigan, Newcastle and Stoke. In fact, you couldn't rule out a result against the Gunners based on the way are playing just now.
Villa, meanwhile, seem to have escaped most people's relegation reckoning because they are, well, Aston Villa. Apparently, they have enough established names (Darren Bent, Stewart Downing, Ashley Young) to get them out of trouble. But if that were the case they wouldn't be where they are now, would they? Gerard Houllier's side have managed just one win and a draw from their last six matches in all competitions and lost their last three matches in succession.
Houllier took a gamble by essentially forfeiting their FA Cup fifth round stage and it has backfired. Admittedly, the Frenchman has had injuries to contend with and the City and Bolton reverses were hardly unexpected, but the crowd have now turned on a side whose January signings Jean Makoun, Kyle Walker and Darren Bent need time to adapt. But time is running out.
With the exception of their next match - Everton away - and their last two - Arsenal (away), Liverpool (home), Villa have a relatively benign run-in on paper. But they will be playing against sides who are themselves scrapping for survival (Newcastle, West Ham, Stoke, West Brom and Wigan). Should they lose to an improving Everton side on April 2, which I wouldn't bet against, four successive defeats would exacerbate an already fragile mental environment at the club, where reports of in-fighting between coaches and players has been the only mark of consistency.
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