Peter Anderson ⚽ It's that time of the year again when we not only look to the final run ins of champions and cup winners, but also down at who's getting relegated. 

Norwich are down and Watford as good as. The final place will see a race between Burnley, Leeds and Everton, and it seems too tight to call. Burnley and Leeds have 34 points and Everton 32, but have played a game less. On Saturday Burnley were getting beaten but scored two late goals to take 3 points. Later that day Leeds faced City at home, and despite a raucous crowd and City resting players for the UCL semi on Tuesday, Leeds failed to get anything from the game. 

Everton then faced Chelsea on Sunday and against form managed to take all three points. Leeds, more than anyone else, will rue Everton's victory as it closes the gap from 5 to 2 points. Next up for Leeds is an away trip to Arsenal, a team chasing 4th spot and UCL football next season. Burnley face Aston Villa at home and Everton face Leicester away. So Leeds, who had taken 8 points from the last 12 available, lose to City, see Everton beat Chelsea and find themselves right in the mire again. 

Without Bamford for practically all of the season and now without Northern Ireland stalwart Stuarty Dallas, Leeds have it all to do now. They have made heavy going of their season, never really getting any consistency. Burnley, on the other hand, sacked their long-time manager Dyche and got an immediate bounce, taking 10 points from the last 12. The momentum is with them. It is therefore highly likely that one of either Leeds or Everton, two of the biggest and most historic clubs of English football, will get relegated.

Life in the second tier is not much fun. It is a notoriously hard league to get out of. Typically, you play twice a week for the whole year and the games are very physical, without the protection afforded to EPL "elite" players. 

There is much fuss around the allocation of parachute payments for those that drop out of the EPL to the Championship, with most Championship sides claiming that they give an unfair advantage. And their case seems to be a good one. The first two clubs to get relegated from the EPL this season, Norwich and Watford, have both been up and down like yo-yos over the past 5 or 6 seasons. The current top two in the Championship, Fulham and Bournemouth, have also been in the EPL recently. Of the four teams in the play-off spots two, Huddersfield and Sheff U, have also recently been relegated from the EPL. 

It is clear that some sort of system needs to be in place to protect the relegated. We want newly promoted sides to invest in players and give the EPL a real go. That means giving the players EPL quality contracts. If it doesn't work and they get relegated, they need to off-load those players to adjust to their new reality. But it does seem that the current system is creating yo-yo clubs who successfully navigate the Championship and then fail in the EPL. Clearly the authorities will need to take another look at this. Leeds and Everton, however, will be hoping that they will have no need to avail of parachute payments any time soon.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

Parachute Payments

Peter Anderson ⚽ It's that time of the year again when we not only look to the final run ins of champions and cup winners, but also down at who's getting relegated. 

Norwich are down and Watford as good as. The final place will see a race between Burnley, Leeds and Everton, and it seems too tight to call. Burnley and Leeds have 34 points and Everton 32, but have played a game less. On Saturday Burnley were getting beaten but scored two late goals to take 3 points. Later that day Leeds faced City at home, and despite a raucous crowd and City resting players for the UCL semi on Tuesday, Leeds failed to get anything from the game. 

Everton then faced Chelsea on Sunday and against form managed to take all three points. Leeds, more than anyone else, will rue Everton's victory as it closes the gap from 5 to 2 points. Next up for Leeds is an away trip to Arsenal, a team chasing 4th spot and UCL football next season. Burnley face Aston Villa at home and Everton face Leicester away. So Leeds, who had taken 8 points from the last 12 available, lose to City, see Everton beat Chelsea and find themselves right in the mire again. 

Without Bamford for practically all of the season and now without Northern Ireland stalwart Stuarty Dallas, Leeds have it all to do now. They have made heavy going of their season, never really getting any consistency. Burnley, on the other hand, sacked their long-time manager Dyche and got an immediate bounce, taking 10 points from the last 12. The momentum is with them. It is therefore highly likely that one of either Leeds or Everton, two of the biggest and most historic clubs of English football, will get relegated.

Life in the second tier is not much fun. It is a notoriously hard league to get out of. Typically, you play twice a week for the whole year and the games are very physical, without the protection afforded to EPL "elite" players. 

There is much fuss around the allocation of parachute payments for those that drop out of the EPL to the Championship, with most Championship sides claiming that they give an unfair advantage. And their case seems to be a good one. The first two clubs to get relegated from the EPL this season, Norwich and Watford, have both been up and down like yo-yos over the past 5 or 6 seasons. The current top two in the Championship, Fulham and Bournemouth, have also been in the EPL recently. Of the four teams in the play-off spots two, Huddersfield and Sheff U, have also recently been relegated from the EPL. 

It is clear that some sort of system needs to be in place to protect the relegated. We want newly promoted sides to invest in players and give the EPL a real go. That means giving the players EPL quality contracts. If it doesn't work and they get relegated, they need to off-load those players to adjust to their new reality. But it does seem that the current system is creating yo-yo clubs who successfully navigate the Championship and then fail in the EPL. Clearly the authorities will need to take another look at this. Leeds and Everton, however, will be hoping that they will have no need to avail of parachute payments any time soon.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

14 comments:

  1. The race to the bottom has been as interesting as the one to the top. I don't want to see Leeds or Everton go down. Watford, Norwich and Burnley, I'd prefer. But, as you point out Burnley have pulled back from the edge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everton's result was a nasty bookend for my otherwise wonderful holiday in Dubrovnik. Left me sick to my core as we are no longer in control of our destiny. I am simply not going to enter into possible results permutations. Sixteen years out of the Prem was a severe sentence. Is all of Bielsa's work in getting us back to the Promised Land after such a long exile in the desert going to turn to dust in the next three weeks? Being an LUFC supporter at times like this and at so many other times comes with a serious health warning!

      Delete
  2. Leeds will fall through the trap door . Looks as if City will win the Prem , who will grab the other two trophies ? Reds to win a treble & beat R M in the CL final # Let it be

    ReplyDelete
  3. Almost like getting relegated then promoted is financially appealing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Barry
    I think you are favourites for the drop atm, I hope you get out.

    Steve R
    It sure does for Fulham, Norwich and Watford

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congratulations to Bournemouth on regaining their Prem status and to their manager Scott Parker for his second promotion.

      Delete
  5. Liverpool again pushed their luck last night. That first half performance was abysmal. I wonder had Villa Real come out for the second half with a high press would they have reached the final? Still, it took character to come back from 0-2 down and emerge as 2-3 winners.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AM
    Quite a few poor first half performances from LFC when not playing at Anfield.
    I'm sure you want Real in the final to get revenge for the Ramos on Salah incident, and the result of course!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like City and don't care much for Real one way or the other. I would prefer Liverpool to win the EPL rather than the CL. If City win the EPL by a point, fine. They would be worthy winners and not much can be done about that. But the way Liverpool almost threw the CL away last night - that annoys me.

      Delete
    2. City just couldn't dig deep enough Peter. Commiserations.

      Delete
    3. AM
      I hope you do them scumbags in the final!!! Nightmare game, usual story this season in the big games: dominate but don't score enough goals.

      Delete
  7. On the night one half of me wanted Real to go through but for very selfish reasons - I felt Liverpool have a better chance of beating them than beating City. At the same time I was thinking if City make the CL final they might not be so focused on the EPL and that would enhance Liverpool's chances. I don't think the quadruple is doable nor do I think it being doable is a good idea. It can't be good for soccer if one side has such dominance. A once off every thirty years, ok, but not as a regular feature. Still, I'd like to see Liverpool achieve it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I were you I'd rather play City. 3 games this season and we haven't beat you yet. City have no number 9 and it shows. Real have a uncanny ability to win in UCL games, it's in the club's DNA. Hopefully the desire to avenge the Ramos foul will get you over the line.

      Delete