QPR's number 7 and talisman Adel Taarabt. Photo credit: Wonker
Manchester United cede the iniative to Manchester City in the title race. Without a doubt, the biggest football story of the weekend was the shift in the balance of power in the topsy-turvy title race. Manchester United twice gave up a two-goal lead at home in their shock 4-4 draw with a plucky Everton side. Title rivals Manchester City immediately capitalized on United’s uncharacteristic run-in slip-up – the citizens beat Wolves 2-0. The two-point swing means City go into the crunch Manchester derby just three points behind United with their tails up (and superior goal difference). The title race could now not be much more finely balanced – both teams know that if they win their last three games they will win the league. Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that United’s visit to City at the Etihad Stadium a week today will be the biggest derby the two clubs have ever known.
The pre-match odds given on yesterday’s Manchester United versus Everton game finishing 4-4 were 500-1.
One down, two to go. With their 2-0 home loss to Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers became the first team to be relegated from the Premiership. The somewhat bizarre decision by the Wolves board to sack Mick McCarthy in 13 February with no replacement waiting in the wings has been widely regarded as a massive blunder. Amiable assistant Terry Connor took up the reins at Molineaux but proved unable to get the results needed. Connor has picked up just two points – a pair of away draws – from his ten games. “No sympathy for Wolves going down, how can you sack your manager and have no clue what to do next,” tweeted Daily Star Chief Sports Writer Brian Woolnough.
Queens Park Rangers on the up, Tottenham in freefall. QPR headed into Saturday’s late kick-off against Tottenham knowing that a win was desperately needed to boost their chances of Premiership survival. And the superhoops came good under the pressure. Mercurial Moroccan Adel Taarabt scored the only goal of the game (a fine free-kick) against the club which sold him for just £1 million. “You can see why people thought Adel was only worth that in the past, maybe his discipline wasn’t so good. But he’s worth a lot more than that now,” said QPR manager Mark Hughes. “This was a tale of two clubs in the grip of opposing fields of end-of-season gravity: one for whom the season appears to have gone on too long; the other for whom it may yet end a little too soon,” reported Barney Ronay of The Guardian. QPR are now three points above the drop zone with three games left to play. But maintaining breathing distance on their rivals will be difficult given the Rs must still travel to form sides Chelsea and Manchester City. Tottenham have now not won away from home since December and are three points off fourth place – a big disappointment for Spurs fans given the north London club looked like genuine title contenders in the first half of the season.
Can QPR stay up? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.
Newcastle really could finish fourth. At the beginning of the season, Newcastle were tipped to struggle but manager Alan Pardew has done a remarkable job at the club. Newcastle won again this weekend (they beat Stoke 3-o) to put them ahead of Tottenham and Chelsea in the race for fourth (and Champions’ League qualification). Gregg Roughley of The Guardian Sport Blog identified just why it is crucial for Newcastle to claim fourth ahead of their more illustrious and deep-pocketed rivals: “There are many reasons to hate modern football which are not worth going over again. But chief among them is the knowledge that whenever a club outstrips expectations and has a run at shaking up the big-money hegemony in the Premier League, the players who have made it possible will be bought up by the wealthy clubs that are threatened. Aston Villa fans know this only too well, having seen their club get this close to the Champions League twice before losing half the team that got them there. So this is why for Newcastle, making it into the Champions League is more important than any of the teams for whom it would be deemed a disaster if they did not.” Roughley added that, “Arsenal may have sold some of their best players but the club does not have an owner who you think would be only too happy to quit while he is ahead and cash in his chips. In Mike Ashley the suspicion is that Newcastle have such a figure and, despite the success so far this season, he is still viewed warily by many fans.”
Who will finish fourth – Newcastle, Chelsea or Spurs? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.
Teams with nothing to play do not always roll over. At both ends of the table, teams desperately fighting for points to win the league, qualify for Europe or avoid relegation found that teams with very little left to play for do not necessarily roll over and cough up the points. Everton’s rousing come-from-behind point at Manchester United was the greatest example of a team supposedly eying their summer holidays turning in an impressive performance but there were plenty of others: Swansea drew away at relegation-haunted Bolton; Fulham beat relegation-threatened Wigan; and Sunderland picked up a point at not-safe-yet Aston Villa.