* The Trap-door: Premier League Relegation and Survival Match - Day Thread *

r00fie1

r00fie1

Well-known member
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Its all down to the final day of the Premier season. Who will join Southampton and fall through the big league trap-door.
We know its going to be any two from Leeds, Everton or Leicester. Its going to go to the final whistle!

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It`s the time when every fan has an eye on the pitch and an ear on what`s going on elsewhere. These days its an iphone. Some of us may remember a battery-powered pocket radio. The league positions can change by the minute. From joy to depression and back again. Its exciting watching from the outside. (y)

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Never mind the talk from Managers about concentrating on their own game: fans will let the players know their fait as the minutes tick by.
Home "advantage" means nothing today as all three potential relegation teams is at home. I suspect the most tense atmosphere will be at Goodison Park: Bournemouth are no push-over and Gary O`Neil has done a good job steering his team out of relegation "certainty". The Toffess have flirted with relegation before over the lasst ten years. They have spent millions and acheived nothing over recent years. Since David Moyes eleven year tenure ended in 2013, Everton have had twelve Managers [Including Caretakers].

Leeds are going for the record - with four Managers since "Bucket" Bielsa left in February 2022!! Jesse Marsch lasted 37 games, Skubala [3], Gracia [12] and now "Big Sam" [3]....so far. Its no way to run a football club. Hopefully Leeds will be back "where the belong" come the end of the 90.

The final day can be just as disappointing for those at the top - especially when the title is snatched away from you in injury time........in another game:
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Remember when Manchester United were at Sunlun, unaware if Manchester City had won against QPR - until a huge cheer erupted from the terraces, with the mackems singing "you`ve won **** all"! [Ironic that!]. Aguero scored the winner late into injury time, provoking wild celebrations at the Etiad. Poor Sir Alex was in limbo for minutes as his players waited for the City result!

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Its going to be "squeeky-bum" time from the kick-off. For us Boro "neutrals" we may have our own subjective, irrational, emotional reasons to see a certain team get stuffed at home [Yes! Leeds!]. It would be great [in my opinion] to see Leeds and Everton join us next season - playing Rotherham, Plymouth and Ipswich. Come August, some of the pampered Premier League players will have deserted their clubs like rats from a sinking ship. Its reality time.No excuses - the final table doesnt lie and those who go down just arent good enough.

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It will be interesting to see how Everton manage against tough- tackling Championship sides, with no VAR and pitches which dont play like a billiard table. Leeds are most likely to be one of the three for the drop - their defence is dreadful and their attack is not much better. With a goal difference of -27 compared to Leicester`s -18, they have half a boot on the trap-door already.

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Just listening to a comment from a national sports radio "expert" - Everton are "too good" to go down (?!) and Leeds need a miracle". Leicester have the slim hope of beating West Ham to stay up. Today I`m a Bournemouth fan and want Marcus Tavernier to score the winner. Harry Kane hat-trick at Elland Road please - as he bids farewell to Spurs. For his sake, a summer move may reward him with a medal elsewhere next season.

"Big Sam" says he`s better than any other Manager. Sean Dyche "rallying cry" hasnt really ignited Everton - who are in a poor state and will have to begin a major overhaul - in the Championship or the Prem. Leicester are where they are through poor Management and leadership. But they held Champions League contenders Newcastle at St James Park to a draw and could beat West Ham if they show balls and determination at King Power.

I cant wait.
(y)​
 
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Jedi boro said:
I can’t see it but hopefully Leicester can escape and send Leeds and Everton down.
Click to expand...
Yes please young man.
I wish Forest had gone down months ago, but they dragged themselves by their finger tips out of the mire.
I know a Foxes fan who is bricking it and says he`s locking himself in his garden shed away from all media.
He`s got three kids, so that wont be much good!
"Dad. West Ham have just scored........"
:love:
 
TBH I can see all 3 teams - all playing at home - able to beat their opponents today so boring as it may be I don't think the table will change from what it is now..

Everton v Bournemouth - Bournemouth have nothing to play for, at all & can be hit & miss.. I just think Everton will out battle them & fully expect the atmosphere inside Goodison to be febrile..

Leeds v Spurs.. just two clubs in an absolute mess, Kane must have serious doubts about his future at the club & will not want to get injured.. Son also must be looking at his future & too many other Spurs players are just decent - Spurs are not the 'big club' they & too many southern media make them out to be.. Leeds, can almighty Sam get them to score a goal.. as that is all they may need..

Leicester v West Ham - West Ham have a euro cup final to play for.. I expect they will rest a few or at the very least use all of their subs & do that early.. Leicester: Vardy is so past his best & never properly supported by signing another reliable striker to rotate with.. I do think many of their players - regardless of result - will be looking to leave, another club in a bit of a mess, sinking back to its historic level maybe..

Leeds & Leicester to sink with Southampton for me..
 
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Smith says Leicester must be 100 per cent focused on their only duty - winning their own game. Undeniably, supporters and media alike will be monitoring events elsewhere, but the Foxes Manager doesn't see the need due to the clear permutations.
"We just have to go and win the game," he explained. "We don’t even have to look at the Everton result until after the game. We’ll do our job and then see where it takes us. We can only control what we can do. That’s what we have to keep telling the players – control your performance, help your team-mates out and go and get a win. If you do your part, we are looking at other people to help us. We’ve got to make sure we concentrate on what we do. It’s quite a simple message really and the lads have trained well so far.

"Any game you go into, from the first minute, you try to win the game. But you’ve got to get the balance right and that’s always the key thing. You’ve got to make sure you’re not too open. We’ve got to go and score a goal because, without scoring a goal, we don’t win the game. We know we’ve got to go and create opportunities, but we’re mindful of the threat that West Ham have. We’ll have to be good at both sides of the game. For us, it’ll be about trying to win the game from the first minute. We’ve got to concentrate on what we do in front of our own fans – and go and get the win. I’m looking forward to it."​
The job can only be completed by the players on the pitch, but Smith hopes the Blue Army can play their role by contributing to another magnificent atmosphere at King Power Stadium. That togetherness could be the difference, he says.

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"They can make a massive difference because we’re at home," Smith said. "We’ve seen the difference they’ve made in the home games against Wolves and then Everton – and against Liverpool, until they scored two quick-fire goals. They can have a massive impact on how we play and what we do. Having home advantage is massive. I fully expect our supporters to be behind us.


"Get behind the players, get behind the staff, get behind the Football Club. We’re in the same boat, we all want the same end result, which is to stay in the Premier League. The only way we do that is by all being together and I have no doubts that we will be."
www.lcfc.com

Matchday With The Manager - Time For Togetherness

Leicester City must unite as one to confront Sunday's enormous Premier League final-day match with West Ham United, to get the three points they need to have a shot at top-flight survival, says Dean Smith.
www.lcfc.com www.lcfc.com
 
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We all know the importance of today’s match and what it means to everybody connected with Everton Football Club. There is a lot on the line – but the focus has to remain on us and what we do here at Goodison.

Through our spirited performances in recent weeks, we have earned the right to control our own destiny today. We know there will be noise elsewhere with what may be going on at other clubs but our only concern is keeping to our game plan and giving absolutely everything to beat Bournemouth.

From the proud moment I became manager of this fantastic football club, my staff and I have been grateful for the backing we have received from you. We already knew a lot about Everton but we’ve continued to learn even more about this club and the depth of our fanbase.

The noise and numbers of supporters we have got both home and away has been amazing and I know you’ll create an intense, passionate atmosphere once again this afternoon. I can assure you, it has such a positive impact on our players and can be a definite factor in helping us get what we want from the match.

As I’ve said many times, it’s up to us to generate that atmosphere from the first whistle: to show hunger, passion and pride to wear the shirt and to put everything out there on the pitch.

To their credit, the players have done that consistently since I took charge. The commitment to the cause has been evident and, despite the challenges we have faced, we have affected the situation together to ensure we head into today two points clear of the bottom three with all to play for.

However, the final push is the most important.

Our fighting spirit was clear to see at Wolves last weekend. The players dealt with numerous challenges, including losing players to injuries once again, but we adapted, rolled up our sleeves and showed a never-say-die attitude that was rewarded with a 99th-minute equaliser.

We’ve been building a firm mentality that has been growing each week which reaffirms the will and demand of our group, with the understanding we must earn the right to achieve our target. It’s vital that remains today because a strong mentality is what helps you win games through both performance and motivation.

We welcome Gary O’Neil and the players and staff of AFC Bournemouth.

Gary has done so well in his first season in management to help secure his club’s Premier League status and, with new additions brought in during January, Bournemouth have a good squad that have produced some impressive results in recent months.

As I mentioned, though, today is all about us and what we control. What we want to achieve is in our hands.

On my first day as Everton manager, I spoke about everyone at the Club aligning, pulling together in the same direction and having that connection with our supporters.

That connection is so important today. We all know about the power of Goodison. It’s real and it is powerful, tangible and deeply affective.

And we need to experience it again this afternoon.

Let’s do this together.

Sean
www.evertonfc.com

Dyche's Programme Notes For Bournemouth Clash

Latest news from Everton Football Club
www.evertonfc.com www.evertonfc.com
​
 
"Big Sam"

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At his recent press conference:

"Mental fitness is much better than physical fitness because you'll give more when you're mentally strong,” he explains. “You will overcome that lack of physical fitness."

"My mood is always very good at the football club,” he says. "My job is (then) to lift everybody and that's why I call myself a manager rather than a coach. I've got a big responsibility to understand people, to lead people and understand how they work. It's as important as tactics.

"I think we've enjoyed our week as best we possibly can and our focus has always been on how do we beat the opposition. Hopefully we can translate what we've done on Sunday."

"We've trained here (at Elland Road) for three days leading up to the game and it's the familiarity of this stadium," he explains. "It's all about this arena on Sunday and the fantastic atmosphere that will go with it as it was when we played Newcastle. Hopefully we'll go one step further and win the game instead of drawing."

The chats from ex-players were "about how important Leeds is and what it meant to them, a bit more of the history of the football club and they had very successful times here.
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"It's about improving our mentality to deliver. It's a different voice speaking about football, what they did at this football club and how much they love the club, I think it's really important.

"Once (the younger players) found out who they were and what they'd done, (they took) a great deal (from it). All they had to do was listen."

"We have to play the game for the entire period of the game," stresses Allardyce. "We can't just do what we did against West Ham and get lost in the second half and didn't recover. You can get lost for five or 10 minutes and hold on and come back into the game. We never really did that.

"I hate it where I am now," he says at first, later changing his tune a touch to "I've enjoyed it as best I can.

"I don't enjoy it when we lose, I don't enjoy travelling back or the day after but after that we analyse it, get over it and start again.

"Working with young players keeps you young, thinking about what we're going to do instead of wondering about if I'm going to have a cup of tea and a poached egg on toast, walk around the reservoir, watch whatever's on Netflix, then walk round the reservoir again. It's pretty Goddamn boring."

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur: Sam Allardyce's mind games matter for Whites' last throw of dice

SAM ALLARDYCE has always been a big proponent of psychology and it will come into play more than ever at Elland Road on Saturday.
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
​
 
Adam Forshaw could be back in the Championship next season. if he stays with Leeds.
Now 31.
He`s made 5 appearances this season and experienced a lot of injury problems.
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They may look happy and be celebrating even though the outcome today could be grim.
But when the sticky stuff hits the fan............its still their club.
No matter who fans support.
Its In The Blood.
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