With all this dosh being spent by 'The Big Boys' The other teams located up and down the country have been looting other clubs for any freebees they can get their hands on! Stoke snapping up former England international Jonathan Woodgate from Spurs, Sunderland have taken Westwood, Larsson & David Vaughan without even spending a penny! The QPR management team have also been @ it! Walking out of Upton Park with Welshman Danny Gabbidon & Kieron Dyer under their arms! While Neil Warnock was photographed taking Jay Bothroyd for a spin in his new bright pink Bugatti Veyron, next thing you know Bothroyd's pictured in the QPR team photo!
So who's in danger of heading South come the end of the season? The usual so called know it all pundit's are going for the likes of The new boys, QPR, Norwich & Swansea to head straight back down, but where's the fun in that hey? With so many clubs just keeping their toes out of administration there's bound to be a couple of surprises this season, So grab a cup of tea as we go through the four four two it's a football thing's guide to who's heading down!
After a great start to last season, It all went a bit pear shaped up in Newcastle, After working wonders Chris Hughton was sent packing. In came have a go-hero Alan Pardew and after a mixture of good & bad results Newcastle lived to fight another season. The sale of Andy Carroll didn't go down to well the start of the year, add that to the fact that the board then decided to sell their player of the year Kevin Nolan for next to nothing & now it looks like another piece of the Newcastle puzzle is about to be lost in the shape of Joey Barton. Newcastle fans deserve better, they have a fantastic fan-base and have followed the team through thick 'n' thin! Although they have added a few 'Squad players' to their ranks, Alan Pardew's team look like they are heading back into The Championship after a short fling back in the big time. The best thing Ashley can do, apart from selling the club of course, is bring in some proven quality players. The likes of Defoe, Keane, Parker, Bridge, SWP have all been mentioned as possible targets but none of them have signed on the dotted line! It's the only way Newcastle are gonna beat the drop come May.
Aston Villa are another team that i feel will be around the bottom of the league come the end of the season. After getting rid of Gérard Houllier Villa fans were hoping for a big name, Not the chap that got their local rivals relegated! Alex McLeish managed to get Birmingham relegated twice from the top tier! Ok he won them the Carling Cup last season, which saw them beat the much fancied Arsenal side, but One game doesn't make a season! With their two wing men sold and their star right back returning to his parent club for the new season Villa are short on quality! Charles N'Zogbia is a cracking signing but he has a history of throwing his toys out the pram and one man can't keep the team up! Just ask Scott Parker!
Wolves left it late last season, after beating the likes of United, Chelsea, Man City & Liverpool many would be forgiven to think that they should of been miles away from danger! The problem with Mick McCarthy's team is that they can't string together a run of positive results! It's been that way for a few seasons now! The signing of Roger Johnson was a master stroke by Mick! A born leader and it wont be long before he leads out the 3 Lions @ Wembley! But the rest of the team is made up from players that are punching above their weight, Craddock, Hennessey, Hunt & Ebanks-Blake would be better suited in the Championship! I really fear for the Wolves this season! If they don't sign anymore players before the start of the season then they may as well just throw in the towel!
Everton need to sort out their cash flow problems sooner rather than later, on the brink of administration they could be faced with a massive point's Penalty! With the likes of Jagielka & Arteta being linked with moves away, Everton may have to sell to keep their head above water! It won't be down to poor results that will see The Toffees head down to the 2nd tier of The English league, it will be down to finances!
Add into the mix the likes of Wigan, Sunderland & Blackburn as well as the 3 that came up from The Championship it's gonna be an interesting battle @ the bottom!
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