Wigan Stays True To Martinez Philosophy And Prospering In Relegation Battle

Wigan, in recent seasons have played a type of football which is pleasing to the eye. Since the appointment of Roberto Martinez, he had taken the blueprint he developed at Swansea and imbued it onto the Latics DNA. Their passing was amazing against Newcastle last weekend. Rarely kicking a ball in anger, the Latics players played the ball out of defence into midfield, down the channels and finally exploiting the openings with quick one-two wall passes. It was delightful to watch. If Wigan were any other Big Four team, they would have been the toast of English football.

But the current flavour of the month is Newcastle, and that's no surprise with the way the Toon Army has been making its way to a potential Champions League placing. However, that wait may have to be longer as Wigan brought the high flying Magpies back down to earth. With Shaun Maloney pulling the scheming strings, Wigan are all set to stage the great relegation escape that had seemed impossible back in January.

What had seemed like a hellish run-in - games with Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea became the catalyst for a Wigan revival. Who would have thought Martinez' men could pick up nine points against these clubs?? And the results were achieved by playing the right way and with positivity.

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Deco Declared War For Premiership Title, West Ham Must Do The Same!

Wisely, as if on cue to rouse up the troops, Deco decided that it is time to go to war. He urged Chelsea players that to start fighting if they want to become champions. It has been a strange season in 2009/2010 with the top teams seemingly conspiring to gift Manchester United their record 19th title and fourth in successive seasons.

This is what Deco said as published in the official Chelsea website.

"First thing we need, we need to know that we are first,' he says. 'The last three games will be difficult and of course there is pressure in our minds because we need to win our games if Man U win theirs.

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Is West Ham Heading To A Nailbiting Finish?

Relegation battles can be such nail-biters that hardly any fan would like to go through. Here are some of the more dramatic Premier League relegation battles in recent history.

West Bromwich Albion, 2005
West Brom claim the top spot in this list as the only club to be bottom of the Premier league at Christmas and survive.

With their fate out of their hands on final day, Bryan Robson’s men beat Portsmouth 2-0 and waited for the good news from Norwich City and Southampton as their relegation rivals duly lost. Charlton drew with Palace, handing West Brom a miraculous escape.

Their final points tally of 34 is the lowest with which a team has survived relegation since the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995.

West Ham, 2007
After West Ham sacked Alan Pardew in December, Alan Curbishley led a revival as the club won seven of their last nine games, including 1-0 victories away to Arsenal and Manchester United

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The Relegation Battle Heats Up for Newcastle and Middlesbrough

The relegation battle heats up with Newcastle and Middlesbrough doing battle on Monday night. The fact that Hull City lost their match against Stoke City means that neither team should settle for a draw. West Brom's win against Wigan added more pressure on both teams and now the bottom three teams are level on 31 points apiece. So this derby is a must-win game for either side and the least we can hope is for both sides to treat the match with the intensity and the effort that it warrants.

I tend to agree with Steve McMahon (now an ESPNStar soccer analyst) that he has been extremely disappointed that teams at the bottom are not showing fight and commitment to beat the drop. If we had a choice, Sunderland, Hull, Newcastle and Boro should be relegated right now! WBA should stay up simply because their playing philosophy merit another shot at the Premiership even if their defence require a complete overhaul.

Whenever I have watched Newcastle, they have been nothing but disappointing. Their form at home has been abysmal, ranking 19th in the league. They have won only 4 games at home, so much for fortress St. James Park....overall Newcastle have been winless in 10 games, dating back to February. So what does Alan Shearer do to bring some joy back to Newcastle fans?

He could start by playing his fearsome threesome. The time has come to play Owen, Viduka and Martins in a three pronged attack 4-3-3 formation. On paper, this is mouthwatering, all three are match winners in their own right and hopefully together, they can create and take chances which should come their way.

The fearsome threesome - can they save Newcastle?

Shearer need to pack the midfield with fighters and grafters. The "Dogs of War" mentality must set in - it's the fight for survival! Players who will give you 110% commitment and fight for the cause.

Nicky Butt has been one of the few committed Newcastle player. A very good midfield defensive cover for the back four. Still, he is no box-to-box player. Kevin Nolan and Jonas Gutierrez are the sort of selfless players that Newcastle need to provide the support and extra bodies at both ends of the pitch. Shearer cannot do much worse than playing Nolan and Jonas either side of Butt.

Defensively, they have been a shambles....Coloccini is not coping with the pace and power of the Premier League. Pair Steven Taylor (who can score goals as well) with the impressive Sebastien Bassong at centre defence. I do think that Damien Duff at leftback is a great idea, though. Shearer and his coaching staff need to work hard to ensure that Newcastle backline understands what defending means i.e. marking and interceptions.

On the other hand, Middlesbrough biggest problem is scoring goals. They have scored the least goals in the Premier League this season. Yet, they sold one of their biggest threats in Mido.

Also, they are woeful away from home, gaining only 8 points on the road, ranking 19th in the league. Boro's strongest area is in midfield where Tuncay, Downing and O'Neill have consistently given their all for the cause. Between them, they have contributed 28% of the total Boro goals (25) to date. More significantly, this midfield trio are responsible for 47% of the total assists (15).

Boro's midfield trio - Are they able to carry Boro over the line?

Clearly, Boro's best creative work is through the tirumvirate of Tuncay-Downing-O'Neill. Gareth Southgate must tell his players to get the ball quickly to this trio. Only when this trio control the flow of matches, will Boro have a chance of winning matches and subsequently staying in the Premiership.

The one thing that Southgate need not worry too much is defence. It is a solid flat back four with imposing physical presence and tight defending. Brad Jones have slowly matured into a very skilled goalkeeper.

If both teams play to their strengths as mentioned, they can win their next remaining matches ensuring survival for both teams. Hull City has to play Bolton away and Man Utd at home in their last two games, so no points gained is quite possible. Sunderland have Portsmouth away and Chelsea at home as their last two fixtures, again zero points could be on the cards.

This makes Newcastle's and Boro's last two matches really important six-pointers. The make or break matches, so to speak.

Another interesting fact....since 2002, there hasn't been an instance when the same three relegated clubs came straight back up to the Premier League the following season. The closest to that happening had been in the 2006-2007 season, where Sunderland and Birmingham came straight back up after relegation in 2005-2006. That just goes to show how tough it is to firstly, recover from the shock of relegation and secondly, to gain promotion back into the big time.

Notwithstanding the stats and the complicated match permutations, I have no doubt that West Brom, Boro and Newcastle can make it back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

In case you are wondering....yeah, I do believe all three will be relegated come May 24th....