Pardew is doomed but there is still hope for the rest
MY former club West Bromwich Albion look doomed and Alan Pardew cannot have long left at the Hawthorns.
It looks all over for the Baggies after 10 years in the Premier League. And Pardew can start packing his bags.
They had a little bounce after beating Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup but they have lost their last five and unless they can summon an unexpected run now under Pardew, they will be relegated.
That is what Pardew (below) will be hoping for. But when the owner removes the chairman and the chief executive, he is clearly not happy with his appointment so the writing is on the wall for Pardew.
But with only six points between 11th and 19th it is still difficult to predict who will go with them. I expect Bournemouth, who are five points outside the bottom three with 10 to play, will have enough to stay up. But Brighton, West Ham, Huddersfield and Newcastle could all get dragged into the real dogfight. Brighton play Arsenal today and I fancy them to take advantage of the turmoil under Arsene Wenger and add to his misery. They will need it. Chris Hughton’s side still have Manchester City away and Tottenham at home to play, not to mention the final two games against Manchester United and Liverpool. They will want to get the points in the bag before those matches but it will be dangerous if they start worrying about those games during the run-up.
David Moyes made an immediate positive impact at West Ham, despite the fears of some Hammers fans over his appointment.
Huddersfield had massive back-to-back wins at the end of last month and seem to have reverted to a more up-tempo pace and positivity in attack. I think that is the way to stay up and win their home games in particular.
Newcastle have a good run of games to win points and steer clear of the drop zone, where Crystal Palace, Southampton, Stoke City and Swansea City will all now be doing whatever they can to reach the 38-point mark, as that is looking likely to be the magic number for survival this season.