TASTY TUESDAY
After months of slugging it out in the Championship, clubs are bracing themselves for the perils of...
AND so the marathon that is the Championship becomes a sprint. after 43 games either a terrific Tuesday or a torturous one awaits.
It could be a wintry spring night for some, a floodlit moment of warmth to reflect on in the future for others.
There could be scenes of elation at Reading, who can be promoted to the Barclays Premier League four seasons after relegation from it.
There could be scenes of dismay at Coventry City, who could be back in the third tier for the first time since 1964. and at Portsmouth, who have not been there since 1983.
Or none of this might happen. It is part of the Championship’s uncertain charm. mathematically still only four of the 24 clubs know which division they will be in next season.
But the odds are on Reading being in the Premier League. Brian mcdermott’s cohesive unit are on a spectacular run: Reading have won 14 of their last 16 league games.
They are at home to nottingham Forest tonight. Forest have won three of their last four away games yet can still be caught by Coventry. It is not a night for relaxation.
as mcdermott said yesterday: ‘I’ve been around this game a long time, we know the pitfalls, we are absolutely focused. I could see that in the dressing room on Friday. There was no jumping around, we were just getting ready for Forest.’
The Friday reference was about Reading’s knockout 3-1 victory at Southampton. That took the Royals above the Saints, when at the start of this brilliant Reading run in January, Southampton were 11 points ahead. Reading, last season’s beaten play- off finalists, have been motivated by the memory of Wembley. Southampton will now be motivated by the avoidance of Wembley, or any play-off game.
excellent and consistent all season following last may’s promotion from League One, behind Brighton, Southampton have suddenly won once in four games. They are in danger of having dipped before the line and go to Peterborough tonight.
not so long ago Southampton would have arrived at London Road with confidence, now it is with manager nigel adkins reminding everyone: ‘We’ve had a great season up to now. We’re making sure that we’ve given ourselves an opportunity to win this division and now it’s about the next game that we’ve got, that’s all we’re going to focus on.’
The results of Reading and Southampton will, of course, impact upon West Ham. Should either of the top two stumble, then this could be a decisive night for the Hammers, but only if they win at Bristol City, who are one place above Coventry and who are fighting.
Sam ALLARDYCE was, understandably, buoyed by the 6-0 thrashing of Brighton on Saturday but Bristol City are unbeaten in five games. nicky maynard returns to ashton gate, where he left in January.
‘When you are under pressure you can sometimes wonder which way your players will go,’ allardyce said yesterday.
‘We were under big pressure against Brighton as we hadn’t been winning at home and we needed the three points. We responded by producing the best performance and entertainment of the season at Upton Park.
‘But now we have two tough away games, at Bristol City and Leicester City, before the massive season finale with Hull City and we can’t let complacency slip in. There’s no relaxing or enjoying Saturday’s victory.’
Funnily enough, middlesbrough manager Tony mowbray did mention enjoyment, though it came with ‘I think’ attached.
after eight games without a win, Boro won at Derby on Saturday and are vying with Cardiff and Blackpool for a play- off place. Boro are at home to already relegated Doncaster Rovers.
mowbray has seven players who played at Derby who will ‘not touch a ball’ until tonight. It is the unrelenting nature of the division.
‘Is it a slog?’ asked mowbray. ‘ Sometimes it feels like it. Do you get high quality every game? no, you get through it.
‘You move on to the next one. maintaining freshness, that’s the difficulty. You can lose your best players through injury, through overuse. So your team’s consistency dips.
‘Why do Derby start like a house on fire and then win one in 12? Why do Brighton top the table in november and then win one in 12, then come back?
‘I don’t know the details but they will probably have lost players. Because of the slog of the Championship. It keeps coming.’ Coventry will be delighted should it keep coming. It would mean that they have beaten millwall , who are safe, tonight. Coventry have lost just one of their last nine yet remain stubbornly below that crucial dividing line. manager andy Thorn has had to cope with issues beyond injuries and form, such as directors insisting on sitting in the dug- out. Thorn has
been admirable and said of tonight: ‘ Whoever puts on a sky blue shirt will run themselves into the ground for the club.’
Portsmouth players will do the same for michael appleton and it could be that Bristol City lose and Coventry and Portsmouth win.
Then it goes to Saturday when Coventry have Doncaster at home. after three Championship seasons, Donny are gone. Their experiment with agent Willie mckay using the club as a shop window for his players is over.
Long- serving midfielder James Coppinger was blunt in his opinion.
‘I think it’s disrespectful to the league if you think you can just bring in big names and that will win you games,’ he said.
‘In this league, and in leagues below, you need more than just names on the teamsheet. You need passion, commitment and togetherness.’
That will be especially true on a night like this.
m.walker@dailymail.co.uk
WHO is the finest player in 20 seasons of the Barclays Premier League? Of the 3,000- odd who have appeared on a pitch somewhere between Swansea and newcastle, would it be Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo or Ryan giggs?
and which would be the best team? manchester United’s 1999 treble winners? arsenal’s invincibles? Or would you go with the machine-like Chelsea side Jose mourinho guided to the title in 2005? after all, that side amassed a Premier League record of 95 points, winning 29 of their 38 games and losing only once.
Try selecting a fantasy team f from the same 20-year period. as a member of the 11-man judging p panel, nominated by the Premier League, even reducing it to 10 candidates for each position proved no easy task. It was as divisive as daring to suggest Wayne Rooney has a case for being considered this season’s Footballer of the Year when Robin van Persie has been outstanding and is sure to emerge as the Football Writers’ association champion.
That said, Van Persie joins Didier Drogba in failing to make the cut in the forwards list. Rooney, however, does.
Picking two central midfielders is a task that would trouble Sir alex Ferguson. easy you might think. Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira. But that means there is no place for Paul Scholes or Cesc Fabregas, Frank Lampard or Claude makelele. Ferguson once described Steven gerrard as ‘the most influential player in english football’. Would Ferguson pick the Liverpool captain?
Look at the aforementioned