Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has the “it” quality as a manager. Not “it” in the genius sense like Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson. Southgate has it in the Raymond Domenech sense where he could strip naked, smear himself with his own fecal matter and reenact the Monty Python Silly Walks skit down the touchline […]

Newcastle has been in a rudderless malaise for most of the season. Kevin Keegan resigned and nearly every potential replacement rejected the offer. The club pulled backdated Joe Kinnear out of retirement, gave him the full time job and then watched him succumb to heart trouble. Chris Hughton took over as a caretaker, and the […]

Stoke City are a newly promoted side from the Championship, and they certainly play like one. The operating procedure has been physicality, holding the line at home and hoping for some magic from Rory Delap’s wicked throw-ins. It has worked with a modicum of success. They are sixteenth in the table on 32 points. Form: […]

Until late October, Portsmouth seemed destined for a mid-table season. After a rough August start against Chelsea and Man United, the trophy-winning club won four out of seven matches, looking frisky once again. Then Harry Redknapp left for the Tottenham and the seam exploded. Tony Adams had no perceivable managerial skill. Financial problems forced the […]

Sunderland rose to the Premier League two seasons ago with Roy Keane’s magnetism, and it was the same presence that kept them afloat last season. The reform movement lost steam when Keane left, and Sunderland have been rudderless since Ricky Sbragia transcended the interim label. The club is in fourteenth place, but just three points […]

Hull City surprised everyone at the start of the season, winning six of their first nine, knocking off an over-confident Arsenal. The club lost composure. Phil Brown lost his sweet goatee, and perhaps his sanity. Hull won just two of their next 21 games, drifting from a solid European challenge to treading above the relegation […]

With Aston Villa's demise the top of the league once again appears calcified, so, like Kim Kardashian crammed into a designer dress, the bulk of the tension will be at the bottom. Here is the first of a series of assessments of this season's relegation candidates. As wretched as Manchester City and Tottenham have been […]

With 24 more points available in the 2008-2009 season, I hesitate to say that next weekend's match with Stoke City is a must-win for West Bromwich Albion for its hopes for avoiding the drop. But it really is. The Baggies are rooted to the bottom of the table with 24 points with eight matches to go […]

It’s two-thirds of the way through the season, and purported big clubs Newcastle and Tottenham remain entrenched in the relegation rumble. Newcastle sputtered amid boardroom confusion, after the departure of manager Kevin Keegan. Tottenham played woefully under Juande Ramos and their squad has flat-lined after an early revival from Harry Redknapp and his magical ketchup. […]

With almost 20% of the season completed, we already have a good idea of which clubs will shine and underwhelm this 2008/2009 Premier League season, as well as which ones are destined for mid-table mediocrity. Sure, we still have 80% of the season remaining, but out of the clubs you've seen thus far, which ones […]

The playoffs are almost done and only two more teams will be vying for promotion to League One, Rochdale and Stockport. What is known after today are what teams will be leaving and coming into the Championship for next season. Gaining promotion to the EPL along with the riches and glory are West Bromwich Albion as […]

It's squeaky bum time in the Premier League, with two matches left to play. There is the ever exciting battle between underwhelming uberclubs for the title. Yawn. The second tier battle to see which club can send itself careening down next year's table for the right to lose to a Spanish club in the UEFA […]

Manchester United 3 – Liverpool 0: The scoreline was unfair, United should have won by more. Rooney and Ronaldo combined for five fluffed chances. Captain Stevie disappeared twice for the Reds. First, when he decided to stop running and not defend on the Wes Brown goal. Second, when he failed to get between the referee […]

Fulham FC sprang back to life on Sunday, with a startling 1-0 victory over European-bound Everton. The win, Fulham's fourth of the season, places gives them 23 pts – an effective four points away from safety. However, Odds and Sods will now make a bold prediction. Fulham will not be relegated. The club has momentum. […]