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How do you bounce back?
Published by Andrew Reilly on April 9, 2009
Are you a soccer fanatic? Do you have strong opinions about the game? Think you have the chops to write about it? Contact Us then...How do you bounce back from midweek disappointment? That’s the question that will be vexing Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez in the build up to Saturday’s fixtures as both teams face up to the fact that the Champions League may be slipping from their grasp.
Rafa had his zonal marking left exposed for the world to see and as for Manchester United’s defence; any sort of marking would be an improvement. It’s hard to think that a mere few weeks ago Edwin van der Sar and his chums were breaking records for blocking out the top strikers in the world and now can’t hold a lead for a matter of the closing minutes. It’s also lucky that Porto weren’t afforded the amount of Fergie-time that United benefited from in their match versus Villa or the score could have been even worse for the Red Devils.
Will Chelsea be thinking they could just sneak back into the title race? It wouldn’t seem likely given that they would have to overhaul two teams but the gap is only four points and the nerves could just creak enough to let Guus Hiddink march off with the English Premier League title. The current talk of the town is that AC Milan’s Ancelotti will be arriving in the fashionable end of London to take charge of Chelsea next season but Hiddink may just make the fans demand his longer involvement if he can drag Chelsea to another victory on Saturday against Bolton. Bolton have been a thorn in Chelsea’s side in recent time and with the Blues possibly focused on the Champions League, Gary Megson may be capable of springing a surprise if the attitude isn’t right. It wouldn’t be the first time Chelsea will have taken their eyes off the ball after a good result but if Guus Hiddink wants his name to be remembered in Premier League circles, three points is a must.
With West Brom looking increasingly marooned at the bottom and big Tony Mowbray heading back to the Championship, Middlesboro and Newcastle will be desperate for points to help them stay up. The arrival of Shearer at Newcastle means the clubs are managed by the English hero and villain of Euro 96, with Shearers goals giving England hope that football was coming and the Middlesboro manager proving that the quickest way out of Wembley was the Southgate, after his penalty miss versus Germany. The English national team were wearing a disgusting grey top that night but the skies over Newcastle and Middlesboro are an even darker shade of grey as relegation grows ever more likely. The Geordies travel to Stoke in a match which won’t be for the faint hearted and the ‘Boro welcome Hull to the Riverside. A home win could really drag Hull City back into the dogfight and its funny how long ago it seems since Giovanni cracked home that winner at the Emirates. Daniel Cousin has did his usual disappearing trick at the business end of the season and Marlon King has probably got more arresting things on his mind so Hull may struggle for goals, which means this game could be decided by one flash of inspiration or one mistake, which is why Hull fans are probably glad Paul McShane is back with Sunderland.
And of course, Sunderland are at home to a Manchester United in dire need of three points to revitalise their title campaign and silence the critics so there is a good chance that Sunderland will pick up no points on Saturday. It may be Easter Weekend and a great time to roll eggs but there is too much at stake for clubs to roll over without a fight and there may just be an upset or two as players fight for their Premier League future.
**Picture courtesy of Wonker**
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