Source: Telegraph
Newcastle Middlesbrough Sunderland and Hull's Premier League relegation battle
Should Sir Alex Ferguson field a full-strength side at the KC Stadium?
Not even Alan Shearer would expect him to risk his best players ahead of the Champions League final in Rome and he's not complained so far. Anyway, if the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov did play against Hull would anyone expect them to give it their all with the European showpiece just around the corner? Not a chance. Newcastle's best bet is that United's up-and-coming players are desperate to make a point to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Only if they do a Middlesbrough and decide not to turn up at all. Newcastle and Sunderland, as well as Boro to a lesser extent, have spent so much on new players that they shouldn't be in this mess in the first place. They have no one but themselves to blame for setting up this nerve-shredding finale to the season.
And what about Chelsea?
They will have one eye on the FA Cup final so you won't hear too
many complaints around the Stadium of Light about managers fielding weakened sides this weekend with just Boro and Newcastle set to lose out thanks to United's success in defending their Premier League title.
So who will survive?
I wouldn't bet on any of the sides near the bottom winning this weekend which will mean curtains for Newcastle.
But won't Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neil do Shearer a favour just to even things up?
Don't bet on it. They might have been buddies on the BBC sofa during the European Championships last year, but these two have history. During his days at Leicester manager in 1998, O'Neill hit the roof when Shearer escaped punishment after kicking Neil Lennon in the face. 'You don't do that whether you are Alan Shearer or the Pope,' said O'Neill.
So can't Newcastle save themselves?
Even the most optimistic supporter would have to admit it looks very unlikely. The way Newcastle lost at home to Fulham last weekend suggests that Aston Villa will be able to go out with a bang. Danny Murphy was head and shoulders above the Newcastle midfield combined and that should mean Gareth Barry will have a field day at Villa Park with ex-Newcastle winger James Milner destined to put his old club out of their misery and ensure the home side go out on a high.
Will anyone beyond Tyneside care?
Just ask the likes of Wigan owner Dave Whelan and you'll find the answer is yes. And while their players might not be up to much these days, St James' Park remains one of the greatest arenas that English football has to offer so a lot of footballers will also miss the place.
Where has it all gone wrong from Hull to Newcastle?
For Hull: It's got to be Phil Brown's half-time team-talk at Manchester City. Luckily, his players seem to have finally forgiven their manager for humiliating them just in the nick of time. Craig Fagan's equaliser at Bolton will prove to be the turning point in their maiden season of top-flight football.
For Middlesbrough: Steve Gibson tightening the purse strings is the underlying cause but it hasn't helped matters that Boro have sold their most reliable players – Lee Cattermole, Mark Schwarzer, Aiyegbeni Yakubu, George Boateng, Fabio Rochemback and Luke Young – and failed to replace them adequately with the likes of Afonso Alves, Didier Digard, Marvin Emnes and Justin Hoyte.
For Newcastle: For a moment, let's forget about the long-term causes such as the sacking of the likes of Bobby Robson, Sam Allardyce et al and awful signings. This season it has to be their failure to lure Terry Venables to the North-East and then their failure to bring in a proper manager when Joe Kinnear fell ill, entrusting first-team affairs to Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood after a false dawn with the 3-2 win over West Brom. What followed was disastrous with two points from five games before Shearer arrived to pick up the pieces.
For Sunderland: The Tyne-Wear derby at St James' Park three months ago. They could have easily beaten Newcastle after Djibril Cisse put the visitors ahead because hapless Newcastle were there for the taking. But they backed off and paid for their caution when Newcastle were awarded a dodgy penalty and a place in history went begging and Ricky Sbragia set the tone for an overly cautious spell in charge that will ultimately see him return to a coaching role on Wearside this summer with his side crawling over the finishing line at the end of a season that promised so much.
But isn't the North-East famous for being a hotbed of football?
That's what they say. Non-league football - thanks to the likes of Blyth Spartans, Whitley Bay and Gateshead - and junior football - thanks to the likes of Wallsend Boys Club and Cramlington - are thriving in this part of the world but as far as professional football it's got to be the sickbed of football. Sunderland end up as the North-East's top dogs but that's hardly an achievement in the current climate. Yet it will be a cause for celebration because they won't end up with a mountain to climb from the Championship next season.
Route to safety:
If Sunderland win at home to Chelsea they are safe. If they draw and Hull fail to win they will be safe. If they draw and Hull and Newcastle win, Sunderland could go down on goal difference or even on goals scored.Hull entertain Manchester United three days before the Champions League final and if they win they are safe. But if they draw and Newcastle win at Villa, Hull will go down. A defeat will send them down – if Newcastle get a point.
Newcastle can win at Villa and still go down, if Sunderland and Hull also win. If they draw they need Hull to lose to survive. A defeat at Villa Park will confirm Newcastle's relegation.
To stay up Middlesbrough need to win at West Ham, hope Newcastle and Hull lose – and overturn the four goal difference between themselves and Hull.
