Hello, Silly Season…

Last day of the season…

Some rambling words about an experience of homophobia at a football ground and standing up.

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Relegation?

Table via Google.

The current Premier League table doesn’t read well for Fulham.

We’re currently sitting just five points away from the drop zone with two fixtures left this season. This means that we’re able to earn a maximum of six points. Two of the clubs below us (Sunderland and Wigan) have three fixtures left and so could potentially earn eight points.

Fulham’s next two matches are against Liverpool (at home) and Swansea (away.) Realistically it’s very unlikely that we’ll earn any points from these fixtures: Liverpool are in excellent form after beating Newcastle 6-0 last weekend and Swansea’s football is of a far higher quality than our own. Our current form is also abysmal: Fulham have only earned one point out of a possible fifteen from their last five fixtures. 

So, what happens if we earn just forty points this season?

The worst case scenario:
Wigan’s next three fixtures are against Arsenal, Swansea City and Aston Villa. If they win all three of these matches, they will end the season with 43 points.
Sunderland’s next three fixtures are against Stoke City, Southampton and Spurs. If they win against Spurs and Stoke City but draw against Southampton, they will end the season with 44 points.
Newcastle’s next two fixtures are against QPR and Arsenal. If they win both these matches, they will end the season with 44 points.
Southampton’s next two matches are against Sunderland and Stoke City. If they draw against Sunderland and win against Stoke, they will end the season on 43 points.
Norwich City’s next two fixtures are again West Brom and Manchester City. If they win both of these matches, they will be left with 44 points.
Aston Villa’s next two matches are against Chelsea and Wigan Athletic. If they lose against Wigan but win against Chelsea, they will end the season with 43 points.
Stoke (who are above Fulham in the table but on equal points) will play Spurs and Southampton. If they lose against Southampton but win against Spurs, they will end the season of 43 points.
In this scenario, Fulham would be relegated and finish in 18th place. Even if they drew both of their matches or won one of them, there’s still a good chance that they’d go down.

The best case scenario:
Wigan lose against both Arsenal and Swansea City but win against Aston Villa. They end the season on 38 points.
Sunderland draw with both Stoke City and Southampton but lose against Spurs. This leaves them with 39 points.
Newcastle lose against QPR and Stoke City. They are left with 38 points.
Southampton draw against Sunderland but lose against Stoke City. They are left with 40 points.
Norwich lose against both West Brom and Manchester City. They are left with 38 points.
Aston Villa lose against Chelsea and Wigan. They are left with 40 points.
Stoke City win against Southampton but lose against Spurs. Their total for the season is 43 points.
In this scenario, Fulham are not relegated and finish in either 15th, 14th or 13th place depending on goal difference. They are, however, left quite far down the table what with so many of the clubs lower down in the table playing each other. It is nevertheless the best possible scenario if Fulham fail to score another point.

The most realistic scenario: (or, what I tentatively predict could potentially happen.)
Wigan lose against Swansea City and Aston Villa but win against Arsenal. They are left with 38 points.
Sunderland lose to Southampton but draw against both Stoke City and Spurs. They are left with 39 points.
Newcastle win against West Brom and lose against Manchester City. They are left with 41 points.
Southampton win against Sunderland and Stoke City. They are left with 45 points.
Norwich draw against West Brom and lose to Manchester City. They are left with 39 points.
Aston Villa lose against Chelsea but win against Wigan. They are left with 43 points.
Stoke City lose against both Southampton and Spurs. They are left with 40 points but potentially finish above Fulham depending on their goal difference.
In this scenario, Fulham are not relegation and finish in 15th or 14th place depending on goal difference. They, however, finish unpleasantly close to the bottom of the table with only Sunderland and Norwich separating them from the drop zone.

What will happen?

Well, anything is possible. There are no guarantees in the Premier League and any club has the potential to beat any other side. Fixtures which may look easy to predict on paper could easily defy all of the odds and cause an ‘upset.’ What’s certain is that Fulham are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. I think that we’ll be safe but it’ll be a very close run thing. The highest that we could potentially place if 13th if we don’t score another point and retain a decent goal difference. The lowest position we could finish in is 18th and that would mean relegation. We could still easily go down as could almost any team in the bottom half of the table. The key will be the teams below us not winning matches and Fulham not eroding their goal difference with heavy defeats in their last two fixtures. It could all go down to the final day of the season…

2013 FOOTBALL VOICE MEME!

by lemonlace but based off many other memes from different fandoms. Apologies if someone has made a voice meme like this before. Record your voice answering the following questions…

Your name and URL.
Which club(s) do you support?
Which national team(s) do you support?
Name three of your favourite current football players?
What’s your favourite position on a football pitch?
Which league is the greatest league in the world?
Who’s the greatest current football player in the world?
Who’s the greatest ever football player?

Pronounce the following words:
Football, goal, Neymar, tiki-taka, El Clásico, catenaccio, Johan Cruyff, offside, Borussia Mönchengladbach, regista, Pelé, half-time, Fulham, derby, sweeper, totaalvoetbal, Montpellier, Sepp Blatter, Fergie-time, Boca Juniors, Ballon D’Or, El Bernabéu, striker, Ajax, Asamoah Gyan, Westfalenstadion, World Cup, White Hart Lane, pedalada, Puskás, Portland Timbers, CAF, UEFA, FIFA.

Do you own any football shirts (jerseys)? If so, which?
Favourite football kit?
Football, fútbol or soccer?
Who do you think will win the 2014 World Cup?
What’s your favourite formation? (e.g. 4-4-2.)
Penalties, replays, extra time or the ‘golden goal’?
Most underrated football player?
Most overrated football player?
Favourite manager?
Greatest match you’ve ever watched?