The Week That Changed the Relegation Battle

What a week Fulham have just had. Having previously been cursed by a seemingly interminable run of draws, the Cottagers have pulls two wins – 2-0 over Everton and 1-0 against Sheffield United – out of the bag to sandwich a draw against relegation rivals Burnley.

That is seven massive points, and not just for Fulham. They have completely altered the picture in the relegation battle.

Subtract, say, five points from what Fulham have above and you get a pretty good impression of how to table looked three games ago. Fulham were miles adrift of safety, and closer to the true cellar dwellers of the division than to seventeenth. The relegation battle looked, in fact, to be almost over with three months of the season to go.

No longer. Fulham are now in with a real shot of avoiding the drop.

Fulham manager Scott Parker was a happy man after his side’s win over Sheffield United at the weekend

And that puts the pressure right back on the sides above them. Crystal Palace (not shown above) hauled themselves away from the relegation battle yesterday with a smash-and-grab win over Brighton, who are now right back to where they were in November – that is to say, very nervy territory. I reckon they’ll stay up though, provided they start sticking their chances away. Southampton (also not shown) will be comfortably alright too, as they look to be on the mend after a truly awful run of six straight losses.

As for Burnley, while I can’t see them rocketing away from the drop zone, with the no-nonsense Sean Dyche at the helm I expect them to keep their heads above water and reach the much-feted 40-point mark without undue fuss – only once in the last three decades has a team been relegated having reached 40 points.

And so we come to Newcastle. Never a high-scoring team to begin with, they just lost top scorer Callum Wilson for up to eight weeks with a hamstring injury. Their recent form of two wins in ten also spells trouble, particularly with Fulham now flying. If the Cottagers are to escape the drop, Newcastle look the best bet to take eighteenth spot in their place.

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce should be a worried man

But that’s not everyone; I’m missing someone. A coupe of teams in fact. Now who was it? Ah yes, West Brom and Sheffield United.

Here’s the short version: They’re both fucked.