The win against Newcastle came as pressure mounted on the young manager’s shoulders after being knocked out of the League Cup last Tuesday with an awful performance against Liverpool.

AVB continues his quest to play exciting attack-minded football with a high defensive line. But with a slow defence this appears to be causing Chelsea as many problems on the field as their over-inflated egos.  I believe Villa-Boas needs to address the ‘clear as day’ fact that while John Terry continues to show his strength as a natural born leader, his pace is letting the side down, while central defensive partner David Luiz is a defensive liability.

The victory must have caused Andre Villas-Boas a sigh of relief even though he has continued to state to the media that he is still confident he has Roman Abramovich’s backing and fully expects to be at Chelsea for the next three years. Whether he honestly believes this or not, it will surely be a grave concern to know that Villas-Boas has the worst start of any manager at Chelsea since Abramovich took over; and he is not known for his patience!

It’s a job made even more difficult by the fact that Chelsea want instant success.  I remember this time last year Carlo Ancelotti saying these very words as the pressure began to mount on his Stamford Bridge future.  Success for Chelsea and Roman Abramovich is to win trophies, especially the quest to win the Champions League.  Failure is to win nothing and not qualify for next season’s Champions League.  But at the same time, Chelsea have not been able to replicate the level of success with gradual first team changes in the same way as Arsenal and Manchester United. But time has run out for Chelsea.  Now is the time to go with the likes of Sturridge, Mata, Torres, Romeu, Meireles and buy one or two solid central defenders – Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka in January.

Steve Kean can also rest in peace today after Blackburn Rovers beat Swansea 4-2 with Yakubu scoring all four goals in a rare treat for home fans that lifts Blackburn off the bottom of the Premier League table.

So while Sunderland appointed Martin O’Neil as their new manager yesterday, after sacking Steve Bruce in the week, who will be the next Premier League manager to lose his job?  If it was down to the voice of the fans then it would be between Aston Villa’s Alex McLeish and Wolves manager Mick McCarthy.

Wolves play Sunderland today; and while Martin O’Neil will be watching from the stands while assistant manager Eric Black takes charge today, Mick McCarty will be under the spotlight of owners and fans once again.  If Wolves lose to fellow strugglers Sunderland today at Molineux you might not need to read the football betting tips on BettingExpert.

Joint owners David Gold & David Goldman appointed Avram Grant last summer on a four-year contract but the exciting, attractive style of football that West Ham fans have been used to was not present this season.  Instead, the Hammers rarely played as a team unit.  Scott Parker’s ‘never say die’ spirit helped paper over some cracks, something that helped him win the Player Of The Year award.  But Parker’s leadership qualities have been dogged by injuries; and when Parker was missing, the game plan often collapsed.

On Saturday 15th January, on the morning of a home game against Arsenal, it was leaked that Martin O’Neil had agreed to become the new manager at Upton Park.  Following a 3-0 defeat Avram Grant took off his claret & blue scarf and threw it into the crowd as he applauded the faithful fans.  This appeared to be Grant’s farewell, but O’Neill never came and the owners weren’t decisive in managing a damaged situation; and yesterday West Ham paid the price for poor leadership s they were once again relegated from the Premier League.

I’m pretty sure the West Ham owners will attempt to sell as many of their top players as possible to lessen their outgoings.  Inflated wage bills may prove difficult to shift the likes of Carlton Cole, Matthew Upson, Wayne Bridge and some of the foreign players but there will be plenty of interest for Scott Parker and Robert Green.

Following a summer clearout I believe the owners will set about rebuilding a team with Championship players on Championship wages.  To this end, I wouldn’t bet on West Ham returning to the Premier League immediately.

Next Sunday will see the last round of the Premiership 2010/11 season games kick off simultaneously at 4pm.  The results will show which two from five teams will join West Ham to be relegated.

With three teams on 39 points Blackburn and Blackpool look favourites to go down.  Birmingham are away to Spurs, who will want to secure 5th place and Blackpool are away to the newly crowned champions Manchester United, who will want to finish the season on a high.  Of the three, Wigan have every chance to win against a deflated Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, following their FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.

Wolves and Blackburn currently have 40 points each, and will play each other at Molineux.  With neither club wanting to leave anything to chance, this should be a high scoring cracker!

The Seasiders have certainly brought colour to the Premier League but since Christmas they have been on a rapid nose dive.  Their miserable plight continued last weekend even after securing a point with a 1-1 draw at Spurs.  They dropped into the relegation zone for the first time this year after Wolves won 3-1 against ‘black country’ rivals West Brom on Sunday.

Wolves have spent much of the season in the bottom three even though they have beaten the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.

The bottom three, with just two games to go are: West Ham (33 points), Wigan (36) and Blackpool (36).  The three teams above them are Wolves (37), Birmingham (39) and Blackburn (39).

But looking at the remaining fixtures I can’t see Blackpool or West Ham escaping relegation to the nPower Championship. But Wigan’s two games at West Ham & Stoke could possibly see them play a ‘get out of jail’ card and send Blackburn, Birmingham or Wolves down in their place.

Bottom Six Premier League Fixtures Remaining:

Blackburn – Manchester United (home) & Wolves (away)
Birmingham – Fulham (home) & Spurs (away)
Wolves – Sunderland (away) & Blackburn (home)
Blackpool – Bolton (home) & Man Utd (away)
Wigan – West Ham (away) & Stoke (away)
West Ham – Wigan (away) & Sunderland (home)

I’m going for West Ham, Wigan & Blackpool.  What about you?

Kenwyne Jones opened the scoring with another headed goal from a Jermaine Pennant cross. Ryan Shawcross tapped in a second from inside six yards, and Jermaine Pennant made it 3-0 with a deflected shot from about eight yards.

Wolves were very poor while Stoke continue to impress, playing to their strengths under the excellent management of Tony Pulis.

Wolves (34 points) stay in the bottom three, along with Wigan (33 points) and West Ham (32 points) but there is still time for all three to avoid relegation with four games still to play.
Blackpool climb out of the relegation places on goal difference after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Saturday.  Blackburn are currently 16th (35 points) and Birmingham (38 points) are far from safe following a run of bad results.  Fulham are in 14th position with 39 points and a game in-hand on the six teams below them, which I believe will be enough to see them play Premier League football next season.

I personally think the relegation battle will go to the final day and is now between the bottom six: Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Wigan, Wolves and West Ham.

At the top of the Premiership Arsenal and Tottenham both dropped more points at the weekend.  Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane by West Brom, while Arsenal lost away to Bolton. Tottenham appear to have blown a chance of a top four finish and Champions League football next season with two from a possible six points last week; while Manchester City overcame Blackburn on Monday with Edin Dzecko’s first Premier League goal.

Man City are now 5 points clear of Spurs with five games to play; and with Arsenal winning only one point from their last two games, Arsene Wenger will be looking over his shoulder at Roberto Mancini’s sky blues who are now just 5 points behind them with a game in hand.

Chelsea continued their recent good run as the most inform team in the Premier League with a 3-0 thrashing of West Ham on Sunday, including a first goal for Fernando Torres, and Manchester United continued to grind out results beating Everton at Old Trafford 1-0 on Saturday.

Both Chelsea (67 points) & Manchester United (73 points) have four games left.  This weekend Chelsea are at home to Spurs while Man Utd are away to Arsenal; two massive games for all four clubs.  But the Premier League title could be decided when Chelsea play Manchester Utd at Old Trafford on Sunday 8th May.

Avram Grant, Carlo Ancelotti and Roy Hodgson’s days are surely numbered after Blackburn Rovers thrashed Liverpool 3-1, West Ham was humiliated by Newcastle United 5-0 and Chelsea were embarrassed at Wolves whose 1-0 victory lifts them out of the relegation zone.

I think Roy Hodgson’s time was already up before the kick-off but this latest defeat may have the Liverpool owners turning to Kenny Dalglish as a caretaker manager until they can get a big name to take up the reins at Anfield.

Carlo Ancelotti and Chelsea’s poor run continued last night at Molineux.  It’s still amazing what has happened at Stamford Bridge since the sacking of Ray Wilkins. They started the season scoring for fun only to stumble and fall at the first serious challenge against Manchester City, and since then have never looked that confident.  If ever an English Premiership team could be compared to David Haye at the beginning of the season, only to fall from grace and turn into Audley Harrison midway through the season, Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea are that team!

Of the three managers things were looking brightest for Avram Grant this time yesterday afternoon.  I assume owners David Sullivan and David Gold may have been content with a draw against Newcastle at St. James Park until it was confirmed their first and second choice strikers, Andy Carroll and Shola Ameobi, were both injured.  They must have expected West Ham to grab all three points, not get absolutely hammered 5-0 with some of the poorest defending I had seen on Match of the Day since the Liverpool game, thirty minutes earlier!

Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool to sack their managers in January, what are the odds on that?

Stoke were no doubt lifted by the surprise half-time appearance of Tony Pulis who had not been present for the first half due to the death of his mother; and the result was crucial.  This is Stoke City’s third consecutive season back in the top flight of English football, and it has been their home form that has kept them in the Premier League thus far.

As for Aston Villa, what were they thinking when they appointed a manager in Gerard Houllier who has still not been released from his current position with the French FA. Last night, Caretaker Manager Kevin MacDonald told reporters he was still unsure when Houllier was going to take charge of the team.  For now he had been told to pick the team to play against Stoke and again on Saturday at home to Bolton Wanderers.

To suggest Aston Villa is a club in turmoil is far from the truth.  However, the next six weeks could be very important in deciding the fortunes of this so-called ‘sleeping giant’.

Following their home game on Saturday with Bolton they will play a very difficult game against Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the Carling Cup. In all honesty, neither side may play their strongest teams.  But if Sam Allardyce decides to strike while Aston Villa’s morale is low, Blackburn could quite easily knock Villa out of the cup.

After the Carling Cup game next Wednesday (22nd September), Aston Villa will play two difficult away fixtures at Wolves and Tottenham. They do not play another home game until they host a goal-rampant, ultra-inform Chelsea on Saturday 16th October.  And if that wasn’t bad enough, their only other home game in the Premier League in October is against arch-rivals Birmingham (31st October).

With an away game at Sunderland between the two, it is clear to see that Aston Villa needs the French FA to release Gerard Houllier as soon as possible.  And if the situation carries on until the end of October, Houllier could quite possibly arrive to find Aston Villa languishing amongst the relegation places.

Furthermore, the longer this bizarre situation continues, the more vocal the fans were air their disapproval and the higher eyebrows will be raised at the owner Randy Learner’s decision to appoint a manager who is actually not available!

Lastly, once Gerard Houllier eventually arrives at Villa Park he will have big shoes to feel with both the fans and club expectations, if he is to exorcise the ghost of Martin O’Neill; and there is also the small matter of how he consoles goalkeeper Brad Friedel and defender Stephen Warnock.  Both players were told they were surplus to requirements when Houllier became manager at Liverpool.

As one alcoholic striker once said, ‘it’s a funny old game’.  But its stories like this that makes the game of football as exciting as the results themselves.

wolverhampton wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy is under fire from the clubs loyal fans following his team selection for last nights 3-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The three thousand travelling fans who had made the trip to Manchester chanted ‘We want our money back’, amongst other choice words, when the Wolves team was announced, with no less than ten changes from the side that beat Tottenham 1-0 at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

The argument was further fuelled as United turned in another ‘under’ performance but easy winners, with Wolves fans claiming that a ‘first team eleven’ could possibly have got something out of the game.

The outspoken Wolves manager Mick McCarthy as expected strongly defended his team selection, while claiming to understand the fans frustration, he said; “I have a squad of 21 to pick from and I regard them all as first-team players. It was my strongest team – because it was a team with fresh legs.”

McCarthy who obviously had one eye on this coming weekend’s fixture against Burnley added, “I can understand the fans reaction, but at the end of the season I will be judged on whether Wolves have stayed in the Premier League or not.”

Most fans would agree that a win against Burnley would erase the memory of last night’s game, but should a manager have the right to field a team of non-regular players?

As McCarthy says, he considers his entire squad as first time players and there is really no argument to that, as long as the manager really believes that he has picked his best eleven players for any particular game. There is no way that McCarthy would have expected his selection at Old Trafford to upset Manchester United.