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Spot of bother

The trapdoor to League One is closing...but on whom?

Posted: 24th April 2008 09:20

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Brian Laws: Feeling the pressure

It's all about who can hold their nerve. The managers need to keep their players relaxed and players mustn't be allowed to panic if they go a goal down.

Chris Kamara
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This is the time of year when some supporters are fearing the worst - and fans of Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Leicester and a few others are in that boat right now.

Not too long ago those clubs were in the Premier League and when you're in the Championship, the top flight seems a million miles away but if you drop down to League One, it feels like a billion miles away - just ask supporters of Leeds and Nottingham Forest.

Financially, it was always going to be hard for Scunthorpe and Colchester to survive in the Championship this year. Both teams lost their two main strikers last summer as Andy Keogh and Billy Sharp left Scunny, and Jamie Cureton and Chris Iwelumo left Colchester. Neither could afford to lose the goals that those players provided.

Those two teams have gone and now there is a pack of teams above them battling to avoid that one remaining relegation spot and none of them have room for error any more.

All the teams up to 17th-placed Coventry will be feeling the pressure. The Sky Blues are three points clear with two games to go and Chris Coleman knows he needs at least one more draw to survive.

Norwich and Barnsley will not see themselves as being safe just yet and it is too tight to call down there because there are so many important games coming up. It's a nervous time for them all and it will go right down to the wire.

Character

Wednesday are currently sitting in that dreaded 22nd position and I'm struggling to explain why they've had such a bad season.

Looking at the positive way they finished the last campaign, I expected much better from them this time around and Brian Laws certainly won't have envisaged being in this position.

I saw an interview with him in a newspaper earlier this week where he was urging fans not to panic because their fate is still in their own hands. They play Leicester on Saturday and Norwich on the final day and if they win them both then safety is guaranteed.

But it doesn't really matter who you're playing at this time of the season; it's all about having the character and the temperament to handle the pressure.

I'm also very surprised by Leicester's struggles. There's no way in this world that Ian Holloway would have dreamed of leaving Plymouth if he thought his new club might get relegated.

Milan Mandaric is a very demanding chairman and he may not be the ideal man to work with, but he always gives his managers a chance, so it's difficult to understand why things haven't worked out at the Walkers Stadium.

They know they'll be safe if they win on Saturday and even if they don't they might have a chance of beating Stoke on the final day.

I think Stoke will be virtually guaranteed promotion by beating Colchester this weekend and they could be in party mood by the time Leicester come to visit.

Integrity

Southampton are also in a bit of trouble and have a tough game live on Sky Sports on Monday against West Brom, who I think will now go on to win the title.

They then play Sheffield United on the last day and Kevin Blackwell will certainly not give them a helping hand, even though a Saints win could send their neighbours Wednesday down.

United will have far too much integrity for that and Blackwell will want his side to finish as high up the table as possible. It could actually be a case of Sheffield United saving Wednesday from the drop!

A lot would need to happen for Barnsley or Norwich to go down, but saying that, I was at Sheffield United when we went down despite being 16th at one stage on the final day of the season. Anything can happen at this time of year.

All of the teams I've mentioned are in the mire and it's all about who can hold their nerve. The managers need to keep their players relaxed and players mustn't be allowed to panic if they go a goal down.

It's a difficult time of year and past experiences will help managers through. I couldn't tell you who is going to go down, but it could well be in the balance right up to the final few minutes of the season.

Do you have a question for Kammy? Let us know what you think by using the feedback form below and continue to email him here

Kammy answers your questions...

Kammy. We are in the middle of the Leeds points tribunal. The way the Football League have handled this is a joke. Not only have they punished Leeds twice for the same offence, they have dragged their feet at every stage so as to cause maximum upset to League One teams. What is your opinion on the situation? Paddy Gibbons (Leeds season ticket holder)

KAMMY SAYS: The way I see it, Leeds have had a result and could be getting some points back. I say that because Swansea have been blocked from receiving the League One trophy this weekend and it doesn't take Einstein to work out there will be some sort of adjudication in Leeds' favour.

I don't feel enough information came out at the start of the season. Leeds took a 10-point deduction at the end of last season, but apparently they didn't do things properly so they were docked more points this season. But instead of losing 10 points, they were docked five more on top and nobody from the Football League came out to explain why that was. Now Leeds have gone to arbitration two games from the end of the season and if they get all of their points back, they'll be just one point behind Swansea. Now Swansea are not allowed to parade the trophy in front of their own fans, which is ridiculous. Why couldn't this have been sorted out much earlier so everyone knew what was going on?

Speaking as a punter, this also has massive implications for the betting industry. Lots of people backed Leeds to win the League One title at massive prices, while other people are sitting on big bets on Swansea - and think they've collected. The implications of all of this are massive.

Kammy, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but AFC Bournemouth are a team on form. We're ending the season winning six of our last seven games. It may seem little too late now, with two games to go, but do you believe our form can continue into next season regardless of the league we're in next year? Sandeep Marwaha (Cherries Fan)

KAMMY SAYS: It's hard to say. I mentioned earlier how Sheffield Wednesday went on a great run at the end of last season and just missed out on the play-offs - and look at where they are now. But it's clear the club were galvanised by going into administration and having 10 points docked. It looked like they had no hope, but the whole club has pulled together and Kevin Bond has perhaps managed better than he did before because the pressure was off. They've given themselves a fighting chance and after winning five games in a row they're thinking they can stay up. Let's see if they can pull it off in their remaining fixtures.

Hi Kammy, First of all, thanks for providing me with a way of avoiding my university studies over the season so far! I'm sure at some point I read somewhere that you've acknowledged the job Keith Hill and Dave Flitcroft have been doing at Rochdale since they took over less than 18 months ago. Thank the Lord somebody has, because they seem to have slipped under everybody else's radars! I can put this down (in some part) to the two runaway leaders of our division [MK Dons and Peterborough], and their respective high-profile managers. But I just feel that turning the least successful football league team in history into promotion contenders in that amount of time beggars belief. Do you think we can finally get out of the division this year? Thanks, Chris (Rochdale)

KAMMY SAYS:You've hit the nail on the head Chris. The Rochdale supporters have had to endure League Two football for forever and a day and there's never really been the feeling that they could get out of it. But now they've got a fantastic chance, although I think Hereford's win over Wrexham may have ended their automatic hopes. Their best chance will be through the play-offs where they'll come up against some good teams in Stockport, Wycombe and Darlington. However, they've got every chance so let's wait and see.

Do you agree with Kammy? Let us know what you think by using the feedback form below and continue to email him your questions here