Relegation watch!

The focus may well be on international football this weekend as people turn their attention towards the Euro 2012 qualifiers, but it’s NUFC that will still be at the centre of my attention.

I’m viewed as being quite positive with regard to all things black and white, which annoys some people to be fair, but I do understand that there are some definite concerns over our Premier League status. I still think that we’ll be fine, but it is a bit too close for comfort and is certainly a lot closer than it should have been.

So here we are with only eight games of the season remaining. We are currently sitting in 11th place in the table with a total of 36 points. Results are a concern, but if it’s a concern for us then it should also be a concern for any team from ninth downwards. After all, there are still five teams in the league who are in worse form than us!

So what about these other teams then? Most of us know what fixtures we have left, but do we really know what the other teams have to face at the same time? Personally I don’t. I know a few fixtures that other teams have, but I don’t know them all. What I could do with is rounding them all up into one handy article so we can see just what these other teams are up against. Well here goes, starting with:

Sunderland – 9th – 38 points – GD -4.

02-04-2011 Man City v Sunderland.
09-04-2011 Sunderland v West Brom.
16-04-2011 Birmingham v Sunderland.
23-04-2011 Sunderland v Wigan.
30-04-2011 Sunderland v Fulham.
07-05-2011 Bolton v Sunderland.
14-05-2011 Sunderland v Wolverhampton.
22-05-2011 West Ham v Sunderland.

Stoke – 10th – 37 points- GD -2.

02-04-2011 Stoke v Chelsea.
09-04-2011 Tottenham v Stoke.
23-04-2011 Aston Villa v Stoke.
26-04-2011 Stoke v Wolverhampton.
30-04-2011 Blackpool v Stoke.
07-05-2011 Stoke v Arsenal.
14-05-2011 Man City v Stoke.
22-05-2011 Stoke v Wigan.

Newcastle – 11th – 36 points – GD -1.

02-04-2011 Newcastle v Wolverhampton.
10-04-2011 Aston Villa v Newcastle.
19-04-2011 Newcastle v Man Utd.
23-04-2011 Blackpool v Newcastle.
01-05-2011 Liverpool v Newcastle.
07-05-2011 Newcastle v Birmingham.
14-05-2011 Chelsea v Newcastle.
22-05-2011 Newcastle v West Brom.

Fulham – 12th – 35 points – GD 0.

03-04-2011 Fulham v Blackpool.
09-04-2011 Man Utd v Fulham.
23-04-2011 Wolverhampton v Fulham.
27-04-2011 Fulham v Bolton.
30-04-2011 Sunderland v Fulham.
07-05-2011 Fulham v Liverpool.
15-05-2011 Birmingham v Fulham.
22-05-2011 Fulham v Arsenal.

Blackburn – 13th – 33 points – GD -12.

02-04-2011 Arsenal v Blackburn.
09-04-2011 Blackburn v Birmingham.
16-04-2011 Everton v Blackburn.
25-04-2011 Blackburn v Man City.
30-04-2011 Blackburn v Bolton.
07-05-2011 West Ham v Blackburn.
14-05-2011 Blackburn v Man Utd.
22-05-2011 Wolverhampton v Blackburn.

Aston Villa – 14th – 33 points – GD -14.

02-04-2011 Everton v Aston Villa.
10-04-2011 Aston Villa v Newcastle.
16-04-2011 West Ham v Aston Villa.
23-04-2011 Aston Villa v Stoke.
30-04-2011 West Brom v Aston Villa.
07-05-2011 Aston Villa v Wigan.
14-05-2011 Arsenal v Aston Villa.
22-05-2011 Aston Villa v Liverpool.

Blackpool – 15th – 33 points – GD -15.

03-04-2011 Fulham v Blackpool.
10-04-2011 Blackpool v Arsenal.
16-04-2011 Blackpool v Wigan.
23-04-2011 Blackpool v Newcastle.
30-04-2011 Blackpool v Stoke, 15:00
07-05-2011 Tottenham v Blackpool.
14-05-2011 Blackpool v Bolton.
22-05-2011 Man Utd v Blackpool.

West Brom – 16th – 33 points – GD -15.

02-04-2011 West Brom v Liverpool.
09-04-2011 Sunderland v West Brom.
16-04-2011 West Brom v Chelsea.
23-05-2011 Tottenham v West Brom.
30-04-2011 West Brom v Aston Villa.
07-05-2011 Wolverhampton v West Brom.
14-05-2011 West Brom v Everton.
22-05-2011 Newcastle v West Brom.

West Ham – 17th – 32 points – GD -13.

02-04-2011 West Ham v Man Utd.
09-04-2011 Bolton v West Ham.
16-04-2011 West Ham v Aston Villa.
23-04-2011 Chelsea v West Ham.
01-05-2011 Man City v West Ham.
07-05-2011 West Ham v Blackburn.
15-05-2011 Wigan v West Ham.
22-05-2011 West Ham v Sunderland.

Wolves – 18th – 32 points – GD -14.

02-04-2011 Newcastle v Wolverhampton.
09-04-2011 Wolverhampton v Everton
23-04-2011 Wolverhampton v Fulham.
26-04-2011 Stoke v Wolverhampton.
01-05-2011 Birmingham v Wolverhampton.
07-05-2011 Wolverhampton v West Brom.
14-05-2011 Sunderland v Wolverhampton.
22-05-2011 Wolverhampton v Blackburn.

Birmingham – 19th – 31 points – GD -13.

02-04-2011 Birmingham v Bolton.
09-04-2011 Blackburn v Birmingham.
16-04-2011 Birmingham v Sunderland.
20-04-2011 Chelsea v Birmingham.
23-04-2011 Liverpool v Birmingham.
01-05-2011 Birmingham v Wolverhampton.
07-05-2011 Newcastle v Birmingham.
15-05-2011 Birmingham v Fulham.
22-05-2011 Tottenham v Birmingham.

Wigan – 20th – 30 points – GD -22.

02-04-2011 Wigan v Tottenham.
09-04-2011 Chelsea v Wigan.
16-04-2011 Blackpool v Wigan.
23-04-2011 Sunderland v Wigan.
30-04-2011 Wigan v Everton.
07-05-2011 Aston Villa v Wigan.
15-05-2011 Wigan v West Ham.
22-05-2011 Stoke v Wigan.

And after all of that, there you have it. Your comprehensive list of who is playing who in the final few games of the season.

My first observation is that a lot of teams still have a lot of tough games to play. Mind you, at this time of the season the form book can go out of the window as teams start to scrap for their lives. What do you make of it?

Personally I would hope that we can get some points on the board at the earliest opportunity to prevent having to refer back to this list in the future. That’s the ideal though of course.

Time will tell!