The Relegation Dogfight- Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan

“It will be the end of the world”, these words issued by Ian Holloway regarding possible relegation, perhaps a bit dramatic? Not to a football fan. Relegation is a word that strikes fear into football clubs and their fans across the land. Nonetheless, the relegation dogfight can often be far more entertaining and nail-biting than the fight for the Title. The North West of England is teeming with football teams whose fans live for football. Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic are small town teams hovering over the trapdoor that is Premier League relegation. Three teams that have shown to be consistently inconsistent, stuck with the same manager for the whole season and belong to a pack of five teams, of which three could face the dreaded drop. Would you be sad to see these teams leave the Premier League?

Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers have a phenomenal history within football, both belonging to the group of football league founders. They were there when the football league began and simply look at what that has turned into. Nevertheless, that is how football works, teams get relegated and have the chance to gain promotion the following season. Whether this chance is taken is another matter. Clubs such as Charlton, Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City have plummeted into the doldrums of the football league, demonstrating it’s not always easy to get back into the top flight. Only time will tell whether Blackburn, Wigan or Bolton will follow this dreaded route or do they have that “bouncebackability” to return to premier league in the next couple of years.

Wigan

Manager: Roberto Martinez

Stadium: DW Stadium

Average Crowd: 17,582

Promoted to Premier League: 2005

Wigan Athletic often gets criticised for its low attendances and many not being a “Big Club”, so thus some may say that they wouldn’t be missed if they were to be relegated. Wigan, like Blackburn and Bolton are located in an area rich with sports teams and thus it is difficult to attract as many fans. Additionally, Wigan is very much a Rugby League town, with the Warriors sharing the DW Stadium. Wigan came into the Premier League in 2005 and have always been one of those clubs flirting with relegation but never actually falling through the trap door. Martinez tries to get his team to play passing, flowing football but that isn’t always the best way to win games. Sam Allardyce is a key example in this, his teams were not pretty to watch but they got results. That’s what matters, this is a results business. Many fans would argue Wigan’s attempt to play “nice” football is needed in the Premier League and thus it would be a shame to go down. The owner Dave Whelan, is also one of the good guys in football, traditional and one to stick by his manager. So whilst their crowds may not be great, they do try to play nice football but looking at the table and fixtures ahead, their time in the Premier League could be coming to an end.

Wigan

Manager: Owen Coyle

Stadium: Reebok Stadium

Average Crowd: 23,532

Promoted to Premier League: 2001

Bolton’s best years were under Sam Allardyce when they even managed to qualify for Europe but since then they’ve never been able to capture that form and are perilously close to relegation. Many fans were glad to see the back of Gary Megson and hailed the arrival of Owen Coyle but this season hasn’t gone according to plan. Coyle is another manager who attempts to play “nice” attacking football but his team has been dogged by injuries. The absence of players, such as Stuart Holden has clearly impacted on results and they have conceded a whopping 54 goals. When they win a game, pundits expect a mini revival, but the following week they’ll lose again. They’ve lost more games than anyone else in the league and have not been above 16^th since the first game. Surely, a team that displays statistics such as this deserves to be relegated. Other teams have had injuries as well, look no further than Blackburn, but if other teams around them in the table continue to play badly, Bolton have a great chance of staying up.

Blackburn

Manager: Steve Kean

Stadium: Ewood Park

Average Crowd: 22,172

Promoted to Premier League: 2001

Blackburn Rovers epitomises a club in turmoil. Fans have every right to be furious with what has happened in the past year. Venkys, the chicken farmers, bought Blackburn promising fancy players such as David Beckham and Ronaldinho and pledged Champions League football. Instead Venky’s have stripped and ripped to shreds what many have argued was the one of the best run clubs in football. They sacked Sam Allardyce as they didn’t like his style of play, despite the fact that Rovers were sat in 13^th and he could guarantee Premier League football. They brought in Steve Kean, the first team coach and failed assistant manager. That makes sense doesn’t it? Respected key figures in the club have left, such as Chief Executive, John Williams and managing director Tom Finn, and have yet to be replaced. Kean took Blackburn into a relegation dogfight and only stayed up, as other clubs were not as good. Key players were sold and replaced with players who have hardly, if ever played for the team. These include Bruno Ribeiro, whom Steve Kean compared to Dennis Irwin, but hasn’t ever played a game and David Goodwillie, according to Steve Kean, the next Wayne Rooney.  
Kean told fans to judge him at the end of the summer transfer window, suggested there was no chance of relegation and stated that it was only one per cent of fans that didn’t back him. Statements like this have clearly riled supporters even more, he’s made false promises and caused divides on the terraces. In recent weeks it has been suggested Blackburn also have money problems, coupled with the threat of relegation, the future looks bleak for Rovers fans. Their best player, Chris Samba, has just left for Russia, they’ve not had a clean sheet since April and the owners are chicken farmers, who don’t seem to understand football. Many would be glad to see this badly run club go down but think about the fans. A club ripped apart in the space of a year.