Race for Champions League good for English game

This season we have seen the most fascinating race for the fourth Champions League spot in years. In recent seasons towards the end of the season the ‘big four’ have just coasted into those four Champions League spot.

Different

This season four clubs are still in with a chance of that final Champions League spot and it’s refreshing. The whole situation has got boring with the same clubs finishing in the top four every year apart from in 2005, when Everton bucked the trend.

As a fan of Everton I would have loved it to have been my team who broke up the usual order of things again. However I would settle for Aston Villa, Tottenham or Manchester City to change things at the top of the Premier League.

It’s nothing to do with bias against Liverpool as a Toffee, as I consider myself a fair minded supporter that’s driving my hope for change. It’s the fact that change is good for the English game and the league won’t stagnate.

Opportunity

This season Liverpool have been so inconsistent this season. At times they have been simply awful. It would be catastrophic for Liverpool not to qualify for the Champions League but they are currently struggling for form. This has presented a superb opportunity to other teams around them to take advantage. If Villa, City and Spurs take that opportunity Liverpool could even be struggling to qualify for Europe altogether.

Sixth place is currently the last spot that would get you a Europa League place for next season and they could realistically finish in seventh, which could be good enough depending on who wins the FA Cup.

Villa have three games in-hand on Liverpool and if they win them then they will be six clear of Liverpool. However football is never that easy, as Villa travel to Stoke City this weekend. This game is the perfect chance for Villa to put out a signal of intent.

However Martin O’Neill will know that the Britannia Stadium is never an easy place to go. Stoke won’t make it easy for Villa and it’s this sort of game that they need to win if they are to finish in the top four.

Tottenham face midtable Blackburn at White Hart Lane in the early kick-off on Saturday. Spurs could go four points clear of Liverpool in the race for fourth. I can’t see anything other than a Tottenham victory here. They have a big injury list and some hard games to come, but if they aspire to be a top four club then they have to win big games.

Manchester City have two games in-hand and are currently a point ahead of Rafa the Reds side. City has the capability of winning those two games in-hand and streak away from the men from Anfield. However Liverpool’s rivals always seem to slip up at vital times. Their rivals now have to keep their nerve and take advantage of Liverpool’s poor season.

Guarantee

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez guaranteed that his side would finish in the top four. That statement is now looking very foolish. Liverpool fans are fast losing patience with their manager and his excuses for their poor performances and defeats.

If they don’t finish in the top four I can’t see Rafa Benitez staying at Liverpool. Liverpool football club is one of the biggest in the world and surely they can’t keep settling for mediocre seasons and sub-standard players.

Nobody can argue that Liverpool’s current squad is mediocre and that there are only a few players who are regarded as top class players. Even captain Steven Gerrard looks like a shadow of himself. And striker Fernando Torres has spent too much time on the treatment table and the rest of the squad is just not good enough.

With the squad they have I don’t believe they deserve to be in the Champions League. If they fail to qualify for the Champions League, then I can see big changes happening this summer at Anfield and Liverpool Football Club could be stronger for it, unfortunately!

We like our readers opinions at Soccernews and would like to know who you think is going to finish fourth and why?