Richard MichaelWeakened teams - A final kick in the crotch??
Whatever transpires on ‘survival Sunday’ – as Sky have dubbed it – there can be no complaints. Should Hull stay up thanks to Manchester United fielding a team of youngsters or should Middlesbrough or Newcastle profit from playing sides with nothing to play for (West Ham and Aston Villa), there can be no objections. Of course there will be, but we should be dismissed with disdain.
Everyone hopes to avoid the antics of a few seasons ago when Neil Warnock whined and wailed about the injustice of Sheffield United being relegated (he is still going). The Carlos Tevez case apart, he had no case then and nor will Hull’s rivals should Phil Brown’s team turnover Manchester United (an eventuality that looks unlikely). Teams play fixtures as they come and they must play the league table as it comes as well. They are in the position that they deserve and will be at the final whistle. More than luck and more than external factors, their final standing will depend on their own qualities or inadequacies over the season.
Manchester United have earned the right as Premier League Champions to field a ‘weakened’ team ahead of the Champions League final against Barcelona, as Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle have failed to secure their place in the topflight next season. I hope Sir Alex Ferguson does not pander to the of and field a team based purely on his teams own interests than attempt to intervene in some kind of justice mission to temper the guilt of a few seasons ago – he should have none. (Quite why Sheffield United were doing watching the announcement of the Manchester United team to play West Ham when they should have been preparing for their own game needing just a draw I don’t know).
There is an argument that a team of ravenous youngster and fringe players fighting for a place in the starting XI and on the bench for the Champions League final would be a stronger team. Certainly some of the bigger players will be anxious of playing a full game three days before the biggest game of their lives (no one wants to be robbed of the Crisyiano Ronaldo v Lionel Messi showdown in Rome).
Come Monday morning there can be no complaints. The teams who have failed to justify their place in the English topflight will have been exposed and cut adrift. Any manager who begs to differ and wails at the ‘injustice’ of it all should be shunned into submission.
