English Premiership 06/07 Relegation Contenders

Certain Relegation: Watford
Sitting at the bottom of the table, Watford had been tipped for relegation even before the season began.

For as much hustle and bustle and their hardworking ethic, they lack a certain cutting edge in the final half of the pitch and it has shown through. This season they have shown that they can only play one style of football the Direct Style School of football(aka Turnip Taylor Style) and most of the times, the Premiership defences can cope with this.

I believe that the board also believed that they will be relegated as shown in the transfer window, when they sold off Ashley Young, one of their key players this season.

Their remaining Premiership fixtures:
Watford v Charlton - Draw
Tottenham v Watford - Loss
Watford v Chelsea - Loss
Middlesbrough v Watford - Loss
Watford v Portsmouth - Win
Blackburn v Watford - Loss
Watford v Man City - Win
Sheff Utd v Watford - Loss
Reading v Watford - Loss
Watford v Newcastle - Win

From the remaining fixtures, I can see Watford only picking up 10 more points and that's not going to be enough.

Other Candidates: West Ham, Charlton, Wigan

The three clubs above are stuck in the relegation berth for the final two slots.

West Ham
After yesterday's display from Charlton v West Ham, I'd say that West Ham look likely to go down as the players seem very disjointed and they dontlook like a team. Alan Curbishley's Charlton was notorious for having long spells of losing from their previous seasons and this can probably be due to the manager himself. West Ham were too quick to get rid of Pardew although if he lost the dressing room, that was the only way to go. Unfortunately they picked the wrong guy for the job. When you bring in Upson, Boa Morte, Quashie and Lucas Neill for a relegation scrap, you deserve to go down.

Remaining fixtures:
West Ham v Tottenham
Blackburn v West Ham
West Ham v Middlesbrough
Arsenal v West Ham
West Ham v Chelsea
Sheff Utd v West Ham
West Ham v Everton
Wigan v West Ham
West Ham v Bolton
Man Utd v West Ham

Charlton
Let's not get carried away now. One result which was great, and Darren Bent is back scoring goals. As long as he is fit, they have a good chance to stay up.

Fixtures:
Watford v Charlton - Draw
Charlton v Newcastle - Draw
Charlton v Wigan - Win
Man City v Charlton - Win
Charlton v Reading - Loss
Everton v Charlton - Loss
Charlton v Sheff Utd - Win
Blackburn v Charlton - Loss
Charlton v Tottenham - Draw
Liverpool v Charlton - Loss

To have any chance of surviving, they need to to win at Vicarage Road in their next game, although I think that is asking too much from this squad.

Wigan
Paul Jewell's small squad has suffered from a lot of injuries. They also began the season without two of their mainstays from last season, Pascal Chimbonda and Jimmy Bullard.

They have a good work ethic and dont give up. The team also plays some decent football when given the chance.

Fixtures:
Wigan v Newcastle
Man City v Wigan
Wigan v Fulham
Charlton v Wigan
Wigan v Bolton
Aston Villa v Wigan
Wigan v Tottenham
Liverpool v Wigan
Wigan v West Ham
Wigan v Middlesbrough
Sheff Utd v Wigan

If Wigan stay up this season, they'll probably go down next season because nobody wants to go play there unfortunately.

Too close for comfort: Aston Villa, Fulham, Man City, Sheff Utd

Of these four teams, which are hovering near the relegation zone, a poor run of results can see them sucked into the battle. On the other hand, a good run of form could see them challenge for a European spot.

These teams all suffer from the same problem, mainly inconsistency and poor away form. As long as they keep their home form, they should avoid relegation this season.

Man City could be the surprise candidate, although not really a surprise for City fans as the performances have been poor as is the City tradition to bounce between divisions.

In summary, relegation candidates for me:
1) Watford
2) West Ham
3) Charlton/Man City

Sorry if I rambled, tends to happen when I'm bored.