Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men? It is the music of the people who will NOT fight relegation again! When the beating of your heart, echos the beating of the drums, there is a fight-back about to start when tomorrow comes!
OK, I’ve recently been to see Les Miserables and I’m pumped up and ready to defend something – (ANYTHING!) and what better cause to rally the troops behind than yet another Blues relegation scrap?
It was all going so well wasn’t it? Like many others, I dreamed the dream of a playoff spot but it all went wrong. The inevitable points deduction has thrown us into disarray and instead of looking at the teams above us, we’ve been forced to look down at the dregs of the division and wonder who, if any of them may be the ones to seal our fate.
With four games left to go, our destiny is in our own hands yet again (This all seems a bit familiar doesn’t it?). At the end of the day it’s going to take grit and determination to lift us to safety but if there’s one team hovering around the drop zone with the odds in their favour, it’s Blues.
Firstly, I’d argue that our very limited squad has far more quality within its ranks then the likes of Rotherham, Wigan and Reading. We are a mid table side languishing in a false position and we SHOULD be enjoying a stress free April for a change. We have one of the top strikers in the league in the form of his life – that factor alone gives us the edge over our rivals.
Secondly, and perhaps the biggest factor in the race for survival, is the fact that our remaining four fixtures are quite favourable. Admittedly Frank Lampard’s Derby County could prove to be a difficult game but following that we have fellow drop candidates Rotherham, Wigan and Reading.
Contrast this with the Millers’ run-in which sees them face Swansea, West Brom, Middlesbrough and, of course, us. I know I’m not on my own when I say I know which fixture list I’d rather be staring at!
Obviously this is the Championship and anything can happen – especially where Blues are concerned – but you’d have a hard job convincing me that Rotherham aren’t as good as gone before a ball is even kick on Good Friday.
Having said that, even if a miracle occurs and they pull of the greatest of escapes, there’s still Wigan and Reading’s fixtures to consider. The Tics have the pleasure of facing both Leeds and Preston in the coming weeks and Reading have the unenviable mountain of Bristol, West Brom and Boro to climb.
Looking at the fixtures it seems that either Middlesbrough or the Baggies will have the final say on who gets to ply their trade in League One next season.
I don’t want to jump the gun and claim that we’re “safe” but I truly believe we’ll still have our Championship status by the end of May.
That’s not to say we should take our foot off the gas though and I hope we’ve learnt from our mistakes at Ipswich. After a positive first half that almost seemed to resemble a training match, Blues completely fell apart and allowed an Ipswich side (that had already accepted their own demise) back into the game.
This simply cannot happen over the last four games. This season we have conceded far too many easy goals straight after half time. The second half kicks off and the lads just don’t seem to be focused. Teams have exploited this and it’s no secret that we’re susceptible to a fast re start.
The odds ARE indeed in our favour, but this is Blues and we are often the masterminds of our downfall.
We simply cannot take anything for granted right now, no matter how ‘safe’ we look on paper. It’s dog eat dog and we need to fight for what we deserve. We know we don’t belong down here and it’s a sad state of affairs that we’re even IN this predicament but this is what happens when your naiive owners break the rules…
The fight’s not over until the bottom three are cast in stone so take up arms, sing our songs, stick out your chests and with a heart full of love for the boys in Blue, join me on the barricades! Join in the fight that will give you the right to watch Championship football next year and Keep Right On until this whole bloody mess is sorted!
Here’s to next year’s clean slate!