Avoiding the Drop

Sir Stanley Matthews

Ross County F.C. v. Partick Thistle F.C. (Saturday)

I’ve had a while to come to grips with County’s draw in their last match and I’ve accepted that being eight points behind league leaders Dundee with three games in hand is still a pretty good situation to be in with a third of the season remaining. County are in the best form of any team in the First Division and are facing a Partick club that has lost four of their last five matches. Here’s hoping the boys will not become complacent and will return from Firhill Park with a full three points. That, and a Dundee loss would be quite nice for County supporters! Fun Fact: A Staggies win this weekend will bring them level with last year’s point total (42) in fourteen fewer matches. Fun Fact 2: Partick Thistle’s Firhill Stadium is quite quaint inside- even if it looks like an overgrown fire station from the outside.

Burnley F.C. v. Portsmouth F.C. (Saturday)

What is the “coldest” EPL team over their last five league matches? Why, yes, it is Portsmouth- they’ve taken only one point from those five matches. Burnley are not doing much better, having dropped to second last position after starting out so well under the now-departed Owen Coyle. So, with that in mind, why should you watch this match? Easy, so that some day, decades from now, you can tell your grandchildren that you watched Portsmouth’s last match. Maybe that’s going too far, but relegation- even without having nine points deducted for going into administration- is now certain, and depending what happens on March 1, the end of the club’s existence may be announced as well. The match is at Turf Moor, so there’s not much of a chance of Pompey going out on a high note either.

Blackpool F.C. v. Barnsley F.C. (Saturday)

I’m previewing this match for one reason- there’s still a slim chance that Blackpool could be in the EPL next year. They’ve played a match or two more than most of the teams they are chasing, but on points, they are only two points out of a promotion playoff spot. Why would this be a big deal? It would be a big deal because Blackpool were the club of Sir Stanley Matthews, one of, if not the greatest English player ever. I could tell you a million things about him- like the six years of his career that he missed due to WWII or that he played until the age of 50- but think about this one instead:  in almost 1,000 club, international, and exhibition matches he never received a card of either color- ever! There’s a reason Pele said that Matthews was “The man who taught us the way football should be played.” Fun Fact: Matthews played in a 1981 testimonial match held in his honor. He was 66.

F.K. Borac Cacak v. F.K. Paritzan (Saturday)

The Fighting Zebras of Borac (they wear red/white hoops at home and blue/white hoops away) sit in the middle of the Serbian Super Liga, but they are only four points above the relegation zone, so they will have a lot to play for when they face second place Partizan (“Partizan Belgrade” to some of you) this weekend. Partizan will be concerned with taking all three points so that they do not risk losing any ground on league leaders Crvena Zvezda and jeopardizing their chances to win their 23^rd domestic title. Fun Fact: Partizan were the first club of goalkeeper Vojislav “Scoop” Stanisic who earned one cap for the USMNT. Fun Fact 2: Hungarian Illes Spitz managed Partizan four separate times (for a total of seven seasons) in the fifteen years following the Second World War.

F.C. Shaktar Donetsk v. F.C. Vorskla Poltava (Sunday)

He had the wooly scarf of Shaktar Donetsk- Nay, the banner of freedom wrung around his neck. Kudos if you know where that came from. Though they’ve played one more game in the Ukrainian Premier League this season, Shaktar are only two points behind league leaders Dynamo Kyiv, while their opponents Vorskla are in tenth place and in no danger of being relegated or of qualifying for Europe. Shaktar will win because they are following the rules for Eastern European clubs by employing no less than eight mediocre Brazilians (one cap from the eight), while Vorskla have no Brazilian players on the books- middling or otherwise. Instead they’ve opted for a trio of oft-capped Albanians- to each their own I guess. Fun Fact: Shaktar’s new Donbass Stadium received FIFA’s “Elite 5 Star” rating.

R.S.C. Anderlecht v. K.S.V. Roeselare (Sunday)

I don’t think we’ve featured a match from Belgium’s Pro League since Gooch left Standard Liege for A.C. Milan. Anderlecht are seven points and a game in hand clear of second place Club Brugge, while Roeselare are in a rather different situation. Technically they are two points clear of the relegation zone (though they’ve played two more matches than second-last Lokeren), but the last place team, Excelsior Mouscron, well, it doesn’t exist anymore. After three straight financially-related forfeits the club was wound up on December 28. Most sources list them as “relegated,” but can you relegate a team that doesn’t exist anymore? Hopefully, the Belgian F.A. will choose to only relegate one team- sorry Lokeren!- and promote an extra one from the Second Division, most likely K.A.S. Eupen.

A.S. Roma v. Napoli F.C. (Sunday)

All of the sudden, Serie A is a three horse race! By virtue of having not lost a league match since October 28th(!) Roma are now within one point of second place A.C. Milan and within four points of league leaders Inter. All Roma have to do this week is to keep pace with Milan and they will be poised to overtake them when the two teams meet in a week’s time. Meanwhile, their opponents Naopli and their MLS-like 10-10-5 record desperately need a win if they hope to a) hold onto their Europa League place or b) make a move on Juventus for Serie A‘s Champions League playoff place. Fun Fact: Where was Roma’s Simone Pasquale Perrota born? Why Ashton-under-Lyme, England of course! Luckily England don’t need any world class midfielders at present.

S.K. Rapid Wien v. F.C. Red Bull Salzburg (Sunday)

The Austrian Bundesliga returns from its winter break with a match that features first place Salzburg and second place Rapid Wien. This match will be important to both clubs: Rapid only lead third place- and crosstown rivals- F.K. Austria Wien on goal differential and Salzburg will be hoping to hold off both Vienna sides as well as holding on to the league’s one Champions League spot. Fun Fact: Salzburg goalkeeper Douglas Edward Alexander Gustafsson McIntosh was born in Philadelphia but chose to represent Sweden, for whom he was capped nine times. Something tells me there’s a story there. Fun Fact 2: Rapid midfielder Markus Heikkinen was born in Sweden, plays for Finland, and has played club football in Scotland (Aberdeen), England (Luton Town and Portsmouth), Austria (Rapid Wien), and Finland (OPS, TPS, MyPA, HJK and other acronyms.)

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. v. Everton F.C. (Sunday)

What is the hottest EPL team over their last five league matches? Yup, it’s the Toffees- winners of four of their last five matches. Spurs, whose form has been “okay” as of late, seem to have stalled in fourth place (they are nine points out of third place), but they look poised to play in Europe in the future, so that’s nice. Everton are probably not going to Europe- they are eight points adrift of the EPL’s Europa League spot- but they seem poised to do well next year. Though currently in 8^th place, a healthy team (and maybe a permanent move for Landon Donovan…I can’t believe I just typed that!) could probably crack the top five next year, and maybe the vaunted “Big Four.” As for Tottenham, no matter where they finish the season and no matter what moves they make in the offseason, they will underachieve.