Congratulations to Leeds United, who secured their Premier League status thanks to West Ham’s failure to grab at least a point against Arsenal yesterday. Along with Sunderland, the two freshly promoted sides have revitalised the top tier of English football and made it a decent contest again.
No more ‘same three up, same three down‘ procession as has become the norm in recent years. There’s genuine jeopardy at the bottom – don’t we know it – but the serial worst teams in the league now face the biggest peril, instead of plodding on, unpunished, as West Ham, Manchester United and Tottenham did last year.
In fact, Leeds’ survival may work in the Hammers favour, according to former boss Alan Pardew, who is still clinging, bless him, to the ‘hope’ lifeboat judging from his remarks yesterday.
Pardew – convinced Leeds will play with a freedom that’ll surprise Spurs tonight
Pardew claimed on talkSPORT that the Tottenham v Leeds game tonight could still revitalise the relegation survival battle:
“The psychological factor here has helped Leeds. It has helped Spurs, but it has helped Leeds more because they can literally now say we are Premier League players, all our finances are in place for next year, and let’s go and have a game tomorrow.
“They could play with real freedom tomorrow, unhinged by the pressure that comes from maybe getting relegated.
“So that does put a little bit of jeopardy on that game.”
So, seemingly, if Pards has it right, Leeds United can turn tonight’s encounter with Tottenham in to a carnival of free-flowing football and celebrate their Premier league status with a sound thrashing of the north London foe.
I doubt it. But perhaps, just perhaps. West Ham fans and management will ‘believe’ (that word again).
I’ll be an almost- neutral armchair fan, cheering Hull City on in their Championship playoff semi final on Monday night against Millwall. I suspect I won’t be alone.