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Tanzania: Final Sunday of the Season - Title and Relegation Battles Galore!
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Arusha Times (Arusha)
COLUMN
10 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Chris George
Arusha
This Premier League season has been one of the most exciting in recent years. Normally the title is decided with three or four games to go. Relegation battles however are much tighter and go to the final day of this season. This season has been very different. Everything hinges on the last day of the season - Sunday, 11 May 2008. All matches will be played at 5.00pm Tanzania time.
No one expected Chelsea to give Manchester United such a hard time and press them till the end of the season. At one time, when Jose Mourinho was sacked, Avram Grant took over and his first match was against United at Old Trafford. Chelsea were beaten and were way behind United. At one time Chelsea were 8 points behind Arsenal. However, they regrouped and doggedly eked out several clinical one-nil wins to put them in this position.
Both teams are tied on 84 points and United lead by superior goal difference. The final matches of the season pit United away to Wigan and Chelsea at home to Bolton. If United win they will win the championship. If United draw and Chelsea draw, United are Champs. If both teams lose, then United are Champs. Chelsea can only win the League if they go one better than United. I.e. if United draw and Chelsea win or United lose and Chelsea win or draw. What an exciting end to the season! The title race in United's hands by virtue of their better goal difference, but what a shock it will be if Chelsea take it. In football anything can happen. Chelsea will rue one of the matches in the run-in when they dropped a point at home in the very last minute to whom else but Wigan! Can Wigan stop United this time around? Tomorrow the mysteries of the whole season will be unravelled.
Arsenal have clinched third spot and Liverpool have got the final UEFA champions league fourth place. Arsenal are away to Sunderland and Liverpool away to Spurs. These two teams might use the opportunity to field young blood and give them some precious experience.
In the battle for the fifth spot and the UEFA Cup place, Everton need just a point at home to Newcastle. If Everton lose and Aston Villa win away to West Ham, it is Aston Villa who will be in Europe next season.
There are serious relegation battles too! Two out of Bolton, Fulham, Reading and Birmingham will be going down to the Championship. Birmingham host Blackburn, Bolton have a difficult game away to Chelsea, Reading are away to already relegated Derby and Fulham are away to Portsmouth. With all matches being played at the same time, it will be interesting to see the TV stations shifting from one game to another when the goals are scored.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, old kingpins, are champions of Germany and Spain respectively. In Italy, the battle is between Roma and Inter Milan.
At the end of the season, I would like to pay tribute to the following players, Christiano Ronaldo of United who has scored 40 goals this season and 30 in the premier league, and who needs one more to equal Alan Shearer's record. Also to Fernando Torres of Liverpool, who in his first season has scored 30 goals in total and 23 in the Premier league. Finally to Michael Ballack of Chelsea, whose displays at the end of the season have really lifted Chelsea. The following managers also deserve a pat on the back; Alex Ferguson who might guide his United team to their tenth premier league title in 16 years, Avram Grant, whom against all odds has made Chelsea a force to reckon with and finally Roy Keane of Sunderland who guided his team to safety in his first season in the Premier League.
Congratulations to Taifa Stars the Tanzanian national team who have triumphed in their first leg match of the African Championship against the Ugandan Cranes 2-0. The second leg will be held in Kampala on 17 May.
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Next week the focus will be on the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff.
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