Time to ponder....

As we enter into a weekend break for international friendlies and World Cup qualifiers, let us take this time to ponder at the current stage of the English Premier League.

With just 8 games remaining (with the exception of Manchester United as they still have a game in hand) in this season, the EPL teams are now heading for a home stretch. At the top corner, we see 3 teams - Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, vying for the title of League champions. And in the upper-middle region, we have another 3 teams - Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton, fighting for the last Champions League spot. And then we have the bottom 9 teams - Bolton, Hull, Sunderland, Portsmouth, Stoke, Blackburn, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and WBA, desperately trying to crawl out of the (most elastic I have ever seen) relegation zone.

So we have 3 + 3 + 9 = 15 teams, which means that the remaining 20 - 15 = 5 teams - Wigan, West Ham, Fulham, Manchester City and Spurs, could, mathematically, either play in Europe or fall into the Championships abyss.

That's the status of the EPL now.

And of course, I would not be posting this without ever mentioning Spurs. :)

Since our last league defeat to Bolton on 31 January 2009, Spurs have been rising steadily since, clinching 14 out of a possible 18 points, including dramatic winners against Champions League hopeful Aston Villa and EPL Champion wannabe Chelsea in the last 2 games. And we would be facing the other 2 EPL Champion title wannabes - Manchester United and Liverpool, albeit in their home turf. Suddenly, the role of Spurs in this stage of the season became important. Who knows, our win against Villa and Chelsea may have an impact in their aspirations for this season, and maybe we could make a difference on who should be the EPL Champions.

So, in this case, we should be the "Kingmakers" for this season, shouldn't we?