this is a very tough pick in all honesty for me, now theres a possibility that they both stay up, but alot has to go right for Charlton to get out of it even as commendable as their recent campaign has been. West Ham are even on points with Wigan and they HAAAVE to win this weekend. I think it comes down really to who id prefer at large in the premiership, and i have to say west ham, I think they play a more dynamic albeit risky style of ball that is ultimately more exciting to watch than Charlton's conservative play it safe approach. Unfortunately looking at the way things are, Spector would probably have a less chance to start than a healthy Gibbs. the CCCL might actually benefit Spector with much more playing time and a more key role to grow into his position. Gibbs i am completely confident if healthy would be El Karkouri's counterpart in the middle of Charlton's backline and would be getting consistent starts. Its close, if i was judging strictly on the YA, Id want Charlton to stay up. If it is the team at large, its West ham for me.
Don't forget Fulham seeing how a large percentage of Yanks from the EPL could be on the way down. Fulham have no room for error. They MUST win these last two games against Liverpool and Middlesbrough to be safe. They are 1 point above the relegation zone but it's so tight and conpact with Wigan, Charlton, and West Ham. We have 1 Yank down now and it could be anywhere from one other to 3 others! Man these last two weeks will be nerve wrecking!
no need to worry now, Fulham are all but secure thanks to one Clint Dempsey. But looking at the table its nearly certainty one of Charlton or West Ham will be going down this season. West Ham been rabid mongooses for the past month or so and on paper it could be enough to get the job done, however they have to play a certain Manchester United that will be (depending on the Man U v Chelsea result on wednesday) wanting to tie up the Title, or playing in a celebratory fashion and might extend West Ham the courtesty of playing a lesser side. I think West Ham salvages a point here. Charlton play at home v Tottenham and away to Liverpool. absolutely need to win out, dont even think for a second that theyre dust right now. Weve seen what Padrew has been able to do with that club despite the Blackurn thrasing last weekend. The way it has to go down that we dont lose any more YAs this season will have to occur in this fashion: Charlton must win out...finishes 39 West Ham get a tie as a minimum against Man U......finishes 39-41 Wigan beats Sheffield United @ the Lane, both finish with 38 Aston Villa needs to beat Sheffield United today Can it be done gentlemen?
West Ham because I sat next to these two a**hats at the Manchester City/Charlton match last month who said Charlton was going to stay up in the same breath as making fun of DaMarcus Beasley and saying Collins John was the best striker on Fulham.
I'll get flack for this but I don't care. Of the 2, I'd much rather have Charlton -- easy choice. West Ham (in my opinion) should have had much stiffer penalties for their signings of Tevez and Mascherano. They appeared suspicious when they happened, but West Ham said everything was perfectly fine. Well we know now they blatantly broke league rules on transfers and were lying through their teeth about it. Personally I think the penalties should have been much stiffer for both the players and the team. I hate seeing cheaters prosper, and avoiding relegation due to the exploits of Tevez really really bothers me.
Charlton have a YA? Oh yeah, Cory Gibbs. The guy who has suffered two serious injuries to his wheels the last two years and only played a handful of games. He's the new JOB. Probably the same people pencilling him into their prospective lineups for WC Qualies have just recently figured out JOB isn't returning.
West Ham by a long shot. Gibbs may or may not return at premiership level but Spector is. Also west ham's a great club and I don't give a rip how they acquired Tevez since the rule they may have broken makes no freaking sense. If anyone's into convoluted rules then there's plenty of that in the MLS so let's keep that crap out of the premiership. I hate promotion/relegation in every way possible. Some don't, their perogative and all, no biggie. But the fact that these teams are suing west ham to take away points on a meaningless technicality is so utterly pathetic I don't understand how anyone can support such a system. If you have to have pro/rel at least decide it on the field.
Interesting choice: I've been to Charlton. Nice little club and well supported. Hate to see them go down. West Ham - never been there, but they shouldn't go down just because Pardew couldn't figure out how to play Tevez. Managers' statistics: Curbishley kept Charlton safe for years and appears to have taken West Ham to safety. Pardew on the other hand put West Ham in jeopardy and couldn't save Charlton. Curbs 2 - Pards 0.
Despite playing Tottenham and Liverpool last two games of the season, i wouldnt exactly say Charlton are dead in the water yet.... Tottenham could actually be the more dangerous side, as id suspect Benitez plays a weakened side in the final week. Tottenham are the real challenge IMO, and Charlton have them at home....Padrew's made them a fortress at home, its possble. make no mistake though, Charlton need all six points...but it can be done. on YA.com earlier there was a article on Padrew saying Gibbs would have a chance when he was healthy. He plans to be fully fit by the end of this summer it sounded like. However, wether it is the EPL or the CCCL, itll probably be his last chance at least in England before getting let go. If Gibbs can stay healthy, he is a tremendous asset and Charlton might not even be in this mess. I hope this is the end of Gibbs's long term injury woes, hes a great player to watch. Thoroughly enjoyed his play against Germany.
It might be better for Cory if Charlton were relelgated. Coming back from such a long time off, he'd be more likely to play (and, at the start, play well) in the Championship than in the Premiership. That said, I like Charlton because I can still get all their games over Internet radio. Also, I learned to hate the Blades last year while following Reading (all such hate would evaporate if they'd go buy a few Americans and start them), so I'd like to see the Blades go down with Wigan and Watford.
It's not a meaningless technicality unless you count obviously going against league rules and then lying about it to be "meaningless technicalities" The rule makes sense... you must own the players outright without 3rd party intervention. This is not one of those little clauses no one knows about. You talk of deciding it on the field. Which field is that? The one with or without illegal transfers? I do care about how they acquired Tevez... because I personally don't think he would have been on the team at all had the rules been followed. In any other situation I would prefer West Ham stay up... without question. But there is a price to pay when you break the rules. Don't break them if you're not prepared to live with the consequences if you get caught.
The rule makes no sense to me, sorry. Therefore I simply don't care. You decide it on the field with any player on your team, sorry again I don't care about technicalities. As an MLS fan I have come to despise these rules, any team should be allowed to sign any player they want, end of story for me. They did pay the price 5.5M pounds. Seems awfully punitive to me for a case about paperwork. And good point to the poster who said Gibbs would probably get a better deal in the Championship. Sounds awfully reasonable to me.
Okay, I've been on the other side on this, but this is a good argument. What I don't understand is that when this was going on, there were a lot of questions being asked, and folks looked at it at the time, didn't they? This wasn't a low profile case, and everyone was asking these exact questions in September. Any decision should have been made then, IMO. But your argument is solid. So, further, if the transfer was illegal, how on earth could the further transfer (against fifa regs) to pool be legal, which, apparently, it was? If he was illegally at West Ham, how could West Ham transfer him to Pool? This is just a question. On the teams, I spent a couple years rooting against Pardew for abandoning Reading. I forgave him this season, and think he's done a decent job (his team looks much better than it had did before he arrived). I'd like Charlton to stay up. Not gonna happen. Of the relegated teams, I have the most respect for Watford, who erally are an honest, hard-working bunch, just not good enough. but staying up was always going to be too far. Selfishly, I'd like West Ham to go down, because I think they're potentially very good, and I want more mediocre teams in the prem, for Reading's sake.
Probably my last post on this... but.... It is not a case about paperwork (not at all). It's about intentionally circumventing league rules and then lying about it. West Ham were fined 5.5M pounds Clubs are saying there should have been a 10 point deduction which would have surely meant relegation 5.5M pound fine vs. 35M pounds income for remaining in the Premier League Suddenly the 5.5M fine looks like a bargain doesn't it.
To be fair, they don't have the right to set the points deduction, beyond saying it should be at least three (by the rules they quote).