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Are Fulham and Norwich set for a massive slide down the Premier League table?

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martin jolIt is a commonly held football theory that each season at least one team which is nestled in the deceptive comfort of mid-table at the turn of the year will slip into a rut of form.  The downward momentum being hard to reverse, that club will inevitably find itself mired in a relegation battle as the campaign reaches its climax.

Most recently, and perhaps most famously, Birmingham City followed a Carling Cup final victory over Arsenal on February 27th 2011 with a horrendous run which resulted in what has proved to be an extremely costly relegation.  The Blues lost their first match after the Wembley final at home to West Bromwich Albion, but despite sitting in the bottom three after that reverse had games in hand on all around them, and form – they had lost only 9 of 27 league fixtures – which didn’t give any hint as to what was to follow.

What transpired was that the St Andrew’s club only managed to win two of their final eleven matches and had their demotion confirmed by a final day defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.  The financial turmoil and current on-field travails at the Blues should provide an extremely stark warning to any side allowing a touch of complacency into their thinking regarding the latter months of this term.

Looking back further to 1997 offers an even greater cautionary example as to what can happen if a side takes their eye off the ball.  On 29th January Peter Reid’s Sunderland, fresh from winning the old Division 1 Championship the previous year, were happily ensconced in 11th position and set fair to establish themselves in the top-flight after a five year absence.

The subsequent 14 matches brought only three wins – albeit against Manchester United, Everton, and away at North-East rivals Middlesbrough – and a fatal nine defeats.  Rokerites will never forget the most sickening of concluding days as their team lost limply at Wimbledon while Coventry City pulled off an incredible 2-1 victory at Spurs, so consigning the Mackems to relegation despite garnering the ‘magical’ 40 points.

Two sets of supporters who may have a fear creeping into the back of their minds concerning their teams suffering the same fate as Sunderland and Birmingham are those at Norwich City and Fulham.  Both experienced troubling F.A. Cup exits at the weekend, and are similarly finding Premier League points extremely difficult to come by.

The Canaries cup humiliation at home against non-league Luton Town understandably captured a weightier share of the headlines, but Fulham’s feeble and insipid surrender at Manchester United was characteristic of too many of the Cottagers’ recent displays.

Chris Hughton and Martin Jol’s teams sit 13th and 14th respectively in the top-tier, 7 and 6 points clear of Reading who occupy the final relegation spot.  Hughton has yet to be confronted with a situation in his managerial career in which he’s had to contend with a slide in fortunes.  The 54 year-old won promotion with Newcastle United and was widely considered unlucky to lose his job with the Geordies lying 11th in the table four months into their return to the elite.

The former Spurs defender performed a remarkable feat in leading Birmingham to the play-offs during his year in the Midlands and, after a shaky start in Norfolk, appeared to have steadied the club, and indeed restored much of the vigour and excitement that was so prevalent under Paul Lambert last term. 

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