Relegation Battle's done. Season is Over.

The season has come to a close... alas Survival Sunday had no fairy tale ending... As if anything was a surprise for the four teams involved, all of them lost their games. None of the managers could be proud of their team's performance and frankly all four of them should head down to the Coca Cola Division. In the end, it was Newcastle and Middlesbrough that took the dreaded drop.

Newcastle United must be one of the most clueless teams when it comes to executing tactics this season, even till the last game of the season; their players ran around like headless chickens. A team that boasts the attacking talent of Owen, Martins, Duff and Viduka were full of running but most of it was aimless since they had no creative playmaker who could pick those runs. They could have done a whole lot better with a Ginola or an Emre but I don't think even that could have given them anything at Villa Park. Even Lady Luck wasn't on their side with that deflected own goal from Duff. Well, owner Mike Ashley (pictured) just witnessed the demise of his beloved club. Goes to show a big fan doesn't equate to a sensible owner.

Hull City can celebrate all they want now for the rest of pre-season but the reality of how much needs to be done must surely sink in at the end of the delirium...... simply because their first team just lost to a team of 17 and 18 year olds from a Man Utd second team. Not really a good sign in my opinion. If anything, the manger Phil Brown's face says it all at the end of the game, it looked somewhat like embarassment.

Boro should have seen it coming for the last two seasons. None of their first team players could have made the bench of any Top Four Premier League clubs. Gareth Southgate's youth policy just didn't work out. He really should have broke the bank for at least one decent striker because his team just doesn't know how to score goals.

So its goodbye to the Barclays Premier League season of 2008/09. We look forward to the next season as teams rebuild and re-challenge the status quo. Till then.

The Final Matchday of the Season

The final run-up to the season promises to be a cracker! Who will be relegated with West Brom to the First Division? Its anybody's guess.

Will it be the struggling Hull City who was never thought to be a contender for the demands of the BPL? Will it be Middlesbrough who had been in this situation before for the past few years but somehow found a way to survive? How about Sunderland, whom I thought will not be in this situation with a team like theirs but is somehow caught in a desperate bid to survive? Or will it be the underachieving Toon Army, once the mighty giants of the BPL from Geordie Land?

What is your pick? My picks are Middlesbrough and Hull City. Sunderland will only go down if both Hull and Newcastle win and they lose to Chelsea at home. Chances are one of those two will draw/lose. Well, I fully expect Newcastle to give the thin and fatigued squad of Aston Villa a street fight and probably steal a narrow win at Villa Park. I really don't think Hull will get an easy game with a second string Man Utd, even at home. Expect the very-eager-to-impress second team of Tevez, Macheda or Welbeck play a full counter attacking game at the Tigers' home. The truth is such games are usually in full attacking flow and unexpected things happen. Hull might probably get a scored draw at home. Middlesbrough will need some miracle to expect Hull and Newcastle to both lose their games and win theirs at West Ham in front of the Hammers' home fans. I think its too late for them this time round. Time to rebuild from a lower division.

So we shall see.

Alas, the Toon Army wins

The above says it all doesn't it. The Toon Army once fought for UEFA qualification in the heydays of the 90s, Kevin Keegan had even led them to challenge for the BPL title with the likes of Man Utd. How drastic the drop has been in the past few seasons... the Toon Army is fighting relegation, no thanks to the departure of influential Keegan and the entrance of a clueless fan and owner Mike Ashley.

I like The "carToon" Army. They entertain, quite literally. Some "cartoonic" players don the black and white of Newcastle and remain as "legends" of the BPL today. Who can forget the fumbling defensive duo, "Own goal king" Titus Bramble and "Two left feet" Alain Boumsong? St James Park gave us some forgettable names and big flops like "Overrated" Albert Luque and the "Way past his prime" Patrick Kluivert. Oh yes, how about the current "I have an anger management problem" Joey Barton... ...

But good news for Toon fans, the Geordie Messiah and cult hero Alan Shearer led his team to the first victory in his managerial tenure so far. I don't regard Shearer as much of a manger yet, even though he had been Captain Fantastic when he was with the Magpies as a player. But I like him. He was the typical English striker who takes no nonsense in his play and I pretty much expect him to be the same with his management style. Congratulations to Newcastle United on their first win in many games now... the relegation danger is certainly not over but a win is always nice for the team morale.

Don't get me wrong, I will hate to see the Magpies go down. Afterall, who will entertain us like they do?