bwin Sportsblog - Football - Stoke almost safe

I have been looking at the league tables this weekend and it seems that Stoke City and Blackburn are on the verge of safety now. But that is a great achievement for Tony Pulis at Stoke. Promoted to the Premier League in 2008, they were in everyones selections as on of the three clubs to go down in the 2008-2009 season and they not only stayed up, they stayed up easily. The same is happening this season and you have to take your hat off to Tony Pulis. I said last season that teams would adapt to Stoke this season and their system wouldn't be as effective.......I was wrong. With all of the bottom clubs losing over the weekend then nothing has changed apart from these two clubs and West Ham winning. West Ham are another club that I expect to run clear over the coming weeks. Their 3-0 home win against Hull was a quality performance by the Hammers. If Tottenham needed a result then they got one yesterday with a 3-0 win at Wigan although their first goal by Jermaine Defoe was clearly offside. But Spurs needed a win to get back on track. The race for 4th place and the final Champions League spot is interesting. Tottenham reclaimed 4th spot with Man City and Liverpool grinding out a dull 0-0 draw at Eastlands. Villa stepped up though with a thumping 5-2 win at home to Burnley. One team who have had an amazing slide is Sunderland. Now only 3pts clear of the drop and without a win in ages, they are clearly low on confidence and are desperate for a win. They will need to move quickly as well because 2 to 3 weeks more without a win could see them in the bottom three. Anyway see you soon Carl