Ask Real Football Man – Issue 5

Ask Real Football Man returns for it’s 5th Edition. There’s a bumper mailbag this week (3 questions) and all the questions come courtesy of contributors of the esteemed Football Website http://www.thefootballmind.com/

The first question is from Darryl Viegas who asks “What would Leicester’s win mean for the Premier League?”

Well Darryl it would mean that the biggest fairytale in Premier League history has come true. Absolutely no-one and I mean no-one not even Leicester fans would have envisaged them winning the Premier League at the start of the season. It has been without doubt the most interesting season in Premier League history as week by week Claudio Ranieri’s side defy the critics

What in means in terms of the League is that it shows that the playing field has been well and truly leveled with the notion of the “Big 4” now all but gone. If Leicester can win it then with the right coaching and players then why can’t anyone else win it.

With the Television Money coming in next season it gives hope to everyone else that they can launch their own title bids, it’s going to be even more open next season. The thing is though that it’s hard to win the Premier League, it’s even harder to defend it

That leads into the next question which was asked by Siddhant Prakash Singh who asked “Can Spurs close the gap on Leicester and snatch what seems to be their title”

Even as a Spurs fan I have to say I reckon the chance of winning the title is slipping away from them, already 7 points behind they could be as many as 10 puts back before their encounter with Manchester United on Sunday. I think the draw against Liverpool was the realisation that the title will elude them.

I think now the bigger concern is the fact that Arsenal seem to be back in the groove again. I have a nasty feeling that they are going to pip Spurs to 2nd place as they seemingly have a much easier run in. I think Spurs’ performance is going to shape the next 5 games after that. A win will keep them just about in the race but  a defeat and I worry that the season’s momentum could grind to a halt. A big weekend coming up

The final question comes for Sanstorm who asks “In midst of Leicester City’s glory, you cant ignore how well West Ham have performed this season, How well would they perform in Europa League next season?”

On the assumption they finish 5th or 6th as lets not forget they aren’t out of the race to snatch the last Champions League spot just yet then you would have to say that it all depends on how seriously Slaven Bilic would take the competition.

Let’s not forget that they were knocked out by Romanian side Astra Giurgiu before even reaching the group stages earlier in the season. You could argue that Bilic obviously gambled on trying to get a near youth team through the early phase of the competition where undoubtedly there would have been more of a first team had they reached the actual group phase.

If they give the competition a proper go then there’s no reason why they wouldn’t at least get out of the group phase. A lot would depend on Dimitri Payet staying at West Ham over the Summer, his signing has been a revelation and it would be good to see him tested against European opposition.

It might be a bit too early to say how they would fare without seeing a group draw but there’s nothing to suggest that West Ham can’t have their own European adventure next season.

That concludes Issue 5 of “Ask Real Football Man” if anyone has any questions for next week then please leave them in the comments below or e-mail me at realfootballmanwordpress@gmail.com