A certain well-known betting company uses the slogan “Everyone has an opinion – what’s yours worth?” And they’re right – in sport, everyone does indeed have an opinion. It’s an industry which for many reasons inspires more people to expound these opinions more vociferously and adamantly than, say, politics or art manage to do. Websites, newspapers, magazines, blogs, fanzines and more all voice their views on the events of the sporting world, and here at Sport.co.uk we’re no different. The Monday Morning Musings brings you its unashamedly incomplete, ill-ordered and occasionally-irrelevant ruminations on the weekend’s activities. What’s our opinion worth? In memory of the departed Premier League clubs, how about a portion of fish and chips, a Cadbury’s chocolate bar, and a jellied eel.

Amalgamate the good qualities of Blackpool and Birmingham and you’ve got yourself a top half Premier League team with attacking panache and defensive solidity. But of course that isn’t possible, and those two sides instead find themselves relegated from the self-appointed Best League in the World. All managers must choose a style of football which they think maximises the chances of their side achieving its goals for the season. For both of these clubs, as with probably another ten teams in the division, that goal was to survive relegation from the Premier League, and with the glorious gift of hindsight we must conclude that neither Alex McLeish nor Ian Holloway got the balance right.

Set yourself up too defensively and you will not win enough games, particularly away from home. But commit too many men to attack and you’ll be picked off by teams of superior quality. Birmingham are the most negative side in the division, and have not scored more than two goals in a Premier League game since December 2009, while, as Alan Hansen pointed out on Match of the Day, Blackpool have on ten occasions this season scored two league goals yet failed to win. Both managers were too extreme in their approaches, and ultimately they paid the highest price, and one which has seen bigger and better-established clubs fall significantly further than their initial demotion from the country’s top division.

A summer of discontent ahead

In the hyperbolic previews to Survival Sunday, the potential ramifications of relegation were widely weighed up and, amongst other topics, pundits speculated over which players would be snatched from the carcasses of each team should they be fail to beat the drop. Now that we know it is Blackpool and Birmingham who will join West Ham in the Championship, several prize pickings emerge. It is implausible that Charlie Adam, Scott Parker, Matthew Upson and Robert Green will be plying their trade anywhere other than the Premier League next year. But there are other players who have shown themselves to be good enough for this division, and a newly-promoted side might look long and hard at the likes of Stephen Crainey and DJ Campbell, while Demba Ba will be in demand if he leaves Upton Park and decides to remain in England.

Yet what happens at the revolving doors of St Andrews is perhaps the most intriguing question to come out of the relegation deciders. Carson Yeung’s dedication to the Blues’ cause will be tested in the coming months, as he realises the extent of the strain on Birmingham’s finances that relegation will entail. If he does decide that the wage bill must be trimmed and money brought in through transfers, then suitors will be queuing up to take Roger Johnson and his unheralded defensive partner, Scott Dann, from St Andrews. Likewise, Seb Larsson, Ben Foster and Craig Gardner are too good for the Championship, while one gets the impression that Cameron Jerome and Jean Beausejour, not to mention loanee flops Alexander Hleb and David Bentley, believe themselves to be.

“We’ll have a chat midweek and see where we go from there” – Alex McLeish. Given that Yeung and his cronies were reportedly considering sacking the Scot even as he led the Blues to 9th place in the Premier League last year, it will be some surprise if he is still manager come the start of Birmingham’s 2011-12 Championship campaign. Injuries have depleted his squad, yes, but McLeish brought in significant reinforcements last summer, and should have been able to summon the requisite performances from his players to steer clear of the drop. In their season-defining match yesterday, in which they were always likely to have to score, they failed to produce a shot on target until after the 70th minute. Birmingham will not be missed by many.

Sad to see the Seasiders go

Blackpool’s relegation, meanwhile, represents a sad loss to the Premiership. In a largely mediocre domestic season, in terms of quality at least, Blackpool repeatedly defied the expectations of all and sundry, and contributed to many of the most memorable moments of 2010-11: the 5-3 defeat at Everton is one of the matches of the season; likewise the see-saw 4-3 win over Bolton last week; at Blackburn Charlie Adam scored the finest free kick the Premier League has known since Cristiano Ronaldo’s thunderbolt against Portsmouth in 2008; they defied received wisdom by travelling to Anfield to attack, and won; and last, but not least, their manager Ian Holloway provided some of the sound bites of the century. He may not be to everyone’s taste, and he needs to learn to accept criticism from the media, but he is hardly unique in that character flaw, and his passionate and heartfelt outbursts resonated with sympathetic fans across the country, not least when he incredulously demanded, “if Alex Ferguson is being bullied by a player and his agent, how wrong is the game? FIFA, UEFA, you’re WRONG!”

Around 5.45pm on Sunday evening Stephen Hunt was the coolest cucumber in the Premier League, at a time when his side needed him most. In truth, he’ll be mighty annoyed about that late, unnecessary Roman Pavlyuchenko goal at White Hart Lane, because it takes the shine off his glorious curling finish into the top corner of Paul Robinson’s goal, and denies him what would be an everlasting memory of personally ensuring Wolves’ survival on goal difference. The return from injury, and subsequent excellent form, of both Hunt and Steven Fletcher have been instrumental in Wolves turning their season round, even if they can still count themselves rather fortunate to have lost to a side as previously desperate as Blackburn, at home, and still beat the drop.

It will be an interesting summer of activity, too, at Ewood Park. Rovers looked impressive in their first half demolition of Wolves but, despite avoiding relegation, Steve Kean still can’t be entirely sure of his position at the club. Venky’s need to make their intentions clear regarding both the manager’s future, and the funds which they will make available to either him or his successor. Ensuring that Chris Samba and Junior Hoilett remain at the club is a priority; Samba provides defensive leadership and presence, while Hoilett has poise, balance and trickery in abundance.

Miracle worker Martinez

Wigan Athletic are a club who continue to defy expectations, and over the past two weeks have pulled off the most unlikely of survival acts. On the face of it, little suggests that the Latics are a Premier League team; disregarding Blackpool, they have the league’s lowest average attendance, pulling in every match fully 6,000 fewer fans than the next smallest club, Bolton. This season they filled on average only 66.8% of their rugby league stadium, 13% less than the next lowest figure. But yet in Dave Whelan they have the most reliable and generous chairman in the league, and in Roberto Martinez one of the most forthright, humble and trustworthy managers. His fans and players have needed to trust him, as their side languished in the relegation zone of the Premiership for most of the season, but they stubbornly adhered to his policy of attractive, passing football, and when Hugo Rodallega leaped to convert Maynor Figueroa’s left-wing cross, they reaped the rewards of self-belief and determination, and justified their manager’s trust.

Carlo Ancelotti’s sacking is lamentable, but hardly surprising. Roman Abramovich has got history here. Remember that Mourinho fellow? The Special One was sacked (call it “mutual consent” if you like but I’m not buying that) as Chelsea boss just months after delivering a domestic cup double, having won the Premier League the previous two seasons, the first of which represented the London club’s first title in 50 years. While Abramovich remains owner of Chelsea, no manager in his employment will even be able to dream of the job security of David Moyes, let alone Alex Ferguson or Arsène Wenger. Ancelotti’s departure is a loss for Chelsea, given that he is an excellent coach, both as a tactician and a man-manager, but it is also a loss for English football, and his honesty, calmness and quirky use of the local vernacular will be missed, not to mention that fantastic left eyebrow of his.

Whoever replaces Ancelotti will realise that their job description is actually pretty one-dimensional: deliver the Champions League trophy to Stamford Bridge, or else.

Van the Man

If Robin van Persie didn’t still have a great big question mark hanging over his head about his injury problems, it would be his name, rather than that of Cesc Fabregas or Samir Nasri, being linked with Europe’s footballing giants. The Dutchman yesterday equalled the Premier League record of 18 goals between the turn of the year and end of the season, and also extended his record of scoring in nine consecutive away games in the competition. Arsenal need to spend money this summer, but more important than any new signings is the desperate need to address their truly abysmal injury record.

Is Roman Pavlyuchenko the new Mark Viduka? Like the portly Australian, Tottenham’s number 9 seems to enjoy scoring goals at the end of the season, which is always handy when you’re chasing a new contract or hoping to garner some interest from elsewhere. Pavlyuchenko netted five in Spurs’ last 12 Premier League games of 2010-11, having scored just three in the previous 26.

This hack’s pick for Goal of the Season is Dimitar Berbatov’s strike against Blackburn after a glorious flowing team move. But then that’s hardly surprising – I’ve always been a Carlos Alberto over Diego Maradona kind of guy.

AFC Wimbledon’s promotion to the Football League is a real life fairytale story. The near-vertical trajectory of their prolific rise from the Combined Counties League must flatten out soon, but yesterday represented a victory for the underdog and for football fans everywhere, one which should be toasted across England. Congratulations to their supporters, whose achievement in creating a new football club from the ashes of their beloved Wimbledon FC has been nothing short of phenomenal, especially given that the project was undermined and discouraged by the spineless FA, who saw nothing wrong in assigning Wimbledon fans a 125-mile round trip to watch a relocated and renamed club play in Milton Keynes.

More than a ménage à trois?

What can we hope for from the French Open? Well, for the Men’s tournament, just that it lives up to the hype. This is one of the most eagerly anticipated tournaments in living memory. We have spent the past few years revelling in how privileged we are to have two of the greatest tennis players of all time competing against each other in the same era, but their hegemony of the Men’s game is now over. Novak Djokovic cannot lay claim to anything like the prestigious acclaim lavished upon Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but if he maintains his extraordinary current run of form, and wins at Roland Garros, he will become the undisputed number 1 in the world, having broken John McEnroe’s 1984 record of 42 consecutive wins from the start of the season. And let’s not forget a pumped up Andy Murray, who arrives in Paris more determined than ever to prove his doubters wrong, and with what appears a reasonably straightforward run to the semi finals.

Yet the Women’s game can only dream of generating such interest, intrigue and excitement. There are no titanic rivalries to compare to that of Nadal vs Federer because, quite simply, of a lack of two fundamental prerequisites: quality, and consistency. Caroline Wozniacki will need to win a slam soon in order to silence critics who suggest she currently holds the World No. 1 ranking by default, having adopted such a mantle from Dinara Safina and, not long before, Ana Ivanovic. The Williams sisters have long since lost interest in tennis, and have duly made their excuses from playing in Paris this year, and with a host of Russians flattering to deceive, and seemingly no-one willing or capable of dragging the game to a higher level, it is little wonder that the WTA pins its hopes on the return of Kim Clijsters to the top of the rankings. Upsets by the underdog are all well and good, but as the Men’s game in recent years has taught, what crowds prefer are epic matches between the biggest names in the sport, and therefore a repeat of last year, when the likeable but limited Francesca Schiavone lifted the trophy on clay, would represent another setback for the standing of the Women’s game.

Congratulations to Ian Poulter for winning the World Match Play Championship in Spain, and commiserations to his vanquished compatriot Luke Donald. Both men had excellent weeks, and British golf is currently enjoying a phenomenally fruitful period, but in order to cement its position at the forefront of the sport, a Brit must now win the Open at Royal St George’s in July. England now boasts the world number 1, and the winners of both major match play tournaments, yet the last time an Englishman won a major was in 1996, when Nick Faldo clinched his third green jacket at the Masters. Until the 15 year wait is ended, arguments will persist that Lee Westwood lacks the temperament to win a major, and that both Poulter and Donald are stronger match play golfers, able to find impressive consistency when in one-on-one situations (Donald through his relentlessly accurate iron play and Poulter through his irrepressible fighting attitude), but unable to find the inspiration to attack a golf course sufficiently to top a leaderboard of 100 or so professionals after four days.

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