Will Middlesbrough or Newcastle reveal themselves as unlikely escapologists?

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Alan Shearer, the new Messiah, is getting desperate. His plan to get Michael Owen scoring backfired, he keeps ineffectively tinkering with players and formations and even turned to an opera singer for inspiration. But while Newcastle look hopeless now, the most memorable acts of escapology are the unexplainable ones - transformations from hopelessness to safety that nobody anticipates. Will any of this year’s bottom three join the elite group of teams who have saved their season with just four games to spare?

» In the last twelve seasons, only five sides have escaped relegation having been in the bottom three with four games to go.

» The encouraging news for Newcastle, Middlesbrough and West Brom is that three of those five “Great Escapes” have taken place in the last two seasons – West Ham two years ago and Bolton and Fulham last year.

Posted: April 28th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment