DOWN TO THE WIRE..

A well worn phrase if ever there was one....but where did it come from?   Well, it seems to have its roots in horse-racing around the end of the 19th century.   Back then, if a race was very close and the horses were neck and neck crossing the finish line it was difficult to tell which had crossed the line first.   No cameras, no action replays, so a wire was used which was hung across the track above the finishing line allowing people to see which horse had won the race.

And it looks as if we have a close finish to the Championship season.  Following West Ham`s 2-1 win at Leicester last night, it all comes down to the last games of the season on Saturday to decide whether West Ham or Southampton will join Reading in automatic promotion to the Premier League.   As things stand, the Saints are two points ahead of West Ham and have a three goal advantage in goal difference.   The Saints are at home to relegated Coventry City, West Ham are at home to Hull City.   A win for the Saints or even a draw provided West Ham don`t win by four clear goals, will see them through.   And yet....

And yet, it`s a funny old game.   Anything can happen, it`s a game of two halves, the fat lady is warming up and it`s going down to the wire.   Whichever team finishes in third place will be consigned to the lottery of the play-offs - somewhere else where anything can happen and where another strand of wire will be on show, so Saturday`s games will determine either the glittering prize or another round of bum squeaking uncertainty.


But is the prize as glittering as it appears?   Seven years ago, the Saints ended their 27-year run in the top flight of English football and now we are so close to returning there.   I should be over the moon, of course, but I suspect some parrot sickness may descend if we again have to struggle to survive, again have to contend with the impossible Ferguson, the myopic Wenger, the incessant Sky coverage (earlier in the week I signed an on-line petition urging Sky not to televise Saturday`s game.....only to discover that the BBC are televising it instead thus encouraging my heroes to have another bout of stage fright,) and all the other paraphernalia and razzmatazz that goes with the Premier League product.  Us fans will once again become customers enjoying the match-day experience in a results driven business.


A day or two ago, a sagely Saints fan mentioned that the ideal conclusion to the season would be for Saints to win the Championship, but be allowed to stay there.  I`m not sure I disagree.