Sam Allardyce, Is That You?

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If anyone asked me a few weeks ago if I thought Everton would pull up a miraculous escape from relegation I could have sworn that they wouldn't. With the kind of fixtures they had then, I just sensed that they would never survive it until a certain Manchester United gave them a way out and they haven't looked back from there. When they played the Merseyside derby, it was glaring that the decisions went against them else they would have halted Liverpool that day too.

I have also doubted Frank Lampard's credentials because if we are being truthful, he has been blessed with a decent side and yet things didn't work quite well for them. He has received bashing from every corner and at least, now he can see what it feels like being a coach after he gave a harsh treatment to his former Chelsea coach then, Andre Villas-Boas. This is one of the many reasons I didn't have sympathy for him when he was being dragged by every press.

I must commend Everton - the players and the coaches for pulling through because this is a miraculous escape. I didn't see it coming and they left the good for the last. Crystal Palace were racing to a win after leading Everton by 2-0 and Lampard's charge did a great comeback to pull a Sam Allardyce for Frank Lampard and now the coast is clear after a 3-2 win. I am impressed and that's a huge weight off the shoulders of everyone connected with Everton. Frank Lampard might have just been forgiven of all his sins haha. Sam Allardyce made a name for himself by steering his team's away from relegation and teams employ his services for this sole purpose too. Sam Allardyce, is that you inside Frank Lampard?

Now, they can go into their game against Arsenal with less pressure and this might play in favour of Arsenal who are still hoping to snatch the 4th place from Tottenham. It would have been a different game had Everton not been saved after the Crystal Palace game but with safety assured now, Arsenal would hope to win since they are still fresh and Everton only has a few days to recover. Tottenham only needs a draw even if Arsenal wins. The goal difference is too much for Arsenal to cover as long as Tottenham didn't lose against already relegated Norwich City.

The relegation battle is now between Burnley and Leeds United. One of them would go down and we don't know who it would be yet. Burnley would play host to Newcastle United while Leeds would travel to Brentford. If they all play draw, Leeds United would be relegated but if Leeds wants to be safe, they have to win.

The battle at the top of the table continues to the last game but the talking point before then is, "How did Everton pull that off against Crystal Palace?". That effort from Everton is worthy of either a title win or pulling out of the relegation scrap like they just did.

Cheers.

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