sport news Who will survive the last dance? No hiding place for nervy Everton, Leeds and ... trends now
You could hardly blame fans of Everton, Leeds and Leicester City on Sunday if they were to follow the example set by Toffees winger Dwight McNeil.
With so much at stake in the fight for survival, McNeil decided to give last weekend’s televised matches involving Everton’s relegation rivals a swerve. He watched Michael Jordan’s inspirational basketball documentary The Last Dance instead.
‘I love watching football. I’ll usually watch any game but those two — I just couldn’t,’ says McNeil. ‘I didn’t see Leeds on the Sunday, I was out with my missus for the afternoon. On Monday night [Leicester at Newcastle], we decided to watch the film and check the result afterwards.’
It worked out well. Leeds lost at West Ham and Leicester managed only a point at St James’ Park. So, the equations for the final, nerve-shredding day are simple: Everton survive with a win against Bournemouth. Any other result and Leicester beat West Ham, then the Foxes stay up.
If Everton lose, Leeds defeat Tottenham and Leicester don’t win then Leeds survive. If Everton draw and Leicester fail to win, Leeds will survive if they win by three clear goals.
Everton's Dwight McNeil didn't watch their relegation rivals on television last weekend
‘It was a relief to hear both scores because it’s in our hands now,’ said McNeil. ‘We’re at home with our fans behind us. We’ve got to treat it as a normal game but we do know what’s at stake and the job that needs to be done.’
As ever on the final day, all games kick off at the same time. Fans at home may choose to switch over or go for a walk but supporters inside Goodison Park, Elland Road and King Power Stadium won’t have that luxury. A few, usually those who have discovered the stadium’s wi-fi password, or maybe an old stalwart with a wireless to his ear, will be providing updates from the other matches. .
Everything is on the line. Survive and you live to fight another season, or go down and deal with the implications of losing your best players as well as £100million a season.
For Everton and Leicester, that is a real worry. Everton are already facing a Premier League investigation into alleged financial fair play breaches.
