Manchester City have 115 FFP charges hanging over them, but whatabout the rest of the Premier League scumbags? 
City are facing ‘expulsion’, and we’ve come up with excellent, bona fide reasons why all of the other 19 clubs should be relegated from the top flight.
 
Arsenal – Overcelebrating

The celebration police charges came to nothing after Mikel Arteta ‘stole’ Jurgen Klopp’s trademark fist pump or when Martin Odegaard took snaps of the photographer, but the title win will be the final straw for Chief Constable Keys, who will have Sergeant Carragher, Constable Souness and Community Support Officer O’Hara ready with baton, handcuffs and whistle respectively to make arrests pitch-side at the Emirates on the last day of the season.
 
Aston Villa – £119.6m loss
Given the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) only allow for losses of £105m across three seasons, a £119.6m deficit in one season is a concern. That 2022/23 loss is the largest among teams competing in Europe this season. We may have to wait a year for their expulsion, as the club chiefs are adamant that they’re on course to meet the requirements again this season, but come 2024/25 they may well be in some bother, as Jack Grealish’s £100m sale in August 2021 falls out of consideration.
Related video: The One Player Manchester City Need To Sign Next (FourFourTwo)
 
Bournemouth – Sacking Gary O’Neil
“A ludicrous decision,” according to Gary Lineker, while various other pundits – all avid watchers of Bournemouth last season, of course – joined in his admonishment of the club for replacing O’Neil with a manager who’s won 1.38 points per game at Dean Court compared to his predecessor’s 0.92. And poor Gary’s slumming it with Wolves in mid-table and being linked with the Manchester United job. There were simply no winners.
 
Brentford – Hollywoodbets
There are seven other Premier League clubs that advertise a gambling company on the front of their shirts, but to see Ivan Toney wearing one is particularly disheartening.
 
Brighton – Farming talent
We refuse to believe a club can have such an outstanding hit-rate on young talent without having done something egregious. Backhanders to Argentinian diplomats, doping the waters of Paraguay, something like that.

Burnley – Failure to launch
How dare Vincent Kompany bring Burnley up from the Championship and Play Football in the Premier League. Patrons of The Royal Dyche want it launched in memory of the man struggling to keep a different team in the Premier League.
 
Chelsea – Roman Abramovich
The fans may claim they’re getting their comeuppance in the form of their new American owners, who barely know what football is, let alone have the knowledge to run a club, but it won’t be lost on their rivals – or even just people with a sound set of morals who want justice – that Chelsea have essentially got away being funded through their two decades of success by a man who was also funding a murderous tyrant and his war on Ukraine.
Over two years on from his departure, Abramovich could still be the one to f*** Chelsea
READ MORE: Chelsea stars reassigned after FFP ‘expulsion’: Mudryk to Arsenal as Liverpool land trio


 
Crystal Palace – Simon Jordan
Who else is there to blame for sentencing us all to the man’s high-falutin opinions and desperate verbal gymnastics?
 
Everton – Uninspiring architecture
A crime far greater than breaking the FFP rules they agreed, twice, is their new stadium, described as ‘generic’, ‘dull’, ‘another stadium that looks like every other one’ and – our personal favourite – ‘just a bowl with seats’.
 
Fulham – £125 to watch Sheffield United
An 18% rise in ticket prices since last season and a 40% rise since 2019 is shocking. ‘So much for us being “a family friendly” club’ said The Fulham Supporters’ Trust in a statement. The majority of adult tickets behind the goal cost £71 against Sheffield United with prices at the sides up to £125. For Sheffield United?! Yikes.
 
Liverpool – Manchester City hacking
Sounds juicy doesn’t it? Liverpool hacking the Manchester City scouting system. And it probably would have been a far bigger deal had it occurred in the midst of their great rivalry, rather than in 2013 when Liverpool regularly relied upon Stewart Downing and Jonjo Shelvey. The Reds paid a £1m settlement in 2019, but on the back of their charges, if you think Liverpool whataboutery isn’t going to form a significant part of Manchester City’s defence you are sorely mistaken. They’re going down swinging.

 
Luton – Too small
Have you seen their stadium? Embarrassing.
 
Manchester United – A decade without a Premier League title
Haven’t won, or even come close to, winning a title in a decade in which they have at no point been lower than fourth in the Forbes list of the most valuable football clubs. At a certain point they should be kicked out for being so terrible, and that point has come.
 
Newcastle – Beheadings
Forgive us for being prudes but we’re not sure a football team should be run by a state that beheads supposed criminals, murders journalists, discriminates against women and members of the LGBTQ+ community and violates several other human rights.
 
Nottingham Forest – Marinakis vs Tierney
We’re not sure what colour it would be, but Tierney should have had the option of brandishing a relegation card at Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis for chasing the referee down the tunnel.

 
Sheffield United – Football
If they’re not relegated through the usual means having been terrible at football, they should be forcefully expelled for being terrible at football.
 
Tottenham – Defoe agent breach
Described as “a cold case which has become warmer” on the back of an investigation by The Times in November, Jermain Defoe’s 2008 transfer from Spurs to Portsmouth, which involved an unlicensed agent – hasn’t reached the requisite temperate for the FA to have done anything about it. But breaches of agent rules have previously resulted in point deductions, transfer bans, and suspensions for club officials.
 
West Ham – Tevez and Mascherano
17 years on and Neil Warnock’s still fuming: “Because it was little old Sheffield United, the Premier League didn’t take the points off (West Ham). It was wrong.” Tevez played a key role in keeping the Hammers up at the expense of the Blades, who later won a settlement in the region of £21 million. Points deductions are more in vogue now than ever, and there’s no statute of limitations when it comes to the FA.
Tevez Mascherano West Ham
© Provided by Football365
Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano signed for West Ham in 2007.
 
Wolves – Opening the Saudi floodgates
We all just thought Cristiano Ronaldo would be ploughing a lone furrow on Saudi soil, and if he was to be joined it would be by over-the-hill footballers who wanted a payday before retiring. But Ruben Neves was 26 and linked with some of the European elite. His decision to join Al-Hilal was a landmark moment for the Saudi Pro League, who had shown they could lure players in their prime, which persuaded more to follow suit. Expulse them.

Eight Championship relegation candidates ranked based on likelihood of dropping to League One

Now that the tiresome March international break is over, *everyone* can focus back on the Championship as this run-in has immense potential.
While the battle for automatic promotion is shaping up beautifully as Leeds United, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton tussle over two places, the mean-spirited individuals among us will get the most enjoyment from the fight to avoid relegation.

Bottom-placed Rotherham United are not *yet* officially relegated, but with this writer’s beloved team 19 points adrift of safety, they are as good as gone as their depressingly abject season nears a conclusion.
That leaves eight teams – Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield Town, Birmingham City, QPR, Stoke City, Plymouth Argyle, Blackburn Rovers and Millwall – to desperately scratch and claw at avoiding the drop to League One. An eight-club relegation scrap of teams separated by just five points with eight games to go? Sign us up.
The Championship is unpredictable even at the best of times but there’s no telling what could unfold between now and the final day on May 4. And yet, silly old me has decided that it would be a good idea to predict which of the eight teams will get relegated. It’s almost as if I’m a sucker for being made to look a fool.
Related video: Leeds United's continued rise and Huddersfield Town's need to avoid falling down with Rotherham United - The Yorkshire Post FootballTalk Podcast (Dailymotion)

Anyhoo, I’ve committed to the cause now so from least to most likely to fall to League One, here is a ranking of the eight Championship relegation candidates…
 
8th) Millwall
Current position = 16th (43 points)
When a floundering club needs to find a way to breathe life into their season, a new manager bounce usually does the trick.
After a loss to Sheffield Wednesday left Millwall in a perilous position, club legend Neil Harris was drafted in from Cambridge United for a second stint as manager.
Managers are often told to ‘never go back’, but Harris’ dream start (three wins in five games) has significantly reduced Millwall’s relegation fears.
When Harris’ comeback was announced, it was clear that Millwall were hitting the panic button and I’m still not sold that this appointment will pay off in the long run. But for now, they are well on track for safety as their returning manager does a Neil Warnock.


READ MORE: Ranking Championship auto promotion candidates by how much we’d like them in the Premier League
 
7th) QPR
Current position = 20th (40 points)
Speaking of a team who have benefited from a managerial change, we have QPR, who would likely be dead and buried like Rotherham United had they stuck with Gareth Ainsworth for much longer.
The former Wycombe Wanderers boss was afforded time in the summer and at the start of this season after QPR narrowly avoided the drop last season, but his shackled players were not taking to his negative approach as they sat glumly in the relegation places.
QPR have followed a similar path as a couple of their rivals in relying on a Championship veteran to get them out of the mire. Instead of going for a manager of Warnock’s mould, Spanish coach Marti Cifuentes was brought in from Swedish side Hammarby IF.
Under Cifuentes, attacking pair Ilias Chair and Chris Willock have benefited from being let off the leash as QPR’s form has drastically picked up. With momentum on their side, they look primed to be hot on the heels of Millwall in marching towards safety.

 
6th) Stoke City
Current position = 19th (41 points)
Like the two aforementioned sides, Stoke City were one of the form teams from the bottom half heading into the international break.
Ex-Plymouth Argyle boss Steven Schumacher is not the first manager to find life difficult at the Bet365 Stadium since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018.
Since then, Stoke have been stuck in the Championship bottom half and were sleepwalking towards relegation before their recent upturn in results, which has seen them win three of their last seven games.
More experienced bosses than Schumacher have tried and failed to carry Stoke out of their bottom-half misery and while they are far from safe, their Liverpudlian manager has overcome intense sack talk to grind out results when they were desperately needed to ease their relegation worries.
 
5th) Blackburn Rovers

Current position = 17th (42 points)
New Rovers manager John Eustace returned to management in February after being unceremoniously sacked by Birmingham City (more on them later) earlier this season.
Previous boss Jon Dahl Tomasson had helped Blackburn to surpass expectations last season as they contended for the play-offs but they were on the decline before his departure as they were dragged into an unexpected relegation battle.
Particularly with 21-goal Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics, Blackburn certainly have enough quality in their team to stay afloat.
It will be concerning for Blackburn that they are yet to win under Eustace but he is copying the formula that worked so well at Birmingham to make his current side more difficult to beat.
His eight league games in charge have resulted in six draws and two losses so even with a tough run-in coming up, their defensive resoluteness and sprinkle of quality in attack should see Blackburn pick up enough points to survive.

 
4th) Sheffield Wednesday
Current position = 23rd (38 points)
Albeit with a poorer squad, Sheff Weds were in a similar position to QPR during the early weeks of the season as a manager change was required following the disastrous appointment of Xisco Munoz, who was not up to the difficult Hillsborough task.
Controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri has not made too many good decisions while in control of the Owls, but he got the appointment of Danny Rohl absolutely right.
Chansiri handed Rohl his first manager’s job and he has worked wonders to give Sheff Weds a fighting chance of avoiding relegation.
The inexperienced German – who has been flanked by an impressive coaching team which includes Chris Powell – has got the absolute maximum out of a limited Sheff Weds squad.
Realistically, they should be in a similar boat to Rotherham given their lack of quality, but Rohl’s magic touch has saved Wednesday’s season and even after back-to-back losses to Leeds United and Ipswich Town, the belief in his squad and recent performance levels suggests they have enough to get over the line.

Regardless of whether they stay up or not, Rohl is primed for bigger and better things heading into next season…
READ MORE: Championship Spotlight: Leicester City set for post-promotion disarray? Rohl to exit Sheff Weds?
 
3rd) Birmingham City
Current position = 21st (39 points)
Blues supporters have been dragged through the wringer this season as their new trigger-happy American owners learn on the job. They got it badly wrong when they replaced Eustace with Wayne Rooney, but they have at least attempted to remedy their mistakes in recent months.
Their decision to appoint Tony Mowbray as Rooney’s successor was refreshingly sensible and they were on track to stay up at a canter before the ex-Sunderland boss had to take a break from football for medical reasons.
The good work done by Mowbray was undone during their six-game winless run under interim boss Mark Venus. With Birmingham spiralling towards relegation and with Mowbray unable to return, a desperate change had to be made.

Tom Wagner and Co. realised this and brought Gary Rowett back to the club on a short-term deal until the summer.
It’s hard to judge the 50-year-old – who was sacked by Millwall earlier this season – before he’s had a couple of games, but the Eustace-esque manager will make Birmingham tougher to beat and their survival chances are certainly stronger with him in charge than they were had Venus stuck it out.
 
2nd) Plymouth Argyle
Current position = 18th (41 points)
Onto the relegation spots now and first we have Plymouth Argyle. For much of this campaign, it appeared that last season’s League One champions were set for a cushty but undramatic season around mid-table after their gamble to buy Morgan Whittaker and Bali Mumba from Swansea City and Norwich City for around £2m combined was paying off.
But their season was plunged into disarray ahead of the New Year as Stoke snatched Schumacher, while loan stars Finn Azaz and Luke Cundle headed elsewhere.

Schumacher’s replacement – Ian Foster – initially settled in nicely but Plymouth’s run of one win in nine games leaves them deep in trouble.
Of the eight sides in danger, Plymouth have netted the most goals but they have only scored six times in their last nine outings, while their defensive record is not good enough to cover for this dip.
If star player Whittaker does not come up trumps during the run-in, Plymouth are facing relegation straight back down to League One.
 
1st) Huddersfield Town
Current position = 22nd (39 points)
And finally, there’s Huddersfield Town (sorry, Winty), who only have themselves to blame for the position they are in.
The Terriers were set for relegation last season before Warnock inspired *another* great escape and after agreeing to stay on in the summer, the miracle worker oversaw a strong start to this season even after limited activity in the transfer market.

Had Warnock stayed on until the New Year, Huddersfield may have been out of sight with no fears of relegation. Instead, owner Kevin M. Nagle appointed Darren Moore in September to lead the club into their post-takeover era, but he only lasted until January.
After sacking Moore, Huddersfield opted for a left-field option as Andre Breitenreiter arrived as their new head coach.
Huddersfield beat Watford in the German’s first game but this preceded a four-game winless run, which is still ongoing after a disappointing goalless draw against Rotherham United.
Even with ten men, this result felt like a big blow given how dire the Millers have been this season and with Huddersfield’s fading in games becoming an increasingly common theme, the sight of League One is growing more prominent in their mirror.