English league title chase reaches climax

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): April, with just four weeks of the English soccer season remaining, is fast becoming white knuckle month for management and supporters alike as championship and relegation issues assume ever greater significance.

At the top, the possibility exists, with Newcastle set to play Aston Villa today afternoon, that Manchester United, which played 24-hours earlier, could be nine points clear before a ball is kicked in anger at St James' Park.

With defeats against Arsenal, Liverpool and Blackburn in recent weeks, Kevin Keegan's side witnessed a 12 point lead early in the new year turn into a six point deficit over the Easter weekend.

The game against Villa, second against fourth in the Premiership, offers a fascinating confrontation for many reasons, not least being Keegan's selection.

The purchase of Colombian international Faustino Asprilla and his selection alongside Les Ferdinand in the Newcastle attack has thrown the team seriously out of balance.

Keith Gillespie, a key early season provider, wide on the right, for Ferdinand has been languishing on the substitutes bench since Asprilla's arrival.

The effervescent Beardsley, at his best playing behind and feeding off Ferdinand, has been moved to the right flank which greatly reduces his effectiveness and influence.

So just what you do with a 10-million-dollar man? Play Asprilla and risk another 90 minutes of frustration? Or swallow your managerial pride and reinstate Gillespie and Beardsley in their favorite positions?

Little wonder that the manager's hair has turned progressively gray as the season and results have taken their toll.

Not that Keegan's worries center solely on attack. For his solid, if unspectacular, defense has suddenly started to ship goals at an alarming rate.

Look for more gray hairs on Sunday as manager and defense entertain Villa's dynamic strike force of Dwight York and Savo Milosevic.

Already guaranteed European soccer next season courtesy of their Coca Cola Cup win, there will be no easing up on the part Brian Little's Midlanders. Witness this by their comprehensive 3- 0 defeat of Southampton on Easter Monday.

Bottom sides

If it is pressure you seek, look no further than the bottom three clubs -- Queens Park Rangers, Coventry and Bolton -- fighting for their very Premiership existence.

The Easter program reduced the relegation candidates from seven to five. Manchester City and Southampton can be added to the above clubs. See now the double-edged significance of Manchester United's fixture?

Expect something of a dog-fight, too, at Highfield Road where Coventry City entertain fellow strugglers Queens Park Rangers. With both teams level at 30 points -- just two points incidentally separating all five clubs -- the white knuckle factor will be well in evidence.

Coming off a morale boosting 3-1 win over Everton, QPR, with Hateley fit and restored to the team and Frank Sinclair in exhilarating form, may just be too strong for a Coventry side that has promised much but has still to deliver.

Manchester City are another which, on paper, appear too good to go down. In Kinkladze it has one of the players of the season, but all too often his genius has been wasted by the errors or inadequacies of his teammates.

Sheffield Wednesday, just three places above City, visit Maine Road on Saturday. With only Aston Villa and Liverpool to play, City will view Wednesday as its last hope of securing three points.

Should Bolton survive, then Hollywood may well consider a remake of the Great Escape. As to whether manager, Colin Todd, will play Steve McQueen only time and results will tell.

Down-and-out for much of the season, Bolton has clawed its way back into the survival battle. Monday's defeat of Chelsea, and this after going a goal down, is indicative of the spirit that Todd has engendered.

Spirit that could spring a surprise away win against West Ham. This would set up a home fixture against Southampton on the penultimate weekend of the season.

Evidence that, unlike the title race, which could be over this weekend, the relegation battle will go down to the final Saturday of the season and probably the final minute.