Finishing fourth at anything generally gets you nothing. You can win a gold, silver or bronze medal. They don’t make one out of plastic, wood or shit. Which is all you deserve for such failings. Horses ‘win’, ‘place’ or ‘show’. They may ‘turn up’ and even ‘finish’ but its only the first three that count. Except in the Grand National but that’s special as half the horses in that race are dead by the end anyway. Brutal but true. Its top three, or nothing.

Except in football. Where in the Premier league that fourth place is coveted, revered and esteemed. It is a path to riches and glory. And sometimes pain and suffering but there’s always a downside.

The top four teams at the end of the season enter the Champions League. Where they’ll play the creme-de-la-creme of European footballing royalty. And it is very valuable. Millions and millions of pounds in the tv rights and extra matchdays just for getting in. Though teams finishing third and fourth have to play a ‘qualifier’ and they can be very tricky. You can get a team of Nordic ice fisherman from an Arctic place you’ve never heard of and they can beat you, and that’s that.

But the promise of the glory is simply massive. Every team wants to be in the Champions League, every player wants to play in it. Against the very very best. And Arsenal.

And at this time of the season it becomes real. Gritty. There’s an eight figure difference between coming 4th and 5th. Not to mention the incredible prestige attached to qualification.

Leicester are in already. Guaranteed a slot. Spurs should (may it please the Lord, it will certainly please me) get a place too. And hopefully at least 2nd place, so qualification is not required and we won’t have to go to fucking Siberia to qualify.

So two other places. And vying for them, Arsenal, Man City, Man United and possibly even West Ham and even, though its a long shot, Liverpool. 5 teams, 2 places.

It all becomes a battle of nerves. Who blinks first. The only top 7 teams who failed to win last weekend were Leicester and West Ham, who played and drew. So even the hopeless Man United kept hopes alive. Arsenal drew on the weekend but managed to beat West Brom last night. Liverpool are on a bit of a roll. The Klopp and the Kop seem to be happy. Man City alternate between brilliance and incompetence. Would you want West Ham in the Champions League? As representatives of England?? It would be like inviting a tramp to a ball at Buckingham Palace. But they are playing well.

But I will not ‘look down’. No. I still cling to hope of looking upwards. We just need another Vardy-inspired slip by Leicster. Or two.

Nervy Friday

A xxxx