The key formulae that both Wolves and Birmingham need to follow

Football FanCast columnist Mike
Harvey looks at the key ingredients
that the likes of West Brom and Birmingham will need to stay in the Premier
League.

The football season is
winding down and the Premier League relegation battle is going down to the
wire. After the games on Sunday three teams will have fallen from the ranks of
the Premier League. Two of the teams fighting to remain in the top tier are
Hull and West Brom who were promoted just this season. Stoke, the other newly
promoted team, is actually on the verge the top ten. Every season three new
managers have to try and figure out the formula to keep their place in the top flight.

For most promoted teams the
transfer market is where the manager can make the biggest impact on his club.
How the manager uses this tool is most often the difference between a second
season in the top flight and a quick trip back to the Championship. The newly
promoted manager should follow some simple rules to improve their chances of
survival.

During the summer transfer
window, you need to fight the urge to make the "big" signing. The main idea of
this window is to try and replace the players who do not have the ability to
play in the Premier League. Every manager knows who these players are; the key
here is getting rid of them without breaking up the chemistry of the team. The
quickest way to throw off the chemistry is to bring in the big signing. The
object is to stay in the top flight NOT suddenly challenge at the top. The core
of your team got you to the Premier League; trust them to be able to compete.

The players that are
transferred in should be quality role players. Experienced players who have had
decent careers at the lower end of the table. These players know what it takes
to remain in the league but will not feel entitled to their spot on the squad.
The new players may earn the starting spot but the hope is the "veteran" players
will feel it was earned and not given. The player who lost his spot will then
work on what needs improvement in his game to get it back. The idea here being
you end up with two average Premier League players instead of one good player
and one disenchanted player.

The core of your team must
feel that you believe in them. The Premier League season is gruelling. You will
need every player giving everything they have. The players you sign need to be
interchangeable with those you already have. Injuries will happen and if there
is a large disparity in skill between the injured player and the replacement
the team will have trouble adjusting. The idea of the signing strategy is that
the player coming in will be chomping at the bit to show he has improved and
deserves a chance in the starting XI.

The January window is a
little bit trickier to negotiate. The strategy here is dependent on where you
are in the standings. The biggest mistake you can make is standing pat. No
matter how well your team is doing you MUST add players in January. The mental
and physical demands of the Premier League will catch up to your players.

The advantage you have in
January is that some decisions are taken out of your hands. Injuries and,
unfortunately, players performing poorly will force you to bolster certain
positions. Now is the time to think about the "big" signing. The players will
be more receptive to major changes at this window. Injured players need to be
filled in for and the players who were given a chance and didn't take it will
be considered unlucky but they had their chance. These positions will need to
be filled and taking the best available replacement is just good management.

If you are fortunate and
have no injuries and all your players are performing well and the team is doing
better than anticipated, you still need to bring in new players. Even though
you have had no injuries, you will. You can never have too much coverage at the
back. Also, by this time in the season one player will have emerged as the "talisman".
This player will seemingly be a part of everything positive. You will need to
find coverage for this player. At some point the season will catch up to him
and his form will dip, as will everyone's. If you have found coverage for your
best player HIS replacement will hopefully be able to fill other roles as well.
You will now have to work on keeping players egos intact but if you are doing
well, hopefully, you have earned respect and the incoming players will trust
you.

This formula will not take you
to the top of the league but that is not your goal. Your primary goal must be
survival. This past season Tony Pulis was the lucky one he got everything
right. A group of very solid players brought in during the summer. Then Pulis
hit the jackpot with in January with James Beattie, Matthew Etherington, and
Danny Higginbotham. Stoke was steady all season and finished higher than anyone
anticipated.

Phil Brown was the unlucky
one. Hull City got off to an amazing start, but as the season wore on they came
back down to Earth. Brown brought in Jimmy Bullard to turn things around but he
played one game and was out for the season. Hull is in control of their own
fate going into the final game, win and they stay up. A healthy Bullard and
maybe they pick up the three points along the way.

Tony Mowbray got it wrong.
West Brom made some big moves in the summer getting Carson and Valero. Valero
became West Brom's record signing but never seemed to find his form. In January
Mowbray brought some players in on loan but in hindsight might have done better
if he had that money to spend in January. The Baggies made a late surge but
will be playing in the Championship next year.

The
transfer market is a resource that a newly promoted manager must use
responsibly. The temptation is there to spend big in the summer. Spend in the
summer but be sure to leave some cash in the kitty for January. The mid season
window is just as important, if not more.

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