In a tight relegation battle the difference in escaping and dropping down a tier often comes down to one individual on the field- just think of Carlos Tevez at West Ham United, who's heroics help the Hammers achieve the great escape in 2007. This year the battle is tighter than ever, with 11 teams currently battling to avoid the drop. As we enter the late stages of the season these clubs will be looking at their key players to provide the spark that will get their sides the result they desperately need. A total of eleven sides are involved in this year's relegation tussle, with just eight points separating bottom club Fulham with tenth placed Swansea City and just four points between the final relegation spot and mid-table. A few consecutive results can propel you into much safer areas, as West Ham have discovered, but it works both ways as a couple of poor results can put a club in a dire situation. With just a few months left until the end of the season it's time for the players to take control of their future. The ten players listed here will have a huge effect on the future of the clubs at the bottom half of the table and ultimately decide who drops to the Championship.
Josh has had work featured in the Evening Gazette and on Newcastle United website. He is a Multimedia Journalism student at Teesside University and runs a successful sports blog. He also enjoys films, comics and TV, writing about anything he can. Josh has recently started writing his first of what he hopes will be many books.
