Premier League final-day survival battle is watershed moment for all three clubs

I do not envy the players, staff and fans of the three clubs fighting for Premier League survival on the final day but as a neutral it is very exciting. One of the reasons why we love football is the jeopardy involved with promotion and relegation – it adds drama to the spectacle – but Sunday will be 90 minutes of emotional turmoil for Everton, Leeds and Leicester supporters.

I feel quite nostalgic for the days of crackly handheld radios in the crowd, with people desperately trying to find out what was happening in other matches when survival was at stake. That ripple of information when someone scored or there was a penalty was always fascinating to witness. Thankfully, I was never involved in any last-day relegation drama in my career.

The pressure to stay in the Premier League has increased over the years, because of the financial rewards that come with being in the division and the huge impact that relegation can have on a club. Those players will know the difference between staying up and going down.

On Sunday all three clubs are playing home games that are very winnable. Everton face Bournemouth, who have nothing to play for; Leicester play West Ham, whose minds may be on the Europa Conference League final; and an indifferent Spurs travel to Elland Road. There is no better place to play a match of this importance than in front of a raucous home crowd, desperately willing you on.

There are many reasons why these teams find themselves in this position. Everton and Leeds faced a similar battle last year, with the latter staying up on the final day. It should have been a moment to reflect and make improvements but they do not seem to have learned their lessons. At the start of the season I thought they would be in