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The Christmas and New Year period is one that managers both look forward to and dread at the same time, one the one hand a few good results can see a team fly up the table, however the sheer number of games that have to be played can have a catastrophic effect depending on the amount of injuries accrued.

'The one that got away', was one of those fifties Brit movies made when the charcoals of the Empire were still smouldering, it is a true film about the only German pilot who had been incarcerated in Britain during the war ever to escape. Against all odds he eventually got back to Germany, facing extreme odds is the lot of a young footballer these days, huge wealth and fame beckon, but a whole career is only one injury or club rejection away from disaster. With regards to 'letting' young players go, there is a lot more involved tham saying thank you son, you'll find a club.

Waiting until after Christmas to get a bargain in the sales is a common place thing among adults with grown up children, after all it makes sense, why spend twice the amount of money just for the sake of a few days? West Ham were in the position of having one of the Premier Leagues brightest talent tied down to an apprentice contract which, if they had liked, could have been extended a further year. Fortunately sense prevailed and the club have moved to secure Declan Rice on a five year contract with the option of a further year and a half.

Fresh from incorrectly predicting a 2-0 victory for the home side in the Southampton v Hammers match, that old stalwart of unbiased reporting Mark Lawrenson is going for the same score line for when West Ham visit Burnley this Sunday. Here is an extract of his pre-match, and more amusingly the prediction of Gooners fan Theo Ellis.

When the team selections were released for the match against Southampton many Hammers fans were deeply concerned to see just how many players were unavailable, Pablo Zabaleta's late withdrawal because of a virus meant that West Ham were not even able to fill the bench and had only six players available!

Southampton: McCarthy, Targett, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Yoshida, Valery, Romeu, Lemina, Armstrong, Remond, Ings Subs: Gunn, Stephens, Long, Austin, Elyounoussi, Ward-Prowse, Ramsay
West Ham: Fabianski, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Diop, Antonio, Rice, Obiang, Snodgrass, Anderson, Diangana, Perez Subs: Adrian, Carroll, Noble, Masuaku, Silva, Coventry

Manuel Pellegrini knew ahead of the Christmas and New Year schedule that he was going to be hard pressed to put out an effective team for all the matches, his problem has been made more acute as both his 'general' in defence, Fabian Balbuena, and his forward Chicharito look increasingly unlikely to feature in the first of four games in ten days tonight at St Mary's against a ressurgent Southampton side.

Almost as if in the Movie Groundhog day, history seems to be repeating itself as Hammers great white hope Andy Carroll prepares for his thousandth return from injury. We have all been there before, not least the player who has had to make more come backs than Status Quo!

Up until a couple of days ago Hammers starlet Reece Oxford looked to all intents and purposes as if he was on his way out from The London Stadium, but manager Manuel Pellegrini, known for his man management skills, has apparently sat down with the lad and had a good heart to heart about how things should progress.

Christmas is a time for giving, so we would like to 'give a little'. Firstly we would like to thank the referee 'Zombie School' of finishing for providing a string of incredibly inept officials for the vast majority of games played at the London track and field Stadium, without whom life would have been so drab.