Meanwhile Down At The Other End

Having spent far too many seasons looking at L'arse end of the Barclays Premier League table, Hammers fans find themselves in the not unenviable position of looking at the top, not bottom, for the first time since the 'Payet' season at the Boleyn during it's final year.

It is still quite unnerving to be looking at places usually occupied by the 'septic six' instead of those occupied by the 'a feared', just scrolling to the top of the tables has taken some getting used to, but while enjoying the summit, spare a thought for those 'enduring' what you have become so very acclimatised to in the past!

Down there, things are a lot more stressful than they are at the top, that 'sinking feeling' has already claimed one victim, and has the others firmly in it's sights. Sheffield United, who were rightly lauded by people on their return to the top flight for playing some superb football, have seen their dreams fade away as they head back down to the Championship.

Sam "he who has never been relegated' Allardyce is about to experience the bitter taste of failure for the first time, the club's lack of financial investment after gaining promotion presented Slavin Bllic with a 'fait accompli' that he was unable to accommodate, the Baggies then sacked one ex-West Ham manager and replaced him with another didn't they? Big Sam hasn't fared that much better than 'Super Slav', but may hang around to see if they can emulate Watford and Norwich, who will both be returning to the Barclays premier League at the first time of asking.

That leaves Fulham, despite Scotty Parker's best efforts his team are paying for having had too many drawn matches in the earlier part of the season, it would take a miracle for them to survive, but they are still technically in the hunt, as are West Brom, albeit only mathematically.

Newcastle, Burnley, Southampton and Brighton are not safe yet, nor indeed are Palace, but the reality is it would take an extraordinary turn of events to see any of them becoming part of the dreaded drop. Their fans will breathe a collective sigh of relief and look forward to another season in the 'best league in the World'.

Of course one of the unfortunate aspects of relegation, and Irons fans know all about it only too well, is the 'picking off' of the star players from those teams. Hammers are already being linked with the baggies keeper Sam Johnstone, and there is a rumour that the Irons might also make a cheeky 'low ball' bid of around £5 Million to bring Grady Diangana back to the fold.

For now, just luxuriate in the joy of not 'having the fear' for the remaining games of the season, and actually having some hope. - Ed