Forum | General Discussion

To have been denied victory by incorrect refereeing decisions once in a week is bad enough, but twice in a week is almost too much for fair minded fans and observers alike, it seems like the football authorities are unwilling to add West Ham United to Leicester city in it's pantheon of Barclays Premiership achievers! After the injustice of Manchester United's goal that clearly should not have been allowed in the FA Cup replay at Old Trafford, Hammers supporters have had to endure another 'bad ref day' at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea where the referee was either the recipient of an ex-gratia retirement home in the Algarve or just totally inept and incompetent, either way West Ham lost out on the opportunity to go above Manchester city in to the Champion's League spot that they surely deserved, however Manuel Lanzini's beautiful first half strike and Andy Carroll's second half goal were not enough to prevail. At the end of the match the home fans were celebrating wildly that their team had managed to eek out a draw against the superior visitors, how the mighty have fallen?
It is easy to be critical of those in charge of high profile matches, particularly those involving the faltering old guard, but a free kick taken from a highly debatable re-arranged point to gain the extra couple of meters to clear the wall and a penalty that should have been a free kick at most, were the undoing of a Hammers side that took all that Chelsea had to 'fight for their lives' in order to gain a draw against their higher achieving and more buoyant East end neighbours.
It is a testimony as to how far Slaven Billic and his team have progressed that fans and players alike are disappointed that their team have only managed to achieve draws at the home of the fallen Premier League leaders Manchester United and Chelsea in the last week, after all they both should have joined liverpool as clubs to have been beaten home and away during this exceptional season, one which leicester city will quite rightly take all the plaudits, but one in which will see West Ham United quietly slip into one of the new power places that can only be strengthened by the huge resources that are about to arrive.
Hammers have moved progressively forward, despite some atrocious and biased decisions that have already cost them dear! - Ed

Chelsea: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Kenedy; Remy
Subs: Begovic, Baba, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Pedro, Traore, Pato
West Ham: Adrian, Antonio, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Kouyate, Noble, Lanzini, Payet, Valencia, Sakho
Subs: Randolph, Oxford, O'Brien, Obiang, Song, Emenike, Carroll
Streams to follow at 14:55 -Ed