Forum | Non-Football Related

It's not Panto season, but it is definitely "look behind you" time, inevitably fellow 'losers' Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Watford all rallied to the relegation cause and won their games this weekend, only Norwich lost and we know what happened to them! Unfortunately although destiny is still in David Moyes' team's hands, other results are starting to have a dramatic effect.

West Ham United now find themselves right in the middle of a 'proper' relegation battle that might end up being decided by either Everton, Arsenal or both! A glance at the remaining fixtures shows that, having lamely rolled over in their last game, Everton play Villa on Wednesday evening and Bournemouth on the last day of the season.

Likewise Arsenal will likely end up dictating the fate of others, with a game against Villa on the 18th of July and a game against Watford on the final day.

Whether you like them or not, The Toffees and the Gooners will be the recipients of an unlikely mass of people, namely Irons fans who will be desperate for both of those teams to 'give it their all' for the remaining games, unlike Palace the other day, you could almost see the air tickets to faraway places hanging out of their shorts, disgraceful!
Remaining fixtures:
Bournemouth: Wednesday, July 15: Man City (a), 6pm Saturday, July 18: Southampton (h), 2pSunday, July 26: Everton (a), 4pm
Aston Villa: Wednesday, July 15: Everton (a), 6pm Saturday, July 18: Arsenal (h), 8.15pm Sunday, July 26: West Ham (a), 4pm
Watford: Wednesday, July 15: West Ham (a), 8pm Saturday, July 18: Man City (h), 6pm Sunday, July 25: Arsenal (a), 4pm

Just as many have dreaded, the season may end up being decided on the final day, pass the tranquilizers! - Ed

Greetings earthlings, somehow, something or someone decided to 'take' the Org over just ahead of the game against Norwich, and it seems that same great power decided it was about time to give West Ham United some divine assistance, how else can you explain yesterday's 'demolition job'?

Admittedly Norwich's zonal marking and suicidal defending made the 'job' easier, but there was always the possibility that the home side could 'have a go', instead they were insipid to say the least, but they still had to be beaten. Step, ney lunge forward, 'Big Mick' Antonio, he with the thighs the size of Oak trees, normally as a West Ham player he would have scored his goals and then finished up with a season's ending injury!

The fact that he is the first Hammers player to score four goals in a game since David Cross in 1981 is indicative of how bereft the club has been of a genuine goal scoring striker who ISN'T constantly injured, and let's face it, the club have had far too many players who on paper should have done brilliantly, sadly they also turned out to be made of 'china'.

Another Hammers trait is to 'reward' a player with a re-newed contract on more favourable terms, the player then promptly picks up a long term injury and becomes yet another of the expensively assembled 'ghost squad'. Winston Reid and Jack Wilshere currently lead that line having replaced the legend that was Andy Carroll.

Michail Antonio is about to enter the final year of his contract, he is 30 years old and has become injury prone in recent seasons, although being forced to return from injury too quickly may well have been a contributing factor in him picking up repeat hamstring injuries. Careful consideration needs to be given when sitting down to discuss his contract extension, both parties need to be realistic, and it is hoped a happy common ground can be found between the player's agent and the club.

Watford are up next, and they will not be anywhere near as accommodating as Norwich, Nigel Pearson's teams are always well drilled and up for the fight, but ironically, depending on results, David Moyes might end up being the manager who oversaw the 'terminal games' for all three relegated clubs!

It is to be hoped by the time West Ham face Aston Villa on the last day of the season that safety has already been attained, if not it could be a really stressful day! - Ed

Saturday lunchtime, high noon at Carrow Road, some of the Barclays Premier League's last chance saloon shootists assemble for their relegation OK coral! Cue the late and great Ennio Morricone's final confrontation soundtrack of the music box and the seconds ticking down, make no mistake that despite there being no crowd to create the atmosphere players are used to, the forthcoming game has massive significance for both clubs.

There has always been an affinity between Norwich and West Ham, with players and staff being regularly traded between the Canaries and the Irons, more so in the past than now. Norwich's squad are a lean clean fighting machine with regards to fiscal survival, the very fact that they invested very few funds, comparatively speaking for a 'top flight' team, after being promoted was a clear indication of their game plan.

Get promoted, take the money, and use it for the future, if they could survive so much the better. As it stands Norwich are in a precarious position that means defeat on Saturday will see them relegated, but such are the vagaries of this season that a victory would give them hope of survival, possibly to the season's end, but whatever happens they are in fine fettle financially for the next season. On the other hand, relegation to the Championship would have catastrophic consequences for West Ham United's imbalanced and highly paid squad, holding on to key players would be an issue as well as trying to offload players on disproportionate salaries that no one would be prepared to pay match.

Results have so far been relatively kind to David Moyes' team, with the other 'basement dwellers' all recording less than good average returns since project re-start, but the good luck cannot be guaranteed or relied upon, it is still well within the destiny of West Ham United to survive, but it is a far cry from the 'other level' fans were promised and dreamed of. If survival is achieved it will depend on getting a result against Norwich and fellow strugglers Aston Villa, if it goes down to the wire as some feel it is destined to do, West Ham may well need victory over the villains to ensure their top flight existence, likewise Villa could be in a position where victory might guarantee their safety.

If you are not a fan of any of the clubs down the bottom of the League entertainment IS guaranteed, however if you are one of 'the afflicted' you are in for a 'button up buttercups bouncy ride' in the extreme! What seemed like a lot of games is now becoming a few, and as such any intention of managers to be cautious with their player's fitness could have massive repercussions, and at this stage in this strangest of seasons you might as well risk all the assets available, because no matter what happens, at least every effort and possibly physical expense will have been expended in the pursuit of survival.

Haller has a niggle, so f*****g what? It's not half as much as the niggle you get from your gloating opposition team supporters as they see your once proud club slip in to potential oblivion! Man up, take a lot of Ibruprofen, or even get an 'Alvin Martin' courtesone shot, like he had before virtually every match in his latter career. It really doesn't matter, there's only a short amount of time between the players and sunny beaches, surely they can all give it one last push, or is that asking too much for the first team 'athletes' at the club, all of whom are receiving in at least excess of £50,000 per week? - Ed

West Ham: Fabianski, Cresswell, Fredericks, Ogbonna, Diop, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Fornals, Yarmolenko, Antonio. Subs: Randolph, Balbuena, Lanzini, Noble, Wilshere, Haller, Masuaku, Ajeti, Johnson.
Burnley: Pope, Taylor, Bardsley, Long, Tarkowski, Pieters, Brownhill, Westwood, McNeil, Rodriguez, Vydra. Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Gudmundsson, Wood, Brady, Thompson, Dunne, Benson, Goodridge, Driscoll-Glennon.