west ham

As if being sent off for a 2nd bookable offence in the closing stages of the game against Southampton wasn't bad enough, many fans were extremely concerned to see Michail Antonio in obvious distress following some 'dark arts' defending by the Saints back line prior to his sending off.

Hammers are already at a turning point after only three games of the new Barclays Premier League season, currently 2nd in the League David Moyes's team should have and would have been 1st had it not been for woeful defending at home to Crystal Palace last time out.

West Ham players, many of which have only just returned from International duty, now face a fixture pile up of six lane motorway proportions! Between this Saturday's game against Southampton and the end of the month the team will play a staggering SIX times!

There will be some who say "back in the day players had to play three matches in five days over the christmas period, but that was a long long time ago in an era when pitches were mudheaps, but they were compliant mudheaps unlike today's slick but firm pitches.