Despite having not achieved our target of a tenth place finish or higher this season, if someone had said to me we were going to be 12th going in to the final day of the season back in August I would have been pleased.
It hasn’t been the best of seasons, we all know that, but we’ve managed to avoid the dreaded ‘second season syndrome’ and can now look forward to rebuilding in the summer ahead of a third consecutive Premier League campaign.
And it’s nice going in to this final game knowing that we’re safe and all we have to worry about is whether we can have a say in who’ll win the Premier League.
Can we have a say? Probably not. But it’s nice to be involved and, as we all know, we’ve got previous in these situations.
More importantly, though, it looks like it could be the last time we’ll see Sam Allardyce in the West Ham dugout. Does he deserve the sack? You could argue for and against him, really. On one hand you have to applaud the way he’s delivered on all the targets he’s been given by the board, while on the other he’s lost the fans and disrespected the club on a number of occasions.
His recent comments that could be final nail in his coffin, too. To claim that he’s more ambitious than the club will ever be is just asking to be pushed and I can’t see the board being too happy with what he’s said.
We’ve been well beaten three times by City this season and the chances of it happening for a fourth time are all but guaranteed given the need for them to gain at least a point in order to be crowned Champions. I just hope we give a good account of ourselves, just like QPR did a few seasons ago.
Verdict: 19th Century football at its finest. It won’t be a white wash.]
Team News…
Manchester City (1st, 83 points)
Sergio Aguero has been passed fit after missing out City’s last game with a groin injury.
Fernandinho could also return, despite recently suffering a with a leg problem.
West Ham United (12th, 40 points)
Marco Borriello is the only player injured at West Ham, who is suffering with a calf problem.
Last TEN meetings…
Match in Numbers…
5 – Man City have won their last five home games against the Hammers.
100 – Man City are only the second team in Premier League history to score 100+ goals in a season.
9 – City have already scored nine goals without return against the Hammers this calendar year.
138 – This will be Sam Allardyce’s 138th game in charge of West Ham, and could be the last if reports are to be believed.
40 – A loss will take his win percentage to below 40%, with it currently at 40.14%.
Score Predictions…
@WestHamWorld west ham win and hand title to Liverpool
— John E Jones (@Seasons_Bar) May 10, 2014
@WestHamWorld 17-0 Man City
— Saf (@saf_2000) May 10, 2014
@WestHamWorld @WestHam_News 6-0 city
— brett hawkins (@bretthawkz90) May 10, 2014
@WestHamWorld @WestHam_News 2-1 us tomkins 1st goal gets u £1200 from a quid, just saying………….
— gavin ocallaghan (@GavinBoleyngjoc) May 10, 2014
@WestHamWorld @WestHam_News 1-0 west ham, noble penalty
— paul nye (@paulnye13) May 10, 2014
Head-to-Head (all competitions)…
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | GD +/- | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 | 37 | 17 | 56 | 149 | 193 | -44 | 33.64% |
