The five games that have cost West Ham this season
West Ham’s slide down the Premier League has been pinned on Sam Allardyce’s head for the last two months.
After a terrific start to the campaign where the Hammers momentarily occupied fourth in the table by Christmas, 2015 has seen the East Londoners recklessly throw away games.
If the E13 side had picked up crucial points in these games, then talk of playing European football next season could have been more realistic.
So, here are five matches (mainly from 2015), that has seen the us drop valuable points that could have seen us in the remarkable heights of the top six…
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WEST HAM 0-0 Aston Villa – 8th November 2014
Furthermore, this was at a time were Aston Villa were plunged into the relegation zone, and recently cancelled their October Goal of the Month competition because they failed to score a single goal in them four weeks.
However, it was not meant to be and Villa frustrated the Hammers on the day.
Wasting chance after chance, the Boleyn Ground saw the opposing keeper Brad Guzan have one of the games of the season, pulling off a string of saves and a game that was two points dropped rather than one point gained.
WEST HAM 1-1 West Brom – 1st January 2015
On the back of two consecutive London derby defeats at the hands of table toppers Chelsea and Champions League chasing Arsenal, this game against West Brom was the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways.
However, the brutal festive Premier League schedule resulted in a tired performance against the Baggies. Once more, after the sacking of Alan Irvine at the turn of the year, the West Brom players were keen to impress new boss Tony Pulis.
Things looked promising when the prolific Diafra Sakho put the hosts in front inside 10 minutes. However, Sam Allardyce’s men took a back seat after the goal, and it soon backfired on them when Saido Berahino equalised shortly after.
WEST HAM 1-1 Man United- 8th February 2015
Notching just the one win in 2015, playing a resurgent Manchester United team was not ideal.
However, the Hammers dominated the Red Devils and deservedly took the lead through a superb Cheikhou Kouyate goal.
The Red Devils rarely had a sniff at goal, with Wayne Rooney playing in midfield and James Tomkins keeping Radamel Falcao quiet, West Ham looked to have sealed all three points against Louis van Gaal’s side.
But on-loan right back Carl Jenkinson’s poor headed clearance resulted in Daley Blind volleying past Adrian to secure at least a point in the 88th minute.
All three points would have resulted in West Ham maintain their Europa League push.
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 WEST HAM – 22nd February 2015
No West Ham fan needs reminding of this, but to concede two goals in the remaining 10 minutes is criminal.
It maybe argued that referee Jonathan Moss got the 95th penalty decision wrong and that Danny Rose’s goal could be seen as lucky, but the Hammers should have seen the game out when in the last remaining moments of the game, the Hammers had five defenders on the field.
It could be said that this result ultimately culminated in West Ham sliding to 10th place, after being in a respectable eighth position before the White Hart Lane grudge match.
WEST HAM 1-1 Stoke City- 11th April 2015
Coming up against fellow Midlands opposition Stoke City, where before the game the Potters had lost three consecutive games, West Ham looked as though they were going to dominate the game based on their electric start and Aaron Cresswell’s 25 yard stunning free kick.
However, this was not the case, and like the West Brom game, tried to defend a 1-0 lead for 80 minutes, and as a result, conceded in the last minute thanks to Austrian attacker Marko Arnautovic.