We are only on our second game of the season and already it seems like a must win game for many reasons.
Some people have commented on the fact that we were unlucky against Spurs. Wellm I’m not too sure about that, West Ham had many goal scoring chances and failed to convert any of them. Why? This can only be put down to our failure to pick more than one striker and, of course, the striker Sam chose was Carlton Cole who had previously been allowed to leave the club because he obviously wasn’t though good enough.
At this early stage we have eight teams with no points and that will surely change after this weekend’s games. West Ham cannot afford to be playing catch up at this early stage as the fans are nervous enough already and Sam is under more pressure than all the managers in the league put together.
So many teams have found themselves down near the bottom from the start and struggled to get out after a couple of games, it can be a lonely and tough place to drag yourself out of while many stay there for the season.
There are a number of teams you could pick to be struggling and Crystal Palace would certainly be one of those. So the last thing we need is not only to gift a struggling team three points but they could be possibly fighting at the lower end of the table with us for survival making this a six pointer already.
Confidence is another loser should the unthinkable happen and West Ham are defeated. Imagine the confidence this shaky defence will have going forward, plus the impact on our new signings, especially those who are on the bench.
Perhaps the biggest knock on effect to another loss is the possibility of new players signing if there are any more in the pipeline. If we are bottom after two losses going in to the final week of the transfer window it will not be a happy club to be coming in to. The fans will be edgy and close to losing patience with the management team, and the manager’s position would be further under scrutiny. The possibilities of signing for Sam Allardyce only to find him relieved of his duties a few games in to a player’s contract might not be very appealing.
The bigger picture of the move to the Olympic Stadium means West Ham have more reasons than most to be not only be in the Premier League but will have to have a team competing at the highest level to fill that stadium.
Of course a West Ham win on Saturday and a good performance from some of our new signings and all will be forgotten. The pressure of this the greatest league in the world can only be explained by this our first and hopefully only six pointer of the season.
