Can West Ham beat the drop?
Currently West Ham are 17th in the Premier League, only just out of the relegation zone on goal difference. Unfortunately for Hammers fans they are a shadow of the FA cup finalists they were in 2006, and could very easily find themselves in the bottom three if Birmingham win their game in hand.
Although West Ham are in an exceptionally fierce relegation battle, they are an extremely skillful and a talented team. They demonstrated this during their recent 3-1 win over Liverpool. If they can repeat this performance in their remaining eight games of the season, there is a very realistic chance that West Ham will avoid the drop. Furthermore, with players such as Scott Parker, Robbie Keane and Wayne Bridge, it seems strange how West Ham have found themselves in such a position in the first place. However, with the quality of players which the Hammers possess, it would appear that, despite finding themselves where they are, they should easily escape the drop.
The teams around West Ham do not enjoy the number of quality players which the Hammers have. Blackpool, Wolves and Birmingham occupy slots around the Hammers and apart from stand-out players such as Charlie Adam, Matt Jarvis and Ben Foster, the quality throughout their neighbouring clubs is not to the standard of West Ham. However, Aston Vila and Blackburn are also teetering on the edge of relegation with the same amount of points as West Ham at 33 points apiece. What is more worrying, is the likes of Darren Bent, Ashley Young, Roque Santa Cruz and Brad Friedel in the line-up against West Ham’s bid for Premiership football next season. All of these players are internationals and in my opinion do not deserve to be playing Championship football next season.
The remaining games for West Ham will be crucial if they are going to survive the remaining parts of the season. It will be a tight end for the Hammers; but if the current Premiership scoring patter is anything to go by, the final outcome of West Ham’s fate will probably not be evident until the last game of the season.
