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20th December
2010. Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool side gain a much needed three points to
send them 9th in the league table, just one win away from
fourth spot. Goals from Glen Johnson, Dirk Kuyt and a penalty from Maxi mean an
easy win over West Ham is achieved at Anfield.
This
was an easy win over a side struggling both defensively and offensively. In
what was West Ham’s 14th game of the season, Avram Grant’s side
succumbed to their seventh defeat of the season, with just one win recorded.
The
fans, and many pundits, bemoaned the lack of passion, the lack of drive. Most
simply saw a team that wasn’t good enough. Grant blamed injuries for the
defeat, with Manuel Da Costa, Jack Collison, Thomas Hitzlsperger and, most
importantly of all, Scott Parker, all out through injury.
West
Ham, just five days before Christmas, were bottom of the Premier League, five
points away from safety. They were favourites for relegation. They were dead
and buried.
And
then came the turnaround.
Well,
kind of. A 3-1 win against Wigan set The Hammers on their way and,
while three games without a win followed, victories against Fulham and Wolves
saw Grant’s side rise to 15th in the table, one point above the
relegation zone.
Another
run of three games without a win meant that, by the beginning of February, the
East London club were back at the foot of the table, two points away from 17th placed Birmingham.
The
January transfer window, though, saw Wayne Bridge, Robbie Keane, Gary
O’Neil and Demba Ba all join the club, with the latter signing from German club
Hoffenheim for £500,000.
Ba
has scored four goals in three Premier League starts, giving the team a much
needed threat when going forward. He’s lifted the mood around Upton Park with
his ability to run at defenders, while he’s also capable of acting as a poacher
– finishing off attacks that Carlton Cole would usually spoil with great ease.
Hitzlsperger,
who signed for West Ham in the summer but only recently regained fitness after
a thigh injury, has performed exceptionally well for his new side, starting
against Liverpool and Stoke alongside Scott Parker and Mark Noble.
The
German has made two assists in two games (as well as a smashing goal against
Stoke in a comfortable 3-0 win) and, just like his midfield partners, is a
hard-working, almost box-to-box midfielder. His return to the side will almost
feel like a new signing for Grant and Hammers fans alike and, as Parker
continues to put in Man-of-the-match performances every week, the immediate
future, suddenly, doesn’t look so bleak for West Ham.
Questions
still remain, however, over whether West Ham can steer clear of relegation for
the second season in a row. The Irons finished 17th last
season, just five points above relegated Burnley, and many fans were
hoping for a not-so-stressful season.
At
the moment, they must be pretty content. West Ham haven’t lost in the Premier
League since the 6th of February (a 1-0 home defeat to Birmingham City)
and, in 2011, they’ve only surrendered to three League defeats: Newcastle,
Arsenal and Birmingham.
The
form table places West Ham in fourth, behind Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool,
while the sides around them in the table are seriously struggling. Blackburn
have lost their last five games while Blackpool have only won one in six, as
have West Brom and Wigan.
West
Ham’s next six Premier League fixtures don’t bode well, with Tottenham,
Manchester United, Bolton, Chelsea and Manchester City all coming up by the
beginning of May, but their last three fixtures are a little more positive,
with fellow strugglers Blackburn and Wigan the opponents before a home game
against Sunderland brings the season to a close.
Whether
West Ham stay up this season is almost impossible to predict given that they’ve
seriously struggled against the top-half sides, who they face in the coming
weeks, this season. The return of Hitzlsperger and the signing of Ba means that
West Ham now have a good, solid core, with Parker, Noble and O’Neil all
excellent going forward, while Upson, Jacobsen and Da Costa add some much
needed experience at the back. Their recent results, as well as the inability
of the sides near the bottom to establish any sort of positive run, suggest
that Upton Park will play host to Premier League football next season.
This article
originally appeared on sports website Sports Haze, which is now unfortunately
defunct.
