I know we’ve had three consecutive losses and no wins in five, but I think some fans believe our season is quite literally over. We have nine games left and although there are nine points between the bottom and ourselves, I wouldn’t take safety for granted. Nor however, would I confine myself to relegation and demand Slav’s sacking. It’s been a weird week for the club since the loss to Leicester many have gone into meltdown. The loss was especially painful as the team suffered significant injuries to core players Reid, Obiang, and Antonio. It seems as a club we have mixed emotions on what has been thus far a turbulent season.
Firstly, I cannot realistically see us going down, touch wood. Six points should be enough to see us safe, and with Hull, Sunderland, and Swansea yet to go we should have enough to see us to a comfortable finish. The injuries to the spine of our team will be a challenge but we have capable replacements in each. Let’s not also forget that the injuries, for once, are not all attacking. In the past, injuries seem to hamper our attacking players. Provided we can keep the likes of Andy Carroll and Manuel Lanzini fit, we should be more than capable going forward. There is no doubt though that Obiang being ruled out for the season will be our biggest loss. We have won just two games all season without the midfielder in the side. He has often been our own N’Golo Kante, tirelessly winning the ball and breaking up opposition attacks. We will all be hoping for his swift recovery, in the meantime, Noble and Kouyate will have a tough job picking up his role. Luckily for us, the depth in the squad in those positions put us in good stead for this final stretch of the season.
In a complete contrast, there are reports West Ham are interested in Wayne Rooney should he decide to leave Manchester United at the end of the season. This suggests that West Ham will certainly be in the Premier League next season, contrasting those doomsday opinions mentioned above. Only in West Ham’s world could there be concerns about relegation, mixed with a bid to sign England’s highest ever goal scorer and second highest Premier League scorer. Jack Sullivan has since posted that the odds of signing Rooney are “100/1” and “highly doubtful”. It’s also frustrating that we are again being linked with high profile transfer targets. These rumors are frankly a little bit embarrassing and often come to nothing. It’s always good to show ambition but the Hammers record of capturing high profile players is pretty poor. Even Dimitri Payet largely went under the radar and was not considered a guaranteed success when he first arrived. The Lacazette and Bacca sagas were all over social media so it was well reported when we failed because we weren’t big enough… ouch.
Everyone just needs to calm things down. There’s still plenty of football to be played and anything can happen. It’s still only March. Thinking ahead to new signings, Slavs contract or a season in the Championship really are not worth worrying about yet. A win against Hull and I am sure there will be a little more positivity at the London Stadium! #COYI