The struggles that both West Ham United and Tottenham have endured this season have come as a surprise to Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.
Howe hosts West Ham United on Sunday as the Irons look for three crucial points in their relegation scrap with rivals Tottenham.
While the idea of Spurs getting relegated from the Premier League is attracting more global interest, it would still be a major surprise to see West Ham drop into the Championship.
I’m going for Pablo to start – let me know YOUR thoughts 👇
Off the bench to score late again please 🫡
This, after all, is a team who tasted European success less than three years ago. Supporters may have seen this coming with every misstep at executive level, but it is still a huge story.
Speaking ahead of Newcastle versus West Ham, Howe expressed his surprise that it has come down to this.
Howe surprised that West Ham and Tottenham are battling relegation
Asked if he was surprised that two well-established Premier League clubs were scrapping for mere survival during Friday’s pre-match press conference, Howe said: “I don’t think anyone would have predicted that at the start of the season.
“As I said, it’s a tribute – I think – to the quality of the Premier League.
“You see some really big names, big clubs at the wrong end of the table fighting for their survival.”
That should only underline just what a mess West Ham have got themselves into. They theoretically have all the tools to ensure this shouldn’t happen.
Between 1-10, how would you rate West Ham’s survival chances if they beat Newcastle? 😬
The Spurs story might attract more eyeballs but that doesn’t mean onlookers shouldn’t be outraged if it is in fact West Ham who succumb to relegation.
While nothing is decided yet, none of this needed to happen. There is, on paper at least, no reason why West Ham couldn’t have built on their Conference League victory.
Now, it very much looks as if that night in Prague was the end of a successful time of things for the club more than the start of something new.
That is a crying shame and just because Spurs are the bigger story doesn’t mean that it would be overlooked entirely.
In any other season, the fact that West Ham are currently on course to get relegated would be a talking point far beyond what it is now.
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