The Premier League is full of headline grabbers, multimillion pound signings, and household names.
Then there are players like George McCartney.
The West Ham left-back has quietly gone about his business in the past month, and his regular run in the side has coincided with a run of three back-to-back clean sheet wins.
He has had to bide his time this season following injuries, and has found himself behind Joey O’Brien and Razvan Rat in the pecking order.
But with the latter leaving, and the former suffering his own injury problems, McCartney was the natural choice to fill in.
The arrival of Colombian Pablo Armero added further competition in defence, and many expected McCartney to immediately drop down onto the bench.
But at 32, the former Northern Ireland international has plenty of top flight experience, and in the position the team finds itself, that is what is needed.
There is little doubt Armero will be chomping at the bit to get a run out. In a World Cup year, he would have been looking for regular first team football, and could have expected to have the ability to slot straight into a struggling side.
The form of the defence though has lead most supporters, and it appears Sam Allardyce, to adopt the philosophy of “if it aint broke, don’t fix it”.
Few are advocating a change to a winning combination, and with Southampton at home up next, it can very much be considered same level of challenge as recent games. Therefore, we should have a starting XI to cope.
Armero certainly needs game time to justify him coming in on loan, but not when things are already so settled.
The depth to the squad he adds is a huge positive, and the competition for places should help motivate the team.
Of the new signings, Armero could be closest to starting as McCartney can be a little slow at times, but not until things change for the worse on the pitch.
Hopefully we can be comfortably 3-0 after 60 minutes and Armero can come on for a chance to prove himself.
George has been top drawer when he has played and as long as he does his stuff the shirt should remain on his back. Healthy competition is exactly what we need so if the arrival of Armero spurs McCartney on to even better things, all well and good.
I’ve been waiting for someone to finally write something about today’s game, but no one has, so here I go. If you do not focus in this game today, then you are going to lose this game West Ham, and then, when we are 1 point off of the relegation zone & going to Everton, what do you want to happen? Do you want Leighton Baines to do it to us again? If Sunderland, West Brom, Norwich & Palace all win today, then the relegation margin will be 27 pts. If West Ham lose today, then we could once again be just 1 point above the zone, and with next week’s game being away at Everton, we could once again be in a very uncomfortable position. West Ham you have to play as though your lives depend on it today. We cannot afford to lose or even drop 2 valuable points with a near worthless draw. Think of Andy, who will once again be sitting in the stands & just itching to get amongst the action. I know Kevin will once again be going flat out for his mate because of Andy’s unjust 3 game ban. Everyone, give a 100% & more today. We simply cannot afford to relax, & I know the ginger Pele & Co will be going flat out to keep another clean sheet. If a clean sheet does not happen again for West Ham today, then I still reckon we can win 3-1, and that would be 1 goal down on the score we won by in this same fixture last season. COYI, you can do it! Going by previous form, one would only pick wins for; today’s game v Southampton, at home v Hull (on 8th March if Hull don’t reach the FA Cup qtr finals) & at home to Palace on 19th April. These 3 games are winnable, but just take a look at our remaining fixtures? We also play Everton(A), Stoke (A), Man Utd (H), Sunderland (A), Liverpool (H), Arsenal (A), West Brom (A), Spurs (H) & Man City (A) You’d be flat out trying to pick 3 extra points from somewhere other than the 3 games already mentioned. I could see us possibly getting points at West Brom?? That may give us the magic 40, but who knows? This is why we need to have 3 more points on the board today West Ham….
This time last year, and after 26 games, West Ham United FC had won 33 pts and went on to finish the season on 46 pts in the English Premier League (EPL). West Ham Utd FC are a little short of that target this season, and we shouldn’t forget that West Ham Utd FC got relegated on 42 pts back in 2003. West Ham Utd FC are 5 pts down on what they had won at this stage last season. If we do the same this season & get only 13 pts after round 26, we’ll be on 41 pts. Going by current form, I think we can do a lot better than 13 pts over our last 12 games this time around. I think we can total at least 43 pts or more, but, only if we beat Southampton today. We know that Pochettino is no pushover, neither is Steve Bruce of Hull or Tony Pulis of Palace, but on paper, those 3 games are our best chance of getting 3 points per game. That still only gives us 37 pts. At least 1 more win &/or points are required against Everton (A), Stoke (A) Sunderland (A), West Brom (A), Arsenal (A), & Man City (A)! &/or against Man Utd (H), Liverpool (H) & Spurs (H). This is taking for granted that we pick up a win today against Southampton, and at later home games v Palace & Hull, as if we don’t get full points from these 3 games? Then forget about the rest. This is why we have to win today, because after today, the run in to the close of season gets tough. In fact it is so tough, then I think, that if we don’t get a win today, then we can almost forget about getting enough points for EPL survival later, sorry, I am not kidding!