This Saturday, West Ham United travel to South East London to play Crystal Palace, a team that disappointingly beat us both home and away last season. After the shock exit of ex-Palace manager Tony Pulis hours before the season started, I was glad to be playing Palace before they could pull themselves together and I was fully expecting three points from the encounter.
But now there is news that Palace will be replacing him within hours, and we will yet again find ourselves heading into a game against a Crystal Palace who will have just appointed a brand new manager. Last year, the appointment of Tony Pulis proved brutal for West Ham, so the question arises- will history repeat itself this year as West Ham head back to Selhurst Park?
Last season, West Ham visited Crystal Palace in December. Palace had been a team in turmoil and looked certain to be relegated prior to Pulis’s arrival. Our match at Selhurst Park was Pulis’s first home game in charge, and it was the game that began the resurgence of Palace. From that game they began a steady climb out of the relegation zone, and managed to finish the season a rather lofty 11th on 45 points.
After the news broke of Pulis’ departure, one pundit after another began to write Palace’s season off. The sad truth is, a Pulis-less Palace doesn’t quite pack the same punch(eon) as it would with him at the helm. He made all the difference to the team and their sense of belief last season, and it is a shame for the Eagles to have lost him.
Rumour has it that within hours we can expect a new manager to take said helm at Palace – and up until recently, we were expecting it to either be ex-Cardiff Manager Malky Mackay or massive Arsenal fan Tim Sherwood. Either one could be a vital lifeline for the Eagles, and I’m not thrilled about the prospect of facing them at their ground immediately after they sign a breath of fresh, enthusiastic air to lead them.
I think we have the potential to field a strong team against Palace, and would love to see some more of Cheikhou Kouyate and Enner Valencia – but I’m always wary of a team with a renewed sense of enthusiasm under a new manager (unless it’s Manchester United cause, you know.)
I won’t be attending this time (the women’s toilets are like…outside the ground, and last year I had to be patted down by a steward to re-enter the stands after using the toilet and I found the whole thing very weird) but I’ll be wishing the Hammers lots of luck and hoping we make a change from last year and get all three points- regardless of who is in the driver’s seat for Palace on the day.
Do we face a threat on Saturday? Will Marouane Chamakh find the back of the net against the Hammers again (even if he couldn’t find it for us?) Can either Mackay or Sherwood do the job for Palace? Let us know below.
Good points Emily. But I’m more concerned about the Palace threat because of their performance at the Emirates last week. Managerless yes. But gave Arsenal a very good run for their money. I expect they will, justifiably, fancy their chances on Saturday.
I hope Tonks is fit to play, thereby shoring up our defence, whilst releasing our new ‘beast’ Kayoute. If we keep it tight at the back, but make best use of our new strikers, we can ‘nick it.’ But to do so, bfs needs to get the selection right and make the most of our bench. If he doesn’t, I’m expecting a very difficult 90 minutes.
Sorry to hear you won’t be at the game. And shocked to hear about the ladies toilets! Disgraceful.
It will if Sam doesnt drop CCole and Vaz Te – as if last Saturday wasnt the best example of just how much of a liability both are to the team, or indeed as squad options – both are Championship players at best, they drag this team backwards with every step they play in the first team – Sams squad selections will determine how the Palace game ends up, Diame has to start, Zarate should be given his opportunity, hes better quality technically and with finishing and quicker than CCole and Vaz Te thats for sure, Nolan also needs to be dropped and perhaps thats where Zarate should be playing- Noble and kouyate are solid in midfield with Diame, but with Downing the only valid winger west ham are lacking width of the left, Amalfitano would have been perfect to give Jarvis a run for his money, of course he looks to be out of contention now unless west ham make room for him, have already mentioned 2 names who should fit that bill – the point is we will cope defensively and in midfield, but up front is once again an issue for goals and will continue to be until CCole and Vaz Te are removed from Sams radar – S&G should just offload the pair of them, if Sam kicks up a stink then screw him too, im not a fan of the sack Sam brigade but hes a very blinkered manager, and with Moyes and Pulis out there west ham will not do themselves any harm making the change – Nolan may kick up some dirt but its not like hes irreplaceable either, Morrison, Poyet, Zarate could all take his spot – Sam has done well keeping us in the PL, but kicking on will take better management – and im not talking about style either – we cant improve when 2-4 selections are substandard players and expect the rest of the team to accommodate, the results will more often than not end up like last week – i mean who the hell moans about missed chances when CCole is your front man, Sam does, when just about every fan cringes when hes even named on the team – CCole struggles to get on the end of queue, let alone a cross, and Vaz Te isnt worth shit to the team full stop – im ranting now but tbh ive had enough of watching Sam make some of the dumbest decisions and moan about the outcomes, in kind of caught between Sam ensuring our safety but wondering why we have to fight to do it when the potential in this club and squad says otherwise – he needs to remove the deadwood from the team, otherwise he will end up being deadwood himself. COYI