Relegation six-pointer?
Too early to tell on that front, though these 3 points are by far the most precious to be playing for in a Premier League match this weekend.
Defeat for either manager, especially Chris Hughton, spells disaster. The pressure is mounting on Sam Allardyce to get the Hammers higher up the table, whereas Hughton is battling to save his job altogether.
Anything less than victory, and he’s out the door, surely?
That’s the feeling amongst the majority of the fan-base, and perhaps the board are conspicuous by their own silence.
But while Hughton has been taking plenty of criticism for recent results – and admittedly the buck will always stop with the manager – the players have to take responsibility for a number of individual errors that have cost us very, very dearly.
If we’re being brutally honest, a number of them have been under-performing. Without naming names, the defence in particular have been all over the place, individually and especially as a unit.
To me, that’s more of a concern to us than any other area of the park. I’d argue it’s even more of a concern than that of our front-line.
We do need our strikers to find the net and quickly, but with the defence letting in so many goals at the other end, it inadvertently creates even more pressure on them to bail the team out.
Tactically, I think Hughton’s set-up has actually evolved for the most part this summer/autumn. But it isn’t without its faults, and when you combine that with the individual mistakes of his defenders, you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
The Man City performance was a travesty. But, much like the last time we shipped 7 goals in a game, it might actually be a blessing in disguise.
It might just prove to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. The kick up the backside they need to finally wake up and smell the coffee.
The last time Hughton and his side were under this much pressure, they were desperately needing a result against West Brom to secure their survival.
With the pressure at boiling point and the nerves taking hold, City rolled their sleeves up and rose to the occasion, thumping WBA 4-0 and confirming their status with aplomb.
Though their status won’t be made or broken in this game, Hughton’s job certainly will. With the pressure volume being much the same, now is as good a time as any for the players to put in a performance that can restore some much needed pride and stability to the club.
Fingers crossed, eh?
Team news
Ricky Van Wolfswinkel can’t seem to shake his toe injury off just yet, so he’s on the sidelines for another weekend. Nathan Redmond is a doubt because of his hip, and Alex Tetty is out for a while with a thigh problem. Elliot Bennett is the only other long-term absentee. Robert Snodgrass is back in contention after his concussion in the cup last week.
Andy Carroll and Ricardo Vaz Te won’t be back for some time for the Hammers, and Winston Reid misses this one too. Mladen Petric has a calf problem but might have a late fitness test.
Form Guide
Norwich – WLLDLL
It’s one win in 5 Premier League games now for City, 6 in all competitions which makes this game all the more crucial. Admittedly the defeats came against the big sides, but there’s only so many times you can blame that and get away with it.
West Ham – LWLDWD
The Hammers are faring slightly better but aren’t as high up in the table as they’d like to be, and victory for Norwich will see the Canaries climb above them, possibly putting the East Londoners in the bottom 3. They’ve only 1 League win too, though that was a 3-0 thumping of Spurs. They’re also in the Quarter Finals of the League Cup after comfortably seeing off Burnley.
Head to Head stat
Norwich haven’t lost at Carrow Road in the league to West Ham since 1973, recording 8 wins and 7 draws in that time. Let’s hope that run continues!
Last time we met
It finished 0-0 at Carrow Road at the start of last season in a game of little incident. Harry Kane – who Chris Hughton brought in on-loan from Spurs – squandered a brilliant chance to score on his debut and become an instant hit in his new surroundings. Sadly, his career here never got going thanks to an injury not long after this game.
It was City’s first clean sheet of the season, but another instance during the Hughton era when it really should’ve yielded more bang for the Canaries’ buck.
What’s in store this time?
With all the fireworks this week, let’s just hope there aren’t any more of them after the final whistle. Defeat would leave a bitter taste in the mouth, and it would probably be all she wrote for Hughton, who’d be receiving his P45 in no time.
We have to put the Man City game behind us totally, and treat it as blur that never happened. Hopefully this is that start of the turnaround that gets our season fully up and running and gives us a little breathing space of the Christmas period.
I can’t speak for everybody, but I’d love to see Hughton turn it around and succeed. If he manages it against West Ham, it might just be the lucky break he needs after all.
OTBC.
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