Following West Ham’s third-successive 2-0 victory, a win on Tuesday over Norwich at Upton Park courtesy of two late goals, the Hammers have moved from the relegation zone to the top half of the Premier League table in the blink of an eye.
That’s just the way the PL standings are this season, as a campaign of unpredictability at both ends of the table has us all guessing with 12 games to go.
West Ham have been good defensively all season, keeping a league high 13 clean sheets, and have now added some crucial goals at the other end to spearhead manager Sam Allardyce’s masterful turnaround at the Boleyn Ground. They weren’t fantastic against Norwich but they got the job done, which is vital at this time of the season.
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The latest win marked three-straight PL victories for the first-time since 2007 for West Ham, and Allardyce was over the moon.
“I’m delighted, it was a hell of a game Norwich gave us tonight. I had the chairman ringing me up to say we had not won under lights this season or last and that was in my mind. Our goalkeeper kept us in the game and we scored late, when it is hard for anybody to come back into it. It’s a great end to an important run of fixtures.”
With 2-0 wins against Swansea City, Aston Villa and now Norwich in the last 10 days, this stretch was always going to be a pivotal one for West Ham. Add to that the 0-0 draw that grabbed away at Chelsea before their winning run and you could look at that as the catalyst for their upturn in results.
The Hammers now sit in 10th spot on 28 points, but are only four points off the relegation zone. That, right there, sums up the PL season in a nutshell.
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With Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Stoke City all going on recent good runs with plenty of wins and clean sheets, you’d think they are out of danger. But no, they are all piling up at the bottom of the standings with nobody able to pull clear of the bottom three. With just four points separating 10th spot from 18th, the relegation battle has many more twists and turns between now and May 11. Examine how tight the PL standings are, by clicking on the image, left.
West Ham showcased why they should steer clear of danger, as their team is built on solid defense and now they are grabbing the vital goals they need in order to finish teams off and push up the table. But it is still a ‘should’ with West Ham and every other team from 10th downwards, there are no guarantees and the tension is bubbling up nicely.
The Hammers ‘defense first’ model is one other teams at the bottom should follow. Whether or not they can do it is another matter.
Regardless, let’s have some fun watching this topsy-turvy season play out…