West Ham United 25/26 relegation thread

[muskie]

Odds slashed from 5/1 to 7/2.

Watch this space.

I think we're fucked.

[Westham67]

Fuck off Sir Alfs you sanctimonious cսnt calling other posters foolhardy because we think we may stay up..You made a fool of yourself on the Tottenham v West ham match thread 

[Sir Alf]

Far too early and foolhardy imo to read too much into a very welcome win yesterday. Improved attitude and battling was the main positive along with VAR and marginals going our way. 

Another CB needed but also another central midfielder with pace and strength. Soucek did well in this match and against this opposition. He will always be an asset in both boxes aerially.  But in many games against different teams, and especially those that employ fast counter attacking tactics, he can be very ineffective.  Thats the thing, every opposition is not the same and we tend to match up better with teams that are more open and not sitting deep. Thats why we struggle a lot at home.

We need another CB but more pace in centeal
midfield to handle counters and move the ball quicker. Ideally we would have got a quicker central striker but the 2 lads that have come in, while not quick, do compensate with a high work rate of pressing and give us more outlets going forward.

[honky cat]

There's still 16 games left. If we can get a CB in, maybe.
I'd fancy points against chelsea more than sunderland, it would be so west ham.
As long as we go down fighting and win the FA Cup, ill be happy

[Massive Attack]

They don't call them The Tricky Trees for nothing.





*No Cambodian children were harmed in this message 

[THUNDERCLINT]

Yesterday was brilliant, but the damage has been done sadly.

We needed to beat Fucking Fulham at home, as soon as we lost that, we were done.

Yep, too llittle, too late.

Yesterday was a hoot though, our situation made it even funnier.

[THUNDERCLINT]

Only chance we have and its a slim one is catching Forest,but they are still in Europe which could effect them slightly 
Palace are definitely in decline but have too many points already so will stay up no problem 

We've as much chance of catching Forest as an underage Cambodian raspberry has of escaping your hanging tree.

[Eerie Decent]

Yesterday was brilliant, but the damage has been done sadly.

We needed to beat Fucking Fulham at home, as soon as we lost that, we were done.

[Manuel]

Win in the early game next week and put some pressure on Forest, who then go to Brentford, who have a great home record, so it 'could' be down to 2 points. But then we go to Chelsea and Forest and are home to Palace. This is the problem when chasing.

[XKhammer]

Only chance we have and its a slim one is catching Forest,but they are still in Europe which could effect them slightly 
Palace are definitely in decline but have too many points already so will stay up no problem 

[Manuel]

Sadly, I don't see us getting out of it. That disasterous 1 point from 12 has fucked it for us. The biggest problem is we are chashing two capable outfits in Leeds and Forest,  so you're looking at a situation where we need to win and they need to slip up regularly, just cant see it.

And Palace ain't going down, you can forget about that.

[Monsieur merde de cheval]

Sorry about the lack of paragraphs, but I’ve just C&P it from Racing post. 

it summarises our chances of survival, what we need to do ( win some games) and assesses the teams around us. 

good read, if you can get past the absence of paragraphs. 

Is that you Mr Lairy ?..( my English teacher back in the day 81)

[stats]

You can get a tidy 28/1 at the moment on Palace to be relegated and remember chaps, you never see a bookie on a bike! 
 

[El Scorchio]

That Glasner meltdown was hilarious can they be dragged into it.

I really think they can. If we can win a couple of the next games and they lose, we'll be on their heels. Feels like unless Glasner now goes they'll be right in the shit.

[ragingbull]

That Glasner meltdown was hilarious can they be dragged into it.

[nychammer]

That late loss to forest was so damaging. Even a point in that game would have us looking far better. 

[stats]

After todays games we are 1/9 and Forest 13/2. 
Unfortunately they are far more organised than we are. 
I don't like to say it but we are as good as down. 

[zico]

So annoying that Forest result as I think they are the only ones we can catch, especially after Leeds win today.

[BillyJenningsBoots]

Is it maybe on? Dare we dream? Or just another false dawn?

*I whistled this in those last few games of the Tevez great escape season.

[Any Old Iron]

A better manager can be found but would be no more than a temporary fix.

Sullivan and Brady, the owners are the root problem. 
 

Alf, Brady is not an owner. She owns no WHU shares. Although Vice-Chairman she is just an employee, albeit a very well paid one.

[muskie]

Thanks.

[Fortunes Hiding]

Sorry about the lack of paragraphs, but I’ve just C&P it from Racing post. 

it summarises our chances of survival, what we need to do ( win some games) and assesses the teams around us. 

good read, if you can get past the absence of paragraphs. 

[muskie]

Has anyone read fortune's post? 

If so could you prècis it for me please. 

Thanks

[Westham67]

*Paragraphs 

[Fortunes Hiding]

The competitiveness of the Premier League means that if you are not outspending or out-thinking your rivals in the transfer market, you run the risk of being leapfrogged.As West Ham and Wolves have shown this season, clubs who sell some of their best players without finding adequate replacements can quickly get left behind.Twenty-five of the 27 Premier League teams who had 14 or fewer points at this stage of the season went on to be relegated. Only one of the two sides who survived in that time – West Brom in 2004-05 – did so in the 20-team era, so things look grim for the bottom three.Great escapes are remembered because they are rare, although the Hammers have one of their own in the history books and there are some parallels to their survival in 2006-07.Alan Curbishley's side were on a ten-game winless run in the league, the same as the current crop, before a clash with rivals Tottenham, who are the Irons' opponents this weekend.Curbishley's men lost 4-3 to Spurs in devastating fashion but the fixture proved to be a turning point as they won seven of their remaining nine games to overcome a ten-point deficit in the battle for survival.West Ham were 1-33 to be relegated and 9-1 to stay up following the defeat to Tottenham, so odds of 1-5 for the drop and 7-2 for survival mean they should not be regarded as dead and buried yet.However, a lot needs to change as they are currently on pace for just 25 points while the teams immediately above them are all on track to get around 40.So how likely is either a significant West Ham upturn or nightmare collapse from one of the clubs currently outside the relegation zone? Premier League standingsBottom sixPlayedWonDrawnLostGoal differencePoints

15) Bournemouth	21	6	8	7	-6	26
16) Leeds	21	5	7	9	-8	22
17) Nottingham Forest	21	6	3	12	-13	21
18) West Ham	21	3	5	13	-21	14
19) Burnley	21	3	4	14	-19	13
20) Wolves	21	1	4	16	-26	7

Scroll >>> table to view

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West HamIf the sides above the Hammers all manage to get to 40 points then the Hammers would need 1.53 points per game onwards in order to survive. Essentially, for the rest of the season, they would have to pick up points at the rate that Newcastle and Manchester United have done so far.They will hope that the survival bar somehow ends up lower, but their poor goal difference is another concern. It would take a significant drop-off from a team above West Ham for 37 points to be enough for safety. And to get to that total they would have to pick up points at the rate of mid-table sides Everton and Brighton.Achieving those targets was unlikely with their existing squad so the board have sanctioned a £45 million spend on forwards Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe. It will feel like a winning lottery ticket should one of those players have the same impact as Carlos Tevez in the 2007 run-in and his fellow Argentinian Castellanos opened his account against QPR in the FA Cup.The need for a reliable frontman was obvious but it may not be enough. The Hammers were similarly sluggish in the summer, signing Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa at the very end of the transfer window after their midfield had been overrun in the opening weeks of the campaign.The fixture list has not helped as recent 'must-win' games against Wolves and Nottingham Forest came before the new signings were properly integrated.To have any chance of survival, West Ham need further squad improvements. Selling one of their most likely matchwinners, Lucas Paqueta, would be interpreted by some as a sign they are giving up but his good days have become increasingly rare.When Nuno Espirito Santo was hired, the plan was surely to utilise his defensive organisation to stay solid and give Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen a chance to pinch games on the counter-attack.The problem is that West Ham's defence and goalkeepers just haven't been good enough. They have conceded the most goals in the division and, in the past 20 seasons, 21 of the 23 sides who conceded two or more goals per game went down.Their unlikely survival run in 2007 saw them keep five clean sheets in their closing nine games but, unlike the current side, they had the benefit of a galvanising home support at Upton Park.This season the atmosphere at the London Stadium has been mutinous and it is hard to plot a route to survival if the Hammers fail to deliver in their remaining winnable home games, including with Bournemouth, Wolves, Leeds (on the final day), Everton and Sunderland.Nuno is yet to inspire the Hammers faithful but sacking him would just feel like another distraction tactic from the board.Nottingham ForestIn contrast to West Ham's owners, Forest's Evangelos Marinakis has splashed the cash although he has been left with a deep, talented squad which hasn't really gelled.Forest's seven-point lead over the Hammers might have been only one point had two tight VAR decisions not gone their way.They are on pace for 38 points but their current tally and underlying numbers arguably undervalue them as they include the disastrous five-game stretch in which Marinakis parachuted in Ange Postecoglou.Without a pre-season, Postecoglou's massive change in playing style never stood a chance of working and, in their games managed by Sean Dyche, Forest are tracking as a 47-point side with solid mid-table underlying data. If those standards are maintained, they will be fine.But there have been murmurings of discontent from Forest fans after some uninspiring performances.They have scored the second-fewest goals, which is concerning, although chance conversion – last season's unsustainable strength – has cost them this term. The quantity of the chances they have fashioned has been fine but the quality, with not enough big chances manufactured, is an issue.Striker Chris Wood remains injured and the loan departure of Arnaud Kalimuendo means they will surely be looking to sign a frontman.Another concern for Forest would be if their European commitments lead to injuries to key performers such as Elliot Anderson or Morgan Gibbs-White, who have played almost every minute in the league.They also have a harder than average run-in as West Ham and Everton are the two sides they have faced twice so far.
Leeds are showing that they have the stomach for a relegation fightCredit: CameraSport via Getty ImagesLeedsThe schedule, as well as performance levels, are reasons for Leeds fans to feel optimistic.Manager Daniel Farke was under pressure in late November but an upturn in form, coinciding with a switch to a 3-5-2 formation, has led to a rosier outlook.Leeds's seven-game unbeaten run only ended when Newcastle scored twice in stoppage time last week.In those last eight matches, the 11 points they earned is the joint-eighth highest tally and the run was not a fluke based on a similar ranking in their underlying data. They also faced the toughest set of fixtures during that period.They are on track for 40 points and have been thriving at Elland Road, earning 16 of their 22 points at home, ranking 12th for points and eighth on expected-goals process.It is realistic for Leeds to continue racking up points in front of their own fans as six of their nine remaining home games are against sides in ninth or lower. Those include fixtures against bottom two Wolves and Burnley, while Brentford may not be flying so high by the time they visit on March 21.The case for them regressing would be that the new system may not be as effective against weaker teams and that, despite the recent upturn, they still don’t win very often.Leeds have fewer matchwinners and less quality in depth than teams around them. If the injury-prone Dominic Calvert-Lewin's recent hot streak peters out then they could end up on the wrong end of tight games more regularly.BournemouthThe Cherries are on 47-point pace, which they have achieved by being a good attacking side but one of the worst defensively.They have the most upside of the teams in the bottom five but also, arguably, the most uncertain floor. What happens if they keep conceding as regularly but the attacking output drops off following Antoine Semenyo's move to Manchester City?Only Burnley and West Ham have conceded two or more goals on more occasions than Bournemouth. It is an inefficient way of getting points as they lose on their bad days and, despite receiving plaudits, too many of their good displays end in high-scoring draws.They should be okay but, when a team widely regarded as 'too good to go down' are dragged into a dogfight it is usually because of defensive woes.Bournemouth's high-risk, high-reward style puts pressure on their centre-backs and their goalkeeper and defenders are much weaker than last season.The Cherries surely have money to spend and, while a recent injury crisis is easing, they should not be complacent, especially as they have only two remaining home games against bottom-half sides.The rest of the fieldBurnley need to pick up points at a similar rate to West Ham but their data has always suggested they are more likely to be caught by bottom club Wolves than to stay up.Teams with more points on the board are not at risk unless West Ham have an outstanding transfer window and improve beyond all recognition.This weekend's opponents Tottenham rank in the bottom five on underlying data but have sought to strengthen their squad and still have the managerial-change card up their sleeve if needed.Everton are also looking to add much-needed depth this month and Crystal Palace, one of 2025's success stories, should be over the worst of their scheduling demands.

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Latest Premier League relegation oddsTo be relegatedBest odds

Wolves	1-50
Burnley	1-25
West Ham	1-5
Nottingham Forest	9-1
Leeds	11-1
	25-1 bar

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[El Scorchio]

Are the club taking the piss, publishing this sort of article right now?

Back With A Bang | The story of West Ham United's return to the Premier League in 2005/06 | Part 11