English Premier League: West Ham must hammer the Wolves at the Molineux Stadium
West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderer’s will not be taking their up-coming encounters lightly as well. Both the teams have the word W in common as well as the fact that they are in the bottom three zone of the English Premier
League table.
In the 2010-2011 season, West Ham United are once again looking as if they are relegation fodder, in the 2009-2010 season under Gianfranco Zola, the Hammers did well to retain their place in the Premier League for another season.
However, judging by their performances so far it is difficult to see how Avram Grant’s men will achieve that feat once again.
West Ham do have some good players in their squad but their main problem has been their goalkeeper, Robert Green as well as their defence. An incredibly porous defence has not been helped by the fact that Green has been suffering
from an identity crisis since the start of the summer ever since he fumbled Clint Dempsey’s shot into the back of his net at the 2010 FIFA World Cup for the English national team.
If that wasn’t enough, Avram Grant’s management has been a succession of errors so far. He has not been able to mould the team into a proper outfit thus far and the new players that he bought in the summer have not been able to
make their mark either.
Mathew Upson’s injury problems have not helped West Ham’s cause as well, he is seen as the only experienced defender in West Ham’s first choice defensive players but the former Arsenal player has been off his game this season as
well. As far as Wolves are concerned, their recent fall from fame has been accompanied by their sudden urge to end careers and break legs.
Of course such a habit has it’s repercussions but Mick McCarthy’s team are h**l bent on learning their lessons the hard way. As a result in their last English league game against Wigan, their captain Karl Henry got sent off for
an attempt to murder Jordi Gomez. With both teams at the 20th and 19th places respectively in the English Premier League table, their matchup at the weekend carries vital importance for both the clubs as far as hopes of Premier League
football go.
Wolves have not won a single league game since the start of the season whereas West Ham’s last win away from Upton Park came almost a year ago at the start of the 2009-2010 season at the Molineux stadium. When these two sides take
on each other at the Molineux stadium yet again this Saturday, it is expected to be a toughly fought encounter amongst both sides which have a reputation for violence rather than football.
The Hammers will be banking on the likes of Carlton Cole, Mark Noble and Scott Parker to come up with the goods on their visit to the midlands from London. Scott Parker has been West Ham’s best player this season with two goals
in seven matches from his defensive midfield position.
The midfield enforcer has risen to the same heights that he saw during an early period of his career at Charlton Athletic. However, Scott’s burden must be shared by the new kids on the block such as Victor Obinna. Obinna has shown
a tendency to be a potentially world class player but his inconsistent form and lack of accuracy in front of goal has let him down recently.
For Wolves, Steven Fletcher and Kevin Doyle will be main men in this encounter. Both of them have the skill and the physique to trouble the already fragile West Ham defence. Doyle will be under pressure yet again to reproduce the
form that saw Wolves finish 15th in the 2009-2010 season.
On the other hand, Fletcher who arrived at the club from Burnley in the summer will be looking to cement his place as the club’s numero uno striker.
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