Why can’t Hammers see out a victory?

NO side in the Premier League have dropped more points from winning positions than West Ham with 19 this season. david Moyes saw the same old problems crop up on saturday. When scrapping for survival, you cannot let a two-goal lead slip against a relegation rival, but they did that twice against Graham Potter’s Brighton. Of all the sides trying to stay up, i’d say West Ham have the best squad, and they also have an experienced captain in Mark Noble, but they aren’t seeing out games like they should. A total of 35 points would have been enough to survive in 2018-19. in 2017-18, 34 would have done the job. This season, i suspect a touch more will be required to stay up. The title race may be as good as over, but the one against relegation is riveting.

ANYONE who thought Bournemouth’s players were not playing for their manager, take a look at Saturday’s performance. Down to 10 men from the 51st minute, they saw out a very important win against Aston Villa at the Vitality Stadium. Now after having his position questioned, Eddie Howe has overseen back-to-back league wins against direct relegation rivals. Having Nathan Ake back and fully fit after his hamstring injury is so important for Howe.

WE hear stories about how intense Marcelo Bielsa’s training sessions are, so has that played a part in Leeds’ poor form? This is not the first time this has happened, of course. Last season Leeds were top of the table on Boxing Day, six points clear of third. Then they went on to miss out on automatic promotion. Their players will be desperate to avoid the lottery of the play-offs again.