Hammers finally show some real steel
UNTIL West Ham United’s 3-2 home win over Chelsea on Wednesday, “restart” had certainly not amounted to a fresh start for a team languishing at the wrong end of the Premier League.
It was almost disingenuous to call it a “battle” for survival, so meek were the performances of Norwich City, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Watford and West Ham.
Until West Ham finally displayed the resolve required to beat the dreaded drop, the grand sum of points accrued in the 15 games played by the bottom five since the resumption of the season was three.
It makes grim reading. Bottom side Norwich have lost all three, scoring no goals and conceding eight, while Bournemouth, in 19th, have lost all three, scoring once and conceding seven.
Aston Villa, in 18th, picked up two points from their four games, while Watford, the only team to beat Liverpool this season, have fallen back to their early-season form, also picking up one point from nine.
Shortly before West Ham kicked off against Chelsea, Norwich were hammered 4-0 at Arsenal and, more shockingly, Bournemouth were demolished 4-1 at home by Newcastle United.
That’s why substitute Andriy Yarmolenko’s 89th-minute winner for West Ham was massive. The roars of joy inside an empty London Stadium from West Ham’s players, coaching crew and assorted security staff could have been heard right up the Thames Estuary.
In a relegation “battle” more akin to lemmings heading for the cliff’s edge, West Ham’s win felt like nine points rather than three as it moved them up to 16th place with 30 points, three above Villa.
Manager Davis Moyes was quick to point out that one win was not enough, although his suggestion that his side might need three more victories might be overly cautious.
They go to mid-table Newcastle on Sunday with a chance to establish a safety cushion. While adrift
Norwich’s home game against sixthbottom Brighton and Hove Albion tomorrow offers perhaps a last chance to kickstart a late escape bid, the fixtures look grim for the others.
Villa are at record-seeking Liverpool, Bournemouth are at Manchester United, and Watford, one point above the trapdoor, go to a chastened Chelsea side.
This is the first Premier League survival scrap played out in empty stadiums -- perhaps a mitigating factor in the lack of spark displayed by those near the bottom. Vociferous home support when the stakes are high can make a difference.
“It’s very easy from the outside to think (the players are not giving their all), especially with the manner of the games at the moment, with the lack of a crowd impacting perceived efforts, I think,” Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe said after defeat by Newcastle.
“I can see close at hand what it means to the players, how much they are hurting.”
The suffering shows no sign of easing with Bournemouth’s last six games including clashes with Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City, Manchester City and Everton.