Saturday 27th April 2013
12.45pm KO Live on Sky Sports 2
Referee: Howard Webb
[/center]Since Christmas I’ve been living a football double life and supported two teams. Obviously you are reading this on the forum of one and the other is West Didsbury & Chorlton AFC of the NWCFL 1st Division. It started when I went down on a free Saturday afternoon and the secretary, a friend of my dads, asked me if I’d like to do a page for their programme (thanks to my previews on this site. So thanks to the site gods who put this forum together) that quickly turn into writing the managers notes, match reports, website content, managing the facebook page and twitter. It also meant travelling everywhere from Holker (Barrow) to Eccleshall (Stafford) to cover the team. In the midst of this I discovered a City level affinity for the club that thanks to a group of (mostly City and Bolton supporting) players who’s commitment to their own, wage free, cause led them going on a run that saw them move from mid table to within 90 minutes of promotion to the NWCFL Premier Division at the first attempt thanks to an incredible 14 wins in the last 17 games.
Last weekend they played away twice in the space of 48 house beating promotion rivals Ashton Town 4-0 on the Saturday and then Atherton Collieries 2-0 on Monday night. One performance was spectacular the other less so but both contained a work ethic from the same starting 11 bar one change in both games. How is this City related?
Sandwiched in between each of those fixtures between your newspaper stereotyped part timers of post men and shopkeepers was a game held in North London between two teams of ridiculously wealthy men. The performance for 45 minutes, as it had been for 60 minutes against Chelsea and 2 mins against Wigan, was at times excellent, mostly pedestrian but for the last 45 minutes disinterested, spineless and borderline fixed.
I’ve been to White Hart Lane loads of times, and long been priced out of going, and by no means expect a result when we go there as they’ve signed generations of players whose career has been made simply by scoring against us. (Too often have we played well had chances to win the game then they’ve brought on Robbie Keane.) However I do expect effort, for players to try their hardest for every single minute when others are paying £100+ for their support. Add to the fact that the Vermin could capture the very next night made it all the more sickening as I was forced to walk amongst the arrogant swamp donkeys in the city centre pretty much all day with their replica shirts, carrier bags full of tat, foreign language, year old 20 champions flags and smug sense of satisfaction. Having to be made aware that they were 3 up inside what felt like 60 seconds against the very one team you wouldn’t want to have to beat United thanks to three offside goals and realise they’d won the league is quite simply the most hard wrenching thing I’ve experienced in football. And don’t even get me started on facebook…
Onwards and Upwards…
So we’ve been awful or average pretty much since Sergio hit the turf thanks to Jamie Ward-Prowse in August and yet were still second and in the final of the FA Cup with less than a handful of decent performances in 4 separate competitions.
We’ve got plenty to play for however and if we beat West Ham we are one game closer to securing 2nd spot and automatic qualification to the group stage and get one game closer to putting one eye on the FA Cup final. We really don’t want to be heading to Wembley looking over our shoulders worrying about being caught by Chelsea.
Some have suggested playing the kids but frankly Lopes, Evans and Suarez are just light years from being good enough and if Scott Sinclair can’t even get off the bench what chance have these young lads got. All I want is for us to show some that hunger and desire when we clawed back that 8 point deficit last April. Everyone is playing for their FA Cup places.
[center]The Opposition
[/center]Today will not simply be a case of turning up and winning as West Ham are a team who have had plenty of investment and will be the sort of well organised Sam Allardyce team that always used to turn us over in the dark days of Stuart Pearce.
West Ham have been about as solid as a newly promoted team can be and have been the absolute poster child for stiffing Liverpool over a transfer.
As for the team he’s Walmai’s post from the next opponent thread:
ere's a team you can expect
Jussi - who, almost incredibly, has turned (back) into a half-decent keeper recently
Demel
Reid & Collins - neck and neck for Hammer of the Year - Collins again an inspired pick from another team's reserves
Joey O'Brien
O'Neill (or Noble) - Diame
Jarvis - Nolan - Vaz Te
Carroll - perhaps our biggest Marmite signing of all time. I struggle to personally approve of the over the top physicality of the lad's game, but, confidence is really the buzzword for him. When he's both fired up and confident, he's actually got a fair amount of skill in his boots.
Sadly, it looks as if both Diame and Carroll are having a single season in E13, before packing their bags and going their respective ways.
Oh, by the way, are you seriously looking at taking Ravel 'Bad Man' Morrison off our hands? Craziest rumour ever.
As for you lot. Yawn-i-o. Second best all season. Come and have a go, if you think you can handle Carroll and Ginge.
;)
[center]City
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The team will pretty much pick itself as always but after last week some players owe us a big performance especially Kompany who’s pretty much played with mobility of a sunken aircraft carrier.
[center]Prediction[/center]
I’m missing my second home game in 11 years so I’m going with a very tough 1-0 win and a performance for the purists.
