The Centre Circle

Not good signs coming out of Upton Park. There seems to be an air of panic, the latest sign is the report that West Ham will attempt to sue Fulham for fielding a weakened team at Hull City last weekend. How laughable is this? There is no way that the Premiership will rise to the bait and no way that it could be held up, especially as West Ham themselves left out several key players in their 2-0 defeat at the Emirates stadium a fortnight ago. It smacks of a club in complete turmoil.

The team have lost six games on the spin, are playing with little coherence and with even less confidence and one of the last places you would want to visit would be Goodison Park this coming Saturday against an Everton side who has been in sparkling form in the last month.

The desperation is obviously coming from the top where the realisation that the gamble owners David Sullivan and David Gold took in buying out the original Icelandic owners maybe turning into just that – a huge gamble that could cost them a fortune. The stress has further been shown with the two top men split over support for Gianfranco Zola. Sullivan has been banned from the training ground after critical e-mails were circulated to all supporters who attended the Wolves game, whereas Gold when quizzed by the press after the latest defeat to Stoke showed staunch backing for the manager.

If ever a united front was needed, now is the time for the East London club. By the end of Easter they could be in the bottom three again and facing relegation in the face. I hope they survive, as West Ham are one of those clubs when on form are a joy to watch, however the brittleness of their current confidence makes me worry for their chances.