Does Sunderland’s recent good form suggest a real revival?
Can we really win two games on the trot?
Or was West Ham’s creditable point at Everton, despite claims elsewhere that they didn’t play well (I didn”t see it but would cheerfully take a draw at Goodison most seasons), the start of a run of their own?
There is much for both sides to play for at what Hammers fans tell us must be called the Boleyn, never Upton Park. We need to push on for a respectable midtable end, West Ham need points to ensure survival.
Ahead of Pete Sixsmith’s reflective match report, some sort of account of today’s game – culled from whatever I can hear or see of it – will appear later.
My optimistic prediction: Hammers 1 Sunderland 2
* Confounding my comment about the Boleyn, Charlie Whebell, West Ham supporter and colleague (out in Abu Dhabi), says at Facebook:
“I will cry today if West Ham don’t beat Sunderland at Upton Park.”
Salut! Sunderland‘s pre-match build-up ran as follows:
* Gnome (from the Knees Up Mother Brown site)
Here and – for his second bite at the Mackem cherry – here
* Only sing when they’re cheating. No, not Ilunga’s amateur dramatics, the day West Ham won 8-0.
Colin Randall