Off to Wolves flier? A goal against them would be nice

 

 

By CandH’s top blogger Allen Cummings

 

As  the first of the remaining nine vital games draws ever closer, focusing on the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers on the June 20 is occupying more and more of our thoughts.

If West Ham want to get off to the kind of flying start we are all desperate for, then they are going to have to do something they have failed to do in the last three encounters with the midlands club – and that’s actually score a goal.

A 1-0 home defeat in 2018, courtesy of Carlos Sanchez’s ‘giveaway’ to Adama Traore in the 90th minute, still rankles. That was followed by 3-0 and 2-0 reverses at Molineux – making grim reading since Nuno Espirito Santo’s team returned to the Premier League.

But those three defeats aside, our previous encounters with the men in old gold have proved far more encouraging. We have 29 victories to our name, with 14 draws recorded and 18 defeats. Not a bad record by any standards.

David Moyes will be hoping his side can tap into that more encouraging vein of form when the big day comes around. He will also be hoping that maybe Wolves will ‘restart’ the campaign as slowly as they started the original one way back in August last year.

Despite their 6th place in the current league standings, Wanderers got off to a comparatively shaky beginning. Four draws and two defeats in their first six league games wasn’t exactly what they were hoping for.

The gates of the London Stadium will of course be firmly shut on Saturday week – and the game will be played out in the eerie atmosphere of an empty stadium. Strange then that Wolves last live action was also under similar circumstances, when they played Olympiacos in Greece behind closed doors in a Europa League last 16 tie.

It was a laboured performance from the midlanders that night against a side who were reduced to 10 men after just 28 minutes. That coming after an equally lack-lustre 0-0 home draw with Brighton and Hove Albion in the league just a few days earlier. The shame is we were denied the opportunity to take Wolves on back in March, when maybe they were at a vulnerable stage.

But it is what it is and we just have to get on with it. Our home advantage is bound to be watered down by the restrictions – but we have to make best use of any advantage we have. I could think of easier opposition to come up against – but there’s an upbeat picture coming out from the training ground and we have to believe and trust in what we’ve got.

I’m biased of course, but I certainly believe Moyes’ has enough at his disposal to beat Wolves and see us push on to safety!

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon