In the first part of the Premiership Preview I will focus on the letters of West Ham United that may spell "The New Stadium" but back in reality there current league position spells "relegation!" My second point focuses on Manchester! Apparently something big is about to go down and what ever it is... I hope it lives up to expectation!
In the second part of the Premiership Preview the focus will be on a Midlands derby where it's Birmingham's quest to make rival's Stoke sweat & Arsenal's double week which could prove vital to three trophies and not just six points.
Let's start with the biggest headline of the week, Friday 11th February saw 'The OPLC' confirm in a news conference that West Ham have won unanimous approval to move into the Stratford venue following the 2012 Games after they were judged to have fulfilled more of the criteria set by the organisation than Tottenham.
To me, it was not a real shock! It's pretty obvious the right decision was made! Not just because West Ham have vowed to keep the running track and the facilities to hold athletics but because of where the stadium is situated. How would it be possible to have Tottenham Hotspur in Stratford and not Tottenham? That would make a North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham situtated in the East of London! There is simply no logic!
Now I'm happy the decision is the correct one, Tottenham were simply using the Olympic Stadium as a way to further the development of there club! They were not thinking anything else other than a fantastic business opportunity. Spurs believe they need a world class stadium in order to compete for years to come! Arsenal and Manchester City are prime examples; both clubs have benefited a great deal financially due to the appeal a top stadium brings! Think about it, where would Manchester City be without the development of the Commonwealth Games stadium in Manchester and turning it into a much larger stadium capable of landing foreign investment like they did! This is exactly what Tottenham wanted and this proved to be Spurs downfall as they were beaten by a much better package offered by West Ham!
However despite the positives it brings to everybody involved with West Ham, with the exception of some proud loyal fans who believe Upton Park is there home, I can find some negative points of West Ham's fortunes! This new stadium is a long way away, football clubs are based on results not stadiums and West Ham United currently sit bottom of the Premiership! Defeat to West Brom this weekend could be a huge reality check for Karen Brady and owners David Sullivan and David Gold who have put so much time and effort into securing a world class home for the future maybe they now need to focus on the present day.
Karen Brady may have shrugged off questions about relegation and purely focused on the positives a new stadium brings but it's now time for the board to take a back seat and let the players and manager do the talking on the pitch! But to me, these board members are ones that like publicity and the spotlight, if West Ham are beaten tomorrow and continue to be in the relegation zone in March... don't expect this board to take a back seat, it's just not how they do things!
Now then, that is my rant over with, let's focus on a weekend of Premiership football! Apparently... something big is happening in Manchester tomorrow?! I looked up FC United's fixture and they play Whitley at home.. that isn't it. Maybe a sale in the Trafford Centre? But that can't be it, January is over, winter wardrobes are a thing of the past and the biggest brands are now introducing Spring and Summer outfits, so that can't be it. Maybe I was close with the word Trafford? Maybe it's something that's gone back many many years! An old rivalry now more fierce than it's ever been! That's right, tomorrow sees the blue of Manchester lock horns with the Red side of Manchester in a game where things could get tighter than ever, or it becomes a two horse race between two giants both in red and leaving the blues behind!
Last week we saw the red side of Manchester who top the table lose there unbeaten record to the team who were bottom of the table.. yeah you read that right - football is a funny old game sometimes!
Now this weekend it just so happens just when Sir Alex Ferguson will want a reaction from his players that the next game see's them face there now multi-million air rivals who are looking to feed on any scraps left behind by a pack of Wolves last week! A team full of talent and lead by a former Manchester United hero who was deemed not worthy enough of £25 million! After a hat-trick last week Carlos Tevez will be seeing red tomorrow and leading his team into battle against a team and manager who just love to rise to a big occasion! I am not going to predict the score, and I am not going to point out where it can be won and lost because as a Stoke City fan I'm struggling to care :D
However, tomorrow I will wake up a neutral and hope to watch this two teams tear each other apart in a full blooded Manchester Derby that really could live up to the hype after last seasons thrilling 4-3 encounter which saw Michael Owen score the winner in injury time!
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