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Believe it or not, West Ham can make history today.
A win at Barnsley will better our previous record of winning 11 away matches in a single season, which was way back in the 1957/1958 campaign. It was the season when Ted Fenton’s Hammers clinched the Division Two title and John Dick was top scorer with 26 goals in all competitions.
Unfortunately, it’s looking very unlikely that we’ll be celebrating a record breaking season as league champions again but, that doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?
Last Saturday’s loss to Reading was hard to take, especially after starting so well. The game did nothing to reassure us that Big Sam is getting to the bottom of our ‘inability to perform at home’ problem and it put us further away from our goal of automatic promotion. Despite that, and with six games left to play, a four point gap between us and second spot isn’t that big a mountain to climb. Reading will no doubt slip up and they’ve still got to go to Southampton. We’ve still got a lot to do, yes, but the season is far from over.
Anyway, with today’s visit to Barnsley in mind, we’ve got a big chance to put last week’s disappointment behind us and keep up the pressure on the top two. What’s important is that we don’t make it hard for ourselves. If we make a job of it then there’ll be more nerves and pressure on the team going into Monday’s meeting with Birmingham.
There has been a lot of discussion about what formation and what selection Allardyce should go with today. Many are calling for a Sam Baldock and Nicky Maynard partnership up front, while others are calling for Ravel Morrison to be given his first real chance for the club. Personally, Baldock deserves his chance to start. His last few appearances off the bench have been encouraging and he always looks hungry for a goal. He’s a player who, despite missing a few chances over the past few games, will only need a goal to re-discover the form that made him a fan’s favourite earlier in the season.
It is also a good game for Morrison to show us all what he can do. We’re all looking forward to seeing the youngster in action and an away day at 18th placed Barnsley will be a good time to throw him in to the mix.
There are rumours that Julien Faubert hasn’t travelled which, if true, will be a loss to us. The Frenchman has been like a new man this season and testament has to go to Big Sam for being able to get the best out of him. Barnsley have just two wins in their last 10 outings but will want to win to give themselves a chance of staying clear of the relegation zone. They’re currently nine points clear, but with six games left a poor run of form could suck them in before they even know it. I’m not going to hazard a guess at how we’ll line up today or what the score might be, purely because there’s so many variations of how Allardyce can approach this game and whenever I predict a scoreline it almost always goes the opposite way.
Hats off to all those traveling to Barnsley today, and here’s to a record breaking win for Big Sam’s side.
The Game in Numbers
22 – It is 22 years since West Ham lost a league match against Barnsley.
12 – Victory today will secure a club record for most aways wins in a single season.
6 – A win today will give West Ham their sixth double of the season.
5 – The Hammers are unbeaten in their last five away matches.
4 – West Ham have kept a clean sheet in their last four meetings with The Tykes.
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