West Ham Till I Die
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Next Up: Sheffield United

After the 3-1 win away at Palace there is at last a "feel good factor” about being a West Ham supporter. Entertaining football, goals and although it is early doors, some really exciting talent amongst our new signings. Kouyate in particular, has been outstanding in both games he has played for the club. Just two games into what will be a long hard season, perhaps we should not be getting too carried away, but the signs are very encouraging.

Under normal circumstances, Tuesdays match against Sheffield United should have been an underwhelming midweek cup encounter that at best offered West Ham an opportunity to blood some of our fringe players who may be in need of a run. The bigger picture reveals an opportunity to go one step further than last season and deliver a Wembley Cup final for the club. Prior to 2007, the last time these two teams met, there was no history of trouble between the two clubs or any major disturbances between its supporters. Geographically we are not rivals and yet this game throws up the newest football grudge match in England. The 2006/7 season and the “Tevez affair” has been well documented and is etched in the memories of both West Ham and Sheffield United supporters. Neither side won. The former paid the latter an extraordinary amount of money which appears to have been wasted, and the latter not only got relegated but has slid down a further division since. From our view “the Blades” were an awful football side that season and deserved to go down. Carlos Tevez did not single-handedly save us from relegation and the Premier League deemed a club fine sufficient for a contractual misdemeanour. From Sheffield United’s view, West Ham should have been handed a points deduction that would have sent us down and saved them. Which ever way either set of fans look at it, West Ham have been relegated since that season and returned – Sheffield United have slipped to further depths since the 2007 relegation.

In my half a century of following West Ham I have grown up disliking only a handful of clubs. Millwall, Spurs and Manchester United are top of the list but to be honest I never thought Sheffield United would ever get a mention. The whole scenario of “Tevezgate” has now seen both sets of supporters looking forward to the two teams meeting again for the first time since the legal battle. From what I have heard the whole away end of the Sir Trevor Brooking stand lower tier has been booked for our Northern “friends” and West Ham in turn are offering ten quid tickets to try and ensure somewhere near a full house. I am sure both sets of supporters will be singing a variety of songs and ditties composed especially for the occasion. There are some reports that Carlos Tevez masks have sold out as West Ham fans look to have some fun at our opponents expense. However, early reports suggest the away end might not be as packed out as initially thought?

Back onto the pitch and Sheffield United now ply their trade in the third tier of English football. They currently sit 12th with two wins and two defeats from their four matches played this season. Due to their new found lowly status they had to play in the first round of this cup competition where they beat Mansfield 2-1. The two clubs have met 82 times previously with West Ham’s record showing 29W, 20D and 33L with exactly half the games played at Upton Park. Whilst home ground advantage has been important in this fixture in the past it is interesting to note that each side has scored exactly 134 goals against each other since the first fixture back in 1924.

I think we need a Ouija board if trying to guess what side Sam will put out for this one. Despite many Hammers supporters demanding the Blades be put to the sword, I very much doubt he will risk too many first team regulars. My guess is that we will see a far more attacking team than usual in a 3/5/2 formation with Valencia and Sakho up front and Poyet, Morrison, Burke and Jenkinson getting much needed game time. What will be interesting is whether this new found rivalry between Sheffield United and West Ham will fester and grow over the years or whether it will die a quick death after this match? Much like our dislike for Spurs which is much more sided from our point of view, I think this rivalry is much more important to Sheffield United than West Ham. Either way, from a West Ham perspective I don’t see this grudge match transcending much more than past this one off fixture. Or am I wrong?

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