Needs Must When the Devil Drives

In reading around the blogs today and through the online paper’s match previews, coupled with my very own feel for things, I fear for us tonight. The three goals we conceded in quick succession against Burnley at home showed me that it would not be difficult - if conditions were right (or wrong as the case could be) - for us Hammers to get a real thumping, as much as I hate to say it, I get the feeling that tonight could be that night, by thumping I mean 3 nil reverse or worse.

This team is not good enough; the Blackburn game must surely have proven that to everyone. If you compare the like for like stats it does not bode well for the Hammers at home tonight. Birmingham is a well disciplined side under Alex McLeish, structured and hard to break down. To say that we are under the lights and use sentimentality will not do it for us, it will have to be a performance of sheer grit and determination a fighting spirit that we haven’t seen the like of this season from this side fixed with the realisation that we are in the roughest of rough dog-fights and this game is massive.

All of Birmingham's last three league goals have been scored in the final 10 minutes and that is the time when Parker has no steam left and we are at our most vulnerable. I am hoping that the recent signings and the comments by Sullivan about pay-cuts really does do something special for us this evening because I think we are going to need it.

I think also that it might be time for Zola to revert to his 4-3-3 formation now that we have the playing staff who could cope with it better, either that or go 3-5-2-throw caution to the wind in both cases and really take the game to them. We have nothing to lose in the respect that if GFZ starts all cautious we go behind and take half an hour to get going and lose anyway like we did against Burnley, he is only asking for more of the same if he doesn’t treat this like a home game we can win