$10,000 on West Ham to Relegate

[The Special One]

I wanted to bet this at the start of the season when the odds were at 2.8!!!!!!!

...but nevertheless, I will do this now or regret it at the end of the EPL season...

IMO, there are no teams that West Ham can overtake to NOT relegate, so I think this is free $$$$ ($7K)

feel free to share your opinions...

[RubberKettle]

Wigan, West Brom and Wolves/ Aston Villa are going down.

[The Special One]

Wigan, West Brom and Wolves/ Aston Villa are going down.

I disagree...

1) Wigan will go down because they are inconsistent...
2) West Brom will not because they have a decent team - just on a bad streak
3) Wolves are most definitely going down and I will probably put $6k on them as well
4) Aston Villa will not go down - they have class, they have a good manager (at least decent) and a team that can score unlike the others down there in the table

IMO, West Ham will have to be incredibly lucky to not relegate; INCREDIBLY LUCKY... their manager is a RELEGATION MACHINE and I know him quite well because I am also Israeli... trust me, he will be the one to RELEGATE West Ham - he will come close to survival but will fall 3-4 points shy...

[TurkzZ]

i got a sneaking feeling Avram will steer them clear, all depends on who he can bring in this transfer window, but good luck on the play

[The Special One]

i got a sneaking feeling Avram will steer them clear, all depends on who he can bring in this transfer window, but good luck on the play

thank you... but bringing in Wayne Bridge is NOT going to help you survive...

[TurkzZ]

lol, it wont be the defining factor but its a start, if i was in your position i may have waited until the window had closed, who knows they could sack grant and bring in someone good to turn it around with some players.

[The Special One]

lol, it wont be the defining factor but its a start, if i was in your position i may have waited until the window had closed, who knows they could sack grant and bring in someone good to turn it around with some players.

I would but unfortunately by that time the odds will be as low as Barca playing at home against Wigan with all their starters...

WEST HAM vs ARSENAL (1-1 or 1-2)
EVERTON vs WEST HAM (3-1 or 2-1)
BLACKPOOL vs WEST HAM (0-0 or 1-1)

2 points MAX out of possible 9 wont help the odds stay the same...

[RubberKettle]

West Brom are going down, they have the worst defense in the league.

West Ham are on a great run late. Only 1 loss in 7.

Good luck, but odds like 1.7 could prove there is not free money in April.

[The Special One]

West Brom are going down, they have the worst defense in the league. West Ham are on a great run late. Only 1 loss in 7. Good luck, but odds like 1.7 could prove there is not free money in April.

There obviously a great chance that West Brom fails to survive, its just I see some potential in their offense... if they go down, Wigan will take their place IMO...

About West Ham's run of late...

Blackburn 1-1 West Ham - Blackburn is average
Fulham 1-3 West Ham - Fulham cannot score goals
West Ham 1-1 Everton - Only 1 point
West Ham 2-0 Wolves - Complete garbage
Newcastle 5-0 West Ham - no Carroll?????
West Ham 2-0 Barnsley - Ok so what????
West Ham 2-1 Birmingham - Birmingham is ridiculously stupid and Foster is to thank...

[JOHON8]

The biggest thing you have to worry about is that West Ham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are the top 4 most supported clubs in London. Honestly I think teams like Blackpool, West Brom and Wolves are just as likely to be relegated. All it takes is a bad few games for Blackpool and they will be right at the bottom where everyone expected them to be at the start of the season.

how many units is 10k for you 100? what book did you use?

[RubberKettle]

West Ham's run is good. Draw to Blackburn and Win over Fulham are great results. For the team in 20th place it is amazing run, but thanks for your quick harsh analysis.

[The Special One]

The biggest thing you have to worry about is that West Ham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are the top 4 most supported clubs in London. Honestly I think teams like Blackpool, West Brom and Wolves are just as likely to be relegated. All it takes is a bad few games for Blackpool and they will be right at the bottom where everyone expected them to be at the start of the season. how many units is 10k for you 100? what book did you use?

West Ham's run is good. Draw to Blackburn and Win over Fulham are great results. For the team in 20th place it is amazing run, but thanks for your quick harsh analysis.

First of all, Johon, I am aware of their fan backing and that is the only thing keeping me off this bet... However, I just do not see any team (except for West Brom) that the can overtake... and if they sack Grant, then who will replace him that is able to fix their problem in a mere two months?

Also, Blackpool will not relegate... I will assure you, Ian Holloway is a great coach (actually fantastic) and his team will not get worse... In fact, I will make another thread where I predict a TOP 10 finish for Blackpool... they have mostly home games coming up on their schedule and will take advantage of this... I predict a finish similar to Birmingham of last year...

About my 'harsh' analysis, I am sorry if this offended you, I was just having fun... its just that the other teams down there with West Ham have had their GOOD WINS like Wolves @ Liverpool, Wigan @ Tottenham & WBA @ Arsenal... Again, I would have to be quite unlucky to lose this bet IMO...

[The Special One]

The biggest thing you have to worry about is that West Ham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are the top 4 most supported clubs in London. Honestly I think teams like Blackpool, West Brom and Wolves are just as likely to be relegated. All it takes is a bad few games for Blackpool and they will be right at the bottom where everyone expected them to be at the start of the season. how many units is 10k for you 100? what book did you use?

I am still figuring this out to be honest, my back-up plan is to put like $6k on Bwin if all else fails... I will ask some friends on various books where I can get the best offer... I put $10K to stress my belief over this bet, I will NOT necessarily place that EXACT amount... but near it for sure...

[minet123]

Good Luck hope you cash

[shantymoon]

yes west ham will go down for sure

[The Special One]

thanks for the support, going to love waiting for the GREEN LIGHT...

[Daveyboy]

I disagree...

1) Wigan will go down because they are inconsistent...
2) West Brom will not because they have a decent team - just on a bad streak
3) Wolves are most definitely going down and I will probably put $6k on them as well
4) Aston Villa will not go down - they have class, they have a good manager (at least decent) and a team that can score unlike the others down there in the table

IMO, West Ham will have to be incredibly lucky to not relegate; INCREDIBLY LUCKY... their manager is a RELEGATION MACHINE and I know him quite well because I am also Israeli... trust me, he will be the one to RELEGATE West Ham - he will come close to survival but will fall 3-4 points shy...

1) Wigan's inconsistency is what kept them up last season (beating Arsenal, Chelsea etc)
2) Admittedly, West Brom are missing at least 4 first team defenders, but they dont have a goalscoring striker so I think they'll be bottom 4 at least.
3) Wolves arent as bad as their record says but its a uphill challenge for them now
4) This so-called "good" manager has lead Aston Villa into the bottom 3

[Daveyboy]

First of all, Johon, I am aware of their fan backing and that is the only thing keeping me off this bet... However, I just do not see any team (except for West Brom) that the can overtake... and if they sack Grant, then who will replace him that is able to fix their problem in a mere two months?

Also, Blackpool will not relegate... I will assure you, Ian Holloway is a great coach (actually fantastic) and his team will not get worse... In fact, I will make another thread where I predict a TOP 10 finish for Blackpool... they have mostly home games coming up on their schedule and will take advantage of this... I predict a finish similar to Birmingham of last year...

About my 'harsh' analysis, I am sorry if this offended you, I was just having fun... its just that the other teams down there with West Ham have had their GOOD WINS like Wolves @ Liverpool, Wigan @ Tottenham & WBA @ Arsenal... Again, I would have to be quite unlucky to lose this bet IMO...

They have a better away record than at home so theres no guarantees their home form will be good at the end of the season. I say they finish outside the top 10...

[The Special One]

They have a better away record than at home so theres no guarantees their home form will be good at the end of the season. I say they finish outside the top 10...

Daveyboy, I am glad that you pointed out your opinions - that is what the thread is for - but I must disagree with you on some points...

1) Wolves are not as bad as their record states but neither is Aston Villa... I highly doubt that Wolves will stay up, not because of their team ability, but because other teams will beat them when it really matters (except Chelsea for some reason - because they are useless); I do not see them taking anyone's position in exchange for their current one (except for West Brom, but I believe that they will only escape by a couple of points)...
2) Aston Villa are getting some first-team players back and will begin to improve slightly... if it comes down to the end of the season for a relegation battle, then Aston Villa will play like they did against Chelsea - fearless... I do not LIKE their manager, I said that he is decent, but he has EXPERIENCE and that is what counts at the end of the season (watch for Aston Villa to improve on the road JUST A BIT)
3) about Blackpool, you have to understand that the game is about kicking a ball past a line (in simple terms), and Blackpool is good at that... the reason that they are playing worse at home is because they already have their HOME POINTS from AWAY GAMES - if they will begin to lose away, then their HOME FORM will pick up... they will finish with a record like this: H - 7 7 6, A - 7 4 8

[SoV]

I'd want better odds than that, to be honest.

[The Special One]

I'd want better odds than that, to be honest.

yeh I know, they were 2.8 at the start of the season, but I did not have any extra cash so I did not pull the trigger - I would still rather do it for 1.7 than wait until 1.5...

[RubberKettle]

About my 'harsh' analysis, I am sorry if this offended you, I was just having fun... its just that the other teams down there with West Ham have had their GOOD WINS like Wolves @ Liverpool, Wigan @ Tottenham & WBA @ Arsenal... Again, I would have to be quite unlucky to lose this bet IMO...

Did not offend me. I just see little value @ 1.6-1.7. This years table is so congested and five points separate 20th and 12th. Did you also consider this team and many of its players have been through relegation battles and survived over the past few years?

[The Special One]

Rubber, so no hard feelings ...

I did consider their RELEGATION experience but let me point out that WHU barely survived last year and were lucky that Burnley was bad, Hull wasn't better and Portsmouth had 9 points deducted... IMO, we should have already been betting on WHU in the championship...

[Daveyboy]

Daveyboy, I am glad that you pointed out your opinions - that is what the thread is for - but I must disagree with you on some points...

1) Wolves are not as bad as their record states but neither is Aston Villa... I highly doubt that Wolves will stay up, not because of their team ability, but because other teams will beat them when it really matters (except Chelsea for some reason - because they are useless); I do not see them taking anyone's position in exchange for their current one (except for West Brom, but I believe that they will only escape by a couple of points)...
2) Aston Villa are getting some first-team players back and will begin to improve slightly... if it comes down to the end of the season for a relegation battle, then Aston Villa will play like they did against Chelsea - fearless... I do not LIKE their manager, I said that he is decent, but he has EXPERIENCE and that is what counts at the end of the season (watch for Aston Villa to improve on the road JUST A BIT)
3) about Blackpool, you have to understand that the game is about kicking a ball past a line (in simple terms), and Blackpool is good at that... the reason that they are playing worse at home is because they already have their HOME POINTS from AWAY GAMES - if they will begin to lose away, then their HOME FORM will pick up... they will finish with a record like this: H - 7 7 6, A - 7 4 8

1) Wolves do not need to take anyone elses current position because they're already outside the relegation zone Apart from 2 defeats to Wigan and a home draw against West ham, results have been alright for them. They should be bottom mid-February because they have a ridiculous run of games coming up. After that though, there's possible points from games versus West Brom (a), Blackpool (H), Villa (a), Newcastle (a), Everton (H), Stoke (a), Fulham (H), Birmingham (a), West Brom (H) before concluding with Blackburn (H). They need 14 more points to make 35, which could be enough for safety this year - winning half of the games above? Hmmm gonna be a struggle. Anyway, if you're backing West Ham to go down, dont you want to make a case for each of the other teams staying up?????

2) In truth I think Villa were lucky to get a point against Chelsea at the end. Villas defensive record is abysmal and until they sort that out they're not safe.

3) [Blackpool] - "if they will begin to lose away, then their HOME FORM will pick up..." Football doesnt work like that

[Daveyboy]

thank you... but bringing in Wayne Bridge is NOT going to help you survive...

Wayne Bridge is terrible

[The Special One]

Daveyboy,

1) you are right about my mistake... Regardless though, because the games you pointed out - I highly doubt that wolves will get that many points from...

2) it is easier to sort out defense than offense - when you need it quick... They already have the capability to score goals IMO...
3)actually, it does - if blackpool lose more games away, then they will need to defend home field much harder... They have lost 2 of 3 home games (exclude MnC) due to lack of concentration which arose from overconfidence - after getting so many points away... Look at Birmingham last year, they won most away games in 1st half of season and lost both home games then as well, however in 2nd half of season, they defended brillianty at home - I think blackpool will be the same...

[RubberKettle]

Rubber, so no hard feelings

Just dont want you to lose a lot of money. Keep us updated on your decision

[The Special One]

I will track my progress...

vs Arsenal
@ Everton
@ Blackpool
vs Birmingham
@ WBA
vs Liverpool
vs Stoke
@ Tottenham
vs MNU
@ Bolton
vs Aston Villa
@ Chelsea
@ MNC
vs Blackburn
@ Wigan
vs Sunderland

(0-0-0) W-L-T

[tommygun]

dude this is an easy decision, West Ham have been looking like getting relegated for a while, they will not stay up especially because the other teams are 2 games behind them too. Easy $7k for you right there, EASY! You will regret if you don't

[The Special One]

dude this is an easy decision, West Ham have been looking like getting relegated for a while, they will not stay up especially because the other teams are 2 games behind them too. Easy $7k for you right there, EASY! You will regret if you don't

you're telling me? I WILL DO THIS...

[yisman]

I assume this it at an English book?

[The Special One]

I assume this it at an English book?

correct...

[Daveyboy]

Daveyboy,

1) you are right about my mistake... Regardless though, because the games you pointed out - I highly doubt that wolves will get that many points from...

2) it is easier to sort out defense than offense - when you need it quick... They already have the capability to score goals IMO...
3)actually, it does - if blackpool lose more games away, then they will need to defend home field much harder... They have lost 2 of 3 home games (exclude MnC) due to lack of concentration which arose from overconfidence - after getting so many points away... Look at Birmingham last year, they won most away games in 1st half of season and lost both home games then as well, however in 2nd half of season, they defended brillianty at home - I think blackpool will be the same...

1) So Wolves are down. That leaves 2 more teams to go down. That's one less spot for West Ham to fill!
2) Perhaps Aston Villa could take your advice. Just read a good article on them as potential relegation candidates because of their crap defence
3) Birmingham had Joe Hart last year and a defence that was solid in the Championship, and played almost every single game together in the Prem. Blackpool have Ivan Evatt and Stephen Crainey - how many clean sheets do you think they're capable of?!?

[BstHcpr]

What were the odds on Wigan to be relegated? At least West Ham are trying to stay up with, albeit subpar, signing of Wayne Bridge. Scott Parker is still in midfield and Carlton Cole can get out of his slump and be solid forward. What are Wigan going to do? They are the surest of anyone to make the drop. Wolverhampton is a scrappy team that play physical and have taken points from Man City and Chelsea.

[The Special One]

Daveyboy, great article on Aston... However, I have a feeling they will sort things out before it's too late...
Just because wolves are currently above bottom three does not mean they are not going down...
About Wigan, they can easily go down but I think it's a battle with WBA...