Why West Ham are not too good to go down, plus why Villa-Man United this week will be no guide to the Carling Cup final

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Published 22:47 07/02/10

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West Ham have new owners, but they haven’t got a magic wand.

I wrote last month how I thought David Sullivan and David Gold would be great new joint chairmen at Upton Park.

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But they are yet to see their new club win after taking charge at Upton Park three games ago.

And it is now going to be a tough old ask for West Ham to stay in the division.

There used to be a saying in the Premier League - that was coined in 1993 - that suggested some clubs were "too good to go down". That was what people were saying about Nottingham Forest that year, but they suffered a shock relegation and I subsequently joined the club that summer.

Now the phrase is that "no-one is too good to go down" and, despite a wealth of talent at West Ham, I am beginning to detect similar vibes emanating from Upton Park as those that surrounded Forest the year they went down.

The Hammers fans who rang me over the weekend claimed only midfielder Scott Parker did the business for them in their loss at Burnley.

In the season's run-in, and in such a congested bottom half of the table, teams down there need five or six players that can perform under pressure and carry the responsibility.

Hull showed that against Manchester City,as several players put a really good shift in.

But it is worrying times for West Ham if only Parker is pulling his finger out.

So could West Ham go down? Yes, of course they could.

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Aston Villa against Manchester United in the Premier League this week is a dress rehearsal for the Carling Cup final.

But don’t expect either Martin O’Neill or Sir Alex Ferguson to be talking about Wembley this week.

Villa are chasing fourth spot and United the title so their minds will be on that.

The Carling Cup is not big enough to overshadow the Premier League.

And I don’t think we will be able to read much into this week’s result at Villa Park.

United have a very good record at Villa, but O’Neill’s men won at Old Trafford earlier this season for the first time in Premier League history.

I will be there for the return fixture covering the game for talkSPORT and will be supporting Villa.

But the form United are in means I think they will be very unlucky if they don’t take at least a point away.

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Burnley had a vital home win over West Ham, but they are going to need points on the road if they are to survive.

New boss Brian Laws picked up his first victory against the Hammers at Turf Moor.

But the Clarets are still yet to win away this season in the Premier League.

They travel down to Fulham on Tuesday night and it is these type of matches which will determine their fate.

If Burnley were to gain three points at Craven Cottage then that is going to stand them in very good stead and I think they will then stay up.

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