Preview: United v. West Ham
One last assignment awaits Sir Alex’s team in conclusion to this wonderful league campaign. And what a match it is!
United play West Ham as newly crowned Premiership champions and will want to put on a show with all the trimmings to celebrate their triumph in style before the FA Cup final against Chelsea next week.
West Ham come to Old Trafford knowing that a point will earn them a £40 million bonanza by keeping them in the division and condemning , in all likelihood, a fading Wigan to second tier football.
Sir Alex has sworn to send out a team of stars this afternoon but will still rest key players, with Ronaldo and Rooney favourites for bench warming duties.
“They will be involved – if not playing then they will be on the bench,” the manager confessed. “But I will play a strong side.”
“It’s not easy when you’re facing teams who are fighting for survival, but we will represent ourselves in the proper way and be fair to everyone. The English game is honest. Teams will always do their best and we will.”
This is West Ham’s last opportunity to save themselevs but which West Ham will show up this afternoon? Will it be the team that beat Arsenal or the kamikaze outfit that provided fun and laughter when losing 4-3 to Spurs?
The Hammers have sunk fast from the vibrant team that was within a minute of winning the cup final last year. The arrival of the Argentines unbalanced the east London side and may have provoked dressing room envy but several players have underperformed seriously this year. Nigel Reo-Coker, who was said to be on the radar of United and Arsenal last August, seems to have sulked all season after West Ham snubbed the interest, whilst Marlon Harewood is Ricketts-like in being a one-season wonder. Anton Ferdinand too seems to have believed his own publicity about joining big bruv Rio in the England team.
But West Ham do have talent and the effervescent Carlos Tevez is surely the key to a retention of their league status. “For Manchester United, the match will be a celebration of their title win but for West Ham it is life itself,” Tevez declared.
The contrasting fates and ambitions of both teams make for an entertaining end of season spectacle. United could achieve a record 92 point haul for a 38-game season if they beat today’s visitors, astonishing proof of the scale of Ferguson’s triumph this term.
An added incentive for United might also be the Hammers’ memorable role in helping to deprive United of the title in 1992 and 1995, not to mention the pre-Christmas defeat West Ham inflicted on United at Upton Park this season. Rarely has the possibility of vengeance been more delicious.
