I’ve spent most of the day in front of a computer, so have little to report. However, I did want to wish Nigel Platt and Ian Painter good runs in the Stratford marathon tomorrow.
Nigel ran the Chicago marathon last year too, although we’ve never met. Apart from the normal anxieties of the marathon, he is also a West Ham supporter, and tomorrow, while the race is underway, his team will be literally fighting for their Premiership lives at Manchester City. If they lose, they are relegated.
Post-marathon hours are emotional at any time, but if the Hammers have plunged through that trapdoor, I would envisage a few tears in the Platt household tomorrow evening.
It reminded me of 1998/99 when QPR also had to go to Man City on the penultimate weekend of the season. We were both at the malodorous end of the table. QPR needed to avoid defeat to have any chance of staying in the division. City needed to win to have a realistic chance of staying up. I was at the game. What a dramatic afternoon it was. A full house. Throbbing with tension and anxiety.
City scored after 90 seconds. Blue Moon. We then went 2-1 up with two bizarre goals. The first was a spectacular own goal by the immortal Jamie Pollock. A pass-back to his own goalkeeper from about 25 yards out. But Jamie badly misjudged the trajectory, and the ball sailed over the despairing goalkeeper’s flapping arms into his own net. He’s been a folk hero in Shepherds Bush ever since.
The second came from an indirect free kick in the penalty area. While the City players were still arguing with the ref, one of the QPR players grabbed the ball from the goalkeeper, tapped it to a team-mate who thumped it into the empty net.
The match ended 2-2. We then had to beat Crystal Palace on the final day of the season. We won 6-0 and stayed up, while City went down.
Let’s hope that’s a good omen for West Ham, though it’s not looking good for them.
[There is a thread on this in the forum for anyone who wants to contribute. Just click the Forum link on the left.]
