West Ham v Newcastle - The wheel turns full circle

The last time we hosted Newcastle, Zola was in charge of team affairs for the first time. A pulse of optimism was pumping through the club and, with the dark clouds of Turds uninspired drudgery swept aside, the sun appeared to be shining brightly on West Ham.

The team that day read:

Green: Faubert, Neill, Upson, Ilunga; Behrami, Parker, Noble, Etherington; Di Michele and Cole.

Di Michele scored twice - amazingly given what followed - and Etherington bagged the third in a 3-1 victory. At times, our play was truly pulsating and the sky suddenly seemed the limit. Indeed, after a victory away to Fulham in the next Premiership game, we went into the match against Bolton with the opportunity to top the table 8 games into the season.

And here we are, two seasons later, and 8 games into the season, and we are sitting at the bottom of the table. What a turn around!

However, as I keep saying, there are reasons to be cheerful, despite our league position. The team that will probably take the field against Newcastle at the weekend is stronger than the side fielded by Zola. Jacobsen is a better right back than Faubert, Da Costa is a better centre back than Neill, Ilunga could be picked so Ben Haim or Gabbidon are presumably better players if preferred, Dyer offers more attacking threat than Behrami, and Obinna and Piquionne are a better striking pair than Cole and Di Michelle. I would have Etherington over Boa, it is true, and Green's nightmare started in that home fixture against Bolton two games later, so was a better keeper then than he is now, but I would take this Grant team to beat that Zola team nine times out of ten, especially if the two managers were in charge of their respective teams!

If it has been an eventful two years for us, then what about Newcastle? Relegated that season and promoted again last, their recent history has been as black and white as their shirts. And that is true of their form this season too! The Newcastle team that day read: Given, Edgar (Bassong 59), Taylor, Coloccini,N'Zogbia, Geremi, Cacapa, Butt, Duff, Owen, Xisco and, that looks at least as strong a team on paper as the side they will field against us this weekend.

This is a game we should win. In fact it is a game we must win. Caroll is a threat, so are Nolan and Barton, but this is, in truth, a very average Newcastle team and, if we can't beat them, then we will struggle to avoid the drop. However if we win, as I expect, then it could be our springboard to climb the table. If we follow up with a cup victory over Stoke, what appeared a terrible start to the season will take on a whole new perspective.

The next seven days are absolutely huge!