West Ham United are a very proud London club with a deep rich history. The Hammers have a large loyal following that can boast of glory days in the 1960s and three FA Cup titles. Last season saw West Ham United say goodbye to the Boleyn Ground as the new London Stadium was ushered in this season.
Hard to believe that a proud side like this, especially now at exciting times such as these, could be so dangerously close to relegation.
Yet here we are, facing a distinct possibility of West Ham supporters singing “I’m forever blowing bubbles” in the championship league next season. The international break ends Saturday, and Premier League fixtures will resume with West Ham in 17th place, the very last spot in the safety zone. They have 11 points, just one ahead of Hull City at 10. The Tigers are ahead of both 18th place Swansea City and 19th place Sunderland, who each have only five points.
With Betway available in Ghana, if you’re looking to place a bet on the Hammers getting dropped down, you’ll have 15/2 odds (same as Crystal Palace). There is however stronger action on six other teams. Betway, the main sponsor of West Ham, places relegation odds at the following levels for the following teams: Middlesborough 9/2, Burnley 6/4, Swansea City 5/6, Hull City 4/9, Sunderland 2/5, West Bromwich Albion 7/1
In other words, the sports book believes the Hammers to have better safety odds than those six teams, and also tied with Palace. in other words, their odds are implicitly saying that West Ham will finish somewhere around 14th place in the table when all is said and done.
One team that almost everyone believes to be inevitable relegated is Swansea City. They are winless since opening day, and they made a manager change to American Bob Bradley. It hasn’t helped, and the Swan song continues. They look like a lock to end up in the drop zone, as do Sunderland. So that’s two slots looking decided right now, with only one relegation spot remaining, and four or five possible contenders for it.
Overall, it seems that the odds of West Ham United staying up are pretty favorable, and I would have to agree. If I were a fan of the London club, I’d feel fairly safe that they’ll remain in the Premiership.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.