As West Ham and Chelsea played their latest Premier League matches six miles apart in west London on Saturday two very different realities were unfolding.
West Ham continued their underwhelming start to life under Julen Lopetegui with a 1-1 draw at Brentford.
Meanwhile at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea followed up last week’s easy 3-0 win over West Ham by beating Brighton 4-2.
West Ham were desperate for a win as early pressure builds on Lopetegui.
But despite facing a Brentford side hit by an eight-player injury crisis, they couldn’t get it.
For all West Ham’s supposed attacking talent, they look worryingly toothless up top.
That may change when former Chelsea target Niclas Fullkrug returns after the international break. Time will tell.
Sickening Cole Palmer reality for West Ham
In the meantime, other West Ham players simply must step up.
Like several key stars, Lucas Paqueta has been woeful for West Ham since the turn of the year.
For a player of the Brazilian’s undoubted ability, his key statistics have been nowhere near good enough.
Quite how he survived being hooked at half-time against Brentford is anyone’s guess.
Yet when Paqueta was withdrawn on 76 minutes, he let Lopetegui and everyone else know he wasn’t happy.
Paqueta walked off sulking and shaking his head at the manager as another former Chelsea target Crysencio Summerville came on to replace him.
Sulky Paqueta hits new low while Chelsea star shines
As Hammers fans and the club’s board pondered what has happened to Paqueta as they filtered out of the Gtech, a look at the result of the Chelsea game left them wincing.
Because the sickening Cole Palmer reality dawned on West Ham as sulky Paqueta hit a new low while the Chelsea star shines.
A few miles away, Chelsea playmaker Palmer had become the first player in the 32-year history of the Premier League to score four goals in the first half of a match.
That brought Palmer’s tally to six already in the league so far this season – the same amount West Ham have managed as a club.
Palmer’s stunning display would have left West Ham’s owners and vice-chair Karren Brady cursing what might have been.
Because Palmer would be playing for West Ham right now had it not been for Paqueta.
It could all have been so different for the Hammers – and Chelsea.
West Ham were heavily linked with Palmer last summer. It’s difficult to know what to believe at times during a transfer window, though.
Except when it comes to Palmer West Ham have made the situation quite clear.
Palmer leaves Brady and Hammers board feeling the cold
Earlier this year Brady revealed the Palmer rumours were indeed true.
Brady said the Hammers had agreed a deal with Man City to sign Palmer.
But Chelsea came in to snatch him away and the rest, as they say, is history.
“From all the newsreels I’ve seen, Cole is as cool a dude in front of goal as Jimmy Greaves himself,” Brady said.
“Which is probably why David Moyes tried very hard to sign him. We even had a deal agreed with City until Chelsea swooped.”
Brady wasn’t telling the full story, though.
Moyes went one further, revealing that the move was all but done as part of the deal which looked set to take Paqueta to Man City.
That was until it all collapsed when the FA announced its investigation into the Brazilian over alleged involvement in spot fixing.
“We were close, (very) close (to signing Palmer),” Moyes said before leaving West Ham in May.
“You can probably imagine the other part of it, where there was a possibility of somebody leaving here which might have made that work.
“I was in regular contact with his agent and we were well on the road with it but it just changed at the end and we couldn’t do it.”
West Ham left on the platform in sliding doors moment
Had it not been for the case against Paqueta, West Ham would be enjoying watching Palmer ripping up the Premier League right now, not Chelsea.
They would undoubtedly be in Europe again too.
And Paqueta would be Man City’s enigma to solve.
Not to mention West Ham would have also – somehow – banked £45m on top in the deal with Man City.
The champions had activated Paqueta’s £85m release clause while West Ham were paying the same £40m Chelsea handed over to get Palmer.
As far as sliding doors moments go, West Ham have been left standing on the platform as a train full of Chelsea pull away laughing at them.
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