West Ham United travel across London to take on Chelsea in the Premier League tomorrow afternoon.
Chelsea play host to West Ham in a game that we absolutely have to win, if we are to have any chance whatsoever of finishing inside the top seven of the Premier League table this season.
The good news for David Moyes and the Hammers is that Chelsea could be without five key players for tomorrow’s clash at Stamford Bridge.
It has been a really disappointing 2024 so far for West Ham, with just three Premier League wins to our name.
Because of that terrible run of form, Moyes is expected to be moved on this summer, but he still has a job to do for us over the final three games of the campaign.
Nothing less than three points will do tomorrow, but there’s some bad news for the Hammers to digest ahead of the match it seems…
Blow for West Ham after Premier League announcement ahead of Chelsea
The Hammers will need everything to go our way if we are to have any chance whatsoever of beating Chelsea.
Unfortunately for us though, we’ve been dealt a blow before the game has even started.
The Premier League have confirmed that Andy Madley will referee the match at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
That’s just typical of our luck isn’t it.
Madley was in charge of the match between West Ham and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season, when he put in one of the worst performances you will ever see from a referee.
Maxwel Cornet bagged a vital last minute equaliser for the Hammers, but after being sent to the pitch side monitor, Madley ruled out the Ivorian’s strike.
Now, you might say that it wasn’t actually Madley’s fault, as he allowed the goal to stand in the first place.
However, the 40-year-old could have been stronger in is conviction, and argued the case with the VAR officials – something that Moyes pointed out to the press after the game, as quoted by talkSPORT:
“It’s one [a decision] as bad as I’ve ever had. For a decision to be overturned for that, I just find it incredible. I’m really disappointed VAR would even consider sending the referee to the monitor. The referee then sometimes has to be tough as well. I’ve seen all the angles, I’ve seen all the pictures. The goalkeeper spills the ball, and if anything he then fakes a shoulder injury, which he did for the first goal to be fair. And he conned the referee into that, so there’s nothing we can do.”
It was a truly shocking decision – one that the Premier League and VAR eventually admitted they got wrong.
And to make matters worse for us, Peter Bankes will be on VAR duty!
Bankes has made some shocking decisions during our games over the past couple of years, including the 1-1 draw with Tottenham at the London Stadium and our draw away at Southampton last season.
He also put in arguably the worst refereeing performance I have witnessed this season during our 2-2 draw with Newcastle at the London Stadium back in October.
However, it’s the man in the middle that worries me the most.
The fact that Madley has been named as the referee for the Chelsea vs West Ham clash after his glaring error in exactly the same game last season is an absolute joke if you ask me.
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