West Ham v Birmingham Could Be Make Or Break For Zola
Gianfranco Zola is facing up to the biggest game of his short Managerial career on Wednesday night when his struggling West Ham team meet Birmingham at Upton Park in a crucial game, Zola is under big pressure at West Ham with the cub deep in a relegation battle and desperate for the points on offer with just a few months of the season left. Zola knows that it could well spell the end for him as the boss if they go down to another defeat in what has been a difficult week for the little Italian, Zola was forced to speak out against his own Chairman after David Sullivan announced he would ask all the players and staff to take a wage cut at the end of the season. Zola clearly felt that the timing of this statement was poor considering they have a huge match to prepare for which will be crucial for their chances of survival, speculation is continuing to grow that Sullivan and Gold are itching to get their own man in and may well be looking for an opportunity to give him the high jump.
West Ham are in a dire position off the field at the moment with the new owners inheriting around £100million worth of debt meaning cost cutting measures are being looked into by David Gold and David Sullivan, the announcement that the players will be asked to take a cut in wages is sure to lower the morale in the squad at just the wrong time. Zola is right to be upset with the Chairman as he already is facing a tough task in keeping the Hammers in the top flight and this will only serve to make the task that much more difficult. The match against Birmingham is given even more spice due to Sullivan’s and Gold’s 17-year stint as owners of Birmingham City and they are itching to get one over on their former club after they left in difficult circumstances last year.
Zola will know that he will be coming up against a tough and in-form Birmingham side led by Alex McLeish who have their eyes on European qualification rather than a relegation battle, they are a difficult side to beat as they have proven all season who have one of the best defences in the league. A defeat for Zola will see his odds slashed in the Next Premier League Manager To Be Sacked Betting for which he is already a short price, the Italian is a popular man with the West Ham fans but they are starting to lose patience as the team slip towards the trap door and the Championship.
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