A Premier League fixture last season now sums up the downturn for both clubs, as they meet in the Championship this Saturday. It's an interesting test for the lads, having reached some rocky form prior to the international break.
Our last home performance against Ipswich was terrible, I couldn't really bear to write about it afterwards, it was one of the worst performances I've seen at Upton Park. But the lads showed some fight with a hard earned draw at Crystal Palace, with Carew and Baldock making a major impact.
From the injury point of view, I understand that Noble, Reid and Taylor are back in contention, so Sam has a strong squad to choose from. The only change is David Bentley returning to Spurs with a long term injury. It's a shame for him as I think he could have offered something to us, but he seemed to get in at the expense of Faubert who for me has not done much wrong this season and I think he should brought back into the fold.
Bench: Boffin, Cole, Baldock, Faye and Diop.
Blackpool are no pushover for sure and Holloway is a wiley character who will know how to stifle our somewhat transparent game plan, but I'd hope there is enough quality on the pitch to be too much for the Seasiders. I'm going for 2-1 to the hammers with Nolan and Carew troubling the scorers. Come on you Irons!
Update: As one of the commenters pointed out, O'Brien is likely to be out, so it's possible Demel could be brought in at right back, or Faubert could be pushed back. Interesting that I can't find room for Collison in this team, he just hasn't done enough early doors for me and needs to get fitter…