West Ham require new Tevez for latest Great Escape
Published:Carlos Tevez is widely considered the cause of West Ham’s ‘Great Escape’ in the Premier League in 2007 and they need to quickly find someone to fill the shoes of the Argentine if they are to survive again.
Tevez scored seven goals in the final ten fixtures of the 2007 season as West Ham won their final four games to beat the drop by three points and they need a similar run to finish outside of the bottom three this season.
Four years ago West Ham were five points from safety under Alan Curbishley with five games remaining, which means that Avram Grant faces a slightly easier task.
West Ham are currently two points from safety, but are still largely expected to be relegated at Premier League odds of 4/9.
There are some similarities between the two seasons for the Hammers in the fact that they face Chelsea and Wigan in their final five fixtures.
In 2007 West Ham lost to Chelsea and beat Wigan and they would probably settle for the same two outcomes again.
Grant has set West Ham a target of three victories and with away games at Chelsea and Manchester City next, these are most likely to arrive in the closing three fixtures, which are Blackburn at home, Wigan away and Sunderland at home.
He said: “We are not going to give up on the next two games. We have won against big teams this season, so we can do it, even though it is difficult.
“I think we need nine points more or less to stay in the league. We don’t have any intention of giving up. The good thing is that it is still tight.”
Demba Ba threatened to fill the shoes of Tevez upon his arrival in January, but has gone off the boil of late, while Robbie Keane may be able to start a scoring spree following his early strike in the latest defeat to Aston Villa.
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