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it's that weird time of the year, you can't quite figure out what day of the week it is, you go to bed feeling positive and full of beans only to wake up in a malaise of lethargy and confusion...
but such is the lot of a long suffering West Ham fan...
you want the new year to be the start of great things, new beginnings, but is it ever really like you want it to be?
all of which leads us to today's fixture.... Brighton... yes, I know... it's hard to believe that a: Brighton can even manage to put out a team and b: that they're actually in the Premier League of English football...
but beyond that... what is even more incredible is that we haven't beaten them since they made it into the Prem... I know... Brighton... Brighton...
Now I know you'll all dig out the trusty "but there's no easy games in the Premier League" line as we all do on occasions... but come on...
this is Brighton... if we can't beat them easily and on pretty much every time of asking then what does that really say about us?
Well, truth be told it says pretty much everything... we're not that good, we're perennial underperforms... we flatter to deceive, etc, etc, etc...
Exactly how most of our recent seasons have gone - except for the ones where we started poorly, continued poorly and then finished poorly...
Far be it for me to rest on my literary laurels by dragging out that old chestnut - 'West Ham, they comes down with the Christmas decorations' - yes indeed, for those too young to remember... that is actually a phrase, passed into lore by over use because therein lies a nugget of truth at its heart.
Yes, even back in the day when we weren't quite so awful, the post Xmas period wold oft times see us piss away whatever pre-crimbo points tally we'd manage to amass.
So now we have a team that puts together a run of decent results (admittedly against the piss poorest teams in the league) but even that we can't sustain... losing to Watford (I know, I know) and then being humiliated at home by Burnley (yes, Burnley for chrissakes!). The same Burnley who hadn't won in 12 games, who are still, even having been gift wrapped 3 points by the cockney boys, in the relegation zone...
And so it is that we enter 2019 in 11th place where we could (and should) have been at the nose bleedingly improbable heights of 7th...
But this is West Ham... served up a roster of the worst opposition possible we couldn't even manager to see them all off... I know it's a big ask to expect any team to win 7 or 8 games on the spin... but if you want to get anywhere, be consider anything... that's kinda what you have to do.
The endless years of yo-yoing between the mid and bottom of the table, the yo-yoing between the Premier League and Championship... that's where you expect your Brightons and your Watford and your pick anyone from the bottom ten of the current league... it's not where we want our club to be... but it's kinda where we are.
Even the likes of Man Utd are seemingly unable to bridge the divide between 7th and the in the current Premier League, so it's really a case of the majority vying for 7th place... and we could have that, we'd be there now if we'd managed to beat Watford and Burnley and seriously, if beating Watford and Burnley are too much for you then what kind of team are you?
Yes, Yes, I know... no one wins everything, I know, other teams have pride, luck, good fortune, etc... yes, I know, we have an injury list longer than most teams' roster...
but you can make excuse or you can do what needs to be done...
and so that leads us to today's fixture against the newest of our bogey teams... Brighton & Hove Albion.
To steal a phrase from inside the squared circle, let's take a look at the tale of the tape...
MATCH FACTS
West Ham have lost five and won just one of their seven top-flight matches against Brighton.
The Hammers' last triumph over the Seagulls was a 6-0 home Championship victory in April 2012.
Glenn Murray scored Brighton's winner in their 1-0 win in October's reverse fixture at the Amex Stadium.
West Ham United
West Ham have won five of their past seven league matches, but have lost two of their last three.
They have conceded at least once in their last seven home Premier League games.
West Ham's last nine Premier League goals at the London Stadium have come in the second half.
The Seagulls have lost seven of their last eight top-flight games in London, with their win at West Ham last season the exception.
Glenn Murray has scored six goals against West Ham, more than versus any other Premier League team.
Lawro's predicting us 2-0 winners, which is exactly the opposite of what he predicted for the Burnley game - and he was right about that one, so as painful as it might be... we gotta go with Lawro on this one.
If we play like we did against Watford and Burnley then we might as well not even bother lacing up our boots.
If we play like we did in a couple of our other recent games we should quite rightly romp this one without breaking a sweat.
A lot will come down to Anderson... when he performs, we win. When he doesn't, we sometimes win but more often, don't.
It looked like Arnie for all his energy and enthusiasm was rushed back too soon in the last game.
Nasri should be fit as a fiddle but woefully short of match fitness
Can't find any team news on the inter webs just yet... so that's all I got for you.
Will be back with more of me nonsense in a few hours when we kick off.
Happy New Year to one and all.
