City ride high, but Sam's days are numbered

The problem for West Ham United last night was that Manchester City were just too good.

And Manchester City have been 'just too good' on several occasions this season - mostly at home of course. Here are the games in which they have scored four or more at home this season:

19 Aug: 4-0 v Newcastle United
22 Sep: 4-1 v Manchester United
24 Sep: 5-0 v Wigan Athletic (League Cup)
2 Nov:  7-0 v Norwich City
5 Nov:  5-2 v CSKA Moscow (Champions League)
24 Nov: 6-0 v Tottenham Hotspur
27 Nov: 4-2 v Viktoria Plzen (Champions League)
14 Dec: 6-3 v Arsenal
8 Jan:    6-0 v West Ham United (League Cup)

That's pretty impressive. Most fans would take that in a season! But you can't doubt that there's more to come. Backed by their multi-millions, Manchester City should win the Premier League, and could well add the League Cup to that. The FA Cup remains unpredictable, as ever. As for the Champions League, the next round against Barcelona will, to put it mildly, be fascinating.

As we have seen, West Ham United went the same way as many other teams at the Etihad this season. Sam Allardyce's real problem was the embarrassing 5-0 defeat in the FA Cup at Nottingham Forest on Sunday. By saving his top players for last night's League Cup tie, he sacrificed West Ham's place in the FA Cup, but the hiding was not on the agenda.

Sorry Sam, but unless the Hammers' league form takes a swift turn for the better, then your days are numbered.