West Ham on the brink

A crushing home defeat by the Champions elect has left West Ham hanging onto their Premiership lives by their fingernails.

The 4-1 victory for Chelsea keeps them on the tail of Man Utd, and their relentless pursuit keeps the pressure on United big style.

The margin of victory took some of the heat out of the match, but we still saw 7 bookings (Boa obliged with a yellow late on, as predicted).

So a small profit of +6.00 on the night.

Just a quick comment about Michael Essien, when he arrived from Lyon with a huge transfer fee on his head a few eyebrows were raised, but his performances in recent weeks have shown what a talent he is. Described to me by a good judge as the best Right Back in the country, Essien was back in his preferred midfield role tonight and totally dominated proceedings.

I still have a sneaky suspicion that Chelsea will overhaul United in the title race, and a lay of Man Utd @ 1.35 looks like a decent investment