Having witnessed West Ham's 4-2 drubbing of Blackburn yesterday (what a shame Jack Straw was in Davos...) I dreamt last night that the Hammers reached the FA Cup final and became the first team to play at the New Wembley. It would be fitting for them to do so as they were also the first team to play at the Old Wembley in 1923 when they played Bolton Wanderers in the famous White Horse final. And we all know that the God of football likes coincidences. Imagine the paroxysms it would send John Motson into. "Well yes indeed Gary, the omens are good for West Ham, in 1923 they had a white horse, in 2006 they've got a manager with white hair. The Hamas won an election in Palestine this year, will the Hammers be lucky in the Cup? Gary, they'll be cheering on the streets of Teddy Sheringham on a Christian Dailly basis if the Hammers triumph today. Back to the studio." Sorry, I got a bit carried away there...
But there are other omens...
1. When the Hammers won the Cup in 1975 Alan Taylor scored 6 goals. West Ham's current manager is called Alan.
2. When West Ham won the Cup in 1980 they beat Ipswich along the way. This year they've beaten their East Anglian rivals Norwich.
Desperate? Moi? I'm sure in the end realti will dawn in the line from I'm Forever Blowing Bubbleswhich reads, "just like my dreams, they fade and die". As a West Ham fan, I'm used to it.
UPDATE 4.15pm: Bloody hell! I've just seen pictures on SKY NEWS of two planes which apparently nearly collided directly above Upton Park while West Ham were playing yesterday! The CAA say it wasn't a near miss, but if you see the pictures, you decide! Looks bloody close to me!
