Seasons to be cheerful?

I was up at 3am this morning. I was so excited at the prospect of West Ham v Wigan that I just couldn’t. sleep. All those new signings, our flowing style of football, Wigan’s large and passionate support…

In fact, I set the alarm so that I could watch swimmer Rebecca Adlington claim her second Olympic gold medal in the 800m freestyle. She won by six seconds, while knocking 2.12 seconds off the world record. Athletes such as Rebecca get up in the middle of the night to swim hundreds of lengths in their local pool, day in day out, all year-round. And as amateurs, all they receive is sponsorship. Contrast this with West Ham having to pay Freddie Ljungberg £6m just to get him off the books. It leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

So what are our prospects for the season? In my pre-season preview for When Saturday Comes magazine, I opted for 12th place. But that was before we signed Valon Behrami. It was also before I realised that we would be starting the season with the traditional 10 or so injured players. It’s just as well that we’ve got a relatively easy start to the season because otherwise the lack of quality in reserve could see us in the relegation zone by the time the likes of Bellamy and Dyer are back. The Racing Post has tipped us to be relegated, and while I think there are too many other weak teams for that to happen, it is hard to see us finishing above lower mid-table. And I fear for Curbishley’s future.

I’m off to participate in the march to save Walthamstow greyhound stadium. If it finishes in time, and I don’t get sidetracked by the Olympic rowing, sailing and cycling, or Essex’s appearance in the Friends Provident Trophy final at Lord’s, I might take my place in the Chicken Run this afternoon.

Some habits are hard to break - however bad they are for you.