Gianfranco Zola is already feeling the pressure down at Upton Park despite only being in charge for 5 minutes. To be honest I feel nothing but sympathy for him. I was at the game against Everton at the weekend and the result was far from a true reflection of the game. For 75 minutes West Ham were in complete charge, however, David Moyes made a few bold substitutions and the game changed but prior to that there really was only one team in it.

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Bolton travel to Upton Park this weekend aiming to end their London hoodoo after failing to win any of their last 15 Premier League trips to the capital. Unfortunately for Gary Megson he faces a West Ham side growing in confidence under new manager Gianfranco Zola.

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This weekend we saw what can happen if your transfer policy works for you with Hull’s win at the Emirates. Tigers manager Phil Brown was very brave in his selection at Arsenal playing both Marlon King and Daniel Cousin up front rather than doing what most sides do and flood the midfield away at the Emirates. This brave approach paid off big time.

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Carling Cup victims Fulham and West Ham clash at Craven Cottage this weekend looking to bounce back from midweek defeats to Championship sides. The Cottagers boast a 100% record at home in all competitions this season but face a Hammers side they’ve struggled against in recent seasons.

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Two teams at the centre of managerial controversy but while the waters at West Ham have stilled, waves are still crashing over St James’ Park. So can a fixture that historically favours the men in black and white offer a beacon of light to guide the Toon back to normality?

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Yet again last weekend Chelsea showed they are a very good side. In fact, I would go as far as to say they are the best in the Premier League right now. They began the season by handing out a tonking to Portsmouth before indifferent performances against Wigan and Spurs but they absolutely blew Manchester City apart on Saturday.

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West meets West for the first time in three years and it’ll be West Ham who’ll have the higher hopes here. Only one game in the last eight meetings between these two across any and all competitions has ended with victory for the home side. But when you consider all the recent antics and upheaval for the Hammers over the past week or so, perhaps it would be a surprise to hear Shirley Bassey belting out a couple of lines from History Repeating!

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For me, too much has been written about how great Manchester City’s record £32.5m Brazilian signing is. People would think Robinho was Ronaldinho the way he has been hyped up in the past week but in my opinion he is well overrated. I don’t remember him being a huge hit at Real Madrid though he did have his moments. In fact, the lad was a substitute for long periods in Spain so I wouldn’t expect too much of him.

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This weekend sees the two richest clubs go head to head at Eastlands in an exciting encounter with Chelsea determined to teach the Man City upstarts a lesson. For me, Chelsea are the best team in the country so I would advise you to back the away side on Footy 15 this weekend especially with £200,000 up for grabs. It will be interesting to see City’s new signing Robinho in action as he is expected to make his debut in this match though I personally expect him to take time to bed into playing for Manchester City and to adapt to English football in general.

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Over the last week we have seen two Premier League managerial casualties due to resignation. Both Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley quit their managerial roles at Newcastle and West Ham respectively following disagreements between themselves and the Sporting Directors at their clubs. Is this further evidence that the European style methods of separating the playing side of football away from purchasing new recruits may not suit English football?

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