English Premier League: Is London Claret and Blue?

The English Premier League’s in-house fight for supremacy will go down to the wire. West Ham is making a huge statement in the fight to be named the best club in London.

What colour is London? When football fans ponder this question, they’re not talking about the city’s weather, nor its street views – the answer to both of which is a dull grey.

No, when fans from England’s largest city argue over its true colours, they’re referring to footballing supremacy amongst London’s countless sporting clubs.

The British capital is also the nation’s most well-represented metropolis in the Premier League, with no fewer than 6 top-flight teams hailing from the “Big Smoke” – and the usual metric which decides intra-city bragging rights is, naturally, league position.

With this in mind, London for the last few decades has clearly been red or blue, with Arsenal and Chelsea mostly finishing campaigns as the capital’s best.

Spurs fans may feebly point to their second-place finish in 2017/18, but that is their sole season atop the London “mini-league” since the 90s. Fulham and Crystal Palace, 18th and 13th on the table respectively, deserve nary a mention.

The 2020/21 season, however, may prove to be different. With two-thirds of the season done, unfancied West Ham are threatening to paint London town in their claret and blue, for the first time since 1986.

Sitting in 4th, the Irons may well pip Chelsea to finish as the premier capital club – but would this be a fair reflection of the footballing status quo?

Is London Red, White, Claret or Blue?

Whilst rival fans may moan about the extraordinary circumstances surrounding football in pandemic times, the fact remains that the Irons sit in the Champions League places on merit.

By showing a togetherness and tenacity that the other teams haven’t, West Ham’s players have taken advantage of internal turmoil in their rival London clubs, to sneak into the top 4.

Both Chelsea and Spurs have blown hot and cold all season, with fantastic wins being sandwiched by disappointing performances elsewhere.

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Chelsea’s early-season blues under Frank Lampard have held them back, whilst Spurs’ injury-hit defence has too often waved the white flag against middling opposition.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have struggled for consistency under Mikel Arteta, and despite the best efforts of Bukayo Saka and co., sit red-faced in a miserable 10th.

West Ham, meanwhile, have shown a remarkable ability to grind out results, courtesy of David Moyes’ defence-first tactics, and the outstanding goalscoring form of Michail Antonio and Thomas Soucek.

Both Chelsea and Tottenham have scored more and conceded fewer goals than the Hammers, but a spate of 1-0 wins and other low scoring results have proved the difference for the East Londoners.

Chelsea leads the London derby challenge by small margins

Interestingly, Chelsea leads the way when considering London derbies, with 4 wins and a draw (for 13 league points from 6 games) against capital opposition this season.

West Ham sits a close second with Arsenal (only 5 derbies played) not far behind, on 12 and 10 points respectively.

The major surprise here is Spurs, who sit equal with Palace, both having picked up a solitary win against the five other London teams from seven derby fixtures.

All things considered, it’s fair to say that in 2020/21, London’s top side will likely be one of Chelsea or West Ham.

Related Story. Mikel Arteta's high hopes for Arsenal. light

Whilst form, history and squad strength should favour Thomas Tuchel’s West Londoners, discount West Ham and their East London work ethic at your peril.

Having for so long been either red or blue, this might finally be the year London sports claret!

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