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THERE IS ONLY ONE SAFE BET IN FOOTBALL AND THAT IS YOU CAN NEVER TELL WHAT’S LURKING AROUND THE CORNER.

At the weekend I trawled through every pre-season guide and supplement that I could find from last August and not one even remotely suggested that West Ham would be in the bottom three come the end of the season, let alone have a suited Trevor Brooking patrolling the touchline, punching the air like a proud uncle at a schools match, to celebrate a late winning goal away from home.

Yes, West Ham are still the favourites to go down, but favourites don’t always win races and although Bolton have a two-point advantage over the Hammers with two games remaining, the mathematical permutations that can also drag Leeds United, Fulham and Aston Villa into the relegation equation would keep Carol Vorderman and her black marker pen entertained for the day.

With Bolton’s game at Southampton not kicking-off until early evening due to television commitments, a win for West Ham over Chelsea this afternoon would be enough for the Hammers to leapfrog Sam Allardyce’s team and breathe the clean air that exists just above the drop zone. It may only last for 45 minutes or so – it has happened just once since November, and that was for less than 48 hours – but it would be long enough perhaps to promote a few furrowed brows and wobbly knees in the Bolton dressing room as they find themselves below that dreaded line with West Brom and Sunderland.

Not that they have shown much sign of nerves in recent weeks, as one football fan discovered at great personal cost last Saturday. After champions Arsenal had gone into a 2-0 lead over Bolton at the Reebok Stadium, a punter in Newcastle placed a £3,000 bet on the Gunners to go on and win the game at odds of 1-100, figures that would have returned his stake money and a meagre £30 winnings . . . probably his beer money for the night.

For that financial follower of the beautiful game, the ugly face of football reared its head. Martin Keown’s ungainly leap backward to unwittingly nod in Bolton’s equalising goal wiped £3,000 from the gambler’s bank account, put the rein on Arsenal’s title charge, but set off scenes of celebration among the Bolton players and fans that would not have been out of place in a cup final.

There will be similar emotions at Upton Park today whoever wins. Much as West Ham need the points for Premiership safety, Chelsea are not only chasing a place in next season’s Champions League, they have an old score to settle here too.

On May 2, 1988, the two clubs fought out a toe-to-toe relegation battle in the penultimate game of the season. The Hammers had struggled for months and were in 18th place. Chelsea, two places above, arrived at Upton Park having suffered an incredible slump with just one win in 24 games since the start of November, when they had been in sixth place.

It was one of the few games where everything fell into place for West Ham, Leroy Rosenior banging in two goals in the first half hour or so as the Hammers eventually thumped the Blues 4-1, though Leroy did take that notion a little too far and was sent off for embracing Steve Clarke around the throat. Chelsea could only draw with Charlton in their last game and went on to lose the official relegation playoff final to Middlesbrough.

There have been far too many seasons for comfort that have gone to the wire for West Ham, notably in 1976-77 when they were marooned at the foot of the table with 13 games to play. The Hammers chiselled out some valuable points through a difficult run-in and a draw at FA Cup finalists Liverpool on the final Saturday meant that a win against their Cup-final opponents Manchester United at Upton Park two days later would secure safety.

Sounded easy of course, but a disastrous start saw Tommy Docherty’s team take the lead through Gordon Hill on 25 seconds. Frank Lampard drilled a 30-yarder for 1-1 on the half-hour, Geoff Pike, who always played as if run by Duracell batteries, nipped in for 2-1 and with the crowd bubbling frenziedly the team grabbed an impressive 4-2 win to stay in the top flight.

At No 10 that night was, as always, a certain T Brooking. I remember watching his lap of honour around Upton Park on May 14, 1984, having played his last game for West Ham and thought how sad it was for him to bow out after a disappointing 1-0 defeat by Everton. Little did he or any of us present realise that 19 years later he would be back at pitch level with the chance to generate some new memories.