Division One/Preston 1 West Ham 2: The trouble with Jermain Defoe is the better he gets, the less likely he is to stay at Upton Park. The trouble with David Connolly is his mouth is as dangerous as his right foot.
The trouble with West Ham United is over the past 12 months there has been a collective realisation that silver linings come only with great grey clouds attached.
So it was the 3,000 travelling fans should have departed Deepdale on Saturday afternoon comforted by three away points after a 2-1 win and a new strike force that looked as though it could get the goals to guarantee West Ham an automatic return to the Premiership.
And yet, for all the bubbles being blown in Preston, it was the West Ham troubles that continued to occupy the thoughts of indignant supporters, and no doubt, manager Glenn Roeder.
The number of "Brown Out" T-shirts being worn here was large and the protest against Terence Brown, the chairman, will have a significant platform at Upton Park for the League Cup tie with Rushden & Diamonds on Wednesday night.
As Johnny Rotten sang, and as Connolly again proved here, anger is an energy. It is rising.
So, too, will be interest in Defoe after he scored the sort of goal only the very sharpest, intuitive striker scores. Not even bothering to control Don Hutchison's beautifully cushioned header in the fifth minute, Defoe stabbed the ball past oncoming Preston goalkeeper Jonathan Gould before Gould had even completed his mental assessment of the situation.
"I've said about Jermain Defoe before, he'll be staying at the club," Roeder said. But, although most expect the Premiership clubs to buy this week or wait until January, meaning only five more days of anxiety for West Ham, the deadline is actually August 31st.
That Connolly is also staring at the door after playing only half an hour for the club is an unforeseen complication. Roeder described Connolly as "an angry ant" and the Republic of Ireland forward justified that.
Told he would not be starting after West Ham picked up Liverpool's Mellor at a service station near Blackburn on Friday afternoon, Connolly reacted furiously.
"I felt it was terrible the way I was treated," Connolly said. "Apparently the only reason Neil Mellor came here was because Glenn promised Gerard Houllier he was going to start him today.
"Neil could've gone to Sunderland but they wouldn't promise he'd start, so he came to West Ham. The rest of the players were surprised; it's not Neil's fault. I have to sit down and see where we go from here. What if I hadn't come on today and scored?"
At least Connolly's well-taken goal, after 69 minutes, won the match after Preston had got off to the best possible start, Eddie Lewis heading past David James after only 90 seconds. - Guardian Service
PRESTON: Gould; Alexander, Jackson, Lucketti, Edwards, Healy, Etuhu (Skora 67), O'Neil, Lewis, Cresswell, Fuller. Subs Not Used: Lucas, Abbott, Keane, Lynch. Goals: Lewis 2.
WEST HAM: James; Ferdinand, Repka, Dailly, Brevett, Garcia (Sofiane 63), Lee, Hutchison, Etherington, Mellor (Connolly 60), Defoe.Subs Not Used: Bywater, Byrne, Noble. Booked: Connolly, Ferdinand, Brevett. Goals: Defoe 5, Connolly 69.
Referee: P Danson (Leicestershire).
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