I've seen videos of that penalty and it's clear from them that the keeper began to move before Rickie struck the ball. He deliberately placed it where the keeper wasn't - not what Sharp did at all.
I don't actually remember anyone thinking we didn't need to bring a couple of new faces in over Christmas (though I'm sure you can dig up a post to prove me wrong) yawn.
Basically West Ham need to make up about one point per game now - that's a bloody big ask, especially given their recent form. Winning all their remaining games might well not be enough.