Getting to the final of the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup gives fans a day out at Wembley. The winners of each competition are guaranteed a place in Europe the following season, and for most clubs, including West Ham it is their best chance of being involved there. So why don’t clubs take domestic cup competitions as seriously as you might expect, and definitely not as seriously as most fans would expect them to?
It can only be money? The prize money on offer for winning the Carabao Cup is £100,000. The runners up get £50,000, semi-finalists £25,000 and so on. With the amount of money washing around at the top level of English football this is only peanuts isn’t it? The FA Cup is 20 times more lucrative with the winners picking up £2 million in prize money but still clubs don’t take this competition as seriously as Premier League games. Why?
The winners of the Premier League will collect £44 million in prize money and this decreases by £2.2 million for each position in the final table. Even this is small fry compared to the money from TV revenue, both home and abroad and all the other revenue streams available to clubs. If West Ham finish the season in eighth place the prize money from the Premier League is £28.6 million. Finishing just a place lower in ninth would be £26.4 million. So for West Ham (for example) finishing eighth instead of ninth is more lucrative than winning both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup combined. Heaven forbid we drop any lower in the league by fielding our strongest side to try to progress in the competition!
Ask any fan if they would sooner win one or other of the domestic cup competitions (or even reach the final for a day out at Wembley) and only finish ninth in the league rather than eighth. Who remembers final positions in the league when you are in the pack? But we all remember our days out at Wembley, especially when we lift a trophy.
Liverpool were there for the taking on Wednesday. You’d like to think so anyway. So why did our back four include Mavropanos, Ogbonna and Johnson?. Why were Benrahma and Fornals in the starting eleven? Where were JWP, Paqueta and Emerson? David Moyes had never won at Anfield in 20 visits with four different clubs. Liverpool hadn’t been beaten at home since last February. And then only by Real Madrid. We certainly weren’t going to come close with that line-up. And so it proved. Were you surprised? I wasn’t.
Jarrod Bowen, described by Klopp as one of his favourite players, took his goal well but what else was there for the thousands of Hammers fans to cheer after travelling to Merseyside on a December evening the week before Christmas? The lack of ambition in the first half was demonstrated by lack of touches in the opposition box. We lost this particular statistic 23-1. Amazingly we were only a goal down at the break. We managed our first shot on target after 77 minutes and this was our goal. Did we have a sniff at 3-1? The manager obviously thought so and took off Alvarez to be replaced by Ings! Game on? Don’t make me laugh.
We’ve never won the League Cup. We’ve been runners-up twice but with this lack of ambition I can’t see it happening soon. There were a lot of grumbles on social media but surprisingly to me some of our fans didn’t seem at all bothered. Our best three years ever, just look at our record in the last nine games, we’re marching on in Europe etc.
So close to a Wembley final with only Chelsea, Fulham and Middlesbrough to stop us, and yet so far. David Moyes is used to having no success at Anfield and was waving the white flag before we even kicked off.
So two days before Christmas and Manchester United come to town. I don’t think we’ll see JWP and Paqueta on the bench. We’ll put out our strongest side possible. Because money talks and finishing eighth rather than perhaps ninth or lower is considered to be more important by some than winning the Carabao Cup. I’ll be supporting the team as I always do and have done for the past 65 years. I fervently hope we give the Red Devils a hiding. But I think I’m entitled to feel massively disappointed by Wednesday night’s effort!
Seasons greetings. Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year!
Under The Hammers 
Exactly how I felt. As soon as the team was announced one of my sons messaged me with “he’s bottled it, set us up to lose”, and I couldn’t agree more. That performance was worse than the Fulham debacle, playing players who know they are not a part of Moyes’ plan. I think Benny has been destroyed by Moyes, all flair taken out of his game, and Johnson is just not up to it. Why not give Mubama a full game, and try out some of the younger players? They at least would have put in more effort. Hate to say it, but I think a league 2 side would have shown more fight than we did. Reminded me of big Sam’s time when he sent out a totally inadequate side to lose 5-0 against Forest in the cup, and still got destroyed by City the following match with his strongest side. Winning trophies is paramount, just ask Pep.
Keep up the good work gents, and have a good Christmas.
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Spot on with your observations Len. I don’t think that rushing in a team of youngsters at once would work, but an odd one or two here and there, say when you’re 3-0 up against Wolves might be an experience for them.
Benrahma, I feel, is a technically good player – he certainly looked the part before he came here, but he has gone backwards in his time at West Ham. I’d bet that if he moved on and was helped by coaching to help him with his decision making, he’d once again show why he looked a good prospect when we bought him.
All the best for Christmas and the New Year Len.
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Great piece Richard. Liverpool 29 shots, West Ham 2, and 6000 travelling fans sold up the creek before the game even started. No wonder David Moyes was, after his 21st failure to win at Anfield, on the defensive afterwards. Hoping Tim Steidten can work some magic again in January. Merry Christmas!
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Always good to hear from you John. I really feel for the travelling fans – we didn’t have a hope before we kicked off, did we? You’re right – more magic needed in January, but who knows?
Have a great Christmas and New Year. All the best.
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Good piece Richard. It’s great that fans like GeoffHopkins and yourself are prepared to speak out for fans like myself, sick to the back teeth of Moyse , his whining about our performances when we get thrashed – as though his team selection had nothing to do with it. His constant references to our performances in Europe,where, with a few exceptions, we have beaten a bunch of numpties, and his blind refusal to use any of our young players when he can use Danny bloody Ings!! His opinion of his own abilities is way ahead of any version of reality and our performances against Fulham and Liverpool reveal fully the shallowness of our squad. Save me from this self -important, boring, negative man. Please!!
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Hi Mike. Geoff and I have been friends for 65 years – we don’t always agree with each other with our views but on the subject of the manager we are with you in the camp of those seeking an alternative. But even now there are those with opposite views (Moyes luvvies are they called?).
Always good to hear from you – have a great Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.
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65 years is amazing. I am 78 now and saw my first Hammers game in 1957 so I, like you and Geoff, have seen all the great players and WH teams since then. Never in all that time have I felt as frustrated as I do now, not so much with the players ( although one or two drive me crazy) but with the negative, frightened approach of our manager.
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Geoff and I met on my first day at school aged 5 in 1959 and went to the same schools until the age of 18. We’ve always kept in touch even though we now live a long way away from each other. This blog wouldn’t be so easy to maintain without the internet! We both used to write for the fanzine Over Land and Sea which sold outside Upton Park, and when it disbanded in 2016 Geoff suggested we begin Under The Hammers.
My first game was in 1958 (aged 4) – the Malcolm Allison testimonial which was won 7-6 by West Ham against an All Star Eleven, and I began going to Upton Park regularly from then on. Yes – so many great players and games (and some shockers too!). My first favourite player was Johnny Dick – remember him?
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The Liverpool game was a disgrace from Hammers. Moyes set the tone pre match “hopefully we’ll perform better than Fulham but no disgrace to lose to Liverpool.” PLEASE PLEASE find a manager to take the reins from end of this season, or earlier if necessary. Just get it done. Mibatch
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I too think we need a new manager but there are fans out there who would disagree. I reckon there’ll be a new manager next season unless the current one wins another trophy, and/or qualifies us for Europe on the strength of league position. Can’t see it happening but happy to be proved wrong.
All the best.
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Dick and Keeble. Now there was a strike partnership! While Sir Geoff was, imo, the best ever, we used to be very good at signing strikers. I wonder how and when that all went wrong,and whether following a string of failures ( not always the fault of the players) we are now paralysed by fear of getting it wrong again?
I’m pretty sure that Moyse, assuming he has the final call, will put off signing a new striker in January. With luck, by the end of the season he will be gone.
3 out of 31 v top six sides doesn’t bode well for Man. U followed by Arsenal.
Merry Christmas!!
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We won again and despite some reservations we are sixth at Christmas. Who would have thought it? The Fab 4 – Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus and JWP will win a lot of games I suspect.
Happy New Year Mike!
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