September 2024 – Under The Hammers

Can West Ham improve upon four points from five games when we visit Brentford this weekend?

The sixth Premier league game of the 2024-25 season is also our sixth league game in London when we visit the GTech Community Stadium this Saturday. Even our second round league cup tie was at home when we beat Bournemouth 1-0. It must have been quite a shock to our players having to travel all the way to Liverpool on Wednesday night in the third round of the League Cup.

And what can you say about another five goals against, albeit to another of the top teams? Both sides started the game having made several changes so in many ways it was almost like two reserve sides in opposition. Was 5-1 a true reflection of the game? I thought not personally. We were fortunate with the own goal that gave us a lead, but the build up to the Liverpool equaliser was clearly offside. Where was VAR when we needed it? We could have had one, two or possibly three penalties but all were marginal decisions and not surprisingly weren’t awarded – we were playing at Anfield after all. How many opposing sides get given penalties there?

We were still well in it at 2-1 down but they were much more clinical in their finishing, especially Salah and Gakpo, whereas we spurned the chances we had. For me, I can’t excuse Alvarez – his tackling decision making leaves a lot to be desired as his bookings record shows. Although I was surprised when the commentator said that it was the first time that he’d been sent off in his career. The same is true of Paqueta – you can safely bet on him getting a yellow card and he came close to getting a red too!

Effectively Alvarez cost us and had he stayed on it would certainly have been closer. Taking everything into account Liverpool were the better team but they certainly had the rub of the green. I was amazed to see some criticism of some individual players online, especially Bowen and Summerville who I thought were our best players, and even Antonio looked much better when he came on than he had in recent games this season.

So now we move on to Brentford on Saturday. Fixtures against Brentford began well over 100 years ago in 1898, and we beat them the first six times that we played them. The early games were in the Southern League First Division where we met them 26 times up to 1913. We didn’t meet again until 1927 when they knocked us out of the FA Cup after a replay following a draw at Upton Park. From then until 1993 we met them from time to time when our paths crossed in the second tier of English football. It wasn’t until they were promoted to the Premier League in 2021 that we faced each other in the top flight.

We did knock them out of the FA Cup on their ground in 2023 when Said Benrahma ironically scored the only goal of the game, but that was the only time we have beaten them away from home since 1953 over 70 years ago.

This is now their fourth season in the Premier League, and in the six league meetings we have beaten them only once (losing the other five) – Our sole victory came the last time we met in February this year when Jarrod Bowen scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory at the London Stadium. The three away games were all defeats 2-0, 2-0, and last season 3-2 (when we led 2-1 at half-time). So very much a bogey team until our last meeting.

They have started the season well at home with two wins in their two games, 2-1 against Palace and 3-1 versus Southampton. They have lost all three games on the road, with difficult fixtures at Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham.

The feature of the City and Tottenham games is one that we need to be aware of especially as at times we are slow starters in games. Against City they took the lead in just 22 seconds, and against Tottenham almost the same in 23 seconds. Both games were lost 2-1 and 3-1 but nevertheless we could do without conceding an early goal.

Geoff’s excellent article published on Wednesday sums up very well what happened in the Chelsea game and where we are now. Although we were comfortable losers in the game the one decision that astonished me was the pullback on Summerville. Had the penalty been given (as it almost certainly should have been) then successful conversion would have reduced the deficit and perhaps it might have been a different game had we just been trailing 2-1 at the interval. Nevertheless, still a lot for the head coach and players to work on.

Brentford won’t be an easy fixture but it’s the kind of game we would hope to be winning (and definitely not losing) if we are truly going to improve on last season’s ninth place finish and push on towards European qualification. If we don’t then we will fall further behind the teams above us. The next international break comes up after this game and the one at home to Ipswich. It would be good to have ten points by then. The two games that follow the break are at Tottenham and then at home to Manchester United.

A winning run is needed and then we might begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel (a phrase coined by the new Prime Minister this week). What did he say? It needs to get worse before it gets better. Was he referring to economic prospects or West Ham?

In Summerville, Kudus and Bowen we have an attacking trio that will cause problems for most defences. I still worry about lack of pace behind them though. Perhaps Paqueta will start to play like the Brazilian international that he is? Perhaps Soler will turn out to be as good as he was touted to be? Perhaps Irvine will turn out to be the biggest surprise of all? It’s hard to work out the direction in which we are going but we definitely need to get it right soon.

Lopetegui’s Baptism Of Dire. Time For The New West Ham Coach To Demonstrate His Tactical Pedigree

Nobody said it would be easy but there have been few encouraging signs of progress from new look West Ham style and squad. The run of three games before the next international break may take on more significance than expected.

It is fair to say that the record breaking start to Julen Lopetegui’s rein as coach of West Ham United wasn’t quite what he was hoping for. A third consecutive London Stadium defeat – this time at the hands of Chelsea – making it the first time in a chaotic history that the Hammers have ever lost their opening three home league fixtures.

In the summer I had speculated how the extent of the changes in personnel and style – plus the slow pace of recruitment – made a stuttering start to the season almost inevitable. Patience would be required. But with the appointment of Lopetegui not being the most popular of choices outside of the board room, the honeymoon period could well be short-lived.

Indeed, the first rumblings of discontent have already been heard through the dreaded ‘careful watch you wish for’ raising its ugly head on Saturday’s TV commentary. Of course, it is a cliché predicated on the false dilemma that there was only a binary choice between keeping the Scottish manager and bring in Lopetegui – which was simply not the case.

For now, Lopetegui must continue to get the benefit of the doubt. Not every manager is able to make an immediate impact, but it is difficult not to pick up on worrying signs from the haphazard nature of performances to date. And especially having recently watched the abysmal showing against Chelsea in what should be one of the Hammer’s premier London derbies of the season.

Had we witnessed encouraging performances that were blighted only by individual slips as players acclimatised to the new style it would be easy to explain away. However, the apparent absence of intensity, passion, organisation, and cohesion is a whole lot more difficult to overlook.

Failure to put in decent showings against Liverpool in Thursday’s EFL cup-tie and the two remaining league fixtures – Brentford away and Ipswich at home – before the next international break will surely increase the pressure. How long before we see the first sighting of a headline on Hammers Zone News websites proclaiming ‘Lopetegui has just four games to save his job’?

Precisely how the coach plans for his team to approach games has not yet become apparent. From what we have seen and what we were told to expect it may or may not involve some of the following: an emphasis of possession; playing out from the back; a high defensive line; full backs providing attacking width; central midfielders supporting the centre backs in defending and beating the press; wide attackers playing narrower as inside forwards; and a striker providing link up play as well as being the arrowhead for attacks.

In an ideal world, the coach has his philosophy, and the recruitment guy finds the individuals capable of slotting into it. The scale of the personnel changes required has clearly led to compromises and the jury is out as to which players in the squad have the attributes to embrace the new philosophy quickly. Current evidence is of a huge gap between the sum and the parts.

The biggest question marks for me are the absence of pace and athleticism in midfield and the confusing role of the full backs. We might also add in the ongoing striker debacle once we have had the chance for a proper look at Niclas Fullkrug. The instinct is that a quicker, more mobile alternative would have been a more productive addition but perhaps Fullkrug can become the perfect foil for the talents of Bowen and Kudus.

Of the defensive midfield options, none of Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez or Tomas Soucek is blessed with the pace or mobility required to provide rotational defensive cover or to shift the ball quickly once in possession. In theory, using two defensive midfielders two centre backs in a box formation prevents opponents attacking through the middle, but West Ham have been ruthlessly exposed in this area during each of the early games this season. Without the use of conventional full backs, the backline becomes strung out rather than compact.

It is the role of the full backs which raises the most eyebrows. It doesn’t help that the first-choice pair are completely different in style to start with. Emerson happier in the attacking wing back role, capable of cutting inside but weaker in defending. Aaron Wan-Bissaka regularly touted as the best one-on-one defender in the league but looking lost and confused as a tucked-in wing back that has left him jogging back as opponents exploit the oceans of room vacated.

Wan-Bissaka was one of those implicated in the opening goal last Saturday. It was schoolboy defending (possibly unfair to PE teachers across the country) to turn backs or look away as their opponents prepared to take a quick free kick. It set the tone for much of the match. Alvarez was criticised for not being able to run faster than he can in tracking Jackson’s run, but at least he gave it a go. He might have been better advised to stand and watch like his colleagues. Too often West Ham players are static, standing on their heels rather than playing on their toes – one of the hallmarks of the entertaining Greenwood and Lyall teams of old.

Despite Chelsea’s dominance, the Hammers might have been handed a unlikely lifeline had the referee correctly awarded a penalty when Fofana held back the run of ‘Jimmy’ Summerville. It appears this kind of foul has a length of hold time limit – like the three second rule when you drop a piece of food on the floor – during which it is acceptable to carry on as normal. But only if it happens inside the area. Fofana was booked for a similar offence on Summerville in safer territory some moments later. Every year PGMOL come up with new and imaginative ways to spoil the game. This year’s special is the blitz on delaying the re-start which will be quietly forgotten before the clocks change.

A ray of light from the early Lopetegui era is a willingness to make substitutions earlier in the game. Once he learns to make wise ones it will be an added bonus. No-one could argue against the withdrawal of Guido Rodriguez but replacing him with Tomas Soucek was akin to switching one dud battery for another in a Duracel bunny and wondering why it still doesn’t work. While making first half changes might be applauded it could also suggest poor team selection or tactics in the first place. Replacing Summerville with Michail Antonio was particularly perplexing as it removed one of our most dangerous players and forced another (Mohammed Kudus) to switch to a less favoured position. Declining to bring on the rarely seen Jean-Clair Todibo and previous week’s saviour, Danny Ings, were equally questionable.

The next three games may go a long way to defining the direction of travel. They will either deepen the gloom or hint at a light at the end of the tunnel. Starting with an away visit to Anfield in the compromised draw of the EFL Cup is not where you would want to start but there needs to be encouraging signs even in anticipated defeat. Surely a chance for Todibo as well as for Carlos Soler and Andy Irvine who both looked as if they were familiar with a football during their late introductions against Chelsea. They could do no worse than Lucas Paqueta who continues to offer only intermittent inspiration rather than the sustained playmaking influence required.

West Ham expects. COYI!

For the third time in the first five games this season West Ham face an opponent who put five past us in the last campaign

For the third time in the first five games this season West Ham face an opponent who put five past us in the last campaign when Chelsea visit the London Stadium this weekend. Despite not being very convincing we avenged Palace and Fulham. Can we make it three in a row?

Considering the wealth at their disposal this Saturday’s early kick off opponents Chelsea have made an indifferent start to their Premier League campaign. In their first game they went down fairly tamely at home to (Champions elect, but facing 115 charges) Manchester City. The following week they won 6-2 at Wolves but then couldn’t beat Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. Then following the international break they survived a Bournemouth penalty miss to snatch a winning goal in the dying minutes. They have seven points from four games and sit in eighth place.

Hopefully you read Geoff’s excellent article about our late equaliser to draw at Fulham. I have little to add to that. In many ways I am not surprised by our own indifferent start to the season given the changes of coach and influx of new players but my surprise comes with team selection. I don’t understand why Summerville is not in the starting lineup enabling Kudus to be better deployed. Nor do I see why Todibo has not yet been given his opportunity. Soucek and Antonio seem so out of touch (and their touch has been poor) that they must be left out soon surely? Mavropanos has been ok in some respects but is he better than Todibo? Despite Antonio’s poor form he does have a good goal scoring and assists record against the West Londoners.

I have seen numerous games against Chelsea in my time but one game stands out thanks to the superb performance on the day of one of our best ever players. The 1973-74 season had begun poorly and our first win at Upton Park came as late as December against Manchester City. We were dumped out of the FA Cup in the third round early in January 1974 by Hereford in a replay after a draw at Upton Park, but then we went on a nine match unbeaten run which began with a victory over a Manchester United team that would be relegated at the end of the season.

In early March 1974 (hard to believe it was 50 years ago this year as my memory is still so vivid) we were still in the relegation battle ourselves. A song entered the top ten from Paper Lace entitled Billy, Don’t Be A Hero which was to become the number one for the next three weeks. The eighth match of the unbeaten run (and the fifth victory) came against Chelsea. We won the game comfortably 3-0 and it was one of Billy Bonds most memorable games for us (and he had so many) but in this one he scored a hat-trick from midfield. Yes, Billy really was a hero so many times for us. In the season he scored 13 goals and six came in the month of March. Quite rightly he was voted Hammer of The Year in 1974. It was one of the most memorable one man match winning performances I have ever witnessed.

How I’d love to see a repeat of what we did in the away fixture on Easter Saturday in 1986. Remember the boys of ’86? We won 4-0 at Stamford Bridge with goals from Alan Devonshire, Tony Cottee and Frank McAvennie.

Or the last home game of 2002-3 when Paolo Di Canio came on as a substitute and scored the vital goal to give us a win and a lifeline, which sadly meant nothing when we went down incredibly with 42 points the following week. That was his last goal in a claret and blue shirt.

I also remember a cold December day in 2012 (when Benitez was temporarily Chelsea manager and was so disliked by his own supporters). They scored first and then we came back strongly with three unlikely goalscorers, a Carlton Cole headed equaliser, a fierce shot from Diame that was actually on target, and then finally a Maiga rebound tap in. That was our first win against them at the fourteenth attempt after the Di Canio goal that had given us victory almost ten years earlier. We then had another five winless games until our next victory in 2015 in the final season at Upton Park.

In my early days of attending Upton Park, Chelsea were one of the teams we always seemed to beat. From our promotion to the top division in 1958-59 through to the game I refer to above in 1973-74 we played them 14 times at home, winning ten, drawing two, and losing just two games (in successive seasons 1966-67 and 1967-68). In the twelve games that we won or drew we never failed to score at least two goals. But the Billy Bonds game is the one that sticks most clearly in my memory. We finished that season on 37 points (as did Chelsea), one point above the relegation places, so the victory turned out to be a vital one in our fight to remain in the top division.

In the following season Chelsea themselves were relegated. Throughout the 1970s we flirted with relegation virtually every season (except 1972-73 when we finished in the top half). It was a decade that saw not only Manchester United and Chelsea suffer relegation but Tottenham too after they finished at the bottom in 1976-77. We were relegated the following year 1977-78 and spent three years out of the top flight.

By the end of the twentieth century our record against Chelsea was a positive one overall. In the years since that has very much not been the case. Money has been an important factor in that. But three excellent wins in recent years, Yarmolenko’s late winner in 2020, Masuaku’s late fluke in 2021 and our victory at the beginning of last season. Can we add another this weekend?

Lop-sided West Ham Contrive To Pilfer Undeserved Point From Craven Cottage

A strange team selection was a case of inexplicable self-harm for West Ham’s ambitions as they struggle to build momentum or impose themselves against Fulham. Here are the takeaways.

Meet The New Boss, Same As The Old Boss?

With three Premier League games and an international break under the belt the short trip across town to Craven Cottage should have been the perfect opportunity to get a better understanding of what can be expected from Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham.

Most supporters will have appreciated the need for patience during the transition from the cautious approach of the previous manager and the bedding in of a host of new signings. But many will be left scratching their heads at how little has changed so far – or at least the pace at which change is taking place.

Lopetegui is not known as a leading-edge progressive coach. But the expectation was that he would prepare a team capable of imposing themselves in games such as this by jealously guarding possession of the ball. There are few signs yet that this is anywhere close to happening and it was Fulham – no more than a decent mid-table team – who by some distance looked the better coached of the two teams.

Claims that the performance was little different to what was seen last season are wide of the mark with obvious differences in a higher defensive line and desire to play out from the back. However, it was thanks to the Scottish manager’s old chestnut of resilience that eventually allowed the Hammers to scrape out an undeserved draw in the game’s dying minutes. Critics might also point to the fact that West Ham continue to be at the lower end of Premier League teams for possession (43% compared to 41% last season) and (in terms of minutes played) they are now the oldest side in the league.

Growing Pains or Bad Judgement?

There must have been a collective groan across the West Ham supporting world when the team sheets again revealed starting positions for both Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek – and the absence of any semblance of creativity in midfield. It is ironic that while every supporter in the land is aware of the deficiencies these two have with ball control, it is lost on a highly experienced coaching team who work with them every day. Are we to believe they are the masters of one-touch and instant control in training all week, and only revert to clown shoe wearing incompetents once the referee’s whistle blows?

An argument might be made for the coach showing loyalty to members of the squad that he inherited but they have had their chance, and their time has now passed. Everything else that went wrong in the performance stemmed from that initial inexplicable team selection decision. Playing a high defensive line while being incapable of keeping the ball through the middle was never going to work out well.

Formations and Substitutions

It would have been a major surprise if Antonio and Soucek had not been hooked off at half-time. It was such an obvious change that no credit can go to the coaching staff for spotting it. It was a better West Ham performance in the second period but, in truth, it would have been impossible to be any worse. Despite that, it was never a convincing turn around and after an initial flurry, the hosts largely remained in control.

Formations can be very fluid in modern football and vary depending on whether you are in or out of possession. It was not apparent after the break that everyone fully understood their role. The full backs rarely got far enough forward to provide the width that we are told Lopetegui expects, but neither did they resembled a traditional back four – largely occupying a no-mans-land between the two. And the front three – Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, and ‘Jimmy’ Summerville – who should be a handful for anyone failed to operate as unit to put the Fulham defence under pressure. It is as if there is still a fixation with ‘one’ up front rather than ‘three.’ Failing to address this structural issue will not resolve the isolated striker problem that had haunted the Hammer’s attacking play for many a season – whether it is Bowen, Danny Ings or Nicklas Fullkrug playing as the arrow head.

We should perhaps give credit to the coach for flooding the field with attack minded players in the closing stages although positioning was somewhat anarchic as Kudus switched from left to right to left again and Summerville popped up on the right in the build up to the equaliser. The Ings goal was well taken and suggest that he can maybe do a job for now if given the right level of support.

The Strange Case of the Missing New Signings

I am not as negative on Dinos Mavropanos as other West Ham supporters appear to be. Goals conceded are more often a case of joint enterprise where it is defensive shape and cumulative failings that lead to a defence being breached rather than individual error. Mavropanos was certainly excruciatingly slow in closing down Smith-Rowe but how was the latter given so much space in the first place? And where was Aaron Wan-Bissaka who after previous encouraging performances was given the run around for most of the afternoon by Iwobi and Smith-Rowe?

Having said that, Mavropanos has not been so outstanding as to deny giving Jean-Clair Todibo the opportunity to show what he can do. Todibo comes highly rated, so his lack of game time (8 minutes in total) is a mystery. There is no chance of adapting to life in English football from sitting on the bench.

And what has become of Luis Guilherme who neither gets a place in the matchday squad or seemingly the opportunity to play for the U21s. It’s an unusual way to develop a player even if he is regarded as one for the future.

Must Do Better

Four points from four games is not a great start to a season where the ambition has to be competing for one of the available European places. It’s early days but the hopeful shoots of improvement have yet to emerge.

The current trajectory of one point per game would have us on the fringes of relegation battle, although that will surely improve as the season progresses. The coach has another four of five games to demonstrate the club is on the right path before the pressure mounts. On a more positive note, West Ham earned just one from the equivalent four fixtures last season, so arguably we are already ahead of the curve. COYI!

West Ham have already avenged the five goals conceded at Selhurst Park last season. Can we become repeat avengers when we visit Fulham?

Despite having a manager that was frequently described as cautious, one of the most disappointing aspects of the 2023-24 season was the fact that we conceded more goals in the Premier League than all the other teams with the exception of the three that were relegated. It didn’t take the new head coach very long after getting his feet under the table to decide that this was one area that needed urgent rectification.

Many thought we had paid over the odds splashing out £40 million on the Wolves captain, but early signs are good and Kilman would appear to be worth every penny based on his performances so far. Todibo is a player who was coveted by many, and although he has little opportunity to date, hopefully he can prove to be an equally astute acquisition. Wan-Bissaka has hit the ground running and has demonstrated his defensive capabilities already, plus surprisingly to some (perhaps the Manchester United management?) excellent full back attacking qualities. At £15 million for a 26-year-old he may turn out to be one of the best captures of the last transfer window. It was a surprise to me that he wasn’t coveted by more teams.

Two of the more depressing results last season came on visits to London sides who finished below us in the table. Who would have thought that we would go away to North London and return with six points from the games at Tottenham and Arsenal, but concede ten goals on our trips to Fulham and Crystal Palace? It was 5-0 at Craven Cottage which was then compounded by a 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium towards the end of the season. At least we managed to take a point off Palace in a 1-1 draw at home, before being thrashed 5-2 at Selhurst Park just a week after the dispiriting loss at home to Fulham.

After just three games this time we have already avenged last season’s humiliation at Palace with goals from Soucek and Bowen in a 2-0 win last month in our first away trip of the season. Game four of the new campaign, the first after the ‘ridiculously early in the season’ international break gives us the opportunity to take our revenge on Fulham too when we visit Craven Cottage this weekend.

It is astonishing how the fixtures computer has thrown up this season’s early games in that the first nine, covering a quarter of a season almost, are all in London! The game after this one coming up is a home game against Chelsea, and once again an early opportunity to remedy last season’s shocking visit to Stamford Bridge in May when they were another team to give us a 5-0 hiding. And the game after that is a visit to the Brentford Community Stadium where we went down 3-2 last season after holding a half-time lead.

We don’t travel for a Premier League game outside the capital until November when we visit Nottingham on Matchday 10. By then we would have already had two international breaks and a third will be just two games away. What a way to disrupt a campaign! Three international breaks will have been endured after just eleven games of the season. Ridiculous in my view!

Although a number of our key players have been away on international duty, I hope that the new head coach has had the opportunity to take stock of the situation. Yes, we have lost twice at home already, although they were fixtures against teams that finished in the Champions League qualification places last time around. However, we have already avenged the Palace debacle from last season, lets hope we can do the same at Fulham.

I’ve no idea what Mr Lopetegui has in mind for team selection but personally I’d like to see Kudus moved inside into the number 10 role where I think he can do more damage (he can’t perform at his best stuck out on the left despite still being a threat), and Summerville given a start on the left. Perhaps Kudus and Bowen can interchange between the centre and right throughout the game? I had hoped for Fullkrug to be given an opportunity from the start this time too but his injury picked up on international duty has put an end to that idea. Once again we are short of any real alternative to Antonio in the ‘number 9’ role. I wonder if Bowen will be pushed forward as he was at times last season to allow Kudus to play on the right and get Summerville into the team that way? Who knows? Another three points would be good though. What are the chances?

Windows, Breaks, Free Agents, Formations and Squad Lists As West Ham Return To Premier League Action

With the Premier League squad list deadline looming this weekend will there be even more new arrivals at the London Stadium and where are they all going to play?

I have always loved those American blues songs where the singer wakes up one morning to discover his wife has done left him, the dog has died, his truck won’t start, and the house has been repossessed. It is exactly the same sort od sentiments I get whenever we have to put up with yet another international break. It’s now one down and three more to go for the remainder of the season. The next popping up to spoil our enjoyment in just four weeks’ time.

Putting the new season on hold with only three games played is particularly frustrating. Especially in Europe where I have yet to be convinced about the wisdom of creating the Nations League – the Europa Conference League of international competition. But I suppose the authorities needed to find something marketable to promote while the South Americans commence their World Cup qualification campaign, and the Cup of Nations qualifiers proceed in Africa. Sometimes you can’t help feeling there is too much football being played for players and supporters alike.

West Ham went into the first break with 100% records both home and away. Unfortunately, at home that had meant consecutive defeats as Manchester City extended their dominant streak against the Hammers to 16 wins in the last 19 league encounters. Erling Haaland has now scored seven times in five appearances against West Ham. His latest hattrick even lacking the customary penalty.

While City looked in control for most part of the London Stadium contest it was a spirited performance from the home side. A West Ham team intent on making a game of it rather than sitting back and spending 90 minutes without the ball was a palpable relief after the experoences of recent years. There were certainly positive signs that a more entertaining and enterprising brand of football is in the works, even if it is one that is developing at an evolutionary rather than revolutionary pace. If there is one team who are guaranteed to seize on and punish the merest of wayward passes, then it is Pep Guardiola’s side. Although the Hammers came close to drawing level at 2-2 the suspicion was always there that the visitors could up a gear whenever they chose to. Only severe FA sanctions are likely to prevent a fifth straight Premier League title for the Sky Blues.

Although the main transfer window ‘slammed shut’ several weeks ago it is still possible to squeeze a free agent or two through the sky light in advance of the League’s squad list deadline on Friday. If the rumours are true, this loophole may see further arrivals turning up at the London Stadium to prop up the positions remaining short of cover despite the summer spending spree.

A recent trend with transfer windows has been either to rate them out of ten or to put forward an opinion as to whatever club ‘won’ it. There are, of course, no prizes for winning the window and its success or otherwise will only become clear over time. On paper the summer business at West Ham looks decent as Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui set about reshaping and revamping the small and unbalanced squad left behind by the previous manager. I am in danger of repeating myself, but it still baffles me that pundits and commentators – who are presumably paid handsomely for their laughably superficial opinions – believed that the Scottish manager had left the club in good shape. If it had been in good shape, it wouldn’t have needed the transfer kitty to be spread across ten or more new signings.

The biggest disappointment of the window was the failure to command much in the way of fees for the players seen as surplus to requirements. While the loan departures of Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, James Ward-Prowse and Maxwell Cornet may have helped trim the weekly wage bill, little residual value will remain once a further year has passed on their contracts. Trading players is now a significant factor in determining the revenues on which future recruitment must be based.

Once the dust has fully settled, the greatest concern with the squad is with strikers. Lopetegui’s perseverance so far with Michail Antonio has been a huge surprise. Even at his peak of pace and power, Antonio would never have been first choice for a team following a possession-based philosophy. The alternatives of Niclas Fullkrug (allegedly now out injured) and Danny Ings require a very different level of service from the supporting players. If either is to make a noticeable contribution, they need the wider players (whether it is Jarrod Bown, Mohammed Kudus, or ‘Jimmy’ Summerville) to be deployed narrower rather than stranded out wide. This, in turn, requires the full backs (Aaron Wan-Bissake and Emerson) to offer the width in the attacking half.

An alternate plan would be to replace the idea of an outright striker with a flexible front three of Summerville, Bowen, and Kudus. The advantage would be better use of resouces, rescuing Kudus from a position marooned wide on the left but may result in a loss of focus for attacks. Done well it could be difficult to defend against but would be another transitional challenge for the coaching staff.

The midfield permutations have become ever more complex following the late addition of (Carlos) Soler energy to the equation. It leaves Soler, Lucas Paqueta, Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez, Tomas Soucek, and Andy Irvine fighting for three or four starting berths – according on which nominal formation Lopetegui elects to play in any given game or against any given opposition. Perhaps there will be an indication of his thinking when the team is announced for Saturday’s game at Fulham. It is difficult to imagine too much playing time for Soucek and can Paqueta and Soler be accommodated in the same eleven?

It can’t be long before Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo become the preferred centre-back partnership. With only Dinos Mavropanos as cover this is the position where additional free-agent backup is believed to be wanted before the weekend’s squad deadline. The current names in the frame being Joel Matip and Joe Egan.

All in all, the squad that has been assembled should be capable of competing towards the top end of the table. It would be disappointing not to be in the mix for a European place during the final weeks of the season. For it to happen, though, requires the pace of change to quicken and for an effective way to be found to integrate the undoubted attacking talent that the club now has. I remain confident for an exciting and interesting season ahead – at least until the next internation break. COYI!