Month: November 2024

A tale of the unexpected – Victory for West Ham in the North-East

Oh West Ham you make us fret,
We never know what we’re gonna get,
At St James’s Park, under a North-East sky,
Playing the Geordies you soared so high.

Oh Hammers bold in claret and blue,
Monday’s triumph still feels brand new,
We saw the game on TV on Sky,
Always play like that? No, but why?

Before the game a sense of dread,
Supporters patience a dwindling thread,
The coach undeterred by doubt or fear,
Unveiled his plan, his vision clear.

The Magpies began with all their might,
But we stood firm, defence was tight,
Soucek’s pinpoint header clean and pure,
We took the lead 1-0 for sure.

3000 were singing the bubbles song,
Wan-Bissaka could do no wrong,
He hit the post, it bounced and spun,
A goal 2-0, the match was won.

From back to front they played their part,
A victory etched in every heart,
In Newcastle’s home we claimed the prize,
A night of glory under North-East skies.

Now bring on the Gunners.

But now the Arsenal lie ahead,
A fierce new battle to be led,
Can the Hammers bring the flair,
And meet the Gunners with skill and dare?

Antonio with your power and speed,
Must breach their defence, to take the lead.
And Tomas Soucek, with all that’s been said,
Please score yet another goal with your head.

Fabianski the keeper you need to excel,
Keep guarding the net like a sentinel,
This season not great, but Monday night better,
Creative and skilful that’s Lucas Paqueta.

Soler you surprised us to answer the riddle
Of just who to pick to play in the middle.
Summerville you play with such skill and such heart,
For me you should always be picked from the start

Max in defence answering the call,
Repelling attacks and standing so tall
And Jarrod you dance with such nimble feet,
Just weave through on goal to complete the defeat.

So take to the pitch and show us the pride,
As London’s east and north sides collide,
We’ll all be watching, we’ll be holding our breath
For ninety plus minutes, it’ll be life or death.

Expecting the Unexpected, Sensible Selections and Turning The Corner: West Ham Win At Newcastle

A surprise win for West Ham at Newcastle provides a boost for Julen Lopetegui in his quest to escape the Premier League sack race. How did it happen and was it anything more than a freak result?

Was this just like watching West Ham of old? A match where only the rosiest of claret and blue tinted spectacle wearers had predicted an away win, while most of us (myself include) could not see past the first of two heavy defeats that were going to put an end to Julen Lopetegui’s short-lived reign at the London Stadium. But just as all hope for something to shout about this season was being abandoned, the Hammers reeled us back in with a commanding display and well-deserved victory at St James Park.

This was no smash and grab raid. Lopetegui’s side had their fair share of possession and, for once, there was a confidence and slickness to the passing that grew as the game progressed – buoyed by the early goal from the head of Tomas Soucek. It was encouraging to see the team refusing to drop into a low block once the lead was secured, and to witness the levels of commitment and effort on show throughout. Any speculation in the media that the proverbial dressing had been lost appeared well wide of the mark based on the evidence of last night’s showing.

There were two things that stood out for me with the team selection and tactics. The first was that (at long last) no-one was being asked to play out of position or in a role that they clearly didn’t understand. No inverted wing back roles for full backs. No defensive midfielder being asked to fall back into a fluid back three. No central midfielder marooned out on the left wing. The second was that populating the centre of midfield with players familiar with controlling and passing the ball contributed massively to overall cohesiveness. A partnership of Lucas Paqueta and Carlos Soler provided far improved ball retention and freed up Soucek to do what he does best – getting in the way (in a good way) in both boxes. I thought much of the criticism directed at Soler had been harsh and premature given the limited minutes played in his preferred position. I have previously suggested that playing more than one of Soucek, Guido Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez in the same midfield would never be a wise move if possession football was the name of the game. On this occasion, Lopetegui got his selections spot on, but one must ask why it took him so long to get there.

There were fine performances throughout the team. Lukasz Fabianski defied the years in goal and showed a surprise gift for passing and dribbling along his goal line, while the defence as a unit was largely solid in earning its second clean sheet in a row. And I have already mentioned how better balanced and flexible the midfield engine room looked – including a tidy cameo from Andy Irving in the last ten minutes. But it was the performances of Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen that really stood out on the night.

West Ham were the main beneficiaries of Antonio losing his passport and being unable to travel for Jamaica’s CONCACAF Nations League fixture. The rest appeared to have worked wonders as he worked tirelessly to unsettle a perplexed Newcastle defence until his late replacement by Danny Ings. Bowen was arguably the most effective player on the pitch. He may not be the most obvious of materials for skipper but can certainly lead by example. He popped up all over the pitch, was always available as an outlet from defence and was a constant source of menace in his link-up play with Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The West Ham squad is built for counterattacking and Bowen firing on all cylinders is central to that threat.

It is difficult to know what to make of Newcastle. After a bright start they faded badly. They have a surplus of attacking players who didn’t appear up for it, looked lethargic in midfield and vulnerable in defence when put under pressure. They strike me as a group of individuals without much of a collective ethos. Whether their failure to deliver was down to their own inadequacies or to West Ham’s efforts is debateable. Eddie Howe is another who may be looking over his shoulder at the job centre queue by the end of the season.

The result and performance for West Ham last night inevitably turned to speculation as to whether the legendary corer has been turned or not. As a whole, the performance stands as an outlier in a sequence of otherwise underwhelming and unimaginative showings – and on the back of one of the very worst against Everton two weeks ago. It’s fair to say that if the same effort and endeavour had been shown all season – even if the points tally remained the same – there would have been far fewer calls for Lopetegui to be replaced. Could it be that his methods are finally bearing fruit? Or has he accidentally stumbled upon a style and formation that suits the players and works in the Premier League? He has certainly given himself breathing space and will surely remain in charge at least until to the end of December, with a run of games that reads: Arsenal, Leicester, Wolves, Bournemouth, Brighton and Southampton.

We can now look forward to Saturday’s game against the Gunners with a new found air of confidence. But we’ve all been there many times before, haven’t we? COYI!

As West Ham travel to the North-East to face Newcastle in the Monday night game, the pressure mounts on ‘The Head Coach’

The Head Coach

In the quiet of the changing room there’s tension in the air,
The head coach sits alone, lost in silent prayer,
The team, once full of promise, now struggles in the fight,
The season’s hopes are fading, slipping slowly out of sight.

In the cold winds of November under the floodlights glare,
The head coach stands in silence, with a burden hard to bear,
The team’s form has faltered, each defeat a painful blow,
The whispers growing louder, from the boardroom to below.

The night is cold, the winds are strong, the stadium lights are bright,
Two Premier League teams clashing on a freezing Monday night,
The Magpies on the front foot, their wingers standing wide,
The Hammers block is narrow, they fight to halt the tide.

He paces on the sideline, staring at the pitch,
Hoping to find the magic to turn this losing glitch,
He wonders about his lineup, he rethinks every play,
Hoping for a miracle to chase the doubts away.

One down at the interval, fans patience growing thin,
Every formation has been tried to bring the wins back in,
The half time talk determined, he rallies one more time,
A second goal goes in the net, the finish quite sublime.

After the game he faces the press, he knows not where to start,
Questions probing for cracks within, have the players got the heart?
He talks of faith and unity, of turning it around,
But shadows of the sack loom close, a win just can’t be found.

The players lack direction, the tactics quite unclear,
And baffling team selections, departure must be near,
Behind the scenes the murmurs rise, of replacements lined in wait,
Another loss, its Arsenal next, the coach awaits his fate.

“I Know Nothing”: Faulty Hammers Must Bite The Bullet and Replace Lopetegui Before More Damage Can Be Done

Can there have ever been a poorer excuse for an elite level football match than the turgid stodge served up by West Ham and Everton on Saturday afternoon?

If you booked a table at a supposed elite level restaurant and the fare served up was anywhere near as poor as that at the London Stadium on Saturday, you would most likely never return unless it re-opened under new management. West Ham and Everton, probably the two dreariest teams in the Premier League last season, offering no suggestion that anything was about to change this time around.

Football clubs are extremely fortunate in being able to rely on and take advantage of the blind loyalty of their fan base. But perhaps they are mistaken in believing their complacency can go on unchecked forever. With each passing season the needle has gradually shifted from matches as sporting, cultural and community matchday events towards games that serve as content and talking points for media outlets to pick over, speculate upon, and analyse with increasingly spurious statistics on a daily basis.

I have long thought of West Ham and Everton as two teams from the same pod when it comes to the modern game. Both struggle to find their niche in the shadow of more illustrious city neighbours, but both with delusions that they are a rung above those smaller clubs – Brighton, Brentford, Bournemouth – who follow sound organisational and recruitment strategies in order to survive. I can recall a conversation with a Birmingham City supporter around the time Gold & Sullivan took over at West Ham. He told me that rather than taking sound football decisions, they were regularly in thrall of shiny, glamourous appointments or signings who they believed (usually mistakenly) would reflect well on them. Nothing much appears to have changed over the years. It is the reason why we have endured a string of continental big name flops and been saddled with a manager appointed on the strength of having once been manager of Real Madrid – no matter how badly that turned out.

What can be said about the Everton game itself? The first half was virtually devoid of anything noteworthy. An excellent saving tackle in his own box by Crysencio Summerville to deny an Everton breakaway, and a first West Ham attempt on goal by Jarrod Bown in the 44th minute. The second half was marginally more memorable. A headed chance for Everton, Summerville hitting the post after a fine pass from Lucas Paqueta, and two goal bound shots from Danny Ings that Pickford did well to keep out. A dull draw reflected the balance of play between two poor teams, even if the Hammers had more of the ‘big’ chances. I suppose one might celebrate a rare clean sheet although the visitors had few meaningful attacking aspirations.

On paper, Julen Lopetegui had not selected anyone to play out of position this week and had reverted to a back four after the previous week’s failed experiment. In practice, he used Guido Rodriguez (and later Tomas Soucek) as auxiliary centre backs and allowed his full backs licence to wander forward at the expense of defensive of duties. Other than that, it was a repeat of the slow, pedestrian fare that has become a feature of the manager’s game plan. There was still no sign of an intended identity, style of play or sense of urgency. Whatever the direction of travel, it is either a mystery to the players or they are ill-equipped to deliver it. The possession stats might look better than last season, but it is possession for the sake of it. Build ups are too slow and lacking penetration to worry opposition defences.

Summerville was by far the standout and liveliest player for West Ham, raising the question why had it taken so long for him to be given a chance? One might also question why Danny Ings has been given so few minutes (75 across 5 games) when he is the only fit player in the squad to possess a striker’s instinct. His West Ham career may be a huge disappointment overall, but he has looked much sharper than the alternatives during those limited minutes. Bowen came to life in the second half but is wearing the captain’s armband like an anchor around his neck. Indeed, leadership is currently impossible to spot both on and off the pitch.

Unlike some observers, I thought Paqueta had one of his more enterprising games this season – although admittedly this is a low bar – no matter what the statistics might say. If your play maker’s passing stats are in the high 90% then he is not being adventurous enough. I also think Carlos Soler deserves more than his single start to show what he can do. He may have the look of someone attending a fancy-dress party as a caricature Spaniard but I’m sure there’s a talented player in there somewhere, if only it is given the opportunity to flourish.

Vladimir Coufal was a surprise 67th minute replacement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka allowing the Czechkle Brothers to reprise their famous to me, to you routine close to the right touchline – until Soucek puts the ball into touch. Some players are just not cut out for possession football and big Tom is one of them. If he is not scoring goals, he is a passenger who simply gets in the way and slows everything down. Michail Antonio is another unsuited to a game that is built upon passing and movement.

Lopetegui has now managed 13 West Ham league and cup games with 4 wins and 6 defeats. It currently stands at one less game than he lasted in his spell at the Bernabeu. There is plenty of speculation as to whether he will survive to surpass that total or whether he will be released during the international break. With games against Newcastle and Arsenal on the horizon, the Hammers could well be flirting with the relegation zone going into December.

There is little doubt on the evdience to date that the appointment has been a huge and expensive mistake. If there were signs of progress, then there could be justification to allow more time to “turn things around”. But that rarely happens and all we can see is a muddle with a confused and unhappy squad. The only rationale for hanging on would be to avoid the financial penalty of paying up Lopetegui’s contract – but at what long term cost?

Plenty of names for potential replacements have already been thrown about in the media. We have no way of knowing how reliable any of those reports are. Many supporters – and I am one – will be doubtful that the Board are capable of making a sensible decision based on footballing criteria alone. Much of the anger is directed at David Sullivan but he no longer is a majority owner and surely the other shareholders will want their say. The niggling suspicion, though, is that ambitions do not extend far beyond the maintenance of Premier League status necessary to preserve the asset value of the club.

Managing a Premier League club in London makes the West Ham job an attractive proposition for any ambitious manager keen to prove his worth. Hopefully, any search can go beyond the unemployed although the financial aspects of changing manager cannot be ignored. As far as I know, money spent on compensation would not only burn a hole in the Board’s pockets but also have an adverse impact on spend in future transfer windows. But it is time to take a long-term view on the future of the club. One based on sound principles and the type of succession planning that has been succesful at Brighton. A younger rising star manager, who I may well have never heard of, with fresh progressive ideas, and a focus on youth would be just the job. COYI!

Fourteenth play Sixteenth as West Ham entertain Everton at the London Stadium in the final game before the third international break.

Bookmakers have the West Ham Head Coach as favourite for the next Premier League manager to leave his post.

It hasn’t been going too well has it? Is there a timeframe for our head coach to prove himself? I guess it can vary depending on several factors. Lots of our fans are giving their views on social media.  How much ambition does the club truly have? What are the resources available? How much patience does the West Ham board have? Will they want to admit that they may have got it wrong again? Are they prepared to pay for a change? How much patience do our supporters have? Here are a few considerations:

Our new head coach should surely be expected to have shown some immediate improvement or at least a clear direction within the first few games after taking over. This might be in the form of improved performances, better team morale, or a more cohesive (and entertaining?) playing style. Have performances improved this season so far compared to last? We are 14th in the Premier League having picked up 11 points from our opening 10 matches. I’m not sure about team morale. Are all the players on board with understanding the tactics, the team selections, and the direction that we are heading in? What is our playing style?

Should a full season be considered a reasonable period to assess the impact of a new head coach? He asks to be measured next May to give him time to implement his tactics, work with the team through a full schedule, and make necessary adjustments during transfer windows. Is that realistic in the modern football world?

Clubs looking for sustained success may want to give a new manager more time to build a squad to implement their long-term strategy. This can mean 2-3 seasons, especially if the club is undergoing a significant rebuild or transition period. This may be true for clubs with lower expectations who might allow more time for a manager to develop the team. But we are a top-tier club and we demand quicker results. Managers just don’t have the time to implement a long term strategy without results and a clear direction showing improvement.  

Ultimately, it’s a balance between patience and the need for results. The key is consistent progress and a clear sense of direction for the team. But Lopetegui will find himself under increasing pressure if the results don’t improve soon. He believes he needs time as we had a lot of new faces in the summer transfer window. Yes, it has been an inconsistent start to the season and as a fan going back to the late 1950s I kind of expected that it might not be great to begin with, and it would take time.

But I find his team selections baffling and as for formation well that seems to be changing all the time. Team selection (has he begun to work out his best team yet?), formation and tactics show no consistency. I appreciate that different opposition may necessitate a change of approach but clearly it is not (yet?) working.  

What do you think is a fair amount of time for our new head coach to prove himself?

Oddschecker give odds on the next Premier League manager to leave his post, and of the seven major bookmakers who have a market for this Lopetegui is the favourite on all of them at odds of between 13/8 and 15/8. Russell Martin and Gary O’Neil are next in the betting. Social media and the written press are full of it and names being banded around to take over include Kasper Hjulmand, Roger Schmidt, Sebastian Hoeness, Graham Potter, David Moyes, Frank Lampard, Edin Terzic, and Jose Mourinho to name a few. Yes, some more ridiculous than others. They were spot on with the last favourite to leave who was Ten Hag. I read that Jim White on Talksport has a source allegedly close to Sullivan who apparently said that if West Ham lose 5-0 to Everton Lopetegui will still retain his job.

It is probably a little premature to talk about Saturday’s visit of Everton to be a six-pointer, and while we are averaging over a point a game a relegation struggle is not (yet?) an issue. But should we be beaten in this game then we will be overtaken by them and fall into 15th place at least with more than a quarter of the season gone as we enter the third international break.

It won’t be easy coming back after the break with a Monday night trip to Newcastle and then a Saturday home game against Arsenal to take us to the end of November. News that the Kudus three match ban will be extended by a further two games to include Newcastle and Arsenal is not good news. What started as a yellow card in the Tottenham game, that then was upgraded to red following a VAR review, that became a three game ban has now turned into a five game ban. How many other five game bans have been incurred this season?

Alvarez’s red following two yellow cards was our third this season, and his second! Yellow cards are mounting up too. Paqueta leads that (for West Ham) with five (in all competitions), including one in each of the last three games. However, we are not that indisciplined as we are in the bottom half of that league table too with 19 in the 10 league games played. Chelsea lead the way with 30.

Six more games in December will take us up to the halfway point in the season which comprise visits to Leicester, Bournemouth and Southampton, and home games against Wolves, Brighton and Liverpool.

And if you like your football at three o’clock on a Saturday then I’m afraid you won’t be happy with the eight games between now and the end of the year. Just one of the eight is scheduled to be 3pm on the traditional football day of Saturday (Brighton on 21st December). The other seven include three Monday 8pm kick-offs, a Tuesday 8.15 game, a Thursday 3pm (Boxing Day), Saturday 5.30pm, and Sunday 5.15pm.

Everton’s start to this campaign is worse than ours with just two wins in their ten games (against Palace and Ipswich). However, after four straight defeats to begin the season they have only lost one of the last six (at Southampton last weekend), winning two and drawing three, leaving them 16th with nine points.

There was a period between 2007 and 2015 where Everton were considered to be a real bogey team and we failed to beat them in 15 straight games. However in recent times the results have been more balanced with four wins apiece in the last four seasons. Last season both games were won by the away side with Everton winning 1-0 at the London Stadium in October, but then we beat them 3-1 at Goodison in March coming from a goal down with the score at 1-1 when we went into added time. If we fail this weekend the pressure will mount.

Lopetegui’s Road to Nowhere and an Out of Capital Punishment Beating

The promised Lopetegui revolution continues to shuffle aimlessly from week to week. Time to pull the plug or sit and hope that a well concealed plan will eventually emerge?

As in all long running soap operas, each game in West Ham’s season ends with a cliffhanger to keep us talking until the next unstalment. Has the corner been turned? Will the manager be sacked? Is there an oubreak of turmoil and unrest in the Hammer’s camp?

Two weekends ago, a welcome win and an encouraging second-half performance of up-tempo football against Manchester United left us wondering whether this was finally the point where Lopetegui-ball shook off its slumber and gained momentum. On Saturday’s evidence it was no ore than a lucky break?

It had been a very different story for the Red Devils who shaken by the ignominy of defeat by West Ham ended their patient support of Erik ten Hag. The twist being that the next Old Trafford boss will be the same Ruben Amorim, who had been interviewed in the summer from the London Stadium job but – according to reports – was considered too risky an appointment at this stage of his career. The board opting to go for a safe pair of hands in the guise of former goalkeeper and compensation-free, Julen Lopetegui.

It was the battle of the goalkeeping managers when the Hammers headed to Nottingham for their first Premier League fixture of the season outside of the M25. The high-flying hosts now coached by another former Wolves manager, Nuno Espirito Santo.  

People say that Lopetegui is a steady rather than innovative manager and yet his ability to find new and ingenious ways of deploying players out of position really takes some beating. His response to the Manchester United success was not to build on the success but to introduce a surprise overhaul of formation whereby Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo and Dinos Mavropanos formed a three-man central defence. The full backs would become wing backs for the day, there would be a double pivot of Edson Alvarez and Guido Rodriguez and Jarod Bowen would operate as the central striker, in preference to either Michail Antonio or Danny Ings.

While the coach had bowed to calls for Crysencio Summerville to be given a start following his game changing exploits a week earlier, he was conspicuously consigned to an inside-left berth where he could do less damage. For balance, Lucas Paqueta was also given the opportunity to demonstrate he could be equally s ineffective at inside-right as anywhere else on the pitch. The Brazilian is clearly not in the right frame of mind for football.

 West Ham saw a lot of the ball in the opening period, but it was possession for the sake of it, without any hint of penetration inside the box. Forest were the more incisive side by some distance. Nuno’s style is not far removed from that of the old Scottish manager, favouring the low block and quick transition. But with pace to spare in both midfield and attack, it was too hot for the Hammers to handle – even while the game remained 11 a-side.

The opening goal came as Forest again exploited the acres of space that West Ham were gifting along the flanks. Not for the first time, Mavropanos was more concerned with adopting the hands-behind-the-back Riverdance pose than closing the space between him and his opponent. Moreno allowed all the time in the world to calmly pick out Wood’s head as several Hammer’s defenders looked on.

Despite fashioning a first meaningful shot at goal just before the break, the game was effectively done and dusted when Alvarez picked up two yellow cards in the space of eight minutes. Taking one for the team has become an acepted part and parcel of the modern game but the more astute sides know how to spread the load and are careful not to use up lives when it isn’t absolutely necessary. Both of Alvarez’s card were avoidable as the threat wasn’t immediate at either time. In defence of the Mexican, he often looks to be the only player interested in hunting down the ball in midfield or chasing lost causes in defence. He has always liked a card though, and it is difficult to lump this behaviour with any wider lack of discipline that may be creeping into the club.

In the second half it was simply a matter of time before the hosts scored again, and a lottery as to how many goals they would rack up before the final whistle. There was little sign that the visitors had any hunger or passion to make a fight out of adversity. Ultimately, Forest contented themselves with extending a three-year home sequence that has seen them score 1, 2 and then 3 goals against West Ham without reply. It was a win that saw them climb into third spot in the table as the season passed its quarter way point.

A common reason put forward for Lopetegui’s poor start to his West Ham career is that “he doesn’t know his best team yet.” That has always felt a lame argument to me as lineups are never static. Players lose and find form, injuries and suspensions must be managed, and approaches to games are adjusted according to opposition. What is a concern though is that after 12 league and cup games we are no nearer understanding what the coach is trying to achieve. What evidence exists of   progress towards a style, formation and tactics that can be effective in the Premier League, while suiting the players available to him? Lopetegui has been stumbling from match to match apparently learning little and reacting to events with apparent random acts of management.

Everyone knew that the Hammers faced a major squad rebuilding in the summer. Looking at the individuals recruited in isolation, a case can be made for the sense of each signing. But as an overall strategy, the conclusion has to be that the club got the priorities very wrong – both from a positional sense and the age profile of the squad.

This is perfectly illustrated with a midfield that can neither cover the ground defensively nor support rapid transition in possession. No matter who is selected out of Alvarez, Rodriguez, Paqueta, and Tomas Soucek the midfield is short of legs without anyone capable of breaking forward with the ball at speed. A data driven analysis isn’t required to tell us this. We can all see it with our own eyes. Games are often won and lost through control of the midfield and our solution is akin to entering a Morris Traveler in a Formula 1 race.

The question now is how much time Lopetegui will be allowed to demonstrate he has a plan, and knows what he is attempting to do. I doubt even the extravagantly patient board members will be convinced by what they have seen to date. Or impressed by the stories of unease that arisen within the squad. If a slow and gradual improvement could be detected, we might be inclined to grin and bear it in the near term. But that has not been happening. It would be out of character but does it make cutting the losses – even at this early stage – a sensible course of action.  

The dilemma, of course, is that if Lopetegui was sacked who would replace him. Assuming David Sullivan would again be the primary decision maker we know how predictable and unimaginative he will be. Dazzled by coaches who have managed at big clubs, regardless of how successful that ha turned out. And narrowing the field to those currently unemployed where no compensation would be required. Any chance of boardroom coup? COYI!    

Memories of West Ham playing Nottingham Forest in the 21st Century

This weekend will be the fourteenth meeting of West Ham and Nottingham Forest in the twenty-first century. So how have we fared so far?

Overall, West Ham has won eight, lost four and drawn one of the thirteen games played. We are unbeaten in the seven home fixtures winning six and drawing one, but the record at the City Ground is not so good; we have won twice but lost four times. Four of the thirteen games have been Premier League matches, six have been second tier games (variously called League Division 1 or Championship), and we have met three times in the FA Cup.

In the three FA Cup games, five goals were scored in each. In our relegation season (2002-03 – Glenn Roeder) we met Forest in Round 3. Jermaine Defoe scored twice and Joe Cole once in a 3-2 victory. Marlon Harewood scored one of the Forest goals. We went out of the competition in Round 4 losing 6-0 to Manchester United. We also lost in Round 3 of the League Cup 1-0 at home to Oldham. And at the end of the season of course we went down.

In our next relegation season (2010-11 – Avram Grant) we met Forest in Round 4. Once again we won the game 3-2. Victor Obinna scored a hat trick – remember him? We went all the way to the sixth round where we lost 1-0 at Stoke. And surprisingly we had a long run in the League Cup losing on aggregate in the two-legged semi- final to Birmingham. But at the end of the season we went down.

So when we were once again drawn against Forest in Round 3 (in the 2013-14 season – Sam Allardyce) the manager decided that it would not be a good idea to win the game as history told him that it could lead to relegation. So he put out the following team: Adrian, Callum Driver, Dan Potts, Alou Diarra, Stewart Downing, Matt Jarvis, Sebastian Lletget, George Moncur, Modibo Maiga, Ravel Morrison, Danny Whitehead. And on the bench we had: Raphael Spiegel, Reece Burke, Matthias Fanimo, Blair Turgott, Jaanai Gordon-Hutton, Elliott Lee, Sean Maguire. Hardly 18 of West Ham’s most famous!

Do you remember Jannai? Me neither. He never actually played a game for the first team. An unused substitute in this game was the closest he got. I looked him up on Google. Still in his twenties he currently plays for Alvechurch in the Southern League Premier Central in step 3 of non-league football. That’s the level below the National League (North and South) and two levels below the National League. He’s done the rounds in non-league football. Alvechurch is his eighteenth club in the last ten years.

I remembered us signing Sean Maguire from Waterford in Ireland. Like Gordon-Hutton an unused substitute in that game against Forest was the closest he got to first team action at West Ham. He did go on to have a decent career in the lower leagues though and played eleven international games for the Republic of Ireland.

A weakened team to say the least in that game with debuts to five youth team players. In hindsight (or even before then to those of us who saw the team he had selected) it was a disaster as we were overrun by the more experienced Forest side who thrashed us 5-0! The manager was heavily criticised and rightly so.

In the calendar year of 2003, in addition to our 3-2 cup win, we drew our home game against Forest 1-1 (Defoe) and won 2-0 at the City Ground (Harewood & Defoe). These games were in the second tier called League Division One at the time. We met them again at that level the following season when it became known as the Championship losing 2-1 at the City Ground to goals in the 84th and 90th minute. Our goal was once again scored by Harewood. We won the return on Boxing Day 3-2 (Etherington, Sheringham 2).

In our promotion winning season (2011-12) we did the double over them winning 4-1 at the City Ground (OG, Nolan, Carlton Cole, Reid) and 2-1 at Upton Park (2 Mark Noble penalties).

Since that win at the City Ground in August 2011 we have not won a game at the ground and haven’t even scored. The 5-0 drubbing in the FA Cup at the City Ground in 2014 has been followed by two defeats there since Forest came up to the Premier League two seasons ago.

The four meetings at the top level in the last two seasons have always been won by the home side. In 2022-23 we won comfortably 4-0 (Ings 2, Rice, Antonio) and then last season another 3-2 victory (Paqueta, Bowen, Soucek). In the away games we lost 1-0 in the first game of the season (Awoniyi 45) in 2022-23, and the last time we met in February this year we lost 2-0 (note the times of the goals – Awoniyi 45+4, Hudson-Odoi (90 +4).

So we haven’t won at the City Ground for over 13 years and in the three games since we haven’t scored losing 5-0, 1-0 and 2-0.

Forest are perhaps the surprise team of the Premier League in the first nine games of this season winning four, drawing four and losing just once with 16 points and sitting in seventh place. The wins have been against Southampton, Liverpool (away), Palace and Leicester. The draws were against Bournemouth, Wolves, Brighton (away) and Chelsea (away).

It’s interesting that their most impressive results were all gained on the road at Liverpool, Chelsea, Brighton and Leicester. At the City Ground they could only draw against Bournemouth and Wolves, they narrowly beat Palace 1-0, and their sole defeat this season was 1-0 at home to Fulham. So they have been unbeaten away from home with 11 points from their 5 games whereas at home they’ve won just once in four.

Our head coach loves to surprise with his team selections doesn’t he? Last week we were all aghast when we saw the starting eleven (well I was anyway), but he realised at half-time, made three changes, and the second half was much improved even if we did win the game with one of the softest penalties I can recall us being given. I make just one plea for this game. Play Summerville from the start!