While in still feels like the season has only just begun, the reality is we are one more half of football away from reaching 25% complete. The initial blather about marathons and sprints is behind us and the table is starting to take shape. Earlier suspicions of team strength have been confirmed and it’s becoming clear who the main rivals at the top are likely to be – Swansea, Middlesbrough, Birmingham, West Bromwich Albion, Wolves and Southampton. Throw in the Hammers and it’s any two from seven for automatic promotion.
The bountiful autumn harvest of six points from two games on the road – with seven goals scored and none conceded – was a perfect week for Nuno’s Hammers. After disappointing derby draws against Millwall and QPR, they find themselves back in the top two and right on track for the two points per game target. Perhaps it will be a season of mellow fruitfulness after all.
At the same stage last season, Coventry topped the table with 26 points. Ipswich were several places back on 20 while Middlesbrough (24) and Millwall (23) would have considered themselves well placed. Eventual play-off winners were trailing on 18. Nothing can be taken for granted.
A breakdown of West Ham’s games to date shows that, of the eleven opponents faced, seven are currently in the bottom half of the table and four in the top half. Regardless of position, the average points haul per game has been the same for both groups. Of the potential promotion rivals, the Hammers have now played Wolves and Swansea – and won them both in games where they were happy to concede possession. Will the trend be extended into the next two crucial home fixtures against Saints and the Albion?
There’s a school of football management across the ages for whom a 1-0 away win against a title rival is about as good as it could possibly get. An opportunity for a moment’s reflection, to bask in the glory of their own tactical genius. An excuse to uncork a bottle of the finest burgundy and savour a slow, thick, velvety draw on an expensive Cuban Cohiba cigar. I imagine Nuno as an acolyte of that school. Saturday’s win at Swansea carefully catalogued in his mental scrapbook of greatest managerial moments.
The weekend’s fixture was West Ham’s first trip to Swansea since the ground was exotically re-branded as the Swansea.com stadium. Is it true that visitors must correctly select all the squares with traffic lights before gaining entry through the turnstiles?
The game was as cagey as all top of the table clashes invariably turn out. In theory a mouthwatering showdown, but in practice the fear of losing typically putting a damper on entertainment. Opposing managers seeing no shame in a dour drawn game in such circumstances.
Nuno made just one change from the side that had started at Lincoln, with Divine Mukasa replacing Joel Piroe. It suggested a change of formation to 4-3-3 prior to kick-off but that wasn’t to be as Mo Kante was pushed forward into the space behind Pablo. As a high pressing force, it was possibly the most effective pairing we have seen so far. Both players seemingly tasked with giving everything they have for the first hour. The two combined in the build up to the game’s only goal when Mukasa calmly steered home Kante’s cross with the very first shot of the game on 34 minutes.
Kante continues to show a lot of promise making good forward runs and with potential to do the unexpected. Pablo, on the other hand, continues to move in mysterious that are difficult to fathom. Well below par on individual contribution with the ball at his feet, but an unknowable, enigmatic influence on the team as a whole.
A huge contradiction exists in the Hammers goalscoring record. The league’s top scorers by some distance but with the three ‘specialist’ strikers contributing just five of the 30 goals. Makes you wonder what could be achieved with a half decent poacher in the mix?
Swansea eventually came to life after the goal but had little cutting edge. Their record of 16 goals from 11 games is not impressive and may well be the Achilles heel of any promotion push. In the main, the Hammer’s defence dealt comfortably with home side’s attacking threat, although Swansea’s best scoring opportunities came as the result of West Ham lapses rather than through well-worked openings. Still, two clean sheets in a week are not to be sniffed at and the presence of Joel Veltman and Morato provides much needed stability to the backline.
It was interesting that Mads Hermansen had no saves to make in the entire game – thanks in part to poor Swansea finishing and to the intervention of the crossbar. It could be said the Hammers rode their luck at times, but they also carved out the better scoring opportunities. Swansea grateful to their keeper for making a handful of excellent stops to keep the West Ham lead down to one goal.
With the withdrawal of Pablo and Kante the high press fizzled out, and West Ham retreated deeper into their own half. It’s not a proper West Ham game without a nervous finale and anxiety over the number of added minutes. Fortunately, the boys held on to cut Swansea’s lead at the top of the table to a single point.
It was a competent West Ham performance more than anything else. Neither commanding nor spectacular but it got the job done. Neither was it the West Ham performance of two halves that we have come to expect for the past year or so. No heights were reached but the team remained competitive for most of the 90 minutes.
With Nuno choosing not to field a natural defensive midfielder – due to the ongoing shunning of Alverez and Magassa – special mention should be given to Arne Engels. He has been the unsung hero in his contributions to the team’s efforts in a less than glamourous holding role. Committed, proficient passer, high work-rate and decent set piece delivery. My pick as the next penalty taker.
The next two home games which come at the leisurely pace of one game per week will confirm or otherwise just how convincing promotion credentials are. Let’s hope they are up for the challenge. COYI!
