Author: Geoff Hopkins

Unexpected Items In the Baggies Area: Nuno’s West Ham Are Worse Than Abysmal

A second successive home league defeat to promotion rivals sees the Hammers drop out of the top six and raises huge questions about their promotion credentials. Decisive action will be needed to stop the rot.

A second successive home defeat sent West Ham tumbling to eighth place in the standings as the Championship table begins to sort itself out after Matchweek 13. The days of teams finding their feet and getting settled to a new environment are well behind us, and by the time the international break comes around next week, the season will be one-third completed.

Three teams currently trend above the two points per game (ppg) target typically required for automatic promotion (if you allow for Southampton’s four-point penalty). West Ham are not one of those teams. Instead, they are floundering on 1.69 ppg and might well be grateful that six teams make it into the play-offs nowadays rather than the usual four. Points wise, they are closer to the bottom half than to automatic promotion.

Saturday was another case of same old, same old from Nuno and the team. The usual pre-match platitudes followed by a handful of superficial changes to the starting eleven. Pablo and Austbo preferred to Taty and Solomon in like for like swaps at striker and left sided midfield. And Golambeckis replacing the absent Mavropanos in a move that surprised a lot of people. The excitement of a youngster given an opportunity tempered by the knowledge that it would be Kilman alongside him as mentor. Like taking flying lessons from a blind man. It may be hindsight, but moving Morato into the centre might have made more sense – given he’s certainly no left back.

Other than that, Nuno was not to be swayed from his stubborn insistence on the suitability of an archaic 4-4-2 formation. Or from the certainty that all shortcomings are the result of individual errors and not the system’s underlying flaws. On this occasion though he was facing an opponent setup in a similar fashion. Perhaps we wouldn’t be overrun in midfield for a change.

The question on most fan’s minds was whether it would be yet another slow start from the Hammers. The opening exchanges were encouraging but the energy that saw a corner won in the opening 30 seconds and an incisive Austbo run down the left ten minutes later eventually fizzled out into indifference.

A minor adjustment had been made to the West Ham press from the last successful Pablo and Kante outing at Swansea. Kante was dropping into deeper positions in the expectation that Bowen and Austbo would share pressing duties with Pablo. Fine in principle had it been well drilled, but in practice, it lacked a cohesion. Something that was fully apparent in the simplicity of the Baggies opening goal.

An Albion defender drew an initially reluctant Pablo towards him. One simple forward pass to a colleague in acres of space broke the press completely. From there, a further quick pass in the space between centre and left backs split the Hammers defence wide open. The attacker was free, worked out his angles and the rest, as they say, was geometry.

To their credit, the Hammers clawed themselves level within ten minutes. Kante getting the ‘assist’ credit with a smart pass to Bowen, but the goal was more the result of the skipper’s individual opportunism (and suspect positioning by the Albion keeper) than it was to West Ham carving open the Albion defence. A seventh league goal of the season for Bowen.

Level at the break was not a bad position to be in for a second half team. No need for half-time changes on this occasion. An inspirational dressing room team talk, and the three points would be as good as in the bag.

That illusion didn’t last long. Three minutes in, a cross is allowed to come in from the left, no defenders attack the ball, some stand and watch – and it is 1-2.

This time no rapid West Ham response is forthcoming. Attacks are symbolic; frequent touches in the opposition box but not a single big chance created. Nuno sets the random substitution generator into operation, but the game’s equilibrium is undisturbed.

On 72 minutes the outcome is assured. A corner from the left, keeper frozen to his line, opportunities to clear forsaken, a shot from the edge of the box evading Hermansen and settling into the back of the net. Game over.

It is often argued that West Ham have the strongest squad in the Championship. It’s a subjective claim and the table would beg to differ. What is almost certainly true, however, is that it is the most expensively assembled and highest paid. And with the highest paid manager in the division directing them.

Nuno is no newbie at West Ham. Someone still needing time to educate players in the intricacies of his revolutionary methods. He’s a veteran of over 50 games and still nobody can pick out any identity or personality in the way he wants or intends to play. If he understands it himself, he certainly hasn’t convinced the players. Trying the same thing over and over again and wondering why it fails so frequently is not a strategy.

The one mitigating factor is that recruitment at the London Stadium has a long history of lurching from haphazard and disjointed to expedient. A squad assembled with no direction or plan in mind. But it is the manager’s responsibility to get the best out of the resources available. Nuno is clearly not doing that – or even attempting to in some cases. While some notable aspects of the squad’s shortcomings require reinforcements, others already have better alternatives on the sidelines – but are snubbed due the manager’s thin-skinned ego. Nowhere is this more obvious than goalkeeper and defensive midfield.

There is a stat going around on the internet that since joining West Ham Hermansen has not finished a single match with a positive goals-prevented figure – calculated as the number of goals a keeper conceded to the number of goals they should have conceded based on the quality and placement of shots on target. How shocking is that? Essentially, Hermansen is about as effective as one of those tube men you see air dancing outside a discount furniture warehouse.

The rationale for his inclusion is that he is superior to Areola with the ball at his feet. Never mind this has little value in a team incapable of playing the ball through the lines and eventually resort to long balls anyway.

Saturday’s fixture provided an interesting contrast as to how each team executed their defensive midfield duties. The Albion pair were disciplined and patrolled diligently in front of their centre backs. At the other end, Engels and Mukasa were regularly drawn out to cover the full-backs leaving large open gaps through the centre. And this with a defence that needs all the protection it can get.

Neither Engels nor Mukasa are natural defensive midfielders. Engels should be deployed box to box; Mukasa further forward. The obvious solution (to me) would be to pair either Alvarez or Magassa with Engels and for Mukasa to be competing with Kante for the attacking midfield role.

I’m guessing Nuno has greater access to stats and heatmaps than those I can access for free on the internet – so all this should be no surprise to him. His failure to act can only be put down to the intransigence of a man whose decisions are taken for reasons of personal satisfaction rather than in the interests of West Ham United.

We can only speculate what the owners make of all this – assuming there is anyone paying attention to the day to day running of the club. What do they see when they look at Nuno – a competent leader capable of building for the future? Or the imposter lacking in tactical acumen, man management skills, motivation, match preparation and in-game decisions that the rest of us see?

Never in the history of “x games to save their job” has a manager ever truly turned things around. A temporary reprieve is the best it can get. Can anyone look at Nuno’s West Ham record and conclude he is fit for purpose – either for now or for the future. Nuno must go! Do the right thing board members, you know it makes sense. COYI!

The Wheels Fall Off Nuno’s West Ham Bus As The Saints March On With All Three Points

When William Shakespeare wrote “expectation is the root of all heartache” he could easily be talking about life as a West Ham fan. But even Shakespeare would have abandoned the discredited 4-4-2 formation by now.

All good things must come to an end, they say. And the same applies equally to bang average things where you have somehow managed to snaffle points despite competing for only half the game most weeks. On this occasion, West Ham’s nine match unbeaten Championship run coming to an end in an act of self-harm against a not especially impressive Southampton side.

Nuno has often made the point about hours put in on the training ground to fix those parts of our game that haven’t been working well. If we are to believe that, then either he doesn’t see the timid, slow starts to games as a problem, or he has no solution to fix it. This despite every Hammers supporter in the world having identified it as our greatest weakness. Just ahead of archaic formation, players played out of position and team selections based on the manager’s ego rather than in the interests of West Ham United.

The more I see of Nuno, the more I see a man completely unsuited to the task of football management. At least that is how he comes across – fragile ego, poor communicator and limited tactical nous. A coach who is incapable of reading the game and adjusting his approach accordingly.

It is puzzling to look back at his periods of relative success at Wolves and Forest and wonder how that happened. Was it mostly down to luck? The happenstance of the right players coming along at the right time? Shades of Bilic with Payet and Moyes with Rice. To misquote Hanlon’s Razor: Never ascribe to great management that which is adequately explained by good fortune.

When you see other managers on televised games, they are either earnestly studying each pass, move and transition or else living every shot, pass and tackle on the touchline. Then there’s our guy. A man with the look of someone who had been out walking his dog in the park and stopped for a few minutes to watch a game. Only Nuno had managed to lose his spaniel as well.

What other explanation can we put the repeated slow starts down to other than team orders from the management. What is it now, 11 of the 15 league goals conceded coming before the half-time substitutions? It could also be poor preparation and a lack of motivation, I suppose. It is hard to imagine anyone being inspired or motivated by a repetitive Nuno team talk.

Team selection for Saturday had no real surprises. Kyle Walker-Peters came in for the presumably injured Joel Veltman and in a rotation of goal-shy strikers Taty replaced Pablo. Otherwise, it was again the same 4-4-2 formation last seen on Match of the Day circa 2004. Conceived in an emergency during the latter stages of last season’s failed relegation fight, Nuno is stubbornly sticking to it in a one-man campaign to have it recognised as a heritage artifact. Never mind that every other manager has abandoned it, that it creates frequent midfield overloads and that elsewhere coaches have opted for fluidity over rigidity.

The situation is aggravated at West Ham by Nuno’s refusal to play a specialist defensive midfielder. Someone whose brief is to break down attacks and protect a back four who need all the help they can get. Although Alvarez and Magassa might usefully fulfil that role, they are both frozen out by the manager’s obstinacy. Loathe to consider those he has fallen out with. Is it not a dereliction of duty to sideline players for strictly personal reasons?

The demands of the chosen formation similarly limit the effectiveness of the wide players who ideally should be the Hammers primary attacking threat. Asked to do too much work across too much distance, they are regularly required to drop deep in support their fullbacks. I’m yet to be convinced by Solomon but he and Bowen should be doing the lion’s share of their work in the final third.

All three Southampton goals were supported by the Hammer’s generosity with midfield space – and assisted by two of the team’s greatest weaknesses – goalkeeper and central defence. Hermansen is a below average keeper, especially galling when there is better on the bench. Clearly Areola is another who has ended up on the wrong side of gaffer. The central defender partnership of Kilman and Mavropanos has long looked suspect with the former taking most of the responsibility for me. Slow motion through our goals against and invariably you’ll find Max spectating and shrugging his shoulders a safe distance away from the action areas.

West Ham ramped up 28 goal attempts and a staggering (for us) 52 touches in the opposition box on Saturday. It is tempting to conclude that on a different day we might have scored six or seven. Yet very few clear-cut chances were created and there were rarely sufficient numbers in the box ready to capitalise. And when shots hit the target, Peretz comfortably demonstrated what a difference a brave, competent keeper can make.

Inevitably, Nuno was forced to yet again make changes from the bench. The half-time change was unexpected – some might say unnecessary, but Scarles looked OK when he came on – as I’d anticipated the ineffective Taty and Solomon would be the ones hauled off. As one commentator put it, if Taty’s not getting caught offside or committing a foul, you wouldn’t know he was there. His presence meant the energetic high press from the Swansea game did not materialise.

The substitutions became more frantic and difficult to comprehend as the game progressed. By the end there was no discernible pattern or purpose to the Hammer’s play. Just put six up front and hope for the best, even though you’ve already taken off any hope of creativity that existed. I can’t think of any circumstances that would justify Taty, Pablo and Piroe being on the pitch together at the same time.

Away from the real action, what a diabolical refereeing performance that was from Michael Salisbury. It’s difficult to be objective with referees when they are officiating your own side, but his calls were more than head scratching. Typically, there is a negative correlation between ball possession and fouls committed (teams with less possession generally commit more fouls) yet Salisbury penalised the Hammers 16 times to the Saints 7.

The one minor positive from the weekend was clinging on to third place. Although now only two points separate West Ham from the side in ninth place.

However, the fundamental problem is that the managerial situation is hugely frustration. Nuno is not the man for the job. Perhaps he will eventually get us promoted one way or the other – although I have strong doubts that he can. But what is crystal clear is that we would be doomed to failure if he was again at the helm in the Premier League. COYI!

Sinking the Swans: Mukasa’s Sweet Strike Sends West Ham Back Into the Top Two

Two West Ham wins in a week have wiped away the memory of disappointing draws with Millwall and QPR. Although not yet impressing, do they now have a sense of momentum?

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!

Friday Night Takeaways: Lights, Cameras But Precious Little West Ham Action

A three week break, a send-off for Ludo, a London derby, and a full-house under the east end lights were not enough to shake Nuno’s Hammers out of their trademark cautious and slow start to a game

Busy Saying Nothing

I wouldn’t normally watch a pre-match press conference except that the international break wilderness left me desperately needing a fix of West Ham related content. No surprise though that it was again a waste of everyone’s time. The whole process is a charade. If a manger has something smart or insightful to say about an upcoming game, he’s not going to tell the whole world about it in advance. And it must be the shortest of short straws for a reporter having to travel across London knowing that any probing question will be stonewalled by a low block of pointless platitudes: “working hard”, “trained well this week”, “no easy games in this league”, “we’re not where we need to be yet”.   

A handout of current injury and fitness updates would quite easily do the job.

Nuno’s major revelation was that the players had been exhausted from playing 11 games in the opening 42 days of the season. A cynic might question whether that should be 11 halves of games as his team are rarely competitive over a full 90 minutes. But nobody asked that question. Still, he assured us ‘the group’ had made good use of the time and had been focusing on all the things that hadn’t been working well – but not slow starts apparently.

The Academy of Slow Starts

I’ve never been a fan of Friday night games. The build-up, anticipation and then following West Ham games has forever been the weekend anchor that the rest of life revolves around. Playing your game before it has really started renders everything else lopsided. Like having dessert before your starter or opening your presents on Christmas Eve.  

On the other hand, evening games under the lights will often generate the kind of magic that even had Nuno’s eyes light up in the presser. Obvious then that returning from a three-week break, faced with a London derby, in a packed floodlit stadium, the Hammers would start the game with all guns blazing. How wrong could we be?

The mother of all shameful statistics from Friday was that West Ham managed a meagre two shots in the opening 70 minutes – both well off target. And not a single shot between the 28th and 70th minutes. How can that be in a passage of play when you are already a goal down – no matter how terrible that penalty decision was?

Weirdly, this is not a new phenomenon. Its roots can be traced back through all the ages of the dinosaurs. From the late Moyesozoic era, through the lesser Lopeteguian and Potterian epochs and into the current Nunolithic age. Periods of great upheaval, tectonic friction, shifting tactical plates and complex mutations. But precious little progress in terms of forward movement or attacking lifeforms. A succession of cautious coaches inhibited by an evolutionary refusal to take risks.

The result is a team which is rarely on the front foot. Wracked with caution. Waiting to react to the mistakes of others rather than making their own things happen. Fearing mistakes and wanting to gauge opponents before daring to act. To the outsider or newcomers, this is the game we now play. It has been baked into the clubs DNA like a hereditary disease – the new West Ham way. And just as it was impossible to draw our way to survival last season, it will be a lost cause this time around for automatic promotion. How Nuno managed it at Wolves is increasingly puzzling.

Split Personality

Three weeks of planning and preparation and the best the manager could come up with was the return of Tomas Soucek. No-one can dislike big Tom. His commitment and effort are second to none. But he cannot be part of any midfield hoping to dominate games. The Championship may lack the technical execution of the Premier League and the first touches maybe far heavier. But teams are packed with athletic, fast and strong players. Soucek is too one paced to prosper in that environment. Without doubt he can be useful in both boxes but is unfortunately a passenger in between. Very useful to have on the bench, not as a starter.   

By no means was Friday’s poor showing all down to Tom.  Or any other individual player come to that. When a team only performs in one half of a game and where you ae regularly forced into making half-time substitutions it has to be down to preparation.

Nuno has one of the best – if not the best – squad in the league yet he seems not to know how to use it or what the team’s identity is meant to be. The playing style lacks consistency or cohesion, communication and leadership are in short supply and mental resilience is flimsy.

Whether these repeated failings are primarily down to the manager or to the players is a reasonable debate to have. After all, we only get to see the results played out on the pitch. For me, in the micro-managed world of modern football, it’s the gaffer who must carry the can. We’ve already seen this season how less talented opponents have used motivation and energy to outplay our more illustrious stars. This forms part of a team’s culture and always starts from the top. Successful teams have players who buy into the manager’s plan and understand their individual parts in executing it. It’s not currently happening under Nuno’s watch.  

The Season Pointathon Update

A second successive draw made it a total of 11 points dropped in the league so far. The haul of 16 points from nine matches averages out at 1.78 points per game (ppg). Assuming the end of season automatic promotion target is 92 points (or 2 points per game) this leaves West Ham off the pace requiring a revised ppg until season end of is 2.05. Eminently achievable in theory but not with Nuno’s current game plan.

From what we have seen, the challenge of the Championship is intensity, not quality. This is where we are lacking and what needs to address urgently.

Ironically, if the players had been practising their last-minute penalties properly, we might still be unbeaten and three points better off by now. Not really deserved but fine margins, I suppose.

Outlook Changeable

Well done to Nuno for winning the September Manager of the Month award. As long as he understands it was for results rather than the nature of the performances that sat behind them. Success in football invariably drowns out all other noises but only the rosiest of claret and blue filters could disguise the reality of how much room for improvement exists.

Apart from the questionable tactics, Nuno’s management style – which feels churlish to me but is usually perceived as uncommunicative – is a huge worry.

His job is to do the best for West Ham using all the resources available to him. If there is conflict or he has difficult players to deal with, then it is his responsibility to resolve matters and extract the required levels of performances, even if he doesn’t get along with certain individuals. Ignoring players or freezing them out for the sake of his personal comfort or hurt feelings is not acceptable.    

This behaviour is not unique to his time at West Ham and has followed him from club to club. His current refusal to use Alvarez or Magassa when the team is crying out for a specialist defensive midfield player should by itself be a sackable offence. Let’s see what happens on Wednesday as the circus moves on to Sincil Bank – or the ProAmpac Stadium to give it its full title – Google Rating 4.4ì “Beer prices are fair, with some quality ones”.

The last time West Ham played Lincoln City in the league was during the Hammers 1957/58 Division Two promotion season. The game in December 1957 ending: Lincoln 1 West Ham 6. A repeat would be most welcome.

The Imps have yet to win a home game this season (drawn two, lost two) but have won three times on their travels to sit mid-table with 11 points from nine games.

COYI!

Inspired Substitutions Rescue Jammy Hammers In Docker Shocker

A late revival earned West Ham an unlikely share of the spoils in Saturday’s much hyped Dockers Derby. Once again, poor preparation requiring changes to formation and personnel at half-time.

The Den London SE16. Saturday 19 September 2026 12:30 PM. Mostly Cloudy 19C

Pre-Match

I have a confession to make. I don’t have any stronger feelings about Millwall than I do about most of our other London rivals. I know in some supporter’s eyes that means I’m not ‘proper West Ham’, but I can’t concoct an animosity that is not truly felt. Fair enough there are those from a different ‘manor’ who have lived different experiences but for me the rivalry has been over- egged for the sake of media content.

The south Londoners barely registered on my personal radar of a West Ham fan growing up in the suburban badlands between east London and Essex. If I had ever encountered a Millwall fan, they never took the opportunity to reveal themselves. And having attended my first game at the Boleyn in 1961, it would be another 17 years before we finally got around to playing them. Even now, we have only played them 15 or 16 times in my supporting lifetime.

Scarily, things could easily have turned out quite differently. With a father born in Stratford and a mother born in Bermondsey, I am forever grateful that natural selection ensures football allegiances are passed down exclusively through paternal genes. Saving me from a lifetime of caravans, railway arches and gold signet rings.

None of that takes anything away from the importance of the game. A London derby that must be won and approached with pride and commitment. And against an opponent who will see this game as their cup final.

Teams

No surprise that Nuno has named the same eleven which started against Wrexham apart from the one injury forced change, Kyle Walker-Peters replacing Joel Veltman at right back. Sticking with a winning team is a common mantra in football and one that Nuno follows religiously. Just as he will persevere with his fixated 4-4-2 formation until something goes disastrously wrong.

As for Millwall, they come into the game with a lengthy injury list. On paper that is promising for West Ham perspective although history reminds us that this is not always the case.

Just to gauge the gap in the financial resources of the two clubs. In the last published accounts, West Ham’s revenues were £226 million, Millwall’s £23.9 million. Even allowing for the relegation income penalty facing the Hammers that is quite a difference. And illustrates what an achievement it was for the Lions to be challenging for promotion last season on such a limited budget. We have no excuses.

 Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Morato, Engels, Mukasa, Bowen ©, Solomon, Taty, Piroe. Subs: Herrick (GK), Scarles, Golambeckis, Magassa, Orford, Kanté, Ajala, Austbø, Pablo

First Half

Millwall 2 (Caleb Taylor 16, Camiel Neghli 45 +3) West Ham 0

Abysmal, dreadful, awful. Just a few selected words to describe West Ham’s first half performance. More donkey derby than docker derby. Totally unprepared for the intensity of the opposition game. Out thought in the dugout; out fought on the pitch.

The worst fears that Nuno’s formation would mean being overwhelmed in midfield were all too apparent, especially in the absence of a specialist defensive midfielder. Where Millwall brought motivation and organisation, West Ham were passive, weak and rudderless.

With Engels and Mukasa marooned the wrong side of the halfway line, the front four players barely had a meaningful touch for the first half hour. No runners, little movement and Nuno looking on helplessly from the sidelines.

Do they not have any specific pre-match preparation at Rush Green? Did they not expect an aggressive opening from Millwall – in front of their own supporters at the Den? Must we always be taken by surprise at how opponents approach games and wait until half time to fix things?

The two Millwall goals were almost carbon copies of each other as West Ham again revealed their vulnerability to long throws. The very thought causing panic, fear and alarm.

The first scored while Mavropanos was off the pitch having been clattered by Hermansen’s rash attempt to reach a cross that was never his to claim. Another goal where Kilman turned his back on the ball rather than risk getting struck. Craig Dawson and Ginger Pele would be turning on their sixpences at the thought of such cowardice. Surely time to put him back on the bench where he can do less damage.

The second came just as the prospect of somehow making it to the break just the one goal behind. But with more white shirts spectating than defending the hosts were free to deservedly double their lead.  

Second Half

Millwall 2 (Caleb Taylor 16, Camiel Neghli 45 +3) West Ham 2 (Mohamadou Kanté 74, Konstantinos Mavropanos 80)

A poor showing always begs the question: is it the players or the system that’s too blame? The answer is probably a bit of both, but I have little confidence in Nuno’s system myself. And if the players have similar feelings, then performances will always suffer. It may work against open attacking sides prepared to concede space between the lines – but they are the exception. Against the rest – and wise opponents will see Millwall’s approach as a perfect template – the undermanned midfield and pedestrian build-up will prove costly.

In the event, Nuno made changes to both players and system at half time. On came Pablo and Kante in place of Piroe and KWP, with a change to three at the back and an extra body in midfield. Whether it was formation, personnel or Millwall tiring, West Ham gradually took the initiative.

Pablo – can’t play with him, can’t play without him – came out like a man who had been watching Green Street on repeat over the past week. His effort was inspirational although he missed with a header that Piroe might well have put away.

The Hammers struggled to turn their dominance into chances until Kante let rip from 35 yards to reduce the deficit. It was all West Ham after that. Bowen, Solomon and Austbo came to life and Kante was making runs beyond the strikers. Purpose and energy returned to their game. When Solomon sent over a delightful cross, Mavropanos was on hand to head home the equaliser.

A West Ham winner would have been harsh on Millwall but the chances of that happening faded when Kante was red carded for a blatant DOGSO. The consensus that Kante did the right thing shows how far cynicism has infected the professional game. When Willie Young scythed down Paul Allen in the 1980 cup final, we were outraged at how shocking and unsporting it all was. So bad that it led to the rules being changed. Now, it is applauded as taking one for the team.

In the end, Nuno and West Ham got away with one on Saturday. Hopefully he has a further supply of Get-Out-Of-Jail cards up his sleeve. For the neutral, I imagine it was an enjoyable game to watch. Plenty of action, passion, tackles – and no VAR to spoil the occasion. COYI!

NOW That’s What I Call Football, Volume Six Zero: Five Takeaways From Hammer’s Hollywood Blockbuster

An out of the (claret and) blue West Ham performance of free-flowing football has supporters gobsmacked and observers purring while Nuno throws caution to the wind

Nuno Says Relax

The most pleasing aspect of Friday’s performance for me was to the witness excellent movement from the West Ham players right across the pitch. With movement in front of you, the opportunity for progressive passing becomes all the more possible. Too often players have been receiving the ball in stationary positions and opting for the safety-first option of the sideways pass. Momentum is lost; space created and unpredictability are at a premium. That all changed on Friday. It was football with a smile on its face, played with a swagger, verve and joie de vivre last seen during the pandemic.  

It is movement which creates space for others to exploit; and we started to see players carrying the ball from deep positions with purpose. It delivered flashes of the variety and flair that Hammer fans have longed for. One might even say it was football played the West Ham way. It was beautiful. It was dominant. It was entirely unrecognisable. But once the dust settled, every battle-hardened supporter will be asking themselves the same thing: can it be repeated, or was it the accidental expenditure of a season’s worth of competence in a single game?

Kante Goes To Hollywood

More often than not, it is the 30-yard piledriver that garners most attention and goes on to win goal of the season. Personally, I love a team goal scored at the culmination of a free flowing, well worked move – and there were plenty to choose from on Friday night.

Mukasa’s pinpoint cross-field pass, Solomon’s hold-up play, Morato’s overlap and measured cross, and Bowen’s run for number one. Solomon’s through ball, Taty’s unselfish pull back for Piroe to score the second. KWP’s lung busting run from his own penalty area and Taty’s cool finish for make it four-nil. Solomon’s delightful pass and Kante’s run, control and rising drive to make it five. Finally, another KWP run and layoff to setup Solomon for a well-deserved sixth.

Perhaps the move that epitomised the spirit of the performance the best didn’t even end in a goal. A combination of Taty – Piroe – Taty – Bowen with the latter’s drive whistling tantalisingly past the far post.

And how nice not to have to put up with VAR taking five minutes to analyse whether Taty’s shoulder blade was offside in the build up to the Piroe goal. Spontaneity is back. Long live the spontaneity!

Two Tribes: West Ham Exceptional or Wrexham Awful?

A natural tendency after such a commanding one-sided performance is to wonder whether the win was the result of the Hammer’s excellence or Wrexham’s shortcomings. Had we made them look ordinary or had the visitor’s ordinariness made us look world beaters. In truth, it was a combination of the two until a flood of goals generated confidence at one end and edginess at the other.

Wrexham seemed naïve rather than abysmal – not yet finding their feet in the second tier after their meteoric rise from obscurity. They were billed as a physically strong side alternating between intense pressing and a compact mid to low block. But failed to deliver. Perhaps it was the plan all along to sacrifice the freedom of the wings and hope to deal with low risk crosses in the centre. If it was, it was undone by the unfamiliar range of movement displayed by the Hammers. And, for once, there was no parking brake applied at half-time as Nuno’s men continued to press forward, seeking to score as many goals as they could.   

Welcome To The Hammerdome

In every all-round top-notch team performance, there are always those who standout, and it was understandably the attacking players who shone the brightest.

The spring was back in Jarrod Bowen’s step with the type of performance which reinforces that he is a cut above anyone else in this league. He might well have had a hattrick and there was one sublime ball to pick out Manor Solomon early in the second half.

On the opposite wing, we were treated to just what Solomon has to offer. In earlier games, I suggested he was all pie and no filling. On Friday, he was different gravy, making a contribution to four of the six goals scored, even if he didn’t earn an assist credit for all of them. The pass for the Kante goal was outstanding.

And then there was Taty. The subject of many a wantaway rumour during the summer, he doesn’t look like someone who would rather be elsewhere. He is clearly an intelligent footballer who has become adept at intricate link up play – something unexpected from last season’s performances. With Pablo out of the way, we see far more fluidity from his partnership with Piroe. It has me wavering over my dislike for Nuno’s 4-4-1-1 formation.

Taty’s goal was his first in the league this season and good to see the goals being shared around. The tally currently stands at Bowen (4), Piroe and Mav (3), Solomon, Kante and Mukasa (2).

The Power of Love: Table Toppers

More than one media outlet framed the West Ham performance as ominous for the remaining Championship clubs. Let’s hope it turns out that way and that momentum can be maintained. A possible consequence, though, is that opponents will look to frustrate the Hammers by defending deep and denying space. The test then becomes a case of achieving victory through attrition. Are we up for the challenge?

It is still early days for league tables but there is nothing like being right at the top. The caveat is that of the seven games played, only two have been against sides currently in the top half – while four have been against teams currently in the bottom six. But we have now reached the two points per game target which usually guarantees automatic promotion if maintained.

Of the other early pacesetters, Middlesbrough. Wolves, Southampton and (maybe) Swansea are likely to be the major threats.

Now there is just the small matter of a Carabao Cup tie and a trip across the river to Bermondsey to occupy us. COYI!

A Prod Is As Good As A Dink To A Signed Norse: Austbo Adds Gloss To West Ham’s Derby Demolition

A late cameo from debutant Austbo steals the show as West Ham eventually ease past an unadventurous Derby at the London Stadium. The Hammers are maybe finally finding their Championship feet.

Saturday 5 September 2026. London Stadium, Stratford E15. Partly Sunny 22C

Pre-match Tensions

Another week, another swing from desolate doom to unbridled celebration as West Ham’s season trundles along while transfer windows and boardroom plots lurk in the shadows. To keep on top of things in the modern game, a football fan needs to be as familiar with player amortisation, squad cost ratios and pre-emptive shareholder rights as they are with formations, transitions and inverted full backs. How have they made it so complicated?

Some years ago, a group of boffins – remember them, the one-time staple of tabloid headlines, as in “Busty Boffin In Raunchy Love Nest Romp” – calculated that when your team loses it robs you of four times the amount of happiness that is gained from a win. The joy of a win is fleeting while the sadness of defeat lingers for many hours more. Possibly even longer now there is a whole online ecosystem feeding off that disappointment and transforming it into outrage. Analysing each stray pass, defensive lapse, fluffed chance, and refereeing injustice.

Once upon a much simpler time, the only statistic I was interested in after the latest reverse to an undeserving opponent was my xP – the expected number of pints needed to completely forget what I had just seen. Now the postmortem extends way beyond the call of last orders.

It was interesting to hear Nuno say how much the win against Wolves had lifted the mood at the club. My belief was that erratic game-to-game volatility is the preserve of the supporter rather than the coach, whose job is to take objective and balanced views in fixing what isn’t working regardless of results. But I suppose winning builds confidence and today is an early opportunity to observe how that works out in practice.

The Teams Are Announced

There are two changes from the team that started on Tuesday. Veltman and Piroe come in to replace Walker-Peters and Pablo. Veltman was not the most exciting of summer signings, but he brings a wealth of experience and a definite sense of leadership to the team. Deadline day signings Boiro and Morato both find a place on the bench.

Pablo is the notable absentee from the matchday squad. Does that mean an injury or is an exit on the cards to one of the leagues where the transfer window remains open? With Ajala missing also, there are no backup striker among the substitutes.

A slither of hope for those willing Pablo to eventually come good is that it took Peter Crouch 1,229 minutes to score his first goal after his move to Liverpool. Pablo is currently on 1,150 minutes and counting. Perhaps bagging the winner against Millwall will do the trick.

Hermansen, Veltman, Mavropanos, Kilman, Scarles, Engels, Mukasa, Bowen ©, Solomon, Piroe, Taty. Subs: Herrick (GK), Walker-Peters, Boiro, Morato, Golambeckis, Lamadrid, Kanté, Austbø, Orford   

The match referee is Oliver Langford. His Mike Dean challenge for today is to perform a charade of Three Men and a Baby while sorting out the goalmouth skirmishes in preparation for a corner kick.

First Half Report

West Ham 1 (Piroe 6) Derby County 0

Nuno is persevering with his 4-4-something formation with all its loss of fluidity and the potential for overload in the midfield. Most coaches had abandoned it years ago, but Nuno must see what others don’t or else believes it to be the only one suited to the players in his squad – even after all the comings and goings of the summer.

On paper, the centre of midfield pairing of Engels and Mukasa feels lightweight. It is also a setup which places too much defensive responsibility on the wide attacking players, Bowen and Solomon. Fortunately, Derby have arrived without any ambition to compete in the midfield areas and are happy to surrender control to their hosts. Taty and Piroe are rotating up top, and it takes only six minutes for them to combine and open the scoring. Bowen’s fine cross, Taty’s header back across goal and Piroe perfectly placed to prod home.

The remainder of the first half is one-way traffic with the Hammers creating plenty of chances to extend their lead. The early goal has not galvanised the visitors into action, and they are content to keep it tight at the back and not concede further goals.

At times there is even a touch of swagger in West Ham’s approach play including several delightful combinations featuring Taty, Bowen and Mukasa. How refreshing to have a player like Mukasa able to carry a threat through central areas of the pitch. It makes the team so much less predictable. Elsewhere, the defence has looked collectively sound, and Engels is putting in an excellent shift in the engine room. It is also pleasing to see more bodies getting into the box in support of attacks.

The Hammers will be frustrated to go in the break just one goal to the good. For a team that has historically failed to perform in two consecutive halves of football the question is: will they live to regret it?

Full Time Report

West Ham 3 (Piroe 6, Austbo 87, Kante 90+5) Derby County 0

It’s not clear what Nuno says to his players during the half-time team talk but once again lethargy has crept into Hammer’s demeanour following the re-start. Whatever has been said, it has not had the desired motivational effect.

Luckily, despite their increased possession, Derby have offered little in the way of goal threat. But a single goal lead is always precarious. It only needs a deflected shot, a set piece scramble – or for the referee to have called hand ball when the ball struck Mav’s arm in the area – for it to be cancelled out.

As an attacking force, the Hammers had become especially weak down their left-hand side. Scarles game lacks composure and conviction at the moment and could well do with a break from first team action. Solomon, on the other hand, continues to flatter to deceive. He’s like a disappointing firework. Looks good, has great attitude, good control and first touch. But the explosion never comes. The blue touch paper has been lit but fizzles out in a puff of smoke and stray sparks. He had one great opportunity to enter the memorable West Ham goals hall of fame when an audacious lobbed pass from Mukasa fell nicely into his path – but the mistimed shot looped tamely into the keeper’s arms.

A welcome treat for Nuno this weekend was that his substitutions worked out perfectly. Orford replacing the injured Taty shored up the midfield, pushed Mukasa further forward and altered the team’s shape for the better. And it was the introduction of Austbo and Kante which triggered the late scoring flurry to secure all three points.

Full marx to Engels for his surging run and cross that arrived (via a scuffed Bowen shot) at the feet of Austbo to steer calmly home and register a dream debut goal. Then, as the clock ticked down, Austbo’s clever pass forward invited Kante to lash home from just outside the box.

In the end, it was a job well done. A decent and encouraging overall performance, a rare clean sheet, and a more respectable look to the league table. A second consecutive win makes it a double happiness week and evens up the balance for the season if you include cup games.

Now it must be done all over again for the upcoming games on Tuesday and Friday evenings. We must rely on Nuno to make the correct and intelligent squad rotation decisions to maintain the new found momentum. COYI!

Seven Points Thrown Away: And So It’s My Assumption, Nuno’s Up The Watford Junction

Except for the names and a few other changes, it is the same West Ham story at Vicarage Way as slow build up, risk aversion, poor movement and a lack of penetration lead to frustration and the loss of more important league points.

Vicarage Road, Watford. Saturday 29 August 2026. 3:00 PM. Light to Heavy Showers: 19C

Pre-match Thoughts

As ever the big question when West Ham play Watford is “are Watford a London club?” The evidence is conflicting. I’m sure they appeared in a bold typeface in the old Evening News/ Standard Saturday night classifieds; and were occasionally featured on London Weekend Television’s Big Match the following day. The town is served by the London Underground, sits inside the M25 and is no further from Central London than Romford is. On the other hand, it officially remained part of Hertfordshire rather than being annexed (as Romford and indeed West Ham were) during the expansion of Greater London in 1965. So, there you have it. The answer is “possibly”.

The other big question is what lessons, if any, will have been learned from last Saturday’s woeful effort against Charlton and the noticeable midweek improvement at Southampton? We’ll know fairly soon.

This will be the penultimate game before the transfer window closes as West Ham will again be playing on the actual night. Although the Boardroom has lost some its reputation for having more leaks than soup in a basket, the window has largely played out much as it always has. Better prices have been received for departures admittedly, but progress on signings has been as hesitant, haphazard and protracted as usual.

Alongside the transfer window, the pre-emption round for the purchase of the Gold family shares also slams shut over the coming week. The widespread belief is that Daniel Kretinski will emerge as the main buyer, but we can’t know that for certain. Maybe he has seen enough over the last few weeks to have a change of heart and pass the poison chalice onto the Staveley consortium.

The Teams Are Announced

Nuno’s team selection shows three changes from the side that started against Charlton. Out go Mavropanos (injured), Scarles and Piroe. In come Veltman, Golambeckis and Mukasa. On paper it looks like a 4-2-3-1 with Mukasa deployed as the creative attacking midfielder. Walker-Peters is switched to left back ahead of Mayers and Scarles.

A surprise after the midweek performances is that it is Kante who gets the nod over Orford. This may be due to Nuno’s preference for height in centre of midfield – the same rationale for Soucek’s frequent starts last season. The absence of a quick, mobile and tactically aware deep lying midfielder to protect the defence continues to stick out.

Match Report

Watford 1 (Nabizada 19) West Ham 1 (Pollock (OG) 27)

There was too little action this week to divide the match report into its separate halves.      

West Ham had a brightish opening ten minutes but with only another blocked shot from Bowen to show for their efforts. The early momentum then switched as the home side began to grow in confidence and into the game. The Hornets took the lead on 19 minutes with a neat lobbed finish that a proper goalkeeper with normal sized arms should easily have saved. For a while, Watford’s ascendency suggested they might well double their lead to add to visitor’s woes. However, the Hammers survived and largely control possession for the remainder of the game. Apart, that is, from a short spell of Watford dominance just after the break as the Hammers recovered from Nuno’s inspiring half-time team talk.

The game had returned to all square by the break thanks to an unnecessary attempt to play out from the back by Keben in the home defence. Full marks to Taty for not giving up the chase but the goal came gift-wrapped rather than as a reward for any incisive claret and blue play.

The second half was almost entirely without incident. The Hammers created little from their near 70% possession or from the succession of corners which floated carelessly into the night. Watford’s occasional forays up field, while executed with purpose, rarely caused meaningful danger.

It was textbook low intensity football from West Ham. The apparent formation change made little material difference and played out as a hybrid of the anticipated 4-2-3-1 and the 4-4-1-1 that has plagued our approach since its unexpected short-term success at the start of the year.

Transition was again painfully slow; defined by a pointless back and forth in the defensive third. The theoretically most dangerous outlets (Bowen and Solomon) typically received the ball in deep, static positions with a full defensive line reformed in front of them – given ample time get back into its shape.

For the most part, our wingers do most of their work well away from the danger areas. Cutting inside before running out of space and being forced to play sideways or backwards. It is a rarity to have a ball played into space for a wide man to run onto. And if (and when) a ball is eventually delivered into the box, there are never enough bodies arriving to attack it.

Everything we see is a consequence of the low-risk mindset at the heart of Nuno’s footballing philosophy. It might occasionally work when the opposition is attack minded (as it did at Southampton) but is hopeless when confronted with a low block or intense pressing. The sad fact is that this will be case in the majority of Championship games this season.

Of equal significance is the lack of movement this risk averse attitude engenders. Where are the runners, who is creating the space for others to exploit? Mukasa struggled to make any impact – as other attacking midfielders have before him – due to an obvious lack of passing options and movement in front of him. It is a team playing on their heels rather than their toes. This has been a long running West Ham problem relieved only temporarily during the Lingard/ Rice purple patch of 2021.

Supporters are right to want and expect more signings before the window closes. But those signings should be to convert a squad already good enough for top four into certainties for promotion. The fact is we currently sit in 19th place having dropped seven points from the nine available. The only reasonable conclusion is that the underlying problem lies in the dugout. A mindset that was complicit in last season’s relegation and refuses to budge or adapt.

Will bringing in different players make the necessary improvements if nothing else changes. Marginally perhaps but not to the level required to achieve automatic promotion. It would the equivalent of signing up more A-list actors for a movie where the Director is clueless and the script and screenplay are an abomination.

The writing must surely be on the wall for Nuno. There are five more league games and an EFL third round encounter before the international break. It will need a massive turnaround for the manager to survive the chop at that point. We can officially launch the six games to save his job countdown, starting with Tuesday night’s clash with Wolves.

One bright spot from the game was the assured performance of Golambeckis in the centre of defence. He has the look of a very intelligent centre-back with good pace and great awareness. It will be interesting to see how he fares against the more agricultural of Championship strikers. COYI!

A Fistful Of Transfer Fees: A Time To Spend, Spend, Spend? Plus Preview of West Ham at Watford

The lows of last Saturday were partly offset by a youth inspired Carabao Cup high at Southampton. What now for West Ham as they return to league action in the last weekend of the transfer window?

It’s been a fairly typical week in the life of a West Ham supporter. From the anger and despair of that submissive performance against Charlton at the weekend to the delight of a youth inspired Carabao cup romp on the south coast a few days later.

People say that following West Ham is roller coaster ride. But it’s the reverse really. On a roller coaster the thrills come on the way down while in football they are felt on the way up. Perhaps ultimately neither truly live up to expectations or last long enough in the memory.

We should really have learned our lesson by now or accepted that our support is no more than an annual subscription to disappointment. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if the club marketed it in this way? Upgrade your Casual Sufferer free trial to enjoy the full benefits of our Frequent Flagellant membership. A special limited time offer which must end when the transfer window closes.

One of the accidental benefits from relegation is the opportunity to survive an extra round or two in the Carabao Cup before the obligatory autumnal elimination comes around, usually away at Liverpool. Even so, an away tie with Southampton looked like no easy task on the evidence of form to date. The Saints boasting an impressive home record at the St Mary’s Stadium.

However, despite the best efforts of master spy, Tonda Eckert – the miniature microphone hidden behind the Piri-Piri sauce bottle in the Rush Green canteen, motion tracking cameras installed on the top of training cones or sending Sammy Saint along with a pair of Meta glasses – he was unable to prepare his side for the youthful exuberance of the West Ham performance.

Once again, the early signs were not encouraging. A lack of awareness and tenacity in the Hammers defence allowing the home side to grab a soft early lead. Gradually, the youngsters grew into the game, drew level just before the break, and blew the hosts away in the second period. Josh Ajala stole many of the headlines with a debut brace but there were also fine contributions from Lewis Orford, Divine Mukasa and Airidas Golambeckis. It was pleasing to see four very well taken goals.

It would be premature to bet the remainder of our season on these young lads but they can surely play an important part and become part of a brighter home-grown future. For me, seeing Mukasa carry the ball forward with confidence was a reminder of how much this has been missed from the Hammers line-up – unfortunately, he is not our player.

I have seen suggestions that Nuno can use the victory as a blueprint for the rest of campaign. If he does let’s hope he doesn’t have it back-to-front or upside down.

With the transfer window still having several days to run, the club is mired in a phoney squad building phase. Not knowing who can be shifted and who can be recruited during the final days as the clock ticks down. The scale of problem has been magnified by circumstances at West Ham this time around. The finances were in a godawful mess even before relegation and will have been giving the bean counters double entry nightmares ever since thanks to a huge drop in revenues, a boardroom stalemate and the need to comply with the 85% squad cost ratio rules. Untangling the gordian knot of inherited chaos, outstanding debt, and ongoing transfers while remaining competitive cannot be underestimated. A bit like attempting to repair a cassette tape that had got mangled up in the tape player with only a pencil for assistance – but harder! Will it ever play properly again?

The good news is that the completed and pipeline transfers out will have saved tidy sums on player wages and amortisation, as well as generating significant player sale profits – which can be added back in to revenues for SCR purposes. Hopefully, it is clear by now what is left in petty cash to strengthen the squad in the final days of the window – assuming there is money left over after meeting outstanding cash flow obligations from previous seasons.

I doubt it’s going to be spend, spend, spend but those gaps in the squad won’t fill themselves. I still want to see reinforcements at centre back and defensive midfield as a minimum – whether that means spending a portion of the transfer windfall or raiding the loan market. As long as no-one is daft enough to sign Reiss Nelson.

Saturday sees West Ham’s first return to Vicarage Road since December 2021, a game the Hammers won 4-1 and featured Nikola Vlasic’s only goal for the Hammers. In fact, the last three visits to Watford have each ended with comfortable away wins at an aggregate of 11 goals for and 3 against.

Can we assume that Nuno has finally seen the light and abandons his 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 obsession for good. It was only ever an expediency to cater for the inclusion of winter signings, Taty and Pablo. A 4-2-3-1 formation makes far more sense in ensuring we are not overrun in midfield and vulnerable through the centre. My own pick for a starting eleven would be: Areola • Veltman Mavropanos Kilman Mayers • Engels Orford • Bowen Mukasa Solomon • Taty (or Piroe).

Watford have started the season with a home win against Southampton and an away draw at Wrexham in the league. In midweek, a much-changed team were thrashed 5-1 Peterborough at Vicarage Road. With a recent history of constant upheaval, being a Hornet’s fan must be equally as frustrating as being a Hammer.

A scene from the Comic Strip’s spoof spaghetti western “A Fistful Of Travelers Cheques” predicted perfectly how the club would later be run under their current owners:

Carlos: Which football team do you support?
Miguel: Eh… Watford.
Carlos: [spits] Watford can’t play to save their lives, amigo!
Miguel: I agree.
Carlos: Oh. Oh, well then, I don’t agree! I think they can play. They just need a new manager!

Any many a new manager have they had. Current incumbent, Alessio Dionisi, is the 25th to hold the title since the Pozzo family assumed control in 2012. Do they bother putting a name on the door? Hiden away on the list are some familiar old names including Glenn Roeder, Gianfranco Zola and Slaven Bilic. Of all the managers employed, it is Zola who holds the record for surviving the greatest number of games.

Other West Ham connections are one time director Jack Petchey who owned Watford during the 1980/90s – buying from and then selling back to Elton John – and current CEO, Scott Duxbury, who held the same role at Upton Park prior to the Gold & Sullivan takeover.  

According to the internet, Dionisi’s style revolves around building from the back, attacking overloads, intense pressing and pushing bodies forward. Basically, the same as most sides outside of West Ham. It should allow space at the back for the Hammers to exploit. It will be a good opportunity to see how young players react to an intense pressing opponent.

What we will get on the day is anyone’s guess. Can we maintain a decent level of intensity over 90 minutes, can we not only pass accurately but with purpose, can we manage to defend a lead without dropping deeper and deeper? Come on Nuno, you know it makes sense. COYI!       

West Ham Face Critical Dilemma Following Charlton Clash: Should He Stay Or Should He Go Now?

An inability to establish an identity on the pitch, players regularly played out of position, glaring gaps in the squad, and another rudderless performance against Charlton on Saturday raise serious concerns over Nuno’s future at the London Stadium

London Stadium. Saturday 22 August 2026. 3:00 PM. Partly sunny: 21C

Pre-Match Thoughts

The season may be a few games old by now, but it is the daily transfer chatter which continues to dominate the cyber waves. With another week or so still to go, further comings and goings are guaranteed as the bean counters grapple with the two-pronged cash flow and squad cost ratio dilemma. A situation not at all helped by the unwelcome and drawn-out ownership skirmishes dividing the boardroom.

The best advice is don’t get that favourite player’s name printed on the back of your shirt until the final squad lists are published, and the window has finally closed on 1 September. Does the transfer window still slam shut when you’re in the Championship? The jerky grating of an old patio door stuck on its runners is perhaps more in keeping with the make-do-and-mend environment we find ourselves in currently.

Reading supporter’s comments online, I get the sense that transfer schizophrenia abounds. It would be great to unearth emerging talent, but what we need are players with experience at this level. Now’s not the right time to take a flyer on unproven talent when there are immediate problems to solve, they say. Just as it won’t be next season, or the season after that. And that, unfortunately, leaves us with the same short-term, unplanned, expedient recruitment approach that has failed to deliver for the past 15 years. The strategy that is responsible for the haphazard, bits and pieces squad we see before us. Buying tomorrow’s deadwood today by scouring the clearance sales for late career players and overpaying for foreign imports unsuited to the English game. All topped up by an assortment of last-minute emergency loans.

Some feel that Nils Koppen should have made more of a mark by now. But that’s a big call for a guy who is just a few weeks into his job; trying to understand Nuno’s requirements and match them to competent players available at knockdown prices. A Director of Recruitment is for life, not just for a single transfer window!

Still, at least Nuno has a  few new options to toy with ahead of today’s visit of Charlton Athletic. Let’s see how it pans out.

The Team Sheets Are In

Chapter 9 of the Timid Manager’s Handbook recommends not starting your new signings until they’ve had at least one game sat on the bench. Surprisingly, Nuno has gone rogue this afternoon and given starting debuts to both Engels and Piroe.

The official website is presenting it as a 4-2-3-1 and it will be interesting to see how that works out in practice. The assumption is that Piroe will be furthest forward and Taty in a more withdrawn role. He’s not my idea of a Number 10 but innocent until proven guilty and all that.  

This will be the first home league meeting with Charlton for almost exactly 20 years when West Ham ran out 3-1 victors in August 2006. Former Hammer, Connor Coventry will feature in the Addicks midfield.

Half Time Report

West Ham 0 Charlton 1 (Jones 7)

An all too familiar sluggish start from the Hammers with a formation that shows how dangerous assumptions are when it comes to Nuno. Our new, proven Championship goalscorer has been shoehorned into the Pablo role behind the striker; leaving a disinterested Taty to wander around up top by himself.

Soon, we are a goal down. An innocuous, not particularly long or flat throw-in is allowed to bounce, and the ball is in the back of the net as defenders and goalkeeper look on in amazement.

The pattern of play for the remainder of the half settles into routine frustration. The thrift shop Charlton side are quick and incisive on the break with players able to run with the ball. West Ham are slow and predictable. Hoping to bore the opposition into a stupor by the monotony of their passing.

Focusing your attacks through wide players is a reasonable tactic if you can get the ball out to them quickly and you’re not playing your main striker in midfield. But when you allow opponents to get back into shape while you play triangles in the middle third blunts any offensive threat. Apart from a late Taty header, the Charlton goal face little danger.

Full Time Report

West Ham 1 (Piroe 74) Charlton 2 (Jones 7, Campbell 56)

Nuno replaced Kante with Orford at half-time. One not-really-a-defensive-midfielder for another. This is apparently the extent of his plan for turning things around as everything stayed thesame. The build-up remained ponderous and West Ham still had no-one capable of carrying the ball through the opposition lines. An ability that left (and has never been replaced) with the departure of Declan Rice. On first appearances, it doesn’t look like Arne Engels is the answer to that deficiency.

By the 56th minute, Charlton were two up. Mavropanos had plenty of time to deal with a straightforward punt up field. He made a mess with his original control, had an opportunity to recover but chose to try and buy a foul instead. The referee, perhaps free from the spectre of scrutiny by VAR, was not so easily fooled. A shot from the edge of the box into the corner of the net completed the embarrassment. Should the keeper have done better?

On a good day, Mavropanos is the club’s only reliable defender. But last season’s HOTY becomes a bag of nerves when partnered with Kilman. Neither full-back excels defensively and it is puzzling why the manager continues to opt for Scarles over Mayers.

Defensive lapses are as much a part of West Ham’s DNA as blowing bubbles. A competent defence is a foundation for success. If the recruitment department have only one focus over the next week it should be to find uncompromising replacements for the defensive midfield and centre back positions.

West Ham’s late second half flurry had more to do with Charlton sitting back than any inspired tactical changes. It resulted in a debut goal for Piroe, several headed opportunities that went begging, and a shot from Mukasa that was well saved by the keeper. There should have been a get-out-of-jail card moment in the closing minutes but inexplicably penalty taking duties had been assigned to Taty rather than Bowen. It’s about time, the show-boaty, stuttering penalty run-up was consigned to the Room 101 of football history.  

Nuno has become the latest in a sequence of West Ham managers to stand forlorn and bemused on the wide expanse of the London Stadium touchline. Apparently powerless to do anything about the events unfolding on the pitch. His body language says, “I wish I wasn’t here” and, for once, I agree with him.

Did he just get lucky (as managers often do) in those brief spells at Wolves and Forest? He has been at West Ham for a year now and the team shows no sign of developing an effective style of play or demonstrating a football philosophy. Just as timidity didn’t lead to safety last season, it is unlikely to win promotion this.

With a tough run of league and cup games coming up before the international break, his future must surely be in the balance. No doubt, we must endure the obligatory x games to save his job charade before sanity prevails.     

Pointathon Update

With two games gone and a points per game average of 0.5, the run rate to reach an automatic promotion target of 90 points has increased from 1.96 to 2.02 points per game. Five out of a possible 138 points have been lost forever.

Plenty to think about on the training ground then. In my old football training days, we would regularly play shirts versus skins. I wonder if Nuno goes for Square Pegs versus Round Holes? COYI!