Geoff Hopkins

Of Moyes and Men: Will We See Yet Another Cautious, Cowering, Timorous West Ham Display As They Face Newcastle at the London Stadium?

There was a boost to survival hopes at the weekend as relegation rivals jostle for position. What approach will West Ham take as they use up one of their games in hand?

Picking up three points in the weekend fixture at home to Southampton was a welcome relief. It lifted West Ham clear of the relegation places for now, with the battle for survival not showing any signs of becoming less congested. The fat lady hasn’t even had her hair done and there’s much to play for before we know whether she’ll be blasting out a rendition of ‘Bubbles’.

Last night’s results did little to provide further clarity on who is most at risk for the drop. The Hammers go into tonight’s home game with Newcastle in 15^th spot but only outside the bottom three courtesy of goal difference. If West Ham should win (strange things can happen during a full moon) then it would rocket them up into 12^th place above Crystal Palace.

Sunday’s victory was hardly an inspiring one, with the team once again serving up a lethargic opening 20 minutes – preserving the record of being the only Premier League not to have scored in the opening quarter hour. The tone was set several times in the opening exchanges when Said Benrahma chose to come back inside and play the ball sideways rather than try his luck down the line. Whether that was under orders, to avoid the manager’s wrath, or the sign of a player low on confidence is open to speculation. It was one of Benrahma’s more frustrating afternoons, despite what appears to be a growing understanding with the rapidly improving Emerson.

Although David Moyes has made a slight adjustment to tactics in recent weeks with a formation that is closer to 4-3-3, it is not without its faults in terms of deployment. Declan Rice may be the best candidate to sit and protect the back four, but the team collectively loses out from other important aspects of his game. He is the only player in the squad capable of running with the ball at speed. In this current role, those surging runs are largely curtailed. And Tomas Soucek as part of a midfield tasked with probing and keeping the ball moving is possibly the greatest miscasting since Elijah Wood played Matt Buckner in Green Street Hooligans.

Equally disappointing was the situation up front where the isolated figure of Danny Ings must be wondering what he has let himself in for. I was dumbfounded by Moyes post-match comment that: “we’re only just getting to know him. He’s someone who probably might need more people around him.” Really, David? Isn’t it your job to know these things? Had you never seen him play and recognised his strengths and weaknesses before he signed for West Ham? Mr Due Diligence? Even if Ings was a gift from the Chairman, surely you must have watched him at least once or twice on Match of the Day!

The Saints have an increasing look of doom about them and as things stand are my favourites for the drop along with Forest and Bournemouth. The huge Southampton weakness was the absence of any significant goal threat until they threw on the lanky lad at the end.

For the Hammers, it should now be a case of three or four more wins to ensure survival in a season that most of us just want to forget. I am clinging to the hope that the manager will be shown the door at the end of the season. There’s nothing to suggest that Moyes has any other game plan than caution, low blocks, breakaways and set pieces. Pre-season talk of a more possession based game turns out to hove been pure fantasy. There is small consolation in the circumstances in that West Ham have one of the better goals conceded records in the Premier League (6^th best) – built upon the unadventurous nature of his ultra-low block and massed defences. The elephant in the room for survival is the atrocious away form, and we will need to wait until the weekend to see if that pans out.

This evening’s visitors are having a tremendous season in the league and can now only miss out on Champion’s League qualification with a Kevin Keegan style blowout. Underpinning their success is a surprisingly miserly defence which has conceded just 19 goals all season, seven less than their nearest rival. They have not been an especially high scoring but usually enjoy the lion’s share of possession. I expect Moyes to be targeting a scoreless draw.

The Newcastle team sheet doesn’t look overly fearsome on paper, but Eddie Howe has them playing with a pace, energy and intensity that West Ham supporters can only dream of. Indeed it is a side blessed with pace that are sure to create chances even if they are not the best at converting them. With a bottomless chest of tainted Saudi blood money still to spend they will be a force in English football for years to come. Unless a reappraisal of the fit and proper ownership rules is entered into.

As ever, optimism for the game will probably last until the team-sheets are released an hour before kick-off. Surely, the time has come to give Soucek some bench time. I would prefer to see Flynn Downes as the holding midfielder, allowing Rice to get more involved further forward with Lucas Paqueta. I really don’t see Pablo Fornals as the answer in a deeper role as some have suggested – there is not enough to his game other than running.

Something must also change up front. Ings as a lone striker is nonsense. If Jarrod Bowen cannot be played further forward and closer to Ings, then I would prefer to see Michail Antonio, with all his faults and poor control, in that role. His physical presence and pace is still capable of unsettling defences. Perhaps it is also time to give Maxwell Cornet a run. We badly need a wider distribution of pace across the park.

The Hammers earned one of this season’s modest tally of six away points in the reverse fixture at St James Park in February. The Magpies were without the suspended Bruno Guimarães that day which was quite fortuitous. They are a more complete side when he plays. Another draw wouldn’t be the worst outcome, but ambitions should always be set higher – plan to win, prepare to draw. Unfortunately, we now that type of thinking is not in the manager nature. COYI!

West Ham’s Rubbish Season Not My Fault Says Man In Charge – Except the Euro Run, That Was Me!

The Premier League’s two basement sides face off at the London Stadium in a stereotypical six-pointer encounter. A victory will bring hope while defeat will leave the loser perilously close to oblivion.

It’s been another long break hasn’t it. To fill in time during West Ham’s enforced 21-day hiatus from league action I found myself watching a cable channel that broadcast output from Premier League Productions. Two programmes grabbed my attention.

The first was a discussion with Brentford’s in-house Sports Psychologist that came with with glowing references from Thomas Frank and key members of the Bees squad. It illustrated just how important belief and state of mind were to the fine margins that exist in modern football, providing further refreshing insight into the workings of a progressive, well-run club. It is pure speculation on my part, but I imagine the powers that be would have no truck with this type of new-fangled, namby-pamby nonsense at the London Stadium. Nothing in the fossil records suggests dinosaurs paid any attention to Wellness and mental preparation!

The second show was a profile of Nayef Aguerd and his journey since signing for the Hammers last summer. It focused on his unfortunate pre-season injury and subsequent rehabilitation up until the World Cup. The surprise here was that despite the outside appearance of a converted shipping container, Rush Green does actually house a well-equipped medical and fitness centre. It’s not just a St John’s Ambulance intern with a first aid box and a bottle of military grade White Horse oil. Even more surprising is the current low occupancy in this famously long-stay establishment. It leaves David Moyes with a fully fit squad as the Hammers embark on an eight-week date with destiny.

My takeaways from Moyes pre-match comments were that, in his view, none of the current woes at the club are down to him. The tactics are just fine. All the problems are a consequence of a drop in form by the players. If only they would ‘turn up’ and eat an extra Shredded Wheat for breakfast, then everything would be hunky dory. He had tried manfully to assimilate a host of experienced international players into the squad but they simply couldn’t understand the beautiful simplicity of Moyes ball. What’s so difficult to comprehend about getting behind the ball most of the time and then charging forward in pursuit of a long ball? How was he supposed to know how and where to play Lucas Paqueta, or that Gianluca Scamacca needs the ball played to feet? It should be no surprise to anyone that it’s taken nine months to work this out – that’s just how things are in the Premier League. Look how well I have managed the squad in the Euro Conference League.

There was a lot of talk in the week about a Toxic atmosphere permeating the club. The provenance of the supposed leak did sound a bit flaky – a mate of a friend’s brother’s uncle – and may have been exaggerated for effect after a bevy of post-match Britneys. But it is safe to assume that all is not well and to conclude that the players have lost belief in what the manager is attempting to do. After all, it hasn’t worked for the best part of 18 months now. As results have fallen away, a form of institutional incompetence and paralysis has taken over both Board and management. An expectation that if they wish hard enough, the good times will return.

Moyes meanwhile displays all the man-management skills of a First World War general – digging out individual players in media interviews rather than taking personal responsibility. Doggedly refusing to recognise how his approach, stubbornness and failure to adapt is at the root of inadequate performances and results.

For some reason, pundits and bookmakers consider West Ham to be an outside bet from the group of clubs fighting the drop. On the plus side, there are games in hand and a better a goal difference than most. But the team have been in a slow and steady decline for many, many months. The last 38 games have yielded only 35 points. The last 21 aways games just two wins and ten points – averaging below half a point a game. Is that going to change? Manchester City will be damage limitation and a win at Brentford is unlikely. In theory, trips to Fulham, Palace, Bournemouth and Leicester offer hope but will Moyes suddenly throw off the awayday caution that has stymied his side on their travels since January 2022? Who wants to go to Leicester on the final day needing a win?

Home form is thankfully slightly better but three of the remaining games are against top five sides (Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle) who boast three of the four best away records in the league. Does past performance against top sides suggest a good points haul from these types of game? Add in Liverpool who will also be looking at European qualification and the challenge looks particularly daunting. It makes the matches against fellow strugglers Southampton and Leeds all the more critical.

Following Saturday’s results, today’s game is the quintessential rock-bottom, basement dwelling, six-pointer. A win would take either side out of the relegation zone. A defeat for either, while not terminal, would be a severe blow for survival hopes. Neither will want to lose as two of the teams who were promoted together in 2012 attempt to preserve their Premier League status. It’s hard to imagine both surviving.

Southampton will provide a muscular challenge despite a raft of injury woes. West Ham cannot afford another typically slow start. Rustiness after a three week lay-off is a distinct possibility given the experience of previous breaks. In theory, the Hammers have the superior quality but it has rarely been given an outing this season. It’s going to be a nail biting, cliff hanging, suspenseful, afternoon. COYI!

Ship Of Fools: All Eyes On A European Cruise As West Ham’s Premier League Status Heads To The Rocks

However welcome winning the junior European trophy would be, it does not compensate for the Hammer’s shockingly negative efforts in the domestic league.

The West Ham ship of fools resumes its European adventure at the London Stadium tonight in what should be a second leg formality against AEK Larnaca of Cyprus. The surge of Euro optimism is now alone in keeping West Ham’s season (and David Moyes career) afloat as it sails perilously close to the catastrophic rocks of relegation.

The European Conference is a strange concept. Designed to prevent teams from the lesser associations cluttering up the more prestigious competitions, it will inevitably and ultimately be dominated by the handful of clubs allowed to enter from the elite leagues or those dropping down from the Europa League. The equivalent of allowing parents to take part in the Under 9’s 60 yards dash on schools sport’s day. West Ham’s nine game winning sequence in a season of otherwise desperate struggle captures the situation perfectly.

From now on in, it will be down to the luck of the draw how far West Ham can go. But eventually, the Hammers will come up against opposition from Italy or Spain, and it is difficult to see that ending well if this season’s domestic form is to be our guide. It would be rare for a cup competition to be won by a team that primarily sets out not to lose in any game, and with a manager incapable of making in-game tactical changes to win matches should they fall behind.

Winning the Europa Conference would be a decent achievement. A trophy is a trophy after all, and opportunities don’t come along very frequently in east London. But the bigger prize from winning the Conference would be another season of European football. Although fitting Europa League games in the schedule alongside a 46 match Championship season might throw up some challenges.

***

It was another two points dropped last weekend in what should have been one of West Ham’s more winnable games on the remaining fixtures list. Aston Villa were strangely passive for a side sitting comfortably in mid-table and seemed content to waste as much time as possible. It was an opportunity spurned for the Hammers who were once again constrained by the caution of David Moyes. Time and again, Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma were able to get behind the visitor’s defence but not enough players were committed forward to take advantage.

The role of Tomas Soucek was particularly baffling. There are two things that Soucek can potentially offer. Protecting the backline with clearances and interceptions or providing the type of goal threat that was apparent during his first full season. Neither of those were going to happen from a withdrawn position on the right-hand side of midfield. It can only be stubbornness that blinds Moyes to the fact that the energy and passing of Flynn Downes would have been immeasurably better in that role. Or playing the holding role and allowing greater freedom for Declan Rice to get forward.

The debate as to how much individual player performances are contributing to the Hammer’s demise has raised its head again this week. Should Danny Ings have pressed the Villa keeper’s time wasting, or was he under instruction not to do so. Should our full-backs do more to prevent crosses coming in, or are they told to remain narrow across the width of the penalty area? It is difficult to imagine players willingly wanting to play so negatively. Whatever the case, there looks an obvious disconnect between the manager’s tactics and the squad’s desires. It is leaving them unhappy, confused and lacking belief.

It has also become increasingly obvious that the summer signings were brought in without any underlying plan as to how they would be used. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to managers and coaches – and taken six months to discover – that Lucas Paqueta is more effective when played in a deeper role. Or that Gianluca Scamacca is never going to cut it as a lone striker. What happened to the manager’s canny due diligence? At least most are now finally back fit and available. Touch wood!

After today’s game, West Ham have a break until 2 April before they entertain fellow strugglers Southampton at home. Last night’s results brought some cheer in that defeats for Crystal Palace and the Saints did nothing to ease the congestion at the bottom. There are still nine teams averaging a point a game or less.

Each of the relegation rivals will play again at the weekend making it highly likely that West Ham will be occupying the relegation places – possibly rock bottom – when they resume their Premier League campaign. If the reports coming out of the club are true, the Board have no problem with this state of affairs, and continue to enjoy an excellent working relationship with the manager. Moyes must be far more skilled at managing upwards than he is at managing those under his control.

It would be interesting to know how the owners define success and failure. Given the club’s resources, finishing anywhere outside the top ten of the Premier League would represent abject failure to me. As a supporter, allowing the side to become embroiled in a relegation scrap at this late stage of the season looks like rank incompetence. It is staggering that those with a financial stake in the club don’t see it the same way.

COYI!

Butch Sullivan and the Last Chance Kid: Another Make or Break Week For The West Ham Manager

David Moyes is becoming a regular visitor to the last chance saloon. Will he be giving his last orders at the weekend’s home game against Aston Villa? Or will he come out all guns blazing?

It’s become a little like Groundhog Day at the London Stadium in recent weeks. The club are teetering on the brink of a disastrous relegation with the manager’s job at risk. An adequate home performance releases the immediate pressure on David Moyes. But then, another in the long line of pathetic away displays puts us right back where we started. And so, the cycle starts again. Rinse and repeat!

The away games at Tottenham and Brighton were the first times that West Ham have looked like a team resigned to their fate. The hope that defeat at Tottenham would mean the more enterprising tactics seen against Nottingham Forest were here to stay was washed away like footprints on a Brighton beach. It may have been largely the same team that had thumped Forest, but the attitude was back to the worst of Moyes hyper caution – with the wingers were back to auxiliary defenders. If you don’t give opponents something to worry about then you give them the freedom of the park – and Brighton were adept at using it. How can a manager with a thousand or so matches under his belt not understand that? He even managed to make matters worse at half-time (when the match was still theoretically alive) by replacing the attack minded Said Benrahma with worker-bee, Pablo Fornals.

Those last two games with no goals and just three shots on target between them added to the season’s shocking away form. Just six points and seven goals from thirteen games. Not a single away win in the league since 28 August and victory over this weekend’s opponents, Aston Villa.

There was a pivotal moment at the Brighton match where Moyes scowled with incredulity at the away support who sang “You don’t know what you’re doing!” The fans have had enough and Moyes is demonstrating the notorious thin skin that was a feature of his time at Sunderland. All he has to offer are weasel words about the relative success enjoyed in the previous two years. We thank you for that, Dave. But that was then, and this is now.

The only shock bigger than Moyes believing he is doing a good job is that the Board also seem to think the same. Or, in reality, are hoping to muddle through until the summer in the hope that West Ham can stay up on goal difference. The logic is difficult to fathom. Performances have been on a downward spiral for ages, there are clear tensions between manager and players, a ruinous relegation is just around the corner. How can further inaction make sense? I really don’t believe the ‘there’s no-one better available’ argument. The atmosphere is getting toxic, and change is the best way of clearing the air. Surely, it must be worth stumping up the compensation to avoid wiping untold millions off the club’s value. Whatever their other faults, the owners have invested large sums of money in the club – it’s just that they haven’t spent it particularly wisely. Just look at Brighton and compare the value for money that a proper scouting setup can deliver.

The debate as to how much the players should take responsibility for the current position is an interesting one. At the end of the day that is what we see on the pitch. Michail Antonio fluffing a goalscoring opportunity, Tomas Soucek misplacing a pass, Ben Johnson caught out of position. Are these symptoms or causes of our decline? I’ve not had the impression until recently that the players were anything less than committed. That they might not be as good as the players we would like to have, or are too old and too slow is not their fault.

Football is all about systems now – being well-drilled and attacking and defending as a unit. The best systems allow free expression to be exhibited within an overall structure. Except this revolution has passed some managers by. At the top level there are fine margins and the players must understand and buy-in to what is expected, or they will be caught out. It’s only my personal speculation but I sense that player power was behind the changes and euphoria of the Forest victory, but they were brought down to earth with a bump when the manager wanted to play more cautiously again at Brighton.

The bottom line is that it is impossible to change a whole squad. Changing a manager is far easier. Something is broken and it needs to be fixed. David Sullivan must understand what is going on at the club and the serious risks of doing nothing. It’s not as if he doesn’t have previous experience of not acting quickly enough.

***

Tonight, sees a return to the European Conference League with West Ham visiting AEK Larnaka for the first leg, round of 16 tie. The competition is the one remaining chance of glory this season. Larnaka are currently second in the Cypriot First Division and have the distinction of having competed in all three UEFA competitions this season. They finished third in their Europa League group which included Fenerbahce, Rennes, and Dynamo Kiev. They reached the Round of 16 by beating Dnipro-1 from Ukraine. Although based in Cyprus, their team is largely made up of players from Spain, Portugal, and the Balkan states.

This will be no pushover against a team of part-time plumbers and postmen, but I’m fancying that we should have enough to come out on top. Whatever the outcome, I don’t see the result having any impact on Moyes position.

***

On Sunday, the crunch will come when West Ham host Aston Villa. The visitors have moved into a comfortable mid-table position since the arrival of Unai Emery. His side are prone to flakiness at the back, but have plenty of pace going forward to rattle the Hammers defence. What will be very interesting is how the crowd react if it’s another slow start from West Ham. It could turn out to be a very difficult watch. COYI!

Are West Ham Ready To Bury The Brighton Hoodoo In Saturday’s Seaside Special?

The Hammers have been looking more energetic and purposeful in recent weeks. Is it finally time to overcome the curse of the Seagulls, or will they take a tern for the worse?

It was another encouraging performance from West Ham in midweek even though it ended with the Hammers being dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester United. The outcome of the game hinged on several critical ‘if only’ moments that allowed the hosts to recover from a goal down and book their place in a very open sixth round.

At the attacking end, it was Michail Antonio who left fans feeling frustrated. First, when he failed to capitalise on a one-v-one situation with David de Gea and later when going for goal when a square pass would surely have led to West Ham extending their one-goal lead. Both incidents illustrated the strength and weakness of Antonio. Using his pace and power to engineer openings but without the accomplished striker’s finesse to execute effectively.

At the other end, a collective defensive meltdown in the final twenty minutes placed the usually reliable Nayef Aguerd under the spotlight of supporter fury. It is always unfortunate to gift an equaliser through an own goal and this was an unforced error which should have been avoided. Who knows whether the call came from the keeper to claim the ball or not? Clearly it was very poor communication somewhere along the line. After that, the plot was lost, as was the game.

It is not at all surprising that the upturn in performances (as embryonic as it is) comes after a switch to a more solid 4-3-3 formation. If only David Moyes had listened when I first suggested it last October – as if he would read these ramblings! With the change has come greater pressing in midfield areas, more passing options for the player with the ball, and more freedom for the wide attacking players. It is a particularly suitable set-up to get the best from the talents of Declan Rice and Lucas Paqueta.

Tomas Soucek is the latest bête noire of many supporters who would rather see Flynn Downes as the third man in the midfield three. It is understandable from the point of view of ball retention, but Moyes will continue to opt for the aerial presence that Soucek brings to both ends. Without his goals, Soucek is a frustrating player to watch but he does still provide useful defensive cover.

The full-back positions may need to be shuffled today depending on availability. If Vladimir Coufal is available it will be him and Ben Johnson. If not, then Johnson and Emerson Palmieri – Aaron Cresswell was looking particularly rusty when he came on against Forest. Brighton do a lot of attacking down the flanks through March and Mitoma and the game could be won and lost out wide. In the absence of any other options, Aguerd and Angelo Ogbonna will continue as the centre back pairing. Not ideal having two left footers in the middle and Aguerd on the right imposes severe restrictions on his ability to influence forward play.

Danny Ings will return to the front three alongside Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma with Antonio and Gianluca Scamacca providing options from the bench. An Ings/ Scamacca axis would be a fascinating prospect but may be difficult to accommodate without going three/ five at the back.

***

Brighton have had a terrific season so far and find themselves well placed for European football next season. They sit in 8^th spot in the league, ten points behind Tottenham but with three games in hand. They are also still in the FA Cup having won their 5^th round tie on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. A home draw against Grimsby Town stands between them and a semi-final place.

West Ham could learn a lot from Brighton’s scouting and recruitment model. Signing exciting young players that no-one has heard of – Caicedo, Mac Alister, Mitoma – and introducing them to the Premier League after spells out on loan. It has proved incredibly successful but requires a degree of planning that seems to be a foreign concept at the London Stadium. The Seagulls are an eclectic mix of young talent and unfashionable stalwarts – Dunk, Gross, March – that are always competitive, despite limited firepower up front.

A trip to the seaside is never complete without a seagull trying to steal your chips. And the same is true in football, where Brighton’s Seagulls have become adept at ‘piddling’ on the West Ham chips. No matter what the relative league positions, current form or respective managers, top flight meetings between the clubs invariably end the same way – a Brighton win or a share of the points. I’m suspecting some form of sorcery or gypsy curse is at play. The Hammers only top flight win against Brighton from 15 attempts came in March 1983 with a 2-1 win at Upton Park. The teams that day:

West Ham: Phil Parkes, Ray Stewart (Alan Dickens (1)), Alvin Martin, Joe Gallagher, Frank Lampard, Alan Devonshire, Paul Allen, Geoff Pike, François van der Elst, Tony Cottee (1), Nicky Morgan

Brighton: Graham Moseley, Steve Foster, Steve Gatting, Chris Ramsey, Gary Stevens, Jimmy Case, Tony Grealish, Neil Smillie, Andy Ritchie, Michael Robinson, Gerry Ryan (1)

I’d completely forgotten about Joe Gallagher’s West Ham career!

Today’s fixture is the first against Brighton since Roberto De Zerbi replaced the soon to be out-of-work Graham Potter. De Zerbi will serving a one-match touchline ban for his red card in his side’s 1 – 0 defeat to Fulham in their most recent home game. I’m not sure how much of a punishment a touchline ban actually is. It seems no more than a symbolic gesture – the equivalent of a player being allowed to play but not allowed to take throw-ins.

Now that I’m feeling a touch more positive about the Hammers credentials for survival, I have decided to reinstate my AI powered match result prediction service. After running the numbers the verdict is: West Ham to rip up the record books with a first ever Premier League victory against the Seagulls by two goals to one. COYI!

Memories Are Made Of This: West Ham Wembley Dreams Face Old Trafford Test

Can West Ham add to their store of thrilling cup memories on a wet Wednesday night in Manchester?

What a difference a win makes! Wasn’t it a pleasant change to be able to enjoy the weekend without having to avoid the highlights shows and seeking out all the match reports you could find with a sense of satisfaction rather than dread?

It was a good West Ham performance throughout the 90 minutes – not the game of two halves that some have suggested. Although, as ever, it was the goals that eventually changed the complexion of the game. Two strikes from Danny Ings in as many minutes simultaneously putting a spring in the Hammer’s steps and causing Nottingham Forest to crumble with a whimper

It is interesting to speculate how and why West Ham at last came to adopt a significantly more positive attitude and approach in last Saturday’s game. Was it the result of tactical genius from the manager and coaches or had the behind the scenes player’s meetings forced them to act? It had been a long time coming but showed their is talent in the squad when given the right opportunity to express it.

It was disingenuous of David Moyes to claim ‘this was the performance I have been waiting for’ – as if the result was entirely down to te players putting in extra effort on the pitch, rather than changes to formation and the removal of virtual shackles from our attacking play. One must wonder why it had taken so long for the management to realise that Lucas Paqueta is so much more effective in a deeper role, as part of a midfield three. Or that playing with a natural finisher is going to going to bring in more goals than a succession of converted wingers. Or that allowing your wide attacking players to spend more time going forward than defending would create more chances.

Despite the improvements, it was only one game. Talk of a mid-season metamorphosis is massively premature until we see how things shape up against Brighton and Villa in the next two league games. Forest did not provide the sternest of tests – especially once they had inexplicably taken off Shelvey – but they had been on a decent run. The worry now is that the manager’s ingrained and deep-seated caution will find a reason to exorcise whichever carefree sprite had hijacked last Saturday’s team talk. I’ve yet to rule out a return to the well worn mantra of ‘not conceding is the primary objective’ when we take the field at the Amex Stadium.

***

Tonight, sees a break from Premier League relegation concerns with a trip to the home of regular cup tie opponents, Manchester United. The hosts are fresh from Sunday’s Carabao Cup final success and have lost just once in their last 21 outings. Although they have a fierce derby appointment in Liverpool on Sunday, it is unlikely that Erik ten Hag will want to risk losing momentum by resting too many of his first choices for the game. He will have eyes on a cup treble.

West Ham’s record in cup encounters against the Red Devils is a little less dreadful than in the league. Moyes even recorded a shock League Cup win at Old Trafford in September 2021. Indeed, there are several standout memories from cup games against Manchester United dating back to the glorious muddy semi-final win of 1964 that preceded the Hammers first ever trophy win. And who can forget the Di Canoi – Barthez incident of 2001, Geoff Pike’s bullet header in the 1986 5^th round replay, Dimitri Payet’s sublime free-kick in 2016, or Jonathan Spector’s brace in the 2010 4-0 League Cup drubbing?

Moyes will be forced to make a handful of selection changes tonight. Danny Ings is cup tied while Lukasz Fabianski and Vladimir Coufal are the latest to check-in at the Rush Green infirmary, where they can hang out with Maxwell Cornet and Kurt Zouma. Moyes may also be reluctant to risk Angelo Ogbonna and Paqueta with important league games on the horizon. But the big decision is whether or not he listens to that little voice in his head urging to return to five at the back. David, be strong!

In the absence of Ings, it could be an opportunity to reintroduce long term injury absentee Gianluca Scamacca to the fray. Ideally he should start but will most probably be a 70^th minute replacement for a puffing Michail Antonio.

The FA Cup has the look of a very open competition this season with several big names already fallen by the wayside. Manchester City are firm favourites to end up as winners with their close neighbours just behind. Difficult to argue with that assessment, and a West Ham win tonight would be quite the upset. It’s a one-off game though and anything can happen. But whatever happens, I really hope the boys are given the green light to make a real game of it. COYI!

Towering Incompetence: Incendiary West Ham Atmosphere May Be Fanned By Forest Fire

The ongoing saga of last chances for David Moyes has now been running for longer than an Eastenders story line – doof, doof, doof, doof, doof, doof, doof, doof, doof!

How many last chances does a failing manager get to have. I was convinced the game was up after et another typically insipid display at Tottenham. But no, he gets to fail another day.

I would have thought that by the time a Board gets to the stage of giving manager’s last chances, you might as well fire him and be done with it. It will only be a matter of time, anyway. Stupendous turnarounds in fortune rarely happen. And this is a team that has been in decline for over a year, and woeful for the best part of this season.

Should the Hammers eke out a victory win this weekend, and then lose (as usual) at Brighton, is the clock then reset once again to last chance for the home fixture with Villa? Repeat until relegated. What a way to run a football club!

Even the media have now woken up to recognise that David Moyes is an emperor without any clothes. At last, journalists are scratching their heads and questioning the merits of our unadventurous, unambitious manager. It is only fellow dinosaurs such as Graeme Souness who believes everything can be fixed by the players rolling up their sleeves up and showing some grit. The players are a victim of the tactics, not the other way round. The squad can’t be changed now, but manager and tactics can. Freeing the players from Moyes inertia is the only escape route.

We should remember, West Ham are one the world’s top twenty richest clubs. They have spent hundreds of millions on players. Yet Moyes talks about fans having unrealistic expectations as if it is a low budget operation. I doubt many supporters are demanding repeated top six finishes, but we would like to be entertained and should be nowhere near a relegation scrap.

Last weekend was the latest in a string of tame surrenders – the scene set even before kick off. Fighting talk about drawn games not being good enough didn’t make it past the team selection. Starting the game with a maximum of two attack minding players in the side was all the incentive that the opposition needed to know the points were theirs. There is nothing to fear from West Ham at the best of times – no explosive pace, no accomplished dribbler, and the main set piece threat having been sold in January – but this was caution taken to another extreme. One more notch on the bedpost of failed away trips to ‘big six’ clubs.

It has been reported that the Board’s stance on a stay of execution was swayed by improvements in form since the Everton game. I do wonder what they have been watching from their lofty position? Had there been a run of victories then fair enough. But the club need a better rate of return than five points from four games if they are to avoid the drop.

It was supremely ironic to read David Sullivan’s rant in the week about how fantastic an organisation the Premier League is – and how it didn’t need regulation – when he is doing everything in his power to leave it by the trapdoor.

There was one piece of good news in the week as the U18s reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 1999 – the days of Joe Cole and Michael Carrick. There looks to be a lot of promise in the youth ranks, even if there is still a lot of development yet to be done. We hear mostly about the goalscorers – Divin Mubama and Callum Marshall – but George Earthy, Lewis Orford and Oliver Scarles all look to be great prospects. Interesting that the Youths play nothing like the first team in style or formation. The watching Moyes would have been livid with the boys pressing for a fourth goal once they had gone ahead in extra time. All behind the ball, boys!

The sad news of the week was the passing of John Motson. He and Brian Moore were both top class commentators who knew their primary job was to tell us what was going on – and knew when to let the action do the talking. Nostalgia’s not what it used to be but they were happier and simpler days at West Ham.

Oh, Devonshire round the back …… Oh, right across ….. It’s free ….. Driven in ……. And is it a goal? It is! Brooking, ………. Trevor Brooking. The ball ricocheted in off him and West Ham are in front.
RIP Motty 1980 FA Cup Final

Tomorrow’s game will be a first home league meeting with Nottingham Forest since January 2012 when two Mark Noble penalties took the Hammers to the top of the Championship.

It wasn’t long ago that Forest looked red-hot favourites for a quick return to the second tier, despite their early season win against West Ham. Yet an upsurge in results has lifted them to the higher fringes of the relegation quagmire. They currently sit five places and five points above their hosts. They are one of only three teams to have scored fewer goals than West Ham this season, while conceding nine more. Defensively they look suspect, but they do have pace in attack through Brennan Johnson and the always busy Morgan Gibbs-White. One-time West Ham nemesis Chris Wood might also feature in the game. Woods had been well marshalled in recent encounters by Craig Dawson, but obviously that is no longer an option.

So, what approach can we expect from the Moyes book of old school football tactics for this one? We know from experience that change only happens at glacial speed. He will usually stick with a formation, regardless of opposition, until something dramatic forces his hand to change it. It is a self-evident truth that the route to survival is scoring goals – it is only Moyes who believes not conceding them is more important. If he picks the same formation – with three/ five at the back – for this game, there could be mutiny in the stands before kick-off. It is overly cautious, and the wingbacks do not offer sufficient attacking threat to compensate.

I have argued for some time that West Ham should be lining up in a 4-3-3 formation. Ideally a midfield three of Rice, Paqueta and Downes but Rice, Soucek and Downes would do if Paqueta is unavailable. Then it must be a front three who are geared towards pushing forward and playing closer together. Is any more evidence needed that the isolated striker gambit is never going to work?

Forest will be well aware of a potential powder keg atmosphere at the London Stadium tomorrow. A trademark cautious team selection by Moyes and a typically slow start by the team will play right into the opponents hands. As a supporter I feel conflicted. I want Moyes gone but I would rather three of the most winnable points remaining were not sacrificed to achieve that. But it is hard to envisage a scenario where Moyes stays and we are not relegated. It’s a sad, sad, situation. COYI!

West Ham’s Titanic Mistake As The Iceberg Of Relegation Looms Large On The Horizon

West Ham continue their rudderless drift towards the icy waters of the Championship. Who will save us from this nightmare of football oblivion?

There’s no doubting that yesterday’s results didn’t go the way we would have liked. Wins for Southampton, Bournemouth, and Everton and Nottingham Forest’s unexpected point against Manchester City were not what was needed. The table has become compressed at the bottom, no team has yet been left stranded, and West Ham now occupy one of the relegation places ahead of today’s trip across London to Tottenham.

At this stage of the season, West Ham’s ultimate fortunes will still depend on their own endeavours rather than the fate of others. We are not yet relying on snookers with 16 games to go and 48 points to play for. But where will the 20 or so points required to survive come from? Can a team that has only won five of its 22 games – and won only two of the last ten – manage to scramble another five or six wins from what is left? If, as usual, games against the ‘Big 6’ are written off, then that focuses the wins target to a 50% success from 11 matches.

The general mood among fans has largely turned to one of pessimism. But strangely, pundits and bookmakers continue to see the Hammers as one of least likely casualties among the relegation possibles. The rationale is lost on me – although we should remember pundits pay only superficial attention to any clubs outside the Champions League elite.

Perhaps, they are seduced by selected stats that suggest the Hammers have the 5^th best defences in the Premier League. Or show a respectable 8^th in the list of clubs with the highest number of shots. And a pass success rate consistent with Newcastle and better than Fulham or Brentford. But stats can’t pull the wool over the evidence of our own eyes. Defensive competence is earned at the expense of nine or ten men behind the ball. A high proportion of shots are long range hopeful efforts when no creative options remain. Too many passes are made where it doesn’t matter, and where no opposition pressure is being applied.

From a distance, West Ham’s form gives the impression of improvement, with three wins, three draws, and just the one defeat since the start of 2023. But form and performances aren’t always the same thing. Take away the FA Cup games, and it is less spectacular, just a marginal improvement on what had gone before. A win in the death throes of Lampard’s Everton career and two draws against sides who for different reasons had gone off the boil.

Any difference in approach or style has been negligible. Perhaps a tad more pressing further up the pitch at certain times. Maybe the three/ five at the back releasing Jarrod Bowen from onerous defensive duties and allowing him to play closer to Michail Antonio. Nothing fundamental – caution remains the overriding watchword. When Danny Ings comes on, it is to replace Antonio, not to play alongside him in a more enterprising shape. Ings has a decent scoring record at this level, but not while playing as an isolated striker chasing hopeful long balls.

David Moyes has become increasingly implausible in his media comments – like a hapless government minister trying to explain how everything that has gone wrong is outside of his control. Something about over-achieving in the past two seasons and the cyclic nature of success for clubs like West Ham meaning we would be foolish to expect too much. Claiming that draws are not enough but routinely setting up with the sole purpose of protecting the point. When Leicester beat Tottenham 4-1 last weekend, they didn’t shut up shop after going ahead, but that will always be the Moyes mindset. Caution always trumping ambition. His team may rarely be on the end of a thumping, but equally they are never allowed to press home an advantage.

The formula Moyes hit upon worked for a while, but stubbornness and intransigence prevent him from adapting to changed circumstances. A lot of money has been splashed without addressing obvious deficiencies in the squad or developing greater fluidity in the style of play. I can think of no other side in the top division so lacking in genuine pace.

With Moyes unable or unwilling to change, what hope is there that he can turn things around? The club is on a collision course with the icy waters of relegation. The manager unable to plot a course to safety and the Board asleep at the wheel. You would think the owners have been in football long enough to know a lost cause when they see one.

Today’s game at Tottenham may be the latest in a long sequence of Moyes last chances. A defeat could well be terminal. A draw granting a stay of execution until the Forest game. But is there any confidence that a contingency plan is in place should the axe fall? How damaging will not taking action during the World Cup break turn out to be? I’m sure the players would welcome the opportunity to be released from the straightjacket of the manager’s cloying negativity.

Injuries will again influence West Ham team selection. Lucas Paqueta joins Gianluca Scamacca, Kurt Zouma and Maxwell Cornet in the sick bay. Nayef Aguerd will supposedly have a late fitness test but it feels risky to rush him back into action so soon. Expect two changes from the Chelsea game with Tomas Soucek in for Paqueta and Ben Johnson replacing Aguerd.

Despite their own inconsistencies, Tottenham are having a decent season as far as results are concerned. A win today would put them up into fourth spot. These days they are not a team you would go out of your way to watch, although, as we know, winning games can put a gloss on the lack of entertainment. In some ways they are rather like West Ham in style, but with far, far better attacking options. As always, Kane will be the main danger, especially when dropping deep to dictate play. Declan Rice’s attacking intent will no doubt be sacrificed to keep an eye on that. Apart from Kane, I will also be concerned for the potential mayhem that Perisic’s crosses can cause from the flank.

Despite the talk of playing for the win, there will be no surprise to see a repeat of the Chelsea performance. A passive low block, sub 30% possession, and set pieces being the main goal threat. We are all well aware of Moyes depressing big six record. Surely, we deserve better than this. COYI!

We Got The Saturday Lunchtime Blues: West Ham’s Tentative Improvement Faces Expensive Test

A more encouraging set of results needs to be quickly translated into league points. Do the Hammers have what it takes to see off extravagantly high-spending Chelsea?

If West Ham were a hospital patient the bulletin issued to anxious friends and relatives would read critical but stable. The outlook is not quite as bleak as it was a few weeks ago, but there was still a long way to go on the road to recovery.

Recent form can be looked at in two ways. The optimistic view is that the Hammers have won three and lost just one in their last six games. Those with emptier glasses might point out that two of those wins were in the FA Cup against a deliberately weakened Brentford side and League 1 side, Derby. Still winning games is good for confidence and that can never be a bad thing. It’s just that confidence needs to translated into league points very quickly. Failure to improve on the current rate of five points from six games would lead to almost certain relegation – with 33 points. Relying on the incompetence of others for survival is not a recommended strategy.

I do sense there has been some improvement in performances of late, even if it is largely imperceptible to the naked eye. Absences through Injury continue to play a debilitating part and certain positional weaknesses cannot be resolved from within the current squad. But signs that the collective spirit have been rekindled are heartening. Perhaps the return of Mark Noble behind the scenes has been a factor, diverting some of the non-playing pressure away from Declan Rice. Survival chances depend significantly on Rice continuing to put in the type of performance that we saw at St James’ Park last Saturday.

A huge positive from the Newcastle game was the team not capitulating following a dreadful opening five minutes. West Ham gradually fought their way back into contention and grabbed a deserved equalizer through Lucas Paqueta. It was possibly one of the most flamboyant goal celebrations ever seen from a Hammer, although while his backflip scored high for degree of difficulty, execution was let down by an unstable landing. I don’t recall if we were ever treated to a Robbie Keane cartwheel after either of the two goals he netted in claret and blue.

The remainder of last Saturday’s game was reasonably even, although neither team worked the opposing goalkeeper particularly hard. The Hammers had their share of shots, but most were harmless long shots rather than skilfully crafted openings. A stunning last-ditch Moore-esque tackle from Nayef Aguerd was the highlight of the latter stages.

David Moyes substitutions were again disappointing as he opted to stick with the point in the bag with twenty minutes remaining, rather than risk pressing for a winning goal. Caution will always be his core competency.

Today’s visitors arrive on the back of equally unimpressive league form, having taken only six points from the last six games. Their only success was a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace in mid January. Despite (or perhaps as a result of) a profligate spending spree, they languish in 9^th spot, nine points away from 4^th place Tottenham. Chances of a top four finish are wafer thin and participation in next year’s Champions League will depend on how well they fare in this year’s competition – in which they visit Dortmund on Wednesday.

A factor in Chelsea’s favour is that manager Graham Potter has yet to lead a side to defeat against the Hammers. His record at Brighton was two wins and five draws – two wins and four draws against David Moyes.

We should expect a couple of changes from the team that started last week. Ben Johnson will take over from the injured Thilo Kehrer in the back three, with either Pablo Fornals or Manuel Lanzini the probable replacement for Said Benrahma in attacking midfield. Benrahma was particularly frustrating at Newcastle, getting into great positions and then dithering, over elaborating, or taking the wrong decision. He appears to struggle even more when there is a wing-back behind him.

Moyes has now reverted to a back three as his preferred defensive formation. It does have a more solid look to it but unless you have fast, fit wing-backs with great delivery – we don’t – it comes at the expense of attacking and creative options. The efforts and probing of Rice and Paqueta will be key for the Hammers today, as will the running of Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen.

For all Chelsea’s woes they continue to dominate possession in the majority of their games. And that is unlikely to change today. The danger for West Ham is retreating too far into their shells and leaving nine behind the ball in the all too familiar negative low block. It shows the opposition too much respect and it is obvious we look a better side when playing on the front foot. I still believe the team’s poor ball retention is as much to do with tactics and having too few options available as it is with technical ability.

The visitors have a wealth of potentially exciting talent to select from, but nothing approaching a team as yet. For Potter, a problem of too many individuals when his previous success was built on team ethic. My advice to him is stick with the floppy haired Cucurella instead of bringing in Chilwell today.

For some reason, Saturday lunchtime kick-offs have a reputation for being unpredictable affairs. While a draw would be the predictable outcome, perhaps the Hammers can enhance that reputation with a surprise three points. Otherwise it may be bottom three again by the end of the weekend. COYI!

He Came In Through The Transfer Window: Can West Ham Steal A Point At St James’ Park

An underwhelming transfer window is followed by the long trip north to face high-flying Newcastle United. Do David Moyes ambitions stretch beyond the hope of a desperate goalless draw?

Another January transfer window has come and gone and once again supporters are left frustrated and disappointed at the lack of imagination and planning involved. Our high-flying bubbles had begun to fade and die at the same stage last year when the club failed to build from a position of strength. What will be our fate in this time of weakness? West Ham have fiddled as their relegation rivals splashed the cash for survival!

Once the dust had settled on the closing window, the only new signing was Danny Ings, an intelligent but injury-prone striker. A player who will provide additional options in attack even if his best days are behind him. But any opportunity that offers is offset by the departure of Craig Dawson, probably the Hammers most dependable central defender over the past couple of seasons – and one of the principle goal threats at the other end. Agreeing to Dawson’s request to return north for personal reasons was a reasonable one. But not bringing in a replacement is the latest in a long list of negligent and short-sighted decisions. Particularly considering the injury records of the remaining defenders.

Following Dawson out the door went three academy graduates – Harrison Ashby, Pierre Ekwah, and Emmanuel Longelo. Only time will tell how well these young players develop or whether some were motivated by money rather than opportunity. It would have been good to have given them an opportunity in claret blue – everybody loves an academy graduate – but that, it seems, is too risky for the cautious one. I saw a statistic that Divin Mubama’s four minutes against Arsenal is the only game time seen by an under-22 player for West Ham this season. Interestingly, the next ‘worst’ is Newcastle where Elliot Anderson is the only under-22 to have been given a run out – although he has played 100 minutes more than Mubama.

When West Ham last played Newcastle United in mid-February 2022, the Hammers sat 4^th in the Premier League while the Magpies languished in 17^th place. Today the positions are almost exactly reversed. Newcastle reaping the reward of ditching their own dinosaur manager, Steve Bruce, and bringing in the more progressive, Eddie Howe. Plus of course having access to large piles of grubby Saudi cash which has allowed them to invest £250 million in the squad over the last three windows.

With a League Cup final place already booked and an outstanding chance of Champions League qualification, it is shaping up to be a fantastic season for the Magpies. Howe has made astute signings and teased the best from the talented but underperforming players already at his disposal. It is impossible to begrudge the loyal and passionate Newcastle fans their whiff of glory but it still beggar’s belief that representatives of the brutal and murderous Saudi regime are considered to be fit and proper owners of a British football club.

There was a leak yesterday of what might become future government legislation for the regulation of football. Some way to go before we discover how that might turn out or what powers the independent regulator (surely, it has to be known as OFF-SIDE?) might be given. The leaked documents suggest that all clubs would need to reapply for a licence, but is that really going to happen without extended and costly legal challenge should a licence be revoked? The new rules will, no doubt, be introduced just in time to prevent a consortium of Dr Evil, Kim Jong-un and Prince Andrew taking over at the London Stadium.

Newcastle’s on-field success this season has been built around the most frugal defensive record in the league and a whole laundry full of clean sheets . They have conceded just 11 goals in total and none at all since a late Southampton consolation on November 6. It’s a record that offers scant hope for a misfiring West Ham attack. Especially where David Moyes primary target will be to add to the tally of six 0-0 draws that Newcastle fans have already witnessed this term.

Early reports are that West Ham will be without Kurt Zouma, Danny Ings, Gianluca Scamacca, and someone called Maxwell Cornet. It has proved fruitless to speculate in the past about Moyes baffling team selections but I’m guessing he will stick with three at the back and a massed defence for this one. It will largely be the same side that won at Derby but with Lukasz Fabianski back in goal (for some reason), Declan Rice replacing Flynn Downes and Lucas Paqueta in for Pablo Fornals.

As long as the game remains scoreless, West Ham incursions into the opposing third will be as sporadic and half-hearted as usual, with possession hovering around the 30% mark. If Newcastle score, it will be more of the same as the Hammers seek to keep their powder dry until the final ten minutes. At least, that is what experience suggests will happen. Unless, of course, this is the week that Moyes finally unleashes his brand-new possession-based football experiment.

The glimmer of hope is that the hosts will be without influential Bruno Guimarães following his midweek red card – interesting that Paqueta gets the nod ahead of him for the Brasil national team. And there’s no longer the possibility of Jonjo Shelvey being called up for a once in a blue moon stormer! That still leaves plenty of threats to the Hammers goal, however, in the form of Wilson, Almiron, Willock, and Saint-Maximin.

This weekend is the start of a tough run of games for West Ham. Newcastle is followed by Chelsea at home and Tottenham away. How many of the 20 points needed to survive are they likely to pick up from that lot? No better than zero to three is my guess. Would that be enough for Moyes to keep his job? Does he then get out of jail again by scraping a narrow win over Forest? It’s going to be a long hard slog. COYI!