Geoff Hopkins

Yet Another West Ham Era Kicks Off at Vicarage Road

Can David Moyes celebrate his 500th Premier League game and his first at West Ham with a much needed victory?

The stop-start Premier League season returns with West Ham deservedly languishing in the relegation zone with just under a third of matches played. The poor fitness and energy levels shown be the Hammers, which were so obvious for so long to many supporters, were eventually backed up by pundits and statistics and so they go into today’s fixture under the guidance of the club’s sixteenth full-time manager (ten of whom have managed in the Premier League era).

The new buzzword around Rush Green is intensity and initial impressions are that preparation has a more professional and serious look about it than the casual approach employed by the previous regime. Not that fitness is the only area of improvement required to raise the bar of performances to a level more consistent with the talent available within the squad. Only time will tell whether improved fitness will translate to greater movement and cohesion allowing the team to keep and make better use of the ball. To be a decent passing side also needs to have players who are moving into space, ready and willing to receive, in addition to the skilled execution of the pass itself. I am hoping for improvement but not expecting overnight miracles to happen.

Today will be David Moyes’ first game as West Ham manager but his 500^th in the Premier League and he should be given every opportunity to start with the same clean slate from the fans as the one he has offered to his squad.

The players have been really committed to what we’ve asked them to do, they’ve grasped it and got on with it, and I think they’ve embraced it too. We’ve tried to put an awful lot of work into them over the past five or six days.

– David Moyes

Our hosts today were fast out of the new season blocks, under much admired manager Marco Silva, but have fallen away recently with a run of three defeats; a run that included one of the most entertaining games I have seen for a while when Watford had several chances to bury Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but ended up losing 4-2.

Head to Head

Ignoring meetings in the Southern League and war-time cups, fixtures between West Ham and Watford are a relatively recent phenomenon starting with a Division 2 encounter in 1979. Since then the Hammers have generally called the shots winning twenty-four and losing ten of the forty-two games played. More recent history has the balance tilted slightly in favour of the Hornets who have won five and lost four of the last twelve.

On the road West Ham have won six (lost two) of the last twelve visits to Vicarage Road.

Team News

Probable absentees for the Hammers are Javier Hernandez, Michail Antonio, Jose Fonte, Sam Byram and James Collins. It would be no surprise if Winston Reid also missed out following his epic air-miles earning trip to New Zealand and Peru during the international break.

I would expect a conservative team selection for Moyes’ first game in charge with the usual familiar faces although that may include Declan Rice if Reid is considered not to have recovered from his travels. Otherwise there are unlikely to be any surprises with Andy Carroll most probably leading the line. It will be interesting, if slates have truly been wiped clean, to see how players such as Marko Arnautovic, Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew respond to the reported new intensity and discipline injected into training and behaviour.

He (Moyes) can change everything. It is the first game and he can change. We respect the team and they have a lot of individual quality in their players. We know what we need to do to win the game.

– Marco Silva

Watford are without the long-term injured Chalobah, Success and Cathcart, the suspended Deeney and have doubts about Kabasele, Pereyra, Prodl and Kaboul. It would be a bonus not having to face Pereyra as he and Richarlison are the type of quick, clever players that typically cause West Ham major problems. At the other end it would be a shame if the accident prone Kaboul doesn’t play.

Man in the Middle

A first West Ham outing this season for Andre Marriner from the West Midlands. Marriner’s five Hammer’s games last term saw a win at Swansea, defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea and draws with Stoke and Sunderland. In eleven games this season he has shown one red and twenty-four yellow cards.

Predictions

Lawro and Merson are firmly on the fence with 1-1 draws; a conclusion which look reasonable in the circumstances. Watford can be dangerous in attack but fragile at the back with a defence that has conceded almost as many goals as the Hammers. We are likely to see a cautious approach from Moyes, seeking to frustrate rather than entertain in a situation where picking up points before December’s run of death has to be the overriding priority. If West Ham can keep it tight in defence and in central midfield then they have the potential to hurt Watford on the break and from set pieces; thus I will stick my neck out and go for an encouraging 2-1 victory.

Don’t Throw Your Moyes Out Of The Pram

It is hardly the most welcome appointment in history as West Ham look to bring in David Moyes as Slaven Bilic’s replacement.

In true West Ham style the eviction of Slaven Bilic from the manager’s office at the London Stadium turned out to be a long drawn out affair. By the time the axe finally fell anyone who had been even remotely following the dramawould have been fully aware that Slaven was on his way and that his apparent successor would be David Moyes.

Having resisted the temptation to dismiss Bilic in the summer, when time and options were more plentiful, the owners had effectively painted themselves into a corner by tolerating increasingly desperate performances until even they must have known that the team were certain relegation candidates unless immediate changes were made. Although by the end most were in tune with Bilic’s departure (no matter how much of a nice guy he was) it would be difficult (or should that be impossible) to find any supporters who would have had Moyes at the top of their wish list for replacements.

The options at this stage of the season are clearly limited and the attractiveness of the task to anyone already in a job was not worth breaking a contract for. I don’t subscribe to the view that cheap was the key criteria although would dismiss talk of sounding out names such as Ancelloti, Mancini or even Mario Silva as the same fanciful pipe-dreaming that we hear about alleged top striker targets during each transfer window.

West Ham has always liked to represent itself as a family club but increasingly it has the look and feel of one of the many dysfunctional families that regularly turn up in Albert Square; at least if you take notice of the angry brigade that dominate social media. If what we read is true there now exists the perfect storm of disgruntlement on the Twitterverse that encompasses owners, stadium, players and both outgoing and incoming managers.

During my time supporting West Ham I don’t recall there ever being owners that were loved or respected by the majority of supporters. Maybe there have been brief periods of optimism such as the start of the Icelandic Age; but we all know how badly that ended, eventually creating the conditions that allowed Gold and Sullivan to ride in as our ‘saviours’. The club is no doubt in better shape financially under the stewardship of the two Dave’s but it is no more professional on the footballing side that it has ever been; very much stuck in the last century. Although it may not necessarily be for the better but the game has changed immensely over the years. Stumbling along from season to season and crisis to crisis (with the occasional relegation) is not an option for a club hoping to sustain a 50,000 plus stadium no matter how loyal its fan base.

The greatest negligence at the club is in failing to create a structure that provides continuity between the frequent changes of managers/ coaches (which have become inevitable) and to deliver an infrastructure, in the form of competitive and professional training facilities, which will attract and get the best out of their players. West Ham have been left badly behind in both areas. David Sullivan playing at Director of Football is a nonsense and Rush Green is way behind what should be expected at one of the world’s top twenty football clubs.

Despite the shortcomings (!) of the owners, the terrible performances on the pitch were clearly down the manager. Anyone who has regularly watched over the past year and a half must have observed the problems with fitness, tactics, team selection, formations, application and motivation. I don’t profess to understand how our transfer business works but the assumption has to be that the manager has the final say before any player puts pen to paper (even if the board are not prepared to pay the asking price for some of those at the top of his wish list). Working within a budget is a reality for almost all managers and I don’t go along with the view that Bilic was starved of cash, or that he was undermined during his time at the club. It is unfortunate that money has been wasted in paying over the top on wages rather than making that money available for transfer fees. A focus on recruiting experienced (e.g. old) players, an inability to discover young talent from lower leagues and a reluctance to develop youth have all played their part in assembling a squad that, although theoretically talented, is unbalanced and poorly deployed.

What impact Moyes can have (assuming he is the chosen one) is anyone’s guess. Many seem to want him to fail before he has started which is difficult to understand even if he does come across as a miserable bugger. After successful stints at Preston and Everton his career has taken a decidedly downward turn over recent years. The time spent at Manchester United, as Ferguson’s chosen successor, was always going to be a difficult gig and it was a relative failure rather than an absolute one. He was dismissed from Real Sociedad for being average rather than terrible but it was his spell at Sunderland which is the greatest cause for concern. He seemed to make little impression at the Stadium of Light where his apparent defeatist and morose attitude guided the Black Cats to a tame bottom placed finish. The only possible mitigation is that Sunderland was and is a club in massive disarray and irreversible decline; a look at the current Championship table would appear to confirm this.

If West Ham get the Everton era Moyes then he will bring far better organisation and greater levels of fitness to the team. It may not be brilliant to watch but it should be good enough. There is an old joke about two hunters being attacked by a bear where one stops to put on his running shoes. “You can’t outrun a bear” say his partner. “I don’t have to” he replies “I only have to outrun you!” Likewise our task is not necessarily to storm up the league but to do enough to finish above three other sides. In fact, those not wanting a long term engagement with Moyes might prefer our escape to be as narrow as possible so that no contract extension is triggered. For me, anyone who is hoping for failure and relegation (and I have seen some comments to that effect) has a rather twisted outlook; even if the motivation is to bring about a change of ownership.

At the time of writing the other rumour doing the rounds is the possibility of Stuart Pearce coming in as a coach to support Moyes. I don’t have a strong impression for Pearce as manager material but he could have a strong impact in delivering the much needed rocket up the player’s collective backsides. Pretty much anything has to be an upgrade on Bilic surrounding himself with his mates to a point where there was no viable caretaker to step in even on a temporary basis

It looks like Moyes is going to be appointed today and it is only right that he should start with a clean slate whatever the reservations. Can he work wonders in the next three games before we embark on the December of death? It will be a tall order but he deserves our backing and support until experience proves otherwise.

Five Takeaways: West Ham’s Shambolic Self Destruction Against Liverpool

Surely the latest is a series of spineless, self-inflicted surrenders will spell the end of Slaven Bilic’s tenure at West Ham.

The Shots Statistics In Full

Shots Off Target = 5; Shots On Target = 1; Shots Into Own Foot = 4
It was a bright enough opening. West Ham got past the opening fifteen minutes where no-one seems to want to score in a Premier League game these days with some ease and had, in fact, come closest to scoring when Ayew’s shot, from Lanzini’s deflected pass, hit the outside of the post. When the Hammers won a corner and our three centre backs all sauntered up-field I am sure that the gaps they left behind would have been visible from space. A quick Liverpool break resulting with three against Cresswell and it was one-nil. A few moments later it looked like game over as Noble supplied his first assist on the season to set Liverpool up for their second. The briefest glimmer of hope, early in the second half, from a smartly taken Lanzini goal was quickly extinguished by another rush of gung-ho defending that left keeper Hart grounded with a resigned WTF look on his face. The final goal was purely academic but was again the result of shambolic defensive organisation that involved lots of pointing but little positioning. It was just lucky that Liverpool themselves had an off-day and barely needed to break sweat.

The Lost Art of Preparation and Coaching

For once it was not a lack of fitness or effort that caused the Hammer’s downfall but it was disturbing at just how quickly heads dropped after the opening goal. Defensive suspensions and injuries hadn’t helped in selections but the defence has hardly been a strong point even with a fully fit and available squad to choose from. Who could have imagined that Fernandes would do a job at wing back against the returning Mane? It is plainly obvious that preparation and attention to detail is not a core competence in the current coaching set-up. Rather than it being form that is poor it is discipline and organisation that is missing. I can only describe Bilic’s style of play as anarchic (or anarchico as it really needs to have an Italian name) where players are allowed to do what they want, when they want. The notion that players do not need to be tightly coached and expertly drilled, given the small margins at play in top level sport, is beyond belief. Although it is always tempting to focus on individual errors those apparent errors are more often than not caused by collective disorganisation.

Were There Any Positives?

The only West Ham player who looked like he belonged in the Premier League on the strength of yesterday’s performance was Manuel Lanzini. It is not difficult to imagine him in a Liverpool shirt by the start of next season (but hopefully not that aberration of a third kit sported yesterday as if it was a goalkeeper’s fancy dress party!) Lanzini aside the best performance of the evening was from the Bugler who topped anything else I have witnessed from the Remembrance observations over the last two weekends. There was one thing that I heard on a commentary that amused me laugh when it was suggested that Slaven Bilic was making use of all his offensive tools. That I found the idea of Carroll and Sakho described as offensive tools to be one of the match highlights shows how starved we have become of entertainment.

Has Anyone Thrown The Towel In Yet?

I was fully expecting an announcement that the axe had fallen on Slaven Bilic’s reign at the London Stadium before this article was ready for publication. Surely it is now simply a question of timing. The image of our manager looking forlorn and lost on the touchline, like Bambi after his mother had been shot, and you sense that putting him out of his misery is the kindest thing all round. The International Break at least provides breathing space for someone to try to re-arrange the current shambles into the semblance of a football team. Sticking for a moment longer with Bilic suggests certain relegation to me. It is not too late for someone to come in and knock what should be a mid-table squad into shape. Assuming that we take no points off the top six clubs then our target is to pick a point and a half per game against the rest for safety (over the course of a season.) Currently we are just three points behind that target and so all is not yet lost provided action is taken.

Jobs For The Moyes

The strong media speculation and bookmakers seem to point to David Moyes taking over, possibly with a contract to the end of the season. He would not be my first choice as a next level manager but beggars can’t be choosers and the better opportunity for change was missed in the summer. It is difficult to know how to assess Moyes. He had a good record at Everton, picked up something of a poison chalice at Old Trafford (despite being recommended by Sir Alex) and was woeful at Sunderland. My big fear is that there are too many parallels between ourselves and Sunderland where a big shiny stadium is expected by those in charge to guarantee success. With Moyes it won’t be pretty but, in my opinion, it should be effective enough, at least for the remainder of the season. As a longer term solution I am not excited either by his dour demeanour and how that is reflected on the pitch. Equally, I wouldn’t be happy with the return of Allardyce or Pardew. Perhaps some exciting young coaches working alongside the manager could help freshen things up and avoid a repeat of what we have now where the manager has surrounded himself with his mates leaving no caretaker option available.

West Ham against Liverpool: A Preview to a Kill

Can our beleaguered manager and depleted squad extinguish the disturbing memories from last season?

Once again a West Ham game is over-shadowed by the ongoing speculation over the future of manager Slaven Bilic. Having survived the supposed two-games-to-save-his-job ultimatum he now faces a lose-this-one-badly-and-you’re-history challenge with the visit of Liverpool to the London Stadium for the Saturday late kick-off. The situation really has become quite ludicrous and I doubt there can many left who don’t believe it is only a matter of time before the axe finally falls. The only uncertainty is how far through the season Bilic will cling on for and how deep West Ham are in the brown stuff when that time eventually comes.

A string of names have been put forward as potential managerial replacements although the majority of these are currently in gainful employment and may not regard now as the appropriate time to accept the poison chalice form Messrs.’ Gold and Sullivan; or perhaps they believe a better is in the offing from Everton. There are, of course, a number of managerial merry-go-round managers who are currently kicking their heels in pundit-land including former bosses Pardew and Allardyce; a return for either of those would madness in my eyes – and there is also the discarded Ronald Koeman. It is unfortunate that our predicament will almost force the hand into the realms of another ‘survival’ manager when what is really needed at the club is one capable of building a team for the future. I wonder what Terry Venables and George Graham are doing at the moment?

The manager of today’s visitors, Liverpool, seems to divide opinion. Personally, I like him as he brings some much needed colour into the game. If he were not managing the pantomime villains from Merseyside, I think he would be getting more credit for what he has tried to do at a club that lives as much in the past as our own. Given time (and a realisation that you have to defend as well as attack) and I am certain he will be able to guide his side to regular third and fourth place finishes; only a huge injection of cash will now be able to split the Manchester domination.

Head to Head

I doubt that there is a team in the league that we have a worse record against than Liverpool. In 135 previous meetings we have won only twenty-eight (20%) and lost a whopping seventy (52%). In recent history the Hammers have fared relatively better having won four and lost five of the last twelve encounters between the two clubs.

A victory today would give the Hammers equilibrium on home turf by making it twenty-five wins apiece from sixty-seven matches. The last twelve home games have seen five West Ham wins and seven defeats and you would need to go further back to December 2001 for the most recent home stalemate. Liverpool have a 100% record at the London Stadium.

Team News

Pablo Zabaleta misses the game due to a one match ban while the Hammers are also said to be also without defenders Sam Byram, James Collins (and potentially) Winston Reid, Jose Fonte and Aaron Cresswell. Michail Antonio is also missing with a bout of acute embarrassment. Unless some particularly efficacious white horse oil can be found to treat the walking wounded prior to the match the defence will have an even more makeshift look about it than usual.

The silver lining in the cloud of defensive woes is a probable further outing for the impressive Declan Rice; but with the majority of attacking players reporting for duty the calls for the inclusion of academy stars Toni Martinez and Nathan Holland will likely go unheeded. A flurry of goals from Andre Ayew seem to have elevated his status to automatic starter for most supporters but he still needs to deliver more and on a consistent basis to justify his price tag in my view. It is ironic that his best position seems to be exactly the same as the one Little Pea wants to play.

Today’s visitors also have a string of injuries to contend with as Mane, Lallana and Clyne are reported as definitely out while Coutinho, Wijnaldum and Lovren are major doubts. Given the importance of Mane and Coutinho to the way that Liverpool play this news must be music to Slaven’s part-time rock star ears.

The Man in The Middle

Today’s referee is Preston supporter Neil Swarbrick from close to Merseyside. As well as being in charge of West Ham’s defeat at Newcastle earlier this season he was also the ref of this corresponding fixture last year. He also took charge of home games against Middlesbrough and Palace last term. In eight games this season he has yet to issue a red card and has twenty-two yellows to his name. In case you are interested his performance can be seem live on Refcam.

Predictions

No surprise that Lawro is true to form and predicting a Liverpool win (0-2). Merson also agrees but is forecasting a 3-1 score-line in the visitor’s favour. If Liverpool had Coutinho and Mane available my fear would have been something even worse than last season’s 0-4 capitulation, they are just the type of team who would have a filed day running at the West Ham defence and causing all sorts of problems. As it is there is only Salah to worry about and he looks to be rather inconsistent. Thus, there is just a glimmer of hope and I am going to buck the historic trend by predicting a repeat of last week’s 2-2 score. In truth, I would take a heavy defeat if it guaranteed a conclusion to the Bilic debacle.

Five Takeaways: West Ham’s Lack of Intent and Professionalism at Crystal Palace

No turn-around as West Ham deliver another dreadful display in letting slip a two goal half time advantage

Where Was The Big Performance?

In the build up to the game our manager was promising a big performance. What we go was a big disappointment. When the manager said he wanted the midweek heroics at Wembley to be the benchmark for the rest of the season on-one believed that it was throwing away a two goal lead that he was talking about. The sad truth, however, is that, although losing two points with the last kick of the match to the team bottom of the table, was disappointing it does not really come as a surprise to many West Ham supporters. Conceding at least two goals has become the norm in our Premier League games and all too frequently these happen as the result of naivety, stupidity or a lack of concentration. The performance, in fact, had far more in common with the defeat against Brighton than it did with the unexpected Wembley win.

Turning Things Around – Nothing Has Changed

Whether the ‘two games to save his job’ was truly an ultimatum from the owners or a mere media invention we will never know. West Ham avoided defeat in those two games but where does it now leave us? In the quarter final of a competition which we are most unlikely to win given the nature of the subsequent cup draw and on the brink of a relegation dogfight; having in the last two games lost at home to a hot relegation favourite and scraped a lucky point against the bottom placed side – and with a tough run of games now to face through to Christmas. Nothing has changed and there is no sign of any turnaround. The underlying issues with lack of fitness, movement, organisation, tactics, structure, understanding, intelligence and leadership remain, with no evidence to suggest that the manager and coaching staff have any clue as to how to improve matters. On the current trajectory relegation is a distinct possibility.

A Tale of Two Goals – And Little Else

There were few moments of West Ham quality and, once again, few players came out of the game with any real credit. Joe Hart possibly had his best game in a West Ham shirt and without his intervention it could easily have been a comfortable Palace victory – although could he have done better for the equaliser? Standing out in an otherwise dreadful performance were the two West Ham goals whose execution were totally out of character from the rest of the afternoon. The first, the result of a delightful quick passing move involving Lanzini, Ayew and Cresswell and finished with predatory panache by Hernandez. The second, a splendid individual run and strike by Ayew after Fernandes forced an error in the Palace midfield. It was an all too brief glimpse of the type of football that we all yearn for.

Where Were The Tactics – And The Senators?

The two goals aside, the first half was a disjointed and disappointing affair. Palace were very poor and only looked to carry any threat from set pieces. Bilic had spoken pre-match about his senior players being ‘senators’ who would inspire the team to achieve great things; but if that group included the likes of Noble, Fonte, Zabaleta and Ogbonna then they failed to deliver big time. Bilic claimed that his second half tactics were to get his team to exploit the space behind Palace as they pushed forward and adopted a more direct approach. Palace improved immeasurably after the break but mainly because West Ham’s negativity allowed them to do so. Giving away the early pointless penalty didn’t help but as a response there was no intent by our side to pose any further threat to the Palace goal. As usual our passing and ball retention were woeful with the only tactic being to give the ball away cheaply whenever in possession. Against the team bottom of the table we offered nothing but an open invitation for them to come at us.

What Has Happened to All-Action Antonio?

As needless as the penalty was, the last minute equaliser was the epitome of a lack of professionalism. Deep into the last minute of added time, Antonio in possession, unchallenged and alone by the corner flag, with three colleagues in the middle marked by only one defender. Keep the ball where it is and the clock runs safely down. There is a chance of a killer goal if he can be sure to pick out the right pass (although we hadn’t tried to score for the rest of the half) but by chipping the ball aimlessly into the centre merely conceded the possession that led to the goal – and having committed players forward we are now outnumbered in Palace’s last push. Whatever was he thinking -or didn’t he care? In truth, a change in attitude by Antonio has been evident for a while now. Gone is the all action, full of running, happy to be in the Premier League player to be replaced by a more moody and sullen one. Is this personal to him or a reflection of a deeper discontent within the squad? Whatever the reason it is deeply disturbing with a player who has been one of the few successes over the past eighteen months or so.

Matchday: Slaven Bilic’s Last Game Series 2 Episode 3

The first leg of the London Wooden Spoon contest takes place at Selhurst Park.

If you are only as good as your last game then West Ham will win today’s relegation battle between London’s Cinderella clubs at a canter. The Hammers executed a remarkable comeback to earn Wembley cup triumph over Tottenham while the day before Crystal Palace experienced humiliating defeat at the hands of lowly Bristol City. Except that football doesn’t tend to work like that; cup form, in games where there has to be a winner, does not necessarily translate into league matches, where collection of precious points for big money survival are the imperative.

Both of today’s sides made wholesale changes for their midweek games so it is difficult to know to what extent West Ham will be boosted by their surprise victory or how much Palace will be deflated by their shock defeat. In many ways Slaven Bilic faces the greater dilemma as he has to decide which of the fringe players from Wednesday’s battling second half display deserve another chance.

Wednesday night’s game should set the standard for us, in terms of closing teams down, in terms of compactness, in terms of team play, in terms of sacrificing everything for the team. We will win some games and we will lose some games, but I am quite confident we are on a good way.

– Slaven Bilic Eureka Moment

It has been widely reported that this is the second of the two games that manager Bilic has to save his job (at least until the next time that a similar ultimatum is issued.) He couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome in the week but defeat today would still leave him in a very precarious position. While a win is likely to earn a stay of execution, it is a toss-up as to whether a draw will be enough to satisfy the chairmen as they contemplate the tougher run of fixtures on the board over the coming weeks.

Head to Head

West Ham have played Palace thirty five times (ignoring Southern League and war-time games) winning sixteen and losing only seven. The away game tally shows eight West Ham wins in seventeen matches with just the three defeats – all to a one-nil scoreline!

If West Ham win today it will be the fourth in a row at Selhurst Park.

Team News

James Collins would appear to be the only senior player not available for selection (although there will a late fitness assessment for Michail Antonio) adding to Bilic’s selection dilemma as to how many from Wednesday’s second string make it into today’s starting eleven. Personally, I would see no reason not to stick with Adrian between the posts but am certain that the manager will decide otherwise.

Bilic is sure to persevere with a back three/ five and it will be fascinating to see which three central defenders get the nod: will Winston Reid return (probably); will Angelo Ogbonna keep his place (probably); will he show bravery and give another run out to Declan Rice (unlikely) or will Jose Fonte or Cheikhou Kouyate make up the numbers?

Mark Noble is sure to start after being credited with responsibility for the Wembley second half performance (but not the poor first half one). There is no doubt about Noble’s commitment or passion but is that enough in top flight football?

Elsewhere will it be another run out for the unplayable head of Andy Carroll? Will Javier Hernandez return or were Andre Ayew’s goals enough to earn him a rare start. Ayew certainly has a knack of being in the right place and has, apparently, been involved in more West Ham goals than any other player during his time at the club. Quite possibly he is another player who has not been used to the best of his potential, given that he has spent the majority of games being largely ineffective in midfield.

I think there is a belief which is growing, there is a faith in what they are trying to do as a team. Training sessions are one thing, though, matches on a Saturday are a different thing. We’re not judged on how well we do in training, we’re judged on winning on Saturday or not.

– Wise Owl Roy Hodgson knows the difference between training and a match

Palace are still without Christian Benteke and have doubts over James McArthur and Lee Chung-yong. They will likely rely on Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend in attack which many not be a massive goal threat but they have more than enough pace to unsettle the West Ham defence. Former Hammer James Tomkins is likely to occupy his preferred position on the bench.

Man in the Middle

The referee today is Robert ‘Bobby’ Madley from West Yorkshire. The no nonsense Yorkshireman has been highly productive with the cards this season awarding thirty six yellows and four reds in just eight outings. Our poor disciplinary record and propensity to concede penalties will certainly come under the referee’s scrutiny where both Zaha and Cabaye are quick to go to ground.

West Ham encountered Madley four times last season in the home win to Sunderland, wins home and away to Burnley and defeat at Bournemouth.

Predictions

Both Lawro and Merson are playing safe with 1-1 draw predictions. Palace got off the mark with a deserved win against Chelsea last time out at Selhurst Park and were unfortunate losers at Newcastle prior to their EFL cup fiasco. The Hammers hit an all-time low when losing at home to Brighton only to bounce back in midweek shock at Wembley. I am sure the game will have goals; West Ham are weak in protecting their defence (particularly against pace) and are also prone to individual errors; Palace have yet to keep a clean sheet and are faced with the Manuel Lanzini scoring hoodoo. Someone will win by the odd goal in three; my heart says the Hammers but my head says Palace.

Matchday: Put On The Claret Ribbons as West Ham Travel to Wembley

She wore a claret ribbon ….. for the West Ham boys who are going to Wembley.

Depending on your point of view, today marks the start of the great West Ham turnaround or is the first of Slaven Bilic’s final two games as manager. From my way of thinking, I would give a greater chance of survival to a lame duck who covered himself in orange sauce and decided to attend a hungry foxes convention. Still, stranger things have happened in football although the dilemma tonight hinges on what does turning it around look like as far as Bilic’s employers are concerned? Does it require two victories or would a plucky defeat tonight followed by victory at the weekend be sufficient? Or is the bar set even lower with the only criteria being as to whether a ready replacement can be found in time?

All the evidence would suggest that coming away from tonight’s trip to Wembley with anything other than pride in tact is likely to be a tall order. Perhaps the chance to witness the Hammers play in a cup tie at Wembley is reward enough in these desperate times; remember it is a spectacle that an increasing number of supporters (those born in the last forty years) have only seen on Youtube.

Tottenham appeared to exorcise the apparent Wembley voodoo on Sunday with an emphatic victory over Liverpool leaving us with the only straw to clutch at being that, with games against Manchester United and Real Madrid on the horizon, an EFL cup tie may not be the highest priority. Maybe they will play a weakened side but even though Tottenham probably have the least depth of all the ‘top six’ clubs they possess more than enough ability to brush past West Ham should recent Hammers performances be repeated. There is, maybe, encouragement (but also frustration) to be taken from the fact that West Ham have often discovered an added extra gear in games against our north London rivals. On the other hand, tt is difficult to see Pochettino taking the game lightly even if he may see the game as a distraction.

The only ‘shock’ from last night’s set of results was the defeat for Saturday’s opponents Crystal Palace who had decided to field a second string team with the weekend’s clash in mind. Could a Hammer’s victory be tonight’s shock or will Bilic also decide to write this one off as Hodgson did with Palace?

Head to Head: League Cup Special

This is the seventh time that West Ham have been drawn against Tottenham in the League Cup. Two of the original ties were drawn and went to replays (not an option tonight) both of which Tottenham won including a 5-0 romp in February 1987. My own most memorable encounter was at a buzzing Upton Park when the fantastic West Ham side of the early 1980’s ran out 1-0 victors courtesy of a delightful chipped goal by David Cross in the last ten minutes of the game. That was, of course, en route to West Ham’s most recent appearance in a Wembley cup final in March 1981. The Hammers also won the last League Cup meeting between the two sides in December 2013 as goals from Jarvis and Maiga helped secure a 2-1 victory.

Team News

West Ham are missing Michail Antonio, Diafra Sakho and James Collins through injury but Andy Carroll is available after completing a one match suspension. It has been confirmed that Adrian will be in goal but other than that it is anyone’s guess as to the lineup. It is normal Bilic practice to flip-flop between three central defenders and a back four following each bad defeat and so I foresee a back three returning tonight. Maybe there will be a chance for a few youngsters (such as Declan Rice and Nathan Holland) to be given a run-out, and not just in the last five minutes. Rice as part of a back three would be interesting to see rather than continuing to use him in a more unnatural defensive midfield role.

The goalkeeper situation is a perfect example of West Ham’s lack of foresight. It has been widely reported that Adrian is looking to leave the club; and who could blame him. That would leave just an on-loan player in Joe Hart with any experience in the keeper department; and nothing I have seen suggests that Hart is any better than Adrian.

Tottenham may well rest several star players for the game (including H Kane) but may find room for Dembele and Rose who are both returning from injury. Wanyama and Lamela remain on the sidelines.

Man in the The Middle

A first encounter this season with Mike Dean from The Wirral. Last season, Dean took charge of the Tottenham v West Ham league game at White Hart Lane, where he sent off Winston Reid, and West Ham’s home league fixture against Manchester United, where he sent off Sofiane Feghouli. A high probability of a red card tonight then I would think, probably while awarding a penalty for one of Dele Alli’s dives in the penalty area.

Predictions

Sky’s Charlie Nicholas has gone for a 3-0 home win. Painful as it is to say, I am a huge admirer of Pochettino’s style of football which has allowed Tottenham to over-achieve at Tottenham during the past few seasons. We can only dream of a team with extreme levels of fitness and players who completely understand, and are so well drilled in, what is expected of them. I would like to be more optimistic but feel that the best we can hope for tonight is a performance rather than a result.

Five Takeaways: West Ham’s Abysmal Defeat by Brighton

Surely it is farewell to Slaven Bilic following the Hammer horror show home defeat to newly promoted Brighton.

Poor Organisation and Individual Errors

Unfortunately there is great deal of repetition in any West Ham match review as the underlying problems that haunt the team’s performance continue to go unresolved. There have been times when these sub-par performances have resulted in narrow victories leading to a temporary sense that maybe things aren’t as bad as they seems. Then the cycle starts again and, to be honest, I expected another plundered 1-0 win from last night’s contest with Brighton. What we got, however, was quite possibly the most woeful, collective demonstration of West Ham’s inadequacies for some time. No player came out of it with any credit with the possible exception of Pablo Zabaleta who at least gave the impression that he was prepared to try for the whole ninety minutes. Post-match reviews frequently look back to individual errors when goals are conceded (and of course they do happen) but with West Ham it has largely been the absence of structure and organisation that has been the downfall; the players consistently look like a group of strangers who have rarely met before and have no idea as to what is expected of them or how they are supposed to support one another. We have by no means the worst squad in the league but I have rarely seen a team at this level do such little work off the ball. It is a total shambles.

How To Turn It Around When You Don’t Know Where You’re Heading?

Supporter’s views on the manager have become sharply polarised by now. There is the growing camp who believe that he is clueless, has no game-plan and cannot motivate or prepare his team properly either in terms of fitness or tactics. The other group is the Slav’s a nice guy camp who admire his passion, believe that he ‘gets us’ and that he should be given more time to turn things around. There is a third group, of course, which comprises the board who know that he is useless but are prepared to give him more time if they don’t have to pay compensation. If there was any hope of Bilic turning things around then it would need some clear direction of where we were heading in the first place. I have seen no evidence of this and only see a side that stumbles from one crisis to another. One report summed West Ham’s performance up as a confused mess and quite frankly that is how it has been since the start of last season. From where we are now it is impossible to see any way of avoiding a frantic relegation scrap (for which we are ill equipped) without changing the manager and coaching staff.

Organisation and Discipline Again

As shocking as West Ham were, some credit has to go to the opposition for having a game-plan and sticking to it. It is a perfect example of what organisation and discipline can bring to a set of less talented players. Brighton are a team without any stars, reputations and egos. They are aware that it will be a difficult first season in the Premier League for them but that by putting in the effort, pulling together and sticking to a plan it gives them a shot at survival. Contrast that attitude to the West Ham one, which assumes that simply turning up is enough. I have written before that being the ‘fourth club in London’ is a potentially huge disadvantage for us as it attracts players of a big-time-Charlie persuasion who see themselves equivalent to their counterparts at Arsenal or Chelsea but without the need to put in the required level of graft. One imagines that our nice-guy manager is not so hot on player discipline and this is carried forward on to the pitch. Sure, he has petulantly fallen out with a few players over the years but that is not the same thing as having strict standards of behaviour. It should be no surprise that the multi-millionaire young men that make up the footballing elite nowadays need strong discipline to keep their feet firmly on the ground.

Time For The Board To Act

On the evidence of social media, there is a very toxic atmosphere associated with the club at the present time. I have to say that this is not necessarily affirmed by those that I talk to in the real world who tend to apply more perspective. The more vociferous keyboard supporters lay much of the blame for the current malaise at the door of the Board or the move to the London Stadium; or both! Everyone, of course, is entitled to their opinion but the reality is that neither of those things are going change any time soon without time travel. Further, neither of those factors are responsible for the poor football that is being served up week on week. Performances on the pitch are directly down to the manager and his coaching staff who are tasked with getting the best out of the resources available. We have not been plucky losers but lethargic pushovers. As painful as the defeat to Brighton was, if it heralds, as it should do, the end of the manager’s reign then it would have been a medicine worth taking. Where the board are culpable, in my view, is in continuing to oversee the amateurish approach taken to the footballing side of the club; in the long term it will be a more important factor for revenue growth than selling a few more Hammer’s souvenirs. Until a long term football strategy is developed (with Sullivan stepping back from his de facto Director of Football role) and there is proper investment into training and youth development we will continue to punch well below our weight.

Who Should Be The Replacement

It will be hugely disappointing if Bilic is still in charge by the time our next game comes around. I do not profess to have the low down on what managers are available but I am hoping (maybe optimistically) that soundings have been taken and the market scoured to find the right replacement. Whoever comes in (and please not serial failure Alan Pardew) needs to have a tactical brain, obsessed with fitness and be strong on discipline. I remain convinced that a decent manager can create a competent top half team from the under-performing collection of players that would be at his disposal. Personally, I would liked to have gone for Marco Silva in the summer but that ship has sailed. Maybe Roberto Mancini is the man.

Matchday: Friday On Our Mind as West Ham take on Brighton

Gonna have Friday night fun in the city as a place in the top half awaits the winners of tonight’s Premier League clash.

The latest in a regular series of ‘must-win’ games sees West Ham entertain Brighton & Hove Albion at the London Stadium. Although there is always something special about night-time football under the floodlights there is also something unnatural about games being played on a Friday night – surely this should be reserved for clubs such as Southend United. On the other hand, West Ham have a 100% win record for home Friday night Premier League fixtures which we should have a good reason to preserve against the south coast day trippers.

Today’s visiting manager is one-time Hammer Chris Hughton, who having spent most of his playing career at White Hart Lane was signed by Billy Bonds, as cover for the injured Julian Dicks, and became a regular during the promotion season of 1990/91. His management career has been a mixed bag: having been unfortunate to be dismissed from Newcastle in favour of Alan Pardew; taking Birmingham City to the Championship play-offs; before experiencing a less successful period in charge at Norwich City. In his third season as manager of Brighton the club achieved automatic promotion from the Championship to earn a return to the top tier of English football for the first time since 1983.

“We have improved results, we have players back from injury and the players who missed a big part of pre-season have their match-fitness. We improved and we are on the right path, so it’s much better.”

– Slaven Bilic

Having watched Brighton’s home match against Everton last weekend it was apparent that Hughton has put together a resolute and well organised side even if it lacks something in creativity and goal threat. Although Everton dominated first half possession they moved the ball forward far too slowly (very reminiscent of how West Ham play) allowing Brighton to easily re-group and defend in numbers. If the Hammers adopt that that usual ponderous and pedestrian style again tonight it will turn out as another frustrating ninety minutes at the London Stadium.

Head to Head

If you ignore Southern League and war-time cup games then West Ham and Brighton have only crossed swords on twenty-one occasions, with the Hammers winning eleven and losing five of those encounters. On home soil, West Ham have won nine out of the twelve games played.

The single Brighton victory in the east end was in a Championship game in November 2004 and may serve as a warning against what could happen tonight. West Ham dominated the entire game (mugged off in the words of manager Pardew) mustering seventeen attempts on goal, of which only three were on target. Conversely, Brighton scored the only goal of the game from a rare foray into the West Ham half.

Team News

With Andy Carroll missing through suspension cue an injury to Diafra Sakho, joining James Collins on the treatment table. There is a slight doubt about Javier Hernandez but he is expected to start. The disappearing striker phenomenon could possibly open the door for Tony Martinez to spend an evening on the bench.

In normal circumstances I would say that tonight’s team picks itself with Pedro Obiang coming into the side in place of Carroll as the only change from the eleven that started at Burnley. This would allow Hernandez to play alone up front but with support from Michail Antonio and Marko Arnautovic in wide positions while Manuel Lanzini is given more freedom in a central attacking position behind the striker. In fact, this may well be the best balanced eleven that we have in the squad. Whether Mr Bilic has the same idea remains to be seen.

There has been much praise in the week for the performances of Jose Fonte, proclaimed as West Ham’s most improved player of the season, Although this probably reflects on how bad he was previously than on any sudden display of brilliance. The back four is generally competent at heading the ball away and is only exposed when it comes up against attackers with pace and movement. It is doubtful whether Brighton, in the shape of 34-year-old Glenn Murray, will be asking too many questions in that respect this evening.

“It’s going to be about away form that’s going to be the most challenging. It’s a game away from home, in a big stadium, against a very talented team.”

– Chris Hughton

Brighton hope to have Shane Duffy available after picking up an injury last week but otherwise have no injury woes. The danger men for Brighton would appear to be Pascal Groß and Anthony Knockaert

Man in the Middle

It is a second encounter of the season with Martin Atkinson from West Yorkshire, Atkinson having previously officiated in the season opener at Old Trafford. He was in charge of four Hammer’s games last season; defeats to Watford (Home) and Arsenal (Away) and away wins at Palace and Middlesbrough.

Predictions

Merson has this down as a 1-0 Hammers win while Lawro goes one better by predicting a 2-0 home victory. The match has the look of an only goal of the game victory to me and fingers crossed it will go our way. One-nil to the cockney boys is fast becoming our trademark home result (particularly in ‘must-win’ games) and it will also be consistent with the two previous Friday night Premier League wins.

An early West Ham goal could, of course, put a completely different complexion on the game while the longer Brighton can hold out the more frustrating the game could become. Long gone are the days when you would experience that feeling in your water that the Hammers could very well go on a goal scoring rampage at any time.

Five Takeaways: More Red Card Madness for West Ham at Burnley

Pleased with a point or unhappy at dropping two as an early red card defines West Ham’s latest Premier League awayday.

The Starting Eleven

At first glance, the starting eleven was once again a little bewildering. It was perhaps as adventurous but looked fragile in the centre of midfield where the pairing of Cheikou Kouyate and Manuel Lanzini lacked the necessary defensive discipline to combat Burnley’s five man midfield. With Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez playing as a front two, the attack minded Michail Antonio and Marko Arnautovic providing midfield width, and a flat back four it looked like trying to shoehorn in the preferred players rather than setting up in a conscious style of play. As it turned out, Burnley did not attempt to exploit the apparent frailties in the system and the game, although it offered incident, lacked any real quality. Even so, it was more interesting than the massively over-hyped, ‘greatest game of all time’, Liverpool versus Manchester United anti-entertainment that went earlier. The limitations of the formation meant that Pablo Zabaleta and Aaron Cresswell rarely ventured forward into the opponents half and Lanzini was bypassed (later to be isolated on the wing) as once again the main tactic was to aim for Carroll’s head. The bench comprised the usual suspects with not a young player in sight. I am fairly confident that West Ham having a reasonable enough squad if only it could be assembled into a cohesive unit properly.

Route 1 Please, David

If ever there is ever any doubt as to what a Route 1 goal looks like then in future you can just search out Antonio’s goal on Youtube. The longest and most hopeful of punted clearances from Joe Hart, a shocking misjudgement of the flight of the ball by the defender, and Antonio nipping in to nudge it past the keeper and then roll it into the net. In striking contrast West Ham were unlucky not to double their lead just after half time when a delightful move involving Hernandez, Pedro Obiang and Lanzini ended with Antonio unable to find a way to guide a relatively easy chance past the keeper. The briefest of glimpses at some uncharacteristic excellent movement by the team and a reminder of a style of football that West Ham used to play it.

Red Cards and Referees

It is not difficult to see why referee, Stuart Attwell, is not trusted to take charge of more high profile Premier League games, such was his inconsistency and lack of authority. To be fair he made a common refereeing mistake by allowing a period of lenience in the opening stages of the game before (apparently) deciding that the next wholehearted challenge would end with the perpetrators name going in the book. The unsuspecting victim of this ill-conceived, totting up, the next-fouls-a-booking interpretation was Andy Carroll whose challenge, in my mind, was innocuous and without intent; if it was even a foul. You would like to think that an offence is an offence regardless of the circumstance but that doesn’t seem to be part of the referee’s code; they prefer to apply a random filter that is largely based on outcome rather than the actual level of recklessness – as witnessed by the reaction to a number of recent raised foot incidents. If the first booking was harsh then the second was sheer stupidity on Carroll’s part and reflects a wider issue with ill-discipline in a squad that leads the field in red cards. To restore balance after the sending off Atwell turned a blind eye to what looked like a certain penalty (when Joe Hart felled the Burnley attacker) and later allowed several challenges as bad or worse than Carrolls to go unpunished.

Scheduled or Tactical Substitutions

In the circumstances of playing over an hour with ten men then it would be churlish to complain about the result. Overall the players put in a great shift to limit Burnley to few goal-scoring opportunities. The introduction of Pedro Obiang was no surprise other than it did not take place until half time. It is difficult to conclude whether the other substitutions had any material impact. I have a sense that Bilic has a substitution timetable and that Diafra Sakho was always going to replace Hernandez at or around 70 minutes regardless of what was taking place on the pitch. I saw this as an unnecessary change as Hernandez was still full of running and was doing a job of holding the ball up very well. In hindsight, bringing on Masuaku earlier to double up after the introduction of Gudmundsson might have made sense. Both Cresswell and a tiring Antonio should have done better to prevent the cross that led to the equaliser.

Reflection on The Summer Signings

The stand-out success from the summer transfer business has to Zabaleta who continues to show determination and passion in his claret and blue shirt. Arnautovic was again disappointing and was the right player to sacrifice after the sending off. Apart from some impressive moments in the Bolton EFL Cup game he has done nothing to justify his huge fee. Perhaps it is still early days but the jinx of the record signing shows no sign of going away. My worry that he is a player who only shines when things are going well. I have yet to see what improvement Hart offers over Adrian – a strange set of circumstances when you consider he is only on loan. Hernandez was rightly disappointed at being substituted once again. Let’s hope that he does not easily become despondent.