Geoff Hopkins

5 Lessons from Resisting Lukaku

A handful of Positives as West Ham play out a goal-less draw against Everton and Lukaku at the London Stadium

A Little Organisation At Last

Let’s face it this was not the greatest game of football to grace the Premier League this season. However, it was a welcome point, when most (including me) felt that a convincing defeat was on the cards, and it was a much more disciplined and organised performance than most we have witnessed. There is a temptation to put the performance in the context that Everton were very poor on the day but a large part of football is preventing the opposition from playing to their strengths. For once, and possibly the first time this season, West Ham were effective at doing this and by neutralising the threats of Lukaku and Barkley they were able to protect the point quite comfortably.

Defending as a Unit

I am pleased that Slaven took my pre-match advice by playing with a back three, moving Fernandes to wing back and pairing Nordtveit and Kouyate in central midfield. The tendency is to always associate leaking goals with poor defenders, but that is only a part of the problem, and good sides both attack and defend as a team. The defence is not just three or four players but six or seven; plus the goalkeeper. Although all three of the central defenders acquitted themselves very well, the clean sheet also owed much to the efforts of the defensive midfield players. That it has taken so long to realise the importance of this nugget of football wisdom is baffling, but let’s hope that the penny has finally dropped for the games to come. Many observers singled out James Collins for particular praise and, as well as he performed, he was lucky to get away with the shirt pulling late in the game that could so easily have resulted in a penalty.

Wet Flannel Attack

For all the organisational positives, the creative and striking frailties within the team were still apparent. There were some signs of life, mostly in the second half, where delightful approach work was let down by a poor final ball or poor decision making. Lanzini showed some excellent touches but he needs better movement around him to provide more options. The persistence with Calleri is unfathomable. Surely there cannot be any intention of keeping him at the end of the loan so why bother? He has nothing more to offer than Fletcher and it would seem far more sensible to give our own player to show what he has. At least Sakho got half an hour without getting injured and hopefully he will be in the starting eleven next week.

Surprising Performances

I was pleased to see Adrian back between the posts. He is the best keeper we have by some distance even if he will always be prone to the occasional error. He presents a much more commanding figure in the area than Randolph. Apart from the early calamity when receiving the Fernandes throw-in he didn’t really have much work to do but I suspect the defence were more relaxed with Adrian behind them. Fine performances too from Arthur and Nordtveit. Arthur has amazingly quick feet for a defender and the wing back role suits him perfectly. You wonder if he might not be a little too laid back for sterner defensive duties but I do like watching him play. Nordtveit’s performance was a big surprise based on the evidence of previous performances, even if those were mainly out of position. He grew into the game and by the second half appeared to have picked up both speed and strength. Deserves to keep his place.

Sigh of Relief

Something of a reprieve for the manager to get the point with such a depleted squad. With both Hull and Swansea winning the point adds a little more reassurance in the absence of mathematical certainty. We didn’t have to endure Feghouli or Snodgrass at any time either which was a further bonus. I guess that we knew that Holland, Rice and Makasi were only on the bench to make up the numbers but bringing on Cresswell to play right wing back still seemed to be an odd choice. In the end it didn’t matter and we were able to go home and to our beds with calmness if not elation.

Matchday: Hammers to break hard Toffees?

With the West Ham squad resembling Steptoe’s yard how will the ragged, bare bones fare against high flying Everton (featuring Romelu Lukaku).

West Ham Everton The general consensus among both fans and pundits alike is that West Ham will survive this Premier League season even though the ‘job is not yet done’. The four point haul from the last two outings, though hardly impressive, has West Ham within touching distance of salvation. For the job to be officially completed, however, we may well have to rely on those below us to lose a few more games as it is by no means certain, looking at the remaining games, that we have the ability to add to the current 37 point total. Survival will be due to the inadequacies of others rather than as a result of our own endeavours. I do not see the Hammers gathering any points in May which leaves this week’s home encounter with Everton and next week’s visit to Stoke as opportunities to bolster the manager’s failing reputation.

Historically games against Everton invariably end in disappointment, both home and away. Injuries, suspensions, tantrums and incompetence only exaggerate the challenge facing the Hammers today. The straw to clutch at is that Everton are not so hot on the road but with a strong finish possibly earning them a top six place (as Arsenal falter and Manchester United possibly put all their eggs into the Europa League basket) they will most definitely fancy their chances today. After a disappointing 2015/16 season, where they finished 11^th with 47 points, Everton have improved significantly under new manager Ronald Koeman and look to have a much sounder view of building for the future than our own club, which continues to blindly stumble from crisis to crisis. The challenge facing Everton, though, will be holding on to their most important players.

Head to Head

After Arsenal, the two Merseyside clubs have been the most successful visitors to West Ham over the years. In 60 meetings in London, Everton have won 23 to West Ham’s 22 with 15 drawn games. This century West Ham have won just two of fourteen home league fixtures against the Toffees.

West Ham and Everton are competitors for the dubious record of the most all-time Premier League defeats. At present the lead is shared by Aston Villa and Everton at 333 defeats with the Hammers just behind with 331 (despite having played over 100 games less). There is an excellent chance that we can snatch top spot here by end of the season.

Team News

West Ham are without Ogbonna, Obiang, Antonio, Carroll (all injured), Noble and Byram (both suspended). Reid and Sakho are rumoured to be available but difficult to know whether they will be risked. As with most of the season the lack of options at right back and striker continue to haunt us.

If Reid is fit, and assuming that Arbeloa will not be considered and we do not pull a surprise by playing a youngster (I am not sure what the current situation is with Reece Burke who recently played for the stiffs following a long injury layoff), then perhaps we need to go three at the back with Fernandes playing at right wing back. My own inclination would be to play Nordtveit and Kouyate in central midfield in an attempt to add further protection to the back line. If we concede too much space in midfield areas Everton will cut through at ease and Lukaku will have an afternoon’s target practice to look forward to. Slav no doubt will have other ideas. Our manager says that we have previous with playing either 3 or 4 at the back and he is right, we have demonstrated a lack of competence at both.

Up front the choice is likely between Sakho, with his lack of match fitness, or Calleri, with his lack of ability. I read that Inter Milan had turned their attention to Calleri in their quest for additional fire power which I found highly amusing. Even if Sakho is unlikely to last 90 minutes it would be better to deploy him from the start and take it from there.

There are two schools of thought on the goalkeeper situation: Bilic wants to stick with Randolph while everyone else believes that Adrian should be brought back. Randolph must now be short of both form and confidence.

Everton have injuries to McCarthy and Besic and Enner Valencia is ineligible to play against his parent club. Unfortunately for West Ham, Lukaku will be playing and aiming to score in his 10^th successive game against the Hammers.

I can only see this game ending one way and as I never like to predict a West Ham defeat I will abstain on this occasion.

Man in the Middle

Welcome Roger East from Wiltshire this afternoon. Rarely sighted in the Premier League, East makes his second visit in five weeks to the London Stadium having previously been in charge of the game against Leicester. In his 30 whistle blowing appearances this term he has been responsible for 129 Yellow Cards and 5 Red Ones.

Midweek Miscellany

A sense of ambition, astute management and wise recruitment are the recipe for success.

Ambition, the Path to Success

For as long as I can remember there has been the charge of lack of ambition levelled at West Ham owners. Ambition, of course, may mean something very different to owners than it does to supporters. In fact, there may even be great diversity in what supporters want to see at the club; for every one who would welcome West Ham emulate Manchester City with foreign investment you may well find one who would see it as yet another nail in the coffin of tradition.

Although many will have reached their own conclusions, it is difficult to know with any certainty what the ambitions of the current owners are or how they would measure success. A run of success would bring them both personal glory and an increase the value of their investment but what (or how much) are they willing to risk in its pursuit? They must surely be aware that bottom half finishes is not going to keep a 60,000 seater stadium full for too many seasons.

Season on season survival, in the style of Stoke or West Bromwich Albion, does not look a viable or sustainable option any longer now that the goalposts have moved and the bar has been raised. Vapid vision statements and talk of next levels is merely delusion unless the club actively plans for the future and addresses in a serious and timely manner ongoing issues such as player recruitment, youth development and below par training facilities.

Will He Stay or Will He Go?

I saw an online poll in the week which suggested that ‘Bilic In’ held a narrow lead over ‘Bilic Out’. I have to say it surprises me that the manager continues to have such a high level of support. Possibly there is an element of ‘the Board might appoint someone worse’ and, of course, that would be a great unknown and past performance is not selling point.

For me, it is not the poor results but the poor performances that are the problem. Focus on the results and there are always excuses to be found – we were never going to repeat the shocks of last year, we have been unlucky with injuries, the referee was against us, the new stadium is no longer intimidating etc. etc. Leaving this aside and looking at performances I see nothing to suggest a work in progress for the future that is just taking time to settle down. Almost everything on the playing side exudes an impression of chaos.

Bilic supporters suggest that the problems can be resolved by spending more to bring in better players. If only it were as simple as spending your way to success then the manager’s job could well be redundant. The measure of a good or great manager is in making the best use of the resources available, and that only usually occurs where there is a set plan with players recruited and coached to execute it. Such a set up is sadly absent at West Ham at the moment.

Situations Vacant: Players Wanted

Another week and several more past their best players have been linked with a summer move to West Ham. The latest over 30 to be added to the list, that includes Defoe, Zabaleta and Kompany, is the lovable John Terry. It may well be pure speculation but this is the type of signing that the press expect us to make. At the opposite end of the spectrum completely the owners continue to make noises about unrealistic fantasy transfers that may as well include Messi and Ronaldo for all the likelihood there is of them being completed.

A club like ours has to be spot-on with its scouting and recruitment. If a target is likely to attract the attention of a top 6 club then he is not going to sign for us (especially if he asks to take a look at our training facilities first); if we are competing for an established player with the likes of Stoke and Burnley then he is unlikely to be good enough. The challenge is to find those hungry, young players not yet appearing on the radar. Even if we only get a few years out of them before they go on to bigger things (or stay if we are bigger ourselves by then) at least it generates more funds to invest.

Possibly an occasional older player can work out well (is Zlatan interested?) but it is a route we have followed many times in the past and I struggle to remember too many rip-roaring last payday successes – Stuart Pearson maybe!

This Week in Hammer’s History

End of season highs and lows plus an FA Cup semi final appearance in the week 17 – 23 April in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History Although the season can now extend well into the month of May, in days past the league was often all over by the end of April leaving the season finale FA Cup Final scheduled for the first Saturday in May. And with Easter out of the way by the week of 17 to 23 April in Hammer’s History we are very much into the tail end of the season.

In the Glen Roeder relegation season of 2003, West Ham were famously demoted with a record haul of 42 points, 16 ahead of next bottom West Bromwich Albion and two behind Sam Allardyce’s surviving Bolton Wanderers. After the dust had settled the one game we could look back on as having sealed our fate was the game against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium on 19 April. A tense match was won on the verge of half-time when Jay-Jay Okocha was allowed to run 40 yards with the ball before thundering a shot past David James in the Hammer’s goal. To add insult to injury Ian Pearce received a red card in the final minute.

An relegation escape attempt that had a happier ending took place in 2007 when Alan Curbishley’s side, featuring Carlos Tevez, recovered from successive defeats, against Sheffield United and Chelsea, to bag three points at Upton Park from next weekend’s visitors and perennial party-poopers Everton. The only goal of the game being a spectacular 20 yard strike from Bobby Zamora.

In the fixture backlog of the 1985/86 season West Ham were playing two games every week and this particular week was no exception. On Saturday goals from Tony Cottee and Frank McAvennie secured a 2-0 win away to Watford and on the following Monday the Hammer’s entertained Newcastle United.

The Newcastle game is best remembered for an Alvin Martin hat-trick with each goal scored against a different goalkeeper. It was surprisingly also the only West Ham hat-trick during the entire epic league campaign. The game ended 8-1 in West Ham’s favour with further scores from Ray Stewart, Neil Orr, Frank McAvennie, Paul Goddard and a Glenn Roeder own goal. Alvin’s first goal was a close range volley in the 3^rd minute past regular keeper Martin Thomas; his second a header past centre half Chris Hedworth who had taken over from the injured Thomas at half-time and; his third a penalty (donated by regular spot-kicker, Ray Stewart) fired past Peter Beardsley who had by then taken over the gloves after Hedworth too was injured. Watching a replay of the game it always amuses me how at 7-1 down with 3 minutes to play Newcastle protest so vehemently about the penalty award; extinguishing, I guess, any hopes of a comeback.

Parkes, Stewart, Parris, Gale, Martin, Devonshire, Ward, McAvennie, Dickens (Goddard), Cottee, Orr

Finally this week, it is FA Cup semi-final time in 2006 as West Ham take on Middlesbrough at Villa Park. The game was played during the week following the death of John Lyall which created an additional emotional atmosphere the travelling Hammer’s supporters. Boro had the best of a goal-less first half but their strike duo of Hasselbaink and Yakubu, often the scourge of West Ham, were unable to find a way past the well-drilled defence. The Hammer’s came more into the game during the second period and as time went on increasingly looked the likelier to score, which they ultimately did in a pleasing yet largely direct manner. Anton Ferdinand played a long ball from inside his own half, the ball was headed on and down by Dean Ashton, to where Marlon Harewood held off defender Gareth Southgate and fired a rocket into the top of the net. West Ham had sealed a final appearance against Liverpool and at the same time booked a Uefa Cup place for the following season.

Hislop, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Collins, Konchesky, Benayoun, Mullins, Reo-Coker, Etherington (Newton), Harewood, Ashton (Zamora)

Notable Birthdays

22 April Alan Sealey d. 1996
23 April Eddie Bovington 76

5 Lacklustre Lessons from the Stadium of Blight

More points thrown away as West Ham stumble towards the Premier League finishing like a marathon runner who has hit the wall.

The Worst Manager Still in a Job Award

And the nominations are: David Moyes at Sunderland and Slaven Bilic at West Ham. Actually, I think Moyes wins this one quite comfortably despite Slaven giving him a decent run for his money. There are some things about football management that have always puzzled me. Why are there no English managers? How can a manager appear astute and organised at one club but completely lost at another? How can a season of fresh air be followed so swiftly by one that smells so badly?

The football style or philosophy of Slaven Bilic remains a enigmatic mystery and his organisation, selections and tactics have frequently been found wanting. It is odd that he still has a lot of backing among supporters. If the attributes for the job are passion, being a nice guy and ‘getting’ us then you could easily pull a few out of the crowd to do the job each week; just as Harry did with a fan during that pre-season friendly. It is upsetting how things have worked out but we have been going backwards all season…….and fast.

Going Through a Darren Spell

Just what you have to do to lose your place if you are one of the manager’s mates is bizarre. It was apparent some weeks ago that Randolph has too many weaknesses to be a Number 1 at Premier League level. In these days where every match is recorded and analysed it is no surprise that opposition coaches identify these weaknesses and attempt to exploit them. Perhaps we don’t yet have video technology in our own training HQ cabin. Randolph has been clearly at fault for a string of goals over the past couple of months (more than any other player according to Opta) and a better keeper would have prevented both yesterday, even though the first might well have been disallowed for a foul. Only a stupid or stubborn manager would not realise that it was time to make a change between the sticks, unless Adrian has been pencilled in at right back next week.

Perm Any 11 from 24

I am convinced that Slaven picks his preferred eleven players and then decides on the formation he is going to play to accommodate them. This can be the only reason behind the square peg, round hole strategy. There is no doubt that injuries have again been a curse but whether it is a case of bad luck or bad judgement is uncertain. Losing Obiang, Reid and Antonio is most unfortunate but the injury prone nature of our strikers has been obvious for all to see for a long time. I was pleased to see Fernandes get a start and do believe he can become a good player (with a decent re-sale value). However, he is not a defensive midfielder and with Kouyate also lacking the discipline we were never going to control the central areas in order to dominate the game even against a team as poor as Sunderland. Still the manager believes that midfielders are mutually interchangeable which invariable results in them turning out in their least effective positions.

Injuries, Suspensions and Fallings Out

With Sam Byram’s yellow card return averaging at one card every other appearance there was always a good chance that suspension for our only right back was never going to be very far away. He was arguably unfortunate to pick up the first card yesterday but the second was much more clear cut. With Byram joining Noble on the suspended list, a host of players in the sick bay, Sakho apparently back on the naughty step (presumably with Arbeloa) and Tore missing presumed dead, selection for next week’s game against Romelu Lukaku is going to be a fascinating one. The squad is full of dead wood now. In fact, of the team that featured yesterday I would only be disappointed if Lanzini, Fernandes, Kouyate and Masuaku were not around next season.

Distressed Football Club Seeks Benefactor

The positive from yesterday was that both Hull and Swansea lost (and that Defoe did not score). There is an extraordinary slim chance that both teams will get enough points to overtake our own tally particularly given the respective goal differences, and even though there is ample opportunity for us to ship a shed load of goals against Everton, Tottenham and Liverpool. Thanks to there being at least three worse teams we should now be safe. My expectation now is for a massively under-achieving 16^th place finish. Looking on the bright side it is roughly where Manchester City finished in their first season away from Maine Road. Any sign of a pot of gold (not David) on the horizon?

Matchday: Hammers take on the Black Cats

In what has the feel of a contractual obligation encounter can West Ham finally put an end to the Black Cats multiple lives?

Sunderland West Ham We are all familiar with the cartoon character who has run off the edge of a cliff, legs continuing to race furiously, but who is suspended in midair defying the laws of gravity until finally noticing their own predicament. That is how I see Sunderland’s plight right now. We all know what is going to happen but they have just not quite accepted the reality. Very soon they will be hurtling at spend towards the Championship and, no doubt, once at the bottom a huge anvil will land on David Moyes head creating an enormous bump to appear on the top. They have, of course, teetered on the brink for many seasons but this time there can be no cartoon braces snagged on a tree trunk to catapult them back to safety as they did under the guidance of old friends Di Canio and Allardyce previously.

Sunderland have now lost six and drawn one in a goal-less run of seven league matches. In fact, they have scored just once in the eleven games since their 4-0 win at Crystal Palace in early February. If only there was a fixture coming up against a perennially obliging visiting team, with an even worse defensive record than the bottom placed hosts, who were also missing their three best players through injury and their captain through suspension!

It’s a big game for us, Sunderland are desperate for a win and we are looking to win to secure or get closer to securing safety. Every win gives you a boost, especially after five defeats in a row. The confidence is back but the belief was permanent and we never lost it.

– Slaven Bilic

Having put an end to their own losing run last week, West Ham still need a few extra points to extinguish any lingering concerns about joining Sunderland in the abyss. As I don’t believe we will win any points in May this should be one of the games where we can add to our meagre points total. Only once in 38 match Premier League history has a team with 36 points or more at this stage of the season been relegated (Birmingham in 2010/11) but nevertheless it is better to err on the side of caution here. Expect a somewhat sterile game today, low on creativity that is won by whoever delivers the better set pieces.

Head to Head

For somewhere so far north our record at Sunderland is far from our worst. We have won eleven, drawn nine and lost twenty of 40 encounters meetings in the far north-east. The last away win was in March 2014 when goals from Andy Carroll and Mo Diame steered the Hammers to a 2-1 victory. The most recent double over the Black Cats was in 2008/09 when Gainfranco Zola’s West Ham won at the Stadium of Light courtesy of a Valon Behrami strike. The Hammers will be looking for their third league double of the season.

Team News

Michail Antonio joins Pedro Obiang and Angelo Ogbonna on the beach as he too is ruled out for the remainder of the season. Winston Reid is still unavailable through injury and Mark Noble begins his suspension. Sam Byram and Aaron Cresswell are reported to have recovered from knocks and should be available for selection.

As ever, the mystifying selections of Slaven Bilic are difficult to predict. Does he bring in Havard Nordtveit as Noble’s replacement and play two defensively minded central midfielders to protect the leaky defence? Does he bend to popular demand and bring in birthday boy Edmilson Fernandes (21 today) but play him in an unfamiliar defensive role? Will he consider bringing back Cresswell but playing Arthur further forward as a proper left sided midfield player? What role will potential match-winning benchwarmers Carroll and Diafra Sakho play? Does Jonathan Calleri deserve another chance after apparently running around a lot last weekend (are we seriously considering giving this guy a contract)?

I’m definitely hurting and I’m certainly not enjoying the feeling of being down here. But part of football management is that you don’t always get it good. I’ve had some really good times and at the moment, it’s sore. I don’t enjoy losing every Saturday and going home to the family.

– David Moyes

No doubt there will also be more game time for the under-performing and uninspiring likes of Andre Ayew, Sofiane Feghouli and Robert Snodgrass in there as well. You really want to get excited about the build up to a game but sometimes it is very difficult.

Sunderland are missing Bryan Oviedo through injury and Sebastian Larsson through suspension but most Hammer eyes will be on pantomime villain Jermaine Defoe. Defoe has scored six goals in fifteen Premier League games against West Ham but none of these have been in three attempts for Sunderland. The footballing gods can be very devious individuals and who would bet against Defoe ending both his teams and his own personal drought today.

The Man in the Middle

For the fifth time this season we encounter Andre Marriner from the West Midlands. Marriner was in charge of defeats away to Manchester City and Chelsea, an away win at Swansea and a drawn home game with Stoke. In a grand total of 32 games this season he has presented 128 yellow cards and six red ones (although only one in the Premier League).

Midweek Miscellany

A ramble through the West Ham undergrowth of narrow wins, manager appointments, owners and transfer speculation.

Six Games To Go

Following the win at home to Swansea last weekend there was a clear sense of relief around the club at having stemmed the run of consecutive defeats and opened an eight point gap between ourselves and third bottom, Swansea. There was a spring back in the step, all was well with the world again, super Slav had saved his job and relegation was someone else’s problem.

History goes some way to support this theory. Since the Premier League was reduced to a 38 match season only once has a club with 36 points or more after 32 games played gone on to be relegated. This happened in our last relegation season (2010/11) when Birmingham City sat comfortably in 14^th place with 38 points at the same stage of the season, but contrived to accumulate only one further point from their remaining six games. So it is a case of beware, relegation could still be the villain you think has been killed in the movie finale but who turns out to be not quite dead yet.

A Win and the Manager

The game against Swansea was the Hammers sixth league home win of the season, of which, five have been 1-0 wins. Unlike a number of the earlier wins at least we were the better team on this occasion even if the result owed more to Swansea’s ineffectiveness than to our own excellence.

The media reaction to the win with regard to the manager’s position has been two-fold. By and large, the pundits have been coming out to offer their support; smashing bloke, lots of passion, deserves to be given more time/ another transfer window etc, etc. At the same time, however, there has been an ever increasing list of potential replacements banded about; Mancini, Benitez, Hughton, Wagner, Stam, Monk, Carvalhal, Jokanovic and more to come I expect. Players, as they always do, are publicly right behind the manager – right up until they subsequently support the new manager. This one will clearly run and run and I guess only the Board have any real idea of what is likely to happen.

The Owners

I have seen West Ham described this week as still being a ‘work in progress’ but it is impossible to see from my viewpoint what plan or strategy there is in building a team; apart from assembling a Slow Motion XI there appears no to be no clear objectives . Like the old joke about an Irishman giving directions, if you were ask “How do I get to have a great football team?” a quite reasonable reply would be “Well sir, I wouldn’t start from here!”

Modern football is all about the money. In the money game our closest Premier League peers are Everton and Southampton with Tottenham the target to aim for if there is truly next level to be had out there somewhere. As things stand we are some distance away from each of these teams both on and off the pitch. Along with Newcastle we are quite probably the most accident prone and underachieving teams in English football. Newcastle are proof that a big stadium is not a passport to success. In truth this is not a new problem and amateurish muddling along has been as much part of the West Ham way as flamboyant football.

There has been some speculation this week that Messrs Gold and Sullivan might be looking for outside investment by selling part of their stake in the club. I have no idea how much salt we should attribute to these particular stories but if the intention is to seek investment without giving up control then any changes will be marginal. Although, I believe that the current board can ultimately provide at least some greater stability only a Manchester City or Chelsea style sale can bring viable talk of next levels.

Transfers

Despite the season having six weeks to run, transfer speculation is picking up apace. Even though I know that most rumours are there to fill up column inches or to attract click-throughs I can’t help myself getting irritated at the number of old players being linked with a move to West Ham. A team doesn’t build for the future with 30+ year olds even if there is the occasional success story out there. Sure, there are some very good players out there over 30 but it remains an extremely short-sighted strategy. Let it not be true.

This Week in Hammer’s History

Billy Bonds claret and blue army and dreaming of a Frank Lampard goal in the week 10 to 16 April in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History There have been a number of memorable games played during the week 10 to 16 April in Hammer’s History including two that have already featured in Richard Bennett’s Favourite Games articles on this site. These are the 6-1 league win over West Bromwich Albion over Easter in 1965 and the second leg European Cup Winner’s Cup tie against Eintracht Frankfurt in 1976.

The game against Albion is best remembered for the remarkable scoring feat by Brian Dear who notched what would now be a season’s worth of West Ham striker goals in a mere 20 minute spell. Dear’s scoring exploits either side of half time remains the quickest ever five goals in the English game, despite recent claims of having equalled the record by Sergio Aguero.

The game against Eintracht Frankfurt frequently appears on the list of favourite Boleyn nights for many of the longer in the tooth Hammer’s supporters. Trailing 2-1 from the first leg there was an electric atmosphere at the old ground for the return as a masterclass by Trevor Brooking saw West Ham grab a 3-0 lead at a wet and muddy Upton Park. True to form the Hammers conceded a late goal to set up an edgy finale but they held on to book a place in the final. A superb performance from what, at the time, was a very ordinary West Ham side outside of Brooking and Billy Bonds.

Day, Coleman, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, McDowell, Holland, Paddon, Jennings, Brooking, Robson

Bonzo had been elevated to the position of West Ham manager in 1991 when another semi-final encounter took place that was memorable for very different reasons. This time it was an FA Cup tie that pitched second division West Ham against first division Nottingham Forest. The game was evenly matched until Keith Hacket made the worst refereeing decision of all time by issuing a straight red to Tony Gale for an innocuous challenge on Forest’s Gary Crosby. It was Gale’s solitary sending off in a career spanning some 700 games. Crosby went on to score the first of Forest’s four goals that day but it was the West Ham crowd that lingers longest in the memory for the marathon rendition of ‘Billy Bond’s Claret & Blue Army’ right through to the final whistle at Villa Park.

Miklosko, Potts, Parris, Gale, Foster, Hughton, Bishop, Slater, Allen (Stewart), Keen, Morley (Quinn)

Villa Park had also been the venue just over a decade earlier when West Ham faced Everton in the 1980 FA Cup semi-final; another second versus first division clash. It was the Merseysiders who took the lead with a Brian Kidd penalty awarded for a push by Alan Devonshire. Dev subsequently man-handled referee Colin Seel but escaped with a yellow card. Everton then had Kidd sent off for a spot of ‘handbags’ involving Ray Stewart and the Hammers, with Bonds at his swashbuckling best, used the extra man advantage to good effect as Stuart Pearson converted Brooking’s cross to bring the scores level. There was still time for more drama as a Paul Allen would-be winner was ruled out for a debatable offside.

Parkes, Stewart, Brush, Bonds, Martin, Devonshire, Allen, Pearson (Pike), Cross, Brooking, Holland

It was a long journey up to Elland Road a few days later for the midweek replay. A evenly fought game was goalless after 90 minutes and into extra time it went. West Ham took the lead in the first period of added 15 minutes through an excellent Alan Devonshire goal after a smart one-two with Stuart Pearson. The lead lasted until seven minutes from the end when Bob Latchford looked to have broken Hammer;s hearts as he headed in at the near post to equalise. With the minutes ticking away and a further replay looming a Brooking cross was nodded on by David Cross and there was Frank Lampard to guide a header over the line for the winner; I still get goose-bumps watching videos of this game. The mystery as to why full-back Lampard, recalled to the team due to an Alvin Martin illness, was still lingering in the area plus his celebratory corner flag jig would become part of West Ham folklore and spawned the ‘I’m dreaming of a Frank Lampard goal, just like the one at Elland Road’ chant.

Parkes, Lampard, Brush, Bonds, Stewart, Devonshire, Allen, Pearson, Cross, Brooking, Pike

Notable Birthdays

12 April Bobby Moore d. 1993
13 April Alan Devonshire (61)
15 April Edmilson Fernandes (21)

5 Relieving Lessons from a Welcome Win against Swansea

A win is a win as West Ham insert some daylight between themselves and the Premier League trapdoor.

A Win and Three Points

In context of ending a run of five consecutive defeats and putting a little distance back between ourselves and the Premier League trapdoor it was a ‘fantastic win’! There are never any circumstances where I want to see West Ham lose a game even if the consequences were Tottenham winning the title or Millwall avoiding relegation. Even though I don’t believe the manager has anything to offer in taking the club forward, losing Premier League status would be a stupid price to pay for being proved right. At least Slaven Bilic acknowledged that the current predicament was the fault of the management and players and there was, for once, a general and welcome display of effort, even if it was short on quality. The celebration at the end was over the top in the circumstances but it was an enormous relief.

The Greater of Two Strugglers

As a spectacle in what is meant to be the world’s elite football league it was an extremely poor game. Both teams were disappointing and West Ham got their victory because they were the least worse of the two sides. Captain Mark Noble was quoted as saying that the win was the “biggest in a few years” which seems somewhat of an exaggeration despite the pressure release of this laboured victory. Noble added “it was not pretty but the only thing that matters was the three points. There’s no point in us playing like Real Madrid and losing 2-0.” Mark, there is no chance of us playing like Real Madrid; otherwise his comment bore all the markings of a classic ear-cupping Fat Sam-esque statement, for which he (the Fat One) would have been justifiably slaughtered.

A Goal To Win Any Game (even a poor one)

Paradoxically a disappointing game was won by a super goal from Cheikou Kouyate. Even the build-up had shades of Barcelona (rather than Real Madrid!) but the strike from Kouyate was majestic, sublime and sumptuous (© Sky Sports) all rolled into one. I am a big Kouyate fan due to the power and athleticism that he brings to the team but recognise that he has his shortcomings that prevent him being the target of bigger teams; for example, poor final passes and long range shots. Yesterday we witnessed something that may never be repeated but was, at least, worthy of winning a game. The goal also credited Robert Snodgrass with his first contribution in a West Ham shirt as he enters the record books with an assist. I still regard the ‘assist’ as totally subjective but I would grudgingly award him half an assist for his neat pass. Apart from the goal there were two occasions where Andre Ayew could have done better in front of goal plus a mesmerising Lanzini step-over where Calleri was unable to play for a lucky deflection and the ball crashed into the side netting.

The Benchmen

Jonathan Calleri must be some player in training in order to keep getting a seat on the bench. With Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho sitting alongside him even he must have thought he was only there to make up the numbers. Surprisingly he ended up with a personal best ‘minutes on the pitch for a league game’ when replacing Michail Antonio in the closing stages of the first half. Some say Calleri ‘puts in a shift’ or that he is simply lacking confidence but I have yet to see anything that suggests that this is a top level footballer. In other substitutions replacing Snodgrass with Sofiane Feghouli is not too dissimilar a move from replacing Julien Faubert with Pablo Barrera. Something I had hoped we wouldn’t have to see on the next level was this a pile of workmanlike dead-wood that we have once again assembled.

The Rest of the Season

One win doesn’t mean safety. A repeat of the five match losing sequence would put us right back down there with the strugglers and stragglers. On the other hand just one of those twenty points we have lost from winning positions would have put is in the top half, so compressed has the lower mid-table section become. Things could be a little clearer next Saturday where the fixture computer has come up with a set of matches that only die-hard fans of the clubs involved could be interested in. A win at Sunderland would, I believe, make us effectively safe. Of the at-risk clubs (I have written off Sunderland and Middlesbrough who can wave to neighbours Newcastle on the way down) Hull and Swansea have enough winnable home games to survive and it is Palace who have the toughest run in despite their two games in hand. Personally I have no particular preferences other than we can scramble to 40 points before the end of the month and a tricky last few games.

Matchday: Swanning Around in the London Stadium

We are in this together as Taffy comes to our house in the hope of stealing all three points.

West Ham Swansea When West Ham won 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium on Boxing Day it was the final nail in the coffin for the short-lived managerial career of Bob Bradley. It would be one of those not so rare football ironies if the visitors should return the favour this afternoon.

In the aftermath of Bradley’s sacking Swansea appointed relative unknown Paul (I Hear You’ve Been a Naughty Boy) Clement as manager. Following an encouraging start the Swans form has started to dip again recently whereby their current record is only slightly better than our own. What once looked like it might be uninteresting end of season routine has suddenly become a ‘six-point’ showdown between two of the clubs battling to avoid what looks increasingly like the final relegation position.

We wanted to do it before now. I didn’t smell this, I didn’t think we would lose five games. But it is in our hands and that is the best you can ask for. Your destiny is in your hands. We are playing a team we have beaten, a team that is five points below us. We have big belief.

– Slaven Bilic

The Hammers losing streak has now reached five equalling that achieved by Avram Grant’s side in 2010/11 but still short of the record nine consecutive league defeats set in 1932; a run that included a 2-1 reverse against today’s opponents in a season that ended with West Ham’s lowest ever league position – one point and one place away from demotion to the third tier. One record that the Hammers can realistically break this season is to go top of the all-time Premier League defeats table; only a further three defeats are required to overtake the current total of 333 shared by Aston Villa and Everton.

Head to Head

The Head to Head record for this encounter is very much bossed by the Hammers and in 25 home league games we have only lost on two occasions (1956 and 2016). Last season’s victory being a huge disappointment in the last ever Saturday game at the Boleyn Ground; with any luck it will be another 60 years before the next defeat. A win today would give West Ham their first double over Swansea since the 1982/83 season and only the second double of the season (the other being Crystal Palace).

Team News

There are doubts about the fitness of all the West Ham players but only Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio face late fitness tests. Assuming Carroll and Antonio are available, and with Diafra Sakho getting a run out in midweek, we have the appearance of a team carrying a goal threat against the side with the leakiest defence in the league. Much debate about who will get the gloves this afternoon and it would be no surprise to see Senor Adrian return.

We’re in the bottom three and there are seven games to go, and West Ham are a team who have had their own troubles recently, so we have to go there believing we can get a result.

– Paul Clement

Swansea hope to be able to welcome back Fernando Llorente after an ankle injury but may be with out Kyle Naughton who is suffering with a hamstring problem. If Naughton is unavailable, Leroy Fer may be moved to right back which makes it a shame that we have no left sided attacking player. Despite the negativity I am opting for a rousing 3-1 Hammer’s win.

Man in the Middle

Ain’t it good to know we’ve got Kevin Friend officiating today. A relative stranger to our games Friend was in charge of the league game at home to Manchester City several months ago. In 28 games this season he has waved a friendly 109 yellow cards and a mere two red ones.