Geoff Hopkins

This Week in Hammer’s History

A trophy at last, the final straight in 86 and dodgy lasagna feature in the week 1 – 7 May in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History The first week of May in Hammer’s History includes the first two of West Ham’s FA Cup successes. Having waited almost 70 years for any sign of a major trophy, the duck was broken on 2 May 1964 when first division Hammers overcame the stubborn resistance of second division Preston North End to lift the famous trophy for the first time. West Ham were strong favourites going into the game but twice found themselves trailing to their lower league opposition. With the game looking destined for extra time Ronnie Boyce popped up to nod in the winner. A more comprehensive account of this memorable day has previously been featured in our Favourite Games series.

Standen, Bond, Burkett, Bovington, Brown, Moore, Brabrook, Boyce, Byrne, Boyce, Sissons

While in 1964 I had to make do with watching the game on a small black and white TV set, followed by attending the open-top bus parade the following morning, in 1975 I was thrilled to attend a first ever FA Cup Final in person. Once again it was first versus second division as West Ham took on Fulham in an all-London affair. There was an added fascination to the match in that all-time claret and blue hero, Bobby Moore, was now appearing in the white of Fulham. The final was not the greatest of spectacles and, personally, I have stronger memories of the sixth round win at Arsenal and the semi-final replay against Ipswich than I do of the final itself. Maybe the occasion got to me! Nevertheless, Alan Taylor put the seal on his fairy-tale season by scoring the two goals that once again saw the West Ham ribbons tied to the trophy.

Day, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Lock, Jennings, Paddon, Taylor, Brooking, Holland

A year later and West Ham had unexpectedly made it to the final of the European Cup Winner’s Cup; a game against Anderlecht played at the notorious Heysel Stadium. Pat Holland put West Ham a goal up just before the half hour when he got on the end of a Billy Bonds knock down from a Graham Paddon cross. It looked like the Hammers would go into the break with the advantage until a misjudged backpass by Frank Lampard found its way to Rensenbrink to equalise. In the second period, the wonderful Frankie Van Der Elst (later to be a Hammer) gave Anderlecht the lead but a Keith Robson header, from a Trevor Brooking cross, restored parity. The game then turned on a very harsh penalty awarded for a foul by Holland. Rensenbrink converted from the spot and with West Ham committed forward Van Der Elst scored again to end the game at 4-2 in the Belgian side’s favour.

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

It was also the final weekend of the season in 1986 and probably the only time that West Ham have gone into it with a chance of winning the title. The Hammer’s did what they had to in a 3-2 win at The Hawthorns (against relegated West Bromwich Albion) but were let down by a Chelsea home defeat against ultimate Champion’s Liverpool.

The end of the 2011/12 season required third placed West Ham to participate in two Championship Play Off semi-final matches against Cardiff. West Ham came away as comfortable victors winning 2-0 away (Collison 2) and 3-0 at Upton Park (Nolan, Vaz Te, Maynard) to set up a final encounter with Blackpool.

Finally, and appropriately given Friday’s opponents, this week in 2006 was the setting for the famous Lasagna-gate game. Martin Jol’s Tottenham side visited Upton Park needing to match Arsenal’s result on the final Sunday afternoon of the season to claim their inaugural Champion’s League place. Following a Saturday night buffet of dodgy lasagna the Spurs players started going down quicker than Dele Alli in the penalty area. Despite desperate efforts to delay the game by several hours it was decided it had to go ahead as scheduled rather than asking supporters to spend several more hours in the pub. Carl Fletcher gave West Ham the lead only for Defoe to equalise but with the poorly Spurs players flagging, Yossi Benayoun struck with 10 minutes remaining to win the game for West Ham. Arsenal had won 4-2 against Wigan and so the Spurs dream lay in pieces at the bottom of the toilet bowl.

Notable Birthdays

1 May         Marc Vivien Foe           d. 2003
5 May         Yossi Benayoun            37
7 May         Ian Perace                     43
7 May         Steve Potts                    50

5 Lessons from the Stalemate @ Stoke

West Ham stagger towards the finishing line one point at a time.

Not So Super Saturday

The self-styled best league in the world managed to serve up a complete boxed set of drab fixtures for a Saturday afternoon. Despite Leicester’s unexpected success last season there has been a return to predictability where the sole objective of 70% of clubs is merely to survive to live another year in the money generating environment of the top flight. Generally, it does not make for great entertainment and I get a sense that the overseas broadcasters are making a gradual move to the Bundesliga for their routine everyday football coverage. The Premier League is becoming more and more like La Liga where interest beyond a limited number of glamour clubs is minimal, and when games are more about attrition than entertainment then it is not surprising that appeal does not extend to a wider audience. As our game at Stoke progressed yesterday it was apparent that the priority of both sides was to preserve the point they started the day with rather than striving for more.

Four Unbeaten

I guess that after losing five games on the bounce then a sequence of four without defeat has to be seen as a positive. The six points earned in those games against Swansea, Sunderland, Everton and Stoke are probably enough to keep West Ham safe. I have not seen anything in the performances to convince me that things have been turned around or that the ship has been steadied but it is an improvement of sorts. Two cleans sheets in a row is not a regular West Ham phenomenon and it may well be that Bilic has accidentally and belatedly stumbled on a way to organise his defensive resources. Listening to some debate after Sunderland’s demise on the position of David Moyes it was interested to hear a reasonable level of support for the Scot. The argument being that Sunderland have lived for so long on the brink and focusing on short-term survival that time is required for someone to perform surgical rebuilding. This is the great danger arising from our own lack of progress this season where there is no clear style of play and stuffing the squad with older or journeyman players. Only a forward looking plan can elevate us above the relegation haunted pack on an ongoing basis.

Three to Go and Still Not Safe

With three games to play West Ham are yet to be mathematically safe. The points cushion plus goal difference should be enough but when the number of clubs below you (who are still able to catch up) becomes fewer it is not the time to stop looking very carefully over your shoulder. Past performance may suggest that both Hull and Swansea are unlikely to embark on sudden winning sprees but, as we are always reminded, past performance is not necessarily a predictor of future results. Swansea getting something out of their visit to Old Trafford today would certainly bring the cats and pigeons in a proximity that is too close for comfort. The overall table has a very lopsided shape to it with fourteen points separating 7th from 8th but only six points separating 8th from 16th. Theoretically a top ten finish is still possible for the Hammers although 16th or 17^th seems a more likely outcome.

Team Selection

In the circumstances of who was available, the starting lineup yesterday almost made sense. It has been reported that Diafra Sakho’s absence was due to (another) back injury (and not a Di Canio style travel sickness) and with Andy Carroll also absent we were lumbered once again with Jonathan Calleri. What Calleri has to offer remains a mystery to me and why he is preferred over Ashley Fletcher despite contributing little is puzzling. Some claim that Calleri runs around a lot but that is no more a rational for selection than being born in Canning Town. At least Calleri’s inappropriate rabona introduced some lighthearted comedy value into the game. Nordtveit and Kouyate in central midfield did much to protect the defence and the three central defenders were all solid, including a man of the match performance from Winston Reid. Personally, I thought Fernandes did well enough out of position at right wing-back but I still may have been tempted to have gone with Sam Byram.

Those Wacky Substitutions

Slaven Bilic has built up a reputation for his game changing substitutions. Unfortunately these have a close correlation with the reputation for losing points from a winning position. It seems that the Cresswell for Masuaku was due to injury so no real complaints with that one but the later changes were strange to say the least. Ayew looked to be our greatest goal threat so the decision to replace him, rather than Calleri, was odd enough but bringing on Noble as the replacement only compounded it. It effectively removed any notion that we would try to win the game and handed the initiative firmly to Stoke. Ending the game with no strikers at all only added to the negativity even if the game was petering out by then and replacing Calleri with Snodgrass was hardly likely to make matters worse.

Matchday: Hammers to smash Potters?

The battle for mid-table supremacy is at stake in this mouthwatering end of season encounter.

Matchday Stoke If it wasn’t for the remote mathematical possibility that either of these two sides could still be relegated then this match would be about as pointless as they come. In fact the fixture computer has come up with a set of Saturday matches so uninspiring that an afternoon spent in the shed sorting your tools into alphabetical order sounds a more attractive proposition. Today’s five Premier League matches feature only two teams from the top half of the table.

It could be pointed out that merit based payments mean an extra £2 million per league placing but I doubt that this is much of a motivating factor for the average minted footballer. If there is only pride to play for then it could be a very drab ninety minutes, even though Slav insists that we are treating every game like a cup final (if anyone can remember what one of those is like!).

People are talking about who is safe but it is irrelevant. We have four games left, a big game on Saturday and we are looking for points. There is a gap between us and mid-table, it is a small gap but with four games to go we are talking about 12 points and we have to concentrate on our next game. We are approaching them as four cup finals.

– Slaven Bilic is looking for points

The supercomputer at Euro Club Index has crunched the numbers and by their reckoning we will finish the season in 15^th place with 42 points, two points and four places below today’s opponents at the blandly dubbed bet365 stadium. The computer further concludes a 29% chance of a West Ham victory this afternoon, without which the opportunity to accumulate the predicted end of season total of 42 points appears improbable.

Head to Head

With Stoke situated close to the unhappy hunting grounds of the north-west it is unsurprising that we have a second rate record from our visits over the years, having won just ten times from thirty eight attempts. The last three away victories, all by the only goal of the game, came in 2005 (Bobby Zamora), 2009 (Diego Tristan) and 2013 (Jack Collison). Despite West Ham’s striker woes, the Hammers have only failed to score in three away matches this season (Arsenal, Everton and Leicester) so perhaps another solid defensive display will allow us to sneak one more one-nil success.

Team News

Mark Noble and Sam Byram return to the squad after suspension and apparently Robert Snodgrass and Sofiane Feghouli are also available again (if anyone is interested). On the other hand Cheikhou Kouyate, Winston Reid, Arthur Masuaku and Diafra Sakho are all reported as injury doubts for the Hammers.

If everyone was available my only change would be Sakho for the hapless Jonathan Calleri and, maybe, Byram in for Edmilson Fernandes. I would stick with Havard Nordtveit and Kouyate in central midfield as the Kouyate/ Noble partnership has proved not to work on countless occasions and Nordtveit/ Noble would be criminally slow. I fully expect, however, that Noble will be back in the starting eleven.

The mood’s fine. We’re looking forward to the game tomorrow. It’s an important one for us clearly.

– Mark Hughes in inspiring form

Stoke may be missing Jon Walters who has regularly been a thorn in the side of West Ham and for the determinists/ fatalists among us the disturbing fact that Saido Berahino has scored in three of his four previous starts against West Ham but hasn’t scored a Premier League goal since February 27th 2016 will have the alarm bells ringing.

The Man in the Middle

Appropriately for West Ham, it is injury prone Lee Probert from Wiltshire refereeing today’s game. Probert missed all last season due to injury and takes charge of only his second Premier League game of 2016/17. His last meeting with the Hammers was in the unforgettable 3-0 victory at White Hart Lane in 2013. In a grand total of twenty eight games this season he has issued a conservative sixty four yellow and four red cards.

Midweek Miscellany

Criminal transfer dealings take the spotlight away from managerial speculation.

No Income Tax, No VAT

The big football story of the week so far are the dawn ‘raids’ on West Ham and Newcastle by the old ‘tax’ bill. What we really know is limited to a number of short press releases that seem to suggest a joint operation with French authorities (take back control of our tax dodges) and relates to tax irregularities associated with transfer dealings, most probably involving Olympic Marseille with whom both Newcastle and West Ham have had dealings. Reportedly, a number of people were arrested although the only name that I have seen mentioned is Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley, who was later released without charge. There has been no indication as to whether the other arrests were in England or France. It seems Chelsea were also spoken to (but not ‘raided’) which suggests that our cooperation may be more sinister than simply providing evidence. A figure of £5 million has been mentioned which seems a rather small amount to warrant such a huge operation and raises the prospect that the story still has some way to go. I know that many of us believe that our transfer dealings have been criminal but not for tax evasion reasons. Cases like this are normally and historically very complex and will take years to conclude. Any sanction forthcoming will likely only happen at the very point that we finally claim a Champion’s League spot.

A Week out of the Spotlight

The unexpected point last weekend and then the events of yesterday have momentarily taken the focus away from the future of West Ham manager Slaven Bilic. It doesn’t take much to swing the pendulum of optimism back into positive territory but judging by the exuberant reaction to our clean sheet I was half expecting an open-top bus parade to celebrate stopping Lukaku from scoring (I wonder what route the bus will take in the future?). No denying it was a good defensive performance and I guess the manager deserves some credit for finally learning from the mistakes of the previous 30 or so games (even if it was by accident). All eyes on a repeat at the weekend.

Keepers and Dumpers

Adrian back in goal at the weekend instilled some much needed comfort and confidence but there remains a sense that an upgrade in the custodian department is a necessary priority. Sorry to say, though, that the thought of a keeper who has been plying his trade in the Turkish league (Onur Kivrak) doesn’t thrill me. Hopefully, it is not true and that also goes for most of the other players that I have seen linked with us so far; who are either past it or have failed miserably at their current club. Like others my own persoanl bias tells me which rumours I want to believe and those that I don’t; to date I don’t (want to) believe any of them.

Nominative determinism

One of the names linked in a managerial capacity with the West Ham hot seat, should it become available, is Simone Inzaghi from Lazio. If he did somehow end up at the London Stadium I would love him to bring Ciro Immobile with him. An aptonym is when someone’s name fits their job perfectly; like Belgian defender Mark De Man, tennis player Margaret Court or Mr Bun the Baker. Immobile the West Ham striker would just seem too good an opportunity to miss.

This Week in Hammer’s History

A first relegation, fixture backlog, Euro success and the end of an era feature in the week 24 – 30 April in Hammer’s history.

This Week Hammers History There was a life lesson to be learned in the week 24 to 30 April in Hammer’s History when in 1978 West Ham experienced what was, for me, a first relegation. All of my West Ham memories had been as a top flight club and as far as I was concerned that was how it was always going to be. There had been scares and scrapes in the past but we had always managed to slip clear in good time and this was a team that 2 years earlier had featured in a European final.

Before West Ham’s final game of the season in 1978 they sat 18^th out of 22 clubs. A midweek win at Middlesbrough had briefly seen the Hammers rise to a season high 17^th and escape was still possible on the final day even though rival teams still had more games to play. The opponents at Upton Park were Liverpool and the West Ham desperately needed to take something from the game. The first half was an evenly contested affair until shortly before the break a misplaced Pop Robson pass heralded an incisive Liverpool move that ended in a Terry McDermott goal. West Ham responded with spirit in the early stages of the second half but when David Fairclough outpaced Billy Bonds to make it 2-0 it was game over. A Wolves victory over Manchester United and a point for QPR on the same day effectively sealed the Hammer’s fate.

Relegation back then did not mean a change of manager or a file sale of players and John Lyall was able to rebuild around the talents of Brooking, Devonshire, Bonds, Martin, Lampard and Cross; the core of the team that would go on to win our last major trophy in 1980 and evolve into one that earned our highest ever league finish in 1986. It seems unthinkable now but during this week in 1986 West Ham played three home games in five days to record victories over Coventry (1-0; Cottee), Manchester City (1-0; Stewart) and Ipswich (2-1; Dickens, Stewart). By the end of the week West Ham sat in second place, four points behind Liverpool with a game in hand but just two to play.

The same eleven players featured in all three matches: Parkes, Stewart, Parris, Gale, Martin, Devonshire, Ward, McAvennie, Dickens, Cottee, Orr. Goddard came on as a substitute to replace Orr in the Ipswich game.

Heading back to 1965 and possibly one of West Ham’s finest ever performances away to Real Zaragoza in the semi final second leg of the European Cup Winner’s Cup. Holding a slender 2-1 lead form the first leg, the Hammers were underdogs against the Spaniards who packed an array of attacking talent and would be fully expected to score. To make matters worse West Ham had lost playmaker Johnny Byrne to an injury sustained while playing for England three days earlier. Real Zaragoza dominated the early stages and took the lead after 23 minutes with the Hammers were in real danger of crashing out. However, a disciplined defensive performance, led by a supreme Bobby Moore, and tactical half-time changes allowed West Ham to claw their way back into the game and after 55 minutes Sissons got on the end of a Dear pass to equalise. The Hammers held on for a draw and booked their place in the Wembley final against TSV Munich 1860.

Standen, Kirkup, Burkett, Peters, Brown, Moore, Boyce, Sealey, Hurst, Dear, Sissons

One final match to mention is the game played on 30 April 1988 which was notable as the very last of the record breaking 799 appearances for West Ham by William Arthur Bonds.

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?