Geoff Hopkins

This Week in Hammer’s History

Scraping the ice from the windows of history to review how the Hammers have fared in the week 16 – 22 January.

This Week Hammers History As I peruse the results from the week 16 – 22 January in Hammer’s History (and I am only looking at games played since our promotion to Division 1 in 1958) my impression is that this has been a generally bad week for West Ham. On further inspection it is not really the case with the 59 games played ending in 19 victories, 25 defeats and 15 draws. The reality is that it is a week with very few matches that stand-out; particularly those that ended in our favour.

On two occasions this week has witnessed dreams of League Cup glory being dashed in two unsuccessful semi-final appearances. One being of the contractual obligation variety in 2014 where, already losing 6-0 from the first leg, we went on to gift Manchester City a 9-0 aggregate win. The other, in 1967, was a repeat of the previous year’s League Cup final with the Hammers up against West Bromwich Albion. The final of the 1966/67 tournament would be the first to be played in a one-off match at Wembley but it was to be a dreadful night at The Hawthorns with Albion romping to a 4-0 first leg lead.

In FA Cup action West Ham did record a thumping 6-1 victory against 4^th Division Aldershot – but only after a replay. Aldershot had given up home advantage after the draw was made and both games were played at Upton Park. The initial tie ending in a 0-0 stalemate but the replay was a routine affair with goals from Morley (2), Slater, Parris, Bishop and Quinn doing the damage for West Ham with Aldershot’s reply courtesy of a rare Miklosko blooper.

Miklosko, Breacker, Parris, Gale, Robson (Bishop), Hughton, Keen, Slater, Quinn, Potts, Morley

Not nearly as impressive was FA Cup replay exit at the hands of Wrexham in 1981 as we defended the trophy won the previous May. This was not really a giant killing act as both teams were competing in Division 2 at the time but it still came as a surprise given our overall performances that season. Defeat eventually coming in extra time of the second replay at the Racecourse Ground following two earlier drawn games.

A league game that sticks in the memory was one from the 1971/72 season which saw West Ham entertain Brian Clough’s Derby County side. Derby would finish the season as champions in one of the closest title races that I can recall with four teams separated by a single point. In the run-in Derby had completed their fixtures while both dirty Leeds (going for the double) and Liverpool could be crowned champions if either won their remaining game. In the event, Liverpool drew and Leeds lost (at Wolverhampton) amid claims that manager Don Revie had tried to bribe the Wolves players.

When they visited Upton Park in January 1972 Derby were in 4^th place and West Ham in 12^th and there was plenty of entertainment for the 31,000 crowd. Derby opened the scoring taking advantage of a Tommy Taylor slip before a Frank Lampard pile-driver evened things up at half-time. Pop Robson struck to give the Hammers the lead after the break only for Derby to scramble an equalizer of their own with the ball appearing to go in through Bobby Moore’s legs. A fine Trevor Brooking goal looked like it would be enough to secure all (two) points but Derby were not to be denied and the game ended all square at 3-3. A nice comedy moment in the game when two teenage girls ran onto the pitch to mob Harry Redknapp instigating a chase by the local plod that ended with one of their number toppling into the crowd.

Ferguson, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Moore, Redknapp, Best, Hurst, Brooking, Robson

This Week’s birthdays:

16 January Bobby Zamora (36)
18 January Steve Lomas (43)
19 January Robert Green (37)

5 Observations from the Palace

The stereotypical game of two halves as West Ham react to dismiss Fat Sam’s Palace

First Half Drab…..

Before our game kicked off I had watched that team from north London demolish a shell-shocked West Bromwich Albion with a scintillating and clinical brand of stylish football. At half time in our own game I was imagining writing a downbeat review of how far behind our near neighbours we had fallen. If we are ever to drag ourselves away from the also-ran pack then they are the team we need to target, being the next significant step up on the money ladder from us. It is distressing to see them performing so well but it would be churlish not to admire their style, organisation and effort. The sooner that someone comes in to poach Pochettino the better or there is a real danger that they could actually win something and how insufferable would that be? The first half of the West Ham v Palace game was totally forgettable in comparison. A smart volley just over from Andy Carroll at one end and a glaring James Tomkins miss at the other after Michail Antonio had gone to sleep (Ogbonna style) were about as interesting as it got. West Ham were lacking in confidence and ideas and Fat Sam was too busy respecting the point to capitalise.

Second Half Fab!

The game changed completely at half time and it was no coincidence that the introduction of a proper right back and changing to a back four was the catalyst. Antonio was released from his wasted wing back berth to play up with (or just behind) Carroll and the team looked more balanced and threatening as a result. Fat Sam claimed that his side were the better team for 70 minutes and defeat was the result of gifting West Ham all 3 goals but that is nonsense. The reason Palace lost was that they lacked the enterprise to take advantage of a vulnerable West Ham side in the first half and were then totally outplayed in the second. Apart from a little late flurry they were never at the races. In the end a lot of credit to the players, fans and coaching staff for putting the distractions of the week behind them and putting some swagger back into their play. As predicted the most name checked player on the TV commentary was Dimitri Payet although the emphasis changed from bemoaning the absence of his creative assist generating genius in the first half to praising the response of the team to his absence in the second. Time to take this new found togetherness and build on it at Middlesbrough next weekend.

Right Back Where We Started From

I was hoping that we would see Sam Byram feature at some stage during the game but it still came as a (positive) surprise that he was introduced as early as half time and that it was Angelo Ogbonna who was replaced. James Collins has his flaws but you cannot fault his commitment and he is as good as anyone when up against a lump such as Benteke. I didn’t hear any suggestion that Ogbonna was injured so assume it was just a very good decision; or else Ogbonna had fallen asleep in the dressing room during the interval. Having Byram back from injury is a major boost and I believe he is certainly good enough to be trusted as a regular starter. He defends robustly but also gets forward well and provides a far better option than a converted winger or centre back in that position. Backup is still required during the transfer window, however, as with Byram there is always the danger of another injury (given his record) and the certainty of a suspension (given his record). In 9 starts and 5 substitute appearances since moving to West Ham he has accumulated an impressive 8 yellow cards. Elsewhere in defence there were steady performances from Winston Reid and Collins with Aaron Cresswell rather subdued once more.

The Middle Men

The change of formation at half time theoretically gave Palace a numerical advantage in midfield but you would never have known it as West Ham dominated the second period of the game. It was encouraging, in fact, to note that there was a less obvious separation between midfield and strikers than we normally see with both Carroll and Antonio dropping back to provide extra bodies in the middle and Manuel Lanzini and Sofiane Feghouli pushing further forward when required. Mark Noble had an uneven game and was guilty of giving the ball away cheaply on many occasions and yet did extremely well to create our only chance of the first half and in putting Antonio through in the lead up to our first goal. There are still far too many backwards triangles with Noble particularly involving Collins which are often pointless and serve to limit momentum. Lanzini showed his usual enthusiasm and was always available and willing to run with the ball. It was great to see him maintain his goal-scoring record against Palace, with his final kick of the game, and it was a great reaction from Fernandes who was waiting to come on as his replacement. My personal jury is still out regarding Feghouli. Fantastic that he scored his first goal and that appeared to give him a massive lift; but I would still need to be convinced about his strength, speed and stamina to perform at this level. He has earned the right to prove that he can do it and looks a better option at the moment than Ayew. It will be interesting to know whether the stories about him leaving during the transfer window have any substance.

Men of the Match

The two stand-out performers in the game were Carroll and Antonio. Touching as much wood as I can lay my hands on it looks like Andy could be on a decent injury free streak and he certainly looks to be full of energy and commitment at the moment. My reservation with Carroll is not so much about his own abilities but that having someone in the team whose main attribute is strength in the air tends to have too great an influence on the way the team plays overall. This didn’t happen yesterday and Carroll showed several neat touches with the ball at his feet. His goal was nothing less than spectacular and featured a strike that requires tremendous technique to execute. You could argue that the defending was poor but ironically I believe that Antonio’s cross was slightly misplaced; the intended target being Carroll’s head. This is what everyone was expecting and it is to Carroll’s great credit that he was able to react, adjust and connect in the way that he did. Antonio ended the day with 3 assist and for someone who had been ill in bed the day before with flu (OK so it may only have been man flu) he performed exceptionally well. Now that’s what I call commitment, Dimi! The wonder of the Carroll strike overshadowed another delightful goal rounded off by Lanzini’s run and dink over the keeper from Antonio’s pass. Overall a most satisfactory outcome to the afternoon’s entertainment.

Ratings: Randolph (6), Collins (6), Reid (7), Ogbonna (5), Antonio (8), Noble (6), Obiang (7), Feghouli (6), Lanzini (7), Cresswell (6), Carroll (8). Subs: Byram (7)

Matchday: Hammers versus Eagles

The “Careful What You Wish For” derby sees Sam Allardyce return to West Ham.

West Ham Palace To start with an apology for previously giving the impression that Dimitri Payet was one of the most skillful players ever to wear the claret and blue of West Ham, that he was the undisputed master of the assist, the team talisman without whom we never win and a veritable sorcerer when it came to the sublime or sumptuous set-piece. We can now reveal that the petulant, perfidious Payet is in fact the quintessential cowardly, overweight, backstabbing, surrender monkey who would barely make the top 10 famous people from Reunion Island were it not for the stage presented to him by West Ham.

There has been a lot of negative comment on Payet’s behaviour in the media from pundits (even sober ones), managers and players alike although that will not prevent clubs carefully putting any principles to one side and queuing up to offer him a lucrative contract. In an ideal world he could be left to stew but, as today’s visiting manager has demonstrated, you would need to have committed a particular heinous crime such as biting the heads of babies (or being compromised by a Russian hooker) to become unemployable in an industry as morally bankrupt as modern football.

“We haven’t got a big squad now left, we just have the players for this game. But we have enough players to put a strong team out and have good players on the bench. It is the team that I am managing. Many times clubs have lost quality players but gained a team.”

– Slaven Bilic on his small but good squad

So it is that the shamed but unrepentant ex-England manager who brings his latest long-ball charges to face the Payet-less Hammers at the London Stadium this afternoon. Both clubs would have started the season with hopes and dreams that didn’t involve a potential relegation battle but as events have panned out we find ourselves with a four-and-a-half pointer if not a fully fledged six-pointer on our hands. Expect the Fat One to set up in respect the point mode to see how the West Ham team react to their new reality.

Head to Head

Depending where you look West Ham have played Crystal Palace anywhere between 31 and 76 times. The following stats exclude long ago Southern League and war-time cup competitions which makes encounters between the two clubs a rather recent rivalry that West Ham have largely bossed. Palace have won only one of the last 5 meetings but the Hammers haven’t beaten them at home (even at fortress Upton Park) since 2003.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	17	10	5	2	22	13	DLLDWW
Away	18	6	7	5	29	18	WWWLDL
	35	16	12	7	51	31

Team News

Whatever the West Ham lineup all the talk in the build-up, during the game and in the post match analysis will be about Dimitri Payet. The final straw for Payet apparently was when they let Cresswell take a free kick at Leicester – I knew no good would come of it! Sam Byram and Reece Oxford are now both fit but “lack match fitness”; I would like to see both involved at some point so that they can actually work on that fitness. Ayew and Kouyate, of course, are away on international duties and Michail Antonio was reported as being ill (hopefully not with a bout of Chelsea flu!). From what has been said the manager expects Manuel Lanzini to step up to create all of our chances; so no pressure there Manuel. I would like to believe that we will put out a team full of pace, passion, movement and with not too many players played out of position. It is only hope that keeps us going so let’s see what happens.

“If there are any fears left in their players because of the new stadium then we need to try to take advantage of it. If we can put pressure on them and try to score the first goal then that will be very important. I had four happy years at West Ham and one of the reasons I am at Palace is because of London. I enjoyed living here.”

– Fat Sam

I am always nervous when former players and managers make a return to face West Ham and today we have two for the price of one in Fat Sam and James Tomkins. On the plus side Palace have their best (albeit very unpredictable) player, Wilfred Zaha, away at the ACON. Benteke has a shoulder injury but should be fit and Townsend will be excited at playing against a team without a proper right back.

I have my fingers crossed for a Payexit bounce and a 2-0 home win.

Man in the Middle

We are joined in the middle this afternoon by Neil Swarbrick from Lancashire. This is his second visit to the London Stadium after being in charge of the Middlesbrough game in October last year (some French player scored our goal if I remember correctly). In all competitions this season Swarbrick has featured 20 times furnishing 75 Yellows but only 2 Red cards.

Watching Paint Dry on the Transfer Window

Two weeks into the transfer window and it is awfully quiet out there.

We are probably 40% of the way through the January transfer window and despite endless speculation nothing of note has so far materialised. It would be intriguing to know what goes on behind the scenes with transfers particularly in the mid-season window as it is unthinkable that every deal is struck in the last few hours. One players transfer is often dependent on another going the opposite way through the revolving door and then there is the complication of last minute medicals to consider. To the casual observer it has the appearance of disorganised brinkmanship.

As far as West Ham transfers are concerned the same names are still being banded about as incoming targets (Defoe, Snodgrass, Hogan, Batshuay) while the popular recurring outgoing story is Michail Antonio to Chelsea. It is much quieter on the Dimitri Payet front with many self-appointed in-the-knows now proclaiming that he is “definitely off in the summer”. There have also been noises about Joe Hart which is fine provided that it is not at the expense of a right back or striker.

It is impossible to know which of the stories that you read about have any foundation and which are totally fabricated. I am convinced that a rumour of a bid can surface, be denied, rejected, ridiculed by fans and reported as having hit the rocks without there being any substance in it at all. I often wonder if it is the same with other clubs or whether the more public profile of our board makes West Ham an exception. As I don’t actively follow transfer speculation of other clubs the first mention of a deal can invariably be when you read of Everton, Spurs or Chelsea swooping to secure the services of their particular target. With West Ham it would seem that no swooping is involved with deals the result of a long drawn out chase of attrition.

The apparent public negotiating stance of the West Ham board is not something I am keen on and am puzzled why this happens repeatedly when frustration is the inevitable outcome. I can remember a Birmingham supporter telling me that the same happened when they were in charge at St Andrews. That the window would open with ambitious claims of top signings only to end with uninspiring itinerants and short term loans. After the disappointment of the summer window it would have been nice to see a measure of organisation, discretion and dynamism in our transfer activity.

In defence of the board I believe that the claim that they have not made resources available to the incumbent managers to be rather unfair. Looking at the numbers over the last 5 years (courtesy of the Transfer League site) West Ham sit in 5th place as far as Net Spend is concerned, behind the two Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Chelsea. In Net Spend terms we have shelled out more than Liverpool, Spurs, Everton and Southampton during that period. The difference is that we have had few players leave with any remaining transfer value (we are no longer a selling club because we have had no-one worth selling) and looking at the same data for Gross Spend we fall down to 9th place.

The table below shows gross and net transfer spend over the past 5 years by each Premier League club. If only that money had been spent wisely.

Gross Spend			Net Spend
1	Manchester City	£565,650,000	1	Manchester City	£402,550,000
2	Manchester United	£528,800,000	2	Manchester United	£392,650,000
3	Chelsea	£507,459,000	4	Arsenal	£205,850,000
4	Liverpool	£365,600,000	3	Chelsea	£192,309,000
5	Tottenham	£315,450,000	5	West Ham	£125,300,000
6	Arsenal	£298,300,000	6	Liverpool	£125,270,000
7	Southampton	£221,100,000	7	Leicester	£88,400,000
8	Everton	£167,300,000	8	Sunderland	£73,430,000
9	West Ham	£151,300,000	9	Stoke City	£62,300,000
10	Leicester	£129,700,000	14	Watford	£59,600,000
11	Crystal Palace	£125,535,000	10	West Bromwich Albion	£59,141,000
12	Sunderland	£124,480,000	11	Crystal Palace	£56,635,000
13	Swansea	£109,875,000	15	AFC Bournemouth	£52,100,000
14	Hull City	£92,625,000	12	Everton	£50,984,000
15	West Bromwich Albion	£89,350,000	15	Hull City	£46,925,000
16	Watford	£88,400,000	16	Middlesbrough	£38,550,000
17	Stoke City	£86,300,000	17	Southampton	£33,250,000
18	AFC Bournemouth	£76,850,000	18	Burnley	£23,450,000
19	Middlesbrough	£53,725,000	19	Tottenham	£5,500,000
20	Burnley	£46,900,000	20	Swansea	-£9,685,000

This Week in Hammer’s History

More scrapings from the barrel that was Hammer’s History in the week 9 to 15 January.

This Week Hammers History Today we are thumbing through the week 9 – 15 January in Hammer’s History and, to be honest, there is not a great deal to get excited about. Nevertheless we will start with the undoubted high which was a 6-0 annihilation of Barnsley in a 1998 Premier League fixture at Upton Park. At that time Harry Redknapp’s side were capable of some barnstorming and free flowing performances and this victory was their 9^th at home so far that season. Goals from Lampard, Abou (2), Hartson, Moncur and Lazaridis made it a day to remember where the’ boos’ ringing out around the ground were in praise of striker Samassi Abou who, in addition to his two goals, also had a hand in several others.

Forrest, Potts, Lazaridis, Unsworth, Ferdinand, Pearce, Impey (Moncur), Lampard, Hartson, Berkovic (Alves), Abou

As FA Cup holders we started its defence in the 1964/65 season with a home 3^rd round tie against Birmingham City. Goals by Hurst (2), Byrne and Sissons in a 4-2 victory were enough to send the Hammers into the 4^th round draw.

Some years later in 2011 Birmingham were once again cup opponents but this time in a League Cup semi-final. The first leg at Upton Park between two of the leagues struggling sides (both of whom would go on to be relegated) ended in a 2-1 win to give West Ham the advantage and dreams of Wembley. Mark Noble volleyed the Hammers ahead in a one-sided first half but we were unable to convert any of the numerous further chances before the break. In the second period an improved Birmingham performance saw Ridgewell equalise and when Victor Obinna was sent off it looked like it could be game over. However, Carlton Cole (on as a replacement for Piquionne) scored with a trademark scuffed shot from a Spector cross to notch an unlikely winner. There was intense speculation at the time that defeat in this game would cost manager Avram Grant his job but football moves in mysterious ways and he was able to survive to steer us on to relegation (but not to Wembley).

Talking of the League Cup this week also hosted the replayed 5^th round encounter against Aston Villa in January 2000. The match which had to be played again as a result of the Mannygate debacle saw West Ham go a goal up through Lampard Junior, Di Canio have a penalty saved by David James, and Villa score twice in extra time to win the day.

We round of the week with two of those embarrassing banana skin FA Cup defeats. In 1974 we had drawn our initial home tie with 3^rd division Hereford and so made the trip to Edgar Street four days later for the replay. West Ham took the lead through a Clyde Best header before Keith Coleman gave away a penalty that led to the Hereford leveller. With about a quarter of an hour to play Hereford scored again to prompt wild scenes by the home crowd; the match ending 2-1.

Day, Coleman, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Wooler, McGiven, Paddon, Lutton, Holland, Best

Ironically, the same largely uninspiring West Ham line-up managed to beat Manchester United 2-1 at Upton Park on the following Saturday (Bonds, Holland) in a season where the Red Devils were ultimately relegated to Division 2 with ourselves just above the drop zone.

In the 3^rd round of 1979, second division West Ham were away to 4^th division Newport County in a game that was postponed on Saturday due to bad weather and re-scheduled for midweek. With the core of the team that would win the Cup the following year the Hammers suffered a humiliating 2-1 reverse which I believe John Lyall once described as the low point of his managerial career; Pop Robson scoring our goal.

Day, Lampard, Brush, Bonds, Martin, McDowell, Taylor, Devonshire, Cross, Brooking, Robson

Sharing The Transfer Window Pain

Much ado about nothing in the first week of the January transfer window.

It promises much but the January transfer window is generally an anti-climax, although that does not stop the speculation industry going into overdrive in tempting you to visit their websites with an enticing story about the latest 24 year old goal scoring sensation linked with a move to the London Stadium. Like the Transfer Deadline Day of old the January window is dominated by desperate measures of clubs eager to avoid a relegation battle or to boost their flagging chances of promotion or European qualification.

For me, the winter deadline is characterised by pointless loan deals for the likes of Ilan, Mido, Pogatetz, Chamakh, Diego Tristan, Benni McCarthy and Roger ‘The Relegator’ Johnson. It has rarely led to the recruitment of quality players with the possible exclusion of Dean Ashton in 2006 and Demba Ba in 2011.

West Ham go into the window with a very unbalanced squad that includes some gaping holes of which the most notable are at right back, striker and, probably, central midfield. The failings of the summer transfer deals which focused on quantity rather than quality to support an expected but unrealised Europa League campaign is there for all to see. Summer recruits Zaza, Tore and Calleri are all likely to be out of the door and could soon be followed by Feghouli if in-the-know gossip is to be believed; then there is the question of Dimitri Payet about whom there is a growing consensus that he is unhappy, disinterested and wants away. If that really is the case is it worth holding on to him?

If West Ham were a few points better off then maybe we could just write the season off as a bad job and address the squad problems in the summer when there is more time and more options. But with the relegation places not too far away then doing nothing in January would be a very foolish strategy despite the fact that getting good value in the window is rare. We were unable to improve the team in the summer so what are the chances of doing so now?

The difficulty arising from our situation is that clubs know we are desperate and so will be inflating prices. We are most likely to overpay for players who are expedient stopgaps and not part of a project to build an ever improving side. The forward players who have been most regularly linked, Defore, Long and Snodgrass, are all in the wrong age profile for the longer term even if they might prove useful for the survival imperative. Scott Hogan is in the right age group but is relatively inexperienced while Moussa Dembélé is likely to be unavailable and destined for greater things than east London.

Something has to be done about the right back position which has been a blind spot at West Ham over many years. The approach reminds me of Sunday morning park football where you put the lads who are no good anywhere else at full back. Maybe Sam Byram will make a injury free return but we need backup and it should be someone other than Carl Jenkinson again.

We are a week into the window and nothing has happened apart from some outgoing loans and the transfer of Lewis Page to Charlton. Usually nothing much happens until the last few days anyway but let’s hope that this time the money is used wisely.

5 Observations from the Latest Capitulation

The Friday Night Hammer House of Horror Show

The Result in Context

I have to confess that I did not watch the match live. Sometimes when this happens I try to watch the whole game on a re-run but on this occasion all I could face was the extended highlights; and even then had to watch from behind the sofa as if it was one of the late night horror films that they used to show after News at Ten. In the context of the season it is difficult to know how to gauge this match; there is nothing left in the season apart from avoiding relegation and/ or attempting to maximise the league placing ‘prize’ money. The first week in January is very early to accept that your season is pretty much over. I hate to think what our team performance and effort will be like if/ when Premier League safety is ensured.

Line Up & Penalty

Prior to the match I was hoping that we would go all out for a win. In theory we probably did but unfortunately Manchester City had the same idea and fielded a very strong team that included some of the best attacking players in the league. To face them with a makeshift right back and only one defensive minded midfield player was a courageous folly. Arguably it was a soft penalty that started the rot but after that heads dropped quickly and the towel was firmly thrown in as City ran riot. Referee Oliver is one of the top penalty givers and so it should have come as no surprise when he pointed to the spot. In the spirit of the game Zabaleta should not be looking for that faint touch that players use to send them spinning to the ground but in the circumstances there was no need for Ogbonna to make any contact. It simply gave Oliver the evidence he required to impose the current letter of the law. Ogbonna has ridden his luck with his manhandling attempts this season and this time it caught up with him.

The London Stadium Effect

The way some people talk about our performances at Upton Park it is surprising that we ever lost a game there. It is pointless to get into any further debate about the stadium as there is no going back; although I understand that steps would seem necessary to improve the matchday experience for spectators. It may also be true that the new stadium eliminates the advantage that Upton Park could provide for those occasional special nights under the floodlights. The stadium doesn’t prevent good football as a number of opposition teams have ably demonstrated. Pep Guardiola was reported as saying that the wide open spaces helped his side because it gave the perception of space for his players. It is my opinion that this perception is due more to the fact that we fail to close down and deny space due to inferior organisation and fitness levels.

Performances this Year and Last

I have seen much debate about performance last season and this. Before the start of the season my view was that we would be unlikely to repeat the excellent results against the top teams that we saw last year. I was still expecting, however, an exciting and profitable campaign based on the assumption that we could fix the problem of not beating the lesser bottom half teams. This has proved not to be the case and now with the majority of remaining home games against top half teams and the majority of away trips to lower half teams we look very vulnerable if past performance is at all indicative of future results. We may need to rely on there being three teams performing even worse than we are.

The Slavenometer at All-time Low

I was reading that pundit brotherhood all agree that Slaven Bilic’s position as West Ham manager is secure and I would guess that Slav is a popular guy amongst the mutual backslapping football fraternity. Others say that it is not the manager but the players that need to take responsibility but even if there is an element of truth in that I would ask who is responsible for selecting, organising and motivating the players other than the manager and coaching staff? Has he lacked resources? Possibly if you are comparing West Ham with a top 6 club but not compared with the rump of Premier League teams. We have no Russian gangster or Middle Eastern sovereign fund to throw cash in when needed (and there have been few saleable player assets in the recent past) but transfer funds have been available and spent; just not very wisely. It is the manager’s job to ensure he does the best with what is to hand, build a well balanced squad, ensure fitness levels are acceptable and establish a consistent style of play. Unfortunately as things stand I do not see progress on any of these fronts. The 3 league wins in December probably saved Bilic his job and making a reaction change now would be difficult. If it was my decision I would be making definite plans for a new manager to come in during the summer.

Matchday: Hammers host City in the Cup

Could she be wearing a claret ribbon in the merry month of May?

City in the Cup It is FA Cup time once more and the stage where the big teams finally enter the famous competition which started with the Extra Preliminary Round on 6 August 2016. A total of 672 ties have been played to date with another 63 to play before someone lifts the trophy at Wembley on 27th May. In total 828 teams will have featured in the competition and there can only be one winner; can the ribbons on the cup this year be claret and blue?

There were 64 teams in the hat for 3^rd draw and so it was rather unfortunate to get drawn against one of the big 4 or 5 clubs. Still it is a home tie and the Hammers have only lost one of the last 8 home FA Cup encounters and that was last season in the 6th round replay against the other team from Manchester.

This is a big game for us and big game for them, it is the FA Cup and it is big for the fans.

– Slav says the right things

The FA Cup is the only remaining chance of glory for West Ham this season following our exit from both the Europa League and EFL Cup and the continued struggles in the Premier League. It is only 5 games to the Final so anything could happen and a win today can take us a step nearer the prize. Unfortunately there are only 4 all Premier League ties in this year’s 3^rd round draw (and one of those is Hull v Swansea) and so there is no opportunity for the bigger teams to knock each other out and create a clear path to the Final.

Head to Head

The overall record against Manchester City of home turf remains a positive one although we only won one of the last 6 meetings at Upton Park. The record against City has been on a downward trend since they were adopted as a Middle Eastern plaything in 2008 and during this era we have only beaten them 3 times out of 16. West Ham have only met City three times in the FA Cup before and hold a 2 to 1 advantage in the series.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	48	24	12	12	81	52	DWLLDL
Away	51	11	8	32	65	105	LWLLLL
	99	35	20	44	146	157

Team News

Ever since Manchester United withdrew from the 1999/2000 completion the FA Cup has lost some of its glamour and sparkle. Managers of top teams began to treat it very much as a secondary priority behind the cash-raking goal of Champion’s League qualification and began to field ‘weakened’ teams made up of squad or younger players. For some unaccountable reason managers of other Premier League teams have adopted the same tactic possibly in the hope that it deposits some big-time manager stardust onto their shoulders as well. The consequences are that it is almost impossible to predict how the teams will line-up especially during the early rounds.

The cup is special because the lower team can beat the big teams, which is why it is fascinating, I’m looking forward to it, but of course it’s a Premier League game so it will be tough. We were unlucky in the draw.

– Guardiola on the FA Cup

I am hoping that Slaven Bilic is confident enough in his ability to stay away from relegation trouble to give this one his best shot. We don’t play again for 8 days and so fatigue should not be an issue and, my perception is, that most injuries occur in training rather than in competitive games anyway. Kouyate and Ayew have now set sail for the Africa Cup of Nations while Mark Noble, Reece Oxford, Sam Byram and James Collins may be available. Someone definitely available is Sofiane Feghouli after his ludicrous Mike Dean red card was rescinded by the FA Incompetent Referee panel. If Manchester City have a weakness it is in central defence particularly if it comprises Otamendi and the massively over-hyped John Stones; for this reason I would like to see birthday boy Andy Carroll let loose on them with maybe Michail Antonio playing just behind. I assume that Adrian will back, courtesy of the Cup rotation code, helping the Post to keep the score respectable.

Manchester City are missing Gundogan, Kompany, Sane and possibly Fernando (through injury) and Fernandinho )through suspension). It would be nice if Aguero, De Bruyne and Sterling were also given the night off (although Guardiola always took cup games seriously whilst at Bayern); not that I rate Sterling too highly in the normal course of events but he always seems to give our defenders the run around.

The Man in the Middle

A first encounter this season with young Michael Oliver from Northumberland. Oliver was in charge of two West Ham games last season; both at home against Southampton (won 2-1) and Swansea (lost 1-4). In 21 games this season Oliver has shown 70 Yellow cards and a solitary Red. Despite his prudence with red cards Oliver is one of the top penalty givers (just behind Mike Dean) with 8 awarded so far this season.

This Week in Hammer’s History

The hopes and dreams of FA Cup Round 3 dominate the week 2 – 8 January in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History The first week of January brings with it the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Once one of the most eagerly awaited weekends in the football calendar it doesn’t now have quite the same appeal, at least for the top clubs, but continues to offer romance to those further down the pyramid and remains one of the best opportunities of silverware for mid-table Premier League clubs such as West Ham.

Before we get into some of the more memorable FA Cup encounters there are two League Cup ties to mention. The first was the first semi-final replay in 1972 against Stoke City; a game that was played at Hillsborough on a miserable Wednesday night. This was a match that I remember bunking off school for to take a football special which deposited us at the largely abandoned Wadsley Bridge station in Sheffield a few minutes before kick-off. The game had started by the time that we made it into the ground but it was a very uneventful game despite Clyde Best having an excellent opportunity to send the Hammers through to Wembley thwarted by Gordon Banks.

The second League Cup semi final that took place this week was the first leg tie in 2014 against this weekend’s FA Cup opponents, Mancheter City. Fat Sam had prioritised this game over the preceding weekend’s FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest and the game, played at the City of Manchester Stadium, saw the debut for West Ham or Roger ‘The Relegator’ Johnson. It was an awful night for the Hammers and a Alvaro Negredo hat-trick featured in a 6-0 demolition in a tie that we were to lose 9-0 on aggregate.

On to the FA Cup and we will start with a few of those banana skin defeats. Because we were already in 2014 the first stop is tie that took place a few days prior to the League Cup thrashing by City; Fat Sam fielded a team of kids against League 1 Nottingham Forest that ended in an embarrassing 5-0 defeat. The lineup included a host of players who were never heard from again such as Daniel Potts, Callum Driver, Danny Whitehead, George Moncur, Sebastien Lletget and Ravel Morrison (where is he now?) plus substitute appearances from Matthias Fanimo, Blair Turgott and Reece Burke. What a dark day for the club that was.

January 1971 witnessed the 4-0 hammering by struggling Blackpool. The game is famous for what later emerged concerning an early hours drinking session in boxer Brian London’s Blackpool nightclub involving Bobby Moore, Jimmy Greaves, Brian Dear, Clyde Best and club physio Rob Jenkins. Despite there being no Twitter at the time the players were still dobbed in by a disgruntled fan and were subsequently disciplined by manager Ron Greenwood.

In January 1990 West Ham, then in Division 2, visited 4th Division Torquay for a 3rd round tie at Plainmoor. A team that included Parkes, Potts, Dicks, Martin, Gale and Bishop suffered a humiliating 1-0 defeat to the lowly Devon club.

We published an article previously on West Ham’s cup encounters with non-League sides and this week included the 1992 1-1 draw with Farnborough Town and the narrow 1998 2-1 victory over Emley.

West Ham have won the FA Cup on 3 occasions and each of those occasions the journey to success kicked off with a hopeful 3rd round tie. The 1964 road to Wembley started with comfortable 3-0 home win against 2nd division Charlton Athletic with goals from Brabrook, Hurst and Sissons. In 1975, an away draw resulted in a 2-1 victory at The Dell against 2nd division Southampton; Frank Lampard and Bobby Gould the scorers; and in 1980 it was 2nd division West Ham drawn away to 1st division West Bromwich Albion. The first match at The Hawthorns ended in a 1-1 draw; Stuart Pearson scored the Hammer’s goal but the hero of the hour was Phil Parkes who pulled of a string of outstanding man-of-the-match saves to keep us in the tie. The replay took place just 3 days later where Pearson and Trevor Brooking scored the goals at Upton Park to record an excellent 2-1 victory and progress to Round 4.

1964 v Charlton: Standen, Bond, Burkett, Bovington, Brown, Moore, Brabrook, Boyce, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons
1974 v Southampton: Day, Coleman, Lampard, Bonds, McDowell, Lock, Jennings, Paddon, Gould (Hooland), Brooking, K. Robson
1980 v WBA: Parkes, Stewart, Lampard, Bonds, Martin, Devonshire, Allen, Pearson, Pike, Brooking, Neighbour (Brush replaced Bonds in the replay)

Notable birthdays this week:

2 January Tomas Repka (43)
3 January Adrian (30)
6 January Ron Boyce (74)
6 January Andy Carroll (28)

5 Observations from West Ham’s Dean inspired defeat.

Elderly incompetent Lancashire referee of doubtful parentage claims man of the match award at the London Stadium.

The Dean and I (Hum Drum Days….)

When the main talking points of a match concern the decisions and performance of the referee and officials then you know there is something wrong. Dean is one of the those referees who seem to be of the opinion that they are part of the entertainment; believing perhaps that neutral supporters will eagerly await the publication of the referee appointments each week before deciding which game to go to watch. Maybe Dean sees his flamboyant behaviour as bringing an unexpected edge that adds to the theatre of game. Sending a player off invariably has a dramatic effect on any game and the earlier it happens then the greater the consequences. The Feghouli incident was two players making a wholehearted attempt to win the ball; nothing dangerous, no malicious intent, no loss of control. Jones may or may not have milked it but the referee appeared to mentally toss a coin, rather than make considered judgement, before making his disgraceful decision. What has football come to when what would have been a regular, everyday challenge 10 or so years ago is punished in this way? Add to that the linesman inexplicably missing the clearest of ‘offsides’ (did he get confused because there were so many players in offside positions) for the second goal and the officials should collectively hang their heads in shame as well as receiving lengthy bans. Personally, I share the opinion that the referee has had a good game when you don’t notice he is there; something you could never accuse Dean of. It was long ago that referees had to hang up his whistle at the age 47 but they are now judged on fitness and performance each year. Surely, it is time for the 48 year old attention seeking Lancashire official to be shown the final red card of his own.

A Catalyst for Improvement?

Ironically this was one of our best performances of the season. We started brightly and were uncharacteristically (based on what has gone before this season) moving and passing the ball well. The opening exchanges were somewhat cat and mouse but we looked sharp before Dean decided to take centre stage by issuing the soft, unwarranted red card. At other times the dismissal could have heralded surrender but the Hammers reacted well and showed great character, organisation and commitment. In many respects we are at our best when defending in numbers and counterattacking against the better sides; more so than when we have to take the initiative. However, it is a tough job with a man down after only 15 minutes. In the first half Manchester United were limited to one clear cut chance when the post was once again called into action – although I believe this too should have been flagged for offside. Mourinho made intelligent substitutions in the circumstances bringing on Mata (an excellent player who I was pleased to see absent from the starting XI) and Rashford to put pressure on a positionally suspect and tiring Havard Nordtveit. Some observers made Rashford man-of-the-match but if that accolade should go the most influential individual then there can only be one winner; referee Dean. It is very difficult to fault our overall performance and maybe (just maybe) the injustice of the defeat can be the catalyst for greater unity and cohesion in upcoming matches.

Midfield Fluency

A positive when the teams were announced was to hear that Pedro Obiang (our best player all season) had been recalled to the midfield. He had yet another excellent game and it remains staggering that he didn’t get a look in during the narrow defeat at Leicester. Obiang is the best defensive midfielder that we have had at club for a good few years; as well as breaking up play he uses the ball well with intelligence and a vision lacking in our other central midfield players. It was inopportune that for all his efforts he might well have done better for both the Manchester goals; going to ground too early when looking to come to Nordtveit’s assistance to thwart Rashford and failing to clear effectively just prior to the obvious offside goal. A superb performance also from Manuel Lanzini who was always willing to make himself available, made great runs with the ball and was central to a number of excellent passing movements. Possibly one of Lanzini’s best ever West Ham performances over (just short of) 90 minutes. It is no surprise to me that we played with greater fluidity and incision with Mark Noble on the bench. Noble’s supporters will say he keeps possession well but the way I see it in modern Premier League football you have to use the ball quickly when gaining possession. Noble’s instinct for sideways and backwards passing allows the opposition time to re-group and closed down space when they should be at their most vulnerable.

Defensive Efforts

Winston Reid came in for some criticism earlier in the season when West Ham were regularly leaking goals but his recent performances have been outstanding both in terms of contribution on the pitch and passion and commitment to the cause; I am very happy with his wearing the captain’s armband . It is surprising that we do not hear about any of the top clubs sniffing around a player who I believe is one of the best and most consistent central defenders in the league; maybe the belief that he doesn’t use the ball well is what discourages the likes of Klopp and Guardiola. An honourable mention also for Angelo Ogbonna who managed to put in a very steady shift with none of his trademark daydreaming moments to diminish his efforts.

My Kingdom for a Striker

I was very surprised to see Andy Carroll left out of the starting line-up. My assumption is that it was felt that another full game was not in the best interest of his long term injury recuperation but I haven’t seen this confirmed anywhere. Carroll showed some good touches during the 20 minutes he was on the pitch and maybe playing him with Michail Antonio just behind would be an interesting option that could unsettle opposition defenders; in the absence of available alternatives it is worth a try. The improved midfield performance yesterday could well have suited Carroll’s game but, as it was, the man-for-all-positions Antonio was given the task of leading the line. Antonio had very good opportunities to score on two occasions; once when he didn’t quite connect with his head at a corner and then when he failed to convert Lanzini’s delightful through-ball just before the opening Manchester United goal.

Ratings: Randolph (7), Nordtveit (6), Reid (8), Ogbonna (7), Cresswell (6), Obiang (9), Kouyate (6), Feghouli (5), Lanzini (8), Payet (7), Antonio (7). Subs: Carroll (7), Fernandes (6)