Geoff Hopkins

This Week in Hammer’s History

Plenty to jeer plus a little cheer from the week 14 – 20 November in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History Defeats to the teams you love to hate feature strongly in this week’s ‘Week in Hammer’s History’. We start with a routine 2-1 reverse at White Hart Lane in November 1982 in a match where we started the day in 2^nd place sensing that victory could have put us top of the pile with 11 games played. Sadly that didn’t happen and, as with most of our opportunities to hit top spot, lines were fluffed and a collective freeze ensured that we would not reach the same dizzy heights again that season.

The West Ham team from the early 1980’s is one of my all-time favourites. A side with Brooking and Devonshire at the top of their powers brought a famous FA Cup win followed by the runaway promotion winning campaign of 1980/81. The league was won with a record points total and a meagre 4 defeats is an all-time West Ham record. However, two of the four losses were at the hands of the same team – Luton Town. Defeat in the first home game of the season was followed up by another in November 1980 to put an end to a 14 match unbeaten run and inflict a first away defeat of the campaign. The final score 3-2 with two Trevor Brooking goals unable to save the day.

Some years later in November 1988 we were back at Kenilworth Road which now sported a new plastic pitch. This was a surface that we have never appeared to be comfortable with and a halfhearted performance resulted in a painful 4-1 drubbing. See for yourself in the clip below.

In November 1992, with the new Premier League underway, West Ham travelled south of the river to face Millwall in what would be their last visit to The Den. The game was featured on ITV’s London Match and ended in a 2-1 victory for the hosts; Malcolm Allen and Phil Barber scoring for Millwall with Mark Robson replying for the Hammers. If you are so inclined you can find the whole of this game on Youtube.

Raising the mood a little there have been the usual smattering of high scoring affairs during this week including a 4-0 demolition of Leicester City in 1968 (Peters, Dear (2), OG), a 5-0 League Cup massacre against the much loathed Blades in 1971 (Best (2), Robson (3)) and a 5-2 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1974 (Lampard, Bonds, Jennings, Gould, Brooking). The win against Sheffield United (see below – the game was played on 17 November 1971) set up the epic League Cup semi-final quadrilogy against Stoke City either side of the new year.

Finally, we end with an 8 goal thriller against Charlton at The Valley in 2001. Paul Kitson making his first start for almost 2 years opened the scoring after 3 minutes (his first West Ham goal for almost 3 years). Defensive errors by Dailly and Repka saw Charlton take the lead before Kitson scored again to make it all square at half time. Charlton regained the lead early in the second half, Scott Parker the provider for Jonatan Johansson, before West Ham equalised again as Kitson prodded home to complete an unlikely hat-trick. Jermaine Defoe, on as a substitute for Kitson, fired the Hammers ahead before Johansson’s injury time equaliser evened things up for a final time.

Hislop, Schemmel, Minto (Lomas), Dailly, Repka, Foxe, Sinclair, Carrick, Kitson (Defoe), Di Canio, Hutchison (J Cole)

This week’s birthdays:

14 November: Alan Taylor (63)
15 November: Jimmy Neighbour (d. 2009)
15 November: Keith Robson (63)
17 November: Titi Camara (43 – 63)
18 November: Jimmy Quinn (57)
19 November: Tony Gale (57)

The Window to Watch

Dear Santa, please bring me a set of transfers for Christmas.

It’s another international break and rather than going on holiday, twiddling their thumbs or feigning interest in England’s world cup progress most online media has turned its attention to the surefire fail-safe topic of the upcoming January transfer window; remeber there are only 81 shopping days to go and I, for one, am getting excited for the launch of the John Lewis Transfer Window video.

A few days ago we published our review of the season to date and without doubt the outcome of those next 8 Premier League games will set the tone for any transfer activity that takes place during January. We are supposedly a club with growing ambition but if we continue to flounder in the lower reaches of the league at the end of December then player recruitment will, by necessity, be focused on survival rather than growth.

Having had a (generally accepted) disastrous pre-season window it would be doubly disappointing to be forced to bring in players whose main attribute is either their experience or an ability to roll up their sleeves for a relegation dogfight. It goes without saying that maintaining Premier League status is the top priority but I had hoped the days of the short term fix were well behind us. If we are able to claw our way to mid-table obscurity by mid-season than at least the plan can return to one of continuous improvement; even if the execution of that plan is not always successful.

Scanning through the steady trickle of transfer speculation that has started to surface we have already been linked with a bench-full of unsuitable players looking for another big payday; while on the other side of the equation it appears that several Hammer’s names are being pencilled in as other clubs prepare their list of targets prior to opening up their war chests.

Players reportedly ‘on our radar’ include: striker Mario Mandzukic (31), probably because he is Croatian, who is currently out of favour at Juventus; Branislav Ivanović (32) and snarling Cesc Fàbregas (29) who have both fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea now that they are a decent side again; and Mamadou Sakho (26) the hopeless Liverpool defender. Unsurprisingly, there is nothing there to get the juices flowing I have already mentally filed them as made up nonsense as all would be desperate signings. In the case of the Liverpool Sakho my assumption is that the link was a Friday afternoon post pub cut and paste error and should really have been West Brom. where he would be far more suited.

Over recent seasons West Ham have thrown off the reputation of being a selling club even if the real reason for this is that we have not had any players that other clubs wanted. Now the times appear to be changing again with predators allegedly sniffing around Payet and Obiang and even the injured striking duo of Carroll and Sakho. It would be disappointing but not surprising if Payet left to capitalise on his new found superstar status with a final bumper contract at one of the Champion’s League clubs where money doesn’t matter (such as PSG). In theory I guess a club can refuse to sell but in practice they generally yield to players looking to leave to further their bank balance rather than have them skulk around the training ground.

The injury records of Sakho and Carroll would seem to make transfers in a few months time extremely unlikely. A scenario where such a player returns to full fitness, demonstrates their goalscoring ability (at a club where a striker has not scored all season) and is still sold is too fanciful even for West Ham.

Loan flops Simone Zaza and Gokhan Tore should certainly be dumped out of the January window if not before. With Tore, it seems that Besiktas are proving reluctant to accept returns for damaged goods and we may have the same battle as trying to return unwanted Marks and Spencer underwear after Christmas if not in the original packaging. My fear with Zaza is the emergence of another classic West Ham cock-up (from the makers of Mannygate and Tevezgate) where we have mistranslated the Italian in the lone arrangement and by bringing him on as 85th substitute at Leicester on 31 December we mistakenly make the deal permanent.

My real hope for the next window is that we have identified some realistic targets who can hit the ground running to improve the first team options from day one and then go about our business quietly.

This Week in Hammer’s History

It is goal, goals, goals with interesting repeat patterns in the week of 7 – 13 November in Hammer’s history.

This Week Hammers History This week in history twice brought us 4-1 victories against a Manchester City side that were, as yet, unable to reap the benefit of Arab millions. The first was back in 1959 and then more recently in 2000 in what turned out to be Rio Ferdinand’s last home game as a West Ham player before his transfer to Leeds United.

There have been four 3-3 draws during this week of which two were home games against West Bromwich Albion in 1961 and 1977; the others being away at Arsenal in 1963 and at home to Nottingham Forest in 1988. Adding to the goal rush there were three games that ended 4-3 and although only one of these ended in the Hammer’s favour it was a satisfying away victory at White Hart Lane in 1966 where Jimmy Greaves missed a penalty for the hosts. The two 3-4 reverses were at home to Leeds (2002) in the Roeder relegation season and also at home to West Brom the following season which included one of want away Jermaine Defoe’s three pre Christmas red cards. The first half of the Leeds game was maybe one of the worst 45 minute performances I have ever seen; featuring a level of incompetence from Repka and Dailly that would be difficult to match it ended with the Hammers 1-4 in arrears. Unfortunately a spirited (but ultimately unsuccessful) second half comeback inspired by Di Canio probably saved Roeder from loosing his job there and then.

Hard to imagine that just three games against West Bromwich Albion had yielded a total of 19 goals and if you want more you could throw in a 5-2 win in the 1988 Full Member’s Cup for good measure.

A rare away romp in 2007 saw West Ham thrash hapless Derby County who would go on to record just one win and 11 points all season. The Hammer’s goals coming from Bowyer (2), Erherington, Solano and an OG.

Finally an encounter that is often up there with the greatest ever games played at Upton Park; the League Cup clash with Don Revie’s title chasing dirty Leeds in 1966. It was a great week for the Hammers which started with a 6-1 home victory against Fulham and would end with the win described above at Tottenham a week later. Sandwiched in between on a misty Monday night in east London was the League Cup 4th round tie.

Back then it wasn’t practice to rest players for League Cup games and although Leeds were missing Sprake and Lorimer through injury they fielded a strong side including the usual uncompromising suspects of Charlton, Hunter, Bremner and Reaney.

The West Ham performance that night was described at the time as “irresistible”, “breathtaking”, “awesome” and having the “gloss of greatness”.

The Hammers were a goal up within two minutes when Byrne set up John Sissons to curl his shot into the corner of the goal. More good work by Byrne on the half hour released Brabrook whose cross was side footed home by Sissons for 2-0 before the same player completed a first-half hatrick five minutes later. Hurst added a fourth just before half time to make it 4-0 at the interval. A four goal advantage at half time is not necessarily a guarantee of victory for West Ham but in the second half Byrne set up two more goals for Hurst while in between Peters scored another. The final score was West Ham 7 Leeds United 0. Hatricks for Sissons and Hurst and a mesmerising individual performance by Budgie Byrne as he taunted and destroyed the Leeds defence.

Standen, Bovington, J Charles, Peters, Brown, Moore, Brabrook, Boyce, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons.

This week’s birthdays:

8 November Peter Brabrook (79)
8 November Joe Cole (35)
8 November Alan Curbishley (59)
8 November Martin Peters (73)
10 November Vic Watson (d 1988)
11 November Pop Robson (71)
12 November Carlton Cole (33)

5 Things We Learned From The Limp Draw With Stoke

Sorting through the debris of a dire draw with Stoke at the London Stadium.

A Very Poor Spectacle Indeed

No doubt about it this was one of the poorest games of Premier League that I have seen all the way through for a long time. I would imagine that any neutral observer would have walked away/ switched off at some point before half time. Very little action and incident with just two saves of any note during the whole 90 minutes; one at each end. Any football that was played was played by the visitors and it was fortunate that they appeared to come with very low expectations in the absence of Amautovic and Shaqiri. West Ham didn’t deserve to win and they barely deserved a draw.

A Rigid Style with No Obvious Pattern

We tried 3 at the back, it worked in a couple of matches and now we appear to be sticking with it rigidly regardless of opposition and circumstances; repeat until accidentally stumbling upon a new formation. From the kick-off a typical piece of Noble-Collins shuffling backwards and sideways before a hopeful punt up-field set the tone for what was to come. The 3 centre-backs playing it to each with no urgency or sense of what to do next allowing a well discipline Stoke side plenty of time to close down any space. It was impossible to work out what the game plan was meant to be and even more puzzling why it took so long to do anything about it when it was clear that the original plan (whatever that was) wasn’t working.

Slow and Sluggish Doesn’t Win Anything

In those games where we have looked a better team we have approached the game with intensity and pace. This doesn’t seem too difficult to comprehend to me and so would expect match preparation to focus on achieving those objectives. How can a team collectively turn up for their 90 minute working week with such little energy and spirit. Where is the leadership? It really didn’t look like the players knew what they were supposed to be doing which, I guess, may go back to the lack of a plan. We had Cresswell pushed way up, Antonio dropping too deep and Ayew (our lone striker) coming back to retrieve the ball in his own half. We might hope for a moment of magic from Payet to come to the rescue, as he did so often last year (and he looked well off the pace), but he still needs others to create space to work in. The lack of movement in front of him did him no favours. Stoke were given every opportunity to fill any space that became available while we were much more generous with it for their attacks.

Those Strange Substitutions Again

The BBC reported that inspired substitutions changed the game. Hardly! The substitutions, like the curate’s egg, were good in parts with the right players came on but the wrong players went off. There appears to be a predetermined plan that no matter how well or poorly anyone is playing that Lanzini and Obiang are the players taken off. Maybe because the technical area is such a long way from the dugout it is easier to decide these things beforehand. I don’t know! Not for the first time this season Pedro was our best player and, even if Lanzini delivered no end product, at least he was willing to run with the ball with an attempt at purpose. But no, off they both go! As far as the men coming on were concerned Fernandes didn’t really get into the game but Ashley Fletcher made a good account of himself and looks much more like a footballer than Zaza does. Plus there was a little cameo from Feghouli that included probably his first successful cross of the season.

Where Do We Go From Here?

If the alarm has not yet reached the full light flashing, klaxon blaring, buzzer sounding intensity that you see in the movies there has to be some very serious warnings being issued. As things stand we don’t look like we can play our way out of trouble and I doubt we are equipped for a relegation dogfight. Of course there is still time and there are hopefully enough poorer teams to keep our head above water but this is not a team on the up. We have seen no consistent signs that the foundations of a solid and organised team are in place. We still struggle to break down teams we should (and need) to beat and the freak results against the top teams will not be repeated so readily. After his monumental gaffe for the equaliser it is time for Adrian to take a break from first team duty while Mr Marriner has forced decision to leave Mark Noble out of the next starting eleven. Noble looks increasingly lost and pedestrian to me; I have long admired his commitment but that is no longer enough on its own. Perhaps we will have other striking options by the time of the Tottenham game but I am not going to be holding my breath. And please let’s not stick slavishly to 3 at the back and learn to use it when it is appropriate to the match and opposition in hand. My approval rating for the management team is currently at all-time low. Not a time to panic but a demonstration that all is under control would be welcome.

Matchday: West Ham versus Stoke City

Can we look forward to an afternoon of ooohs and aaahs or will the players be getting a rocket?

West Ham Stoke A game at the heavily scrutinised London Stadium on a day known for fires and explosions – what could possibly go wrong? Today’s visitors are the mostly harmless Stoke City who after a disastrous start to the season come to London today unbeaten in their last 5 matches. Known as the Potters after the eponymous boy wizard (itself is a reference to Stoke’s most famous ever player, wizard of the dribble, Stanley Matthews) the club is competing in their 9th consecutive Premier League campaign following the promotion in 2008 which ended a 23 year ‘spell’ in the wilderness. When Stoke were relegated in 1985 they did so with a record low number of points for the 22 team, 3 points-a-win top flight.

“I would rather have us creating chances and waiting for a moment to convert them than not create them at all. We are disappointed with the Everton result but we are on a good path, we are there, and we are going to score goals.”

– Slaven Bilic

A game that we will be very much hoping to win as our theoretical easier run of games comes to halt just before yet another international break and a chance to do the Christmas shopping. A few West Ham – Stoke connections that spring to mind are that Geoff Hurst played for both clubs, Lou Macari managed both and both were briefly owned by Icelandics at some point in their history.

Head to Head

Another close run head to head record that shows an emphasis on home victories with Stoke’s visits to the capital being as fruitless as our ventures to the north-westwards. Two of their seven victories have, however, been in the last six encounters. History reveals a healthy goal haul from home games against the Potters which hopefully can be repeated this afternoon.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	40	20	13	7	70	35	DDLDWW
Away	41	11	8	22	43	62	LDLWLD
	81	31	21	29	113	97

Team News

Winston Reid is suspended and injured although the latter might just be a convenient excuse to avoid travelling down under for two World Cup fixtures against New Caledonia. Potential replacement Reece Oxford has also picked up an injury which opens the door for the more probable replacement James Collins and his silky passing skills. With still no striker to speak of available our sources (I read it on the internet) suggest that there will be a return to the starting lineup for Andre Ayew with Edmilson Fernandes dropping out. While welcoming Ayew’s return it would be disappointing for Fernandes, one of our better players last week, to be demoted to the bench. Slav says the players now feel at home at the London Stadium but I get the impression that he is trying to convince himself that everything is going to be alright rather than anything else.

“We’re looking forward to every game we play now because we’re playing some good stuff now and we’re playing with confidence.”

– Mark Hughes

Stoke have Arnautovic missing through suspension with Shaqiri doubtful and a few other longer term injuries including Butland, Cameron and Johnson. Danger men are Bony, who open his Stoke account last week against former club Swansea, and Joe Allen.

Man in the Middle

Andre Marriner from Birmingham is today’s top official. This is his 7th Premier League game of the season during which time he has brandished 1 red and 24 yellow cards whilst at the same time missing Aguero’s elbow assault on Winston Reid at the Etihad.

A Tale of Two Stadiums

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. Wisdom or foolishness, belief or incredulity?

Stadiums

Imagine there was a football team with a traditional working class support that gave up the cherished memories of its full of character home ground, which it owned, and moved away to rent a taxpayer funded converted athletics stadium. The first season at the new stadium witnessed an early European exit to an obscure eastern European outfit and then patchy form resulted in them slipping to 16th place in the league. This week that team has just defeated Barcelona and were reported to be top earners from last season’s Champions League with revenues of £76 million (equivalent to about 60% of West Ham’s annual revenue from all sources). The team is, of course, Manchester City.

Despite the obvious parallels there are also important differences. Critics of the London Stadium will point out that the conversion of the City of Manchester stadium was to a dedicated football stadium rather than a multi-purpose arena; and I’m sure there is some justification in that as far as the matchday experience is concerned. In addition, although City pay more in rent than West Ham do, and are responsible for all operating overheads, they are able to benefit more from the associated (and now significant) naming rights and matchday income.

In the first 6 years in their new home City finished 18th, 8th, 15th, 14th, 9th and 10th respectively. Despite what we may believe a shiny, new high capacity stadium doesn’t guarantee success. It wasn’t until the injection of Thai (briefly) and Abu Dhabi money that City’s new successful era began. It is arguable whether that investment would have been forthcoming if they had still played at Maine Road.

I know a few Manchester City fans and all are delighted with their new found status. They are now the second most profitable English league club, after their near neighbours, and with massive financial backing are well placed to continue the upward momentum. I don’t recall too many rumblings related to the move but, if there was a lot of moaning in Royle family style sittings rooms across the City at the time, it is long forgotten now.

Famous victories under the lights against Barca may seem a long way away to the average Hammer’s fan at the moment. The optimism of the new stadium (where it existed) has been overtaken by events and with the negativity fuelled and amplified by the media. With few exceptions the media is rather patronising towards West Ham regarding them as a wayward cousin to the ‘real’ glamour London clubs or Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. A rare moment in the sun is tolerated but other than that the club and its supporters are seen as a caricature that belongs in an Eastender’s plot. The nature and generosity of the deal for the London stadium has made the club a perfect target for journalists and online media sites to exaggerate and repeat half truths. It has not been helped by the actions of some supporters while similar flash-points at other grounds, with Manchester City fans smashing up the toilets at Old Trafford or Liverpool fans throwing flairs on to the pitch at Selhurst Park, barely get a mention. The stories about a return to the hooliganism of the 70’s or 80’s and the stadium being unsuitable for football are clearly risible.

I have mentioned before that in the past West Ham have relied heavily on TV money for revenues; far more so than our closest rivals in financial terms do. Staying at the Boleyn Ground (as it was) did not provide any opportunity for the club to develop or even to maintain the status quo with our peers. Whether it was viable to developing Upton Park into a stadium that could generate more revenue is another question but a moot one now. The point being that West Ham’s future depended on being able to increase Matchday and, more importantly, Commercial income. The alternative was to slip further away from any aspiration to join the leading London clubs and join the also-rans of Palace, QPR and Fulham instead. It is possible that some fans would be quite happy with this situation if it meant that traditions were maintained but, as a business decision, passing up the opportunity of the London stadium move would have been foolish; particularly with Tottenham hovering in the wings.

The gulf in earnings between West Ham and the (financially) big clubs is so huge now that even if the teething problems with the new stadium are fully resolved it can only take us a few rungs up the ladder. It is difficult to imagine a scenario where we are able to grow organically into becoming a regular Champion’s League participant. Major outside investment is the only route to such a promised land and that is something that would change the club out of all recognition.

The London Stadium and its location is ideal to attract the attention of investors (likely to be overseas) but the unanswered question is what type of club do we want?

5 Thing We Learned From Defeat At Everton

A few tricks but no treats in the lessons from last weekend’s match.

5 Things WHU You may already have read the excellent 20 Questions article inspired by Sunday’s defeat at Goodison Park. For good measure here are some additional takeaways from the game following a little more quiet reflection.

Early Dominance but No Reward

Going into the game with a shot of confidence most of us were probably reasonably happy with the display in the first 20 minutes or so. We had plenty of the ball, passed and moved well and Lukaku hardly got a kick. Payet and Lanzini were bossing matters as far as creativity was concerned and it seemed that the momentum was with the Hammers against an opposition suffering a longish winless streak. Koeman spoke about having words at half time but in fact Everton had sorted it out on the pitch before then. The inability to turn good possession into at least one goal appeared to dispirit the team and the early intensity fizzled out. As in a few games last year the Payet/ Lanzini combination faded as the game went on; whether it is because they lack the stamina to maintain that intensity level or whether it was due to Everton closing them down more quickly I cannot decide. Antonio worked hard with good movement and, as suggested by Jim Beglin, is likely the best forward we have available at the moment. He created space for others but is not the natural goalscorer that is so badly missing from our ranks.

The Return of the Injured Strikers

It is true that injuries have yet again been unkind and losing Ayew to the treatment room alongside Carroll and Sakho was extremely unfortunate. Ayew is now back and hopefully can show us what he can do but I doubt he is lone striker material. It would take a very optimistic fan to imagine a lasting return to full fitness for the other two invalids. Both would seem to have conditions that will continue to plague them. With Sakho there is the additional question of his temperament (and whether he has burnt his bridges with Bilic) and with Carroll I still have reservations about his all-round game. On occasions (Arsenal at home last season) he did indeed look ‘unplayable’ but I would disagree that he is “brilliant outside of the box” as suggested by Bilic last week. He does not have the technique nor mobility to play the effective lone striker role in the modern game. Could we play two up front? Unlikely without getting overrun in the midfield. The striker conundrum remains with us even with a fully fit squad.

Three at the Back and Cresswell

One of the disappointing aspects of Sunday’s game was that Cresswell didn’t seem to get as far forward to link up with Payet as he usual does. Despite being a full-back he is one of our most potent attacking threats and far more competent at crossing the ball than other players that we employ specifically for that purpose. The three at the formation should theoretically allow him more freedom to get forward but the impression I took away from the game was that he had been instructed not to venture too far forward. This was possibly to counter the threat of Bolasie and if that was the case it raises the question of whether the 3 man backline was the best option in the circumstances. Despite Everton being the better team I thought Reid and Ogbonna could have done much more the prevent the two goals. Reid was both slow to react and lightweight in his challenge for the first and Ogbonna looked like he was on a training jog when tailing Lukaku for the second; that he might have anticipated an offside call is no excuse.

Those Crazy Substitutions

The substitutions were puzzling particularly from the perspective of the players taken off. By that stage of the game the most under-performing players were Noble and Payet who were both giving away possession and offering little creatively. Maybe there was a notion that Payet could grab something from a set piece but on the evidence of the day this seemed unlikely. It was confusing that the two most effective midfield players (Obiang and Fernandes) were the first to be sacrificed. I can understand the imperative to make changes and ‘give it a go’ but keeping some degree of shape is important and the changes contributed more to the second goal that they did to any greater attacking threat. It was expected that Ayew would be given a further 20 to 30 minutes but he was unable to create much impact. The introduction of Zaza was akin to throwing in the towel and Feghouli, who I do have lingering hopes for, only provided a masterclass in how not to cross the ball. Antonio may have claimed the record for number of positions played in a single match. This certainly did not help in creating cohesion.

League and Cup Form

At the end we were unable to build on the momentum from the excellent performance in the EFL Cup against Chelsea to improve our league position and end this round of matches just outside the relegation places. In the This Week in Hammer’s History post we highlighted two seasons where West Ham reached League Cup semi-finals and FA Cup 6th Rounds in 1988/89 and 2010/11. Now we all love a cup run but in both those seasons we were relegated. Thankfully, I do not believe in omens (………….or do I?).

This Week in Hammer’s History

A week that encompasses Halloween to Guy Fawkes night has produced its fair share of scary moments and fireworks.

This Week Hammers History If you had ventured along to Upton Park on 4 November 1995 you would have been one of the few people to have seen Marco Boogers in action for West Ham in the 4-1 defeat by Aston Villa . Our only signing of note in the pre-season the million pound striker’s career with the Hammers consisted of just 4 substitute appearances. We lost each of these games and in one he was famously sent off at Old Trafford for a “sickening horror tackle” on Gary Neville. Harry Redknapp who had signed Boogers on the strength of video footage claims that this was his worst ever signing although apparently Marco never did go to seek refuge in caravan.

In 1988 West Ham thumped Derby 5-0 (Stewart, Martin (2), Keen, Rosenior) in a 3rd round League Cup tie. It was a season where we reached the semi-final of that competition and the 6th round of the FA Cup but were also relegated. A feat also achieved during the Avram Grant season. So beware of good cup and poor league from! Three seasons later we had returned to the top flight but were relegated once more but not without recording a shock 1-0 victory at Highbury on 2 November through a Mike Small screamer past David Seaman.

Some excellent goals were scored in a topsy-turvey encounter with QPR on 2 November 1968 including a Bobby Moore piledriver and a spectacular Harry Redknapp volleyed winner. The goal celebrations were far more restrained back then. A few years previously on 4 November 1961 West Ham had won 5-3 away to Manchester City (Sealey (2), Dick (2), Musgrove) in a match notable for Booby Moore’s only sending off as a West Ham player.

As an aside Moore was also sent off while at Fulham in a 1976 league cup replay away to Bolton. In a game of few stoppages Bolton had equalised in the 6th minute of injury time resulting in Moore given his marching orders for dissent. Bobby stormed off the pitch taking the rest of the team with him who then refused to return to play the 30 minutes of extra time until convinced to do so by the referee and two policemen. No further goals were scored.

There have been plenty of fireworks on 5 November including a 1960 6-0 thrashing of Arsenal (Malcom, Woosnam, Dunmore (3), Dick) and a 1966 drubbing of Fulham (Peters 2, Hurst 4). Hurst went on to score 29 league goals that season and 41 in all competitions; oh for a goal scoring striker. The same day in 1975 witnessed a 3-1 ECWC success at home to Araraet Erevan (Taylor, Paddon, Keith Robson) as we made our way towards a final appearance.

The day after Bonfire Night was often spent scouring the neighbourhood for old fireworks but in 1976 we trooped off to see a bottom of the table clash between West Ham and Tottenham. The Hammers were rock bottom with just 1 win and 2 draws from 12 matches played while Tottenham had fared little better and were just 3 places better off. In a game where any pretence of defence was abandoned early on the Hammers raced into a 5-1 lead (Bonds, Curbishley, Brooking, Jennings, Pop Robson) before Hoddle and Keith Osgood threatened a late comeback. However, West Ham held on to run out 5-3 victors and end a sequence of 5 consecutive defeats. Much to our delight at the time Spurs were relegated at the end of the 1976/77 season although the euphoria was short lived as the following campaign saw our own relegation and them make an immediate return. Day, Bonds, Lampard, Curbishley, Lock, Taylor, Devonshire, Pike, Jennings, Brooking, Pop Robson.

Notable Birthdays this week:

3 November Ian Wright (53)
4 November Enner Valencia (27)
7 November Rio Ferdinand (38)
7 November Arthur Masuaku (23)

Matchday: Toffee and Hammer

Three in a row for the Hammers or a return to Merseyside misery?

Everton West Ham Last season’s victory at Everton put the seal on a season long respite from the traditional northwest travel sickness with a once in a lifetime haul of three wins and a draw from the away-day excursions to Liverpool and Manchester. Defeat by Manchester City means that it is a feat that cannot be matched this time around but today is an opportunity to see if the cure was purely temporary.

West Ham go into the game looking for a third league win on the bounce (four in all competitions) while Everton after a bright start to the season under Ronald Koeman have not won any of their last 5 outings. Victory at Goodison last March was the last time West Ham won three league games in a row and so the omens are good but remember they usually lure us with hope and leave us disappointed.

“So he is always scoring against us, unfortunately, so that’s also going to be interesting. It will be a great game. They need points. We need points.”

– Slaven Bilic on Lukaku

The game last season was the classic game of two halves (or more accurately a game of the first 78 minutes and the final 12). For most of the match we were poor against an Everton side who were reduced to 10 men just after the half hour until some strange Martinez substitutions handed the initiative to the Hammers with three late goals and an unlikely 3-2 victory. Re-live the entertainment below and for the ‘twitchers’ among you there is a rare sighting of Carroll and Sakho on the pitch at the same time.

Head to Head

Everton have dominated the encounters between the two clubs and until last March had been unbeaten against West Ham in 15 matches. If history is anything to go by a visit to Goodison usually ends in a heavy defeat; Everton having averaged 2 goals per game on their own turf..

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	63	23	17	23	95	92	DLDLLD
Away	61	11	13	37	50	122	WDLLLD
	124	34	30	60	145	214

Team News

No new injury concerns for West Ham and no return to fitness from any long term treatment room residents as yet. It would be a major surprise if the team that started against Chelsea was not the same one that starts today but with Adrian back between the sticks. It would mean that the striker conundrum remains unresolved but allows room for the many suddenly in-form midfield players which now also appears much better balanced as a unit. We will most probably see a further 20 minute run-out for Andre Ayew as he continues his return to full match fitness. The slight concern of three at the back is against fast breaking teams who are strong on the flanks. Definitely something to watch out for against Everton although Koeman is far more cautious than his predecessor and has focused on improving his team’s defensive capabilities with some, although not total, initial success.

“Overall I’m happy with the defensive organisation but I’m not happy with the offensive aspect. We need to improve and be more clinical and have more productivity. That’s what we need to change.”

– Ronald Koeman

Everton are without dirty James McCarthy and Leighton Baines is apparently doubtful. We can hope that Lukaku stubs his toe or slips over in the shower this morning otherwise we will need to score at least twice to claim all three points.

As ever I am hoping for a win but would settle for a point in a game where I believe both teams will score.

The Man in the Middle

Today’s referee is Anthony Taylor from just down the road in Greater Manchester. He was also in charge of this fixture last season where he sent off Kevin Mirallas for two bookable offences; another positive and enticing omen. Taylor was also holding the cards in our season opener at Chelsea in August when he failed to wave one in the direction of eventual match-winner Diego Costa following his assault on Adrian.

The Lawro Challenge – Week 10

We show the BBC pundit just how match predictions should be done.

Lawro Crystal Ball I am confident that I can still win this. The race is far from over and there is still a long way to go. My shrewd predictions have suffered more than most to the vagaries of contentious refereeing decisions and unfortunate injuries. Adjusting the results to account for these anomalies and it would still be pretty much neck and neck. These are sure to even themselves out over the course of the season.

I am also convinced that Lawro is copying Rich’s predictions in many cases. It is type of thing he would do; looking over someone else’s shoulder while shielding his own working’s out with his forearm. This week’s predictions are below (remember 1 point for a correct result and a further 2 for a correct score) and I can sense better times ahead.

Last week, Lawro’s 9 points just shaded it over Rich’s 8 while Geoff picked up a plucky 5 points in third place.

	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Total after 8 weeks	67	49	58
Score in week 9	8	5	9
Total after 9 weeks	75	54	67

Predictions – Week 10
	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
SATURDAY
Sunderland v Arsenal	0-3	1-3	1-2
Man.Utd. v Burnley	3-0	3-1	2-0
Middlesbrough v Bournemouth	1-1	1-2	1-0
Tottenham v Leicester	2-0	2-0	2-1
Watford v Hull	2-0	3-0	2-0
West Brom v Man.City	0-2	0-2	0-2
Crystal Palace v Liverpool	1-2	1-1	0-2
SUNDAY
Everton v West Ham	1-1	1-2	1-1
Southampton v Chelsea	2-1	1-1	0-2
MONDAY
Stoke v Swansea	2-1	2-1	2-0