Richard Bennett

West Ham v Southampton: Another Big Test of Our Promotion Credentials

If last weekend’s trip to Swansea was a test of just how serious our promotion ambitions are, then Saturday’s visit of Southampton to the London Stadium provides another one. And after what we achieved in Wales, we should go into it with plenty of confidence.

Winning 1-0 away to the Championship leaders was arguably our most impressive result of the season so far. It might not have had the fireworks of our 6-0 victory at Lincoln a few days earlier, but sometimes those gritty away wins tell you rather more about a side. It was, as Geoff described, a competent performance rather than an outstanding one that reduced their lead at the top to one point. If we had lost the gap would have been seven points. Divine Mukasa got the decisive goal as we made it consecutive away victories and extended our unbeaten league run to nine matches.

Now we need to bring that momentum back to the London Stadium. Saturday’s 3pm kick-off sees second-placed West Ham take on a Southampton side who are just creeping into a play-off place in eighth, but that league position is slightly misleading. The Saints started the campaign with a four-point deduction and have lost just twice in the Championship to Wrexham and Watford. Without that deduction they would be right amongst the leading pack, so this looks like another genuine test between two sides with designs on promotion. In fact, just one point separates us on the field. We have collected 22 points from our eleven matches, while Southampton have earned 21 before their deduction is applied.

They arrive in London after a goalless draw at home to Bolton last weekend, having previously recorded successive 1-0 victories over Norwich and Portsmouth. That suggests we shouldn’t expect another Lincoln-style goal-fest.

There have certainly been some memorable meetings between the two clubs over the years and, overall, and especially in recent times, we’ve generally had the better of them. Before this season, our last meeting at the London Stadium finished 1-1 in April 2025, while on Boxing Day 2024 we came away from St Mary’s with a 1-0 victory.

Go back a little further and Southampton became rather welcome visitors to our part of East London. We beat them 1-0 in April 2023 and 3-1 in February 2020, while one of my favourite recent meetings came on the final day of the 2020/21 season. Our 3-0 victory secured sixth place and European football, although sadly there weren’t the usual thousands of us inside the ground to enjoy it.

Fortunately, I was successful in the ballot and one of the lucky ones to be among the 10,000 allowed into the ground as Covid restrictions were gradually being eased. Two first half goals from Pablo Fornals gave us a comfortable half-time lead before Declan Rice sealed the victory five minutes from the end with a run from inside our half through the Southampton defence almost unchallenged to slot home. It was strange to be at the ground after so long away and even weirder with just 10,000 allowed in to keep us ‘relatively’ separated from each other.

But perhaps the most relevant previous meeting is the one that happened only a couple of months ago. We travelled to St Mary’s in the League Cup on 25 August and returned with a resounding 4-1 victory. That ought to give us confidence, although it probably gives Southampton a little extra motivation as well.

For us, perhaps the biggest challenge is maintaining the standards we’ve set over the last couple of matches. Thirty league goals already demonstrates the attacking talent we possess, but the 1-0 at Swansea showed another side to us. If we are going to get out of this wonderfully unpredictable division at the first attempt, we’ll need both qualities. There is an added incentive as well. Depending on results elsewhere, victory could see us finish the weekend at the top of the Championship. After relegation and all the disappointment that came with it, that wouldn’t be a bad position to be in as we head towards November.

I’m beginning to feel quietly optimistic. Perhaps that’s dangerous territory for any West Ham supporter, because experience tells me what normally happens as soon as we start getting carried away! But six goals at Lincoln followed by a hard-earned victory at Swansea is difficult to ignore.

Southampton will probably provide another uncomfortable afternoon, and maybe that’s exactly what we need. Beat another promotion contender and we really can start believing that this might be more than simply a decent start.

I’ll be watching this game from the hospitality area. I did experience hospitality once before at Upton Park but this is the first time I will have experienced it at the London Stadium. I’ve always sat on the opposite side of the London Stadium so this will be my first experience of sitting on this side of the ground. I must remember my binoculars!

Swansea City v West Ham United: A Real Test of West Ham’s Promotion Credentials

If we wanted to know just how serious West Ham are about bouncing straight back to the Premier League, Saturday afternoon at Swansea should provide us with a pretty good answer. We travel to Wales sitting third in the Championship, four points behind leaders Swansea after ten games. The Swans have 23 points, we have 19, so while nobody wins promotion in October, this certainly feels like one of those games that could tell us quite a lot about both sides.

What a strange week it has already been for us. Last Friday night’s 1-1 draw at home to QPR felt like a missed opportunity, particularly when we were looking to make the London Stadium the sort of place visiting Championship sides wouldn’t particularly enjoy coming to. Then, five days later, we went to Lincoln and won 6-0. That’s West Ham for you. Just when you think you have us figured out, we go and do something completely different.

That Lincoln result was certainly some response, helped of course by Lincoln’s reckless opening to the game, but Swansea represents a very different examination. They come into the match after four successive victories, the latest being a 1-0 win at Millwall, and their record of seven wins from ten league games explains why they are sitting on top of the Championship. They’ve conceded just seven goals compared with our 12, although our 29 goals means we’ve been comfortably the more prolific of the two sides at the other end. So perhaps the big question is whether our attacking threat can break down the best defence we’ve encountered so far.

One encouraging factor is that we haven’t lost away from home in the Championship this season. Our four trips have produced one win and three draws, including that 2-2 draw at Millwall. But there is also the other side of that statistic; if we’re going to turn a promising start into a genuine promotion challenge, at some stage some of those away draws have to become wins.

Trips to Swansea haven’t always provided happy memories. Our last visit, admittedly all the way back in March 2018, ended in a miserable 4-1 defeat. Before that, however, there was a very enjoyable Boxing Day afternoon in 2016 when we went there and won 4-1 ourselves. That win avenged a 4-1 defeat in May 2016 in what was scheduled to be the final game at the Boleyn Ground (but wasn’t of course because the Manchester United game was rearranged).

That’s right you keep reading the scoreline 4-1. Three of our last games against Swansea have finished with that score and in between them we’ve managed two 1-0 victories. Here’s a quiz for you – answers at the foot of the article.

Name the three goalkeepers who played in goal for West Ham in those last 5 games against Swansea.
Name the goalkeeper who played in goal for Swansea in all 5 games.
Name the player who played twice for Swansea and three times for West Ham in those 5 games and scored a goal for both teams (not own goals).
(an easy one to finish) 21 penalties have been awarded in the Championship this season and 19 of them have been scored. Name the two players who missed with their spot kicks.

For me, Saturday isn’t quite a must-win game, it’s far from it. There is an awfully long Championship season ahead of us, and a point away to the league leaders would hardly represent a disaster, in fact I would be happy with that. But there is an opportunity here too. Win and suddenly we’re just one point behind Swansea, whereas lose and the gap becomes seven. That’s what gives this game a little extra edge.

After six goals at Lincoln confidence ought to be high but now comes the harder part. Can we produce that sort of performance against the team currently setting the pace? It will be a totally different game and it won’t be easy but if we can win we will have 22 points from 11 games which brings our average up to two points a game. Over a whole season that would give us 92 points from the 46 games which would be the total needed to be in strong contention for automatic promotion.

And the answers to the questions:

Darren Randolph was the West Ham goalkeeper in three of the last five games against Swansea, Adrian played in one, and Joe Hart in the other.
Lucas Fabianski was the Swansea keeper in all five of the games.
Andre Ayew played twice for Swansea and three times for West Ham in those five games. He scored for Swansea in their 4-1 win at Upton Park in May 2016 and then scored for West Ham in our 4-1 win in Swansea on Boxing Day 2016. Both he and his brother Jordan played for Swansea and Jordan scored one of the goals in Swansea’s 4-1 win in March 2018
Taty and Jarrod Bowen of course!

West Ham v QPR Preview: Finally, Football’s Back

Is it just me, or has this international break felt about three months long? After what seems like an eternity, the Hammers are finally back in action, with QPR making the short trip across London for an 8pm Championship clash. Frankly, I can’t wait. As much as I enjoy following local senior and junior non-league football, I still miss my West Ham fix.

Friday night football under the lights always feels a bit special, and there’s an added edge whenever another London club rolls into town. QPR might not be our fiercest rivals, but there is still plenty of local pride at stake, and with points on the line in the Championship, this is far more important than your average derby day bragging rights.

The biggest question for me heading into the game is what effect the international break will have had on West Ham. Ask ten football fans about international breaks and you’ll probably get ten different answers. Some see them as a welcome pause, others see them as a cruel interruption designed solely to ruin their weekend plans. Personally, I’d like to be somewhere in the middle, but in reality I’m not. While it’s nice to see players representing their countries, two weekends without West Ham is not good.

From a West Ham perspective, there are positives to the break. It has given Nuno and the coaching staff extra time on the training pitch, allowed tired legs to recover (yes after just eight games players are tired already!), allowed Jarrod to watch his wife in Strictly, and hopefully helped a few knocks and niggles heal. The Championship is a relentless division and opportunities to take a breath don’t come around very often. There’s also the chance to reset.

Whether results before the break were good, bad or somewhere in between, three weeks away can help players clear their heads and come back refreshed for the next block of fixtures before we get hit with the next international break (thankfully just a shorter one) in mid-November. We have seven fixtures before then including this one. All games are important but this next run of games includes QPR (6^th), Swansea (top), West Brom (5^th) and also Southampton.

With the season beginning to gather momentum, the timing might or might not work in West Ham’s favour. We were in good form approaching the break before a dreadful first half against Millwall had me despairing. But the second half comeback would have left the players on a high and it would have been good to move onto the next game straight away.

Footballers are creatures of habit and rhythm. When a team starts building momentum, the last thing as supporters we want is for everything to stop. Sometimes teams return looking sharp and energised. Other times they resemble a group of strangers who have met for the first time in the tunnel five minutes before kick-off. Let’s hope this game falls into the first category.

QPR will certainly arrive looking to make life difficult. They have made an excellent start to the season and currently sit in sixth on 13 points, just two below us. And like us they have only been beaten once in the league so far this season. Championship matches rarely come easy regardless of league position, reputation or budget. Every side is capable of beating anyone on their day, which is exactly what makes this division both brilliant and entertaining (As well as the lack of VAR of course!)

For West Ham, the key will be setting the tempo early. A fast start would settle any concerns about rustiness and get the crowd involved from the opening whistle. The London Stadium has a habit of generating a cracking atmosphere for an evening game when the team gives supporters something to get behind. Wrexham is the prime example. And let’s be honest, after three weeks without club football, it probably won’t take much.

As we enter another crucial stretch of the season, this feels like an important opportunity. Three points would not only strengthen our position in the table, putting us back on top for a day at least, but also provide the perfect platform heading into the next run of fixtures. The international break is over and it’s time for proper football to return. From a personal viewpoint I’m happy.

COYI!

Dockers Derby: Still Fighting Over the Docks

Still Fighting Over the Docks

Down where the Thames rolls brown and slow,
Where the cranes once swung round and the whistles would blow,
Two clubs were born from the sweat and the grime,
Both forged in the furnaces of dockland time.

One in Canning Town, proud and tough,
The Ironworks men, made of sturdy stuff.
One further south, by the river’s flow,
Millwall’s dockers, with nowhere to go.

They shared the smoke, in sunshine and rain,
They shared aching backs and industrial pain.
Just neighbours, really, when all has been said,
Just working men earning their daily bread.

But history seldom plays things fair,
And grudges grow where there’s little to spare.
A whisper becomes a story retold,
That hardens slowly like iron grown cold.

The General Strike came roaring through,
Nineteen twenty-six, and the country knew
The mines stood still, the railways too,
And working folk faced what they had to do.

In East London streets the stories spread,
Of who stood firm and who moved ahead.
Of jobs accepted and lines that were crossed,
Of “them” and “us” and friends that were lost.

The facts now mingle with myth and folklore,
Polished and sharpened through decades more.
Yet somewhere there in the dockside din
Another layer of resentment crept in.

The docks are gone now, the cranes have died,
Glass towers stand where the stevedores plied.
The river remains, but the world has moved on,
But the memories linger long after they’re gone.

World Wars have ended across the seas,
Old enemies now friends have made their peace.
Nations once locked in mortal hate
Now share alliances and cooperate.

The French and English, after so many goes,
Have managed somehow to bury the blows.
Germany and Britain, after the war,
Built something stronger than existed before.

Yet mention Millwall in certain bars,
Or West Ham under south London stars,
And someone still may start a fight
Defending an argument with all their might.

Grandads will argue, and the fathers too,
The sons will inherit the chosen view.
They all believe that their views are right,
Grievances continue through day and through night.

And what is it now that keeps it alive?
A need to belong, perhaps to survive?
For football is never just goals, it’s old scores,
It’s memories that linger, unforgotten wars.

Some laugh about it, as rivals they booed,
Trading their insults in good humoured mood.
But still, regrettably, some cannot see
How pointless all the violence can be.

For bricks never settled a league table place,
Nor fists ever earned a cup winning race.
No punch has altered the game’s final score,
Though thousands have foolishly tried it before.

So here’s to the rivalry, it’s fierce and it’s old,
To stories exaggerated, and endlessly told.
Dockers, ironworkers, legends and folklore,
And songs that echo from the conflict and more.

But maybe one day the joke will land,
And both sides will finally understand
The docks that they fought for have long since departed,
Yet both were built by the same folks that started.

Workers in heaven now up above the sky,
Do they look down and still wonder why
Their descendants still rage with such deep devotion
Over ghosts still drifting like tides on the ocean?

Until then, the conflict will rise once again,
Across East London and down at the Den.
And somewhere a docker from years now long gone
With a shake of his head he’ll mutter, “Carry on.”

Dockers Derby: On Opposite Banks

On Opposite Banks

Beneath the smoke of a London sky,
Where river tides would ebb and sigh,
Two clubs were forged from iron and flames,
And East End streets would learn their names.

One rose where shipwrights toiled way up high,
Where hammers rang out and sparks would fly.
Thames Ironworks formed 1895,
That’s where West Ham’s colours came alive.

The other grew by Millwall Dock,
Among the labour, rope and lock,
Where workers toiled through rain and cold,
With hearts as fierce as forged on gold.

They lived not worlds but miles apart,
Yet carried rival East End hearts.
The same hard roads, the same rough trade,
The same long shadows labour made.

Then years would pass and fortunes bend,
But neither side would ever mend.
For pride remembers what time forgets,
And old wounds leave their silhouettes.

Some speak of strikes and dockyard lore,
Of jobs and loyalties before,
Of neighbours split by work and creed,
And grudges planted like a seed.

The river watched as decades rolled,
As tales grew larger, stories told.
Each meeting fed the legend’s fire,
Each chant became a funeral pyre.

For peace that might have one day grown
Had history left the past alone.
Instead the echoes still remain
Along the tracks and down the lane.

Yet beyond the anger, beyond the noise,
Beyond the boasts of men and boys,
There stands a truth both clubs still share:
The East End spirit lingers there.

For both were born beside the tide,
With working people as their guide.
Two branches from a common tree,
Divided by their history.

And when the crowds begin to roar,
Recalling every score and war,
The Thames still flows as it has done,
Beneath the moon, beneath the sun.

It knows the tale, both harsh and grand,
Of rival hearts in London’s land.
Two clubs, one river running through,
Forever old, forever new.

For Luděk Mikloško

Through the nineties at Upton Park,
A giant keeper between the sticks,
With fearless hands and steady heart,
A goalie saving kicks and flicks.

From distant shores he came to us,
A stranger only for a while,
Yet soon the fans sang out his name,
For courage, grit, and humble smile.

When strikers thought the net was theirs,
And thundered shots with all their might,
He sprang through air with outstretched hands,
And turned despair to pure delight.

Through rain-soaked pitches, winter winds,
And battles fought on Saturday,
He wore the jersey with pride and honour, (373 times)
And gave his all in every way.

But more than saves and matchday cheers,
More than records, Man U denied,
He earned a place in Hammers’ hearts,
Where memories they still reside.

Now one last whistle marks the end,
As silence falls across the ground,
Yet in the future generations,
His name will always still be found.

So rest in peace, dear Luděk now,
Your watch is done, your duty through,
But in the stands and in your song,
The West Ham faithful remember you.

My name is Ludo Mikloško
I come from near Moscow,
I play in goal for West Ham,
West Ham!
When I walk down the street,
Everybody I meet says,
Oi big boy,
What’s your name,
My name is Ludo Mikloško
I come from near Moscow,
I play in goal for West Ham,
West Ham!

The Championship Waltz

We waved goodbye to Premier League lights,
To VAR rows and Monday nights,
And found ourselves on windswept grounds,
Where seagulls outnumber homeward-bound crowds.

The season began with a confident roar,
“We’ll romp this league!” cried fans by the score.
Yet three games in the mood had changed,
As dropped points left hopes somewhat deranged.

At Burnley, Preston, and Stoke away,
We’ll learn new ways to spoil their day.
Two up at Burnley this league can be fun
But two late goals, the game wasn’t won!

The manager talked of process and plans,
That tested the faith of travelling fans.
“Trust the project,” he’d calmly start on
And then we’d lose at home to Charlton!

One minute we’re brilliant, slick and fast,
Playing football built to last.
The next we’re launching hopeful punts,
The crowd would scream ‘you useless xxxxx’
(I couldn’t think of a suitable rhyme here)

Yet still we’d gather, clad in claret and blue,
Following dreams that we hoped would come true
For being a Hammer is strange but unique
West Ham are massive the words that we speak.

The summer was ending, a change in the weather.
For West Ham United results came together,
Four wins on the bounce, who thought we’d be able
To rise up so fast to the top of the table?

Next up it’s Millwall from south of the city,
They almost went up but missed out what a pity!
They’re not our best friends it goes back a long way
I do hope we’ll come out on top on the day.

And when promotion comes our way,
We’ll laugh at all this one fine day.
Though knowing West Ham, if truth be told,
We’ll leave it late, as is the mould.

So here ends my ode to the Championship trail,
The highs and the lows, the occasional derail.
Whatever the table reveals come next May
West Ham will do it in the West Ham way.

Bubbles Rising: Hammers Reach the Summit Before Hollywood Comes to Town

For at least one glorious evening, West Ham United found themselves looking down on the rest of the Championship. It may only be September and the league table currently has all the permanence of a sandcastle at high tide, but after Tuesday’s victory at Bolton Wanderers, the Hammers climbed to the summit. Temporary of course but enjoyable nonetheless. We all want to play in the Premier League but playing in the Championship can be fun. Every time we are there (and this is the sixth time in my lifetime) I have mostly enjoyed our time. It makes a change to win more than we lose.

As supporters, we’re under no illusions about the marathon ahead. Forty-six league games leave plenty of time for twists, turns and the occasional bout of self-inflicted heartache. After last season’s relegation, as fans we approached this campaign the same way you’d approach a suspicious kebab at two in the morning, cautiously optimistic but fully aware it could all go horribly wrong. But there is something undeniably comforting about seeing claret and blue occupying top spot, even if only for a fleeting moment. Let’s hope we can continue to occupy the top positions in the table. For the time being at least, although not totally convincing and with more integration work to be done, West Ham are giving us reasons to believe.

Bolton was exactly the sort of fixture that Championship football throws at you. A traditional club, a lively atmosphere and a ground where promotion ambitions can quickly disappear faster than a free pie in the away end. Tough away grounds in the Championship have a habit of chewing up lofty expectations and spitting them out somewhere around the centre circle. But West Ham approached the game with a maturity and confidence that is beginning to suggest this squad is beginning to understand exactly what the assignment is.

There was a controlled aggression to the performance. Not reckless, not frantic, but purposeful. Like a heavyweight boxer who knows he doesn’t need a first-round knockout, West Ham patiently went about their work, confident the opportunities would come. When they did, the Hammers were clinical. I still worry about Nuno’s favoured formation, his team selections, his substitution decisions, the timing and players used and withdrawn, the fact that at times we could make the opposition look good by the space we gave them in midfield. But perhaps that’s churlish? Three wins on the bounce and a rapid rise to the top after an indifferent start should satisfy us, at least for now.

What has perhaps pleased us (supporters) most in recent weeks is that this team no longer feels like a collection of Premier League refugees wondering how they ended up in the second tier. Instead, they are beginning to resemble a side embracing the challenge. There is grit where grit is required and quality when the game opens up. The travelling support, meanwhile, were magnificent as always. 4500 West Ham fans made enough noise to convince half of Lancashire that East London had declared independence.

Championship away days may lack the glamour of Premier League trips to Old Trafford or Anfield, but there is a rawness and authenticity to them that fans secretly enjoy. Real football, real grounds and real atmospheres. No VAR too. When the ball hits the net, the referee signals a goal and the linesman (assistant referee if you prefer) runs back towards the middle with his flag by his side you know the goal will stand. Instant celebration is hard to beat.

The Championship is littered with clubs who assumed their superior pedigree would carry them straight back up. More often than not, the division responds with a swift kick to the backside and a reminder that reputation earns precisely zero points. I think that we are learning that lesson. The victory at Bolton was another step in that education. It wasn’t just about the three points. It was about demonstrating an ability to handle pressure, navigate a difficult away fixture and come away with maximum reward. But the three points were important.

The reward for Tuesday’s efforts is a Friday night date under the lights at the London Stadium against Wrexham, and few could have predicted that fixture carrying quite so much intrigue. If Bolton represented traditional Championship grit, Wrexham arrive with an entirely different flavour. The Welsh club have become football’s version of a Hollywood blockbuster. Everywhere they go there are cameras, headlines and enough publicity to launch a small moon mission. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney deserve enormous credit for what they’ve achieved, but you still occasionally expect Deadpool to appear at left-back.

Wrexham’s rise has been one of football’s most remarkable modern stories. Backed by Hollywood ownership and accompanied by a global spotlight, they’ve surged through the divisions at breathtaking speed. They are football’s equivalent of a blockbuster film franchise, hugely popular, impossible to ignore and seemingly collecting new followers by the day. Beneath the celebrity sparkle, however, sits a very good football team.

West Ham supporters expecting a comfortable evening should think again. Wrexham have built their ascent on organisation, resilience and an admirable refusal to be overawed by bigger names. They won’t arrive in East London simply grateful to be here. Anyone expecting Wrexham to arrive star-struck by the London Stadium may be in for disappointment. They’ve climbed the divisions by being organised, committed and seemingly immune to pressure.

If there was ever a game made for a Friday night under the lights, this is it. The cameras will be there. The atmosphere should be cracking. Social media will spend all week pretending the fixture is the football equivalent of Avengers Endgame. For West Ham, though, the task remains beautifully simple, we just need to win the game. Lose and the Championship will gleefully remind us that it specialises in bringing ambitious clubs back down to earth.

The Hammers have momentum and must protect it. Momentum in the Championship is like finding a shopping trolley with four working wheels, rare, precious and not something you want to let go of. The encouraging thing is that this squad appears increasingly comfortable with the pressure. Players are beginning to look less like Premier League survivors and more like a team determined to escape this division at the first attempt.

Of course, seasoned West Ham supporters know better than to get carried away. But a look through social media suggests that some are getting carried away. September league tables have fooled many before. Championship campaigns are long, unforgiving and occasionally downright ridiculous. But if Tuesday’s win at Bolton felt like another encouraging chapter, Friday offers the chance to build on it. For one night at least, we sat proudly at the head of the queue. Now comes the harder part and that is staying at the top.

We’ve all been here before. Supporting West Ham is a bit like riding a rollercoaster designed by someone who actively dislikes rollercoasters. Just when you’re enjoying the view, an unexpected twist arrives from nowhere. So strap yourselves in. If we can send Wrexham back up the M40 empty-handed, the bubbles might just keep rising a little while longer. And after the frustrations of recent times, that is a tune every West Ham fan will be happy to keep singing.

The circus is rolling into East London, Hollywood is coming to Stratford, and West Ham have the chance to ensure that when the credits roll on Friday night, the leading role belongs to the Hammers.

Promotion Isn’t Won In September but are West Ham Beginning to Find Their Championship Identity?

A glimpse of the promotion contenders we hoped for with three points against Wolves

glasses I would probably have felt that it seemed like a significant moment in West Ham’s season. I hope it was significant but I was watching for a lot of the time through my fingers. In many ways it was a good and bad performance at the same time. To score four goals against a side likely to be one of the main contenders for promotion was certainly very good, and if we had been offered that prior to the game then the proverbial hand would have been bitten off. But once again two goals were conceded and it could have been more. The defence remains a big concern.

But after an uncertain start to life back in the Championship, we finally saw a performance that at times combined attacking quality, energy and, most importantly, three points. Divine Mukasa announced himself to a wider audience with two excellent goals. Jarrod Bowen still doesn’t quite seem to be the player we know he can be but I’m looking forward to him giving us a demonstration this season of why he will be one of the division’s standout players.

The win moved us onto five points from our opening four league matches after draws with Burnley and Watford and a disappointing defeat to Charlton. While sitting mid-table after four games is hardly promotion-winning form, the manner of the Wolves victory suggested that the team may finally be beginning to click. Mukasa’s double, the first one a worldie, the second perhaps a slightly fortunate deflection, and an overall attacking display that produced four goals against one of the pre-season promotion favourites should give everyone around the London Stadium genuine encouragement.

What was particularly encouraging was the contribution of some of our new arrivals. Mukasa stole the headlines, but I thought Joel Piroe helped create problems throughout. Manor Solomon has already shown flashes of the creativity and direct running that made him such a potentially exciting signing, while Arne Engels had his best game to date I reckon and will hopefully bring energy, composure and technical quality to midfield. Joel Veltman, meanwhile, should add experience and leadership to a defence that is still some way away from where it needs to be.

Of the nine summer signings, Engels, Edvin Austbo, Manor Solomon, Keiber Lamadrid, Adama Boiro, Joel Veltman, Morato, Joel Piroe and Divine Mukasa, it is those five players who we have been able to glimpse so far. But it is still very early days. It will take time for the team to settle and the others to get involved too. For me Mukasa’s performance against Wolves was undoubtedly the standout individual display of the season so far, but Engels will I hope be a natural fit in midfield. I’d like to see him alongside Orford, one academy player I have high hopes for. Solomon has added flair and shown flashes of what he is capable of, and Piroe will hopefully become the reliable goalscorer every promotion-chasing side needs. Championship campaigns are marathons rather than sprints. The depth provided by players such as Morato, Boiro, Austbo and Lamadrid will prove crucial once injuries, suspensions and fixture congestion begin to take their toll. I hope they all prove to be worthy additions. Time will tell.

Attention now turns to Saturday’s home game against Derby County. On paper, this is exactly the type of fixture that promotion contenders need to be winning. Derby arrive with four points from their opening four matches and have already shown some inconsistency, following up a good win at Portsmouth with a heavy defeat against Swansea. They may not be the biggest name in the division but they are exactly the kind of opponent who can trip up a side with promotion ambitions.

The challenge for West Ham is to build momentum. Too often over the years we have followed an encouraging result with a frustrating setback. If we can reproduce the intensity and attacking intent shown against Wolves, there is every reason to believe we can collect another three points. The London Stadium crowd should also be buoyed by what was witnessed on Monday night, creating an atmosphere that could help push the team forward. I’d just like to see us going for it right at the start of the match.

Looking more broadly at the promotion picture, the early Championship table illustrates just how competitive the division is likely to be. Swansea, QPR and Charlton are the unlikely leaders and have set the early pace with ten points from their first four matches, while Wolves remain firmly in contention despite their defeat in East London. West Ham sit on five points, which means there is work to do, but four games is far too early for definitive conclusions.

That brings me to an interesting comparison with last season’s promoted clubs: Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City. None of those sides won promotion in the opening month. In fact, all three were still finding their identity after four matches and were some distance from the consistency they eventually showed over the full campaign. After four games Coventry were fifth, Hull were 17^th on four points, and Ipswich were 20^th with three points.

History tells us that automatic promotion is rarely secured in September. Consistency over 46 matches is what matters. Geoff has pointed out in previous articles that looking at the last decade of Championship seasons, the second-placed side has typically required somewhere in the region of 88 to 96 points to secure automatic promotion. In several seasons, the total has been above 90 points, meaning a side usually needs to average close to two points per game across the campaign. We are currently up to 1.25.

That should serve as a reminder that our current tally of five points from four matches leaves little room for complacency. However, it should also provide perspective. One good run of form can transform the table remarkably quickly. Championship seasons are littered with examples of teams who made steady starts before hitting their stride.

The common thread between those teams was not a blistering start but continuous improvement. Each gradually developed a settled team, reliable partnerships and a clear style of play. They found ways to win difficult away games, avoided lengthy losing runs and accumulated points steadily through the winter months.

At West Ham we have the potential to follow a similar path. Unlike many Championship clubs, we do possess some genuine Premier League-level talent in the squad. Bowen remains one of the division’s elite players and is the best example. His quality and goals will hopefully make the difference in tight matches throughout the season.

We have scored eight goals, only Wolves (11) and Southampton (10) have scored more. But there are still issues to address. We aren’t flawless by any means and the Wolves game, despite the result, confirmed that. Wolves found a lot of space at times and controlled the majority of the possession as we began to sit back. The two goals we conceded were avoidable. As it did last season conceding goals remains a concern. We’ve conceded seven so far, only the bottom four clubs plus Millwall and Wolves have conceded more.

Yet for the first time this season I had a sense that the pieces are beginning, but only just beginning, to fall into place. The combination of Bowen’s experience, Engels arrival, Mukasa’s emergence, Taty and Piroe’s goalscoring instincts, and the quality added by the late summer recruitment giving the squad some added depth gives me reason for some optimism, certainly at Championship level. I hope that Mavropanos, who has been both good and bad so far, is not going to suffer the Hammer of the Year curse as Wan Bissaka did last season. I also don’t believe Kilman is as bad as most of our fans on social media believe, certainly not at this level.

If we can back up the Wolves performance with victories against Derby and in the matches that follow, then the conversation around West Ham will begin to change. Instead of discussing a difficult adjustment to Championship football, we will start talking about a club gathering momentum and moving towards the automatic promotion places.

Four games into the season, it is far too soon to panic and equally too soon to get carried away. But after Monday night’s performance, I am beginning believe West Ham finally look like a side capable of mounting and hopefully sustaining the promotion challenge I expected to see. Perhaps I do wear claret and blue tinted glasses? The task now is to prove it wasn’t a one-off.

Time to Show We’ve Learned: West Ham Face Charlton After Burnley Collapse

There is something about the start of a new season that makes football supporters believe again. No matter how miserable the previous campaign was, no matter how many times the club broke your heart, August somehow convinces you that things might finally be different. As West Ham fans, we know that feeling better than most.

After relegation, this summer has been about picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves down and convincing ourselves that the Championship is only a temporary stop on the journey back to where we belong. The expectation at West Ham has not changed and must not change. Promotion is the target and nothing less. Yet as Charlton prepare to visit the London Stadium on Saturday, there remains a nagging feeling in the back of every West Ham supporter’s mind because we know we have seen this story before.

And last weekend, at Burnley, it felt like we were watching the opening chapter all over again. The game brought back painful memories. On paper, a 2-2 draw away at Burnley is not a terrible result. Turf Moor is likely to be one of the toughest grounds in the Championship and most supporters would have accepted a point before kick-off. West Ham remain unbeaten in competitive football this season and there are certainly some positives to take from the opening weekend. But football is never played on paper.

The reality is that we found ourselves two goals in front and we should have been cruising with so little time to go. The game was there to be won. Instead, Burnley fought back and we left with a draw that felt more like a defeat than a point gained, a sinking feeling that was all too familiar. Last season, we developed an alarming habit of retreating into our shell whenever we got ahead. Rather than pushing for another goal, we tried to protect what we had. Time and again it backfired and by the end of the campaign, twenty points had been dropped from winning positions. In any division, that is catastrophic and of course in a relegation battle it proved fatal.

The most frustrating aspect was that we could all see it happening (or at least most of us!). Supporters in the stands could see it, viewers at home could see it, and opposing teams certainly could see it. But could the manager see it? Whenever we took a lead, confidence seemed to drain rather than grow. That is why the Burnley game felt so significant. A new division, new optimism and a fresh start were supposed to bring a different mentality but instead, the first league game of the campaign produced the same old anxiety. When Burnley pulled one back after Scarles’ reckless and unnecessary challenge every West Ham fan knew what was coming next. That has to change and it has to change quickly if we are to contend for promotion.

For all the frustration surrounding the Burnley result, there are still reasons for hope. Pre-season was encouraging to an extent. Our displays gave us some belief that we could recover from the trauma of relegation. We looked fitter, sharper and more united than we often appeared during the previous campaign. The League Cup victory over Portsmouth offered further encouragement despite a less than convincing performance and reminded us what winning football feels like.

Do we yet have an understanding of what the Championship demands? This is not a division where reputations matter. Nobody cares how many seasons we spent in the Premier League. Nobody is intimidated by our badge or the fact that we have sold 50,000 season tickets. Every single game is going to be a fight. As fans we understand that. Do the players and the manager? If promotion is going to happen, it will need to be earned.

What do you think about the arrivals of Joël Piroe and Arne Engels? Piroe’s signing in particular feels like an acknowledgement that West Ham need proven Championship quality if we are going to bounce straight back. Piroe’s reputation at this level is excellent. We are in the Championship now and were never going to attract players that some fans hope for. I hope he can bring us some excitement over the course of the season. For the first time in a while, recruitment appears to be focused on the realities of the division we are actually playing in rather than the one we wish we were playing in. Promotion-winning teams are built for their environment.

Engels is totally different. He is just 22 years old, an established Belgian international but hasn’t played in England. Nonetheless he was an important part of the Celtic team that won the Scottish Premiership last season and apparently has a big engine, a real box to box player, and can score. He managed 17 goals and 22 assists in 100 Celtic appearances in all competitions including Europe. Let’s hope he can create chances for Piroe who has an excellent record in front of goal in the second tier scoring 73 goals (plus 18 assists) in 179 appearances. Hopefully the arrival of both Piroe and Engels will give a boost to the team in this game and in the season as a whole.

Charlton will relish the occasion and there is no danger of them arriving lacking confidence. Their 2-1 victory over Derby County on the opening weekend showcased exactly why they could be dangerous opponents this season, despite the low expectations of bookmakers and pundits alike. Nathan Jones appears to have built a side that is organised, hardworking and completely committed to his methods.

They came from behind to win at The Valley, showing the kind of resilience West Ham supporters would love to see from our own team. Lloyd Jones and Tyreece Campbell got the goals in a result that immediately gave Charlton momentum for the new season. And let’s be honest, they would absolutely love to derail West Ham’s promotion ambitions. This is a local derby and Charlton will see this as a free hit at one of the division’s biggest clubs. We have to make sure they regret that thought the moment the whistle blows.

It’s time for West Ham to show some ruthlessness. For me this game is about proving we have learned something. In particular if we take the lead, can we stay brave and keep attacking? Can we play with the conviction of a team chasing promotion rather than the fear of a team scarred by relegation?

The crowd needs to play its part. There should be a real edge inside the London Stadium. Charlton’s supporters will make themselves heard and West Ham fans, desperate for signs that the club is moving in the right direction, will need to respond in kind in the first home league game of an important season. What we all want to see is a team that keeps pushing and refuses to retreat. The great West Ham sides of the past were never built on fear.

My head says this will be difficult. Charlton are organised, confident and arriving on the back of an opening-day victory. But my heart as always says West Ham need a performance that makes a statement at this stage of the season. Most of all, the team and the manager need to show supporters that the lessons of the past have been learned. The scars of last season will not disappear overnight, and after Burnley some of those wounds were reopened. But football always offers another chance and Saturday is that chance. At some point this club has to stop being haunted by the mistakes of the past and start writing a different story.