Richard Bennett

Come in number 9, your time is up?

A shortage of goals and appearances and a worsening disciplinary record have defined Andy Carroll’s West Ham career. Time to cut the losses?

Just imagine that you have a history of stealing cars. Eventually you are caught and are sentenced to a short term in prison for your misdemeanours. In the week leading up to your release you criticise those people who had supported you for years, because they had had enough and had walked out on you. The prison gates slam shut behind you and you are free. You walk out having served your sentence. You spot an unattended car parked at the side of the road and then immediately break into it and drive away. You have only been out of jail for a matter of seconds and you break the same law again. Luckily for you, although there are many people around that see you do it, the policeman walking by probably thinks that you are getting into your own car and somehow doesn’t spot the fact that you have broken into it, although everyone else can see it quite clearly.

We all witnessed a similar scenario last Sunday in the Watford game. David Moyes could quite easily have been managing a team reduced to ten men after six seconds in his first game in charge. With the benefit of hindsight it probably wouldn’t have made much difference, as even with eleven versus eleven we were totally outplayed. To many it looked like Andy Carroll was determined to get himself sent off, just as he had been in his last appearance for us in the Burnley game for which he received the customary ban. I hope that wasn’t really the case, but his style of play, which a few years ago brought him international caps for the unorthodox attributes he brought to a team, now seems to have become even more physical and is attracting even more attention. Money shouldn’t really come into it, but many on social media liked to point out that the amount he earns in a week is considerably more than that earned in a year by virtually every single person who pays to go and watch him and his teammates perform throughout the season.

I was astonished that the referee Andre Marriner didn’t send him off for that early challenge. Of course I was relieved that our numbers wouldn’t be reduced so soon in the game, but couldn’t believe that he missed it. Perhaps it was because the game had only just started, or perhaps he didn’t see it clearly, or perhaps he thought it was an accidental clash, but whatever the reason he didn’t even book him for that (although he did receive a yellow card later in the half). The media were virtually unanimous in their view that he should have seen a red card, and even many of our own fans were reluctantly in agreement with that view.

For much of his time with us I have been a big supporter of his aerial ability and the potential goal threat that he brought to our team. I don’t know if it is the injuries that he has had over the years but to me he doesn’t seem the player he once was. And when he is in the team the players have adopted a route one style, and the managers have followed a game plan to play to his strengths, to the detriment of trying to play the “West Ham way”.

Many argue that the goalscoring statistics for a record signing England international number 9 are not too impressive. He is now into his sixth season and has played in over 100 games for us in the Premier League and scored 30 goals. He has never once reached double figures for us in a season. His supporters will point to his assists and mere presence on the field of play creating goal scoring opportunities for others, but his detractors are not convinced by this and are a little more doubtful of this benefit to the team. In 85 Premier League games for Newcastle and Liverpool before he joined us he scored 21 times, so his top flight record here is merely on a par with his previous tally.

It would be great if he could turn it around and prove his doubters wrong. Many fans cannot see it happening, and would like to see us play without him, using players with greater mobility and pace in attack, and no longer relying on pumping long high balls up to him to win in the air and knock down for others. How many goals have we scored in this fashion, particularly in recent times?

And finally, just a thought on the standard of poor officiating and inability of referees to see things that so many others clearly see, I happened to catch some on the Brighton v Stoke game on Monday evening. Lee Mason was the man in charge, and he made one of the all-time poor decisions in my view. Glenn Murray of Brighton was in the box heading goalwards when his feet were taken away by Ryan Shawcross. The uncompromising Stoke centre back completely missed the ball, and as Murray fell he grabbed hold of the ball, convinced he was about to be awarded a penalty. The ball did not go anywhere near out of play, yet the referee waved away claims for a penalty and pointed for a corner. It either had to be a penalty (which Shawcross admitted in his post-match interview that it definitely was) or either hand ball against Murray. By giving a corner the referee was perhaps trying to compromise, when in fact it was quite a ridiculous award to make. Astonishing.

Some still believe that Andy Carroll should be involved in the England set-up, as he would provide an alternative tactic, especially if England was chasing the game. But it seems that Gareth Southgate doesn’t agree. Perhaps he feels like many others that he doesn’t score regularly enough, or that international referees would not take too kindly to his style of play. It will be interesting to see if he makes the starting line-up tomorrow night.

Watford versus West Ham Preview

We’ve already faced the Magpies, Swans, Seagulls, and Eagles this season; can our new manager turn around our form as we go into the Hornets’ Nest?

Now that the furore surrounding the appointment of our new manager has largely died down we can begin to think about the return of our players away on international duty, assess the injury list, and the coaching staff can prepare the team for the important trip around the M25 to Watford on Sunday afternoon. From some of the reactions that I read on social media you would have thought that the board had re-appointed Avram Grant, not a manager who in his career has managed teams to finish in the top eight almost as many times as we have finished in one of those lofty positions in the entire history of the club. Not that he was particularly my first choice, but it may just be that he is the type of manager needed at the present time. He certainly seems to have made some impression in his short time here with the appointment of his backroom team being particularly well received, and the stepping up of the training sessions being very evident on videos released, to replace the usual jokey crossbar challenge and other joviality that came before. The arrival of Stuart Pearce is one that is favoured by many, and it is hoped that he can exert the necessary influence behind the scenes that many thought would be provided by Julian Dicks, but didn’t appear to be in evidence.

Not being a fan of friendly international football I am afraid that I didn’t see a single minute of the two England games in the break. I did, however, see one of the most ridiculous penalty awards of all time which effectively eliminated Northern Ireland from the World Cup finals tournament. I watched a bit of the Republic of Ireland playing in Denmark and thought to myself, why can’t West Ham defend like that? But then I watched some of the return game in Dublin and recognised some classic West Ham style kamikaze defending. Sweden also turned the tables on Italy with a masterful display of defence in the old Italian style, including one of their defenders committing a foul so bad (a knee in the stomach) that would have resulted in an arrest on the street, yet the referee deemed that the Italian forward who controlled the ball on his thigh before being assaulted had handled the ball! Some of the refereeing decisions that I saw in those World Cup qualifiers made me fear for the potential standard of the officials in the World Cup next year.

But for me the Premier League makes a welcome return this weekend. No more interruptions for internationals until March. I watched David Moyes’ press conference and was impressed with his positivity and confidence. This will be his 500^th game as a manager in the Premier League, a total only surpassed by Ferguson, Wenger and Redknapp. I liked the way he answered many of the questions put to him, but the real test will be in what happens on the pitch in the coming games. Watford will not be the easiest away trip, although their form at Vicarage Road has not been as impressive as their form on the road. Their five home games have yielded just five points, with a solitary victory (2-1 v Arsenal) after they had been outplayed by their visitors for much of the game. Home draws against Liverpool and Brighton were certainly better results than we achieved at home against the same teams. A 6-0 reverse at home to Manchester City was an even heavier defeat than most other teams have suffered at the hands of the odds-on favourites for the Premier League title, and they will have been disappointed going down 1-0 to Stoke in their last home fixture.

Victories in their first three away games of the season at Bournemouth, Southampton and Swansea were followed by a draw at West Brom and then two defeats at Chelsea and then Everton. Somehow at Goodison they contrived to turn a 2-0 lead well into the second half into a 3-2 loss and even missed a penalty in the eleventh minute of injury time which would have given them a share of the spoils. After eight games they sat in fourth place in the table, but losing three in a row has seen them drop to ninth. Nevertheless I reckon they would have settled for 15 points and a top half position at this stage of the season.

Our head to head record in games against Watford is a heavily positive won with more than twice as many victories as defeats. In the period from 1984-85 for the next 20 years or so we played them on 23 occasions, winning 19, drawing two, and losing just twice. But the last ten games since then has seen a reversal of fortunes, and we have won just two of the matches, drawn three, and we have been beaten five times.

In the final season at Upton Park we beat them comfortably 3-1 with two Mark Noble penalties following an opening goal from Andy Carroll. How often are we awarded a single penalty in a game, let alone two? Incidentally the referee who gave them to us was (the now not so popular with West Ham fans) Mike Dean.

And who can possibly forget just over a year ago in one of the early games at the London Stadium when we raced into a 2-0 lead (which should have been even more) with two headed goals from Antonio, one from an outrageous rabona cross by a Frenchman who was popular with our fans at the time? We then contrived to concede two goals in the last five minutes of the first half, and a further two in the opening 15 minutes of the second, in a woeful defensive display. Some Watford players even accused our team of showboating when we were two goals ahead. In the return fixture we drew 1-1 with Ayew equalising an early penalty scored by Deeney, and Antonio was sent off close to the end of the game.

What do the bookmakers offer on the game? Watford are close to even money to win, whereas we are around 3/1. The favourite score is 1-1 (as it so often is), which is Lawro’s prediction and is priced at around 11/2. I am hoping that we will benefit from the “new manager factor” and inflict on Watford their fourth league defeat in a row. As each of us have featured in five games this season where four or more goals have been scored, my fun bet will be on a half-time score of 1-1, with West Ham to run out 3-1 winners at the end of the game at 125/1. I’ll add this to West Ham to win and four or more goals to be scored in the game which is priced at 10/1.

Memories of West Ham games against Liverpool in the last 55 years

A collection of memories from an encounter that has never been the most productive for West Ham over the years.

Our head to head record against Liverpool is an appalling one. In 135 competitive games in the league, cups, and charity shield, we have won just 28, drawn 36, and lost 71. I guess that this is not too surprising given Liverpool’s record as one of the top teams in the country over a long period of time.

Our final season at the Boleyn (2015-16) was as good as it gets against them with three victories and a draw in the four games. We won comfortably (3-0) at Anfield at the end of August, after which the manager (Brendan Rodgers) lost his job to be replaced by Jurgen Klopp. We also won the return league fixture at Upton Park, as well as drawing at Anfield in the FA Cup, then beating them after extra-time in the replay.

In 2014-15 there was an amazing start to the game at Upton Park. First, Reid scored from close range after a couple of minutes, and then Sakho floated in the second with Valencia following it in to make sure. Just a few minutes gone and we were 2-0 up. On the half hour Sterling lashed in a fierce shot in front of the Bobby Moore end to reduce our lead. However we held the advantage throughout the second half, and just a couple of minutes from the end a pass from Downing enabled Amaltifano to make the game safe with a clinical finish.

In the ill-fated relegation season under Avram Grant (2010-11) an inspired performance from Scott Parker (not his only inspired performance in a claret and blue shirt) was the catalyst for another victory. Parker himself opened the scoring with a fine shot, and then Demba Ba headed home Gary O’Neill’s cross. Yet another old boy then scored against us when Glenn Johnson pulled one back in the last ten minutes. But Carlton Cole wrapped up the three points with a scorching left footed strike in front of the fans in the Bobby Moore stand to seal a 3-1 victory. This was our nineteenth meeting against Liverpool in the twenty-first century, but was only our second win!

We all know the statistic about how long we went without winning at Anfield (1963-2015). But in that cup winning season of 1963-64, not only did we win at Anfield in September 1963 (with the Beatles at the top of the charts with “She Loves You”), but we also won the home game, with a Johnny Byrne goal giving us a 1-0 win. At around the time of that Anfield victory, another Merseyside group, Gerry & the Pacemakers, recorded their single “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. It became number one in November and, of course, went on to become a Liverpool anthem.

When we met Liverpool in a League Cup fourth round tie in November 1988, few gave us much chance as we had failed to beat them at home or away for over six years. But a spectacular volley half way through the first half followed by a Devonshire corner headed home meant that we led 2-0 with both goals being scored by everyone’s favourite, Paul Ince. We don’t easily hold on to 2-0 leads against Liverpool and this game was no exception when they were awarded a controversial penalty which was converted by Aldridge. So 2-1 at half-time and the next goal would be important. But the story has a happy ending with a Staunton own goal followed by a stunning Tony Gale free kick giving us a famous 4-1 victory. That season ended on a low note with a 5-1 defeat at Anfield which relegated us to Division 2 and set Liverpool up for a title decider against Arsenal with a distinct advantage. But they lost out to virtually the last kick of the league season when a Michael Thomas goal gave the Gunners a decisive 2-0 victory and the title on the virtue of goals scored in the season with points and goal difference being equal.

The highest profile games against Liverpool were played on neutral grounds. In our record breaking season of 1980-81, the only season in almost sixty years of watching West Ham I have seen us finish at the top of a league, albeit it was Division Two, we reached the League Cup Final against them. At the time they were the top team in the country. It looked like we were about to lose the game when Alan Kennedy scored just before the end of extra time (it was 0-0 after 90 minutes), but in the final minute we were awarded a penalty, and Ray Stewart was the coolest person in Wembley Stadium when he stepped up and slotted home the well-deserved equaliser.

The galling thing about the Liverpool goal was that Sammy Lee was crouching on the ground immediately in front of Phil Parkes, our goalkeeper, in an offside position and the linesman raised his flag to signal offside. He was over-ruled by the infamous referee Clive Thomas (who was not averse to controversial decisions) who deemed that although Lee was in an offside position he was not interfering with play. Anybody who was there, or who has watched the TV replay of the goal would agree that this was nonsensical, he was most definitely interfering with play as he had to duck his head to avoid being hit by the ball!

The League Cup controversy sparked a major incident when John Lyall told Thomas at the end of the game that we felt cheated, and then Thomas blurted to the press that Lyall had called him a cheat. Lyall faced an FA charge of bringing the game into disrepute, although he was exonerated at the hearing. The replay was held at Villa Park. Despite taking the lead when Jimmy Neighbour’s cross was met at the near post by Paul Goddard, Dalglish equalised with a magnificent volley and then Alan Hansen scored a header via Billy Bonds’ thigh. This time we couldn’t come back and Liverpool lifted the trophy.

In 2006 we visited the Millenium Stadium for the third season in a row, although this time no play-offs were involved, we were contesting the FA Cup Final against Liverpool. This was the sixth and last FA Cup Final to be held in Cardiff during the rebuilding of Wembley Stadium. Liverpool had won the first in 2001 but we were determined that they wouldn’t win the last. The game was considered to be one of the great cup finals. We made an excellent start with a Lionel Scaloni cross being turned into his own goal by Carragher, and then an Etherington shot was fumbled by Reina for Ashton to squirm the ball into the goal. We were in dreamland. Our 2-0 lead was shortlived, however, when Scaloni misjudged a long ball from Gerrard which Cissé volleyed home to cut the deficit in half. Ten minutes into the second half Gerrard volleyed home a headed knockdown by Peter Crouch to level the game at 2-2.

Incredibly we went ahead again 25 minutes from the end when Paul Konchesky’s long floated cross-cum shot sailed over the head of Reina to put us 3-2 ahead. With the game in injury time Liverpool were out on their feet and it looked as though the cup was ours. Scaloni could have put the ball out high into the stands, or just kept possession, but chose to hand it to our opponents and seconds later it fell to Gerrard who hit a stinging low shot from around 30 yards into the bottom corner of the net to take the game into extra time. I thought back to this moment when Antonio did something similar in the last seconds of injury time against Palace last weekend! Liverpool had the momentum in extra time but extraordinary misses by Reo-Coker and Harewood meant that it would take a penalty shoot out to decide the victors. It was perhaps one of the most one sided penalty shoot outs of all time in a major final. Zamora, Konchesky and Ferdinand all contrived to miss with substitute Sheringham scoring our only penalty as we lost 3-1. The cup was ours and then we lost it. Twenty-six years after our previous FA cup victory we should have lifted the trophy again, but it was not to be.

Liverpool come to town to take on the best team in Europe

Can the Hammers claw their way to respectability ahead of yet another international break?

The last two Wednesdays have seen Tottenham playing at Wembley. Firstly they couldn’t overcome mighty West Ham and lost 3-2. Then this week they comfortably beat the current UEFA Champions League holders, Real Madrid 3-1. That makes us the best team in Europe doesn’t it? I jest of course. It doesn’t work like that. But sometimes in adversity you have to cling on to something to raise a smile and cheer yourself up.

We have now completed ten games of the 2017-18 season which means that we are more than a quarter of the way through. After this weekend’s round of fixtures we will go into the third international break, which does seem a little ridiculous with just eleven matches played. Although with our injury list seemingly expanding once again, then perhaps the break cannot come too soon. If ever there was a time to change a manager during the season outside of the winter transfer window, then the international break would seem to fit the bill if that is what our owners have in mind. I suspect, however, that the test of the “two games to save your job” ultimatum (if it existed) has been passed, and barring a capitulation of last season’s proportions against the Merseysiders, or a repeat of the Brighton debacle, the manager is perhaps safe until the winter window, or at least until someone who is considered to be a top candidate becomes available. Big rumours are beginning to surface about the current manager’s predecessor. Please, no!

Here we sit in sixteenth place in the table, precariously one point above the drop zone, although with better game management in the ninety-sixth minute of the last match it could easily have been three, even if we did not really deserve to win the game. We can thank our much maligned on-loan keeper for keeping us ahead for so long. He produced a magnificent display of goalkeeping which shows why he was signed, and I hope he can continue to prove his critics wrong. As for Michail Antonio, a player I like enormously, although he hasn’t really done anything much this season yet, I haven’t yet heard his explanation for what went through his head.

Much has been written about our forthcoming run of fixtures which some have said will be tough. But the reality of the situation is that despite our lowly position, we have only played four out of our ten matches at home. And in those ten games we have faced five teams from the top half of the table, which means that we have the other five to play to take us up to the midpoint. So on paper the next period should perhaps be equally as hard (but not necessarily harder) than the period that has elapsed. One thing that is noticeable is how the games will come thick and fast between now and the end of 2017. Having played just ten league games in almost three months we now face four in the month of November, and then an energy-sapping seven league games and a Carabao Cup quarter final in the last month of the year.

Yet again this weekend our game has been moved for the benefit of television. So, instead of kicking off at 3pm, (I’m really looking forward to 23 December when we have a 3pm on a Saturday kick-off!) the match starts at 5.30. I don’t like it but what can you do? Our visitors are Liverpool, and less than six months have elapsed since they last came to the London Stadium and thrashed us 4-0 in our final home game last season. Our manager was quoted after that game as saying we still need time to adjust to playing at the London Stadium. That seemed to be a feeble excuse for a poor performance, considering that just over a week beforehand we had beaten Tottenham 1-0 at home with possibly our best display of the entire season.

Liverpool of course are one of the elite six clubs in England. They will undoubtedly finish in the top six, but I reckon they will be hard pushed to be challenging for a place in the top four to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, a competition that they are competing in this season, and top their league with just two games to play before the knockout stages. I am just about old enough to remember their promotion to the top flight in the early sixties, since when they have remained at this level for 55 consecutive seasons. For a long period throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s they were the pre-eminent club in England, and still are our most successful in history of European success. However, they cling on to past glories like the cartoon character clinging to the edge of the cliff, and don’t seem to recognise that their dominance no longer exists. They are falling way behind the Manchester clubs at the present time.

They have had an OK start to the campaign and sit in sixth position after ten games, with four wins, four draws and two defeats. But their 16 points means that they are already 12 adrift of leaders Manchester City, so almost certainly will not be challenging at the very top. At home they are unbeaten with victories over Palace (1-0), Arsenal (4-0), and Huddersfield (3-0), together with draws against Burnley (1-1), and Manchester United (a boring 0-0). But on the road their form has been distinctly average, and although they have only conceded one goal at Anfield, they have let in a massive 15 in their five away games. If only we had an attacking force to take advantage of what would appear to be a very poor defence on their travels. In their away games a 3-3 draw at Watford was followed by a 5-0 defeat at Manchester City, a 3-2 victory over Leicester, a 1-1 draw at Newcastle, and then another heavy defeat at Tottenham (4-1).

Our visitors are favourites to win the game with the bookmakers and are quoted at around 4/6. We are about 7/2 with the draw at 3/1. Those odds are commensurate with our performances this season, but don’t perhaps reflect Liverpool’s defensive frailties in their games played away from Anfield. What are the odds on us repeating a 3-1 win, which is something we have managed twice in the past seven seasons? Disappointingly only 30/1. A 1-1 draw and Liverpool victories of 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1 are all on offer at between 7/1 and 8/1, which are relatively short prices for a game where both defences would appear to be vulnerable. Once again my optimistic hat has been dusted down, and for no logical reason whatsoever I think that we are going to win this game 3-1. There could even be more goals than that for both sides. It certainly won’t end up goalless.

Memories of West Ham games against Crystal Palace in the last fifty years

A look back at some of the memorable encounters between West Ham and Palace.

The yo-yo is a toy invented by the Ancient Greeks. It became popular with children in this country around a century ago and you still see them in toy shops today. However the sophistication of modern toys means that children are never usually interested in them for very long. “To yo-yo” became a verb in the English language meaning to go up and down, and it is also used as an adjective too in footballing terms to describe clubs that change divisions regularly. Crystal Palace have yo-yoed from the fourth tier to the top, back down to the third, and then frequently from the second to the top and back again several times, and can definitely be considered a yo-yo club. As a result we’ve missed playing against them as often as we’ve met many other clubs.

Although I had been going to watch West Ham for more than ten years it was a new experience for me to see us play against Crystal Palace at Upton Park in November 1969. I was in the fifth form (now called Year 11) at Barking Abbey School at this time, Sugar Sugar by the Archies topped the “pop charts”(wouldn’t be allowed by the health police today!), and a young guy called David Bowie was in the top ten for the first time with Space Oddity. We beat them 2-1 in that game with goals from Geoff Hurst and Clyde Best.

As a small boy I used to avidly study the league tables of all the English leagues and I remember them being a Division Four team in the early 1960’s. We made a fantastic signing when we bought the great Johnny Byrne from them just as they were promoted to Division Three in 1962. They made good progress as a club and reached the dizzy heights of Division One by the end of the decade.

In October 1970 I went to Selhurst Park with school friends for the first time. By this time we were in the sixth form. We listened to Deep Purple (Black Night) and Black Sabbath (Paranoid) on our ipods on the way to the game. Or at least we might have done if ipods had existed then, but we had to wait another 30 years before we were able to buy them. CD’s were still 15 years or so away from being available to us. My memory of this game is sketchy however, although I remember being surprised by the size of the crowd. Palace often had crowds in excess of 40,000 at the time. I know we took the lead early on with a goal from Bobby Howe who didn’t score many. He scored from close range, and apart from a superb goal when he volleyed home a corner against Chelsea in front of the South Bank a couple of months before I can’t recall any other goals that he scored for us. We had a very attacking line-up that day with Dear, Hurst and Greaves all playing up front. We didn’t score again and Palace equalised. The game ended 1-1. Another memory is the noise made by the Palace crowd. The return fixture that season ended goalless. I can remember nothing about that game whatsoever.

The next season we travelled down to South London to see the away fixture at Palace once again. It never seemed to be an easy place to get to on the trains. We were in the Upper Sixth and Rod Stewart topped the charts with Maggie May. In those days of course there was no internet and we had no idea of the team that would be playing until the players emerged onto the pitch. We were surprised when we saw a young 17 year old Ade Coker making his debut for us, and even more surprised when he volleyed home a superb goal in the first few minutes of the game. We were behind the goal where he scored and crushed in the celebrations. There was a similar attendance for this game as in the previous year and we could barely move in the packed terrace. Shortly afterwards Billy Bonds scored a header and we led 2-0 at half time. We were playing great stuff and totally in control of the game. Clyde Best added a tap-in the second period and we ran out 3-0 winners. Once again we had showed great attacking intent with three forwards (different players from the previous year), Coker, Best and Pop Robson which wasn’t unusual in those days. With Redknapp on the wing and Brooking and Bonds controlling the midfield it was one of the best away performances I can remember. But once again we couldn’t beat them in the return fixture drawing 1-1 at home with a Clyde Best goal.

I’m not really sure why Ade Coker never really progressed with us. He looked terrific in his first game but only played a handful of games in three seasons scoring a couple of goals at Upton Park, one was against Tottenham and the other (his last) in a 5-2 rout of Leicester. He was a real prospect who never made it and he moved to America to play in the North American Soccer league. Although he was born in Nigeria he qualified to play international football for the USA and played five games for them, scoring three times.

The following season we beat Palace twice, and in the home game (once again in October) we thrashed them 4-0. I was working in the City by now and there was a very unusual “record” at number one, one of those novelty records that sometimes topped the charts in those days, Mouldy Old Dough by Lieutenant Pigeon. Palace were relegated that season so we didn’t see them again until we were relegated ourselves in 1978 and met them in Division Two, both games ending in 1-1 draws. Grease was the big film at the time, and in between meeting them in August and November, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John dominated the charts with a string of songs from the film.

We finished fifth that season but they finished as Second Division champions. By the time we got back to the top flight in the early eighties they had been relegated again so we didn’t meet them in the league again until the 1990’s. We kept missing each other and our next meeting was in the famous “Bond relegation season” in 1991-92 when we finished bottom of the table. We beat them at Selhurst Park, one of our only three away wins that season, but lost to them in a Monday night game in front of a small Upton Park crowd late in the season when we were already virtually down.

Palace continued to yo-yo and I only remember them visiting once more in the 1990’s in the days of Berkovich and Hartson when they combined superbly to enable us to win easily 4-0. Of course those two players weren’t always that friendly with each other! The next time I remember them was when we had been relegated again in the Glen Roeder era. We beat them easily on a Wednesday night game in the early part of the season when Neil Mellor scored a couple, but lost the return fixture at Selhurst Park late in the season. Their victory that day, together with Brian Deane’s late goal for us against Wigan in the very last minute on the very last day of the season enabled them to sneak into the play-offs at the expense of Wigan. We all know what happened at Cardiff when we met in the play-off final, one of the most disappointing football days of my life, and a day I’d like to forget, although it is difficult to erase the memory completely. I do remember the long car journey home though.

In recent times there have been contrasting fortunes. Palace did a 1-0 double over us in 2013-14, and then in the following season we won 3-1 away and lost by the same score at home. In 2015-16 we won 3-1 away again, before drawing 2-2 in April in one of the final few games at Upton Park. That game is memorable for an astonishing free-kick by a Frenchman who is no longer with us. He scored a few in his time here, but that one is probably my favourite.

Last season we completed the double with a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park, followed by an emphatic 3-0 home victory which included one of the goals of the season, when Andy Carroll demonstrated perfect timing and technique to exercise that superb scissor kick.

West Ham v Palace Preview

After the nightmare visit of the Seagulls, and the sensational turnaround at Wembley, West Ham visit South London to take on the Eagles

What an astonishing turnaround in the Carabao Cup clash at Wembley! I didn’t see that coming, and I’ll suggest that few others did either. I had spent an excellent day at Newmarket Races, so betting was at the forefront of my thoughts on Wednesday evening. At half-time, with Tottenham holding a 2-0 lead, and by common consent, yet another woeful first half performance from a much-changed West Ham line-up, you could have got odds of 1000-1 on us winning the game in 90 minutes. Even the most optimistic fan wouldn’t have wasted any stake money on that outcome. If anybody did, then they could have visited their travel agent on Thursday morning to book a holiday in the sun. Unfortunately I didn’t because there was no way that I believed we could possibly win the game at that stage. The fact that we did came about partly as a result of increased confidence after we had pulled a goal back, and partly because of over-confidence from the North London outfit who believed that they could go through the motions in the second half, and save themselves for their weekend fixture against Manchester United.

Our reward for the victory is a quarter-final clash against our other North London neighbours, who once again have been given a home draw in a cup competition. This happens on a consistent basis, and I’m sure they will be confident of progressing into the semi-finals when the tie is played just before Christmas. The Carabao Cup draws for each round have been surrounded in controversy, and each one has had problems of one kind or another. This time it was meant to be live on Twitter, but “technical” problems delayed proceedings for two hours, and it was eventually shown as a recording. Conspiracy theorists had a field day when it was revealed that the four “big” clubs left in the competition had avoided each other. Few would bet against Chelsea, Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs lining up in the semi-finals. Let us hope that we can spoil that party.

But before then we have to use the confidence gained from our second half performance, and build on that momentum in the forthcoming Premier League games. They begin with this weekend’s trip to Palace. If we thought that our start to the season was poor, then it is nothing compared to the nightmare at Selhurst Park, where our hosts sit at the foot of the league after the first nine games. Just one win and eight defeats is their sorry record. In all of the eight games they have lost they have failed to even score a goal. Their five defeats on their travels have been at Liverpool (1-0), Burnley (1-0), Manchester City (5-0), Manchester United (4-0), and Newcastle (1-0). At home they have at least improved their record progressively, with three defeats to Huddersfield (3-0), Swansea (2-0), and Southampton (1-0), before unexpectedly beating last season’s champions Chelsea (2-1) in their last game at Selhurst Park. Those two goals, their only ones in the league this season were scored by Zaha, and an own-goal. This is their fifth consecutive season in the Premier League, their longest spell in the top flight, and they will need to improve dramatically if they want to extend the run further.

Their form was no better in the Carabao Cup this week, when with a much-changed line-up, they were unceremoniously dumped out of the competition by Bristol City (4-1). Like most sides they haven’t played their strongest team as the EFL Cup is not considered a priority until the very late stages. No doubt, again like us, they will field a changed line-up on Saturday. Despite their poor start to the season, the bookmakers still make them relatively short-priced favourites to beat us at 11/8. We are offered at 11/5, and the draw is around 23/10. The odds on a repeat of Wednesday night, where we overturn a 2-0 half-time deficit to win the game 3-2, are currently 500-1. There is a saying about lightning not striking twice though.

As usual there is about as much chance in predicting our starting line-up as having a winning line on the lottery. Will we go with 3-5-2, or 4-4-2, or 4-2-3-1, or 4-1-4-1 or any other formation you could have? Who knows? How many of Wednesday night’s team will retain their place after that excellent second half performance?

Will Hart or Adrian get the nod in goal? Will Cresswell or Masuaku start at left back? How many of Reid, Fonte, Ogbonna or Rice will start? Perhaps the only defensive certainty is that Zabaleta will return at right back, although that is not to say that Byram didn’t have a decent enough game against Tottenham.

As for the midfield and attacking players it is anybody’s guess. All the fit players will be pushing to play and that will be almost the whole first team squad. I noted some statistics produced this week that showed since August 2016, Ayew has been involved in more West Ham goals than any other player. By involved it meant actual goals scored and assists. Considering the fact that he has not a regular place in the team because of injuries (and form) then we must ask, do the figures lie? And should he therefore be one of the first names on the teamsheet? Personally I remain unconvinced, but I have to admit to warming to him a little recently. Well just a little. I’d love him to become a world beater and prove me wrong. Whatever, with his brace in midweek he will be pushing for a place in the starting line-up.

I also read another interesting article about what Andy Carroll brings to the team. Apart from the obvious “outlet ball”, winning of aerial battles, and defensively a boost when we are facing corners and set pieces, the inclusion of him in the side obviously affects the style of play we adopt. The piece went on to describe how he had a big influence on our three goals without the statistics proving that. The author suggested that his mere presence was enough to occupy more than one Tottenham defender at a time and opened up the way for Ayew and Ogbonna to score the goals. Such a big emphasis is placed on goalscoring and assist statistics these days, whereas in fact others who get no credit for a goal whatsoever may have had a bigger influence in the ball ending up in the net.

The manager himself has described this week as giving him a positive selection headache. He has been emphasising that it is all about the squad, not just the team, so trying to soften the blow for those who don’t make the first eleven I guess. Whoever is involved, I look forward to another win to consolidate a mid-table position. A defeat would probably see us occupying one of the three relegation spots, a place we only just hover above at the moment because of a better goal difference than both Stoke and Everton.

A Look Back at West Ham 0 Brighton 3

The ultimate shame when Brighton fans ask “Can we play you every week?”

I began my preview of this game with the comment “Friday night, 8pm kick off. Don’t get me started”. It is a pity that the majority of our players didn’t get started themselves. Any day that begins with software downloads totally messing up both your i-pad and i-phone, and then the journey from Bury St Edmunds to Epping taking twice as long as usual due to the Friday evening rush hour traffic at the beginning of a school half-term holiday, going to the assistance of damsels in distress in the Epping car park, footpaths cut off, toilets closed due to a water leak, and then two females doing Nicola Adams impersonations at Debden, and you know that it is not the best day of your life. I wasn’t to know at that time that it was going to get worse watching the performance of West Ham, but believe me it did.

I had left home at 4pm, but because of the issues mentioned previously, and then the security checks to get into the stadium, I only just managed to get to my seat in time for “Bubbles.” From that point it was downhill. Brighton began the brighter, and it was no real surprise when Glen Murray rose, almost unchallenged to head the ball into our goal in the tenth minute. How many more times are we going to concede simple goals from set pieces? I cannot believe that this issue is not addressed more rigorously on the training ground.

As half time was approaching we had perhaps our best period of the game but that is not saying much. I was interested to read the following morning that we had 65% of the possession of the football. The problem with that is that most of that figure was achieved by West Ham taking the phrase “slow ponderous build-up” to yet another level. Yes, we retained possession of the ball, but most of it was in our own half and in the middle of the field going backwards and sideways from one side of the pitch to the other, getting nowhere fast.

Brighton didn’t surprise me in the least. They were organised, they harried our players, and when they had the ball they broke quickly with incisive passing, always having players moving into spaces in a forward direction. When the board went up to show two added minutes at the end of the first half, our players were just thinking of their half-time oranges, or cup of tea and switched off totally. Brighton, realising this, attacked us with vigour and looked like they were going to add a second, but for an excellent save by Hart. But they weren’t to be denied and just before the half was about to end they did score a second with an excellent shot from outside the area, although I’m sure that Hart (along with the rest of us) will have been disappointed that by getting a strong left hand to the ball, he couldn’t keep it out. The half then ended with a cacophony of booing.

Having purchased our expensive bottles of Fanta (top removed of course, in case we were inclined to throw them!) we settled down to watch the second half. Ayew replaced Kouyate but this made not a jot of difference, and we continued as we had before the break, totally bereft of ideas as to how to break down the committed and organised Seagulls. Arnautavic was virtually anonymous, Antonio and Chicarito had lost their touch in frustration, and we didn’t remotely look like we were going to score. I’m sure that the players are on some kind of bonus if they take free-kicks quickly. Now a speedily taken free kick can be a potent weapon, but only if some kind of thought is given into what we do with it, but we totally wasted them. We were awarded two kicks in dangerous positions in the second half and these were not taken quickly. But Lanzini blasted the first over the wall high into the stands, and then from a similar position shot well wide with the second.

It was no real surprise when Brighton were awarded a penalty as the game was drawing to a close, and Murray coolly slooted it into the centre of the goal as Hart dived to his right. The travelling supporters were magnificent all night, and by now they were in full swing with the usual repertoire of damning songs when a team are getting soundly beaten. “This is a library”, was followed by the lyrical “you’re f***ing sh*t, you’re f***ing sh*t, you’re f***ing sh*t, you’re f***ing sh*t, you’re f***ing sh*t”, “you’re getting sacked in the morning” aimed at our manager (some of our own fans joined in this one), “you’re sh*t and you know you are”, “can we play you every week?” and other equally embarrassing songs. It seems natural for these to come from the likes of fans of Tottenham, Chelsea, and the Manchester clubs, we get used to it. But Brighton? Come on.

Quite frankly it was an appalling performance and a night I’d like to forget. A few statistics that I read the morning after the game:

We have conceded three penalties in the Premier League so far this season – this is more than anybody else.
Eight points is the lowest number we have attained after the first nine matches of the season since 2010-11 – we went down that season you will remember
This was our heaviest home defeat to a newly-promoted side in 86 years – since West Brom beat us 5-1 in 1931!
We have conceded six goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half in Premier League games this season – no other team has conceded more than four.
This was the 76^th time that we have been 2-0 down in a Premier League game, and we have never fought back to win the game, losing 74 and drawing just 2.
We touched the ball 602 times in the game (to Brighton’s 340) – but this is totally meaningless if you can’t do anything constructive with it!

I don’t usually give ratings to our players in a game, but I’ve made an exception for this one. My scores on the doors (for what it’s worth) sum up my feelings of the performances of the players:

Hart 5, Zabaleta 6.5, Fonte 5, Reid 5, Masuaku 6, Obiang 6, Kouyate 4, Antonio 5, Lanzini 5, Arnautavic 4, Hernandes 5 (subs. Ayew 4.5, Fernandes 5.5).

I stayed (as I always do) to the final whistle, and by this time I felt quite lonely with all the empty seats around me. The only bright spot of the day was the trouble-free journey home, mainly because so many of our fans were long gone. Plenty of seats to choose from on the Central Line, and the car park at Epping was almost deserted. I reached home on the stroke of midnight, just two hours after the end of the game. That is eight hours of my life that I won’t get back. I’ve been doing this for nearly sixty years now. I asked myself why as I drove home up the M11, A11, and A14. I have got Sky Sports and BT Sports. I could sit at home in the comfort of my armchair and watch the game. The whole exercise would take just two hours.

But I am a committed fan. Some would say a masochist. I once knew a masochist who liked taking a cold shower every morning, so he took a hot one (think about it). Someone suggested I should consider being more introspective. I wasn’t sure what introspection was, so I decided to take a long hard look at myself. But I don’t have to consider my thoughts and feelings for too long. In two weeks we are at home to Liverpool. Another unsociable kick-off time of 5.30 pm on a Saturday for the benefit of TV. I could watch from home. It will be over at 7.30 leaving me to enjoy my Saturday evening. But I won’t. I’ll take my seat in Block 241 of the East Stand and cheer the team on as ever, before taking to the tube and then the roads of East Anglia for my Saturday evening entertainment.

Match Report: West Ham 0 Brighton 3

“Can we play you every week?”

It was no real surprise when Brighton were awarded a penalty as the game was drawing to a close, and Murray coolly slooted it into the centre of the goal as Hart dived to his right. The travelling supporters were magnificent all night, and by now they were in full swing with the usual repertoire of damning songs when a team are getting soundly beaten. “This is a library”, was followed by the lyrical “you’re f***ing shit, you’re f***ing shit, you’re f***ing shit, you’re f***ing shit, you’re f***ing shit”, “you’re getting sacked in the morning” aimed at our manager (some of our own fans joined in this one), “you’re shit and you know you are”, “can we play you every week?” and other equally embarrassing songs. It seems natural for these to come from the likes of fans of Tottenham, Chelsea, and the Manchester clubs, we get used to it. But Brighton? Come on.

Quite frankly it was an appalling performance and a night I’d like to forget. A few statistics that I read the morning after the game:

We have conceded three penalties in the Premier League so far this season – this is more than anybody else.
Eight points is the lowest number we have attained after the first nine matches of the season since 2010-11 – we went down that season you will remember
This was our heaviest home defeat to a newly-promoted side in 86 years – since West Brom beat us 5-1 in 1931!
We have conceded six goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half in Premier League games this season – no other team has conceded more than four.
This was the 76^th time that we have been 2-0 down in a Premier League game, and we have never fought back to win the game, losing 74 and drawing just 2.
We touched the ball 602 times in the game (to Brighton’s 340) – but this is totally meaningless if you can’t do anything constructive with it!

Hart 5, Zabaleta 6.5, Fonte 5, Reid 5, Masuaku 6, Obiang 6, Kouyate 4, Antonio 5, Lanzini 5, Arnautavic 4, Hernandes 5 (subs. Ayew 4.5, Fernandes 5.5).

West Ham v Brighton Preview

The Seagulls visit the London Stadium to meet West Ham for the first time in a Premier League match.

Friday night, 8pm kick off. Don’t get me started. As a traditionalist I like to watch my football at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. But I have to accept that money talks, so if I want to watch my beloved West Ham live I have no option but to travel to London late in the afternoon and return home around midnight. For so many reasons it is not particularly convenient, but so be it, I cannot change it, and I will take my place in the East Stand as usual.

This is Brighton’s first season ever in the Premier League, although I am old enough to remember them in the top flight between 1979 and 1983, which culminated in a Cup Final appearance for them when they lost to Manchester United after a replay. That season (1982-83) they were relegated and were not to be seen in the top tier of English football again until now.

In the following years after relegation they had significant problems as they fell down the divisions and almost went out of business. In 1996-97 they were very close to losing their place in the Football League, and went into the last game of the season at home to Hereford United needing at least a draw to avoid dropping out. They were 1-0 down for much of the game, but a late equaliser enabled them to survive and sent Hereford out of the league. They also had significant ground problems when the Goldstone Ground closed, which meant that they shared Gillingham’s stadium for a while, and also spent a period at the Withdean Stadium, which effectively was a small athletics track. But they have bounced back from those troubled times and the impressive Falmer (Amex) Stadium which seats over 30,000 has been their home since 2011.

This season has started reasonably for them, and in fact they have an identical record to our own, having won two, drawn two, and lost four of their opening eight fixtures. But their goal difference of minus 4 (as opposed to our minus 6) means that they sit in 14^th place in the table, immediately above us. They have a good home record unsurprisingly losing their opener to Manchester City (2-0), before beating West Brom 3-1, Newcastle 1-0, and unluckily drawing 1-1 with Everton when they conceded a penalty in the last minute which was converted by Wayne Rooney. But on their travels they have collected just a solitary point (in a goalless draw at Watford). They lost 2-0 at Leicester, 2-1 at Bournemouth, and 2-0 at Arsenal.

Most of our early games against them were in the old Southern League or FA Cup ties, and we didn’t play a game against them in the Football League until 1978. But in the last (almost) forty years since then we haven’t often been in the same division, and we have met them in just fourteen league games, winning six, drawing three, and losing five. I can remember clearly their only victory on our ground when I watched from the old East Stand at Upton Park in November 2004 with my dad. It was one of the last times he came with me to West Ham before he died. We dominated the whole game yet lost 1-0 to a header from a free kick from Guy Butters. I recall Steve Claridge being in their team at the time.

The last time we met them was a very enjoyable experience. It was in our promotion campaign of 2011-12 when, under Big Sam, we played them at Upton Park in the penultimate home game of the regular season. We were still chasing automatic promotion so a win was important, and we tied it up within the first quarter of an hour racing into a three goal lead. I watched this game from the Bobby Moore stand and was right behind the line of Ricardo Vaz Te’s powerful shot from outside the area at the other end which opened the scoring. Just a few minutes later it was all over as a contest when Vaz Te added the second and Nolan the third (or was it the other way round?). I can recall two of the second half goals, a stunning bicycle kick from Vaz Te to complete his hat-trick, and a mazy dribble followed by a powerful low shot from Carlton Cole. I am afraid that I have no memory of the other goal whatsoever. But it was an excellent game which made number 19 in my list of favourite West Ham matches in my book Goodbye Upton Park, Hello Stratford. Vaz Te’s powerful first goal and then his bicycle kick were numbers 18 and 28 in my list of 60 Favourite West Ham goals in the same book.

If we have any aspirations to make a convincing challenge to finish in the top half of the table, then games such as these are “must-win” ones. We won’t pick up many points against the top six sides, and we need to maximise our opportunities against the “lesser” teams, especially in the home fixtures. The bookmakers have us as 5/6 favourites to win the game, with Brighton at 7/2 and the draw at 12/5. The favourite scoreline is a 1-0 win for us quoted at around 5/1. And if you fancy a repeat of the 6-0 drubbing we gave them the last time they visited, then you can get odds of 425/1.

Can you remember the last time we scored more than three goals in a home game? It hasn’t happened under Slaven Bilic, although we did score four times in the away game at Swansea last season. In our first season back in the Premier League (2012-13) under Big Sam we did it twice. In the final game of the season we put four past Reading thanks to a Nolan hat trick and another goal from Vaz Te. And today, 20^th October, is the fifth anniversary of our 4-1 home win over Southampton. Mark Noble scored twice that day, a free kick from very long range (at least 30 yards), and a penalty converted after a handball by Jose Fonte! I remember Andy Carroll giving the Southampton defenders a torrid time that day, something he won’t be repeating in today’s game. The other goals came from Nolan, and a fine solo effort from Maiga (remember that?).

I’m hoping that Brighton continue to find it difficult to score on their travels, and that we can come up with at least a couple of goals to win 2-0. Perhaps we can even go further and repeat the four goals of five years ago today? A 4-1 repeat of the score that day is 35/1. I won’t hold my breath.

Burnley 1 West Ham 1

Is it a point gained for West Ham or two points lost?

So the bookies were spot on. The most fancied scoreline for this game was 1-1, and that is how it ended up. But was it a point gained or two points lost? Certainly, when you are in fifteenth place in the table and playing away from home to an in-form team occupying a position in the top six, and you have to play for more than an hour with only ten men, then surely it is a point gained? But on the other hand, when you hold the lead for most of the game, and then concede an equaliser in the 85^th minute, then it seems like two points lost?

In some respects we were perhaps lucky as we could have conceded a penalty when Hart dived at the feet of Wood. Sometimes in situations such as these they are given and sometimes not, but they often are when it is a player from the home side who goes down. Also Gudmundsson’s shot came back off the post and might have gone in off Hart’s back, but luckily it stayed out. Conversely the best move of the whole game was a slick passing movement involving several of our players, and Antonio’s shot was well saved by Pope in the Burnley goal.

I’m often surprised by the reaction of fans who like to see the big teams lose. Personally I look at the bigger picture, and think of the Premier League as two leagues. The “top division” of the six elite teams who will surely finish the season in the top six places, and then the remaining teams who make up “Division Two” of the Premier League. Whatever we like to think, that is the reality. The fourteen teams outside of the “big six” are really only fighting for a seventh placed finish, and to keep out of the relegation dogfight.

So when we see the other results, then I am personally disappointed to see Crystal Palace defeat Chelsea, much as I dislike the West Londoners, and to see Watford score a last minute winner to beat Arsenal. Palace and Watford are in our “league” so I don’t like to see them picking up points against teams that will be in the top six at the end of the season. I particularly enjoyed seeing Manchester City put seven past Stoke, firstly because I don’t like the way Stoke play football, and secondly because that result ultimately helps our cause in finishing as high as possible in the table. It also puts a dent in one of our competitor’s goal difference statistics. And much as I don’t like Tottenham, their 1-0 win over Bournemouth will benefit us in the long run.

When other teams in “our 14 team league” are playing against each other, then my favoured result is a draw so they only get one point each. So it was good to see Brighton drawing with Everton, and Southampton sharing the spoils against Newcastle. All four of those teams will be joining us in an attempt to finish seventh in the Premier League this season. I’ll be hoping for a similar result when Leicester take on West Brom on Monday, even though the Baggies are the team I dislike the most. In the short term it might seem better to see Leicester defeated at home opening up a three point gap between the bottom three and the rest, but in the longer term I feel a draw would be the best result.

Prior to Monday night’s game, the league outside of the top teams is taking on a similar feel to last season and is looking very close, even at this early stage, with Newcastle in ninth on 11 points just three points ahead of Stoke who now occupy 17^th. It won’t be long before Watford and Burnley drop down to join the rest of us leaving the elite six to fight out the top places.

There is some debate on social media as to whether or not Andy Carroll’s red card was justified, but unfortunately I think the referee was right. And much as I don’t like to see our players unavailable for games, I don’t personally believe that playing without Carroll will harm us, and hopefully will lead to a better approach as to how we play the game. By our standards we have a fit squad of players to choose from, and I don’t think he will be missed. At best I see him as an impact substitute these days rather than someone who should be in the starting line-up, but I guess it is all a matter of opinion.

So, rather like the manager I am in two minds as to whether it was a point gained or two points lost. We won’t really know until we see what happens in matches to come.

Personally I had two excellent days at Newmarket races, including picking the winner of the Cesarewitch amongst other notable selections that made the racing profitable as well as enjoyable. I hope you noted my tip in the Burnley preview on Friday.