Richard Bennett

West Ham 1 v 5 Arsenal

Further reflections on the hapless Hammer’s humbling by a talented Arsenal side.

Take the current shortcomings of West Ham, and add the brilliance of Arsenal, and you have the recipe for a heavy defeat. And that is exactly what we got. The speed and touch of Arsenal as they attacked gave us a lesson in how to play the game. Sanchez in particular was awesome. He produced one of the best individual performances that I have seen for a long time, and Arsenal were undoubtedly one of the best teams that we are likely to face this season. Having said that, I watched Bournemouth play Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, and both teams would have inflicted a heavy defeat on us if they replicated that kind of attacking football.

I’m afraid that for much of the game our attacking ideas were based upon slow, ponderous passing, and although I suspect the possession statistics for the game would have showed that we had as much of the ball as they did, we were just not in the same league when it came to creating opportunities to score goals.

So where are we going wrong? Well, where do I start? Perhaps it is worth looking to see if any of our players did themselves justice on the day? For a start, Randolph, despite conceding five goals, was not to blame for any of them in my opinion, and even saved us from getting even more of a hiding. I thought that Reid had a decent game and showed great commitment, and Masuaku, for all his critics, isn’t too bad for a squad left back. Arbeloa was understandably rusty, and I thought at first that the enforced substitution to take Collins place would benefit us.

I just could not understand why Bilic started with the three at the back formation when our two best wing-backs, Cresswell and Antonio, were ruled out of the game. Surely he had to see that we needed to play with two full backs when facing the attacking threat of the Gunners. I could not work out when Arbeloa came on if we had indeed changed the formation. If we had, then somebody should have told Fernandes, because for the whole game Arbeloa and Fernandes played as if they had never met each other before. Perhaps they hadn’t? Neither seemed to know exactly what they should be doing. And with the pacy threat of Monreal down the Arsenal left, this was a big mistake.

Bilic’s nonsensical revelations after the game, that the players weren’t working well in training, was another indicator that the preparation for the match was poor. And who is to blame for that? Well, the players to an extent yes, but surely the manager and coaching staff have the responsibility to ensure that the team are fully prepared for the opposition that they will be facing. Haven’t they seen how Arsenal play? It didn’t come as a surprise to me, and shouldn’t have been a surprise to them either.

Payet showed one or two touches of skill, but nothing like what we saw last season, and he continues to look disinterested for much of the game. Perhaps he really doesn’t want to be here? It’s not his role, but in any defensive sense he is a liability, and whilst we can perhaps accept one luxury player in the team, others have to cover for this.

Mark Noble is coming in for massive criticism and just looks totally out of sorts. He really seems to be running in treacle throughout the game, and whilst he has never been the fastest, he has somehow got away with it in the past. But at the moment he has probably never looked so poor in his whole career, and is another liability with his tendency to dwell on the ball, pass sideways and backwards, and generally slow down our whole momentum.

Lanzini looked lively enough and showed some neat touches, and Obiang played well again in the middle, but from what I have seen so far, it seems incredible that we paid £20 million for Ayew. I guess he hasn’t played much so far, and is playing in a struggling team lacking in confidence, but he has done nothing to suggest to me that we have a good buy there. Fletcher will, I believe, be a good player for us in the future, but despite some good movement and control, was so far isolated to have any real effect.

Carroll looked lively when he came on. I hope he didn’t pick up an injury in his twenty minute cameo. He took the goal well, but another tactical error in my opinion was not playing him from the start, especially considering the opposition on the day. It is well documented how he scared the living daylights out of Arsenal last season, and even though Bilic felt he would not (understandably) last ninety minutes, surely to play him from the beginning of the game would have unsettled the opposition more, and at least put us on the front foot from the outset. But no, it seems we wanted to hand the initial momentum to our opponents, who took full advantage.

So where do we go from here? Bilic looked beleaguered in his post-match interview, and didn’t say anything to instil confidence in his ability to lift the team. We really are in a fight now, and the next five games to take us up to the middle of the season are crucial. Bournemouth showed us how Liverpool can be vulnerable at the back, but I’m not convinced that we have the weapons to attack them at Anfield, and get anything out of the game. Swansea and Sunderland are playing each other next weekend and Hull are at home to Palace. We could well be in the bottom three by the time we face Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

We then have four easier games (on paper), but anything less than at least eight points from those (and it’s hard to see us achieving this on current form), then I suspect the board will be contemplating a managerial change by the end of 2016. That is if they are not already in the process of doing so.

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 19 – A good win last week

Looking to profit from a hard earned draw at the London Stadium.

Fancy A Bet

Last week we had some fun bets on our game at Manchester United. And the following bets were successful:

16 points on West Ham to win or draw the game @13/8 (42)
1 point on a 1-1 draw @7/1 (8)

The fifty points that we won added to our balance of 51 brings our total balance back to 101 points, just above where we started.

I haven’t got a clue how West Ham will perform this week so I wasn’t going to have a bet at all. But just for fun, three small bets to retain a betting interest in the game:

1 point on Pedro Obiang to score the first goal and the game to end 2-2 @275-1 (276)
1 point on Andy Carroll to score the first goal and the game to end 2-2 @60-1 (61)
5 points on the game to end in a draw @14/5 (19)

Our balance after staking these seven points is down to 94 points.

We win on the day if the game ends in a draw. It was 3-3 last year and Andy Carroll terrorised the Arsenal defence. Can he do the same this time? Will he be back from injury? Will he be picked? We get our point back on the second bet if he doesn’t play.

What are the chances?

Man United 4v1 West Ham – League Cup Review & Arsenal Preview

Looking back and forward. How will West Ham react to midweek disappointment against Arsenal?

Carroll Arsenal I began my preview of the Manchester United League Cup game with the title “West Ham in the League Cup”. I could have titled the review of the game “West Ham no longer in the League Cup.” And from the second minute of the game I knew we were on our way out of the competition. I continued to watch throughout in the hope that I would be wrong, but despite equalising late in the first half, and going in level at half time, I just could not be my usual optimistic self, and my fears came to fruition with a second half performance even more abject than the first, and that takes some doing. We could easily have been 4-1 down at half time, let alone at full time.

I was pleased for Fletcher scoring the goal in front of the Stretford end, and enjoyed listening to our magnificent away support singing “he’s one of your own”. When they were coming through the youth ranks in Manchester, apparently Fletcher was considered more highly than Rashford, and I hope that, in time, he is given the opportunities. I thought that Fernandes once again showed promise, and remain convinced that he will turn out to be an excellent acquisition. I’m not really sure about any of our other summer signings. Masuaku could be an OK squad player as backup for Cresswell, and Ayew hasn’t really got going yet. Where was he at Old Trafford? Was he injured, or just being saved for Arsenal this weekend?

And talking of injuries, our run of bad luck (if it is bad luck and nothing to do with the preparation and conditioning of our players) continues. I just hope that the withdrawal of Cresswell and Antonio were precautionary, but at the time of writing I’ve not read anything so don’t know if they will be available against Arsenal.

Only West Ham can seem to make Rooney look like Messi, when for much of the season he has looked a pale shadow of the player he once was. I hate to see him berating referees, and reckon he is lucky to stay on the field on so many occasions, mainly I think because of his reputation, and position as England captain.

Our defending was shocking, and although Manchester United were clearly up for the game and attacked us at pace, I was disappointed by the ease with which we were opened up. For me the 3-4-3 formation, whilst it worked initially, has to be abandoned. In any event we need to be able to adjust tactics to suit the opposition we are playing, even in mid-game when plan A is not working. It’s hard to believe that our manager, and one of the first team coaches (Dicks), were such excellent defenders at the club, yet fail to inspire a defence that has conceded more goals in the Premier League than most other teams.

You couldn’t fault Adrian for any of the goals, but for me Randolph is the safer bet, and is less prone to error. I noticed that one of the many hundreds of players that we are being linked with at the moment is Joe Hart. I can recall twice in our history we’ve set a new world record when buying a keeper, Ferguson in the sixties and Parkes in the seventies. Although the first didn’t turn out to be a great success, Phil Parkes was probably the best keeper I’ve seen at West Ham. Wouldn’t it be good if our owners showed some intent, broke the bank, and once again bought a really top class keeper. I don’t know if any would come, but the best I’ve seen in recent years is Butland at Stoke.

The Payet debate continues on social media with many, including some ex-players, believing that he doesn’t look interested and wants to leave in January. He was certainly largely at fault for their second (and crucial early second half) goal, and didn’t have one of his better games, but then how many of the team did?

As for Zaza, his cameo included a shot from around twelve yards that went out for a throw-in (at the edge of the penalty area!), and completely missing the ball when he could reasonably have expected to have put a header on goal. If ever there was a player lower on confidence I’ve yet to see him. Feghouli has failed to live up to his initial promise, and had two late chances, but criminally failed to hit the target from good positions.

Obiang, once again, demonstrated that he is the best midfielder at the club, certainly from a defensive viewpoint, and for me should always be the first name on the teamsheet. Quite how he was overlooked for so long continues to baffle me. I presume Mark Noble will be back for the Arsenal game, though, much as I admire him in so many ways, I’m not sure that this would in the best interests of the team.

I think that if Carroll is fit then he will play, just because it is Arsenal, and he scares the living daylights out of their defenders. But he will be massively rusty and I wouldn’t necessarily expect too much, nor a full 90 minutes. If he does play then I would hate to see him isolated a long way from the midfield. He would be a much better proposition playing alongside another striker, although I can’t see that happening, especially against Arsenal, where Bilic will want to try to match them in midfield.

Personally I’d much prefer to see us play with four at the back, but in the absence of a decent right back (any news on Byram by the way?), I reckon Bilic will stick to the same three, although we could easily be torn apart by Ozil, and more importantly, the movement of Sanchez.

I haven’t got a crystal ball but reckon Bilic might pick the following team on Saturday if they are all fit:

Randolph,
Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna,
Antonio, Noble, Obiang, Cresswell,
Ayew, Carroll, Payet.

It would be a shame if this is the case as I would like to see places for Fernandes, Lanzini and Fletcher. They are three players that I believe will be very much part of our future, and they do add pace and urgency to the team, which has been sadly lacking for much of this season.

On recent form it’s hard to be too optimistic, but I’ll go for a 2-2 draw.

Man United v West Ham – League Cup Preview

West Ham in the League Cup

League Cup Programmes

I know that the competition has had a number of names over the years according to the particular sponsors at the time, but to me it has always been the League Cup. The current title, the EFL Cup, sounds to me just like a trendy attempt to use initials to jazz up interest in, what, after all, is traditionally the minor competition in the English football calendar. I can never understand why so many clubs treat it comparatively flippantly, because in many ways it is the easiest of the trophies to win, and winning it is a passport into Europe for the following season.

Clubs like ourselves, who were in Europe this season (albeit briefly in our case), received a bye into round 3, and by winning two home games against Accrington Stanley and Chelsea, now find ourselves in round 5, which is the quarter-finals. Get through this round and you are into a two-legged semi-final with the prospect of a trip to Wembley for the winner. Effectively you only have to beat five other clubs to land the trophy.

Now I am old enough to remember the competition starting in 1960-61. It had a controversial beginning and some of the bigger clubs in the Football League didn’t even enter at first. And though it gained surprisingly more popularity than a lot thought it would, many teams even today use the early rounds in particular to give a run out to squad players who wouldn’t necessarily be first choice for Premier League games.

From the outset of the competition we always fielded strong sides, and it is only comparatively recently that we haven’t gone flat out in the early rounds to try to progress. In 1960-61 the side we put out against Darlington was virtually identical to the team that had scored five goals in a Division One game just two days earlier, and the one that put six goals past Arsenal less than a fortnight later. Nevertheless we still managed an ignominious defeat at the hands of a lower division team (3-2), something we have managed to do consistently in our 56 attempts to win this competition. Throughout the years we have been beaten by football giants such as Rotherham, Huddersfield, Stockport (twice), Barnsley, Luton, Oldham (twice), Oxford, Crewe, Northampton, Chesterfield, Aldershot, Wigan, and most recently, Sheffield United. Nottingham Forest have eliminated us four times!

We have been knocked out in Round One on one occasion, Round Two eleven times, Round Three nineteen times, and Round Four ten times. That means we have reached the quarter-final on 15 previous occasions, and our trip to Old Trafford is number 16. Of those 15, we have gone out at the quarter-final stage just six times, and progressed further in nine, which is a decent enough record. But in our nine semi-finals we have only reached the final twice, losing to West Brom in the last of the two-legged finals in 1965-66 (the following year the final was held at Wembley for the first time), and then in a replay to Liverpool in 1980-81, when we were a second tier team taking on the best club in England at the time. That was Liverpool’s first win of the League Cup trophy, but they have gone on to dominate since, and have won it the most times (8).

Of all the players in our current squad, only Noble and Sakho had scored a goal in this competition in previous seasons. Noble scored in the two-legged semi-final in 2010-11 when we went out to Birmingham, and Sakho found the net when we were eliminated by Sheffield United on penalties the season before last. Of course, Payet, Kouyate and Fernandes have all notched a goal this time around. Players of yester-year, on the other hand, managed quite a few goals in League Cup games, with six reaching double figures, Cross and Goddard (12), Stewart (14), Byrne (15), Cottee (18), and Geoff Hurst the most prolific, notching 43 goals in just 47 League Cup appearances.

However, I’ll always remember the penalty Geoff Hurst had saved by Gordon Banks in the final minutes of the semi-final second leg against Stoke in 1971-72. If that had gone in we would have been through to the final (probably). As it was, in the days before penalty shoot-outs, that epic semi-final tie took four games to settle before we lost 3-2 in the dramatic second replay, even though Bobby Moore saved a penalty when taking over in goal from the injured Ferguson (no substitute keepers in those days!).

This is only the third time we have ever faced Manchester United in the League Cup. In our record breaking season of 1985-86, they knocked us out 1-0 in Round 3, whereas on 30 November 2010 (exactly six years ago today, when it was called the Carling Cup) we famously beat them 4-0 in the quarter-final on a freezing night at Upton Park, with a brace apiece for Jonathan Spector and Carlton Cole.

It is 22 years since we last lost a game on the final day of November. Since then we’ve won three and drawn one, with 10 goals scored and only two conceded. And who can ever forget November 30 1988, when we famously put four past Liverpool in a League Cup fourth round game?

It would be great to progress to another semi-final, and then we could even begin to dream of another trip to Wembley. Manchester United are not the force of old, and I am looking forward to us repeating our promising visit there last Sunday, but this time returning with a victory.

Man United 1 v 1 West Ham

And it’s live!………. Not it’s not!

Embed from Getty Images

After spending a pleasant late autumnal Sunday afternoon doing some of those jobs in the garden that need to be done at this time of year, I was looking forward to listening to the radio commentary of our game at Old Trafford. So I came indoors shortly before 4.30 p.m., took my seat in the lounge, and switched on the TV and tuned to Sky. I was going to watch the Southampton v Everton game “live” on Sky with the sound turned down, whilst simultaneously listening to our game on the radio on my i-pad.

I tuned into the normal radio stations, Five Live and Talk Sport, and was surprised that our game wasn’t on either of them. As I was searching for Radio London, who I discovered were actually broadcasting our game, I was initially listening to the commentary of the Southampton game, and heard Charlie Austin scoring a goal in the first minute. Looking up at the TV screen to see the goal I noticed that the players were still in the tunnel!

Then as the players were coming onto the field I heard the commentator telling us they were going to a break, and suggesting that we stay tuned to Sky for the game, finishing with the words “and it’s live”. Well according to the radio the game was already well underway. By the time they kicked off on TV, the game had been going for more than five minutes. The top right hand corner of the screen had the word “live”. How can Sky get away with this?

Anyway, back to the radio commentary. Whilst still waiting for Radio London to kick in on my i-pad, I heard the dreaded words from the commentator at Southampton, “goal at Old Trafford.” Oh no, how can we have conceded this early? As they went over to the reporter at our game, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that we had, in fact, taken the lead. What is more, one of our forwards, Sakho, had scored the goal. This was the first goal scored by a West Ham forward since last May when Sakho opened the scoring in the thrilling last game at Upton Park. It was his third goal against United in four games and his second at Old Trafford. Apparently it was also the second quickest goal that United have ever conceded at home in the Premier League.

I listened as the half wore on and we seemed to be playing quite well. Then, once more, according to the commentator, we conceded a goal because of a defensive mistake. How can we keep doing this? Then, yet another surprise (not)! A Pogba dive after Mark Noble hadn’t touched him, and United’s costliest ever player was booked for simulation. Mourinho did his pieces on the touchline, kicking a water bottle, and was sent off by referee, Moss. If I remember correctly Moss was the referee who sent Mourinho to the stands when we beat Chelsea 2-1 at Upton Park a little over a year ago.

By all accounts we were well worth the draw, despite United doing more attacking and having greater possession, but you would expect this at Old Trafford. Darren Randolph vindicated his selection in goal with some magnificent saves. I look forward to watching the game later on Match of the Day 2.

At the end of the match I had a look at the league table, and had a few “if only” thoughts. How many points would we have had at this stage of the season if we had held on to win games that we were winning? How many points have we dropped? Watford (3 points), Stoke (2 points), Tottenham (3 points), and Man United (2 points). Three of those four games have been in the last three matches we have played. And how many points have we retrieved from a losing position? Just one I think, from the Middlesbrough game.

So despite having what most people would describe as a poor season, the loss of points from a winning position has been crucial. With those ten points we would now be sitting in fifth place in the league with 22 points. Tottenham would be sixth with 21, and Man United seventh with 19.

It is no good really looking back and saying “if only” because we can’t change history and what has happened. It makes you think though. We still have two tough games to come against Arsenal and Liverpool, before a run of four easier (on paper) games to take us up to the end of 2016, and the half way point in the season. Although we have risen to sixteenth in the table, we are still only one point above the drop zone. Every game is vital of course, but the next six games are critical. The table is very compact with only nine points separating Man United in sixth and Hull in eighteenth. Even Swansea and Sunderland have not been tailed off after their recent improved results.

Thirteen league games played now (and only five of them were Saturday 3pm kick offs!) Next Saturday’s game at home to Arsenal is at 5.30 pm, adding to the proportion of games played at a non-traditional time. Now that we have no more international breaks for a while, the games will come thick and fast with the EFL cup quarter final on Wednesday, followed by the six league games mentioned above all taking place in December. Wednesday’s game is “live” on TV. Well they say live but ………….

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 18 – So near and yet ….

Looking to plunder some profit from the visit to Old Trafford.

Fancy A Bet

Last week we had some fun bets on our game at Tottenham (odds as per Paddy Power):

10 points on West Ham to win or draw the game @7/5 (24)
1 point on West Ham to win the game @11/2 (6.5)
1 point on there being two goals or less in the game @Evens (2)
1 point on West Ham to win 1-0 @16/1 (17)
1 point on West Ham to win 2-0 at 35/1 (36)
1 point on a 1-1 draw @13/2 (7.5)
1 point on West Ham to win 2-1 @18/1 (19)
1 point on West Ham to win 1-0 and Obiang to score the goal @300-1 (301)
1 point on West Ham to win 1-0 and Payet to score the goal @100-1 (101)
1 point on West Ham to win 1-0 and Antonio to score the goal @100-1 (101)
1 point on West Ham to win the game and Obiang to score anytime @70/1 (71)

Total stake = 20 points, reducing our balance to 81.

If the score had stayed the same as it was at half time then our return would have been over 150 points. If the score had stayed the same as it was after 88 minutes then we would have had a return of 49.5 points. The odds on a Tottenham victory after 88 minutes would have been massive. Even if the game had ended 2-2 we would still have shown a profit on the day. But the madness of those last few minutes not only cost us three points, but it cost us what would have been an excellent return on our gamble.

It was not to be – if we had been participating in the in-play market then a late cash-out would have been advisable.

This week we’ll have some fun on our game at Manchester United. We had a good run for our money at Tottenham and will aim for a similar run and hopefully, profit, at Old Trafford.

16 points on West Ham to win or draw the game @13/8 (42)
4 points on West Ham to win the game @13/2 (30)
1 point on West Ham to win 1-0 @19/1 (20)
1 point on West Ham to win 2-0 at 40/1 (41)
1 point on a 1-1 draw @7/1 (8)
1 point on West Ham to win 2-1 @19/1 (20)
1 point on West Ham to win 1-0 and Obiang to score the goal @375-1 (376)
1 point on West Ham to win 1-0 and Antonio to score the goal @125-1 (126)
1 point on West Ham to win the game and Obiang to score anytime @75/1 (76)
1 point on HT score 0-0 and West Ham to win 2-1 @80/1 (81)
1 point on HT score 0-0 and West Ham to win 2-0 @100/1 (101)
1 point on HT score 0-0 and West Ham to win 1-0 @25/1 (26)

If we lose the game then we are 30 points down on the day, and our balance will fall to 51 points. If we draw or win the game then we are up on the day. With the right score and goalscorer then our profit could be greater. And in the extremely unlikely event that it is 0-0 at half time, and then Obiang scores and we win the game 1-0, then our return would be 570 points. It’s all a bit of fun and adds interest to the game. I fancy we’ll get something out of the game, even if the bookies don’t think so.

What are the chances?

Man United v West Ham preview

‘Twas The Night Before Old Trafford

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Before last week’s visit to White Hart Lane, I wrote a poem based on the famous ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. It almost, although not quite, brought us a famous victory, so this week I am inspired to try once again.

I included similar poems in my book, Goodbye Upton Park, Hello Stratford, which incidentally is available in paperback or Kindle on Amazon. So if you are looking for a Christmas present for a West Ham fan, and don’t want to spend big money for a piece of the Upton Park turf in a glass case, or a plastic seat from the stands, then look no further. I have been a regular at Upton Park for almost sixty years, and the book chronicles the last famous season there.

‘Twas the night before Old Trafford when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse;

In our last game, we went to the Lane;
It was going so well, damn Harry Kane;
Still seventeenth place, we visit Man U;
In need of three points, though one might just do;

We need to improve, be faster and bolder;
Another defeat, we’ll look over our shoulder;
‘Cos Hull are at home, with West Brom in town,
If they win their game, we’ll fall further down;

But remember last May, our last Boleyn game;
They turned up late, by coach they came;
They let us in late to take up our seating;
Man U lost the game, a hell of a beating;

We drew up there twice, Van Gaal was in charge;
And now it’s Mourinho, giving it large;
They’re not really that good, they’re run of the mill;
I reckon today we’ll beat them to nil;

Our season to date, there’s no valid reason;
To think we can win to kick start our season;
Optimistic as ever, we’ll get out of the jam;
‘Cos we are the mighty, the mighty West Ham.

One of my first memories in life was the day after my fourth birthday when the Manchester United plane crashed during take-off in Munich, and so many of their players were killed. Quite rightly there was a lot of sympathy for the club at this time, and they were a popular club throughout the country. In the years that followed, players like Charlton, Law and Best were revered as great footballers, and admired by many.

But the world has changed since those days. Fans no longer have any appreciation for the opposition, and with many it is a dislike or even hatred. United seem to be one of the teams that are most hated in English football. Perhaps it is their success which breeds jealousy, or is it those glory fans which latch themselves on to the club because of that success which so riles opposition supporters?

Are they a lucky team? Have more refereeing decisions gone their way than you would have expected? Have they attracted players that opposition fans just seem to hate so much? Keane, Cantona, Rooney, are just three examples. And for all his success over many years, and managerial achievements second to none, there was little warmth for Ferguson, among other clubs’ fans. And I suspect the same is true for Mourinho today.

But despite all the hatred they have been the most successful club in English football, and they have won more considerably more trophies, especially in the last twenty-five years, than any other team. We have been on the end of some heavy defeats by them in my lifetime, but we have also had many famous victories. The FA Cup semi-final in 1964 at Hillsborough, the FA Cup victory at Old Trafford when Di Canio was not put off by Barthez, the Tevez goal in the final game that staved off relegation, a 4-2 victory in 1977 which also kept us up, the great performance from Miklosko which denied them a league title, and of course, perhaps the greatest of all, and certainly the most emotional, the last game at Upton Park, are all examples of superb memories of matches against them.

We could really do with something from this game. The optimist in me is hoping for a victory. I’m certainly hoping that if we are leading in the 89^th minute then we can hang on this week!

The Lawro Challenge – Week 13

In some cases out-predicting the BBC predictor is not as easy as it seemed.

Lawro Crystal Ball Twelve rounds of games in the Premier League have now been completed. That means we have now predicted the results of 120 matches. In the couple of weeks prior to week 12 Lawro had narrowed the gap at the top, but Rich found his prediction touch again this week to pull further ahead.

In Week 12, Rich scored 13 points, Geoff 5 points, and Lawro 8 points. In this challenge we award one point for a correct result, and a further two points (making three in total) if the score prediction is spot on.

	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Total after 11 weeks	85	61	82
Score in week 12	13	5	8
Total after 12 weeks	98	66	90

Predictions – Week 13
	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
SATURDAY
Burnley v Man City	0-3	1-3	0-2
Hull v West Brom	1-1	1-0	1-1
Leicester v Middlesbrough	2-1	3-1	2-0
Liverpool v Sunderland	3-0	4-0	2-0
Swansea v Palace	2-1	0-0	1-1
Chelsea v Tottenham	2-1	1-2	2-0
SUNDAY
Watford v Stoke	1-1	2-1	2-1
Arsenal v Bournemouth	3-1	3-0	2-0
Man Utd v West Ham	0-1	1-1	2-1
Southampton v Everton	1-1	2-0	1-1

Tottenham 3 v 2 West Ham

Too good to go down? Haven’t we heard that somewhere before?

Embed from Getty Images

So we have an experienced Premier League manager in charge. He has kept us in the top flight when many thought we might struggle. Many are happy that he has done his job, but some believe that a change is needed. So at the end of the season the experienced manager departs, and the board bring in someone who has not managed at the top level in English football. Some think it is a risk. He probably wasn’t the first choice of the board but he gets the job. All new managers have a honeymoon period where the fans will allow some dodgy early results. And we do have some unexpected defeats at the beginning of the season.

But the performance of the club improves, and as the season progresses we have some great results. We do much better than most would have expected.

On October 24th we beat Chelsea 2-1 at Upton Park. We have some unexpected victories away from home. A seventh placed finish at the end of the season exceeds West Ham’s usual position in the Premier League.

So hopes are high for the season to follow. We have a talented squad, and a star player idolised by the supporters. But the season doesn’t quite go to plan. Early on we are playing a game at home and hold a two goal lead, but we don’t hold on to it, and fail to win the game. How the season might have been different if we had we won that game.

The early season results continue to fail to meet the high expectations held by the fans, and everyone associated with the club is disappointed with the start we have made. We visit White Hart Lane to play our arch enemies from North London. It’s a typically competitive derby and we lose the game 3-2 to a last minute goal. And one of our centre backs is sent off.

We are in the month of November, and after twelve games of the season have been played we have just eleven points. Not in the bottom three, but only just outside of it. That is less than a point a game. Relegation form many believe. Many will argue differently. Our team is a good one. Too good to go down. It will all come good soon.

Now most of you will think that I am writing about our current predicament. But I am not. Going back to the start of this article, the experienced manager is Harry Redknapp. The new manager is Glenn Roeder. In Roeder’s first season in charge in 2001-2002 we did beat Chelsea 2-1 on 24th October. We did have some unexpected victories away from home. We did finish seventh in the Premier League. Hopes were high for the season to come. In 2002-2003 we did have a talented squad. Di Canio was our star player and was idolised by the fans. We were leading Arsenal 2-0 but failed to win the game. How the season might have been different if we had held on to that lead and picked up three points. We did lose 3-2 at Tottenham to a last minute goal, and Ian Pearce was sent off. After twelve games we had eleven points. But most weren’t worried. Most believed we were too good to go down.

For Harry Redknapp read Sam Allardyce. For Glenn Roeder read Slaven Bilic. In Bilic’s first season we did have some unexpected defeats at the start (Leicester, Bournemouth) and we did beat Chelsea 2-1 at Upton Park on 24th October. We did have some unexpected victories away from home. We did finish in seventh place in the Premier League. We went in to the new season (this one) with high hopes. We did hold a two goal lead in an early game (Watford) but failed to win the game. How might this season have been different if we had picked up three points then? We did just lose 3-2 to a last minute goal at Tottenham, and for centre back Ian Pearce being sent off, read Winston Reid. And we have got just eleven points after twelve games of the season. And we are not in the bottom three, but just above it.

The parallels when comparing 2001-2, and 2002-3, are uncannily like 2015-16 and 2016-17. But of course 2016-17 isn’t over yet. We are just twelve games in. But for those who believe that history might continue to repeat itself, shall we look back to what happened at the end of 2002-3?

We finished in eighteenth place and were relegated despite some improved performances towards the end of the season. But how could it have happened? We were too good to go down they said. After those first twelve games in 2002-3 we then didn’t win a single game in our next nine league matches. It won’t happen this time will it? We are too good to go down. Aren’t we?

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 17

High rolling it down Tottenham High Road looking for value in a West Ham win.

Fancy A Bet

A fortnight ago I placed some bets on our game at home to Stoke. They were:

20 points on a win @21/20 (41)
10 points on a draw @13/5 (36)
1 point Mark Noble to score the first goal @12/1 (13)
1 point on Noble 1^st goal and we win 1-0 @60/1 (61)
1 point on Noble 1^st goal and we win 2-1 @60/1 (61)
1 point on a 1-0 West Ham victory @15/2 (8.5)
1 point on a 2-1 West Ham victory @15/2 (8.5)

Total stake 35 points, reducing our balance to 65.

We drew the game so our return of 36 points took our balance up to 101.

This week, we’ll have some fun bets on our game at Tottenham (odds as per Paddy Power):

Total stake = 20 points, reducing our balance to 81.

Very simply, if we win or draw the game then we are up on the day. The best result for us with these bets is a 1-0 victory with Pedro Obiang scoring the goal. That would give us a total return of 421.5 points, with six of our eleven bets winning. Not really likely, but it gives us a bit of fun whilst watching the game, especially if it remains goalless for some time. If we lose the game then we lose our total stake of 20 points.

In any event I am hoping for a win, and at the very least a draw. Optimistic as ever, I know.

What are the chances?