Author: Richard Bennett

Can West Ham put an end to Everton’s unbeaten run when we visit Goodison Park for the final time today?

With just ten games of the season to go we are languishing in 16th place in the Premier League table prior to this round of matches. Apart from week two our whole season has been spent between 12th and 16th position. In this most tedious of seasons what can we look forward to? Just looking at the table with a good run we might manage to climb to the dizzy heights of 13th and are unlikely to fall any lower than our current 16th.

Historically Everton used to be a bit of a bogey team (do you remember the days when Lukaku used to score for fun against us?) but in recent years we have slightly had the upper hand, winning four of our last six visits to Goodison Park. In the last 5 seasons the games between West Ham and Everton have almost all qualified to be the last game on Match of the Day. The football has been boring to watch and there have been very few goals. In the last nine league games between us there has been a total of just 14 goals. We have scored 9 of them, thus averaging one a game. Everton have scored just 5. Their five have come in 5 separate games, thus failing to score in the other four. We have also had 4 goalless games, but at least we twice scored 2 and once even 3!

Everton come into the game as one of the form teams in the Premier League. They have won four and drawn four of their last eight games, the longest unbeaten run of all the teams in the top flight apart from league leaders Liverpool. Four of their last five have been draws. They are the draw specialists having drawn 12 of their 28 games, the most in the league. They have lost 9 times which puts them on a par for losing with fifth placed Manchester City.

The game has got lack of goals written all over it. Neither team has got too much to play for other than trying to move up the Premier League table and trying to impress their new boss. Talking of the men in charge I see that Graham Potter has the upper hand on David Moyes winning five and drawing two of the seven times they’ve met.

We’ve won four times away from home this season, keeping a clean sheet in each. It helps. We’ve only been involved in one goalless game and that was against, yes you’ve guessed it Everton. Let’s hope that Everton don’t score the first goal of the game. That’s happened to us 15 times this season and we haven’t won any of them.

I can’t say I’m particularly looking forward to the game. It won’t be a classic I’m sure. I reckon a 0-0 draw or perhaps just one goal in the game. I just hope we score it.

And then we’ve got (yawn) another international break, the fourth of the season. I’ve just seen Tuchel’s squad. Henderson! Rashford! Burn! Is that the best we can do? It’s a sad indictment that apart from Bowen we don’t have any other player in the senior squad and none in the under 21 squad either.   Let’s hope I’ve got it all wrong and we see a scintillating game of attacking football and we put an end to their unbeaten run. We can dream can’t we?

Can West Ham achieve their first double of the season when Newcastle visit the London Stadium on Monday night?

With just eleven games of the season to go we are fifteenth in the Premier League table prior to this round of matches. Apart from week two our whole season has been spent between 12th and 16th position. Graham Potter took over on 10th January so this game marks two months in charge. We were fourteenth when he assumed control and his seven league games have produced three wins, one draw and three defeats, hence ten points, including wins in the last two games. That was the first time this season that we had won back- to-back games. Six of the first seven winning games this season were followed by defeats. Can we make it three wins in a row?

Newcastle, in sixth place before this round of matches, and just three points off a Champions League place, haven’t been in the best of form in recent games, losing three of their last four league games, conceding eleven goals in the process. Surprisingly we beat them 2-0 in the reverse fixture in November with goals from Soucek and Wan Bissaka, but at home we haven’t beaten them for more than six years since a 2-0 win in March 2019 when Pellegrini was our manager and the goals were scored by Rice and Noble.

Historically the Geordies have had the better of us and especially so in recent times. We have beaten them just eleven times in forty-one league games in the twenty-first century, and just twice in the twelve games since that 2-0 win in 2019.

What do you think of this season so far? Two head coaches, the whole campaign in the bottom half of the table, and another poor defensive record conceding 47 goals so far – only four teams have conceded more. Just 32 goals scored, once again just four teams have scored fewer. Part of the reason for this seems to be our inability to shoot on target. Despite doing OK in respect of making chances, we are bottom of the league when it comes to shots on target, and only Southampton have a worse record for the shot conversion rate where our 30 goals have come from 333 shots.

Newcastle rely heavily on Alexander Isak, one of the best all round strikers in the Premier League. He has scored almost half of their league goals this season. He will certainly be a big danger but Anthony Gordon is suspended following his red card in their previous game. No doubt his place will be taken by Harvey Barnes who I can recall playing well and scoring goals against us.

It is now more than 18 months ago that Lucas Paqueta hit the headlines for being suspected of breaching betting rules. It seems that the case is about to be heard soon and he would appear to have the odds stacked against him. I read that the standard of proof for FA hearings, as in civil law cases, is based on a ‘balance of probabilities’. In criminal proceedings on the other hand there is a more rigorous threshold of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. This means that the FA only need to prove it is more likely than not that he was involved in spot-fixing by being deliberately booked, thereby influencing betting markets.

He was officially charged in May 2024 and Paqueta strenuously denies the charges. It is alleged that the FA are seeking a lifetime ban so if the case goes against him, and the odds are stacked that way, it would be bad news for the club as well as the player himself. I just hope that his legal representation is on a par with that which appears to be delaying the multitude of charges facing Manchester City.

I would think that a majority of fans are behind Graham Potter and there certainly seems to be a more positive feeling around the club now that he has taken over. It’s still the honeymoon period and we need to see what can be achieved in the final games of this less than exciting season.

Can the Tynesiders become the first team that we achieve a double over this season?

We last did the double over them in the season I referred to earlier (2018-19). In addition to the 2-0 home win we won on their ground by an emphatic 3-0 with goals from Hernandez (2) and Anderson.

We have five opportunities left to achieve the double over Premier League teams in the remainder of the season. After Newcastle the other teams that we have already beaten in this campaign who we have yet to meet for a second time are Manchester United, Ipswich, Wolves and Southampton.

On paper our final eleven games do not present us with the most challenging of run-ins. Six of those games are against teams (like us) currently in the bottom eight. It would be good to extend our winning (or at least unbeaten) run, but as we know all too well, with West Ham you never know what you are going to get!

A look back at West Ham’s unexpected win at Arsenal (I wasn’t expecting that!) and a look ahead to Leicester.

Arsenal 0 West Ham 1. I wasn’t expecting that. Liverpool had given Arsenal a little bit of hope in the title race with four draws since the turn of the year when they were held by Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Everton. The hope was slammed back in their faces by a brave and disciplined performance by inconsistent West Ham. We were well worth the three points. I wasn’t expecting that.

Our last game at home to Brentford was dreadful as was the home game against Palace in January. But a win against Fulham (albeit a little lucky), a creditable draw at Villa, and an unlucky defeat at Chelsea showed evidence of Graham Potter’s impact since his appointment. This was perhaps the best performance and result so far in his short time in charge.

We exposed Arsenal’s shortcomings. They might have enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, but they had no cutting edge. Similar to all the excuses coming out of their North London neighbours they moaned about their injury list, especially in attack. Hold on a minute. We are missing Antonio, Fullkrug, Summerville, and Paqueta was added to the list before this game. We all have problems so enough of the excuses.

Manchester United were keen to offload Aaron Wan-Bissaka for what is beginning to look like a bargain fee. They were happy with him defensively but felt they needed a full back who was better going forward. For me he has been a revelation in this respect. I wasn’t expecting that.

We were massively threatening when we broke, Wan-Bissaka in particular a danger on the right. It was no shock really that he instigated what turned out to be the winning goal with a break down the right before an expert cross found Jarrod Bowen who scored with a diving header. All afternoon he caused massive problems for Calafiori, and then his replacement Lewis-Skelly who came on early in the second half.

I was shocked when Arteta decided to replace Rice with Zinchenko, nominally a left back. I wasn’t expecting that. Our travelling supporters let loose with that decision with some chants aimed at our former captain. I don’t believe that Arteta is using Rice to get the best out of him.

The Arsenal fans were venting their frustration and then they were furious when Lewis-Skelly was correctly dismissed following a VAR call for bringing down Kudus. How poor was the referee to not show the red card immediately rather than having to wait for VAR? That was Arsenal’s fifth red card of the season. They have dropped ten points in the five matches where they have had a player dismissed. The gap to Liverpool increased to eleven points the following day when Slot’s team comfortably disposed of fading Manchester City. The title race, if it still existed, was definitely over.

Not that the red card really made a great difference. In many ways we were better against eleven than against ten. Lewis-Skelly is being talked about as a future England left back. I’m probably a bit premature but Ollie Scarles had a storming game and perhaps he will move on to such heights too. It’s a bit early I know but he does look a tremendous prospect.

For me Wan-Bissaka was the star of the show but Scarles, Ward Prowse and Kudus weren’t far behind. In fact it was a superb performance by all the players. Arsenal have only lost three games at the Emirates since the beginning of last season. We have won two of those. I wasn’t expecting that.

We now move on to Leicester who are (like Ipswich and Southampton) demonstrating the enormous gulf that exists between the Premier League and the Championship. They have lost six of the seven league games played in 2025; their only win came against Tottenham. In fact they’ve only won four games in the whole season. In addition to Tottenham they beat Bournemouth, Southampton, and in early December ourselves.

We went one down in that game to a very early Jamie Vardy goal and despite peppering their goal with shots and multiple corners we conceded two more before Fullkrug’s late consolation in added on time. It was Van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge. Had the Dutch boss dreamed of the perfect start to his tenure in the East Midlands he could scarcely have hoped for anything better than the move which led to Vardy’s opening goal shortly after the first whistle which stood after a lengthy VAR check.

If we put in anything like our performance at the Emirates then we should be too much for the ailing Foxes. But anyone who has supported West Ham for any length of time will know that this is the type of game where we have been known to fall down. However, I believe that Jarrod Bowen is really beginning to come into form after his injury layoff and expect him to be among the goals in a resounding victory. The pictures below show him in goalscoring form for West Ham against Leicester in recent seasons.

There have been some great games against Leicester throughout my time following West Ham, and in fact two of them made it into the top 20 games I’ve seen when I wrote my book, Goodbye Upton Park, Hello Stratford. The first one I’ll recall was on Boxing Day in 1967. I watched the game from my seat in B Block in the old West Stand at Upton Park. It kicked off at 11am (yes, there were morning games in those days), and by 11.15 we were 2-0 down. But the very first goal that I can remember a very young Trevor Brooking scoring, plus a superb hat trick from one of my favourite West Ham goalscorers, Brian Dear, ensured a great win in a very entertaining game. But the undoubted man of the match was a very young (17-year- old) teenager playing in the Leicester goal who had an unbelievable game and was destined to become a star in the future – Peter Shilton.

When we met Leicester on that Boxing Day we were 20th in the league and in a relegation tussle (although only two were relegated in those days). By the end of the season we had rallied somewhat and finally finished 12th; Leicester were 13th. Incidentally we visited Filbert Street four days later and won the game again, with the identical score, 4-2, with goals from Dear 2, Brooking and Sissons.

Another great game against Leicester came in the following season. On 16th November 1968 we were 7th having won our two previous home games 8-0 v Sunderland and 4-3 v Queens Park Rangers. It was amazing that we were that high in the table considering we had a run of 9 winless games from early September to mid-October. There were a few memorable games in that 1968/69 season and this one came a fortnight after the QPR game. I watched from the North Bank and, apart from being an exciting game it also included my all-time favourite goal scored by Martin Peters.

When I met Martin almost 40 years later at a book-signing I asked him to sign the programme for that game, as well as his autobiography. And what a lovely man he was, although he had no recollection of the game. He told me that he couldn’t really remember many of his goals. An early sign perhaps of the illness that was to strike him down at too young an age.

The goal was a fantastic move started by Ferguson in goal, the ball rolled out to Peters, then to Charles, then to Sissons, and finally a fantastic unstoppable volley by Peters who had run the length of the pitch virtually to get on the end of it. You can see the last part of the goal on YouTube from where Sissons crosses it, but unfortunately not the whole move. From our position on the North Bank we had a super view of the finish. We won that game 4-0.

Leicester have conceded four goals on five occasions so far this season including in two of their three games in the month of February, last week at home to Brentford and at Everton. In their seven league games in 2025 they have only scored three goals, the 2-1 win over Tottenham and another in a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. In those seven matches they have conceded 17 goals. I’ll be disappointed if we don’t inflict another heavy defeat on them.

A poem which asks if the positive signs of progress under Potter can translate into results and a climb up the table as West Ham face Brentford.

It seems like ages since we last did play,
But with injuries plaguing, it’s been good to delay.
I’m fed up with hearing of Tottenham’s plight,
All clubs have unavailable players in the fight!

With a poorly balanced squad, it’s clear,
Injuries hit hard, that’s cost us dear.
Hopefully, some will return to the scene,
With Ferguson up front, a future bright and keen.

Out of the cups, fifteenth we stand,
No Europe to chase, but survival’s in hand.
Ten points clear of relegation’s call,
A calamitous run needed for us to fall.

With Potter in charge, progress we see,
Looking to next season, that’s the key.
Performances to cherish, up the table we’d love,
Maybe the top half, or ninth or above?

Facing Arsenal and Newcastle, tough matches ahead,
Brentford and Leicester, we could win those instead?
Brentford’s away record, second worst we know,
A chance to get closer with a victory to show.

Talent abounds, no doubt in my mind,
Ferguson, Kudus, Summerville, Bowen combined.
Paqueta, Ward-Prowse, Soler, and Soucek too,
There’s goals in that talent, oppositions will rue.

Ferguson’s arrival is a welcome sight,
Though later than hoped, it still feels just right.
Potter knows him well, a debut at Brighton,
But a straight loan deal, not sure that’s the right’un!

If he succeeds, Brighton may gain,
But West Ham’s joy will not be in vain.
Ward-Prowse’s return, I do cheer,
Goals and assists, he’ll surely bring here.

Irving’s emergence, a joy to behold,
Opportunities given, stories unfold.
Potter’s guidance, a thoughtful touch,
Fourteen games left, we expect much.

I like how Potter’s seen the light,
In academy talents, he’s got it right.
Scarles and Orford have joined in the dance,
Hopeful others too will be given their chance.

Criticism’s been made on the squad’s age,
With Potter in charge we’ll turn a new page.
Guilherme had a run out, a glimpse to see,
Skill and speed, he might just be?

The Chelsea game, we were unlucky indeed,
Bowen fouled, and offside we plead.
VAR took ages, goal two a deflection,
Our play restricted them but not quite perfection.

Defensively stronger, Potter’s made his mark,
Coufal and Cresswell a surprise renewed spark?
Kilman’s happier? Todibo’s next test,
Encouraged by Potter, can he show his best?

Tim Steidten’s departure, inevitable it seems,
Kyle Macaulay arrived with new dreams.
Sullivan’s control is recruitment’s fate,
Steidten’s reputation is now of late.

Brentford’s away record, once awful to see,
Five games were lost, but now two victories.
Last February, Bowen’s three silenced the din,
Six goals were shared in a 4-2 win.

Earlier this season, a draw we did claim,
Soucek’s equaliser to match Brentford’s game.
It’s looking much brighter so is there a reason
With Potter in charge a good end to the season?

West Ham face Brentford at the London Stadium. Can the positive signs of progress under Potter translate into results and a climb up the table?

It seems like ages since we last played. Perhaps that’s a good thing with all our injuries. I get fed up listening to all the woes surrounding Tottenham’s injury list. All clubs including ourselves have players unavailable all the time. With a poorly balanced squad this can be quite a problem as we have found out with, for example, injuries to our attacking players this season. Hopefully some of our injured players will be back and, with the addition of Ferguson up front I’m looking forward to the final fourteen games of the season.

In some ways there’s not a lot to play for as we are out of the cup competitions, we sit fifteenth in the league with no prospect of challenging for a European place, and we are ten points clear of the relegation zone so there are minimal fears of a battle against the drop. It would take a calamitous run of poor results from here in to get sucked into trouble and fall much further down the table.

But despite the results since he took over, with Graham Potter in charge there appear to be positive signs of progress. He can start to look forward to next season and with a lack of anything too much to play for perhaps the team can provide us with some performances to give us a more memorable finish to the season, pushing us as far up the table as possible, perhaps even into the top half, or even bettering last season’s finishing position of ninth, although this would be an unlikely achievement as we are probably too far behind.

The immediate future won’t be easy with both in-form Arsenal and Newcastle coming up in our next four games, so the visits of Brentford this weekend and Leicester at the end of the month will be important for our chances of moving upwards. Only Southampton have a worse record than Brentford away from home (although to be fair Brentford have won their last two) so this is an early opportunity to make inroads into gaining on the teams that are catchable. Brentford are just four points ahead at the moment and sit in eleventh.

It may be unbalanced but there is no doubt in my mind that we have a lot of talented footballers in our squad, especially in an attacking sense. With Ferguson, Kudus, Summerville, Bowen, Paqueta, Ward-Prowse, Soler, Irving and Soucek there are players of quality who can present problems to opposition defences.

It’s a shame that Ferguson didn’t arrive sooner in the transfer window but his arrival is very welcome. Potter knows him well, giving him his debut as a sixteen year old at Brighton, but many are unhappy that a straight loan without an option or obligation to buy means that if he is a success we will be developing him for Brighton’s benefit, and he will head back there to add to their attack or be sold at a huge fee. I’d like to think that if he is the centre forward we’ve been looking for we would be in for him at that point, but we can’t realistically look that far ahead. All we can hope for is that he loves it here so much that he is successful and somehow becomes a West Ham player permanently.

We had the chance to buy him outright it appears but declined the opportunity to do so. That could turn out to be either a blessing or a huge error, but we can’t worry about that now. With our past record of buying strikers let’s hope there is a happy ending. Over the years we have bought so many strikers with big names and huge expectations who just did not fit into the system that the manager at the time wanted to play. Surely Potter wanted him because he knew he would fit into the system he wanted to play, even if it is just for the next fourteen days.

I love the fact that we have recalled James Ward Prowse too. I know I am in the minority here and so many of our fanbase will disagree with me, but I am a fan and don’t believe he should have been loaned out to be replaced by Rodriguez or Soler in our midfield. I know my fellow writer Geoff has reservations regarding his return, but he does have an end product in terms of goals and assists. In 2023-4 only Bowen (16) and Kudus (8) exceeded his seven goals in league games, and nobody exceeded his seven assists. He won’t necessarily be a starter but will be more than useful in the squad and I’d like to think Potter wanted him back because he feels he can get the best out of him. I believe he could flourish now he is back.

There are a number of positives since the arrival of Graham Potter in addition to the acquisition of Ferguson and the return of Ward-Prowse. The emergence of Irving is one – it was good to see him getting the opportunity to start in our last game. To me he always looked good with his tiny cameos and he put in a very mature performance with his first outing in the starting line-up. Again, another who may not be a regular starter but one who I’m sure will be more than useful if given the opportunities.

I also like the way Potter seems to have realised the potential of using some of our talented academy players. Scarles and Orford have already been given chances in his brief time in charge and I am hopeful that others will too. There has been so much criticism about the age of the squad and this is a step in the right direction.

He also gave Guilherme a run out in the Chelsea game, and whilst you can’t make too much of his limited appearance he did show a couple of examples of skill and speed that perhaps will mean he will come good in the future. We paid £25 million for him and then he never got a chance (possibly for internal political reasons?). Let’s hope there is another one here who can be added to our attacking talent.

I thought we were massively unlucky to lose the last game at Chelsea. Bowen was undoubtedly fouled in the build up to their equalising goal in my opinion, and there was almost certainly an offside decision missed (that VAR took an age to consider) too. The winning goal was a lucky deflection. I thought that Chelsea’s performance was restricted by the way we played and were set up by the manager. We were well organised and closed out the spaces in midfield. With our influential players missing it was a really pleasing performance.  

One thing that has surprised me a little is how good we have been (or perhaps will become) defensively under Potter. Coufal and Cresswell, despite their limitations, seem to have got a renewed lease of life at the back, Kilman seems happier and I hope he can get the best out of Todibo too. If it is true that top European clubs wanted him then hopefully Potter can encourage him to demonstrate why.  

The departure of technical director Tim Steidten was inevitable once Kyle Macaulay arrived as head of recruitment. His days were numbered, he didn’t have a good relationship with either Moyes or Lopetegui, and Potter wanted his own man. His position became untenable. He came from Germany with a massive reputation and was lauded for some of his transfer dealings but in the end it was inevitable he would go. With Sullivan at the helm, nobody will ever have full control of recruitment at the club.  

Up until a year ago we had an appalling head to head record against Brentford losing the first five games against them after their promotion to the top flight in 2021. We finally put that right last February when we beat them 4-2 which included a Jarrod Bowen hat-trick, bringing his total to five goals scored against them. The game earlier this season at the Gtech Community Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw with Soucek’s second half equaliser cancelling out Brentford’s first minute goal, which is one of their specialities.

The history of West Ham’s visits to Stamford Bridge indicates a likely home win. But does Chelsea’s poor recent form suggest otherwise?

History of Chelsea v West Ham fixtures and form in 2024-25 gives West Ham little chance of beating Chelsea on Monday evening. Only one player who could possibly be in our line-up for this game has ever scored a goal for us at Stamford Bridge and that is Aaron Cresswell. In our last two Premier League games v Chelsea they have scored eight goals against us without reply.

The first few minutes of the game could be important (as we found at Villa recently). Apart from Brentford, Chelsea have scored more goals than any other team in the opening ten minutes of Premier League games this season whereas we have conceded more goals in that time than any other team. Let’s hope we can withstand the opening period!

There are some hopeful factors though. Despite being sixth in the table, Chelsea have the poorest form in their last six games of all the top 14 Premier League teams. That’s where we are in our customary position this season of 14th. They have only collected five points in those whereas we have seven. The Premier League form table for the last six games has Chelsea in 15th.

In those six matches which go back to Boxing Day Chelsea have scored first in five of them but only won one of those five games. Their record of dropping more points from winning positions than anyone else in the period is only surpassed by Tottenham who have only picked up one point in the six-game form table up until the end of January.

I was looking through some statistics on the BBC website and saw that West Ham have won just one of their last 18 Premier League away games against Chelsea, drawing 4 of them and losing 13. That alone would suggest that winning there on Monday evening will not be likely if history is repeated. The one win in the period was in November 2019, a game remembered because of our goalkeeper that day, David Martin (son of Alvin) who kept a clean sheet and Aaron Cresswell scored for us as we won the game 1-0.

My first recollection in any detail of West Ham / Chelsea games goes back to the World Cup winning year of 1966. Towards the end of the 1965-66 season we played at Stamford Bridge and they thrashed us 6-2. Names from the past – George Graham (2), Ron Harris, Terry Venables and Bobby Tambling (2) scored against us that day. Our goals were from Peter Bennett and an own goal.

In the very first game at Upton Park after the World Cup final we met them at Upton Park. Our World Cup winning trio of Moore, Hurst and Peters received a tremendous reception when they came onto the pitch alone before the teams came out, but Chelsea spoilt the day with a 2-1 win. Johnny Byrne scored our goal that day.

Later that season in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge the week before Christmas there were ten goals in the game as it ended 5-5. Not many games end with that scoreline. Byrne, Brabrook, Peters, Sissons (2) were our scorers that day.

I was looking at the cost of programmes in those days. Both West Ham and Chelsea programmes at the time cost 6d (2.5p equivalent). The cost of the Matchday programme this season is now £4. That’s inflation for you.

Since that 5-5 draw we have played them 45 times in league games at Stamford Bridge, mostly top-flight games, although a couple of times in Division Two. We have won 10 of them, the last one being the David Martin game in 2019.

One win in 1967 was followed by two in the seventies, two in the eighties, three in the nineties, a surprising win in the relegation season of 2002-03, and then in 2019. The biggest win came in the great season of 1985-86 when we won 4-0 (McAvennie, Cottee 2, Devonshire), on our way to finishing third.

Despite their recent poor form and our encouraging display at Villa Chelsea are big odds-on favourites with the bookmakers to win the game at 1/3. We are 4/1 or greater to win and the draw is around 7/1 if you fancy a flutter.

Five years ago at the beginning of February we were just beginning to hear about Covid although we were unaware of the effect it would have on our lives for a year or two. The effect on football was that a season that began in August 2019 didn’t end until the end of July 2020. The season was halted for three months in March and of course social distancing entered the language with games played behind closed doors.

Looking back at those times we didn’t have VAR, which was to start at the beginning of the following season. Surprisingly (you may think?) the makeup of the Premier League was similar in terms of the teams with sixteen of the current twenty sides involved. The four who were in the top flight then who aren’t now are Sheffield United, Burnley, Watford and Norwich. Sheffield United and Burnley both finished in the top half of the table whereas Watford and Norwich were both relegated (along with Bournemouth). Liverpool were runaway champions (as they well might be this time?). We finished sixteenth just above Aston Villa who narrowly escaped relegation by one point.

The four teams here now who weren’t then are Brentford, Fulham and Nottingham Forest who in that Championship season finished third, fourth and seventh. The other team is Ipswich who were a mid-table League One side that year. The teams who came up from the Championship were Leeds and West Brom (who are now back there) and Fulham who beat Brentford in the Play-Off final.

I wonder if you had looked forward then to the current day and been able to predict the Premier League table at the beginning of February 2025. Would you have predicted Forest in third place having just put seven past Brighton? Bournemouth seventh, Fulham, Brighton, Brentford ninth, tenth and eleventh? Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham all in the bottom half?

I wonder what team and formation will we see against Chelsea? There seems to have been a new manager bounce in that the players seem to be responding to Graham Potter more than appeared to be the case with the departed Lopetegui. Geoff raised the issue of new manager bounce in a recent article. There has certainly been that effect at Everton too.

Hopefully Jarrod Bowen will be back for this game and it won’t be too long until we see Summerville too. At the time of writing we still haven’t signed a centre forward, a box to box midfielder or central defender that are key positions that most need strengthening although the signing of Ferguson from Brighton is looking close? The window slams shut at 11pm – let us hope that there is some good news on this front.

With a week of the transfer window remaining, a trip down memory lane looking back at some of West Ham’s most successful incoming transfers

With the winter transfer window nearing its close it got me thinking about West Ham’s transfer successes and failures in the years that I have been following the team. In this article I will mainly concentrate on some of the successful ones and my favourites.

The first notable incoming transfer that I remember vaguely, mainly reinforced by my dad was that of Vic Keeble in 1957. We bought him from Newcastle for £10,000 which set up a partnership with one of my all time favourites Johnny Dick which yielded 40 goals as the Hammers became Second Division champions (Dick 21, Keeble 19). In the following season in Division One the pair scored 47 between them (Dick 27, Keeble 20), a key reason why we finished sixth in the table. In the next campaign he was forced to retire with back trouble and ended with 49 goals in 80 appearances, £10,000 well spent! What a partnership that was with Dick in the days when a twin spearhead produced such success.

The next one I remember was when West Ham smashed the British record transfer fee signing Johnny Byrne for £65,000 from fourth division Crystal Palace. He formed an exciting partnership with Geoff Hurst, with the bigger target man feeding off the skilful smaller partner and vice versa. He was an England international and when he was sold back to Crystal Palace in 1967 he had scored over 100 goals for us in just over 200 appearances. Perhaps his best ever game for us came in a League Cup tie in 1966 when we slaughtered ‘mighty’ Leeds 7-0. He didn’t get on the scoresheet that night but had a hand in virtually every goal and put in a performance close to perfection. Once again the twin partnership was a key factor.

In 1967 three signings were made to strengthen our defence. John Cushley arrived from Celtic and also from Scotland came goalkeeper Bobby Ferguson at £65,000 a record fee for a British goalkeeper. Both of the Scottish signings were not complete successes, finding it difficult to adapt to the English game. Ferguson was an excellent shot stopper but not the best when it came to dominating his penalty area. It was reported at the time that we could have bought Gordon Banks at the time as Leicester wanted to promote a teenage Peter Shilton, but for some reason we went for Ferguson. Most significantly at the time right back Billy Bonds was signed from Charlton for £50,000, arguably the best transfer ever made by the club in my lifetime.

Billy Bonds is a true legend at West Ham United, having made an indelible mark on the club both as a player and a manager. He quickly established himself as a key player, initially as a right-back before transitioning to midfield and then centre back. He was known for his hardworking, uncompromising, swashbuckling style, which perfectly complemented the skills of his teammates. He played a crucial role in West Ham’s successes, including their FA Cup victories in 1975 and 1980. Bonds was the only West Ham captain to lift the FA Cup twice. He also won the Hammer of the Year award four times, showcasing his consistent excellence.

His legacy at West Ham is immense. He made 799 first-team appearances for the club, scoring 61 goals over his 27-year association. His commitment to the club and his ability to inspire both as a player and a manager have cemented his status as an all-time great, and perhaps our best ever signing. The East Stand at the London Stadium is named in his honour, recognizing his contributions to the club.

In 1970 we signed Tommy Taylor for £78,000 from Leyton Orient. A very good centre half who had played in the first team at Orient at just 15 years old he played for nine seasons at Upton Park appearing in almost 400 games. He gained many under 23 caps for England but never quite made the full international team.

One of the great mysteries to me of international football was why Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson was never selected to play for the full England team. After a successful career at Newcastle where he won a Second Division Championship medal and a European Fairs Cup medal and scoring almost 100 goals West Ham paid a club record fee of £120,000 for his services. He went to Sunderland in 1975 and then we bought him back for £80,000 in 1976, staying with us for a further three seasons before again joining Sunderland. He scored over 100 goals for the Hammers and in 1972-73 was the First Division leading scorer with 28 goals. Ironically he left us twice just before we won the FA Cup, firstly in 1975 and then in 1980!

Alan Taylor became a household name in 1975 when his goals swept us to Wembley. He joined from Rochdale for £45,000 in 1974. He won an FA Cup winners medal in 1975 and a year later was in the side that lost to Anderlecht in the European Cup Winners Cup final. In five seasons at Upton Park he scored 36 goals in 121 appearances, but the statistic we all remember is that he scored two goals in the quarter final at Highbury against Arsenal, two goals in the semi-final replay versus Ipswich, and two goals in the final against Fulham.

There were two other relatively successful signings at the same time as Alan Taylor with Billy Jennings (£110,000 from Watford) and Keith Robson (from Newcastle) forming an entertaining front three.

Alan Devonshire is another West Ham United legend whose career is filled with remarkable achievements and memorable moments. He began his football journey at non-league Southall, where his exceptional skills caught the attention of West Ham scouts. Despite initial rejections from Crystal Palace, Devonshire’s talent shone through, and he signed for West Ham in 1976 for a fee of just £5,000. He quickly became a fan favourite, known for his mazy runs down the left flank and his ability to glide past defenders. His partnership with Trevor Brooking in midfield was telepathic, contributing to West Ham’s successes during the late 1970s and 1980s.

He played a crucial role in West Ham’s FA Cup victory in 1980. He also helped the team reach the League Cup final in 1981 and achieve their highest-ever finish in the top-flight with a third-place finish in 1986. Over his 14-year career at West Ham, Devonshire made 448 appearances and scored 32 goals. Despite his club success, his international career was limited to eight caps for England between 1980 and 1983. Many fans believe he deserved more recognition at the international level given his talent and contributions to West Ham.

Phil Parkes is widely regarded as one of West Ham United’s greatest goalkeepers. He began his professional career at Walsall before moving to Queens Park Rangers in 1970. During his time at QPR, he made over 400 appearances and earned his only England cap in 1974.

In 1979, West Ham broke the world record for a goalkeeper by signing Parkes from QPR for £565,000. Despite concerns about his knee problems, Parkes proved to be a fantastic acquisition for the club. He played a crucial role in West Ham’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup final. In the 1980-81 season, he helped West Ham win promotion back to the First Division by keeping 22 clean sheets. He was voted Hammer of the Year for his outstanding performances in the 1980-81 season. He made over 400 appearances for the club and was known for his agility, shot-stopping ability, and leadership qualities. In 2003, a poll of West Ham fans voted him the club’s greatest ever goalkeeper.

Ray Stewart, affectionately known as “Tonka,” is another West Ham United legend whose career is filled with remarkable achievements and memorable moments. He began his professional career at Dundee United, where he quickly made a name for himself as a talented defender. His performances caught the attention of West Ham United, and he joined the club in 1979 for a then-record fee of £430,000 for a British teenager.

Known for his resolute defending and fantastic penalty-taking ability, Stewart became a fan favourite. He played a crucial role in West Ham’s 1980 FA Cup victory, scoring two goals in the fourth round against Leyton Orient and a last-minute penalty winner in the quarter-final against Aston Villa. His penalty-taking prowess was legendary, with him scoring 62 league goals for West Ham, 84 in total including all competitions, with 76 from penalties. He did miss 10 but his 88% success rate is one of the best. He played a crucial role in West Ham’s FA Cup victory, and was a key member of the team that won promotion back to the First Division, playing 41 games and scoring five goals. He made 432 appearances for the club.

Paul Goddard was signed from QPR for a club record fee of £800,000 in 1980. He scored 71 goals in just over 200 appearances and won an England cap whilst at the club before leaving for Newcastle in 1986, finding his first team chances restricted following the signing of Frank McAvennie.

Frank McAvennie was signed by John Lyall for £340,000 from St Mirren in 1985 and quickly set up a prolific scoring partnership with Tony Cottee. In their best season 1985-86 they scored 46 league goals between them and he won the first of his Scotland caps. He went to Celtic for £750,000 in 1987 and in 1989 he came back, although this time he was not so successful. In May 1992 he played his final game for us at home to Nottingham Forest and said goodbye in style with a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory, taking his tally to 60 goals.

Jarrod Bowen has been a standout player for West Ham United since joining the club in January 2020. After Hereford’s expulsion from the Football Conference in 2014, Bowen signed for Hull City on a free transfer. Bowen quickly made an impact scoring 15 goals in the 2017-18 season and winning the club’s Supporter’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards. His performances caught the attention of bigger clubs, and he eventually joined West Ham United.

Regarded as a quick, direct, mobile, energetic player with good technique and an eye for goal, Bowen is predominantly known for his speed, movement, clinical finishing, agility and ball control, as well as his ability to use both his pace and flair on the ball to create scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates. A versatile forward, he primarily plays as a winger on the right flank, a position which allows him to cut into the centre onto his stronger left foot, and either shoot on goal or play quick exchanges with other players and make runs in behind the defence towards goal. He can also play in the centre, behind the main striker as either an attacking midfielder or second striker or as the main striker. He has consistently performed at a high level, scoring goals and providing numerous assists in his time at the club. His contributions have been crucial in helping West Ham achieve notable finishes in the Premier League. Bowen scored the winning goal, in the 90th minute, against Fiorentina to give West Ham their first trophy in 43 years with a 2–1 victory. He has also represented England, earning 14 caps and scoring one goal. His performances at the international level have further solidified his reputation as one of the top players in English football. Despite a recent injury he has returned to training and we look forward to his return.

There have been many other excellent transfers including Ludek Miklosko, Scott Parker, Julian Dicks and Paolo Di Canio. And how good would Dean Ashton have been if injury had not cruelly forced him into early retirement from the game? There are others too that I may have temporarily forgotten when writing this article. But for all these there have been so many that turned out to be disasters, especially forwards such as Boogers, Hugill and too many others far too numerous to mention. In our current predicament lacking goalscorers I wonder if anyone of significance will arrive in this window? I won’t hold my breath.

How Much Do You Know About West Ham versus Crystal Palace – Take The Quiz

This weekend sees West Ham take on Crystal Palace in our 22nd game of the 2024-25 season. Something a little different for today – a quiz. See how many you can answer – the answers can be found at the end.

Question 1: This weekend is the anniversary of David Sullivan and David Gold taking over at West Ham – but how many years ago did they buy the club? (A-12, B-13, C-14, D-15)

Question 2: In what year did West Ham last beat Crystal Palace at the London Stadium? (A-2018, B-2019, C-2020, D-2021)

Question 3: How many games have West Ham played against Crystal Palace since we last failed to score at least one goal in the game? (A-6, B-11, C-16, D-21)

Question 4: If West Ham win the game today, Graham Potter will become our third manager to win the first two Premier League games in charge. Who are the other two?

Question 5: West Ham have played Palace 9 times in the last 5 seasons and scored 18 goals. Which two West Ham players have scored the most goals in those nine games?

Question 6: West Ham have played Palace 9 times in the last 5 seasons – every player in the starting West Ham XI in those games is a full international footballer apart from three players. Can you name them?

Question 7: In the history of West Ham v Palace fixtures there have been 3 0-0 draws, in 1970, 1971 and 2012. Who were the 3 West Ham goalkeepers in those games?

Question 8: Palace have failed to win any of their last 13 London derby away games. Who did they beat when they last won an away London derby?  

Question 9: Who scored West Ham’s second goal in the 2-2 draw against Palace in the very last game that we played against them at Upton Park (in April 2016)?

Question 10: Who scored West Ham’s first goal when we met Palace for the first time at the London Stadium (in January 2017)?

How Many Did You Get? (Click on the question numbers to reveal the answers)

Question 1

The answer is D – David Sullivan and David Gold bought West Ham 15 years ago this weekend.

Question 2

The answer is A – 2018. We beat them 3-2 with goals from a Scotsman, a Mexican and a Brazilian – Snodgrass, Hernandez and Anderson.

Question 3

The answer is D – 21 games since we last failed to score in a game against Palace when we lost the game 1-0 in April 2014.

Question 4

The other 2 managers were Sir Trevor Brooking and Gianfranco Zola.

Question 5

Soucek and Antonio have each scored 4 times in those 9 games.

Question 6

The answers – Ben Johnson, Craig Dawson and Max Kilman. But Craig Dawson actually played three times for the Great Britain Olympic team at London 2012. Max Kilman is an England international Futsal player.

Question 7

Peter Grotier, Bobby Ferguson, Rob Green

Question 8

Answer – West Ham! Palace’s last away win in a London derby was at the London Stadium in November 2022 when they beat us 2-1.

Question 9

Dimitri Payet scored West Ham’s second goal in the 2-2 draw against Palace in April 2016 with a superb free kick.

Question 10

Well done if you knew the answer to this one. West Ham’s first goal when we met Palace for the first time at the London Stadium (in January 2017) was scored by Sofiane Feghouli.

West Ham’s new boss, their FA Cup defeat at Villa, coincidences, and the visit of draw specialists Fulham who’ve not lost in eight league games

So Julen Lopetegui has gone. 22 games at the helm, 20 Premier League and 2 EFL Cup. In the league we faced every other club once and Manchester City twice. We won six league games – on matchdays 2, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18. So we never managed back-to-back wins. We spent one week in the top half of the table when we were ninth after beating Palace in the second game, but apart from that we have been fourteenth for most of the time. We did climb to thirteenth after our four-game unbeaten run (2 wins and 2 draws – Matchdays 15-18), but two heavy defeats conceding nine goals to Liverpool and Manchester City saw us back in fourteenth and spelled the inevitable end for the head coach.

We’ve conceded 39 goals in 20 league games; only Wolves, Leicester and Southampton have let in more. A goal difference of minus 15, only Leicester and Southampton are worse than that. And 24 goals scored – we are fourteenth in that table too!

Graham Potter was installed last Thursday and immediately faced a tricky away FA Cup third round tie on Friday at Villa Park. And it was there that the coincidences begin. Because just like Lopetegui his first game was against Aston Villa. And despite a bright first half performance we lost the game 2-1 just as Lopetegui had done. Our goal was scored by the left foot of Paqueta just as it was in the game last August. Onana scored Villa’s first goal just as he had done at the London Stadium. At least it wasn’t Duran scoring the winner as he was suspended for the FA Cup game.

Potter’s first five league games in charge will be against Fulham, Palace, Villa, Chelsea and Brentford. Lopetegui faced those five plus Manchester City in his first six games, where we picked up five points, beating Palace, drawing with Fulham and Brentford, and losing to Villa and Chelsea. All five points were gained away from home with two defeats at the London Stadium. In these reverse fixtures Palace, Fulham and Brentford are the home games.

Fulham are unbeaten in their last eight league games having drawn six of them, Palace have only lost once in their last six games and have come on since we beat them very early in the season. Brentford are poor away from home. These three games are ones that we need to win to stand a chance of moving up the table. The Villa and Chelsea away games will be big tests.

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Graham Potter’s first game, oh what a plight,
We lost to the Villa on a January night,
In the ninth minute West Ham struck a blow,
Paqueta’s left foot we led in the show.

A game of two halves, in the first we’d attack,
But then in the second, the Villa fought back,
Two quick goals they scored, how we did jeer
Onana and Rogers they cost us so dear.

A corner was given it caused quite a fuss,
A referee’s error threw us under the bus,
Onana’s goal followed, you get the drift,
That’s when the momentum it started to shift.

In sorrowful defeat thus began Potter’s reign
But positive’s taken, a lot we could gain,
Just a day to prepare once Lop did depart,
Half a season is left, it’s only the start.

So next up it’s Fulham, last season on song
5-0 and 2-0 it really went wrong.
Seven goals conceded, who could we blame?
They were just too good, both games the same.

So now winless against them, now three games long,
Why can’t we beat them, what has gone wrong?
Before then we’d won five games out of six,
But now we all know we’ve got something to fix.

London derbies we’ve struggled, five with no win,
Last two were awful, nine goals went in.
4-1 to Spurs, and Arsenal scored five,
A really poor record, it’s time to revive.

Fulham’s London matches unbeaten in ten
In derbies they shine again and again,
Five wins five draws such strength they’ve found,
Five on their travels and five on home ground.

Our last two league games we also shipped nine,
Enough is enough we must draw the line,
Fulham unbeaten in their last eight,
About time they lost, let’s end the wait.

As West Ham visit Aston Villa in the Third Round of this season’s FA Cup the debate continues – has the competition lost its magic?

My first recollection of the FA Cup goes right back to the 1958-59 season. West Ham were drawn away to our local rivals Tottenham in the third round. This was our first season back in Football League Division One, the top flight of the English game, and we were flying high. When the game was played on Saturday January 10th we were a very respectable tenth in the 22 team division, having been top after six games. By the end of the season we had climbed to sixth. Tottenham were poor that season eventually finishing eighteenth, although they were to finish third a year later and champions (and double winners) the year after that. What is more, we had faced them on Christmas Day, beating them 2-1 at Upton Park (the day I saw my first ever league game), and then thrashing them 4-1 at White Hart Lane on Boxing Day (the following day – and players today complain about the number of games!). A little under two weeks later they got their revenge beating us 2-0 on their home ground to knock us out of the cup.

This was the first of my personal FA Cup competition disappointments losing to a team lower placed than us. In the ensuing (approaching 70) years there have been so many more. The following season we went out in Round 3 again in a replay losing 5-1 at home to second division Huddersfield Town. The season after that round 3 again losing to second division Stoke City in a replay, and the following year the third round once again to lowly Plymouth Argyle! The list goes on – name the most embarrassing – Swindon, Mansfield, Blackpool, Hull, Hereford, Newport County all knocked us out in the sixties and seventies. The amazing thing is that we won the competition three times by 1980, 1964 v Preston North End, 1975 v Fulham, and 1980 v Arsenal. Three great final memories that live with me all these years later.

Back in those younger days the FA Cup was a magical competition for me, and I suspect most fans. Apart from the odd England international the final was the only game that we could see live on TV each season. But has it lost it’s magic? I guess this is a question that has been a recurring topic in football discussions for some years now.

Certainly, there has been a decline in prestige. The rise of the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League and other European competitions has overshadowed the FA Cup. Top clubs prioritise these competitions over domestic cup games.

‘Bigger’ clubs often field weakened sides, especially in the early rounds, which sends out a signal that the FA Cup is not a priority, leading to the perception that it’s less important than it used to be. And it’s not just the so called ‘bigger’ clubs. All the Premier League clubs have big squads and want to keep all squad players happy. And with an ever-growing calendar the FA Cup sometimes feels like an afterthought in the crowded schedule, especially for those clubs involved in multiple competitions. Clubs involved in the relegation struggle prioritise league games, and mid-table clubs (like us?) seem to believe that finishing a place or two higher in the league is more important than a good cup run. I don’t believe that fans agree with that.

However, analysis of the eventual winners in the last twenty years shows that in general ‘big’ clubs win the trophy. Two notable exceptions in that time are Portsmouth (2008) and Wigan (2013). Perhaps you could add Leicester in 2021? Otherwise it has been Chelsea (5), Arsenal (5), Manchester City (3), Manchester United (2), Liverpool (2).

Another aspect relates to TV and scheduling issues. These days, kick-off times prioritise national and global television audiences over match-going fans. In theory late-night or weekday games have perhaps alienated some traditional supporters. But fans still attend games in vast numbers so football authorities are not concerned and are happy to spread the games for maximum TV coverage.

In my younger days the FA Cup third round was another magical day in the football calendar. It was the day that the top two divisions joined the other clubs from the top ten levels of the English football league pyramid who had competed through up to six qualifying rounds to reach the First Round proper and then two further rounds when teams from Divisions Three and Four (now equivalent to Leagues One and Two) also joined in. 64 teams playing 32 matches that all kicked off at 3pm on the same Saturday afternoon.

What happens now? Well this season there were 3 games on Thursday 9th, there’ll be 2 games on Friday 10th, including our own trip to Villa Park, 19 games on Saturday, 7 games on Sunday, and one on Monday. All in all 15 different kick-off times spread over five days for the 32 games.

One aspect that has grown over the years is the financial disparity. The prize money and financial impact of the FA Cup pales when compared to league placements or European competitions, reducing the monetary incentive. This season, the FA Cup winners will collect a prize of £2 million, whereas for each incremental position in the Premier League teams benefit by more than £3 million. In financial terms alone it’s a no-brainer. Unfortunately too many decisions regarding football are based on money.

Having painted a picture of a loss in the magic, the competition still retains it to some degree. The FA Cup continues to throw up underdog stories where smaller clubs upset the giants of the Premier League, moments that can capture the essence of why we love football. Unfortunately, this year’s format has removed replays from the First Round Proper onwards making it harder for lower league teams to secure financial windfalls. FA Cup replays were once part of the magic of the competition.

I still recall with fondness the memories of our semi-final replay over Ipswich in the snow at Stamford Bridge in 1975 on our way to lifting the trophy, and the semi-final replay in 1980 at Elland Round where we beat Everton on our way to winning the Cup in 1980 (remember Frank Lampard dancing around the corner flag!). You have to remember we were one of the ‘smaller’ clubs in 1980 (in league division terms we were second tier) – these games can sometimes create lifelong memories for fans, that few league games do.

As the oldest national football competition in the world the FA Cup still carries a unique historical and cultural significance, certainly for those of us who recall moments of pure football romance. The FA Cup may not hold the same stature it did in its heyday due to changes in the football landscape, but it still provides moments of magic, particularly for smaller clubs and traditionalists (like me!). The “magic” may now be more selective rather than universal, but it hasn’t completely disappeared. Whether it has truly “lost its magic” often depends on what we as fans value most in football today.

Our third round tie this season is on 10th January, exactly 66 years ago to the day from when I remember my first, way back in 1959. So many disappointments in those intervening years as well as three great memories on winning the trophy. By the time I was just 26 years old we had been FA Cup winners three times, but now as I approach 71, it hasn’t happened again, the closest we came was in 2006 when we were just a minute away before Steven Gerrard intervened.

We have only faced Villa three times previously in the FA Cup. In 1913, our first ever match against them, they beat us 5-0 in front of 51,000 at Villa Park. In 1977 (I remember this one) in front of 47,000 at Villa Park we were on the end of a 3-0 defeat.

But the one that really sticks in the memory came in the quarter final of the 1980 tournament in front of a full house at Upton Park. Geoff and I watched that game from the front row of B block in the old West Stand. We were just a second division outfit at the time, but ironically it was one of the best times ever to watch West Ham. Incredibly we only managed a seventh place finish in Division Two that season, with a team that boasted Phil Parkes, Alvin Martin, Ray Stewart, Frank Lampard, Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire, Stuart Pearson and David Cross. Billy Bonds also, but he was absent for the Villa game. Of course we rectified it the following season when we were runaway champions and gained promotion back to the top flight.

There was only about a minute of the game to go (it was goalless at the time) when Sir Trev swung in a corner from below the West Stand at the South Bank end and a Villa centre back (McNaught) rose and handled the ball as Alvin Martin challenged. The referee gave a penalty with the Villa defender complaining vehemently that Alvin had pushed his arm above his head onto the ball. There was no VAR of course and once the referee had made up his mind that was that. I do remember the incident being discussed at length by Brian Moore on the Big Match on Sunday afternoon. Ray Stewart, one of our master penalty takers in my time of watching West Ham, fired it hard and low to the keepers right and we led 1-0. In typical West Ham fashion there was still time in the minute remaining for Villa to win a free kick on the edge of our area and Phil Parkes was needed to make a save which saw us through to the semi-final. The rest is history. But memories of Cup games (especially of good ones) remain.

Villa are one of the teams against whom we have a positive record with more wins than defeats in history. But in the past couple of seasons they have been on the up. When they beat us 4-1 at Villa Park last season it ended a run of ten games where they had failed to win against us. And of course you will remember the opening game of this season at the London Stadium when we went behind to a header from Onana (who we apparently wanted to buy a couple of years ago) in the opening few minutes. Paqueta converted a penalty to equalise in the first half, and then of course their substitute Duran (who we had seemed to spend the whole summer wanting to buy) inevitably scored the winner. And he has gone on to have an excellent season, sometimes selected ahead of Watkins.

We go into today’s game without the head coach who has been in charge. The season has seemed like a wasted one so far with little prospect of climbing into the top half of the table or challenging for a European place next season. We desperately need a cup run to lift us. Wouldn’t it be great to progress to Round Four? Can the new boss bring a little magic to the club?