Richard Bennett

A tale of the unexpected – Victory for West Ham in the North-East

Oh West Ham you make us fret,
We never know what we’re gonna get,
At St James’s Park, under a North-East sky,
Playing the Geordies you soared so high.

Oh Hammers bold in claret and blue,
Monday’s triumph still feels brand new,
We saw the game on TV on Sky,
Always play like that? No, but why?

Before the game a sense of dread,
Supporters patience a dwindling thread,
The coach undeterred by doubt or fear,
Unveiled his plan, his vision clear.

The Magpies began with all their might,
But we stood firm, defence was tight,
Soucek’s pinpoint header clean and pure,
We took the lead 1-0 for sure.

3000 were singing the bubbles song,
Wan-Bissaka could do no wrong,
He hit the post, it bounced and spun,
A goal 2-0, the match was won.

From back to front they played their part,
A victory etched in every heart,
In Newcastle’s home we claimed the prize,
A night of glory under North-East skies.

Now bring on the Gunners.

But now the Arsenal lie ahead,
A fierce new battle to be led,
Can the Hammers bring the flair,
And meet the Gunners with skill and dare?

Antonio with your power and speed,
Must breach their defence, to take the lead.
And Tomas Soucek, with all that’s been said,
Please score yet another goal with your head.

Fabianski the keeper you need to excel,
Keep guarding the net like a sentinel,
This season not great, but Monday night better,
Creative and skilful that’s Lucas Paqueta.

Soler you surprised us to answer the riddle
Of just who to pick to play in the middle.
Summerville you play with such skill and such heart,
For me you should always be picked from the start

Max in defence answering the call,
Repelling attacks and standing so tall
And Jarrod you dance with such nimble feet,
Just weave through on goal to complete the defeat.

So take to the pitch and show us the pride,
As London’s east and north sides collide,
We’ll all be watching, we’ll be holding our breath
For ninety plus minutes, it’ll be life or death.

As West Ham travel to the North-East to face Newcastle in the Monday night game, the pressure mounts on ‘The Head Coach’

The Head Coach

In the quiet of the changing room there’s tension in the air,
The head coach sits alone, lost in silent prayer,
The team, once full of promise, now struggles in the fight,
The season’s hopes are fading, slipping slowly out of sight.

In the cold winds of November under the floodlights glare,
The head coach stands in silence, with a burden hard to bear,
The team’s form has faltered, each defeat a painful blow,
The whispers growing louder, from the boardroom to below.

The night is cold, the winds are strong, the stadium lights are bright,
Two Premier League teams clashing on a freezing Monday night,
The Magpies on the front foot, their wingers standing wide,
The Hammers block is narrow, they fight to halt the tide.

He paces on the sideline, staring at the pitch,
Hoping to find the magic to turn this losing glitch,
He wonders about his lineup, he rethinks every play,
Hoping for a miracle to chase the doubts away.

One down at the interval, fans patience growing thin,
Every formation has been tried to bring the wins back in,
The half time talk determined, he rallies one more time,
A second goal goes in the net, the finish quite sublime.

After the game he faces the press, he knows not where to start,
Questions probing for cracks within, have the players got the heart?
He talks of faith and unity, of turning it around,
But shadows of the sack loom close, a win just can’t be found.

The players lack direction, the tactics quite unclear,
And baffling team selections, departure must be near,
Behind the scenes the murmurs rise, of replacements lined in wait,
Another loss, its Arsenal next, the coach awaits his fate.

Fourteenth play Sixteenth as West Ham entertain Everton at the London Stadium in the final game before the third international break.

Bookmakers have the West Ham Head Coach as favourite for the next Premier League manager to leave his post.

It hasn’t been going too well has it? Is there a timeframe for our head coach to prove himself? I guess it can vary depending on several factors. Lots of our fans are giving their views on social media. How much ambition does the club truly have? What are the resources available? How much patience does the West Ham board have? Will they want to admit that they may have got it wrong again? Are they prepared to pay for a change? How much patience do our supporters have? Here are a few considerations:

Our new head coach should surely be expected to have shown some immediate improvement or at least a clear direction within the first few games after taking over. This might be in the form of improved performances, better team morale, or a more cohesive (and entertaining?) playing style. Have performances improved this season so far compared to last? We are 14^th in the Premier League having picked up 11 points from our opening 10 matches. I’m not sure about team morale. Are all the players on board with understanding the tactics, the team selections, and the direction that we are heading in? What is our playing style?

Should a full season be considered a reasonable period to assess the impact of a new head coach? He asks to be measured next May to give him time to implement his tactics, work with the team through a full schedule, and make necessary adjustments during transfer windows. Is that realistic in the modern football world?

Clubs looking for sustained success may want to give a new manager more time to build a squad to implement their long-term strategy. This can mean 2-3 seasons, especially if the club is undergoing a significant rebuild or transition period. This may be true for clubs with lower expectations who might allow more time for a manager to develop the team. But we are a top-tier club and we demand quicker results. Managers just don’t have the time to implement a long term strategy without results and a clear direction showing improvement.

Ultimately, it’s a balance between patience and the need for results. The key is consistent progress and a clear sense of direction for the team. But Lopetegui will find himself under increasing pressure if the results don’t improve soon. He believes he needs time as we had a lot of new faces in the summer transfer window. Yes, it has been an inconsistent start to the season and as a fan going back to the late 1950s I kind of expected that it might not be great to begin with, and it would take time.

But I find his team selections baffling and as for formation well that seems to be changing all the time. Team selection (has he begun to work out his best team yet?), formation and tactics show no consistency. I appreciate that different opposition may necessitate a change of approach but clearly it is not (yet?) working.

What do you think is a fair amount of time for our new head coach to prove himself?

Oddschecker give odds on the next Premier League manager to leave his post, and of the seven major bookmakers who have a market for this Lopetegui is the favourite on all of them at odds of between 13/8 and 15/8. Russell Martin and Gary O’Neil are next in the betting. Social media and the written press are full of it and names being banded around to take over include Kasper Hjulmand, Roger Schmidt, Sebastian Hoeness, Graham Potter, David Moyes, Frank Lampard, Edin Terzic, and Jose Mourinho to name a few. Yes, some more ridiculous than others. They were spot on with the last favourite to leave who was Ten Hag. I read that Jim White on Talksport has a source allegedly close to Sullivan who apparently said that if West Ham lose 5-0 to Everton Lopetegui will still retain his job.

It is probably a little premature to talk about Saturday’s visit of Everton to be a six-pointer, and while we are averaging over a point a game a relegation struggle is not (yet?) an issue. But should we be beaten in this game then we will be overtaken by them and fall into 15^th place at least with more than a quarter of the season gone as we enter the third international break.

It won’t be easy coming back after the break with a Monday night trip to Newcastle and then a Saturday home game against Arsenal to take us to the end of November. News that the Kudus three match ban will be extended by a further two games to include Newcastle and Arsenal is not good news. What started as a yellow card in the Tottenham game, that then was upgraded to red following a VAR review, that became a three game ban has now turned into a five game ban. How many other five game bans have been incurred this season?

Alvarez’s red following two yellow cards was our third this season, and his second! Yellow cards are mounting up too. Paqueta leads that (for West Ham) with five (in all competitions), including one in each of the last three games. However, we are not that indisciplined as we are in the bottom half of that league table too with 19 in the 10 league games played. Chelsea lead the way with 30.

Six more games in December will take us up to the halfway point in the season which comprise visits to Leicester, Bournemouth and Southampton, and home games against Wolves, Brighton and Liverpool.

And if you like your football at three o’clock on a Saturday then I’m afraid you won’t be happy with the eight games between now and the end of the year. Just one of the eight is scheduled to be 3pm on the traditional football day of Saturday (Brighton on 21^st December). The other seven include three Monday 8pm kick-offs, a Tuesday 8.15 game, a Thursday 3pm (Boxing Day), Saturday 5.30pm, and Sunday 5.15pm.

Everton’s start to this campaign is worse than ours with just two wins in their ten games (against Palace and Ipswich). However, after four straight defeats to begin the season they have only lost one of the last six (at Southampton last weekend), winning two and drawing three, leaving them 16^th with nine points.

There was a period between 2007 and 2015 where Everton were considered to be a real bogey team and we failed to beat them in 15 straight games. However in recent times the results have been more balanced with four wins apiece in the last four seasons. Last season both games were won by the away side with Everton winning 1-0 at the London Stadium in October, but then we beat them 3-1 at Goodison in March coming from a goal down with the score at 1-1 when we went into added time. If we fail this weekend the pressure will mount.

Memories of West Ham playing Nottingham Forest in the 21st Century

This weekend will be the fourteenth meeting of West Ham and Nottingham Forest in the twenty-first century. So how have we fared so far?

Overall, West Ham has won eight, lost four and drawn one of the thirteen games played. We are unbeaten in the seven home fixtures winning six and drawing one, but the record at the City Ground is not so good; we have won twice but lost four times. Four of the thirteen games have been Premier League matches, six have been second tier games (variously called League Division 1 or Championship), and we have met three times in the FA Cup.

In the three FA Cup games, five goals were scored in each. In our relegation season (2002-03 – Glenn Roeder) we met Forest in Round 3. Jermaine Defoe scored twice and Joe Cole once in a 3-2 victory. Marlon Harewood scored one of the Forest goals. We went out of the competition in Round 4 losing 6-0 to Manchester United. We also lost in Round 3 of the League Cup 1-0 at home to Oldham. And at the end of the season of course we went down.

In our next relegation season (2010-11 – Avram Grant) we met Forest in Round 4. Once again we won the game 3-2. Victor Obinna scored a hat trick – remember him? We went all the way to the sixth round where we lost 1-0 at Stoke. And surprisingly we had a long run in the League Cup losing on aggregate in the two-legged semi- final to Birmingham. But at the end of the season we went down.

So when we were once again drawn against Forest in Round 3 (in the 2013-14 season – Sam Allardyce) the manager decided that it would not be a good idea to win the game as history told him that it could lead to relegation. So he put out the following team: Adrian, Callum Driver, Dan Potts, Alou Diarra, Stewart Downing, Matt Jarvis, Sebastian Lletget, George Moncur, Modibo Maiga, Ravel Morrison, Danny Whitehead. And on the bench we had: Raphael Spiegel, Reece Burke, Matthias Fanimo, Blair Turgott, Jaanai Gordon-Hutton, Elliott Lee, Sean Maguire. Hardly 18 of West Ham’s most famous!

Do you remember Jannai? Me neither. He never actually played a game for the first team. An unused substitute in this game was the closest he got. I looked him up on Google. Still in his twenties he currently plays for Alvechurch in the Southern League Premier Central in step 3 of non-league football. That’s the level below the National League (North and South) and two levels below the National League. He’s done the rounds in non-league football. Alvechurch is his eighteenth club in the last ten years.

I remembered us signing Sean Maguire from Waterford in Ireland. Like Gordon-Hutton an unused substitute in that game against Forest was the closest he got to first team action at West Ham. He did go on to have a decent career in the lower leagues though and played eleven international games for the Republic of Ireland.

A weakened team to say the least in that game with debuts to five youth team players. In hindsight (or even before then to those of us who saw the team he had selected) it was a disaster as we were overrun by the more experienced Forest side who thrashed us 5-0! The manager was heavily criticised and rightly so.

In the calendar year of 2003, in addition to our 3-2 cup win, we drew our home game against Forest 1-1 (Defoe) and won 2-0 at the City Ground (Harewood & Defoe). These games were in the second tier called League Division One at the time. We met them again at that level the following season when it became known as the Championship losing 2-1 at the City Ground to goals in the 84^th and 90^th minute. Our goal was once again scored by Harewood. We won the return on Boxing Day 3-2 (Etherington, Sheringham 2).

In our promotion winning season (2011-12) we did the double over them winning 4-1 at the City Ground (OG, Nolan, Carlton Cole, Reid) and 2-1 at Upton Park (2 Mark Noble penalties).

Since that win at the City Ground in August 2011 we have not won a game at the ground and haven’t even scored. The 5-0 drubbing in the FA Cup at the City Ground in 2014 has been followed by two defeats there since Forest came up to the Premier League two seasons ago.

The four meetings at the top level in the last two seasons have always been won by the home side. In 2022-23 we won comfortably 4-0 (Ings 2, Rice, Antonio) and then last season another 3-2 victory (Paqueta, Bowen, Soucek). In the away games we lost 1-0 in the first game of the season (Awoniyi 45) in 2022-23, and the last time we met in February this year we lost 2-0 (note the times of the goals – Awoniyi 45+4, Hudson-Odoi (90 +4).

So we haven’t won at the City Ground for over 13 years and in the three games since we haven’t scored losing 5-0, 1-0 and 2-0.

Forest are perhaps the surprise team of the Premier League in the first nine games of this season winning four, drawing four and losing just once with 16 points and sitting in seventh place. The wins have been against Southampton, Liverpool (away), Palace and Leicester. The draws were against Bournemouth, Wolves, Brighton (away) and Chelsea (away).

It’s interesting that their most impressive results were all gained on the road at Liverpool, Chelsea, Brighton and Leicester. At the City Ground they could only draw against Bournemouth and Wolves, they narrowly beat Palace 1-0, and their sole defeat this season was 1-0 at home to Fulham. So they have been unbeaten away from home with 11 points from their 5 games whereas at home they’ve won just once in four.

Our head coach loves to surprise with his team selections doesn’t he? Last week we were all aghast when we saw the starting eleven (well I was anyway), but he realised at half-time, made three changes, and the second half was much improved even if we did win the game with one of the softest penalties I can recall us being given. I make just one plea for this game. Play Summerville from the start!

Following the chaotic second half display last weekend with West Ham in total disarray, ask not for whom the bell tolls. The vultures are circling.

We are only eight games into the Premier League 2024-25 season, which I would suggest means that it is still early days for our new head coach Julen Lopetegui. But there is no getting away from the fact that West Ham have made a poor start to the campaign. As we were overrun by a rampant Tottenham in the second half of last Saturday’s early kick-off many fans took to social media sites making the case that Lopetegui’s team are no improvement on that of David Moyes. The “be careful what you wish for” brigade reared their head once again. The head coach has apparently asked for fans to judge him next May. Is that an optimistic request with the patience of fans wearing thinner after each passing game? Did I say passing game? Oh yes, our new style.

Just one more game, the two o’clock home game against misfiring Manchester United on Sunday will bring us virtually up to the season’s quarter point stage. How long should the bedding-in period last? Surely our Spanish coach with a distinguished career in charge at Porto, Real Madrid, the Spanish National team, and Seville deserves more time? Some say yes, others are not so sure. As for ‘distinguished’ then despite Europa League success at Seville and guiding them to qualification for the Champions League, wasn’t he sacked there and at Real Madrid following a string of poor results in each case?

He lasted barely two months at Real Madrid, but three years at Seville. Prior to his Spanish appointments he began his senior managerial career at Porto in Portugal, one of the two most decorated clubs in Portuguese football with a massive budget but was dismissed in under two years, failing to win any silverware in the process.

Prior to his appointment at West Ham he had a ‘relatively successful’ few months at Wolves guiding them to thirteenth after taking over a team in a poor position. However, that reign was ended apparently due to reported financial constraints at the club and other alleged disagreements and he left by mutual consent.

The early days here show an unclear identity and tactics, an attack that based on goals scored that ranks in mid-table (=10^th), a leaky defence where only three other Premier League teams have conceded more so far (identical to Moyes defence too for the whole of last season) (=17^th!), a slow midfield lacking creativity (Rodriguez, Alvarez, Soucek), and despite highly lauded transfers in the summer still one of the oldest squads.

We have lost four of the opening eight league games, but not just lost, we have been comprehensively beaten in some. Are we just not good enough or has the quality of the opposition been too much? Three goal margin league defeats to both Chelsea and Tottenham, and an even greater (four goal) deficit to Liverpool in the League Cup bear comparison to some of the heavy defeats last season.

For some reason unbeknown to me, Summerville has barely been given much opportunity, but when he has had limited chances he has looked lively and promising. Guilherme and Soler have been barely used, whereas Paqueta, despite obvious skills has failed to impress, his commitment is questioned by some with ongoing uncertainty over his situation following match-fixing allegations which are dragging on (with his mind, perhaps not surprisingly elsewhere) but he continues to be selected.

Fullkrug, not everyone’s choice for the forward we so desperately needed, has been injured, and with irony we look from a distance as Duran goes from strength to strength pulling up trees at Aston Villa. On top of all that we will now be without Kudus for three matches after his meltdown and red card at the weekend.

Following a summer transfer spree there is now mounting scrutiny on West Ham’s technical director Tim Steidten too. Supporters always want someone to blame when things are not going as well as hoped, although how long will it be before it will once again be directed at the owners as well if our poor run continues?

Based on what I had read I don’t think Lopetegui would have been my choice to take over from Moyes, although a change was needed to improve from where we were, and hopefully to give us a more enterprising brand of football. It doesn’t have to mean entertainment at the cost of results as some ‘Moyes in’ supporters constantly claimed. Just look at Brighton. Their fans are in dreamland, not only because of the results and position of the club, but because of the football they love to watch both home and away that their team give them.

My personal view is that it would be too hasty a decision to change the head coach right now. Whilst we are not in trouble (and I hope it doesn’t come to that) as a fan I hope he can turn it around, although at the moment there doesn’t appear to be solid evidence that he will. I also wonder if he has the support of the players? The impressive win against Ipswich before the last international break gives us some breathing space, but how patient will the fanbase be? Many social media sites (although not necessarily a true reflection of the fanbase as a whole) seem to suggest that discontent is growing. The vultures are circling waiting and watching for the opportunity to strike.

We face a Manchester United team this weekend in similar disarray with vultures circling around there too.

Do you think we should keep Lopetegui in charge, or is it already the time to change? What do you think?

Momentum, International Breaks, Current Form, and Notable Games as West Ham visit the Tottenham Stadium in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday

You hear a lot of talk in football circles about momentum. What is momentum? Some kind of invisible force that keeps an event moving or developing after it has begun. Wouldn’t it be great if the football authorities understood the concept. But oh no, as football fans, or rather fans of the domestic game, we now have to put up with international breaks designed to discourage momentum during the season, especially at the beginning of a campaign, where it is interrupted after just three games and then once again after seven. But fear not international fans because another one will be coming along once four more Premier League games have been completed.

In all honesty our start to 2024-25 under our new head coach has been a stuttering one to say the least, although not unexpected with new ideas, new tactics, and an influx of new players that would take time to get used to each other and fit into what everyone expects to be a different way of playing. But what chance has there been to gain any momentum in matches? If all the players were at home then you could say that the boss would have time to work with them to enable them to gel more quickly, but with so many away with their international teams that is not the case.

Prior to the first international break we had lost narrowly to Aston Villa to the inevitable Duran goal following the summer shenanigans in attempting to sign him, we had come back with a not entirely convincing win at Palace but had then put up a spirited second half performance in the third game against champions Manchester City. But any chance to build on that was lost when the break came.

The second segment of the season began with an away draw at Fulham followed by a massively disappointing home defeat to Chelsea, then another away draw at Brentford before finally getting off the mark with a convincing 4-1 win at home to Ipswich. But could we build on that? Once again the momentum was lost with the second break enabling us to watch England lose at home to Greece before winning in Finland. I’m afraid that despite it being a competition this Nations League leaves me cold.

One consolation I suppose was the performance of Dinos Mavropanos who had played the first few games for us this season before dropping to the bench to let in new signing Todibo. Our Greek defender received rave reviews although interim manager Carsley had decided to play with what is described as ‘false nines’ in modern parlance. That was one experiment that didn’t work and the win in Finland wasn’t enough to save Carsley with the surprise announcement of ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel as the new boss of the international team. He’ll have the chance to get going in November and assess the team when the third international break arrives, although I understand that the current interim boss will remain in charge for those games.

Matchday 8 this weekend sees us visiting North London for a game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. So how has their season begun? They have won three of their seven games and sit ninth in the table having defeated Everton and Brentford at home and Manchester United away and drawn at Leicester. An away defeat at Newcastle, a home defeat by local rivals Arsenal, and then just before the break a comical loss at the Falmer Stadium where they let slip a two goal half-time lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton.

We are twelfth just two points adrift of them at this stage and an unlikely win would take us above them. Despite our inconsistent start we are unbeaten on our travels, well I say travels, but we haven’t left London for a league game yet. A win at Palace and draws at Fulham and Brentford has given us five points, which is five points more than the equivalent three games last season where we were well and truly beaten in all of them with a combined goals record of scored 4, conceded 13.

Comparing our record to Tottenham’s this season, with just a few of the statistics, then they lead with goals scored (14-10), they have conceded fewer (8-11), shots at goal are very similar (83-80), but they have more on target (48-34). Have they had easier fixtures? The current league table might suggest so as they have faced four teams currently sitting in the bottom half of the table in the seven games played, whereas we have played four sides in the top eight. They have however won two of their three home games losing only by the only goal to Arsenal.

Head-to-head records between West Ham and Tottenham going back to 1898 in history give them the edge 55 wins to 45, with 28 draws. Notable games at their stadium include last season’s win there in December when we overturned a 1-0 half-time deficit with goals from Bowen and Ward-Prowse. Unlike many of our fans I am sad to see the latter gone.

In April 2019 we became the first team to win at their new stadium when Antonio’s second half goal was the only one in the game. Pedro Obiang’s stunning goal in January 2018 helped us gain a point in a 1-1 draw. There were two league cup wins over them in 2013 and 2017, the latter being at Wembley where Ayew scored a couple for us in a 3-2 victory, after we trailed 2-0 at the interval. And who can forget the Ravel Morrison game eleven years ago when his amazing solo run from our half was the third goal in a convincing 3-0 win?

Apart from those games our record there has generally been very poor and you have to go back to the twentieth century for the previous win (before 2013) there when Ian Wright and Marc Keller scored the goals in a 2-1 win. Before then Dani (remember him?) scored for us in a 1-0 win in Slaven Bilic’s debut game in our defence in 1996. There was a great win there towards the end of the 1993-94 season when we overcame them 4-1 with two goals from Trevor Morley and one each from Mike Marsh and Steve Jones. Before then it was 1983 when Steve Whitton and Dave Swindlehurst scored the goals in a 2-0 win.

My favourite game of all our visits to Tottenham though came in 1981 when we crushed them 4-0 at White Hart Lane, a personal triumph for David Cross who bagged all four goals. And perhaps the most exciting game between the teams that I can remember came in a 1966 victory there (4-3) with goals from Brabrook, Byrne, Hurst and Sissons when Gilzean, Greaves and Venables scored for them. That was the third game in an eleven match run where we scored 42 goals (yes you read that right) which included a 7-0 rout of (then) mighty Leeds and a 5-5 draw at Chelsea. Just a few months before then a 4-1 win came in the previous season with goals from Byrne, Boyce, Redknapp and Hurst.

I have vague memories of a 4-4 draw there in the early sixties, but I do remember more clearly a 4-1 win there on Boxing Day in 1958 in our first season following promotion to the top flight. That win came the day after my first ever visit to Upton Park for a league match – yes we played on Christmas Day (that was the last time we did) – when the famous duo of Johnny Dick and Vic Keeble scored the goals in a 2-1 win. Any momentum that might have been built at the start of the season has been interrupted by the international breaks. It’s hard to predict what will happen on Saturday but we went into the break on the back of a 4-1 win and perhaps would have preferred to play the next game sooner rather than later, whereas Tottenham were probably pleased for a break after their miserable second half performance at Brighton. It will be a good result if we avoid defeat to extend our unbeaten away record but I’m hoping for a win of course.

Can West Ham win their second game this season when we face a spirited Ipswich team?

We haven’t played against Ipswich Town since our promotion winning season of 2011-2012 when we were both in the Championship. That was the season when we finished third (Sam Allardyce had been appointed as the new manager at the beginning of the campaign – the aim was to gain promotion at the first attempt following relegation under Avram Grant). Do you remember Big Sam’s first signings? They were four of his old Bolton players, Kevin Nolan, Matt Taylor, Joey O’Brien, and Abdoulaye Faye.

Despite losing just one of our last 18 games (to eventual champions Reading – yes you read that right – Reading) and leading the table at the start of that run we were unable to secure automatic promotion. However, we were successful in the play-offs defeating Cardiff over both semi-final legs and Blackpool in the Wembley final. We would have gone up automatically if we had done better in our two league games against Ipswich who finished in the bottom half of the table.

At Upton Park we lost 1-0, and then at Portman Road on 31^st January we were thrashed 5-1. A certain Aaron Cresswell was in the Ipswich side for both of those games. Following the 5-1 defeat we began that 18 match run where we lost just once. Victory in just one of those games against Ipswich would have been enough to finish the season as champions. The home defeat was the most annoying one to lose. But all is well that ends well, we secured promotion and Ipswich spent many years in the doldrums. And despite promotion to the Premier League where are Reading now? In the lower half of league one.

The last time we beat Ipswich was in the Championship Play-Off Finals in 2005. After drawing the first leg 2-2 at Upton Park (we were 2-0 up in the first 15 minutes – Zamora and Harewood)), two second half Bobby Zamora goals secured a place in the final in Cardiff where we nervously beat Preston 1-0 – Zamora again.

Ipswich didn’t like playing us in play-off semi-finals. Two years earlier they had won the first leg 1-0 before we came back at Upton Park with Matt Etherington’s superb shot early in the second half and a winner from Christian Dailly following a corner 20 minutes from the end. Unfortunately, our trip to Cardiff for the final that time ended in a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. That season Ipswich had finished third in the league 12 points clear of us – we had finished sixth just scraping into the play-offs.

Those of you who are old enough may remember the two games against Ipswich in the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1975. The first game played at Villa Park was possibly one of the most tedious games of football I have ever witnessed. It ended 0-0 with neither side come close to scoring. The return at Stamford Bridge in the snow the following Wednesday was won 2-1 with Alan Taylor scoring both goals, as he had done at Highbury in the quarter-final, and as he did at Wembley when we beat Fulham 2-0 in the final. Ironically, a couple of weeks after our semi-final replay win over Ipswich, and a week before we played in the Cup Final, Ipswich beat us 4-1 in a league game.

Ipswich are now back in the Premier League for the first time since they were last relegated in 2002. They have achieved this with two record-breaking back-to back promotions under the impressive Kieran McKenna and have begun this campaign without a victory in their six games played to date. There was no disgrace losing their opening two games to Liverpool and Manchester City, but since then they have become the draw kings sharing the points with Fulham, Brighton, Southampton and Aston Villa. Their two defeats and four points leaves them 15^th in the current table, one point below us in 14^th. Five of the six teams they have faced so far are currently in the top nine of the Premier League including four of the top six.

In the first half of the season opener against Liverpool, Ipswich started strongly, nullified the Merseysiders attacking threat in the first half, but couldn’t quite match their stronger second half performance and went down 2-0. It didn’t get any easier for the Tractor Boys with a visit to face the champions Manchester City the following week. After surprising their hosts in the first few minutes taking a lead against the run of play, they were 3-1 down after just 15 minutes and ended up losing 4-1 which included a Haaland hat-trick.

They led against Fulham in the next game and were perhaps the better team but were pulled back and drew 1-1. A difficult trip to the Amex Stadium followed and Brighton displayed their attacking skills throughout the game. However a dogged defensive display saw Ipswich hold on for another point in a goalless draw.

Away at St Mary’s in their next game Southampton took the lead in the first few minutes but Ipswich fought throughout for an equaliser, and their relentless never give up attitude saw them snatch a deserved 95^th minute equaliser. Last weekend they took the lead against high flying Villa, fell 2-1 behind and then rallied to equalise the game at 2-2 in the second half with both goals coming from ex-Manchester City player Delap who looks quite a handful. I don’t think he takes throw-ins like his dad though!

Their games to date sum up how it will not be easy for us to beat them this weekend. If we underestimate them they could make us pay. They’ve made some fine acquisitions in the summer to add to the players who have shone in the past couple of seasons. Apart from Delap from City, Hutchinson from Chelsea, Szmodics from Blackburn, the highly skilled Jack Clarke from Sunderland, Greaves from Hull, and Kalvin Phillips (who we never saw the best of, but who is a very good combatative midfielder), they have a superb attacking left back in Leif Davis.

Geoff’s excellent article (published on Tuesday) sums up our season to date. It’s well worth a read and really sums up the current state of affairs at the start of a new season under our new head coach. Excellently described as always Geoff highlights how the players don’t seem to understand much of what the coach is looking for, how the formation and tactics don’t appear to be clear to them, and how they don’t seem to be aware of their roles and responsibilities within the team. He questions whether they even have the necessary skills and ability to follow what the manager wants them to do. It seems like we are watching a group of individuals not a collective team, players not playing in their best positions where they can be most effective (e.g. Kudus), and I just don’t know what Summerville has to do to be picked in the starting eleven.

The sub-heading of Geoff’s article sums it up succinctly in a sentence: “As the stuttering disjointed start to West Ham’s Julen Lopetegui enters its third month we are still awaiting signs that the tactical plan and player capabilities are converging.” Following this game we head off to the second International break after just 7 games of the season. Ridiculous! Lets hope we go into it with our second league win of the campaign

Can West Ham improve upon four points from five games when we visit Brentford this weekend?

The sixth Premier league game of the 2024-25 season is also our sixth league game in London when we visit the GTech Community Stadium this Saturday. Even our second round league cup tie was at home when we beat Bournemouth 1-0. It must have been quite a shock to our players having to travel all the way to Liverpool on Wednesday night in the third round of the League Cup.

And what can you say about another five goals against, albeit to another of the top teams? Both sides started the game having made several changes so in many ways it was almost like two reserve sides in opposition. Was 5-1 a true reflection of the game? I thought not personally. We were fortunate with the own goal that gave us a lead, but the build up to the Liverpool equaliser was clearly offside. Where was VAR when we needed it? We could have had one, two or possibly three penalties but all were marginal decisions and not surprisingly weren’t awarded – we were playing at Anfield after all. How many opposing sides get given penalties there?

We were still well in it at 2-1 down but they were much more clinical in their finishing, especially Salah and Gakpo, whereas we spurned the chances we had. For me, I can’t excuse Alvarez – his tackling decision making leaves a lot to be desired as his bookings record shows. Although I was surprised when the commentator said that it was the first time that he’d been sent off in his career. The same is true of Paqueta – you can safely bet on him getting a yellow card and he came close to getting a red too!

Effectively Alvarez cost us and had he stayed on it would certainly have been closer. Taking everything into account Liverpool were the better team but they certainly had the rub of the green. I was amazed to see some criticism of some individual players online, especially Bowen and Summerville who I thought were our best players, and even Antonio looked much better when he came on than he had in recent games this season.

So now we move on to Brentford on Saturday. Fixtures against Brentford began well over 100 years ago in 1898, and we beat them the first six times that we played them. The early games were in the Southern League First Division where we met them 26 times up to 1913. We didn’t meet again until 1927 when they knocked us out of the FA Cup after a replay following a draw at Upton Park. From then until 1993 we met them from time to time when our paths crossed in the second tier of English football. It wasn’t until they were promoted to the Premier League in 2021 that we faced each other in the top flight.

We did knock them out of the FA Cup on their ground in 2023 when Said Benrahma ironically scored the only goal of the game, but that was the only time we have beaten them away from home since 1953 over 70 years ago.

This is now their fourth season in the Premier League, and in the six league meetings we have beaten them only once (losing the other five) – Our sole victory came the last time we met in February this year when Jarrod Bowen scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory at the London Stadium. The three away games were all defeats 2-0, 2-0, and last season 3-2 (when we led 2-1 at half-time). So very much a bogey team until our last meeting.

They have started the season well at home with two wins in their two games, 2-1 against Palace and 3-1 versus Southampton. They have lost all three games on the road, with difficult fixtures at Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham.

The feature of the City and Tottenham games is one that we need to be aware of especially as at times we are slow starters in games. Against City they took the lead in just 22 seconds, and against Tottenham almost the same in 23 seconds. Both games were lost 2-1 and 3-1 but nevertheless we could do without conceding an early goal.

Geoff’s excellent article published on Wednesday sums up very well what happened in the Chelsea game and where we are now. Although we were comfortable losers in the game the one decision that astonished me was the pullback on Summerville. Had the penalty been given (as it almost certainly should have been) then successful conversion would have reduced the deficit and perhaps it might have been a different game had we just been trailing 2-1 at the interval. Nevertheless, still a lot for the head coach and players to work on.

Brentford won’t be an easy fixture but it’s the kind of game we would hope to be winning (and definitely not losing) if we are truly going to improve on last season’s ninth place finish and push on towards European qualification. If we don’t then we will fall further behind the teams above us. The next international break comes up after this game and the one at home to Ipswich. It would be good to have ten points by then. The two games that follow the break are at Tottenham and then at home to Manchester United.

A winning run is needed and then we might begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel (a phrase coined by the new Prime Minister this week). What did he say? It needs to get worse before it gets better. Was he referring to economic prospects or West Ham?

In Summerville, Kudus and Bowen we have an attacking trio that will cause problems for most defences. I still worry about lack of pace behind them though. Perhaps Paqueta will start to play like the Brazilian international that he is? Perhaps Soler will turn out to be as good as he was touted to be? Perhaps Irvine will turn out to be the biggest surprise of all? It’s hard to work out the direction in which we are going but we definitely need to get it right soon.

For the third time in the first five games this season West Ham face an opponent who put five past us in the last campaign

For the third time in the first five games this season West Ham face an opponent who put five past us in the last campaign when Chelsea visit the London Stadium this weekend. Despite not being very convincing we avenged Palace and Fulham. Can we make it three in a row?

Considering the wealth at their disposal this Saturday’s early kick off opponents Chelsea have made an indifferent start to their Premier League campaign. In their first game they went down fairly tamely at home to (Champions elect, but facing 115 charges) Manchester City. The following week they won 6-2 at Wolves but then couldn’t beat Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. Then following the international break they survived a Bournemouth penalty miss to snatch a winning goal in the dying minutes. They have seven points from four games and sit in eighth place.

Hopefully you read Geoff’s excellent article about our late equaliser to draw at Fulham. I have little to add to that. In many ways I am not surprised by our own indifferent start to the season given the changes of coach and influx of new players but my surprise comes with team selection. I don’t understand why Summerville is not in the starting lineup enabling Kudus to be better deployed. Nor do I see why Todibo has not yet been given his opportunity. Soucek and Antonio seem so out of touch (and their touch has been poor) that they must be left out soon surely? Mavropanos has been ok in some respects but is he better than Todibo? Despite Antonio’s poor form he does have a good goal scoring and assists record against the West Londoners.

I have seen numerous games against Chelsea in my time but one game stands out thanks to the superb performance on the day of one of our best ever players. The 1973-74 season had begun poorly and our first win at Upton Park came as late as December against Manchester City. We were dumped out of the FA Cup in the third round early in January 1974 by Hereford in a replay after a draw at Upton Park, but then we went on a nine match unbeaten run which began with a victory over a Manchester United team that would be relegated at the end of the season.

In early March 1974 (hard to believe it was 50 years ago this year as my memory is still so vivid) we were still in the relegation battle ourselves. A song entered the top ten from Paper Lace entitled Billy, Don’t Be A Hero which was to become the number one for the next three weeks. The eighth match of the unbeaten run (and the fifth victory) came against Chelsea. We won the game comfortably 3-0 and it was one of Billy Bonds most memorable games for us (and he had so many) but in this one he scored a hat-trick from midfield. Yes, Billy really was a hero so many times for us. In the season he scored 13 goals and six came in the month of March. Quite rightly he was voted Hammer of The Year in 1974. It was one of the most memorable one man match winning performances I have ever witnessed.

How I’d love to see a repeat of what we did in the away fixture on Easter Saturday in 1986. Remember the boys of ’86? We won 4-0 at Stamford Bridge with goals from Alan Devonshire, Tony Cottee and Frank McAvennie.

Or the last home game of 2002-3 when Paolo Di Canio came on as a substitute and scored the vital goal to give us a win and a lifeline, which sadly meant nothing when we went down incredibly with 42 points the following week. That was his last goal in a claret and blue shirt.

I also remember a cold December day in 2012 (when Benitez was temporarily Chelsea manager and was so disliked by his own supporters). They scored first and then we came back strongly with three unlikely goalscorers, a Carlton Cole headed equaliser, a fierce shot from Diame that was actually on target, and then finally a Maiga rebound tap in. That was our first win against them at the fourteenth attempt after the Di Canio goal that had given us victory almost ten years earlier. We then had another five winless games until our next victory in 2015 in the final season at Upton Park.

In my early days of attending Upton Park, Chelsea were one of the teams we always seemed to beat. From our promotion to the top division in 1958-59 through to the game I refer to above in 1973-74 we played them 14 times at home, winning ten, drawing two, and losing just two games (in successive seasons 1966-67 and 1967-68). In the twelve games that we won or drew we never failed to score at least two goals. But the Billy Bonds game is the one that sticks most clearly in my memory. We finished that season on 37 points (as did Chelsea), one point above the relegation places, so the victory turned out to be a vital one in our fight to remain in the top division.

In the following season Chelsea themselves were relegated. Throughout the 1970s we flirted with relegation virtually every season (except 1972-73 when we finished in the top half). It was a decade that saw not only Manchester United and Chelsea suffer relegation but Tottenham too after they finished at the bottom in 1976-77. We were relegated the following year 1977-78 and spent three years out of the top flight.

By the end of the twentieth century our record against Chelsea was a positive one overall. In the years since that has very much not been the case. Money has been an important factor in that. But three excellent wins in recent years, Yarmolenko’s late winner in 2020, Masuaku’s late fluke in 2021 and our victory at the beginning of last season. Can we add another this weekend?

West Ham have already avenged the five goals conceded at Selhurst Park last season. Can we become repeat avengers when we visit Fulham?

Despite having a manager that was frequently described as cautious, one of the most disappointing aspects of the 2023-24 season was the fact that we conceded more goals in the Premier League than all the other teams with the exception of the three that were relegated. It didn’t take the new head coach very long after getting his feet under the table to decide that this was one area that needed urgent rectification.

Many thought we had paid over the odds splashing out £40 million on the Wolves captain, but early signs are good and Kilman would appear to be worth every penny based on his performances so far. Todibo is a player who was coveted by many, and although he has little opportunity to date, hopefully he can prove to be an equally astute acquisition. Wan-Bissaka has hit the ground running and has demonstrated his defensive capabilities already, plus surprisingly to some (perhaps the Manchester United management?) excellent full back attacking qualities. At £15 million for a 26-year-old he may turn out to be one of the best captures of the last transfer window. It was a surprise to me that he wasn’t coveted by more teams.

Two of the more depressing results last season came on visits to London sides who finished below us in the table. Who would have thought that we would go away to North London and return with six points from the games at Tottenham and Arsenal, but concede ten goals on our trips to Fulham and Crystal Palace? It was 5-0 at Craven Cottage which was then compounded by a 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium towards the end of the season. At least we managed to take a point off Palace in a 1-1 draw at home, before being thrashed 5-2 at Selhurst Park just a week after the dispiriting loss at home to Fulham.

After just three games this time we have already avenged last season’s humiliation at Palace with goals from Soucek and Bowen in a 2-0 win last month in our first away trip of the season. Game four of the new campaign, the first after the ‘ridiculously early in the season’ international break gives us the opportunity to take our revenge on Fulham too when we visit Craven Cottage this weekend.

It is astonishing how the fixtures computer has thrown up this season’s early games in that the first nine, covering a quarter of a season almost, are all in London! The game after this one coming up is a home game against Chelsea, and once again an early opportunity to remedy last season’s shocking visit to Stamford Bridge in May when they were another team to give us a 5-0 hiding. And the game after that is a visit to the Brentford Community Stadium where we went down 3-2 last season after holding a half-time lead.

We don’t travel for a Premier League game outside the capital until November when we visit Nottingham on Matchday 10. By then we would have already had two international breaks and a third will be just two games away. What a way to disrupt a campaign! Three international breaks will have been endured after just eleven games of the season. Ridiculous in my view!

Although a number of our key players have been away on international duty, I hope that the new head coach has had the opportunity to take stock of the situation. Yes, we have lost twice at home already, although they were fixtures against teams that finished in the Champions League qualification places last time around. However, we have already avenged the Palace debacle from last season, lets hope we can do the same at Fulham.

I’ve no idea what Mr Lopetegui has in mind for team selection but personally I’d like to see Kudus moved inside into the number 10 role where I think he can do more damage (he can’t perform at his best stuck out on the left despite still being a threat), and Summerville given a start on the left. Perhaps Kudus and Bowen can interchange between the centre and right throughout the game? I had hoped for Fullkrug to be given an opportunity from the start this time too but his injury picked up on international duty has put an end to that idea. Once again we are short of any real alternative to Antonio in the ‘number 9’ role. I wonder if Bowen will be pushed forward as he was at times last season to allow Kudus to play on the right and get Summerville into the team that way? Who knows? Another three points would be good though. What are the chances?