Category: Match

Football Is A Contract Sport: Will It Be Deal Or No Deal For Moyes As West Ham Welcome Arsenal To The London Stadium

With a transfer window that promised much and delivered little now closed we can all turn our attention to the question of the manager’s contract. What will it all mean as West Ham seek to resist the title-chasing Gunners

I dreamed of seeing a newspaper headline that the West Ham board had taken out a contract on David Moyes. That did seem a rather extreme reaction to a run of typically lacklustre performances when other less painful remedies were possible. But given the Hammer’s record of recruiting hitmen they would most probably have fired high and wide anyway.

The will-he/ won’t he be offered a new deal plotline is one that looks destined to run and until the end of the season. It’s more interesting than the football after all. I don’t see what benefit there is for the Board in renewing early and arguments of players becoming unsettled appear spurious. It would be surprising if the manager’s future was not in jeopardy amid ongoing supporter disquiet and threats not to renew season tickets. Failure to secure a further season of European football may well be enough to seal his fate.

For me, it has always been a question of performances rather than results. I understand that not everyone sees things the same way and that some are happy to trade entertainment for relative success. Indeed, many outside the club are genuinely puzzled as to why so many supporters want to see a fresh approach to what Moyes has been offering. This week it was the turn of Jim Beglin who urged supporters to ‘get real’ and be thankful for the scraps being served up. It was a surprising comment given that he must have actually seen us play a few times this season. Football so boring that when you watch it on an internet stream even the computer goes to sleep.

Prior to the Manchester United game, I was expecting West Ham to begin a gradual slide down the Premier League table. After the game I am even more convinced it will happen, and have doubts that even top half is within our grasp – unless something drastic happens or Lucas Paqueta makes a rapid return to save the day. Just as Slaven Bilic’s side were toothless in the absence of Dimitri Payet, so it is now without Moyes and Paqueta.

At least the performance at Old Trafford showed some improvement from the Bournemouth game a few days earlier. Up until the break it had been a reasonably well contested match – but the routine of conceding just after the half-time pep talk killed off any thoughts of a stirring comeback. The hosts were nowhere near as good as the media reports excitedly suggested, even though they were comfortable winners. Despite almost unheard-of levels of possession (49%) and 22 touches in the opposition box ,West Ham rarely troubled the Red Devils defence from open play. The best chances were the opening Emerson created and then squandered for himself and the ball over the top to Jarrod Bowen who hesitated a moment too long. On a weekend of record Premier League goalscoring, the Hammers were one of just two teams failing to find the net.

With the chance of a first league double of the season missed at Old Trafford, another presents itself when Arsenal visit the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Having also knocked the Gunners out of the League Cup an unprecedented third West Ham win in a season is a possibility – albeit a slim one.

Arsenal announced themselves back in the title race last weekend by beating Liverpool 3-1 at the Emirates. Post match reports paid tribute to Arteta’s tactical genius of playing Karl Havertz as the most advanced player for securing victory. From what I saw, though, the result hinged mightily on a brace of howlers by Alisson in the Liverpool goal. There’s no doubt that Arsenal have a collection of excellent first choice players but they lack the requisite strength in depth to truly worry eventual champions, Manchester City. I really hope players like Nketiah and Nelson are not on the Hammer’s radar when they are finally cleared out in the summer.

We must wait to see whether Moyes has a brilliant tactical plan of his own for dashing the Gunner’s hopes. Or whether he will play the same way that he has for the past 25 years. The relative freedom seen last Sunday will almost certainly revert to the lowest of low blocks in the hope that Bowen or Mohammed Kudus can deliver a get out of jail card. With Kalvin Phillips providing more evidence that he is a long way away from match sharpness, the manager has few options for mixing up his limited squad. But if there’s any way to fit a square peg into a round hole then Moysie is the man to find it.

It is easy to become cynical following West Ham and the feeling is particularly acute right now. My deja-vu moment is that we are in a familiar cycle where Moyes reacts to pressure for a more expansive style by allowing a little more space between the lines for a one or two games. When that inevitability fails to work due to slow, elderly or infirm defenders he claims to have tried and reverts to his tried and tested tactic of all-bar-one behind the ball. It is philosophy rather than formation that needs to change.

Naturally, it would be great to complete a treble against Arsenal (or a quadruple if you count the West Ham Woman’s victory) but the odds of it happening must be very long. Unfortunately, all the pointers are for the winless start to 2024 continuing for another weekend. I so wish it could be different. COYI!

History and current form suggests that West Ham will not win at Old Trafford on Sunday

The Hammers haven’t yet won a match in 2024 in five attempts. They haven’t gone winless in six games at the start of a calendar year for 25 years.

It is difficult to add to Geoff’s excellent article published yesterday. It seems incredible that we are sitting sixth in the Premier League after 22 games of the season, and on current form (the last five matches) we are one of only three teams who haven’t been beaten, the other two being Liverpool and Manchester City. But we haven’t won a single game in 2024 at five attempts either. And not exactly the toughest fixtures.

A goalless draw at home to Brighton to begin the year with the Seagulls being the better team, two games against a mediocre Bristol City team that knocked us tamely out of the FA Cup, outplayed at the bottom club Sheffield United, albeit robbed by some atrocious officiating, and then finally lucky to snatch a draw at home to a Bournemouth side who looked far more dangerous but saved by a mixture of poor finishing and some excellent saves from Areola. The headline writers loved having a go at Phillips for the Bournemouth goal – for me Zouma was far more culpable.

At the same time the entertainment is dire, and despite all the rumours, nobody was added to the squad to boost our attacking options in the transfer window which closed this week. And what was all that nonsense that led to the delayed departures of Benrahma and Fornals? The manager is allegedly on the verge of signing a new two-and-a-half year contract which will delight the Moyes luvvies and the “careful what you wish for brigade” whilst enraging supporters looking for more entertainment who believe that we have players who could achieve so much more with a less cautious approach.

Manchester United are next, and there isn’t a lot of history or current form to suggest that we’ll achieve anything in this game. We haven’t won there in the league for many years, not since the infamous Tevez goal that kept us in the top-flight in 2007. That was the last time we did the double over them too. In fact we beat them in three consecutive league fixtures at that time for the first time since the 1970s. An unlikely win in this game would enable us to match the three wins in a row once again. We have beaten them eight times since 2007, but seven of those have been home fixtures, and our only away win came in the league cup a couple of years ago.

In 55 Premier League meetings they have won 33, 13 have been drawn, and we have won 9, including the last two, both at the London Stadium. They have scored more than 100 goals against us in those games and we haven’t yet scored 50. Late goals from Bowen and Kudus did however enable us to win a fairly drab game just before Christmas.

If we avoid defeat then that would be seven league games in a row, but conversely if we don’t win then that would be six games in all competitions at the beginning of a calendar year without winning a game, something that hasn’t happened for 25 years!

David Moyes time at the helm for Manchester United lasted just 34 league matches, and this will apparently be the 34th Premier League game where he is taking charge against them. When facing them he has never won a league game at Old Trafford.  

You have to go back to the record-breaking season of 1985-86 to find a West Ham victory over Manchester United in the month of February when Cottee and Ward scored the goals in a 2-1 win at Upton Park in front of just 22,000 fans. Our sole February victory in a league game at Old Trafford came in 1929, 95 years ago this week. The attendance that day was a mere 12,000!

So there is very little to suggest that we can win this time. But I’m forever hopeful! What are the chances?

West Ham Log 2024: It’s Football Dave But Not As We Know It, Moyes Out!

Do we really need another two years of dour Dave’s drab and dreary caution? Does anyone enjoy watching West Ham play these days? How much longer can the manager cling on?

It’s a question that’s been asked before but is there anyone left who genuinely looks forward to watching West Ham play right now? Sure, there may be those who follow the results from a distance and take quiet satisfaction of seeing the team sitting sixth in the standings and having reached the last 16 of the Europa League. But does any fan who takes the time to watch games closely believe what they see is good value. That a game plan built on caution and attrition is worthy of the beautiful game. Does anyone ever say to their mates “Going to the game? I never get tired of watching West Ham’s resilience”?

David Moyes has been at West Ham for just over four years now. After a slow start, he hit a purple patch with a sixth place finish in his first full season. The swift counter-attacking football took opponents by surprise and, for a while, was exciting to watch. While the form carried over into the first half of the following season, West Ham had become a known quantity by now. Opponents worked that a high press cancelled out the counterattacking threat and without a tactical plan B, Moyes approach became increasingly cautious.

Fans desperate to see a fresh face and fresh ideas in the London Stadium technical area are routinely accused by the pundit community of being deluded or entitled. “Careful what you wish for” is the stock response. West Ham supporters should be grateful they are not in a relegation battle. That showing greater ambition would without question replace grim one goal victories with assured 4-3 defeats. Media outlets likewise are loathe to be critical of the manager, fearing losing access for their next big story. Even so, some have started to openly admit that watching West Ham is not easy on the eye – although preferring to describe the style as pragmatic, rather than boring. The well-worn phrase that football is a results business misses the point that it is also meant to entertain.

The elephant in the dressing room is, of course, the Europa Conference league win. After 43 trophy-less years it was amazing to experience the club winning something again. For many supporters it would have been a first ever taste of success. But in the cold light of day we cannot ignore the relative strength of the competition that we were in. The scenes in Prague at the end of the night and in east London the following day demonstrated how much it meant to the Hammer’s faithful. But Moyes can’t dine out on that result forever in the face of growing fan unrest. Surely, the Board are aware of that.

This season has been a weird one in many respects. It almost came as a surprise to find us sitting in sixth place at the turn of the year, so unremarkable were our performances. There have been several notable results – winning away at Brighton, Tottenham and Arsenal were all unexpected– that owed much to dogged defensive resistance. But in very few of the ten league wins to date have West Ham been a dominant force. They say that a good team needs to know how to win ugly, but it shouldn’t be the default model.

The Hammers remain without a win in 2024. Having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship opposition, they have drawn each of their three Premier League games. They were outplayed by both Brighton and Bournemouth at the London Stadium and despite being rightly aggrieved at the poor refereeing in Sheffield, did not deserve to come away with more than a point on the balance of play. With games against Manchester United and Arsenal on the horizon, the chances of extending the stay in the sunlit uplands of the top six may very well be limited.

There are parallels between this season and 2021/22 where the team were also handily placed to push on as the January  transfer window opened. Just as the club failed to act then, little was achieved this time around either, aside from the loan signing of Kalvin Phillips. Even more unexpectedly, a squad which was woefully thin anyway was allowed to become a net three lighter following the belated departures of Said Benrahma and Pable Fornals. Both players clearly went backwards during their time at West Ham – did they become worse players or simply get disillusioned – but have still been among the most used substitutes from the bench this term. Is Moyes now going to turn to youth or just make even fewer in-game changes?

The team selection for the Bournemouth game was bizarre to say the least. The decision to select all his favourites even if it meant playing them out of position must have seemed a good idea in the manager’s head. Would none of his assistants dare challenge him on the madness of putting JWP on the left wing and pushing Tomas Soucek forward as a Number 10? That Kalvin Phillips might be a tad ring rusty came as no surprise to the average fan but was apparently beyond an experienced manager with a thousand plus games under his belt. In fairness the real culprit for the Bournemouth goal was Kurt Zouma but digging out Phillips made for a better headline.

Sunday sees Moyes take his Hammers side to Old Trafford to face an erratic Manchester United side. The Red Devils victory in their topsy-turvy midweek encounter with Wolves moved them to within a point of West Ham. Moyes has never won as a manager at Old Trafford in 17 attempts and Carlos Tevez was the last Hammer to score a league winner there in 2007.

It is not difficult to predict that we will see a backs to the wall low West Ham block which will be described as a defensive masterclass if we win, but as tame surrender if we lose. Definitely less than 30% possession and fewer that ten touches in the opposition box – mostly headers.

I can see Moyes dropping Phillips to the bench for this one, allowing Soucek to drop back and Danny Ings to reprise his Bramall Lane role behind Jarrod Bowen. The most probable outcome is a comfortable home win unless further heroics from Alphonse Areola and Mohammed Kudus earn a point as they did on Thursday. It could well be the start of a Hammers slide down the table and its not difficult to imagine being overtaken by Manchester United, Newcastle, Brighton, and Chelsea before the season is out. It really is time for a change. COYI!

West Ham Versus Bournemouth Preview: Thursdays, Transfers and Takings

It’s Thursday night and so it must be time for a West Ham game. Will events on the pitch be as exciting as the live feed from the transfer window?. Or will both end in disappointment?

Once again, the schedulers have seen fit to shunt the Hammer’s forthcoming Premier league fixtures to the graveyard Thursday/ Sunday slots. As if we don’t already have enough of that during the weeks of European competition. It is a consequence, perhaps, of West Ham not being the easiest of watches under the current pragmatic regime.

Still David Moyes team continue to hold on to sixth spot in the standings and would have been even handier placed had it not been for the scandalous antics of the Stockley Park VARmin ten days or so ago. They must have already shut down their monitors to have missed the late penalty area assault on Jarrod Bowen in the final seconds.

Today’s game is also scheduled to coincide with the ceremonial ‘slamming shut’ of the transfer window – just as it had in the summer when West Ham were featured in the Friday night game at Luton. Why interrupt the evening’s nail-biting excitement by playing a football match?

As usual the January window is proving to be a triumph of hope over expectation. I had mentioned previously that precious little happens in this window, especially at West Ham. It’s almost as if all those reports of players being linked, bids being made, and talks being held are made up. Despite all the evidence, we still like to imagine something will happen.

As things stand the first team squad is one man down on its pre-window strength if persistent rumours that Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals might join the exodus then the bones will be even barer. New recruits are badly needed but time is rapidly running low – short-term, squad filling panic buys are not what is wanted. A whole month has passed to make a move, yet here we are scrambling around looking to grab a bargain in the final minutes.

The lack of activity has focused attention once again on the presumed mismatch of priorities between manager David Moyes, recruitment guru Tim Steidten and bean counter David Sullivan. Cheap, young, talented footballers with extensive Premier League experience appear to be in short supply for some reason. It must be a frustrating environment for Steidten who had been employed on the strength of the magic he had performed at Bayer Leverkusen – but at a club that lacks the courage of its convictions. It now appears that Liverpool are sniffing around for his services and who could blame him if he jumped onboard the Mersey ship? I doubt we need worry so much about Moyes being headhunted in light of the Liverpool and Barcelona jobs about to become vacant?

The annual Deloitte Football Money League was published recently and emphasised how big the financial gap is between the also-rans (like West Ham) and the six rich clubs of English football. The standings, based on annual revenues, show Real Madrid as the world’s richest club with Manchester City just behind. A total of eight Premier League clubs are in the top twenty with West Ham slipping down to 18th after a poor league season in 2022/23.

The following table shows the breakdown between Matchday, Broadcasting (including prize money) and Commercial revenues for each club in the top 20, plus revenue totals for the other English clubs ranked between 21 and 30. All the figures reported are in Euros.

What immediately stands out – apart from the size of the gap – is how poor West Ham’s matchday and commercial receipts are in comparison with the big clubs. How and why do Tottenham earn three times the matchday income and five times the commercial income compared to the Hammers. And, of course, those revenues directly influence the size of recruitment and salary budgets. The big stadium bounce has not enriched the club’s coffers anything like imagined and, in relative terms, we are not far ahead of the clubs ranked just below.

Turning to tonight’s game, West Ham face a Bournemouth side much improved from when the two teams met on the opening day of the season. It had taken time for Andoni Iraola to mould the team in his image, but they had hit a rich vein of form before falling to consecutive league defeats against Tottenham and Liverpool. The decision to replace Gary O’Neil with Iraola was controversial but appears to have improved both Bournemouth and Wolves. While the Cherries rely heavily on the rejuvenated Solanke for goals, they have looked a very capable side  going forward, although less certain at the back. Semenyo, Tavernier, and Scott will all carry a threat to a rearguard easily unsettled by pace.

Moyes has remained tight-lipped on his own selection options and there are ongoing fitness concerns over Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta. Mohammed Kudus has returned following Ghana’s early exit from AFCON and surely must be ready to start. New arrival Kalvin Phillips is available but with little game time under his belt for the past two season is unlikely to last 90 minutes of competitive football. Ordinarily, his situation would mean several weeks on the bench, but all indications are that this is a Moyes signing who will go straight into the starting eleven. Welcome and good luck, Kalvin.

My hope is that we will eventually see Phillips and Alvarez as a double defensive midfield pivot releasing JWP for more offensive duties behind a front three of Paqueta, Kudus and Jarrod Bowen. It would be an exciting prospect if allowed to flourish. The stumbling block is whether Moyes is prepared to relegate long-term favourite Tomas Soucek to extended bench duty. It would be no surprise if the manager fudged this decision today by allowing Alavarez extra recovery time.

Assuming Paqueta is not yet ready to return then it will be another outing for Danny Ings following his lively performance at Bramall Lane. The one enforced changed will be Ben Johnson replacing the suspended Vladimir Coufal.

A win tonight will put daylight between ourselves and the collection of teams below, but whatever happens the chances are we will remain sixth until the weekend. I don’t have a high degree of confidence its a position that canbe maintained with the current squad strength, but while there’s hope let’s cling to it.

On the opening day of the season West Ham failed to press home their early advantage against Bournemouth and in typical Moyesball style offered the opposition a route back into the game. All it needed was a lucky deflection and two points were dropped. Nothing suggests the underlying approach to games has changed much since then. So a narrow West Ham one goal victory is probably the best a fan can get. COYI!   

Robbed by the officials at Sheffield United, can West Ham push on in the league when Bournemouth visit on Thursday evening?

The Post Office Horizon scandal is one of the worst miscarriages of justice I can recall. It involved faulty accounting software creating false shortfalls in the accounts of many sub postmasters leading to over 900 convictions of theft, fraud and false accounting, and at the same time destroying thousands of lives. It took a TV series (Mr Burns versus the Post Office) to speed up the system of getting justice to all those who had been wronged.

Whilst not wishing to classify football in the same way, the officiating of our game at Sheffield United, particularly in the latter stages of the match, was in my opinion a scandal in footballing terms, and was one of the worst examples of poor refereeing and lack of use of VAR I’ve seen. Unfortunately, there are far too many recent examples of ineptitude in this respect. How can officials and VAR get so much wrong? It defies belief.

I’ll start by saying that based on our performance in the game I don’t believe we deserved to get more than a point. The lack of depth in the squad when we have injuries and lack of availability of first choice players was highlighted clearly in our failure to dominate against a team at the foot of the table and staring relegation in the face. I’ll also add that I am a fan of VAR too. But I’m not a fan of the clowns who operate the system. However we would have had three points from the game if the officials and VAR had done their job.

I’ll start with the penalty awarded to us about ten minutes before the end of the ninety. This was a straightforward decision for a referee who gave it when Ings (who had a surprisingly good game based on what we’ve seen from him so far in a West Ham shirt) was clearly caught. VAR seemed to take quite a time to ratify that the decision was correct. Why?

As we entered time added on, Brewster launched himself at Emerson, off the floor, out of control at speed, the clearest of sending off tackles you’ll ever see. Incredibly the referee (Salisbury) only showed him a yellow card. At least on this occasion VAR sent him to the monitor and he upgraded the card. We had the correct decision eventually, but how he didn’t give it in the first place was amazing.

We now had a 2-1 lead and 11 v 10. Surely the three points were safe? Coufal continued with his angry mood of recent games and once again seemed to enjoy fouling opponents and looking innocent when penalised. Reacting angrily to the shocking tackle earned him a yellow card and then he unprofessionally stamped on McAtee’s foot and we were 10v10.

The game was well into overtime when a ball was launched into the West Ham area, and as Areola went to punch it clear he had an arm into his face from substitute McBurnie and was left with a bloody lip and had to be treated and leave the field. For me it was a clear free kick to us and yet somehow the referee saw it another way and awarded a penalty. Never mind I thought to myself, thank heavens we’ve got VAR to rectify this nonsensical decision. They keep banging on with the phrase ‘clear and obvious error’ and this was as clear and obvious as it gets. I looked back on the timing afterwards. From the point that the penalty was awarded it was a further 4 minutes and 28 seconds before the kick was taken. How frustrating is it that in all that time that VAR had to look at the incident with all the camera angles and the evidence clearly showing on Areola’s mouth, they stood by the original decision, and didn’t even suggest that the referee had a look on the monitor.

We were now more than 12 minutes overtime when the penalty went in and we thought it was all over. But there was still time for us to kick off and in no time at all yet another astonishing refereeing decision which even capped the one a little earlier was to happen. In an attempt to get to Ben Johnson’s cross Bowen was wrestled to the ground by Ahmedhodzic who wasn’t even looking at the ball coming over. The referee awarded a free kick to Sheffield United. If a referee can honestly believe that McBurnie was fouled and yet the rugby tackle on Bowen wasn’t a foul then something is clearly wrong with the standard of officials and VAR.

Perhaps a TV series, Mr Burns versus referees and VAR would highlight to the nation that something needs to be done? Had the penalty that we should have been awarded been converted, and I’ve no doubt that JWP would have been successful then we would now be sitting on 37 points in sixth place, five clear of seventh place Brighton. In form terms relating to the last five league matches we would have had 13 points, a total that no team in the Premier League can better. The ineptitude of officials and VAR leaves us on 11, still the third best in the league.

Looking at our form I’ve gone back to Wednesday 1st November to see the results of our games in the three months prior to our meeting with Bournemouth coming up on 1st February. It has been a busy three months in which we’ve played 18 games. We’ve won 10 of them, drawn 4 and lost 4.

In the Premier League we have played 11, won 6, drawn 3 and lost 2. In the process we have defeated Burnley, Forest, Tottenham, Wolves, Manchester United and Arsenal. The two defeats were disappointing affairs losing 3-2 at Brentford after leading 2-1 and getting thrashed 5-0 at Fulham.

In the Europa League we won all our three games with 4 goals scored and none conceded to progress to the last 16.

The domestic cups have been disappointing. After a convincing win over Arsenal we surrendered at Liverpool in the EFL Cup, and then failed to beat Bristol City in two attempts in the FA Cup.

With 17 league games to go, the addition of an experienced England international to the squad (Phillips), and players returning from AFCON and injury, then surely we can push on to qualify for Europe once again? We will if we can retain our current league position of course. But can we?

As I write this on Tuesday evening prior to the five games being played tonight we have the usual West Ham situation as the transfer window closure approaches; we are no nearer to knowing if we will add any more new players to the squad. Jota and Osman in, Benrahma and Fornals out are the main rumours but who knows? There are always complications of one sort or another where West Ham are concerned.

This is one of those games that it is important to win if we are to maintain our challenge towards the top of the table. I’m on a roll as I predicted a 2-2 draw at Sheffield United (my first correct West Ham result forecast this season). I’ll go for a 3-1 win. What are the chances?

Can West Ham End A Dry January By Stealing The Points In Sheffield?

Injuries, absences, cup exits, and the perennial transfer dithering have produced an inauspicious start to 2024 for the Hammers. Is their visit to basement dwellers Sheffield United a chance to get the show back on the road?

To paraphrase the Lloyd Bridges character in the Airplane movie: “it looks like I picked the wrong month to quit drinking.” The good intentions of keeping off the booze in January being thoroughly tested by lethargic performances on the pitch and (so far) by the lack of activity in the transfer window. With winter breaks and cup exits, today’s visit to Sheffield is a last chance saloon for David Moyes to sidestep the worst manager of the month award.

As Richard described so eloquently in these columns yesterday, the cup exit to Bristol City wouldn’t have come as a great surprise to seasoned supporters of a club that has cornered the banana skin market for many years. The real damage for this year’s ignominy was done when sitting back to defend the early goal advantage in the original tie. What the replay confirmed (as if it needed confirming) was how thin the squad is in quality, how the team lacks leadership on the pitch, and how clueless Moyes is with his use of substitutions.

It is an unusual situation we find ourselves in at West Ham. Sitting an impressive sixth in the league and in the last sixteen of a European competition but riddled with discontent on style of play and entertainment value. Although ‘outsiders’ might be understandably baffled by the reaction of fans, their ‘careful what you wish for’ warnings mistakenly suggest it is a binary choice. That the only options for West Ham are the limited crumbs of success that dour, backs-to-the-wall, unimaginative Moyesball can deliver, or the inevitable relegation battles that would follow a move to a more progressive, open, and expansive approach to the game. There is plenty of ground in between if the club gets to grips with its youth development and scouting strategies.

As ever, we are seduced by the notion that solutions to current problems might be at hand from the winter transfer window – even though experience tells us that little business is ever done in January. That doesn’t prevent the rumour mills, live blogs, and clickbait sites going into overdrive on potential links, talks, deals, and swaps. Perhaps this year will be different and we will be pleasantly surprised for once. With Thilo Kehrer already gone and exits predicted for Said Benrahma, Ben Johnson, and others then the next ten days may well be busier than usual. The suggestion from Moyes that West Ham need to sell before they can buy was an unnecessary message to put out. It only encourages the brinkmanship and delays that so often lead to deals collapsing in the final hours of the window. The seat of the pants approach has rarely worked in the past, so why not get business done early for a change?

We are none the wiser as to what the club’s transfer priorities might be this month. There is no chance that each of the many squad shortfalls can be addressed in a single window. If the plan is to strengthen the starting eleven rather than the squad then an upgrade on Tomas Soucek would be my personal starting point. When Soucek is not scoring, he becomes a passenger whose control and passing are well below Premier League standards. In that respect, a loan move for Kalvin Phillips makes a lot of sense. But Phillips will want a guarantee of starts in advance of the Euros. Will Moyes give him those assurances?

In defence, there are surely growing concerns over the long-term fitness of Kurt Zouma. His mobility seemingly deteriorates on a weekly basis. The rearguard is not built for speed in any case which is a problem for any manager preferring to play a higher defensive line. But I don’t see any centre-back changes for now unless Nayef Aguerd leaves for Saudi Arabia once his AFCON duties are over. Should Johnson – who is out of contract in the summer – depart then cover at full-back would be seriously compromised.

The forward positions continue to be an enigma. The trident of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, and Mohammed Kudus has been the standout feature of the Hammer’s season to date. Clearly better backup options than Michail Antonio and Danny Ings are required but is a new Moyes-style target man exactly what is needed right now? How would Bowen and Kudus be accommodated in that scenario? In fact, it is interesting to speculate how things might have developed had Antonio not picked up a long term injury. Spending big money on a player like Broja from Chelsea would be a big mistake in my view. The ideal would be unearthing a Tim Steidten pearl or, failing that, giving a proper opportunity for Callum Marshall to stake a claim with regular bench appearances.

The apparent pursuit of Wilfried Gnonto is an interesting development. I do have a phobia about speedy wingers who can do little else other than running fast but maybe there is much more to his game – I haven’t seen him enough to judge. He would certainly be an upgrade on Benrahma although as a principle we should be looking to pick up exceptional players, not simply finding someone who is marginally better than what we have already got.

Games against Sheffield United have taken on a pantomime quality ever since the Tevez affair, and no doubt there will be plenty of booing and hissing at Bramall Lane this afternoon. Even at this stage of the season, the Blades look to need snookers to avoid relegation. Their most realistic escape route might be if three clubs above them get hit with massive points deductions as a punishment for financial irregularities. They have yet to see a new manager bounce from the return of Chris Wilder but are facing traditionally generous opponents today as they seek to finally put their points tally into double figures. One-time alleged Hammer’s striker target Brereton Diaz will be making his Premier League debut for the hosts. Always a worry!

West Ham have a good recent record in this fixture having won the last three encounters without conceding – including a dreary 2-0 win at the London Stadium in September. Apparently, if the Hammers keep a clean sheet today it will make it five in a row setting a new record for the club in the Premier League era – an achievement that Moyes would surely love to add to his CV.

Recoveries from injury will be key if West Ham are to return from the steel city with a point or three. The team that got intimidated and outmuscled in Bristol would surely meet the same fate against a determined Sheffield side. Our hopes, therefore, are pinned on at least some of Bowen, Edson Alvarez and even Pablo Fornals being fit and ready to start. Benrahma is, of course, suspended but reading the names Ings and Cornet on the team sheet will see me reaching for the bottle of wine which was being saved to celebrate the closing of the transfer window. COYI!

Dig Out The Claret Ribbons: The Road To Wembley Starts Today As West Ham Entertain Bristol City

It’s the thrill and tradition of the FA Cup despite the third round matches being stretched over five days. Will it be West Ham or Bristol City who grab the number 6 ball in Monday’s 4th round draw.

Did you know that every time West Ham have won the FA Cup they had to beat a team with a bird nickname along the way. It was the Robins of Swindon in 1964 and 1975 and the Swans of Swansea in 1980. And you could also throw in the Throstles if you were inclined to resurrect the West Bromwich Albion’s traditional pre-Baggies monicker. In fact, both abortive final appearances had the same avian connection. The Hammers seeing off the Seagulls in 1923 and the Canaries in 2006. A 3rd round draw against the Robins of Bristol City is therefore conclusive proof that the famous trophy is destined to be festooned with claret and blue ribbons come the end of May.

The road to Wembley is just 16 miles by car from the London Stadium – or just five football matches, excluding replays. But it has been a road less travelled for West Ham since they last lifted the trophy in 1980. In the interim, they have bowed out 12 times in both the 3rd and 4th rounds, 9 times in the 5th round, 8 in the 6th, and lost once in each of the semi-final and final. Going all the way typically involves decent performances, a touch of good fortune, and a favourable draw. Here’s hoping the big six can knock each other out before the big day.

Today will be the third time West Ham and Bristol City have met in the FA Cup. On both prior occasions, it was Hammers who progressed into the draw for the next round. In 1969, goals from Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters (2) helped West Ham to a 3-2 win in a 3rd round tie – a campaign that was later ended by a 3-0 5th round drubbing on a wet Wednesday night in February by 3rd division Mansfield. More recently, Sam Allardyce’s Hammers managed to scrape a fortunate 1-0 win in a 2105 4th round tie courtesy of a goal from substitute Diafra Sakho, who had controversially returned from AFCON due to a back injury.

For two seasons between 1977 and 1978, the two teams competed together in the old First Division (the top tier at the time) where Bristol City won two and lost one from four prior to the Hammers relegation. The Robins were themselves relegated in 1980 and have yet to return to the top flight. This season they are occupying mid-table obscurity in the Championship.

A surprising number of players have turned out for both clubs over the years including George Parris, Ryan Fredericks, Paul Allen, Marlon Harewood, Nicky Maynard, Bobby Gould and Leroy Rosenior. To add to the familiarity, West Ham manager David Moyes was a Bristol City player between 1985 and 1987 while Robin’s boss Liam Manning managed West Ham’s Under 21s from 2015 to 2019.

Manning replaced Nigel Pearson as Bristol City manager as recently as November 2023, having previously worked at MK Dons and Oxford United. According to Wikipedia, his management style is based on a high press and high possession, which might suggest what we are in for today. It’s a little worrying that the weekend has yet to see any of the usual big cup shocks before the masters of the banana skin take the field.

With no game for two weeks, we can expect Moyes to put out a strong side today, subject to the latest injury situation. The performance against Brighton illustrated how poor the team are in possession when the creativity of Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus is missing. With Kudus away at AFCON it could be a really difficult watch again if Paqman is not available to fight the Robins. Perhaps Moyes will finally give outings to the elusive Maxwell Cornet, Conor Coventry or Ben Johnson – maybe one or two from the Under 21’s – but it is more likely to the same tired old guard of Danny Ings, Pablo Fornals, and Said Benrahma who struggle to step up as usual?

Anyway, let’s be positive. Our name could well be on the cup once the missing stars return and the January cavalry signings arrive. West Ham to win 1-0 with 39% possession. COYI!

After conceding five at Fulham, three clean sheets in a row for West Ham who face the visit of Brighton to begin the New Year

Three defeats in consecutive games have been followed by 19 points from our last eight league games. Meet the unpredictables!

We travelled across London to Brentford on the day before Guy Fawkes. We fell behind, then went in front, then lost the game 3-2 to slip into the bottom half of the Premier League table for the first time after a promising start to the 2023-24 season. What came next in the eight remaining league games of the calendar year wasn’t something that many of us would have predicted.

Four home games against Forest, Palace, Wolves and Manchester United yielded ten points. Not the toughest run of fixtures but nevertheless a good haul and a big improvement on the previous four home league games which had produced just four points. It was disappointing to miss out on the maximum from the four home matches where the Palace equaliser was a gift. Beware Greeks bearing gifts they say.

The four away league games were at Burnley, Fulham, Tottenham and Arsenal. Once again three were won and one was lost. Not just lost, we were slaughtered. Before the games you would have taken nine points wouldn’t you? But if you knew beforehand that three of those games would be won with scores of 2-1, 2-1 and 2-0 and one would be lost 5-0, I don’t think you’d have guessed which one was the defeat.

So there we are, an eight game run in the league with six wins, one draw and one defeat. 15 goals scored and 10 conceded, half of them in one disastrous game. And amazingly three clean sheets to finish off the year. We’d only had one in the 16 previous league games. The halfway point in the season; 19 games, nine at home and ten away, sixth place with 33 points. A year ago after 19 games we had 15 points. That’s one hell of an improvement. But that’s West Ham as all of us long standing supporters will know. We never were, and probably never will be the most consistent team around.

Oh, and in between those last eight league games we all but gifted Liverpool a place in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, once again conceding five in a 5-1 defeat, but conversely progressed to the last 16 (knock out stage) of the Europa League comfortably beating Freiburg to top the league group for a third year running in Europe.

A European trophy to end last season too, but still the natives (or a proportion – I’m not sure exactly how many) are restless. A trawl through social media sites reveals a continual issue with the manager, the style of play etc. If you’re reading this you know how it goes. There’s quite an unnecessary nastiness among some of the conflicting groups (the Moyes luvvies and the Moyes haters as I’ve seen them called).

Football is a game of opinions and everybody is entitled to their own. Lively debate is good fun and in the end it’s great when people can have their say but then accept that others have opinions that will differ from their own. It’s a pity that some have to resort to personal, often rude remarks rather than debate, but that’s life, and exaggerated throughout social media. Unfortunately there is a culture in football (and life generally) that everything is black or white, love or hate, with no in between.

This is the 32nd season of the Premier League and we’ve been in 28 of them. Fifth is our highest finishing position with 57 points in 1998-99 when we won 16 games but had a negative goal difference for the season. Harry Redknapp was manager and in four of his six seasons in charge we finished in the top half, but we never managed a positive goal difference. In fact we’ve only scored more goals than we’ve conceded three times in those 28 seasons, in the final season 2015/16 at Upton Park when we finished 7th under Slaven Bilic (diff +14), and twice under David Moyes in 2020/21 (6th – diff +15), and in 2021/22 (7th – diff +9).

This season at the halfway stage we have won 10 games, have 33 points and have scored 33 goals. If we can replicate this performance in the second half of the campaign we will end up with 20 wins, 66 points, and 66 goals, all three figures would be new best figures for West Ham in our 28 seasons in the Premier League. The wins and points best figures were both achieved with David Moyes as manager. Having said that we’ve conceded 30 goals so far, so if we don’t improve on that and end up conceding 60 that would be a figure beaten only 5 times in those 28 seasons. The most was 2009/10 under Avram Grant (70) plus the worst goal difference (-27). Incidentally the least goals conceded in a Premier League season was in 2008/09 when just 45 went into our net. Who was the manager then? Gianfranco Zola.

So what will happen when we face Brighton? I haven’t a clue. As always I’m hoping for a win, lots of goals scored and a clean sheet. It would be great to repeat our 3-1 win there in August. But this is West Ham. There can’t be many teams as unpredictable as we are. Happy New Year!

WHU, We’re Halfway There: Will West Ham Be Living On A Prayer At The Emirates Tonight

Tonight’s game marks the halfway point in the 2023/24 campaign. A rare West Ham win away to Arsenal would represent a best ever opening half to a Premier League season, but history is not on their side.

Tonight’s game against Arsenal at the Emirates stadium represents the halfway point of the 2023/24 Premier League season. At the end of the game, West Ham will have faced each opponent once, played ten of their 19 games away from home, and accumulated somewhere between 30 and 33 points.

It was quite a surprise after the pre-Christmas round of matches to find the Hammers occupying sixth place in the Premier League standings. The general vibe at the club has been nowhere near as positive as that league position suggests it should be – concerns about style of play and uncertainty over the manager’s future dominating the online discourse.

The results versus performance paradox was encompassed perfectly in last Saturday’s encounter with Manchester United. There is clearly no such thing as a bad victory over the Red Devils, but what a drab and dreary contest it was for well over an hour – and admittedly both sides were responsible for the criminally low standard of entertainment on show. The beautiful simplicity of the two West Ham goals totally incompatible with everything that had gone before them. It has been a long, long time since supporters have been able to enjoy the combined attacking prowess that Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, and Lucas Paqueta offer – but there is a sense that the potential is only being partially realised, or unleashed as the headline writers like to say.

In the event that West Ham won tonight, they would achieve a best ever points tally at the halfway stage of a 38-game season, eclipsing the 32 points recorded from 19 games in 2020/21. A draw would give the Hammers an identical record to that achieved in 2021/22. And whatever the outcome, the three best opening half seasons (in terms of points won) will all have been under Moyes management – better than the 29 points earned by Harry Redknapp in 1998/99 and Slaven Bilic in 2015/16.

Winning away at Arsenal is, as we well know, a very rare occurrence for West Ham. In 21 attempts this century, it has only happened three times – the last encounter at Highbury in February 2006, the first at the Emirates in April 2007, and most recently in the opening game of the 2015/16 season. Aside from those three victories there has been one draw and 17 defeats. Each of the last seven games have resulted in a win for the Gunners with an aggregate score of 19-4..

No matter how bad the Hammer’s record is, Moyes managerial record at Arsenal is even less impressive. A total of 15 defeats and no wins from 19 visits, which represents a major element of his 70+ match winless streak from trips to Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. I wonder if he has considered taking a different tactical approach yet.

The equivalent fixture last season was a Boxing Day game that Arsenal won comfortably by three goals to one despite falling behind to a first-half Said Benrahma penalty. A win that left the Gunners seven points clear at the top of the table – a lead that they would ultimately squander. A similar result today would again put them top of the pile and they are certainly one of three genuine title contenders along with favourites Manchester City and Liverpool. With that young Declan fella in midfield, they have a more solid, if less spontaneous, look about them – but they may not be clinical enough in front of goal to hold off the perennial late challenge from the champions. Perhaps signing Ivan Toney in January would make for a more even contest.

Apart from the continued absence of Michail Antonio, Moyes should have a fully fit squad to select from. The only probable change from the team that started against Manchester United is the return of Nayef Aguerd in place of former Gunner, Konstantinos Mavropanos. Dinos experienced a shaky opening half-hour to Saturday’s game but settled down to put in a decent second half showing. He will be needed to cover for Aguerd during the imminent AFCON absences.

AFCON is coming at a most unfortunate time for the blossoming Bowen/ Paqueta/ Kudus partnership. In the Ghanaian’s absence, the idea of Bowen moving back out wide and Antonio or Danny Ings in the middle is hardly a mouth-watering prospect. The interplay and interchange between the front three in recent weeks has hinted of a brighter future, but whether all three will still be around after the summer is a worry. It was interesting to see John Heitinga bending Moyes ear in the technical area last Saturday as I imagine he is behind some of the more enterprising glimpses of attacking movement.

There is no question that Moyes will deploy his trademark low block for tonight’s game. He will not want his team to concede five goals in three consecutive matches and will be more inclined to protect the point than going for broke. As Jon Bon Jovi might phrase the pre-match team talk: “We’ve gotta hold on to what we’ve got, It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not.”

As ever, if West Ham are to have attacking success, it will depend on how quickly players can/ are allowed to get forward in support Bowen. I saw in the week that Paqueta and Kudus are two of the three highest ranked attacking midfielders for tackles and interceptions in the league. While this is highly commendable and illustrative of how hard they work, defensive duties should not come at the expense of attacking intentions. The most productive way for the the Hammers to threaten the Arsenal defence is to target Zinchenko, its weakest link – and to keep Rice occupied in helping him out. Other than that, there is only Odegaard, Saka, and Martinelli to worry about.

It really is about time we got to see a James Ward-Prowse free-kick goal to equal the Beckham record. I’m not sure there has even been a near miss yet, so tonight would be perfect timing. In fact, the overall goals from set pieces record is very mid-table this season and well behind the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal. And despite what the commentators continue to say, Moyes team are no longer a big (tall) side compared to others. Of course, West Ham are massive, just not in height.

With Arsenal the masters of the last gasp winner, it will be vital to main concentration right into the thirteenth minute of added time. Can we complete a north London away day double? The chances are slim but you never know. COYI!

Moyes Ten Word Xmas Humbug: Wishing You A Cautious Christmas And A Dreary New Year!

West Ham and Manchester United meet in the early kick-off at the London Stadium. With both managers under fire, one could surprisingly end the day in the top six of the Premier League.

As 2023 draws to a close, West Ham’s season is increasingly dominated by uncertainty over the future of David Moyes. His contract now down to its final six months, he has the haunted look of a lame duck manager..

I recently read Ray Parlour’s comments where he claimed his own straw poll of West Ham fans suggested a 50/50 split in support for Moyes. I can only imagine that this must divide between those who watch the games and those who follow the results in the newspaper. Can anyone who regularly watches matches really be eager for more of the same? As I have mentioned previously, when Moyes does leave – almost certainly in the summer – the history books will look kindly on his record at the club. But what outsiders and pundits fail to understand is that the fan’s frustration is not about results but the repeated caution, negativity and lack of entertainment witnessed on the pitch. Safety first tactics, rarely dominating games and an inferiority complex that rarely sees his sides able to compete in games against the biggest clubs. Was that 21 trips to Liverpool as a manager without a win now?

The debacle at Anfield rightly left West Ham fans seething; from the moment the teams were announced until the minute the fifth goal hit the back of the net. And the manager’s inane post-match analysis only made matters worse. Let’s be honest, the game was effectively written-off before a ball had been kicked – and in a cup quarter-final, no less. A degree of squad rotation is expected and can be easily justified in the modern game. Resting one or two players here and there to keep things fresh. But to change an entire defence (almost) and leave most of the players capable of making use of limited possession on the bench was madness. Who could have guessed the ball wouldn’t stick in a midfield containing Tomas Soucek, Pablo Fornals, and Said Benrahma? It might have just about worked at home to Lincoln, but it was never going to pass muster away at Anfield? And why no attempt to fix things at half-time when good fortune meant there was still only one goal in it?

It is tempting to dismiss the squad’s second-string players as falling well below the required standard. But there are also many questions in the way resources are managed – and the lack of game time available. The odd five minutes here and there as a late substitute cannot keep players match ready.  When Klopp made his own rotational changes, it was an opportunity for fringe players to do their best and make an impression. With Moyes, it was ritual sacrifice of players who know full well they are not part of the manager’s trusted few.

Defeat at Liverpool followed what was perhaps the Hammers most accomplished league performance of the season – a 3-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers. There were again glimpses of the talent available in the squad, and a more expansive style of football that could be possible in the right setup. Having completely dominated the opening period though, we still had to endure the customary retreat after half-time in the name of game management? It was fortunate that the marginal off-side was chalked off by VAR and served as a timely wake-up call.

As well as making resolutions, attention will also turn shortly to the flinging open of the January transfer window – which runs from 1 January to 1 February. Predictions of West Ham’s planned intentions vary widely and stories of wholesale ins and outs have already been circulating for some weeks It seems unlikely to me that a great deal of business will take place – it rarely does in January – and the situation is complicated in any case by the convoluted FFP rules that UEFA and the Premier League have in place. Thoughts on what the clubs transfer priorities should be also vary – striker, centre back, full-back – so there will be no shortage of wild and fanciful speculation in the weeks ahead. We must also consider that a very thin West Ham squad will be further weakened as a results of AFCON absences from the middle of January..

Recruitment will not be helped by the managerial uncertainty. Does Moyes get to have any say in targets – if so, is that wise? If he doesn’t, will he select them to pay? A lot of faith has to be put in Tim Steidten surfacing with a couple of pearl-diving specials.

Today’s early kick-off features two of the 12 United’s currently playing in England’s top four leagues. How many of the others can you get? Our visitors have the air of a fading star whose best days are a distant memory. Someone who once graced the silver screen but can now only get work in panto at the end of the pier. For such a famous club it was a surprise to discover that all but two of their 20 league titles were under the guidance of just two managers – Busby (5) and Ferguson (13). The exceptions were both prior to the First World War.

Since Ferguson’s departure, six different managers (including one D Moyes) have failed to rouse the sleeping giant from its irritable slumber. With the Red Devils unceremoniously dumped out of Europe a few weeks back, current boss Ten Hag is in the leading pack to become the Premier League’s next managerial casualty.

At the moment, just one point separates the two sides in the current standings. Should either team win all three points, they will leap into the top six, at least until Newcastle play at Luton.

While Manchester United have a lengthy injury list to cope with, the Hammers have a close to full-strength squad to call upon – just Michail Antonio missing plus anyone still suffering from the mystery sickness bug. The only selection question mark for West Ham is at goalkeeper where Alphonse Areola did his best in midweek to hand the jersey back to Lukasz Fabianski. Vladimir Coufal is one booking away from a ban and hopefully he has benefited from anger management therapy since his last league outing against Wolves.

The most ominous thing I read in the build up to today’s game is that ‘Rasmus Hojlund is still searching for his first goal in England’s topflight‘. So, there’s a thought for anyone wondering where to place their two-bob stake money. Looking at other betting options, I was attracted by a odds of 7 or more goals being scored in the game. This could be a lucky one, coming in at 18/1.

Finally, I would just like to wish everyone who has read this far a very merry Christmas. I trust your trees are fully loaded with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrchandise from the club shop. COYI!

That list of United’s in full: Cambridge, Carlisle, Colchester, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, Peterborough, Rotherham, Sheffield, Sutton, West Ham