Match – Page 80 – Under The Hammers

5 Observations from a dull draw @ Watford

A stressed out manager shows his passion and makes some odd selections as West Ham drop 2 points at Vicarage Road.

A Game That Lived up to its Billing

I wonder how many neutrals made it to the end of this televised game? It has always seemed an odd to time to show live football to me and whoever thought this game might turn out to be a spectacle has to be a seriously optimistic individual. I think even a re-run of Noel’s House Party would have been more entertaining. It is still February and here were two clubs with almost nothing to play for, and it showed. As much as they talked up the ‘looking over their shoulder’ on the commentary it end of season fare being played out well before the clocks have changed. Probably the early goal had an impact on the structure of the game but it was disappointing that the spot-kick was the only noteworthy action of a limp first 45 minutes. The second half was better, but only in comparison with the first, as West Ham upped the tempo in search of an equaliser (with Watford happy to defend their lead) but once the Hammers had secured the deserved equaliser they gave the impression of job done. In fact after the goal Watford showed a little adventure of their own and might have snatched a winner with the very last kick of the game.

Slaven Gets Animated

The one person who did seem to get worked up by events was manager Slaven Bilic whose remonstrations in the technical area resulted in several terse conversations with the fourth official. If you had pressed me to describe Slaven’s normal match-day demeanour I would conjure up an image of a slightly stooped figure, hands resting on thighs and looking mostly impassive except where celebrating a goal. Recently he has morphed into a character very much wearing his passion on his sleeve. Perhaps he has been taking animation lessons from Conte or Klopp. Or maybe there is truth in the rumour that only a top eight finish qualifies for automatic contract renewal and that anything less requires entering the play-offs with Roberto Mancini. It could, of course, be that Bilic has guaranteed improved results after the warm weather break in Dubai or else he has to pick up the tab. I certainly didn’t spot the promised renewed vigour from watching yesterday’s performance but I may be expecting too much.

Refereeing Decisions

The subject of Slaven’s ire was mainly the refereeing decisions of Craig Pawson. I noticed some online concern with the announcement of Pawson as referee but I can’t say he has ever come onto my radar as particularly bad or with any previous as far as West Ham are concerned. By modern standards and interpretations it is difficult to argue against the penalty award where the mystifying criteria of ‘he’s entitled to go down there’ is known only to former players. Without a doubt players actively play for penalties and Zarate had only that in his mind when going down in the area from Kouyate clumsy attempt to track his run. Interestingly there was a very similar incident at the other end but with Antonio staying on his feet in an attempt to score no infringement was signalled. No wonder that players dive and I got the impression that all it would take was a stiff breeze for the Watford to go to ground, as befits a team with an Italian coach. Apart from the odd disputed corner or throw-in I can recall very few really contentious moments to consider.

The Strange Case of the Team Selection

They say that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is a sign of insanity. Naturally there are many variables in football but it is easy to wonder whether our management and coaching staff ever learn from past experiences. Once again there are so many questions about the selection decisions yesterday. Why stick with Kouyate as emergency right back when Byram was fit? Why put Lanzini out wide when the positive impact of moving him to a central role was so evident in the previous match? How did we get in a position where one of our most dangerous players (Antonio) is rarely played in his most effective position (wide right) and now plays as a lone striker after it was discovered that he wasn’t a right back? What is the point of bringing Fernandes on in the 89th minute every week; is that meant to be developing young players? What is the point of Jonathan Calleri? To the outsider it appears that team selection is based on trying to keep a select group of players happy by giving them a game somewhere rather than taking the difficult decisions. It is still uncertain what style of play or consistent approach we are trying to create as a club and the team remains more a collection of individuals rather than a cohesive unit. Good enough to bob along in mid-table most probably but no better.

My Kingdom for a Striker

With Antonio’s red card making him unavailable for the next game at home to Chelsea it is even more crucial that Andy Carroll is fit if we have any hope of giving the league leaders a decent game – or did Antonio get himself banned on purpose to make sure his next employers maintain their runaway lead at the top? It was good to see Ayew get on the score-sheet (and no assist for this awarded to Antonio I believe) but do not see him as being able to offer much in the lone striker role. If the alternative is Calleri then we may as well not bother. It is bewildering that a club (and the 18th richest in world football at that) playing in the most elite league on the planet are so poorly prepared and equipped.

Ratings: Randolph (5), Kouyate (5), Reid (6), Fonte (7), Cresswell (7), Noble (5), Obiang (7), Feghouli (6), Snodgrass (4), Lanzini (6), Antonio (8) Subs: Ayew (6)

West Ham v Watford Preview

West Ham seek revenge at Vicarge Road for the 2-4 London Stadium home defeat back in September.

West Ham Watford This weekend we visit Watford, who sit 13^th in the Premier League and are one of the five clubs separated by just two points in the middle of the table. Stoke are 9^th on 32 points, followed by ourselves with the same points but an inferior goal difference, and then three teams on 30, Southampton, Burnley and Watford. As the games begin to run out, and with a gap of five points to West Brom in 8^th, then you have to believe that the five clubs are fighting it out to finish 9^th. It would take a very good run put together, plus some faltering by the Baggies, to envisage any of them realistically challenging for eighth place. Not impossible, but unlikely I reckon.

This is the return fixture of our fourth game of the season, and second at home, where we raced into a two goal lead, which included an outrageous piece of skill from an ex-favourite Frenchman, only to be pegged back by half-time, and comprehensively beaten 4-2 by the finish, mainly as a result of some diabolical defending. From the point that we went two up our defence faced a situation fraught with difficulties in containing the rampant Watford attack; a real hornets’ nest! The Watford captain, Deeney, said in a post-match interview that he felt that the West Ham players were showboating, and this spurred on them on in their comeback. In truth we could have lost by an even greater margin.

Watford are one of the many Premier League clubs under foreign ownership, with the owner and chairman both Italian, leading to (unsurprisingly) an Italian manager, Walter Mazzarri. Mazzarri was a journeyman Italian footballer, playing for eleven clubs in a fifteen year period in the 1980s and 90s, and then in his managerial career managed seven Italian teams from 2001 to 2014, including some notable clubs such as Sampdoria, Inter and Napoli. His appointment at Watford last summer was his first foray in football outside his native country, and he appears to have done an OK job leading them to a mid-table position, with no real danger of relegation (unless they collapse dramatically), and like ourselves, not much chance of progressing beyond finishing in ninth place.

Watford’s home form is nothing special. Apart from losing at home to Gillingham in the EFL Cup, they have won five of their twelve games, beating (most notably) Manchester United and Everton, as well as more predictable victories over Hull, Leicester and Burnley. They have had three home draws, all against teams below them in the table, namely, Bournemouth, Palace and Middlesbrough. Their four defeats at home have all come against teams above them in the table, Chelsea, Arsenal, Stoke and Tottenham. I wonder if we can make it five? In addition to their win at the London Stadium, they have won two further games away from Vicarage Road, at Middlesbrough, and a surprising win at the Emirates.

Their main danger men from a scoring perspective are Deeney, who is their leading scorer with seven, and Capoue who has netted five times in the league. Their goals scored and conceded records are very similar to our own, so in many ways the form points to a potential score draw. The game is yet another of our mid-table six pointers in the “race” to finish ninth, and one that we should be looking to win if we are to continue to hope for a top half finish.

Our head to head record against Watford has generally been a very positive one. In the 21 years from November 1985 until August 2006 we faced them 22 times, winning 18 and drawing 4. They didn’t beat us in a period of over 20 years. But in the 8 meetings since January 2007, we have won just two games, with one draw, and Watford coming out on top 5 times. So the recent record has not been a good one.

Despite Carroll’s continuing injury, I fully expect us to come out on top this time. I am hoping for some of the incisive movement that we displayed against West Brom two weeks ago, without the defensive lapses that cost us in that game. Perhaps we can reverse the score from the home fixture and win 4-2 this time? What are the chances?

Matchday: Hammers to stir up the Hornets?

Will it be a case renewed energy and vigour from the Dubai training camp or post holiday blues as West Ham take on Watford at Vicarage Road?

Watford West Ham If reports are to be believed we are promised a team packed with renewed energy and vigour as a consequence of the warm weather training break in Dubai since our last competitive match. Most of the pictures that I saw from Dubai involved the players eating and dancing but we are assured that they also worked had and with great intensity to work particularly on defensive frailties. Today we will be able to judge for ourselves the effectiveness of this expensive bonding and possibly be wowed by how well those batteries have been recharged. One can only hope that the late kick off doesn’t further interfere with adjustment from the Dubai time-zone – wouldn’t want Mark Noble’s tackles being any later than usual.

It was a very good trip, we trained very hard, more than if we had stayed here. We were all together and we all trained once a day. We used it to do a bit of fitness, intensive small games, some work on defence, it was all good. The team bonding is good for the players who didn’t open themselves totally, who come to training and just talk to your best friend and then go home.

– Slaven Bilic

Today’s opponents have one of the most cosmopolitan squads in the Premier League and, until the recent loan acquisition of Tom Cleverley, captain Troy Deeney was frequently their only English born player. They have also fielded the oldest average age starting eleven of all Premier League clubs during the course of the season. So a super-charged and (relatively) youthful Hammers might be fully expected to zip past these elderly Hornets and make amends for the calamitous defeat at the London Stadium in September.

A lot of the reporting after Watford’s win at the London Stadium was focused on Troy Deeney and his reaction to the apparent ‘showboating’ by our players after they had taken a two goal lead. In media terms Deeney had ‘slammed’ the Hammers but in reality he had used the situation to motivate his teammates, and with great success you have to say. It is what I remember as “come on lads they’re taking the piss now” over the park on many a Sunday morning. Whether our manager can now use the perceived slight by Deeney to motivate his own players, who remember are already straining at the leash, even further has the potential to provoke the footballing equivalent of shock and awe.

Head to Head

West Ham have never lost two games on the bounce to Watford and this is a record we have to defend today. Overall it is a very positive good record against the Hornets with West Ham having won 22 out of 35 league meetings. At Vicarage Road we have won 9 out of 17, having lost just 4 times. In the last 12 encounters (home and away), however, it is a very even contest with each team having won 5 with 2 drawn games.

Team News

Sun, sand and warm weather training have not worked their magic on Andy Carroll’s groin by all accounts and he remains a major doubt for today’s game. If there is any doubt at all with Carroll it is likely that he will be missing and not even on the bench. With fellow physio room inmate, Diafra Sakho, still some weeks from recovery I would expect the man-for-all-positions Michail Antonio to turn out once more as the primary striker. I don’t see Andre Ayew as a viable option to perform the role as an outlet or to hold the ball up. If Ayew gets a look in it would probably be at the expense of Sofiane Feghouli but the Algerian did enough in the second half against Albion to earn another chance.

Elsewhere, Aaron Cresswell is available and Sam Byram is also fit. My prediction is that Slaven Bilic will avoid a difficult midfield decision by sticking with Cheikhou Kouyate at right back. Expect Darren Randolph to keep hold of the keeper’s jersey despite his recent wobbles.

We cannot compare today with that game. It was a long time ago. West Ham had some problems in that period and we were coming from a particular period, too. We did a very good game after losing at the beginning, but West Ham are doing very well now.

– Walter Mazzarri

In a Yin meets Yang moment Watford have a cluster of defender injuries which is handy for them given that West Ham do not have any forwards. Former occasional Hammer’s favourite Mauro Zarate may line up for the Hornets now that he has brought his sulking back to the Premier League. Watford also have M’Baye Niang in their squad the striker having chosen the Hornets over West Ham because they showed him greater love.

Man in the Middle

Today’s potential match spoiler is Craig Pawson from South Yorkshire. Pawson has taken charge of the Hammers on three occasions so far this term; home wins against Bournemouth and Chelsea (EFL Cup) and the 5-1 defeat by Arsenal. In a total of 25 matches Pawson is just one short of his century of Yellow Cards and has 3 red cards to his name.

West Ham 2:2 West Brom

Can we blame the officials? Or did we contribute to our own inability to win the game?

Feghouli v WBA I have written on a number of occasions regarding games involving West Ham and any team managed by Tony Pulis. My articles go back years to when he was the manager of Stoke City, and how I detested their time wasting tactics, their blocking off the ball (American Football style), and their long throw game. Now that he is manager of West Brom he has produced a team of giants who have had a successful season, exceeding everyone’s expectations, and who currently sit in eighth place in the Premier League.

If tittle tattle in the media is to be believed, then Slaven Bilic needs to get us up into eighth place in the final table in order to be offered a new contract by the board. Personally I don’t happen to believe this, and reckon that if we have a decent enough final dozen or so games, and finish comfortably in mid-table, he will be given the opportunity to continue. Whatever fans think of the owners of our club, they have not sacked managers in the past without good reason, and I would not expect them to start doing so now. Anybody in the London Stadium who witnessed the superb atmosphere once we started to play on Saturday, and the continuous support for “Super Slav” by the vast majority of fans, would not believe that he was fighting to retain his job.

Nevertheless his reactions (some might say over-reactions) to some of the decisions in the game might leave you to believe otherwise. Beating West Brom would have gone some way to increasing our chances of getting into the top eight. We started the game five points adrift of them. Losing the game would have put us eight behind, and winning the game just two. So in many ways it was a real mid-table six-pointer.

Was Feghouli fouled for West Brom’s opener on five minutes? From my seat it looked like it, but general consensus seems to be perhaps it was a foul, and perhaps it wasn’t. Sometimes challenges like that are given and sometimes not. What is more pertinent I believe is Noble’s poor decision to play a ball like that to Feghouli, Feghouli’s inability to withstand the challenge, Kouyate’s poor defending in being nutmegged by Chadli, and Randolph’s inability to save a shot straight at him. It was a catalogue of errors and bad decisions. On some days the referee might have blown for a foul and it wouldn’t have happened as it did. But it wasn’t the worst refereeing decision ever. On so many occasions in the past couple of years a multitude of poor decisions have gone against us, and very few have been in our favour, costing us many points, but this one was not so clear cut.

I thought much the same about our “equaliser” that was ruled out for offside, and / or a foul on Foster. At first glance Feghouli appeared onside (as indeed he was) and I believe that the linesman raised his flag in error. But when you get the chance to see it again you notice that Antonio was offside and interfering with play by pushing Foster. The referee seemed to take a long while to walk across to the linesman and I wonder if he was in contact with the fourth official or somebody in the stand watching a video replay? The offside rule is complex and often controversial, and you could question that even if Antonio gently pushed their keeper, he couldn’t have saved it anyway, so perhaps the goal should have stood. Again, it was not clear cut and could have gone in our favour but didn’t.

Antonio was also offside when Feghouli scored the legitimate equaliser, and perhaps this is something that he needs to consider regarding his game. Whilst commending his enthusiasm to get into goalscoring positions, he is sometimes slow to retreat back into an onside position. Feghouli was close to being offside, and I believe some linesmen would have raised their flag as it is virtually impossible for the human eye to move their eyes fast enough to take in all the necessary action. We really need video replays, but that is a topic for another day. In any event this decision quite rightly went our way.

Lanzini’s excellent shot five minutes from time should have been the winner, but of course this is West Ham. How many times have we conceded a late goal to not win, or lose a match? Once again there was controversy. Did Antonio touch the ball or not? Should it have been our throw in? The referee thought that he had and this led to the corner and the 94^th minute equaliser. Were we unlucky? Perhaps. But we should perhaps have defended better not to concede a corner in the first place, and also it is criminal to concede a goal headed home directly from a corner. Collins was on the pitch to help counter the Baggies height advantage in the final few minutes, but somehow our defenders and Randolph managed to block each other in a crowded six yard box.

The disappointment was enormous. We had outplayed West Brom for much of the match but ended up with a 2-2 draw. We might also have even had a couple of penalties, one of which looked like a blatant trip on Snodgrass, but it wasn’t our day for decisions. But having said that, in my opinion most weren’t blatantly bad decisions. On another day some might have gone our way but not on Saturday. Slav’s reaction was perhaps a bit over the top, although he endears himself to supporters with his passion. It’s a pity that managers are not allowed to say if they believe officials have got it wrong. It’s also a pity that referees are not made to come out after games to explain their reasoning with regard to “controversial” moments in games.

West Brom spent virtually the whole game time-wasting after they had gone ahead. I wasn’t surprised. I’ve seen Pulis teams do this in the past. Referees should take action, but they rarely do. The irony of the situation was that no extra time was added for time wasting in the first half as injuries accounted for the full three minutes that were added on. The Baggies continued their time-wasting tactics throughout the second half until Lanzini scored, when all of a sudden they began to do everything in a hurry. More time was added on in the second half (5 minutes) and this was just enough for West Brom to benefit.

In so many ways it just wasn’t our day. But we can’t just blame the officials. We contributed to our own downfall. The performance was encouraging, however, and more games like this should enable us to finish in the top half of the table. Eighth may be just beyond our reach though.

5 Observations from the West-side derby!

An early goal conceded, spirited second half entertainment but an ultimate sense of disappointment as West Ham are held by West Brom.

That’s Entertainment

Who would have thought that a game against a Tony Pulis side could be so entertaining? For long periods in the second half West Ham played some of the most enterprising football I have seen from them for a long time. Suddenly we were passing the ball quickly, intelligently and there was good movement off the ball for once. To a large degree the early lead for Albion and their willingness to sit back and protect it helped our players to grow in confidence which, in turn, spread to the supporters. It is interesting how the mood at the end of the game is affected by the sequence of the goals. Having given Albion the lead I would have quite happily taken a rescued point at half time but to take the lead and then surrender it left a severe case of disappointment at the final whistle.

The Referee & The Manager

Much of the post-match chatter focused on the manager and his frustrations at the decisions made by referee, Michael Oliver. I do admire Slaven Bilic’s passion even though I believe questions persist about his decision making and tactics at times. It was a big blow to lose Carroll and once again it exposed the lack of balance and striking weaknesses in our squad. Too often we field a team of square pegs in round holes and although some are enforced others seem to be by management design. Credit to the manager in that he did eventually change things around for the better, notably by releasing Manuel Lanzini from his initial left-sided isolation, but better not to make the mistakes in the first place. Having had the opportunity to watch replays of the controversial decisions I am not sure, in the cold light of day, that there is too much to feel aggrieved with. Possibly there was a foul on Feghouli for the first goal after the ball had been played but it was borderline and Antonio clearly impeded the keeper in the prelude to the Feghouli offside goal. None of the penalty appeals had much merit even for a ref inclined to award so many as Mr Oliver. The one wrong decision that had the biggest impact was the throw-in just prior to the Albion equaliser.

Concede Nothing

So often the goals we concede seem to be built on a series of events that could have been prevented at various stages in their construction. As mentioned above the equaliser stemmed from an incorrect (in my opinion) throw-in decision. Already into injury time I thought we were rather lax in regrouping to defend the throw and not preventing the ensuing corner. As for the goal itself it is puzzling what Randolph was trying to do by running in to his own defenders. It looked like panic had set in and confirms what I have felt about his lack of conviction in the air. Normally Randolph is a first class shot stopper but he also could have done better with the opener, but then so could Noble, Feghouli and Kouyate. It was a dangerous pass by Noble, Feghouli was weak despite the challenge and Kouyate was too easily beaten before the ball slithered through Randolph’s legs. As is the way with football the early reverse and the injustice felt by the disallowed goal served to inspire the greater things that came in our second half performance.

The Strange Case of the Assist

Of all the football statistics, it is the ‘Assist’ that I find the strangest. For our first goal Lanzini did superbly well to create an opening before letting loose the thunderous goal bound shot which was touched onto the bar by the keeper before Feghouli rolls it home; no assist fro Lanzini! For the second goal Feghouli plays a simple sideways pass to Lanzini in a position of no particular threat before the Argentine again does very well to create his own space and place an excellent drive into the corner of the net past a stranded keeper; an assist for Feghouli! It doesn’t make any sense to me. As it turned out Feghouli, who had a very fine second half, after a very poor first one, ends with a goal and an assist to repeat Obiang’s achievement from the previous week. Lanzini’s performance deserved the same honour; he looks on great from and is the one player capable of creating something unexpected.

Wot – No Striker?

The lamentable striker situation was clear for all to see again. I admire Antonio’s endeavour and adaptability but using him as a striker is not playing to his strengths. It was yet another game that he finished a match having played in three different positions, which cannot be right except in an emergency situation. Although the need to put a striker on at half time was obvious the choice of Calleri was baffling. He doesn’t look to have any of the attributes required to be useful striker in English football; no pace, no strength, no movement and no eye for goal. I can’t believe he has any future beyond his current loan period so why bother with him in preference to Fletcher. He must be some different player in training to keep getting the nod.

Player Ratings: Randolph (4), Kouyate (6), Reid (7), Fonte (7), Cresswell (5), Obiang (8), Noble (7), Feghouli (7), Lanzini (9), Snodgrass (7), Antonio (6). Subs: Calleri (4)

Matchday: West Ham take on the Baggies

The battle for eighth as West Ham face an uninspiring yet competent Albion side at the London Stadium

West Ham West Brom Having stealthily clawed their way to 9^th in the Premier League table, with a sequence of effective rather than spectacular performances, West Ham will seek to build on the resurgent air of optimism at the London Stadium by stamping their authority of today’s encounter with West Bromwich Albion.

Albion are now comfortably the biggest team with a Birmingham postcode, and sit one place and five points above the Hammers in the table at start of play. Realistically nabbing 8^th place is about the very best that West Ham can hope for this season and in the circumstances Albion (and their pragmatic manager) may well be inclined to settle for a point this afternoon. The Baggies look to be this year’s over-achievers with a style of play that has seen them record less possession than their opponents in every single game they have played this season in the Premier League. Hate him or merely dislike him, Tony Pulis has a knack of making do with a collection of spare parts that will get the job done even if it’s not particularly easy on the eye.

We are a different team now, we have players fit, that is the key. Now we have to at least maintain it, try to avoid injuries, work hard and try to improve.

– Slaven Bilic

It is not difficult to predict how the game may shape up today. Albion will be happy to concede possession, will be respecting the point they started with, looking to frustrate the crowd and perhaps snatching a goal from a breakaway or set piece, if the opportunity arises. Whether West Ham have the wit and tactical nous to overcome such an approach is the big question to be answered. An early West Ham goal would put a very different complexion on both the game and the atmosphere inside the stadium.

Head to Head

The overall record against West Brom is running neck and neck with both sides having won 40 of the 104 meetings that have taken place over 104 years. West Ham have won two and drawn five of the last seven home fixtures against Albion whose last win on our own turf was the 4-3 victory in November 2003; a game in which they recovered from 3-0 down and Jermaine Defoe was sent off.

Team News

West Ham have reclaimed their rightful position at the top of the Premier League injury table, reporting a total of 10 injured players. Of these Angelo Ogbonna is out for the remainder of the season, Diafra Sakho is allegedly back on 1 April (note the date), Arthur Masuaku is two weeks away from full fitness and Gokhan Tore (who by now must resemble the Michelin Man) has no return date. The remainder (Carroll, Kouyate, Cresswell, Byram, Nordtviet and Arbeloa) are either slight doubts or subject to a late fitness test – whatever the difference between those two statuses is!

The extent of the injuries to Carroll, Kouyate and Cresswell are the most likely to affect the starting lineup and, if all is well, I would expect the same team that started at Southampton with the exception of Lanzini in for Feghouli.

They are a good team, they’ve got some good players. They’ve had a season of being very, very good and pretty bad at times and we just go there and hope we can compete.

– Tony Pulis

West Brom have no injury worries with both Jonny Evans and Claudio Yacob recovered from injury and/ or sickness.

The Albion lineup has a decidedly workmanlike look about it but it was enough to see us off in the fixture at the Hawthorns earlier in the season. The Baggies have secured most of their points from bottom ten sides this season while we have performed poorly against those in the top ten. A neutral might see this as a nailed on draw but I am optimistic for that early goal as a catalyst for a comfortable victory. My fingers will be firmly crossed that our starting eleven, once announced, will endorse confirm my optimism. The thinness of options in attack and full-back will continue to torment for the remainder of the campaign.

Man in the Middle

It is an early return to the London Stadium for Michael Oliver from Northumberland who was in charge of the unhappy FA Cup tie against Manchester City just two months ago. In a total of 26 games this season Oliver has contributed 82 Yellow and 2 Red Cards.

West Brom Preview

Can we reverse the result at the Hawthorns in September?

West Ham West Brom

An excellent victory at St Mary’s last weekend saw us move up into ninth place in the table, which if we maintained that place would equate to prize money of £24 million at the end of the season. According to reports in the media, Slaven Bilic will be offered a new contract if we finish eighth or above this season. The question I ask is – how does information such as this find its way into the media? Does somebody guess, and then the rumour spreads like a lot of fake news these days? Or does it get deliberately leaked by somebody? He may have some tactical shortcomings, but Bilic is adored by the majority of fans according to various polls, and I find it hard to believe that our board will dispense with his services provided that we don’t collapse between now and the end of the season. A top half finish is well within our grasp, and we can go some way towards pushing upwards for an eighth place finish if we can beat West Brom this weekend.

In many ways, the Baggies are the surprise team this season. The top six were very predictable, and it is no real shock to see Everton in seventh, but West Brom eighth was not one that many could see coming. But in eighth position they are, and five points clear of ninth (us) at that, so they will be working extra hard to ensure that we don’t beat them and close the gap to two. One of the best games of football I ever saw was on Good Friday in 1965. We beat West Brom 6-1 but I’ll save the details for another article in my series on favourite games. They were a top tier team throughout the 1960s like ourselves, and we often gave them a thrashing at Upton Park.

In the last 25 years the Baggies have not had a great deal of success. When the Premier League began in 1992, we missed out on being one of the teams taking part in the first season as we were in the second tier. Albion were in a worse position than ourselves as they were even lower; they were a third tier team (the equivalent of League One today). Throughout the twenty-first century they have been the archetypal yo-yo club. Promotion to the Premier League in 2001-2 was followed by relegation the following season (2002-3). They came back up as a result of a successful campaign in 2003-4, and famously avoided relegation the following season with their version of “The Great Escape” when they became the first club to be bottom of the Premier League at Christmas, but stay up, which they achieved on the final day. It didn’t last though as they went down again in 2005-6, came back up in 2007-8, were relegated in 2008-9, and then won promotion yet again in 2009-10. Now that is the definition of a yo-yo club if ever I’ve seen one.

They have retained their position in the top league since then, and this is now their seventh successive season in the Premier League. They will be delighted with how it has gone so far, and early murmurs about the Pulis style of play have evaporated as they have climbed the table with a reasonably attractive style of football (well attractive by Pulis standards, anyway). Their ten wins, six draws and just eight defeats leave them on 36 points, just short of the magical 40 that all clubs aim for, although in truth 36 is often enough (but not in 2002-3, I hear you say!). A bit like ourselves, they could be described as flat-track bullies, in that they haven’t beaten any of the seven sides above them in the table. Away from home they have won three games at Palace, Leicester and Southampton. Of course their seven home wins include beating us comfortably 4-2 in September, after being three up at half-time, and four ahead shortly afterwards as a result of some comedy defending. It certainly wasn’t Masuaku’s finest hour in a claret and blue shirt.

The weather forecast is for another cold day so I’ll be wearing my hat (yes my optimistic West Ham one) and hoping for another victory, perhaps by the odd goal in three? If we can beat them, then there is every chance that we can push them for their position in the table. If we don’t win, then with games beginning to run out this season (just 13 to go after this one), it will be harder, though not impossible, to bridge the gap.

Southampton 1, West Ham 3

A good performance to reverse the result at the London Stadium in September

noble

As always, co-weblogger Geoff summarised the game excellently in his article on the game published in Under The Hammers on Sunday: 5 Observations from Victory at St Marys. We were seeking revenge for our early season defeat at the hands of Southampton, and achieved it well.

Throughout this blog we have commented on the plethora of statistics surrounding football and I’ll add some more today.

In the Hull v Liverpool game, Liverpool “won” the possession statistics 72% to 28%, the shots 11 to 7, completed passes 523 to 162, and the pass success 82% to 62%. You all know the score of the game. Hull 2, Liverpool 0.

In the Palace v Sunderland game, Palace “won” the possession statistics 65% to 35%, the shots 17 to 10, completed passes 399 to 195, and the pass success 81% to 71%. You all know the score of the game. Palace 0, Sunderland 4.

In the Everton v Bournemouth game, Bournemouth “won” the possession statistics 54% to 46%, the shots 16 to 12, completed passes 476 to 391, and the pass success 86% to 82%. The final score was Everton 6, Bournemouth 3.

In the West Brom v Stoke game, Stoke “won” the possession statistics 62% to 38%, completed passes 416 to 220, and the pass success 81% to 70%. The final score was West Brom 1, Stoke 0.

In the Chelsea v Arsenal game, Arsenal “won” the possession statistics 59% to 41%, completed passes 475 to 326, and the pass success 84% to 80%. And the game ended Chelsea 3, Arsenal 1.

And finally in our game, Southampton v West Ham, Southampton “won” the possession statistics 55% to 45%, the shots 18 to 5, completed passes 388 to 296, and the pass success 82% to 76%. You all know the score of the game of course. Southampton 1, West Ham 3.

I think that I have proved my point! The TV and written media love to show us these statistics when a game is in progress (sometimes they give you the last ten minutes), and at the end of the match. So what do they prove? Of course it doesn’t always happen this way. Sometimes the team with the most possession and pass success rate will win the game.

I’ll leave you to judge the relationship between the data and the outcome of games. I’ve picked out six of the eight games played on Saturday in this last weekend. I suppose losing managers can hide behind the data to try to prove that they were unlucky. But the only meaningful statistic is goals scored. In each of the games I’ve highlighted the team that “won” in terms of the data lost the game. The teams that “lost” in terms of the data were the ones who picked up the three points.

Despite the four goals scored in the game we were still as low as sixth on Match of the Day! The win was well deserved in spite of the statistics I’ve quoted above. Gabbiadini, a player we have been linked with in the media in the past, took his goal well, although he looked offside to me. I haven’t seen a replay but I’ll be amazed if he was onside.

The timing of our goals couldn’t have been much better. The equaliser from Carroll proved that his right foot isn’t just for standing on, and he coolly slotted the ball home just a minute or two after we had gone behind. Obiang has been threatening to score for a long while now, and his goal on the stroke of half-time was well struck from outside the area. And finally Mark Noble’s free kick, as the Saints were threatening to get back into the game early in the second half, was rightly credited to him, despite taking a deflection of a Southampton boot. The “rules” of goals accreditation work on the basis that if the ball was bound for the goal, then even if it is deflected off a defender, the goal is given to the player who shot. It would have only been given as an own goal if Noble’s shot was deemed to not be heading into the goal.

Three more points and ninth in the table. We have a very important game at home to West Brom next, where a win would help enormously if we want to close the gap on them.

5 Observations from victory @ St. Marys

A first ever win at the St Mary’s Stadium has the Hammers nudging up to ninth place in the Premier League table.

Hitting The Heights

A very satisfying first ever win at the St Mary’s Stadium which elevates West Ham towards the upper end of their probable finishing position for the season, somewhere between 8^th and 14^th. Next week’s match at home to West Bromwich Albion potentially giving a clearer indication as to whether the Hammers have already peaked or not. Some commentators are suggesting that away form is now better than at home, but this is not the case, at least in absolute terms, where we have collected 14 points away compared to 17 at home. In relative terms, however, we are performing better away (as we did last year); league tables based solely on either home or away games would have us 15^th and 6^th respectively compared to 7^th and 4^th respectively over the course of 2015/16. Comparing the overall record at this stage of the season (after 24 games) we have won just one less game but have lost 6 more giving a total of 7 less points. If you constructed league tables, for the whole of last season, based only on games against top half sides you would find West Ham in top spot; this season we are next to bottom just above Crystal Palace. The equivalent table for matches against bottom half sides would have us 11^th in 2015/16 and 6^th in 2016/17 to date. Proving perhaps that lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice.

When a Plan Comes Together

Even though the daffodils are not yet out the match had the feel of an end of season game for me, although this was largely down to Southampton’s subdued approach. Maybe with key players missing and an EFL cup final on the horizon their minds were elsewhere. Having now lost 6 of their last 7 league games and with signs of life among the bottom dwellers Southampton might be advised to take a quick look over their shoulder. In the after-match interviews, Slaven Bilic claimed that West Ham a game plan and that the players had stuck to it. I’m sure that plan didn’t include going a goal down early on but the team reacted well where you might have expected heads to have dropped in the aftermath of the midweek experience. As they say in football, ‘you can only beat what is in front of you’ and West Ham were worthy of this competent win despite not dazzling. Although Southampton were credited with 21 goal attempts very few of these created real threat to the West Ham goal. I still think that Gabbiadini was offside for his goal but that when he we was pulled up later in a similar position he was not; the swings and roundabouts of refereeing decisions.

Cotton Wool Striker

It was another well taken goal by Andy Carroll to make it a total of 6 for the season from 12 appearances, including 3 substitute appearances. All being well, Carroll is on target for his best ever haul of Premier League goals in a single season which currently sits at 11 with Newcastle and 9 with West Ham. This week’s goal was a controlled right foot finish following a ‘slide-rule’ pass from Pedro Obiang (I wonder how many supporters know what a slide rule is let alone have ever used one?) It was interesting that he was once again withdrawn as a precaution once Bilic felt that the game was won. In the scheme of things I think that not making rash purchases in the transfer window was a sensible course of action but how a team in the world’s ‘elite’ football league got themselves into a position of being so short in a number of key positions remains staggering. With no natural ‘trusted’ replacement to lead the line West Ham effectively surrendered the initiative in the final half hour and invited Southampton to come at them. Although you could argue that the result vindicated the decision this is an outcome bias and we could easily have been in trouble had the Saints pulled one back (e.g. Gabbiadini’s skyer). Keeping hold of the ball is always the best defensive tactic in my opinion and our ball retention dropped alarmingly after Carroll’s withdrawal.

Snodgrass Puts in a Shift

I didn’t really notice Robert Snodgrass much during the first half and his main contribution appeared to be at free kicks and corners. In fact if his stats are to be believed he didn’t do much at all and only Feghouli had fewer touches (41 versus 40) over 90 minutes. But we all know that the stats do not tell the whole story and, as well as earning the free-kick that led to Mark Noble’s goal, he put in a tremendous amount of effort during the second period and particularly when it became his turn to fulfil the lone striker role. Not only did he cover a huge distance but he did so at pace and did not allow the Southampton defenders any time on the ball. It was one of Michail Antonio’s quieter games but, not for the first time, he ended up playing in three positions in one game. As with the ‘Cheikhou Kouyate at right back situation’ you can understand the emergency use of a player out of position but to have it happen so regularly has an air of disorganisation.

No Way, Pedro!

Without doubt a man-of-the-match performance from Pedro Obiang. Great work to set up West Ham’s opening goal and then a superb moment to open his own goal-scoring account on the stroke of half-time. [Not such good news for our regular betting thread which has backed him to score in almost every other week before this.] If team-sheets really are completed in descending order of your best performers then surely Obiang’s is almost the first on it every week at the moment. Add in Reid and Carroll and these three create an excellent spine to our team in the majority of games. Better performances this week from captain Mark Noble and Sofiane Feghouli although we should still be scouting for better and faster alternatives. Good to see Noble get on the score-sheet although I was convinced it would be given as own goal – shows what I know about dubious goals! Feghouli was more involved than usual although he played very narrow (possibly under instruction) and did not offer temporary full-back, Kouyate, much protection.

Ratings: Randolph (6), Kouyate (6), Reid (7), Fonte (7), Cresswell (6), Feghouli (6), Obiang (9), Noble (7), Snodgrass (7), Antonio (6), Carroll (8) Subs: Lanzini (5), Collins (6)

Matchday: Hammers travel south to St Marys

West Ham travel to St Mary’s in Southampton in search of a maiden victory.

Southampton West Ham One of several players who have featured for both West Ham and Southampton is ‘old fashioned centre forward’ Iain Dowie. In addition to scoring one of the finest own goals ever, in a League Cup tie at Stockport, Dowie’s legacy to football is the concept of ‘bouncebackability’. Today is a chance for the Hammers to demonstrate their aptitude for resurrection as they travel to Southampton on the back of midweek humiliation at the hands of Manchester City.

Ask most West Ham supporters and they will be adamant that the Hammers are a far bigger club than Southampton, yet in reality they are currently part of a small group of teams, along with ourselves and Everton (plus Newcastle when they come back up), who have aspirations of nicking that spare Europa League spot and enjoying the occasional jaunt into Europe. Southampton have the appearance of a very organised and well run club with a modern compact stadium, excellent training facilities (I wonder how Jose Fonte compares them to our own Rush Green base) and a recruitment system that has shown great stability in an environment where talented players and managers have come and gone in search of what they felt were greater things.

“They have some new players and some injuries, and it will be a tough game for us and for them. It is an important game because we are only one point above them and we want to make that gap bigger.”

– Slaven Bilic

Since experiencing severe financial difficulties and entering administration, in the wake of the Redknapp curse, the Saints have demonstrated their own bounceback proficiency and during the past five seasons they have pipped us for automatic promotion from the Championship and finished above us in three of the last four Premier League seasons. The current manager and team have not pulled up any trees in the League this season but have still managed to make it to the League Cup final.

Head to Head

Matches between West Ham and Southampton date back to the Southern League in 1899 with a first Football League Division 2 encounter taking place in 1922. Since then there have been a total of 95 games of which West Ham have won 35, drawn 28 and lost 32. The record away from home in 48 matches is won 10, drawn 16 and lost 22. West Ham have yet to win at the St Mary’s Stadium which has seen 3 defeats and 4 draws in 7 games,

The last win on the road was a 3-2 success in November 2000 with goals from Kanoute, Pearce (S) and Sinclair.

Team News

Very few of the players who turned out against Manchester City have reason to qualify as the first name on the manager’s team-sheet this afternoon. However, with a fairly limited number of viable juggling options available to him it is likely that the manager will plump for the largely similar personnel once again. Cheikhou Kouyate has returned from the ACON and would be straight back in, for his athleticism alone, if I was picking the team . Reports suggest that Sam Byram may be doubtful with a hamstring injury and so it could be a return to a back three with either Kouyate or James Collins linking up with Winston Reid and Jose Fonte. If Kouyate is selected in midfield expect the manager to do this at the expense of Pedro Obiang, who despite being our best player for most of the season will be penalised for his poor show on Wednesday. The more reasonable decision would be to bring in Kouyate for Mark Noble who looks to have even more treacle in his boots as each week goes by. Robert Snodgrass will surely start in place of Sofiane Feghouli.

“We know this team, they have come back well in the table lately. They are a good opponent with confidence and we have to play a strong game.”

– Claude Puel

Interesting to see what type of reception Fonte receives from his former supporters and whether he is able to help the coaching team plot Southampton’s downfall. Fonte was quoted as saying that the players did not follow the manager’s instructions during the midweek game and hopefully he can provide some on-field leadership in that regard.

Southampton are missing leading scorer Charlie Austin and best player Djik Van Dijk and with doubts over Rodriguez and Ward-Prowse they are close to what a fromer manager might have called the ‘bare bones’. Bertrand and Tadic always seem to play well against us and manage to exploit our generosity on the flanks.

It is improbable that we have been able to address the lack of relative fitness in our squad over the past three days but it is fingers crossed that we go into the match with some sort of game-plan that is then executed with hard work, effort and commitment.

Man in the Middle

A rare Premier League appointment today for Graham Scott from Oxfordshire. Scott’s only previous encounter with the Hammers was the League Cup defeat at home to Aldershot in August 2011 when he sent off Callum McNaughton, playing his one and only game for West Ham. In a total 19 games this season Scott has awarded 67 Yellow and 3 Red cards.