Category: Preview

Matchday 10 will mean a quarter of the season completed, and sees the visit of lowly Everton to face West Ham at the London Stadium

Someone once said that you shouldn’t bother looking at the league table until at least ten games have been played. At that time teams would have faced roughly half of the other teams in the league, hopefully a representative sample in terms of difficulty, and you should by then have a good idea as to how the season is progressing, and how it may end.

Of course, even at that stage there is a lot of football still to be played, but as Premier League teams will have completed ten games at the end of this round we already have a pretty good idea which teams will be fighting for places in next season’s Champions League and other European competitions, and which ones will be in the relegation dogfight. And which ones (like ourselves?) will be in midtable.

Today’s game against Everton will be our tenth match, and after a promising start of ten points from four games, the relative slump in fortunes since has seen us slip to ninth before the game, with four wins, two draws, and three defeats. Mid-table perhaps seems more appropriate than our lofty position early on. A win today would take us up to 17 points, which would equate to 65 points over a whole campaign if that was maintained, a figure that would have equated to a sixth-place finish last season.

Have we played a representative sample of teams in terms of difficulty? So far we have faced teams currently sitting in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th in the table, as well as 17th, 19th and 20th. Everton are 16th, so we will have faced 5 of the top 7, and 4 of the bottom 5. The only mid-table side we have faced so far are underperforming mid-table Chelsea.

I was interested when reading one of the social media groups of West Ham fans whose members, looking at our upcoming games, Everton, Brentford, Forest, Burnley, and Palace, were making predictions as to how many points we would be collecting from those five games. There are many optimists out there who were saying 15, and perhaps 13 while others were taking a more realistic approach, some pessimists even going as low as 3, or even lower in a couple of cases. The ‘optimists’ were then ‘attacking’ the ‘pessimists’ or ‘realists’ accusing them of not being ‘true’ supporters, suggesting they should get behind the team, or go and support someone else. The other group fought back suggesting they were entitled to their opinion and the exchange was a good example of extreme opinions that exist in many social media areas.

The same extreme opinions exist with regard to David Moyes. On the one hand he is lambasted for poor tactics, poor team selection and formation, poor use and timing of substitutes, lack of coaching and so many other things. I did enjoy a comparison between Moyes supporters and those who believe the Earth is flat. Moyes supporters retaliated with the usual stuff – look at the record, 6th and 7th place finishes and a European trophy etc. When did this happen in three consecutive seasons?

If you haven’t yet read Geoff’s article previewing the Everton game then take a look now. Like Geoff I was astonished by some of Moyes comments when he spoke to the media this week. He seems to believe that everything is difficult. The Olympiacos game was always going to be difficult he suggested, this year’s group is the hardest group we’ve been drawn in, every Premier League game is difficult, Everton will be a tough nut to crack, they are a resilient team who keep at it and have players capable of scoring goals.

The season so far suggests that the game shouldn’t be as daunting as our manager believes. Everton have won two and lost six of their nine games, have scored nine goals and conceded 14, are just above the relegation places and you would have to suspect that this will be another long season for them, probably once again facing a relegation battle, and definitely if there is any truth in the potential sanctions and a twelve-point penalty being suggested.

What must Moyes think of all the other, better placed, teams in the league? As Geoff suggests, how must his uninspiring demeanour and positive talking up of the opposition come across in the dressing room?

How will we fare today? Everton always used to be one of our bogey teams, and prior to the last three seasons we’d only beaten them three times in 24 attempts. However, in recent times we’ve done much better winning four of the last six. Our home form against all teams is impressive in that we’ve only lost three of our last 14 league games at the London Stadium (covering this season to date and last) and they were to Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle. Those are the positives.

To take the negative viewpoint (as our manager so often seems to) how often do we face teams and players who have a better record against West Ham than against other Premier League clubs? Everton have won more Premier League away games against West Ham than against any other opponents; Dominic Calvert-Lewin hasn’t scored more goals against any other team than he has against West Ham.

Despite our less than impressive recent form I believe that this is a game that we should win and will go for one or two nil. What are the chances?

Fast Fading Hammers Must Get Stuck Into The Toffees Or Risk London Stadium Meltdown

Dreams are starting to fade and die at West Ham as consecutive defeats in League and Europe suggest the promising start might have been another false dawn. Can they bounce back in style against a stubborn Everton side?

West Ham’s bright start to the season has officially been downgraded to mediocre after the Hammers began their demanding schedule of seven games in 21 days with two well-deserved defeats. Disappointingly poor performances in Birmingham and Athens putting prior victories against Brighton and Chelsea in the category of freak early season anomalies.

The two lame losses have switched the focus back to future of David Moyes, whose contract expires at the end of this season. Humiliation at Villa Park was especially exasperating and made worse by the manager’s post-match comments which suggested the hosts were well-ahead of his own side in their development. An analysis that conveniently overlooks the respectively tenures of the two managers. Moyes is no new boss on the block having been in charge at the London Stadium for almost four years now while Unai Emery is only just celebrating his first anniversary at Villa Park.

For a veteran of over 1100 games as manager, Moyes is remarkably thin-skinned and tetchy at press conferences on the rare occasions questions stray from the banal. He reverts to a dour and uninspiring demeanour that would make Dad’s Army’s Private Frazer look like an optimist. The worry is that this is how he comes across in the dressing room pre-match and at half-time – talking up the opposition and fixating on how to stop them rather than on how to beat them.

The current West Ham side are with no shadow of doubt a team that Moyes built. Its shortcomings – whether in personnel or tactics – fall squarely on his slippery shoulders. It can surely no surprise to even the most casual observer that failure to bring in additional striker resources in the summer would prove to be a disastrous decision. Michail Antonio has form for fading away after a bright start and who could have imagined Danny Ings playing as an isolated lone striker when he was scouted. Unai Emery must be having a good chuckle about that one!

Perversely, the Hammers goalscoring form this season has been surprisingly decent, despite it needing a huge slice of luck to to keep the run of scoring in every game going last weekend. Rather it is in defence where the team have been exposed, conceding 16 goals in the first nine games. This is by far the worst defensive start to a season under Moyes. The compact and narrow defensive ploy of inviting long shots and crosses has come unstuck as players endeavour to push forward more quickly. A central defence recruited to head away crosses all afternoon are dangerously vulnerable to opponents attacking them with pace. The historic solution for a leaky defence will be to pack it even tighter.

Not much can be read into the result at Olympiacos. Moyes gambled with a clutch of second-string players who quite frankly are either past it or not very good. Was that because he underestimated the Greek league leaders or was willing to write-off the game with more important fixtures coming up? It must have occurred to others that the Hammers best chance of more silverware (and a fourth consecutive Europe campaign) would be to drop down into the Conference. A Europa League knock-out stage that could potentially include Manchester United and Newcastle as well as Liverpool and Brighton would be formidable – can anyone see West Ham beating any of these over two legs?

Tomorrow, the London Stadium visitors are founding members of the Premier League Calamity Club, Everton. Already embroiled in what has become an annual relegation battle, the Toffees are also facing sanctions as a result an FA investigation into their finances. It was reported this week that the penalty could be as harsh as a deduction of 12 Premier League points. If that happened it would be a massive blow to survival hopes even allowing for the other hopeless cases likely to be fighting the drop.

Everton now have the look of a typical Sean Dyche team. They work hard, are difficult to break down, and share Moyes infatuation with resilience. The two managers are cut from the same old piece of cloth that should have been thrown out years ago. Unfortunately for them, the Toffees score very few goals. Leave aside the graft and there is little to get the fans off their seats in what will be a desperate campaign for them. The biggest threat tomorrow will come from Doucoure who managed to pop up to score important goals at just the right moment last season. Or perhaps Calvert-Lewin will finally recover the goalscoring form that made him such a hot property three or four years ago.

The challenge for Moyes will be to put out a team capable of breaking through a rugged Everton rear-guard. Faced with an organised defence the Hammers attacking efforts can lack creativity and urgency and another insipid display is not going to go down well with supporters. Everton will be well aware that frustrating the home side will get the fans on their backs.

After the Villa game it was expected changes would be necessary but having seen the potential replacements struggle to make an impact in Athens nothing is now certain. There will be at least one enforced change, however, due to the suspension of Emerson, plus there are also concerns over Vladimir Coufal’s fitness.

It is difficult to imagine Moyes making radical selection changes, just as it is unlikely that he will make early switches if it looks like things are not working out. We can expect the standard pre-planned substitutions around the 75 minute mark – Ings on for Antonio, Said Benrahma replacing Lucas Paqueta or Thomas Soucek. It begs the question as to why Divin Mubama is left on the bench as an unused substitute each week – or getting a 2 minute cameo deep into injury time if he is lucky? Young players need a 20 – 25 minute run-out to make it a worthwhile experience. But with Moyes approach to game management not allowing matches to be killed off when on top, that luxury is never available.

Having seen what a breath of fresh air can do at clubs like Tottenham, Brighton and Villa it is dispiriting to have to plod along under the dark cloud of a cautious and unadventurous manager. The mood isn’t helped by talk of Mourinho as a replacement next summer. Surely that is just media tittle-tattle and aspirations at the club go beyond another tactical has-been. COYI!

Czech Complete: Moyes Certain To Give Soucek The Nod For West Ham Trip To Aston Villa

Waking from the slumbers of another international break, West Ham’s good recent record at Villa Park takes on Aston Villa’s phenomenal run of straight home wins.

It was sad to hear the news that Manchester United and England legend Bobby Charlton had died. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest and best-known English footballers of all time who stood alongside Bobby Moore and Gordon Banks as the truly outstanding players from England’s 1966 World Cup winning team. A sign of time’s relentless passage is that Sir Geoff Hurst is now the sole survivor from the eleven that took the field for England in July 1966. Out of interest, their West German opponents have fared rather better as far as longevity is concerned with six out of the eleven still with us.

Much has changed in football since 1966 when international games were few and far between. There were, of course, the hotly contested Home Internationals but opportunities for a glimpse of more exotic players such as Pele, Eusebio, Yashin, and Beckenbauer were rare. Now we can see most of the world’s top stars in our own league on a weekly basis – at least when it isn’t being interrupted by bothersome international breaks. Surely, there must be a less disruptive way of scheduling the growing number of often pointless qualifying matches. Perhaps others are more excited by international games than I am.

The absence of any domestic action has not meant any let up in the stream of West Ham related news from the pesky clickbait sites who provide a daily blast of latest tittle-tattle allegedly emanating from sources close to the Chairman, reliable journalists, and rent-a-quote pundits. The internet abhors a vacuum and although the head is telling you the story will be a load of old of hogwash, the fingers can’t resist clicking anyway.

As a public service – in case you missed any of it – the summary of the highlights is as follows: West Ham are either in pole position to sign any number of new players in the January transfer window, or the kitty is empty and there are no further funds to spend until the summer; David Moyes must drop Vladimir Coufal due to his poor pass completion rate for the Czech Republic against Albania while Tomas Soucek was either their best or worst player on the pitch when the Czechs saw off the mighty Faroes courtesy of his second half penalty; the Hammers are enjoying an excellent start to the season or else they are in a false position due to an eXpected Goals anomaly (as Richard reported here yesterday); and the West Ham Board will or won’t be offering David Moyes a new contract at the end of the season.

There’s a strong chance that the manager situation will rumble on right until the end of the season. The unexpectedly positive start to the campaign has seen Moyes recover from everyone’s favourite for the sack to become the holder of one of the safer seats. Which way the dust finally settles on his West Ham career may well depend on what happens between now and May. With a better squad of players available his team are looking far more assured, but as someone commented on a previous article here, “Moyes will always be Moyes”. His unshakeable caution constraining momentum by having one foot touching the brake at all times. The question is not whether Moyes is doing OK but is there someone out there who can achieve more with the same resources.

Today the Hammers begin a run of seven games in 21 days (less an hour for when the clocks go back) with a visit to Aston Villa. At the end of that phrenetic sequence comes yet another International Break.

Villa Park has been something of a happy hunting ground for West Ham in recent years and a win today would make it four on the trot. Yet the hosts are now a very different proposition today to Steven Gerrard’s erratic team who gifted the Hammers their first win last season.

Villa’s home form has been particularly strong since Unai Emery’s appointment in November 2022. They go into today’s match on a ten game Villa Park winning streak in the league. But all records come to an end eventually and it may as well be today. Hopefully, the Villains will put in a performance closer to what was on show at Newcastle and Liverpool earlier in the campaign. Here they were more like Dick than Unai Emery – they really were that awful. On both occasions the tactics were naïve, allowing their opponents far too much space between the lines and with a suicidal high defensive line that was forever vulnerable to balls over the top. They do seem to have plenty of goals in them this season though and both Watkins and Diaby are likely to be a handful.

The big debating point for the Hammers is whether Mohammed Kudus gets a start today or not? Spoiler alert – the answer is not! His introduction for the last 15 minutes of the 2-2 draw with Newcastle was mesmerising. Great touch, control, flair, confidence, and a goal were all packaged into a quarter of an hour cameo. Moyes has said that he is close to a start which is not so subtle code for him being on the bench. A long round trip to North America will serve as convenient justification. Personally, I can’t wait to see a few games with Kudus and Lucas Paqueta weaving unorthodox magic in the claret and blue, but it probably makes the manager dizzy just thinking about it.

Reading and listening to the thoughts of fans on who Kudus might replace in the starting lineup is fascinating. There are two main schools of thought. One that he should replace Thomas Soucek, the other that he should replace Michail Antonio. The idea that Moyes will disrupt his defensive shape and leave out Soucek seems fanciful to me, especially now that he is back in his old role, looking more motivated, and scoring goals again. He is the complete Moyes type player and I’m convinced he remains one of the first names on the team sheet where the manager is beguiled by defensive headers, interceptions and aerial threat at set pieces.

Kudus as a replacement for Antonio sounds more credible. Not as a direct replacement but requiring juggling in other positions. I had fancied Jarrod Bowen moving to the centre and Kudus playing wide right, but during games when Antonio has been subbed it is Paqueta who has been pushed further forward. Can Kudus and Paqueta playing as a pair of false nines be the Moyesiah’s great innovation? There is an irony that Kudus may finally get his chance if/ when Paqueta receives a one math ban for picking up his fifth yellow card.  Whichever way this pans out, the clear inference is that Danny Ings doesn’t look to feature in any plans for Premier League football.

This is another tough game to call between two teams who will be competing in Europe in midweek. Victory for either side will leave them in the top six and there are sure to be goals in this game. Emery’s Villa don’t really do draws so I will go for 2-2. COYI!

West Ham’s first Claret and Blue Derby of the season is a visit to Aston Villa for the televised game on Sunday

Someone said to me this week that watching football in the Premier League is like watching ITV. What he was getting at was that the season is barely underway with just eight games gone and there have already been two international breaks. He’d prefer the Premier League to be modelled on the BBC and have no breaks. I could see his point as I don’t like the breaks myself, especially so early in the season, barely giving teams the opportunity to get into a rhythm or build momentum. I don’t really mind the breaks on commercial television though. These days with Smart TVs and a host of features you don’t have to watch anything live. You can arrange to fast forward through advertisements, or even use the gaps to get a drink or have a toilet break if you wish.

Of course if you are a fan of rugby union or 50-over cricket there are World Cups in both in progress at the moment so that takes the edge off missing your weekly dose of Premier League football. Having said that it was no fun to watch England capitulate to Afghanistan in the cricket, although the England rugby team have progressed well, partly as a result of a favourable draw. They’ll be doing well to get past South Africa this weekend though.

But I’m glad to say that Premier league football is back and we are away to Villa in the TV match at 4.30 on Sunday afternoon. That won’t be an easy fixture either. Villa have progressed enormously since we won on their ground early last season with Pablo Fornals’ deflected goal. Having said that, we too have made significant strides in this campaign and after eight games sit just two points and two places below them. They have lost twice (as we have) but they have won five and drawn once compared to our four wins and two draws.

They suffered heavy defeats to both Newcastle and Liverpool and were (surprisingly?) dumped out of the EFL Cup losing at home to Everton. After qualifying for the group stage of the Europa Conference (8-0 on aggregate v Hibernian) they have won one and lost one of the group games.

I was interested to read an article on the BBC Sport website this week assessing how Premier League teams have started the season. Recent years have seen the proliferation of statistics in football, and whilst I am not totally averse to some of them, there is one that really gets to me and that is expected goals (xg).

The article quite rightly pointed out that results are what matter most, but it went on to say that “taking a look at teams expected goals numbers can help us see how much permanent class they’ve shown so far and get an idea of how the rest of their season could pan out”. It went on to say that “comparing teams actual goal difference with their expected one we can see whose foundations for the season are built on stone and whose are built only on sand.” What a load of …..

Their ”form v class – gd v xGD” graphic had Newcastle and Manchester City at the top of the tree. Not for me I’m afraid. The last time I looked at the league table Tottenham and Arsenal led the way, both unbeaten. Manchester City have lost two games and Newcastle three out of just eight and sit below us in the table.

The conclusion concerning West Ham was that “early-season enthusiasm might be a bit premature with the Hammers outperforming their expected goals more than any other side.”

I’ll concede that expected goals may have some value in football analysis but let’s not go over the top. One of the games in the Premier League this season was won by 6-1. It involved our opponents this weekend hammering Brighton. But which team came out on top in expected goals (xG)? That’s right – Brighton.

Expected goals has so many limitations. The sample size, number of games played and strength of opponents when doing analysis after just eight games might not reflect true ability. What about the specific context of a match, such as the scoreline, the time remaining, the importance of the game, all of which can significantly impact the likelihood of scoring?

xG doesn’t account for the skill and performance of goalkeepers which can vary widely. A top keeper may save shots that would be goals against others. xG doesn’t measure the level of defensive pressure faced. A player facing intense defensive pressure may have a lower chance of converting a high xG opportunity.

What about the skill level of the attacker? A highly-skilled striker might convert low xG chances more often than one with lesser skills. xG is based on historical data so it might not account for players who can score in unconventional ways or from unexpected positions.

xG doesn’t differentiate between set-piece situations and open-play chances. Set pieces often have different dynamics and conversion rates. As West Ham fans in recent times we are well aware of this.

Football is inherently unpredictable, and even high xG chances can be missed and low xG chances can be converted. I could go on. Let’s not go overboard about xG. Just as a team with the highest percentage of possession will not necessarily come out on top in a game of football the same is true for the xG statistics.

Similarly past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance in terms of results. The fact that David Moyes is unbeaten in his last 14 games against Aston Villa has no real bearing on what will happen at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon. It is a piece of information that surprised me when I read it though.

We are unbeaten in our last five visits to Villa Park in the Premier League, winning the most recent three by 1-0, 4-1 and 3-1 scorelines. Pablo Fornals got the only goal at Villa Park last season and has a good record of scoring against them. Will that have any importance in the manager’s team selection for this game? Probably not.

With 13 points from their last six games Villa are one of the form teams in the Premier League with only Tottenham and Arsenal at the top of the table with better form records than that. Having said that only the top 5 teams can better our impressive haul of ten points in our last six games.

It will be a difficult game. I really don’t care about xG but I hope we can continue our early season form with at least a point and hopefully three. I am loving the players bought to replace Rice this season. Alvarez, Kudus and especially Ward-Prowse have really settled well and Paqueta has shown why he is a regular starter for Brazil (until recently of course!). We still have a way to go, and are light in some positions, but squad-wise we are as healthy as we have been for a while. What are the chances of three points?

The Moyesiah’s Second Coming: Are West Ham Dancing To A Different Toon

A flash in the pan or one of the greatest managerial resurrections ever? New look West Ham test their mettle against rampant Newcastle United at the London Stadium

Who was it who once said that football’s a funny old game? When the season began, I was convinced that David Moyes would be scanning the situations vacant by now, searching out managerial jobs at Forfar or East Fife. His tenure as West Ham boss was on its last legs. A downwards spiral of poor league performances and results over an eighteen-month period which had only been kept on life support by Europa Conference success. Our best player had been sold, no-one wanted to join, and uninspiring pre-season defeats to Rennes and Bayer Leverkusen hung like a black cloud over the new campaign. It was a manager on borrowed time, out of ideas, and seemingly running on fumes.

Yet, here we are, a few short months later, and supporters can be heard claiming “what a great time to be a Hammer”. A promising start to the season, a record undefeated run in Europe, rabbits pulled out of the transfer window hat, summer signings looking inspired, written-off players rejuvenated, numbers getting forward quickly to support attacks, and the team back to scoring goals again. Naturally, it’s the West Ham way to expect for it all to go horribly wrong again. But let’s enjoy the sunshine while we can.

So what has changed? Had we become too reliant on Rice, just as we had with Brooking many years ago? For once, the transfer receipts have been well spent. Edson Alvarez operating as specialist cover in front of the back four has allowed others to push further forward and with greater freedom – allowing Thomas Soucek to concentrate on his strengths. Vladimir Coufal is back to the player he was two years ago, and Emerson has formed an excellent understanding with Lucas Paqueta. Paqueta, frustrating at times, offers a long-lost unpredictability and mercurial moments of magic to attacks. James Ward-Prowse has been a revelation, both on set-piece duty and in open play. And Jarrod Bowen has been able to take up (and execute) better goalscoring positions now that much of his onerous defensive duties are excused.

Critics might point to selected stats as cause for concern. Only behind Luton for possession, among the basement dwellers for Expected Goals Against, overachieving in Expected Goals scored plus the perennial lack of belief when coming up against top clubs. It’s fair enough to want to see even more improvement, but it would be churlish to dismiss the positive vibes currently surrounding the club.

West Ham followed up last Saturday’s businesslike victory over Sheffield United with a thoroughly professional performance at Freiburg on Thursday night. The routine of Thursday – Sunday football has now become a familiar one for Hammers fans in the last three seasons, and long may it continue. In general, Moyes has juggled resources well, but while his team have lost only four of the 29 Thursday games, they have been defeated 12 times in the 26 games played on the Sunday after.  Managing the squad can also have unintended matchday consequences for supporters as was evident in the second half against Sheffield United. Having sauntered into a two-goal half-time lead, the dreaded game-management kicked in and everyone might well have had a more entertaining time shopping in Westfield during the second half.

Today’s opponents, Newcastle United were also in midweek European action, albeit in the more glamourous surroundings of the Champions League. When the group draw was made, I had a feeling that the Magpies might end up joining us in the Europa League knockout stages in the new year. However, they have made a fine start to their campaign which was topped off by a sensational demolition of Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. Leaving aside, the sour taste of ownership, Eddie Howe has performed remarkably in turning the club around. Astute signings and getting the best from existing players has put the club back where it belongs challenging for major honours. On song, they are one of best teams to watch in the Premier League right now, although Howe’s teams are never shy of practising the dark arts.

This weekend might be a good time to play Newcastle. Even if they experience no hangover from their midweek exploits, they will be without several regular starters today including Barnes, Willock, Botman, and Gordon. There are also doubts over the fitness of Hammers nemesis Wilson and Joelinton.

For West Ham the only significant doubt is Michail Antonio’s groin. My preference would be to give him extra time to recover by playing Bowen further forward and starting Mohammed Kudus wide right. Otherwise, the team would be the same eleven that started last weekend.

Although, Newcastle are one of the league’s top scorers we should remember that eight of those came in a single game against an incompetent Sheffield defence. West Ham are not too familiar with clean sheets these days, but it is difficult to imagine a Moyes side being quite so naïve – even if it did happen in the corresponding fixture last season.

The game has the makings of a tight and intriguing encounter. One which may well have its fair share of goals to entertain spectators. As long as the Hammers play with freedom as well as discipline then a home victory is possible – maybe by the odd goal in five.

And what are the odds on Paqueta Island for Alvarez picking up his fifth caution of the season? COYI!

Memories of a massive win in a great season (1985/86) – West Ham 8 Newcastle 1

I began last week’s article with “It has been a decent start to the season hasn’t it?” Since then it has got even better. Our very comfortable 2-0 win over Sheffield United made it 4 wins and 13 points from our first 7 games, and seventh place in the table. We’ve scored 13 goals in those games and conceded 10. Only 3 of the 7 games have been at home, a figure that will be balanced with the visit of Newcastle to the London Stadium.

In the Europa Cup we surpassed the record for any English side by beating Freiburg 2-1 in Germany to make it 17 consecutive European games unbeaten, surpassing the 16 of Leeds from 1968 and Tottenham in 1972 who were tied with us on 16. Even more remarkable is the fact that 16 of the 17 games have been victories, the sole draw coming against Gent (1-1) last season. The Germans finished fifth in the Bundesliga last season and are currently 8th this time. Their record this season after 6 games mirrored our Premier League one with 3 wins and a draw, 10 points. An impressive result with an outstanding performance from Paqueta, and Kudus is looking very good too. In fact most of the team had good games.

Our squad is looking impressive and we now have a range of options in a number (but not all) positions. And how good is James Ward-Prowse? Six assists and two goals so far – what a start to the season. Gareth Southgate, when picking his England squad, prefers 33 year old Henderson (playing in the Middle East in front of less than 1000 spectators), Kalvin Phillips (who can barely get a game for Manchester City) and Conor Gallagher (what are his statistics this season?) as midfielders. Amazing! At least the early season form of Jarrod Bowen hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Those of us of a certain age (my first game at Upton Park was in the late 1950s) will remember some seasons more fondly than others. It has been a roller coaster ride following the Hammers but some seasons have been particularly memorable. Newcastle’s eight goal mauling of Sheffield United recently took me back to 1985-86, one of the great seasons in our history, when we put eight past Newcastle on a Monday night in April when we were pushing towards the first division title which would have been the first in our history.

Ironically that season had started poorly with only one win in our first seven games. With six points we sat in seventeenth place in the league. Nowhere near our start this season. But from this point we went 18 successive league games without defeat before losing 1-0 at Tottenham on Boxing Day. But we then resumed winning ways and by the time we faced Newcastle in April we were still well placed to challenge for the title.

Our 8-1 win is remembered for an Alvin Martin hat-trick scored against three different Newcastle goalkeepers, goals from Goddard, McAvennie, Orr, a Stewart penalty, and a Glenn Roeder own goal. It was a fabulous season with the goalscoring partnership of McAvennie and Cottee (who scored 46 league goals between them), and a defence built upon the solid foundations of Parkes, Gale and Martin. We finished with 84 points in third place, just 4 points adrift of champions Liverpool.

Despite our improved start to this season compared to 38 years ago, we will not be challenging for the title, nor finish as high as third, but the opening has been promising, and I look forward to consolidation of a strong top half finishing position.

Our opponents this weekend had a massive resurgence last season and qualified for the Champions League. A fine draw in Italy was followed by the 4-1 demolition of PSG this week which suggests that this game will not be an easy one. But we must look to fixtures such as these to prove why we should be pressing towards the top eight this season.

How will we get on? Bookmakers have the Geordies as evens favourites, while we are priced at around 12/5, with the draw at 14/5. Thursday / Sunday psychologically seems to be a difficult challenge, especially as the late return from abroad reduces the time to recover for the next game. Newcastle, on the other hand, played at home on Wednesday, so have a distinct advantage in time between fixtures. Nevertheless I expect a close game to be settled by the odd goal. It won’t be a repeat of the 8-1 in 1986, but hopefully we can be the team to edge it. What are the chances?

After Eights: Hammers Pressure Can Shatter Recently Humiliated Blades

West Ham look to return to winning ways in the league as arch-Tevezgate-rivals, Sheffield United visit London on the back of a humbling eight goal defeat last weekend.

The Hammers fast start to the Premier League season encountered its predictable stumble with consecutive defeats at home to Manchester City and away at Anfield. Although both performances had their creditable moments, the disappointing outcome of these games is invariably inevitable. Advantages are not pressed home and as the minutes tick away, legs tire, enterprise and belief fade, and it becomes a case of hanging on for dear life. Sadly, the more accomplished teams – as were the last two opponents – refuse to cooperate, typically underlining their superiority and confidence with a flurry of late goals.

Midweek action saw another victory for a West Ham second string XI when making heavy work of overcoming League One Lincoln City in the EFL Cup. The early rounds of this competition tend to have a phoney-war air about them. Premier League managers attempting to make it through to the business end of the competition while using as many fringe players as possible. In this context, it was job done at Sincil Bank and sets up an intriguing fourth round home encounter with Arsenal at the end of the month. After that, the numbers are down to eight teams and Wembley’s arch is firmly in sight.

This afternoon, West Ham return to league action with the visit of newly promoted Sheffield United. In my more pessimistic moments, I had identified this game as a first win of the season for the Hammers. But it now represents a potential opportunity to return to the top six – or at least to keep in touch with the chasing pack.

Last week’s events when the Blades were thrashed 8-0 at home by Newcastle has now put a very different complexion on the game. A side who had been leading Tottenham at the end of normal time the week before, were comprehensively demolished in front of their own supporters – largely the result of defensive incompetence of the highest order. The circumstances of that humiliation is sure to influence their approach to today’s fixture.

The Blades manager, Paul Heckingbottom – a man with the most northern sounding name ever – was given a vote of confidence by the club’s Saudi owner in the week and will understandably be cautious to avoid any repetitions in the coming games. Failure might cost him an arm and a leg. And it left me wondering how other clubs had fared in the aftermath of equivalent sound thrashings.

When Southampton were defeated 9-0 at home to Leicester in 2019/20 they managed to pull their socks up the following week but still lost by the odd goal in three on a visit to Manchester City. A year later, the Saints followed up a 9-0 thrashing at Old Trafford with a 3-2 defeat at Newcastle while last season, when Bournemouth went down by the same score at Liverpool, they recovered a modicum of respect with a goalless draw at home to Wolves. Closer to home, the week after losing 8-0 to West Ham at Upton Park in 1968/69, Sunderland bounced back a week later with a 3-0 home win over Coventry. If history teaches us anything it is that defeated sides will double down on their resilience – a flash of legendary Sheffield steel perhaps?

It is pointless to spend too much time in West Ham previews speculating on what changes David Moyes might make to tactics or personnel – unless it has been forced upon him by injury or suspension. You get the impression that changing the colour of his socks would be a revolutionary move for the Scot. But this is the kind of game that cries out for a change of approach.

Games where we would expect to see far more of the ball than usual, do not suit Michail Antonio’s bullying, barnstorming style of forward play – as we saw at Luton . It simply doesn’t work against opponents playing with packed or compact backlines, as we are likely to see today. When the challenge is to unlock a deep lying defence, then moving Jarrod Bowen into the middle with Mohammed Kudus replacing him wide right makes a lot more sense. A fluid attacking midfield three – supporting Bowen – comprising Kudus, Lucas Paqueta and James Ward-Prowse should pose plenty of problems to a defence short on confidence after their last outing.

The season so far has witnessed something of a renaissance for Thomas Soucek, a player who had been written off as a one-season wonder by a large section of the Hammer’s support. Whether it has been the departure of Rice or the arrival of Edson Alvarez that has allowed his game to focus back on his strengths is impossible to tell – but there is an obvious improvement in his demeanour. Time now to add league goals to those he has bagged in cup competitions.

In the defence, time must surely be running out before Nayef Aguerd is given a spell on the bench. High profile mistakes in both the Manchester City and Liverpool games has put his starting position in doubt now that Konstantinos Mavropanos has games under his belt. Moyes now has more options available and it is time he started using them – both in varying the starting eleven and making timely and effective substitutions. My preferred lineup would be: Areola, Coufal, Zouma, Mavropanos, Emerson, Alvarez, Soucek, Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Bowen.  

If West Ham are to make any serious attempt to challenge the top six to eight, then this is a game they simply have to win. As they say, no game is ever easy in the league but playing at home against a dispirited opponent with just a single point to show for their efforts so far, is about as straightforward as they get. It will mean putting them under pressure from the first whistle and preventing them playing out from the back. An early goal and sustained pressure should make it a very uncomfortable afternoon for the visitors. West Ham to win 3-0. COYI!

Will the Blades be sharper when they visit the London Stadium this weekend or will West Ham return to winning ways?

It has been a decent start to the season hasn’t it? Who would have predicted that after the first six games we would be sitting in seventh place in the Premier League table having won three, drawn one and lost two, securing ten points. We’ve scored 11 goals in those games and conceded 10. The fixtures computer didn’t do us any favours in that just two of the six games have been at home with four away. That will be rectified with two home games in the next week.

In those six games we’ve faced the champions Manchester City, Liverpool, Brighton, Chelsea, Bournemouth and Luton. Hand on heart did you think we would have 10 points at this stage? We also won our first group game in the Europa League (comfortably in the end). General consensus is that the transfer window was a good one too, with the loss of Rice, balanced by the acquisition of Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, Kudus and Mavropanos. We could have done with another goalscorer though.

The manager is still under fire in some quarters despite our relatively impressive start. So why is this? If you delve deeper into the statistics of the six league games played a potentially worrying trend emerges in respect of the goals we are conceding. Our first half defensive performances reveal that we have conceded just twice in the opening 45 minutes. On the other hand our opponents have found the net eight times in the second period.

In many ways last week’s performance at Liverpool seemed to me to be very similar to the Manchester City game the week before. In both games we matched our illustrious opponents in the first half playing a more aggressive game before retreating deeper and deeper in typical Moyes fashion as the game progressed.

Our game plan seemed to invite more pressure in the second half. Do we do this on purpose (on manager’s orders) or do we run out of steam? The Bournemouth, Brighton and Luton games had some similarities with the concession of late goals too.

I read that the Liverpool defeat took David Moyes tally up to 72 games without a win in away games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United combined. Are there any other managers out there who have failed to beat those four teams in as many games as that on their travels? OK they are or have been top teams in recent times, but really you would have expected a win or two wouldn’t you? Nevertheless the season has begun relatively well and if we kick on in similar fashion then we will be looking towards the top half of the table.

After Sheffield United’s capitulation at home to Newcastle last week many of our fans writing on social media are expecting a straightforward win for us when the Blades come to town. Football often doesn’t work like that and I expect them to be more resilient at the London Stadium. They had done well in their previous game at Tottenham holding a 1-0 lead until the referee added 16 minutes to the second half. However I will be disappointed if we don’t take our points tally up to 13 this weekend.

Have you noticed that, including the Europa League game, five of our seven games this season have finished with a 3-1 scoreline (three in our favour and two against)? I’ll forecast that it will become six out of eight when we cut through the Blades defence to win the game 3-1. What are the chances?

Mersey Mission Impossible? West Ham and David Moyes Pay Another Visit To Anfield’s Unhappy Hunting Ground

Another test of the Hammer’s bright start to the season as they take on unbeaten Liverpool at Anfield. Will it be another pointless visit to Merseyside?

Midweek European group stage games can be something of a lottery. Opposition strengths and weaknesses are an unknown quantity and managers must try to balance progress in the group with the opportunity to rotate squad resources. In the end West Ham had enough quality to overcome the resistance of TSC despite an early setback, just as Liverpool and Manchester City had to in their respective games against LASK and Red Star Belgrade.

With David Moyes making nine changes from the eleven that had started the previous weekend it is impossible to draw any conclusions from Thursday’s victory other than suspecting that qualification from the group will be straightforward enough. The game saw useful debuts from Mohammed Kudus and Konstantinos Mavropanos both of whom should be pressing for Premier League starts in the coming months.

Thursday night’s game was not the most riveting of encounters. A lively start from the home side struggled to create clear-cut opportunities and they appeared to have lost their way before going behind in disastrous circumstances. A slip by Angelo Ogbonna compounding poor decision making when attempting to play the ball back to the keeper. At least it woke the Hammers up, but it would take a brace of James Ward-Prove set piece special deliveries to give the scoreline a respectable look.

The novelty of West Ham bossing possession is unlikely to be repeated at Anfield this afternoon where it will be a return to the counterattacking and set piece threats which have always represented the manager’s safe space. Liverpool are a very different, more direct proposition to the ball-loving sides that the Hammers have already faced – Chelsea, Manchester City and Brighton – and there are sound reasons to maintain a solid and compact defensive shape against them.

The Reds are unbeaten this season. In their previous two home games both Bournemouth and Villa allowed way too much space between defence and midfield which was exploited ruthlessly by the Liverpool forwards. The Hammer’s challenge will be denying space at one end while getting enough players forward quickly to create chances at the other.

West Ham’s shocking record at Anfield is legendary. A 3-0 victory in August 2015 being the solitary away win over in 60 years. The victory in 2015 was instrumental in Liverpool’s decision to replace Brendan Rodgers with Jurgen Klopp. Since Klopp’s appointment the record shows one draw and seven defeats for the Hammers – the last four all by a single goal margin. The statistics also show that Moyes has failed to win in 19 visits to Anfield as manager of four different clubs.

The predicted Hammers lineup today should show few changes from the side that lost out to Manchester City. Alphonse Areola will return between the sticks after his midweek rest. There may be a case to leave Nayef Aguerd on the bench following some unconvincing lapses, but I expect Moyes to stick with him for now. The manager will want to include both Edson Alvarez and Thomas Soucek as a defensive shield to counter the home side’s impressive attacking and aerial threat – and also to put pressure on Alisson at set pieces. With the more attack minded players selection will depend on the fitness of Jarrod Bowen who failed to make the midweek squad due to sickness. In his absence Kudus will fill in.

In this type of game there is no viable alternative to Michail Antonio in the lone striker role. With Danny Ings looking increasingly ineffective in the West Ham setup, the failure to bring in a new striker will surely cause a drag on performances until the oversight can be resolved. It is such a sharp contrast to the attacking talent available to Klopp who can select from Salah, Gakpo, Jota, Diaz, and Nunez.

It will require a battling West Ham performance to take anything from the game. We know that Moyes team are organised, disciplined, and resilient these days – and that they rarely fold like West Ham teams of old. However, they have yet to keep a clean sheet this season and will likely need to get on the scoresheet themselves in order to get a result. Can they do it? I’m hoping so provided the Anfield VAR behaves itself. A game with honours shared, I think. COYI!  

Euro Veterans West Ham Are Backa On The Road To European Glory

The Hammers embark on a third successive season of European competition against the unknown Serbian league leaders from Backa Topola

In the natural order of things, West Ham would be about to embark on defence of their Europa Conference crown, won in Prague just a few short months ago. But in the world of UEFA competitions, as well as well a shiny trophy for the cabinet, comes the opportunity to compete on an even more prestigious stage of the Europa League.

Opinions vary on the progress made at the club during the time that David Moyes has been West Ham manager. But there is no getting away from the fact that it is a first for the Hammers to be competing in Europe over three consecutive seasons. The structure of the current competitions means that only a disastrous run of results can deny European football once again stretching into the new year – whether that is targeting a final in Dublin (for the Europa League) or Athens (for the Conference).

This season’s Europa League has a far stronger look to it than when West Ham last took part in 2021/22. Considering the English contingent of Brighton and Liverpool is daunting enough, and what chance of Manchester United and Newcastle joining in when the draw for the Round of 32 is made in late December.

On paper Group A shouldn’t represent the hardest of challenges although all three opponents have started their domestic leagues in good shape. The balancing act for Moyes is doing enough to win games while rotating his squad through the onerous Thursday – Sunday routine. Hopefully, the squad is strong enough in quantity and quality to cope with the demands.

First up in tonight’s Group opener at the London Stadium are TSC from Backa Topola in Serbia. They are making their second appearance in European competition having first competed in the Europa League in 2020/21. This season, they had originally qualified for Champions League qualifying on the back of a second place finish in the Serbian Superliga. Having lost their Third Qualifying Round tie to Braga of Portugal (7-1 on aggregate) they dropped down into the Europa League groups. They currently lead their domestic league ahead of Partizan and Red Star Belgrade.

It doesn’t feel like it will be a night of counterattacking football for the Hammers, so it will be fascinating to see how Moyes approaches the game. There must be a return for Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks and full debuts for Mohammed Kudus and Konstantinos Mavropanos. I also expect call-ups for most of Angelo Ogbonna, Thilo Kehrer, Aaron Cresswell, Pablo Fornals, Ben Johnson, and Danny Ings. Maybe even for the elusive Maxwell Cornet. No doubt Divin Mubama will feature at some point, but not as a starter.

Games such as these against unknown opposition are rarely as straightforward as we might hope, but it would be a huge upset if it doesn’t end in a West Ham victory. Breaking with recent tradition of not making score predictions, I will go for a 3-0 home win. COYI!