Category: Preview

From A Wet Sunday Afternoon In Burnley To A Sultry Summer Evening In Seville

A fixture that is rarely a highlight of any season, West Ham must dig-in and work hard at Burnley to keep the top four challenge on course

Even defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the final Europa League group game was not able to rinse away the remaining joy lingering from last Saturday’s late victory over Chelsea. It has been the sweetest of feelings.

But while thoughts may turn wistfully and seductively towards the exotic European nights to come – West Ham pitting their wits against the likes of Barcelona, Napoli, Dortmund, Lazio, Porto, and Monaco – there is that most mundane of matters to negotiate this weekend, a visit to Turf Moor. Flights to Sevilla in May will need to stay pencilled in the diary for now.

A wet Sunday in Burnley may not be as immortalised as a cold, rainy Tuesday night in Stoke, but it is as close as it gets these days. Maybe not typical but the two visits of Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham to Turf Moor ( consecutive 3-0 and 2-0 defeats) are stuck in my head as to how this one plays out – Sean Dyche’s Dennis The Northern Menace outsmarting Walter The Softie Southerners.

Today’s West Ham are made of far sterner stuff, however, and even managed to come from behind to win 2-1 in the equivalent fixture last May. Two Michail Antonio goals cancelling out Chris Wood’s penalty opener. A return to goalscoring ways for Antonio would be a very welcome bonus. He caused havoc in the Chelsea defence in the second half last week but has not found the net himself since the winner against Tottenham on 24 October.

It was surprising to see David Moyes field such a rookie team in midweek with Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma the only first team regulars to feature. It was an opportunity to see several fine, encouraging performances from the academy players drafted in. It would be good to see some of them given occasional run-outs from the bench in the coming weeks and months. Of course, it was only one game, but Emmanuel Longelo could well be the best cover for Aaron Cresswell that is currently available.

Following an unprecedented injury-free run, the physio room has started to get overcrowded again. The long-term injuries to Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma are particularly worrying. It was a position where it was felt adequate cover existed but while Craig Dawson and Issa Diop are capable backups, they do not offer the same reliability as the first-choice pairing. This now becomes an important priority for January.

Talk in the media of using either Declan Rice or Tomas Soucek as centre backs sound foolish to me, unless it is an absolute and dire emergency. Both may be able to play the role competently but losing their services in midfield would be highly detrimental. With Cresswell hopefully fit to return tomorrow, my predicted line-up would be Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals, Antonio.

Burnley currently sit 18th in the Premier League, having won just one game this season (home to Brentford). Their other games have seen seven draws and seven defeats. Draws have featured heavily in their recent form with last week’s loss at Newcastle their first reverse sine losing at Manchester City on 16 October. Their last defeat at Turf Moor was to Arsenal in mid-September.  

Ashely Barnes is unavailable and top scorer Max Cornet is a doubtful starter, meaning Tom and Vlad’s Czech mate Matej Vydra will play alongside Chris Woods. In defence there will be another chance to see potential Hammer’s target James Tarkowski. Elsewhere, Dwight McNeil can be a danger on the left of midfield if allowed too much space.

I don’t see this game being a classic. More of a straight to video encounter that will not live long in the memory. Burnley don’t score many but then don’t concede too many either – no team currently in the bottom half of table has conceded fewer goals. As we know, West Ham never lose by more than one goal – or haven’t done in the past forty or so matches. So, a tight game is on the cards.

You’ll need to go back to the end of October for a West Ham away win – victory at Villa was followed by defeats to Wolves and Manchester City. A good time to reclaim the mantle as Kings of the Road. I will be more than happy to hear David Moyes proclaiming in his post-match assessment “we weren’t at our best but still came away with a 1-0 win.” COYI!

A League Of Their Own: Hammers Wind Up Their Europa Group Stage With The Visit Of Dinamo Zagreb

Will it be a case of just going through the motions as West Ham have already eased through to the Round of 16? A chance for fringe and academy players to shine.

Looking forward to West Ham’s final Europa League group game presents something of a conundrum. The group has already been won and the club will not want to risk further injuries to key players. But there is still a significant fixture to fulfil (with implication for final placings) and also a sizeable London Stadium crowd to entertain. Will it be a case of going through the motions or putting on a show while under no pressure?  

For the Hammers, there is only pride and a few hundred thousand of extra Euros in prize money at stake (to add to the almost €9 million already earned). For Dinamo Zagreb, the prospect of finishing second in the group and a crack at one the clubs eliminated from the Champion’s League remains a possibility. Or perhaps, they would fancy their chances of a longer European run by dropping down into the Conference.

We know by now seven of the eight teams dropping from the Champions League to compete in the Europa League Knockout play-offs. These are RB Leipzig, Porto, Dortmund, Sheriff, Barcelona, Sevilla, Zenit, plus one of Villareal or Atalanta. There are several intriguing opponents in that group with the potential for dramatic and electrifying nights under the London Stadium floodlights. The jeopardy of sudden death elimination is what makes cup football so special – when it finally comes alive!

West Ham’s recent dip in results reached an astonishing turnaround on Saturday lunchtime with a thrilling victory against league leaders, Chelsea. So shell-shocked was the visitor’s defence that they conceded three times again last night. Joy at the result was tempered to some extent by injuries to Kurt Zouma and Ben Johnson but it was still a day and result to savour.

Once again, Declan Rice was imperious as his market value ticks up faster than a petrol pump meter. He has just about every attribute that you could ask for in a modern midfield player – anticipation, positioning, strength, passing, interceptions, dribbling and shooting. He has now been inaugurated into my all-time best West Ham XI – the most recent addition since Paolo Di Canio.

There were outstanding performances elsewhere on the pitch as well. Defensively, we were sound in blunting Chelsea’s attacking intent while Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio were particularly impressive in attack during the second half. It was encouraging to see an excellent shift put in by a born again Manuel Lanzini, as was Said Benrahma’s 100% pass completion of the note from David Moyes to his captain – achieved without surrendering possession or accidentally giving it to an opponent.

Somehow, the nature of the winning goal fitted the occasion perfectly. Less King Arthur and more Merlin the magician – the enchanter of the Blues, whose sorcery bewitched and bewildered Mendy in the Chelsea goal. I would love to believe it was intentional even if Masuaku’s enigmatic tweet suggested otherwise. He just didn’t know that he meant it.

Masuaku will be one of handful of senior players featuring in tonight’s starting line-up. Joined by Alphonse Areola, Mark Noble, Andriy Yarmolenko, Nikola Vlasic and Alex Kral. I suspect one of the two senior centre-backs still standing will also start, and fancy this will be Issa Diop. The balance will be made up with academy players who will see it as an amazing opportunity. The predicted starting eleven: Areola, Ashby, Diop, Baptiste, Masuaku, Noble, Kral, Yarmolenko, Vlasic, Benrahma, Perkins.

The new variant of Covid is threatening to wreak havoc with team selection. Hopefully none of our squad have been out socialising down with their Tottenham counterparts at the Bottler’s Arms. Although, I do have a suspicion that Conte is attempting to get as many matches postponed as possible so that he can sign some decent players by the time the games are played.  

Dinamo Zagreb will take the runners-up spot in Group H is they avoid defeat tonight or if Genk fail to beat Rapid Vienna. Their campaign has been inconsistent so far but they may feel confident of holding on to second place given the West Ham’s lack of incentive. Although beaten 2-0 at home by Hadjuk Split on Sunday, Dinamo remain fourth in the Croatia league and are reasonably placed for a shout at a 23rd title.  

A drawn game tonight would be no huge surprise.

West Ham face league leaders Chelsea at the London Stadium. Can the Hammers turn round recent results that have seen just one point from the last three games?

A look at the league table tells us everything we need to know regarding the difficulty that West Ham face in the early kick-off against Chelsea in Matchweek 15 today. Only Liverpool have found the net more than Chelsea’s 33 goals in their 14 league games to date, and no ne have been as mean as the Chelsea defence that has only conceded six goals in those 14 fixtures. They have only lost once, and that was to a goal from Jesus for Manchester City, who are themselves rather formidable opponents as we found out ourselves last weekend.

The last time we met Thomas Tuchel’s men was back in April where a 1-0 win for the men in blue put quite a dent in our ambition to finish last season with a top four finish. The game was a well fought contest, but a simple move attacking the right hand side of our defence resulted in Chilwell crossing for Werner to put the ball into the net from close range.

Although we tried hard we didn’t manage to create much against a well organised team, and then towards the end Balbuena was ridiculously sent off by referee Chris Kavanagh, a decision that was quite rightly overturned following West Ham’s appeal, but by then of course we were already forced to chase the game with only ten men on the field. It was hard enough when we had eleven!

Looking at the head to head games against Chelsea, the records were fairly even up until the end of the twentieth century with Chelsea slightly having the upper hand. But since then the West Londoners have extended their superiority although I’ll remind you of same famous West Ham victories in the last 20 years.

In May 2003 we were facing relegation and really needed to beat Chelsea in the season’s penultimate game to have any chance of avoiding the drop. Caretaker manager Trevor Brooking had sent on Paolo Di Canio early in the second half and he came up with a goal twenty minutes before the end which gave us the victory and an outside chance of staying up but it wasn’t to be. It was Di Canio’s last significant contribution in a claret and blue shirt, although he did score another as a substitute in the final game, a 2-2 draw at Birmingham. We completed the double over Chelsea that season but we still went down.

After that win we had 13 winless games against Chelsea, which included just two draws, before another famous victory in December 2012 with Sam Allardyce as our boss. We trailed 1-0 at half time before an equaliser from Carlton Cole, and then two late goals from Diame and Maiga gave us a 3-1 win. And to put the icing on the cake, Mourinho was sent to the stands!

In October 2015 in the final season at Upton Park goals from Zarate and Carroll gave us a 2-1 victory, a scoreline that was repeated early in our first season at the London Stadium when Kouyate and Fernandes both scored superb goals in a League Cup tie.

In December 2017 Arnautovic scored an early goal which turned out to be the only goal of the game, and that same 1-0 scoreline was repeated in November 2019 at Stamford Bridge in a match famous for David Martin’s heroics and clean sheet in the West Ham goal which went a long way towards contributing to our ultimate survival that season. We went on to complete a superb double when Yarmolenko’s 90th minute strike gave us a 3-2 win in July 2020 in the season extended way beyond normal as a result of COVID-19.

So what of today’s fixture? In the midweek game against Brighton I had predicted (and bet on!) a 1-0 West Ham win which so nearly was the case but for the disappointing late Brighton equaliser. Perhaps the Seagulls may have deserved a draw, but the close VAR decision which denied us a second goal, and the timing of Brighton’s goal made it just one point from our last three games, although Arsenal’s defeat at Manchester United meant that we retained fourth place in the league despite the recent results. The top three have, however opened up a gap to take them away from the rest; a lead that I can’t see being closed by anyone this season.

But thinking back to Di Canio’s strike in 2003, Arnautovic’s early goal in 2017, and Cresswell’s early second half goal backed up by David Martin’s great display on the last day of November two years ago, all of which gave us 1-0 wins over Chelsea I’ll predict a repeat of that scoreline. Bookmakers don’t think it will happen as we are around 18/5 to win the game, with Chelsea odds-on. A 1-0 Hammers win is priced at around 11/1, with a Chelsea win by that score to repeat last season’s game at the London Stadium at around 11/2.

It will take quite a performance, but I’ll stick with my 1-0 forecast. I fancy Dawson will score with a header from a corner sometime soon too. What are the chances?

Never Felt More Like Beating The Blues: Can The West Ham Stars Shine Again?

West Ham need a huge performance against league leaders, Chelsea, if they are to regain early season momentum and keep the top four show on the road

A quirk of human nature is that there is always far more material to write about, complain about and discuss when things are going badly than when they are doing well. The climactic joy of beating Liverpool that saw bubbles flying high has quickly faded and died following two defeats and a draw in the subsequent three matches. The feet are firmly back on the ground. Damn that international break!

It would be disappointing in any season to lose points at home to Brentford, Palace, and Brighton; but to drop five late on in games when you are looking to repeat or improve on the season before is doubly frustration. At least we are still fourth (and with three more points than at the same stage last season) but that will change at the weekend unless West Ham can pull a top drawer performance out of the hat.

Although the mood of supporters often swings erratically from week to week, the mood on the training ground is likely to be much more measured. David Moyes has done a tremendous job in getting more out of the team than the individual parts would suggest is possible. There are maybe only one or two Hammers that would interest any of the three teams above us and bumps in the road are to be expected.  But just as success is infectious, so is defeat (and Covid).

I get the impression that the team has lost its sparkle in recent weeks. Whether this is down to the fatigue of the Thursday and Sunday routine, the impact of injuries or just a temporary dip in form is uncertain. It has certainly brought debate about the obvious and significant gaps that the squad has back into focus. With Michail Antonio looking out of sorts and Aaron Cresswell having hit the post, the lack of cover for both positions has caused alarm and indignation.

It is good fortune that West Ham haven’t suffered badly with injuries so far (touch wood) with Angelo Ogbonna the only long-term casualty. It has enabled Moyes to use only 19 players in Premier League to date – the lowest apart from Burnley and Wolves. The starting eleven has been remarkably consistent in personnel and, except for Kurt Zouma, is mostly the same as last season. Two of the other summers recruits (Alphonse Areola and Alex Kral) have yet to feature in the league while Nikola Vlasic has only played 129 minutes in five appearances. Of course, they have each made contributions in the Europa League and Carabao cup, but it does raise the question whether the money might not have been better spent on a backup striker and left back.

As ever it is a question of juggling the club’s resources, a problem that supporters don’t have to worry about when calling for new signings. I can understand why Moyes says the quality must be right when it comes to transfers, but the flip-side of that is too much caution. It is clear, though, that the less money you are given to spend the more important the buying decision becomes. It is particularly problematic when it comes to strikers. A quick scan through that list of failed strikers who have passed through the club in the last ten years is all the evidence needed.  

But if a challenge for a top six place is to be maintained then the owners need to do some shopping in the January window. In an ideal world that would mean a striker, left back, attacking midfield and central defender (to cover Ogbonna’s absence). Not much chance of the complete set in what is typically a difficult time to find value.

On the pitch, much of West Ham’s success is founded on excellent team spirit and strong organisation. Offensively, we rely either on quick breakaways or set pieces for the bulk of our goals. Nothing wrong with that approach when it brings rewards, but opposition managers must now be getting wise to these strengths. An extra dimension is needed to mix things up but our passing and ball retention needs major improvement to make that happen. Maybe we don’t have the players capable of doing that, or are they simply under strict instruction is to move the ball forward as quickly as possible and play the percentages?

I’m not a fan of passing and possession just for the sake of it – a trap that Brighton seem to fall into whenever I have seen them – but greater controlled and creative use of the ball is necessary when the situation demands it. Part of the problem is that none of the attacking quartet are able to regularly escape markers, create space, pick the right pass, and weigh in with a fair share of goals. Just what Jesse Lingard was doing during his purple patch earlier in the year. We miss him or someone like him.

Saturday lunchtime’s visitors to the London Stadium are league leaders, Chelsea. Tuchel has fashioned an exceptionally efficient unit in west London. Nothing much has gone wrong for him since he arrived to replace Lampard Junior in January of this year. They have experienced a minor wobble of their own just lately drawing with Manchester United and Burnley and scraping past Watford in the week.

The Blues have several injury concerns for the weekend with Kovacic and Chilwell definitely out, and doubts over the fitness of Chalobah, Kante and James. The absence of both Chilwell and James would be a bonus, given our weakness with wing-back play, although Alonso and the loathsome Azpilicueta are not bad alternatives. There may also be a return to action for Lukaku, a perennial thorn in the Hammer’s side during his career in England.

Had it not been for a poor run of results, we may have regarded Saturday’s game as something of a free hit. It now takes on greater importance – for confidence, league position and pride. Chelsea’s resurgence has been built upon a miserly defensive foundation, having conceded just six league goals in their fourteen games. They have yet to concede more than one goal in any domestic or European fixture. The visitors will undoubtedly boss possession with the West Ham’s success or otherwise hinging on not surrendering the ball cheaply and taking whatever chances come their way.

It must be back to basics in defence with none of the horrifying passing between keeper and central defenders that scares the pants off me. Fabianski has to be one the worst distributors in the league – so the less he has of the ball, the better. Hopefully, Cresswell will be restored to the team at left back. Asking Ben Johnson to play full-back on his wrong foot just doesn’t work in today’s game – at least not from an attacking point of view.

With the gods on our side, a favourable wind, planetary alignment, and no nonsense from VAR, West Ham to win 2-1. COYI!

Can West Ham end an eight game winless run against the Seagulls at the London Stadium tonight?

In my article prior to the game against Manchester City last weekend I highlighted the gulf between the top three and the rest. The game itself confirmed what I believed. A score of 2-1 suggests a close game but that wasn’t really the case. Unfortunately we were not at our best and never really got going. Despite Jack Grealish, Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden being unavailable City were still too good in an attacking sense, and defensively they gave little away with Declan Rice’s long range effort being the only time I can recall Ederson needing to make a save before our goal.

We showed our hand before kick-off with Masuaku replacing Bowen suggesting we were worried about City’s attacking threat down our left hand side, as opposed to letting them worry about our potential going forward. But City were just too good and attacked from all sides. The heavy snow falling made the conditions difficult but while we were only a single goal down we were still in the game. The second goal finished us off but Lanzini once again produced a last second wonder strike (just as he did against Tottenham in the 3-3 draw) to make the score look more respectable, although there was no time left to go searching for a dramatic late equaliser.

But it wasn’t all bad, and in the past we might have folded and lost a game like this by a wider margin. The consolation is that despite two consecutive defeats we still retained our position in the top 4, even though the gap to the top three has grown. And even if we manage to lose a third game in a row, which I certainly hope we don’t, we would still be no lower than fifth in the table. Nine points from our last five games is a better return than all the teams in the Premier League apart from the top three and Arsenal immediately below us in fifth place.

The fixtures come thick and fast for the next month or so beginning with this evening’s visit from Brighton. We have faced them in the last four seasons since they came into the Premier League, and we have yet to beat them in eight attempts. Those games have usually been relegation battles, or at least lower-half of the table fixtures, but this time around we are both in the upper reaches with Brighton currently occupying ninth place after a bright start to the season.

They beat us in the first three games but the last five have all ended in draws. Three of those five draws have come in the corresponding fixtures in the last three seasons at the London Stadium. We had to come from behind twice in the home game last season, whereas the season before we relinquished a two goal lead. And in the season before that we were two down before an Arnautovic brace earned us a 2-2 draw.

The last time we beat them was in the later stages of our promotion winning season in 2011-12 when a superb Vaz Te hat trick was part of a 6-0 thrashing. I remember the game well – we were three up in the first ten minutes or so (Vaz Te had scored two of them) and he completed his hat-trick in front of the Bobby Moore end with an overhead kick.

Said Benrahma appeared on the front cover last season’s programme, but some are suggesting that he may not be in the starting eleven this time around following a bit of an exchange with David Moyes as he was substituted in the City game. I’ve seen some calling for Lanzini to start in that position but we’ll have to wait and see. I wonder if there are injury concerns, especially re Cresswell? Squad rotation has certainly been successful in the European games, but the manager has probably made fewer changes in the league games than most – he seems to have a very definite idea of his starting eleven for these matches.

Historically West Ham v Brighton fixtures go back to 1903, but we didn’t face them in any football league games until 1978 as we have often been in different divisions. The overall record is very even at 18 wins apiece and 19 draws. Graham Potter has done a superb job for the Seagulls but after their bright start they have faded a little, failing to win any of their last eight league games – always a worrying statistic for West Ham fans! But they have drawn a lot of games and have only lost three (we have lost four). So Brighton have failed to win any of their last eight league games, and West Ham have failed to win any of their last eight fixtures against Brighton. Will one of these runs be broken or are we heading for another draw?

With the last five meetings between the clubs ending in draws, and Brighton’s recent draws this season, a draw would seem a likely result. Bookmakers make us favourites to win with odds of around evens, but a 1-1 draw is the favourite in the correct score odds at around 11/2. I am convinced we can end our long run of failing to beat them, but it is likely to be a close game. Brighton has a mean defence with just 14 goals conceded in their 13 games, a figure only bettered by the top three and Wolves. But they have only scored 12 which is fewer than everyone apart from Norwich, Southampton and Tottenham. It is the failure to convert chances into goals that frustrates many Brighton fans and led to some booing following their 0-0 draw at home to Leeds last weekend.

There have been fewer goals in Brighton Premier League games this season than in those involving all the other clubs (except Wolves). So don’t expect us to repeat the 6-0 win of the last time we beat them. I forecast a West Ham victory by a single goal margin, possibly 1-0. What are the chances?

Battle Lines Drawn For The League’s Premier City Versus United Clash

It’s third against fourth at the Etihad Stadium. Can West Ham exceed expectation and return from Manchester with more than hard luck stories?

If at the start of the season I had been asked to rank all West Ham’s games from most to least winnable, I would without hesitation have placed away to Manchester City at the very end of the list.

Since City won the Abu Dhabi lottery, the only West Ham victory on their patch was in September 2015, when Slaven Bilic’s Payet-inspired team beat Pellegini’s City by two goals to one. Prior to that that you need to go back to April, 2003 for another league success. Freddie Kanoute’s solitary goal enough to keep Trevor Brooking’s heroic, but ultimately unsuccessful, great escape dream alive.

Despite trailing Chelsea in the current standings, City remain most people’s favourites to retain the Premier League title. If that comes to pass then it will be four in six years for Guardiola. No doubt, he is a gifted coach who is able to manage the egos of superstar players – but a bottomless pit of resources must also come in handy. He was certainly an upgrade on Pellegrini, yet I’m not convinced that the players he has brought in measure up in character to those that have left since his arrival – Toure, Kompany, Silva, Aguero, for example – even if he has an exceedingly useful squad to call upon.

A stark contrast to our own humble club who, prior to kick-off, are a single place and three points behind the champions. A remarkable achievement by David Moyes and his team given the imbalance in resources. Perhaps Moyes is not the right type of manager for the super rich clubs (as his time at the other United might suggest) but he is looking a perfect match for the patient team building and development model now underway in east London.

With new investment on the cards, the future of the club is looking much brighter than it has for some time. A complete turnaround from the storm clouds of Burnley in March 2018. Does anyone else think that in the publicity shot doing the rounds, Daniel Kretinsky looks menacing rather than friendly or enigmatic? The kind of sinister grin you might see from a movie villain about to reveal his collection of pliers, bolt croppers, and saws to a terrified captive.

Great to see West Ham seal top spot in their Europa League group with a largely second eleven coasting to a comfortable win in Vienna. The fringe players (including several exciting academy prospects) have done the club proud in qualifying, but may get fewer opportunities to impress once the round of sixteen arrives next March. Here’s hoping all the Spanish clubs are either still holding on in the Champion’s League or have been eliminated from the Europa League by then – particularly Sevilla, the serial winners of the trophy.

I’m not expecting any surprises in today’s line-up which should be pretty much the same team that lost at Wolverhampton. I do have a suspicion that Vladimir Coufal might return in place of Ben Johnson (for his greater attacking threat) and while I would welcome a look at a Kurt Zouma – Issa Diop paring in central defence, I believe Moyes will stick with Craig Dawson.

City may be without De Bruyne, Grealish and Foden and could start with a front three of Mahrez, Sterling and Jesus. Plenty of variety but no-one obviously leading the line. A different type of challenge for the Hammers defensively and one that will require complete concentration throughout. An afternoon of the opposition bossing possession, seeking to wear down our legs and creating openings with bursts of quick and intricate passing.

Surrendering the lion’s share is not an unreasonable tactic but the key to taking something from the game will be the ability to retain possession and make good use of the ball when we have it. It needs to be better than at Molineux. Giving the ball away cheaply only increases the pressure and leaving Michail Antonio isolated up front will not unsettle the hosts defence. Much will depend on how effectively the attacking midfield three can keep the ball, make the right decisions. and get forward quickly enough in support of Antonio. We can’t hold out for penalties this time.

These types of game can be an uncomfortable watch sometimes – and tough on the fingernails. Even if there is a tactical fascination unfolding it is difficult to appreciate it in real time. Expectations are not high of a result but there is always hope. We were unlucky to come away with nothing last season and maybe the football gods feel they owe us something in return. A 1-1 draw, perhaps. COYI!

Goodnight Vienna as Hammers Waltz into Europa League Last 16

On Thursday evening West Ham waltzed into the last 16 knockout stages of the Europa League with yet another professional performance without playing as well as we can. With a little more composure in front of goal it could have been four or five nil but with eight changes it was still a more than satisfactory performance. With the other game in the group between Dinamo Zagreb and Genk ending 1-1 it would have only needed a draw in Vienna to top the group with a game still to play, but the confidence that the fringe players will have gained from the comfortable victory bodes well for the remainder of the season. With so many games to play in such a short space of time (10 in 31 days), many of the squad players are likely to be called upon.

Four clean sheets and just two goals conceded in five games is the best defensive performance of all 32 teams in the Europa League. In this game some of our most important and influential players (such as Zouma, Rice and Antonio) were not needed and most of the other Premier League regulars did not play full games. There were many good performances but one that stood out for me was that of Coufal who I believe should regain his place in the league team this weekend. It was also good to see a 17 year old debutant given his chance and he so nearly scored too. I wonder how many fringe players will be given an opportunity in the final group game against Dinamo Zagreb?

This weekend’s Premier League game away to Manchester City is about as tough as it gets. Along with Chelsea and Liverpool, City are undoubtedly one of the three standout teams that will contest the title. It wasn’t that long ago that we spoke about the elite six, but now in my opinion there are only three teams that are well ahead of the rest. We are one of a few teams that will be fighting for that fourth spot in the table. City will be desperate for revenge after we dumped them out of the League Cup, a competition that they have dominated for the last five years. They were excellent when disposing of PSG to top their Champions League group on Wednesday and we will be doing very well to come out of the game with a point. But it’s not Impossible if we are at our best and they are not. Crystal Palace won there recently so I hope we can do the same, but I wouldn’t underestimate how difficult it will be.

Bookmakers recognise the gulf between the top three and the rest, but their odds set for this game are even more extreme than the league positions would suggest was appropriate. City are at home and one would expect them to be favourites of course. They are currently second in the league on 26 points, just three points ahead of ourselves in fourth. Recent form is similar although we were a little disappointing in Wolverhampton last week. Nevertheless, based on this, one wouldn’t expect us to be the biggest outsiders in all the games this weekend. But we are and I’ve seen odds of up to 10/1 on a West Ham victory and around 6/1 on a draw. City on the other hand are around 2/9. Astonishing really given the closeness of league form and positions.

I am a little less confident for a positive result in this game compared to our previous fixtures this season, but wearing my optimistic hat I will be hoping for a draw, and predict 1-1 with Dawson scoring our goal with a header from a corner. Dawson to score the first goal in the game attracts odds of around 50/1. The odds are the same for him to score the last goal in the game. I’ll go for the latter with my fun bet this week. What are the chances?

Having Sunk In The Choppy Waters Of Wolverhampton How Will West Ham Negotiate The Rapids In Vienna?

Banking on bouncebackability as the Hammers seek to seal top spot in Europa League Group H and claim a place in the round of 16.

Losing was going to happen sooner or later but a tame one at Wolverhampton just as games against Manchester City and Chelsea appear on the horizon was not the best of timings. A chance, hopefully, to use the Europa League clash in Vienna to get the show back on the road and prove that Saturday was nothing more than a bump along the way.

West Ham have earned a reputation as a reliable, well-oiled machine in recent months but too many of its parts had seized up at Molineux. Few, if any, of the outfield players were close to their own high standards of performance as the hosts thoroughly deserved to coast to victory.

Ironically, the Hammers had made a really lively start to the game, but once Wolves had settled, they dominated – their extra man in midfield and the enterprise of their wing-backs stifling West Ham’s attacking ambitions and creating scoring opportunities of their own.

Although the West Ham downfall was largely down to sub-par individual performances, I do wonder whether the 4-2-3-1 formation is too rigid and predictable under certain circumstances. Particularly in the absence of greater imagination and orchestration in the centre of attacking midfield. Manuel Lanzini was an improvement when he replaced the off-colour Said Benrahma, but neither of them or Nikola Vlasic are influential or involved enough to pull the strings. Indeed, I have yet to see anything in Vlasic to get excited about. Maybe he will come good but there are so many aspects of his game that require improvement. Arguably, Pablo Fornals is the best equipped from the current squad to play that role, but he too was ineffective at Wolves.

It was a similar story with Michail Antonio who barely put a foot right all afternoon after his exertions in the international break. Despite West Ham flying his home early on a private jet it appears his ball control was left in the baggage reclaim. A touch of jet lag is a possibility, although an equivalent trek had done Raul Jimenez no harm. No surprise that Antonio will not feature at all today.

I thought defensively we looked adequate at the weekend even if the Kurt Zouma/ Carig Dawson partnership was a little clumsy. Surprising how difficult Zouma found it playing on the left side in the absence of Angelo Ogbonna. I hope we see Zouma paired with Issa Diop tonight to see how that works out. Aaron Cresswell and Ben Johnson also did OK but didn’t get forward enough for my liking. Supporting the attack and getting in behind the opposition defence is where Vladimir Coufal shades it over Johnson.    

The final conundrum is how to get the best out of both Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek. The flourishing of Rice this season has been partially balanced out by the struggles of Soucek. His more withdrawn role does not play to his attacking strength of the late runs into the box. He doesn’t have the range of passing to truly boss the current role.

Had it not been for a late Soucek OG in Genk, tonight’s game in Vienna might have been something of a formality as far as Group H is concerned. As it is, West Ham need more points and Rapid will believe they can still be playing European football after Christmas. Perhaps it is to the Hammer’s advantage that the hosts really do need to win to make that happen – better suited than inviting us to break them down.

Rapid have won one and lost one since their last Europa League outing and now sit 5th of 12 in the Austrian league, a whopping twenty points behind runaway leaders RB Salzburg.

There will be a sense of déjà vu (all over again) with the return of the eerie behind closed doors atmosphere. Recent experiences shouldn’t affect the teams too drastically although the trend of empty stadia favouring away sides is comforting.

Predicted line up for tonight is: Areola, Coufal, Diop, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice, Kral, Yarmolenko, Vlasic, Benrahma, Bowen

Predicted score: West Ham to win 2 – 1.

A look ahead to West Ham at Molineux this afternoon and memories of games against Wolves (mainly November ones!)

Thank heavens that is the last of the early season pointless international breaks finished. I get it that we have to play for World Cup qualification but surely someone can devise a better way to do it. I don’t wish to deny San Marino, Andorra or any other minor nation of their opportunity to take part but surely there should be some kind of pre-qualification among lesser teams and then the top teams from pre-qualification leagues can then progress to face the bigger teams. Our very own FA Cup is an example of how this can happen. The top teams don’t enter the competition until the third round proper. There are a number of qualification rounds to win through before the non-league teams who are successful in those get to face the big boys.

Albania aren’t exactly a minor footballing nation, picking up quite a few points in the group, but San Marino? I watched some of this and quite frankly it was a farce. The commentators and pundits did their best to talk up the England team and Harry Kane, but it was nonsensical as a game of football, it was really just attack versus defence. I got no pleasure from the twenty minutes or so that I watched.

This was in contrast to the last Premier League game I saw where we denied Liverpool the opportunity to extend their long unbeaten record any further. I thought it was a magnificent performance that saw us leapfrog the Merseysiders to reach the dizzy heights of third place in the table. Unlike Mr Klopp I saw nothing wrong with our first goal. Goalkeepers have been a protected species for too long and I don’t see anything that says you can’t jump in front of them to put them off. And as for suggesting Cresswell should have been sent off I don’t agree with that either. His tackle clipped the top of the ball which lifted his leg to foul Henderson. To his credit the Liverpool captain made nothing of it and was soon back on his feet. A foul yes but anything more? Not for me. Perhaps I am a biased Hammer but others I have spoken to who support Arsenal, Fulham and Norwich didn’t agree with Mr Klopp either.

We have lost Angelo Ogbonna for a long period now, but personally I am happy with Craig Dawson alongside Zouma at the heart of our defence. There have been reports that we might renew our interest in Tarkowski in the forthcoming window. He is certainly a quality player, but do we need strengthening elsewhere first? Perhaps with our new Czech shareholder there will be an injection of finance to boost the transfer kitty? We’ve never been in a better position to challenge the top teams but the addition of two or three quality players would do us no harm in our endeavour to maintain that challenge in the league and the three cups that we can still aim for.

We visit Molineux today to take on a Wolves team that are in eighth place in the chasing pack where sixth to thirteenth positions in the table are separated by just three points. When I began to watch football as a young boy in the late 1950s Wolves were probably the best team in the country at the time, and were league champions in 1957-58 and 1958-59. One of my earliest football memories was our first home game following promotion to face the champions in our first home game of the 1958-59 season. I wasn’t there but I was excited to wake up on the Tuesday morning following the Monday night game to be told the result by my dad and to read of our 2-0 win in the morning paper.

The following season I was at our game against the champions – Saturday November 21st – so this weekend’s game is almost on the same date. My first favourite footballer Johnny Dick scored a hat trick in our 3-2 victory that retained our position at the top of the league. The following Thursday I went into St Mary’s hospital in Paddington to have my adenoids removed. And then in typical West Ham fashion we lost 7-0 at Sheffield Wednesday the following Saturday! How many times has a team at the top of the league lost their next game 7-0? Only West Ham could do that. That was a season when we went down with the Christmas decorations and finished in fourteenth place just four points above the relegation places.

Wolves went on to finish second in the table that season finishing a point below champions Burnley. They won the FA Cup too beating Blackburn 3-0 in the final and were so close to being the first team to achieve the league and cup double. If only they hadn’t lost to West Ham!

Other highlights from games against Wolves include an entertaining 3-3 draw in November 1970. Apart from surrendering a 3-1 lead my main reason for remembering this game was a Bobby Moore headed clearance that hit the referee square in the face that knocked him out cold. Moore picked up his whistle and blew it to stop the game. Bobby Gould, who five years later played for us tapped in the late Wolves equaliser in that game.

Two years later (yes in November once again!) we were 2-1 down at Upton Park in the last seconds of the game when a Bobby Moore cross was headed across the edge of the area by Clyde Best, and Trevor Brooking equalised with a stunning diving header from fully 15 yards. It’s always said that Trevor never scored with his head, but I can remember quite a few, including an important one in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1976 against Eintracht Frankfurt, and perhaps the most famous of all, the Wembley header in the 1980 FA Cup final.

Two years later once again in the month of November (are you picking up the pattern here?) we gave Wolves quite a thrashing (5-2) with five different goalscorers. The best goal of the lot, and one of the best free kicks I’ve ever seen was a result of Trevor Brooking flicking the ball in the air and Frank Lampard (senior of course) smashing a half volley into the bottom corner of the net.

I’ll deviate from the month of November with a final memory from the past to remember Liam Brady’s final game before retirement. After a fantastic career he spent his final three seasons at West Ham. Although he wasn’t quite the player he was at his peak, he was still great to watch with wonderful skill on the ball and magnificent passing ability. On as a substitute late in the game he picked the ball up midway in the Wolves half, moved forward, and unleashed a trademark left footed stunner that rocketed into the net, a fitting goal in his final ever game.

Last season we did the double over Wolves winning 4-0 at home and 3-2 at Molineux. What with our 3-2 win over Liverpool in our last game too, that seems to be the score of the moment and I’ll predict a win by that score today. We are around 7/5 favourites to win the game and around 22/1 to repeat last season’s score in the corresponding fixture. Jarrod Bowen scored in both games against Wolves last season, and is around 13/2 to score the first goal (same price for the last goal too) in the game, or 5/2 to score at anytime. One of those will be my fun bet. I might even combine Bowen scoring the first goal with a 3-2 win at odds approaching 200/1. With 12 points from our last 4 league games we are the form team in the Premier League. No other team matches that recent record. If Leicester can beat Chelsea in the lunchtime fixture, and if we can win at Wolves, then we would be level on points with Chelsea at the top of the table on Saturday evening. That would be good, wouldn’t it? What are the chances?

West Ham Love To Go A-Wandering; Can They Make It Five Wins In A Row?

The Hammers continue their adventures in the unchartered waters of the Premier League’s top four. Victory against recently becalmed Wolverhampton will see them on the crest of a wave.

The international break has given us all an extra week to admire West Ham’s lofty position in the Premier League table with a sense of smug satisfaction. Now comes the test as to whether they can stay the course – a furious run of ten games leading up to Christmas starting with a visit to Molineux on Saturday afternoon.

The Hammer’s form has been nothing less than remarkable in the opening months of the season. The only side in the division to win their last four games, unbeaten in seven games in all competitions – and unbeaten in eleven on the road. The last defeat coming in the last-minute to Brentford in early October. 

It was disappointing that post match reporting on the pulsating victory against Liverpool was overshadowed by contrived controversy over supposed game changing refereeing decisions. There was so much to appreciate about the game as an advertisement for the Premier League and yet the referee took central stage. Most of the blame for that lies with Jurgen Klopp who showed himself to be the most ungracious of poor losers.

It was an excellent West Ham win which once again demonstrated the tenacity and character present in David Moyes’ side. That the top sides finish games knowing they have faced a tough, resilient, and talented opponent is all we can ask.

We probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it is tempting to make comparisons with the 2015/16 season – the year Leicester City won the Premier League title. The image below shows the table after an equivalent 11 matches. Leicester were sitting third behind Manchester City and Arsenal (having earned a point less than West Ham have now) with the Hammers hanging on in sixth place. Had we not just gone done to a disappointing 2-0 away defeat at Watford, things would have looked even rosier for Slaven Bilic’s side.

The noticeable feature of 2015/16 was that as well as Leicester performed, each of the other title contenders managed to screw up their own challenge. None of the other teams performed consistently well during the remainder of the season. Adding to the mystery, both Liverpool and Chelsea were nowhere to be seen, finishing eighth and tenth respectively.  The chances of such a collective failure repeating itself is highly unlikely.

A look at this season’s current standings with a projection based on points per game being maintained to the end of the season has West Ham finishing on 79 points. That would be an incredible achievement – but unlikely to be enough to claim top spot. I doubt there are many supporters who truly believe a top four finish is achievable, but it is target worth aiming for. The recently announced investment in the club by Daniel Kretinsky certainly adds a new perspective on things, especially if it is backed up by player reinforcements in January. A long way to go, though!

Assuming all the players have returned from the international break in fine fettle, the only change for the Wolves game will be the one enforced by the probable long-term absence of Angelo Ogbonna – Craig Dawson being the obvious replacement. It is anticipated that Declan Rice will have recovered from illness and Pablo Fornals from the knock picked up playing for Spain. The Ben Johnson or Vladimir Coufal at right back is the other talking point. I believe it is Johnson’s shirt to lose.

It was great to see Michail Antonio make his mark on the international stage at long last, with two fine goals for Jamaica. Whenever he shapes up for a long shot my head is usually in my hands, but the strike against the USA was a cracker. Shots from outside the box are the least productive of goal attempts – it is seen as a defensive positive to limit your opponent to long shots – but when they come off, they can be spectacular. Will we now be treated to a flurry of long-range Antonio efforts? And what is the probable outcome? It’s a long shot, but it might just work!

Wolves are a side slowly emerging from the doldrums of Nuno’s time at the helm. New boss, Bruno Lage, is something of an unknown quantity as a manager with only an ultimately unsuccessful stint at Benfica behind him in the big time. Still, he met the exacting criteria required for the Wolves job by being Portuguese.

The Wanderers have had a mixed opening to the season. After a sluggish start they have climber to eighth in the table but have only faced Manchester United from the top six. Their five wins have been mid to lower table affairs against Watford, Southampton, Newcastle, Villa and Everton. Presented as being more adventurous than under Nuno, goals have been at a premium at both ends in their matches so far this season. Only games involving Southampton have witnessed fewer goals.  

There was sad news from Molineux in the week with the death of Wolves legend (and member of the 1966 World Cup winning squad), Ron Flowers. I can remember him well from the very first football game I watched live on our newly acquired black and white TV – the 1960 FA Cup Final. A well-deserved Ron Flowers tribute will take place prior to Saturday’s kick-off. This looks like another tight game to me. Wolves have some dangerous players including Jimenez, Hee-Chan and the perpetually erratic Traore. Not convinced about them at the back. The ideal scenario is that Wolves push forward and fall into the trap of the breakaway Hammers counter-punch. And there is always the set piece danger. It is a game where if West Ham keep their discipline, they can come away with a narrow one-goal victory to make it five league wins on the trot. COYI!