Preview – Page 4 – Under The Hammers

A look back at West Ham’s unexpected win at Arsenal (I wasn’t expecting that!) and a look ahead to Leicester.

Arsenal 0 West Ham 1. I wasn’t expecting that. Liverpool had given Arsenal a little bit of hope in the title race with four draws since the turn of the year when they were held by Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Everton. The hope was slammed back in their faces by a brave and disciplined performance by inconsistent West Ham. We were well worth the three points. I wasn’t expecting that.

Our last game at home to Brentford was dreadful as was the home game against Palace in January. But a win against Fulham (albeit a little lucky), a creditable draw at Villa, and an unlucky defeat at Chelsea showed evidence of Graham Potter’s impact since his appointment. This was perhaps the best performance and result so far in his short time in charge.

We exposed Arsenal’s shortcomings. They might have enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, but they had no cutting edge. Similar to all the excuses coming out of their North London neighbours they moaned about their injury list, especially in attack. Hold on a minute. We are missing Antonio, Fullkrug, Summerville, and Paqueta was added to the list before this game. We all have problems so enough of the excuses.

Manchester United were keen to offload Aaron Wan-Bissaka for what is beginning to look like a bargain fee. They were happy with him defensively but felt they needed a full back who was better going forward. For me he has been a revelation in this respect. I wasn’t expecting that.

We were massively threatening when we broke, Wan-Bissaka in particular a danger on the right. It was no shock really that he instigated what turned out to be the winning goal with a break down the right before an expert cross found Jarrod Bowen who scored with a diving header. All afternoon he caused massive problems for Calafiori, and then his replacement Lewis-Skelly who came on early in the second half.

I was shocked when Arteta decided to replace Rice with Zinchenko, nominally a left back. I wasn’t expecting that. Our travelling supporters let loose with that decision with some chants aimed at our former captain. I don’t believe that Arteta is using Rice to get the best out of him.

The Arsenal fans were venting their frustration and then they were furious when Lewis-Skelly was correctly dismissed following a VAR call for bringing down Kudus. How poor was the referee to not show the red card immediately rather than having to wait for VAR? That was Arsenal’s fifth red card of the season. They have dropped ten points in the five matches where they have had a player dismissed. The gap to Liverpool increased to eleven points the following day when Slot’s team comfortably disposed of fading Manchester City. The title race, if it still existed, was definitely over.

Not that the red card really made a great difference. In many ways we were better against eleven than against ten. Lewis-Skelly is being talked about as a future England left back. I’m probably a bit premature but Ollie Scarles had a storming game and perhaps he will move on to such heights too. It’s a bit early I know but he does look a tremendous prospect.

For me Wan-Bissaka was the star of the show but Scarles, Ward Prowse and Kudus weren’t far behind. In fact it was a superb performance by all the players. Arsenal have only lost three games at the Emirates since the beginning of last season. We have won two of those. I wasn’t expecting that.

We now move on to Leicester who are (like Ipswich and Southampton) demonstrating the enormous gulf that exists between the Premier League and the Championship. They have lost six of the seven league games played in 2025; their only win came against Tottenham. In fact they’ve only won four games in the whole season. In addition to Tottenham they beat Bournemouth, Southampton, and in early December ourselves.

We went one down in that game to a very early Jamie Vardy goal and despite peppering their goal with shots and multiple corners we conceded two more before Fullkrug’s late consolation in added on time. It was Van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge. Had the Dutch boss dreamed of the perfect start to his tenure in the East Midlands he could scarcely have hoped for anything better than the move which led to Vardy’s opening goal shortly after the first whistle which stood after a lengthy VAR check.

If we put in anything like our performance at the Emirates then we should be too much for the ailing Foxes. But anyone who has supported West Ham for any length of time will know that this is the type of game where we have been known to fall down. However, I believe that Jarrod Bowen is really beginning to come into form after his injury layoff and expect him to be among the goals in a resounding victory. The pictures below show him in goalscoring form for West Ham against Leicester in recent seasons.

There have been some great games against Leicester throughout my time following West Ham, and in fact two of them made it into the top 20 games I’ve seen when I wrote my book, Goodbye Upton Park, Hello Stratford. The first one I’ll recall was on Boxing Day in 1967. I watched the game from my seat in B Block in the old West Stand at Upton Park. It kicked off at 11am (yes, there were morning games in those days), and by 11.15 we were 2-0 down. But the very first goal that I can remember a very young Trevor Brooking scoring, plus a superb hat trick from one of my favourite West Ham goalscorers, Brian Dear, ensured a great win in a very entertaining game. But the undoubted man of the match was a very young (17-year- old) teenager playing in the Leicester goal who had an unbelievable game and was destined to become a star in the future – Peter Shilton.

When we met Leicester on that Boxing Day we were 20^th in the league and in a relegation tussle (although only two were relegated in those days). By the end of the season we had rallied somewhat and finally finished 12^th; Leicester were 13^th. Incidentally we visited Filbert Street four days later and won the game again, with the identical score, 4-2, with goals from Dear 2, Brooking and Sissons.

Another great game against Leicester came in the following season. On 16^th November 1968 we were 7^th having won our two previous home games 8-0 v Sunderland and 4-3 v Queens Park Rangers. It was amazing that we were that high in the table considering we had a run of 9 winless games from early September to mid-October. There were a few memorable games in that 1968/69 season and this one came a fortnight after the QPR game. I watched from the North Bank and, apart from being an exciting game it also included my all-time favourite goal scored by Martin Peters.

When I met Martin almost 40 years later at a book-signing I asked him to sign the programme for that game, as well as his autobiography. And what a lovely man he was, although he had no recollection of the game. He told me that he couldn’t really remember many of his goals. An early sign perhaps of the illness that was to strike him down at too young an age.

The goal was a fantastic move started by Ferguson in goal, the ball rolled out to Peters, then to Charles, then to Sissons, and finally a fantastic unstoppable volley by Peters who had run the length of the pitch virtually to get on the end of it. You can see the last part of the goal on YouTube from where Sissons crosses it, but unfortunately not the whole move. From our position on the North Bank we had a super view of the finish. We won that game 4-0.

Leicester have conceded four goals on five occasions so far this season including in two of their three games in the month of February, last week at home to Brentford and at Everton. In their seven league games in 2025 they have only scored three goals, the 2-1 win over Tottenham and another in a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. In those seven matches they have conceded 17 goals. I’ll be disappointed if we don’t inflict another heavy defeat on them.

Pumping Up The Press Conference Volume and West Ham’s Hopes of Putting A Needle On Arsenal’s Unbeaten Home Record

West Ham’s stuttering season moves across the capital to face would-be title contenders Arsenal. An improved performance following last week’s shambolic display against Brentford is the least we should expect.

The most (or only) entertaining part of watching a West Ham pre-match press conference is attempting to match up the answers given with the media questions you haven’t been able to hear. There’s possibly be a new ‘Guess The Question’ game show format in there somewhere!

The club’s media team obviously don’t read – or aren’t interested in reading – the torrent of comments which universally condemn the inaudibility of the questions each time a presser is streamed online. In these days of digital communications, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it wouldn’t be rocket surgery (sic) to install the necessary technology. Failing that a minion could be brought in to pass a microphone among the assembled reporters. Something to keep Danny Ings occupied, perhaps. The tin-pottery of the event does nothing to dispel the impression of a Board that is all show and no substance.

Graham Potter appeared a little less confident – less convincing – about what he was saying this time around. His customary grin not quite reaching his eyes, let alone his brain. Was it the enormity of the task facing his team at the Emirates today? Or a realisation that the whole idea of pre-match press conferences is largely futile where nothing of importance will be divulged? A case of going through the motions in response to essentially the same questions every week. Questions that could just as easily be answered by an AI support bot – ChatGP. “This or that player is still working on his recovery or is not yet ready to play a full 90 minutes”; “We’ve had a good week on the training ground, the attitude in the squad is positive although there is plenty more work to do.”; “It’s a difficult place to go to and get a result, the opposition manager has done a great job.”

Today’s visit to Arsenal is a chance for the Hammers to contribute a minor supporting role in determining the destination of the Premier League title. The Gunners being the only team able to mount a credible challenge to runaway leaders, Liverpool. With a home win seeing the gap at the top close to five points – at least until tomorrow – the hosts need no more incentive to be motivated. Only the most optimistic Hammer would likely forecast an alternative outcome, even if away performances have generally been more encouraging than those seen at home. Unless that is, the backs-to-the-wall upset of last season’s 2-0 victory can strike for a second year in succession.

The faint glimmer of hope in the game is Arsenal’s relative lack of quality in the final third. In their game at Leicester last weekend, they struggled to break down what is now the league’s worst defence until the closing stages. With several striking options absent through injury, it was shocking to see what a pale imitation of his former self Sterling had become. Only the introduction of Merino as makeshift striker finally turned the tide.

While the Gunners regularly fail to impress in attack, they are rock solid in every other department. The meanest of the league’s defences and a consistent, well-balanced midfield three that blends power, pace and artistry. An added irony has been the development of Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri as first team players – two of the Arsenal side defeated by West Ham in the 2023 FA Youth Cup Final. By contrast, only Ollie Scarles from the victorious Hammer’s side has looked the part in east London.

For the trip to north London, Potter must do without the services of Lucas Paqueta who picked up an ankle injury in training and joins Michail Antonio, Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Fullkrug and Vladimir Coufal on the sidelines.

In each of the last two away games, the coach has opted for a 3-4-3 formation, and I wonder if he will be tempted to do the same again. Assuming a low block is against Potter’s instincts he needs to find some way to match up with Arsenal in midfield and minimise the influence of Odegaard and Rice. It’s a tall order with little in the way of pace, mobility and athleticism available to him.

Eventual team selection may depend on Potter’s assessment of whether Jean-Clair Todibo and Evan Ferguson are ready to start. That a player may be unable to last the full 90 minutes is no reason to automatically put him on the bench. If both are fit to feature, then it should be from the start. There’s no point in waiting until we are a goal or two down.

Fear of the Arsenal set piece threat may well convince Potter to persist with the lumbering Tomas Soucek in a midfield that includes Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse. What a woeful lack of creativity that would deliver. For me, Carlos Soler in the middle would provide a better, if not ideal, balance – but never stick him out on the left wing again.

A starting eleven perhaps then of Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Todibo, Scarles, JWP, Alvarez, Soler, Bowen, Ferguson, Kudus. And more than a mere five minute cameo for Luis Guilherme please.

Arsenal boast the only unbeaten home record in the Premier League this season. The probability of that record being at risk this afternoon would appear very low. An encouraging performance is required more than anything and, who knows, we could add to the four draws that have already been witnessed at the Emirates in the current campaign.

Taking at least a modicum of momentum into Thursday’s home encounter with Leicester will be important; if only to dispel any lingering concerns over relegation battles. COYI!

West Ham face Brentford at the London Stadium. Can the positive signs of progress under Potter translate into results and a climb up the table?

It seems like ages since we last played. Perhaps that’s a good thing with all our injuries. I get fed up listening to all the woes surrounding Tottenham’s injury list. All clubs including ourselves have players unavailable all the time. With a poorly balanced squad this can be quite a problem as we have found out with, for example, injuries to our attacking players this season. Hopefully some of our injured players will be back and, with the addition of Ferguson up front I’m looking forward to the final fourteen games of the season.

In some ways there’s not a lot to play for as we are out of the cup competitions, we sit fifteenth in the league with no prospect of challenging for a European place, and we are ten points clear of the relegation zone so there are minimal fears of a battle against the drop. It would take a calamitous run of poor results from here in to get sucked into trouble and fall much further down the table.

But despite the results since he took over, with Graham Potter in charge there appear to be positive signs of progress. He can start to look forward to next season and with a lack of anything too much to play for perhaps the team can provide us with some performances to give us a more memorable finish to the season, pushing us as far up the table as possible, perhaps even into the top half, or even bettering last season’s finishing position of ninth, although this would be an unlikely achievement as we are probably too far behind.

The immediate future won’t be easy with both in-form Arsenal and Newcastle coming up in our next four games, so the visits of Brentford this weekend and Leicester at the end of the month will be important for our chances of moving upwards. Only Southampton have a worse record than Brentford away from home (although to be fair Brentford have won their last two) so this is an early opportunity to make inroads into gaining on the teams that are catchable. Brentford are just four points ahead at the moment and sit in eleventh.

It may be unbalanced but there is no doubt in my mind that we have a lot of talented footballers in our squad, especially in an attacking sense. With Ferguson, Kudus, Summerville, Bowen, Paqueta, Ward-Prowse, Soler, Irving and Soucek there are players of quality who can present problems to opposition defences.

It’s a shame that Ferguson didn’t arrive sooner in the transfer window but his arrival is very welcome. Potter knows him well, giving him his debut as a sixteen year old at Brighton, but many are unhappy that a straight loan without an option or obligation to buy means that if he is a success we will be developing him for Brighton’s benefit, and he will head back there to add to their attack or be sold at a huge fee. I’d like to think that if he is the centre forward we’ve been looking for we would be in for him at that point, but we can’t realistically look that far ahead. All we can hope for is that he loves it here so much that he is successful and somehow becomes a West Ham player permanently.

We had the chance to buy him outright it appears but declined the opportunity to do so. That could turn out to be either a blessing or a huge error, but we can’t worry about that now. With our past record of buying strikers let’s hope there is a happy ending. Over the years we have bought so many strikers with big names and huge expectations who just did not fit into the system that the manager at the time wanted to play. Surely Potter wanted him because he knew he would fit into the system he wanted to play, even if it is just for the next fourteen days.

I love the fact that we have recalled James Ward Prowse too. I know I am in the minority here and so many of our fanbase will disagree with me, but I am a fan and don’t believe he should have been loaned out to be replaced by Rodriguez or Soler in our midfield. I know my fellow writer Geoff has reservations regarding his return, but he does have an end product in terms of goals and assists. In 2023-4 only Bowen (16) and Kudus (8) exceeded his seven goals in league games, and nobody exceeded his seven assists. He won’t necessarily be a starter but will be more than useful in the squad and I’d like to think Potter wanted him back because he feels he can get the best out of him. I believe he could flourish now he is back.

There are a number of positives since the arrival of Graham Potter in addition to the acquisition of Ferguson and the return of Ward-Prowse. The emergence of Irving is one – it was good to see him getting the opportunity to start in our last game. To me he always looked good with his tiny cameos and he put in a very mature performance with his first outing in the starting line-up. Again, another who may not be a regular starter but one who I’m sure will be more than useful if given the opportunities.

I also like the way Potter seems to have realised the potential of using some of our talented academy players. Scarles and Orford have already been given chances in his brief time in charge and I am hopeful that others will too. There has been so much criticism about the age of the squad and this is a step in the right direction.

He also gave Guilherme a run out in the Chelsea game, and whilst you can’t make too much of his limited appearance he did show a couple of examples of skill and speed that perhaps will mean he will come good in the future. We paid £25 million for him and then he never got a chance (possibly for internal political reasons?). Let’s hope there is another one here who can be added to our attacking talent.

I thought we were massively unlucky to lose the last game at Chelsea. Bowen was undoubtedly fouled in the build up to their equalising goal in my opinion, and there was almost certainly an offside decision missed (that VAR took an age to consider) too. The winning goal was a lucky deflection. I thought that Chelsea’s performance was restricted by the way we played and were set up by the manager. We were well organised and closed out the spaces in midfield. With our influential players missing it was a really pleasing performance.

One thing that has surprised me a little is how good we have been (or perhaps will become) defensively under Potter. Coufal and Cresswell, despite their limitations, seem to have got a renewed lease of life at the back, Kilman seems happier and I hope he can get the best out of Todibo too. If it is true that top European clubs wanted him then hopefully Potter can encourage him to demonstrate why.

The departure of technical director Tim Steidten was inevitable once Kyle Macaulay arrived as head of recruitment. His days were numbered, he didn’t have a good relationship with either Moyes or Lopetegui, and Potter wanted his own man. His position became untenable. He came from Germany with a massive reputation and was lauded for some of his transfer dealings but in the end it was inevitable he would go. With Sullivan at the helm, nobody will ever have full control of recruitment at the club.

Up until a year ago we had an appalling head to head record against Brentford losing the first five games against them after their promotion to the top flight in 2021. We finally put that right last February when we beat them 4-2 which included a Jarrod Bowen hat-trick, bringing his total to five goals scored against them. The game earlier this season at the Gtech Community Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw with Soucek’s second half equaliser cancelling out Brentford’s first minute goal, which is one of their specialities.

The history of West Ham’s visits to Stamford Bridge indicates a likely home win. But does Chelsea’s poor recent form suggest otherwise?

History of Chelsea v West Ham fixtures and form in 2024-25 gives West Ham little chance of beating Chelsea on Monday evening. Only one player who could possibly be in our line-up for this game has ever scored a goal for us at Stamford Bridge and that is Aaron Cresswell. In our last two Premier League games v Chelsea they have scored eight goals against us without reply.

The first few minutes of the game could be important (as we found at Villa recently). Apart from Brentford, Chelsea have scored more goals than any other team in the opening ten minutes of Premier League games this season whereas we have conceded more goals in that time than any other team. Let’s hope we can withstand the opening period!

There are some hopeful factors though. Despite being sixth in the table, Chelsea have the poorest form in their last six games of all the top 14 Premier League teams. That’s where we are in our customary position this season of 14^th. They have only collected five points in those whereas we have seven. The Premier League form table for the last six games has Chelsea in 15^th.

In those six matches which go back to Boxing Day Chelsea have scored first in five of them but only won one of those five games. Their record of dropping more points from winning positions than anyone else in the period is only surpassed by Tottenham who have only picked up one point in the six-game form table up until the end of January.

I was looking through some statistics on the BBC website and saw that West Ham have won just one of their last 18 Premier League away games against Chelsea, drawing 4 of them and losing 13. That alone would suggest that winning there on Monday evening will not be likely if history is repeated. The one win in the period was in November 2019, a game remembered because of our goalkeeper that day, David Martin (son of Alvin) who kept a clean sheet and Aaron Cresswell scored for us as we won the game 1-0.

My first recollection in any detail of West Ham / Chelsea games goes back to the World Cup winning year of 1966. Towards the end of the 1965-66 season we played at Stamford Bridge and they thrashed us 6-2. Names from the past – George Graham (2), Ron Harris, Terry Venables and Bobby Tambling (2) scored against us that day. Our goals were from Peter Bennett and an own goal.

In the very first game at Upton Park after the World Cup final we met them at Upton Park. Our World Cup winning trio of Moore, Hurst and Peters received a tremendous reception when they came onto the pitch alone before the teams came out, but Chelsea spoilt the day with a 2-1 win. Johnny Byrne scored our goal that day.

Later that season in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge the week before Christmas there were ten goals in the game as it ended 5-5. Not many games end with that scoreline. Byrne, Brabrook, Peters, Sissons (2) were our scorers that day.

I was looking at the cost of programmes in those days. Both West Ham and Chelsea programmes at the time cost 6d (2.5p equivalent). The cost of the Matchday programme this season is now £4. That’s inflation for you.

Since that 5-5 draw we have played them 45 times in league games at Stamford Bridge, mostly top-flight games, although a couple of times in Division Two. We have won 10 of them, the last one being the David Martin game in 2019.

One win in 1967 was followed by two in the seventies, two in the eighties, three in the nineties, a surprising win in the relegation season of 2002-03, and then in 2019. The biggest win came in the great season of 1985-86 when we won 4-0 (McAvennie, Cottee 2, Devonshire), on our way to finishing third.

Despite their recent poor form and our encouraging display at Villa Chelsea are big odds-on favourites with the bookmakers to win the game at 1/3. We are 4/1 or greater to win and the draw is around 7/1 if you fancy a flutter.

Five years ago at the beginning of February we were just beginning to hear about Covid although we were unaware of the effect it would have on our lives for a year or two. The effect on football was that a season that began in August 2019 didn’t end until the end of July 2020. The season was halted for three months in March and of course social distancing entered the language with games played behind closed doors.

Looking back at those times we didn’t have VAR, which was to start at the beginning of the following season. Surprisingly (you may think?) the makeup of the Premier League was similar in terms of the teams with sixteen of the current twenty sides involved. The four who were in the top flight then who aren’t now are Sheffield United, Burnley, Watford and Norwich. Sheffield United and Burnley both finished in the top half of the table whereas Watford and Norwich were both relegated (along with Bournemouth). Liverpool were runaway champions (as they well might be this time?). We finished sixteenth just above Aston Villa who narrowly escaped relegation by one point.

The four teams here now who weren’t then are Brentford, Fulham and Nottingham Forest who in that Championship season finished third, fourth and seventh. The other team is Ipswich who were a mid-table League One side that year. The teams who came up from the Championship were Leeds and West Brom (who are now back there) and Fulham who beat Brentford in the Play-Off final.

I wonder if you had looked forward then to the current day and been able to predict the Premier League table at the beginning of February 2025. Would you have predicted Forest in third place having just put seven past Brighton? Bournemouth seventh, Fulham, Brighton, Brentford ninth, tenth and eleventh? Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham all in the bottom half?

I wonder what team and formation will we see against Chelsea? There seems to have been a new manager bounce in that the players seem to be responding to Graham Potter more than appeared to be the case with the departed Lopetegui. Geoff raised the issue of new manager bounce in a recent article. There has certainly been that effect at Everton too.

Hopefully Jarrod Bowen will be back for this game and it won’t be too long until we see Summerville too. At the time of writing we still haven’t signed a centre forward, a box to box midfielder or central defender that are key positions that most need strengthening although the signing of Ferguson from Brighton is looking close? The window slams shut at 11pm – let us hope that there is some good news on this front.

West Ham’s new boss, their FA Cup defeat at Villa, coincidences, and the visit of draw specialists Fulham who’ve not lost in eight league games

So Julen Lopetegui has gone. 22 games at the helm, 20 Premier League and 2 EFL Cup. In the league we faced every other club once and Manchester City twice. We won six league games – on matchdays 2, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18. So we never managed back-to-back wins. We spent one week in the top half of the table when we were ninth after beating Palace in the second game, but apart from that we have been fourteenth for most of the time. We did climb to thirteenth after our four-game unbeaten run (2 wins and 2 draws – Matchdays 15-18), but two heavy defeats conceding nine goals to Liverpool and Manchester City saw us back in fourteenth and spelled the inevitable end for the head coach.

We’ve conceded 39 goals in 20 league games; only Wolves, Leicester and Southampton have let in more. A goal difference of minus 15, only Leicester and Southampton are worse than that. And 24 goals scored – we are fourteenth in that table too!

Graham Potter was installed last Thursday and immediately faced a tricky away FA Cup third round tie on Friday at Villa Park. And it was there that the coincidences begin. Because just like Lopetegui his first game was against Aston Villa. And despite a bright first half performance we lost the game 2-1 just as Lopetegui had done. Our goal was scored by the left foot of Paqueta just as it was in the game last August. Onana scored Villa’s first goal just as he had done at the London Stadium. At least it wasn’t Duran scoring the winner as he was suspended for the FA Cup game.

Potter’s first five league games in charge will be against Fulham, Palace, Villa, Chelsea and Brentford. Lopetegui faced those five plus Manchester City in his first six games, where we picked up five points, beating Palace, drawing with Fulham and Brentford, and losing to Villa and Chelsea. All five points were gained away from home with two defeats at the London Stadium. In these reverse fixtures Palace, Fulham and Brentford are the home games.

Fulham are unbeaten in their last eight league games having drawn six of them, Palace have only lost once in their last six games and have come on since we beat them very early in the season. Brentford are poor away from home. These three games are ones that we need to win to stand a chance of moving up the table. The Villa and Chelsea away games will be big tests.

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Graham Potter’s first game, oh what a plight,
We lost to the Villa on a January night,
In the ninth minute West Ham struck a blow,
Paqueta’s left foot we led in the show.

A game of two halves, in the first we’d attack,
But then in the second, the Villa fought back,
Two quick goals they scored, how we did jeer
Onana and Rogers they cost us so dear.

A corner was given it caused quite a fuss,
A referee’s error threw us under the bus,
Onana’s goal followed, you get the drift,
That’s when the momentum it started to shift.

In sorrowful defeat thus began Potter’s reign
But positive’s taken, a lot we could gain,
Just a day to prepare once Lop did depart,
Half a season is left, it’s only the start.

So next up it’s Fulham, last season on song
5-0 and 2-0 it really went wrong.
Seven goals conceded, who could we blame?
They were just too good, both games the same.

So now winless against them, now three games long,
Why can’t we beat them, what has gone wrong?
Before then we’d won five games out of six,
But now we all know we’ve got something to fix.

London derbies we’ve struggled, five with no win,
Last two were awful, nine goals went in.
4-1 to Spurs, and Arsenal scored five,
A really poor record, it’s time to revive.

Fulham’s London matches unbeaten in ten
In derbies they shine again and again,
Five wins five draws such strength they’ve found,
Five on their travels and five on home ground.

Our last two league games we also shipped nine,
Enough is enough we must draw the line,
Fulham unbeaten in their last eight,
About time they lost, let’s end the wait.

West Ham visit the Etihad hoping to rectify an abysmal record in games against Manchester City

I’ll take you back to the 2015-16 season, our last at the Boleyn Ground. It was less than ten years ago. Slaven Bilic was our manager. Our first three away games that season were at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. Daunting eh? None of it. We beat all three. Arsenal first 2-0, then Liverpool 3-0, and finally City 2-1. Those were the days! Those teams went on to finish second, eighth and fourth in the Premier League. We finished seventh, just one point below Southampton who were sixth.

Ironically, we lost two of our first three home games that season at ‘fortress’ Upton Park (how we forget that it wasn’t a fortress!), 2-1 to Leicester City who went on to become 5000-1 shock league champions, and 4-3 to Bournemouth who eventually finished sixteenth. Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa were relegated.

Yes, all this happened less than ten years ago. How times change!

We’ve played against City eighteen times since and haven’t managed to beat them again in the league, with just two draws in that time, both at home. We did knock them out of the League Cup in 2021 winning 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw. We’ve never kept a clean sheet against them in our last 24 league fixtures. That happened in 2012, 0-0 at Upton Park. If I’m not mistaken our last clean sheet in an away game at Manchester City came at Maine Road towards the end of our relegation season 2002-3, when with Sir Trevor at the helm for the very first time as our caretaker manager we beat them 1-0 with a Freddie Kanoute goal. Our longest winless run in league games against a specific team is also 18 games – that is against Liverpool between 1983 and 1994. So we will be setting a new record if we fail to win today.

I doubt that many of us saw it coming but Manchester City are having their worst run in many years. They have only won one of their last five home games in all competitions, and their 2-0 win at Leicester last weekend was only their second win in their last fourteen games in all competitions, having drawn three and lost an incredible nine. Nobody thought that this would happen after they began this season as they have the past few.

A worrying statistic is that Haaland hasn’t scored at the Etihad in his last four games there, October being his most recent when he scored the only goal in the game against Southampton. These are the kind of records that worry me – runs that undoubtedly end when West Ham are the opponents. He has a good record against us having scored seven goals in just five games but six of those have been at the London Stadium, including a hat trick when we went down 3-1 in August.

We have hardly been pulling up trees ourselves but we did go on a four game unbeaten run recently which ended when champions-elect Liverpool thrashed us 5-0 in our last game. We didn’t even muster a single shot on target in the game although we came close hitting the woodwork three times. But let’s be fair we were well and truly outclassed, which I fear may happen again today.

Are there any statistics that give us any hope? Nothing too startling I’m afraid although we have managed to score in eight of our nine Premier League away games this season, just failing once when we lost 3-0 at (high flying) Nottingham Forest. And we’ve only lost one of our last four away league games (at Leicester 3-1 despite having 31 shots). In that time we’ve beaten Newcastle 2-0, drawn 1-1 at Bournemouth, and won 1-0 at Southampton.

The unavailability of Jarrod Bowen after he suffered a fractured foot against Liverpool is a big blow for a side lacking in the attacking department, but these things happen and we are paying the penalty now for failure to recruit in this position in the summer. How quickly can we rectify this in the transfer window that has just opened? I’m not holding my breath!

I’m always hopeful where our team are concerned but I’d be surprised if we got anything out of this game. Despite City’s poor form I’ll bet they are relishing the thought of our visit there today.

As per my recent articles I’ve penned a rhyme to preview the game:

City versus West Ham played in the North-West,
Not our favourite game, we’re never at our best,
They’ve won 14 out of last 15, it’s their happy game,
We always seem to struggle, it always seems the same.

We’ve lost eight games in a row there since year 2015,
They’re always much too good for us, it’s what we’ve always seen.
It’s eighteen winless games now, it’s really quite obscene,
Since that 2-1 away win there, ten years oh so lean!

24 Premier League against them since our last clean sheet,
At least one goal conceded every time we meet,
A similar tale v Sunderland was something we did fix,
We went and beat them 8-0, Sir Geoffrey netted six!

City win their first league game ‘most every calendar year,
Seventeen out of eighteen, a record that we fear,
But we haven’t lost our first game in the recent seven,
If we could take that up to eight we’d be in seventh heaven.

In City’s last two home games they’ve been the first to score,
But neither did they win, they didn’t close the door,
They’ve never failed to win in three when they’ve scored the first,
Perhaps we can shock them and make their bubble burst.

Match facts as West Ham face Liverpool in the late kick-off this afternoon

At St Marys there were ills on the West Ham side
Kilman, Soler and Fab were all on the slide
First half woes forced them off to tread
Injuries to shoulder, to knee and to head.

Soucek and Rodriguez bans they face
But Lucas Paqueta returns to the race
No Szoboszlai a yellow card woe
Bradley and Konate sidelined and won’t show.

West Ham won in 2021, that was a rare treat,
In sixteen meetings, it was usually defeat
The Reds have scored twice in seven of eight,
They score at will, so much they create.

Unbeaten in four, West Ham on the rise?
Seeking back-to-back wins with hopeful eyes
First three home losses in Lopetegui’s reign
But once in six since to ease the pain.

Set pieces are good, seven goals we’ve scored
But conceded 74 in ’24 – to be abhorred!
All our last six goals in second half came
Bowen closing on 50, he’s well on his game

The Reds start the New Year at top seventh time
But only once champions – that is a crime
Unbeaten away in the top-flight this season
Six wins and two draws, that is the reason

26 games for Slot with just one defeat
22 unbeaten well that’s quite a feat
12 points from behind another statistic
When they concede first they stay optimistic

Ten goals conceded in last four away
At least two in each, much to their dismay
But still gained eight points that’s quite a feat,
Two wins two draws and never got beat

And so it’s a tough one I’ve got to concede
An early goal lead is perhaps what we need
Very hard to beat them that’s well understood
In this game a draw would be very good

My West Ham player of the season so far – Aaron Wan-Bissaka

As West Ham prepare to take on the champions-elect Liverpool in the final game of 2024, I nominate Aaron Wan-Bissaka as my player of the season to date.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka had his 27^th birthday in November. Manchester United paid Crystal Palace £50 million for him in 2019. Somehow he didn’t quite thrive at Old Trafford as you might have expected for a defender who cost that amount of money. He definitely needed a fresh start to kick-start his career. I don’t remember a big queue of clubs looking to secure his signature when he wanted to leave. Amazing to me as I always felt he looked a really good player, and certainly a big upgrade on Ben Johnson in the squad. It was obvious to me (although not to the head coach at the outset) that he would be an improvement of Vladimir Coufal at right back, and he has shown great versatility in performing equally well when playing on the left.

One of the most amazing pieces of play, and one that has gone under the radar this season because it didn’t result in a goal (which always gets the headlines) came in our game in the last match before Christmas against Brighton. Wan-Bissaka sealed the point in the game with an incredibly courageous and brilliant goal-saving on the line headed clearance to deny Lamptey of Brighton.

More than that he has performed consistently in a team that hasn’t played consistently this season. He has adjusted superbly to the demands of the head coach for full backs to play in a more advanced role. He scored his first goal for us in the 2-0 away victory at Newcastle and is demonstrating the qualities that made him such a highly rated talent at the time he went north to Old Trafford. He followed it up with another well taken goal timing his run to perfection in the home defeat to Arsenal in the following game. Two goals already in sixteen appearances for the team, and potentially assists to come if he keeps getting forward as he has done.

It’s always strikers or midfield players that get all the headlines, but for me he has been West Ham’s stand out player so far this season and long may it continue. There’s always some debate as to who behind the scenes identifies players to buy to come to the club. But whoever it was in this case has (in my opinion) unearthed a gem. He, himself, described coming to West Ham as a no-brainer and he hasn’t looked back, has he? He has, I believe, the potential to become the best right-back in the country, a view not shared by many yet but I hope it will happen.

The Great Pretender (Defender) (with apologies to the late, great Freddie Mercury)

When you came they said you were good at the back,
ManU didn’t want you, said you couldn’t attack.
They said your strength was to tackle and defend,
You may well have tricked them, perhaps you like to pretend?

Did you fool them ‘cos you had plans of getting away?
‘cos already you’ve shown them you know how to play.
They said you could tackle, the best one on one,
You’ve shown your versatility, that’s what you have done.

Right back, left back, you can fill a hole,
What’s more AWB you’re good for a goal.
I think they’re missing a trick, you’ve got pace galore,
You could play defensive midfield, shielding the back four.

Oh, yes, you’re a great defender,
But not pretending, ‘cos you’re doing well
Your game is such, an excellent touch,
A top player, but very few can tell.

I seem to see what so few can see
You cover all over the ground
Oh yes, you’re a great defender
Not pretending that you are around.

A review of the Brighton game, and a preview of West Ham’s visit to Southampton on Boxing Day

And so we continue in a league of our own,
Fourteenth is our place, for that we are known,
In thirteen of seventeen that’s where we’ve stayed,
And a draw against Brighton was just what we played.

Eight games at home we couldn’t defeat ‘em,
Wouldn’t it be good if we could just beat ‘em.
Fourteenth in goals scored another statistic,
Without many forwards I’m not optimistic,

Next up Southampton back to the South Coast,
Look at their team, we should have them on toast,
Boxing Day games after a big Christmas dinner,
Let’s hope we can win, who might score the winner?

They have a new manager, Juric his name,
They talk of a bounce in his very first game,
Sacked three times in two years then hired by Torino,
A short spell at Roma then sacked like Mourinho.

We both love the Hammers although we’re not leaders,
We wish a great Christmas to all of our readers,
From Rich and Geoff, we’ll be writing more soon,
Two more wins this year we’ll be over the moon.

It may not happen, it’s not worth a bet,
With West Ham you never know quite what you’ll get,
But let’s have a good run to bring us some cheer,
Good football, some wins, and a Happy New Year!

West Ham Briefing: A Claret and Blue Christmas, Lop Actually, and Will The Saints Nick It on Boxing Day

After a mostly flat draw with Brighton on Saturday, West Ham return to the south coast to face basement dwellers Southampton in a Boxing Day clash. Will it be a Last Christmas for Julen Lopetegui?

West Ham continue to be in a league of their own as they consolidated their hold on the Premier League’s 14^th place – their home for 13 of the season’s 17 weeks to date – with an uninspiring draw against Brighton and Hove Albion. The stalemate extending the Hammer’s winless home run against the Seagulls to eight games.

If there was a sense of watching claret and blue paint drying at the London Stadium, a far glossier finish was on display from our chromatic cousins in the earlier TV game from Villa Park. It took my mind back to the last match of the 2019/20 Covid affected season when the Villains snatched the point required to secure their top flight status.

West Ham enjoyed two of their better Premier League finishes in the subsequent two seasons while Villa floundered first under Dean Smith and then Steven Gerrard. Both clubs started the 2022/ 23 season poorly and while the Hammer’s Board stayed loyal to their Scottish manager, the Midlanders replaced Gerrard by buying Unai Emery out of his contract at Villarreal. They haven’t looked back since. Qualifying for the Champions League last season and playing football as if they enjoy it. They have a good blend of youth and experience, have recruited well from the lower leagues, and have pace, power, and energy throughout their side. They can even choose between TWO top class strikers instead of none.

Emery and Julen Lopetegui are often mentioned in the same breath, probably because both are Basques; and because both previously managed at Sevilla. In reality, Emery’s record is a far superior one, having won three Europa League titles at Sevilla (to Lopetegui’s one) as well as honours at PSG and Villarreal. Appointing Emery has been the sliding doors moment between the two clubs.

Some might argue that Lopetegui simply needs more time to get to grips with all new arrivals into the squad and instil his ideas into a playing style that had stagnated over the preceding few seasons. It is true enough that the squad composition had drifted into a dreadful state under the previous leadership – both in terms of age and depth of ability. But summer recruitment failed to address many of the issues that had arisen, and despite significant spend, West Ham remain the second oldest team in the league – and quite possibly the slowest.

It is fair to acknowledge that there has been a shift in playing style, even if it is subtle up to this point. Possession and passing statistics have improved and we are ranked as high as 5^th in terms of number of shots taken. Conversely, we are also placed even higher (4^th) on number of shots conceded. More possession has not turned into dominating games. We are joint 14^th for goals scored where the greatest threat is counter attacking that rely on moments of individual brilliance from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus or set pieces. Otherwise, there is precious little penetration and too few players getting in the box. At the other end, we are 6^th worst for goals conceded where opponents routinely have free rein to slice through the porous centre of our defences. Performances have the hallmarks of a lower mid-table and without drastic action to address the problems at striker and in the heart of midfield, it is where we will remain.

The January transfer window is not a time for wholesale reconstruction and often passes at West Ham with no activity at all. That being the case, the coach must find a system that suits the resources at his disposal and give up on his fixation of square pegs in round holes. Or the club must find a coach who is able to do that and then embark on strategy of building for the future in the summer. As things stand, it is a club going nowhere – slowly.

Saturday’s game was another that failed to live up to the hype of ‘best league in the world.’ West Ham laboured and Brighton were more reminiscent of Potter’s ‘all sizzle and no sausage’ offering than De Zerbi’s more enterprising style. A soporific first-half livened up in the second period courtesy of two goals in eight minutes, but still fell short of top-level entertainment. Another raft of odd substitutions by Lopetegui left his side with a huge gap between the front three and defensive five. Hoping for any semblance of creativity or guile from Tomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez was the height of optimism.

In the closing minutes only one team were looking to win the game – and it wasn’t West Ham. Lukasz Fabianski who had been badly at fault for the Brighton opener partly redeemed himself with a slew of smart saves.

The Hammers Roadshow moves on to rock bottom Southampton on Boxing Day. Once again, they will be facing a struggling side with a new manager in place for his first game. What could possibly go wrong? The Saints stopped the rot with a scoreless draw at Fulham yesterday and we all know what the scriptwriters have in mind for the West Ham visit. Already, I can feel in it my fingers, and in my toes. Lop is all around me, and so that feeling grows.

Ivan Juric is an interesting appointment for Southampton. Sacked three times in two years by Genoa, followed by a decent but unremarkable three year spell at Torino, then dismissed after 12 games by Roma. At least no compensation was involved.

All that remains is to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas. May all your dreams be found wrapped and ready under the tree. COYI!

A review of West Ham’s visit to Bournemouth, a preview of the Brighton game, and a tribute to Jarrod Bowen, via Rudyard Kipling.

If we’d been offered a point on the day,
At the Vitality we’d nod and we’d say
“Gladly yes”, but we didn’t forsee
How close we came to getting three.

Frustrating it was, we led so late,
But a sloppy free kick then sealed our fate,
The wall stood tall, we knew the drill,
A draw was deserved, for home fans a thrill.

Bournemouth’s shots twenty-nine in all,
Only nine on target that I can recall,
The first half was goalless, frantic and fast,
We matched them at first but how might it last?

A controversial call, we cared not a jot,
As up stepped Paqueta and scored from the spot.
A few moments later the Hammers undone,
Enes Umal’s free kick and the score was one-one.

Lopetegui’s tactics – he asks for more time,
We saw some improvement, but we need to climb,
We’re stuck down at fourteenth, a pretty poor show,
We’ve let in too many, our midfield’s too slow.

On Saturday it’s Brighton; so is it a sin
To hope for three points and pick up a win?
But one win from fourteen, just one that’s right,
At the Amex last season a 3-1 delight.

Seven games at home, top-flight pickings are thin,
We’ve lost two and drawn five but never a win.
But go back twelve years when second tier still,
A great Vaz Te hat trick, we beat them six-nil!

The Seagulls in London, ten winless they find,
The losses and draws must be haunting their mind,
Our recent home form has been on the rise,
Ten points from five is a pleasant surprise.

When Brighton face battles against top half foes,
With five wins in nine their confidence grows,
But with teams near the bottom they falter and strain,
Just one win in seven in a season’s refrain.

When taking set pieces we used to be best,
We still have the tools to make it a test,
Kudus with dribbling can dazzle and gleam,
Bowen’s goals and assists are great for the team.

A Premier clash under a Saturday sky,
Can we win, and go to Christmas on high?
I just have a feeling we’ll win this for sure,
Brighton may score but we’ll score one more.

I wonder if you know the old joke from Donald McGill, famous for his saucy seaside postcards –
“Do you like Kipling?”
“I don’t know I’ve never kippled”.
Rudyard Kipling was an English writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, noted of course for writing amongst many great works The Jungle Book and his poem If. The following is in the style of the latter. So with apologies to Mr Kipling (no, not the one who makes exceedingly good cakes …..) here is a poem to resemble his famous poem If as a tribute to Jarrod Bowen.

If you can keep the ball when all about you
Are losing it, can’t blame it on you;
If you believe in yourself when England managers doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can pass and dribble and not be phased by tackles,
Or keep the ball and ignore the cries;
Or shoot on sight and resist the shackles,
And look so good to everyone’s eyes;
If you can dribble – and not make dribbling your master;
If you can bring others into the game;
If when you lose it’s not a disaster,
But winning the game is your ultimate aim;
If you entertain the fans and play so clever,
Up front, out wide, whatever your role,
Play consistently, be as good as ever,
Win a European trophy with the winning goal.
If you thread it through to make a chance,
Or cross it onto someone’s head,
Or pass to a team mate without a glance,
Or take it on and shoot instead.
If you stay for some time the fans will adore you,
And play like legends of the past have done,
Moore, Bonds, Brooking, Di Canio too,
And what’s more Jarrod Bowen, you’ll be a star my son.