Category: Preview

It is only a fighting comeback from Stoke at home to Swansea yesterday that prevents this match from being billed as top versus bottom.  West Ham with the worst goal difference and joint worse goals conceded in the division take on rampant, runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.  The cash rich Arab lottery winners have already scored forty-four goals this season (conceding only nine) and could easily bring up their half-century by the end of this afternoon’s encounter.

Many of us might have looked at City’s rise to fame and fortune as the prototype promised land of next levels after we followed their example by moving from an old much loved home into a new stadium at the end of an athletics tournament.  It is there, however, that the comparison currently ends and in terms of any other metric – professionalism, flair, class, talent, organisation, ambition, training facilities, half-time pies – the gap between the two clubs is one of several divisions rather than just the length of the Premier League.   Perhaps one day West Ham will also be bought by a small middle-eastern country – probably just as the oil runs out!

Any concept of competitiveness in today’s game is as tenuous as if it were a bunch non-league postmen, plumbers and supermarket shelf-stackers turning up for a third round cup tie against illustrious top flight superstars; with not even the hint of a potential banana skin in sight.   David Moyes claim that “I’ve never gone into any game thinking we’ve not got a chance of winning” will surely be put to the test today.

Head to Head

Historically any trip to Manchester and Liverpool has been undertaken with hope rather expectation but, of those four confrontations, the one against City, prior to their windfall at least, would have offered the greatest promise.  Even so, West Ham have only come away from the away fixture with all the points on twelve out of fifty three attempts. Most recently, the Hammers have won only once (lost ten) in the last twelve visits.

Team News

West Ham are reportedly missing Carroll, Hernandez, Reid, Collins, Fonte and Byram through injury.  Leaden footed Joe Hart is thankfully ineligible due to the terms of his loan deal and so Adrian gets a long overdue opportunity to impress in a Premier League game.

I have read various team news speculation during the week about formations and lineups which range from pragmatic damage limitation to the more bizarre including suggestions of playing Zabaleta at centre back or in midfield; strange that those having criticised Bilic for playing players out of position would believe that such an idea would have any more legs than the player himself.  You can’t fault Pablo’s spirit (and a return to the scene of his many achievements will be emotional) but he is well past his best before date at this level.

There will be probable returns for Antonio and Rice in what will undoubtedly turn out to be a backs to the wall, massed defence, bus-parking exercise – until we are eventually sliced open by City’s quick and slick inter-passing play.  The frailty in the centre of midfield is likely to be the most easily exposed and exploited of West Ham’s many obvious weaknesses.

City are without Stones and Mendy but have sufficient £50 million replacements to put out a decent enough starting eleven, which may worryingly also see the return of Sane.

The Man in the Middle

Mike Dean doesn’t have far to travel from his Wirral home to take charge of this afternoon’s game.  Dean was witness to the only highlight of the Hammer’s season to date when he ref’d the EFL cup win over free-falling Tottenham Hotspur.  In eleven games this season Dean has issued thirty-six yellow cards and just one red one (Raheem Sterling at Bournemouth).

Predictions

Even the usually cautious Lawro has predicted a 3-0 win for City while Merson is going one better at 4-0.  Anything less than four will have a better than expected feel about it but I fear it will be worse, particularly with the lack of character and leadership on the field.  Once the first goal goes in heads are likely to drop faster than London Stadium attendances in the Championship.  Having predicted a midweek win at Goodison I would be more than happy to have my clairvoyant skills shown up once again but my contingency is a course of mild sedation before the match kicks off.

I have been supporting West Ham for almost sixty years. I am an optimist by nature. I must have watched us play more than a thousand games of football. On virtually every occasion, I’ve always thought that we had a chance of winning the game. OK I’ll admit sometimes it is a slight chance or a long shot, but a chance nonetheless. But for this game? We are more likely to see a blue moon.

On Sunday afternoon we face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Now City have really been a class apart so far this season in the Premier League. These are some of the thoughts attributed to our manager this week ahead of our visit. He has said that “I think that there have been moments when we’ve looked OK.” Even if there have been, my understanding of the word moment is that it refers to a very brief period of time, perhaps a second or two. The word OK is perhaps a very overused word that means adequate or acceptable. I just have a feeling that looking adequate for a few seconds won’t be anywhere near enough to trouble the league leaders.

He has also said “the players are trying to improve and get better”. Well sitting in the bottom three then this is something I would be hoping for. Shouldn’t this be true of all professional footballers at all times? This was followed by “a lot of our goals are down to individual mistakes.” Tell me something that anyone who follows the team didn’t know. He then said “we’ve got a good team.” Many comments I’ve read on social media and in the newspapers this week would suggest that there are a number of people out there who wouldn’t necessarily agree with that one.

He finished with “I’ve never gone into any game thinking that we’ve not got a chance of winning.” Now going back to my opening paragraph this is something I’ve almost always believed, albeit sometimes with many doubts. But this time I am going to make an exception. I really don’t believe that we have any chance whatsoever. In fact it would take a miracle.

One definition of a miracle:

A miracle is an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency.

My grandson (who is seven) was asked at school this week as part of an English lesson to come up with a sentence that included the word miracle. His offering was “It would be the most amazing miracle of all time if West Ham beat Manchester City on Sunday.” The teacher was full of praise for his excellent understanding of the meaning of the word.

I’ll be watching the game on Sunday with a fellow West Ham fan in a local pub in Bury St Edmunds. I’ll be taking my abacus along to help me keep track of the score, and I’ll be praying for a miracle. On current form this is likely to be one of the most one-sided games in the history of the Premier League. No team has yet scored ten goals in a single game (the record is 9). If you believe in miracles and fancy a flutter here are some of the bets (using Paddy Power as an example) you may like to consider:

West Ham to win the game 33/1
West Ham to win 2-0 200/1
West Ham to win 3-0, 4-0, or 4-1 500/1
No goals to be scored in the game 45/1
Man. City to win 10-0 500/1

There is a saying that is something along the lines of “you never can tell what will happen in a game of football”. This time I think I’ve got a pretty good idea. But I’ll still be hoping for a miracle,

The battle for the club in greatest disarray enters a new phase today as West Ham travel to the usually unproductive north-west to fight it out with embattled Everton. There was a period where the Hammers looked likely to overtake early season pace setters Crystal Palace in the shambolic stakes but after the weekend results Everton have dramatically claimed pole position.

If Burnley and Watford are the two surprise teams of the season so far (in a positive sense) then West Ham and Everton are their mirror image. Everton in particular, after a healthy finish in 2016/17 and a heavy investment in the squad which gave the look of a good balance between youth and experience, have performed woefully. In the same way that West Ham’s swagger in Slaven Bilic’s inaugural season relied heavily on the exploits of the moody French free-kick specialist, it seems that Everton’s fortunes were largely courtesy of the steady supply of Lukaku goals. Failure to replace the prolific Belgian cost Ronald Koeman his job and Everton’s failure to replace Koeman is costing them dearly. Caretaker boss David Unsworth, briefly a Hammer whose family couldn’t settle in that London and who seems to have eaten too many of his homesick wife’s pies, is experiencing a torrid time in his fifteen minutes of managerial fame. Tonight could well be his last hurrah and it is up to West Ham to take the initiative and expoit the turmoil that exists at his club. Who dares wins!

The return of David Moyes to Goodison Park adds a further ingredient to the contest. Moyes built a solid reputation while at Everton only for his stock to be devalued significantly since his departure. His new charges showed fleeting moments of recovery in last Friday’s home game against Leicester and he will be hoping that the improvement can be continued at his former home tonight.

Head to Head

No doubt that Everton are something of an historic bogey team. The Toffees have won exactly half of the one hundred and thirty six games played, to West Ham’s uninspiring thirty-one. Of the last twelve West Ham have won only once; the late, late comeback show two seasons ago.

Goodison Park (along with the majority of north-western venues) has never been a happy hunting ground with the Hammers winning just eleven and drawing twelve of sixty-four. Prior to 2015/16 the most recent win was in December 2005.

Team News

I would expect Moyes to start with a similar eleven that took to the field last Friday meaning another chance for Andy Carroll to prove that he can earn his keep. He wil need to up his game considerably.

Everton were appalling at Southampton. They were disorganised at the back, ponderous in midfield and lightweight up front and may well be tempted to give Rooney a start given that he likes a goal against West Ham.

The Man in The Middle

Tonight’s referee is Michael Oliver from Northumberland. Oliver took charge of the home defeat by Tottenham earlier in the season, as well as two West Ham games last season: cup defeat by Manchester City and the drawn league game with West Bromwich Albion. In fourteen outings this season he has flourished fifty eight yellow cards and two red ones.

Predictions

Merson is going for a 2-0 Everton victory while Lawro sees the Hammers winning 1-0.  For me, all the omens are good and in a rare display of optimism I am looking forward to West Ham returning to London with all three points from a comfortable 2-0 win.

It was a privilege to be at the London Stadium last Friday evening. Not for the quality of the football, although it was a small improvement on what we have previously seen this season. No, the reason was the energy and commitment of the players, which in turn led to the fans giving a demonstration of what backing a team is all about. The volume of support was right up there with what we heard in the games against Chelsea (EFL Cup) and Tottenham last season. The difference this time was that we weren’t actually winning the game. In some ways it was reminiscent of the infamous FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest over a quarter of a century ago when Keith Hackett totally ruined a game of football, but the fans continued to support the team until the end. The only disappointment was that we couldn’t get a winning goal, but nevertheless the fans received plaudits from players, pundits and the media generally for the voluminous and continuous support.

Now, can we please put an end to the stadium excuses and comments regarding lack of atmosphere? If the players demonstrate their commitment, then the fans will show theirs. Those of us who have been supporters for many years will accept losing games. What we won’t accept is heads going down when a goal is conceded, or lack of effort. As David Moyes has said, full commitment for 90 minutes should be the absolute minimum that players should give to a game. Too often in recent times that hasn’t been the case. It is still early days, and there is a long way to go, but I have to say that I have been very impressed with the start that our new manager and coaching staff have made. There was some ridiculous criticism of an appointment of a manger who, arguably, has been more successful (certainly in terms of league positions attained) than any other manager in our history. The players have been given a justifiable kick up the backside, so let us hope that the increased enthusiasm leads to some positive results, especially in view of the tough fixture list coming up.

The game against the Toffees is one where both teams are considered to be in crisis, perhaps Everton even more surprisingly than ourselves. They were widely tipped to finish seventh in the Premier League and perhaps be challenging the dominance of the elite six. Quite clearly that hasn’t happened, Koeman was sacked around a month ago, and surprisingly they have left a caretaker (Unsworth) in charge. If anything their season has nosedived still further in the last month, and Moyes has said we are going into the game full of confidence. I have some reservations, partly because of our past record against teams who are in poor form, where somehow they seem to relish our visit which enables them to turn their form around. Beware a wounded toffeeman, he can be a dangerous beast!

Wayne Rooney in particular has had a miserable return to his home town club, and a miserable few months off the pitch too. He has been left on the bench for the past couple of games, but somehow I can see him being picked for our visit and we all know what an impressive record he has when playing against us. But at least we haven’t got Lukaku to deal with this time!

Everton actually began the season well with a 1-0 win against Stoke in the opener, followed by an even more impressive draw at Manchester City in their next match. They still remain the only team (with 13 games of the season gone) to have denied City a three point haul in a game. Of course City are our next opponents at the weekend, and if recent history is anything to go by then many will be dusting down their abacuses in readiness for our visit to the Etihad, but perhaps it is our time to turn the tables on a team in superb form?
After the four points from their opening two games, Everton have only won twice more, 2-1 against Bournemouth, and an extremely fortuitous 3-2 victory over Watford (from 2-0 down). If you believe in sequences, then Everton seem to win a game, then fail to win in the next four. They won their first, sixth, and eleventh game of the season, so they are not due a victory until the sixteenth (this is game 14). But we are a good bet to help other teams break a sequence aren’t we?

Once more our game is being televised, so I’ll settle down with my Everton mints and hope that we can get at them as soon as the Z-Cars theme is over. An early goal from us would hopefully get the home crowd on the backs of their players. The Merseyside natives are getting restless with the performances of their team in recent games, so let us hope they don’t choose to up their game for this one, as they have frequently done in the past few seasons against us. At the time of writing this article they still haven’t appointed a permanent manager, but our old friend Big Sam is widely tipped to be taking over the reins there. Their search is now even more urgent after their poor performance in a 4-1 defeat at Southampton at the weekend.

As with all West Ham games this is a difficult one to call, and despite their indifferent form, the bookmakers still have Everton as firm favourites to win the match. Historically they have a far superior record in games against us with 68 wins in 136 matches, and we have only beaten them once in the league (either home or away) in the last ten years (3-2 at Goodison in 2016, after coming back from two down). Perhaps it is now our turn to break our sequence of poor results against them?

Leicester City, the most unlikely 5000-1 winners of the Premier League just over a season ago are the next visitors to the London Stadium in the first game of the weekend on Friday night. This is their fourth consecutive season in the top flight and their 50^th in their history, compared to our 60. They returned after a period of ten years out in 2014-15, and struggled throughout that season. With 29 games played they had amassed just 19 points and were seven points adrift of safety. They looked odds-on to return to the Championship, but with Nigel Pearson at the helm they won seven of their last nine games to finish on a respectable 41 points in 14^th position, just two places below us. Early in that season we had beaten them 2-0 at Upton Park with goals from Carroll and Downing, but we were the losers in the return, which was one of their seven wins in the run-in, going down 2-1 with Kouyate scoring our goal.

The following season was the stuff of fairy tales and has been written about at length. Suffice to say we will probably have to wait another 5000 years for a repeat. Pearson had been sacked and Ranieri took over to mastermind one of the most astonishing stories in the history of football. They beat us 2-1 at Upton Park in our first home game of the final season there (a Frenchman scored our goal), but we were unlucky in the return at their place near the end of the season, when leading 2-1 in the 95^th minute we failed to retain possession of the ball (just for a change!!) and then Carroll conceded what to most observers was a dubious penalty decision, and we ended with a draw. Carroll and Cresswell were our scorers that day.

Last season (2016-17) they came back down to earth and eventually finished in 12^th place (we finished 11^th). Ranieri was sacked in February after five consecutive defeats, and replaced by Shakespeare, who began his tenure with five straight wins, although four of them were home games, and Hull, Stoke, Sunderland and ourselves were not the most demanding of opponents. They did the double over us winning 1-0 at their place, and 3-2 at the London Stadium, where goals from Lanzini and Ayew were not enough to complete an unlikely comeback in a 3-2 defeat. They did perform exceptionally well in the Champions League, before just going out at the quarter-final stage to Atletico Madrid.

This season, after a poor start winning just one of their first eight games, the Bard himself was sacked and they now have Claude Puel in charge. They have since picked up a creditable 7 points from their last four games and now sit 12^th in the table on 13 points, winning 3, drawing 4 and losing 5 of their 12 games. This puts them out of our reach even if we can manage a victory in this game, but we desperately need to win the match to ensure that we don’t fall further behind in the relegation scrap at the foot of the table. Their away record comprises a win at Swansea, draws at Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Stoke, and defeats at Arsenal and Manchester United.

So many of our players had poor games at Watford that it hard to second guess the team that Moyes will select to try to achieve what would be an important win. One player who did do himself justice was Masuaku who had a fine 20 minute cameo, and I would like to see him selected in a more advanced role than full back. He showed an ability to take on and beat opponents as well as putting in decent crosses. I’d like to see Sakho and possibly Martinez start up front to give us greater mobility in that position, which would mean no place for Carroll who can be a potential liability. Lanzini needs to have a central role to be effective, not stuck out on the left. I hope that Rice enters the manager’s plans, perhaps filling a defensive midfield role protecting the defence, possibly alongside Obiang who has not been at his best recently, but in my view would be preferable to Noble and Kouyate.

When I looked at the bookmakers’ odds for the game, both Leicester and ourselves are currently priced at around 17/10 to win the game, with 23/10 on the draw. Surely we can’t play as badly again as we did at Watford where we were totally outclassed, yet could have possibly scored four goals from clear-cut chances. I would like to think that Hernandez would have made much more of the goalscoring opportunities that fell to Kouyate (twice), Arnautavic and Lanzini, although Gomes did pull off one tremendous double save.

The statistics from the Watford game apparently show that collectively, West Ham players covered more ground than in any other league game this season. But that alone is quite clearly not the answer, and Moyes and his coaching team will have had to work hard this week to try to ensure an improved performance for this game. The atmosphere has been described as “toxic” around the club, and I hate to imagine the reaction if we concede the first goal in the game. Scoring first would give everyone a lift, and that is what we must hope for.

Right now it is difficult to see how things could get any worse at West Ham but tonight we have another opportunity to find out if it is possible.  If everything we read is to be believed supporters, players, management, in-the-know bloggers and probably even Doris the tea lady are verbally slugging it out with each other and amongst themselves.  Have the Hammers reached their darkest hour or will there be the faintest glimmer of light to sustain us over the weekend.  Unity has been called for but appears a distant, forlorn hope at the moment and it won’t need much more than a slow, nervy start for the Friday night London Stadium atmosphere to descend to an all too familiar toxicity.

Towards the end of the 2014/15 season, West Ham visited the King Power stadium with Leicester languishing at the foot of the table and looking odds-on for relegation.  The Foxes famously won, their first victory in nine, and went on to record seven more wins in their last nine games to preserve their Premier League status.  The following season they were Champions.  Can history repeat itself but in reverse?  Yes, I was only joking ……… but taking something from the game, if not quite essential for survival, would be a major lift before that dreadful run of fixtures in December.

Leicester were never going to repeat their heroics of the 2015/16 season as most teams, with the exception of West Ham, got wise to the primary tactic of the ball over the top for Vardy to chase.  They did well to keep the majority of that squad together (despite losing the influential Kante and later Drinkwater) but what appeared to be a productive transfer window last summer has yet to bear fruit as they hover around mid-table (but only four points better than ourselves).  It is a surprise that they have already changed managers twice since their dream season and also that they saw enough quality in Claude Puel to bring him in as Shakespeare’s replacement.  Puel’s previous Southampton side did, of course, stroll to a 3-0 victory at the London Stadium in September last year.

Head to Head

West Ham’s record against Leicester goes back to 1919 and stands evenly balanced with the Hammers having won fifty-one, lost forty-eight with thirty drawn games.  In the last twelve encounters West Ham have won four and lost five.

Leicester are looking for a hat-trick of straight wins against the Hammers in London despite West Ham having won eight of the last twelve home clashes.

Team News

It appears that Marko Arnautovic has miraculously recovered from the near death sore thumb trauma and is available for selection along with Andre Ayew who has shaken off his illness.  According to reports Michail Antonio, Javier Hernandez, James Collins and Sam Byram are all still out.

Changes are certainly required from the team that failed to impress at Watford; not just because almost every player was hopeless but also because the team was so unbalanced.

I would like to see Arthur Masuaku start but in a midfield role as he and Aaron Cresswell would prove a handful on the left hand side.  Maybe give Arnautovic another run out on the right with Manuel Lanzini moving to an attacking central midfield role where he is best suited and can cause more damage.  That would leave a choice of two out of Noble/ Obiang and Kouyate in the centre of midfield.  In the striker role I would like to see Diafra Sakho start in preference to Andy Carroll and would also prefer to see Adrian between the sticks.  Defensive options look to be limited (I am assuming that Moyes will stick with a back four) and it is unlikely that he will be brave enough to give a start to Declan Rice – I am not convinced that Rice is the answer to the midfield frailties.

Leicester have no injury concerns other than the continued absence of the Neanderthal Robert Huth.  The main threats will continue to come from the Vardy/  Mahrez combination but hopefully we will at last have woken up to the ball over the top of the defence tactic.  The other concern is a reckless Ogbonna tackle on Vardy in the area to concede a needless penalty.

Man in the Middle

Today sees Martin Atkinson of West Yorkshire take charge of his third West Ham game of the season having previously officiated in defeats away at Manchester United and at home to Brighton.  Will he finally get to award a West Ham goal?  In eight games this season he has shown nineteen yellows and one red cards.

Predictions

Lawro from the BBC sees this as a 1-1 draw while Sky’s Merson predicts a sound 1-3 away win.  It will be interesting to see how West Ham approach this game.  They badly need something from it and cannot afford a slow and ponderous backwards-sideways start if they want to keep the crowd on side. Will they have finally learned how to stop Vardy exploiting space behind the central defenders?  Can they keep the ball long enough to put any sustained pressure on the Leicester defence?

Moyes will not want to lose but cannot afford to set up not to lose as he did at Watford.  Puel seems to be from the same unadventurous school of football management.  It could be a cagey game but as always a goal can change everything.  It has the look of low scoring draw about it to me.

The stop-start Premier League season returns with West Ham deservedly languishing in the relegation zone with just under a third of matches played.  The poor fitness and energy levels shown be the Hammers, which were so obvious for so long to many supporters, were eventually backed up by pundits and statistics and so they go into today’s fixture under the guidance of the club’s sixteenth full-time manager (ten of whom have managed in the Premier League era).

The new buzzword around Rush Green is intensity and initial impressions are that preparation has a more professional and serious look about it than the casual approach employed by the previous regime.  Not that fitness is the only area of improvement required to raise the bar of performances to a level more consistent with the talent available within the squad.   Only time will tell whether improved fitness will translate to greater movement and cohesion allowing the team to keep and make better use of the ball.  To be a decent passing side also needs to have players who are moving into space,  ready and willing to receive, in addition to the skilled execution of the pass itself.  I am hoping for improvement but not expecting overnight miracles to happen.

Today will be David Moyes’ first game as West Ham manager but his 500^th in the Premier League and he should be given every opportunity to start with the same clean slate from the fans as the one he has offered to his squad.

The players have been really committed to what we’ve asked them to do, they’ve grasped it and got on with it, and I think they’ve embraced it too. We’ve tried to put an awful lot of work into them over the past five or six days.

– David Moyes

Our hosts today were fast out of the new season blocks, under much admired manager Marco Silva, but have fallen away recently with a run of three defeats; a run that included one of the most entertaining games I have seen for a while when Watford had several chances to bury Chelsea at Stamford Bridge but ended up losing 4-2.

Head to Head

Ignoring meetings in the Southern League and war-time cups, fixtures between West Ham and Watford are a relatively recent phenomenon starting with a Division 2 encounter in 1979.  Since then the Hammers have generally called the shots winning twenty-four and losing ten of the forty-two games played.  More recent history has the balance tilted slightly in favour of the Hornets who have won five and lost four of the last twelve.

On the road West Ham have won six (lost two) of the last twelve visits to Vicarage Road.

Team News

Probable absentees for the Hammers are Javier Hernandez, Michail Antonio, Jose Fonte, Sam Byram and James Collins.  It would be no surprise if Winston Reid also missed out following his epic air-miles earning trip to New Zealand and Peru during the international break.

I would expect a conservative team selection for Moyes’ first game in charge with the usual familiar faces although that may include Declan Rice if Reid is considered not to have recovered from his travels.  Otherwise there are unlikely to be any surprises with Andy Carroll most probably leading the line.  It will be interesting, if slates have truly been wiped clean, to see how players such as Marko Arnautovic, Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew respond to the reported new intensity and discipline injected into training and behaviour.

He (Moyes) can change everything. It is the first game and he can change. We respect the team and they have a lot of individual quality in their players. We know what we need to do to win the game.

– Marco Silva

Watford are without the long-term injured Chalobah, Success and Cathcart, the suspended Deeney and have doubts about Kabasele, Pereyra, Prodl and Kaboul.  It would be a bonus not having to face Pereyra as he and Richarlison are the type of quick, clever players that typically cause West Ham major problems.  At the other end it would be a shame if the accident prone Kaboul doesn’t play.

Man in the Middle

A first West Ham outing this season for Andre Marriner from the West Midlands.  Marriner’s five Hammer’s games last term saw a win at Swansea, defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea and draws with Stoke and Sunderland. In eleven games this season he has shown one red and twenty-four yellow cards.

Predictions

Lawro and Merson are firmly on the fence with 1-1 draws; a conclusion which look reasonable in the circumstances.  Watford can be dangerous in attack but fragile at the back with a defence that has conceded almost as many goals as the Hammers.  We are likely to see a cautious approach from Moyes, seeking to frustrate rather than entertain in a situation where picking up points before December’s run of death has to be the overriding priority.  If West Ham can keep it tight in defence and in central midfield then they have the potential to hurt Watford on the break and from set pieces; thus I will stick my neck out and go for an encouraging 2-1 victory.

Now that the furore surrounding the appointment of our new manager has largely died down we can begin to think about the return of our players away on international duty, assess the injury list, and the coaching staff can prepare the team for the important trip around the M25 to Watford on Sunday afternoon. From some of the reactions that I read on social media you would have thought that the board had re-appointed Avram Grant, not a manager who in his career has managed teams to finish in the top eight almost as many times as we have finished in one of those lofty positions in the entire history of the club. Not that he was particularly my first choice, but it may just be that he is the type of manager needed at the present time. He certainly seems to have made some impression in his short time here with the appointment of his backroom team being particularly well received, and the stepping up of the training sessions being very evident on videos released, to replace the usual jokey crossbar challenge and other joviality that came before. The arrival of Stuart Pearce is one that is favoured by many, and it is hoped that he can exert the necessary influence behind the scenes that many thought would be provided by Julian Dicks, but didn’t appear to be in evidence.

Not being a fan of friendly international football I am afraid that I didn’t see a single minute of the two England games in the break. I did, however, see one of the most ridiculous penalty awards of all time which effectively eliminated Northern Ireland from the World Cup finals tournament. I watched a bit of the Republic of Ireland playing in Denmark and thought to myself, why can’t West Ham defend like that? But then I watched some of the return game in Dublin and recognised some classic West Ham style kamikaze defending. Sweden also turned the tables on Italy with a masterful display of defence in the old Italian style, including one of their defenders committing a foul so bad (a knee in the stomach) that would have resulted in an arrest on the street, yet the referee deemed that the Italian forward who controlled the ball on his thigh before being assaulted had handled the ball! Some of the refereeing decisions that I saw in those World Cup qualifiers made me fear for the potential standard of the officials in the World Cup next year.

But for me the Premier League makes a welcome return this weekend. No more interruptions for internationals until March. I watched David Moyes’ press conference and was impressed with his positivity and confidence. This will be his 500^th game as a manager in the Premier League, a total only surpassed by Ferguson, Wenger and Redknapp. I liked the way he answered many of the questions put to him, but the real test will be in what happens on the pitch in the coming games. Watford will not be the easiest away trip, although their form at Vicarage Road has not been as impressive as their form on the road. Their five home games have yielded just five points, with a solitary victory (2-1 v Arsenal) after they had been outplayed by their visitors for much of the game. Home draws against Liverpool and Brighton were certainly better results than we achieved at home against the same teams. A 6-0 reverse at home to Manchester City was an even heavier defeat than most other teams have suffered at the hands of the odds-on favourites for the Premier League title, and they will have been disappointed going down 1-0 to Stoke in their last home fixture.

Victories in their first three away games of the season at Bournemouth, Southampton and Swansea were followed by a draw at West Brom and then two defeats at Chelsea and then Everton. Somehow at Goodison they contrived to turn a 2-0 lead well into the second half into a 3-2 loss and even missed a penalty in the eleventh minute of injury time which would have given them a share of the spoils. After eight games they sat in fourth place in the table, but losing three in a row has seen them drop to ninth. Nevertheless I reckon they would have settled for 15 points and a top half position at this stage of the season.

Our head to head record in games against Watford is a heavily positive won with more than twice as many victories as defeats. In the period from 1984-85 for the next 20 years or so we played them on 23 occasions, winning 19, drawing two, and losing just twice. But the last ten games since then has seen a reversal of fortunes, and we have won just two of the matches, drawn three, and we have been beaten five times.

In the final season at Upton Park we beat them comfortably 3-1 with two Mark Noble penalties following an opening goal from Andy Carroll. How often are we awarded a single penalty in a game, let alone two? Incidentally the referee who gave them to us was (the now not so popular with West Ham fans) Mike Dean.

And who can possibly forget just over a year ago in one of the early games at the London Stadium when we raced into a 2-0 lead (which should have been even more) with two headed goals from Antonio, one from an outrageous rabona cross by a Frenchman who was popular with our fans at the time? We then contrived to concede two goals in the last five minutes of the first half, and a further two in the opening 15 minutes of the second, in a woeful defensive display. Some Watford players even accused our team of showboating when we were two goals ahead. In the return fixture we drew 1-1 with Ayew equalising an early penalty scored by Deeney, and Antonio was sent off close to the end of the game.

What do the bookmakers offer on the game? Watford are close to even money to win, whereas we are around 3/1. The favourite score is 1-1 (as it so often is), which is Lawro’s prediction and is priced at around 11/2. I am hoping that we will benefit from the “new manager factor” and inflict on Watford their fourth league defeat in a row. As each of us have featured in five games this season where four or more goals have been scored, my fun bet will be on a half-time score of 1-1, with West Ham to run out 3-1 winners at the end of the game at 125/1. I’ll add this to West Ham to win and four or more goals to be scored in the game which is priced at 10/1.

The last two Wednesdays have seen Tottenham playing at Wembley. Firstly they couldn’t overcome mighty West Ham and lost 3-2. Then this week they comfortably beat the current UEFA Champions League holders, Real Madrid 3-1. That makes us the best team in Europe doesn’t it? I jest of course. It doesn’t work like that. But sometimes in adversity you have to cling on to something to raise a smile and cheer yourself up.

We have now completed ten games of the 2017-18 season which means that we are more than a quarter of the way through. After this weekend’s round of fixtures we will go into the third international break, which does seem a little ridiculous with just eleven matches played. Although with our injury list seemingly expanding once again, then perhaps the break cannot come too soon. If ever there was a time to change a manager during the season outside of the winter transfer window, then the international break would seem to fit the bill if that is what our owners have in mind. I suspect, however, that the test of the “two games to save your job” ultimatum (if it existed) has been passed, and barring a capitulation of last season’s proportions against the Merseysiders, or a repeat of the Brighton debacle, the manager is perhaps safe until the winter window, or at least until someone who is considered to be a top candidate becomes available. Big rumours are beginning to surface about the current manager’s predecessor. Please, no!

Here we sit in sixteenth place in the table, precariously one point above the drop zone, although with better game management in the ninety-sixth minute of the last match it could easily have been three, even if we did not really deserve to win the game. We can thank our much maligned on-loan keeper for keeping us ahead for so long. He produced a magnificent display of goalkeeping which shows why he was signed, and I hope he can continue to prove his critics wrong. As for Michail Antonio, a player I like enormously, although he hasn’t really done anything much this season yet, I haven’t yet heard his explanation for what went through his head.

Much has been written about our forthcoming run of fixtures which some have said will be tough. But the reality of the situation is that despite our lowly position, we have only played four out of our ten matches at home. And in those ten games we have faced five teams from the top half of the table, which means that we have the other five to play to take us up to the midpoint. So on paper the next period should perhaps be equally as hard (but not necessarily harder) than the period that has elapsed. One thing that is noticeable is how the games will come thick and fast between now and the end of 2017. Having played just ten league games in almost three months we now face four in the month of November, and then an energy-sapping seven league games and a Carabao Cup quarter final in the last month of the year.

Yet again this weekend our game has been moved for the benefit of television. So, instead of kicking off at 3pm, (I’m really looking forward to 23 December when we have a 3pm on a Saturday kick-off!) the match starts at 5.30. I don’t like it but what can you do? Our visitors are Liverpool, and less than six months have elapsed since they last came to the London Stadium and thrashed us 4-0 in our final home game last season. Our manager was quoted after that game as saying we still need time to adjust to playing at the London Stadium. That seemed to be a feeble excuse for a poor performance, considering that just over a week beforehand we had beaten Tottenham 1-0 at home with possibly our best display of the entire season.

Liverpool of course are one of the elite six clubs in England. They will undoubtedly finish in the top six, but I reckon they will be hard pushed to be challenging for a place in the top four to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, a competition that they are competing in this season, and top their league with just two games to play before the knockout stages. I am just about old enough to remember their promotion to the top flight in the early sixties, since when they have remained at this level for 55 consecutive seasons. For a long period throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s they were the pre-eminent club in England, and still are our most successful in history of European success. However, they cling on to past glories like the cartoon character clinging to the edge of the cliff, and don’t seem to recognise that their dominance no longer exists. They are falling way behind the Manchester clubs at the present time.

They have had an OK start to the campaign and sit in sixth position after ten games, with four wins, four draws and two defeats. But their 16 points means that they are already 12 adrift of leaders Manchester City, so almost certainly will not be challenging at the very top. At home they are unbeaten with victories over Palace (1-0), Arsenal (4-0), and Huddersfield (3-0), together with draws against Burnley (1-1), and Manchester United (a boring 0-0). But on the road their form has been distinctly average, and although they have only conceded one goal at Anfield, they have let in a massive 15 in their five away games. If only we had an attacking force to take advantage of what would appear to be a very poor defence on their travels. In their away games a 3-3 draw at Watford was followed by a 5-0 defeat at Manchester City, a 3-2 victory over Leicester, a 1-1 draw at Newcastle, and then another heavy defeat at Tottenham (4-1).

Our visitors are favourites to win the game with the bookmakers and are quoted at around 4/6. We are about 7/2 with the draw at 3/1. Those odds are commensurate with our performances this season, but don’t perhaps reflect Liverpool’s defensive frailties in their games played away from Anfield. What are the odds on us repeating a 3-1 win, which is something we have managed twice in the past seven seasons? Disappointingly only 30/1. A 1-1 draw and Liverpool victories of 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1 are all on offer at between 7/1 and 8/1, which are relatively short prices for a game where both defences would appear to be vulnerable. Once again my optimistic hat has been dusted down, and for no logical reason whatsoever I think that we are going to win this game 3-1. There could even be more goals than that for both sides. It certainly won’t end up goalless.

Once again a West Ham game is over-shadowed by the ongoing speculation over the future of manager Slaven Bilic.  Having survived the supposed two-games-to-save-his-job ultimatum he now faces a lose-this-one-badly-and-you’re-history challenge with the visit of Liverpool to the London Stadium for the Saturday late kick-off.  The situation really has become quite ludicrous and I doubt there can many left who don’t believe it is only a matter of time before the axe finally falls.  The only uncertainty is how far through the season Bilic will cling on for and how deep West Ham are in the brown stuff when that time eventually comes.

A string of names have been put forward as potential managerial replacements although the majority of these are currently in gainful employment and may not regard now as the appropriate time to accept the poison chalice form Messrs.’ Gold and Sullivan; or perhaps they believe a better is in the offing from Everton.  There are, of course, a number of managerial merry-go-round managers who are currently kicking their heels in pundit-land including former bosses Pardew and Allardyce; a return for either of those would madness in my eyes – and there is also the discarded Ronald Koeman.  It is unfortunate that our predicament will almost force the hand into the realms of another ‘survival’ manager when what is really needed at the club is one capable of building a team for the future.  I wonder what Terry Venables and George Graham are doing at the moment?

The manager of today’s visitors, Liverpool, seems to divide opinion.  Personally, I like him as he brings some much needed colour into the game.  If he were not managing the pantomime villains from Merseyside, I think he would be getting more credit for what he has tried to do at a club that lives as much in the past as our own. Given time (and a realisation that you have to defend as well as attack) and I am certain he will be able to guide his side to regular third and fourth place finishes; only a huge injection of cash will now be able to split the Manchester domination.

Head to Head

I doubt that there is a team in the league that we have a worse record against than Liverpool.  In 135 previous meetings we have won only twenty-eight (20%) and lost a whopping seventy (52%).  In recent history the Hammers have fared relatively better having won four and lost five of the last twelve encounters between the two clubs.

A victory today would give the Hammers equilibrium on home turf by making it twenty-five wins apiece from sixty-seven matches.  The last twelve home games have seen five West Ham wins and seven defeats and you would need to go further back to December 2001 for the most recent home stalemate.  Liverpool have a 100% record at the London Stadium.

Team News

Pablo Zabaleta misses the game due to a one match ban while the Hammers are also said to be also without defenders Sam Byram, James Collins (and potentially) Winston Reid, Jose Fonte and Aaron Cresswell.  Michail Antonio is also missing with a bout of acute embarrassment.  Unless some particularly efficacious white horse oil can be found to treat the walking wounded prior to the match the defence will have an even more makeshift look about it than usual.

The silver lining in the cloud of defensive woes is a probable further outing for the impressive Declan Rice; but with the majority of attacking players reporting for duty the calls for the inclusion of academy stars Toni Martinez and Nathan Holland will likely go unheeded.  A flurry of goals from Andre Ayew seem to have elevated his status to automatic starter for most supporters but he still needs to deliver more and on a consistent basis to justify his price tag in my view.   It is ironic that his best position seems to be exactly the same as the one Little Pea wants to play.

Today’s visitors also have a string of injuries to contend with as Mane, Lallana and Clyne are reported as definitely out while Coutinho, Wijnaldum and Lovren are major doubts.  Given the importance of Mane and Coutinho to the way that Liverpool play this news must be music to Slaven’s part-time rock star ears.

The Man in The Middle

Today’s referee is Preston supporter Neil Swarbrick from close to Merseyside.  As well as being in charge of West Ham’s defeat at Newcastle earlier this season he was also the ref of this corresponding fixture last year.  He also took charge of home games against Middlesbrough and Palace last term.    In eight games this season he has yet to issue a red card and has twenty-two yellows to his name.  In case you are interested his performance can be seem live on Refcam.

Predictions

No surprise that Lawro is true to form and predicting a Liverpool win (0-2).  Merson also agrees but is forecasting a 3-1 score-line in the visitor’s favour.  If Liverpool had Coutinho and Mane available my fear would have been something even worse than last season’s 0-4 capitulation, they are just the type of team who would have a filed day running at the West Ham defence and causing all sorts of problems.  As it is there is only Salah to worry about and he looks to be rather inconsistent.  Thus, there is just a glimmer of hope and I am going to buck the historic trend by predicting a repeat of last week’s 2-2 score.  In truth, I would take a heavy defeat if it guaranteed a conclusion to the Bilic debacle.