Under The Hammers

Who Ate All The Pi’s

What do the stats reveal about West Ham player performance? Or are they digitally challenged?

Football Stats With a temporary hiatus in West Ham’s fixture commitment due to an early cup exit, and while other Premier League teams field second rate sides in the 4th round in deference to the imminent Match-week 23, I have taken the opportunity to dust down my football statistics soapbox and take another look at how our heroes have performed this campaign as far as the soccer statisticians are concerned.

My position on statistics is that they are an interesting diversion and a perfect destination for the procrastinator but are ultimately meaningless as a means of analysing games, providing no further insight over and above what the eyes can tell the average supporter. The ever expanding mass of football statistics are most frequently used by the desperate in attempting to prove a point about their favourite player (why Noble is better than Kouyate or vice versa) or to pad out column inches in printed and online media (just like this one!) In the last week or so my attention has been grabbed by a number of posts that inform readers exactly what the statistics reveal. For example, they apparently ‘reveal’ that Liverpool are not very good defensively (no shit, Sherlock!) and, closer to home, that Pedro Obiang is the ‘best’ tackler in the Premier League. Recently the Daily Star had a feature on the worst player at every club according to the statistics; the recipient of this accolade for West Ham being Ashley Fletcher who came out as the 5^th worst player overall.

For the purposes of analysis I have once again referenced the excellent whoscored website. Even though I pay little heed to the how football statistics are used the site provides a comprehensive and well presented resource that includes an intriguing real-time stat update during the course of the game if you are so inclined. According to Whoscored over 200 raw statistics are fed into complex algorithms in order to derive both the team and player ratings.

Ratings are based on a unique, comprehensive statistical algorithm, calculated live during the game. There are over 200 raw statistics included in the calculation of a player’’s/team’’s rating, weighted according to their influence within the game. Every event of importance is taken into account, with a positive or negative effect on ratings weighted in relation to its area on the pitch and its outcome.

– Whoscored website

Looking at the team ratings the order of clubs is uncannily consistent with the current Premier League placings. The top 7 clubs are all the same with the minor discrepancy that the order of the two Manchester clubs are reversed. In Whoscored terms West Ham show up in 8th place overall rather than the actual 10th place of our league position. The lower reaches of the League also demonstrates a strong correlation between actual and statistical placings except that Palace appear several places higher (14th against 18th) from the perspective of statistical performance. So what does all this prove? Does it validate the statistics and the algorithms applied or is it simply the case that scoring goals and winning games carries the same weighted influence on position as do in the collection of league points? My takeaway from West Ham’s higher position in the statistical table is that it must prove that we played well and lost on several occasions this season. Convincing myself of such a conclusion might be stretch.

The top performing players in the league if the stats are to be believed are Alexis Sanchez, Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba. The only Hammer to make the top 10 is Dimitri Payet (at number nine). All of that top 10 are attacking players with the exception of Manchester City defensive stalwart Nicolas Otamendi, proving that City fans wanting him dropped are mistaken.

A point to note about the top 10 is that ratings are adjusted to account for appearances and should you look at the unadjusted ratings for West Ham you would find Andy Carroll performing better than Payet. It is surprising to learn of the quality of Payet’s performances when the consensus of many observers is that he had been going through the motions and loafing about on the left wing. Although I am not privy to the Whoscored algorithms I would guess that the factors driving his strong statistical performances (based on displayed data) are the number of assists (6) and man-of-the-match awards (5).

I do find the ‘assist’ a curious statistic in that a large part of earning one is dependent on someone else doing their job competently. A player can embark on a wonderful run, go past three defenders and play a delightful pass through to a colleague who has an open goal, but if that player fluffs his lines then no assist ensues. On the other hand make a simple routine pass to someone who rockets the ball into the net from 30 yards and you win yourself an assist. With up to 30% of goals for some teams coming from set pieces the designated takers (Payet and Snodgrass) are always going to have an advantage with this although I fully appreciate that good delivery should not be an underestimated skill.

Ex-Arsenal boss Don Howe is credited with devising the definition of the assist when it was first created as a way of adding interest to newspaper fantasy league competitions. From its humble beginnings it is now a mainstay of the commentator’s statistical armoury.

Looking at the individual player statistics, the top 6 high rating Hammers for the season are Carroll, Payet, Michail Antonio, Winston Reid, Arthur Masuako (yes!) and Darren Randolph. New signing Robert Snodgrass (second in the ratings at Hull) would slot in at number 7 for West Ham just ahead of fellow midfielders Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang and Manuel Lanzini (with skipper Mark Noble floundering in a disappointing 16^th place). Defender Jose Fonte (11^th in the Southampton ratings) has a performance rating very slightly higher than James Collins and Angelo Ogbonna, some way behind Reid. Fonte’s former central defensive partner, Dick Van Djik, is comfortably on the topper most rung of Southampton performers.

For the record. my personal statistic free selections for top performing West Ham players for the season to date are Obiang, Reid and Antonio. The top 3 could well be under threat if there is more of the recent same from Carroll over the remainder of the season.

My Favourite Games: Number 3 – West Ham 3 Manchester United 2; 10 May 2016.

A series of occasional articles recalling my favourite West Ham games, and songs that topped the charts when these games were played . Today the last game at the Boleyn.

There have been so many great games in the last 58 years and I’ve covered many of them throughout my book, Goodbye Upton Park, Hello Stratford. So many of them are remembered because of the importance of the game, the goals scored, and the spine-tingling atmosphere generated by our fans. Hopefully my memories of these great games will evoke fond memories of fans, (especially older ones like me!), and the music in the charts at the time.

Favourite Game 3

No series on favourite matches could exclude this one. The final game at the Boleyn Ground, Upton Park was a memorable one for so many reasons. I’ll gloss over the shenanigans that delayed the kick off, and instead write about the marvellous entertainment served up by the players on this emotional night. We dominated the first half and came out of the blocks faster than in many games in the final season. Sakho’s well taken goal took a slight deflection in the tenth minute and another was disallowed for the ball going out of play. Both Carroll and Payet should have added first half goals when clean through but fluffed the chances. At the break we should have been three or four up and then the second half could have been a party. Would we come to rue those missed chances? This is West Ham. Of course we would.

Manchester United looked rattled throughout the first half and I couldn’t remember Randolph facing a shot. But half time seemed to have calmed them and two goals from Martial meant that we were behind with around 20 minutes left. How could this be? We had murdered them and yet here we were facing defeat in this final game. Surely they weren’t going to ruin the party? Hadn’t they read the script?

Within ten minutes we were back in front. A header from Antonio levelled the scores and Winston Reid, of all people headed the winner. Both goals were created by crosses from Payet, who else? Every one of us lucky to be there on that special night will remember the game for ever. We were so dominant that we had 20 shots on goal to the visitors 3. It would have been a travesty if we had not won the game. Fifty years before in 1966 we won our last home game at the end of the season, which happened to be against Manchester United, by three goals to two. An amazing co-incidence.

In the aftermath of the game, and much later than expected because of the delayed start, we were treated to additional entertainment in the form of a kind of closing ceremony, hosted by Ben Shephard and Bianca Westwood of Sky Sports who are both also supporters. Apart from the game itself the two additional highlights of the evening for me were the roll call of our players and managers who are no longer with us displayed on the screens as a backdrop to the band playing Abide With Me amid rapturous applause from the fans, and the ending with the lights being turned off on the big screen by the player in the number 6 West Ham shirt.

I have to admit that my musical tastes, despite being quite varied, are buried mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, and as time moves towards the present day, I know less and less about the charts, and my research for 10 May 2016 revealed that I knew none of the songs in the top ten that week. Number one was One Dance, by Drake featuring Wizkid & Kyla, which apparently held the top spot for 15 weeks, making it the second longest to hold the number one spot in chart history (which goes back to the 1950s). Other notable entries in that week’s chart, which younger readers will no doubt recall, include This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna, Cheap Thrills by SIA, I Took A Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner, and Work From Home by Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla Sign. I’m none the wiser.

Scraping the Ice off the Transfer Window

With only a few days to go excitement and speculation mounts on new arrivals to E15.

It is Day 26 of the transfer window and we are still very much in the phoney posturing and positioning phase where bids are prepared, resolve is tested and war chests are opened as players come onto the radar, clubs are put on alert while others enter a tug of war to secure the services of that star player. Now with less than a week remaining before the window slams shut it is time to finally swoop, meet that valuation, sort out the paperwork and ink the deal.

Of course we already have one signing safely on board in the form of Number 23 Jose Fonte. In the absence of Angelo Ogbonna for the rest of the season, Fonte is likely to feature regularly in the first team for what is left of the season, particular with the talk of Reece Oxford going out on loan to Glasgow Rangers. Let’s hope that Fonte fares better than the last big money centre back signing from Southampton, Richard Hall, who picked up the West Ham injury curse and made only 8 appearances over 3 years before being forced to hang up his boots forever.

Expectations continue that West Ham should be looking to sign a right back and some sort of striker before the end of the window. There has been little tittle-tattle on the right back situation but a steady flow fo names have come and gone as far as forward players are concerned. Among these are the usual exotic assortment of fanciful foreign players such as M’Baye Niang, Gregoire Defrel, Jonatahn Cafu and Ivan Perisic. The more everyday home grown alternatives, and those that have been more sticky on the rumour conveyor belt, are Robert Snodgrass from Hull and Scott Hogan of Brentford.

Allegedly Hull have accepted offers for Snodgrass from a number of teams including West Ham. It is not a signing that gets the juices flowing and for the type of player that he is and at 29 years old he can only have a couple of seasons left in him. Having said that, I can see him stepping straight into the first team but only while Antonio is played further forward and because Ayew and Feghouli have yet to deliver the goods.

I have never seen Scott Hogan play (even on Youtube) but he is meant to have good pace and movement, both of which are rapidly becoming a must-have for the modern Premier League player (and are attributes missing from Feghouli, Ayew and Snodgrass). He is also young but with that comes inexperience; his scoring record at Brentford has been impressive but he has a worrying injury record. Like any player stepping up a division or arriving from an overseas league it is extremely difficult to be confident of success. Hogan would be a gamble but it might be the type of opportunity that we need to seize.

As for the exit door I believe that there is a high probability that terms will be agreed for Payet and that Calleri will leave with his one Premier League deflected goal. I have seen speculation that incoming deals are dependent on Payet leaving but I can’t believe that finances at this level really work like that, and that Sullivan needs to cash Marseille’s Postal Order before he can pop the cash in a suitcase and drive it up to Hull.

It could yet be an interesting few days……..or not!

My Favourite Games: Number 2 – West Ham 3:3 Glasgow Celtic; 16 November 1970.

A series of occasional articles recalling my favourite West Ham games, and songs that topped the charts when these games were played. Today the Bobby Moore testimonial.

Bobby Moore Testimonial

West Ham 3 Glasgow Celtic 3, played on 16 November 1970 is an unusual choice perhaps as it was just a testimonial game, the one for Bobby Moore. Celtic were arguably the most attractive team in Europe at the time and they brought their first team to play in an exciting game. The football was full on attacking from both sides, and the noise was enhanced by the thousands of Scots who had travelled down to London for the game. It was a fitting tribute to a legend.

So on a freezing cold Monday night, I stood on the North Bank with school friends to watch an exhilarating game of football. Ticket prices were raised for the game from 6 shillings to 10 shillings – that’s 30p to 50p. I paid 3 shillings for my programme (15p). Celtic won the European Cup in 1967 with a superb display of attacking football beating a typically defensive and uncompromising Italian team, Inter Milan. I remember watching that game in black and white (very grainy pictures) in the early evening after coming home from school that day. They were a goal down and took the game to the Italians who were just content to hold onto their one goal lead. Eventually they managed to break through twice near the end of the game to deservedly become European Champions.

They remained a major force in Europe for a while, and in the season preceding the visit to play against us in Bobby Moore’s testimonial, they again reached the European Cup Final, losing 2-1 after extra time to Feyenoord of Holland. All credit to Jock Stein, their manager, who fielded the same team that had taken part in the European Cup final the previous May.

I remember the game going from end to end and it was a joy to watch. In truth Celtic were probably the better team, but in many ways we matched them which made for an exciting spectacle. It was one of those Upton Park nights where the atmosphere was electric, and the volume was increased by the multitude of Glaswegians who took their place on the South Bank. Their support was phenomenal.

Three times Celtic took the lead and three times we pegged them back. Celtic missed a number of good chances including one that I particularly remember from Jimmy Johnstone, who gave one of the greatest displays I have ever seen from an opposing player at Upton Park. His skill was phenomenal and many times he tore our defence to shreds. But with the game poised at 3-3 in the final minutes he contrived to put the ball over the crossbar when he was almost on the goal line. Perhaps it was a magnanimous gesture to ensure the game ended in a draw? Whatever. It was just a great game.

Our goals were scored by Geoff Hurst (from a cross by Moore), Johnny Ayris, a young tricky winger we had at the time who looked a great prospect as a youngster but only probably played a couple of dozen times for us in six or seven years, and the final equalizing header from Clyde Best.

The game was actually sponsored by Esso, and according to newspaper reports I read at the time and kept in a scrapbook, the 24,000 crowd meant that after deduction of all the expenses, Bobby Moore collected around £12,000. Gate and programme receipts came to around £21,000 but I suppose Esso took a cut and Celtic had to be paid expenses to appear. It doesn’t seem a lot now when you consider that he was a legend of the game, but I guess to put it into perspective the average wage at the time must have been (and I’m guessing here) somewhere around £30+ a week. The England players who won the World Cup in 1966 each picked up a bonus of £1000! It doesn’t really stand comparison with the vast sums of money earned by footballers today.

The number one song in the charts at the time was Woodstock, by Matthews Southern Comfort. Woodstock was a famous music festival held in the US in the summer of 1969. The festival, which attracted over 400,000 people, was widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history. The event was captured in an award winning documentary in 1970, the movie Woodstock, a soundtrack album, and Joni Mitchell’s song which commemorated the event, and became a major hit for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, as well as the chart-topper for Matthews Southern Comfort. Other songs in the charts that week included Black Night, by Deep Purple; Band of Gold by Freda Payne, which had previously been a number one; War, by Edwin Starr (what is it good for, absolutely nothing); Paranoid, by Black Sabbath (with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals); Voodoo Chile, by Jimi Hendrix, about to become the number one in the following week; Whole Lotta Love, by CCS (the theme tune to a TV institution for so many years, Top of the Pops), Ride A White Swan, by T Rex; and Cracklin’ Rosie by Neil Diamond.

Middlesbrough 1 West Ham 3

Our eighth win of the season sees us move into the top half of the table. Can we push on to match last season’s seventh placed finish?

Embed from Getty Images

Andy Carroll celebrated his 28^th birthday earlier this month. A lad from Gateshead on the outskirts of Newcastle, he made his senior debut for the Geordies shortly before his eighteenth birthday, and his Premier League debut for them in February 2007, almost ten years ago. He made a total of seven senior appearances for them in his first season, four of which were in the Premier League, but didn’t score any goals. The following season he made six senior appearances for them, again without scoring, and went on loan to Preston in the Championship where he scored one goal in twelve appearances.

In 2008-09 he returned to the North-East and made a total of 16 senior appearances, scoring three goals, in a season where Newcastle were relegated to the Championship. They won promotion back to the top flight straight away, and in that season he became a regular in the team, appearing 42 times and scoring 19 goals. When they returned to the Premier League he scored 11 goals in 19 games, and on the last day of the transfer window in January 2011, halfway through the season, he was bought by Liverpool for around £35 million to replace the departing Fernando Torres. He had an injury and was unable to make his debut until near the end of that term, appearing just seven times and scoring twice.

He then spent a full season with Liverpool, making more appearances than ever before (or since), turning out for them 47 times in League and Cup, scoring 9 goals. Brendan Rogers didn’t fancy him, so after just two games in 2012-13 he came on loan to us, probably largely due to his close connection with Kevin Nolan, his friend and former captain of the Geordies, who was of course closely connected himself to our manager at the time, Big Sam.

At the time of coming here he had played around 85 games in the Premier League and had scored around 20 goals. It’s a bit of a myth that he has been injury-prone throughout his career, as before he joined us he had certainly played fairly regularly. He has been described as an old-fashioned centre-forward, and many call for him to be in the England squad because he provides “something different”. At times he is reckoned to be unplayable, though those times have been restricted over the years. He does have nine England caps (he was first capped in 2010) and has scored twice for his country.

So we are now mid-way through his fifth season with us. At the end of the loan period he became our record signing at the time at around £15 million. He became an instant favourite with many fans when he joined us, mainly because of his all-action commitment. But some felt that, in view of his ability in the air, and the way Big Sam liked to play, he restricted the way in which the team played, often lumping long high balls to him and hoping for knock-downs.

So before he came here he was never a prolific goalscorer, and in his time with us he has never reached double figures in goals in any one season. Of course one of the reasons for this is that in his West Ham career he has been injury-prone, and has just gone past 100 senior appearances, with the Middlesbrough game being his 90^th Premier league appearance for us in four and a half seasons. In that time he has scored 28 Premier League goals at a rate of just under one in every three games. He has appeared in just over half of the Premier League games that have been played during his time here.

So, along came the “Payexit” controversy just over one week ago, and the fans needed a new “hero”. Up stepped Andy Carroll. A magnificent bicycle kick against Palace has been followed by two goals away at Middlesbrough. I think this is the first time he has scored two goals in an away game for us. A trademark bullet header was followed by a poachers goal, following up Antonio’s shot. He was then withdrawn midway through the second half as a precaution with a “tight groin”. We missed him for his defensive qualities, especially at corners, as much as his efforts in leading the line.

But two wins in a week, five wins in the last seven, and a place in the top half of the table, and suddenly all is well with the West Ham world again. Dimitri Who they say, and perhaps he will be on his way sooner rather than later, and soon forgotten. He was magnificent for a season, but will never be a legend because of the way it has all turned sour now. Let us hope that Andy Carroll can stay injury-free for a long period, and be one of the new heroes going forward. At his best he is a valuable asset.

I write “one” of the new heroes as I’d like to see an end to the “he’s our best player” constantly levelled in Payet’s direction. Let’s have a group of heroes / superstars. Reid, Lanzini, Antonio and Carroll perhaps, and even others. The best teams have always been like this; Moore, Hurst, Peters and Byrne; Bonds, Brooking and Devonshire; Best, Charlton and Law. Even the world’s best like Messi and Ronaldo have to share their superman status with others. Messi, Neymar, Suarez and Iniesta; Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema.

It has been a good week on the playing side. It will be interesting to see what happens in the last few days of the transfer window. With the news re Ogbonna, at least all those who took to social media expressing incredulity at the signing of Fonte, can now perhaps see why it happened.

Our eighth win of the season sees us move into tenth place. I wonder if we can build on this and push towards emulating last season’s seventh placed finish. With the start we had that may be a bit too much to ask, but let’s hope that we can continue upwards.

This Week in Hammer’s History

Cup success and disappointment (and who’s the Bastard in the black) during the week 23-29 January in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History The final week in January is another that is largely dominated by cup action being generally reserved for FA Cup 4^th round matches; at least for those occasions where we progress that far. In each of three successful FA Cup campaigns, plus the ultimately unsuccessful 2006 one, West Ham advanced on their journey towards Wembley during the week 23-29 January.

In 1964 we were drawn away against second division Leyton Orient. A record attendance of over 34,000 packed into Brisbane Road for the game where Orient, with three former Hammers in their team, raced into a 2^nd minute lead. Following the goal the game was one-way traffic in the Hammer’s favour but a Peter Brabrook goal just before the interval was the only reward and the tie went to a replay. The second game at Upton Park four days later was more of a formality and three goals in the first 15 minutes (Hurst 2, Byrne) wrapped up the tie for West Ham.

The 1975 4^th round opponents were 3^rd division Swindon Town in the mud at Upton Park. West Ham got away with a cynical flying rugby tackle by Tommy Taylor (no automatic red card in those days) to prevent Swindon taking the lead before a Billy Jennings strike made it one-nil. However, the visitors were not to be denied and Peter Eastoe grabbed a deserved equaliser with just over 5 minutes left. A midweek replay at the County Ground was a tight affair with goals from Trevor Brooking and Pat Holland enough to steer West Ham to a 2-1 victory.

In 1980 West Ham again faced near neighbours Orient in the 4^th round, this time at Brisbane Road. Both teams were competing in the second division at the time but West Ham had recently seen off their opponents 4-0 in a league match at Upton Park. Orient went a goal up when Billy Bonds gave away a penalty which was then converted by ex-Hammer Tommy Taylor. However, an own goal and a Ray Stewart penalty put West Ham ahead only for Chiedozie to even things up again. A second Ray Stewart goal as the match entered the last 10 minutes was enough to put the Hammer’s through.

In the 2006 4^th round tie, at home to Blackburn, West Ham were a goal down after 28 seconds. A Teddy Sheringham penalty, a Matthew Etherington strike and an own goal (from someone called Zurab Khizanishvili) put the Hammers in command before a Lucas Neil curler reduced the deficit. Any hopes of a Blackburn come-back were ended when Bobby Zamora poked home to secure a 4-2 victory.

A game that we shouldn’t let pass without a mention is the tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2001. This was the match of the famous Paolo Di Canio/ Fabio Barthez offside appeal incident, of which, one can never get tired of watching.

In League Cup action the epic 1972 semi-final series against Stoke City finally ended with defeat in an Old Trafford mud-bath. An incident packed match saw Bobby Ferguson get concussion, Bobby Moore save a penalty, West Ham go a goal down and then take a 2-1 lead before conceding another two and losing 3-2 on the night.

Semi-final disappointment also in 2011 where, a goal up from the first leg against Birmingham, West Ham took a first half lead only then to throw away the advantage by conceding three times without further reply. There was also defeat in the 1981 semi-final first leg away to Coventry City where an early 2 goal lead was surrendered to end the game with a 3-2 defeat.

Notable Birthdays

There is a hypothesis called nominative determinism which suggests a causal relationship based on the idea that people tend to be attracted to areas of work that fit their name. Born this week in 1854 was former Upton Park FC player and referee Segar Richard Bastard. Bastard refereed the 1878 FA Cup Final between Wanderers and Royal Engineers although there is no record as to whether he wore black.

5 Observations from victory at the Riverside

West Ham nudge back into the top half of the Premier League table for the first time since August.

A Fine Well Deserved Victory

West Ham deserved their victory. Take no notice of ‘Boro dominated possession’, or that ‘West Ham rode their luck’ or even ‘Boro will feel aggrieved not to have taken something from the match’. I thought everyone understood by now that possession statistics do not define a match; it is what you do with that possession that matters. The Hammers created more and crafted the better chances; in addition to the three goals scored there were at least three more (Antonio twice and Lanzini) that could easily have been converted on another day. It was a job well done for Bilic’s team and for the second week running there was far greater cohesion to the team. Most supporters have already consigned Payet to the historic hall of infamy even if pundits, commentators and journalists are desperate to keep the story alive. Sure he had some exceptional attributes but no one player should be the focus of every attacking move and there is now (at least on the evidence of the last two games) far more of a collective teamwork ethic on show. How to integrate that fractious Gallic talent into a team should now be someone else’s problem. His refusal to play is an insult to the supporters and there can be no way back from that. The criticism of Middlesbrough’s fans by manager Aitor Karanka after yesterday’s game may well come back to haunt him for similar reasons.

Four Get Tight at the Back

It was a well disciplined defensive effort from the team yesterday that makes it just 5 goals conceded in the last 7 league games (we will conveniently overlook the cup mauling by Manchester City); a vast improvement on the average of two goals per game we were shipping previously. As with other aspects of football, defending is a team responsibility and not just something that the back 3 or 4 have to be concerned with. The Boro goal was well-worked but began with carelessness in the midfield where we had committed too many forward and we were hit by a quick counter attack; something that should not have happened at that stage of the game. A better balanced back four with real full-backs and the continued fine form of Pedro Obiang as the primary defensive midfielder otherwise contributed to keeping Boro chances to a minimum. The confidence at the back was highlighted in the brief ‘showboating’ moment were Cresswell played a one-two off the bar onto Reid’s chest and back into Randolph’s gloves. Winston Reid was again outstanding; is there a finer centre back in the league at the moment and his cross-field pass that led to the early Antonio chance wasn’t bad for a player said to have poor distribution. Fair play also to Angelo Ogbonna for playing on through his injury and I wish him the best of luck with the surgery and subsequent recovery.

Wingers or Wide Midfielders?

Generally, the mention of any player described as a winger generates a negative Pavlovian reaction in me. In my mind, I visualise a player with lots of speed but with little skill or application. Imagine Aaron Lennon or Andros Townsend and their head down, knock the ball forward, hare after it and cross it into the crowd technique. One in every ten games they will play a blinder before resuming normal service. On Wikipedia, Gareth Bale is described as a winger and I would make an exception for him as I would also, on the evidence of one match, for Adama Traore who was electric all afternoon for Boro. Traore was a real threat who caused West Ham problems all afternoon even when we doubled up on him. If anything Byram dealt with him better in the second half than Cresswell had in the first. In our own camp the likes of Feghouli, Ayew and Tore (is he still around?) are usually categorised in the winger basket and over the last few weeks we have now had a better chance to look at Feghouli. Instinctively, I do not have high hopes for him as he has no real pace, does too little work off the ball and is not brave enough for the English game. An attacking right sided midfielder needs to be asking more questions and the answer is not Andre Ayew.

Carroll: A Man of Many Parts

I can’t help but be impressed by the new improved Andy Carroll Mk 2. He is scoring goals but more important is the work that he is putting in elsewhere on the pitch; getting involved in link up play, holding and passing well and heading away almost every opposition corner. When he left the field yesterday the biggest danger to the team (in the circumstances or protecting the lead) was the loss of his defensive contribution. I admit that I didn’t think he had these types of performances in him and I don’t recall it being on show for the majority of his time at the club. Two well taken goals, the trademark bullet header followed by a typical poacher’s goal, have resulted in the annual call for an England re-call; which worryingly usually heralds a new injury set-back. I haven’t seen any update on the reason why he left the field yesterday but let’s hope he can stay in one piece. His departure gave us the opportunity to have another look at Jonathan Calleri who, before being spotted on the bench last weekend, I had assumed had returned to South America. Coming on for the last 20 minutes one might expect to see someone full of running and energy to prove a point but he seemed quite content to jog around for the most part. In his time on the pitch he managed to miss one very good chance before scoring an added time goal which I was convinced would be chalked up as an own goal. Despite the goal I still find it surprising that he was preferred over Ashley Fletcher.

Bilic Back on Song

It was pleasing to see a more upbeat Bilic in the post-match press interviews. Perversely, the Payet situation has worked to his advantage by creating a spirit in the squad that appeared to be missing previously. Sitting in a top half position in the table he now has time and a further opportunity to show what he can do without any undue pressure; a target of 8^th place should not be an unreasonable or unattainable one looking at the other clubs around us. I do have my reservations about Slaven and some of his tactical, selection and recruitment decisions take some understanding – but now is the chance for him to prove the doubters wrong. The final week or so of the transfer window could make interesting viewing (or at least the last day or two of it) as the danger of relegation recedes and with just the two more league fixtures before the ACON is completed. A couple of inspired signings in addition to Jose Fonte could put a reasonable complexion on the season after all.

Ratings: Randolph (7), Byram (7), Reid (9), Ogbonna (7), Cresswell (6), Obiang (8), Noble (6), Feghouli (5), Lanzini(7), Antonio (7), Carroll (9) Subs: Fernandes (6), Calleri (5), Collins (6)

West Ham down @ the Riverside

Can the long trip north to face the ‘smoggies’ end with another breath of fresh air for the Irons?

Boro West Ham Owners, managers and players may come and go but there are certain characteristics of following West Ham that appear eternal; excursions ‘oop’ north being rarely fruitful, complacency rather confidence flowing from an encouraging performance and any team or player on a long run of misfortune seeing it come to an end it against the Hammers. So a long trek to the frozen and inhospitable north-east, off the back of a solid win against Palace to play a team that has only scored once in their last four league games ticks all the boxes marked disappointment.

[Andy Carroll]’s got a whiplash injury. He then trained Tuesday very hard, he was brilliant in training, but then reported some neck pain. But as I say, hopefully he will be okay. We have a few with knocks – Winston Reid has a painful one and Sam Byram has a knock on his knee, it was swollen and he missed training on Wednesday. Also Sofiane Feghouli missed training on Wednesday because of a minor problem with his Achilles. But I’m very optimistic that all of them are going to be fit for the game on Saturday.

– Slaven Bilic on injuries

Middlesbrough have been a member of the football league since 1899 and their haul of one League Cup and one Anglo-Scottish Cup makes our own trophy cabinet look cluttered by comparison. The most notable things that I can recall about Boro are: that they paid the first £1,000 transfer fee, to buy Alf Common, in 1905 (£110,000 in today’s money); that Brian Clough scored an incredible 197 goals in 213 appearances for them; that they were once relegated after having a points deduction for failing to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn Rovers; and that the most interesting game on their home soil was when North Korea beat Italy at Ayresome Park in a 1966 world cup group match. Despite their lack of success I believe most football supporters will acknowledge the excellent job done by Steve Gibson during his time as board member and chairman of the club; an associated that commenced in 1986.

The challenge for West Ham today is to show that the togetherness shown last weekend was not just a one-off reaction to the Payet palaver and can be harnessed once more against the parsimonious Teesiders.

Head to Head

West Ham’s record against Middlesbrough is one of those that reflects a mirror home versus away image. Overall we have had a few more wins while they have scored more goals; but on the whole it is very even. Our last visit to the Riverside Stadium in November 2011 ended in a 2-0 victory with a goal apiece from lethal strikers Piquionne and Cole. Mark Noble is the sole survivor from the 13 players that featured for West Ham that day.

In the last 12 league encounters there have been 5 West Ham wins, 4 draws and 3 defeats.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	30	17	6	7	47	30	DDWDWW
Away	31	8	7	16	30	53	WLDWLL
	61	25	13	23	77	83

Team News

No new long term injuries are reported for the Hammers and the three players with knocks (Reid, Byram and Feghouli) should all be available as should Andy Carroll who had suffered an unusual whiplash injury either in scoring his memorable bicycle kick goal or celebrating it afterwards. We can but hope that common sense prevails today and that we start with Byram at right back and with Antonio just behind Carroll in a sort of 4-4-1-1 formation. It is possible to get too hung up about formations and a good team needs to be adaptable and retain a degree of fluidity; we were close to showing that in the second half performance against Palace.

“He [Andy Carroll] is a player you always have to be careful of – but if we are just looking at him, [Michail] Antonio can score or [Sofiane] Feghouli can score or [Manuel] Lanzini can score… or anyone,”

– Aitor Karanka talking up our chances

Typically our first transfer signing of the latest window came too late to feature this afternoon. Jose Fonte had not played for Saints since the game against Everton on 2 January (in his last two games they conceded 7 goals). In West Ham terms this means a minimum of four weeks to get match fit before picking up a serious injury in training. The Fonte signing is rather underwhelming to me for although Fonte is a decent player he is the wrong age profile for a club that is, at the same time, ambitious and prone to counting the pennies. A possible mitigation to the transfer is the rumour that one of our centre-backs is carrying an injury that requires immediate surgery. If that is the case then we should hope it is Ogbonna rather than Reid.

For Middlesbrough, Gaston Ramirez and Antonio Barragan are injured and Daniel Ayala is suspended but new signing Patrick Bamford is available to play.

As often happens I will allow hope to triumph over expectation and will go for a narrow West Ham win.

Man in the Middle

Martin Atkinson from West Yorkshire is the referee today. Previously this season he was in charge when we lost at home to Watford and when we won away at Palace, famously sending off Aaron Cresswell for two harsh/ incorrect yellow card offences in one minute. In 20 games this season (all competitions) he has administered 83 Yellow cards plus that single, solitary, spurious Red.

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 28

Expecting to win, but with the security of a draw .

Fancy A Bet

We were successful with the following bet last weekend:

20 points on a West Ham victory v Palace @6/5 (44)

We had four losing fun bets, although we were very close with a couple of them.
Our balance was 75 points, so winning 44 points takes our total to 119 points.

Despite being away from home, I am confident of a follow up victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday, although I will build in the safety net of a draw. Let us hope that last week’s second half performance wasn’t a false dawn.

With 8 draws already, Middlesbrough are the draw specialists of the Premier League this season. The game earlier in the season ended in a 1-1 draw, courtesy of a rather good goal by an un-named Frenchman who most fans hope will soon become a “Payexit”.

This weeks bets:

9 points on West Ham to beat Middlesbrough @2/1 (27)
5 points on a draw @11/5 (16)
1 point on Andy Carroll to score the first goal and West Ham to win 2-1 @50/1 (51)
1 point on West Ham to win 2-1 @19/1 (20)

Total stake 16 points. New balance 103 points. Potential returns if correct in brackets.

What are the chances?

Middlesbrough Preview

Can we continue where we left off in the second half against Palace?

Embed from Getty Images

After the euphoria of our magnificent second half performance against Palace last week, we head to the North-East to face what I believe to be one of the most uninteresting teams in the Premier League, Middlesbrough. They certainly do not seem to play in games where there are many goals, and they are the only team in the League where the average goals per game (for both sides playing) is less than 2. With just 39 goals scored by them and their opponents combined in 21 games, I guess (although I haven’t checked), that they usually feature later on Match of the Day than we do.

They have scored a paltry 17 goals in 21 games, the least in the league, with only one goal in their last four games. Southampton are the next lowest on 19. Defensively, though, they are one of the top teams in the division, having conceded only 22 goals, a figure bettered by only Tottenham, Chelsea, and Manchester United. So on past performance this season we shouldn’t expect a lot of goals in the game.

They currently sit in 16^th place in the table, just four points above the relegation zone, and will no doubt be hoping that their excellent defensive record will keep them out of the bottom three. They will certainly hope that they are clear of the drop zone as the season nears the end, as in four of their final six matches they face Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

In the season to date they are the draw specialists of the Premier League, having drawn eight of the 21 games (they have won four and lost nine). Their draws included a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at the London Stadium at the beginning of October, when a wonderful individual effort from a French international player who doesn’t want to play for us anymore rescued a point. The four teams they have beaten are their North-East neighbours, Sunderland, plus Bournemouth, Hull and Swansea. Of course we have beaten the same four teams plus Burnley and Palace (twice).

One player we need to watch out for is Middlesbrough’s leading scorer, Negredo, who is on a season-long loan from Valencia, having previously been at Manchester City in recent times. Negredo has only scored (I believe) 14 goals in all the time he has spent in England, but five of them have come against West Ham! Another one of the opposition who we know well is Stewart Downing, although he appears to have fallen out of favour in recent times. They paid a lot of money to buy Jordan Rhodes from Blackburn on transfer deadline day a year ago (the fee was undisclosed, although Blackburn had previously rejected an offer of £10 million for him), but he barely gets a look in and hasn’t scored in his rare appearances this season. On 18 January they completed the transfer of Patrick Bamford from Chelsea for £6million. When he was on loan there previously in 2014-15 he scored 19 goals in 44 appearances, so he has been bought to improve their poor scoring record. I wonder if he will be in the team?

Changing the subject, I have another statistic for those people who are interested in the effect on our results of our move to the London Stadium. So far this season we have played 11 games at home in the league and have accrued 17 points. Last season we had one of our best ever seasons in recent years, and our highest points total ever achieved in the Premier League era. So how many points do you think that we picked up at “fortress” Upton Park in the first 11 games there in that last record breaking season? Yes, you are right – 17!

Our failing this season has really come away from home. Last season we collected 16 points in our first 10 away games of the season, whereas this time around we have only picked up 8 from the same number of games. The difference in points accrued for the season to date can be accounted for solely by our away form; our home form (in terms of points picked up, if not level of performance) is identical.

The transfer window continues to let in a draught, if not any players, at the time of writing. Are we waiting on Payet’s potential exit to free up money to buy players and pay salaries within the Financial Fair Play limits? I’m afraid that the Profitability and Sustainability rules within Financial Fair Play leave me cold, and I fail to understand how they work. At first glance they appear to be totally in favour of helping big clubs get bigger, and making it virtually impossible for other clubs to close the gap. But what do I know?

I keep reading about Hogan, Snodgrass, Defoe and others but I guess we’ll have to keep on waiting until the window is about to slam shut to see if anything happens. Our position in the table is looking more comfortable now, and I hope we don’t just throw good money after short-term fixes to appease the fans who are desperate to see new players. Of course we need a right back and a goalscorer, but let’s hope that any incoming players are ones that can actually improve the team as opposed to the squad. Geoff summed up the situation well in his article Sliding Through The Transfer Window on January 18, so I’ll add no more here.

Back to the game, I would guess that there won’t be too many goals, but I am hoping for us to continue where we left off against Palace and record our third away win of the season. I’ll go for 2-1.

As I write this at 9pm on the eve of the game I note that Fonte has finally put pen to paper. No news yet re Hogan, or any other signings, and conflicting reports regarding the exit of Payet. Fonte is a surprise signing in some respects, although having seen some Southampton games, I am convinced that he is a signing that will add to the quality of the actual team, as opposed to just the squad. He is obviously not a long term acquisition, but I guess fewer and fewer players are these days. Is it me, or are our transfer dealings more protracted than those of other clubs?