Under The Hammers

5 Observations from the Palace

The stereotypical game of two halves as West Ham react to dismiss Fat Sam’s Palace

First Half Drab…..

Before our game kicked off I had watched that team from north London demolish a shell-shocked West Bromwich Albion with a scintillating and clinical brand of stylish football. At half time in our own game I was imagining writing a downbeat review of how far behind our near neighbours we had fallen. If we are ever to drag ourselves away from the also-ran pack then they are the team we need to target, being the next significant step up on the money ladder from us. It is distressing to see them performing so well but it would be churlish not to admire their style, organisation and effort. The sooner that someone comes in to poach Pochettino the better or there is a real danger that they could actually win something and how insufferable would that be? The first half of the West Ham v Palace game was totally forgettable in comparison. A smart volley just over from Andy Carroll at one end and a glaring James Tomkins miss at the other after Michail Antonio had gone to sleep (Ogbonna style) were about as interesting as it got. West Ham were lacking in confidence and ideas and Fat Sam was too busy respecting the point to capitalise.

Second Half Fab!

The game changed completely at half time and it was no coincidence that the introduction of a proper right back and changing to a back four was the catalyst. Antonio was released from his wasted wing back berth to play up with (or just behind) Carroll and the team looked more balanced and threatening as a result. Fat Sam claimed that his side were the better team for 70 minutes and defeat was the result of gifting West Ham all 3 goals but that is nonsense. The reason Palace lost was that they lacked the enterprise to take advantage of a vulnerable West Ham side in the first half and were then totally outplayed in the second. Apart from a little late flurry they were never at the races. In the end a lot of credit to the players, fans and coaching staff for putting the distractions of the week behind them and putting some swagger back into their play. As predicted the most name checked player on the TV commentary was Dimitri Payet although the emphasis changed from bemoaning the absence of his creative assist generating genius in the first half to praising the response of the team to his absence in the second. Time to take this new found togetherness and build on it at Middlesbrough next weekend.

Right Back Where We Started From

I was hoping that we would see Sam Byram feature at some stage during the game but it still came as a (positive) surprise that he was introduced as early as half time and that it was Angelo Ogbonna who was replaced. James Collins has his flaws but you cannot fault his commitment and he is as good as anyone when up against a lump such as Benteke. I didn’t hear any suggestion that Ogbonna was injured so assume it was just a very good decision; or else Ogbonna had fallen asleep in the dressing room during the interval. Having Byram back from injury is a major boost and I believe he is certainly good enough to be trusted as a regular starter. He defends robustly but also gets forward well and provides a far better option than a converted winger or centre back in that position. Backup is still required during the transfer window, however, as with Byram there is always the danger of another injury (given his record) and the certainty of a suspension (given his record). In 9 starts and 5 substitute appearances since moving to West Ham he has accumulated an impressive 8 yellow cards. Elsewhere in defence there were steady performances from Winston Reid and Collins with Aaron Cresswell rather subdued once more.

The Middle Men

The change of formation at half time theoretically gave Palace a numerical advantage in midfield but you would never have known it as West Ham dominated the second period of the game. It was encouraging, in fact, to note that there was a less obvious separation between midfield and strikers than we normally see with both Carroll and Antonio dropping back to provide extra bodies in the middle and Manuel Lanzini and Sofiane Feghouli pushing further forward when required. Mark Noble had an uneven game and was guilty of giving the ball away cheaply on many occasions and yet did extremely well to create our only chance of the first half and in putting Antonio through in the lead up to our first goal. There are still far too many backwards triangles with Noble particularly involving Collins which are often pointless and serve to limit momentum. Lanzini showed his usual enthusiasm and was always available and willing to run with the ball. It was great to see him maintain his goal-scoring record against Palace, with his final kick of the game, and it was a great reaction from Fernandes who was waiting to come on as his replacement. My personal jury is still out regarding Feghouli. Fantastic that he scored his first goal and that appeared to give him a massive lift; but I would still need to be convinced about his strength, speed and stamina to perform at this level. He has earned the right to prove that he can do it and looks a better option at the moment than Ayew. It will be interesting to know whether the stories about him leaving during the transfer window have any substance.

Men of the Match

The two stand-out performers in the game were Carroll and Antonio. Touching as much wood as I can lay my hands on it looks like Andy could be on a decent injury free streak and he certainly looks to be full of energy and commitment at the moment. My reservation with Carroll is not so much about his own abilities but that having someone in the team whose main attribute is strength in the air tends to have too great an influence on the way the team plays overall. This didn’t happen yesterday and Carroll showed several neat touches with the ball at his feet. His goal was nothing less than spectacular and featured a strike that requires tremendous technique to execute. You could argue that the defending was poor but ironically I believe that Antonio’s cross was slightly misplaced; the intended target being Carroll’s head. This is what everyone was expecting and it is to Carroll’s great credit that he was able to react, adjust and connect in the way that he did. Antonio ended the day with 3 assist and for someone who had been ill in bed the day before with flu (OK so it may only have been man flu) he performed exceptionally well. Now that’s what I call commitment, Dimi! The wonder of the Carroll strike overshadowed another delightful goal rounded off by Lanzini’s run and dink over the keeper from Antonio’s pass. Overall a most satisfactory outcome to the afternoon’s entertainment.

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

Matchday: Hammers versus Eagles

The “Careful What You Wish For” derby sees Sam Allardyce return to West Ham.

West Ham Palace To start with an apology for previously giving the impression that Dimitri Payet was one of the most skillful players ever to wear the claret and blue of West Ham, that he was the undisputed master of the assist, the team talisman without whom we never win and a veritable sorcerer when it came to the sublime or sumptuous set-piece. We can now reveal that the petulant, perfidious Payet is in fact the quintessential cowardly, overweight, backstabbing, surrender monkey who would barely make the top 10 famous people from Reunion Island were it not for the stage presented to him by West Ham.

There has been a lot of negative comment on Payet’s behaviour in the media from pundits (even sober ones), managers and players alike although that will not prevent clubs carefully putting any principles to one side and queuing up to offer him a lucrative contract. In an ideal world he could be left to stew but, as today’s visiting manager has demonstrated, you would need to have committed a particular heinous crime such as biting the heads of babies (or being compromised by a Russian hooker) to become unemployable in an industry as morally bankrupt as modern football.

“We haven’t got a big squad now left, we just have the players for this game. But we have enough players to put a strong team out and have good players on the bench. It is the team that I am managing. Many times clubs have lost quality players but gained a team.”

– Slaven Bilic on his small but good squad

So it is that the shamed but unrepentant ex-England manager who brings his latest long-ball charges to face the Payet-less Hammers at the London Stadium this afternoon. Both clubs would have started the season with hopes and dreams that didn’t involve a potential relegation battle but as events have panned out we find ourselves with a four-and-a-half pointer if not a fully fledged six-pointer on our hands. Expect the Fat One to set up in respect the point mode to see how the West Ham team react to their new reality.

Head to Head

Depending where you look West Ham have played Crystal Palace anywhere between 31 and 76 times. The following stats exclude long ago Southern League and war-time cup competitions which makes encounters between the two clubs a rather recent rivalry that West Ham have largely bossed. Palace have won only one of the last 5 meetings but the Hammers haven’t beaten them at home (even at fortress Upton Park) since 2003.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	17	10	5	2	22	13	DLLDWW
Away	18	6	7	5	29	18	WWWLDL
	35	16	12	7	51	31

Team News

Whatever the West Ham lineup all the talk in the build-up, during the game and in the post match analysis will be about Dimitri Payet. The final straw for Payet apparently was when they let Cresswell take a free kick at Leicester – I knew no good would come of it! Sam Byram and Reece Oxford are now both fit but “lack match fitness”; I would like to see both involved at some point so that they can actually work on that fitness. Ayew and Kouyate, of course, are away on international duties and Michail Antonio was reported as being ill (hopefully not with a bout of Chelsea flu!). From what has been said the manager expects Manuel Lanzini to step up to create all of our chances; so no pressure there Manuel. I would like to believe that we will put out a team full of pace, passion, movement and with not too many players played out of position. It is only hope that keeps us going so let’s see what happens.

“If there are any fears left in their players because of the new stadium then we need to try to take advantage of it. If we can put pressure on them and try to score the first goal then that will be very important. I had four happy years at West Ham and one of the reasons I am at Palace is because of London. I enjoyed living here.”

– Fat Sam

I am always nervous when former players and managers make a return to face West Ham and today we have two for the price of one in Fat Sam and James Tomkins. On the plus side Palace have their best (albeit very unpredictable) player, Wilfred Zaha, away at the ACON. Benteke has a shoulder injury but should be fit and Townsend will be excited at playing against a team without a proper right back.

I have my fingers crossed for a Payexit bounce and a 2-0 home win.

Man in the Middle

We are joined in the middle this afternoon by Neil Swarbrick from Lancashire. This is his second visit to the London Stadium after being in charge of the Middlesbrough game in October last year (some French player scored our goal if I remember correctly). In all competitions this season Swarbrick has featured 20 times furnishing 75 Yellows but only 2 Red cards.

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 27

It’s back to square one with the betting kitty but can smell success today.

Fancy A Bet

We lost our stake of 15 points on the Manchester City game. We are now back to where we started on 100 points.

I am confident that we will beat Palace to complete the double over them, so my bets this week will be:

20 points on a West Ham victory @6/5 (44)
1 point on a West Ham 3-1 victory @14/1 (15)
2 points on a West Ham 2-1 victory @ 15/2 (17)
1 point on West Ham to win and Obiang to score anytime @22/1 (23)
1 point on West Ham to win and Antonio to score anytime @6/1 (7)

After placing these bets our balance is down to 75 points. Potential returns if correct in brackets.

What are the chances?

Palace Preview

The return of Big Sam (again) and James Tompkins, as we look for three points to further cement our mid-table position and pull further away from the relegation zone

Pardew Allardyce

He has only been gone for a season and a half, but our previous manager is back for the second time. Last season Big Sam did the Red Adair job at Sunderland, and now he has been employed in the same capacity by Palace to try to turn their season around. In between he managed England for a game, before a newspaper sting caught him out and forced him out of a role that he had coveted for his whole career.

His start has not been an auspicious one, and in their last game they lost at home to Swansea. That meant that Swansea did the double over them, winning 5-4 in an extraordinary game at the end of November, before a late goal gave them a 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park.

Now we have the chance to complete our first double of the season (we only did the double over one team in the Premier League last season – Liverpool). A first half Lanzini goal was enough to take the spoils at Palace, although the day was marred slightly by another ridiculous sending off when Cresswell was dismissed by Martin Atkinson, after picking up two yellow cards within a minute. The first was for a dive that wasn’t a dive, the second was for a foul that was barely a foul!

Palace actually started the season well and by the end of September were seven points ahead of us. As they now trail us by six points, and we haven’t had the best of seasons, it goes to show what an alarming slump they have had. Of course that resulted in the sack for another of our old managers, Alan Pardew, who once again demonstrated that he can have have a good effect at a club for a while, and then everything goes wrong. He’d done it before for us, and at Newcastle.

After picking up just one point in their opening three fixtures, three wins on the bounce with a convincing 4-1 victory at home to Stoke sandwiched between away victories in the North-East over Middlesbrough and Sunderland, left them in the top half of the table. But they have only won once since, a 3-0 victory at home to Southampton early in December. They now sit just one point and one place above the drop zone in seventeenth place.

They made three big signings in the summer with Bentecke, Townsend, and our own James Tompkins costing them around £50 million. Their net spend wasn’t so big though, as they recouped around £43 million with the sales of Bolasie, Gayle, McCarthy and Jedinak. Speaking to some Palace supporters, they are not too impressed with Tompkins, although you can’t help thinking he would have got a decent amount of playing time had he remained with us, especially after we fell into the three at the back system. He would have been ideally suited to play on the right side of that. Many fans could not understand why we let him go, but I’m not sure he is good enough to take us to the next level. But supporters often have a greater affinity with “one of our own”.

Palace is one of those fixtures where we must look for three points to cement our mid-table position and hopefully push on in the remainder of the season. The major talking point surrounding the game will be the Payet revelation that he doesn’t want to play for us anymore. I am hoping for a galvanising effect on the team as a whole, and as a result I fully expect us to win, but I feel like that for most games. Perhaps 2-1?

The Lawro Challenge – Week 21

Preeminent pundit and BBC prediction pro continues his steady fightback in our Lawro challenge.

Lawro Crystal Ball Twenty rounds of games in the Premier League have now been completed. That means we have now predicted the results of 200 matches.

In Week 20, Rich scored 5 points, Geoff 5 points, and Lawro 8 points, enabling him to close the gap at the top still further.

In this challenge we award one point for a correct result, and a further two points (making three in total) if the score prediction is spot on.

We now march on to week 21.

	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Total after 19 weeks	162	120	153
Score in week 20	5	5	8
Total after 19 weeks	167	125	161

Predictions – Week 21
	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Saturday
Tottenham v WBA	2-0	3-1	2-0
Burnley v Southampton	1-1	1-0	1-1
Hull v Bournemouth	2-1	1-1	1-2
Sunderland v Stoke	1-1	2-3	1-1
Swansea v Arsenal	1-2	1-3	0-2
Watford v Middlesbrough	1-1	0-0	1-1
West Ham v Palace	2-1	2-0	1-1
Leicester v Chelsea	1-2	2-2	2-1
Sunday
Everton v Man City	1-2	1-1	1-2
Man United v Liverpool	1-0	0-1	1-1

Dimitri Payet

The news of Dimitri Payet’s statement that he doesn’t want to play for us anymore comes through just as I am midway through writing a piece on the transfer window!

Payet

We are now virtually half way through the transfer window, but as we have come to realise, nothing much often happens until the mad panic on deadline day. Why is that I often wonder? Selling clubs, especially if they don’t really want to sell, wait until as late as possible, hoping that buying clubs get desperate and up their offers, or alternatively just go away. Buying clubs, on the other hand, often feel that they are in a better position, and try to leave it until the last minute with the hope of reducing the price if they feel that the player really wants the move, especially if they could move for free in the next window when their contract runs out. But problems can occur if clubs sell at the last minute but do not have sufficient time to line up replacements.

It seems that the transfer window has been with us forever, especially with the heightened expectations often created by the media, who love all the speculation, especially the frenzy of the last day which fills inordinate amounts of airtime and column inches. But in fact the present system has only been with us since 2002. Before then, players could be traded throughout the season up until 31 March. Beyond that it was felt that transfers could undermine the integrity of competitions at the late stages, and clubs could buy titles, or avert relegation with late money.

The window was introduced as part of an agreement with the European commission to preserve contractual stability for clubs and players, whilst still allowing movement at prescribed times. The economics of football works in a different way to most other industries.

At the time of writing we have been linked with numerous players, Batshuayi, Niang, Hogan, Dembele, Defoe, Hernandez, Hart, Begovich, Snodgrass, Cuco Martina, Johnson, Jenkinson, Evra, and a host of others, too many to mention. Fans on social media are getting restless and wonder why we haven’t tied up players to improve the team. I can think of one who I would like who never seems to be mentioned, and that is Sigurdsson of Swansea. Now there is a player who would improve the team. We definitely need a natural goalscorer and a right back as priorities, but wonder if any will arrive by the time the window slams shut. Sigurdsson always looks a real talent every time I see him, and just the type of creative midfielder who scores goals that would be invaluable.

Conversely, speculation surrounds us losing players, too, and I wonder if any of Antonio, Feghouli, Fletcher, Adrian, or any of the fringe players who we would definitely like to see the back of, will no longer be with us in a couple of weeks. Perhaps, between writing this piece and the Palace game, there will have been some definite action, but I won’t hold my breath.

And then just as I write these words, news comes through on the radio of the Bilic press conference where he states that Payet doesn’t want to play for us anymore. No doubt there will be thousands airing their views on social media, and I bet the majority will be telling him to f— off, I’ll drive him to the airport etc.

Much as I admired him as one of the best players I’ve seen at Upton Park when he starred for us last season, I’m afraid this season just hasn’t been the same. Apart from the wonder goal against Middlesbrough, and a smattering of assists, I don’t think that it took a body language expert to realise that his heart wasn’t really in it. Failing to celebrate goals was just one indicator, and his general demeanour was one of someone who didn’t really look like they wanted to be here.

I guess that the thing that surprises me is that so many people appear to be shocked by the initial news breaking through. He has previous I think, and despite his wonderful talents, I for one will not be disappointed to see him leave based upon this season’s performances. I’m afraid that too many talked him up all the time as being our best player, and we became too reliant on him turning it on. Of course last season he did on frequent occasions, but perhaps we need to try to play without our luxury player, and perhaps the team as a whole will be the better for it.

I’ve heard over the past month or so various pundits suggesting that we mustn’t let him go; we’ll be relegated without him etc. That to me is definitely too much reliance on one player. And whilst I am happy to see talented players who want to be here do the business for us, I’m very much in the “let anyone go who doesn’t want to be here” camp.

Perhaps the thing that surprised me was the fact that Bilic said we will not sell him. I don’t go along with that I’m afraid; take the money and invest it wisely – not an easy thing based on our summer experience of transfer dealings! I’m sure Bilic, by making the statement as he did, will have the majority of support of the fans. I’d just like to see him prove that he has a strategy for a way of playing that all our players are comfortable with. You never know, without Payet that may be easier to achieve. I fully expect Lanzini to step up in his absence and impose himself more on games, and I hope he can take them by the scruff of the neck and inject greater pace and movement into our attacking play. I also expect to see more of the promising Fernandes.

No doubt this will be a major West Ham talking point in the days to come, and many more column inches, tweets, and a lot of airtime will be given to discussing the future of Payet. For me, now that he has said he wants to leave I don’t think that there is any way back. Some people will say just let him rot out of the team, but that just wouldn’t make financial sense.

Watching Paint Dry on the Transfer Window

Two weeks into the transfer window and it is awfully quiet out there.

We are probably 40% of the way through the January transfer window and despite endless speculation nothing of note has so far materialised. It would be intriguing to know what goes on behind the scenes with transfers particularly in the mid-season window as it is unthinkable that every deal is struck in the last few hours. One players transfer is often dependent on another going the opposite way through the revolving door and then there is the complication of last minute medicals to consider. To the casual observer it has the appearance of disorganised brinkmanship.

As far as West Ham transfers are concerned the same names are still being banded about as incoming targets (Defoe, Snodgrass, Hogan, Batshuay) while the popular recurring outgoing story is Michail Antonio to Chelsea. It is much quieter on the Dimitri Payet front with many self-appointed in-the-knows now proclaiming that he is “definitely off in the summer”. There have also been noises about Joe Hart which is fine provided that it is not at the expense of a right back or striker.

It is impossible to know which of the stories that you read about have any foundation and which are totally fabricated. I am convinced that a rumour of a bid can surface, be denied, rejected, ridiculed by fans and reported as having hit the rocks without there being any substance in it at all. I often wonder if it is the same with other clubs or whether the more public profile of our board makes West Ham an exception. As I don’t actively follow transfer speculation of other clubs the first mention of a deal can invariably be when you read of Everton, Spurs or Chelsea swooping to secure the services of their particular target. With West Ham it would seem that no swooping is involved with deals the result of a long drawn out chase of attrition.

The apparent public negotiating stance of the West Ham board is not something I am keen on and am puzzled why this happens repeatedly when frustration is the inevitable outcome. I can remember a Birmingham supporter telling me that the same happened when they were in charge at St Andrews. That the window would open with ambitious claims of top signings only to end with uninspiring itinerants and short term loans. After the disappointment of the summer window it would have been nice to see a measure of organisation, discretion and dynamism in our transfer activity.

In defence of the board I believe that the claim that they have not made resources available to the incumbent managers to be rather unfair. Looking at the numbers over the last 5 years (courtesy of the Transfer League site) West Ham sit in 5th place as far as Net Spend is concerned, behind the two Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Chelsea. In Net Spend terms we have shelled out more than Liverpool, Spurs, Everton and Southampton during that period. The difference is that we have had few players leave with any remaining transfer value (we are no longer a selling club because we have had no-one worth selling) and looking at the same data for Gross Spend we fall down to 9th place.

The table below shows gross and net transfer spend over the past 5 years by each Premier League club. If only that money had been spent wisely.

Gross Spend			Net Spend
1	Manchester City	£565,650,000	1	Manchester City	£402,550,000
2	Manchester United	£528,800,000	2	Manchester United	£392,650,000
3	Chelsea	£507,459,000	4	Arsenal	£205,850,000
4	Liverpool	£365,600,000	3	Chelsea	£192,309,000
5	Tottenham	£315,450,000	5	West Ham	£125,300,000
6	Arsenal	£298,300,000	6	Liverpool	£125,270,000
7	Southampton	£221,100,000	7	Leicester	£88,400,000
8	Everton	£167,300,000	8	Sunderland	£73,430,000
9	West Ham	£151,300,000	9	Stoke City	£62,300,000
10	Leicester	£129,700,000	14	Watford	£59,600,000
11	Crystal Palace	£125,535,000	10	West Bromwich Albion	£59,141,000
12	Sunderland	£124,480,000	11	Crystal Palace	£56,635,000
13	Swansea	£109,875,000	15	AFC Bournemouth	£52,100,000
14	Hull City	£92,625,000	12	Everton	£50,984,000
15	West Bromwich Albion	£89,350,000	15	Hull City	£46,925,000
16	Watford	£88,400,000	16	Middlesbrough	£38,550,000
17	Stoke City	£86,300,000	17	Southampton	£33,250,000
18	AFC Bournemouth	£76,850,000	18	Burnley	£23,450,000
19	Middlesbrough	£53,725,000	19	Tottenham	£5,500,000
20	Burnley	£46,900,000	20	Swansea	-£9,685,000

West Ham 0 v 5 Manchester City

Calm down, calm down (part two)

Calm Down Image

I find it interesting to read fans views which say that the current performance of the team is the worst ever, this manager is the worst ever, we have the worst board ever, and the stadium is the sole reason for our current position. Even fans who have been supporting the club for many years claim to hold some of these views. I beg to differ.

Despite our exit from the three cup competitions in which we took part, which is certainly not satisfactory, we still sit in 13^th place in the Premier League at the turn of the year, roughly midway through the season. On the other hand we are just one win away from being in the top half of the table, but seven points clear of the relegation places. In our last ten seasons in the top tier our position on January 1 each season was as follows:

2015-16 (8), 2014-15 (6), 2013-14 (19), 2012-13 (12), 2010-11 (19), 2009-10 (17), 2008-09 (10), 2007-08 (9), 2006-07 (18), 2005-06 (10). Average of the last 10 = 13^th!

So Slaven Bilic is the worst manager ever? There are some short memories I believe. Where shall I start? Who remembers Macari, Roeder, Grant, Allardyce, Pardew, Zola? Even John Lyall, who is revered by many, and who took us to our best ever league position when we finished third in 1985-86, took us down twice.

This is the worst board ever? Really? Yes they need to learn to keep their mouths shut at times. I’d love to play cards with them – I reckon they reveal their hand too easily. But who remembers Brown (the Bond scheme debacle), or the Icelandics (who almost bankrupted us)? Yes there were some poor signings in the summer, and they must take their share of the blame for that, but was it all their doing? How much say does the manager have?

Some write that the stadium is to blame; if only we could go back to Upton Park they say. Look back at the statistics. Was the Boleyn Ground really a fortress? No it wasn’t. The board and many others believe it was the only chance of trying to move to the next level. It hasn’t happened, yet, but it might. But there is no going back now. We can’t continue to harp on about it, and hide behind it for some poor performances. Yes, sure, there are a few tourists; that will happen, there will always be a handful, but we haven’t got 20,000 people sitting down eating popcorn, or asking who the players are. In my opinion such a lot is out of proportion to reality.

Another theory I’ve heard bandied about is the size of the pitch. Well the pitch at the London Stadium is 105 metres x 68 metres, exactly meeting the standard that the Premier League want all clubs to have. More than half of them do. If the stadium doesn’t allow it then a smaller pitch is permissible. Upton Park was one of those examples. The pitch there was 68 metres wide too, but was just over 4 metres shorter in length than the London Stadium. Does size matter? Do the extra two metres in each half of the field really make a difference? When we played so well against Chelsea, did we reduce the pitch size?

In reality I believe there are a number of reasons for a season that, to date, is just an average one in the history of our football club. The summer transfer dealings didn’t improve the team as many hoped they would. The board haven’t succeeded in attracting the right players for us to move upwards. The manager doesn’t appear to have a clear strategy with the players at his disposal. The players have not performed as they did last season for whatever reason. We have had, not for the first time, more than our fair share of injuries to key players. We are in transition stadium-wise. Many other clubs found it hard at first, but they adapted and became used to new surroundings.

But let’s get it all into perspective. It is not the worst season ever. It is certainly not the best either. It is just another average season in the history of West Ham United Football Club. Our average finishing league position in the last fifty years in the top flight is around 12^th to 13^th. We are on course for another average finish. Of course the fans want better. I’m sure the board, the manager, and the players want better. I want better. This is my 59^th season of supporting the club. But as so many people eventually find out, that well-worn phrase, be careful what you wish for.

It may be that the season gets worse from here. If so, changes will have to be made. If it gets better then we (or at least some of us) will be happy for the time being. But whichever direction it does head in, we may not be the best, and we may not be the worst. We are West Ham. Usually, somewhere in the middle of the top tier. But that’s what supporting the club is all about. Perhaps it is the sheer unpredictability that we love. We never know what to expect from one season to another, from one game to another, and even from the first half to the second half of a game. Some will disagree but that’s how I see it!

Click Here to Read Part One of this Article

This Week in Hammer’s History

More scrapings from the barrel that was Hammer’s History in the week 9 to 15 January.

This Week Hammers History Today we are thumbing through the week 9 – 15 January in Hammer’s History and, to be honest, there is not a great deal to get excited about. Nevertheless we will start with the undoubted high which was a 6-0 annihilation of Barnsley in a 1998 Premier League fixture at Upton Park. At that time Harry Redknapp’s side were capable of some barnstorming and free flowing performances and this victory was their 9^th at home so far that season. Goals from Lampard, Abou (2), Hartson, Moncur and Lazaridis made it a day to remember where the’ boos’ ringing out around the ground were in praise of striker Samassi Abou who, in addition to his two goals, also had a hand in several others.

Forrest, Potts, Lazaridis, Unsworth, Ferdinand, Pearce, Impey (Moncur), Lampard, Hartson, Berkovic (Alves), Abou

As FA Cup holders we started its defence in the 1964/65 season with a home 3^rd round tie against Birmingham City. Goals by Hurst (2), Byrne and Sissons in a 4-2 victory were enough to send the Hammers into the 4^th round draw.

Some years later in 2011 Birmingham were once again cup opponents but this time in a League Cup semi-final. The first leg at Upton Park between two of the leagues struggling sides (both of whom would go on to be relegated) ended in a 2-1 win to give West Ham the advantage and dreams of Wembley. Mark Noble volleyed the Hammers ahead in a one-sided first half but we were unable to convert any of the numerous further chances before the break. In the second period an improved Birmingham performance saw Ridgewell equalise and when Victor Obinna was sent off it looked like it could be game over. However, Carlton Cole (on as a replacement for Piquionne) scored with a trademark scuffed shot from a Spector cross to notch an unlikely winner. There was intense speculation at the time that defeat in this game would cost manager Avram Grant his job but football moves in mysterious ways and he was able to survive to steer us on to relegation (but not to Wembley).

Talking of the League Cup this week also hosted the replayed 5^th round encounter against Aston Villa in January 2000. The match which had to be played again as a result of the Mannygate debacle saw West Ham go a goal up through Lampard Junior, Di Canio have a penalty saved by David James, and Villa score twice in extra time to win the day.

We round of the week with two of those embarrassing banana skin FA Cup defeats. In 1974 we had drawn our initial home tie with 3^rd division Hereford and so made the trip to Edgar Street four days later for the replay. West Ham took the lead through a Clyde Best header before Keith Coleman gave away a penalty that led to the Hereford leveller. With about a quarter of an hour to play Hereford scored again to prompt wild scenes by the home crowd; the match ending 2-1.

Day, Coleman, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Wooler, McGiven, Paddon, Lutton, Holland, Best

Ironically, the same largely uninspiring West Ham line-up managed to beat Manchester United 2-1 at Upton Park on the following Saturday (Bonds, Holland) in a season where the Red Devils were ultimately relegated to Division 2 with ourselves just above the drop zone.

In the 3^rd round of 1979, second division West Ham were away to 4^th division Newport County in a game that was postponed on Saturday due to bad weather and re-scheduled for midweek. With the core of the team that would win the Cup the following year the Hammers suffered a humiliating 2-1 reverse which I believe John Lyall once described as the low point of his managerial career; Pop Robson scoring our goal.

Day, Lampard, Brush, Bonds, Martin, McDowell, Taylor, Devonshire, Cross, Brooking, Robson

West Ham 0 v 5 Manchester City

Calm down, calm down (part one)

EPL Money In the aftermath of the massively disappointing defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Friday night, social media went into overdrive, possibly exceeding what has gone before this season. I guess that the match being shown live on terrestrial television had something to do with it. Virtually no credit was given to our opponents who played some breathtaking stuff at times, just as Arsenal did a few weeks ago. Quite frankly after the first 25 minutes we could not live with them. But then once again, a soft penalty was awarded to a top team. How often does this happen? They are better than us anyway, there is no need to give them an unfair advantage! Yes, to some extent we capitulated in the second half, but I don’t believe it was lack of effort. We just have to accept that we are not good enough to compete with the best.

Once, in a training exercise in the work environment, we were asked to come out with one thing that we really liked about social media, and something that we didn’t like. I liked the fact it enabled individuals to express an opinion which could be seen instantly by many people, sometimes thousands of them. For the dislike I toyed between the anonymity that social media provided, which meant that individuals often make derogatory or rude comments about others that they wouldn’t make to their face, or alternatively, the inability of people as a whole to accept that others have a point of view that may differ from their own. I guess the latter is a fact of modern life that seems to be shared by so many who believe that their opinion must be right, and any other views are not acceptable. I found that much of this was in evidence on social media in the immediate aftermath of the game, and has even continued in the couple of days that have elapsed since then.

In my view (and I accept there may be alternative views!) the top 6 teams are now getting further away from the rest of the Premier League than ever before. The three London clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, in conjunction with the three north-western giants of the two Manchester clubs and Liverpool, have so much more money than the rest, despite the massive injection of TV cash that some thought might equalise the situation. Of course, many who disagree with this will point to last season when the “Big 6” didn’t occupy the top six places, and the title was in fact won by a rank outsider, Leicester. For me this was a complete one-off freak season that I cannot see being repeated. And when you think about it, despite their indifferent seasons, all of the Big 6 finished in the top 10, despite the interlopers like Leicester, West Ham, Southampton and Stoke.

The Big 6 are showing an even greater domination of the Premier League this season, and I don’t think many would disagree that they will finish way ahead of the chasing pack. These are the same top six clubs that occupied the first six places in 2014-15. The season before, 2013-14, these six finished in the top 7, the other team to join the party were Everton. In 2012-13 we had the same situation, that is 6 out of 7 plus Everton. When we were relegated in 2010-11 it was the same top 6 plus Everton were seventh. In 2009-10 the Big 6 finished in the first seven, this time Villa crept in to the group and Everton were 8^th. Can you see the pattern here? The top six are consistently much too good for the others over the course of a season, although there are some short-term minor blips. Everton are the next team down in the pecking order.

After last season, the expectation of fans for this season went through the roof, and partly this may have been fuelled by the board, insisting that to compete with the very top clubs we needed to move into a bigger stadium, enabling us to significantly increase our income. This is probably true to some extent, although many will point to Leicester, whose ground capacity and revenue falls well short of our own when we were still at Upton Park, and despite this they still managed to come out on top.

For more than 20 years the accountancy firm Deloitte has produced revenue statistics of football clubs. It is released in February each year relating to the season most recently finished. Generally you can measure the league success of teams by their income, and in broad terms the income league table is not too dissimilar to the current Premier League table. The top six clubs mentioned previously are the top six in the income league table too, albeit in a slightly different order. In income terms we sit in tenth place which is close to our league position, too. The same is true of most clubs in the Premier League. The problem for lower teams is that the gap is getting wider, hence the reason to move to a larger stadium where possible, just to try to halt the growth in the income gap.

To be continued …..