Under The Hammers

This Week in Hammer’s History

The hopes and dreams of FA Cup Round 3 dominate the week 2 – 8 January in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History The first week of January brings with it the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Once one of the most eagerly awaited weekends in the football calendar it doesn’t now have quite the same appeal, at least for the top clubs, but continues to offer romance to those further down the pyramid and remains one of the best opportunities of silverware for mid-table Premier League clubs such as West Ham.

Before we get into some of the more memorable FA Cup encounters there are two League Cup ties to mention. The first was the first semi-final replay in 1972 against Stoke City; a game that was played at Hillsborough on a miserable Wednesday night. This was a match that I remember bunking off school for to take a football special which deposited us at the largely abandoned Wadsley Bridge station in Sheffield a few minutes before kick-off. The game had started by the time that we made it into the ground but it was a very uneventful game despite Clyde Best having an excellent opportunity to send the Hammers through to Wembley thwarted by Gordon Banks.

The second League Cup semi final that took place this week was the first leg tie in 2014 against this weekend’s FA Cup opponents, Mancheter City. Fat Sam had prioritised this game over the preceding weekend’s FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest and the game, played at the City of Manchester Stadium, saw the debut for West Ham or Roger ‘The Relegator’ Johnson. It was an awful night for the Hammers and a Alvaro Negredo hat-trick featured in a 6-0 demolition in a tie that we were to lose 9-0 on aggregate.

On to the FA Cup and we will start with a few of those banana skin defeats. Because we were already in 2014 the first stop is tie that took place a few days prior to the League Cup thrashing by City; Fat Sam fielded a team of kids against League 1 Nottingham Forest that ended in an embarrassing 5-0 defeat. The lineup included a host of players who were never heard from again such as Daniel Potts, Callum Driver, Danny Whitehead, George Moncur, Sebastien Lletget and Ravel Morrison (where is he now?) plus substitute appearances from Matthias Fanimo, Blair Turgott and Reece Burke. What a dark day for the club that was.

January 1971 witnessed the 4-0 hammering by struggling Blackpool. The game is famous for what later emerged concerning an early hours drinking session in boxer Brian London’s Blackpool nightclub involving Bobby Moore, Jimmy Greaves, Brian Dear, Clyde Best and club physio Rob Jenkins. Despite there being no Twitter at the time the players were still dobbed in by a disgruntled fan and were subsequently disciplined by manager Ron Greenwood.

In January 1990 West Ham, then in Division 2, visited 4th Division Torquay for a 3rd round tie at Plainmoor. A team that included Parkes, Potts, Dicks, Martin, Gale and Bishop suffered a humiliating 1-0 defeat to the lowly Devon club.

We published an article previously on West Ham’s cup encounters with non-League sides and this week included the 1992 1-1 draw with Farnborough Town and the narrow 1998 2-1 victory over Emley.

West Ham have won the FA Cup on 3 occasions and each of those occasions the journey to success kicked off with a hopeful 3rd round tie. The 1964 road to Wembley started with comfortable 3-0 home win against 2nd division Charlton Athletic with goals from Brabrook, Hurst and Sissons. In 1975, an away draw resulted in a 2-1 victory at The Dell against 2nd division Southampton; Frank Lampard and Bobby Gould the scorers; and in 1980 it was 2nd division West Ham drawn away to 1st division West Bromwich Albion. The first match at The Hawthorns ended in a 1-1 draw; Stuart Pearson scored the Hammer’s goal but the hero of the hour was Phil Parkes who pulled of a string of outstanding man-of-the-match saves to keep us in the tie. The replay took place just 3 days later where Pearson and Trevor Brooking scored the goals at Upton Park to record an excellent 2-1 victory and progress to Round 4.

1964 v Charlton: Standen, Bond, Burkett, Bovington, Brown, Moore, Brabrook, Boyce, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons
1974 v Southampton: Day, Coleman, Lampard, Bonds, McDowell, Lock, Jennings, Paddon, Gould (Hooland), Brooking, K. Robson
1980 v WBA: Parkes, Stewart, Lampard, Bonds, Martin, Devonshire, Allen, Pearson, Pike, Brooking, Neighbour (Brush replaced Bonds in the replay)

Notable birthdays this week:

2 January Tomas Repka (43)
3 January Adrian (30)
6 January Ron Boyce (74)
6 January Andy Carroll (28)

West Ham 0 v 2 Mike Dean, part one.

Dear Sir, I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms ………

Stewards

Monday 2^nd January wasn’t my favourite day of the year so far. The day began OK and we spent the morning taking down the Christmas tree and decorations, moving the tree to the garden to be chopped up and re-cycled at a later date, and depositing the boxes of various decorations into the loft for another year. A leisurely lunch and then we set off for the London Stadium at around 2.30pm.

We live in Bury St Edmunds so it is quite a trip when we go to watch West Ham, but not as far as some fans travel. Listening to the radio on the A11 I realised that the kick off was at 5.15, not 5.30 that I had in mind, but still leaving us sufficient time to get there on time. As we reached the junction with the M11 there was a long tail-back of traffic, and we crawled for most of the journey to Epping, which is where we normally catch the Central Line train for Stratford.

Unfortunately the car park at Epping, the largest car park on the whole London Underground network, was full, as were all the nearby streets within walking distance of the station. Never mind, we drove on two further stops down the line to Debden and parked there. We got to Stratford around 40 minutes before kick-off and set off on the long winding route march to the ground. As West Ham fans have found, although a direct walk from Stratford station to the London Stadium shouldn’t really take that long, it is not possible to take the most obvious route, and we are directed on a journey that takes twice as long in dark streets with minimal lighting. You can see the stadium but don’t seem to be getting much nearer following the prescribed course.

When we reached the stadium the crowds outside and queues to get in were much bigger than usual. I soon found out the reason why. The security checks and bag searches were more extensive than usual. When my bag was searched, security found that, in addition to gloves, hats, the programme, a few snacks etc. we were trying to enter the ground with two dangerous articles, namely two plastic bottles of Pepsi Max. Now I don’t have a problem with security searches normally, but this time it was as if we were going through Stansted airport. I was surprised that they didn’t ask us to remove our belts and shoes!

I was not impressed with the manner of the way we were treated by the security guy, who was insistent that we deposit the offensive Pepsi Max plastic bottles in a bin before entering the ground. I asked to speak to his boss and was directed to another security guy. I explained that the drinks were for our journey home. With the game ending after 7pm, and the difficulty in entering the Westfield Centre after the match to buy a drink for our return trip, I demanded to know why we were not allowed to keep our drinks.

I was informed that no dangerous weapons are permitted in the ground! Now I am a long- time supporter in my sixties, and have been watching the team regularly since 1958, and have never before been stopped from entering the ground with plastic bottles of drink. I stood my ground and insisted that Pepsi Max was not a dangerous weapon. What did they think I was going to do with it? Apparently it is considered to be a danger to fans if I threw it! I explained I had no intention of using it as a missile. I wanted a drink on the way home. Now I sit about as far away from the opposition fans as is possible in the London Stadium, and not even Steve Backley could throw a javelin that distance, let alone a soft drinks plastic bottle. Surely coins are a much more dangerous missile; what next, will we be asked to remove all coins from our pocket before entering the stadium?

The chief security guy finally agreed that we could take the plastic bottles into the ground if we removed the caps! Kick-off time was approaching and I wasn’t prepared to discuss the matter any further, so we took of the caps and entered through the turnstiles with our full bottles of Pepsi-Max without the tops. I did ask the security guy for the name of the authority that imposed the rules, and he informed me that it wasn’t actually a stadium requirement as such (plastic bottles of drink are sold within the ground), but a strict directive from Gold and Sullivan, and I should direct my complaint to them.

When I reached my seat as Bubbles began, I was relating the story to the grandfather who sits next to me with his six year old grandson. He had the same experience and his grandson’s fruit shoot also had to have the cap removed before they entered the ground. Very frustrated by my experience I sat down to watch the game. I looked at the teams and was pleased to see that the manager had selected a side which was likely to have more pace than usual. I was looking forward to the game. I really felt that it was going to be a good one. I will write a letter of complaint to Messrs. Gold and Sullivan tomorrow to see what they have to say.

(To be continued …..)

5 Observations from West Ham’s Dean inspired defeat.

Elderly incompetent Lancashire referee of doubtful parentage claims man of the match award at the London Stadium.

The Dean and I (Hum Drum Days….)

When the main talking points of a match concern the decisions and performance of the referee and officials then you know there is something wrong. Dean is one of the those referees who seem to be of the opinion that they are part of the entertainment; believing perhaps that neutral supporters will eagerly await the publication of the referee appointments each week before deciding which game to go to watch. Maybe Dean sees his flamboyant behaviour as bringing an unexpected edge that adds to the theatre of game. Sending a player off invariably has a dramatic effect on any game and the earlier it happens then the greater the consequences. The Feghouli incident was two players making a wholehearted attempt to win the ball; nothing dangerous, no malicious intent, no loss of control. Jones may or may not have milked it but the referee appeared to mentally toss a coin, rather than make considered judgement, before making his disgraceful decision. What has football come to when what would have been a regular, everyday challenge 10 or so years ago is punished in this way? Add to that the linesman inexplicably missing the clearest of ‘offsides’ (did he get confused because there were so many players in offside positions) for the second goal and the officials should collectively hang their heads in shame as well as receiving lengthy bans. Personally, I share the opinion that the referee has had a good game when you don’t notice he is there; something you could never accuse Dean of. It was long ago that referees had to hang up his whistle at the age 47 but they are now judged on fitness and performance each year. Surely, it is time for the 48 year old attention seeking Lancashire official to be shown the final red card of his own.

A Catalyst for Improvement?

Ironically this was one of our best performances of the season. We started brightly and were uncharacteristically (based on what has gone before this season) moving and passing the ball well. The opening exchanges were somewhat cat and mouse but we looked sharp before Dean decided to take centre stage by issuing the soft, unwarranted red card. At other times the dismissal could have heralded surrender but the Hammers reacted well and showed great character, organisation and commitment. In many respects we are at our best when defending in numbers and counterattacking against the better sides; more so than when we have to take the initiative. However, it is a tough job with a man down after only 15 minutes. In the first half Manchester United were limited to one clear cut chance when the post was once again called into action – although I believe this too should have been flagged for offside. Mourinho made intelligent substitutions in the circumstances bringing on Mata (an excellent player who I was pleased to see absent from the starting XI) and Rashford to put pressure on a positionally suspect and tiring Havard Nordtveit. Some observers made Rashford man-of-the-match but if that accolade should go the most influential individual then there can only be one winner; referee Dean. It is very difficult to fault our overall performance and maybe (just maybe) the injustice of the defeat can be the catalyst for greater unity and cohesion in upcoming matches.

Midfield Fluency

A positive when the teams were announced was to hear that Pedro Obiang (our best player all season) had been recalled to the midfield. He had yet another excellent game and it remains staggering that he didn’t get a look in during the narrow defeat at Leicester. Obiang is the best defensive midfielder that we have had at club for a good few years; as well as breaking up play he uses the ball well with intelligence and a vision lacking in our other central midfield players. It was inopportune that for all his efforts he might well have done better for both the Manchester goals; going to ground too early when looking to come to Nordtveit’s assistance to thwart Rashford and failing to clear effectively just prior to the obvious offside goal. A superb performance also from Manuel Lanzini who was always willing to make himself available, made great runs with the ball and was central to a number of excellent passing movements. Possibly one of Lanzini’s best ever West Ham performances over (just short of) 90 minutes. It is no surprise to me that we played with greater fluidity and incision with Mark Noble on the bench. Noble’s supporters will say he keeps possession well but the way I see it in modern Premier League football you have to use the ball quickly when gaining possession. Noble’s instinct for sideways and backwards passing allows the opposition time to re-group and closed down space when they should be at their most vulnerable.

Defensive Efforts

Winston Reid came in for some criticism earlier in the season when West Ham were regularly leaking goals but his recent performances have been outstanding both in terms of contribution on the pitch and passion and commitment to the cause; I am very happy with his wearing the captain’s armband . It is surprising that we do not hear about any of the top clubs sniffing around a player who I believe is one of the best and most consistent central defenders in the league; maybe the belief that he doesn’t use the ball well is what discourages the likes of Klopp and Guardiola. An honourable mention also for Angelo Ogbonna who managed to put in a very steady shift with none of his trademark daydreaming moments to diminish his efforts.

My Kingdom for a Striker

I was very surprised to see Andy Carroll left out of the starting line-up. My assumption is that it was felt that another full game was not in the best interest of his long term injury recuperation but I haven’t seen this confirmed anywhere. Carroll showed some good touches during the 20 minutes he was on the pitch and maybe playing him with Michail Antonio just behind would be an interesting option that could unsettle opposition defenders; in the absence of available alternatives it is worth a try. The improved midfield performance yesterday could well have suited Carroll’s game but, as it was, the man-for-all-positions Antonio was given the task of leading the line. Antonio had very good opportunities to score on two occasions; once when he didn’t quite connect with his head at a corner and then when he failed to convert Lanzini’s delightful through-ball just before the opening Manchester United goal.

Ratings: Randolph (7), Nordtveit (6), Reid (8), Ogbonna (7), Cresswell (6), Obiang (9), Kouyate (6), Feghouli (5), Lanzini (8), Payet (7), Antonio (7). Subs: Carroll (7), Fernandes (6)

Matchday: West Ham ‘entertain’ Manchester United

The other United take their bus to the London Stadium for today’s late kickoff.

West Ham Man Utd The visitors to the London Stadium today are Manchester United who, in terms of revenue, continue to be the biggest club in the Premier League. Given the strong correlation between money and success the Manchester club have underperformed since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and this season, under third post-Fergie manager, Jose Mourinho, are once again off the pace from the leading pack. Coming into today’s game on a run of 5 straight wins they remain 13 points behind leaders Chelsea and 7 behind second place Liverpool.

Mourinho has brought his 19^th century tactics and introduced the traditional siege mentality to the Old Trafford club and we will need a strong performance from referee Mike ‘Penalty King’ Dean this afternoon.

“We played a good game. I’m very disappointed, angry, frustrated we lost. They started better, we knew they were going to start aggressively and for the first 20 minutes they deserved the goal. I’m very disappointed but we played a good game and that makes one part of me satisfied. We look good but that final product wasn’t there.”

– Slaven Bilic on defeat at Leicester

West Ham’s mini-revival was brought to an abrupt halt in the East Midlands on New Year’s Eve and it will require one of those ‘obscene’ performances to repeat last year’s rousing victory in the final Boleyn encounter.

Head to Head

West Ham’s home record against Manchester United is a reasonably healthy one although last year’s success was the first in the league since 2007. It was also the only victory against the Red Devils in the last 12 meetings home and away.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	62	26	21	15	103	90	WLDLDD
Away	65	13	11	41	60	148	LDDDLL
	127	39	32	56	163	238

Team News

There are no new escapees from the treatment room and Mark Noble has become a new inmate after getting a whack on the knee in the Leicester game. It has become very difficult to anticipate Slaven Bilic’s selection decisions and, for all I know, he may be plotting something revolutionary like playing rush-goalie. The logical changes, for me, to the team that lost on Saturday would be to recall Pedro Obiang to centre midfield and start with Manuel Lanzini instead of Andre Ayew. I am much happier with a back 4 and the added protection that Obiang provides provided that Angelo Ogbonna stays awake for the whole game. Also time for Dimitri Payet to step up and put in a performance to impress the visiting manager.

“It’s a challenge for everybody but Chelsea, as they play only on the 4th, Tottenham played Sunday and then on the 4th. For us and West Ham it’s the same – difficult. Middlesbrough play at 12 o’clock, so less than 48 hours. It’s very hard, especially when you see the intensity of this game.”

– Jose Mourinho on everything being so unfair.

Manchester United are without their best defender Eric Bailly who has already left for the Africa Cup of Nations and may be without Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney. Fingers crossed that Rooney is not involved and is thus unable to break Sir Bobby Charlton’s goal-scoring record on our manor. Mourinho’s side are more a bunch of individuals than a cohesive team but they do have some exceptional talent; we will do well to get anything from today’s game.

The Man in the Middle

Welcome for the second time this season Mike Dean from The Wirral (just down the road from Manchester). He previously officiated in our match at White Hart Lane where he sent off Winston Reid. Reid is the season’s top penalty giver with 10 awarded to date. In his 16 games he has flourished 72 Yellow and 4 Red cards.

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 25

Keeping it simple as we look for value in today’s big game with the reds of Manchester.

Fancy A Bet

No luck with the bets for the game at Leicester, so with a balance of 130 points we move on to the Manchester United game. I like the odds on Betfair for this game, so despite United’s good run of late, I fancy us to repeat our victory over them in the last game at Upton Park. Of course we have already played them twice this season at Old Trafford, drawing in the league, but we were on the end of a bit of a hiding in the EFL Cup. Rooney always seems to score against us but I don’t think he has travelled for this game. So keeping it simple, the bets for today, which I’ve found on Betfair:

9 points on West Ham to beat Man Utd @5/1 (50)
5 points on the game ending in a draw @16/5 (21)
1 point on a repeat score from May i.e. a 3-2 win for West Ham @59/1 (60)

Total stake 15 points, reducing our balance to 115 points.

Potential returns if correct in brackets.

What are the chances?

Preview: West Ham v Manchester United

Previewing the Manchester United game plus a look back at the 1-0 defeat at Leicester.

Reid v Man Utd The second half of our 2016-17 Premier League campaign begins with the visit of Manchester United. Nobody who was there will ever forget their last visit on that warm May evening eight months ago, when we came from behind to record that famous 3-2 victory in our final game at Upton Park. We will be hoping to achieve a similar points haul against United to that attained last season, when we drew at Old Trafford before beating them at home.

When you consider that they are the most successful club in the history of English football, with 20 league titles and 11 FA Cups, we have a good record against them in competitive matches on our own ground. In over 60 meetings we have won 26 to their 15, although in the 21^st century we have only beaten them three times in the league at Upton Park. In addition to last season’s win, we beat them in two consecutive seasons; 2006-07, when a Reo-Coker goal was the only goal of the game, and the following year when Anton Ferdinand and Upson were our scorers in a 2-1 victory. In that game we were trailing to an early Ronaldo goal when United were awarded a penalty midway through the second half. However Ronaldo pulled the penalty kick wide of the post, and our two central defenders each scored with late headers in a memorable finale to the game. Of course it was a similar tale last season when two late headers won the game for us.

Embed from Getty Images

United go into this game in sixth place in the table, although I guess their fans would have expected them to be closer to the top and challenging for the title, especially with the appointment of Mourinho this season. They have had a good run of results recently, and remain unbeaten since a heavy defeat at Stamford Bridge in October. This included a 1-1 draw against us, when Sakho’s early goal was cancelled out by Ibrahimovic. Mkhitaryan scored a spectacular goal for them in a recent victory over Sunderland, although this was well offside. I fail to understand how a trained assistant referee failed to spot this, or was it just another of those occasions when a “big club” get fortunate with decisions in their favour, especially when playing at home?

Our 1-0 defeat at Leicester on Saturday meant that we reached the mid-point of the season with 22 points from our nineteen games, which is 7 fewer than last time, but more than we might have expected just one month ago. We rose a place to twelfth position thanks to Tottenham beating Watford 4-1 on Sunday, meaning that our goal difference is now better than that of the Hornets. Mark Noble picked up an injury at Leicester and I believe is likely to be missing for this game. This might be a blessing in disguise for us enabling Pedro Obiang to return in the defensive midfield role.

Geoff reviewed the game at Leicester admirably. I have only seen highlights but from what I saw we were unlucky to not get a point, but we seemed to start slowly once again. We must really get out of this bad habit of starting lethargically, and be up for a fast start to the game, especially against United. We need to be at them from the start in a similar way to how they started against us in the EFL cup game. The bookies don’t fancy us at all and I’ve seen odds of up to 5/1 for us to win the game. I’ll have some of that and will be looking for a win by the odd goal, perhaps 2-1 or 3-2. What are the chances?

The Lawro Challenge – Week 20

The bid to out predictor the BBC prediction guru enters the second half of the season.

Xmas Lawro Nineteen rounds of games in the Premier League have now been completed. That means we have now predicted the results of 190 matches. We have now reached the halfway stage in the Premier League season.

Normal service was resumed In Week 19 where Rich scored a commendable 10 points, Geoff an underwhelming 4 points, and Lawro also weighed in with 10 points of his own . 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 move on to week 20 and the return set of fixtures between clubs.

	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Total after 18 weeks	152	116	143
Score in week 19	10	4	10
Total after 19 weeks	162	120	153

Predictions – Week 20
	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Monday
Middlesbrough v Leicester	1-0	1-1	0-2
Everton v Southampton	2-1	2-0	2-0
Man City v Burnley	3-0	3-1	3-0
Sunderland v Liverpool	0-3	1-3	0-2
WBA v Hull	2-0	3-0	2-0
West Ham v Man Utd	2-1	2-2	1-2
Tuesday
Bournemouth v Arsenal	2-2	1-2	0-2
Palace v Swansea	2-0	1-0	2-0
Stoke v Watford	3-1	3-0	2-0
Wednesday
Tottenham v Chelsea	2-2	1-1	2-1

5 Observations From Defeat at Leicester

Both the year and West Ham’s latest winning streak are brought to a halt in an entertaining defeat at Leicester.

A Good Game for the Neutral

All in all an entertaining game with plenty to satisfy the neutral spectator if any were inclined to watch this game featuring two of the worst defences in the Premier League this season. For those with a more emotional investment in the outcome Leicester supporters will have been satisfied with three points and a clean sheet; West Ham fans will be disappointed at the absence of any return for territorial dominance and seeing our winning streak monitor reset to zero. Despite the entertainment the standard of football could easily have passed for a division or two lower; the game plagued by mistakes, little real quality and littered with examples of agricultural tackling that wouldn’t have been out of place on Hackney Marshes.

Magic Moment

The one real moment of quality was the Leicester goal. The hosts had started with the wind in their sails and there were a number of near misses before Slimani struck with the only goal of the game. The goal was quick, clinical and effective; an excellent cross from the right by Albrighton and great movement by Slimani to lose his markers and head home. The postmortem suggested a lack of tracking back by Dimitri Payet was partly to blame but should we really be expecting our main creative force to be doing that? It is the unfortunate consequence of stationing him wide on the left that it will always leave Cresswell with little cover. The argument is that playing Payet wide allows him to cut in and provide the angles where he can weave his magic; I question whether that trade off is necessarily profitable? After the goal the concern was that many more could follow but taking the lead seemed to panic Leicester and the Hammers were able to get back into the game. Our own best moment was the move where Payet fed Cresswell whose cross was thumped onto the crossbar by Michail Antonio with the ball rebounding to safety.

Never Mind the Quality Where’s the Width?

During the summer transfer window one could be forgiven for assuming that top of Slaven’s shopping list was “Must Buy Some Wingers” as Feghouli, Tore and Ayew all signed on to compete for a vacant wide berth with Antonio. The cunning plan was that send in enough quality crosses and Big Andy would be nodding them in for fun. Strange then that, yet again, we failed to provide any real width yesterday, rarely got behind the Leicester defence and managed to put only one on Andy’s head in a threatening position during the whole game (at least that’s my memory of events). With Payet on one flank and mainly cutting in, Antonio unable to get the better of Chilwell and Feghouli also reluctant to go down the line little service was provided to the big man. According to the stats West Ham had 25 shots (5 on target) but most of these were free kicks and speculative long shots. Bilic said “We were just missing that final touch” but in reality we created next to nothing despite having the lion’s share of possession. I never had the opportunity to watch Andre Ayew at Swansea so was unsure what type of player to expect; having now watched him in several games I am still bemused by his attributes other than getting in the way, falling over and trying to play first time passes of any part of his body as often as possible.

Playing to our Weaknesses

When I saw the lineups I was staggered that Pedro Obiang was on the bench and even more baffled that he didn’t get on at any time during the match. He has been our best player by far this season and I do not go along with the ‘it was good management’ mantra that Bilic was right to start with the same team that played at Swansea simply because we had secured an unconvincing victory against a very poor side in that game. The Noble – Kouyate partnership has rarely impressed and playing Kouyate in the holding role (that Obiang has been performing so brilliantly) inhibits the surging runs that Cheikhou can offer in midfield. For a team that is so poor at passing it is puzzling that our game-plan is predicated on a slow, patient build-up with its ponderous sideways and backwards momentum. The introduction of Lanzini did inject some pace but attacks continued to flounder due to a lack of ideas. The West Ham get out of jail card is often the set piece but although there were plenty of opportunities during the course of the game delivery was poor with Cresswell’s deflected free-kick (yes, he was allowed to take one) the nearest we came to scoring.

The Twelfth Man

It is said that a passionate crowd can be the twelfth man for a team and that this was one of Leicester’s secret weapons in last year’s successful championship winning season. The King Power crowd is a mix of seasoned supporters supplemented with clapper (the modern day football rattle?) wielding newbies. Together they generate a lot of noise and are collectively convinced that every refereeing decision should go in their favour. Now maybe I can be accused of watching games through claret and blue spectacles but I thought Anthony Taylor did a decent job overall even if he was rather little lenient in not showing straight red cards to Amartey of Leicester and Nordtveit for over enthusiastic tackling and later for not issuing a second yellow to Ogbonna. The most laughable moment with the crowd was their booing of Mark Noble for getting injured as a result of Amartey’s reckless studs high assault on his knee. Fingers crossed that Noble’s injury is not too serious at a time that others are away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ratings: Randolph (7), Nordtveit (5), Reid (6), Ogbonna (5), Cresswell (7), Antonio (5), Kouyate (4), Noble (4), Payet (5), Ayew (3), Carroll (6). Subs: Lanzini (7), Feghouli (5), Fernandes (5)

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 24

A healthy half year return beckons from our winning weekly wagers. Now we plan for an equally prosperous new year.

Fancy A Bet

It was obvious wasn’t it? So obvious that I thought that it wouldn’t happen. But it did. Ayew scored the first goal in the game at Swansea. His first goal for us was against his old club. But we had success yet again with the following bet last weekend:

8 points on West Ham to beat Swansea @7/4 (22)

Our balance stood at 125 points, and with this win has risen to the maximum snooker break of 147 points.

This time we’ll stick to a similar formula that has been successful in recent weeks, although our good run must come to an end soon. Or will it?

8 points on West Ham to beat Leicester @11/4 (30)
6 points on the game to end in a score draw @10/3 (26)
1 point on a correct score forecast of 2-2 @12/1 (13)
1 point on Cresswell to score the first goal and West Ham to win 2-1 @200/1 (201)
1 point on West Ham to win and Cresswell to score anytime @30/1 (31)

Total stake 17 points, reducing our balance to 130 points. Potential returns if correct in brackets.

It is about time that Aaron Cresswell scored. What are the chances?

Matchday: West Ham @ The King Power Stadium

The last day of the year and halfway through the season. Can it be four wins on the bounce, a scramble into the top half of the table and can Michail Antonio claim the ‘golden bonce’?

Leicester West Ham If history has taught us anything it is to select the bits of it that we like the look of and disregard the rest. Today West Ham travel to Leicester to face a side who we have traditionally done well against, with some particular success in games played during the Christmas and New Year period. Victory would make it 4 Premier League wins on the bounce for the Hammers; a feat that, while not unprecedented, is as rare as a proper right back or a 20 goals a season striker. In fact our Premier League record is 5 consecutive wins established during January to February 2006; an achievement that could potentially be matched in the next 3 days – or not!

“He is a big player. He deserves everything and is always there to score goals. Every time I turn to my staff in training and ask who has scored a goal, they say it is always Antonio. I would not say that we taught him to score. It’s his sheer determination, his hunger. You have to keep him close to the box when we have the ball because his stats are unbelievable.”

– Slaven Bilic on Antonio (despite wanting him to play right back)

Our hosts and last year’s Champions have struggled to come even close to last season’s ebullience despite making an admirable and successful fist at Champion’s League qualification. A danger when your team is based on being greater than the sum of the parts is that it can all fall apart when some of those parts stop working. The loss of N’Golo Kante has been Chelsea’s spectacular gain, Riyad Mahrez has failed to inspire, the defensive shenanigans of Huth and Morgan have been under increased refereeing scrutiny and the threat of the ball over the top to Vardy tactic has been neutralised by most opponents. Thankfully the snarling one is suspended for today’s game and will not be able to test the speed or extent of our own learning curve. I did think that once the Champion’s League group stages were over we would see a resurgence from Leicester but as yet, apart from a fine win against Manchester City, it has failed to materialise. Is it possible that the most unexpected Champions since Ipswich Town in 1962 could suffer the same fate and face relegation shortly after?

Head to Head

West Ham’s overall record against Leicester is a moderately good one and the Hammers have avoided defeat on their travels to the east Midlands more often than not. The last 12 meetings have seen honours equitably shared with 4 wins for each team and 4 draws; a sequence that includes our solitary win at the King Power stadium following the Foxes move from Filbert Street in 2002.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	61	35	16	10	128	74	LWWDWL
Away	61	15	16	30	74	104	DLLWDD
	122	50	32	40	202	178

Team News

Our player of the season so far, Pedro Obiang, is available again after suspension so let’s hope that Slaven Bilic is not so blinkered as to leave him on the bench and stick with the team that won at Swansea. Personally, I would play Obiang and Kouyate as a defensive midfield two and give Mark Noble some bench time. This would retain the back 4 by keeping Nordtveit at right back despite his offering little attacking capability. Slaven is unlikely to heed my advice, however, and will probably return to his (unaccountably) preferred back 3.

“The first six months of this year were a fairytale – now this is reality. I was waiting for this to happen. We are like a little baby compared to a team like Chelsea. They are like a big man and we’re a little child and we need to grow up.”

– Claudio Ranieri

Manuel Lanzini may be available again but I don’t expect him to make the starting XI with Andre Ayew given the nod again following his maiden goal last weekend. Reece Oxford can be added to the long list of players who have found their way into the treatment room only to find that there is no way out.

If Michail Antonio scores with his head today he will create a Premier League record for headed goals in a calendar year – the golden bonce!

Apart from suspended Jamie Vardy, Leicester are at all full strength with Huth and Fuchs returning from one match bans.

Man in the Middle

A third West Ham away game this season for Anthony Taylor from Manchester; the previous two affairs ending in defeats at Chelsea (where he failed to send off match-winner Diego Costa) and at Everton. Taylor has had a busy season officiating at 20 games in which he has waved 69 Yellow and 3 Red cards.