Under The Hammers

5 Observations from Arsenal Humiliation

An abject performance against Arsenal sets alarm bells ringing and requires questions to be asked.

Crisis, Dilemma, Emergency, Disaster, Mess

That’s 21 games played in all competitions this season with just one good performance (Chelsea in the EFP Cup) and one decent performance (away to Palace). Even for the most optimistic supporter the alarm bells must be ringing loud and clear. Sure Arsenal are, on their day, an excellent side but it was the manner of defeat rather than defeat itself that is the most worrying. Watching the TV pictures of the players in the tunnel before the game and they looked petrified, like a deer caught in headlights, and when the game started it looked no different. From the off you sensed it was only a matter of time before Arsenal scored and then having steadied the ship a little we gifted them another very soft goal; the rest is history. This is not a team that is simply going through a bad patch or a loss of form and confidence. It is shades of Roeder, Grant and Pardew’s last season all rolled into one. A desperate situation in the club that needs desperate measures in response before it is too late. Hoping that is will all sort itself out is the height of foolishness.

Under Pressure

It is astonishing to think that following a buoyant first season that we are four months into a new season and manager, Slaven Bilic, looks broken, lost and devoid of ideas. We may have had a bad transfer window but the core of the squad is the same as the one that performed so admirably last season. They have not all suddenly become bad players but now look unmotivated, unfit, disorganised and careless. It is almost impossible to articulate what our style of play is supposed to be; there is no plan and no structure in our play. While managers such as Klopp, Pochettino, Conte and even Eddie Howe have built momentum based on intensity, pace, movement and pressing, West Ham fumble and stumble around haphazardly hoping that they might eventually get a free kick close enough to goal. These problems lie squarely at the door of the manager and the coaching staff. To bemoan a lack of intensity in training is a ridiculous comment when you are the one with the responsibility to make sure it happens. A thin squad in terms of quality (caused in part by poor recruitment by Bilic) and an unwillingness to risk young players means there is largely no competition for places and this breeds complacency, as it has done in the past. In a situation where a club doesn’t look to be heading in any particular direction it is the guy asleep at the wheel who needs to be changed. Bilic says he will not walk away but that is a financial stance more than anything.

Case for the Defence

For starters, I’m not sure you could fault Randolph with any of the goals and he made a few decent saves to keep the score in single figures. With the athletic Kouyate missing it was disappointing that we stuck with the suspect 3 at the back against a team like Arsenal who are typically so strong down the flanks. In some respects I was quite pleased when Ginge went off and was replaced by Arbeloa (rather than Nordtveit) as it suggested a change to 4 at the back. The problem was that Arbeloa and Fernandes both seemed unsure as to what formation we were now playing and decided to compete for the right wing back spot. Mainly through Arsenal’s profligacy we settled a little after the early storm only to self-destruct by gifting them what was a deserved lead. The main culprit was Ogbonna who during one of his daydreaming moments gave the ball away sloppilyin a dangerous position. Reid was one of few players to earn his wages and gave another committed display and it is time he was given the captain’s armband full-time. Masuaku had some good moments going forward but was later exposed by the excellent Sanchez. Masuaku is OK as cover for Cresswell but not much more. Arbeloa is a stop gap and we really do need a proper right back. It is perplexing that West Ham is the only club that doesn’t seem to believe that having specialist full-backs is important.

Stuck in the Middle

Payet and Noble were shocking. Payet wasn’t even interested enough to audition for Arsene Wenger who, according to that morning’s newspapers, was interested in his signature. Regardless he still seems wasted marooned on the left wing. Noble looked completely lost; apart from going back to exchange passes with his own defenders the game mostly passed him by. He was like a little kid playing piggy-in-the-middle with his much bigger brothers. Obiang put in another good performance and Lanzini was one of a few West Ham players playing with energy and at least trying to make things happen. What was a disorderly midfield setup was turned into farce when Carroll and Ayew replaced Noble and Fernandes leaving a massive gap between defence and the attack minded players. This led directly to the 3 goals in the last 10 minutes which even if it didn’t affect the result will have a further detrimental effect on confidence. I would take your calculator to Anfield next week.

Looking Forward

Ashley Fletcher tried hard as the lone striker. Better than Zaza but not as effective as Sakho in creating space and closing down defenders. He can potentially become a good player. Carroll came on, scored a consolation and didn’t get injured; what more could you ask. Ayew didn’t look anything like a £20 million player. After looking sharp in his brief cameo at Old Trafford he was back to languid and ineffectual.

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 19 – A good win last week

Looking to profit from a hard earned draw at the London Stadium.

Fancy A Bet

Last week we had some fun bets on our game at Manchester United. And the following bets were successful:

16 points on West Ham to win or draw the game @13/8 (42)
1 point on a 1-1 draw @7/1 (8)

The fifty points that we won added to our balance of 51 brings our total balance back to 101 points, just above where we started.

I haven’t got a clue how West Ham will perform this week so I wasn’t going to have a bet at all. But just for fun, three small bets to retain a betting interest in the game:

1 point on Pedro Obiang to score the first goal and the game to end 2-2 @275-1 (276)
1 point on Andy Carroll to score the first goal and the game to end 2-2 @60-1 (61)
5 points on the game to end in a draw @14/5 (19)

Our balance after staking these seven points is down to 94 points.

We win on the day if the game ends in a draw. It was 3-3 last year and Andy Carroll terrorised the Arsenal defence. Can he do the same this time? Will he be back from injury? Will he be picked? We get our point back on the second bet if he doesn’t play.

What are the chances?

Matchday: West Ham entertain L’Arsenal!

Here comes Andy! The King of the Impossible rides to West Ham’s rescue.

West Ham Arsenal It seems that we can now all stop worrying as, if reports are to be believed, the unplayable, unstoppable Andy Carroll is ready to return for today’s late kickoff against Arsenal. Here comes the messiah and the cavalry all rolled into one to destroy that easily intimidated Arsenal defence who really ‘don’t like it up ’em’. A repeat of last season’s hat-trick heroics is a mere formality as we unleash our favourite blunt instrument on the soft north Londoners.

“He is a good player, not only heading or putting the ball in. That doesn’t make you a great player, he’s got all that but he’s probably the best in the league at occupying the defence for me.”

– Slaven Bilic on Andy Carroll

To be fair, in some circumstances (and formations) Carroll can be a very effective option but to pretend there is far more to his game than his aerial ability (as our manager does) is a stretch as long as his neck; certainly at Premier League level. The expression “‘If your only tool is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail” is doubly apt here and raises the concern that our tactics will once again be an over-reliance on Andy’s head. Add to that the quality of our crossing, particularly if Cresswell is out, and it hardly instils confidence that Plan A is the surefire winner that many are hoping. As always I will be more than happy to be proved wrong.

Head to Head

West Ham are very much second best in the Head to Head stakes with Arsenal. The Gunners are probably one of few teams that hold the advantage both home and away. Last season’s victory at The Emirates was our only success in the last 12 meetings which have featured 10 dispiriting defeats.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	62	14	24	24	78	98	DLLLLL
Away	60	14	16	30	62	103	WLLLLL
	122	28	40	54	140	201

The last home win against Arsenal was in November 2006 courtesy of substitute Marlon Harewood’s 89^th minute winner as he slid home following an uncharacteristic battling run by Matthew Etherington; the only goal of the game. The aftermath of the goal celebrations that day resulted in the famous ‘slugout in the dugout’ contest between Alan Pardew and Arsene Wenger.

Team News

Following another short lived comeback, Diafra Sakho is now reported to be side-lined for up to 6 weeks. Would be wing-backs Cresswell and Antonio both picked up thigh strains during the Old Trafford cup exit in the week and it seems that top-scorer Antonio is definitely out while Cresswell will have a late fitness test. Although unconfirmed there are also internet rumours of a bust-up between Bilic and Ayew over the latter’s fitness levels. It is difficult to know what the manager will do selection-wise but my guess is that he will stick with his (flawed) 3 at the back with Fernandes in at right wing back and Masuaku on the left if Cresswell is unavailable. Midfield is likely to be Obiang, Noble, Payet plus Lanzini or Ayew (if he isn’t on the naughty step). Upfront it will be Carroll or Fletcher and it will be interesting to see whether Andy gets a start (following the big build up) and how long he lasts this time.

Arsenal also have their injury problems with Bellerin, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Welbeck and Cazorla all missing and Giroud and Elneney doubtful. Unwilling to risk former Hammer’s loanee Carl Jenkinson, following his comical comeback display, Wenger will join in the playing players out of position fun by using Gabriel at right back.

“I have pity for every manager, but I think he has done a very good job there, he has built a good squad, and I’m sure it will come out in the long distance”

– Arsene Wenger on Slaven Bilic

I can’t help but have very bad thoughts at what an on-song Arsenal team might do against our defence with their fluidity, pace and inter-play. Let’s hope it is a bad day at the office for them.

The Man in the Middle

Today’s straw clutching comes in the form of a welcome to this season’s lucky referee Craig Pawson, yet another referee from Yorkshire. Pawson was in charge of the home wins against Bournemouth in the league and Chelsea in the EFL Cup. Pawson has officiated 12 games this season awarding 43 yellow and 1 red cards; the one red card being Harry Arter setting up victory in the game at the London Stadium.

The Lawro Challenge – Week 14

Lawro Crystal Ball Thirteen rounds of games in the Premier League have now been completed. That means we have now predicted the results of 130 matches. In Week 13, Rich scored 12 points, Geoff 7 points, and Lawro 9 points.

Quite possibly Geoff’s prediction of a scoreless draw in the Swansea v Palace game has taken the lead in the running for the worst prediction of the season award.

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.

	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Total after 12 weeks	98	66	90
Score in week 13	12	7	9
Total after 13 weeks	110	73	99

Predictions – Week 14
	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
SATURDAY
Man City v Chelsea	2-2	2-0	2-1
Palace v Southampton	0-1	1-1	2-0
Stoke v Burnley	2-0	2-1	2-0
Sunderland v Leicester	2-1	1-2	1-1
Tottenham v Swansea	2-1	3-1	2-0
WBA v Watford	2-1	1-1	2-0
West Ham v Arsenal	2-2	1-3	0-2
SUNDAY
Bournemouth v Liverpool	1-2	2-2	1-1
Everton v Man United	1-1	1-0	1-1
MONDAY
Middlesbrough v Hull	2-0	2-1	2-0

Man United 4v1 West Ham – League Cup Review & Arsenal Preview

Looking back and forward. How will West Ham react to midweek disappointment against Arsenal?

Carroll Arsenal I began my preview of the Manchester United League Cup game with the title “West Ham in the League Cup”. I could have titled the review of the game “West Ham no longer in the League Cup.” And from the second minute of the game I knew we were on our way out of the competition. I continued to watch throughout in the hope that I would be wrong, but despite equalising late in the first half, and going in level at half time, I just could not be my usual optimistic self, and my fears came to fruition with a second half performance even more abject than the first, and that takes some doing. We could easily have been 4-1 down at half time, let alone at full time.

I was pleased for Fletcher scoring the goal in front of the Stretford end, and enjoyed listening to our magnificent away support singing “he’s one of your own”. When they were coming through the youth ranks in Manchester, apparently Fletcher was considered more highly than Rashford, and I hope that, in time, he is given the opportunities. I thought that Fernandes once again showed promise, and remain convinced that he will turn out to be an excellent acquisition. I’m not really sure about any of our other summer signings. Masuaku could be an OK squad player as backup for Cresswell, and Ayew hasn’t really got going yet. Where was he at Old Trafford? Was he injured, or just being saved for Arsenal this weekend?

And talking of injuries, our run of bad luck (if it is bad luck and nothing to do with the preparation and conditioning of our players) continues. I just hope that the withdrawal of Cresswell and Antonio were precautionary, but at the time of writing I’ve not read anything so don’t know if they will be available against Arsenal.

Only West Ham can seem to make Rooney look like Messi, when for much of the season he has looked a pale shadow of the player he once was. I hate to see him berating referees, and reckon he is lucky to stay on the field on so many occasions, mainly I think because of his reputation, and position as England captain.

Our defending was shocking, and although Manchester United were clearly up for the game and attacked us at pace, I was disappointed by the ease with which we were opened up. For me the 3-4-3 formation, whilst it worked initially, has to be abandoned. In any event we need to be able to adjust tactics to suit the opposition we are playing, even in mid-game when plan A is not working. It’s hard to believe that our manager, and one of the first team coaches (Dicks), were such excellent defenders at the club, yet fail to inspire a defence that has conceded more goals in the Premier League than most other teams.

You couldn’t fault Adrian for any of the goals, but for me Randolph is the safer bet, and is less prone to error. I noticed that one of the many hundreds of players that we are being linked with at the moment is Joe Hart. I can recall twice in our history we’ve set a new world record when buying a keeper, Ferguson in the sixties and Parkes in the seventies. Although the first didn’t turn out to be a great success, Phil Parkes was probably the best keeper I’ve seen at West Ham. Wouldn’t it be good if our owners showed some intent, broke the bank, and once again bought a really top class keeper. I don’t know if any would come, but the best I’ve seen in recent years is Butland at Stoke.

The Payet debate continues on social media with many, including some ex-players, believing that he doesn’t look interested and wants to leave in January. He was certainly largely at fault for their second (and crucial early second half) goal, and didn’t have one of his better games, but then how many of the team did?

As for Zaza, his cameo included a shot from around twelve yards that went out for a throw-in (at the edge of the penalty area!), and completely missing the ball when he could reasonably have expected to have put a header on goal. If ever there was a player lower on confidence I’ve yet to see him. Feghouli has failed to live up to his initial promise, and had two late chances, but criminally failed to hit the target from good positions.

Obiang, once again, demonstrated that he is the best midfielder at the club, certainly from a defensive viewpoint, and for me should always be the first name on the teamsheet. Quite how he was overlooked for so long continues to baffle me. I presume Mark Noble will be back for the Arsenal game, though, much as I admire him in so many ways, I’m not sure that this would in the best interests of the team.

I think that if Carroll is fit then he will play, just because it is Arsenal, and he scares the living daylights out of their defenders. But he will be massively rusty and I wouldn’t necessarily expect too much, nor a full 90 minutes. If he does play then I would hate to see him isolated a long way from the midfield. He would be a much better proposition playing alongside another striker, although I can’t see that happening, especially against Arsenal, where Bilic will want to try to match them in midfield.

Personally I’d much prefer to see us play with four at the back, but in the absence of a decent right back (any news on Byram by the way?), I reckon Bilic will stick to the same three, although we could easily be torn apart by Ozil, and more importantly, the movement of Sanchez.

I haven’t got a crystal ball but reckon Bilic might pick the following team on Saturday if they are all fit:

Randolph,
Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna,
Antonio, Noble, Obiang, Cresswell,
Ayew, Carroll, Payet.

It would be a shame if this is the case as I would like to see places for Fernandes, Lanzini and Fletcher. They are three players that I believe will be very much part of our future, and they do add pace and urgency to the team, which has been sadly lacking for much of this season.

On recent form it’s hard to be too optimistic, but I’ll go for a 2-2 draw.

5 Painful Points from the Old Trafford Sequel

The litany of lacklustre league cup exits just got a little longer.

Yet Another Tame Cup Exit

Yet again a promising cup run comes to an end in the most disappointing way. Not that away to Manchester United was ever going to be easy. And that the cause was helped by having held them to a draw a few days earlier leaving the hosts with a feeling that they had something to prove. No, it wasn’t simply the fact that West Ham are now out of a competition that was probably the best chance of silverware it was the manner of the surrender that has created such disappointment and disquiet. It is difficult to find any positives in the game with the possible exception of Ashley Fletcher’s first goal for West Ham. Otherwise it was a lame, tame, feeble performance.

Look Through Any Window

Much has been said already about the outcome of the terrible summer transfer window and there I was believing that we had poached a hot-shot head of recruitment from Everton. There are possibly one or two for the future in the assorted incomings but none has served ti improve the first team. The only silver lining is that common sense prevailed and that Zaza and Tore ended up as loan deals rather than parting with £30 million plus for theor services. Our stock in being able to attract players before the season would have been reasonably high but now, out of Europe and looking at a relegation battle, it is a much less attractive proposition for potential transfer targets. The worry is that we will need to shell out for short term fire-fighters to get out of a hole at the expense of continued squad improvement. It would be a big surprise to me if Payet is still at the club in January; maybe it would be a good time to cash-in (it’s what Arsenal would do) but the worry is that modern day Rigobert Songs and Titi Camaras would be the type of players bought with the proceeds.

Less Than the Sum of the Parts

We had played reasonably well on Sunday but then so poorly just a few days later. Same ground, same opposition, same formation and with only minor personnel changes. How does a team go from being organised and disciplined to amateur and shambolic in such a short space of time? Bad attitude or bad coaching? The 3 at the back formation was instigated to fix a particular defensive problem, had some initial success but is now looking very unconvincing when taking account of the players that we have at our disposal. It might have looked a good option for the defence but ignored what would happen in front of it. The system/ formation is not a good fit, players do not look comfortable with it and it does not allow some to perform to their strengths. A club that has such blatant gaps in its squad strength (right back and striker) in a multi-million pound industry raises some serious questions as to how it is governed.

Careful What You Wish For

We were careful what we wished for and got ourselves an ex-player as manager who performed commendably well in his first season even though it was characterised by over-performing against big clubs and under-performing against the others. Most of the goodwill earned, however, has dribbled away in the opening months of this campaign. On the evidence of the season to date the coaching staff do not score highly on the team’s motivation, discipline, fitness or organisation. Add to that some bizarre transfers, team selections and substitutions then the level of confidence in their ability is trending relentlessly downwards. Perhaps it is not yet time for hysteria but I’d be removing the glass from the panic button just in case.

Turning Down The Volume

The Owners have come in for a lot of stick about the shortcomings of bringing new players into the club. Personally, I don’t like the way that they appear to do so much of their business in public, giving it large in the press and on Twitter as to who the targets are and how much wedge is in our war chest. On the other hand I don’t think that it’s a case of money not being made available. For a club our size the net spend is significant in circumstances where we have had no big-money exits in many years. If rumour is to be believed it was Sullivan who vetoed the straight transfers of Zaza and Tore which at least shows some good judgement. Overall I still believe that they have done a great job for the club, but wish they would do it more quietly.

Matchday: Episode 2 Mancs versus West Ham

Here we go again with a second consecutive awayday at Old Trafford.

MAN WHU EFL Cup It is relatively rare these days to play the same team twice in successive matches as West Ham visit Old Trafford for the second time in four days. It was a more common phenomenon in the past where home and away fixtures against the same club were scheduled during the Christmas and Easter holidays or when drawn weekend cup matches were replayed on the following Tuesday or Wednesday.

To the best of my knowledge West Ham meeting the same opponents in successive cup and league fixtures has occurred 5 times previously this century: January 2002 v Chelsea (Lost, Draw); April 2006 v Middlesbro (Lost, Won in FA Cup semi-final); December 2007 v Everton (Lost, Lost); January 2008 v Manchester City (Lost, Draw) and March 2011 v Stoke City (Won, Lost). History suggests that by not winning on Sunday we have given ourselves a better chance tonight.

Head to Head

The head to head record is little changed since the weekend.

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Sequence
Home	62	26	21	15	103	90	WLDLDD
Away	66	13	12	41	61	149	DDDLLL
	128	39	33	56	164	239

Team News

Predicting lineups for League Cup games has become very difficult with selection contingent on how seriously the respective managers view the competition in the context of their overall season. It is a potential route into Europe; probably the most promising one for the Hammers while Mourinho’s hubris will ensure his mind remains confident of Champion’s League qualification.

“If we change a few players like United will, it doesn’t mean we are going there just to play a game.It is a quarter-final and to reach the semis is a big thing and we are just a couple of games from the final.”

– Slaven Bilic

Diafro Sakho is back in the treatment room with a hamstring injury while Winston Reid is available again after a one match suspension. Once more an Andy Carroll return has been rumoured but my instinct is that the Arsenal game is a more realistic target for him. The alternating goalkeeper’s rule should mean Adrian between the sticks and I would guess at starts for Reid, Fernandes, Ayew and Fletcher.

Pogba and Fellaini are suspended for Manchester United following their yellow cards in Sunday’s encounter.

The Man in the Middle

A first meeting of the season with referee Mike Jones from Chester. Jones was in charge of two West Ham away fixtures last season at Norwich (D 2-2) and Stoke (L 1-2). Jones has officiated 10 games this season issuing 36 yellow cards and 2 red ones – an impressive 9 of these yellows coming in last weekend’s Arsenal versus Bournemouth game.

Man United v West Ham – League Cup Preview

West Ham in the League Cup

League Cup Programmes

I know that the competition has had a number of names over the years according to the particular sponsors at the time, but to me it has always been the League Cup. The current title, the EFL Cup, sounds to me just like a trendy attempt to use initials to jazz up interest in, what, after all, is traditionally the minor competition in the English football calendar. I can never understand why so many clubs treat it comparatively flippantly, because in many ways it is the easiest of the trophies to win, and winning it is a passport into Europe for the following season.

Clubs like ourselves, who were in Europe this season (albeit briefly in our case), received a bye into round 3, and by winning two home games against Accrington Stanley and Chelsea, now find ourselves in round 5, which is the quarter-finals. Get through this round and you are into a two-legged semi-final with the prospect of a trip to Wembley for the winner. Effectively you only have to beat five other clubs to land the trophy.

Now I am old enough to remember the competition starting in 1960-61. It had a controversial beginning and some of the bigger clubs in the Football League didn’t even enter at first. And though it gained surprisingly more popularity than a lot thought it would, many teams even today use the early rounds in particular to give a run out to squad players who wouldn’t necessarily be first choice for Premier League games.

From the outset of the competition we always fielded strong sides, and it is only comparatively recently that we haven’t gone flat out in the early rounds to try to progress. In 1960-61 the side we put out against Darlington was virtually identical to the team that had scored five goals in a Division One game just two days earlier, and the one that put six goals past Arsenal less than a fortnight later. Nevertheless we still managed an ignominious defeat at the hands of a lower division team (3-2), something we have managed to do consistently in our 56 attempts to win this competition. Throughout the years we have been beaten by football giants such as Rotherham, Huddersfield, Stockport (twice), Barnsley, Luton, Oldham (twice), Oxford, Crewe, Northampton, Chesterfield, Aldershot, Wigan, and most recently, Sheffield United. Nottingham Forest have eliminated us four times!

We have been knocked out in Round One on one occasion, Round Two eleven times, Round Three nineteen times, and Round Four ten times. That means we have reached the quarter-final on 15 previous occasions, and our trip to Old Trafford is number 16. Of those 15, we have gone out at the quarter-final stage just six times, and progressed further in nine, which is a decent enough record. But in our nine semi-finals we have only reached the final twice, losing to West Brom in the last of the two-legged finals in 1965-66 (the following year the final was held at Wembley for the first time), and then in a replay to Liverpool in 1980-81, when we were a second tier team taking on the best club in England at the time. That was Liverpool’s first win of the League Cup trophy, but they have gone on to dominate since, and have won it the most times (8).

Of all the players in our current squad, only Noble and Sakho had scored a goal in this competition in previous seasons. Noble scored in the two-legged semi-final in 2010-11 when we went out to Birmingham, and Sakho found the net when we were eliminated by Sheffield United on penalties the season before last. Of course, Payet, Kouyate and Fernandes have all notched a goal this time around. Players of yester-year, on the other hand, managed quite a few goals in League Cup games, with six reaching double figures, Cross and Goddard (12), Stewart (14), Byrne (15), Cottee (18), and Geoff Hurst the most prolific, notching 43 goals in just 47 League Cup appearances.

However, I’ll always remember the penalty Geoff Hurst had saved by Gordon Banks in the final minutes of the semi-final second leg against Stoke in 1971-72. If that had gone in we would have been through to the final (probably). As it was, in the days before penalty shoot-outs, that epic semi-final tie took four games to settle before we lost 3-2 in the dramatic second replay, even though Bobby Moore saved a penalty when taking over in goal from the injured Ferguson (no substitute keepers in those days!).

This is only the third time we have ever faced Manchester United in the League Cup. In our record breaking season of 1985-86, they knocked us out 1-0 in Round 3, whereas on 30 November 2010 (exactly six years ago today, when it was called the Carling Cup) we famously beat them 4-0 in the quarter-final on a freezing night at Upton Park, with a brace apiece for Jonathan Spector and Carlton Cole.

It is 22 years since we last lost a game on the final day of November. Since then we’ve won three and drawn one, with 10 goals scored and only two conceded. And who can ever forget November 30 1988, when we famously put four past Liverpool in a League Cup fourth round game?

It would be great to progress to another semi-final, and then we could even begin to dream of another trip to Wembley. Manchester United are not the force of old, and I am looking forward to us repeating our promising visit there last Sunday, but this time returning with a victory.

5 Reflections from West Ham @ Old Trafford

Trying to make sense of the encouraging improvement at Old Trafford.

Performance & Selection

Taking everything into account the performance on Sunday was a pleasing one. Manchester United may not be the greatest team at the moment but they have a squad of very talented (and expensive) players. Whether Mourinho can mould them into a great team remains to be seen. West Ham gave a good account of themselves and were ahead before a Manchester player had taken a meaningful touch of the ball. The fatalist in me felt that we had scored too early and when Ibrahimović was allowed a soft equaliser it was easy to imagine the floodgates opening. But we stuck to the task and despite their dominance of possession were restricted to a few cut and dried goal-scoring opportunities. Some fine performances where my standout players were Randolph, Kouyate, Obiang, Payet and Sakho. Yet again Obiang was excellent and the delay in him being given the chance to secure a regular start leaves me scratching my head.

A Deserved Result

Football reporting is largely presented in black and white terms with a narrative that big club should beat little club and if they don’t it is because of big club’s shortcomings rather than the small club’s skill, resilience or determination. Allied to this there is the concept of the ‘deserved result’ which has been debated on social media in the aftermath of our game. MOTD pundits Martin Keown and Trevor Sinclair had declared the result a fair one while Twittering Robbie Savage disagreed stating that the outcome was due solely to Manchester’s wastefulness in front of goal. The Mourinho spin for Manchester United’s mid table position is that they are the unluckiest team in the history of the game. There could be a case to argue if incorrect refereeing decisions kept going against you (as they did with West Ham last season) that you have been the victim of misfortune; but if it is simply your players not being able to do there job effectively (e.g. by converting goal-scoring opportunities) then this is a reflection of ability or coaching rather than luck. As Mourinho seems to believe that every decision given against his team is an incorrect one then he will never be able to accept that he gets what he deserves.

A Passing Conundrum

Leicester won the league last year in a manner where they invariably had less possession than the opposition during games. A misinterpretation of this statistic might lead the foolish coach to instruct his side to lose possession as soon as possible in order to improve the chances of winning the game. It would be a comical tactic and yet our attempts at keeping the ball frequently appear as if this is something we strive for. It is difficult to decide if this sorry state is due to poor technique and decision making by the passer or insufficient movement in providing options by potential receivers. Perhaps I view West Ham through a more critical lens but I don’t believe any other Premier League side has such difficulty in ball retention or ends up playing it back to the keeper so often. It is one thing to use the keeper under pressure but not because you have run out of ideas. Experience tells us that it is rare for a punt up field from the keeper, or even a central defender for that matter, leading to anything constructive. If we are going to pick up the points we need from games against the less glamorous clubs (an issue both this and last season) then we have to greatly improve ball retention.

One Up Front

It had been an encouraging return for Diafra Sakho up until his latest injury setback and he finally provided an opportunity to celebrate a goal from a striker when he headed home Dimitri Payet’s free kick. The striker situation at West Ham has been a perplexing one where the supposed no-stone-unturned search for a goal scoring forward has been confounded by not having a clear profile of the type of player sought. Our current style of play is based upon one up front and in the modern game that ‘one’ needs to have pace, energy, strength and mobility. Sakho is by far our best option for this role at the moment. If we are really on the lookout for reinforcement up front it needs someone with his attributes but with a more reliable fitness and goal scoring record. It is difficult to see how an Andy Carroll fits into such a system; it brings with it a far more predictable style of play and for optimum effectiveness requires the presence of a second striker to pick up the pieces. This is precisely the reason why Benteke was seen as surplus to requirements at Liverpool given the fluid style now being successfully employed by Klopp; and it was very worrying to hear Bilic say that he was an admirer of the Belgian.

As for Sakho it was impossible to tell from his demeanour if fences have been mended and he is now back committed to the West Ham cause or whether his efforts were an advertisement to potential suitors.

Good is the Enemy of Great

There is a saying that ‘good is the enemy of great’. It alludes to the fact that people are often prepared to accept competence rather than always working harder and striving for better. We are good, we are not the worst, what is there to worry about? It is a state of mind long associated with West Ham particularly as the self-styled family club more at home with ex-players in the dugout and local lads on the pitch. A number of times in our history we have been on the verge of great but decided to stick. In some ways it is admirable to display loyalty but is not a good fit with success in the modern game where sentiment is a thing of the past. This is how I view the Mark Noble situation. He is a good player but could never be great due to several significant limitations. I don’t dislike him in any way (and have always loved his passion and commitment) but those limitations are becoming more apparent the more intense the game becomes. I would love him to prove me wrong but, on current form, he is very fortunate to get a starting berth; local lad or not.

This Week in Hammer’s History

Re-living some special League Cup memories from the week 28 November to 4 December.

This Week Hammers History This week we are going to gloss over a 7-0 defeat at Hillsborough by Sheffield Wednesday in 1959 and a 5-2 reverse at Tranmere in 1992 to focus our attention on famous League Cup exploits that have taken place between 28 November and 4 December in Hammer’s history. It’s your own cut out and keep League Cup supplement.

The 1980/81 season was one of the most memorable and successful ever for the Hammers. Although consigned to the second division at the time West Ham boasted a top flight team and were well on course for promotion when they came up against Tottenham in a quarter final tie on a frosty evening in early December. West Ham had won each or their last 13 home games and after a slow start to the match began to get the better of their close neighbours whose lineup included Hoddle, Ardiles and Villa. With less than 10 minutes left and still scoreless Brooking was put through on goal but his shot was blocked by out-rushing keeper Barry Daines in the Spurs goal. The ball broke loose to the right hand side of the penalty area where running away from goal David Cross chipped the ball delightfully in at the far post to score his 21^st goal of the season. Cue pandemonium and one more famous victory over the north Londoners.

Parkes, Stewart, Bonds, Martin, Lampard, Holland, Pike, Brooking, Devonshire, Cross, Goddard

On 30 November 1988, second from bottom West Ham entertained high flying current champions Liverpool at Upton Park in a 4^th round tie. It turned out to be another memorable occasion under the floodlights and, in particular, for Paul Ince who scored two first half goals (an excellent volley and a deft header) to set the Hammers on their way. Liverpool pulled one back from the penalty spot (how else could they beat Allen McKnight) before half time but a bizarre Steve Staunton headed own goal restored West Ham’s two goal advantage. The scoring was then completed courtesy of a Tony Gale Payet-esque free kick that had been awarded after Nigel Spackman tried to remove Julian Dicks head with his boot. The Hammers securing an unlikely 4-1 victory on the night.

McKnight, Potts, Dicks, Gale, Martin, Devonshire, Brady, Kelly, Rosenior, Dickens, Ince

On the very same day but 22 years later it was top versus bottom as Manchester United were the visitors to Upton Park for a 5^th round tie against Avram Grant’s erratic side. Manchester United were the holders of the then Carling Cup and came into the match unbeaten in domestic competition that season and off the back of a 7-1 annihilation of Blackburn Rovers the previous weekend. The match was played in what journalists like to call ‘arctic conditions’ and after some early scares Super Jonny Spector took centre stage to notch a first half brace (the American’s first goals in English football) against his former club. In the second half two well take goals from Carlton Cole made it a wonderful 4-0 humiliation of Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and leaving Sir Alex even more red in the face than usual through embarrassment and cold.

Green, Faubert, Tomkins (Reid), Upson, Ben Haim, Barrera (Hines), Kovac, Spector, Boa Morte, Cole (Stanislas), Obinna

So maybe 30 November is an auspicious date for successful League Cup encounters as we prepare for episode two of the Old Trafford series on Wednesday. Just bear in mind that West Ham were relegated in both the 1988/89 and 2010/11 seasons.

A more personal memory was one where I failed to observe my unwritten rule of never attending matches with supporters of the opposing team. This was in November 2000 when I took two work colleagues from Sheffield to watch second division Wednesday play West Ham at Upton Park. This was the first home game after the sale of Rio to Leeds and featured the debut of cut-price replacement Rigobert Song. With Di Canio in full flow against his former employers we started as if we were going to murder them but the footballing gods had other ideas and we lost the game 2-1 to prompt much mickey-taking.

This week’s birthdays.

1 December Francois Ven Der Elst (62)