West Ham face the visit of Manchester United in the final game before Christmas. But what happened on Wednesday night?

Have you ever wondered why clubs such as West Ham don’t take the Carabao Cup as seriously as they might?

Getting to the final of the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup gives fans a day out at Wembley. The winners of each competition are guaranteed a place in Europe the following season, and for most clubs, including West Ham it is their best chance of being involved there. So why don’t clubs take domestic cup competitions as seriously as you might expect, and definitely not as seriously as most fans would expect them to?

It can only be money? The prize money on offer for winning the Carabao Cup is £100,000. The runners up get £50,000, semi-finalists £25,000 and so on. With the amount of money washing around at the top level of English football this is only peanuts isn’t it? The FA Cup is 20 times more lucrative with the winners picking up £2 million in prize money but still clubs don’t take this competition as seriously as Premier League games. Why?

The winners of the Premier League will collect £44 million in prize money and this decreases by £2.2 million for each position in the final table. Even this is small fry compared to the money from TV revenue, both home and abroad and all the other revenue streams available to clubs. If West Ham finish the season in eighth place the prize money from the Premier League is £28.6 million. Finishing just a place lower in ninth would be £26.4 million. So for West Ham (for example) finishing eighth instead of ninth is more lucrative than winning both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup combined. Heaven forbid we drop any lower in the league by fielding our strongest side to try to progress in the competition!

Ask any fan if they would sooner win one or other of the domestic cup competitions (or even reach the final for a day out at Wembley) and only finish ninth in the league rather than eighth. Who remembers final positions in the league when you are in the pack? But we all remember our days out at Wembley, especially when we lift a trophy.

Liverpool were there for the taking on Wednesday. You’d like to think so anyway. So why did our back four include Mavropanos, Ogbonna and Johnson?. Why were Benrahma and Fornals in the starting eleven? Where were JWP, Paqueta and Emerson? David Moyes had never won at Anfield in 20 visits with four different clubs. Liverpool hadn’t been beaten at home since last February. And then only by Real Madrid. We certainly weren’t going to come close with that line-up. And so it proved. Were you surprised? I wasn’t.

Jarrod Bowen, described by Klopp as one of his favourite players, took his goal well but what else was there for the thousands of Hammers fans to cheer after travelling to Merseyside on a December evening the week before Christmas? The lack of ambition in the first half was demonstrated by lack of touches in the opposition box. We lost this particular statistic 23-1. Amazingly we were only a goal down at the break. We managed our first shot on target after 77 minutes and this was our goal. Did we have a sniff at 3-1? The manager obviously thought so and took off Alvarez to be replaced by Ings! Game on? Don’t make me laugh.

We’ve never won the League Cup. We’ve been runners-up twice but with this lack of ambition I can’t see it happening soon. There were a lot of grumbles on social media but surprisingly to me some of our fans didn’t seem at all bothered. Our best three years ever, just look at our record in the last nine games, we’re marching on in Europe etc.

So close to a Wembley final with only Chelsea, Fulham and Middlesbrough to stop us, and yet so far. David Moyes is used to having no success at Anfield and was waving the white flag before we even kicked off.

So two days before Christmas and Manchester United come to town. I don’t think we’ll see JWP and Paqueta on the bench. We’ll put out our strongest side possible. Because money talks and finishing eighth rather than perhaps ninth or lower is considered to be more important by some than winning the Carabao Cup. I’ll be supporting the team as I always do and have done for the past 65 years. I fervently hope we give the Red Devils a hiding. But I think I’m entitled to feel massively disappointed by Wednesday night’s effort!

Seasons greetings. Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year!

Another Chance To Break The Anfield Curse: West Ham Battle Liverpool For A Place In The EFL Cup Semi-Final

With a touch of verve, swagger and style returning to the Hammer’s play can they pull of a classic smash and grab at Liverpool tonight? Or will it be yet another case of Merseycide?

It will be a buoyant West Ham who head to Anfield tonight to take on Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup. The prize, a place in the semi-final draw alongside Chelsea, Fulham, and Middlesbrough. The winner of tonight’s tie becoming the highest ranked team remaining in the competition.

There have been a host of unlikely winners in 63 seasons of the Milk, Littlewoods, Rumbelows, Coca-Cola, Worthington, Carling, Capital One, Carabao Cup – but the Hammers have yet to get among them. In previous seasons, the names of Norwich, Birmingham, West Brom, Middlesbrough, QPR, Stoke, Luton, Swindon, and Oxford have all been engraved on the old trophy. But the best West Ham have to show for it is two losing final appearances. The first, a two-legged affair against West Bromwich Albion in 1966; the second, a replay defeat to tonight’s opponents in 1981.

In contrast to the Hammer’s duck, Liverpool have won the competition more times than any other club, running out victorious in nine of the 13 finals they have appeared in. Their most recent victory was in a 2022 penalty shootout against Chelsea in 2022, after the game finished scoreless after extra time.

One record that the two clubs share is the biggest win in EFL Cup history – by ten goals to nil. West Ham thumping Bury in 1983, Liverpool doing likewise to Fulham in 1986. There is no record of The Reds signing any of the Fulham defenders after the match as the Hammers did with Paul Hilton of Bury.

The curse of West Ham visits to Anfield is well documented. An emphatic 3-0 win in 2015, which indirectly led to the demise of Brendan Rodgers and the appointment of Jurgen Klopp, was the first away victory at Anfield for 52 years. But the hoodoo has not been lifted again since. The Hammers now on a run of seven consecutive defeats at Liverpool since a 2-2 draw in Dec 2016.

Tonight is the sixth time that West Ham have faced Liverpool in the EFL Cup. The first and last of those meetings saw the Hammers come out on top with Liverpool winning the three in between. Unsurprisingly, both West Ham wins were recorded at Upton Park – a 2-1 win (Hurst, Robson) in October 1971, and a shock 4-1 victory (Gale, Ince 2, Staunton OG) in November 1988. The Hammers line up that day: McKnight, Potts, Dicks, Gale, Martin, Devonshire, Brady, Kelly, Rosenoir, Dickens, Ince. It was an eventful year at West Ham as they were eventually beaten in semi-final of the EFL Cup by Luton, lost in a sixth round FA Cup replay to Norwich, and ended up being relegated.

It has become compulsory at this time of year to mention that the games are coming thick and fast, although Christmas schedules aren’t as hectic as they once were and European fixtures are taking a breather. Managers must still take a gamble with how they juggle resources. Even if the early rounds or the EFL cup are seen as nuisance it takes on greater significance as thoughts of the Wembley dome come to mind.

Klopp in particular will be in two minds on team selection with a top of the table clash with Arsenal on the weekend horizon, and at a time when the Anfield sickbay is bursting at the seams – Matip, Thiago, Bajcetic, Robertson, Mac Allister, and Jota are all probable absentees. Klopp has plenty of attacking talent to call upon, but they are clearly vulnerable in defence and midfield.

On the other hand, West Ham have only Michail Antonio on the long-term sick list – although a few are close to exhaustion if overnight reports are correct. It is either luck or testament to the club’s training methods that the Hammers have suffered few injury problems of late (makes note to touch wood). A far cry from the time when players only needed to pull their socks up to pull a hamstring.

The issue for Moyes is more about quality – or at least which players he feels he can trust. Playing the same group of players week in and week out doesn’t appear to be a sustainable policy, so he may well be pressured to make changes for tonight’s game. I would be quite happy to see two or three of Thilo Kehrer, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma, or Divin Mubama introduced but please no Aaron Cresswell or Danny Ings.

If the Hammers win it would make it a first EFL Cup semi-final for 10 years. Thankfully, Manchester City will not be waiting in the draw this time around. If they should advance, it is a eminently winnable competition. It’s just the record at Anfield that makes it a big ‘if’. But all winning and losing streaks must come to an end eventually so why not tonight when Liverpool’s have one eye fixed on the Premier League table? COYI!

Lifting The Lid On The Moyesball Paradox Of Dreary Football And Europa Success

West Ham regained some dignity with a fine performance against Freiburg in midweek. Now they face Wolves amid continuing speculation over manager David Moyes future.

It was interesting to hear David Moyes pre-match comment that although not personally worried about his current contract situation, he feared it might unsettle the players. Always good to get the excuses in early. His assumption, I guess, is that these highly paid professionals would be distraught at the thought of playing under new management. Moyes added that what he needed to focus on was picking up enough points to keep the Board happy.

Like many supporters I have this ongoing dilemma with Moyesball. It’s an internal conflict of never wanting West Ham to lose any game, but with an (apparently) delusional desire to be entertained in the process. It is the entertainment element that is generally overlooked outside those fans who regularly watch matches. It seems we should be grateful for any small crumbs of success that come our way even if the football is invariably dull and dreary. So, you get the situation where a pundit such as Jeff Stelling berates a West Ham supporter for wanting Moyes replaced, telling him he needs to ‘get a grip on reality’. Maybe the reality is that West Ham should be doing much better given the investment that has been made in the squad. Of course, there is no way that Moyes will lose his job before the end of his contract, but speculation will persist on whether a contract extension is conceivable.

If Moyes should leave in the summer, then the record books will show a respectable legacy from his time at West Ham. By almost all metrics, the 2020/21 season was the Hammer’s best ever in the Premier League. Most points, most wins, best goal difference and providing the sixth-place finish that would kick-start three consecutive seasons of European football. And then there was the success in last season’s Europa Conference that brought the club its first trophy in 43 years. In summary, that is not too shabby and, of course, this season is not yet over.

What the record books have no interest in, though, is the quality or style of football played during that time. And that is where the majority of disgruntled supporters take issue. Games are endured rather than enjoyed and results have rarely been good enough to gloss over that fact. Indeed, it has only been the European adventures that have served as Moyes ‘get out of jail free card’ over the past two seasons as domestic form flatlined.

The success of 2020/21 carried over into the early months of following season and after beating Crystal Palace on New Years Day 2022 the Hammers were handily placed in fifth spot. But then things started to change.  They were no longer a surprise package; opponents knew exactly how they wanted to play and were able to put a stop to the threat of rapid counterattacks. The opportunity to strengthen the squad in January was missed and both performances and results began to fall away. As the opportunity for breakaways receded the tactics lost their shine and simply looked negative.

An analysis of league form over two years since that Palace game, shows West Ham’s record as Played 72, Won 24, Drawn 14, and Lost 34. That’s a measly win percentage of 33% with an unremarkable average of 1.2 points per game. Is there no-one else who could have done better?

Throughout this time, Europe has continued to paper over the cracks. Excellent performances against Sevilla and Lyon and victory over Fiorentina in Prague being the standout moments. It would be wrong to belittle the European experience but equally going over the top about winning group games verges on embarrassing. With the exception of Freiburg, all opposition has come from the continent’s lower ranked leagues – Croatia, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Rumania, Serbia, and Greece. Any competent (and expensively assembled) Premier League side that took the competition seriously would be expected to come out on top. A team can only beat what’s in front of you but let’s not overegg the achievement. Even in the upcoming knockout round, West Ham should be easily among the favourites to make it through to the last eight.  

All that said, it was a fine professional performance on Thursday to secure top spot in Group A. The Hammers proving that when allowed to, they can play some decent football. The tie wrapped up by two excellent goals from summer signings Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez. I must admit I had pigeon-holed Alvarez as the typical defensive midfield destroyer and was both surprised and impressed by his contribution with the ball. All I had to go on were memories of him spooning long shots well over the bar earlier in the season.

In truth, Freiburg didn’t offer much and allowed West Ham far too much space in which to express themselves. It is maybe indicative of the strength in depth – and the amount of money available – in the Premier League compared to the Bundesliga.

The return to league action todays sees Wolverhampton Wanderers visit the London Stadium. Wolves have stabilised under the management of former Hammer Gary O’Neil and occupy a comfortable mid-table spot, thanks mainly to their impressive home form. The visitors will be without primary dangerman Neto, but Hwang and Cunha have been regularly finding the net. I watched them beat Tottenham a few weeks ago and was impressed by the way Lemina was able to boss the midfield.

Should West Ham beat Wolves today then they will be slightly better off than at the equivalent stage of 2020/21. On the other hand, they would now be below Everton had the Toffees not received a ten point penalty. A late run to qualify for Europe through league position seems unlikely however, especially in light of Moyes belief that he doesn’t need additional striking options. It will be interesting to see if any transfer activity takes place in January as it will undoubtedly be influenced by the manager’s contract position. The success of Kudus and Alvarez will surely have strengthened Tim Steidten’s hand in the leadership of future transfer business.

From Moyes point of view, his best chance of influencing the Board would be to win another trophy and extend the European adventure into a fourth season as a result. In that respect, he may view Wednesday’s league cup tie at Anfield as his most important pre-Christmas challenge. Whether that means resting a few of his favourites today will only be revealed once the teams are announced. We must wait and see.

More than anything I would hope to see more of the movement, space creation and interchange that we witnessed in the second half at Tottenham – and again on Thursday night. And without the lack of defensive discipline on show at Fulham. There are now enough talented players in the squad to break free of the Moyesball shackles, but will it be allowed to happen. COYI!

What West Ham performance will we get when Wolves visit the London Stadium on Sunday?

One like last Sunday at Fulham or a repeat of the excellent show on Thursday against Freiburg?

The Forrest Gump quotation suitably amended comes into play once again – “West Ham are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” The debacle at Fulham last weekend was a shocker wasn’t it? A 5-0 drubbing and a terrible performance. Some fans writing on social media reckoned it was our worst ever. As a supporter for 65 years I would say that I’ve seen a few games like that over the years, but yes it was certainly near the top of the league of poor efforts by our team. A few excuses were trotted out regarding illness etc. but really there was little excuse for the shambles that we witnessed.

The following Thursday we had an important Europa League game against a German side higher in the Bundesliga than we are in the Premier League. They came into the game in good form with wins under their belt and as the top scorers in Group A, quite probably the top scorers in the competition as a whole. It was a one match shootout where we held the advantage (following our win in Germany) that a win or draw would see us top the group and go straight through to the round of 16 avoiding a potentially tricky two-legged play-off tie.

The West Ham team was changed a little in personnel from the weekend but totally unrecognisable in terms of performance. After a slow opening few minutes we turned on the style and entertainment that have been so lacking for the past year or more in the league. Not in Europe of course where we have won more games than any other team in European competitions (other than perhaps Real Madrid?). We joined an exclusive club of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, becoming the sixth English club to top their European league for three consecutive seasons. Does that mean we are now one of the elite big six?

Two superb goals came from Kudus and Alvarez who turned in a man of the match performance before being taken off when the job was done in the second half. I’m not a big fan of assist statistics but they do mean something when the assists are as good as they were in this game. Alvarez to Kudus and Bowen to Alvarez were both inch perfect and the goals themselves were a pleasure to watch. We came close other times too, Bowen a yard offside for one, the bar struck by Paqueta with a fierce right foot shot in the opening minutes, and an easy chance that Bowen should have buried. The whole side looked good before easing up in the second half with the game over and the introduction of the (mandatory) substitutes.

The TV commentator commented that Ings was very important in the dressing room at West Ham. Am I alone in thinking that perhaps he should stay there? The substitutions disrupted the rhythm and the entertainment ceased as the game headed towards its conclusion. Ings was a fine goalscorer before he joined West Ham. What has happened? Is it to do with him or the West Ham style of play? Answers on a postcard. At least Moyes got around the criticism of sending Ings on as a substitute before Mubama by sending them both on at the same time in this game. I can’t see that tactic being tried again.

On the whole a very pleasing and entertaining evening but what West Ham will we see when Wolves arrive on Sunday? Following Wolves promotion to the top flight five years ago they had the upper hand in encounters against us at first but in recent times we have come out on top winning the last three. There’s no way the game can end in a goalless draw that’s for sure. We haven’t had a clean sheet in the league since September; Wolves have only had one clean sheet in their last 24 away games.

The worrying statistics for this game include the fact that Wolves haven’t won a Sunday game in their past ten league games played on this day of the week and have lost their last six Sunday away games. Sunday certainly hasn’t been a day of rest for West Ham as this will be our 50th Premier League game on the day in not much more than two years! Apparently that is 13 more than any other club! And our record when playing Sunday games following a European match on a Thursday night isn’t the best is it? David Moyes also has a very positive record when it comes to home games against Wolves. His positive records often come a cropper though. Before last week’s game I wrote that Moyes hadn’t lost in the last 13 times he had faced Fulham. Oh dear!

I’ve absolutely no idea what to expect in this game. I just hope that we see the same West Ham that performed so stylishly and entertained us on Thursday night, particularly in the first half. Not a repeat of Fulham please. What are the chances?   

There’s Only One ‘F’ In Freiburg: Can West Ham Recover From Their Fulham Fiasco

West Ham complete their Europa League group campaign with a title decider against Freiburg. Will they bounce back from Sunday’s humiliation to top the group and head straight to March’s Round of 16?

Well, the euphoria that followed victory at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium didn’t last long, did it? And what a come down it was. We are well used to dull and dreary performances under Moyes, but it is a rare to be on the wrong end of a submissive, overwhelming drubbing like the one handed out by Fulham at Craven Cottage.

There were two mitigating excuses put forward by the manager after the game. One was the stomach bug which had allegedly affected several of the players; the other was a general sense of fatigue from the team’s hectic fixture schedule. Both may have played their part but equally they highlight a lack of depth in the squad and the inadequacies in the way that it is managed. Despite all the investment in playing staff we have barely progressed from the days of Harry’s bare bones.

When the teams were announced on Sunday it was obvious that a defensive midfield pairing of Thomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse would likely prove vulnerable. Neither is an effective replacement for the stricken Edson Alvarez – just as they hadn’t along the road at Brentford. With Flynn Downes unceremoniously sent out on loan there just isn’t cover for the role protecting the defence. Just as there is little cover in the squad for several other critical roles. It is a sad indictment of the club’s transfer and youth policies.

The two changes Moyes made for the game, bringing in Aaron Cresswell and Pablo Fornals also raised alarm bells. As good a servant as Cresswell has been at West Ham, his best before date for top-flight football expired at least two years ago. And it’s a shame about the likeable Fornals. There simply isn’t anything special enough about his game for him to prosper in the breakneck pace of English football – and, certainly not as left winger. Was he selected to cover for Cresswell? It was said later that Fornals was among those suffering from the sickness bug, so to pick him ahead of Said Benrahma or Maxwell Cornet seems baffling?

While we can have some sympathy for player’s suffering from fatigue, it is one of the responsibilities of management to deploy available resources shrewdly. You will hear ex-pros saying that players prefer to play games rather train but the intensity of games is increasing all the time. And the Moyesball style of play requires more running than most. It is all the more perplexing therefore, that the same players are asked to put in the majority of minutes game after game. Substitutions are few, are usually made late in the day, and are often the same predictable like for like switches.

Is the rest of the squad so full of duds or is it that Moyes only likes or trusts his chosen few. Don’t the fringe players need minutes to build confidence and find their feet? In all league games this season, Divin Mubama has 56 minutes, Thilo Kehrer 21, and Cornet 1. Ben Johnson and Conor Coventry have yet to feature at all. Mubama is also the only academy player to find his way onto the pitch in any game in any competition.

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There was at least some positive news during the week as Manchester United and Newcastle crashed out of this season’s European competition. They will not now be dropping down into the Europa League. Whether AC Milan or Galatasaray represent easier opposition should the Hammers draw them is a matter of opinion. The immediate hurdle for West Ham’s Europa League ambitions is to avoid defeat tonight. If they can, they will top the group and bypass a tricky Qualifying Round in February.

In effect, the Hammers start tonight’s game with a one goal advantage from the away leg in Germany. The dilemma is whether the manager sets out to extend or defend that lead. Past performance suggests he is most likely to opt for the latter.

The away game in Germany was arguably West Ham’s best performance in Europe this year, overcoming a partisan crowd and bumpy pitch to run out as 2-1 winners. Apart from that defeat, Freiburg have won each of their other games in the group, including two storming 5-0 home victories against Topola and Olympiacos. These goalscoring feats are at odds with their Bundesliga form where they have only managed 17 goals in 14 matches – and just 6 in 8 games away from home. Still, they are comfortably mid-table and have enjoyed successive 1-0 away wins at Mainz and Wolfsburg in the last two weeks.

It has been reported that the sickness threat has receded from the Hammer’s dressing room and will allow Moyes to go as close to full strength as he sees fit for the game. He will surely go with his strongest lineup and there are unlikely to be any surprise selections.

My prediction for the game at Fulham was that it would be decided by the odd goal – well five’s an odd number, isn’t it? Regardless of that abject failure, I will predict the same again tonight. In fact, I can see it ending 1-0 – but who to? Whatever approach West Ham adopt at the start of the game, we all know that the final ten minutes (plus added time) will be one long, nail biting, edge-of-the-seat agony. Plus ça change! COYI!   

It’s happened again to Tottenham as West Ham Hit Back – Moyesball 2 AngePostball 1. The third London derby in a row is a trip across the capital to face Fulham.

It’s happened again. It’s happened again. Why does it keep happening to poor old Tottenham? Five points clear at the top of the table followed by five games in which they held the lead only to let the advantage slip in every one. West Ham can’t be too complacent because we are in the top half of the ‘letting it slip’ league this season but not in the same class as our North London neighbours who are well clear at the top of this particular league.

We go into the away game at Fulham on Sunday unbeaten in our last six, with six wins in our last eight games (in all competitions) retaining our position of ninth in the table. Ten points from our last four league games matches the ten points that we picked up in our opening four fixtures this season before the blip in between. Before any games were played this weekend, after 15 games the league table has now developed into two divisions, the top and bottom half, or rather the top nine and the bottom eleven. For a while it looked as though we would struggle to maintain a place in the top section but we are hanging on at the bottom of that group and hopefully we can stay there. We are just three points away from Tottenham who are fifth.

The contrast between the managers and players at the end of Thursday night’s game couldn’t have been more pronounced. Postecoglou and Son both seemed to be on the verge of tears whereas you couldn’t wipe the smiles from the faces of JWP, Bowen and Moyes. The first half was as one-sided (in terms of possession and intricate pretty passing) as you could get (at one stage the possession stats read 91%-9%). We couldn’t retain the ball and Tottenham kept coming at us. But what did they actually create? How many real goal scoring opportunities? Not a lot, hardly any, and Fabianski was confident and barely troubled. In fact Paqueta had perhaps the best chance in the whole of the first half but failed to get a relatively simple header on target which would have made the scores level at the break. The goal that we had conceded from Romero’s header should certainly have been avoided.

Our second half performance was much improved although there was an element of good fortune with the goals. Bowen didn’t even realise at first that the double ricochet off Romero and Davies had broken to him and left him with a clear chance, but he duly obliged with his right foot (which he admitted after he was worried about) to notch his seventh goal in seven consecutive away games, an outstanding feat by any standards. More poor Spurs defending with a dodgy backpass and a goalkeeper who should perhaps have collected the ball left JWP with a clear opportunity which he took at the second attempt. You know how he enjoys the assist statistics – perhaps he purposely hit the post first so that he could claim the assist as well as the goal, or perhaps the home side’s left-hand post will be credited with the assist!

The anti-Moyes / Moyes luvvies swingometer swung towards the latter group in this game but the doubters still remain and wonder what a team comprising Kudus, Paqueta, Bowen, JWP, Alvarez, the revitalised Soucek, and the ever-improving Emerson might achieve with a more positive approach.

Before this weekend’s games Fulham sat comfortably in the middle of the 10th-15th (top half of the lower half) group separated by just three points. In ninth place we were five points clear of tenth place Chelsea and hopefully we can maintain or extend that. As always there are some worrying statistics ahead of the game – you know the ones – where we have past performances that are very good and could ‘come a cropper’ on Sunday.

For example, Fulham have lost five of their last six home Premier League derby games against London sides failing to score each time. In fact they’ve gone 11 London derbies now (home and away) since their last win. Along with wins over Southampton and Tottenham (them again!) West Ham have won more Premier League games against Fulham than against any other teams. Even more worrying perhaps is the fact that David Moyes hasn’t lost in the last 13 times he has faced Fulham. This includes his time here, at Manchester United and Everton.

For those who like to compare records, West Ham have won 7 games this season and lost 5. Fulham have won 5 and lost 7, hence the six-point gap between the teams. We have scored 26 and Fulham have conceded 26. The records are not too dissimilar, with the two games that we have won that Fulham have lost being the difference.

I’d like to think that we can collect another three points in this game, but we don’t have a very good record when playing on a Sunday following a Thursday night game. It would be great to reverse this trend as there will be another one coming up next week too. COYI!

Hammers Set To Jingle All The Way From Tottenham To Craven Cottage

Oh what fun it is to see West Ham win away! This weekend’s special glass half-full edition looks forward to Sunday’s cross-town trip to Fulham

For your love, natural born bugie, Tottenham 1 West Ham 2. That’s enough humble pie for now as we take the opportunity to bask in the glow of a rare and unexpected victory at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Thursday evening. What a delightful treat to find behind door number 7 on this year’s advent calendar.

Wins against our pretentious North London neighbours are guaranteed to put a smile on the face of all but the most curmudgeonly West Ham supporter, no matter what the circumstances. Coming back from the dead – a goal down in a one-sided first half – made the win even sweeter. Direct evidence as to who had been naughty and who had been nice. For masterminding the victory, David Moyes is firmly in the driving seat for the Hammer’s December Employee of the Month award.

The post-match comments of the two managers highlighted the contrasting perspectives of style. Having lost his early season midas touch, Postecoglou had come under media scrutiny for the first time in the wake of five games where his team scored first but failed to win – losing four of them. His magical powers seemingly overhyped by observers, he claimed his priority was to win games rather than simply to entertain. He had been let down by his team who were not clinical enough in their finishing. In truth, Spurs had few ideas and lacked a cutting edge in the face of the massed West Ham defence. They rarely turned superior possession into genuine goal scoring opportunities and without Maddison looked quite ordinary – reminiscent of Bilic’s West Ham during the period Payet was missing through injury.

Moyes on the other hand reiterated (as if we didn’t know) that his plan was to set up not to lose. Perhaps it was the right tactic for this game. In hindsight it is difficult to argue the approach wasn’t the right one, although the binary nature of Moyesball continues to frustrate a large number of fans. With so many players behind the ball in the deepest of low blocks during the first half, it proved impossible to retain possession if and when the ball was won. Moyes observation on the first half performance included the now mandatory “we didn’t play as well as we would have liked!”

The second half transformation offered glimpses of what a decent footballing side West Ham can be when let off the leash. Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, and Lucas Paqueta each have creative potential to spare and with able assistance from James Ward Prowse and Emerson can cause problems for any opponent. When deployed further forward, JWP is a far more effective player than when marooned as a defensive midfield pivot. The one-two with the goalpost for the winner was classic showboating.

I read somewhere that West Ham’s haul of 24 points from their opening 15 games is a best ever for a Premier League season. I don’t know if that is true, but it is certainly beats (by two points) the position at the comparative stage of 2020/21, when they went on to amass a record 65 points. So, if we can sign Jesse Lingard in January, European qualification might be a possibility after all.

It has only been fleeting but a degree of positional fluidity has occasionally been observed in games of late. Bowen and Kudus switching roles, Paqueta doing a turn as the furthest player forward, JWP or Edson Alvarez popping up on the left wing, Emerson making surging runs into midfield. Are these planned moves or simply the result of independent player decisions? Are we seeing the influence from assistant manager, John Heitinga. While the other coaches at West Ham look best suited to putting out the cones or cutting the half-time oranges, the Dutchman might perhaps be experimenting with a touch of progressive continental flair – a peculiar Moyesball hybrid of sub-total football, perhaps.

Fulham will be West Ham’s third London opponents of the week when the teams meet at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon. The home side have suddenly found their scoring boots after a mostly unconvincing start to the current campaign. Having relied heavily of Mitrovic’s goals for the past few seasons they had struggled to find the net following his departure in the summer. But a run of 11 goals from the last three games will have given them added confidence – even if one of those games ended in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield.

Fulham manager, Marco Silva’s career has alternated between someone destined for great managerial things and one struggling to maintain momentum against the odds. Given the resources available, it is difficult to see anything better for his Fulham team than mid-table obscurity. It may be good enough to meet expectations but may not enhance Silva’s prospects.

West Ham have won three and drawn one of their last four encounters with Fulham. They were one of just two teams who the Hammers did the double over last season – an own goal from Harrison Reed settling the equivalent fixture in West Ham’s favour.  

With the Europa League group decider against Freiburg coming up next Thursday, will Moyes be tempted to rest any key players from tomorrow’s selection? It feels unlikely and barring any last-minute injuries it will be the same eleven that started at Tottenham. The fitness and restricted mobility of Kurt Zouma is particularly worrying but the defence looks a good deal more solid when he is at its middle.

We are used to cagey openings to almost every West Ham game these days, and this weekend will doubtless be much the same. We should expect a game decided by the odd goal with Fulham bossing possession around 60-40. If West Ham take the lead, then one eye will be on Thursday’s game, and they will drop deep to defend it. It would be great to follow up the Spurs win with another one at Fulham – and for Bowen to maintain his on-the-road goalscoring form. It would be better still to see even more of what the players an do with the ball at their feet. The bubbles are flying high after Thursday night and putting in a top performance will provide the measure of our dreams. COYI!

Another Thursday night game for West Ham, but not in Europe this time

The games are coming thick and fast now. All 20 Premier League teams have fixtures on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday this week, all available to view on Amazon, and ours is the final game to kick off on Thursday when we visit Tottenham.

On Sunday we faced Crystal Palace and once again we scored the opening goal of the game. When I remember games against Palace I think back to two of the best West Ham goals that I remember. One of them was the stunning overhead kick scored by Andy Carroll at the London Stadium from the cross by (Antonio?). I haven’t seen it again for some time but it was definitely one of the great goals of its type, every bit as good as the one scored by a Manchester United player recently which has sent all the pundits into raptures, and certainly superior to Rooney’s famous one which came off his shin. The other memorable one was the free kick from Payet in one of the final games at the Boleyn Ground that dipped and swerved and went into the goal at the side where the Palace keeper stood and barely moved. Our opening goal this time wasn’t quite in the same class but was an excellent team goal just the same. Kudus flicked the ball over a Palace player, it went to Paqueta to JWP who then produced an inch perfect 50 yard pass to Coufal who then cut the ball back for the inrushing Kudus to sweep the ball into the net with a slight deflection.

If my memory serves me well this is the ninth time in our 14 league games this season where we have scored the first goal in the game. Holding on to the lead after going ahead scoring the first goal would mean 27 points to date plus any picked up after coming from behind. Alas our total is 21 points after Palace equalised via Edouard following a gift from our Greek defender Mavropanos whose woeful backpass was shockingly short and the game ended 1-1.

The famous saying is to ‘beware Greeks bearing gifts’. The phrase originates from Greek Mythology, specifically the story of the Trojan War in which the Greeks left a Trojan horse at the gates of Troy. The Trojans thought this was a gift but the ‘horse’ was filled with Greek soldiers who emerged from the beast and destroyed the city of Troy. Perhaps our Greek defender had fooled them by lulling them into a false sense of security by then going up the other end and bagging a hat trick himself? Alas this was not to be and the gift really was a gift.

When we last won a league game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April 2019, less than five years ago the scorer of our goal was Antonio. We became the first visiting team to win at their new stadium and Antonio became the first visiting player to score there. It just goes to show how teams evolve in a relatively short period of time these days in that probably none of our starting eleven that day will start the game this week. The team that day was Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku, Rice, Anderson, Noble, Snodgrass, Antonio, Arnautovic. Our bench that day comprised Adrian, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Obiang, Wilshere, Hernandez and Perez. Of the 18 players only Fabianski and Ogbonna will be involved, and both almost certainly on the bench.

Our previous league win there was the infamous 3-0 victory in 2013 where Morrison scored the third goal running from our half to seal the victory. Apart from a couple of League Cup wins, they are our only wins there in the last ten seasons. We go into this game unbeaten in our last five, with five wins in our last seven games (in all competitions) retaining our position of ninth in the table. Seven points from our last five league games is superior to Tottenham’s recent record of just one win and one draw in the last five.

The debate over the style of football continues to rage on and the manager continues to be attacked frequently on social media, although many continue to defend his record quoting win percentages, a European trophy won, and continuous involvement in Europe. The question remains, with the squad now at our disposal should we not be doing even better? Social media attracts extremes of opinion both for and against and is only a small proportion of West Ham supporters but I wonder how much support the manager has from the fan base as a whole?

Geoff made the point recently that only pundits or others watching from afar believe that we are enjoying a decent season. Shouldn’t we be happy with sitting in ninth place in the league, progressing nicely in the EFL Cup, a favourable home draw in the third round of the FA Cup, qualified for the knockout stages in Europe with a game to go, and with as many European victories as any club anywhere in Europe in the last two seasons? Or the alternative view that despite this, those of us who watch every game are not happy with the apparent negative approach, poor tactics, and lack of entertainment on offer?

Personally, I am inclined towards the latter view whilst not wishing to diminish the achievements since the manager arrived. As someone who has been watching West Ham since 1958 I can recall some success but the best memories come from being entertained. I remember the entertainment on offer when we won the FA Cup in 1963-64 despite a final league position of 14th, or the following season when we won in Europe and finished 9th (our current position). One of my favourite ever seasons was 1968-69, the entertainment was superb, we scored four or more goals seven times, including a couple of fives, a seven and an eight! We finished eighth which was OK but the key thing was we were regularly entertained royally.

The cup winning season of 1974-75 was entertaining at times, at one stage we scored 20 goals in a four game, 10-day period, but we only finished 13th, and some of the best and most exciting games came in our European run to the final the following season, although we only won one game after Christmas and finished a lowly 18th.

The FA Cup win of 1980 as a second-tier side despite only finishing seventh in the league was memorable as was the record-breaking promotion to the top tier the following season when we won so many games in an entertaining fashion (which included losing in the final of the League Cup). Our most successful season in the top tier ever was our third-place finish in 1985-86. It was disappointing to go out of the FA Cup at the quarter final stage at home to Sheffield Wednesday, but that season gave us great entertainment as well as success. When Allardyce was in charge we had some limited success in regaining and consolidating our position in the top-flight but I hated the football on offer.

Memories are made from both success and being entertained and at times in the past 65 years I remember having both. It is possible to have both results and entertaining performances. The manager seems to believe that the former precludes the latter. Perhaps a more positive approach and forward-thinking man in charge might achieve both?

West Ham Travel To Tottenham In Episode Two Of Their London Trilogy

It was another disappointingly dull display from the Hammers on Sunday. What can we expect from the daunting trip to rejuvenated Tottenham? It’s a game that rarely ends in success!

It seems particularly cruel for fans who have had to put up with Thursday-Sunday football due to the scheduling of European matches to suffer the same fate in a rare midweek set of Premier League fixtures. The manager will now be in two minds whether the long trip to N17 can be used as an excuse for a poor performance at Fulham next Sunday.

The opening instalment of the London trilogy was an unspectacular draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. On a day of thrilling, high-scoring fixtures whoever picked the game between the league’s two most boring sides for live TV won’t be getting a Christmas bonus this year. It must be close to the point where TV executives will do anything possible to avoid broadcasting a West Ham game. The biggest post-match talking point was whether dishwater or ditchwater was the correct way to describe the level of dullness.

The quality and incisiveness of the Hammer’s goal was teasingly out of keeping with anything that came after it. A delightful pass from James Ward-Prowse to Vladimir Coufal on the right wing, the Czech laying a precise ball into the path of Mohammed Kudus who swept the ball into the net. If anyone had hoped that the goal would prompt an attacking masterclass, they were to be sadly disappointed. True to form the tactics reverted to game management mode. The visitors were equally inept but were able to rely on West Ham’s habit of falling asleep in the minutes immediately after the motivational half-time team talk. The culprit on this occasion was Konstantinos Mavropanos whose inexplicable attempt at a blind pass close to his own goal set up the equaliser. Nothing of real significance happened in the time remaining and the Premier League’s two oldest managers could go home happy with the point they had each saved.

It has become increasingly difficult not to covet your neighbour’s football philosophy. There has often been solace in the fact that whatever blunders and disappointments occurred at West Ham, Tottenham would invariably go one better. Their perennial ability to stumble at the vital moment just as their fans were on the cusp of celebration was a seasonal delight. Having missed out on European qualification and then losing their talisman striker to Bayern Munich, everything pointed to a season of struggle for Spurs. But the appointment of Ange Postecoglou has been a breath of fresh air for a club bogged down by a run of negatively minded managers that followed the sacking of Pochettino.

It’s not that Tottenham are realistic title contenders, despite their fine start, but they are playing football in a way that excites supporters – gets them off their seats and looking forward to the next game. Having the mindset that allows them to go to Manchester City and give it a go right until the end is a wonder we can only dream of. It is painful to have to say this in the light of the dross we have to sit through each week.

There is a real danger West Ham will be annihilated on Thursday night, just as they did in the equivalent type of game at Villa Park. They will struggle to cope with the speed and variety of the home attacks and while Tottenham high defensive line can look vulnerable, it is unlikely that the Hammers will be set up to exploit it. It is suggested that the form book is often ripped to pieces in local derbies but recent history offers little encouragement.

Since David Moyes return to West Ham at the end of December 2019, the Hammers London derby record is less than impressive. They have won 10 and lost 19 of 38 Premier League matches against London rivals. Away from home, they have won just three (lost 14) out of 19. In 14 away visits to Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham they have earned only a single point – the 3-3 draw at Tottenham in October 2020.

In the absence of any recent fond memories, we should spend a few moments reminiscing about historic away wins at Spurs – I counted five since the start of the Premier League: a 4-1 win in April 1994, Steve Jones scoring the first, two from Trevor Morley and one from Mike Marsh; Dani heading home the only goal of the game in February 1996; Ian Wright and Mark Keller scoring (and an old school red card for John Moncur) in April 1999 to secure a fine 2-1 win; the Ravel Morrison inspired 3-0 rout in October 2013 with goals from Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te, and Morrison; and finally Michail Antonio scoring the first goal by an opposition player in April 2019 at Tottenham’s new stadium to record a 1-0 victory.

Trying to find positives from the current situation at West Ham is not easy. OK, so there is not going to be a relegation battle but then pushing for European qualification is equally improbable. Without an acceptable level of entertainment on the pitch, the obvious question is what is the point? There is zero chance of Moyes making meaningful changes to his playing style. The gap between his overly cautious safety-first approach and the expansive, passing game fans want to see cannot be bridged by a few tweaks. It requires a whole new footballing philosophy. Moyes could no more change that than the other defensively minded coaches who went before him.

But even looking at his preferred group of players, Moyes has clear structural problems fitting them into his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation. The long-term striker problem is well known and has been well documented. Perhaps it will be addressed in January but don’t hold your breath. In the interim Jarrod Bowen may be the best bet to fill the gap – but can anyone make a success of the role when the front man is so isolated from the rest of the team?

In getting the right level of support to the striker and being able to play creatively through the midfield has obvious shortcomings. It can be argued that Edson Alvarez deserves his place for his defensive cover, JWP for his set piece deliveries, and Tomas Soucek for his goals from midfield. But their combined overall contribution in possession is below average – and less than the sum of their parts. A high performing team wanting to move the ball quickly and decisively cannot carry all three. It also forces Lucas Paqueta to be parked out on the left wing when it is obvious he would be more effective deployed centrally. But then what is the alternative option on the left hand side apart from the repeatedly disappointing Said Benrahma – a player who has seemingly completely lost his mojo.

The performances of Kudus have been encouraging so far, but where is his best position? And how does he fit in with Bowen and Paqueta assuming the striker shortfall is addressed. That’s potentially a lot of attacking talent available but how do they slot together in the same side? Does anyone have a plan to match the players available and the manager’s formation?

There are very few straws to be clutched at for tomorrow’s game. With the home side’s newfound verve it is hard not to look at the game with trepidation. I fear a sound thrashing but will nevertheless hope that something unexpected can happen. COYI!  

Results Or Performances: Why Can’t We Have Them Both At West Ham

If West Ham beat Crystal Palace today it would make it five wins in a row. But only the most optimistic spectator could take any pleasure from recent performances.

Looking through a very distant lens you might conclude that West Ham and their supporters are enjoying a decent season. In the top half of the Premier League, into the 5th round of the EFL Cup, looking for a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions, qualified from their Europa League group with a game to go, and apparently second only to Real Madrid in the number of European victories over the last two season. But the reality is very different.

It is a rosy picture painted from carefully selected data. And is surely only a perspective shared by pundits and others whose only exposure is watching highlights or checking the results – but who rarely sit through a whole 90 minutes. Is it possible that anyone who regularly watches West Ham games intently finds the football served up to be enjoyable? That scraping home against teams you are expected to beat is enough to excuse the negative approach shown in every game? Isn’t there a responsibility to entertain in return for the devotion.

I have read in previews for today’s game that the Hammers recent form is impressive. But do those last four performances against Olympiacos, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, and Backa Topola deserve to be represented as good form? Games where the manager trots out the inevitable “we didn’t play as well as we would have liked” in the post-match interview. Well, why was that, David?

Has there been any match this year where West Ham have dominated throughout 90 minutes? If they manage to get ahead, it is a case of shutting up shop in the interests of management. Otherwise, it seems the team has little attacking ambition until they fall a goal behind and there is ten minutes remaining. As supporters, we spend the whole week looking forward to games and this is what we get for our patience!

The last three victories have all arrived in the closing minutes courtesy of goals from Tomas Soucek and his whirling dervish goal celebration. It is great that Soucek has started to score again and there is a delicious irony in David Moyes comment that Soucek’s goal contribution was adversely affected by the role given to Declan Rice. If only there was someone tactically aware in the manager’s seat who could have spotted that during those last two seasons.

Last weekend’s game at Burnley showed how much the current system relies on Jarrod Bowen as an attacking threat and outlet. Without him there is no movement and no penetration. It is painful to watch Danny Ings these days regardless of whether it’s the system or his legs that are letting him down. At least the introduction of Divin Mubama injected some much needed energy that was instrumental in fashioning the equalising goal. It is early days for the youngster, but it looks like his close control needs to improve if he is going to be effective at the top level. His lack of game time plus the fact that the successful Hammers youth side he comes from play a totally different system, cannot have helped his development.

Ultimately, the West Ham fight back at Turf Moor was inspired by Mohammed Kudus. Kudus still needs time to fully adapt to the Premier League, but he is making useful contributions, even if he does tend to drift out of games for lengthy periods. The quirk of the assist rule that he did not get credit for the first goal is peculiar.

Without something drastic happening in the January transfer window – I am resigned to Moyes staying until the end of the season – West Ham’s current 9th place looks to be as good as it can possibly get. There is little chance of catching any of the clubs above us, and a good chance that one or two below will put good runs together. Any hopes of further European qualification from league position are a very long shot indeed. Equally, the odds of winning the Europa League are increasingly small with the likes of Liverpool, Brighton, and Leverkusen already in the draw – and the possibility of clubs such as Manchester United, Newcastle or PSG joining them. The three year run of Euro campaigns appears to be hitting the buffers and without that the club becomes a less desirable destination.

The immediate Euro challenge is to top the group and avoid an extra qualifying round in February. No prizes for guessing how we might approach the game against Freiburg where the sole objective is to avoid defeat.

All fingers are firmly crossed that Bowen will return to lead the attack for today’s game against Crystal Palace. Apart from that we should expect no deviation away from Moyes preferred starting eleven – unless reports of sickness in the camp dictate otherwise. None of the fringe players who were given a run out against Topola made a strong argument for a Premier League return and the likes of Aaron Cresswell, Ben Johnson, Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma are now designated as ‘for emergency use only’. If Bowen is absent, the manager will be faced with an Ings versus Mubama conundrum – with Moyes almost certainly opting for Ings.

Of course, there is always an outside chance for a rare sighting of the lesser spotted Maxwell Cornet. Cornet has seen just one minute of Premier League action this term to add to his 245 minutes from last season. Since his signing from Burnley on a five year contract in the summer of 2022 he has played fewer minutes than the equivalent of three full games. As one of the small number of players in the squad with genuine pace it is an odd situation.  

Visitors, Crystal Palace have won just two of their last ten games before today. In all they have won just four times this season, three of which were away from home at Sheffield United, Manchester United and Burnley. There last two outings ended in defeats to Everton and Luton. Only Sheffield United have scored fewer goals than them in league games. Palace have also won just two of their last 16 London derbies, although both of those were against the Hammers. The Eagles triumphing 2-1 at the London Stadium last November and 4-3 at Selhurst Park in April.

This season’s campaign has been hampered by long-term absences of their two flair players, Eze and Olise. Both played last weekend, but Eze limped off last week and will probably miss today’s game and the opportunity to dive around in the penalty area. Olise is a fine player and will make it an uncomfortable afternoon for Emerson. We should also look out for the always snarling Ayew who regularly saves his better performances for games against West Ham.

Sunday afternoon following the Thursday before rarely proves to be to the Hammers liking and hopes are not high for a barnstorming affair. In theory West Ham have the stronger side but how that materialises under the manager’s cautious tactics is the cause of much agonising. It’s not going to be a thriller and may well be settled by an individual moment of brilliance from one team or the other. COYI!