Under The Hammers

One of the reasons (apart from the absence of skill, pace, determination and stamina) that I ascribe to never making it as a professional footballer was  the sudden departure of my secondary school PE teacher to run a pub near The Wrekin, a notable landmark on the road to Shrewsbury.  If I had been asked “Which country is Shrewsbury in?” on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and the computer had cleverly left in ‘England’ and ‘Wales’ from my 50:50 lifeline then it would still have been enough to make me sweat even if it was only £2,000 question.  Shrewsbury is, of course, in the English county of Shropshire (a region that most people spend their lives bypassing on the M6 never getting to experience one of England’s finest medieval market towns); it is, however, just a short afternoon’s stroll from the Welsh border.

Shrewsbury Town were elected to Division Three (North) in 1950 when the football league was expanded to ninety-two clubs and have spent most of the intervening period bouncing around in the lower tiers including a brief return to the Conference at the start of the millennium. This year they are riding high in League One and seeking a rare promotion to the second tier which they have visited just the once for a ten year stay between 1979 and 1989.  During that time the paths of West Ham United and Shrewsbury Town met on four occasions in the old Division One, with The Shrews completing a double over the Hammers in 1979/80 and West Ham returning the favour in their record breaking promotion season of 1980/81.  Today will be the very first cup meeting between the two sides.

The previous encounters against Shrewsbury took place at the amusingly named Gay Meadow (away supporter access via the rear entrance) while they now play at New Meadow (or the Montgomery Waters Meadow to give it its full naming right’s title!)  A legend from the Gay Meadow years that I remember watching on Jimmy Hill’s Chinny Reckon Football Yarns (or some similar TV programme) concerned a local boat-builder who spent match-days in a coracle afloat on the adjacent River Severn ready to retrieve any wayward clearances that sailed out of the stadium.

With West Ham playing their third game in a week, and still sitting precariously in relegation danger, manager David Moyes will almost certainly make several changes to today’s starting eleven.  The dilemma of modern football is that while fans continue to dream of the romance of the cup the practical realities of survival in the money league creates a completely different set of priorities for managers.  Moyes, like many other managers at the top level, will be judged on preserving Premier League status first and foremost rather on than heroic cup performances.  It is a shame particularly for those who have good paid money to watch but it will remain a fact of footballing life while the cost of Premier League failure is so high.  If West Ham were six or seven points better off then it would be a different story.

It would be a surprise if more than five or six of the team that started at Tottenham are in the starting eleven for today’s game – despite the limited options that might be available with up to nine senior players out with injury.  One player who will definitely be starting is Joe Hart making a return to the home town club where he started his career in 2003.  Other than that the West Ham lineup is impossible to predict.  It is unlikely any of those returning from injury will be risked while others (such as Mark Noble and Pablo Zabaleta) could well be rested if there are viable replacements at the ready.  An opportunity perhaps for Declan Rice, Sead Haksabanovic, Domingos Quina, Toni Martinez and Reece Oxford (if fit) to get a little game time.

Shrewsbury manager Paul Hurst may be inclined to give this one a real go, seeing an inspiring cup run as enhancing the club’s promotion push rather than hampering it.  He has an impressive managerial record and has done a remarkable job during his time at Shrewsbury.  It will be an athletic, pacey and direct side that is full of confidence facing the Hammers this afternoon.  The Shrews have lost just three league games this season although they have also been beaten in an EFL Cup against Nottingham Forest.  They are not a high scoring side but equally do not concede many goals.  Top scorers are Stefan Payne (once of AFC Hornchurch) and Shaun Whalley.  Other notable players include team captain Abu Ogogo, a long time servant of Dagenham and Redbridge, and Aristote Nsiala who was released as a youngster at Everton by Moyes who himself had a stint in a Shrewsbury shirt between 1987 and 1990.

Difficult to see which way this game will go as much depends on the desire of the two managers to win the tie.  West Ham have gone out of the FA Cup four times in the last six seasons at the 3^rd round stage and it would be no big shock if it happened again today.  I still love a cup run but equally understand the unfortunate realities of the modern football business that makes this famous old competition a lower priority, especially during the early rounds.  In many respects the worst outcome of the afternoon would be a draw and a replay.  Third round day in the FA Cup was once one of the highlights of the season and let’s hope that today’s game can re-kindle some of that old magic.

If ever further proof were required that English football well and truly dances to the broadcaster’s tune then the clusterfuck that is the holiday match schedule is surely the smoking gun.  The intention to bring a daily dose of soap opera style Premier League football straight into our living rooms might be the marketing man’s dream but its major flaw is that we all know how the story ends (i.e. Manchester City win the title) – while the peripheral cliffhangers of who qualifies for Europe and who gets relegated are simply B-movie supporting features.

Nevertheless, just forty-eight hours after their last games two of the supporting cast lock horns at Wembley to further their own particular battles.  West Ham desperate to build on their last gasp success over West Bromwich Albion and climb away from the relegation zone; Tottenham desperate to finish above Arsenal.

Over the past two seasons I will begrudgingly admit that the hosts have played some of the most attractive and enterprising football in the league but their real chance of glory has now been missed and it is only a matter of time before manager and star players go looking for medals and money in more fertile waters.  This season Tottenham are back in their rightful place scrambling to pinch fourth spot in their role as wannabe top four gatecrashers; a task that should their usual late season bottle job be repeated could prove well beyond them.

Head to Head

Bragging rights in this fixture favour the north Londoners who have sixty three wins to the Hammers fifty with another thirty six games being drawn.  On recent form, however, West Ham have the edge winning six and losing five of the last twelve games.

The Hammers have not traditionally travelled well to the north London suburbs having won only seventeen times on the road out of seventy five attempts; although we have a 100% record against them at Wembley.  The last twelve away fixtures against Tottenham have seen West Ham win three and lose seven but with all three of those victories happening in the most recent six games.

Team News

Aaron Creswell is added to the West Ham injury list and if he is confirmed as missing then his place in a back three will likely be taken by Declan Rice or Cheikhou Kouyate.  I expect West Ham will adopt similar tactics to those used at Manchester City with Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang sitting in front of five defenders to form an impregnable shield.  At least the blossoming understanding between Marko and Manuel does offer enough quality to break quickly and cause problems on those rare occasions that we get and hold on to the ball and it will be interesting to see how they can link up with the unplayable (but largely unmovable) Andy Carroll – who will surely keep his place after his two second half goals on Tuesday.

Tottenham will be without Rose but Kane returns to the starting eleven possibly along with Wanyama (which is a bit of a shame for West Ham).  Although an admirer of Pochettino’s management his recent signings have not matched up to what he already had and it will be disappointing should a few of those not be on the pitch today.

Man In The Middle

Twelfth man for Tottenham today is Mike Dean from the Wirral.  If the old adage that bad refereeing decisions balance themselves out over time then hard done by West Ham might be awarded a dozen penalties today against the routinely leniently treated hosts.  Dean was in charge of the EFL cup game between the two teams in October as well as the defeat against the Champions Elect in early December.

Predictions

Merson sees an emphatic 3-1 victory for Tottenham while our old mate Lawro appears to have passed on predicting this one; maybe the result of too many sherries and snowballs over the holiday period.  This is going to have to be one of those spirited backs to the wall affairs, where not conceding an early goal and the ability to pull off a smash and grab are crucial to coming away from the game with any return.  It will a tough ask but I am hopeful (with 70% confidence) that West Ham will earn a scoring draw and continue to be a thorn in the side of the angst ridden Tottenham support.

Whether or not the New Year turns out to be a happy one or not is largely dependent  for many of us on how well our football team performs.  In a comparative sense, we start 2018 with a very low bar to raise as one of the worst performing teams in the Premier League for the 2017 calendar year – in fact only today’s visitors, West Bromwich Albion, experienced a worse record in 2017 with just seven wins in twelve months to West Ham’s ten.

January is always an odd month in the football year where ongoing on-field struggle competes for attention in the media and for fans with the unrelenting transfer window frenzy.  This is particularly the case for those clubs making their push as gallant runners-up to Manchester City and those teetering close to the Championship precipice (or is it an abyss), as is the case for today’s two participants.  Two days into the window and with still no new signings to get excited about, the Hammers will need to see off Albion using only their existing resources plus the newly recalled, but reportedly want-away, Reece Oxford.

The Premier League manager merry-go-round sees the return today of former West Ham boss Alan Pardew.  Pardew’s time at the Hammer’s helm is most fondly remembered for his slogans and the 2006 FA Cup Final rather than the hard slog he made of scrambling back into the Premier League and his inability to integrate two world class Argentinians into his team.  He has experienced a largely lacklustre career since his departure where a pattern of early promise followed by disappointment has been the order of the day.  Given their current predicament we are unlikely to witness a side demonstrating much of a change from the muscular and uncompromising Pulis incarnation tonight, but then I have always seen Pardew as the slightly more presentable graduate of the Allardyce/ Pulis coaching academy anyway.

Head to Head

A 4-0 West Ham win today would even matters up nicely in the head to head record books giving each team forty wins out of 105 matches played, and an equal number of goals scored to boot.  Both teams have won three of the last twelve encounters (home and away) and the same record applies to the last twelve games played in London.  The last four West Ham home games with Albion have been draws and you have to go back to November 2003 for the last Albion victory – by four goals to three in a game that saw a sulking Jermaine Defoe red carded.

Team News

Sam Byram, Jose Fonte and Edmilson Fernandes are all missing for West Ham while Mark Noble and Michail Antonio are doubtful.  From what remains, David Moyes must fashion a team that is defensively sound while carrying enough guile and threat to break down what will be a resolute and obdurate opponent.  It is a management challenge that is currently without an obvious answer in a squad that lacks a strong, mobile front-man and is fragile in the centre of midfield.  Our best chance comes in the form of Manuel Lanzini but whether Moyes will trust one of the nominal strikers Javier Hernandez, Diafra Sakho or Andy Carrol to lead the attack or use either Marko Arnautovic or Andre Ayew for that role remains to be seen.  My guess is that Hernandez will get the nod with Arnie joining Lanzini as attacking midfielders and Pedro Obiang and Cheikhou Kouyate just behind.  Maybe there will be a change or two at the back where Aaron Cresswell as part of a back three will be increasingly vulnerable as teams target him in the air. Once again Moyes might put out a side that looks adequate enough OK on paper it is likely to be quite unbalanced all the same.

Albion play their second game in three days and should (hopefully) be the less fresh of the two teams.  They may be without Rondon, Chadli and Morrison.

Man in the Middle

The referee today, making his first West Ham appearance of the season, is Mike Jones from Chester.  Jones took charge of two Hammer’s away defeats in 2016/17 – at Manchester United in the EFL Cup and Hull in the Premier League.

In 15 outings this season he has shown 1 red and 53 yellow cards.  With refereeing decisions continuing to have an undue impact on the outcome of games we wish Mr Jones a peaceful and drama free start to the year.

Predictions

No surprise that Lawro is firmly entrenched on his fence seeing this as yet another 1-1 game.  Merson on the other hand believes it is back to winning ways for the Hammers with a 2-1 win.  This really is a game we should and need to win if we are going to secure a more comfortable position in the congested lower half of the Premier League table.  In theory there should be few easier games than at home to an out-of-form Albion side.  Sheer blind optimism prompts me to believe that we will shade the game by a couple of goals but I remain unconvinced that we can effectively take the initiative without get suckered on the counter-attack. Fingers and toes are crossed.

Can you imagine a less enthralling fixture to begin a new year of football at the London Stadium than a visit from West Bromwich Albion? It could be worse of course. It could have been a visit from a Baggies team managed by Tony Pulis. But unfortunately for him, although fortunately for lovers of the “beautiful game”, he became one of a number of Premier League managerial casualties in the first half of this season.

Tonight’s game is the first of a ridiculous fixture pile-up which will see us playing two Premier League games and a third round FA Cup tie in less than six days. Although those of us old enough to remember the “good old days” will remember that at this time of the year, footballers were asked to play anything up to four games in a week over the Christmas period, and even play a match on Christmas Day itself back in the 1950’s.

We go into this game as two teams occupying 18^th and 19^th positions in the Premier League with just over half the season gone. Remaining in these positions at the end of May would mean that next season we would be facing each other again in the Championship. But when you look at the league table the bottom half is very close with Huddersfield in 11^th on 24 points right down to ourselves on 18 points. The good news is that we have at least a game in hand over every other team in the league (with the exception of Tottenham), and two games in hand over the majority of the sides in the bottom half. The bad news is that the additional game in hand is at Wembley against our North London neighbours, and despite our surprising win there in the Carabao Cup, that will be a very difficult game to get something from.

For this reason a victory tonight is imperative if we want to lift ourselves out of the relegation zone and begin to climb the table. Our visitors have been in a terrible run of form since winning both of their opening games 1-0 (when they sat in third place in the table) and haven’t won a league game since with nine draws and nine defeats. But as I have written before on many occasions when we have faced a team in such despairing form, we all know what happens when they come up against West Ham! For once we need this to not be one of those times.

After our two games this week we face a run of fixtures which will almost certainly define our season. On paper at least, the next five games, away at Huddersfield, at home to Bournemouth and Palace, away at Brighton, and then at home to Watford, are all winnable fixtures. Of course there are no easy games when you are in our predicament, but if we want to avoid a real struggle in the latter stages of the season then these are games where we must hope to pick up maximum points, and at least avoid defeat.

These are then followed by visits to Liverpool and Swansea, before three home games in a row against Burnley, Manchester United and Southampton taking us to the end of March. At this stage we will have equalised our home and away games (16 of each), before facing a trickier run-in where our six games include visits to Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester, and home games against Stoke, Manchester City and Everton. We must hope that we are not still in danger of the drop when we enter April.

There was a period in the 1960’s when there were goals galore in home matches against West Brom, and I can remember looking forward to the games then because we always seemed to beat them. The first time I remember playing them was in our cup winning season (1963-64). It was in November 1963, shortly before Kennedy was assassinated. We beat them 4-2. Geoff Hurst scored a couple. It was the first time I can remember seeing Geoff Hurst take a penalty (Johnny Byrne was our regular penalty taker at the time) and he smashed it as hard as he could to the keeper’s right. He always took penalties that way and even though the keepers knew that, they couldn’t often get near them (although Gordon Banks famously did in the League Cup semi-final a few years later!).

“Good Friday” (Easter 1965) was a famous game in our history. This was the day when Brian Dear scored five goals in a twenty minute spell either side of half time in our 6-1 trouncing of the Baggies. The following January we beat them 4-0 with Geoff Hurst again scoring twice, and then there was another win in December 1966 when we “only” beat them 3-0. In 1968 we put another four past them with a Martin Peters hat trick. This game was sandwiched between putting five past Burnley the previous week and seven past Bolton four days afterwards. In six consecutive seasons of home games against West Brom we won five and lost one, scoring 23 goals and conceding 6. Martin Peters scored six times, as did Brian Dear, with five from Geoff Hurst. No wonder I always looked forward to games against them when I was young.

In the 1969-70 season we suffered a 3-1 reverse to them. A letter in the Tottenham programme a few games later caught my eye. A Miss Shirley Tiller wrote: “I wish to express my disgust at the behaviour of a section of the crowd at the match against WBA on 23^rd August. Have these so-called “supporters”, who booed and slow handclapped, ever stopped to realise that, whilst to them, watching football is a pleasant relaxation, to the players it is their means of livelihood? Some of them do not get paid any more than people in other walks of life; we all make mistakes in our day-to-day work (no one is infallible) and yet for some reason footballers are not expected to make any! In nine games out of ten we get first class entertainment for the 5 shillings we spend (25p) Surely as supporters we should encourage them not chastise them so bitterly.”

Her letter got me thinking how times have changed. Firstly, today’s players are in a different earnings league compared to most people in other walks of life as was suggested. Secondly it didn’t cost us a lot to get in then even allowing for inflation (the programme cost one shilling that season as well), and finally, players still get booed and verbally abused but whatever happened to the slow handclap? That has totally disappeared from the game! There were other “interesting” letters in the programme, one concerning the litter dropped in the East Stand, and another complaining about the pigeons at the ground! Apparently season ticket holders were coming “under fire!” You wouldn’t see letters along those lines these days.

Our game against West Brom in February 1973 was a shocking game to watch, one of the worst I can ever remember. This was summed up neatly by David Miller of the Sunday Telegraph who wrote “This wretched display by West Bromwich – hacking, arguing and niggling throughout – will leave few of those present shedding tears at their imminent disappearance into the Second Division.” Effectively the referee added on an additional eight minutes to the second half purely to allow for time wasting, although it felt like he just wanted West Ham to get the winner that we deserved. And we did too with Pop Robson’s late goal clinching a 2-1 victory. West Brom were relegated finishing bottom that season. Personally I’d like to see both West Brom and Stoke get relegated this season purely because of their approach to football in the past few years. Of course there is a common denominator there in terms of a manager who was in charge of both of them.

I guess that tonight’s game is likely to be a tight one with both teams not wanting to lose. We are slightly odds-on to win the match, but I’d like a repeat of Good Friday 1965. You can get odds of 500-1 on a 6-1 West Ham victory. Perhaps the in-form Arnie could replicate Brian Dear’s tally of five goals? You can get 90-1 on him scoring a hat-trick. Wouldn’t that be a great way to start 2018?

It’s a Boxing Day six-pointer at the Vitality Stadium this afternoon as West Ham look to bounce back from a poor performance and result against Newcastle while Bournemouth seek to put an end to a run of three straight defeats. At least one of these two sides is likely to be starting the new year in the relegation places.

West Ham continue to struggle with the dilemma of keeping it tight at the back while looking to be more adventurous going forward – the result of obvious deficiencies in the centre of midfield and the absence of effective lone striker. Pedro Obiang can do a decent job in breaking up play but neither Mark Noble (who is probably missing anyway) or Cheikhou Kouyate are capable of providing the link between defence and attack. Up front Michail Antonio is great at being a nuisance to ball playing defenders but he does not have the positional sense to add consistent goal threat to his game. Of the other attacking options it is Diafra Sakho who is the best fit for the system played but there are persistent doubts over his attitude.

At least Manuel Lanzini is set to return to add creativity and with Marko Arnautovic suddenly looking a very good player there should be enough quality to upset a Bournemouth defence that often looks rather accident prone.

I am a big fan of Eddie Howe but he has limited resources to play with at the best of times and at the moment he has a growing injured list. Both of his former Hammers, Jermaine Defoe and Junior Stanislas, are reported to be missing out this afternoon.

Today’s referee is Stuart Atwell from Warwickshire last seen at a West Ham game at Burnley where he sent off Andy Carroll. In thirteen games he has shown just that one red card and forty-one yellow ones.

Merson is predicting a 2-1 home win while Lawro sees yet another 1-1 draw. I am confident of a late Christmas present with a 2-0 West Ham win.

A new challenge for David Moyes new look West Ham as they face a Newcastle side on the slide that should and must be beaten in order to put some daylight between ourselves and the other relegation threatened clubs. The bonus points earned against Chelsea and Arsenal and the decision to take it easy in the EFL cup quarter final will count for nothing if the Hammers are not able to see off one of our fellow strugglers on home turf.

Earlier in the season confidence was high for the visit to St James Park but in one of  many poor performances West Ham were easily brushed aside by a Matt Ritchie inspired Newcastle. Rafael Bernitez’s side then embarked on something of a mini purple patch only to fall back badly more recently to currently sit firmly in the relegation danger zone, where many predicted is their rightful place given the current squad.

The test for West Ham is to take the newly discovered defensive resilience and add in sufficient goal threat to break down a visiting team who are also likely to defend in numbers – and to do this without the main creative force in the shape of the suspended Manuel Lanzini. It has been a rare occurrence in recent seasons for the Hammers to deliver a dominant home performance, whether at Upton Park or the London Stadium, and today would be an ideal opportunity to put that right.

Head to Head

Despite the overall record against Newcastle falling in our visitor’s favour West Ham have dominated the games in London, winning thirty-one and losing sixteen out of sixty-four encounters. In the last twelve home games the Hammers have won five, lost four and drawn three.

Of the last twelve meetings, home and away, Newcastle have won six to West Ham’s three.

Team News

Lanzini’s suspension adds to the selection problems in midfield where there are also doubts about Michail Antonio, Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate and Edmilson Fernandes. If both Noble and Kouyate are out then it could mean another midfield run-out for Declan Rice although I am still not convince by him as a midfield option. My suspicion is that both Antonio and Kouyate will be available.

With Diafra Sakho continuing to be experiencing reported manager conflicts there could well be a start for Javier Hernandez today to prove he can perform in a Moyes set-up.

For Newcastle, Shelvey is suspended and Mitrovic is absent through injury.

Man in the Middle

Lee Mason from Lancashire is today’s referee. Mason was in charge for the game against Southampton at St Mary’s earlier in the season where he (rightly) sent off Marko Arnautovic and awarded a last minute penalty for a foul by Pablo Zabaleta.
In his twelve games this season he has thirty-three yellow and two red cards to his name.

Predictions

In a rare alignment both Lawro and Merson say 2-0 to the Hammers. It will be interesting to see the shape and game-plan that Moyes employs in these types of games and there is sure to be an element of caution underpinning whatever creativity we can muster without Lanzini. I am hopeful that we have too much for Newcastle to deal with and will plump for three more points in a 2-1 home win.

West Ham haven’t played all the other teams yet (i.e. Bournemouth) and yet here we are playing the return fixture against the Geordies

Well well well. It’s the 23rd December, Santa is due tomorrow night, and here we are playing a game of football at home in the London Stadium which kicks off at 3.00 pm. This is only the second time we kick off at this traditional time in what will be our ninth home league game of the season. Of course we have already played ten times away from home so the end of this game denotes the half way point of the season. Normally (at least in recent times) this would mean that we have played every other team in the Premier League once. This time it is not the case as we have yet to face Bournemouth, but this is the return fixture against Newcastle.

I don’t believe that at any stage this season the number of home games played has equalled the number of games played away, and it will not be the case until the end of March when, after three consecutive home games in that month, we will have played 32 games split equally between home and away matches. In fact after our away game against Swansea on 3 March the home matches played will once again be three in deficit to the away ones, a situation we found ourselves in at the end of August.

The London Stadium detractors will say that this does not put us at a disadvantage, but the fact remains we have picked up 11 points from the 8 home games played to date, whereas the ten games on our travels have brought us just six points, with last weekend’s win at Stoke our first this season on another ground. Perhaps if the balance had been more equal we might have found ourselves in a healthier position in the league than we hold at the moment? But it cannot be changed now, and if we are still in a relegation fight towards the end of the season, then at least we have the consolation of six out of the final nine fixtures at home.

The 3-0 win at Stoke was another excellent performance to follow up the games at City and at home to London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal. Seven points in a week is a fine haul after our indifferent start to the season, and if we can defeat an out of form Newcastle team this weekend then the table will look even better, and hopefully we can then begin to look upwards as opposed to downwards. After they had played five games this season, losing the first two and then winning three in a row, the Geordies found themselves in an early season Champions League position of fourth. But since then they have won just one of their last thirteen games, and only picked up just six points, with nine defeats. Their poor run has brought them just one point from their last nine games, and leaves them occupying the third relegation slot. But of course we know what sometimes happens when we face a team that hasn’t won a game for so long.

Our upturn in fortunes has coincided with a change of manager and coaching staff, who must take a lot of the credit. Our players are starting to perform with the quality that we know they have, and especially in a defensive sense are looking more organised than we have seen for some time. Players like Arnie, who some are beginning to be compared to Paolo, and Arthur, are almost becoming cult figures in a short space of time. Let’s not get too carried away, but the signs are looking good.

The game at Stoke provided a controversial moment and Lanzini has been charged with diving to deceive the referee to gain a penalty. Perhaps there was an element of truth in this, and he has history, but I agree with our manager who doesn’t believe it was clear cut. Anybody who has seen Jesus of Manchester City with his outrageous dive in the Manchester derby, and also Dele Alli and Zaha on occasions this season, will surely believe that the Lanzini “dive” was not in the same league. But have any of those been charged? Frankly it is scandalous that we are being penalised when they are not. Ironically I thought that Lanzini was not having the best of times even in our recent good run, but his performance at Stoke showed him coming back to his best, and it is unfortunate that he now has to miss out for a couple of matches.

Based upon recent form, the 11/10 odds on us to beat Newcastle looks like a licence to print money. But of course betting on West Ham can be a precarious business and you never know for sure. However I am confident that we can continue our recent excellent league form and push further up the table with a comfortable victory. And now we are out of the Carabao Cup we can concentrate on the league and the FA Cup!

A comfortable league position topped with the occasional exciting cup run is often cited as the extent of many West Ham supporter’s hopes and expectations. If the current league position was just a little more healthy then perhaps we could expect to go into this game all guns blazing, in the hope of securing a semi final berth in this season’s EFL cup competition. As it is, with the hoped for revival in its infancy and with a run of league games that we would hope to win coming thick and fast during the festive season, then there is likely to be a hint of caution in the air.

On the other hand, something similar might be said for tonight’s hosts and opponents Arsenal. In terms of their own season this competition is a relatively low priority, well behind scrambling a customary (but increasingly difficult and hotly contested) fourth place finish and winning the Europa League final; a feat which is arguably their best route into next season’s Champion’s League. Arsene Wenger will have already scribbled a reminder onto his post match excuse pad that his side have to play again, against Liverpool, on Friday night as one of the potential reasons for a tame and lack-lustre display against the Hammers.

However, if Wenger fires up his spreadsheet showing the time since each team’s last match he will notice that the Hammer’s have had one hour less to prepare for tonight’s clash due to the power failure at Stoke on Saturday night. Such small margins have always been critical in his eyes. The unconfirmed reports of the Frenchman scuttling away from the Britannia Stadium before kick-off with a pair of wire cutters may be true after all.

Today’s game will be just the third meeting between the two clubs in the League Cup’s fifty year plus history with the honours standing even at one apiece. West Ham won 3-1 (Hurst 2, Peters) at Highbury in a third round tie in 1966 while the Gunners got the better of West Ham by 2-1 (Abou) in a fifth round clash at Upton Park in 1998.

There are sure to be a raft of changes by both sides for the game with the usual bench-warmers getting a rare start. The one West Ham player probably in need of a decent rest is Pablo Zabaleta although options in the right back/ wing back position remain limited.  For the other side the moody Walcott has often proved a thorn in the Hammer’s side in an otherwise disappointing career.

It would be nice to think that David Moyes and his team will go all out for the win. There is nothing formidable about the current Arsenal side even though our display against them in the league fixture, where we showed them an unnecessary level of respect, was the least impressive in our recent run. I am banking on the game meaning more to us than it does to Arsenal giving just the right level of impetus to put the Hammers through to the next round.

It is difficult to believe that the West Ham team we have seen over the course of the last three games is made up of the same players that were stumbling around the park during the earlier part of the season.  This applies to no-one more than Marko Arnautovic who returns to his old Potteries stomping ground on Saturday to face Stoke City.  That Arnautovic arrived at the London Stadium as West Ham’s record signing (with a certain level of enthusiasm and something to prove I imagine) and so quickly fell into the malaise surrounding the club  says much about the previous regime.  To see him still putting in the yards and chasing down the ball in the closing stages of Wednesday’s game against Arsenal was eye-opening.  A player returning to his old club often proves to be influential and Arnie will be keen to show his former supporters that as far as performances are concerned that he is definitely back!

Having come out of Premier League equivalent of the group of death with four more points than expected, we are nicely positioned use the new found confidence as a springboard to challenge Manchester City’s record of fifteen consecutive wins.  On a more realistic note, what is now required is to preserve this defensive resilience while at the same time overlaying better ball retention and greater goal threat.  In a run of games where West Ham come up against teams that they should, and must, be capable of beating it is crucial  to collect the points that will secure a more comfortable league position.  The next six or so matches will be very revealing as to where the club’s medium term fortunes lie!

Stoke City are one of a group of ten Premier League clubs who will be looking downwards rather than up.  They have had the look of doom about them in recent weeks and it would be no surprise if Mark Hughes receives a P45 in his Christmas stocking to become the latest in the line of managerial casualties.

Head to Head

This has been an evenly contested fixture in history with West Ham leading the victory stakes by thirty-four to thirty-three with twenty-five draws.  Recent form, however, favours Stoke who have won four of the last twelve to West Ham’s two.

On the road, Stoke is just edging close enough to the north-west for West Ham’s travel sickness curse to kick in.  The Hammers can only boast thirteen victories in forty-six visits although five of these have these have come in the last twelve with the last success in March 2013 when Jack Collison scored the only goal of the game.

Team News

Winston Reid is suspended and it will be a choice between James Collins and Declan Rice as his replacement.  I can see Collins getting the nod against a side who still rely significantly on height in terms of goal threat.

There must be a strong argument to otherwise stick with the side that started against Arsenal even though it may be limiting in the desire to impose greater attacking intent into the game.  Assuming the keeper, back five (apart from Reid) and Pedro Obiang, as defensive shield, remain the same then Moyes has to craft an offensive threat out of the Arsenal starters plus Javier Hernandez and Cheikhou Kouyate (if fit). Moyes seemed to favour the look of Kouyate as nuisance value before his injury but this responsibility may now have passed to Michail Antonio and Arnautovic.  Getting Manuel Lanzinin into more useful possession will be vital and the attacking four will need to work on  improving both with and without the ball.

Stoke may be without Kurt Zouma but probably have another donkey waiting in reserve. Martins Indi remains sidelined but former Hammer Glen Johnson could return.

Man in The Middle

A rare sighting at a West Ham game of referee Graham Scott from Oxfordshire.    Scott was last seen at the away win against Southampton in February 2017.  This season he has taken charge of twelve games awarding twenty-six yellow cards and one red.

Predictions

The two TV pundits are sticking to form for this one with Merson betting against West Ham with a 1-0 defeat and Lawro staying firmly on the fence with his third 1-1 prediction in a row.  This game is going to provide a lot of pointers as to how West Ham will approach these can-win games under Moyes and I will keep the faith and back him to pick up his first away League points in an Arnautovic inspired 2-0 win.

With the race for Premier League title now down to a one-horse race, all the excitement (at least in the media) will be focused on the thrilling battle for fourth place.  Today’s visitors, formerly Woolwich Arsenal, subsequently changed to just plain Arsenal could easily re-brand themselves as Fourth Placed Arsenal given their record over recent seasons.  The one-time “Invincibles” are without a title since 2004 and for all of Wenger’s astuteness in the transfer market and his attack minded credentials has never been able to reproduce the defensive efficiency provided by the bulldog backbone of Tony Adams and Co.

As things stand there is a bigger gap between Arsenal and Manchester City than there is between ourselves and the Gunners; and West Ham will be looking to build on their recent upturn in fortunes to close that gap even further.  It will be no surprise if tonight’s game follows a similar pattern to the one against Chelsea as Arsenal attempt to weave intricate patterns through the middle of a hopefully disciplined Hammers backline – but without any real menace until they bring on Giroud for the final ten minutes.  My biggest concern for a breach, however, is how well pirouetting Arthur Masuaku deals with the forward runs of Bellerin.

The Arsenal defence was all Keystone Cops against Southampton at the weekend and they looked so vulnerable that is was a surprise that the Saints did not have the match sewn up by half-time.  The dilemma for Moyes will be how to put the visitors under pressure and exploit that vulnerability while at the same time protecting against Arsenal’s quick breaks, something they continue to excel at.  Recent West Ham performances have given supporters a great deal of encouragement but it is difficult to know whether the new found character would stay strong if an early goal were conceded.  For that reason, I suspect that caution will be the watchword as the Hammers go in search of more bonus points in support of their survival plan.

Head to Head

The record against Arsenal is not one of West Ham’s better returns.  Of the 137 games played the Hammers have won thirty four but lost sixty three.  Of the last twelve encounters, the 2-0 victory in August 2015 is the only West Ham win to Arsenal’s ten.

Strangely the Hammers have won more games away against Arsenal than they have at home.  The last West Ham win was in November 2006 courtesy of a Marlon Harewood strike.  That was the only success in the last twelve home games to go with eight defeats and three draws.  West Ham have only won fourteen of sixty-eight home fixtures against the Gunners.

Team News

It would be a huge surprise if Moyes made any changes from the side that started so well against Chelsea, relying again on Michail Antonio and Marko Arnautovic to unsettle the visitor’s defence (at least until they tire!)

Arsenal are without Ramsey, Mustafi and Cazorla and Wenger may be tempted to shuffle his dodgy defensive pack.  Whatever else happens there will always be threat potential if Sanchez, Ozil and Lacazette are at the top of their game.

Man in The Middle

Another first of the season as we welcome Jonathan Moss from West Yorkshire to the London Stadium.  West Ham came across Moss twice last term in a home defeat by Southampton and an away draw at Old Trafford.  In fourteen matches this season he has shown forty-two yellows and one red card.

Predictions

Former Gunner Paul Merson is repeating his weekend forecast of a 1-3 defeat for the Hammers while Lawro is once again playing safe with a 1-1 draw.  Personally I think there is another perfect opportunity to pull off a surprise tonight and leave Wenger moaning about how his players were tired and cold.  In a patient and stealthy game I can see West Ham nabbing a 2-1 win.