West Ham face Brentford at the London Stadium. Can the positive signs of progress under Potter translate into results and a climb up the table?

It seems like ages since we last played. Perhaps that’s a good thing with all our injuries. I get fed up listening to all the woes surrounding Tottenham’s injury list. All clubs including ourselves have players unavailable all the time. With a poorly balanced squad this can be quite a problem as we have found out with, for example, injuries to our attacking players this season. Hopefully some of our injured players will be back and, with the addition of Ferguson up front I’m looking forward to the final fourteen games of the season.

In some ways there’s not a lot to play for as we are out of the cup competitions, we sit fifteenth in the league with no prospect of challenging for a European place, and we are ten points clear of the relegation zone so there are minimal fears of a battle against the drop. It would take a calamitous run of poor results from here in to get sucked into trouble and fall much further down the table.

But despite the results since he took over, with Graham Potter in charge there appear to be positive signs of progress. He can start to look forward to next season and with a lack of anything too much to play for perhaps the team can provide us with some performances to give us a more memorable finish to the season, pushing us as far up the table as possible, perhaps even into the top half, or even bettering last season’s finishing position of ninth, although this would be an unlikely achievement as we are probably too far behind.

The immediate future won’t be easy with both in-form Arsenal and Newcastle coming up in our next four games, so the visits of Brentford this weekend and Leicester at the end of the month will be important for our chances of moving upwards. Only Southampton have a worse record than Brentford away from home (although to be fair Brentford have won their last two) so this is an early opportunity to make inroads into gaining on the teams that are catchable. Brentford are just four points ahead at the moment and sit in eleventh.

It may be unbalanced but there is no doubt in my mind that we have a lot of talented footballers in our squad, especially in an attacking sense. With Ferguson, Kudus, Summerville, Bowen, Paqueta, Ward-Prowse, Soler, Irving and Soucek there are players of quality who can present problems to opposition defences.

It’s a shame that Ferguson didn’t arrive sooner in the transfer window but his arrival is very welcome. Potter knows him well, giving him his debut as a sixteen year old at Brighton, but many are unhappy that a straight loan without an option or obligation to buy means that if he is a success we will be developing him for Brighton’s benefit, and he will head back there to add to their attack or be sold at a huge fee. I’d like to think that if he is the centre forward we’ve been looking for we would be in for him at that point, but we can’t realistically look that far ahead. All we can hope for is that he loves it here so much that he is successful and somehow becomes a West Ham player permanently.

We had the chance to buy him outright it appears but declined the opportunity to do so. That could turn out to be either a blessing or a huge error, but we can’t worry about that now. With our past record of buying strikers let’s hope there is a happy ending. Over the years we have bought so many strikers with big names and huge expectations who just did not fit into the system that the manager at the time wanted to play. Surely Potter wanted him because he knew he would fit into the system he wanted to play, even if it is just for the next fourteen days.

I love the fact that we have recalled James Ward Prowse too. I know I am in the minority here and so many of our fanbase will disagree with me, but I am a fan and don’t believe he should have been loaned out to be replaced by Rodriguez or Soler in our midfield. I know my fellow writer Geoff has reservations regarding his return, but he does have an end product in terms of goals and assists. In 2023-4 only Bowen (16) and Kudus (8) exceeded his seven goals in league games, and nobody exceeded his seven assists. He won’t necessarily be a starter but will be more than useful in the squad and I’d like to think Potter wanted him back because he feels he can get the best out of him. I believe he could flourish now he is back.

There are a number of positives since the arrival of Graham Potter in addition to the acquisition of Ferguson and the return of Ward-Prowse. The emergence of Irving is one – it was good to see him getting the opportunity to start in our last game. To me he always looked good with his tiny cameos and he put in a very mature performance with his first outing in the starting line-up. Again, another who may not be a regular starter but one who I’m sure will be more than useful if given the opportunities.

I also like the way Potter seems to have realised the potential of using some of our talented academy players. Scarles and Orford have already been given chances in his brief time in charge and I am hopeful that others will too. There has been so much criticism about the age of the squad and this is a step in the right direction.

He also gave Guilherme a run out in the Chelsea game, and whilst you can’t make too much of his limited appearance he did show a couple of examples of skill and speed that perhaps will mean he will come good in the future. We paid £25 million for him and then he never got a chance (possibly for internal political reasons?). Let’s hope there is another one here who can be added to our attacking talent.

I thought we were massively unlucky to lose the last game at Chelsea. Bowen was undoubtedly fouled in the build up to their equalising goal in my opinion, and there was almost certainly an offside decision missed (that VAR took an age to consider) too. The winning goal was a lucky deflection. I thought that Chelsea’s performance was restricted by the way we played and were set up by the manager. We were well organised and closed out the spaces in midfield. With our influential players missing it was a really pleasing performance.  

One thing that has surprised me a little is how good we have been (or perhaps will become) defensively under Potter. Coufal and Cresswell, despite their limitations, seem to have got a renewed lease of life at the back, Kilman seems happier and I hope he can get the best out of Todibo too. If it is true that top European clubs wanted him then hopefully Potter can encourage him to demonstrate why.  

The departure of technical director Tim Steidten was inevitable once Kyle Macaulay arrived as head of recruitment. His days were numbered, he didn’t have a good relationship with either Moyes or Lopetegui, and Potter wanted his own man. His position became untenable. He came from Germany with a massive reputation and was lauded for some of his transfer dealings but in the end it was inevitable he would go. With Sullivan at the helm, nobody will ever have full control of recruitment at the club.  

Up until a year ago we had an appalling head to head record against Brentford losing the first five games against them after their promotion to the top flight in 2021. We finally put that right last February when we beat them 4-2 which included a Jarrod Bowen hat-trick, bringing his total to five goals scored against them. The game earlier this season at the Gtech Community Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw with Soucek’s second half equaliser cancelling out Brentford’s first minute goal, which is one of their specialities.

I’ve Got Those Lost Season and Blank Weekend West Ham Blues

Despite an uplift from the new manager appointment, the low key, lacklustre season will be one that is easily forgotten at West Ham. With little to play for the end of May can’t come soon enough.

So, here we go. Not in the Fabrizio Romano sense of the phrase to announce an imminent incoming transfer; but rather in resigned contemplation of yet another blank weekend of West Ham football. Early cup exits, international breaks and routinely exiled to the graveyard Monday night slot due to the absence of European competition, the Hammers will feature on a maximum of 29 of the season’s 41 weekends. They will play just twice in the whole of March, with those two games – at home to Newcastle and away at Everton – coming just four days apart.

It’s been a good many years now that TV has called all the shots on scheduling with little concern for the inconvenience to the matchday supporters who create the atmosphere for their product. More and more of Saturday afternoons are now 100% football free for the typical Premier club. Free from a lunchtime pint or two in the Central or Boleyn, a burger in a bun (no onions for me, mate) from the sizzling food stand, Percy Dalton’s peanuts (tanner a bag), golden goals ticket, the brass band playing on the half-way line, and half-time scores hung on the alphabetical grid behind the goals (that’s enough misty-eyed nostalgia for now – Ed!)  

During the course of this season, West Ham will play a total of just 41 revenue generating games, compared to 53 last term and 57 in 2022/23. Where Aston Villa have already earned an estimated €71m from their Champion’s League group games – and fellow strugglers Manchester United and Tottenham have pocketed €20m+ from the Europa League equivalent – the Hammers are poised to fall ever further behind in the rich league stakes.

And with little left to play for, apart from avoiding the highly remote possibility of being dragged into the relegation dogfight, it promises to be an underwhelming four months until the end of May. Less of a problem when football was an affordable, Saturday afternoon ritual with fellow supporters, friends and family; but less appealing now that we are customers with membership schemes and high ticket prices. As the old Queen might have said as she tucked into a portion of pre-match pie and mash, it has been a ‘seasannus horribilis’ at the London Stadium.

Last Monday’s match at Chelsea reached its inevitable conclusion when the hosts came from behind to claim their customary victory. If you read Richard’s preview you would have been aware how rare West Ham wins have been at Stamford Bridge in the recent past.

The West Ham versus Chelsea rivalry perfectly encapsulates the influence of money in football today. In the Football League, the Hammers statistically held the upper hand. Even in the early days of the Premier League – before the arrival of dirty Russian money in 2003 and the new low bar for football club ownership – the Hammers led the Blues with nine victories to eight. Since then, Chelsea have won 24 of the 38 league encounters. Of West Ham’s seven wins, one was at Stamford Bridge, two at Upton Park, and four at the London Stadium.

The game itself saw another patched up Hammer’s side put in a committed but ultimately fruitless performance. It was reminiscent of the Aston Villa cup game with West Ham’s holding a slender but comfortable lead, but losing the faith once the scores were levelled. Graham Potter gave an honest assessment after the game highlighting the effort, shape and application of his players but accepting they had not done enough with the ball themselves.

There was a welcome return for Jarrod Bowen but injuries to Lucas Paqueta and Edson Alvarez required adjustments to the starting eleven – the underused and undervalued Andy Irving putting in a mature performance for his first league start. While Bowen had made a text-book recovery from his fractured foot, Crysencio Summerville has joined Jean-Clair Todibo in the Rush Green treatment triangle where precautionary substitutions have mysteriously developed week by week into extended long-term injury absences.

Potter’s honeymoon at West Ham continues to hold good despite results not yet picking up. The massive turnaround in attitude and atmosphere since he replaced Lopetegui is clear to all, and we now see a team not resigned to its fate before a ball has been kicked. There have been extenuating circumstances with injuries but at some point, positivity needs to be converted into points. The six Premier League clubs who have sacked their managers since the start of the season comprise six of the bottom seven clubs in the current standings. The bounce isn’t always obvious and here is how they have performed pre and post the change in terms of points per game.

Monday evening also saw the slamming shut of the January transfer window. As usual, very little happened despite the daily speculation peddled on the made-up rumour sites – which have already turned their goldfish like attention to potential summer signings.  

I’m in two minds about the straight loan signing of Evan Ferguson. A potentially excellent striker if he can rediscover his fitness and the form of two seasons ago; but without any option to buy, the deal surely favours the player and Brighton more than it does West Ham. If we get him fit and he starts to knock in the goals, then great for time being but bigger clubs with bigger budgets will then be chasing for his signature. If he’s a flop, then it will all have been a waste of time.  

Also making a comeback at the London Stadium is James Ward-Prowse following a mostly unsuccessful loan period at Champion’s League chasing Nottingham Forest. No surprise he didn’t get much of a look-in at a team based on rapid transition and fast counterattacking. He joins a pool of older, slower, unadventurous midfield players – but at least he can take a decent corner. And perhaps he will finally equal that Beckham direct free-kick record. Despite any reservations I may have, I wish both players well whenever they turn out in the claret and blue.

The final expected news of the week was the announcement that Tim Stediten has left his role as Technical Director. It is not clear whether any replacement is anticipated or whether the entirety of the role is viewed as a failure. A clear vindication in the eyes of the Board for reverting to the shambolic system of boardroom meddling, agent influence and short-term thinking that has held the club back for the last 15 years. Lasting improvement is impossible until the club addresses its inability to adopt a long-term strategy and direction.

It is fascinating how widely repeated the narrative has spread that West Ham’s current woes are all down to Steidten’s recruitment. Not just from in-the-knows with cosy relationships at the club but also from the supposedly more thoughtful and balanced reporters at the Athletic and Guardian who have given a free pass to the most significant mistake of all – the disastrous appointment of Lopetegui by David Sullivan. The flaw of modern journalism where if you want access to the inside track, you mustn’t say anything bad about the source.

I’ve no idea if Steidten is difficult to work with or not, but he was set up to fail and was clearly not in full control of recruitment. He might have believed he was driving the transfer bus but in reality, he was the kid in the front seat on the upper deck imagining it to be true – until it hit the low bridge of the club’s ambition. The ironic thing about football transfers is that the number of people claiming responsibility is inversely proportional to how badly they work out.

Enjoy your free weekend. COYI!

The history of West Ham’s visits to Stamford Bridge indicates a likely home win. But does Chelsea’s poor recent form suggest otherwise?

History of Chelsea v West Ham fixtures and form in 2024-25 gives West Ham little chance of beating Chelsea on Monday evening. Only one player who could possibly be in our line-up for this game has ever scored a goal for us at Stamford Bridge and that is Aaron Cresswell. In our last two Premier League games v Chelsea they have scored eight goals against us without reply.

The first few minutes of the game could be important (as we found at Villa recently). Apart from Brentford, Chelsea have scored more goals than any other team in the opening ten minutes of Premier League games this season whereas we have conceded more goals in that time than any other team. Let’s hope we can withstand the opening period!

There are some hopeful factors though. Despite being sixth in the table, Chelsea have the poorest form in their last six games of all the top 14 Premier League teams. That’s where we are in our customary position this season of 14th. They have only collected five points in those whereas we have seven. The Premier League form table for the last six games has Chelsea in 15th.

In those six matches which go back to Boxing Day Chelsea have scored first in five of them but only won one of those five games. Their record of dropping more points from winning positions than anyone else in the period is only surpassed by Tottenham who have only picked up one point in the six-game form table up until the end of January.

I was looking through some statistics on the BBC website and saw that West Ham have won just one of their last 18 Premier League away games against Chelsea, drawing 4 of them and losing 13. That alone would suggest that winning there on Monday evening will not be likely if history is repeated. The one win in the period was in November 2019, a game remembered because of our goalkeeper that day, David Martin (son of Alvin) who kept a clean sheet and Aaron Cresswell scored for us as we won the game 1-0.

My first recollection in any detail of West Ham / Chelsea games goes back to the World Cup winning year of 1966. Towards the end of the 1965-66 season we played at Stamford Bridge and they thrashed us 6-2. Names from the past – George Graham (2), Ron Harris, Terry Venables and Bobby Tambling (2) scored against us that day. Our goals were from Peter Bennett and an own goal.

In the very first game at Upton Park after the World Cup final we met them at Upton Park. Our World Cup winning trio of Moore, Hurst and Peters received a tremendous reception when they came onto the pitch alone before the teams came out, but Chelsea spoilt the day with a 2-1 win. Johnny Byrne scored our goal that day.

Later that season in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge the week before Christmas there were ten goals in the game as it ended 5-5. Not many games end with that scoreline. Byrne, Brabrook, Peters, Sissons (2) were our scorers that day.

I was looking at the cost of programmes in those days. Both West Ham and Chelsea programmes at the time cost 6d (2.5p equivalent). The cost of the Matchday programme this season is now £4. That’s inflation for you.

Since that 5-5 draw we have played them 45 times in league games at Stamford Bridge, mostly top-flight games, although a couple of times in Division Two. We have won 10 of them, the last one being the David Martin game in 2019.

One win in 1967 was followed by two in the seventies, two in the eighties, three in the nineties, a surprising win in the relegation season of 2002-03, and then in 2019. The biggest win came in the great season of 1985-86 when we won 4-0 (McAvennie, Cottee 2, Devonshire), on our way to finishing third.

Despite their recent poor form and our encouraging display at Villa Chelsea are big odds-on favourites with the bookmakers to win the game at 1/3. We are 4/1 or greater to win and the draw is around 7/1 if you fancy a flutter.

Five years ago at the beginning of February we were just beginning to hear about Covid although we were unaware of the effect it would have on our lives for a year or two. The effect on football was that a season that began in August 2019 didn’t end until the end of July 2020. The season was halted for three months in March and of course social distancing entered the language with games played behind closed doors.

Looking back at those times we didn’t have VAR, which was to start at the beginning of the following season. Surprisingly (you may think?) the makeup of the Premier League was similar in terms of the teams with sixteen of the current twenty sides involved. The four who were in the top flight then who aren’t now are Sheffield United, Burnley, Watford and Norwich. Sheffield United and Burnley both finished in the top half of the table whereas Watford and Norwich were both relegated (along with Bournemouth). Liverpool were runaway champions (as they well might be this time?). We finished sixteenth just above Aston Villa who narrowly escaped relegation by one point.

The four teams here now who weren’t then are Brentford, Fulham and Nottingham Forest who in that Championship season finished third, fourth and seventh. The other team is Ipswich who were a mid-table League One side that year. The teams who came up from the Championship were Leeds and West Brom (who are now back there) and Fulham who beat Brentford in the Play-Off final.

I wonder if you had looked forward then to the current day and been able to predict the Premier League table at the beginning of February 2025. Would you have predicted Forest in third place having just put seven past Brighton? Bournemouth seventh, Fulham, Brighton, Brentford ninth, tenth and eleventh? Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham all in the bottom half?

I wonder what team and formation will we see against Chelsea? There seems to have been a new manager bounce in that the players seem to be responding to Graham Potter more than appeared to be the case with the departed Lopetegui. Geoff raised the issue of new manager bounce in a recent article. There has certainly been that effect at Everton too.

Hopefully Jarrod Bowen will be back for this game and it won’t be too long until we see Summerville too. At the time of writing we still haven’t signed a centre forward, a box to box midfielder or central defender that are key positions that most need strengthening although the signing of Ferguson from Brighton is looking close? The window slams shut at 11pm – let us hope that there is some good news on this front.

Graham Potter and the Labyrinth of Sullivanity

What level of wizardry is required by West Ham’s new coach to negotiate the tightrope of fan expectation, sporting success and boardroom meddling?

Looking back at the opening exchanges of last weekend’s visit to Villa Park and it had all the hallmarks of a Super Sunday evening to forget. Only ten minutes had passed, and I was already watching the game through my fingers. With a patched-up defence, the back three/ five formation that had failed to impress against Crystal Palace, and still not a striker in sight, a severe mauling was on the cards.

Villa were carving through the Hammer’s rearguard at will and when Ramsey breezed past Tomas Soucek’s lack of mobility in midfield to open the scoring on eight minutes, it threatened to be the first of many. But gradually the complexion of the game changed. Did the hosts become complacent, believing this was going to be all too easy, and with one eye on their midweek Champions League fixture with Celtic? Or was it down to the visitors eventually settling into their unfamiliar formation? Either way the remainder of the first half was a more balanced affair, even if it was largely scrappy and lacking in technical quality.  

No-one has conceded more goals in the opening ten minutes of Premier League games than West Ham this season – and they would be a bottom three team in a table based on first half performances alone. True to form though, the second half Hammers were a very different proposition to what had gone before. They were well worth the point earned thanks to Emerson’s fine header from Edson Alvarez’s wonderful cross; and looked the far likelier of the two teams to grab a winner in the closing stages.

The second half was an excellent all-round team performance which may well reflect the result of a solid week’s work on the training ground under Graham Potter. The standout performers may have been Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Lucas Paqueta but all of those involved looked up for the challenge and put in a decent shift. We can ask for no more.

There was also an underlying feistiness to the game thanks largely to the wayward officiating of the consistently inconsistent Peter Bankes. Alongside death and taxes, baffling refereeing decisions are just as inevitable these days it seems. Officials have created their own self-important world where they randomly choose to either exercise discretion or apply the letter of the law depending how the fancy takes them.

For example, a case for common sense could be made in stopping the game when Mings went down with what looked to be a serious injury (even though it wasn’t a head injury) – and also in not booking the same player when he caught the ball having felt a recurrence of the injury. But no such discretion was available when Max Killman was forced to leave the field after receiving treatment, even though it was patently obvious that no pretence was involved. A goalkeeper can stay on but not a central defender despite being equally critical in defending set plays.

Not that West Ham were not also recipients of Bankes’ unpredictable largesse. Notably when he failed to act upon two attempts by Alvarez to secure a second yellow card. It is probable that I am in a minority believing the Mexican to be a fine player who will likley improve under Potter once freed from the obligation of “tackling for two” in the defensive midfield double pivot. But his commitment had for some reason boiled over into recklessness in the lead up to his late sensible substitution.

The other big news of the week was the apparent departure of Tim Steidten from his role as Technical Director. I say apparent because I have yet to see (or have missed) any official confirmation of his dismissal. Potter’s buddy Kyle Macaulay has been appointed Head of Recruitment but that is a different role from the one that Steidten left. Does that mean the Technical Director role has been demised to allow Sullivan free rein in doing deals with his favourite agent mates?

One can rightly question how well the transfer funds were spent in the summer but even a cursory examination reveals too many fingers in the pie with no coherent strategy in place. It was never made clear who was responsible for which signings, while most of what we heard on shortcomings the result of intentional leaks from the Boardroom to useful in-the-know reporters. Some of the criticism of Steidten may well be justified, but was the club’s transfer business any worse than any of the other 14 years under Sullivan’s stewardship? For me, Steidten was setup as the fall-guy to distract attention from the major recruitment blunder of the summer – the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as coach – against the advice of the Technical Director. In a hotly contested competition, it was up there with the most disastrous managerial appointments in West Ham’s recent history.

None of the current debacle should really come as any surprise. It has been Sullivan’s MO since his days at Birmingham City. It’s not that he refuses to invest – far from it – but he has rarely spent wisely or with the future in mind. Deep down he may even mean well, but any benevolence is overshadowed by an overwhelming preference for self-promotion; a desire that manifests itself in the fruitless pursuit and occasional purchase of what he sees as showbiz signings. As one Birmingham City fan summed it up (speaking of Gold and Sullivan): “While I’ve always quite admired Sullivan’s bluntness, I would have to admit that I’m one of those who are sceptical of his and David Gold’s motives. If you want a steady club, with a chairman who likes interviews with helicopters in the background, they’re the men for you. If you want a bit more substance to the words, maybe not.”

The essence of football club ownership has been a contradiction ever since the ne’er-do-wells in N17 created a holding company in the 1980s to circumvent the FA rule that had previously protected the game from undue commercialisation. It has been downhill ever since as business priorities has eaten away at the sporting and community roots of football; and where supporters are now regarded as customers to be milked for replica kits, exhorbitant matchday pint and programme prices, and other assorted paraphenalia. The media hype machine will have us believe the game is better for it, but I am not convinced the overall entertainment and experience has improved.

The corporatisation of football was reinforced by the publication of the annual Deloitte Football Money League which was published this week. On the surface, it is satisfying to see West Ham ranked as the 17th richest in the world by revenues. But look into the detail and it becomes apparent how huge the gulf is between clubs such West Ham, Newcastle, and Aston Villa and the so-called Big 6.

West Ham’s Matchday and Commercial income is tiny compared to those generated Tottenham and Chelsea. Where the Hammers rely on Broadcasting for 60% of their revenues this reduces to 32% and 35% respectively at the Tottenham Stadium and Stamford Bridge. With squad costs becoming increasingly tied to a percentage of revenues there seems little hope of closing the gap.

The London Stadium is a conundrum for West Ham. Seen by some as the “deal of the century” when the tenancy was first agreed, it is apparent that it also imposes severe limitations on the club’s ability to pursue some of the more lucrative retail and sponsorship revenue opportunities.

If West Ham are to punch above their weight on a regular basis, then adopting the smart recruitment strategies practised by clubs like Brighton, Brentford, and Bournemouth has to be the way forward. Identify emerging talent from lower leagues, recruit for the future and succession, improve through coaching, and sell at a profit. It is the very antithesis of the traditional West Ham Transfer Way where players have been regularly sold at a significant loss. It is a strategy that should have been apparent for many years, but hubris, arrogance, incompetence and stubbornness have routinely prevailed.

We are, of course, in mid transfer window at the moment with just six more days before its ceremonial slamming shut. The January window is forever the poor relation to its summer cousin but that doesn’t stop the speculation factories pumping out the usual nonsense. West Ham are one of nine Premier League clubs yet to complete a deal as rumours of strikers, centre backs and box-to-box midfielders abound. Whether to recruit now or wait until the summer when there is more time and choice is the immediate dilemma facing Potter. His greater challenge will be navigating past Boardroom meddling and the Chairman’s propensity to scupper preferred deals because they have the wrong agent.

For the second season running the Hammers have a fixture on the night the window closes which might be considered a constraint or an excuse, depending on your point of view. COYI!   

With a week of the transfer window remaining, a trip down memory lane looking back at some of West Ham’s most successful incoming transfers

With the winter transfer window nearing its close it got me thinking about West Ham’s transfer successes and failures in the years that I have been following the team. In this article I will mainly concentrate on some of the successful ones and my favourites.

The first notable incoming transfer that I remember vaguely, mainly reinforced by my dad was that of Vic Keeble in 1957. We bought him from Newcastle for £10,000 which set up a partnership with one of my all time favourites Johnny Dick which yielded 40 goals as the Hammers became Second Division champions (Dick 21, Keeble 19). In the following season in Division One the pair scored 47 between them (Dick 27, Keeble 20), a key reason why we finished sixth in the table. In the next campaign he was forced to retire with back trouble and ended with 49 goals in 80 appearances, £10,000 well spent! What a partnership that was with Dick in the days when a twin spearhead produced such success.

The next one I remember was when West Ham smashed the British record transfer fee signing Johnny Byrne for £65,000 from fourth division Crystal Palace. He formed an exciting partnership with Geoff Hurst, with the bigger target man feeding off the skilful smaller partner and vice versa. He was an England international and when he was sold back to Crystal Palace in 1967 he had scored over 100 goals for us in just over 200 appearances. Perhaps his best ever game for us came in a League Cup tie in 1966 when we slaughtered ‘mighty’ Leeds 7-0. He didn’t get on the scoresheet that night but had a hand in virtually every goal and put in a performance close to perfection. Once again the twin partnership was a key factor.

In 1967 three signings were made to strengthen our defence. John Cushley arrived from Celtic and also from Scotland came goalkeeper Bobby Ferguson at £65,000 a record fee for a British goalkeeper. Both of the Scottish signings were not complete successes, finding it difficult to adapt to the English game. Ferguson was an excellent shot stopper but not the best when it came to dominating his penalty area. It was reported at the time that we could have bought Gordon Banks at the time as Leicester wanted to promote a teenage Peter Shilton, but for some reason we went for Ferguson. Most significantly at the time right back Billy Bonds was signed from Charlton for £50,000, arguably the best transfer ever made by the club in my lifetime.

Billy Bonds is a true legend at West Ham United, having made an indelible mark on the club both as a player and a manager. He quickly established himself as a key player, initially as a right-back before transitioning to midfield and then centre back. He was known for his hardworking, uncompromising, swashbuckling style, which perfectly complemented the skills of his teammates. He played a crucial role in West Ham’s successes, including their FA Cup victories in 1975 and 1980. Bonds was the only West Ham captain to lift the FA Cup twice. He also won the Hammer of the Year award four times, showcasing his consistent excellence.

His legacy at West Ham is immense. He made 799 first-team appearances for the club, scoring 61 goals over his 27-year association. His commitment to the club and his ability to inspire both as a player and a manager have cemented his status as an all-time great, and perhaps our best ever signing. The East Stand at the London Stadium is named in his honour, recognizing his contributions to the club.

In 1970 we signed Tommy Taylor for £78,000 from Leyton Orient. A very good centre half who had played in the first team at Orient at just 15 years old he played for nine seasons at Upton Park appearing in almost 400 games. He gained many under 23 caps for England but never quite made the full international team.

One of the great mysteries to me of international football was why Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson was never selected to play for the full England team. After a successful career at Newcastle where he won a Second Division Championship medal and a European Fairs Cup medal and scoring almost 100 goals West Ham paid a club record fee of £120,000 for his services. He went to Sunderland in 1975 and then we bought him back for £80,000 in 1976, staying with us for a further three seasons before again joining Sunderland. He scored over 100 goals for the Hammers and in 1972-73 was the First Division leading scorer with 28 goals. Ironically he left us twice just before we won the FA Cup, firstly in 1975 and then in 1980!

Alan Taylor became a household name in 1975 when his goals swept us to Wembley. He joined from Rochdale for £45,000 in 1974. He won an FA Cup winners medal in 1975 and a year later was in the side that lost to Anderlecht in the European Cup Winners Cup final. In five seasons at Upton Park he scored 36 goals in 121 appearances, but the statistic we all remember is that he scored two goals in the quarter final at Highbury against Arsenal, two goals in the semi-final replay versus Ipswich, and two goals in the final against Fulham.

There were two other relatively successful signings at the same time as Alan Taylor with Billy Jennings (£110,000 from Watford) and Keith Robson (from Newcastle) forming an entertaining front three.

Alan Devonshire is another West Ham United legend whose career is filled with remarkable achievements and memorable moments. He began his football journey at non-league Southall, where his exceptional skills caught the attention of West Ham scouts. Despite initial rejections from Crystal Palace, Devonshire’s talent shone through, and he signed for West Ham in 1976 for a fee of just £5,000. He quickly became a fan favourite, known for his mazy runs down the left flank and his ability to glide past defenders. His partnership with Trevor Brooking in midfield was telepathic, contributing to West Ham’s successes during the late 1970s and 1980s.

He played a crucial role in West Ham’s FA Cup victory in 1980. He also helped the team reach the League Cup final in 1981 and achieve their highest-ever finish in the top-flight with a third-place finish in 1986. Over his 14-year career at West Ham, Devonshire made 448 appearances and scored 32 goals. Despite his club success, his international career was limited to eight caps for England between 1980 and 1983. Many fans believe he deserved more recognition at the international level given his talent and contributions to West Ham.

Phil Parkes is widely regarded as one of West Ham United’s greatest goalkeepers. He began his professional career at Walsall before moving to Queens Park Rangers in 1970. During his time at QPR, he made over 400 appearances and earned his only England cap in 1974.

In 1979, West Ham broke the world record for a goalkeeper by signing Parkes from QPR for £565,000. Despite concerns about his knee problems, Parkes proved to be a fantastic acquisition for the club. He played a crucial role in West Ham’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup final. In the 1980-81 season, he helped West Ham win promotion back to the First Division by keeping 22 clean sheets. He was voted Hammer of the Year for his outstanding performances in the 1980-81 season. He made over 400 appearances for the club and was known for his agility, shot-stopping ability, and leadership qualities. In 2003, a poll of West Ham fans voted him the club’s greatest ever goalkeeper.

Ray Stewart, affectionately known as “Tonka,” is another West Ham United legend whose career is filled with remarkable achievements and memorable moments. He began his professional career at Dundee United, where he quickly made a name for himself as a talented defender. His performances caught the attention of West Ham United, and he joined the club in 1979 for a then-record fee of £430,000 for a British teenager.

Known for his resolute defending and fantastic penalty-taking ability, Stewart became a fan favourite. He played a crucial role in West Ham’s 1980 FA Cup victory, scoring two goals in the fourth round against Leyton Orient and a last-minute penalty winner in the quarter-final against Aston Villa. His penalty-taking prowess was legendary, with him scoring 62 league goals for West Ham, 84 in total including all competitions, with 76 from penalties. He did miss 10 but his 88% success rate is one of the best. He played a crucial role in West Ham’s FA Cup victory, and was a key member of the team that won promotion back to the First Division, playing 41 games and scoring five goals. He made 432 appearances for the club.

Paul Goddard was signed from QPR for a club record fee of £800,000 in 1980. He scored 71 goals in just over 200 appearances and won an England cap whilst at the club before leaving for Newcastle in 1986, finding his first team chances restricted following the signing of Frank McAvennie.

Frank McAvennie was signed by John Lyall for £340,000 from St Mirren in 1985 and quickly set up a prolific scoring partnership with Tony Cottee. In their best season 1985-86 they scored 46 league goals between them and he won the first of his Scotland caps. He went to Celtic for £750,000 in 1987 and in 1989 he came back, although this time he was not so successful. In May 1992 he played his final game for us at home to Nottingham Forest and said goodbye in style with a hat-trick in a 3-0 victory, taking his tally to 60 goals.

Jarrod Bowen has been a standout player for West Ham United since joining the club in January 2020. After Hereford’s expulsion from the Football Conference in 2014, Bowen signed for Hull City on a free transfer. Bowen quickly made an impact scoring 15 goals in the 2017-18 season and winning the club’s Supporter’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards. His performances caught the attention of bigger clubs, and he eventually joined West Ham United.

Regarded as a quick, direct, mobile, energetic player with good technique and an eye for goal, Bowen is predominantly known for his speed, movement, clinical finishing, agility and ball control, as well as his ability to use both his pace and flair on the ball to create scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates. A versatile forward, he primarily plays as a winger on the right flank, a position which allows him to cut into the centre onto his stronger left foot, and either shoot on goal or play quick exchanges with other players and make runs in behind the defence towards goal. He can also play in the centre, behind the main striker as either an attacking midfielder or second striker or as the main striker. He has consistently performed at a high level, scoring goals and providing numerous assists in his time at the club. His contributions have been crucial in helping West Ham achieve notable finishes in the Premier League. Bowen scored the winning goal, in the 90th minute, against Fiorentina to give West Ham their first trophy in 43 years with a 2–1 victory. He has also represented England, earning 14 caps and scoring one goal. His performances at the international level have further solidified his reputation as one of the top players in English football. Despite a recent injury he has returned to training and we look forward to his return.

There have been many other excellent transfers including Ludek Miklosko, Scott Parker, Julian Dicks and Paolo Di Canio. And how good would Dean Ashton have been if injury had not cruelly forced him into early retirement from the game? There are others too that I may have temporarily forgotten when writing this article. But for all these there have been so many that turned out to be disasters, especially forwards such as Boogers, Hugill and too many others far too numerous to mention. In our current predicament lacking goalscorers I wonder if anyone of significance will arrive in this window? I won’t hold my breath.

Puzzling Potter Picks A Pack Of Pointless Passers

If he didn’t know before, Graham Potter must now be painfully aware of the imbalance and limitations of the West Ham squad. A long-term rebuilding job is on the cards but there is hope that youth can be part of the solution.

New manager bounces have been in short supply in this year’s Premier League with the changes at Manchester United, Leicester, Wolves, and Southampton unable to deliver any lasting improvement to failing fortunes. Will it be down to the Moyesiah to buck this trend on his return to Goodison Park?

At West Ham, the optimism that followed Graham Potter’s fast start in the opening Premier League victory against Fulham was dashed by a refusal at the second fence in Saturday’s encounter with Crystal Palace. A case of reality bursting the bubble of hope that followed Julen Lopetegui’s departure, and which had placed too much emphasis on the improvements in attitude and effort witnessed during the Fulham win.

A fan-base who have become well versed in quirky and difficult to understand team selections over the years might well have thought “here we go again” when the teams were announced on Saturday. It was only one change on paper, but the inclusion of 35-year—old Aaron Cresswell represented a switch of formation to a back three and wing backs system that has rarely worked well for the Hammers – either because there aren’t the players to execute it properly, or because insufficient time has been spent on the training ground perfecting the roles and responsibilities involved.

It is far from a given that full backs can effortlessly switch between the two roles, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka a prime example. Highly regarded for his defensive abilities – and quite capable of storming forward in the style of a traditional overlapping full back – he appears to regard tracking back as optional when deployed as a wing back. Surely, that cannot be what the coach expects.

Even more problematical in the selection was an entire West Ham midfield populated by defensive minded players – Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez, and Tomas Soucek. The recognition that eight out of ten cats outfield players possessed so few creative instincts and ideas was painfully apparent all afternoon – meaningless short passing, no imagination, little movement and an inability to create space. With Lucas Paqueta once again out of sorts, Palace were easily able to double (or even treble) up on Mohammed Kudus as the only credible attacking threat.

Potter’s rationale for changing the starting eleven was reported to be a worry over the fitness of Carlos Soler. That he opted to compensate with a formation to match up with the opponents was not, however, the only choice available – and was a big mistake in my opinion. No disrespect to the visitors but this was Crystal Palace at home – a team that had started the day below us – not Barcelona in the Nou Camp. A more obvious straight swap replacement for Soler using either Andy Irving or Lewis Orford, or starting with Danny Ings up front and dropping Paqueta deeper, would have been less disruptive and made far more sense for a team hoping to seize the initiative. It is puzzling why Irving hasn’t had more of a look in, having always looked capable in his occasional substitute appearances.

As it was, a Premier League defence couldn’t have hoped for a more comfortable afternoon than the one experienced by Crystal Palace. The visitors did not need to be excellent, merely competent. Hughes and Kamada were not a glamorous pairing at the heart of the Palace midfield but did the simple things well; demonstrating a pace, energy, and ability to move the ball forward quickly (to Eze and Sarr) that was missing from their West Ham counterparts. Equally, they had a willing and effective runner up front in Mateta, a relaive unknown who has evolved into a quality Premier League striker under the guidance of Oliver Glasner.

Aside from the feeble attacking threat, the Hammers continued with their run of defensive generosity and have now conceded 43 times in 22 league games. The first goal featured a shockingly bad example of defending by Max Killman who inexplicably allowed Mateta to run straight at him without making any attempt at a challenge. The striker hit the ball well, but a younger Fabianski would likely have saved it. The second was a well taken spot kick after the clearest cut of all penalty awards.

West Ham had rallied slightly following the introduction of Ings, Orford and Ollie Scarles but still failed to register a shot on target all afternoon. The game was effectively done and dusted when they went down to ten men on 80 minutes. I was so concerned that Alvarez was on course for a second yellow that my immediate instinct was relief on realising it wasn’t him who had made the high challenge on Mateta – that Dinos Mavropanos was also on a yellow only registering when the red card came out of Thomas Bramall’s pocket. There could be no complaints even if the referee had been consistently lenient with Hughes throughout the game.

The scale of the surgery required at West Ham must now be glaringly apparent to Potter. The squad had been allowed to get into a sorry state under Moyes and the summer investment failed to address the most critical structural issues. The current mini-injury crisis does offer some mitigation for the new manager’s approach and the eventual return of Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville is sure to improve matters. Fortunately, there is a low bar in the Premier League this season and the Hammers should comfortably avoid getting drawn into any relegation discussion. I remain confident that Potter can prove a good long-term bet at the London Stadium – if he is allowed to do his job. One criticism of him spells at Brighton and Chelsea was that his teams did not create enough clear goalscoring opportunities relative to the possession they enjoyed. Hopefully, he has learnt from these experiences. As a side note, the team with the lowest possession stats in the Premier League this season are Nottingham Forest. Make of that what you will!

The big positive from the weekend was to see three teenagers on the pitch at the end of the game. Young players being given a chance is always encouraging for fans, especially when they have come through the academy. Scarles and Orford both did well and looked very confident on the ball; Guilherme, as usual, was given too little time to impress.

With two weeks remaining in the January transfer window, there has been little activity by Premier League clubs to date, and none at all at West Ham. Opinions are divided on whether it’s best to muddle through with what we’ve got until the summer – in the hope that injuries clear up and the youngsters can contribute – or try to plug the most glaring gaps now. It goes without saying the club looks no closer to having a strategy for recruitment and succession than it ever has.

While smarter clubs – such as Bournemouth who have already made two interesting teenage signings in this window – seek to build on the Brighton model of player recruitment, the Hammers remain hostages to David Sullivan’s dream of creating a Galacticos B Team. It is the greatest obstacle to progress at Wst Ham. Can no-one rid us of this turbulent pest? COYI!     

How Much Do You Know About West Ham versus Crystal Palace – Take The Quiz

This weekend sees West Ham take on Crystal Palace in our 22nd game of the 2024-25 season. Something a little different for today – a quiz. See how many you can answer – the answers can be found at the end.

Question 1: This weekend is the anniversary of David Sullivan and David Gold taking over at West Ham – but how many years ago did they buy the club? (A-12, B-13, C-14, D-15)

Question 2: In what year did West Ham last beat Crystal Palace at the London Stadium? (A-2018, B-2019, C-2020, D-2021)

Question 3: How many games have West Ham played against Crystal Palace since we last failed to score at least one goal in the game? (A-6, B-11, C-16, D-21)

Question 4: If West Ham win the game today, Graham Potter will become our third manager to win the first two Premier League games in charge. Who are the other two?

Question 5: West Ham have played Palace 9 times in the last 5 seasons and scored 18 goals. Which two West Ham players have scored the most goals in those nine games?

Question 6: West Ham have played Palace 9 times in the last 5 seasons – every player in the starting West Ham XI in those games is a full international footballer apart from three players. Can you name them?

Question 7: In the history of West Ham v Palace fixtures there have been 3 0-0 draws, in 1970, 1971 and 2012. Who were the 3 West Ham goalkeepers in those games?

Question 8: Palace have failed to win any of their last 13 London derby away games. Who did they beat when they last won an away London derby?  

Question 9: Who scored West Ham’s second goal in the 2-2 draw against Palace in the very last game that we played against them at Upton Park (in April 2016)?

Question 10: Who scored West Ham’s first goal when we met Palace for the first time at the London Stadium (in January 2017)?

How Many Did You Get? (Click on the question numbers to reveal the answers)

Question 1

The answer is D – David Sullivan and David Gold bought West Ham 15 years ago this weekend.

Question 2

The answer is A – 2018. We beat them 3-2 with goals from a Scotsman, a Mexican and a Brazilian – Snodgrass, Hernandez and Anderson.

Question 3

The answer is D – 21 games since we last failed to score in a game against Palace when we lost the game 1-0 in April 2014.

Question 4

The other 2 managers were Sir Trevor Brooking and Gianfranco Zola.

Question 5

Soucek and Antonio have each scored 4 times in those 9 games.

Question 6

The answers – Ben Johnson, Craig Dawson and Max Kilman. But Craig Dawson actually played three times for the Great Britain Olympic team at London 2012. Max Kilman is an England international Futsal player.

Question 7

Peter Grotier, Bobby Ferguson, Rob Green

Question 8

Answer – West Ham! Palace’s last away win in a London derby was at the London Stadium in November 2022 when they beat us 2-1.

Question 9

Dimitri Payet scored West Ham’s second goal in the 2-2 draw against Palace in April 2016 with a superb free kick.

Question 10

Well done if you knew the answer to this one. West Ham’s first goal when we met Palace for the first time at the London Stadium (in January 2017) was scored by Sofiane Feghouli.

Call Out The Ingstigator, Because There’s Something in the Air at West Ham

Graham Potter opened his Premier League account with a battling victory over Fulham on Tuesday night. Saturday provides an opportunity to make it two in a row with the visit of Crystal Palace.

And Graham said: “Let there be light (at the end of the tunnel)”. And lo, the light divided the darkness shrouding the London Stadium since last August. And the supporters saw the light and said it was good – considering the current injury situation. And the people rejoiced: “We can see clearly now the (man from) Spain has gone.”

The Graham Potter Premier League era got off to an ideal winning start on Tuesday evening as they overcame Fulham by three goals to two in the nostalgic 7:30 pm kick-off. It wasn’t a vintage performance by any means, but there was no faulting the effort, endeavour or commitment of the players. Not something that could be said about most of the season that had gone before.

As fans we have a right to expect the players to give 100% effort in every game (equivalent to 110% in pundit language). We might have other opinions about them – too old, too slow, not technically good enough at this level, exorbitant transfer fee, wages too high – but these are factors of poor recruitment or selection rather than of their own making. Bad attitude and lack of effort, on the other hand, are unacceptable. Where it becomes difficult is determning the line between individual player effort and deficiencies caused by the inadequacies or vagaries of coaching pigheadedness. Edson Alvarez is a perfect example. Many considered him to be excellent against Fulham while a few weeks earlier he had been ridiculed as an abysmal footballer. Which is true? He had reportedly fallen out with Lopetegui and was routinely set up as the scapegoat for the coach’s baffling defensive tactics. Can we blame a player for not performing in a role they are unsuited for?

I never believed Alvarez ever gave up trying, but his lack of pace was magnified by the role he was given to perform. The same could be said of Danny Ings, who with the best will in the world was never likley to be a like for like replacement for Michail Antonio, someone capable of ploughing a lonely furrow up front. Hopefully, square pegs and round holes are a thing of the past under Potter’s more thoughtful and considered tutelage.

The new coach had hinted towards creativity to fill the gaps created by injuries to Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug, Jarrod Bowen, and Crysencio Summerville. He did this by pushing Lucas Paqueta forward to ‘lead’ the attack, playing Tomas Soucek as a Number 10 and shifting Carlos Soler out wide on the left. He was not let down with all three registering on the scoresheet. Soler and Paqueta executing their finishes expertly, while Soucek’s fifth strike of the season was one of those excellent team goals that never fail to impress.

Although I do have reservations about Soucek in possession, his commitment to the cause is second to none. And all the while he is scoring, the goals are able to compensate for other shortcomings. The more advanced role suits him, as it did in his first season at West Ham. He is a box-and-box midfielder rather than a box-to-box variety. Someone really should bottle the excitement shown in his post-match interview.

It was a pleasant change for West Ham to score as the result of errors forced from a high press. Alvarez harassing Pereira into making a suicidal blind pass across the area for the first, and Ings punishing Leno for dwelling on the ball for the third. I’ve yet to be convinced that playing out from the keeper is worth all the potential grief associated with it. No doubt the visitors were following team orders but unless you have a keeper specifically recruited for his ball-playing skills it comes with huge risks attached.

Still, it gave Marco Silva something to moan about. Silva is an excellent coach who has done a great job at Fulham and, to be fair, his team did boss most of the game. It is not the first time they have been unlucky to come away from the London Stadium empty handed, but he always finds something to complain about when they lose, doesn’t he? And it’s Hey Ho, Silva Whining.

True to form, the Hammers conceded their regulation couple of goals as two hopeful crosses from Iwobi found their way into the back of net. For me, both were goalkeeping errors by Lukasz Fabianski although the coach might want to consider of the positioning of the centre backs and the wisdom of inviting rather than preventing crosses from coming in. During the low block years, full backs were played narrow to limit the space opponents could exploit in the box. The theory being that crosses can easily be defended by towering centre backs and that crossing has become an inefficient tactic in the modern statistically driven game. Something for Potter to revisit, perhaps, given the attributes of existing personnel.    

In contrast to the sunnier outlook on the pitch, threatening storm clouds in the baordroom suggest that David Sullivan has taken back control of transfer business. Whether this is a) true or b) makes any material difference to what transpired in the summer is anyone’s guess. Worst case is an open season for every reject, drifter, has-been, and loser (and his agent) who calls himself a striker to add their name to the list of 50+ duds who have been signed in the past.

Even if there are pertinent questions to answer on last summer’s transfer dealings – was too much of the budget spent on Killman, how much have we really paid for Luis Guilhereme and was he expected to play a role this season, should we have been aware that spare parts for Fullkrug were no longer available – is the return to a system that delivered 15 years of flops and failure with no resale value the logical alternative? I’ve no strong attachment to Tim Steidten as an individual but surely a professional recruiter is the preferable choice to a chairman too easily seduced by shiny objects.

The dilemma in the transfer window is how much sense it makes investing in the squad now – in the hope of picking up an extra place or two in league position – against a more thorough overhaul in the summer. There is no obvious urgency to make quick fixes unless they are short-term loans or genuine long-term targets. As ever, the best advice is to treat all the transfer speculation you read as an entertaining work of fiction.

The Hammers return to action on Saturday when they entertain Crystal Palace at the London Stadium. It is a fixture they haven’t won since December 2018 when Manuel Pellegrini’s side won 3-2 (Snodgrass, Hernandez and Anderson.) Palace have recovered from a poor start to the season to sit 5th in the current form table (last 6 games) and just two points behind West Ham in the table.

Prior to the Fulham game, Potter said that if he had to choose, he would prioritise points above performance. The same will likely apply here in the absence of key individuals. As long as the direction of travel is consistent – playing higher up the pitch and getting more bodies into the box – then that is good enough for now. I hope we continue to see good use of the squad with the opportunity to see more from Ollie Scarles and Andy Irving or even Guilherme and Lewis Orford.

We’ve got to get together sooner or later. Because the revolution’s here. COYI!

West Ham’s new boss, their FA Cup defeat at Villa, coincidences, and the visit of draw specialists Fulham who’ve not lost in eight league games

So Julen Lopetegui has gone. 22 games at the helm, 20 Premier League and 2 EFL Cup. In the league we faced every other club once and Manchester City twice. We won six league games – on matchdays 2, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18. So we never managed back-to-back wins. We spent one week in the top half of the table when we were ninth after beating Palace in the second game, but apart from that we have been fourteenth for most of the time. We did climb to thirteenth after our four-game unbeaten run (2 wins and 2 draws – Matchdays 15-18), but two heavy defeats conceding nine goals to Liverpool and Manchester City saw us back in fourteenth and spelled the inevitable end for the head coach.

We’ve conceded 39 goals in 20 league games; only Wolves, Leicester and Southampton have let in more. A goal difference of minus 15, only Leicester and Southampton are worse than that. And 24 goals scored – we are fourteenth in that table too!

Graham Potter was installed last Thursday and immediately faced a tricky away FA Cup third round tie on Friday at Villa Park. And it was there that the coincidences begin. Because just like Lopetegui his first game was against Aston Villa. And despite a bright first half performance we lost the game 2-1 just as Lopetegui had done. Our goal was scored by the left foot of Paqueta just as it was in the game last August. Onana scored Villa’s first goal just as he had done at the London Stadium. At least it wasn’t Duran scoring the winner as he was suspended for the FA Cup game.

Potter’s first five league games in charge will be against Fulham, Palace, Villa, Chelsea and Brentford. Lopetegui faced those five plus Manchester City in his first six games, where we picked up five points, beating Palace, drawing with Fulham and Brentford, and losing to Villa and Chelsea. All five points were gained away from home with two defeats at the London Stadium. In these reverse fixtures Palace, Fulham and Brentford are the home games.

Fulham are unbeaten in their last eight league games having drawn six of them, Palace have only lost once in their last six games and have come on since we beat them very early in the season. Brentford are poor away from home. These three games are ones that we need to win to stand a chance of moving up the table. The Villa and Chelsea away games will be big tests.

**************************************************

Graham Potter’s first game, oh what a plight,
We lost to the Villa on a January night,
In the ninth minute West Ham struck a blow,
Paqueta’s left foot we led in the show.

A game of two halves, in the first we’d attack,
But then in the second, the Villa fought back,
Two quick goals they scored, how we did jeer
Onana and Rogers they cost us so dear.

A corner was given it caused quite a fuss,
A referee’s error threw us under the bus,
Onana’s goal followed, you get the drift,
That’s when the momentum it started to shift.

In sorrowful defeat thus began Potter’s reign
But positive’s taken, a lot we could gain,
Just a day to prepare once Lop did depart,
Half a season is left, it’s only the start.

So next up it’s Fulham, last season on song
5-0 and 2-0 it really went wrong.
Seven goals conceded, who could we blame?
They were just too good, both games the same.

So now winless against them, now three games long,
Why can’t we beat them, what has gone wrong?
Before then we’d won five games out of six,
But now we all know we’ve got something to fix.

London derbies we’ve struggled, five with no win,
Last two were awful, nine goals went in.
4-1 to Spurs, and Arsenal scored five,
A really poor record, it’s time to revive.

Fulham’s London matches unbeaten in ten
In derbies they shine again and again,
Five wins five draws such strength they’ve found,
Five on their travels and five on home ground.

Our last two league games we also shipped nine,
Enough is enough we must draw the line,
Fulham unbeaten in their last eight,
About time they lost, let’s end the wait.

West Ham Monday Briefing: FA Cup Exit, Striker Crisis and Pottering About in The Transfer Window

A breath of fresh air in the dugout has lifted the mood in the dressing room despite a growing injury problem. Can the new sense of optimism spread to cooperation and sensible decisions in the transfer window

My story is probably similar to many other fans. Becoming a supporter of West Ham was never a conscious decision. Rather, it was an inherited condition passed down by a long line of labourers, rascals and urchins who had lived in the county borough of West Ham as far back as the earliest census records go. Being a Hammer is just one more genetic marker alongside colour of eyes and annoyingly large ear lobes.

Despite the congenital nature of the affliction, a great deal of time was wasted over the years looking for justification, as if the decision had been taken by free will. Whether this was the emotional connection of following the East End’s family club, the attractive brand of football played by “everyone’s second favourite team” in the 1960s, effectively winning the World Cup in 1966, or the club’s admirable loyalty to its managers.

It feels strange mentioning that last point now – having personally willed the last two managers out of a job for the best past of two years – but for the first 87 years of existence, West Ham had employed just five managers, each surviving at least ten years at the helm. I don’t know if it is, but it sounds like it should be some sort of record.

Around 36 years have passed since the last of the famous five (John Lyall) was unceremoniously sacked in the summer of 1989. In that time, a further 15 full-time managers have taken their turn to sit in the dugout with varying degrees of disappointment. The longest was Harry Redknapp (a little short of seven years) while four others lasted less than a year (Avram Grant, the first coming of David Moyes, Lou Macari and now, Julen Lopetegui.) The timeline doesn’t precisely match the creation of the Premier League, but it is close enough to suspect a connection.

Under the circumstances, it is difficult to get too excited when names of managerial targets are mentioned these days. Most appointments ultimately end in failure even where there is a hint of success in between. Naysaying has become the new national pastime when it comes to football matters and there is always someone ready to point out the relative weakness of a win percentage or critique a previous failing regardless of any mitigating circumstances. Even I may be guilty as charged, having previously described Graham Potter’s Brighton side as “all sizzle and no sausage.” However, I don’t see his career being defined by the shambles that was taking place at Chelsea during the period of his tenure.

Potter may not fit the bald, designer stubble, chinos and turtleneck sweater wearing profile of the trendy manager, but I am reasonably happy with his appointment. I thought he acquitted himself well at the press conference following the announcement of his appointment. It can’t have been easy trying to answer essentially the same question from assembled journalists using different words. Everything he said about identity, alignment and collaboration makes perfect sense provided he can follow through on the training ground. My general takeaway was that here was a man with an air of competence – an attribute that has been in short supply at the club in recent years.

Then again Lopetegui wasn’t completely unbelievable in his initial pre-season utterances. It was only when the matches started, and he lost the ability to speak English that it became clear someone had been duped by his Powerpoint presentation. Quite why Potter was suddenly seen as the perfect fit for West Ham in January but was not considered last summer must remain a mystery.

Although it was disappointing to go out of the FA Cup on Friday night, the performance did suggest a lightening of the mood in the West Ham camp. Until the team ran out of steam and players early in the second period there was much to be encouraged about. At last, a coach with ideas on how best to use the resources at his disposal rather than one with a half-baked and poorly communicated philosophy which had his favourite players shoehorned into it. It was only one game (and one training session) but there are signs that Potter is an authentic coach who can improve players, is tactically flexible, a good communicator, and prepared to give youth a chance. It is a relief to have a glimmer of hope that we might see anincremental improvement in performances over the remainder of the season, despite having little other than pride to play for.

The already dire striker situation deteriorated even further in the Aston Villa cup-tie when Niclas Fullkrug pulled up with a hamstring injury which, according to rumours, will rule him out for three months – effectively the rest of the season. Witnessing the rickety, injury-prone German replaced by a rusty, misfiring Danny Ings provided ample evidence as to why you shouldn’t panic buy strikers at the breaker’s yard. Replacement striker, central defensive reinforcements and someone with pace, energy and technique in central midfield are now all transfer window priorities. A tall order for what is traditionally a disappointing January for the Hammers. Whatever moves are taken they should be made with the future in mind, not just quick fixes.

The transfer window is sure to intensify the media noise surrounding the role of Tim Steidten – a role that is routinely misunderstood or misrepresented. As Technical Director he is not employed by the coach although the pair need to be part of the ‘alignment’ that Potter spoke about. The problem is that Steidten appears to be Kretinski’s man in a role that Sullivan never really wanted – as he had always regarded himself as de facto Director of Football. I’m convinced most of the Steidten under pressure stories are intentionally briefed from the Chairman himslef in an attempt to undermine his efforts and deflect from the appalling decision to appoint Lopetegui – against the Technical Director’s advice.

I can imagine Sullivan struggling to cope with a far richer and more astute partner in the Boardroom. All was fine when David Gold was playing Sergeant Wilson to his Captain Mainwaring, but the perspective has now changed, and he is no longer undisputed king of the castle. Whether the club can progress while being held hostage to a fragile ego is open to debate. Sullivan and Co have invested heavily in the squad but he must learn not to interfere and to cut the strings with the interests of his preferred agents.  

At least we can now start to look forward to watching games again. It will be intriguing to see how Potter copes with the striker shortfall in the upcoming games against Fulham and Palace. The change of coach should also be a clean slate for the players who had lost all faith in Lopetegui. If the stories coming out about dressing room bust-ups and Lopetegui’s lack of engagement are true, it must have been a highly toxic environment in which to operate. Forever onwards and upwards. COYI!