As West Ham visit Aston Villa in the Third Round of this season’s FA Cup the debate continues – has the competition lost its magic?

My first recollection of the FA Cup goes right back to the 1958-59 season. West Ham were drawn away to our local rivals Tottenham in the third round. This was our first season back in Football League Division One, the top flight of the English game, and we were flying high. When the game was played on Saturday January 10th we were a very respectable tenth in the 22 team division, having been top after six games. By the end of the season we had climbed to sixth. Tottenham were poor that season eventually finishing eighteenth, although they were to finish third a year later and champions (and double winners) the year after that. What is more, we had faced them on Christmas Day, beating them 2-1 at Upton Park (the day I saw my first ever league game), and then thrashing them 4-1 at White Hart Lane on Boxing Day (the following day – and players today complain about the number of games!). A little under two weeks later they got their revenge beating us 2-0 on their home ground to knock us out of the cup.

This was the first of my personal FA Cup competition disappointments losing to a team lower placed than us. In the ensuing (approaching 70) years there have been so many more. The following season we went out in Round 3 again in a replay losing 5-1 at home to second division Huddersfield Town. The season after that round 3 again losing to second division Stoke City in a replay, and the following year the third round once again to lowly Plymouth Argyle! The list goes on – name the most embarrassing – Swindon, Mansfield, Blackpool, Hull, Hereford, Newport County all knocked us out in the sixties and seventies. The amazing thing is that we won the competition three times by 1980, 1964 v Preston North End, 1975 v Fulham, and 1980 v Arsenal. Three great final memories that live with me all these years later.

Back in those younger days the FA Cup was a magical competition for me, and I suspect most fans. Apart from the odd England international the final was the only game that we could see live on TV each season. But has it lost it’s magic? I guess this is a question that has been a recurring topic in football discussions for some years now.

Certainly, there has been a decline in prestige. The rise of the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League and other European competitions has overshadowed the FA Cup. Top clubs prioritise these competitions over domestic cup games.

‘Bigger’ clubs often field weakened sides, especially in the early rounds, which sends out a signal that the FA Cup is not a priority, leading to the perception that it’s less important than it used to be. And it’s not just the so called ‘bigger’ clubs. All the Premier League clubs have big squads and want to keep all squad players happy. And with an ever-growing calendar the FA Cup sometimes feels like an afterthought in the crowded schedule, especially for those clubs involved in multiple competitions. Clubs involved in the relegation struggle prioritise league games, and mid-table clubs (like us?) seem to believe that finishing a place or two higher in the league is more important than a good cup run. I don’t believe that fans agree with that.

However, analysis of the eventual winners in the last twenty years shows that in general ‘big’ clubs win the trophy. Two notable exceptions in that time are Portsmouth (2008) and Wigan (2013). Perhaps you could add Leicester in 2021? Otherwise it has been Chelsea (5), Arsenal (5), Manchester City (3), Manchester United (2), Liverpool (2).

Another aspect relates to TV and scheduling issues. These days, kick-off times prioritise national and global television audiences over match-going fans. In theory late-night or weekday games have perhaps alienated some traditional supporters. But fans still attend games in vast numbers so football authorities are not concerned and are happy to spread the games for maximum TV coverage.

In my younger days the FA Cup third round was another magical day in the football calendar. It was the day that the top two divisions joined the other clubs from the top ten levels of the English football league pyramid who had competed through up to six qualifying rounds to reach the First Round proper and then two further rounds when teams from Divisions Three and Four (now equivalent to Leagues One and Two) also joined in. 64 teams playing 32 matches that all kicked off at 3pm on the same Saturday afternoon.

What happens now? Well this season there were 3 games on Thursday 9th, there’ll be 2 games on Friday 10th, including our own trip to Villa Park, 19 games on Saturday, 7 games on Sunday, and one on Monday. All in all 15 different kick-off times spread over five days for the 32 games.

One aspect that has grown over the years is the financial disparity. The prize money and financial impact of the FA Cup pales when compared to league placements or European competitions, reducing the monetary incentive. This season, the FA Cup winners will collect a prize of £2 million, whereas for each incremental position in the Premier League teams benefit by more than £3 million. In financial terms alone it’s a no-brainer. Unfortunately too many decisions regarding football are based on money.

Having painted a picture of a loss in the magic, the competition still retains it to some degree. The FA Cup continues to throw up underdog stories where smaller clubs upset the giants of the Premier League, moments that can capture the essence of why we love football. Unfortunately, this year’s format has removed replays from the First Round Proper onwards making it harder for lower league teams to secure financial windfalls. FA Cup replays were once part of the magic of the competition.

I still recall with fondness the memories of our semi-final replay over Ipswich in the snow at Stamford Bridge in 1975 on our way to lifting the trophy, and the semi-final replay in 1980 at Elland Round where we beat Everton on our way to winning the Cup in 1980 (remember Frank Lampard dancing around the corner flag!). You have to remember we were one of the ‘smaller’ clubs in 1980 (in league division terms we were second tier) – these games can sometimes create lifelong memories for fans, that few league games do.

As the oldest national football competition in the world the FA Cup still carries a unique historical and cultural significance, certainly for those of us who recall moments of pure football romance. The FA Cup may not hold the same stature it did in its heyday due to changes in the football landscape, but it still provides moments of magic, particularly for smaller clubs and traditionalists (like me!). The “magic” may now be more selective rather than universal, but it hasn’t completely disappeared. Whether it has truly “lost its magic” often depends on what we as fans value most in football today.

Our third round tie this season is on 10th January, exactly 66 years ago to the day from when I remember my first, way back in 1959. So many disappointments in those intervening years as well as three great memories on winning the trophy. By the time I was just 26 years old we had been FA Cup winners three times, but now as I approach 71, it hasn’t happened again, the closest we came was in 2006 when we were just a minute away before Steven Gerrard intervened.

We have only faced Villa three times previously in the FA Cup. In 1913, our first ever match against them, they beat us 5-0 in front of 51,000 at Villa Park. In 1977 (I remember this one) in front of 47,000 at Villa Park we were on the end of a 3-0 defeat.

But the one that really sticks in the memory came in the quarter final of the 1980 tournament in front of a full house at Upton Park. Geoff and I watched that game from the front row of B block in the old West Stand. We were just a second division outfit at the time, but ironically it was one of the best times ever to watch West Ham. Incredibly we only managed a seventh place finish in Division Two that season, with a team that boasted Phil Parkes, Alvin Martin, Ray Stewart, Frank Lampard, Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire, Stuart Pearson and David Cross. Billy Bonds also, but he was absent for the Villa game. Of course we rectified it the following season when we were runaway champions and gained promotion back to the top flight.

There was only about a minute of the game to go (it was goalless at the time) when Sir Trev swung in a corner from below the West Stand at the South Bank end and a Villa centre back (McNaught) rose and handled the ball as Alvin Martin challenged. The referee gave a penalty with the Villa defender complaining vehemently that Alvin had pushed his arm above his head onto the ball. There was no VAR of course and once the referee had made up his mind that was that. I do remember the incident being discussed at length by Brian Moore on the Big Match on Sunday afternoon. Ray Stewart, one of our master penalty takers in my time of watching West Ham, fired it hard and low to the keepers right and we led 1-0. In typical West Ham fashion there was still time in the minute remaining for Villa to win a free kick on the edge of our area and Phil Parkes was needed to make a save which saw us through to the semi-final. The rest is history. But memories of Cup games (especially of good ones) remain.

Villa are one of the teams against whom we have a positive record with more wins than defeats in history. But in the past couple of seasons they have been on the up. When they beat us 4-1 at Villa Park last season it ended a run of ten games where they had failed to win against us. And of course you will remember the opening game of this season at the London Stadium when we went behind to a header from Onana (who we apparently wanted to buy a couple of years ago) in the opening few minutes. Paqueta converted a penalty to equalise in the first half, and then of course their substitute Duran (who we had seemed to spend the whole summer wanting to buy) inevitably scored the winner. And he has gone on to have an excellent season, sometimes selected ahead of Watkins.

We go into today’s game without the head coach who has been in charge. The season has seemed like a wasted one so far with little prospect of climbing into the top half of the table or challenging for a European place next season. We desperately need a cup run to lift us. Wouldn’t it be great to progress to Round Four? Can the new boss bring a little magic to the club?

It was the worst kept secret that Julen Lopetegui would be leaving West Ham, but why did it take so long?

I was reminded on social media this week of Mark Noble’s comments on finishing his playing career at the club: “West Ham aren’t run like a circus anymore.” Some might suggest that this week’s shenanigans involving the sacking of head coach Lopetegui would differ from that. I guess all clubs should have succession planning, but somehow ‘the West Ham way’ of doing it did seem a little unsavoury being played out in public. Or was that just how I saw it? Anyway, as with all managers / head coaches who lose their job I am sure he and his staff will be well compensated for the remaining terms of their contracts. 

Because just as I began to write this article the news that we knew was coming has finally been confirmed officially and Julen Lopetegui has been sacked. And he can have no complaints. Like so many I was underwhelmed by his appointment in the first place. But unlike many of our fans who are so called experts in who the club should appoint I didn’t know enough about him and was happy to see if he really was a good choice. Unfortunately he wasn’t and he has since proved that he was the wrong person right from the start.

We have not improved from a defensive point of view this season, and just like the last campaign under Moyes we have the poorest record in respect of goals conceded outside of the bottom three. Has it been poor recruitment in the summer or poor coaching / management since as we brought in Kilman, Todibo and Wan-Bissaka at the back to hopefully improve in this area? Wan-Bissaka has been relatively successful, but we don’t know about Kilman and Todibo yet.

But teams defend as a whole and I believe a key reason for our poor defensive record lies with the lack of pace in midfield which does not offer sufficient protection for the back four. Rodriguez just doesn’t seem to fit the Premier League, Alvarez (for whatever reason) seems to be getting slower and he wasn’t that fast to begin with, and Soucek for all his effort just doesn’t have the pace or quality. Paqueta has looked poor and disinterested for much of the time and has Soler got what it takes to be a success here, and why was he so easy to recruit and not wanted by PSG?

From the outset it just didn’t seem right. The players lacked direction or didn’t seem to understand what was required of them. What were the tactics? They weren’t very clear or again not understood. The team selections were baffling as were many of the substitutions. Inexplicably to me a player like Summerville just wasn’t given a chance, never given a full 90 minutes, hauled off when playing well then on the bench for the next game with no opportunity for continuity.

Prior to our game against Newcastle towards the end of November I wrote a poem entitled The Head Coach. I was expecting him to be dismissed very soon. I tried to predict the outcome of the game and was completely wrong as we won the game 2-0. My forecast was a 2-0 defeat. Pleased though I was (and always am) that we had won the game it didn’t really change my thoughts that he was the wrong choice. He was given more time, but even then I was convinced that he wouldn’t be around for too much longer. It has taken a further six weeks for the inevitable to happen. I repeat the poem here. Let us hope that this time we get it right.

The Head Coach

In the quiet of the changing room there’s tension in the air,
The head coach sits alone, lost in silent prayer,
The team, once full of promise, now struggles in the fight,
The season’s hopes are fading, slipping slowly out of sight.

In the cold winds of November under the floodlights glare,
The head coach stands in silence, with a burden hard to bear,
The team’s form has faltered, each defeat a painful blow,
The whispers growing louder, from the boardroom to below.

The night is cold, the winds are strong, the stadium lights are bright,
Two Premier League teams clashing on a freezing Monday night,
The Magpies on the front foot, their wingers standing wide,
The Hammers block is narrow, they fight to halt the tide.

He paces on the sideline, staring at the pitch,
Hoping to find the magic to turn this losing glitch,
He wonders about his lineup, he rethinks every play,
Hoping for a miracle to chase the doubts away.

One down at the interval, fans patience growing thin,
Every formation has been tried to bring the wins back in,
The half time talk determined, he rallies one more time,
A second goal goes in the net, the finish quite sublime.

After the game he faces the press, he knows not where to start,
Questions probing for cracks within, have the players got the heart?
He talks of faith and unity, of turning it around,
But shadows of the sack loom close, a win just can’t be found.

The players lack direction, the tactics quite unclear,
And baffling team selections, departure must be near,
Behind the scenes the murmurs rise, of replacements lined in wait,
Another loss, its Arsenal next, the coach awaits his fate.

West Ham Monday Briefing: No Blue Moon Shine for Lopetegui plus Nostradamus on the January Transfer Window

It was déjà vu all over again as a bright start by West Ham at the Etihad Stadium descended into shipping goals for fun and heavy defeat. Where do the Hammers go from here?

Something is seriously awry when the expected nervous anxiety of pre-match tension can be completely replaced by an overwhelming fear of impending embarrassment. Thus is the lot of a West Ham supporter as we enter 2025. The academy of failure and disappointment!

Julen Lopetegui made four changes to the starting eleven to face Manchester City on Saturday. Jean-Clair Todibo and Vladimir Coufal were the latest revisions to an ever changing defensive line, Tomas Soucek returned from suspension in place of Carlos Soler, and Niclas Fullkrug replaced the injured Jarrod Bowen.

The official West Ham website was coy on the exclusion of Emerson stating only that he was absent from the squad. He may well have picked up an injury, but the dearth of information served only to fuel speculation that he was packing his bags ready for a return to Italy to enjoy his football and pasta like his great-grandmother used to make. Instead of a natural left-sided replacement (Aaron Cresswell or Ollie Scarles) the coach opted to shuffle Aaron Wan-Bissaka to the other side of the pitch. While AWB can operate with some competence as an emergency stand-in left back, it is an unnatural and less effective position for him to be selected for. Still, we are mere fans and not highly paid, experienced coaches.

Having seen several Manchester City games in recent weeks, it was apparent that their greatest attacking threat currently came down the left through Savinho – a huge upgrade for City over Grealish or Doku. It was, therefore, a brave decision to award the job of marking him to the fast-fading Coufal. Bravery here crossing the line into foolishness.

Soucek was the latest unsuitable candidate to be given the honour of wearing the captain’s armband. Tom is another who is too quiet to act as an on-field leader. And with a mere 39 touches and a woeful team-worst pass completion rate of 56% he wasn’t exactly leading by example either. Even in the pre-match huddle he delegated the call to arms to Edson Alvarez. I think many of us had believed Max Kilman had been signed by Lopetegui for his skipper/ leadership qualities but apparently this is not the case – and not the reason for the inflated transfer fee paid.

A common comment from fans is that (even after 20 games) Lopetegui doesn’t know his best team. For me, it goes far deeper than that in that he has been unable to settle upon a setup where formation/ style/ identity matches the players at his disposal to execute it. To the outside observer the idea of playing to your strengths – creating a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts – is the fundamental requirement of any elite level coach. Otherwise, all that remains is a dream. Something that is great in theory but horrible in practice – like making love in a Triumph Herald.

In truth, West Ham had some fine first half moments against the least intimidating City side we have seen for many a year. Several presentable goalscoring opportunities were spurned before eventually falling behind to an unfortunate own goal. And the chance of a breakaway equaliser was denied when Lancashire born referee, Michael Salisbury, erroneously whistled for a foul by Crysencio Summerville in an obvioulsy fair tussle with Akanji. But today’s Hammers are perennially vulnerable, and the inevitable Haaland goals either side of the break settled the game in the host’s favour.

The injury to Bowen is a massive blow to the Hammers. It’s not clear how long it takes to recover from a fractured foot – anywhere between a few hours (Stuart Pearce) and three years (Andy Carrol) based on prior injury experience. If he is missing for the best part of two months, my expected 14th place finishing position must be revised downwards to 15th. Both Manchester United and Crystal Palace are sure to overtake us.  

Judging by the various comments trawled through online, I am in a rapidly reducing minority who believe the club have a decent set of players but are hamstrung by a coach who either has no plan, or is unable to communicate it to the team. If the internet is to be believed, only Bowen is routinely excused from criticism while the rest of the squad goes something like this:

Areola (showy, weak), Coufal (past it), Kilman (slow, overpriced), Todibo (sulky, injury-prone), Mavropanos (accident waiting to happen), Wan-Bissaka (thinks he’s a winger), Alvarez (erratic, blundering), Soucek (cumbersome, slow), Rodriguez (even slower), Soler (Guy Fawkes lookalike), Paqueta (fraud), Kudus (greedy), Fullkrug (donkey/ cart horse), Summerville (light-weight).

If they really are as bad as that, we may as well pack up and go home. It’s not that many of the current crop would make it into any dream team – and significant gaps do exist in the squad – but I see the failure as systemic rather than down to individuals. The woeful defensive record in particular being a function of the huge gaps and space built into the system by design, rather than the fault of whatever group of players make up the back four in any particular week. It’s almost guaranteed to make chumps of anyone unfortunate enough to play in it.

In a game of opinions, we each like to apportion blame in different orders of magnitude – Sullivan, Lopetegui, Steidten, or the players have all been targeted. But Sullivan is going nowhere voluntarily, Steidten’s role should be a longer-term play (if he is allowed to do it), and it will take an age (and is unaffordable) to replace all the players. That is the why it is the coach who must go if a change of fortune is to be enjoyed. His appointment was a mistake and those who made it must be big enough to admit it.

Several media sources have claimed exclusives on the real reason why West Ham might not sack Lopetegui any time soon. And that is the arcane world of modern football finances. Although presented as a huge reveal it is something we have mentioned here on a number of occasions previously. It will cost money to pay up the contracts of Lopetegui and his entourage – and that money must come from the same PSR pot available for potential transfer dealings. Buying a replacement out of his contract would have even more impact. It is a reality that cannot be put down solely to parsimony on the Board’s part. And explains why the owners might be prepared to limp along to the summer when player sales (Paqueta and Kudus) can reset the size of the pot to PSR in.

January Transfer Window Now Open

Rather than rely on the insider transfer gossip spewing daily from the Give Me The West Ham News Zone websites, I decided to consult the ancient musings of French astrologer, Nostradamus, for any breaking news stories. The probability of accuracy is equally reliable .

As we all know, Nostradamus was a celebrated 16th century pundit – a medieval Mark Lawrenson, if you like – who favoured a more traditional IV – IV -II formation and opted to publish his quillbait in the form of quatrains, or poetic verse. Critics claim his writings are cryptic, ambiguous, or incomprehensible. Not so very different from today’s media and this column in that sense – or Lopetegui’s tactics, come to that.

Of 942 assorted predictions made by Nostradamus, we have unearthed three that mention iron or irons:

“When in a Fish, Iron and a Letter shall be shut up,
He shall go out, that afterwards shall make War,“
Some scholars believe the fish references a potential swoop for Brighton defender Tariq LAMPREY. Others though suggest it may be a reference to famous former Hammers such as Geoff PIKE, RAY Stewart, Frank MACKERELvennie, Harry REDSNAPPER, Gary BREAM, Neil RUDDock (that’s more than enough fish puns – Ed)

“Into an Iron Cage he shall cause the great one to be draw
When the Child of German shall observe nothing.”
The great one is an expected approach to Jose Mourinho for the coming managerial vacancy while the child of a German observing nothing indicates the difficulty Tim Steidten would have working with him.

“The mad anger of the furious fight,
Shall cause by Brothers the Iron to glister at the Table,“
Fabrizio Romano and I are continuing to work on interpreting this one. Once a signing has been made, we will let you know what it meant.

West Ham visit the Etihad hoping to rectify an abysmal record in games against Manchester City

I’ll take you back to the 2015-16 season, our last at the Boleyn Ground. It was less than ten years ago. Slaven Bilic was our manager. Our first three away games that season were at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. Daunting eh? None of it. We beat all three. Arsenal first 2-0, then Liverpool 3-0, and finally City 2-1. Those were the days!  Those teams went on to finish second, eighth and fourth in the Premier League. We finished seventh, just one point below Southampton who were sixth.

Ironically, we lost two of our first three home games that season at ‘fortress’ Upton Park (how we forget that it wasn’t a fortress!), 2-1 to Leicester City who went on to become 5000-1 shock league champions, and 4-3 to Bournemouth who eventually finished sixteenth. Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa were relegated.

Yes, all this happened less than ten years ago. How times change!

We’ve played against City eighteen times since and haven’t managed to beat them again in the league, with just two draws in that time, both at home. We did knock them out of the League Cup in 2021 winning 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw. We’ve never kept a clean sheet against them in our last 24 league fixtures. That happened in 2012, 0-0 at Upton Park. If I’m not mistaken our last clean sheet in an away game at Manchester City came at Maine Road towards the end of our relegation season 2002-3, when with Sir Trevor at the helm for the very first time as our caretaker manager we beat them 1-0 with a Freddie Kanoute goal. Our longest winless run in league games against a specific team is also 18 games – that is against Liverpool between 1983 and 1994. So we will be setting a new record if we fail to win today.

I doubt that many of us saw it coming but Manchester City are having their worst run in many years. They have only won one of their last five home games in all competitions, and their 2-0 win at Leicester last weekend was only their second win in their last fourteen games in all competitions, having drawn three and lost an incredible nine. Nobody thought that this would happen after they began this season as they have the past few.

A worrying statistic is that Haaland hasn’t scored at the Etihad in his last four games there, October being his most recent when he scored the only goal in the game against Southampton. These are the kind of records that worry me – runs that undoubtedly end when West Ham are the opponents. He has a good record against us having scored seven goals in just five games but six of those have been at the London Stadium, including a hat trick when we went down 3-1 in August.

We have hardly been pulling up trees ourselves but we did go on a four game unbeaten run recently which ended when champions-elect Liverpool thrashed us 5-0 in our last game. We didn’t even muster a single shot on target in the game although we came close hitting the woodwork three times. But let’s be fair we were well and truly outclassed, which I fear may happen again today.

Are there any statistics that give us any hope? Nothing too startling I’m afraid although we have managed to score in eight of our nine Premier League away games this season, just failing once when we lost 3-0 at (high flying) Nottingham Forest.  And we’ve only lost one of our last four away league games (at Leicester 3-1 despite having 31 shots). In that time we’ve beaten Newcastle 2-0, drawn 1-1 at Bournemouth, and won 1-0 at Southampton.

The unavailability of Jarrod Bowen after he suffered a fractured foot against Liverpool is a big blow for a side lacking in the attacking department, but these things happen and we are paying the penalty now for failure to recruit in this position in the summer. How quickly can we rectify this in the transfer window that has just opened? I’m not holding my breath!

I’m always hopeful where our team are concerned but I’d be surprised if we got anything out of this game. Despite City’s poor form I’ll bet they are relishing the thought of our visit there today.

As per my recent articles I’ve penned a rhyme to preview the game:

City versus West Ham played in the North-West,
Not our favourite game, we’re never at our best,
They’ve won 14 out of last 15, it’s their happy game,
We always seem to struggle, it always seems the same.

We’ve lost eight games in a row there since year 2015,
They’re always much too good for us, it’s what we’ve always seen.
It’s eighteen winless games now, it’s really quite obscene,
Since that 2-1 away win there, ten years oh so lean!

24 Premier League against them since our last clean sheet,
At least one goal conceded every time we meet,
A similar tale v Sunderland was something we did fix,
We went and beat them 8-0, Sir Geoffrey netted six!

City win their first league game ‘most every calendar year,
Seventeen out of eighteen, a record that we fear,
But we haven’t lost our first game in the recent seven,
If we could take that up to eight we’d be in seventh heaven.

In City’s last two home games they’ve been the first to score,
But neither did they win, they didn’t close the door,
They’ve never failed to win in three when they’ve scored the first,
Perhaps we can shock them and make their bubble burst.

Out With the Old, In With the New at West Ham: All Change At Stratford Please

Coming soon in 2025, a hilarious all-new series of the wacky reality TV show “You’ve Only Got Two Games To Save Your Job!” Who gets your vote to be evicted from the London Stadium house?

As former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said, “Football is a simple game made complicated by people who should know better.” If that principle forms part of the DNA around the corridors of Anfield, it remains elusive in the boardroom and on the training ground at West Ham. Simply put, those in control at the London Stadium do not know better and refuse to learn from experience.

The simplicity of football is the foundation of its popularity. As long as you have a ball and jumpers for goalposts you can have a game. The underlying simplicity has remained even if, at the professional level, the surrounding veneer has changed significantly from Bill’s day. Under the influence of TV money, it has slithered down an insidious path from community spectator event to tarted-up and over-hyped media content. Yet looking beyond the tactical constipation, gamesmanship, win probabilities, set piece coaches, VAR reviews and talking points, the basics are the same: gain possession, control, pass, receive, move, create space and attempt to score. If a team of (supposedly) elite footballers in the self-styled ‘best league in the world’ cannot demonstrate those basics, then something is badly amiss.

It’s not that I expected the Hammers to beat Liverpool. The visitors are a smooth, well-oiled outfit who are highly competent across the pitch and possess several outstanding individuals in selected positions. They are probably the best club side in Europe on current form. But as a minimum we have a right to expect our team to compete in games and demonstrate at least the impression of resistance. It was surprising the game remained scoreless as long as the half hour mark. But once the first goal went in, heads dropped, and it became obvious another rout was on the cards. Just as had happened in heavy defeats to Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal.

I’m guessing Julen Lopetegui’s team selection must have made sense to him when it first took shape in his mind. A cunning plan to clip the wings of Mohammed Salah by playing several players out of position to counter his threat. Without such a genius tactical ploy he may have reaped even more havoc than his one goal and two assists suggested. If Mr Lopetegui had found a pair of Marks and Spencer sports socks underneath the Christmas tree, alongside the boxes of Hamlet cigars and Old Spice, he will have noticed they helpfully embroidered ‘L’ and ‘R’ on each of them. Something to remember when it comes to full back selections in the future.

It is understandable that fans direct their frustrations at the performance of individual players, making judgements on whether they are putting in a shift or not. We all see things differently but for me everything come back to the coach rather than the players. Small margins make big differences at this level and if the coach and players are singing from different hymn sheets then all harmony is lost. A case could be made that Lopetegui doesn’t have the players to play his preferred style (whatever that is); but the very job of a head coach is to make the best use of the resources available. By now it is patently clear that the extensive summer recruitment was not fit for purpose. It did not satisfy the most pressing priorities and failed to remedy the problems of age and pace that had been allowed to develop. Too many fingers in the pie and although Tim Steidten is implicated in some of the duff deal it is far from his failing alone.

The West Ham squad may be unbalanced but is packed with internationals. In half a season, Lopetegui has been unable to find any semblance of an effective unit. The team often look in disarray and have rarely performed in both halves of any game. The team defends in a way that exposes its lack pace – no other team has offered up more chances from fast breaks than West Ham – and square pegs are put in round holes either to accommodate his favourites or because he has fallen out with the alternatives. A lack of belief or understanding by the players as to what is expected – and few leaders on the pitch – can easily be interpreted as an absence of commitment. Compare and contrast how talented coaches have done much better with squads of lesser reputation at Forest, Fulham and Bournemouth – opting for collective endeavour rather than hoping for moments of individual brilliance.

By the middle of next month, the Hammers will likely have succumbed to heavy defeat by Manchester City (and Erling Haaland) – after they finally exorcised their recent demons at Leicester yesterday – and been eliminated from the FA Cup. In theory these are the latest two games Lopetegui has to save his job. In practice, as there will be little left to play for, the Board are just as likely to opt for the default ‘do nothing’ scenario until the end of the season. Another season lost and wasted without a shred of hope to cling to for the future.

The greater frustration is that when Lopetegui is eventually removed, who has any confidence that his replacement will be identified as a results of thorough scouting analysis that matches ability and potential with the club’s strategy for long term development? Rather it will be another short-term fix pushed though by David Sullivan either for reasons of expediency, having the right agent involved, or because he has been seduced by a sparkly cherry-picked fact on the applicants CV – such as used to be manager of Real Madrid. As long as Sullivan continues to make arbitrary decisions in his self-styled role if football guru – without taking advice from professionals – nothing will ever improve.

Ultimately, West Ham failed to break the record of most goals conceded in a Premier League calendar year. The final tally was 79 – 44 in 19 games last season, 35 in 19 games this season – and just one behind the record held by Newcastle. In this year’s standings, only Wolves, Leicester, and Southampton have conceded more. Just as well the club invested heavily in new defenders.

Performances for the whole of 2024 have been unacceptable. Winning just 10 of 38 league games, losing 16, scoring 50 and conceding 79. In all competitions, being thumped by five goals or more on six occasions. A footballing annus horribilis by any definition. How much longer must we put up with this shambles? COYI!

Match facts as West Ham face Liverpool in the late kick-off this afternoon

At St Marys there were ills on the West Ham side
Kilman, Soler and Fab were all on the slide
First half woes forced them off to tread
Injuries to shoulder, to knee and to head.

Soucek and Rodriguez bans they face
But Lucas Paqueta returns to the race
No Szoboszlai a yellow card woe
Bradley and Konate sidelined and won’t show.

West Ham won in 2021, that was a rare treat,
In sixteen meetings, it was usually defeat
The Reds have scored twice in seven of eight,
They score at will, so much they create.

Unbeaten in four, West Ham on the rise?
Seeking back-to-back wins with hopeful eyes
First three home losses in Lopetegui’s reign
But once in six since to ease the pain.

Set pieces are good, seven goals we’ve scored
But conceded 74 in ’24 – to be abhorred!
All our last six goals in second half came
Bowen closing on 50, he’s well on his game

The Reds start the New Year at top seventh time
But only once champions – that is a crime
Unbeaten away in the top-flight this season
Six wins and two draws, that is the reason

26 games for Slot with just one defeat
22 unbeaten well that’s quite a feat
12 points from behind another statistic
When they concede first they stay optimistic

Ten goals conceded in last four away
At least two in each, much to their dismay
But still gained eight points that’s quite a feat,
Two wins two draws and never got beat

And so it’s a tough one I’ve got to concede
An early goal lead is perhaps what we need
Very hard to beat them that’s well understood
In this game a draw would be very good

My West Ham player of the season so far – Aaron Wan-Bissaka

As West Ham prepare to take on the champions-elect Liverpool in the final game of 2024, I nominate Aaron Wan-Bissaka as my player of the season to date.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka had his 27th birthday in November. Manchester United paid Crystal Palace £50 million for him in 2019. Somehow he didn’t quite thrive at Old Trafford as you might have expected for a defender who cost that amount of money. He definitely needed a fresh start to kick-start his career. I don’t remember a big queue of clubs looking to secure his signature when he wanted to leave. Amazing to me as I always felt he looked a really good player, and certainly a big upgrade on Ben Johnson in the squad. It was obvious to me (although not to the head coach at the outset) that he would be an improvement of Vladimir Coufal at right back, and he has shown great versatility in performing equally well when playing on the left.

One of the most amazing pieces of play, and one that has gone under the radar this season because it didn’t result in a goal (which always gets the headlines) came in our game in the last match before Christmas against Brighton. Wan-Bissaka sealed the point in the game with an incredibly courageous and brilliant goal-saving on the line headed clearance to deny Lamptey of Brighton.

More than that he has performed consistently in a team that hasn’t played consistently this season. He has adjusted superbly to the demands of the head coach for full backs to play in a more advanced role. He scored his first goal for us in the 2-0 away victory at Newcastle and is demonstrating the qualities that made him such a highly rated talent at the time he went north to Old Trafford. He followed it up with another well taken goal timing his run to perfection in the home defeat to Arsenal in the following game. Two goals already in sixteen appearances for the team, and potentially assists to come if he keeps getting forward as he has done.

It’s always strikers or midfield players that get all the headlines, but for me he has been West Ham’s stand out player so far this season and long may it continue. There’s always some debate as to who behind the scenes identifies players to buy to come to the club. But whoever it was in this case has (in my opinion) unearthed a gem. He, himself, described coming to West Ham as a no-brainer and he hasn’t looked back, has he? He has, I believe, the potential to become the best right-back in the country, a view not shared by many yet but I hope it will happen.

The Great Pretender (Defender) (with apologies to the late, great Freddie Mercury)

When you came they said you were good at the back,
ManU didn’t want you, said you couldn’t attack.
They said your strength was to tackle and defend,
You may well have tricked them, perhaps you like to pretend?

Did you fool them ‘cos you had plans of getting away?
‘cos already you’ve shown them you know how to play.
They said you could tackle, the best one on one,
You’ve shown your versatility, that’s what you have done.

Right back, left back, you can fill a hole,
What’s more AWB you’re good for a goal.
I think they’re missing a trick, you’ve got pace galore,
You could play defensive midfield, shielding the back four.

Oh, yes, you’re a great defender,
But not pretending, ‘cos you’re doing well
Your game is such, an excellent touch,
A top player, but very few can tell.

I seem to see what so few can see
You cover all over the ground
Oh yes, you’re a great defender
Not pretending that you are around.

A review of West Ham’s visit to Southampton on Boxing Day

Hopefully you’ve seen Geoff’s excellent review of our win at Southampton which raised us up to the dizzy heights of 13th in the Premier League after being stuck in 14th for most of the season so far. Here is a slightly different take on the game.

Is Santa a West Ham fan or not?

Santa’s NOT a West Ham fan
It’s very plain to see.
Soler’s missed an easy chance
And its only 3.03.

Santa IS a West Ham fan
It wasn’t long to wait.
The Saints have fluffed a headed chance
It’s only 3.08.

Santa’s NOT a West Ham fan
The Saints are getting bolder.
Kilman’s had to leave the field
He’s gone and hurt his shoulder.

Santa IS a West Ham fan
When Kilman’s off in pain.
Fabianski makes a save
When the Saints should score again.

Santa’s NOT a West Ham fan
Fab’s whacked in the face.
A long delay, he’s carried off
Areola in his place.

Santa IS a West Ham fan
Saints should have scored again.
They could have gone ahead by now.
The ref has added ten!

The first half lasted 56
It’s up to you now Lop
After Soler’s early miss
The Saints have been on top.

Santa’s NOT a West Ham fan,
Rodriguez sees red,
VAR’s a West Ham fan
It’s now yellow instead.

Santa IS a West Ham fan
Not very long to wait.
Jarrod Bowen once again
Taps in on 58.

Santa IS a West Ham
We really like to tease
The Saints are surely going down
We should beat them with ease.

Yes, Santa IS a West Ham fan
Southampton poor but plucky
We’re not playing all that well
But just a little lucky.

West Ham Briefing: Unwelcome Christmas Cards, Bowen’s Milestone, and a Surge Up The Premier League Table

West Ham avoid a second instalment of new manager bounce as Jarrod Bowen’s instinctive goal is enough to see them past basement dwelling Southampton in an unconvincing encounter at St Mary’s Stadium

At the end of the day, it is a time of year when cliches, like football matches, come thick and fast. The Boxing Day clash at St Mary’s was the proverbial game of two halves. Following Carlos Soler’s point-blank miss-of-the-match, West Ham rode their good fortune and had Southampton’s poor finishing to thank for keeping the game scoreless at the end of a busy first period. Incontrast, the second 45 minutes was a largely drab and uneventful affair. The single moment of note allowing the Hammers to steal the points through Jarrod Bowen’s opportunism as he was first to react to Niclas Fullkrug’s knock on.

It was Bowen’s fifth Premier League goal of the season, his 100th career league goal in total, and his 48th in the top flight for West Ham. He has overtaken both Paolo Di Canio and Mark Noble and is now second only to Michail Antonio on 68 goals. A fine achievement but a comparatively modest return compared to the leading scorers at other established clubs – and well behind legendary West Ham poachers of yesteryear such as Watson, Hurst, Ruffell, Dick and Cottee.

The win saw West Ham temporarily vacate the cosy familiarity of 14th place when they climbed above Manchester United who lost a few hours later at Wolverhampton. An indication of the congestion in the league’s middle reaches is that the result puts the Hammers just six points shy of European qualification and only five behind the Champions. If there was any sense of momentum building on the pitch, then we could almost believe there was something to play for. In all likelihood, it will be back to 14th soon enough.

Southampton certainly offered a sterner test than they had under Russel Martin, even if the improvement wasn’t enough to constitute a new manager bounce for Ivan Juric. Surely, survival for the Saints is already a lost cause. Juric is the fourth new managerial appointment of the Premier League season. Strangely, no-one has yet seen fit to call on the services of the serial winning Scottish manager. So far, the only managerial bouncing on show has been at Wolves under Vitor Pereira. The one-time West Ham target Amorim continues to struggle at Old Trafford as does van Nistelrooy at Leicester.

Any thoughts of a new manager bounce at the London Stadium have been long consigned to history. The 2024/25 vintage West Ham have been seeing more of the ball, but it manifests itself as a defensive (rather than offensive) strategy. Keeping possession in safe areas as a means of limiting opposition attacks. Increased possession has made no impression on the number of touches enjoyed in the opposition box – or on the level of entertainment come to that. Although the number of shots may be higher, these are mainly speculative and from distance.  

Julen Lopetegui’s team selections have become routinely predictable. The only nod towards festive season squad rotation is whether to start with Guido Rodriguez or Edson Alvarez as the holding midfielder in Lopetegui’s increasingly preferred 4-1-4-1 formation. Suspensions being the other major contributing factor in determining starting lineups.

West Ham players were again receiving the wrong type of Christmas cards at St Mary’s Stadium where Rodriguez and Tomas Soucek both reached the five yellow card threshold – emulating Emerson, Soler and Lucas Paqueta – that leads to an automatic one-match ban. It could have been worse for Rodriguez had VAR not seen sense to reverse a red card decision that was as rash and unnecessary as the original challenge.

Personally, I don’t see either Rodriguez or Soucek as any great loss. Soucek, especially is an enigmatic character. Who can doubt his commitment to the cause. But as someone supposedly at the beating heart of midfield, his occasional goal threat does not compensate for the lack of pace, poor pass completion and scarcity of touches. Far too often the game passes him by as he meanders around the pitch like a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was again the Hammer’s man-of-the-match. Giving lie to the reputation that he offers little going forward, Wan-Bissaka is alone in being able to carry the ball forward and run at pace from deep. Surely, the nomination as Hammer of the Year is already sewn up. Alvarez made a difference when he was introduced and would always get my vote over Rodriguez or Soucek in a holding role. He is the only defensive midfielder prepared to go hunting for the ball.

Elsewhere, Mohammed Kudus had possibly his most ineffective game in a West Ham shirt. His normally reliable instant control deserting him, he was rarely able to escape the close attention of his marker. We saw a few more glimpses of what Fullkrug might offer as an old-style target man. It’s not what is needed though and there are no midfield runners to feed off him anyway. He did, at least, pick up an assist.   

The last 15 or 20 minutes of modern games are rapidly truning into a staccato version of musical substitutes. If Lopetegui has any carefully thought-out plan at the start of games, it is all thrown into the air oncehe has introduced a succession of full backs oblivious to where they are meant to be playing. By the end of yesterdays game, 4-1-4-1 had morphed into 7-0-3.

Soucek and Rodriguez will likely be joined on the sidelines for Sunday’s clash with Liverpool by Lukasz Fabianski (following his nasty concussion), Max Killman (injured shoulder) and Carlos Soler (unspecified knee injury). The game will represent the halfway point of the season. West Ham will have then played each of other sides one time. Faced six of the current top ten at home, and four of them away. Projecting the current points per game forward would see us end the season with 48 points, fewer than last year but better than the year before that.

It would take a brave man to bet on the Hammers four game unbeaten run continuing when the runaway leaders come to town for the final game of 2024. West Ham’s leaky defence against the rampant, free-scoring Reds threatens to be the greatest massacre since they started selling chainsaws in Texas. Probably not be a game for the faint hearted. COYI

A review of the Brighton game, and a preview of West Ham’s visit to Southampton on Boxing Day

And so we continue in a league of our own,
Fourteenth is our place, for that we are known,
In thirteen of seventeen that’s where we’ve stayed,
And a draw against Brighton was just what we played.

Eight games at home we couldn’t defeat ‘em,
Wouldn’t it be good if we could just beat ‘em.
Fourteenth in goals scored another statistic,
Without many forwards I’m not optimistic,

Next up Southampton back to the South Coast,
Look at their team, we should have them on toast,
Boxing Day games after a big Christmas dinner,
Let’s hope we can win, who might score the winner?

They have a new manager, Juric his name,
They talk of a bounce in his very first game,
Sacked three times in two years then hired by Torino,
A short spell at Roma then sacked like Mourinho.

We both love the Hammers although we’re not leaders,
We wish a great Christmas to all of our readers,
From Rich and Geoff, we’ll be writing more soon,
Two more wins this year we’ll be over the moon.

It may not happen, it’s not worth a bet,
With West Ham you never know quite what you’ll get,
But let’s have a good run to bring us some cheer,
Good football, some wins, and a Happy New Year!

West Ham Briefing: A Claret and Blue Christmas, Lop Actually, and Will The Saints Nick It on Boxing Day

After a mostly flat draw with Brighton on Saturday, West Ham return to the south coast to face basement dwellers Southampton in a Boxing Day clash. Will it be a Last Christmas for Julen Lopetegui?

West Ham continue to be in a league of their own as they consolidated their hold on the Premier League’s 14th place – their home for 13 of the season’s 17 weeks to date – with an uninspiring draw against Brighton and Hove Albion. The stalemate extending the Hammer’s winless home run against the Seagulls to eight games.

If there was a sense of watching claret and blue paint drying at the London Stadium, a far glossier finish was on display from our chromatic cousins in the earlier TV game from Villa Park. It took my mind back to the last match of the 2019/20 Covid affected season when the Villains snatched the point required to secure their top flight status.

West Ham enjoyed two of their better Premier League finishes in the subsequent two seasons while Villa floundered first under Dean Smith and then Steven Gerrard. Both clubs started the 2022/ 23 season poorly and while the Hammer’s Board stayed loyal to their Scottish manager, the Midlanders replaced Gerrard by buying Unai Emery out of his contract at Villarreal. They haven’t looked back since. Qualifying for the Champions League last season and playing football as if they enjoy it. They have a good blend of youth and experience, have recruited well from the lower leagues, and have pace, power, and energy throughout their side. They can even choose between TWO top class strikers instead of none.

Emery and Julen Lopetegui are often mentioned in the same breath, probably because both are Basques; and because both previously managed at Sevilla. In reality, Emery’s record is a far superior one, having won three Europa League titles at Sevilla (to Lopetegui’s one) as well as honours at PSG and Villarreal. Appointing Emery has been the sliding doors moment between the two clubs.

Some might argue that Lopetegui simply needs more time to get to grips with all new arrivals into the squad and instil his ideas into a playing style that had stagnated over the preceding few seasons. It is true enough that the squad composition had drifted into a dreadful state under the previous leadership – both in terms of age and depth of ability. But summer recruitment failed to address many of the issues that had arisen, and despite significant spend, West Ham remain the second oldest team in the league – and quite possibly the slowest.

It is fair to acknowledge that there has been a shift in playing style, even if it is subtle up to this point. Possession and passing statistics have improved and we are ranked as high as 5th in terms of number of shots taken. Conversely, we are also placed even higher (4th) on number of shots conceded. More possession has not turned into dominating games. We are joint 14th for goals scored where the greatest threat is counter attacking that rely on moments of individual brilliance from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus or set pieces. Otherwise, there is precious little penetration and too few players getting in the box. At the other end, we are 6th worst for goals conceded where opponents routinely have free rein to slice through the porous centre of our defences. Performances have the hallmarks of a lower mid-table and without drastic action to address the problems at striker and in the heart of midfield, it is where we will remain.

The January transfer window is not a time for wholesale reconstruction and often passes at West Ham with no activity at all. That being the case, the coach must find a system that suits the resources at his disposal and give up on his fixation of square pegs in round holes. Or the club must find a coach who is able to do that and then embark on strategy of building for the future in the summer. As things stand, it is a club going nowhere – slowly.

Saturday’s game was another that failed to live up to the hype of ‘best league in the world.’ West Ham laboured and Brighton were more reminiscent of Potter’s ‘all sizzle and no sausage’ offering than De Zerbi’s more enterprising style. A soporific first-half livened up in the second period courtesy of two goals in eight minutes, but still fell short of top-level entertainment. Another raft of odd substitutions by Lopetegui left his side with a huge gap between the front three and defensive five. Hoping for any semblance of creativity or guile from Tomas Soucek and Guido Rodriguez was the height of optimism.

In the closing minutes only one team were looking to win the game – and it wasn’t West Ham. Lukasz Fabianski who had been badly at fault for the Brighton opener partly redeemed himself with a slew of smart saves.

The Hammers Roadshow moves on to rock bottom Southampton on Boxing Day. Once again, they will be facing a struggling side with a new manager in place for his first game. What could possibly go wrong? The Saints stopped the rot with a scoreless draw at Fulham yesterday and we all know what the scriptwriters have in mind for the West Ham visit. Already, I can feel in it my fingers, and in my toes. Lop is all around me, and so that feeling grows.

Ivan Juric is an interesting appointment for Southampton. Sacked three times in two years by Genoa, followed by a decent but unremarkable three year spell at Torino, then dismissed after 12 games by Roma. At least no compensation was involved.

All that remains is to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas. May all your dreams be found wrapped and ready under the tree. COYI!