Under The Hammers

The Lawro Challenge – Week 31

More daylight between Lawro and his pursuers as the prediction challenge enters the final lap.

Lawro Crystal Ball Week 30 was another triumph for Lawro as his 8 points eclipsed both Rich and Geoff who could only muster a meagre 3 points each.

We have midweek matches to predict this time, with teams having played just over 72 hours earlier. Will Lawro hold on to his lead until the end of the season or will a Steven Gerrard style slip allow Rich to race through to claim gold? Lawro extended his lead last weekend, and with less than a quarter of the season to go it is getting ominously close to the point where the fat lady is getting ready to sing.

In this challenge we award one point for a correct result, and a further two points (making three in total) if the score prediction is spot on.

We now proceed to week 31.

	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Total after 29 weeks	230	181	239
Score in week 30	3	3	8
Total after 30 weeks	233	184	247

Predictions – Week 31
	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Tuesday
Burnley v Stoke	0-0	1-2	1-1
Leicester v Sunderland	3-0	2-0	2-0
Watford v West Brom	0-1	1-1	2-0
Man U v Everton	1-1	0-1	2-0
Wednesday
Arsenal v West Ham	3-0	3-1	2-1
Hull v Middlesbrough	1-0	0-0	2-0
Southampton v Palace	1-0	2-1	1-1
Swansea v Tottenham	1-1	1-2	0-1
Chelsea v Man City	2-2	1-2	1-1
Liverpool v Bournemouth	2-0	3-1	2-0

This Week in Hammer’s History

Semi-final action in successive Cup Winner’s Cup campaigns and a twice played affair with Ipswich in the week 3 – 9 April in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History It was semi-final time in the European Cup Winner’s Cup campaign of 1965 and having had a relatively easy draw beforehand West Ham now faced formidable opposition in the shape of Spanish side Real Zaragoza. In the first leg at Upton Park West Ham raced into a 2-0 interval lead. Brian Dear scored the first heading home from a John Sissons cross and Johnny Byrne added the second when Sissons touched on a cross from centre-half Ken Brown. The Hammers were unable to keep up the momentum in the second period and came under increasing pressure from the Spaniards who got their reward with an away goal ten minutes after the break. That was the end of the scoring allowing West Ham to take a slender lead into the return leg.

Standen, Kirkup, Burkett, Peters, Brown, Moore, Boyce, Dear, Byrne, Hurst, Sissons

A year later it was again the same stage of the same competition with West Ham avoiding Liverpool and Celtic in the semi-final draw to earn a tie against West Germany’s Borussia Dortmund. Ron Greenwood stripped transfer seeking Bobby Moore of the captaincy prior to the first leg match at Upton Park which nonetheless was a thrilling affair. Martin Peters put the Hammers ahead early in the second half and looked like holding on to their lead until conceding twice in the last five minutes to end the night with a 2-1 deficit. It would now be an uphill task for West Ham to keep their hands on the trophy that they had won the previous year.

Standen, Brown, Charles, Peters, Boyce, Moore, Brabrook, Bloomfield, Byrne, Hurst, Dear

In 1975 West Ham had reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time since 1964 and faced a strong Ipswich Town side at Villa Park. In a largely uneventful game Ipswich dominated play but were unable to breakthrough the Hammers defence with the game ending goal-less. The replay took place four days later at an icy Stamford Bridge. Continuing his fine FA Cup form Alan Taylor put the Hammers a goal up before Billy Jennings sliced a spectacular own goal to level the score. Ipswich had two goals disallowed for offside by referee Clive Thomas but it was that man Taylor once more who struck from the edge of the area to put West Ham through to Wembley.

Day, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Lock, Jennings, Paddon, Taylor, Brooking, Gould (Holland)

Day, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Lock, Jennings (Holland), Paddon, Taylor, Brooking, Gould

In league action this week has witnessed two 4-1 away victories at White Hart Lane; in 1966 (Redknapp, Boyce, Byrne and Hurst) and then again in 1994 (Morley 2, Marsh and Jones). Finally a potential omen was the 2007 victory over Arsenal at The Emirates; Bobby Zamora scoring the only goal of the game.

5 Observations as West Ham go down to Hull

A fourth successive defeat leaves the Premier League trapdoor too close for comfort.

The Next Level

There has been a lot of talk about the club moving to the next level but not many have until now considered that the new level could be downwards into the Championship. Yet another abject performance and the surrender of a further three points from a winning position leaves West Ham just six points away from the last relegation place. By Wednesday the gap may well have narrowed to three. With Leicester and Palace on an upward trajectory the number of teams that we now need to outperform are becoming fewer. Although another three or four points may be enough for survival, current form makes it difficult to see where these might be coming from.

Another Fine Mess

Once again there was scant evidence of shape, tactics, organisation effort and fitness from the boys in claret and blue. Hull were not much better but they had spirit, work-rate and determination, particularly in the second half. Even with the injury situation the team selection was difficult to understand. A lack of pace throughout the team and little protection in midfield for the ageing centre back pairing was an open invitation to the opposition. One assumes that Bilic has had a falling out with Nordtveit who despite failing to impress seemed to be the obvious choice for a defensive midfield role, particularly if Noble was deemed not ready to return. Missing three weeks with a dead leg appears curious and suggests our treatment room is on a par with the training ground for effectiveness. Expect Manuel Lanzini to be ruled out for the season with a paper cut next.

Bits and Pieces Players

While other teams in the lower reaches of the Premier League rely on cohesion and hard work it feels like we expect to coast through games in the mistaken belief that we have better players who don’t really need to try too hard. The squad is being filled with an assortment of players of ordinary ability who fail to complement each other in any way. Feghouli is definitely not a Premier League footballer; he has no powers of anticipation and simply reacts should the ball come in his direction. Snodgrass is a luxury free-kick specialist who has now lost that spark of enthusiasm that he first arrived with. Ayew has managed to get in good scoring positions but makes little contribution in all-round play; whatever his best position is we have yet to find it. Randolph is not a Premier League Number 1. Even now we are being linked with even more players aged 30 and over which, if true, suggests a very worrying limited and short term view.

Can We Fix It?

There are different schools of thought as to where the blame lies for what has turned out to be a dreadful season. It is either the fault of the Board, the Stadium, the Manager, the Players or it is merely the West Ham way to be average, disappointing and under-performing. Of the above there is limited short term room for manoeuvre. The Boleyn has gone and, like it or not, the London Stadium is home for the foreseeable future. I can accept that moving to a new ground can dissipate home advantage but it doesn’t explain poor performance. The Board are the owners of the club and are going nowhere soon. The Daves have their faults but it is wrong to suggest that they have not backed their managers in the transfer market. At this stage of the season there is no quick fix to the playing staff and may, in fact, require several windows to shift out the latest collection of recently acquired dead wood. That leaves the choice of doing nothing (because it is fate) or replacing the manager.

Goodbye Slav (and thanks for some great results last season)

I think we can all agree that Slaven Bilic is a great bloke and has oodles of passion. He may even ‘get us’ whatever that means. I cannot, however, think of any footballing reasons why he should be kept on as manager. We have become a team that lacks a clear style of play or formation; that is short on tactics, fitness, pace and mobility; and that is stumbling from one disaster to another. There is no vision, plan or strategy to build for the future. A good manager makes the best of the resources that he has and Bilic has been unable to create a team unit that is greater than the sum of its parts. Past results unfortunately mean nothing as has been demonstrated by the situation at the resurgent Leicester. Even assuming we do manage to stay up with Bilic in charge then I can only see a repeat next season. The club needs a manager with ideas and with tactical and organisational excellence. This is not unfortunately Slaven Bilic. As much as I would have loved to see him succeed the wise decision now is to dispense with his services now rather than having a dead man walking until the end of the season.

Matchday: West Ham on the road to Hull

It’s no early April joke as an injury hit and out of form West Ham take the road to Hull.

Hull West Ham So where were we before that unwelcome international break came along? Oh yes, that’s right, a club in turmoil; just one win in six, three defeats on the bounce, one clean sheet in the last fourteen, Bilic in, Bilic out, sack the Board and supporters wishing for the season to end. Not only that but now we are a club in turmoil going into a game without our three best players, all injured last time out.

Any team desperate for relegation saving points would be eagerly scanning the fixture list for an encounter with a lacklustre, formless, shapeless and complacent mid-table West Ham. Hull will be no exception and will be confidently targeting a full complement of points from the game. They are a hard-working side who enjoyed an upturn in fortunes following the appointment of Marco Silva but come into this game off the back of 4-0 hammering by Everton and still sitting in the last of relegation places. It is three years since a Marco Silva side lost a home game.

I just concentrate on my job. I am totally focused on the next game. The speculation does not worry me. I am not reading it or making phone calls or whatever. We are in a position where we can have a good finish to the season. We have a lot of games to play and there is a lot to play for.

– Slaven Bilic

The home match against Hull was one of several lucky wins that played its part in putting the thinnest veneer of gloss on the season allowing the Hammers to scramble briefly into the top of half of the table. The man-of-the-match performance of the post has now joined Fat Sam’s ear-cupping into the annals of West Ham – Hull folklore. Slaven Bilic might want to consider putting a few extra posts on the bench today given that it wouldn’t noticeably weaken the squad.

Head to Head

A West Ham win today would be a first ever Premier League victory away to Hull and would also be the first time that this fixture has been won by the away side in the Premier League. I don’t imagine too much work for the record book writers this afternoon, however. West Ham have recorded a total of four away victories outside of the Premier League at Hull; the last of these a 2-0 success in 2011 with goals from Jack Collison and Sam Baldock.

Team News

With Winston Reid, Pedro Obiang and Michail Antonio absent through injury the greatest conundrum for Slaven Bilic would seem to be where to play Cheikhou Kouyate. Does he play in central midfield and allow the Dad’s Army pairing of Fonte and Collins to play at the back or does he play him as a central defender and combine Mark Noble (back from his holidays) with either Edmilson Fernandes or Havard Nordtviet in the centre of midfield. Although I would like to see Fernandes given more opportunity he is not really a defensive minded player and so maybe we will see a return for Nordtviet (who apparently did well for Norway during the break). Fonte and Collins can only work if Hull guarantee only to play high balls into the box. I’m not sure they will oblige and the idea of them facing pacey players without the covering of Obiang would be of great concern to an already leaky defence.

We have done well at home of late and we want to win again. The secret to our home form is work – hard work.

– Marco Silva

Further up-field we have Andy Carroll, still on his 49 Premier League goals mark, and Andre Ayew who is on a light mauve (if not full blown purple) patch of goal-scoring of late. Robert Snodgrass remains Hull’s leading scorer this season but has yet to pull the trigger (!) for his new club. We will remain lop-sided in attack without an effective left sided player given that both Ayew and Snodgrass prefer to play on the right or simply go walk-about.

Hull have a number of injuries including Mbokani and Mason but Michael Dawson may be fit enough to feature. Tom Huddleston begins a three match suspension following his dismissal at Everton.

The Man in the Middle

Today’s referee is Mike Jones from Chester (are there any southern based referees?). He is another of the occasional visitors to Premier League officialdom and the only previous encounter this season was in the EFL Cup defeat at Old Trafford. Jones was in charge of two West Ham league games last season; away trips to Norwich and Stoke.

In his 25 games this term he has awarded 97 Yellow and 4 Red cards.

West Ham v Hull Preview

This weekend West Ham visit the 2017 city of culture, the home to Britain’s oldest living man (who was 109 this week); a city with three professional football teams, although two use the oval ball. We are the only Premier League team without a point in the last three games, and need to reverse our recent form to ensure we don’t get dragged into the end of season relegation dogfight.

Noble Hull

At last the Premier League is back. OK I know it is only a fortnight since our last game, but it seems like an age, especially when you have sat through the tedium of England trying to break down the world-renowned defence of Lithuania. Fortunately, one of our ex-players, Jermaine Defoe, knows how to put the ball in the net.

And talking of tedium I am well and truly brassed off by the continual coverage on TV of the forthcoming (in about two years time at least) UK exit from the EU. I know this may well be momentous in our history, but I get very bored by news programmes showing the letter from our Prime Minister making its way to Brussels via the Channel Tunnel, and the continual speculation of how the negotiations might go. Let us just wait and see. And the jargon! Hard Brexit, soft Brexit, extreme Brexit, trigger, Article 50. I think I’ve heard the word “trigger” more times in the last few weeks than if I watched a whole box set of all the Only Fools and Horses episodes, or a re-run of all the Roy Rogers western films (ask an oldie!).

So what is the connection between our visit to Hull and Brexit? Although we only began the formal process of withdrawal from the EU with the triggering of Article 50 last Wednesday, one of the issues that will need to be resolved and agreed as part of the negotiations is the right of EU nationals to live and work in the UK. Some Premier League clubs might be affected more than others if we end up with a “hard Brexit”.

To date this season, 38% of Premier League appearances have been by non-UK EU nationals. But there is a massive variation by club. Chelsea top the list with 74%, followed by Manchester City with 59%, and then ourselves with 57%. On the face of it, when I look at our squad I find it hard to reconcile these figures, but according to http://www.football.london, that is the case. On the other hand, our opponents this weekend, Hull, would potentially be the least affected, as, along with Burnley, only 5% of appearances have been by non-UK EU nationals. The numbers may appear higher than one might expect, but a number of players have EU dual nationality e.g. Luiz (Chelsea) Brazilian / Portuguese, and in time these may be affected. To be honest, I can’t see it being an issue, but some believe it might. Again, we’ll just have to wait and see.

With just nine games of the season to go Hull are in trouble. They have won just six of their 29 games, and are currently three points adrift of safety. In addition they have the worst goal difference in the league (-32). It all looked so different for them with victories in their first two games of the season (against defending champions Leicester, and then away at Swansea), meaning they were joint top of the league at that early stage. But since then they have only recorded four further wins, all at home (to Southampton, Bournemouth, Liverpool and Swansea). Like ourselves they have drawn 6 games, so the only difference between West Ham and Hull this season is that we have won three more games than them, and lost three fewer. So, if we had lost three of the games that we won (think back, it could have easily happened!), then we would be where they are now!

Some say we have enough points in the bag already, but defeat in this game would leave us just six points (two wins) ahead of Hull who will still be in the bottom three. With games running out, we probably are OK already, but we need a win or two to be absolutely certain, and victory would be a timely boost. Defeat would mean four losses in a row, and no win for more than two months, hardly good news for the manager in discussions with the board regarding his future.

And finally, as a long term advocate of video assistant referees, I was pleased with the successful use of technology (as part of the official trial of its use), in the Spain victory over France in the international friendly in Paris this week. Firstly, Griezmann scored a goal for France which was offside, but the linesman didn’t raise his flag. The goal was disallowed by the video assistant who could see clearly that he was offside. Secondly, the reverse happened, as Spain’s second goal was flagged for offside (wrongly as seen on video), and the goal was awarded quite correctly. Video technology detractors are worried about the potential effect on the flow of the game, but both decisions were made in an instant and didn’t affect the flow whatsoever. What is more, two incorrect decisions which would have had an important effect on the result of the game were overturned. FIFA are considering the introduction of video technology in time for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It can’t come soon enough in the Premier League in my opinion. How many additional points might we have gained in the last two or three seasons if it had been in use?

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 36

We continue to bet on West Ham to win. Surely it will happen soon?

Fancy A Bet

Our recent results continue to match those of our team. In 13 away league games this season, Leicester had failed to win a single game until they played at the London Stadium the week before last. Recognising West Ham’s propensity to oblige teams having a bad run, we should have gone against recent principles and bet on the opposition for a change. But we failed to do this and paid the penalty.

After staking 25 points on losing bets on the Leicester game our balance is now down to 55 points. West Ham have failed to pick up a single point in the last three Premier League games, and we have recorded a similar losing sequence with our bets. We really shouldn’t bet on West Ham, surely one of the most unpredictable teams in the league? But it is a bit of fun that adds to the game. Nevertheless, we really need to start winning soon before the money runs out!

This week we’ll continue to bet on West Ham to win the game, and stake as follows:

10 points on West Ham to win the game @9/5 (28)
10 points on West Ham to win and both teams to score @9/2 (55)

This brings our balance down to 35 points.

Surely we will end our losing sequence soon, and win a game? What are the chances?

The Lawro Challenge – Week 30

Can a late surge topple Lawro from the summit of the predictor challenge.

Lawro Crystal Ball In Week 29, Rich scored 12 points, Geoff 5 points, and Lawro 9 points.

Rich has reduced Lawro’s lead at the top of the leaderboard, but he needs more weeks like this to make it a close contest by the end of the season. Can Lawro be caught?

In this challenge we award one point for a correct result, and a further two points (making three in total) if the score prediction is spot on.

We now proceed to week 30.


	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Total after 28 weeks	218	176	230
Score in week 29	12	5	9
Total after 29 weeks	230	181	239

Predictions – Week 30
	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Saturday
Liverpool v Everton	2-1	2-2	2-0
Burnley v Tottenham	1-2	1-2	1-1
Chelsea v Palace	2-0	0-0	2-0
Hull v West Ham	1-2	2-0	1-0
Leicester v Stoke	1-1	1-1	2-0
Man U v West Brom	2-0	2-1	2-0
Watford v Sunderland	2-1	2-0	2-1
Southampton v Bournemouth	2-1	3-1	1-1
Sunday
Swansea v Middlesbrough	2-0	1-0	2-0
Arsenal v Man City	1-2	0-2	1-1

My Favourite Games: Number 11 – The Winning FA Cup Final, 1964, West Ham 3 Preston 2.

A series of occasional articles recalling my favourite West Ham games, and songs in the charts when these games were played. Today finally winning a major trophy.

I have witnessed so many great games since I started watching West Ham in 1958. They are remembered for different reasons, the importance of the game, the goals scored, and the spine-tingling atmosphere generated by our fans. In this article and two that will follow, I will recall three of my favourite games (the winning FA Cup Finals), although to be absolutely honest, none of the three will be remembered for the quality of the football played, but they all had great endings. I have seen us win three finals, the last being in 1980, so none of our fans under the age of 40 would have been there to witness these great days.

Favourite Fame 11 In 1964 I was ten years old and still at Junior School. Our FA Cup run was unremarkable in the early rounds. In Round 3 we disposed of Charlton (3-0) at Upton Park, and then in the fourth round Leyton Orient were beaten by the same score at Upton Park in a replay after a 1-1 draw at Brisbane Road. We then won 3-1 at Swindon in Round 5, before an exciting 3-2 win over Burnley in the quarter-final (see favourite games 7). Nobody expected us to beat Manchester United in the semi-final. They had beaten us at Upton Park 2-0 the week before the game, despite resting a number of their key players. But they were duly put to the sword at Hillsborough with a 3-1 win, courtesy of two goals from Ronnie Boyce, and another from Geoff Hurst.

The final at Wembley on the first Saturday in May was against Preston North End, and, in a reversal of the semi-final odds, this time we were strong favourites to win. Preston were a second division side and few gave them a chance. But on the day we didn’t play particularly well, and we had to come from behind twice to win the game. After Preston’s first goal in the tenth minute, John Sissons netted the equaliser almost from the restart. Preston then scored again as half-time approached and we went into the interval behind. We needed an early goal in the second half and Geoff Hurst duly obliged with his seventh goal in our cup run. He had scored in every round except the quarter-final. Ironically Hurst’s goal went in off the underside of the bar, and only just crossed the line, a feat he was to repeat in the World Cup Final, a little over two years later! It was looking like the game was going into extra-time when Ronnie Boyce headed home the winner in the last minute.

There were some interesting facts that emerged from the game. Howard Kendall, playing for Preston a month short of his eighteenth birthday, became the youngest player at the time to appear in an FA Cup final. John Sissons, only slightly older, became the youngest player to score in a final at the time. Seven of the West Ham team had surnames beginning with B; Bond, Burkett, Bovington, Brown, Brabrook, Boyce and Byrne. Standen, Moore, Hurst and Sissons made up the rest of the XI. We scored three goals in every round of the competition including the final. We only used 11 players to win the cup; the same 11 played in every round. Fewer players appear to have been injured in those days! Compare that to West Ham’s injury record in recent times. All 11 players were English.

As you can see, the programme cost one shilling (5p), and a standing ticket for the game on the old Wembley terraces, cost seven and sixpence (37.5p).
And for me personally, some interesting dates were features of our cup games in 1964, and part of the reason I remember the build up to our first ever FA Cup win. The first leg of our League Cup semi-final against Leicester was played on my birthday (February 5), the fifth round of the FA Cup was on my dad’s birthday (February 15), the quarter final was played on leap day (29 February), and our semi-final win was on my mum’s birthday (March 14).

The number 1 in the charts at the time was World Without Love by Peter and Gordon. The Searchers were at 2 with Don’t Throw Your Love Away. The previous number 1, Can’t Buy Me Love by the Beatles was beginning its descent down the chart, and Millie was at 5 with My Boy Lollipop. Other notable acts in that week’s chart were Gerry & The Pacemakers, Doris Day, Manfred Mann, The Rolling Stones, the Hollies, Roy Orbison and Cliff Richard.

This Week in Hammer’s History

League and Cup Winners Cup action, a tiring week for the Boys of 86 and some heavy reverses in the week 27 March to 2 April in Hammer’s History.

This Week Hammers History There are some results that we can only look back at while hiding behind the sofa and two games played in the week 27 March to 2 April fall firmly into that category.

On April Fool’s Day in the 1999/ 2000, Harry Redknapp’s Hammers visited Old Trafford and after 11 minutes had taken an unlikely lead through Paulo Wanchope. It didn’t remain unlikely for long, however, as goals from Scholes and Irwin quickly put the hosts into a lead that they would not lose. Two more goals from Scholes and one each from Cole, Beckham and Solksjaer rattled past Craig Forrest to send the Hammers away with a humiliating 7-1 defeat.

The same week in 1985 West Ham were at Vicarage Road on the wrong end of a 5-0 thrashing by Graham Taylor’s Watford – Luther Blissett and John Barnes among the scorers. Little evidence at the time that the following season would become the best ever in Hammer’s history.

The fixture backlog in 1985/86 required West Ham to play 16 league games between 15 March and 5 May, three of which took place this week. It started with the highest high of a 4-0 away win at Stamford Bridge against a Chelsea side also very much in the title race at the time. Goals from Cottee (2), McAvennie and Devonshire doing the damage.

Two days later the momentum continued with a 2-1 home win against Tottenham; a goal apiece again for deadly duo Cottee and McAvennie lifting West Ham to 5^th in the table, 10 points behind the leaders, Everton, having played 5 games fewer.

The week was to end in something of a low, however, as the Hammers went down 2-1 away to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Cottee scored the West Ham goal but the game is best remembered for a goal scored from a free-kick by Dutchman Johnny Metgod. Taking a fast bowler’s run up Metgod struck the ball with such venom that it went straight through the despairing hands of Phil Parkes.

In 1976 the first leg of the European Cup Winners Cup semi-final had West Ham travelling to play Eintracht Frankfurt at the Waldstadion. A spirited performance resulted in a 2-1 defeat to set up the second leg for one of the all-time great floodlit nights at Upton Park. In the game a fine Graham Paddon strike had put the Hammers into the lead before the Germans hit back twice either side of half-time.

Day, Coleman, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, McDowell, Holland, Paddon, Jennings, Brooking, K Robson

The 1981 League Cup Final Replay against Liverpool also took place during this week at neutral Villa Park. Liverpool had drafted in a young Ian Rush for the game but it was West Ham who took the lead after 10 minutes with a diving Paul Goddard header from a Jimmy Neighbour cross. Liverpool stepped up the pressure in response and goals by Dalglish and Hansen were enough to secure a first League Cup success for the Merseysiders.

Parkes, Stewart, Lampard, Bonds, Martin, Devonshire, Neighbour, Goddard, Cross, Brooking, Pike (Pearson)

Notable Birthdays:

27 March             Hayden Mullins                 38
27 March             Pedro Obiang 25
27 March             Stuart Slater                       48
28 March             Michail Antonio 27
29 March             James Tomkins 28
2 April                   Eyal Berkovic 45
2 April                   Teddy Sheringham 51

The Stuttering Academy of Football

International break doldrums, Hammer-free England squads and an Academy firing blanks.

Academy of Football Another international break to endure this weekend as national teams around the world compete for a place in the World Cup finals in Russia in the summer of 2018 even though the format of qualification is designed to ensure that the same teams (plus a few wild cards) qualify every time. Even if something goes wrong it would be no surprise to hear of Russian hackers interfering with results to ensure the correct outcome.

The script for England will be the same; runaway winners of a very weak group, heightened media expectation and ultimate quarter final elimination amid scenes of running street battles in the ‘prospekts’ of St Petersberg.

Personal interest in the national team tends to be proportional to the number of West Ham players in the team and thus the reading is currently close to tepid. At present Antonio, Carroll and Cresswell are at the periphery of selection but the odds are not be high on any of these being in the squad and/ or still at West Ham come the 2018 Finals. It seems to be all Tottenham and Southampton players at the moment.

We like to imagine a happier time where there was a production line from the famous Academy of Football into the national team. Even if that were occasionally true the machinery requires urgent repair as the Academy goes through one of its cyclical periods of defective goods.

Since the beginning of the 2006/07 season the following academy graduates have made a first team appearance (excluding Europa League) for the Hammers:

Jack Collison, Freddie Sears, James Tomkins, Zavon Hines, Junior Stanislas, Josh Payne, Anthony Edgar, Jordan Spence, Callum McNaughton, Dan Potts, Robert Hall. Matthias Fanimo, Dylan Tombides, Elliot Lee, Leo Chambers, Pelly Rudock, Sebastian Lletget, George Moncur, Callum Driver, Blair Turgott, Reece Burke, Reece Oxford

Only James Tomkins from that list went on to become an established Hammer, although Jack Collison’s career was unfortunately cut short by injury and the tragic Dylan Tombides was never allowed to fulfil his potential. Of the others, Junior Stanislas built a useful career at Bournemouth but the remainder had to settle for playing in and around the lower leagues. None of them were ‘ones that got away’. Who can forget that 5 of the last 6 academy graduates made their debut in the disastrous FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest?

One of the criticisms levelled at Slaven Bilic (and Fat Sam before him) is the reluctance to blood youth players. The evidence suggests that, despite any other shortcomings, this particular point might be unfair criticism.

There was a feeling of optimism back in August, not only that we would enjoy a good campaign on the back of a seventh place finish but that there were, at last, a crop of new youngsters coming through the system. A number of these are now (or have been) out on loan to various lower league teams but how have they fared:

Reece Burke (Wigan), Reece Oxford (Reading), Marcus Browne (Wigan), Martin Samuelsen (Peterboro), George Dobson (Walsall), Stephen Hendrie (Blackburn), Tony Martinez (Oxford), Alex Pike (Cheltenham), Josh Pask (Gillingham), Doniel Henry (FC Horsens), Kyle Knoyle (Wigan), Jaanai Gordon (Newport)

Looking at their records, only Josh Cullen has been a regular starter (in what is his second season at League One Bradford City) although Reece Burke had been earning good reviews at Wigan before picking up an injury that saw him return to West Ham for treatment. Josh Pask and Doneil Henry also suffered injuries while on loan.

Highly rated Reece Oxford has yet to make a start at Reading and despite a strong goal-scoring introduction Tony Martinez is no longer a certain starter at Oxford United. The rest have been peripheral figures at their adopted clubs which reflects either on their own abilities or the wisdom of the loan system.

A highly rated player who has not been packed off on loan is Domingos Quina and he has occasionally found himself on the first team bench without ever being called upon to get warmed up. Maybe we will get a look at him before the season is out.

Putting on my Utopian claret and blue spectacles I have high hopes that Quina and both the Reeces can make the step up to the first team at some stage; I also liked the look of Marcus Browne on his brief Europa League appearance. Apart from those though I am unconvinced although will admit that the instinct is coloured by the impact players are having on loan rather than from the position of watching them play regularly. When the likes of Ferdinand, Lampard, Carrick and Defoe went out on loan as young players they all made their mark.

Everyone loves an academy graduate and we are long overdue the pleasure of seeing home-grown talent rise up to the challenge of first team football. The Academy needs to reclaim its reputation.