Under The Hammers

Matchday: Hammers @ the Cherries

West Ham’s bashful attack comes up against Bournemouth’s shaky defence at the Vitality stadium.

Bournemouth West Ham Whenever a team has a player sent off, even if this is in the second minute of added time, it is the duty of the headline writer to include the phrase “Ten Man” in the description of the game. So it was that I was in a bar last weekend watching Ten Man Bournemouth frustrate Manchester United. This particular bar had two separate large screen TVs showing the game from two different feeds; one was in real-time while the other had a five minute delay, and unusually took the decision to run the commentary from the delayed feed. Bournemouth should have been dead and buried before half-time but managed to get on level terms with an unlikely Old Trafford penalty and then showed great resilience to protect their point once they had skipper, Andrew Surman, sent off in the aftermath of the Ibrahimovic/ Mings fracas.

We are expecting a really difficult game on a difficult pitch with a good atmosphere but we are looking forward to it. There is still a big job to do. We have to approach every game and try and win it and see where it will bring us. We want, and we have to finish strongly.

– Slaven Bilic

Bournemouth are on a long winless eight match run during which time they have conceded 21 goals, they are without a league victory in 2017 (since Nathan Ake was recalled by Chelsea) and have never beaten a London side in the Premier League on home turf. West Ham are unbeaten on the road in 2017 and have not previously lost away to Bournemouth in any competition; 26 of the Hammer’s 33 league goals and 8 of their 9 wins have come against teams in the bottom half of the table. What could possibly go wrong?

Head to Head

The all-time record between the two clubs spans just 8 games since the first encounter in the 5th round of the 1929 FA Cup competition. Of these games West Ham have won 5 and lost just 1, last season’s 4-3 home defeat. Bournemouth will have a permanent place in the West Ham record books as the very first league visitors to the London Stadium (or whatever future incarnation of naming rights that it takes).

Team News

West Ham welcome back a touch of pace today with the return from suspension of Michail Antonio. The Physio Room shows late fitness tests for Carroll, Fonte and Reid so the manager will be compiling his list of favourite available players before deciding how he will have them line-up. Apparently we have never scored in the first half of any Premier League game against Bournemouth and so expect more of the same today as the starting arrangement once again fails to impress and tactical adjustments have to be made at half-time.

My guess is that one of Reid or Fonte will not make it with Kouyate conveniently moving to the central defence and allowing Byram to return at right back. Where to play Antonio will be the dilemma (assuming Carroll is fit); if he plays behind Carroll then Lanzini will be forced to a more ineffective wide role and if he plays out wide then the question is on which side and who of Feghouli, Snodgrass or Ayew takes the other berth? I experienced a real laugh out loud moment during the week when reading a suggestion that Mark Noble could be the answer to the right back problem; I just hope and pray that Slaven Bilic did’nt read it as well.

They’re a different team with Andy Carroll – he’s got strengths and is a huge part of their game.

– Eddie Howe suggests a one-dimensional West Ham

The leaky Bournemouth defence is further weakened by the suspension of the merciless Mings and if there was ever a perfect opportunity for Carroll to notch his 50^th Premier League goal then this should be it. Bournemouth are also without the suspended Surman and a number of injured players including Callum Wilson and former Hammer, Junior Stanislas. Despite their struggles this season I still have a lot of respect for Cherries manager Eddie Howe who has done remarkably well with limited resources. The one question mark against him is the big money signing of Jordan Ibe, a player who has performed so poorly that he must be odds-on to score today.

The Man in the Middle

The man in figurative black today is Robert ‘Rob, Bob, Robbie, Bobby’ Madley from West Yorkshire. Madley previously had the whistle in the two home victories this season against Sunderland and Burnley. His all competition record so far this term comprises 25 games with 101 Yellow and 3 Red cards.

Bournemouth v West Ham Preview

The chance for West Ham to complete a double over Bournemouth, although we know what often happens when we face a team who haven’t won a game for some time!

Bournemouth West Ham We go into the game on the South Coast this weekend sitting in eleventh place in the Premier League table on 33 points after 27 games. This effectively means that we are at the top of the bottom half of the league. Based on revenue figures we would hope to finish seventh by the end of the season, but this is not going to happen. It is good to see that some of our fans have retained their sense of humour, as I read one tweet today that said unless we pick up three points against Bournemouth then we cannot win the league!

Bournemouth, or to give them their proper name which very few people use, AFC Bournemouth, are in their second consecutive season in the top flight, and currently are three places below us in 14^th, and trail us by six points. Their 27 points attained so far is just five points above the drop zone, so they really need to collect some more wins in their remaining games to ensure another season in the Premier League. They have won seven of their 27 league games, four of which have come against teams in the top half of the table, West Brom, Everton, Liverpool, and Stoke. Their biggest win was a 6-1 victory over lowly Hull back in October. Conversely, they have lost home games against both Sunderland and Palace to demonstrate the inconsistency of their performances.

If neutral spectators exist, and enjoy seeing goals, then Bournemouth are one of the teams for them to follow. The 89 goals scored in league games involving the Cherries this season puts them in third place just behind Swansea on 94, and Liverpool on 92.

Their recent record is why they might still end up in the relegation dogfight, as they haven’t won a single league game in 2017. In their eight games, they have drawn three times and lost five, although last week they had a creditable performance drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford. Apart from that draw, their other five drawn games have all come against clubs ‘loosely’ from the London area, Watford (twice), Palace, Arsenal and Tottenham.

We have only ever played them 8 times in history (and two of those were in 1929), and normally we have come out on top. Our only defeat was the 4-3 reverse at Upton Park in our second home game last season. That game was catastrophic from a defensive point of view, but we did get our revenge in the return match when we came from behind to win 3-1 with all of our goals coming from players who are no longer with us, Payet and Valencia (2). Two of the goals, one from the Frenchman, and another from the Ecuadorian currently on loan at Everton, were scored directly from free kicks.

In the very first Premier League game at the London Stadium, Bournemouth were our visitors, and in a tight game we just shaded it at the end with a late (85^th minute) headed goal from Michail Antonio. At the time we hoped it would be the start of a good run, but we didn’t win another league game at home for two months, when an even later goal (94^th minute) from Winston Reid gave us another 1-0 win, this time over Sunderland. And then we had to wait almost two months again before two more 1-0 home wins in a week against Burnley and Hull. Our win at home against Palace puts us on a par with Bournemouth in that we have both won five of our home games. Our away form has been superior to theirs, and hopefully we can record our fifth away from home victory this weekend.

Antonio should be back in our starting line-up after his unfortunate hand ball cost him a place for the Chelsea game. Perhaps another far post header will be the winner as we fight back after conceding the first goal to win the game 2-1 this time? Bilic gave Noble a vote of confidence this week, so I guess he is not immune to the feelings of a number of fans who would like to see our captain given a rest, and have taken to social media to express their views. Personally I would like us to revert to four at the back with a recognised right back in Byram. I’d like to see Kouyate add more pace in midfield alongside Obiang, who has been the player of the season for me so far. A lot of fans on social media were raving about Ayew’s substitute appearance against Chelsea, and I guess he did provide the assist for our late goal. He hasn’t yet convinced me of his potential worth to the team, but I concede he hasn’t had many chances to prove himself.

We all have opinions about the team that we would like to see selected, but only one man has his job on the line, and he sees the players every day, so he has to go with what he thinks is the team for a particular game, and not bow to external pressure. In many ways, as we are virtually safe, albeit not mathematically yet of course, it would be good to see us giving some of the fringe players the chance to prove themselves, but with an additional £2 million for each additional place higher that you finish in the league, then that is not going to happen.

The Lawro Challenge – Week 28

It remains tight at the top as the Lawro predictor challenge enters week 28.

Lawro Crystal Ball We have now predicted the results of 268 matches. In Week 27, Rich scored 4 points, Geoff 7 points, and Lawro 10 points. Lawro has extended his lead at the top of the leaderboard yet again, but, as we approach the business end of the season there is all to play for. Can Lawro increase his lead still further, making it difficult for him to be caught, or can Rich keep the contest alive?

This week we have a reduced number of league games because of the FA Cup matches being played. As Lawro has predicted FA Cup matches this weekend we will take him on in those games as well.

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 28.

	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Total after 26 weeks	208	161	212
Score in week 27	4	7	10
Total after 27 weeks	212	168	222

Predictions – Week 28
	Rich	Geoff	Lawro
Saturday
Bournemouth v West Ham	1-2	3-3	2-1
Everton v WBA	2-0	2-1	1-1
Hull v Swansea	2-2	1-2	1-1
Sunday
Liverpool v Burnley	3-1	3-0	2-0
FA Cup
Saturday
Middlesbrough v Man City	0-3	0-4	0-2
Arsenal v Lincoln	4-0	7-1	3-0
Sunday
Tottenham v Millwall	4-0	3-0	2-0
Monday
Chelsea v Man United	3-1	1-0	2-0

I Wouldn’t Bet On It 34

Last season we came from behind to win at Bournemouth – can we repeat the feat?

Fancy A Bet

Unsurprisingly really we lost out on our bets for the Chelsea game. The bookies were right to make them odds-on favourites, but we couldn’t bet against our team, and the odds were sufficiently generous to be worth a punt. Our balance is now 90 points.

We’ll continue with our fun bets this weekend for the game at Bournemouth. We’ve been on a losing streak but things can change. We have one of those situations this week where West Ham have famously assisted the opposition in the past to end a bad run. Bournemouth haven’t actually won a league game in 2017 in eight attempts. Let us hope we can make it nine!

For this weekend we’ll keep it modest again:

6 points on West Ham to win and both teams to score @4/1 (30)
3 points on a score draw @3/1 (12)
1 point on West Ham to come from behind and win @11/1 (12)

After staking 10 points our balance is now down to 80 points. The potential returns on winning bets are shown in brackets. What are the chances?

My Favourite Games: Number 8 – West Ham 6:1 West Brom, Good Friday, April 16 1965

A series of occasional articles recalling my favourite West Ham games, and songs that topped the charts when these games were played. Today a memorable quickfire scoring feat by Brian Dear.

There have been so many great games in the last 58 years and many are described in my book, Goodbye Upton Park, Hello Stratford. They are remembered for different reasons, the importance of the game, the goals scored, and the spine-tingling atmosphere generated by our fans. I remember this one especially for seeing a big West Ham win, and a goalscoring feat by Brian Dear, something which I doubt I will ever see again. And growing up in the 1960s I remember fondly the music in the charts at the time.

Favourite Games 8

It was a “Good Friday” for me during the Easter holidays in 1965 as for the first time I was allowed to go to Upton Park with friends rather than any adults being with us. The Last Time by the Stones was in the charts but this was my first time. I was eleven. Do eleven year-olds go to West Ham without adult company these days? It was an even better Friday for Brian Dear as this was the day he scored five goals in a twenty minute spell either side of half time in our 6-1 trouncing of West Brom. I can recall a newspaper headline of the match report that I had in my West Ham scrapbook at the time. It read “Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear!” Martin Peters scored the other goal incidentally, but everyone forgets that. The following week I went on my first trip abroad, a school visit to Paris and Ostend. I remember the time very well.

Dear’s first goal came just a minute before the half-time interval. Of course back in those days the half lasted for just 45 minutes. We didn’t have a board indicating additional minutes to be played for injuries, time-wasting or substitutions. When 45 minutes were up the half-time whistle was blown. If I remember correctly the game kicked off at 11am, so the half would have ended exactly at 11.45. There was only a ten minute interval in those days too.

He scored four more in the first 19 minutes of the second half, the last coming at 12.14pm, making it a five goal haul in twenty minutes of football time (half an hour if you include the interval!), a feat which I don’t believe has been repeated since. It is claimed that Aguero equalled the five goals in 20 minutes when Manchester City beat Newcastle by the identical score 6-1 in October 2015. Aguero’s goals were timed at 42, 49, 50, 60 and 62 minutes, seemingly within twenty minutes, but everyone forgets the additional three minutes that the referee added before blowing the half-time whistle.

I remember the West Brom game very well, not particularly for the quality of our football, which was good of course as we won the game comfortably, but more for the fact that I realised that I was watching a very special goalscoring feat. I did witness another a few years later when I saw Geoff Hurst score six in a game. Of course, as often happened in those days, the return fixture came just a few days later (on Easter Monday to be precise). West Brom turned the tables and beat us 4-2, and no, Brian Dear didn’t score, our goals came from Ronnie Boyce and Geoff Hurst.

Despite his goalscoring prowess, he never had many extended runs in the first team, and played a total of just 82 games in a seven-year spell, scoring 39 goals at a healthy average of almost one every other game. Why didn’t he play more often? He did feature in the final 15 matches of the successful European season, scoring 14 goals, and was a member of our victorious European Cup Winners Cup side just a month later on that famous night at Wembley.

In addition to the The Last Time by the Rolling Stones mentioned earlier, which was a former number one on its way downwards, there were a number of top acts in the chart that week, the Yardbirds were at 2 with For Your Love, Unit 4+2 were at 3 with Concrete and Clay, Donovan was at 4 with Catch The Wind, Here Comes The Night by Them was at 5, Bob Dylan was at 7 with The Times They Are A-Changin’, and the Beatles were a new entry at 10 with Ticket to Ride, which would go on to be the number one the following week. The number one this week was Cliff Richard with The Minute You’re Gone.

This Week in Hammer’s History

Dreams of the twin towers of Wembley dominate the week 6 to 12 March in Hammer’s history.

This Week Hammers History It was cup fever all the way in the week 6 – 12 March in Hammer’s history as the FA Cup heads towards its exciting climax.

Having been held to a draw in a 1985 5^th round tie at Plough Lane on Saturday by second division Wimbledon replay was scheduled for just two days later at Upton Park. The Hammers made no mistake on the second time of asking rattling in 5 goals (to a single Wimbledon replay) courtesy of a Tony Cottee hat-trick and goals from Alan Dickens and Paul Allen. The reward was a 6^th round tie on the following Saturday away at Old Trafford where three goals from Norman Whiteside steered Manchester United to a 4-2 victory; the West Ham goals coming when a Manchester defender deflected a Paul Allen cross into his own goal before Allen himself notched West Ham’s second.

There was revenge just one a year later though when the teams met again in a 5^th round tie. West Ham had only been able to play one league game since mid-January due to frozen pitches but were strangely able to fulfil cup fixtures which included seeing off Ipswich in a three match 4^th round marathon and then drawing at home to Manchester United in the initial 5^th round tie. The replay at Old Trafford on 9 March saw a superb Hammer’s performance end in a 2-0 victory thanks to a spectacular 18 yard headed Geoff Pike goal and a Ray Stewart penalty bravely awarded for a foul on Alvin Martin.

Other 6^th round matches to mention before getting on to the main event were a 2-1 home victory over Everton (in what I remember as the Stuart Slater match) with goals from Slater and Colin Foster; a creditable 1998 draw at Highbury (Ian Pearce) when I really had a feeling that we were on our way to Wembley; and a frustrating 3-2 defeat at home by Tottenham in 2001 where two fine goals from Sergei Rebrov (later to become another in a long line of West Ham flops) gave the visitors the advantage; the Hammers goals coming from a Stuart Pearce bullet and a neat Svetoslav Todorov finish.

In the victorious 1975 campaign West Ham were drawn away in the 6^th round to a struggling Arsenal side which gave some hope as we made the short trip across to north London. Of all the matches in the 1975 cup run this is the most memorable for me (including the Final) with the game was played on a sodden Highbury pitch where the ball frequently got stuck in the mud. The unlikely hero was Alan Taylor who had only previously played in a handful of league games since his transfer from Rochdale at the end of 1974. Taylor had been injured when Rochdale played their early round FA cup games and so was not cup tied and was surprisingly given a start in the quarter final tie. A goal in each half were Taylor’s first for West Ham with the pitch having a hand in both goals, the first after a Graham Paddon cross and the second following a smart interchange with Trevor Brooking. A contentious decision that unusually went West Ham’s way occurred when goalkeeper Mervyn Day raced out to clatter John Radford to the ground, probably a red card offence by today’s standard but the referee waved play on.

Day, McDowell, Lampard, Bonds, Taylor, Lock, Jennings, Paddon, Taylor, Brooking, K Robson.

On the same day five years later, second division West Ham were at home in the quarter final to Aston Villa, at the time riding high in the first division. Despite the difference in league status the match was dominated by the Hammers but they struggled to get past a resolute Villa defence and when they did keeper Jimmy Rimmer was in fine form. With the game looking to be headed for a replay at Villa Park the game changed with just two minutes remaining when Ken McNaught inexplicably knocked a cross away with his hand. Up stepped Ray Stewart and despite the pressure (and a few of his team-mates refusing to watch) placed the perfect penalty low to Rimmer’s right. West Ham did make it to Villa Park but for a semi-final appointment with Everton.

Parkes, Lampard, Brush, Stewart, Martin, Devonshire, Allen, Pearson, Cross, Brooking, Pike.

Finally, this week in 1966 witnessed our first ever League Cup final appearance in the first match of a two legged affair against West Bromwich Albion. Looking to make it a hat-trick of cup victories in successive years, goals from Bobby Moore and Johnny Byrne gave West Ham a 2-1 advantage to take into the second leg.

5 Observations from the Chelsea lesson

Not unexpected but defeat by the champion’s elect gives the sense of a season that is fizzling out.

There Are No Easy Games?

Observers like to say that there are no easy games in the Premier League and, in fact, Slaven Bilic said exactly the same in the build up to the visit of Chelsea on Monday night. Yet from Chelsea’s point of view this was much of a stroll in the Olympic Park. Sit back and absorb the expected early pressure, do what you’re good at and hit on the break, once in front take the foot off the gas, give your best players a rest and coast to a comfortable victory. In the record books the result will have the look of a closely contested game but in reality it was far from that; there was only going to be one winner the minute Eden Hazard tucked away the opener. Of course, money plays a big part and Chelsea’s squad strength bears no relation to our ramshackle collection once you get past a competent dozen or so. But what Chelsea have under Conte this season is remorseless organisation that allows flair players opportunity to flourish; something that had been lost under Mourinho. Organisation, preparation and motivation are as important managerial attributes as are tactics and selection, and remain part of the reason that I continue to have reservations about our own manager.

Oh So Predictable!

It is true that the absence of Michail Antonio left few viable attacking options and it was a case of a return for a rusty Andy Carroll whether he was ready or not. In the more recent games where Carroll has played with Antonio just behind we have been able to mix play up a little but on this occasion, particularly in the first half, we were back to the agricultural tactic of lumping long hopeful high balls into the area. If we felt that this ploy would come as a surprise to Chelsea then we were sadly mistaken. Space on the flanks was effectively kept to a minimum and wide players rarely got behind the defence into those areas where crosses are more difficult to defend. As it was Chelsea’s central defenders were able to deal with the threat with ease and probably had enough time to send the odd tweet in the meantime if they really wanted to. The game was effectively all over early in the second half and although, to the player’s credit, no-one gave up Chelsea rarely needed to get out of low gear.

Square Pegs and Round Holes Again.

Once again team selection has the look of choose the favourite available eleven players and then decide how to fit them in to some semblance of a formation. The need for specialist full-backs has long been a West Ham blind spot and the current management appear to have the same blinkers. It is a scenario that you might expect in Sunday morning park football but this is supposed to be the world’s elite league competition. Is there any evidence to suggest that either Kouyate (or Antonio before him) were effective in this position? I know some supporters don’t rate Byram but I would think, injuries permitting, he should be given a run in the side to prove himself or otherwise, there is not now much to lose. He looks as capable a defender as Cresswell to me even if he hasn’t demonstrated too much going forward yet. I can view the selection as putting off the difficult decision in central midfield now that Pedro Obiang has cemented his starting position. One of Noble and Kouyate has to be benched (Noble in my opinion) although Slav may have a ‘get out of jail card’ with the injury to Winston Reid.

Ambre Solaire Time

I have already sensed an end of season unwinding feel in recent matches and my fear is that it will only go one way from here. We do not look the fittest or most motivated of teams at the best of times and it would come as a surprise to me now if we ended the season in the top half. Despite West Brom’s defeat at the weekend they are still some way clear and I reckon that both Stoke and Southampton will finish ahead of us. A 7^th or 8^th place finish is a reasonable benchmark for a club of our size and so anything less looks like underachievement. There have been some positives for the season but overall it has been disappointing and if the club wants fewer white seats to turn up to games next year they need to address the disjointed team issues as a matter of urgency.

Squad Renewal

In an after match interview David Sullivan was quoted as saying that ‘we are a few players short of a very, very good side’ or words to that effect. I can only hope that he was either misquoted and purposelessly putting out misinformation. You could argue that, in the unlikely circumstances of everyone being fit, we could field a decent starting eleven but after that it the squad has the familiar bare-bones look to it. After the failings of the summer transfer window (and the gap-filling nature of the January one) the squad needs a major overhaul rather than a few tweaks if we are serious about challenging for greater things. The squad lacks quality, depth and pace. It would be comforting to think that we had a style of play in mind and recruited players to fit that style but I don’t see that. Our approach appears to be an opportunist one that recruits players in isolation rather than considering how they are going to fit into a system. Not everything is the fault of the manager and the lack of a longer term vision is worrying. The reported new one year rolling contract for Bilic feels like a hedge play. He is either the right man (not just a good enough one) for the job or he isn’t.

Ratings: Randolph (6), Kouyate (5), Reid (6), Fonte (5), Cresswell (5), Noble (5), Obiang (6), Feghouli (5), Lanzini (7), Snodgrass (6), Carroll (5) Subs: Byram (6), Ayew (6), Fernandes (5)

West Ham 1 v 2 Chelsea

Well beaten but we gave it a go!

West Ham Chelsea

I watched a game of football on Monday night. I actually quite enjoyed it. I thought we did OK. I wouldn’t say any better than OK, but we were certainly better than how we performed at home against Manchester City and Arsenal in recent times. Once again the match emphasised to me the gulf in class between the top sides and mid-table ones like ourselves. Chelsea were undoubtedly superior to us in defence, in midfield, and going forward. But that is not to say that with our limited capabilities we didn’t give it a go. I thought we tried hard. But they are so organised that with our lack of pace and guile when attacking it was always going to be difficult to break them down.

I have written before on many occasions that I am not a fan of statistics so I really shouldn’t start using them now to emphasise a point. But I will. We had more of the ball than our opponents and more shots than they did. But it is what you do with the ball that counts, and how good your shots are. I am amazed that highly paid professional footballers can fail to hit the target as much as they do when shooting at goal. I was only a Sunday league player myself but my dad taught me something very important when I was very young. It helped me to score quite a few goals at the level I played at. It was simple. If your shot is not on target then you won’t score. How many times do our players shoot wildly over the bar or wide of the target?

I even saw some statistics today that purported to show that Noble had a better game in midfield than Kante did. I did laugh. Much as I love Noble and his commitment to our club, I know who I would prefer in our midfield. Apparently one of the pieces of data showed that Noble found a team mate with 95% of his passes compared to Kante’s 90%. There was other data which the writer used to show that Noble won the midfield battle on the night. I didn’t see the data that showed how many of Noble’s passes went sideways or backwards though.

Now would someone please answer this question for me. We have a free-kick central to the goal about 25 yards out, and it is obvious we are going to have a shot at goal. Yes that makes sense. Occasionally they go in. More than occasionally if your name is Payet, or even Snodgrass playing for Hull. But Lanzini takes the kick, it hits the wall, and we have secondary possession. Most of our defence has been thrown forward, which I don’t fully understand if we are going to have a shot as opposed to trying to put the ball in the air. Now with all of our tall defenders plus Carroll in an attacking position, Noble has the opportunity to put the ball into the box. But no. Some dilly-dallying and a few seconds later Chelsea have broken at speed and we are one down. Has anyone not watched Chelsea play this season? Wouldn’t it have been prudent to have more players back to face a fast breakaway. It’s not as if we haven’t been caught out by this before – remember West Brom away for example?

I wouldn’t lay the blame specifically on Noble. I wouldn’t blame Randolph for the end result, although with hindsight (a wonderful thing) I reckon he would have acted differently. No, it is a collective thing that we should be better organised to avoid the situation happening as it did. We broke at pace (unusual I know) at Chelsea on one occasion in the second half and a Chelsea player “took one for the team” to ensure that we didn’t get too close. Once we had found ourselves so outpaced and outnumbered in the breakaway, then we let Hazard go unchallenged. We really should have one or two of our fastest players back. I suspect Byram would have coped better, but don’t get me started on leaving a specialist right back on the bench when we are facing a player of the calibre of Hazard, and using Kouyate in a position that is not natural to him. Actually I reckon Kouyate committed five fouls in the game, usually as a result of being slightly too slow when tackling, nothing too malicious. It was amazing that he avoided a booking from Marriner, who is not my favourite referee, but I thought that the officials had a good game. It is good to look back on a game afterwards without being seething about some of the decisions you have witnessed. Byram may be a bit green in some respects, but to me he looks quite speedy, he looks like he can tackle, and he will get better with experience (if he is given the chance!).

On three occasions we were awarded free kicks inside the Chelsea half out wide. These would have been ideal opportunities for our tall players to go up and a high ball into the box. Not always, but a fair tactic, especially when Carroll plays. So what did we do? On all three Noble took the kick very quickly, sideways or backwards, and we ended up passing it around in our own half, and one of those went all the way back to Randolph. Does anybody sit down after the game and analyse with the players the course of action we have taken, and how we might have done better?

So our naivety cost us the first goal that we conceded, but what about the second? Just a couple of weeks ago I was alarmed at our inability to defend a corner when we allowed West Brom a late equaliser. And in the next game we now allow Chelsea, not particularly noted for their ability at set-pieces to do the same. Surely we must practice defending corners? Everyone must know their job. But what happens? We all get drawn to the near post, Randolph doesn’t come, a West Ham player flicks it on, and the unusually quiet (and non-snarling) Costa is totally unmarked six yards from goal. Quite frankly it is appalling to concede a goal in this fashion. This is what training sessions for the defence should be all about. Did you see how well organised the Chelsea defence were for our corners and set-pieces?

Lanzini’s goal was well taken, but by then it was of course too late. It put some respectability on the scoreboard. I read some internet reaction after the game. Some said we were awful, usually accompanied by expletives, and they are entitled to their opinion. But I don’t think that is a fair reflection of the game. Some said we deserved a point. I don’t concur with that point of view either. We gave it a go, but we were undone by our own mistakes and lack of preparation against a side who will undoubtedly be champions at the end of the season by a big margin I reckon. How many of our team would be in the reckoning to get into the Chelsea team? Obiang and Lanzini might make their bench perhaps?

Matchday: West Ham take on leaders Chelsea

Will it be a fired up Hammers who face Chelsea at the London Stadium cauldron for the Monday Night match?

West Ham Chelsea When compiling reasons to dislike the top teams it doesn’t take long to come up with a long list for tonight’s visitors. They have few redeeming features and represent much of what is wrong with the uneven playing field that the modern game has become. An average mid-table team that were transformed to greatness by winning the Russian lottery. It does make you wonder though what might have happened had Roman Abramovic landed his helicopter at Upton Park rather than Stamford Bridge all those years ago. Would we now be pining for the days of academy players, dodgy loan deals and a bare-bones squad or would we be happy to bask smugly in the reflection of a roomful of domestic and European silverware of more recent vintage than 1980. Perhaps one day West Ham will themselves win the Arab-millions raising the dilemma of whether success trumps working class east-end traditions after all.

I still think Chelsea can be caught. There are many point to play for and there are no easy games in the Premier League. If they slip up, which you can in every game, others teams need to be ready.

– Slaven Bilic on there being no easy games.

I have sensed an uneasy end-of-season feel during our last two matches as mid-table obscurity leaves little left to play for apart from a few extra million in prize money and a new contract for Slaven Bilic. Still the visit of the west London league leaders should be enough to rouse both players and supporters in delivering one of those ‘obscene’ displays of floodlit energy and enterprise.

Head to Head

A record that was once lent slightly in our own favour has been skewed and reversed since the roubles went on deposit at Stamford Bridge. Victories for the Hammers since the turn of the century have been few and far between and in the last 12 league encounters there have been just 2 West Ham wins and two draws. Of course it would have been 3 wins had it not been for a shocking refereeing display in the away fixture at Stamford Bridge last season. Strangely our all time cup record against Chelsea is very poor and so it was doubly surprising to have seen them off in the EFL cup earlier in the season.

For anyone interested I read somewhere that this will be West Ham’s 64th Monday night match fixture of the Premier League era during which time we have won 19, drawn 20 and lost 24.

Team News

Michail Antonio misses the game against his apparent would-be employers through suspension and Sakho, Ogbonna, Tore and Arbeloa (remember them) are still absent through injury. Andy Carroll is listed in the media as doubtful which in historic terms means that he is out for a further 6 weeks. We must hope that on this occasion it is the exception that proves the rule as Carroll’s availability is essential if we are to give Chelsea a decent game.

Elsewhere I don’t imagine Bilic will pull out any surprises and will again avoid any difficult midfield decisions by sticking with Cheikhou Kouyate at right back, making it the same starting eleven as at Watford with the exception of the enforced Carroll/ Antonio switch.

We will know the other results of the other teams. (There will be) positive or negative pressure, but we are ready to play this game and to try to do better than the last game. We are preparing different solutions also to try to limit the strength of our opponent.

– Antonio Conte

I haven’t bothered to check the Chelsea injury situation as with plenty of full internationals to fill every position several times over and a dozen or so others out on loan it is fairly academic. No doubt Costa will score at some time but the bigger danger is that we let Eden Hazard run us ragged. Although Chelsea tend to win matches through organisation and work-rate I fear a capitulation (of Arsenal and Manchester City proportions) if we cannot find a way to stop Hazard running through from midfield.

If we can raise our performance as well as our tempo then maybe, just maybe we can get something from the game, and ironically doing Tottenham a big favour. It is a long shot but if we do I will be as happy as the nearest person called Larry.

Man in the Middle

Welcome 46 year old Andre Marriner from the West Midlands. This is Marriners 4th encounter with the Hammers this season having previously officiated in away games with Manchester City and Swansea and the home fixture with Stoke City. Last season he was in charge of the rousing victory against Spurs at Upton Park. In 27 games (all competitions) this term Marriner has brandished a whopping 107 Yellows and 6 Red Cards. What chances of there being 22 left on the field by the final whistle tonight?

West Ham v Chelsea Preview

Can we reverse the disappointing result of the first Premier League game of the season, and perhaps repeat the EFL Cup win against the Premier League runaway leaders?

West Ham Chelsea EFL We face a Chelsea side on Monday, who, with 20 wins and 3 draws in their 26 Premier League games to date this season, have a ten point cushion at the top of the league, and are odds on with the bookmakers to repeat their title success of the season before last. Of course, last season they had a very disappointing time by their own recent standards, finishing tenth and therefore missing out on playing in Europe for the first time in the last twenty years. Perhaps their lack of European games is a contributing factor to their record this season?

We faced them at Stamford Bridge for the opening game of this campaign, and lost 2-1 in the closing minutes to a goal from Costa, who in my opinion should not have even still been on the pitch at the time. You’ll remember we had Antonio playing at right back and he gave away a penalty for their first goal. James Collins equalised a quarter of an hour from the end, and Ayew limped off early in the game, not to be seen for some time afterwards.

Far better to recall the EFL Cup game in October, when a marvellous Kouyate header from almost 18 yards put us one up after about ten minutes, and then a fine strike from Fernandes made it two in the second half. All Chelsea could muster was an injury-time consolation strike from Cahill. This victory came about against the odds based on form at the time, and we hoped it would kick-start our season. But it didn’t really. We didn’t win another game after that until Burnley were the visitors in mid-December and we managed a (lucky?) 1-0 victory.

Whatever you think of Chelsea, and I for one don’t particularly care for them at all, you have to say that they have had a magnificent season so far under their new Italian manager, Conte. After winning their first three league games in the month of August they had a miserable September, drawing with Swansea and losing at home to Liverpool, and 3-0 at Arsenal. But from that point they went on a tremendous run, winning all 13 league games in the months of October, November and December, scoring 32 goals in that period and conceding just 4. The run included victories over Manchester United (4-0), Everton (5-0), Tottenham (2-1), and a 3-1 win at Manchester City, all teams in the top seven in the table. Our EFL Cup win over them was their only defeat in the last quarter of 2016.

They began the New Year losing 2-0 at Tottenham, only their third league defeat of the season, but since then they have recorded four wins and two draws in the next six games. They have also progressed to the Quarter-Final of the FA Cup where they will face Manchester United next weekend. Their record is a formidable one, and shows the difficult task we have ahead.

It appears that we only have three players from the first team squad unavailable to play in the game. Ogbonna and Sakho are long term injuries of course, but it is disappointing that Antonio will miss the game through suspension due to being sent off at Watford for an innocuous hand ball offence. OK by the letter of the law we can have no complaints about the dismissal, but it does seem harsh that we have to face the champions-elect without Antonio because he handled the ball in the middle of the field.

Our all-time league record against Chelsea in the twentieth century was a positive one, and we beat them more times that they beat us. But since the turn of the century, and mainly as a result of the Abramovich effect, we have not done so well. Ironically we did the double over them in our relegation season of 2002-2003 with a 3-2 victory at Stamford Bridge, our goals coming from Di Canio (2) and Defoe, and then in our final home game, and the last time we saw Di Canio play at Upton Park in a competitive match, we beat them 1-0. Di Canio came off the bench to score the only goal of the game. It wasn’t enough to keep us up in the end and we were relegated with a massive 42 points. Trevor Brooking was our caretaker manager at the time.

We didn’t beat them again in the league until December 2012, when goals from Carlton Cole, Diame and Maiga helped us to a 3-1 victory. And of course we famously beat them last season with goals from Zarate and Carroll, who came on as a substitute to score the winner. This was another game where Mourinho was sent to the stands, and he was pictured looking forlorn standing in front of one of the boxes.

Without underestimating the task ahead, I am hopeful that we can become only the fourth team to beat them in the league this season. We beat them 2-1 last season, 2-1 again in the EFL Cup, so I am predicting a third 2-1 home victory in a row against them. What are the chances? Bookmakers will give you odds of around 17/1 on a 2-1 victory, and around 9/2 on a win by any score. It is about time we created an upset against one of the top teams this season, so where better to start than on Monday night?