Tag: #COYI

Dig Out The Claret Ribbons: The Road To Wembley Starts Today As West Ham Entertain Bristol City

It’s the thrill and tradition of the FA Cup despite the third round matches being stretched over five days. Will it be West Ham or Bristol City who grab the number 6 ball in Monday’s 4th round draw.

Did you know that every time West Ham have won the FA Cup they had to beat a team with a bird nickname along the way. It was the Robins of Swindon in 1964 and 1975 and the Swans of Swansea in 1980. And you could also throw in the Throstles if you were inclined to resurrect the West Bromwich Albion’s traditional pre-Baggies monicker. In fact, both abortive final appearances had the same avian connection. The Hammers seeing off the Seagulls in 1923 and the Canaries in 2006. A 3rd round draw against the Robins of Bristol City is therefore conclusive proof that the famous trophy is destined to be festooned with claret and blue ribbons come the end of May.

The road to Wembley is just 16 miles by car from the London Stadium – or just five football matches, excluding replays. But it has been a road less travelled for West Ham since they last lifted the trophy in 1980. In the interim, they have bowed out 12 times in both the 3rd and 4th rounds, 9 times in the 5th round, 8 in the 6th, and lost once in each of the semi-final and final. Going all the way typically involves decent performances, a touch of good fortune, and a favourable draw. Here’s hoping the big six can knock each other out before the big day.

Today will be the third time West Ham and Bristol City have met in the FA Cup. On both prior occasions, it was Hammers who progressed into the draw for the next round. In 1969, goals from Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters (2) helped West Ham to a 3-2 win in a 3rd round tie – a campaign that was later ended by a 3-0 5th round drubbing on a wet Wednesday night in February by 3rd division Mansfield. More recently, Sam Allardyce’s Hammers managed to scrape a fortunate 1-0 win in a 2105 4th round tie courtesy of a goal from substitute Diafra Sakho, who had controversially returned from AFCON due to a back injury.

For two seasons between 1977 and 1978, the two teams competed together in the old First Division (the top tier at the time) where Bristol City won two and lost one from four prior to the Hammers relegation. The Robins were themselves relegated in 1980 and have yet to return to the top flight. This season they are occupying mid-table obscurity in the Championship.

A surprising number of players have turned out for both clubs over the years including George Parris, Ryan Fredericks, Paul Allen, Marlon Harewood, Nicky Maynard, Bobby Gould and Leroy Rosenior. To add to the familiarity, West Ham manager David Moyes was a Bristol City player between 1985 and 1987 while Robin’s boss Liam Manning managed West Ham’s Under 21s from 2015 to 2019.

Manning replaced Nigel Pearson as Bristol City manager as recently as November 2023, having previously worked at MK Dons and Oxford United. According to Wikipedia, his management style is based on a high press and high possession, which might suggest what we are in for today. It’s a little worrying that the weekend has yet to see any of the usual big cup shocks before the masters of the banana skin take the field.

With no game for two weeks, we can expect Moyes to put out a strong side today, subject to the latest injury situation. The performance against Brighton illustrated how poor the team are in possession when the creativity of Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus is missing. With Kudus away at AFCON it could be a really difficult watch again if Paqman is not available to fight the Robins. Perhaps Moyes will finally give outings to the elusive Maxwell Cornet, Conor Coventry or Ben Johnson – maybe one or two from the Under 21’s – but it is more likely to the same tired old guard of Danny Ings, Pablo Fornals, and Said Benrahma who struggle to step up as usual?

Anyway, let’s be positive. Our name could well be on the cup once the missing stars return and the January cavalry signings arrive. West Ham to win 1-0 with 39% possession. COYI!

After conceding five at Fulham, three clean sheets in a row for West Ham who face the visit of Brighton to begin the New Year

Three defeats in consecutive games have been followed by 19 points from our last eight league games. Meet the unpredictables!

We travelled across London to Brentford on the day before Guy Fawkes. We fell behind, then went in front, then lost the game 3-2 to slip into the bottom half of the Premier League table for the first time after a promising start to the 2023-24 season. What came next in the eight remaining league games of the calendar year wasn’t something that many of us would have predicted.

Four home games against Forest, Palace, Wolves and Manchester United yielded ten points. Not the toughest run of fixtures but nevertheless a good haul and a big improvement on the previous four home league games which had produced just four points. It was disappointing to miss out on the maximum from the four home matches where the Palace equaliser was a gift. Beware Greeks bearing gifts they say.

The four away league games were at Burnley, Fulham, Tottenham and Arsenal. Once again three were won and one was lost. Not just lost, we were slaughtered. Before the games you would have taken nine points wouldn’t you? But if you knew beforehand that three of those games would be won with scores of 2-1, 2-1 and 2-0 and one would be lost 5-0, I don’t think you’d have guessed which one was the defeat.

So there we are, an eight game run in the league with six wins, one draw and one defeat. 15 goals scored and 10 conceded, half of them in one disastrous game. And amazingly three clean sheets to finish off the year. We’d only had one in the 16 previous league games. The halfway point in the season; 19 games, nine at home and ten away, sixth place with 33 points. A year ago after 19 games we had 15 points. That’s one hell of an improvement. But that’s West Ham as all of us long standing supporters will know. We never were, and probably never will be the most consistent team around.

Oh, and in between those last eight league games we all but gifted Liverpool a place in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, once again conceding five in a 5-1 defeat, but conversely progressed to the last 16 (knock out stage) of the Europa League comfortably beating Freiburg to top the league group for a third year running in Europe.

A European trophy to end last season too, but still the natives (or a proportion – I’m not sure exactly how many) are restless. A trawl through social media sites reveals a continual issue with the manager, the style of play etc. If you’re reading this you know how it goes. There’s quite an unnecessary nastiness among some of the conflicting groups (the Moyes luvvies and the Moyes haters as I’ve seen them called).

Football is a game of opinions and everybody is entitled to their own. Lively debate is good fun and in the end it’s great when people can have their say but then accept that others have opinions that will differ from their own. It’s a pity that some have to resort to personal, often rude remarks rather than debate, but that’s life, and exaggerated throughout social media. Unfortunately there is a culture in football (and life generally) that everything is black or white, love or hate, with no in between.

This is the 32nd season of the Premier League and we’ve been in 28 of them. Fifth is our highest finishing position with 57 points in 1998-99 when we won 16 games but had a negative goal difference for the season. Harry Redknapp was manager and in four of his six seasons in charge we finished in the top half, but we never managed a positive goal difference. In fact we’ve only scored more goals than we’ve conceded three times in those 28 seasons, in the final season 2015/16 at Upton Park when we finished 7th under Slaven Bilic (diff +14), and twice under David Moyes in 2020/21 (6th – diff +15), and in 2021/22 (7th – diff +9).

This season at the halfway stage we have won 10 games, have 33 points and have scored 33 goals. If we can replicate this performance in the second half of the campaign we will end up with 20 wins, 66 points, and 66 goals, all three figures would be new best figures for West Ham in our 28 seasons in the Premier League. The wins and points best figures were both achieved with David Moyes as manager. Having said that we’ve conceded 30 goals so far, so if we don’t improve on that and end up conceding 60 that would be a figure beaten only 5 times in those 28 seasons. The most was 2009/10 under Avram Grant (70) plus the worst goal difference (-27). Incidentally the least goals conceded in a Premier League season was in 2008/09 when just 45 went into our net. Who was the manager then? Gianfranco Zola.

So what will happen when we face Brighton? I haven’t a clue. As always I’m hoping for a win, lots of goals scored and a clean sheet. It would be great to repeat our 3-1 win there in August. But this is West Ham. There can’t be many teams as unpredictable as we are. Happy New Year!

Wishing You All A Happy New Transfer Window

Hooray! The transfer window is open again. The January window is typically very quiet at West Ham but does it make sense to rely on the same old bare bones when there are trophies to be won?

Never mind all that nonsense about peace, health and prosperity, it is the springing open of the transfer window that ushers in 2024 with the greatest anticipation. Will the Hammers be up to much over the coming month? Probably not, but here we take a moment to contemplate West Ham’s transfer conundrums past and present.

The Problem With The Squad Is Depth

According to the Transfer Market website West Ham have the 10th most valuable squad in the Premier League – coming in at an estimated EUR 462 million. In addition to the traditional ‘big’ six clubs, the Hammers also fall behind the Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Brighton squads who are valued at EUR 640 million, EUR 638 million, and EUR 488 million respectively. The website bases its market value estimates on age, performance, contract length, position, international caps, and potential. Although some of that may be subjective, it does provide a reasonable indication as to the relative strength of squads we are in immediate competition with.

Considering the best elevens of the four clubs, there is not much between them. But as you drill down, the lack of depth in the West Ham squad becomes apparent. David Moyes has challenged the squad players to step up to fill in for the AFCON absentees, but based on recent performances the cupboard has looked incredibly bare. The reserve players – Ings, Benrahma, Fornals, Kehrer, Cresswell, Johnson – have either not been good enough, or have had insufficient game time, to provide effective backup when called upon. It is fortunate – either through good luck or sensible training methods – that the Hammers have enjoyed a mostly injury free season compared to other sides. Ironically, it was the one long term injury (to Michail Antonio) which forced the manager into the attacking positional changes that have proved the bright spot to the first half of the season.

Transfer Spend and Payroll

Attention during transfer windows is typically focused on net expenditure – transfer fee incomings minus outgoings – but tends to gloss over player salaries which actually makes up a larger slice of the pie. Since the start of the 2012/13 season, West Ham have spent £855 million on transfers and received £390 million from player sales – a net spend of £465 million. During the same period, player salaries have totalled approximately £800 million.

Over the last 13 transfer windows (since the start of the 2017/18 season) the net spend at West Ham has been £342 million which is higher than at Villa (£329 million) and Brighton (- £19 million) but below that of Newcastle (£463 million) whose spending has been inflated over the past four windows by deep Saudi pockets. The evidence of spending against squad value would suggest that West Ham have failed to spend their money wisely.

A comparison of current annual player payrolls has West Ham at £94 million compared to £117 million at Villa, £84 million at Newcastle, and £61 million at Brighton. It should also be noted that the West Ham squad has the highest average age across the four clubs – Fulham are the only older squad in the Premier League.

Transfer Hits And Misses

The West Ham transfer merry-go-round has had its fair share of hits and misses over the years. For services rendered, the modest fees paid for Cresswell, Ogbonna, Antonio, Fabianski, Coufal, and Dawson have each showed a welcome return on investment. Payet and Arnautovic were both exceptional signings who promised much before their claret and blue careers ended in acrimonious circumstances.

Of the players still on the books, the signings of Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus, Ward-Prowse, and Alvarez have either been, or are looking likely to become, great business. We can never know how long any player’s West Ham careers will last but if we have to sell, selling at a handsome profit is to be desired – something that has been a rare occurrence over the years.

The list of transfer flops is long and expensive. In no particular order, my personal list of stinkers – based on huge fees, big wages or generally failing to live up to expectations – are Jarvis, Carroll, Hernandez, Hugill, Anderson, Wilshere, Haller, Ajeti, Vlasic, Cornet and Ings. No transfer is guaranteed to succeed but having finally woken up to need for professional recruitment, lets hope this level of wastefulness is a thing of the past.

Financial Fair Play

We can never be certain whether the FFP card is being used as a reason or an excuse not to spend money. The rules appear to keep changing and, in any case, become obscured by the smoke and mirrors of accounting practices. It was reported that West Ham just about scraped within the UEFA rules for the last financial year. But the position should be eased as result of the summer sale of Declan Rice. While the fee received for Rice should show up in full in this year’s revenue, the transfer fees paid out can be amortised across the length of the incoming players contracts. If my calculations are correct, the charge for last summer’s incoming transfers will be equal to £25 million in the current financial year.

Academy Rewards

The money received from the Rice sale illustrates the value that a club’s academy can deliver. Sadly, the West Ham academy has proved largely unproductive since the golden generation of Ferdinand, Lampard, Cole, Carrick, and Defoe. Since the 2012/13 season, 38 academy graduates have played for the first team at some level, but only six have ever made a Premier League start. Their 242 starts breaks down as Rice 190, Johnson 34, Diagana 6, Ngakia 5, Burke 4, and Oxford 3. It’s a very disappointing record.

Academy teams have performed well over the past few seasons, but success has yet to filter through as first team breakthroughs. While it is tempting to pin the blame on Moyes for his reluctance to trust in youth, the poor return is not new – or unique to West Ham. It has become increasingly difficult for youth players to make it at the top level.

Transfer Priorities

The January window is usually a time for tweaks rather than wholesale changes. It is a time for finding that missing piece of the jigsaw in a bid for glory, or to make desperate buys to stave off relegation. Is there any single signing that could make all the difference to West Ham’s season? A new centre back perhaps to cover for Zouma’s dodgy knees? A free-scoring striker but how would that fit with Bowen and Kudus? Someone more technically gifted than Soucek to partner Alvarez in a double pivot? Where to start?

The Hammers also have an issue with home grown players which limits their ability to offload several of the fringe players who are unlikely to feature regularly in the Premier League. The home grown contingent is at the minimum level and includes Ings, Cresswell, Johnson, Coventry and Anang. If any are sold they would need to be replaced by other British players who are generally priced at a premium..

History shows that West Ham are rarely active in the winter window. Since 2012, only Byram (2016), Snodgrass and Fonte (2017), Hugill (2018), Bowen and Soucek (2020), and Ings (2023) have been January arrivals. Reports of multiple comings and goings should be taken with a pinch of salt. Change is needed but most will surely wait until the summer. But it will not stop a daily dose of transfer speculation for the next four weeks.

WHU, We’re Halfway There: Will West Ham Be Living On A Prayer At The Emirates Tonight

Tonight’s game marks the halfway point in the 2023/24 campaign. A rare West Ham win away to Arsenal would represent a best ever opening half to a Premier League season, but history is not on their side.

Tonight’s game against Arsenal at the Emirates stadium represents the halfway point of the 2023/24 Premier League season. At the end of the game, West Ham will have faced each opponent once, played ten of their 19 games away from home, and accumulated somewhere between 30 and 33 points.

It was quite a surprise after the pre-Christmas round of matches to find the Hammers occupying sixth place in the Premier League standings. The general vibe at the club has been nowhere near as positive as that league position suggests it should be – concerns about style of play and uncertainty over the manager’s future dominating the online discourse.

The results versus performance paradox was encompassed perfectly in last Saturday’s encounter with Manchester United. There is clearly no such thing as a bad victory over the Red Devils, but what a drab and dreary contest it was for well over an hour – and admittedly both sides were responsible for the criminally low standard of entertainment on show. The beautiful simplicity of the two West Ham goals totally incompatible with everything that had gone before them. It has been a long, long time since supporters have been able to enjoy the combined attacking prowess that Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, and Lucas Paqueta offer – but there is a sense that the potential is only being partially realised, or unleashed as the headline writers like to say.

In the event that West Ham won tonight, they would achieve a best ever points tally at the halfway stage of a 38-game season, eclipsing the 32 points recorded from 19 games in 2020/21. A draw would give the Hammers an identical record to that achieved in 2021/22. And whatever the outcome, the three best opening half seasons (in terms of points won) will all have been under Moyes management – better than the 29 points earned by Harry Redknapp in 1998/99 and Slaven Bilic in 2015/16.

Winning away at Arsenal is, as we well know, a very rare occurrence for West Ham. In 21 attempts this century, it has only happened three times – the last encounter at Highbury in February 2006, the first at the Emirates in April 2007, and most recently in the opening game of the 2015/16 season. Aside from those three victories there has been one draw and 17 defeats. Each of the last seven games have resulted in a win for the Gunners with an aggregate score of 19-4..

No matter how bad the Hammer’s record is, Moyes managerial record at Arsenal is even less impressive. A total of 15 defeats and no wins from 19 visits, which represents a major element of his 70+ match winless streak from trips to Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. I wonder if he has considered taking a different tactical approach yet.

The equivalent fixture last season was a Boxing Day game that Arsenal won comfortably by three goals to one despite falling behind to a first-half Said Benrahma penalty. A win that left the Gunners seven points clear at the top of the table – a lead that they would ultimately squander. A similar result today would again put them top of the pile and they are certainly one of three genuine title contenders along with favourites Manchester City and Liverpool. With that young Declan fella in midfield, they have a more solid, if less spontaneous, look about them – but they may not be clinical enough in front of goal to hold off the perennial late challenge from the champions. Perhaps signing Ivan Toney in January would make for a more even contest.

Apart from the continued absence of Michail Antonio, Moyes should have a fully fit squad to select from. The only probable change from the team that started against Manchester United is the return of Nayef Aguerd in place of former Gunner, Konstantinos Mavropanos. Dinos experienced a shaky opening half-hour to Saturday’s game but settled down to put in a decent second half showing. He will be needed to cover for Aguerd during the imminent AFCON absences.

AFCON is coming at a most unfortunate time for the blossoming Bowen/ Paqueta/ Kudus partnership. In the Ghanaian’s absence, the idea of Bowen moving back out wide and Antonio or Danny Ings in the middle is hardly a mouth-watering prospect. The interplay and interchange between the front three in recent weeks has hinted of a brighter future, but whether all three will still be around after the summer is a worry. It was interesting to see John Heitinga bending Moyes ear in the technical area last Saturday as I imagine he is behind some of the more enterprising glimpses of attacking movement.

There is no question that Moyes will deploy his trademark low block for tonight’s game. He will not want his team to concede five goals in three consecutive matches and will be more inclined to protect the point than going for broke. As Jon Bon Jovi might phrase the pre-match team talk: “We’ve gotta hold on to what we’ve got, It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not.”

As ever, if West Ham are to have attacking success, it will depend on how quickly players can/ are allowed to get forward in support Bowen. I saw in the week that Paqueta and Kudus are two of the three highest ranked attacking midfielders for tackles and interceptions in the league. While this is highly commendable and illustrative of how hard they work, defensive duties should not come at the expense of attacking intentions. The most productive way for the the Hammers to threaten the Arsenal defence is to target Zinchenko, its weakest link – and to keep Rice occupied in helping him out. Other than that, there is only Odegaard, Saka, and Martinelli to worry about.

It really is about time we got to see a James Ward-Prowse free-kick goal to equal the Beckham record. I’m not sure there has even been a near miss yet, so tonight would be perfect timing. In fact, the overall goals from set pieces record is very mid-table this season and well behind the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal. And despite what the commentators continue to say, Moyes team are no longer a big (tall) side compared to others. Of course, West Ham are massive, just not in height.

With Arsenal the masters of the last gasp winner, it will be vital to main concentration right into the thirteenth minute of added time. Can we complete a north London away day double? The chances are slim but you never know. COYI!

Moyes Ten Word Xmas Humbug: Wishing You A Cautious Christmas And A Dreary New Year!

West Ham and Manchester United meet in the early kick-off at the London Stadium. With both managers under fire, one could surprisingly end the day in the top six of the Premier League.

As 2023 draws to a close, West Ham’s season is increasingly dominated by uncertainty over the future of David Moyes. His contract now down to its final six months, he has the haunted look of a lame duck manager..

I recently read Ray Parlour’s comments where he claimed his own straw poll of West Ham fans suggested a 50/50 split in support for Moyes. I can only imagine that this must divide between those who watch the games and those who follow the results in the newspaper. Can anyone who regularly watches matches really be eager for more of the same? As I have mentioned previously, when Moyes does leave – almost certainly in the summer – the history books will look kindly on his record at the club. But what outsiders and pundits fail to understand is that the fan’s frustration is not about results but the repeated caution, negativity and lack of entertainment witnessed on the pitch. Safety first tactics, rarely dominating games and an inferiority complex that rarely sees his sides able to compete in games against the biggest clubs. Was that 21 trips to Liverpool as a manager without a win now?

The debacle at Anfield rightly left West Ham fans seething; from the moment the teams were announced until the minute the fifth goal hit the back of the net. And the manager’s inane post-match analysis only made matters worse. Let’s be honest, the game was effectively written-off before a ball had been kicked – and in a cup quarter-final, no less. A degree of squad rotation is expected and can be easily justified in the modern game. Resting one or two players here and there to keep things fresh. But to change an entire defence (almost) and leave most of the players capable of making use of limited possession on the bench was madness. Who could have guessed the ball wouldn’t stick in a midfield containing Tomas Soucek, Pablo Fornals, and Said Benrahma? It might have just about worked at home to Lincoln, but it was never going to pass muster away at Anfield? And why no attempt to fix things at half-time when good fortune meant there was still only one goal in it?

It is tempting to dismiss the squad’s second-string players as falling well below the required standard. But there are also many questions in the way resources are managed – and the lack of game time available. The odd five minutes here and there as a late substitute cannot keep players match ready.  When Klopp made his own rotational changes, it was an opportunity for fringe players to do their best and make an impression. With Moyes, it was ritual sacrifice of players who know full well they are not part of the manager’s trusted few.

Defeat at Liverpool followed what was perhaps the Hammers most accomplished league performance of the season – a 3-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers. There were again glimpses of the talent available in the squad, and a more expansive style of football that could be possible in the right setup. Having completely dominated the opening period though, we still had to endure the customary retreat after half-time in the name of game management? It was fortunate that the marginal off-side was chalked off by VAR and served as a timely wake-up call.

As well as making resolutions, attention will also turn shortly to the flinging open of the January transfer window – which runs from 1 January to 1 February. Predictions of West Ham’s planned intentions vary widely and stories of wholesale ins and outs have already been circulating for some weeks It seems unlikely to me that a great deal of business will take place – it rarely does in January – and the situation is complicated in any case by the convoluted FFP rules that UEFA and the Premier League have in place. Thoughts on what the clubs transfer priorities should be also vary – striker, centre back, full-back – so there will be no shortage of wild and fanciful speculation in the weeks ahead. We must also consider that a very thin West Ham squad will be further weakened as a results of AFCON absences from the middle of January..

Recruitment will not be helped by the managerial uncertainty. Does Moyes get to have any say in targets – if so, is that wise? If he doesn’t, will he select them to pay? A lot of faith has to be put in Tim Steidten surfacing with a couple of pearl-diving specials.

Today’s early kick-off features two of the 12 United’s currently playing in England’s top four leagues. How many of the others can you get? Our visitors have the air of a fading star whose best days are a distant memory. Someone who once graced the silver screen but can now only get work in panto at the end of the pier. For such a famous club it was a surprise to discover that all but two of their 20 league titles were under the guidance of just two managers – Busby (5) and Ferguson (13). The exceptions were both prior to the First World War.

Since Ferguson’s departure, six different managers (including one D Moyes) have failed to rouse the sleeping giant from its irritable slumber. With the Red Devils unceremoniously dumped out of Europe a few weeks back, current boss Ten Hag is in the leading pack to become the Premier League’s next managerial casualty.

At the moment, just one point separates the two sides in the current standings. Should either team win all three points, they will leap into the top six, at least until Newcastle play at Luton.

While Manchester United have a lengthy injury list to cope with, the Hammers have a close to full-strength squad to call upon – just Michail Antonio missing plus anyone still suffering from the mystery sickness bug. The only selection question mark for West Ham is at goalkeeper where Alphonse Areola did his best in midweek to hand the jersey back to Lukasz Fabianski. Vladimir Coufal is one booking away from a ban and hopefully he has benefited from anger management therapy since his last league outing against Wolves.

The most ominous thing I read in the build up to today’s game is that ‘Rasmus Hojlund is still searching for his first goal in England’s topflight‘. So, there’s a thought for anyone wondering where to place their two-bob stake money. Looking at other betting options, I was attracted by a odds of 7 or more goals being scored in the game. This could be a lucky one, coming in at 18/1.

Finally, I would just like to wish everyone who has read this far a very merry Christmas. I trust your trees are fully loaded with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrchandise from the club shop. COYI!

That list of United’s in full: Cambridge, Carlisle, Colchester, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, Peterborough, Rotherham, Sheffield, Sutton, West Ham

West Ham face the visit of Manchester United in the final game before Christmas. But what happened on Wednesday night?

Have you ever wondered why clubs such as West Ham don’t take the Carabao Cup as seriously as they might?

Getting to the final of the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup gives fans a day out at Wembley. The winners of each competition are guaranteed a place in Europe the following season, and for most clubs, including West Ham it is their best chance of being involved there. So why don’t clubs take domestic cup competitions as seriously as you might expect, and definitely not as seriously as most fans would expect them to?

It can only be money? The prize money on offer for winning the Carabao Cup is £100,000. The runners up get £50,000, semi-finalists £25,000 and so on. With the amount of money washing around at the top level of English football this is only peanuts isn’t it? The FA Cup is 20 times more lucrative with the winners picking up £2 million in prize money but still clubs don’t take this competition as seriously as Premier League games. Why?

The winners of the Premier League will collect £44 million in prize money and this decreases by £2.2 million for each position in the final table. Even this is small fry compared to the money from TV revenue, both home and abroad and all the other revenue streams available to clubs. If West Ham finish the season in eighth place the prize money from the Premier League is £28.6 million. Finishing just a place lower in ninth would be £26.4 million. So for West Ham (for example) finishing eighth instead of ninth is more lucrative than winning both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup combined. Heaven forbid we drop any lower in the league by fielding our strongest side to try to progress in the competition!

Ask any fan if they would sooner win one or other of the domestic cup competitions (or even reach the final for a day out at Wembley) and only finish ninth in the league rather than eighth. Who remembers final positions in the league when you are in the pack? But we all remember our days out at Wembley, especially when we lift a trophy.

Liverpool were there for the taking on Wednesday. You’d like to think so anyway. So why did our back four include Mavropanos, Ogbonna and Johnson?. Why were Benrahma and Fornals in the starting eleven? Where were JWP, Paqueta and Emerson? David Moyes had never won at Anfield in 20 visits with four different clubs. Liverpool hadn’t been beaten at home since last February. And then only by Real Madrid. We certainly weren’t going to come close with that line-up. And so it proved. Were you surprised? I wasn’t.

Jarrod Bowen, described by Klopp as one of his favourite players, took his goal well but what else was there for the thousands of Hammers fans to cheer after travelling to Merseyside on a December evening the week before Christmas? The lack of ambition in the first half was demonstrated by lack of touches in the opposition box. We lost this particular statistic 23-1. Amazingly we were only a goal down at the break. We managed our first shot on target after 77 minutes and this was our goal. Did we have a sniff at 3-1? The manager obviously thought so and took off Alvarez to be replaced by Ings! Game on? Don’t make me laugh.

We’ve never won the League Cup. We’ve been runners-up twice but with this lack of ambition I can’t see it happening soon. There were a lot of grumbles on social media but surprisingly to me some of our fans didn’t seem at all bothered. Our best three years ever, just look at our record in the last nine games, we’re marching on in Europe etc.

So close to a Wembley final with only Chelsea, Fulham and Middlesbrough to stop us, and yet so far. David Moyes is used to having no success at Anfield and was waving the white flag before we even kicked off.

So two days before Christmas and Manchester United come to town. I don’t think we’ll see JWP and Paqueta on the bench. We’ll put out our strongest side possible. Because money talks and finishing eighth rather than perhaps ninth or lower is considered to be more important by some than winning the Carabao Cup. I’ll be supporting the team as I always do and have done for the past 65 years. I fervently hope we give the Red Devils a hiding. But I think I’m entitled to feel massively disappointed by Wednesday night’s effort!

Seasons greetings. Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year!

Another Chance To Break The Anfield Curse: West Ham Battle Liverpool For A Place In The EFL Cup Semi-Final

With a touch of verve, swagger and style returning to the Hammer’s play can they pull of a classic smash and grab at Liverpool tonight? Or will it be yet another case of Merseycide?

It will be a buoyant West Ham who head to Anfield tonight to take on Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup. The prize, a place in the semi-final draw alongside Chelsea, Fulham, and Middlesbrough. The winner of tonight’s tie becoming the highest ranked team remaining in the competition.

There have been a host of unlikely winners in 63 seasons of the Milk, Littlewoods, Rumbelows, Coca-Cola, Worthington, Carling, Capital One, Carabao Cup – but the Hammers have yet to get among them. In previous seasons, the names of Norwich, Birmingham, West Brom, Middlesbrough, QPR, Stoke, Luton, Swindon, and Oxford have all been engraved on the old trophy. But the best West Ham have to show for it is two losing final appearances. The first, a two-legged affair against West Bromwich Albion in 1966; the second, a replay defeat to tonight’s opponents in 1981.

In contrast to the Hammer’s duck, Liverpool have won the competition more times than any other club, running out victorious in nine of the 13 finals they have appeared in. Their most recent victory was in a 2022 penalty shootout against Chelsea in 2022, after the game finished scoreless after extra time.

One record that the two clubs share is the biggest win in EFL Cup history – by ten goals to nil. West Ham thumping Bury in 1983, Liverpool doing likewise to Fulham in 1986. There is no record of The Reds signing any of the Fulham defenders after the match as the Hammers did with Paul Hilton of Bury.

The curse of West Ham visits to Anfield is well documented. An emphatic 3-0 win in 2015, which indirectly led to the demise of Brendan Rodgers and the appointment of Jurgen Klopp, was the first away victory at Anfield for 52 years. But the hoodoo has not been lifted again since. The Hammers now on a run of seven consecutive defeats at Liverpool since a 2-2 draw in Dec 2016.

Tonight is the sixth time that West Ham have faced Liverpool in the EFL Cup. The first and last of those meetings saw the Hammers come out on top with Liverpool winning the three in between. Unsurprisingly, both West Ham wins were recorded at Upton Park – a 2-1 win (Hurst, Robson) in October 1971, and a shock 4-1 victory (Gale, Ince 2, Staunton OG) in November 1988. The Hammers line up that day: McKnight, Potts, Dicks, Gale, Martin, Devonshire, Brady, Kelly, Rosenoir, Dickens, Ince. It was an eventful year at West Ham as they were eventually beaten in semi-final of the EFL Cup by Luton, lost in a sixth round FA Cup replay to Norwich, and ended up being relegated.

It has become compulsory at this time of year to mention that the games are coming thick and fast, although Christmas schedules aren’t as hectic as they once were and European fixtures are taking a breather. Managers must still take a gamble with how they juggle resources. Even if the early rounds or the EFL cup are seen as nuisance it takes on greater significance as thoughts of the Wembley dome come to mind.

Klopp in particular will be in two minds on team selection with a top of the table clash with Arsenal on the weekend horizon, and at a time when the Anfield sickbay is bursting at the seams – Matip, Thiago, Bajcetic, Robertson, Mac Allister, and Jota are all probable absentees. Klopp has plenty of attacking talent to call upon, but they are clearly vulnerable in defence and midfield.

On the other hand, West Ham have only Michail Antonio on the long-term sick list – although a few are close to exhaustion if overnight reports are correct. It is either luck or testament to the club’s training methods that the Hammers have suffered few injury problems of late (makes note to touch wood). A far cry from the time when players only needed to pull their socks up to pull a hamstring.

The issue for Moyes is more about quality – or at least which players he feels he can trust. Playing the same group of players week in and week out doesn’t appear to be a sustainable policy, so he may well be pressured to make changes for tonight’s game. I would be quite happy to see two or three of Thilo Kehrer, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma, or Divin Mubama introduced but please no Aaron Cresswell or Danny Ings.

If the Hammers win it would make it a first EFL Cup semi-final for 10 years. Thankfully, Manchester City will not be waiting in the draw this time around. If they should advance, it is a eminently winnable competition. It’s just the record at Anfield that makes it a big ‘if’. But all winning and losing streaks must come to an end eventually so why not tonight when Liverpool’s have one eye fixed on the Premier League table? COYI!

Lifting The Lid On The Moyesball Paradox Of Dreary Football And Europa Success

West Ham regained some dignity with a fine performance against Freiburg in midweek. Now they face Wolves amid continuing speculation over manager David Moyes future.

It was interesting to hear David Moyes pre-match comment that although not personally worried about his current contract situation, he feared it might unsettle the players. Always good to get the excuses in early. His assumption, I guess, is that these highly paid professionals would be distraught at the thought of playing under new management. Moyes added that what he needed to focus on was picking up enough points to keep the Board happy.

Like many supporters I have this ongoing dilemma with Moyesball. It’s an internal conflict of never wanting West Ham to lose any game, but with an (apparently) delusional desire to be entertained in the process. It is the entertainment element that is generally overlooked outside those fans who regularly watch matches. It seems we should be grateful for any small crumbs of success that come our way even if the football is invariably dull and dreary. So, you get the situation where a pundit such as Jeff Stelling berates a West Ham supporter for wanting Moyes replaced, telling him he needs to ‘get a grip on reality’. Maybe the reality is that West Ham should be doing much better given the investment that has been made in the squad. Of course, there is no way that Moyes will lose his job before the end of his contract, but speculation will persist on whether a contract extension is conceivable.

If Moyes should leave in the summer, then the record books will show a respectable legacy from his time at West Ham. By almost all metrics, the 2020/21 season was the Hammer’s best ever in the Premier League. Most points, most wins, best goal difference and providing the sixth-place finish that would kick-start three consecutive seasons of European football. And then there was the success in last season’s Europa Conference that brought the club its first trophy in 43 years. In summary, that is not too shabby and, of course, this season is not yet over.

What the record books have no interest in, though, is the quality or style of football played during that time. And that is where the majority of disgruntled supporters take issue. Games are endured rather than enjoyed and results have rarely been good enough to gloss over that fact. Indeed, it has only been the European adventures that have served as Moyes ‘get out of jail free card’ over the past two seasons as domestic form flatlined.

The success of 2020/21 carried over into the early months of following season and after beating Crystal Palace on New Years Day 2022 the Hammers were handily placed in fifth spot. But then things started to change.  They were no longer a surprise package; opponents knew exactly how they wanted to play and were able to put a stop to the threat of rapid counterattacks. The opportunity to strengthen the squad in January was missed and both performances and results began to fall away. As the opportunity for breakaways receded the tactics lost their shine and simply looked negative.

An analysis of league form over two years since that Palace game, shows West Ham’s record as Played 72, Won 24, Drawn 14, and Lost 34. That’s a measly win percentage of 33% with an unremarkable average of 1.2 points per game. Is there no-one else who could have done better?

Throughout this time, Europe has continued to paper over the cracks. Excellent performances against Sevilla and Lyon and victory over Fiorentina in Prague being the standout moments. It would be wrong to belittle the European experience but equally going over the top about winning group games verges on embarrassing. With the exception of Freiburg, all opposition has come from the continent’s lower ranked leagues – Croatia, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Rumania, Serbia, and Greece. Any competent (and expensively assembled) Premier League side that took the competition seriously would be expected to come out on top. A team can only beat what’s in front of you but let’s not overegg the achievement. Even in the upcoming knockout round, West Ham should be easily among the favourites to make it through to the last eight.  

All that said, it was a fine professional performance on Thursday to secure top spot in Group A. The Hammers proving that when allowed to, they can play some decent football. The tie wrapped up by two excellent goals from summer signings Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez. I must admit I had pigeon-holed Alvarez as the typical defensive midfield destroyer and was both surprised and impressed by his contribution with the ball. All I had to go on were memories of him spooning long shots well over the bar earlier in the season.

In truth, Freiburg didn’t offer much and allowed West Ham far too much space in which to express themselves. It is maybe indicative of the strength in depth – and the amount of money available – in the Premier League compared to the Bundesliga.

The return to league action todays sees Wolverhampton Wanderers visit the London Stadium. Wolves have stabilised under the management of former Hammer Gary O’Neil and occupy a comfortable mid-table spot, thanks mainly to their impressive home form. The visitors will be without primary dangerman Neto, but Hwang and Cunha have been regularly finding the net. I watched them beat Tottenham a few weeks ago and was impressed by the way Lemina was able to boss the midfield.

Should West Ham beat Wolves today then they will be slightly better off than at the equivalent stage of 2020/21. On the other hand, they would now be below Everton had the Toffees not received a ten point penalty. A late run to qualify for Europe through league position seems unlikely however, especially in light of Moyes belief that he doesn’t need additional striking options. It will be interesting to see if any transfer activity takes place in January as it will undoubtedly be influenced by the manager’s contract position. The success of Kudus and Alvarez will surely have strengthened Tim Steidten’s hand in the leadership of future transfer business.

From Moyes point of view, his best chance of influencing the Board would be to win another trophy and extend the European adventure into a fourth season as a result. In that respect, he may view Wednesday’s league cup tie at Anfield as his most important pre-Christmas challenge. Whether that means resting a few of his favourites today will only be revealed once the teams are announced. We must wait and see.

More than anything I would hope to see more of the movement, space creation and interchange that we witnessed in the second half at Tottenham – and again on Thursday night. And without the lack of defensive discipline on show at Fulham. There are now enough talented players in the squad to break free of the Moyesball shackles, but will it be allowed to happen. COYI!

There’s Only One ‘F’ In Freiburg: Can West Ham Recover From Their Fulham Fiasco

West Ham complete their Europa League group campaign with a title decider against Freiburg. Will they bounce back from Sunday’s humiliation to top the group and head straight to March’s Round of 16?

Well, the euphoria that followed victory at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium didn’t last long, did it? And what a come down it was. We are well used to dull and dreary performances under Moyes, but it is a rare to be on the wrong end of a submissive, overwhelming drubbing like the one handed out by Fulham at Craven Cottage.

There were two mitigating excuses put forward by the manager after the game. One was the stomach bug which had allegedly affected several of the players; the other was a general sense of fatigue from the team’s hectic fixture schedule. Both may have played their part but equally they highlight a lack of depth in the squad and the inadequacies in the way that it is managed. Despite all the investment in playing staff we have barely progressed from the days of Harry’s bare bones.

When the teams were announced on Sunday it was obvious that a defensive midfield pairing of Thomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse would likely prove vulnerable. Neither is an effective replacement for the stricken Edson Alvarez – just as they hadn’t along the road at Brentford. With Flynn Downes unceremoniously sent out on loan there just isn’t cover for the role protecting the defence. Just as there is little cover in the squad for several other critical roles. It is a sad indictment of the club’s transfer and youth policies.

The two changes Moyes made for the game, bringing in Aaron Cresswell and Pablo Fornals also raised alarm bells. As good a servant as Cresswell has been at West Ham, his best before date for top-flight football expired at least two years ago. And it’s a shame about the likeable Fornals. There simply isn’t anything special enough about his game for him to prosper in the breakneck pace of English football – and, certainly not as left winger. Was he selected to cover for Cresswell? It was said later that Fornals was among those suffering from the sickness bug, so to pick him ahead of Said Benrahma or Maxwell Cornet seems baffling?

While we can have some sympathy for player’s suffering from fatigue, it is one of the responsibilities of management to deploy available resources shrewdly. You will hear ex-pros saying that players prefer to play games rather train but the intensity of games is increasing all the time. And the Moyesball style of play requires more running than most. It is all the more perplexing therefore, that the same players are asked to put in the majority of minutes game after game. Substitutions are few, are usually made late in the day, and are often the same predictable like for like switches.

Is the rest of the squad so full of duds or is it that Moyes only likes or trusts his chosen few. Don’t the fringe players need minutes to build confidence and find their feet? In all league games this season, Divin Mubama has 56 minutes, Thilo Kehrer 21, and Cornet 1. Ben Johnson and Conor Coventry have yet to feature at all. Mubama is also the only academy player to find his way onto the pitch in any game in any competition.

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There was at least some positive news during the week as Manchester United and Newcastle crashed out of this season’s European competition. They will not now be dropping down into the Europa League. Whether AC Milan or Galatasaray represent easier opposition should the Hammers draw them is a matter of opinion. The immediate hurdle for West Ham’s Europa League ambitions is to avoid defeat tonight. If they can, they will top the group and bypass a tricky Qualifying Round in February.

In effect, the Hammers start tonight’s game with a one goal advantage from the away leg in Germany. The dilemma is whether the manager sets out to extend or defend that lead. Past performance suggests he is most likely to opt for the latter.

The away game in Germany was arguably West Ham’s best performance in Europe this year, overcoming a partisan crowd and bumpy pitch to run out as 2-1 winners. Apart from that defeat, Freiburg have won each of their other games in the group, including two storming 5-0 home victories against Topola and Olympiacos. These goalscoring feats are at odds with their Bundesliga form where they have only managed 17 goals in 14 matches – and just 6 in 8 games away from home. Still, they are comfortably mid-table and have enjoyed successive 1-0 away wins at Mainz and Wolfsburg in the last two weeks.

It has been reported that the sickness threat has receded from the Hammer’s dressing room and will allow Moyes to go as close to full strength as he sees fit for the game. He will surely go with his strongest lineup and there are unlikely to be any surprise selections.

My prediction for the game at Fulham was that it would be decided by the odd goal – well five’s an odd number, isn’t it? Regardless of that abject failure, I will predict the same again tonight. In fact, I can see it ending 1-0 – but who to? Whatever approach West Ham adopt at the start of the game, we all know that the final ten minutes (plus added time) will be one long, nail biting, edge-of-the-seat agony. Plus ça change! COYI!   

It’s happened again to Tottenham as West Ham Hit Back – Moyesball 2 AngePostball 1. The third London derby in a row is a trip across the capital to face Fulham.

It’s happened again. It’s happened again. Why does it keep happening to poor old Tottenham? Five points clear at the top of the table followed by five games in which they held the lead only to let the advantage slip in every one. West Ham can’t be too complacent because we are in the top half of the ‘letting it slip’ league this season but not in the same class as our North London neighbours who are well clear at the top of this particular league.

We go into the away game at Fulham on Sunday unbeaten in our last six, with six wins in our last eight games (in all competitions) retaining our position of ninth in the table. Ten points from our last four league games matches the ten points that we picked up in our opening four fixtures this season before the blip in between. Before any games were played this weekend, after 15 games the league table has now developed into two divisions, the top and bottom half, or rather the top nine and the bottom eleven. For a while it looked as though we would struggle to maintain a place in the top section but we are hanging on at the bottom of that group and hopefully we can stay there. We are just three points away from Tottenham who are fifth.

The contrast between the managers and players at the end of Thursday night’s game couldn’t have been more pronounced. Postecoglou and Son both seemed to be on the verge of tears whereas you couldn’t wipe the smiles from the faces of JWP, Bowen and Moyes. The first half was as one-sided (in terms of possession and intricate pretty passing) as you could get (at one stage the possession stats read 91%-9%). We couldn’t retain the ball and Tottenham kept coming at us. But what did they actually create? How many real goal scoring opportunities? Not a lot, hardly any, and Fabianski was confident and barely troubled. In fact Paqueta had perhaps the best chance in the whole of the first half but failed to get a relatively simple header on target which would have made the scores level at the break. The goal that we had conceded from Romero’s header should certainly have been avoided.

Our second half performance was much improved although there was an element of good fortune with the goals. Bowen didn’t even realise at first that the double ricochet off Romero and Davies had broken to him and left him with a clear chance, but he duly obliged with his right foot (which he admitted after he was worried about) to notch his seventh goal in seven consecutive away games, an outstanding feat by any standards. More poor Spurs defending with a dodgy backpass and a goalkeeper who should perhaps have collected the ball left JWP with a clear opportunity which he took at the second attempt. You know how he enjoys the assist statistics – perhaps he purposely hit the post first so that he could claim the assist as well as the goal, or perhaps the home side’s left-hand post will be credited with the assist!

The anti-Moyes / Moyes luvvies swingometer swung towards the latter group in this game but the doubters still remain and wonder what a team comprising Kudus, Paqueta, Bowen, JWP, Alvarez, the revitalised Soucek, and the ever-improving Emerson might achieve with a more positive approach.

Before this weekend’s games Fulham sat comfortably in the middle of the 10th-15th (top half of the lower half) group separated by just three points. In ninth place we were five points clear of tenth place Chelsea and hopefully we can maintain or extend that. As always there are some worrying statistics ahead of the game – you know the ones – where we have past performances that are very good and could ‘come a cropper’ on Sunday.

For example, Fulham have lost five of their last six home Premier League derby games against London sides failing to score each time. In fact they’ve gone 11 London derbies now (home and away) since their last win. Along with wins over Southampton and Tottenham (them again!) West Ham have won more Premier League games against Fulham than against any other teams. Even more worrying perhaps is the fact that David Moyes hasn’t lost in the last 13 times he has faced Fulham. This includes his time here, at Manchester United and Everton.

For those who like to compare records, West Ham have won 7 games this season and lost 5. Fulham have won 5 and lost 7, hence the six-point gap between the teams. We have scored 26 and Fulham have conceded 26. The records are not too dissimilar, with the two games that we have won that Fulham have lost being the difference.

I’d like to think that we can collect another three points in this game, but we don’t have a very good record when playing on a Sunday following a Thursday night game. It would be great to reverse this trend as there will be another one coming up next week too. COYI!