Tag: #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!

Hammers Set To Jingle All The Way From Tottenham To Craven Cottage

Oh what fun it is to see West Ham win away! This weekend’s special glass half-full edition looks forward to Sunday’s cross-town trip to Fulham

For your love, natural born bugie, Tottenham 1 West Ham 2. That’s enough humble pie for now as we take the opportunity to bask in the glow of a rare and unexpected victory at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Thursday evening. What a delightful treat to find behind door number 7 on this year’s advent calendar.

Wins against our pretentious North London neighbours are guaranteed to put a smile on the face of all but the most curmudgeonly West Ham supporter, no matter what the circumstances. Coming back from the dead – a goal down in a one-sided first half – made the win even sweeter. Direct evidence as to who had been naughty and who had been nice. For masterminding the victory, David Moyes is firmly in the driving seat for the Hammer’s December Employee of the Month award.

The post-match comments of the two managers highlighted the contrasting perspectives of style. Having lost his early season midas touch, Postecoglou had come under media scrutiny for the first time in the wake of five games where his team scored first but failed to win – losing four of them. His magical powers seemingly overhyped by observers, he claimed his priority was to win games rather than simply to entertain. He had been let down by his team who were not clinical enough in their finishing. In truth, Spurs had few ideas and lacked a cutting edge in the face of the massed West Ham defence. They rarely turned superior possession into genuine goal scoring opportunities and without Maddison looked quite ordinary – reminiscent of Bilic’s West Ham during the period Payet was missing through injury.

Moyes on the other hand reiterated (as if we didn’t know) that his plan was to set up not to lose. Perhaps it was the right tactic for this game. In hindsight it is difficult to argue the approach wasn’t the right one, although the binary nature of Moyesball continues to frustrate a large number of fans. With so many players behind the ball in the deepest of low blocks during the first half, it proved impossible to retain possession if and when the ball was won. Moyes observation on the first half performance included the now mandatory “we didn’t play as well as we would have liked!”

The second half transformation offered glimpses of what a decent footballing side West Ham can be when let off the leash. Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, and Lucas Paqueta each have creative potential to spare and with able assistance from James Ward Prowse and Emerson can cause problems for any opponent. When deployed further forward, JWP is a far more effective player than when marooned as a defensive midfield pivot. The one-two with the goalpost for the winner was classic showboating.

I read somewhere that West Ham’s haul of 24 points from their opening 15 games is a best ever for a Premier League season. I don’t know if that is true, but it is certainly beats (by two points) the position at the comparative stage of 2020/21, when they went on to amass a record 65 points. So, if we can sign Jesse Lingard in January, European qualification might be a possibility after all.

It has only been fleeting but a degree of positional fluidity has occasionally been observed in games of late. Bowen and Kudus switching roles, Paqueta doing a turn as the furthest player forward, JWP or Edson Alvarez popping up on the left wing, Emerson making surging runs into midfield. Are these planned moves or simply the result of independent player decisions? Are we seeing the influence from assistant manager, John Heitinga. While the other coaches at West Ham look best suited to putting out the cones or cutting the half-time oranges, the Dutchman might perhaps be experimenting with a touch of progressive continental flair – a peculiar Moyesball hybrid of sub-total football, perhaps.

Fulham will be West Ham’s third London opponents of the week when the teams meet at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon. The home side have suddenly found their scoring boots after a mostly unconvincing start to the current campaign. Having relied heavily of Mitrovic’s goals for the past few seasons they had struggled to find the net following his departure in the summer. But a run of 11 goals from the last three games will have given them added confidence – even if one of those games ended in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield.

Fulham manager, Marco Silva’s career has alternated between someone destined for great managerial things and one struggling to maintain momentum against the odds. Given the resources available, it is difficult to see anything better for his Fulham team than mid-table obscurity. It may be good enough to meet expectations but may not enhance Silva’s prospects.

West Ham have won three and drawn one of their last four encounters with Fulham. They were one of just two teams who the Hammers did the double over last season – an own goal from Harrison Reed settling the equivalent fixture in West Ham’s favour.  

With the Europa League group decider against Freiburg coming up next Thursday, will Moyes be tempted to rest any key players from tomorrow’s selection? It feels unlikely and barring any last-minute injuries it will be the same eleven that started at Tottenham. The fitness and restricted mobility of Kurt Zouma is particularly worrying but the defence looks a good deal more solid when he is at its middle.

We are used to cagey openings to almost every West Ham game these days, and this weekend will doubtless be much the same. We should expect a game decided by the odd goal with Fulham bossing possession around 60-40. If West Ham take the lead, then one eye will be on Thursday’s game, and they will drop deep to defend it. It would be great to follow up the Spurs win with another one at Fulham – and for Bowen to maintain his on-the-road goalscoring form. It would be better still to see even more of what the players an do with the ball at their feet. The bubbles are flying high after Thursday night and putting in a top performance will provide the measure of our dreams. COYI!

Another Thursday night game for West Ham, but not in Europe this time

The games are coming thick and fast now. All 20 Premier League teams have fixtures on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday this week, all available to view on Amazon, and ours is the final game to kick off on Thursday when we visit Tottenham.

On Sunday we faced Crystal Palace and once again we scored the opening goal of the game. When I remember games against Palace I think back to two of the best West Ham goals that I remember. One of them was the stunning overhead kick scored by Andy Carroll at the London Stadium from the cross by (Antonio?). I haven’t seen it again for some time but it was definitely one of the great goals of its type, every bit as good as the one scored by a Manchester United player recently which has sent all the pundits into raptures, and certainly superior to Rooney’s famous one which came off his shin. The other memorable one was the free kick from Payet in one of the final games at the Boleyn Ground that dipped and swerved and went into the goal at the side where the Palace keeper stood and barely moved. Our opening goal this time wasn’t quite in the same class but was an excellent team goal just the same. Kudus flicked the ball over a Palace player, it went to Paqueta to JWP who then produced an inch perfect 50 yard pass to Coufal who then cut the ball back for the inrushing Kudus to sweep the ball into the net with a slight deflection.

If my memory serves me well this is the ninth time in our 14 league games this season where we have scored the first goal in the game. Holding on to the lead after going ahead scoring the first goal would mean 27 points to date plus any picked up after coming from behind. Alas our total is 21 points after Palace equalised via Edouard following a gift from our Greek defender Mavropanos whose woeful backpass was shockingly short and the game ended 1-1.

The famous saying is to ‘beware Greeks bearing gifts’. The phrase originates from Greek Mythology, specifically the story of the Trojan War in which the Greeks left a Trojan horse at the gates of Troy. The Trojans thought this was a gift but the ‘horse’ was filled with Greek soldiers who emerged from the beast and destroyed the city of Troy. Perhaps our Greek defender had fooled them by lulling them into a false sense of security by then going up the other end and bagging a hat trick himself? Alas this was not to be and the gift really was a gift.

When we last won a league game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April 2019, less than five years ago the scorer of our goal was Antonio. We became the first visiting team to win at their new stadium and Antonio became the first visiting player to score there. It just goes to show how teams evolve in a relatively short period of time these days in that probably none of our starting eleven that day will start the game this week. The team that day was Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku, Rice, Anderson, Noble, Snodgrass, Antonio, Arnautovic. Our bench that day comprised Adrian, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Obiang, Wilshere, Hernandez and Perez. Of the 18 players only Fabianski and Ogbonna will be involved, and both almost certainly on the bench.

Our previous league win there was the infamous 3-0 victory in 2013 where Morrison scored the third goal running from our half to seal the victory. Apart from a couple of League Cup wins, they are our only wins there in the last ten seasons. We go into this game unbeaten in our last five, with five wins in our last seven games (in all competitions) retaining our position of ninth in the table. Seven points from our last five league games is superior to Tottenham’s recent record of just one win and one draw in the last five.

The debate over the style of football continues to rage on and the manager continues to be attacked frequently on social media, although many continue to defend his record quoting win percentages, a European trophy won, and continuous involvement in Europe. The question remains, with the squad now at our disposal should we not be doing even better? Social media attracts extremes of opinion both for and against and is only a small proportion of West Ham supporters but I wonder how much support the manager has from the fan base as a whole?

Geoff made the point recently that only pundits or others watching from afar believe that we are enjoying a decent season. Shouldn’t we be happy with sitting in ninth place in the league, progressing nicely in the EFL Cup, a favourable home draw in the third round of the FA Cup, qualified for the knockout stages in Europe with a game to go, and with as many European victories as any club anywhere in Europe in the last two seasons? Or the alternative view that despite this, those of us who watch every game are not happy with the apparent negative approach, poor tactics, and lack of entertainment on offer?

Personally, I am inclined towards the latter view whilst not wishing to diminish the achievements since the manager arrived. As someone who has been watching West Ham since 1958 I can recall some success but the best memories come from being entertained. I remember the entertainment on offer when we won the FA Cup in 1963-64 despite a final league position of 14th, or the following season when we won in Europe and finished 9th (our current position). One of my favourite ever seasons was 1968-69, the entertainment was superb, we scored four or more goals seven times, including a couple of fives, a seven and an eight! We finished eighth which was OK but the key thing was we were regularly entertained royally.

The cup winning season of 1974-75 was entertaining at times, at one stage we scored 20 goals in a four game, 10-day period, but we only finished 13th, and some of the best and most exciting games came in our European run to the final the following season, although we only won one game after Christmas and finished a lowly 18th.

The FA Cup win of 1980 as a second-tier side despite only finishing seventh in the league was memorable as was the record-breaking promotion to the top tier the following season when we won so many games in an entertaining fashion (which included losing in the final of the League Cup). Our most successful season in the top tier ever was our third-place finish in 1985-86. It was disappointing to go out of the FA Cup at the quarter final stage at home to Sheffield Wednesday, but that season gave us great entertainment as well as success. When Allardyce was in charge we had some limited success in regaining and consolidating our position in the top-flight but I hated the football on offer.

Memories are made from both success and being entertained and at times in the past 65 years I remember having both. It is possible to have both results and entertaining performances. The manager seems to believe that the former precludes the latter. Perhaps a more positive approach and forward-thinking man in charge might achieve both?

West Ham Travel To Tottenham In Episode Two Of Their London Trilogy

It was another disappointingly dull display from the Hammers on Sunday. What can we expect from the daunting trip to rejuvenated Tottenham? It’s a game that rarely ends in success!

It seems particularly cruel for fans who have had to put up with Thursday-Sunday football due to the scheduling of European matches to suffer the same fate in a rare midweek set of Premier League fixtures. The manager will now be in two minds whether the long trip to N17 can be used as an excuse for a poor performance at Fulham next Sunday.

The opening instalment of the London trilogy was an unspectacular draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. On a day of thrilling, high-scoring fixtures whoever picked the game between the league’s two most boring sides for live TV won’t be getting a Christmas bonus this year. It must be close to the point where TV executives will do anything possible to avoid broadcasting a West Ham game. The biggest post-match talking point was whether dishwater or ditchwater was the correct way to describe the level of dullness.

The quality and incisiveness of the Hammer’s goal was teasingly out of keeping with anything that came after it. A delightful pass from James Ward-Prowse to Vladimir Coufal on the right wing, the Czech laying a precise ball into the path of Mohammed Kudus who swept the ball into the net. If anyone had hoped that the goal would prompt an attacking masterclass, they were to be sadly disappointed. True to form the tactics reverted to game management mode. The visitors were equally inept but were able to rely on West Ham’s habit of falling asleep in the minutes immediately after the motivational half-time team talk. The culprit on this occasion was Konstantinos Mavropanos whose inexplicable attempt at a blind pass close to his own goal set up the equaliser. Nothing of real significance happened in the time remaining and the Premier League’s two oldest managers could go home happy with the point they had each saved.

It has become increasingly difficult not to covet your neighbour’s football philosophy. There has often been solace in the fact that whatever blunders and disappointments occurred at West Ham, Tottenham would invariably go one better. Their perennial ability to stumble at the vital moment just as their fans were on the cusp of celebration was a seasonal delight. Having missed out on European qualification and then losing their talisman striker to Bayern Munich, everything pointed to a season of struggle for Spurs. But the appointment of Ange Postecoglou has been a breath of fresh air for a club bogged down by a run of negatively minded managers that followed the sacking of Pochettino.

It’s not that Tottenham are realistic title contenders, despite their fine start, but they are playing football in a way that excites supporters – gets them off their seats and looking forward to the next game. Having the mindset that allows them to go to Manchester City and give it a go right until the end is a wonder we can only dream of. It is painful to have to say this in the light of the dross we have to sit through each week.

There is a real danger West Ham will be annihilated on Thursday night, just as they did in the equivalent type of game at Villa Park. They will struggle to cope with the speed and variety of the home attacks and while Tottenham high defensive line can look vulnerable, it is unlikely that the Hammers will be set up to exploit it. It is suggested that the form book is often ripped to pieces in local derbies but recent history offers little encouragement.

Since David Moyes return to West Ham at the end of December 2019, the Hammers London derby record is less than impressive. They have won 10 and lost 19 of 38 Premier League matches against London rivals. Away from home, they have won just three (lost 14) out of 19. In 14 away visits to Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham they have earned only a single point – the 3-3 draw at Tottenham in October 2020.

In the absence of any recent fond memories, we should spend a few moments reminiscing about historic away wins at Spurs – I counted five since the start of the Premier League: a 4-1 win in April 1994, Steve Jones scoring the first, two from Trevor Morley and one from Mike Marsh; Dani heading home the only goal of the game in February 1996; Ian Wright and Mark Keller scoring (and an old school red card for John Moncur) in April 1999 to secure a fine 2-1 win; the Ravel Morrison inspired 3-0 rout in October 2013 with goals from Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te, and Morrison; and finally Michail Antonio scoring the first goal by an opposition player in April 2019 at Tottenham’s new stadium to record a 1-0 victory.

Trying to find positives from the current situation at West Ham is not easy. OK, so there is not going to be a relegation battle but then pushing for European qualification is equally improbable. Without an acceptable level of entertainment on the pitch, the obvious question is what is the point? There is zero chance of Moyes making meaningful changes to his playing style. The gap between his overly cautious safety-first approach and the expansive, passing game fans want to see cannot be bridged by a few tweaks. It requires a whole new footballing philosophy. Moyes could no more change that than the other defensively minded coaches who went before him.

But even looking at his preferred group of players, Moyes has clear structural problems fitting them into his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation. The long-term striker problem is well known and has been well documented. Perhaps it will be addressed in January but don’t hold your breath. In the interim Jarrod Bowen may be the best bet to fill the gap – but can anyone make a success of the role when the front man is so isolated from the rest of the team?

In getting the right level of support to the striker and being able to play creatively through the midfield has obvious shortcomings. It can be argued that Edson Alvarez deserves his place for his defensive cover, JWP for his set piece deliveries, and Tomas Soucek for his goals from midfield. But their combined overall contribution in possession is below average – and less than the sum of their parts. A high performing team wanting to move the ball quickly and decisively cannot carry all three. It also forces Lucas Paqueta to be parked out on the left wing when it is obvious he would be more effective deployed centrally. But then what is the alternative option on the left hand side apart from the repeatedly disappointing Said Benrahma – a player who has seemingly completely lost his mojo.

The performances of Kudus have been encouraging so far, but where is his best position? And how does he fit in with Bowen and Paqueta assuming the striker shortfall is addressed. That’s potentially a lot of attacking talent available but how do they slot together in the same side? Does anyone have a plan to match the players available and the manager’s formation?

There are very few straws to be clutched at for tomorrow’s game. With the home side’s newfound verve it is hard not to look at the game with trepidation. I fear a sound thrashing but will nevertheless hope that something unexpected can happen. COYI!  

Results Or Performances: Why Can’t We Have Them Both At West Ham

If West Ham beat Crystal Palace today it would make it five wins in a row. But only the most optimistic spectator could take any pleasure from recent performances.

Looking through a very distant lens you might conclude that West Ham and their supporters are enjoying a decent season. In the top half of the Premier League, into the 5th round of the EFL Cup, looking for a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions, qualified from their Europa League group with a game to go, and apparently second only to Real Madrid in the number of European victories over the last two season. But the reality is very different.

It is a rosy picture painted from carefully selected data. And is surely only a perspective shared by pundits and others whose only exposure is watching highlights or checking the results – but who rarely sit through a whole 90 minutes. Is it possible that anyone who regularly watches West Ham games intently finds the football served up to be enjoyable? That scraping home against teams you are expected to beat is enough to excuse the negative approach shown in every game? Isn’t there a responsibility to entertain in return for the devotion.

I have read in previews for today’s game that the Hammers recent form is impressive. But do those last four performances against Olympiacos, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, and Backa Topola deserve to be represented as good form? Games where the manager trots out the inevitable “we didn’t play as well as we would have liked” in the post-match interview. Well, why was that, David?

Has there been any match this year where West Ham have dominated throughout 90 minutes? If they manage to get ahead, it is a case of shutting up shop in the interests of management. Otherwise, it seems the team has little attacking ambition until they fall a goal behind and there is ten minutes remaining. As supporters, we spend the whole week looking forward to games and this is what we get for our patience!

The last three victories have all arrived in the closing minutes courtesy of goals from Tomas Soucek and his whirling dervish goal celebration. It is great that Soucek has started to score again and there is a delicious irony in David Moyes comment that Soucek’s goal contribution was adversely affected by the role given to Declan Rice. If only there was someone tactically aware in the manager’s seat who could have spotted that during those last two seasons.

Last weekend’s game at Burnley showed how much the current system relies on Jarrod Bowen as an attacking threat and outlet. Without him there is no movement and no penetration. It is painful to watch Danny Ings these days regardless of whether it’s the system or his legs that are letting him down. At least the introduction of Divin Mubama injected some much needed energy that was instrumental in fashioning the equalising goal. It is early days for the youngster, but it looks like his close control needs to improve if he is going to be effective at the top level. His lack of game time plus the fact that the successful Hammers youth side he comes from play a totally different system, cannot have helped his development.

Ultimately, the West Ham fight back at Turf Moor was inspired by Mohammed Kudus. Kudus still needs time to fully adapt to the Premier League, but he is making useful contributions, even if he does tend to drift out of games for lengthy periods. The quirk of the assist rule that he did not get credit for the first goal is peculiar.

Without something drastic happening in the January transfer window – I am resigned to Moyes staying until the end of the season – West Ham’s current 9th place looks to be as good as it can possibly get. There is little chance of catching any of the clubs above us, and a good chance that one or two below will put good runs together. Any hopes of further European qualification from league position are a very long shot indeed. Equally, the odds of winning the Europa League are increasingly small with the likes of Liverpool, Brighton, and Leverkusen already in the draw – and the possibility of clubs such as Manchester United, Newcastle or PSG joining them. The three year run of Euro campaigns appears to be hitting the buffers and without that the club becomes a less desirable destination.

The immediate Euro challenge is to top the group and avoid an extra qualifying round in February. No prizes for guessing how we might approach the game against Freiburg where the sole objective is to avoid defeat.

All fingers are firmly crossed that Bowen will return to lead the attack for today’s game against Crystal Palace. Apart from that we should expect no deviation away from Moyes preferred starting eleven – unless reports of sickness in the camp dictate otherwise. None of the fringe players who were given a run out against Topola made a strong argument for a Premier League return and the likes of Aaron Cresswell, Ben Johnson, Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma are now designated as ‘for emergency use only’. If Bowen is absent, the manager will be faced with an Ings versus Mubama conundrum – with Moyes almost certainly opting for Ings.

Of course, there is always an outside chance for a rare sighting of the lesser spotted Maxwell Cornet. Cornet has seen just one minute of Premier League action this term to add to his 245 minutes from last season. Since his signing from Burnley on a five year contract in the summer of 2022 he has played fewer minutes than the equivalent of three full games. As one of the small number of players in the squad with genuine pace it is an odd situation.  

Visitors, Crystal Palace have won just two of their last ten games before today. In all they have won just four times this season, three of which were away from home at Sheffield United, Manchester United and Burnley. There last two outings ended in defeats to Everton and Luton. Only Sheffield United have scored fewer goals than them in league games. Palace have also won just two of their last 16 London derbies, although both of those were against the Hammers. The Eagles triumphing 2-1 at the London Stadium last November and 4-3 at Selhurst Park in April.

This season’s campaign has been hampered by long-term absences of their two flair players, Eze and Olise. Both played last weekend, but Eze limped off last week and will probably miss today’s game and the opportunity to dive around in the penalty area. Olise is a fine player and will make it an uncomfortable afternoon for Emerson. We should also look out for the always snarling Ayew who regularly saves his better performances for games against West Ham.

Sunday afternoon following the Thursday before rarely proves to be to the Hammers liking and hopes are not high for a barnstorming affair. In theory West Ham have the stronger side but how that materialises under the manager’s cautious tactics is the cause of much agonising. It’s not going to be a thriller and may well be settled by an individual moment of brilliance from one team or the other. COYI!

Will Moyes Be Tasting Victory In The Kompany Of Clarets

Another Premier League reset after an international break. A routine West Ham victory or will they be hapless victims in the hosts quest to end their pointless home run?

The fixtures computer has celebrated the passing of the last international break of the year with a set of blockbuster matches for Saturday afternoon including Sheffield United – Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest – Brighton, Luton – Crystal Palace, and of course West Ham’s visit to Burnley. It promises to be an inspiring weekend of elite level football.

The Hammers have been uncharacteristically lucky with injuries so far this season. But, as news filtered back from the international camps, it looked like that was about to change . Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus all picking up worrying injuries – and Vladimir Coufal mixing up the moves to the Macarena in a Czech nightclub. Coufal reprising the famous Moore and Greaves Blackpool nightclub incident of 1971. Let’s hope that doesn’t turn out to be this season’s 3rd round draw.

Fortunately, the injuries to Bowen and Kudus do not appear to be as bad as first feared, and both should be available this afternoon. Antonio, however, is likely to be side-lined for some time. This should mean that the Hammers will start today with the same eleven that took the field against Nottingham Forest.

The injury scares have brought the ludicrous striker situation back into sharp focus. The negligence of starting a Premier League season with only Antonio and Danny Ings as your recognised strikers is truly astounding. And considering that both are well towards the sunset of their careers, it is doubly baffling. Thankfully, Bowen’s goal-scoring form has offered some compensation. If he can maintain the current rate of return he is on track to set a West Ham Premier League record for goals scored in a season – Paolo Di Canio’s 16 goals in 1999/2000 is the target to beat.

There has already been a slew of striker transfer stories online in advance of the January window – and as usual they range from the mundane to the ridiculous. However, the club’s room for manoeuvre may well be limited by the dreaded Financial Fair Play, which popped up in the week to bite Everton on the bottom. Perhaps FFP provides a blessing in disguise and forces the club to abandon its policy of buying expensive flops and selling them at a loss and rely instead on discovering young unknown talent. Over to you, Tim!

Everton’s ten-point deduction (should it stand on appeal) would seem to make it almost impossible for the Hammers to become embroiled in a relegation battle this season. With all three of the promoted sides struggling for points, the only team now below the Toffees are today’s opponents, Burnley.

Having romped away with last season’s Championship, Burnley’s return to the Premier League has proved to be a rude awakening. All four of their points have been won away from Turf Moor and defeat today would make it seven in a row at home. Of course, the patron saint of lost causes is always happy to serve up a game against West Ham in such desperate circumstances: “You haven’t scored in in a season and a half, Neal Maupay, let me see what I can do!”   

The Hammers have saved up some of their worst ever recent performances for games against the Clarets. A humiliating 3-0 thrashing in November 2019 and a home defeat by the same score in March 2018 – the game that prompted the London Stadium pitch invasion – spring to mind. Burnley are a very different proposition under the guidance of Vincent Kompany, but the omens are ominous.

The Clarets are one of only three teams in the Premier League to have conceded more goals than West Ham to date. The other two are Bournemouth and Sheffield United. That must be an uncomfortable statistic for the resilient defence obsessed David Moyes. It is interesting to compare our position after the opening 12 games of the current campaign against 2022/23. Last season a win against Bournemouth in Matchweek 12 took us up to 10th place – it would be our highest position all season – having scored 11 and conceded 12. This term, there are three more points on the board, while the team have scored 21 and conceded 22. So, has something changed in the Moyesball bag of tricks? Or can the differences be explained by individual performances?

It is difficult to put a finger on any drastic tactical change as it still comes across as the usual cautious and unadventurous fare. But if there is anyvariation, it is that the ‘low block’ of ten men behind the ball at all times has become more relaxed. More players are allowed to stay forward to assist with counter attacks. But the slightly higher press that has replaced the low block appears to be a haphazard, half-hearted affair. Despite the valiant efforts of Edson Alvarez in patrolling in front of the back four, opponents have been able to muster many more goalscoring opportunities.

At the other end of the pitch, West Ham are close to claiming back their crown as set piece supremo’s. Much of that is down to the extraordinary delivery from James Ward-Prowse plus the return to goalscoring form of Tomas Soucek. There is a trade-off from having JWP and Soucek in the side in that both have limitations in open play. If the two must play together, it works better when JWP has greater freedom in a more advanced role – not as part of a defensive midfield pivot.

The Hammers are now blessed with more creativity than they have for some time in the form of Kudus and Lucas Paqueta. Kudus is clearly still getting used to football in England and apart from a few special moments is more about potential than being a consistent performer. Paqueta is always looking for the unexpected and at times this can be frustrating when first time flicks go astray. Personally, he is the type if player I love to watch but would prefer him to keep his tricks to the attacking half of the pitch.

So, what to make of today’s game. The combination of Burnley’s shocking home run and the historic obliging nature of West Ham is a concern. On the other hand, from what I have seen of Burnley they are very vulnerable in the air at set pieces – a weakness that should tip the scales in the Hammers favour. No doubt Moyes will allow the home side most of the possession and it might just pay off on this occasion. COYI!        

Can West Ham extend the Clarets winless run at Turf Moor in the Claret and Blue derby this weekend?

Once again the international break has come along to spoil the flow of the Premier League season. There have only been twelve games played and we have already had three of them! It’s an absolute nonsense in my opinion and even more so for anyone who chose to watch England’s final two qualifying games for next year’s European Championships. Fortunately I was too busy watching some paint drying and therefore missed the spectacle of a 2-0 home win against mighty Malta and a point gained in a 1-1 draw in North Macedonia. Did I miss anything? Those I’ve spoken to who did view the games suggested not.

I’m not too sure of the injury situation for this week’s visit to Turf Moor but at one stage it was looking decidedly bad. Antonio had to be substituted after 20 minutes in Jamaica’s game, Bowen had to withdraw from the England squad and Kudus had a problem too. Hopefully it is not as bleak as was initially reported but it does make you think back to the summer transfer window, and the astonishing decision to not strengthen the squad in an attacking sense. It was inexplicable, perhaps inexcusable to sell Scamacca and not replace him before the current campaign got underway. And looking ahead to the beginning of next year and the African tournament, we could potentially lose Kudus, Benrahma and Cornet for a time. In the coming winter transfer window we have got to add to our attacking potential and hopefully with footballers who fit into the system. Perhaps Mr Steidten has a few aces up his sleeve. I certainly hope so.

In any event the comeback win against Forest in the final fixture before the break after a lacklustre first half performance means that with just under a third of the season completed we have crept back into the top half of the table in ninth position. And we sit just three points below Newcastle in seventh, the last of the qualifying places that can be achieved via league position.

There are plenty of worrying statistics to consider in advance of our trip to Burnley. Somehow we often manage to help sides to end poor runs of one kind or another. Perhaps the standout one is the fact that Burnley have played six home games this season and lost all of them. We are on a record breaking run ourselves from a West Ham point of view; our last seven games against promoted sides have been wins – we’ve never done that before. Two records that could end if it goes wrong this weekend.

I see that James Ward Prowse is the leading player in the Premier League for assists this season so far with nine. And despite his consistency over a long period and his standout form he can’t find a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, even one that was depleted with injuries. How Kalvin Phillips gets in despite barely playing for his club, and Jordan Henderson too now he has gone abroad for the money in a poor league is beyond me.

I see that Everton have fallen foul of Financial Fair Play regulations and been docked a record 10 points for doing so. I’m not sure too many of us fully understand the regulations, and I guess the Everton bosses didn’t either to allow themselves to get into this position. Or perhaps they did and thought they’d get away with it. They become only the third Premier League side to be deducted points after Middlesbrough; 3 points for failing to turn up for a game in 1996-97. They were ultimately relegated just two points from safety. Portsmouth went into administration in 2009-10, were deducted nine points and were relegated after finishing bottom a long way from safety. The omens aren’t great for Everton although the ten-point deduction leaves them only two points from safety at this early stage, mainly due to the poor results obtained by the promoted sides, Luton, Sheffield United and Burnley.

Many believe that we were lucky in 2006-07 to escape a points deduction when we were fined £5.5 million in respect of the signing of Tevez and Mascherano, breaking the rule regarding third party ownership. We subsequently agreed to pay Sheffield United a compensation settlement in the range of around £20 million intended to address their financial losses after they were relegated. Had we been docked just three points we would have gone down on goal difference. There is a kind of irony in the Everton points deduction in that the three man independent commission which punished them included Nick Igoe who was in charge of West Ham’s finances at the time of the Tevez / Mascherano affair.

We’ve got a busy time in the lead up to Christmas which is now just a month away. In that time we’ve got half a dozen league games against Burnley, Palace, Tottenham, Fulham, Wolves and Manchester United, as well as the final two Europa League group games and an EFL quarter-final tie at Liverpool. The league games will be very important to ensure that we stay in the race for European places next season. A poor run now could rule us out of contention leaving us to settle for mid table. It would be great to get the four points needed to top the group in Europe to progress into the knock-out stages in the second half of the season too. And wouldn’t it be brilliant if we can upset the odds at Anfield and move into the semi-finals of the EFL Cup.

Have we got the depth of squad to achieve these goals? Will we splash out in the window to help us to kick on in all fronts? How will we be affected by the loss of players to the African Nations Cup? Will we still be in the mix in the race for European qualification, and still in the cup competitions when we enter 2024? Will we go all out in the FA Cup when the third round gets underway in January? If we do have serious striker problems on Saturday will Mubama get more than five minutes playing time or will the manager stick with Ings? Can the manager adopt a more adventurous approach, or will his normal caution remain? Will the second half of the season peter out with little to play for?

An important month lies ahead beginning with Burnley. Can we inflict on them their seventh consecutive home defeat of the season? Will we extend our record against promoted sides to make it eight consecutive wins? Will we have any fit strikers? COYI!

Moyes Not-So-Merry Men Must Raise Their Game To Fend Off Forest Fire

With just four points from the last seven league games, West Ham need new ideas and fresh impetus to avoid entering into the international break as a bottom six club.

If I could turn back time, I might choose to spend the evening listening to a 1970s supermarket music playlist on Spotify rather than watching West Ham take on Olympiacos in the Europa League. Even allowing for the low expectations set for a good many of the European group games, this was especially dire. Ninety minutes of forgettable mediocrity.

The post-match baloney from David Moyes featured his greatest hits of well-worn, trite excuses. “We didn’t play as well as we had hoped”. “The opposition have years of European experience”. “Coming away with the three points was the most important thing”.  “They were defensively well organised and stopped us getting our crosses in” – if only there were alternative routes to goal, David.

There is a generally accepted rule that all successful sides will need to win ugly from time to time, but lately West Ham know no other way. Supporters should always want their team to win but don’t we also want to be entertained while they’re at it? Is there any lasting pride or pleasure to be had when resilience and organisation are valued above everything else?

In the end the Hammers wreaked their much-wanted revenge over their Greek opponents who had ended their unbeaten streak two weeks earlier. But it came from the game’s single moment of genuine quality rather than as the result of sustained assault. The presence of a simple yet beautifully crafted goal was incongruous in such a drab match. A sumptuous, chipped pass by James Ward-Prowse perfectly placed for Lucas Paqueta well-timed run into the box to volley home. The on-field decision to flag for offside was representative of the shocking officiating on show all night. Replays clearly showing that Paqueta’s faultless calculation of the angles would have made even Pythagoras proud. Good old VAR!

In one of those quirks of the fixture list, West Ham now find themselves facing two teams owned by the same shady Greek mogul, Evangelos Marinakis, within the space of three days. Despite serial accusations of match fixing and other nefarious activities, Marinakis was considered fit and proper enough to become the majority shareholder of Nottingham Forest in 2017.  His tenure has seen the former European champions return to the top tier of English football following promotion to the Premier League in May 2022.

Forest have made an acceptable start to the new season having accumulated one less point than the Hammers from their opening 11 games. They were very poor travellers throughout last season, and although their struggles on the road have largely persisted they have tasted victory at Chelsea and secured a goalless draw at Palace, where they were easily the better team. Should they win today they would leapfrog West Ham and potentially enter the international break sitting in the top half. The same outcome could see ourselves, the one-time league leaders, drop down into the bottom six.

Today’s game is the last of seven played by West Ham since the last blank international weekend. In that time, there have been two cup wins but not a single league point – having lost all three games to Aston Villa, Everton, and Brentford. It is a tough schedule but still a terribly poor return for a team that sets up not to lose. Since the start of last season, Moyes team have lost 25 and won just 15 of 49 games. This leaves a triple whammy where the club has spent bags of money on transfers, where the football remains tedious, and is not yielding results.

During his time as West Ham boss, Moyes has spoken about instilling a big club, winning mentality to the club. Just as he has talked about Red Bull models. Recently, he has again claimed to have made changes in approach to make us more expansive. This has completely passed me by. As they used to say in banking: “the words and numbers do not match!”

The squad may now contain additional flair players, but the underlying fundamentals have not changed. The overwhelming focus on compact defence and denying space to opponents means that when we eventually win the ball there are too few passing options available. Players are bunched together, are not able to create space and switch play, and become easy prey to the opposition press. Or else it results in hopeful blind first-time flicks to no-one in particular. I have to believe it is coaching rather than individual technical ability that is causing the problem, otherwise a change of manager would make no difference. Sure, upgrades are needed in certain positions, but we have seen how progressive managers have breathed new life into previously dispirited squads.

West Ham will need to up their game from midweek if they are to win today. Forest are one of a small group of teams who boast less possession than the Hammers and they will be happy to sit back and play on the break. They will have done their homework and be fully aware of the Hammer’s creative limitations when allowed the lion’s share of the ball. A ponderous build up ending with hopeful crosses into the box. Or is today the day that Moyes finally reveals a cunning new plan from his dusty box of managerial tricks? Probably not!

Kurt Zouma continues to struggle with his various injuries so it will be as you are at the back except for a return between the sticks for Alphonse Areola. There was a pyrrhic victory for Areola in the week when he picked up the Premier League save of the month award – a shame it came in a 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

If Moyes is considering changes it will be possible recalls for stalwarts Michail Antonio and Thomas Soucek. The unintended consequence of leaving Soucek on the bench is that Ward-Prowse is consigned to a far deeper defensive position where he is way less effective. He started his West Ham career at a blistering pace in a more advanced role but perhaps this was creating to much excitement. In midweek he was deployed even deeper than Edson Alvarez. The sublime assist apart, his contribution was mainly backwards and sideways passing reminiscent of a late career Mark Noble tribute act.

I pray to the footballing gods that Moyes again leaves Michail Antonio on the bench and sticks with Jarrod Bowen up top. But equally he needs to realise that Bowen isn’t a straight replacement for Antonio. Other changes to shape are necessary to provide the support required to make this work effectively. Bowen offers greater control and finesse plus the opportunity for interplay and darting runs that can be key in unlocking packed defences. Bowen is not the long term answer to the Hammer’s striking woes but he is the best we have for now.

A memory will have popped up on Danny Ings Facebook page during the week to remind him of his solitary West Ham league goals in this corresponding fixture last season. Ings scoring twice in an unusually comfortable 4-0 win. Divin Mubama, on the other hand, will need a rest following his midweek run-out – the one-minute manager having chosen to bring him on in the 89th minute to show what he can do.

Quite what has become of Said Benrahma in his three years at the London Stadium is beyond all comprehension. His confidence levels appear to have been shattered to the point where every move he attempts is the wrong one. If footballing decisions were a multiple-choice paper, he would regularly be scoring 0%.

I long for the days when I looked forward to West Ham games with anticipation. I find myself conflicted between wanting the team to win against the desire for much-needed change in the way they are managed. Unless Moyes pulls off a shock cup-winning treble, there can be no way he will get a new contract in the summer. With the board reluctant to act before that I fear we will limp along as we are until May. Seeing out the season will be like watching a goldfish that has jumped out of its bowl and is flapping around on the carpet until it slowly dies – and being unable to do anything about it.

We might possibly win today. But it’s not going to be pretty. If West Ham are winning at the break can we ask Kevin Nolan to lock Moyes in the toilet and prevent him sucking all the energy out of the half-time dressing room? COYI!

Ward Prowse’s Perfect Precision Pass, Paqueta Pounces, Olympiacos Overcome.

West Ham march on in Europe, but can they get back to winning ways in the league when Forest visit the London Stadium on Sunday?

VAR hasn’t received the best press in recent times. But West Ham were thankful for its intervention on Thursday evening. If we were relying on the naked eye of the assistant referee then the result of the game against the Greeks from Piraeus would most likely have been a goalless draw. West Ham were celebrating when Paqueta pounced to volley home Ward Prowse’s wonderful precision pass over the top. A beautifully crafted pass and finish was about to be chalked off when the flag was raised to indicate offside. But thanks to the VAR check Ortega was seen to be closer to his own goal than our brilliant Brazilian and the goal quite rightly stood. And how the players celebrated in front of the visiting Greek supporters, milking their revenge win. West Ham were not happy with how their opponents celebrated their win two weeks ago, and vengeance for that was high on the player’s minds prior to the game.

Thankfully Manager Moyes had made changes from the weakened team he put out that lost the reverse fixture a fortnight ago. The win leaves us at the top of the group on the basis of head-to-head against Freiburg who also had a comfortable win over Backa Topola on the night. A win against the Serbians at the end of November would mean a draw against the Germans in the final group game in mid-December would be enough to clinch top spot in the group. And top spot is important in this competition with the runners up facing a game against a third placed side dropping down from the Champions League.

Division of opinion about the merits of the manager continues in the build up to the kick-off against Forest on Sunday. Recent poor domestic form with three consecutive defeats has seen us slip into the bottom half of the table where we are now twelfth with 14 points from our eleven games, just one point and one place above our visitors who have won one and drawn three of their last five games.

A worrying statistic is that Forest have won only one away game against West Ham in almost 40 years. How we manage to end those poor runs of our opponents is a trait we seem to specialise in. In fairness however the sample size is not as big as it might be against many other teams as we haven’t always been in the same division. Another one to watch out for coming up soon – Burnley have now lost six consecutive home games – you know who their next home game is against after the International break, don’t you?

Forest’s three wins this season have been against Sheffield United, Chelsea, and last week against in-form Aston Villa. They have only lost four games (compared to our five) although all four have been on their travels. We don’t have a good record in games that follow Europa League fixtures on Thursday nights and have yet to win one on a following Sunday in this campaign.

Thanks to the BBC I was made aware that the manager who holds the record for the most defeats in Premier League matches is Harry Redknapp with 238. I’ll leave you to guess who follows close behind on 237. Another unwanted record on its way shortly I reckon.

If we are serious about becoming a top-half team then this is a game that we surely need to win. I did suggest something similar prior to the recent Everton game too. Look what happened there.

It’s a frustrating watch at the moment with all the attacking talent we have at our disposal. As Geoff pointed out recently, recent league results have been abysmal. Just four points from the last seven games, a rate of return that if continued to the end of the season would result in a total of 30 points, and a likely relegation struggle.

Here is a paragraph from my article prior to the recent Everton game:

I was interested when reading one of the social media groups of West Ham fans whose members, looking at our upcoming games, Everton, Brentford, Forest, Burnley, and Palace, were making predictions as to how many points we would be collecting from those five ‘easy’ (on paper) games. There are many optimists out there who were saying 15, and perhaps 13 while others were taking a more realistic approach, some pessimists even going as low as 3, or even lower in a couple of cases. The ‘optimists’ were then ‘attacking’ the ‘pessimists’ or ‘realists’ accusing them of not being ‘true’ supporters, suggesting they should get behind the team, or go and support someone else. The other group fought back suggesting they were entitled to their opinion and the exchange was a good example of extreme opinions that exist in many social media areas.

Two games down and no points yet I wonder how many points we will end up collecting now from that run of supposedly ‘easy’ games?

Bookmakers have us as one of eight teams who are odds on to collect three points in their games this weekend, the others being Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle, Villa, Brighton, Liverpool, and Manchester City. The other 7 are in the current top eight of the Premier League. Only Tottenham of the top 8 are not priced at odds on to win their game. Do you have the same belief as the bookmakers that odds on is a true reflection of our chances to win this game? So many of our games this season have ended 3-1, both wins and defeats. Perhaps a 3-1 win on Sunday is my prediction with no great conviction or supporting evidence. What are the chances?