Tag: #TOTWHU

The Reign From Spain Fails Tamely At The Lane: West Ham Are Humbled By Tottenham

Another shameful surrender and defeat by close London rivals leaves the Hammers tottering in the bottom six and the future of coach Julen Lopetegui looking increasingly shaky.

Following a convincing victory just prior to the international break, the question was raised as to whether West Ham had finally turned a corner or had that been a very poor Ipswich performance. I think we now know the answer to that one.

I felt little optimism going in the run up to Saturday’s game at Tottenham. The Hammers have been notoriously slow starters after international breaks and I fully expected to be a couple of goals down in the opening quarter of an hour. Events didn’t turn out like that, though. In fact, the first half was reasonably competitive, even if the defensive approach owed more to an old-school low block rather than high lines and defending by maintaining possession. Dropping deep and deploying Guido Rodriguez as an auxiliary centre back, meant the home side struggled to fashion any real threats on the visitor’s goal during the initial exchanges. West Ham even looked dangerous on the break and prior to scoring the opener from Jarrod Bowen’s pull-back, Mohammed Kudus was thwarted in an equally presentable early chance from the same source.

Everything changed, however, after the Tottenham equaliser. Lucas Paqueta lost possession, Tomas Soucek missed his tackle, the gap between midfield and defence was huge and Tottenham were up and running. If that wasn’t bad enough, the opening 15 minutes of the second half were nothing short of shambolic. With no obvious sign of leadership on or off the pitch, heads dropped, and all sense of discipline or organisation was lost.

Typical of the disarray was that while the decision was made to make three substitutions at 2-1 down, the players did not enter the pitch until it was 4-1. Were Julen Lopetegui’s instructions ‘lost in translation’ and where was Kevin Nolan’s old iPad when you need it?

Seeing the coach standing on the touchline, his face twitching as the game plan crumbled in front of his eyes, brought to mind Chief Inspector Dreyfus from the Pink Panther movies. Difficult to believe a seasoned manager with over 400 games under his belt would look this startled.

The performances so far this season have not had sufficient consistency to identify what the style or pattern of play is meant to be with any confidence. Assuming it revolves around enjoying a greater share of possession, the evidence suggests there are serious questions as to whether the squad has the right calibre of players to carry that off – including those who have been newly recruited. The gap is particularly noticeable in the midfield three which lacks serious pace or anyone capable of storming forward with the ball under control. While Lucas Paqueta is able to pick out the occasional sublime pass, these have been few and far between since his mind has been distracted elsewhere. But even he is not the quickest or adept at running with the ball

The shortcomings in midfield lead to transitions being far too slow and relaint on long diagonals. And with no obvious ‘out-ball’ option the opportunity to break the press is almost non-existent. I have sympathy with Alphonse Areola in this respect as attempts to play out from the back routinely end up with the ball played back to him under pressure. He is then caught between an instinct to clear his lines and the instruction to play the ball short.

How to fix this in the short term should be the coach’s top priority if the team are to improve. I don’t see how more than one of Rodriguez, Soucek and Edson Alvarez can be in the team at any one time. It needs Carlos Soler, Andy Irving – or perhaps Lewis Orford – to be given the opportunity to show if they can offer anything different.

Julen Lopetegui was not what most supporters wished for when the club took the correct decision not to renew the Scottish manager’s contract. Unfortunately, when imagination and foresight were needed from the Board, we got predictability with the apparently ‘safe’ option. Someone who had managed at big clubs (regardless of how successful that had turned out) and, perhaps most importantly, was out-of-work and available without compensation.  It never felt like an ideal fit for a club that is second tier in terms of finances which wanted to punch above its weight through a programme of smart recruitment.

Despite this, most supporters understood the degree of change required and were prepared to see how the appointment went. That patience is wearing perilously thin. As the 2024/25 campaign moves towards the quarter mark it looks set to be playing out as a lost season with lower mid-table the most probable outcome.  

The Rear-View Transfer Window Mirror

In the summer, there were excited claims that West Ham had won the transfer window. From what we have seen so far though, it is just as well the club held off on the open top bus parade to celebrate that particular victory.

As supporters, we don’t have the inside track on who does what with recruitment. The impression in some quarters is that Tim Steidten arrives back at the London Stadium with a shopping cart of new players to show the coach what he has bought him. It is highly unlikely it works like that and there is sure to be input from the coach on the type of players he requires, and from the Board on what deals can be completed from a financial perspective. Steidten’s reputation is for unearthing little-known gems and only Lusi Guileherme and Mohamadou Kanté from the summer intake truly fits that bill. Only time will tell whether they turn out to be gems.

The greatest failure of the transfer window was in not resolving the long-running striker problem. The injury to Niclas Fullkrug is obviously unfortunate but a 31-year-old journeyman was never more than a temporary fix. Second to that, recruitment of a midfield general (do they still exist?) with pace and energy was sadly overlooked.

No Club For Young Men

Despite splashing a significant quantity of cash during the summer, the club have not addressed their ageing squad problem. West Ham were the oldest squad in the Premier League (weighted by minutes played) until knocked off the bottom spot by Everton a week or two ago.

Similarly, West Ham are ranked 19th out of 20 for matches played by former academy players in their current squad – only Brentford have a worse record. The only Hammer’s entry is the one minute played by Kaelan Casey against Luton last May.  We would have been able to add another 32 minutes for George Earthy had he not been out on loan, but it would not have affected the overall rankings. Not an impressive statistic for the self-styled ‘Academy of Football’.    

Premier League appearance this season for players under the age of 23 have been limited to Crysencio Summerville (174 minutes) and Guileherme (5 minutes).

Who Referees the Referees?

Nothing in the performance of the referee, Andy Madley, impacted the final outcome of Saturday’s game. The match was not close enough for that to happen. Under the current interpretation of the rules, it was no surprise when Kudus received a red card in the aftermath of his tussle with van de Ven. Such scuffles were not uncommon when I first started watching football and a stiff talking to was the usual outcome. But now, when there are more bookings in a single match than you would previously see in a whole season, it was obvious that action was going to be taken.

But what seemingly continues to go unpunished is the acting and simulation that have become a feature of the modern game. Kudus would have had to walk anyway given the number of players he had altercations with, but the reaction of both van de Ven and Richarlison – who both went down as if there was a sniper in the stadium – was pure cheating. The sole objective of getting an opponent into trouble. Crackdowns are regularly threatened but short of being pulled up for imaginary card waving, players have little to fear from their antics in diving and rolling around on the floor.

The situation where referees both establish interpretations of the laws and then enforce them doesn’t seem right to me. It lacks accountability. And trying to replace common sense judgements with hard and fast codified rules has resulted in ridiculous situations that clearly hadn’t faced a sniff test by people with experience of playing the game. The handball rule is a perfect example of this as demonstrated in the incident when the ball struck Udogie’s arm on the goal-line and a penalty was (correctly) not awarded. For the past few seasons, the ball hitting anyone’s hand in the penalty area was seen as an unquestioned offence but now it isn’t. How does that happen? Did no-one ever consider the implications of how fast the ball can move or how players use arms for balance? It is difficult to have any faith in the wisdom of the PGMOL.

Momentum, International Breaks, Current Form, and Notable Games as West Ham visit the Tottenham Stadium in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday

You hear a lot of talk in football circles about momentum. What is momentum? Some kind of invisible force that keeps an event moving or developing after it has begun. Wouldn’t it be great if the football authorities understood the concept. But oh no, as football fans, or rather fans of the domestic game, we now have to put up with international breaks designed to discourage momentum during the season, especially at the beginning of a campaign, where it is interrupted after just three games and then once again after seven. But fear not international fans because another one will be coming along once four more Premier League games have been completed.  

In all honesty our start to 2024-25 under our new head coach has been a stuttering one to say the least, although not unexpected with new ideas, new tactics, and an influx of new players that would take time to get used to each other and fit into what everyone expects to be a different way of playing. But what chance has there been to gain any momentum in matches? If all the players were at home then you could say that the boss would have time to work with them to enable them to gel more quickly, but with so many away with their international teams that is not the case.

Prior to the first international break we had lost narrowly to Aston Villa to the inevitable Duran goal following the summer shenanigans in attempting to sign him, we had come back with a not entirely convincing win at Palace but had then put up a spirited second half performance in the third game against champions Manchester City. But any chance to build on that was lost when the break came.

The second segment of the season began with an away draw at Fulham followed by a massively disappointing home defeat to Chelsea, then another away draw at Brentford before finally getting off the mark with a convincing 4-1 win at home to Ipswich. But could we build on that? Once again the momentum was lost with the second break enabling us to watch England lose at home to Greece before winning in Finland. I’m afraid that despite it being a competition this Nations League leaves me cold.

One consolation I suppose was the performance of Dinos Mavropanos who had played the first few games for us this season before dropping to the bench to let in new signing Todibo. Our Greek defender received rave reviews although interim manager Carsley had decided to play with what is described as ‘false nines’ in modern parlance. That was one experiment that didn’t work and the win in Finland wasn’t enough to save Carsley with the surprise announcement of ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel as the new boss of the international team. He’ll have the chance to get going in November and assess the team when the third international break arrives, although I understand that the current interim boss will remain in charge for those games.

Matchday 8 this weekend sees us visiting North London for a game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. So how has their season begun? They have won three of their seven games and sit ninth in the table having defeated Everton and Brentford at home and Manchester United away and drawn at Leicester. An away defeat at Newcastle, a home defeat by local rivals Arsenal, and then just before the break a comical loss at the Falmer Stadium where they let slip a two goal half-time lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton.

We are twelfth just two points adrift of them at this stage and an unlikely win would take us above them. Despite our inconsistent start we are unbeaten on our travels, well I say travels, but we haven’t left London for a league game yet. A win at Palace and draws at Fulham and Brentford has given us five points, which is five points more than the equivalent three games last season where we were well and truly beaten in all of them with a combined goals record of scored 4, conceded 13.

Comparing our record to Tottenham’s this season, with just a few of the statistics, then they lead with goals scored (14-10), they have conceded fewer (8-11), shots at goal are very similar (83-80), but they have more on target (48-34). Have they had easier fixtures? The current league table might suggest so as they have faced four teams currently sitting in the bottom half of the table in the seven games played, whereas we have played four sides in the top eight. They have however won two of their three home games losing only by the only goal to Arsenal.

Head-to-head records between West Ham and Tottenham going back to 1898 in history give them the edge 55 wins to 45, with 28 draws. Notable games at their stadium include last season’s win there in December when we overturned a 1-0 half-time deficit with goals from Bowen and Ward-Prowse. Unlike many of our fans I am sad to see the latter gone.

In April 2019 we became the first team to win at their new stadium when Antonio’s second half goal was the only one in the game. Pedro Obiang’s stunning goal in January 2018 helped us gain a point in a 1-1 draw. There were two league cup wins over them in 2013 and 2017, the latter being at Wembley where Ayew scored a couple for us in a 3-2 victory, after we trailed 2-0 at the interval. And who can forget the Ravel Morrison game eleven years ago when his amazing solo run from our half was the third goal in a convincing 3-0 win?

Apart from those games our record there has generally been very poor and you have to go back to the twentieth century for the previous win (before 2013) there when Ian Wright and Marc Keller scored the goals in a 2-1 win. Before then Dani (remember him?) scored for us in a 1-0 win in Slaven Bilic’s debut game in our defence in 1996. There was a great win there towards the end of the 1993-94 season when we overcame them 4-1 with two goals from Trevor Morley and one each from Mike Marsh and Steve Jones. Before then it was 1983 when Steve Whitton and Dave Swindlehurst scored the goals in a 2-0 win.

My favourite game of all our visits to Tottenham though came in 1981 when we crushed them 4-0 at White Hart Lane, a personal triumph for David Cross who bagged all four goals. And perhaps the most exciting game between the teams that I can remember came in a 1966 victory there (4-3) with goals from Brabrook, Byrne, Hurst and Sissons when Gilzean, Greaves and Venables scored for them. That was the third game in an eleven match run where we scored 42 goals (yes you read that right) which included a 7-0 rout of (then) mighty Leeds and a 5-5 draw at Chelsea. Just a few months before then a 4-1 win came in the previous season with goals from Byrne, Boyce, Redknapp and Hurst.

I have vague memories of a 4-4 draw there in the early sixties, but I do remember more clearly a 4-1 win there on Boxing Day in 1958 in our first season following promotion to the top flight. That win came the day after my first ever visit to Upton Park for a league match – yes we played on Christmas Day (that was the last time we did) – when the famous duo of Johnny Dick and Vic Keeble scored the goals in a 2-1 win. Any momentum that might have been built at the start of the season has been interrupted by the international breaks. It’s hard to predict what will happen on Saturday but we went into the break on the back of a 4-1 win and perhaps would have preferred to play the next game sooner rather than later, whereas Tottenham were probably pleased for a break after their miserable second half performance at Brighton. It will be a good result if we avoid defeat to extend our unbeaten away record but I’m hoping for a win of course.

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!  

West Ham’s Titanic Mistake As The Iceberg Of Relegation Looms Large On The Horizon

West Ham continue their rudderless drift towards the icy waters of the Championship. Who will save us from this nightmare of football oblivion?

There’s no doubting that yesterday’s results didn’t go the way we would have liked. Wins for Southampton, Bournemouth, and Everton and Nottingham Forest’s unexpected point against Manchester City were not what was needed. The table has become compressed at the bottom, no team has yet been left stranded, and West Ham now occupy one of the relegation places ahead of today’s trip across London to Tottenham.

At this stage of the season, West Ham’s ultimate fortunes will still depend on their own endeavours rather than the fate of others. We are not yet relying on snookers with 16 games to go and 48 points to play for. But where will the 20 or so points required to survive come from? Can a team that has only won five of its 22 games – and won only two of the last ten – manage to scramble another five or six wins from what is left? If, as usual, games against the ‘Big 6’ are written off, then that focuses the wins target to a 50% success from 11 matches.

The general mood among fans has largely turned to one of pessimism. But strangely, pundits and bookmakers continue to see the Hammers as one of least likely casualties among the relegation possibles. The rationale is lost on me – although we should remember pundits pay only superficial attention to any clubs outside the Champions League elite.

Perhaps, they are seduced by selected stats that suggest the Hammers have the 5th best defences in the Premier League. Or show a respectable 8th in the list of clubs with the highest number of shots. And a pass success rate consistent with Newcastle and better than Fulham or Brentford. But stats can’t pull the wool over the evidence of our own eyes. Defensive competence is earned at the expense of nine or ten men behind the ball. A high proportion of shots are long range hopeful efforts when no creative options remain. Too many passes are made where it doesn’t matter, and where no opposition pressure is being applied.

From a distance, West Ham’s form gives the impression of improvement, with three wins, three draws, and just the one defeat since the start of 2023. But form and performances aren’t always the same thing. Take away the FA Cup games, and it is less spectacular, just a marginal improvement on what had gone before. A win in the death throes of Lampard’s Everton career and two draws against sides who for different reasons had gone off the boil.

Any difference in approach or style has been negligible. Perhaps a tad more pressing further up the pitch at certain times. Maybe the three/ five at the back releasing Jarrod Bowen from onerous defensive duties and allowing him to play closer to Michail Antonio. Nothing fundamental – caution remains the overriding watchword. When Danny Ings comes on, it is to replace Antonio, not to play alongside him in a more enterprising shape. Ings has a decent scoring record at this level, but not while playing as an isolated striker chasing hopeful long balls.

David Moyes has become increasingly implausible in his media comments – like a hapless government minister trying to explain how everything that has gone wrong is outside of his control. Something about over-achieving in the past two seasons and the cyclic nature of success for clubs like West Ham meaning we would be foolish to expect too much. Claiming that draws are not enough but routinely setting up with the sole purpose of protecting the point. When Leicester beat Tottenham 4-1 last weekend, they didn’t shut up shop after going ahead, but that will always be the Moyes mindset. Caution always trumping ambition. His team may rarely be on the end of a thumping, but equally they are never allowed to press home an advantage.

The formula Moyes hit upon worked for a while, but stubbornness and intransigence prevent him from adapting to changed circumstances. A lot of money has been splashed without addressing obvious deficiencies in the squad or developing greater fluidity in the style of play. I can think of no other side in the top division so lacking in genuine pace.

With Moyes unable or unwilling to change, what hope is there that he can turn things around? The club is on a collision course with the icy waters of relegation. The manager unable to plot a course to safety and the Board asleep at the wheel. You would think the owners have been in football long enough to know a lost cause when they see one.

Today’s game at Tottenham may be the latest in a long sequence of Moyes last chances. A defeat could well be terminal. A draw granting a stay of execution until the Forest game. But is there any confidence that a contingency plan is in place should the axe fall? How damaging will not taking action during the World Cup break turn out to be? I’m sure the players would welcome the opportunity to be released from the straightjacket of the manager’s cloying negativity.

Injuries will again influence West Ham team selection. Lucas Paqueta joins Gianluca Scamacca, Kurt Zouma and Maxwell Cornet in the sick bay. Nayef Aguerd will supposedly have a late fitness test but it feels risky to rush him back into action so soon. Expect two changes from the Chelsea game with Tomas Soucek in for Paqueta and Ben Johnson replacing Aguerd. 

Despite their own inconsistencies, Tottenham are having a decent season as far as results are concerned. A win today would put them up into fourth spot. These days they are not a team you would go out of your way to watch, although, as we know, winning games can put a gloss on the lack of entertainment. In some ways they are rather like West Ham in style, but with far, far better attacking options. As always, Kane will be the main danger, especially when dropping deep to dictate play. Declan Rice’s attacking intent will no doubt be sacrificed to keep an eye on that. Apart from Kane, I will also be concerned for the potential mayhem that Perisic’s crosses can cause from the flank.

Despite the talk of playing for the win, there will be no surprise to see a repeat of the Chelsea performance. A passive low block, sub 30% possession, and set pieces being the main goal threat. We are all well aware of Moyes depressing big six record. Surely, we deserve better than this. COYI!

Statistics would suggest that West Ham’s visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium won’t end in a draw.

London derbies; just like London buses you wait a while for one and then two come along together. We are the last game on Sunday afternoon on Sky at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after being the early kick off last Saturday at home to Chelsea.

After an awful first 25 minutes when we conceded a goal, and Chelsea could have been out of sight, we got better as the game went on and perhaps deserved a draw following Emerson’s equaliser against his former club.

In our five 2023 Premier League games we have beaten Everton 2-0, lost by the solitary goal against Wolves, and drawn against Leeds, Newcastle and Chelsea in addition to two FA Cup wins. That’s an improvement in results and to some extent performance too, but we still sit just two points above the relegation zone, and remain in trouble. We really need some wins and the three points that come with them to start to climb the table.

In previous articles I have been analysing the position and current form of the bottom teams and update the current situation below. The points of the bottom nine (all with 16 games still to play) are:

Palace 25, Leicester 24, Forest 24, Wolves 23, West Ham 20, Leeds 19, Everton 18, Bournemouth 18, Southampton 15.

The current form looking at points gained in the last 5 games:

Forest 10, Wolves 10, Leicester 7, West Ham 6, Everton 3, Palace 3, Southampton 3, Leeds 2, Bournemouth 2.

It won’t be easy to pick up three points in this game. In our last ten games against Tottenham our opponents have won half of them whereas we have claimed victory just twice.

Paqueta is definitely out and Scamacca is also unlikely to be involved. Aguerd faces a late test; I really hope he is fit as he has looked good and is very important to our defence. Coufal, Emerson and Soucek had reasonable games against Chelsea and will all probably play as Moyes continues with three at the back (but who will the three be?). Antonio has a good goal scoring record in this fixture.

Unusually for me I’ll predict the lineup for the game: Fabianski; Kehrer, Ogbonna, Aguerd (or Cresswell if he doesn’t make it); Coufal, Rice, Soucek, Emerson; Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma. 

Statistically it would seem unlikely that the fixture will end in a draw as the reverse one did in the game in August when Soucek’s second half equaliser cancelled out Kehrer’s own goal in the opening period.  It is 38 years since the two teams drew both league games in the same season, and additionally Tottenham have now played 21 consecutive home games without a draw. My prediction will defy the statistics as I’ll go for a 2-2 draw. What are the chances?

After The Lord Mayor’ Show: West Ham Must Put Euro Celebrations To One Side For Tottenham Showdown

A return to league action with an encounter that could go some way to determining the final top six placings. Can the Hammers come out on top?

In an ideal world there would have been a little bit longer to bask in the glory of the sensational Thursday night victory against Sevilla. But the reality of modern football is that, less than 72 hours later, West Ham must deal with the small matter of their unruly north London neighbours.

The Sevilla game really surpassed all expectations. A fantastic effort from the team, coaching staff and supporters had the stadium rocking late into the east London evening. It has been a long wait but at last the latest generation of Hammer’s fans have a special European moment to call their own. The excitement and anxiety of sudden death cup games, the mighty and incessant roar of the crowd, the thrill and atmosphere of floodlit football and the glory of a famous comeback against esteemed opponents. Now we just have to repeat it two more times and it’s all back to Sevilla for the final. The occasion was all the sweeter due to how long we have had to wait for it. Could the passion be reproduced if European football was expected every season?

It was excellent performances all round from front to back on Thursday. Everyone played their part and for any limitations in technique there may be, we can never fault the effort and commitment. The subtle change of formation – more of a 4-3-3 than the usual 4-2-3-1 – with Manuel Lanzini sitting deeper and closer to Declan Rice, got the best out of Tomas Soucek. When Soucek is left to do what he is good at – breaking up opposition attacks at one end and getting into the box at the other – he is at his brilliant best.

The nature of the winning goal, scored by Andriy Yarmolenko, made the whole evening even more emotional than it already was. I think I had almost resigned myself to a penalty shootout by the time the unexpected winner unfolded, almost as if it were in slow motion.

There didn’t appear to be any imminent danger when the ball was worked out wide to Pablo Fornals on the left. However, the Spaniard cut inside and unleashed a powerful drive which Bono, the Sevilla keeper, was unable to hold. The ball ran free and there was Yarmolenko to roll the ball into the net. Bono made a desperate attempt at recovery but still couldn’t find what he was looking for. A brief moment of VAR anxiety and then pandemonium.

Cue a tense, nail-biting finale. The referee, who had previously been impervious to the serial Sevilla time-wasting, prolonged the agony with an extra two minutes that he had found somewhere, but the Hammer’s stood firm, and a famous victory was sealed.

I’m reasonably happy with Lyon as quarter final opponents. I would have been even happier with a semi final against the winner of Braga vs Rangers tie – the equivalent of getting a bye into the final – but we need fear no-one. West Ham are now fourth favourites to win the competition behind the three Champions League flops, Barcelona, RB Leipzig, and Atalanta. I’m undecided on my pick between Barcelona and Eintracht Frankfurt for the semis.  The glamour of a tie with Barca is undoubted while Frankfurt feels like the path of least resistance, and would be a repeat of 1976. For students of form, the two German survivors play each other in the Bundesliga today.

They say that after the Lord Mayor’s show comes the donkey cart – but that’s enough about Eric Dier. In some ways facing Tottenham, rather than say, Burnley or Everton, may be a good thing in terms of player motivation after the physical and emotional excesses of midweek. There is nothing like a derby and local pride to restore instant focus. I’ve no doubt David Moyes will get the players up for it, although the fear must be that his team will become leggy as the game progresses, most have played the full two hour on Thursday.

It has been an inconsistently mixed bag at Tottenham since the appointment of Conte in November. It is difficult to imagine a harmonious long-term relationship between manager and chairman with obvious friction barely below the surface. Still, they are marginally better placed than West Ham at the moment in the quest for a top six finish. It is a more counterattacking unit than in the past, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out today, given it is also the Hammer’s preference. As in much of the recent past, the home side rely heavily on the partnership between Kane and Son for goals and assists. It will be West Ham’s challenge to keep them quiet.

Conte has been favouring a 3-4-3 formation and I wonder whether Moyes might decide to match him up today. Perhaps Aaron Cresswell dropping into a back three with Ryan Fredericks and Ben Johnson playing as wing backs. A front three of Said Benrahma, Michail Antonio and Fornals, and, of course, Rice and Soucek patrolling the centre of midfield. There has been much speculation about Yarmolenko starting, but I would still see him being more effective as a second half impact substitute.

After this game is an international break where hopefully as many players as possible can get a decent breather. There really is nothing to be learned for Southgate in Rice being involved in meaningless friendlies against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast. Soucek, on the other hand, will surely feature for the Czech Republic in the World Cup qualifier with Sweden.

It is a difficult match to call today. The two teams are evenly matched, and derby games are always unpredictable. It is unlikely that West Ham will experience no aftereffects from their midweek adventures. Not losing may be of utmost importance to both sides which could make for a cagey, rather than all-action, affair. A share of the spoils it is then, with a nervy 1-1 draw. COYI!

Wouldn’t It Be Good If West Ham could renew their acquaintance with Eintracht Frankfurt? But Tottenham first on Sunday and then Lyon in April.

Since I first went to Upton Park in November 1958 I have seen many great games of football where West Ham have been playing. And Thursday night’s great win over Seville is yet another of the superb matches. The Europa League experts who had never previously been eliminated by an English club in the competition were beaten in extra time with the second emotional winner scored in a week by our Ukrainian Andriy Yarmolenko. But there were great performances all around the field, from the magnificent save by Areola when the score was 0-0 to the tireless Antonio up front, and all the players in between.

Great credit to David Moyes and his coaching staff for the past two seasons, but one area that has been improved immeasurably is the fitness of the whole squad of players. While the Spaniards were making every substitution available to them, we kept almost every player from the starting eleven on the pitch for virtually 120 minutes. And which team were by far the stronger in extra time? Which team wanted to win the game without resorting to penalties? Undoubtedly it was West Ham.

In the last 63 years my favourite ever West Ham game remains the 1976 European Cup Winners Cup semi final second leg that I watched from the North Bank at Upton Park on a night of torrential rain on April 14th 1976. A packed 39,000 plus crowd witnessed a great comeback when we overcame a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Germany with goals from Keith Robson and two from a majestic performance from the brilliant Sir Trev. There was an electric atmosphere that night and it was repeated with 60,000 in the London Stadium on Thursday.

Friday’s draw gave us the intriguing and enticing possibility of a repeat semi-final against those same opponents from 1976. But first we must overcome Lyon of France, whilst the Germans must beat the tournament favourites Barcelona in the quarter finals. The French team have been disappointing in their domestic league and are currently tenth in mid-table, although their European performances have been much better.

Today’s game against Tottenham comes up very quickly after the extra time exertions of Thursday night and winning will be a difficult task. Friday night’s surprise win by Leeds at Molyneux strengthens our potential to finish in the top seven, although at the moment my understanding is that only the top six will qualify for European competition next season. But if one of the top 4 wins the FA Cup then qualification could fall as low as seventh place, so we are hoping that Manchester City, Chelsea or Liverpool lift that trophy in May. Of course we can ensure qualification if we win the Europa League!

We have a decent record against Tottenham in recent times having won our last two Premier League games against them, but both of those were at the London Stadium. At White Hart Lane we have only won two of the 19 encounters the last one being three years ago when Michail Antonio scored the only goal to inflict Spurs first home defeat at their new stadium. Antonio has scored six Premier League goals against Tottenham, more than he has netted against any other opponents. But it remains to be seen how fit he is after 120 minutes on Thursday night when he was a doubt for that game. Those of you who remember when they used to publish an unofficial London championship in the programme many years ago might like to know that in this season to date Tottenham are currently bottom, having lost five of their seven games.

Tottenham have had a bit of an up and down time so far this season, and it would be great to beat them in this game, but they are understandably the bookies odds-on favourites to win. A draw wouldn’t be the worst result for us looking at the remaining fixtures this season, perhaps 2-2? What are the chances?

Cock-A-Hoop Hammers In The Mood To Win Their Spurs

Buoyant West Ham will be confident of causing yet another upset on the short trip to north London as Mourinho strives to assemble his pick and mix of expensive parts into an effective unit

At 5pm on Friday afternoon, David Sullivan double checked that all the ‘windows’ were now finally closed, poured himself a celebratory Tesco Value brandy and sat back satisfied that most of the hypothetical £40 million transfer kitty had not been disturbed, at least for now. Later he would count it all again, put it in the vault and reset the pressure pad and laser field alarms.

Switching of the blood samples, with some of his own, had worked a treat – the medical team hadn’t been expecting cold reptilian blood. A masterstroke of cunning. The transfer can was well and truly kicked down the road – in the summer permanent deals for Said Benrhama and Craig Dawson could be revealed as exciting new signings and their commitment to spend.

The signing of Benrhama may well turn out to be an excellent move – a touch of much needed flair in the mould of a Payet, Benayoun or Berkovic. He certainly fits the profile of a younger player with something to prove – and with an obvious abundance of natural talent. Exactly how this will fit into the manager’s freshly honed system will unfold over the coming months.

The recent upturn in performances has been founded on a collective work ethic, organisation, and discipline. Modern Premier League football demands that work done off the ball is as important as what occurs when in possession. That is the reason why players such as Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Sebastien Haller have failed to impress. You need to be an exceptional talent if you are not prepared to put in the graft.

Benrhama’s delayed signing means that he is not eligible for today’s game, but I expect his be to a gradual introduction into proceedings. As we have seen during both his spells at West Ham, David Moyes is not the quickest to make changes, even if he gets there in the end. There will be no impulsive or rash changes to shape to suit an individual player. While a back four allows for greater options further forward, it exposes the well-known weakness at left back. Unless Benrhama can match the work-rate of Pablo Fornals his opportunities may be limited to impact substitute in the immediate future.  A welcome addition, nonetheless, to a squad that is one pinged hamstring away from disintegration.

Impossible to imagine any changes to the West Ham starting line-up for today, unless enforced through illness or injury. According to reports the only doubt is Arthur Masuaku who sustained a knee injury on international duty with the DR Congo. If he is not available, I would prefer to see Ben Johnson as s direct replacement rather than a reshuffle bringing Issa Diop (or Dawson) into the back three and pushing Aaron Cresswell back out wide.

Tactically, it cries out for a re-run of what we saw at Leicester. Tottenham’s threat is speed in attack, and it will be the pace of Son (rather than Vardy) that the Hammers must be alert to. Then again, West Ham can boast the second meanest defence in the league, so maybe there is little to worry about – unless that is merely a quirk of the early season table.

For all the hosts attacking prowess, there is vulnerability and uncertainty at the back that can be exploited by the movement of our own forward players. Tottenham have yet to win at home this season and if the Hammers can reproduce their Wolves and Leicester form, it promises to be an intriguing contest. Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek will again be pivotal in maintaining discipline and providing the springboard for rapid counter attacking. Painful as it is to say, I think Tottenham will enjoy a very good season as others of the big six flounder, but not until after today’s game. My theory (or is it hope) is that it will take time for Mourinho to instil a workable balance into his side.

Much of the pre-match build up will undoubtedly be focused on the return of prodigal Spurs son, Gareth Bale. Astute readers will have spotted that Bale is an anagram of Abel and that linking up with Kane adds a biblical dimension, particularly with a manager who considers himself a god. The previous Cain and Abel story did not end well, and we must remember that Bale failed to end up on the winning side, in any league game, during his first season in north London. As far West Ham prophecies go, a chance, perhaps, for Moyses to lead his team to the promised land of top six by the end of the day.

The goals keep coming thick and fast in the mysterious atmosphere of a fan free Premier League, despite the dull affair served up by Manchester City and Arsenal at The Etihad yesterday evening. With the statistical averages to date favouring away sides and four VAR approved goals scored, everything points to a 3-1 West Ham win. That would do nicely!   

All Said And Done: It’s Back To The Action As West Ham Take On Spurs

It was a cold February Thursday afternoon in 1979. I was on my way home from work when West Ham appeared on the radio on the sports news at the end of the main news bulletin. At the time we were a second tier side so it was very unusual for us to show up in a sports news item on a weekday afternoon. Then I heard the announcement that West Ham had broken the world record transfer fee for signing a goalkeeper. £565,000 for a 29 year-old from QPR (then in the top flight) with one England cap to his name. It was considered a bit of a risk because even then it was alleged that he had dodgy knees. But he stayed with us for over a decade and became possibly the best goalkeeper we’ve ever had. Certainly he was the best keeper I ever saw playing for West Ham. Reg Pratt, the chairman at the time, made a comment that I can’t recall exactly, but it was along the lines of the fact that Phil was too much for us to possibly afford? But it happened.

The point of relating this is that until I heard on the radio that he had signed for us I didn’t even know we were after him. I was an avid fan who liked to keep abreast of all that was happening at the club but I didn’t have a clue. Contrast this with the situation we have today where, in every transfer window, fuelled and hyped by the written media, social media, and in particular Sky Sports, there is continual speculation regarding players that we are apparently chasing. So many names appear and nearly all of them are wide of the mark, but they spark a frenzy on West Ham sites with fans seemingly believing what they read, and adding their comments pro and against as if they are experts. I prefer the first scenario – the one where I find out that we have signed an excellent player without even knowing about it until he has the shirt on.

The Said Benrahma saga is a specific example of the nonsense surrounding football transfers today. How long has the transfer window been open? As I write this with about five minutes to go until the five o’clock deadline I still haven’t seen confirmation that Benrahma is a West Ham player, although there are some sketchy reports that the deal has been done on a loan basis with an obligation to buy. Apparently the reason for this is that the two clubs didn’t have the necessary time to complete the necessary paperwork to make the deal permanent by the 5pm deadline! There was a lot of reporting about a failed medical which was disputed by David Moyes in his lunchtime press conference, but really it can only be West Ham who typically make such a shambles of transfers. The circumstances regarding the change from purchase to “loan with obligation to buy” are a complete mystery at the moment, but will perhaps be revealed in the fullness of time. As a long- time fan I was just getting ready to hear how the transfer fell through at the last minute (the kind of statement I have heard before), but was then pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t appear to be the case.

I hope that we have secured the signing because, from what I have seen when watching Championship football, Benrahma is one of the most exciting talents in that division (just as Jarrod Bowen was). I don’t dispute what a number of our fans have said when they have suggested that this was not a priority position for a new acquisition and there are other areas of the pitch that perhaps need strengthening first. But we have signed what looks like an excellent right back in Coufal, and Craig Dawson at centre back is no mug either, even if he isn’t a world class signing that some had hoped for. For me he is a better buy than Tarkowski would have been at that ridiculous price being quoted, and if that has enabled us to fork out for Benrahma then so much the better.

But did I imagine that the chairman recently made a comment regarding “too many wingers”? Many fans didn’t understand why Diangana was allowed to go, and a few still believe that Anderson would have come good again, but I believe that Benrahma may be a better proposition than both of them and I hope that turns out to be the case. The purchase still makes the chairman’s comment look a little silly though.  

But enough of all this transfer nonsense, a quick recall of where we were before the unwelcome international break halted our progress. If you thought that the 4-0 win over a talented Wolves side was just another of those West Ham moments that happens once in a while, then you would have been surprised that we even surpassed that when visiting the league leaders Leicester, and comprehensively thumped them 3-0, and (just like the Wolves game) it could have been more. 7-0 in two games against two of the more fancied teams in the Premier League. As well as the host of chances that we created in each game, perhaps one of the most pleasing aspects was keeping two clean sheets, and defending as a team as well as any West Ham side I have seen in recent times. A 3-0 win away to the league leaders would have been headline news, but it barely raised a mention in the media in view of two other extraordinary results that weekend, with Tottenham winning 6-1 at Manchester United, and Villa thumping Liverpool 7-2.

Going back briefly to transfer signings, Coufal played superbly on his debut at Leicester, and looks an excellent acquisition. I was watching some international football in the week (something I don’t usually bother with much these days) and started to watch England facing Denmark. Rice seemed to be having a decent game, but I was bored with the match and switched over to watch Scotland facing the Czech Republic. Although the Czechs lost the game 1-0, they were playing really well. I was mostly interested to watch our two players, Soucek and Coufal, who along with their colleagues (most of whom seemed to be Slavia Prague players) were creating chance after chance but just failing to score. In view of the success of our two recently bought Czech players, perhaps a further raid in Prague for skilful footballers wouldn’t be the worst place to look in future?

So we look forward to another Sunday game (have we played a single game this season on a Saturday with a 3pm kick off?) against our neighbours from North London. Two in-form teams, neither of whom probably wanted the season to be disrupted at this point, will resume their local rivalry. But, despite the form of our opposition I hope that we go into the game full of confidence and continue to play as we have done in the last three league games. I know we lost at Arsenal but we could easily have won that game too. The pessimism surrounding the club has disappeared for the moment and we can be optimistic for another fine performance. We follow this game with matches against the top two from last season, and both Liverpool and Manchester City will be well up for improving on their start to this campaign.

Assuming no injuries I wonder if we will line up in the same formation with the same personnel that won at Leicester? As far I can gather the manager has a fully fit squad to choose from as he resumes his seat in the dugout, with Diop, Fredericks and Masuaku fully recovered from isolation / minor injuries. Just looking at recent history between the two clubs then the fixture looks like a home win, and the newly acquired Bale inspired Lilywhites (What kind of nickname is that? Do fans still use it?) will hope to record their fifth win in the last six meetings in all competitions against us. But as we have seen in our recent games against Wolves and Leicester, we appear to have turned the corner from a defensive viewpoint, and hopefully we will be difficult to break down. Michail Antonio is in splendid form and has a good goalscoring record against Tottenham so let us hope he can extend that in this game. The two managers have been in in opposite dugouts 14 times, and Mourinho has never lost. Well that is just the kind of statistic I like to see. There’s always a first time. Of course Tottenham are odds on to win, but you can get around 9/2 on West Ham notching a third successive league win this season. That’ll do me.   P.S. It’s now 10 p.m. so I thought I’d better check to make sure that the signing of Benrahma was completed satisfactorily and it was. That’s good. With our history I wouldn’t have been surprised if there had been errors with the completion or submission of the paperwork, so I thought I’d better make sure!