#westham – Page 42 – Under The Hammers

The last time we faced Brentford in the Football League was in a second tier game (ironically called League Division One) in 1992-93. This was the very season when the Premier League came into existence, but we had missed out following relegation from the top flight (called Division One) in 1991-92. Yes that’s right we went from Division One to League Division One after dropping out of the top tier! I guess the naming was confusing at the time. It’s now much simpler of course with the second tier called the Championship.

Anyway, following a goalless draw at Griffin Park in December 1992 we won the return at Upton Park the following April by four goals to nil. Our goalscorers that day were Martin Allen, Peter Butler, Kevin Keen and Trevor Morley. It was the first of four winning games to end the season in second place and gain automatic promotion into the Premier League on goal difference.

Prior to the two fixtures in that season you have to go back to February 1954 for the last meeting between the sides when we lost 3-1 with our goal scored by Dave Sexton. Older readers may remember the name – Dave Sexton subsequently had a successful managerial career managing Chelsea, QPR, Manchester United and England Under 21s among others.

Coming up to date, Brentford have made an excellent start to life in the Premier League sitting in ninth place after two wins and three draws in their opening six games. Victories over Arsenal and Wolves and creditable draws against Palace, Villa and Liverpool with just a single goal defeat to high flying Brighton represent a good return for the team who were favourites at the beginning of the season to be relegated. One of the many interesting statistics I’ve read this week is that Brentford have only been trailing for a total of 25 minutes this season to date. Apparently that’s the fewest in the Premier League. Is there anything they don’t keep statistics for these days?

Our performance against Rapid Vienna on Thursday wasn’t spectacular but another professional showing to top Europa League Group H with the maximum six points from our two opening games. Defensively we have been particularly impressive, restricting our opponents to just one shot on target in the 90 minutes (and that was from some distance). Dinamo Zagreb had no shots on target against us if I remember correctly. Rice scored in both games and was perhaps man of the match against the Austrians, although I thought that Craig Dawson ran him close. By scoring in both games, Rice became the third West Ham player to score in his first two European appearances for the club – the others were Brian Dear in 1965, and David Cross in 1980.

In the other game in Group H, Dinamo Zagreb went to Belgium and comfortably beat Genk 3-0, so it would appear that our next two matches home and away against the Belgian side shouldn’t present us with too many problems, and we are well placed to top the group if we can keep us this form. And I don’t have any doubts that we can achieve this. Leicester on the other hand have just one point from two games in their group, leaving their European hopes hanging by a thread.

David Moyes continues to have a selection headache with so many players pushing for a place in the starting eleven. But just like his opposite number at Brentford, he has made the least changes to the starting line-up in Premier League games this season (just three). My best guess this time is for the following unchanged line-up: Fabianski; Coufal (Johnson if Coufal not fit), Zouma, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Fornals, Benrahma, Bowen; Antonio.

I’m not sure that any of the others have done enough (yet) to make them a shoe-in for the starting eleven, although I have a feeling that once Areola gets a run in the team he will keep his place. He looks a high class keeper to me. Dawson is very unlucky to be left out, but I feel that the extra pace of Zouma, and the combination with Ogbonna makes them the first choice pairing at centre back.

Given Brentford’s excellent start to the season, and the fact that we had a European game on Thursday night, I’m surprised that the bookmakers make us such overwhelming favourites to win the game. We are around 17/20 whereas Brentwood are quoted at about 18/5 to collect three points. This won’t be easy and I don’t believe there will be a lot in it. I’ll go for a 3-2 West Ham win (odds of 28/1) and for my fun bet this time I’ve gone for Antonio and Toney both to score, with Rice and Jansson both to be carded at 100/1. What are the chances?

European football makes its long-awaited return to the east-end tonight as West Ham look to build on their successful start in Zagreb and stay on course for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Group stage cup football is a new experience for the Hammers and although it may lack the jeopardy of sudden death elimination, it does provide a guarantee of at least three home fixtures for fans to enjoy. It will be interesting to see how that impacts the attendance – I would expect a crowd somewhere north of 40,000 for today’s visit of Rapid Vienna.

Finishing top of Group H and avoiding the Preliminary knockout round, when third placed teams from the Champion’s League groups drop into the competition, would be a huge bonus. Win the three home games and that would be a big step through to the last sixteen.

The progress of Premier League clubs in the Champion’s League has not bothered me much in recent years but I’m now hoping they all qualify from their groups. I will happily trade the schadenfreude of their elimination for not having to face home opposition in the latter stages.

The game against Rapid Vienna will be West Ham’s first competitive encounter with Austrian opposition. Rapid are the most successful club ever in Austrian football having won the league thirty-two times, and the cup fourteen times. They twice reached the final of the European Cup Winners Cup but lost on both occasions.

Having finished second in the Austrian Bundesliga last season they have struggled for results in a hectic start to the new season. Tonight, will be their twenty-first competitive fixture – against West Ham’s ninth. Rapid were eliminated from Champion’s League qualifying by Sparta Prague but then went on to beat teams from Cyprus and Ukraine in reaching the Europa League group stage, where they lost their opening game at home to Genk. They have also struggled for domestic league form and currently sit eleventh placed out of twelve teams.

David Moyes will want to get the home campaign off to a storming start in front of an expectant crowd. It needs the selection of a strong side although there could well be starts for squad players such as Alphonse Areola, Ben Johnson, Issa Diop, Craig Dawson, Alex Kral and Manuel Lanzini. Perhaps the biggest question is whether the club’s lone striker Michail Antonio is given a start or is kept as emergency standby on the bench.

Possible line-up: Areola, Johnson, Zouma, Diop, Cresswell, Rice, Kral, Vlasic, Lanzini, Benrahma, Bowen

The Europa League promises to be a great experience for the club and its supporters. It may also be a more realistic route to Champion’s League qualification than a top four Premier League finish at this point in time – although, there is, of course, still a long way to go. A win today will be another step for the Hammers in staking their claim at the top of the group. Accepting that no game is ever easy – and nothing can be taken for granted – I still forecast a clear West Ham victory here tonight – by two or three goals. COYI!