Tag: #WHUBOU

West Ham Versus Bournemouth: A Bargain Bucket Of Matchday Takeaways

Despite little enthusiasm remaining for West Ham’s season of dismal decline into a bottom six club, here are the random takeaways from a mildly interesting draw with Bournemouth

My Kingdom For A Centre Forward

According to one report I read over the weekend, a cartoon style lightbulb flashed on in the London Stadium boardroom on Saturday when it was suddenly realised that all the Hammer’s current woes could be put down to not having a centre forward. Well, I never! Such valuable insight is outstanding and encoraging. It would otherwise never have occurred to the average supporter who has been bemoaning the shortage of striking options for the past ten years or more. We can now rest easy that having finally uncovered this hidden weakness it will be quickly resolved when Chairman David Sullivan returns to basics by taking back control of the summer transfer dealings. There must be 50 ways to sign a third-rate striker, and Sullivan has given each one of them a go. He will have learned his lesson though, won’t he?   

Hello Square Peg, Meet The Round Hole

It’s a shame that the striker revelation hadn’t been uncovered before the team sheets for Saturday’s home game against Bournemouth were handed in. Then highly paid and experienced Premier League manager, Graham Potter would surely have acted very differently when leaving the two centre forwards he did have available on the bench. If only he’d been aware that goals win games, the first half might have turned out very differently. I could almost sense the awful screech of metal sraping on metal as the starting eleven were forcibly squeezed into the semblance of a formation. There was some good news, however, in that whatever that formation was it wasn’t to be the 3/5 at the back that had bored us senseless in the previous run of games. None of the top teams elect to use such a formation as their default setting. It is one designed not to lose rather than win. I pray we see a good deal less of it as the season fizzles out into a disappointing finale and a worthless bottom six finish.   

It Was the Worst of Halves, It Was the Best of Halves

Has there been any game this season where West Ham have played well in both halves? Nothing springs to mind, although perhaps a case could be made for Ipswich at home and Newcastle and Arsenal away. Otherwise, the standard operating model has been the slow, unadventurous, low energy start that only perks up after a slew of half-time substitutions. Intriguingly, this has remained a consistent aspect of performances despite the transition of the coach’s baton from Lopetegui to Potter. Why would that be? Poor preparation, poor team selection, poor attitude by the players or a lack of leadership and belief on the pitch? Coming from a tradition where Moyes treated substitutes as a new-fangled development he didn’t really agree with, we now appear to lead the field in half-time changes. A total of 24 replacements made at the break in 14 different games.

A coach or manager calling for greater intensity is really just pointing the finger at himself. It can be excused in a one-off game but certainly not when it happens every week. As anyone with a pair of eyes could see, the whole performance and atmosphere changed on the introduction of Niclas Fullkrug. I hope Potter made a mental note that having a proper spearhead in attack made all the difference in the world. After all, he was probably the only person in the stadium who didn’t think he should have started with one at outset. And great to see West Ham score with two great throwback bullet headers evoking the spirit of Hurst and Peters.   

Do You Want Rice with That?

When Declan Rice was sold to Arsenal (and rescuing West Ham’s otherwise dodgy PSR position), the response was to sign a single defensive midfielder as replacement. But Rice offered far more than that. His ability to break/ surge/ carry the ball forward from deep at pace was an invaluable transition option. It was a capability that no member of the current squad possesses and the gap has never been filled – none of Alvarez, Soler, Soucek, JWP, Rodriguez, or Irvine come close, either technically or in speed of movement. So, while the club might give themselves a round of applause for recognising the need for a centre forward, this is an equally pressing deficiency. No amount of tippy tappy, backwards and sideways passing (no matter how high the pass completion rate) is going to bother a well drilled defence who have been given plenty of time to get back into shape. The alternative is to go long (high chance of failure) or move the ball through the lines quickly. A player capable of successful carries not only causes defences to panic but also creates space for others to exploit. Joao Gomes demonstrated this perfectly in our recent game at Wolves. It must be a top recruitment priority in the summer.

The Defence Rests

It is fair to say that the statistics back up Potter’s claim that he has been successful in tightening up the West Ham defence. Goals conceded have reduced from an average of 1.95 per game under Lopetegui to 1.18 under Potter. But it has been achieved by piling more numbers into defence and dropping deeper in the style of a David Moyes tribute act. It is not a tactical or coaching masterstroke. It may be no coincidence that we were back to conceding twice upon the reintroduction of a back four. Unfortunately, there are serious questions at the heart of the defence. Jean Clair Todibo (if he stays) does have the qualities to be a top-class defender but has struggled to string a run of games together due to one fitness issue or another. A warning sign or has he been handled badly? Max Kilman is a bigger worry for me. After a reasonably steady start to the season, his performances have gradually fallen away and looks well short of a player purchased at a cost of £40 million – and committed to a seven-year contract. He just seems to lack the necessary determination, aggression and assertiveness to perform as a Premier League centre back – in much the same way that Nayef Aguerd struggled with the physical aspects of the English game.

Who’s The Joker in the Orange

Years ago, there was a Two Ronnies Mastermind sketch where the specialist subject was ‘Answering the question before last.’ I can only think that referee Tim Robinson was applying a similar concept to his random acts of officiating. Little correlation was apparent between his decisions and the action that had jsut taken place.  Not that he favoured one team or the other, although his major contribution to the game’s outcome was penalising (and booking) JWP for being in the vicinity when an opposing player fell over – with Bournemouth equalising from the resulting free-kick. You have to wonder where PGMOL find these guys; and at a time where they believe what the game really needs is even more refereeing judegement. At least Robinson is from West Sussex and not another member of the north-west England cluster. A look at his record shows him as one of the Premier League’s least used refs who rarely gets a look in at any of the rich club games. I wonder why?

Paquetagate: Latest Odds

From the trickle of information leaking from the Paqueta spot-fixing enquiry, it sounds like the FA are failing to present a compelling case that any offence has actually been committed. Just a handful of samba dancing Paqueta islanders betting on the high chance of yet another yellow card for their favourite son. Hopefully this is more than wishful thinking and the Brazilian will be free to either continue his erratic contributions at West Ham, or be sold on at a decent PSR boosting fee. If the case does fall apart, it could have serious implications for the denial of the £85 million transfer that never was, as well as the lucrative contract that would have inevitably come with it. It would be a severe embarrassment for the FA. And for the various talking heads who looked at slow motion replays of the yellow card incidents and concluded he was guilty as hell.

Having Sunk Below Par Eagles West Ham Look To Cherry Pick EFL Cup Success

After an unexpected three points last Saturday, the Hammers set off on the path to Carabao Cup glory with the visit of AFC Bournemouth to the London Stadium

Picking up the first points of the new Premier League season last Saturday came as a huge relief. With only the annual slaughter at the hands of Manchester City standing between zero points and the first of the interminable international breaks, it was a perfect time to put them on the board. With West Ham facing a ninth consecutive league defeat at the Etihad, it could be time to add a charge of bullying to the 115 others faced by City.

The build up at Selhurst Park was again dominated by a sense of disbelief that Julen Lopetegui had named the same starting eleven which struggled to impress the previous weekend. It was largely the same side who had been soundly humiliated at the same venue just four months previously. At this rate it is shaping up to be the slowest transformation of football style in recorded history with the majority of summer signings continuing to kick their heels on the bench. And with wonderkid Luis Guilherme nowhere to be seen.

If the personnel looked familiar, then the display was similarly reminiscent of the Scottish manager’s early period. By that I mean the more enterprising days of swift counter attacking rather than the dour cautious fare that typified its long, painful death. This season’s performances are  not yet the high press, possession based football promised on the tin – but neither has it been the dreadful low block and ten man defensive shield. And a precious away win will invariably forgive many sins.

The hosts had ended last season on a roll and might have expected to find themselves among the early pace setters when the opening fixtures were announced. As it is, they are one of five clubs yet to open their 2024/25 accounts. The departure of Olise has been a big loss and while Eze was the standout creative force of the first half, he is now operating as a one-man band.

The two West Ham summer signings that did make it into Lopetegui’s starting eleven both put in top class performances. Some felt the club had overpaid for Max Kilman but on the evidence of Saturday’s contribution it looks like money well spent. The carry out of defence to set up the second goal for Jarrod Bowen was a thing of beauty and simplicity. His defensive dominance rubbing off on centre-back partner Dinos Mavropanos who put in another sound shift and delay the introduction of Jean-Clair Todibo. The Greek could turn out to be a valuable squad member if he continues to keep the unforced errors to a minimum.

After seeming to be well off the pace in his debut against Aston Villa, Guido Rodriguez put in a far more settled performance to demonstrate his experience and competence in anchoring the midfield. The return from injury of Edson Alvarez as a second half substitute highlighting Lopetegui’s growing selection dilemmas – especially in the midfield areas. Even allowing for injuries, suspensions and option for squad rotation according to opposition it will be a challenge to find the right balance and keep everyone happy.

While Rodriguez and Alvarez would provide a formidable defensive midfield partnership who will take responsibility for directing midfield operations? Or will they not be played as a pair or double pivot? Will Lucas Paqueta be deployed in a deeper lying role and can he add better decision making to the undoubted crowd pleasing flicks and tricks? And what of Tomas Soucek? The Czech’s contribution is a perfect enigma. Useful for his defensive height and his late runs into the attacking third he offers virtually nothing in the areas inbetween. His goal attempts count is almost as high as his number of successful passes.

Attacking options are similarly confused – in both a good and bad way. Surely the pain of watching Michail Antonio flounder upfront has to put to a humane end sooner rather than later. His attributes of pace, strength and power have been useful in their day but are no longer relevant or as effective as they once were. The alternatives are more game time for Niclas Fullkrug, the signing of A N Other before the transfer window closes (not Tammy Abraham please) or playing without a recognised front man. A False 9 in modern parlance.

It is perhaps the ultimate dilemma that two of the squad’s best players – Bowen and Mohammed Kudus – are at their most effective from the same position wide on the right. I can’t believe the coach has reached the conclusion that Kudus is best deployed hugging the left touchline. It both reduces his effectiveness and keeps a natural alternative in “Jimmy” Summerville out of the mix. Kudus has to play, but where? A central role could be ideal but would require Paqueta to played much deeper.

On top of all this we have the closing days of the transfer window where – if the internet is to be believed – the Hammers continue to chase further signings, as well as shiftingout a number of players considered to  be surplus to requirements.

Before all that happens West Ham face the ignominy of having to compete in the second round of the Carabao cup for the first time since 2020. Theoretically, the less glamourous League Cup offers West Ham their smoothest route to domestic glory but is a trophy that has so far eluded their grasp. With no European competition to muddy the waters, could this be an opportunity for a first EFL final since 1981?

Being drawn against Premier League opposition is not ideal at this stage of the competition. And we must wait to see how seriously the respective managers approach the game. It has become custom and practice – for unaccountable reasons in my opinion – to field weakened teams and it will be interesting to see if that happens tonight. At least Lopetegui has a stronger squad to pick from and it is an opportunity for several summer signings to get a full ninety minute run-out. It would be no surprise to see Todibo, Guileherme, Summerville, Fullkrug and mabe Lewis Orford and Oliver Scarles from the academy getting an outing.

The EFL Cup Final will be played on 16 March 2025. Put it in your diaries. COYI!  

West Ham Versus Bournemouth Preview: Thursdays, Transfers and Takings

It’s Thursday night and so it must be time for a West Ham game. Will events on the pitch be as exciting as the live feed from the transfer window?. Or will both end in disappointment?

Once again, the schedulers have seen fit to shunt the Hammer’s forthcoming Premier league fixtures to the graveyard Thursday/ Sunday slots. As if we don’t already have enough of that during the weeks of European competition. It is a consequence, perhaps, of West Ham not being the easiest of watches under the current pragmatic regime.

Still David Moyes team continue to hold on to sixth spot in the standings and would have been even handier placed had it not been for the scandalous antics of the Stockley Park VARmin ten days or so ago. They must have already shut down their monitors to have missed the late penalty area assault on Jarrod Bowen in the final seconds.

Today’s game is also scheduled to coincide with the ceremonial ‘slamming shut’ of the transfer window – just as it had in the summer when West Ham were featured in the Friday night game at Luton. Why interrupt the evening’s nail-biting excitement by playing a football match?

As usual the January window is proving to be a triumph of hope over expectation. I had mentioned previously that precious little happens in this window, especially at West Ham. It’s almost as if all those reports of players being linked, bids being made, and talks being held are made up. Despite all the evidence, we still like to imagine something will happen.

As things stand the first team squad is one man down on its pre-window strength if persistent rumours that Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals might join the exodus then the bones will be even barer. New recruits are badly needed but time is rapidly running low – short-term, squad filling panic buys are not what is wanted. A whole month has passed to make a move, yet here we are scrambling around looking to grab a bargain in the final minutes.

The lack of activity has focused attention once again on the presumed mismatch of priorities between manager David Moyes, recruitment guru Tim Steidten and bean counter David Sullivan. Cheap, young, talented footballers with extensive Premier League experience appear to be in short supply for some reason. It must be a frustrating environment for Steidten who had been employed on the strength of the magic he had performed at Bayer Leverkusen – but at a club that lacks the courage of its convictions. It now appears that Liverpool are sniffing around for his services and who could blame him if he jumped onboard the Mersey ship? I doubt we need worry so much about Moyes being headhunted in light of the Liverpool and Barcelona jobs about to become vacant?

The annual Deloitte Football Money League was published recently and emphasised how big the financial gap is between the also-rans (like West Ham) and the six rich clubs of English football. The standings, based on annual revenues, show Real Madrid as the world’s richest club with Manchester City just behind. A total of eight Premier League clubs are in the top twenty with West Ham slipping down to 18th after a poor league season in 2022/23.

The following table shows the breakdown between Matchday, Broadcasting (including prize money) and Commercial revenues for each club in the top 20, plus revenue totals for the other English clubs ranked between 21 and 30. All the figures reported are in Euros.

What immediately stands out – apart from the size of the gap – is how poor West Ham’s matchday and commercial receipts are in comparison with the big clubs. How and why do Tottenham earn three times the matchday income and five times the commercial income compared to the Hammers. And, of course, those revenues directly influence the size of recruitment and salary budgets. The big stadium bounce has not enriched the club’s coffers anything like imagined and, in relative terms, we are not far ahead of the clubs ranked just below.

Turning to tonight’s game, West Ham face a Bournemouth side much improved from when the two teams met on the opening day of the season. It had taken time for Andoni Iraola to mould the team in his image, but they had hit a rich vein of form before falling to consecutive league defeats against Tottenham and Liverpool. The decision to replace Gary O’Neil with Iraola was controversial but appears to have improved both Bournemouth and Wolves. While the Cherries rely heavily on the rejuvenated Solanke for goals, they have looked a very capable side  going forward, although less certain at the back. Semenyo, Tavernier, and Scott will all carry a threat to a rearguard easily unsettled by pace.

Moyes has remained tight-lipped on his own selection options and there are ongoing fitness concerns over Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta. Mohammed Kudus has returned following Ghana’s early exit from AFCON and surely must be ready to start. New arrival Kalvin Phillips is available but with little game time under his belt for the past two season is unlikely to last 90 minutes of competitive football. Ordinarily, his situation would mean several weeks on the bench, but all indications are that this is a Moyes signing who will go straight into the starting eleven. Welcome and good luck, Kalvin.

My hope is that we will eventually see Phillips and Alvarez as a double defensive midfield pivot releasing JWP for more offensive duties behind a front three of Paqueta, Kudus and Jarrod Bowen. It would be an exciting prospect if allowed to flourish. The stumbling block is whether Moyes is prepared to relegate long-term favourite Tomas Soucek to extended bench duty. It would be no surprise if the manager fudged this decision today by allowing Alavarez extra recovery time.

Assuming Paqueta is not yet ready to return then it will be another outing for Danny Ings following his lively performance at Bramall Lane. The one enforced changed will be Ben Johnson replacing the suspended Vladimir Coufal.

A win tonight will put daylight between ourselves and the collection of teams below, but whatever happens the chances are we will remain sixth until the weekend. I don’t have a high degree of confidence its a position that canbe maintained with the current squad strength, but while there’s hope let’s cling to it.

On the opening day of the season West Ham failed to press home their early advantage against Bournemouth and in typical Moyesball style offered the opposition a route back into the game. All it needed was a lucky deflection and two points were dropped. Nothing suggests the underlying approach to games has changed much since then. So a narrow West Ham one goal victory is probably the best a fan can get. COYI!   

Robbed by the officials at Sheffield United, can West Ham push on in the league when Bournemouth visit on Thursday evening?

The Post Office Horizon scandal is one of the worst miscarriages of justice I can recall. It involved faulty accounting software creating false shortfalls in the accounts of many sub postmasters leading to over 900 convictions of theft, fraud and false accounting, and at the same time destroying thousands of lives. It took a TV series (Mr Burns versus the Post Office) to speed up the system of getting justice to all those who had been wronged.

Whilst not wishing to classify football in the same way, the officiating of our game at Sheffield United, particularly in the latter stages of the match, was in my opinion a scandal in footballing terms, and was one of the worst examples of poor refereeing and lack of use of VAR I’ve seen. Unfortunately, there are far too many recent examples of ineptitude in this respect. How can officials and VAR get so much wrong? It defies belief.

I’ll start by saying that based on our performance in the game I don’t believe we deserved to get more than a point. The lack of depth in the squad when we have injuries and lack of availability of first choice players was highlighted clearly in our failure to dominate against a team at the foot of the table and staring relegation in the face. I’ll also add that I am a fan of VAR too. But I’m not a fan of the clowns who operate the system. However we would have had three points from the game if the officials and VAR had done their job.

I’ll start with the penalty awarded to us about ten minutes before the end of the ninety. This was a straightforward decision for a referee who gave it when Ings (who had a surprisingly good game based on what we’ve seen from him so far in a West Ham shirt) was clearly caught. VAR seemed to take quite a time to ratify that the decision was correct. Why?

As we entered time added on, Brewster launched himself at Emerson, off the floor, out of control at speed, the clearest of sending off tackles you’ll ever see. Incredibly the referee (Salisbury) only showed him a yellow card. At least on this occasion VAR sent him to the monitor and he upgraded the card. We had the correct decision eventually, but how he didn’t give it in the first place was amazing.

We now had a 2-1 lead and 11 v 10. Surely the three points were safe? Coufal continued with his angry mood of recent games and once again seemed to enjoy fouling opponents and looking innocent when penalised. Reacting angrily to the shocking tackle earned him a yellow card and then he unprofessionally stamped on McAtee’s foot and we were 10v10.

The game was well into overtime when a ball was launched into the West Ham area, and as Areola went to punch it clear he had an arm into his face from substitute McBurnie and was left with a bloody lip and had to be treated and leave the field. For me it was a clear free kick to us and yet somehow the referee saw it another way and awarded a penalty. Never mind I thought to myself, thank heavens we’ve got VAR to rectify this nonsensical decision. They keep banging on with the phrase ‘clear and obvious error’ and this was as clear and obvious as it gets. I looked back on the timing afterwards. From the point that the penalty was awarded it was a further 4 minutes and 28 seconds before the kick was taken. How frustrating is it that in all that time that VAR had to look at the incident with all the camera angles and the evidence clearly showing on Areola’s mouth, they stood by the original decision, and didn’t even suggest that the referee had a look on the monitor.

We were now more than 12 minutes overtime when the penalty went in and we thought it was all over. But there was still time for us to kick off and in no time at all yet another astonishing refereeing decision which even capped the one a little earlier was to happen. In an attempt to get to Ben Johnson’s cross Bowen was wrestled to the ground by Ahmedhodzic who wasn’t even looking at the ball coming over. The referee awarded a free kick to Sheffield United. If a referee can honestly believe that McBurnie was fouled and yet the rugby tackle on Bowen wasn’t a foul then something is clearly wrong with the standard of officials and VAR.

Perhaps a TV series, Mr Burns versus referees and VAR would highlight to the nation that something needs to be done? Had the penalty that we should have been awarded been converted, and I’ve no doubt that JWP would have been successful then we would now be sitting on 37 points in sixth place, five clear of seventh place Brighton. In form terms relating to the last five league matches we would have had 13 points, a total that no team in the Premier League can better. The ineptitude of officials and VAR leaves us on 11, still the third best in the league.

Looking at our form I’ve gone back to Wednesday 1st November to see the results of our games in the three months prior to our meeting with Bournemouth coming up on 1st February. It has been a busy three months in which we’ve played 18 games. We’ve won 10 of them, drawn 4 and lost 4.

In the Premier League we have played 11, won 6, drawn 3 and lost 2. In the process we have defeated Burnley, Forest, Tottenham, Wolves, Manchester United and Arsenal. The two defeats were disappointing affairs losing 3-2 at Brentford after leading 2-1 and getting thrashed 5-0 at Fulham.

In the Europa League we won all our three games with 4 goals scored and none conceded to progress to the last 16.

The domestic cups have been disappointing. After a convincing win over Arsenal we surrendered at Liverpool in the EFL Cup, and then failed to beat Bristol City in two attempts in the FA Cup.

With 17 league games to go, the addition of an experienced England international to the squad (Phillips), and players returning from AFCON and injury, then surely we can push on to qualify for Europe once again? We will if we can retain our current league position of course. But can we?

As I write this on Tuesday evening prior to the five games being played tonight we have the usual West Ham situation as the transfer window closure approaches; we are no nearer to knowing if we will add any more new players to the squad. Jota and Osman in, Benrahma and Fornals out are the main rumours but who knows? There are always complications of one sort or another where West Ham are concerned.

This is one of those games that it is important to win if we are to maintain our challenge towards the top of the table. I’m on a roll as I predicted a 2-2 draw at Sheffield United (my first correct West Ham result forecast this season). I’ll go for a 3-1 win. What are the chances?

West Ham Versus Bournemouth: All The Things You Don’t Need To Know

All eyes will be on David Moyes as he cherry picks his West Ham side to face Bournemouth at the London Stadium

In a period of rampant fixture congestion prior to the Qatar World Cup it feels perverse to ask a team involved in midweek European competition to play their weekend fixture late on a Monday night. Once a big deal in the early days of live televised football, the glamour of the Monday night match has waned to become the home of fixtures with minority appeal. A perfect example of after the Lord Mayor’s show, but still preferable to the Friday night slot.

The weekend’s games have seen the Hammers left floundering in 17th place of the Premier League standings, teetering just above the dotted line of doom. As ever, the curse of VAR continued to infect the once beautiful game. When it comes to the poor standard of refereeing, a problem shared is a problem doubled. On-pitch and off-field officials compound each other’s flawed judgements and mistakes. The probability of error is being added rather than multiplied.

If the technology were being applied correctly, there would be a move towards greater consistency, not away from it. A penalty awarded for Chelsea but denied for Arsenal in almost identical circumsatances, just as the judo throw on Tomas Soucek also went unnoticed at Southampton. Haaland being allowed to use power and strength to barge through defenders, while Michail Antonio is regularly penalised for doing exactly the same.

Add to that the two-to-three-minute delay at Manchester City (as the game went on around them) before the ludicrous award of a ‘clear and obvious’ home penalty especially with a strong suspicion that Silva had engineered the tackle in the first place.

Although bizarre VAR decisions have played a supporting part in West Ham’s stuttering start to the season, both manager and team have struggled to look anywhere close to convincing. While a plea of misfortune could be entered for points dropped in games against Forest, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool, little evidence exists that the Hammers can reprise the exploits of the last two seasons.

If I were asked to summarise this season’s performances to date, it would be a team that is over-cautious, too willing to concede possession, poor at passing, and weak at finishing. But do the statistics bear that out?

I think the reason Moyes team appears overly cautious is the reliance on a low block and the lack of pressing higher up the pitch. The Hammers score low on number of presses, especially in the attacking third – preferring to retreat to the edge of their own area. Creating a disciplined compact defensive shape was one of Moyes tactical victories in stopping the rot left by Pellegrini. The culture persists today and only four teams in the Premier League have conceded fewer goals this season. But compact in defence can easily become congested in possession if there is not good movement. It is difficult to validate this from publicly available stats, but observation suggest a lack of fluidity, few third man runs, and a dearth of passing opportunities that feature in the play of most successful sides.

Possession stats have risen a little in the past few weeks, up now to 44% and higher than five other clubs in the division. Surprisingly, the Hammers are mid-table when it comes to passing accuracy, roughly equal to Newcastle. But when looking at the progressive distance of those passes, it shows them slipping down the table – suggesting a higher proportion of passes that are short or go sideways and backward. What is not clear to me is whether a below par passing game is down to individual player weaknesses or to match tactics which stymie a fluent passing game – which is the chicken and which is the egg?

Interestingly, West Ham sit eighth in terms of total number of shots but are well down the rankings for shots on target (and of course, goals scored). In fact, only Wolves have a worse record for percentage of shots on targets. West Ham’s 25% of shots on target is strikingly unfavourable compared to the 38% achieved by both Arsenal and Tottenham. What is the opposite of clinical?

I’ve had a long held soft spot for tonight’s visitors dating back to their time as a plucky lower league side. For some years, I lived on the south coast but the association started even before that, when I attended a Bournemouth versus Luton game in 1969 during a family holiday. It was first professional game I had gone to that didn’t feature West Ham. The battle of the Supermacs – Ted MacDougall for the hosts and Malcolm Macdonald for the visitors – ended as a 1-0 away win. The club has also had a strong West Ham connection over the years with John Bond, Trevor Hartley, Harry Redknapp, Kevin Bond, Jimmy Quinn, Scott Parker and now Gary O’Neil all spending time in the Cherry’s manager’s seat.

I half expected Bournemouth to fade back into lower league obscurity following their 2020 relegation, so full credit to them for making it back to the big time and putting together a creditable start to the current campaign, despite early season hammerings by Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool. Since O’Neil took charge, the Cherrys have won two, drawn four and lost just once.

According to most reports, West Ham will be without Nayef Aguerd and Lucas Paqueta tonight and doubts continue with the fitness of Craig Dawson and Maxwell Cornet. That suggests a continuation of the Kurt Zouma / Thilo Kehrer centre-back pairing – assuming Angelo Ogbonna is not consider a credible starter these days – with either Ben Johnson or Vladimir Coufal at right back. I am hoping that Paqueta’s absence means a rare start for Said Benrahma to offer at least a hint of guile, and that Flynn Downes gets another chance to impress following his fine performance at Anfield. My concern again would be a midfield top-heavy with defensive minded players unable to provide the level of support required by the front players. We are, after all playing at home – against Bournemouth!

A home win today would bounce West Ham into the top half of the table – onto page one of Teletext, as it was. Defeat would leave them mired in a congested mob of clubs looking nervously downwards. There is a lot to play for and it is a time to boldly go for it. Maybe time for an extended look at Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio as a joint attacking force. We can dream!

Apparently, the Hammers have built a reputation as Monday night masters, having won their last five fixtures on that particular graveyard shift – who keeps tabs on this sort of thing? I will be surprised and disappointed if they don’t make it six in a row. But what we do know, is that they will make hard work of it. West Ham to win 2-1. COYI!

Can West Ham make it five home wins in a row for the first time in more than ten years?

How many of us (West Ham fans) would have thought at the start of the season that when it came to the fixture at home to Bournemouth, just a week from the end of October, with the World Cup looming up next month, and with almost one-third of the season completed, that we would be sitting below them in the Premier League table? West Ham, with a sixth and seventh place finish in the top-flight in the last two seasons versus a newly promoted Bournemouth side. Surely, with what was believed to be a very successful summer transfer window, with the recruitment of current internationals (German and Italian defenders, a Brazilian midfielder, and an Italian centre forward), we would be maintaining our challenge to the top teams, whereas our south coast opponents would be languishing towards the bottom?

Yet here we are with 11 points from 11 games whereas the Cherries are two points in advance of us, both of us having won three of our opening games, but they have drawn four and lost four, whereas we have drawn two and lost six. In fact, all three of the promoted teams have done relatively well (so far) with Fulham sitting in the top half of the table, Bournemouth amongst a cluster of mid-table clubs, and even Forest, despite sitting in the bottom three, beating our midweek conquerors Liverpool at the City Ground on Saturday.

After beginning this campaign with a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa, Bournemouth then lost three games in a row conceding four at Manchester City, three at home to Arsenal, and then a record-equalling nine at Liverpool. Sixteen goals conceded without a single goal scored meant cheerio Scott Parker, and since then Gary O’Neill has been in caretaker charge.

He began with a goalless draw against Wolves, an excellent 3-2 comeback win at Forest after being two down at half-time, a creditable 1-1 draw at Newcastle, another goalless draw at home to Brentford, a 2-1 home win against Leicester, and then a 2-2 draw at Fulham. Two wins and four draws in his first six games in charge, an excellent CV if he was hoping for a permanent appointment, was then spoiled by an (unexpected?) 0-1 reverse at home to fellow south coasters Southampton in midweek. Nevertheless, the midfielder, who spent two and a half years at Upton Park, turning out 48 times for the Hammers around ten years ago, has steadied the ship, and must be a contender for the role in the longer term if he can keep them away from the bottom.

This is our seventh season at the London Stadium. Do you remember our very first Premier League game here in August 2016? On a sunny Saturday afternoon Bournemouth were the visitors and we ran out 1-0 winners when Michail Antonio headed a very late far post winner. But we haven’t had it all our own way against the Cherries in top-flight games, and in fact they lead 4-3 in wins in Premier League matches.

We head into this game (our 85th Premier League match on a Monday, more than any other team I read) with 12 fewer points than at this stage last season (11 compared to 23) after 11 games. In our first 11 games last season we had won 7, drawn 2, and lost 2, so we are some way behind where we were last time around, and have some catching up to do if we are to equal the seventh-place finish in 2021-22.

Our recent home form has been good, winning our last four competitive games. We haven’t won five in a row at home for more than ten years now. Much is made of David Moyes’ poor record as a manager against the big boys, but conversely he has never lost a game in charge against Bournemouth. Is that a good or a bad sign?

I wonder what starting eleven he will select for this game? Is Aguerd ready for consideration yet? He must be close now, but they are hoping to give him a couple of under 23 games first I read. Perhaps Cornet and Dawson will be ready after their recent injuries, although it seems unlikely that Paqueta will be risked unless he is 100%. One player I definitely want to see is Flynn Downes. He has impressed me immensely in the games where he has been given the chance, he adds some solidity to our midfield, and enables Declan Rice to go forward more, something he did superbly in his man of the match performance at Anfield in midweek.

A win would equalise our top-flight record of wins against our visitors, but more importantly we would leapfrog them in the table. Yesterday’s results meant that we slipped down to seventeenth in the table, but it is so congested that a win would take us into the top half (10th) with 14 points, just two points adrift of eighth-place Liverpool, and four below Fulham in seventh.

This game won’t be as easy as some might predict, but I reckon we’ll do enough to achieve that fifth competitive home win in a row. 3-1? What are the chances?

West Ham at Anfield, plus abuse of officials setting a poor example to the junior game

I thought that Jurgen Klopp was very restrained on the touchline in our game at Liverpool on Wednesday night. He had previously “lost it” last weekend at assistant referee Gary Beswick and was sent off for his outburst. He did apologise and has vowed to try to contain his behaviour. To be fair he hadn’t been sent off before, but this time he really overstepped the mark. Some of his fellow managers, including our own gave him support. Frank Lampard for example does not seem to believe there is a link between the behaviour of managers at the top level and the abuse that referees get at junior levels. David Moyes believes that managers can “lose their heads” in a game and change their character from their true selves.

As someone who watches junior football I believe Klopp has a responsibility to set an example like all elite managers and players should. Like it or not, young players copy what they see the professionals doing. And parents on the touchline will copy what they see too. The abuse given to referees at junior matches can be quite appalling. Klopp’s conduct leads to parents reacting in the same way, because I guess, they think it’s OK. It’s not. Referees at grassroots level are giving up in droves because they can’t stand the abuse. The FA revealed that last season 380 players were banned for attacking or threatening officials in English grassroots football. I hope Klopp gets a significant touchline ban.

Players surrounding the referee when a decision goes against them is another issue that needs addressing. In the days of Alex Ferguson Manchester United players were notorious for this kind of behaviour. The same is true of their players today, and the club have been charged for failing to control them in last Sunday’s game against Newcastle when they surrounded the referee like a pack of dogs. Their current manager doesn’t agree believing it wasn’t that aggressive. Of course West Ham have now been charged with failing to control players after they too surrounded the referee (Peter Bankes) during last Sunday’s draw at Southampton when he body checked Jarrod Bowen as he attempted to tackle Perraud just before he scored. I’m not sure we can learn too much from the game of rugby, but the insistence that only the captain can approach the referee to question decisions is one that perhaps we could follow. Similar situations surrounding referees happen in junior football too. Would it happen if they didn’t see players at elite levels doing it? I don’t believe it would.

Back to Wednesday night’s game at Anfield. To only lose 1-0 and miss a penalty in the process is a sign that we are, perhaps, not too far away from getting back towards our form of the last two seasons. We restricted Liverpool to a handful of chances, and Fabianski was equal to the challenge when necessary. The amazing statistic that we are the lowest scoring Premier League team in the first half of games this season (only scoring 2 so far) was maintained during a first half where we were threatened to be overrun in the early stages. But a much improved second half performance could have, and perhaps should have resulted in us getting a point out of the game.

I thought that Declan Rice had a tremendous game, doing his usual stuff, plus thrusting forward and setting up attacks more than he has done in recent times. I believe that one of the reasons for this was the inclusion of Flynn Downes from the start. Every time I see Downes he impresses me with his strength when tackling and challenging for the ball, his positional sense, and his great habit of finding a team-mate when passing the ball, unlike one or two others in the team. I hope he gets a run in the starting eleven.

We still find ourselves in the bottom half of the table two points above the relegation zone, but only five points below seventh place where we finished last season. Three of the next four games before the break for the World Cup are at home to Bournemouth, Palace and Leicester with a trip to Old Trafford sandwiched in between. We have a good opportunity (on paper) to move into the top half before the break. Ten points from those four games would be good. What are the chances?

Groundhog New Year’s Day: The Moyes Is Back In Town And This Time He’s Looking For A Bounce

Cometh the man, cometh the dour. He’s back but what will be the biggest challenge – winning over the opposition or winning over the fans?

Another year and the eternal hope for the dawn of an exciting new era for West Ham. At least, that is what they would like us to think. That a change of manager will wipe away the past, fix the present and lead us to a future of sunlit uplands and silverware.

Without doubt getting shot of Manuel Pellegrini was the right thing to do.  The current predicament, flirting with relegation, was largely his doing and we need not feel sorry for him. Beyond that, the lack of direction, the failure to deliver a plan or strategy that might produce a step change in the club’s fortunes and the absence of a required level of investment is down the board. I have said this several times before but the two Daves lack both the financial resources and imagination to turn West Ham into a club capable of challenging at a higher level. The appointment of David Moyes, as West Ham’s seventh manager in their ten-year tenure, was typical of their muddled thinking and short-term outlook.

I don’t have any particular issues with Moyes, but he is not a progressive choice. He will most probably keep us in the Premier League but the fact is, once again, survival has become the only objective. From the owner’s perspective retention of Premier League status will see the value of the asset appreciate until the right time comes to sell. The level of investment need only be sufficient to keep heads above the Championship. A cynical view, perhaps, but one that the owner’s actions have done little to dispel. I have read some fans on social media hoping for relegation as a means of forcing the owners out. That feels like a naive view to me as they would unlikely sell in those circumstances. In fact, the level of investment has been fairly consistent with other also-rans but most others have spent more wisely.

There are two schools of thought concerning Moyes previous spell in the West Ham hot seat. One that he steered the club from a desperate situation to mid-table respectability and did what was needed to make that happen; the other that it was a grim period in recent Hammer’s history where a couple of late wins put an undeserved gloss on an otherwise mediocre record and below average win ratio. The case for the prosecution will also point to the signing of Jordan Hugill.

Unfortunately for Moyes he finds himself back in a similar position as last time, where the priority for points is weighted far more highly than a duty to entertain – if, in fact, he has that tool in his locker. As we supporters should have learned from our own history, it is very difficult to reach judgement on a manager from a single or part season only. Maybe the situation will spawn a new round of anti-Board protests but I sense that we will now have Moysie here for the next 18 months. I can’t see anything other than pretty ugly football for the remainder of this term; after that we will need to wait and see which way the latest new direction points.

There have been some horrendous suggestions in the media and online of players linked with a move to the London Stadium during the transfer window. I prefer to take these with a pinch of salt as only a small percentage of rumours turn out to be true. Maybe it is just wishful thinking.

Today’s game against Bournemouth is a classic six-pointer. Both teams have struggled for points in recent weeks and look to be in free-fall, just as other clubs in relegation peril start to rally. There has been precious little time for Moyes to work on the team’s obvious lack of fitness and organisation, but it would be no surprise if he decided to go for a change of formation – to the 3-5-2 set-up that he settled on during his previous reign. As many of us were imploring Pellegrini to do likewise, I couldn’t argue with that. Whatever the eventual line-up, we could certainly do with a generous helping of new manager bounce to help us on our way. Perhaps losing but not from a winning position will be as good a bounce as we’re likely to get!

The visitors have been badly hit by injuries this season but any team that lost Leicester reserves cannot take much relief from that fact.  Eddie Howe’s team have a good record against West Ham and strikers Callum Wilson and Josh King must both rate the Hammers as a favourite and hospitable opponent. Fortunately, King looks to have been added to list of sick and will probably miss the game.

Graham Scott from Oxfordshire is the matchday referee aided by Lee Mason on VAR duty in the underground Stockley Park bunker. The implementation of VAR appears to be getting worse and more intrusive week by week – more so for those in the ground who are left waiting with little information. Allowing the referee’s to supervise implementation was never going to be a good idea.

Our pundit buddies have both gone for a West Ham home win: Lawro by 2-0 and Charlie Nicholas by 2-1.  I can see this being the most cagey of games and wouldn’t be surprised to see it settled by a single goal. Hopefully, it will be one that works to our advantage.

17th v 16th, another 6 pointer. Can West Ham reap the benefit of the arrival of an old acquaintance when Bournemouth visit the London Stadium to begin the New Year?

So, at last action was taken. I won’t need to write about my perception of Mr Pellegrini’s shortcomings any more. Minutes after the final whistle following the disappointing defeat to Leicester Reserves on Saturday, he was summoned to face Ms Brady, who, having seen Lord Sugar perform the act on numerous occasions, extended the index digit on her left hand and added the words “With regret, you’re fired.” Relief at last for the majority of West Ham fans who couldn’t wait for him to go, but this was tempered by news that David Moyes was odds on to replace him, an appointment that was confirmed by late Sunday evening.

If you want to see what West Ham fans think of the appointment just head to the appropriate social media sites which give a whole variety of opinions on the new manager. There are literally thousands of them, mostly negative I would say on balance, but many saying wait and see. This is my stance too. I saw his interview on West Ham TV as well as his press conference and he was certainly saying all the right things. You wouldn’t think that based on his track record after leaving Everton he would be the person to “take us to the next level”, but having said that, the immediate next level for our club at the moment is movement away from the relegation zone, and he does have previous in that respect. In my opinion his record as manager at Goodison Park was largely impressive, and though he didn’t pull up any trees at Old Trafford, no manager has really been able to replace Alex Ferguson, have they?

Many have pilloried the board for the appointment, but then again Messrs. Sullivan, and Gold and Ms Brady are so disliked by so many, that I doubt there was little they could possibly do in the circumstances mid- season that would satisfy a majority of fans. It was interesting to read the views of fans on social media as to who they actually wanted to manage the club. Such a diverse list of possibilities but nobody knows who would want to come here or who was available. I really hope that David Moyes is a success because I am a supporter of over 60 years who wants to see the club move forward. Whether or not it will happen I don’t know. Personally I am just glad that they didn’t turn to Allardyce or Pulis, I rate David Moyes much higher than those two. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll make my views known on the appointment in a few weeks’ time in this blog. For now I give him the benefit of the doubt.

Bournemouth haven’t been in the Premier League for long (this is their fifth season), but in the short time that they have been they have a good record against us. We have only beaten them twice in nine meetings, and only once in the four home games, when we won the very first league game that we played at London Stadium with a late headed goal from the Snowman. So head-to- head recent history is not in our favour.

Both teams go into the game with very poor recent form and that is why they are 17th and 16th in the Premier League table. We have the worst home form of all the teams in the Premier League, and as we all know, we have lost the last four home league games. The most consecutive home games that we have ever lost in our entire history is five, and that happened in 1931! There aren’t many of us who remember then! That is one record that we don’t wish to equal.

Even conceding a solitary goal can be a problem for us this season. In the 15 games we have conceded at least one goal we have only won one of them. That happened in August when we beat Watford 3-1. Even the day itself has been a problem in the past as we have lost seven of the eleven Premier League games played on January 1st, which is more than any other team, apart from Everton.

Bournemouth have been equally poor, losing seven of their last nine league games, and winning only one of them. In the last four and a half seasons they have lost more Premier League games away from home than any other team, apart from Watford. Two things in particular worry me though. Bournemouth are second only to Liverpool when it comes to scoring set-piece goals in the Premier League this season, and you know how good we are at defending set pieces! And Callum Wilson has not scored for 12 games. He has never gone 13 games without scoring!

It will be interesting to see our new manager’s team selection and the way we set up. I reckon he may try three at the back (Balbuena, Diop and Ogbonna) and then use two wing backs (Fredericks and Masuaku or Cresswell). But who knows? He hasn’t really had the chance to assess very much in a couple of days, but our fans will be on his back if it doesn’t go well.

There has never been a 0-0 draw in a West Ham v Bournemouth game in history. In just 14 games that have been played there has been between 1 and 7 goals in every game, including every number in between. Who can possibly predict what we can expect today? We are fractionally odds-on to win the game despite our recent poor form, probably as a result of the new manager effect. West Ham to win and both teams to score is 23/10, and if you want to predict a score, my forecast would be a 2-1 win at 15/2. I’d settle for that.