Tag: #WHUFC

Tales Of The Unexpected: What Did We Learn From West Ham’s Win Against Chelsea?

West Ham pulled off the shock result of the weekend seeing off big-spending Chelsea at the London Stadium. Here are the takeaways.

You’ve Scored Three Goals and No Passes

OK, so it wasn’t no passes but a total of 170 or so completed passes over the course of 90 minutes (plus added time) is hardly impressive. However, just as Woody Allen once claimed that: “there’s no such things as a bad orgasm”, then we can add that there’s no such thing as a bad win against Chelsea – especially when you have to play for over 20 minutes with ten men. It was a dream debut for James Ward-Prowse who ended the day with two assists chalked up against his name. The first (of many hopefully) was a teasingly flighted corner kick. The second, one of those technical assists where he was the penultimate player to touch the ball before it hit the net. It was a very nice pass, but it was really Michail Antonio who assisted the creation of his own opportunity – topped it off with a stunning strike which was possibly the best of his 62 Premier League goals for West Ham. For once, David Moyes made good decisions with his substitutions that saw productive cameos from Pablo Fornals and Edson Alvarez.

The Game of Two Halves Masterclass

If West Ham were a rock band, their set would open with one of their best-known songs before boring everyone silly for an hour with a medley of obscure songs from the latest album. Only towards the end would the energy levels rise again with a rousing encore of greatest hits. So, it was yesterday. A strong opening and well worked goal prompted the usual retreat, allowing the Chelsea front line to repeatedly cut through the defensive line time and time again. Had Alphonse Areola not unexpectedly saved the spot kick just before half-time; the Hammers may have been dead and buried. It would have taken a brave man to place a bet on a West Ham win at the interval. Yet, the second half played out as if it were two different teams on the pitch. West Ham defended narrower, pressed in front of the back four and shut down the spaces Chelsea’s forwards had previously exploited. The visitors were invited to put crosses into the box at will, but their delivery was woeful. Even with a one man advantage they rarely threatened after the break.

The Chelsea Red Card Menace

As well as expecting a sound thrashing, my half-time prediction was that one of Nayef Aguerd, Emerson Palmieri or Lucas Paqueta would pick up a second yellow card in the second period. And that’s just what happened. Having gone through the whole of last season without a single sending off, West Ham had fallen foul of officialdom in only their second outing. I’d like to claim a biased refereeing conspiracy but Aguerd was bang to rights on both occasions. The second yellow being both a reckless and unnecessary lunge that hard little chance of ending in success. The sending off prevented a double substitution that would have seen Fornals and Alvarez replace Said Benrahma and Tomas Soucek but Angelo Ogbonna stepped in to replace Aguerd instead. It was the Hammers first Premier League red card since Craig Dawson was dismissed also against Chelsea in April 2022.

Pleased To Meet You Hope You Guess My Name

Early season games can be unpredictable with teams sometimes making wholesale changes to their squads and switching managers. Indeed, it may have been fortunate to be playing Chelsea so early in the season given their vast turnover of personnel. Pochettino will eventually manage to get a tune out of his side even if they looked like a bunch of individuals – and a few duds – put together for big money without any particular plan. At least Raheem Sterling looked to be rejuvenated under the new regime. Although West Ham haven’t experienced the same disruption, they did lose that Declan Whatshisname fella who used to play here, and his absence will take some getting used to. The hope is that more signings will arrive at the London Stadium before the end of the transfer window, although past performance makes no guarantees. Whether that will herald an improvement is less certain. It is all very well the team being praised for their resilience, discipline, and determination – and they are great attributes – but most fans want to see a lot more than that. West Ham are not a newly promoted club whose only aspiration is to consolidate its position in the top flight. The outlook needs to change   

Out Of Left Field

 The immediate future of the Paqman will keep us guessing during the early part of the season. Will he be transferred, will he be banned? Yesterday’s eclectic performance embodied theatrics, panache, pomp, and passion. He was as pumped to have won a throw-in as he was when scoring from the spot. In open play, he is partial to drifting out to the left where Emerson (and Fornals, if he is on the pitch) seem to be the players able to operate on a similar wavelength. Emerson continues to be an enigma. Looking highly capable as a wing-back but struggling when asked to operate as a conventional full-back. If the plan is to play mostly with a back four, other options are required at left back. If a three/ five at the back is preferred then someone who can play right wing-back is badly needed.

Here We Go: Football Match To Interfere With Transfer Speculation Frenzy

West Ham host their opening Premier League home game and first London derby of the new season when new-look Chelsea visit the London Stadium. Is there any chance of a Hammer’s victory?

Last week I was reading a (non-football) article explaining how emotions and sentiment in life typically follow a repeating cycle. Things can start positively enough with rising optimism creating a sense of invincibility, excitement, and euphoria. But gradually anxiety sets in, bringing with it a descent into fear, desperation, panic, and depression. Finally, from these depths of despondency, feelings of relief and hope will emerge into fresh optimism, allowing the cycle to start over once again. What the writer doesn’t realise, though, is that for a West Ham fan, this whole cycle can easily be experienced in a single day.

As it was, Friday morning dawned with positive news. The preposterous idea of a Harry Maguire transfer appeared to be dead in the water. Even the most ordinary player can look impressive on YouTube but Harry is the only footballer with enough blooper reels to fill an entire series on the BBC? The added irony is that Maguire believes he deserves better than West Ham, while in reality, no forward-thinking manager would be remotely interested in his services

At the same time, the word from the in-the-know community was buzzing with speculation that the club were on the cusp of announcing two more major signings – Konstantinos Mavropanos from VfB Stuttgart and Mohammed Kudus from Ajax. It seemed that Tim Steidten had, at last, spectacularly seized the reins of transfer strategy from David ‘must have Premier League experience’ Moyes. Excitedly, we sat by our screens awaiting the unveiling of our newest recruits. All in time for this weekend’s fixture with Chelsea. SPOILER ALERT: None of that happened.

Concerns persisted that mercurial Brazilian, Lucas Paqueta could be tempted by an irresistible offer from Abu Dhabi. But if it was an offer that could not be refused, we could now be confident that Tim would use the proceeds wisely on a clutch of imaginative replacements . After all, the list of players linked to a London Stadium move was growing by the hour. If on Friday morning it looked like Paqueta could be going to Manchester City, by the evening it looked like he might be heading straight to jail – without Passing Go! The proposed move tumbling down like a Paqueta cards once details of a yellow card betting scandal hit the airwaves.

As we know, the West Ham recruitment team do not work at the weekends and further transfer activity must wait until the office has been unlocked on Monday morning. The ancient Amstrad FAX machine needs to be switched off over the weekend to avoid overheating. By then the window will have been open for 68 days with just 10 more remaining (excluding weekends).

Against my better judgement, I also clicked Play when the YouTube algorithm presented a link to a ‘Rio Meets Declan’ video a few days ago. Apart from the speed with which Rice has become a lifelong Gooner, the one thing that stood out was our one-time skipper’s obvious surprise at how superior, professional, and detailed preparations were under Arteta compared to his experience at West Ham. Everything from adapting tactics to the way the opposition plays, to encouraging fluidity in the positions players take up, to the planning of set piece routines. It’s a reminder (if needed) as to how big a gap there is between West Ham and the elite teams. With rigid positions and formations becoming an outdated concept under modern forward-thinking coaching regimes, West Ham may soon be eligible for a Government Heritage Protection award.

For today’s encounter with Chelsea, Moyes will have several selection decisions to make in the midfield areas. New boys Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse are available for selection and a view needs to be taken over Paqueta’s mental fitness to play. It is almost guaranteed that Ward-Prowse will start. He is a Moyes pick, and the manager will already be salivating over his dead ball prowess. Whether Moyes will consider Alvarez a starter is less certain. Past performance suggests a 70th minute substitute appearance is more likely – but who knows for sure. Perhaps he believes the Mexican can be a threat from set pieces – on me ‘ed-son? It would be no surprise to me if the same team as last week started with Ward-Prowse for Pablo Fornals being the only change.

Past performance suggests that the Paqueta investigation will drag on for many months to come. So, there is no reason to side-line him pending its outcome. Ivan Toney coped admirably last season with an FA disciplinary investigation hanging over him – hopefully, Paqueta can do the same. It’s possible, of course, that he is innocent anyway – at least until proven guilty.

Stamford Bridge has once again witnessed a multi-million pound transfer merry-go-round in the summer. Adding to the massive outlay in last season’s windows, the Blues have seen nine players come in and another eight depart for significant fees. In the last week alone, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia have arrived in a £170 million package as additional options in the Chelsea midfield. Both are available for today’s game.

It is also a welcome return to Premier League action for ex-Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino as the latest temporary occupant of the Chelsea hot seat. Looking chubbier, ruddier, and more dishevelled than his north London persona – reminiscent of a younger Rory McGrath – he faces a tough job to get his all new squad challenging for the Champion’s League places before the Boehly goodwill runs out.

The two teams last met at the London Stadium in February this year. The game at the tail end of Graham Potter’s time at Stamford Bridge was a scrappy affair that ended all square at one goal apiece. From a West Ham perspective, it was classic Moyesball where the Hammers enjoyed just 28% possession and just over 200 successfully completed passes all afternoon – one of four home games last season where possession was 30% or lower.

The worry for today is that it will be a similarly negative approach from the manager. The Chelsea wing-backs are the major threat – Chilwell especially has proved difficult to handle. Rather than taking the initiative and giving them something to defend, the usual Moyes reaction is to get his own wide men to drop even deeper to compensate. As ever, I will hope for an extraordinary West Ham win but the confidence is low. Perhaps a debut Ward-Prowse free-kick goal can swing it. COYI!

Some great memories of West Ham games against Chelsea

We’ve had some great games against Chelsea over the years. I can go back to the 1960s – here are some of my favourites. How many do you remember?

The most recent one that I can recall goes back to December 2021. We were 2-1 down at half-time (Lanzini penalty), Bowen equalised early in the second half, and then there was that comical shot / cross where Masuaku deceived Mendy close to the end of the game.

Then going back to the previous summer behind closed doors (remember Covid?) we were drawing 2-2 going into the last minute when Yarmolenko scored a breakaway goal to earn the three points.

In November 2019 we played at Stamford Bridge with David Martin in goal. Cresswell scored and we held on for a famous 1-0 with Martin taking all the emotional headlines.

Do you remember Arnautovic? In December 2017 he scored a very early goal and we held on for a 1-0 win.

We played them in the League Cup in 2016, one of the very early games I remember at the London Stadium. We won 2-1 with goals from Kouyate and Fernandes (remember him?). I thought he was a good prospect and was sad to see him go.

Just a year before that in 2015 a memorable game against the champions from the previous season was won with a late goal from Andy Carroll who had come on as a substitute for Zarate who scored our first. We went to third in the league in a game remembered for six Chelsea bookings and both Matic, and Mourinho being sent off. 2-1 in the end.

Going back to December 2012 we were one down at half time but a superb second half performance with goals from Carlton Cole, and then Diame and Maiga both scoring in the last 5 minutes in front of the Bobby Moore stand gave us an excellent 3-1 win.

Back now to that ill fated season 2002-2003 when we were relegated with some excellent players, going down with 42 points from 38 games. We had rallied well towards the end of the season and our penultimate game was at home to Chelsea. Our caretaker manager sent on Di Canio early in the second half and he scored the goal which gave us a 1-0 win to give us an outside chance of survival. Sadly it was not to be when we drew 2-2 in the final game and went down as a result.

Earlier in that season we had beaten them 3-2 with Di Canio netting twice, one of them very late in the game to clinch the victory.

In October 2001 Carrick and Kanoute scored two early goals to give us a 2-1 win.

Now back to some much earlier games. Towards the end of 1987-88 we had only won one game since January when we faced Chelsea in the penultimate game of the season. We gave them a thrashing 4-1 with the goals from Cottee, Rosenior (2) and Hilton.

In 1986 we beat them twice in high scoring games. It was 5-3 in October (Stewart 2, Cottee 2 and McAvennie) and the season before in March we recorded a splendid victory at Stamford Bridge, with McAvennie, Cottee 2, and Devonshire scoring the goals. I remember Brian Moore’s commentary of that game when watching it on the Big Match on Sunday afternoon.

In our record breaking Division 2 season (1980-81) we completed the double over them – in the home gam we won 4-0 with goals from Brooking 2, Cross and Devonshire.

Back into the 1970s we did the double over them in 1973-74 with a 4-2 away victory where Clyde Best scored two of the goals and a 3-0 win at home with a hat-trick from Billy Bonds who was playing in midfield for us at the time.

Back into the 60s I can remember a Peters / Hurst double in a 2-0 win early one season, and perhaps one of the most remarkable West Ham v Chelsea derbies in the week before Christmas in the year we won the World Cup. We led 2-0, trailed 3-2, led 5-3 before the game finally ended in a 5-5 draw, Sissons 2, Brabrook, Byrne and Peters scoring the goals.

That season was one of my favourites watching West Ham for entertainment despite finishing sixteenth in the league and being eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup to third division Swindon. We did reach the semi-final of the League Cup before going out to West Brom over two legs. Apart from the 5-5 against Chelsea there were some highly entertaining games. We lost 5-4 at Leicester and recorded wins of 4-1 (v Man City), 1-0 (v Spurs), 3-1 (v Arsenal) and then in a famous fortnight in November beat Fulham (6-1), Leeds (7-0), Spurs 4-3, and Newcastle 3-0. There were other big wins (we scored four goals two days in a row against Blackpool too). We also suffered some heavy defeats, 4-0 twice, 6-1 and 6-2!). We scored 73 league goals that season and conceded 69. We also scored 20 goals in the FA Cup / League Cup.

You will have noticed lots of gaps going back over the last 60 years or so. I guess they beat us a few times but I’ve forgotten those. Can I add to memories of West Ham v Chelsea games this weekend? I hope I can. A debut goal from James Ward-Prowse to equal Beckham’s free kick record perhaps?

Chelsea are favourites to win the game. You can name your own odds on a 5-5 draw.

Perhaps an England Women / West Ham winning double on Sunday? That’s about 10/1! What are the chances?

Enjoy the game. COYI!

David Moyes Versus The Lettuce: Which Will Last The Longest?

As his trademark caution once again fails to push home the advantage, how much longer will the West Ham board tolerate his dull and negative approach to the game. What did we learn from the points shared in the season opener at Bournemouth?

The Plan: We Only Need To Be Better Than Three Other Teams

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome, then our manager must be as mad a box of baby haggises (or is it haggi?). Who would have guessed that completely surrendering the initiative would have given a boost to a previously short-on-ideas opponent? Or do we expect too much? Perhaps in the Moyestro’s mind a draw at Bournemouth represents a very satisfactory day at the office. In an ‘any point away from home is a bonus and we were unlucky not to win’ sort of way. Pick up another point at Luton and his side will be right on track to reach the manager’s targeted two points from the opening six games. Then we can focus on the more realistic challenge of fighting for scrappy home wins from the peer group that includes Forest, Everton, Burnley and Sheffield United.

Possession And How Not To Use It

I’ve never been too hung up on possession statistics. It’s more about what you do with the ball once you have it at your feet. The clue is pass to a teammate. Take Brentford for example. Last season, they had a similar level of possession to West Ham and relied just as heavily on the long pass. But because they commit more players forward, they pose a far greater threat, are exciting to watch, and force every opponent to be wary of pushing too many of their own players forward. Sadly, that’s not how Moyesball works. To him, risk is a dirty word along with its evil twin, entertainment. Despite this, West Ham were the better side in the first half yesterday, taking advantage of a hesitant host who were uncertain what their new manager expected of them. The Hammers were never likely to run riot (as they had a few months earlier), but they created the better opportunities in a low-key first half, without ever dominating.

The Natural Negative Instincts Are Never Far Away

The watershed moment in the game came when West Ham took the lead – and what a beautiful strike it was from Jarrod Bowen. The possession percentage barely changed pre and post goal, but the balance of play switched completely. Bournemouth threw caution to the wind, bringing on more attack minded players while Moyes reverted to type – attempting to batten down the hatches and protect the slim advantage his team held. It just isn’t in his DNA (or Dinnae in Scottish) to exploit the extra space on offer in search of a second conclusive goal. His only strategy for killing off a game is through boredom. It was no surprise when the equaliser came. Anyone watching could sense it was only a matter of time. All the opposition needs when you concede so much space is to get lucky once. And they did just that when a mishit shot turned into a killer pass for Solanke to finish. The sight of Moyes yelling at Vladimir Coufal in the dying minutes not to take a quick attacking throw and take his time instead says all you need to know about his cautious mindset.

Substitutions And How Not To Use Them

Andoni Iraola had made five substitutions before Moyes sprang into action with his. And when he did, he really needn’t have bothered. I’m convinced he has an alert on his phone, set up at the 70-minute mark with a reminder to swap Michail Antonio with Danny Ings. The type of like for like change that the manager loves. A change for change’s sake play that confuses activity with action. Antonio’s role yesterday was baffling. Appearing in the most unlikely areas of the pitch and taking only one touch in the opponent’s penalty area. He looks to have lost all interest in playing for West Ham (or the manager). The second change in the aftermath of the Bournemouth equaliser (Thilo Kehrer for Pablo Fornals) was a clear indication of intent – preserve the point at all costs. Finally, there was a rare sighting of the illusive Comet. Maxwell replacing Lucas Paqueta in added time and being on the pitch just long enough to be caught offside. Paqueta showing once again what a difference he could make to a team that wasn’t quite as static as the Hammers. He will be missed when he leaves next week.

Of Strikers and Recruitment

The manager loves to present himself as a tight-lipped man of misery mystery when he speaks to the press. It is beyond belief that any Premier League coach would contemplate embarking on a new campaign with only Antonio, Ings and Divin Mubama as the main striker options. Or is the cunning plan to convert Bowen and/ or Cornet to plough that lone farrow? Neither is the brightest of ideas, and we can only hope there is an adult somewhere in the recruitment process who can make the Board see sense. Moyes cannot be trusted to act as sole arbiter of the transfer kitty. Come on Tim, find us a proper striker. The ‘David Moyes has only n games to save his job’ news cycle cannot be far away. I might need to buy a hat to eat if he is still around at the end of September.  

Player Ratings

Areola (6), Coufal (5), Zouma (6), Aguerd (6), Emerson (5), Soucek (6), Paqueta (7), Bowen (7), Fornals (5), Benrahma (5), Antonio (4)

I Got Them Same Old Claret And Blues: Another Season Of Moyesball Is A Joyless Prospect

Looking past the euphoria of European glory paints a depressing picture of life at the London Stadium. Disillusionment with David Moyes cautious, uninspiring style of play is widespread and overshadowed the excitement of a new season. How long can it last?

Here we are then. A mere 76 days since the last misplaced pass rolled into touch, the 32nd Premier League season is set to kick-off with its opening round of matches. Usually, one of the most eagerly awaited days of the sporting calendar, this year’s buzz is distinctly lacking in optimism in the neighbourhood of E15. For many West Ham fans, the expectancy is on a par with a visit to the dentist.

It is accepted that posterity will present the dramatic last-minute Europa Conference win as the highlight from last season. It will be forever etched in the memory for those who saw it, and in the history books for those who didn’t. But we should not be distracted by one night in Prague in the context of a dreadful Premier League season. It would be the equivalent of enjoying the orchestra playing while the boat is sinking.

Anyone sifting through the wreckage of last season’s league campaign would find little encouragement. Losing 20 games and scoring only 42 goals are among our worst ever returns from a 38-match top flight season. Ironic that a coach who primarily sets up not to lose managed to notch up so many defeats. And of those 42 goals, just 23 came from open play – and only one from a counterattack. The remainder from set pieces and the penalty spot.

Away from home, the team invariably returned home empty handed. Only 12 points won from the 57 available and 70% of games ending in defeat.

Elsewhere, Moyes’ West Ham side often look beaten before a ball is kicked. Nowhere is this more evident than in the continuing dire record against top level opponents. A meagre 2022/23 tally of five points were earned from twelve games against the sides finishing in the top six. And the 16 point total from 20 games against the ten top half teams only looks as flattering as it does courtesy of a double over Fulham and an early season win against a struggling Aston Villa.

But more, much more than this, it is the dismal, dull, depressing, dispiriting football being served up that has alienated a huge proportion of the fan base. What worked well for Moyes a few seasons back when his team briefly operated as an exciting and effective counter attacking unit, was found out once opponents got the measure of how to nullify the threat by pressing high. The manager not having the imagination or flexibility to adapt his game or try something new. If only he could have signed Jesse Lingard!

Claims that a more expansive style of play was attempted at the beginning of last season were never convincing to me. If it was tried, the difference in approach was marginal at best. The promised Red Bull model turned out to be Old Bull. The struggle to integrate new signings put down to individual players failure to adapt rather than poor coaching or stubborn tactics. Bizarrely, dithering due diligence Dave seemed unaware what position Lucas Paqueta played and was surprised it would prove impossible to fit Gianluca Scamacca into his system of play.

What we ended up with was a return to classic Moyesball. Defend deep, get as many bodies behind the ball as possible and never commit too many players forward – the lack of movement and reluctance to create space is at the heart of our poor possession and passing statistics in my opinion. The attacking masterplan revolves around long hopeful balls for Michail Antonio to chase, long cross-field passes, pumping as many crosses into the box as possible (even if there is no-one to receive them), optimistic long range shots and .……. set pieces! The fans hate it, the players are said to be dissatisfied, and members of the coaching staff have left because of it. Unfortunately, those in the Boardroom appear to view things very differently.

Preparation for the new season has been way less than perfect. As expected Declan Rice left the club – after 250 appearances – to pursue his dreams of glory in north London. It would be foolish not to recognise the importance of Rice in a team that barely escaped relegation in May. His contribution was far greater than defensive midfielder and he outperformed his colleagues on distance covered, carries, shot creation, tackles, and interceptions. This will be a difficult act to follow.

The quagmire of West Ham’s recruitment strategy has already been widely documented – and soundly ridiculed. The standoff between Moyes and Tim Steidten was finally broken yesterday with the signing of Mexican international, Edson Alvarez. This looks to be a good (even exciting) addition to the squad if deployed correctly. The assumption is that Alvarez is a Steidten choice, so how Moyes uses him will be illuminating.

The two other transfers that may or may not be edging towards completion are a closer fit to the solid, dependable proven Premier League player criteria favoured by David Moyes. These are Harry Maguire and James Ward Prowse. Neither particularly excites me. It’s not that they are bad players, rather that they represent the promise of more of the same, old-school, tedious tactics from Moyes. At £30 million apiece (plus wages) they may keep the manager in a job for a while longer, but do they offer long-term value for the club? West Ham already had one of the oldest and slowest squads in the league and these two do nothing to address those shortcomings. It’s no surprise no other clubs appear to be interested at those prices.

Leaving the bulk of your transfer activity to after the season has started is an absurdity. It serves to reinforce the amateur nature of the club’s operation. The squad is now so thin that it needs a minimum four or five new recruits to bring it up to competitive strength – and that’s without any allowances for further potential exits, such as Paqueta, Antonio and Aaron Cresswell. If that level of recruitment cannot happen we will be left with an inadequate headcount for the first half of the season.

We are short at full-back where no-one has the requisite pace, energy or delivery to get forward on the right, and where all options are defensively suspect on the left. We are short in the attacking areas of midfield with no-one capable of carrying the ball or beating an opponent, there will be an absence of flair and the ability to pick a pass if we lose Paqueta, and are lacking pace on the left-hand side. But most importantly, we are woefully short upfront. True, the striker problem has been a perennial issue at West Ham for all the Premier League era but it’s goals that win matches, and where are they going to come from in the current squad? Antonio has had his day at West Ham, Danny Ings is not suited to the Moyes style of play, and Divin Mubama is unproven and without experience. Can the chestnut be really ignored for another season?

Tomorrow’s match against Bournemouth is almost an afterthought with all the commotion surrounding transfers, or lack thereof. It sees the Hammers return to scene of their very last away win in April 2023 when they breezed to a comfortable 4-0 victory on the south coast. It was the last point won on the road.

This time around, Bournemouth will be something of an unknown quantity. Demonstrating that football is no place for sentiment when you have a specific goal in mind, the new Bournemouth Chairman relieved saviour Gary O’Neil of his duties and replaced him with Andoni Iraola. Iraola had seen success with unfashionable Rayo Vallecano, winning promotion to La Liga followed by two commendable mid-table finishes. He is seen as a young, progressive, attack-minded manager.

The Cherries have been busy in transfer market bringing in half a dozen new players including two who had previously been linked with the Hammers – Alex Scott from Bristol City and Max Aarons from Norwich. They have also signed Hungarian left back Milos Kerkez who played against West Ham for Alkmaar and who I hoped we might have been in for. The one significant outgoing is Jefferson Lerma to Crystal Palace.

Many unknowns regarding how the Hammers might line up. The assumption is that Alvarez is the only new signing registered in time, but it would be very un-Moyes-like to throw him in straight away. If the Paqueta to Manchester City rumours have any foundation, is he in the right frame of mind to be included? Similarly for Antonio and Cresswell who may also be on their way. If the performance is anything like the last two friendlies at Rennes and Leverkusen, it will be a very anxious afternoon. The only chink of light is that Bournemouth have done little to tighten a very leaky defence.

For what it’s worth, below is my final Premier League table prediction. The rationale for putting West Ham as high as 12th is that there will be a change of manager before the end of the year. I can’t see past a very slow start, starting tomorrow. COYI!

1 Manchester City, 2 Arsenal, 3 Chelsea, 4 Manchester United, 5 Newcastle United, 6 Aston Villa, 7 Liverpool, 8 Brighton & Hove Albion, 9 Tottenham Hotspur, 10 Brentford, 11 Crystal Palace, 12 West Ham United, 13 Fulham, 14 Everton, 15 Bournemouth, 16 Burnley, 17 Wolverhampton Wanderers, 18 Nottingham Forest, 19 Sheffield United, 20 Luton Town

Have West Ham’s bubbles burst before the season has even begun?

The euphoria of our European success is just a distant memory as the club are mocked by a pizza company

It is barely two months since Lucas Paqueta’s superb through ball in the ninetieth minute put Jarrod Bowen clear on goal for a winner that produced our greatest moment since 1980 when we lifted the Europa Conference League trophy. Surely that should have been a catalyst for the club to build upon? But what has happened since has induced the biggest bout of pessimism amongst most West Ham fans before a ball has been kicked in anger that I can remember. And my memories go back to the late 1950s.

Of course we didn’t have the internet at that time but even then you could sense that there was optimism amongst supporters as a new season dawned that this was going to be “our year”. It’s something that I haven’t recognised at all this time as I scoured the West Ham groups for a sense of current feelings. These groups have always had their fair share of moaners even in the good times, but these were balanced by alternative (positive / optimistic) views. I have found very few who seem to believe that we are in a good place at the start of this campaign.

It didn’t take long for everything to begin to unravel as the players headed for their holidays after the euphoria of the European success. Within days we lost two first team coaches in Mark Warburton and the highly rated Paul Nevin. A clash of footballing philosophies with David Moyes? Not a good start to the summer.

Never mind, by early July Tim Steidten joined the club as technical director. Our chairman David Sullivan believed that this would drive the football strategy of the club in a forward direction. I cannot see any evidence of this yet. To me the club has engaged reverse gear. Of course, you never know what to believe when you read social media or the press, but one view is that Moyes and Steidten are at loggerheads. Moyes, whose future relies largely on short term results apparently wants to buy tried British players first before spending any surplus on longer term, perhaps younger prospects from abroad. Steidten on the other hand has the opposite view and some have claimed he has blocked Moyes attempted buys. Alternatively, some reports claim that he and Moyes are best buddies in full agreement as to how to take the club forward. Who knows? I do wonder how the types of players Steidten has in mind would fit with the Moyes way of playing?

Within a couple of weeks of Steidten’s appointment the long running saga of Rice to Arsenal was finally over. Surely nobody believed he would be staying? Surely the club would have a plan in place to replace him and all would become evident as soon as the transfer was completed, and in good time before the new season began? This is West Ham remember!

With just seven days to go before the serious business of the Premier League began we faced Bayer Leverkusen in the final pre-season warm up game. The Germans, managed by Xabi Alonso, finished sixth in the Bundesliga last season (level on points with Eintracht Frankfurt – remember them?) and qualified for the Europa League (like ourselves). This would surely be a good test to see how ready we were for the new season. We were comprehensively outplayed and lost 4-0, sending West Ham fans on social media into overdrive.

By Monday afternoon, just five days before kick-off I looked on NewsNow (always good for entertainment!) to see if there were any transfer developments on any of the 88 players that we have been supposedly interested in this window. You know the ones, the ‘incredible’ 29yo, the ‘exceptional’ magician, the ‘unbelievable’ powerhouse, the ‘monster’, the ‘brilliant’ midfielder. It seems that Edson Alvarez is close at this time, and Ward-Prowse, Maguire and McTominay continually feature but I don’t believe anything I read until the West Ham website shows a new recruit with crossed arms in a claret and blue shirt.

Saturday’s Daily Mail quoted a tweet (or is it now an X?) from Domino’s Pizza – ‘Just Had West Ham come in again …. and not buy anything’

It seems hard to believe that anybody new will be here in time to feature on Saturday. The window continues for a while yet but how much better would it be to get our business done before the season begins? Remember the start we had last season? Three losses in the first three games, bottom of the pile and playing catch up for months while our new players were slowly integrated into the team. Some of the football was awful to watch and we were still in the bottom three with 15 games to go. Of course, all’s well that ends well, and the season certainly ended well with our European success. And Bournemouth for the first game is a more hopeful opener than Manchester City was last time. Can we repeat 4-0? You can get around 50/1 or 60/1 from the bookmakers if you think so. Not particularly generous odds for such a big away win. We are marginal favourites to win the game.

Traditionally I make a prediction before the season gets underway as to the final league positions. So here goes – Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Brighton, Tottenham, West Ham, Brentford, Burnley, Everton, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Wolves, Forest, Bournemouth, Sheffield United, Luton.

Tenth for West Ham. That’s about as optimistic as I can get!

Carry On Up The Transfer Window: A London Stadium Farce

Just over a week to go and the omens are looking bad for a new season of discontent. Who’s to blame for raining on the cup-winning parade?

A theoretical debate that occasionally comes up online is whether supporters would choose a cup win over being relegated. Personally, I’d consider it too big a sacrifice, but others have different perspectives. After all, there’s no greater joy in football than the thrill of a cup final success.

In many ways, what we have now at West Ham is a watered-down variant of this dilemma. Although attempting to second guess what goes on between David Sullivan’s ears is dangerous territory, there is every chance that our manager would now be down the job centre had his team not been victorious in Prague.

Finding a David Moyes advocate among West Ham supporters is now as rare as spotting the abominable snowman. If they exist in any significant numbers among the fan base, they are keeping quiet about it. From the outside it must look strange that a manager who delivered a first trophy in 43 years and has overseen three successive European campaigns is so widely unappreciated. But theirs is a view formed independently of emotional attachment with the uninspiring style of football served up on the pitch.

Moyes is a relic of bygone age of managers. Footballing fogeys such as Allardyce, Pulis, Bruce, Hughes, and Warnock whose tactics and horizons rarely ventured beyond survival. He is the last man standing, attempting to defy the rising tide of progressive play like a modern-day Canute. Even Roy Of The Palace leaves Moyes in the shadows when it comes to fresh ideas. Whichever way you look at it, there surely cannot be any future for him at the club beyond this season – the last year of his contract. Making it until the end of the year would be astonishing.

And that brings us to the simultaneous tragedy and farce of the summer transfer window. An apparent recruitment by committee that at time of writing has yet to yield a single result – and the new season just over a week away. We are still no closer in understanding who is responsible for what on transfers, or what the priorities are. The Venn diagram of players acceptable to both Moyes and Tim Steidten that also satisfy Sullivan’s bank balance features only Dennis Zakaria at its intersection.

The standoff is presumably between Moyes desire to bring in players capable of hitting the ground running and Steidten’s brief of introducing a forward-looking transfer strategy. The two clearly don’t need to be mutually exclusive despite being presented that way. There are plenty of options out there between the extremes of untested teenagers and sunsetting 30-year-olds. The squad already has a wealth of experience. What it is lacking is youth, pace, mobility, and flair.

A club like West Ham should not be paying big money for players at the end of their careers. There is no future in such an approach and Sullivan is right not to pay over the odds for those with no likely resale value in a year or two’s time. Equally, the record of signing expensive established ‘flops’ – Anderson, Haller, Vlasic, and the soon to be departed Scamacca – and selling at huge discounts is just as unsustainable.

The promise that Steidten’s appointment could herald a methodical, reasoned, and professional approach to recruitment is threatened by the hubris of Sullivan and the stubbornness of Moyes. Unfortunately, the only person who can clear the blockage is Sullivan himself. If the alleged Moyes veto on transfers is a contractual stipulation – didn’t Curbishley have something similar that allowed him to claim constructive dismissal – then it or he needs to be removed immediately. Why let a lame duck manager dictate transfer spend and allow him to burden the club with the hefty wages and long contracts of declining players for years to come?

What will happen between now and the end of the window on September 1st is anyone’s guess. Where clubs are desperate to sell then asking prices will reduce. But where there is no imperative to sell, prices may just as easily go up as buying clubs become more desperate. No doubt there will be signings, but the probability of panic buys rises as the deadline approaches. With even more rumoured outgoings on the cards – Scamacca, Cresswell, Antonio – the risk of a below strength squad is high, both in numbers and quality. To my mind the squad is short of six or seven quality players, but I see no way that such a target can be achieved on past performance .

I see no other scenario than a shockingly poor start to the season from an under prepared side. If, and when, signings are made, Moyes will be hesitant to play them for the opening month or so. With vacancies on the coaching staff also unfilled, it has the feel of a season written off before it has begun. Two or three points from the opening half a dozen games if we are lucky.

Creating such a pessimistic state of affairs within a few months of wining the Conference League final is quite staggering. But West Ham has been a terribly run club for as long as I can remember. The irony being that the level of competence and ambition shown is inversely proportional to the loyalty and passion of the fans. It can’t get any worse, can it? COYI!

West Ham’s Transfer Window: A Right Royal Cockney Barrel Of Monkeys

While disappointment, frustration and blundering have long been associated with West Ham’s forays into the transfer market, this summer’s chaos threatens to set new records for incompetence

What to make of the fiasco that is West Ham’s summer transfer window? Less than two weeks to new season kicks-off and still no sign of fresh blood at the London Stadium. And this in a squad that only narrowly avoided relegation in June, is now without its standout player over the past three years, and has a handful of other players way past their best.

The eventual loss of Declan Rice was inevitable and his importance to the team cannot be understated. He was far more than a defensive midfield shield with the strength of his positional play, ability to make interceptions and ball carrying were integral to all aspects of David Moyes uninspiring tactics. His departure was an open secret but the significant overhaul in personnel and approach necessary to compensate for the loss has yet to start. Time is running out and a season of struggle beckons!

Transfer speculation has developed into its own industry in recent years. Media outlets spurt out a steady stream of teasing, sensational content to attract the clicks that drive advertising revenues. Any relationship with or pretence at truth is purely coincidental, making it almost impossible to separate fact from fiction. Most rumours are lazy and recycled speculation and allow us to pick and choose those we want to believe and react to. They are best regarded as entertainment even if, ultimately, that reliable journalist’s story will turn out to be spot on – it’s spotting them that is the challenge.

Meanwhile at West Ham, we are told the club are working tirelessly tracking players, holding talks, and preparing bids – but so far, without success. Most Premier League clubs have finalised at least some of their summer business, although fans of Everton, Palace, Fulham, and Wolves might be equally as frustrated as those at West Ham.

Confusion about what is happening behind the scenes is compounded by the lack of clarity on who now does what when it comes to the identification of transfer targets.  

When West Ham appointed Tim Steidten as Technical Director it was a welcome positive move for a club so often paralysed by a repeating cycle of haphazard recruitment and discounted dead wood clearance. At last, there would be a structure and plan involved in transfer dealings. But for that to work smoothly the footballing philosophies between the Technical Director and Manager must be aligned. The distance between the search for new players and the person responsible for deploying them cannot be too great. The worry is that the individuals concerned are on very different wavelengths.

There is sure be a certain degree of friction between the roles as their respective time horizons differ considerably. The Manager’s job security depends solely on the here and now while the Technical Director is concerned with strategy, planning and succession. It doesn’t need a genius to recognise that alignment in styles would not exist between the ultra-conservative Moyes and the progressively minded  Steidten. The irresistible force has met the immovable object.

So is there a standoff between Moyes and Steidten? Moyes prioritising Premier League experience (the most expensive option) after failing to integrate last summer’s signings into his squad. Making the likes of Ward-Prowse, McTominay, and Maguire right up his street. While Steidten has been appointed to introduce a data driven approach for scouring domestic and overseas leagues to unearth emerging and undiscovered talent. If the stories that Moyes has a veto on all signings are true, then creeks and absence of paddles are the order of the day.

Then we must consider the position of the owners, for whom, it is assumed, Sullivan is still the one the pulling the strings and leading negotiations. A desire to spend wisely is not unreasonable. He would be negligent in spending big money on players late in their career where there would be little or no resale value at the end of their contracts. Or committing a large slice of his budget on any individual player. The club’s position outside the rich six or seven clubs requires a more imaginative transfer strategy if we hope to compete. That may mean players using West Ham as a stepping stone for greater things. The risk with Sullivan, however, is that he cannot resist a haggle and putting in low-ball bids. I wonder how many have slipped through our hands because of that.

So, all in all, the situation is a mess. If, and when, players are signed – and I believe we need at least six – the pre-season will have passed by. Moyes will adopt a cautious, safety-first approach to bedding them in and the opportunity to get early points on the board (or introduce a change in playing style) will be lost. Unless, matters change quickly, excitement for the new season off the back of European trophy success will be terribly subdued. COYI!

Europa Champions, Silverware, Moyes and Rice: Where Do West Ham Go From Here?

A week of untold joy for Hammers fans across the globe. Is this just a random act in history, or can it be the start of lasting east-end legacy?

Oh, what a night. Why’d it take so long to see the light? The thrill, the buzz and the pinching ourselves after last week’s famous victory has slowly started to fade away – but how sweet to witness the pent-up joy and emotion that was released when the final whistle blew in Prague on Wednesday night.

Any doubts that the Europa Conference League wasn’t a major trophy were swept away in a wave of a celebration and euphoria that spread from the Fortuna Arena to the streets of east London to the hordes of happy Hammers living around the world. What a fabulously supported club this is. And what devotion, passion, and commitment from a following that has been starved of success for so many years.

A first European trophy for 58 years, the first silverware for 43 years and West Ham joining the alternative big six of Premier League clubs to have won a UEFA title. There was no questioning what victory meant to players, coaches, and supporters alike.

As with many finals, the game itself was instantly forgettable – aside from the manner of victory, that is. A last-minute winner and the anxious wait for VAR couldn’t have been better scripted. As the dust settled, several new generations of West Ham fans (anyone under 50) can now proudly tick-off experiencing a West Ham trophy win from their lifetime to-do lists.

But the world of football does not stand still. The fixtures for the new season are revealed tomorrow morning and the 2023/24 season starts in just 60 days’ time. Those two months may prove to be a pivotal time at the club as they seek to refresh an ageing squad into one capable of competing in both Premier and Europa Leagues.

It was no surprise in the aftermath of the historic trophy win to learn that David Moyes would stay to fight another season at West Ham. It would have been a harsh decision to remove the manager who had just delivered a first trophy since 1980. But that victory does not erase what was otherwise an atrocious league season. In terms of defeats (20 out of 38 games) and goals scored (42) it was among the Hammers worst ever Premier League seasons.

There is a disconnect between those who regularly sit through games and those who follow the results in the media. On paper, the achievements of the last three seasons look excellent – two top seven finishes and three European campaigns on the trot is unprecedented for the club. But on the pitch we are not seeing entertainment and the approach is riddled with caution and fear. Unless that changes, Moyes will never be able to win over the fans.

Despite being critical of Moyes brand of football, it would be churlish not to share his excitement or acknowledge his role in achieving victory in Prague. It’s a fact of modern footballing life, with its concentration of power in the few, that not many managers get to add a major honour to their CV these days. And it was apparent from the celebrations that a great spirit exists between the manager and his players – contrary to the dour and distant reputation that is often painted.

The West Ham board have received widespread praise for sticking with Moyes and maybe the outcome did justify the decision. We can never know for sure. A change of manager may still have won the Conference and finished half a dozen places higher in the league. Or we may have been relegated! Impossible to tell with any certainty!

Sadly, I don’t have high hopes that Moyes is open to new ideas as to how to play football. He maintains that he had tried something new in the early part of last season, but whatever it was it passed me by. As he enters the final year of his contract it will be interesting to see if he becomes any less cautious. I fear not but possibly there will be clues in the player recruitment?

A few weeks before the end of the season, the manager was talking about tweaks in the transfer window rather than the wholesale arrivals seen the previous summer. With the imminent departure of Declan Rice, question marks over the future of Gianluca Scamacca, and several other players – Manuel Lanzini, Angelo Ogbonna, Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, Danny Ings, and Lukasz Fabianski – all at the wrong end of the age and fitness scale, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. Add in an injury prone Kurt Zouma and the rebuilding task feels massive. I make that a minimum of six new players for the first team squad.

It seems it will only be a matter of time before Rice is being paraded in an Arsenal/ Manchester United/ Chelsea shirt. He has been very diplomatic and respectful in stating that he is a West Ham player, until he isn’t. But the tactless Chairman has already spilled the beans that he needs to be sold as the club cannot afford to let him run his contract down any further. Rice has been the heartbeat of the side for the past three seasons and will be a hard act to follow. His importance on the pitch is so much more than as a defensive midfielder – where he has excelled with a sublime ability to read of the game. He has also been the main man for carrying the ball forward and central to orchestrating the lion’s share of attacking plays.

There is so much nonsense written about transfers in the media, making it impossible to separate the feasible from the fanciful. We can only speculate whether the club has a well-thought-out plan to improve the squad – one that has an eye on both immediate needs and longer-term development. Past performance suggests that is unlikely and that we will again rely on agents rather than a comprehensive scouting network. The talk of bringing in a Director of Football has suddenly gone quiet with The Guardian now reporting that it is being reconsidered following discussions between Sullivan and Moyes.

A recurring theme has been that the focus of transfer activity will be on players with Premier League experience. A reaction, no doubt, to the poor return from last summer’s transfer window. But I do wonder how much of the failure to ‘hit the ground running’ was due to the absence of that experience. Or whether the integration was badly planned or managed. With football increasingly ‘systemised’ adjustment might equally be attributed to adapting to a system rather than a country – Jack Grealish taking a year to flourish at Manchester City is an example.

Buying the right players to fit specific needs or positions on the pitch is the ideal and sensible solution, regardless of where they now play. The £100 million from the sale of Rice will not go far when restricting your options to proven PL players – unless there are fire sale bargains from relegated clubs to be had, or we want to pick a few more past their bests (see D Ings).

It will be an interesting couple of months. As well as finding a suitable replacement for Rice, we cannot forget the club’s long running and continued struggle with striker recruitments. It is the most difficult position to fill in the best of circumstances but in the way that West Ham currently play, finding a suitable candidate becomes close to impossible.

It is tempting to see winning the Europa Conference as the springboard for a golden era of success. But cup wins can just as easily be no more than a blip in history. Hard work and inspired decisions are required if the cup win has any hope of leaving a legacy. Let’s hope the board and management are up for it. COYI!

East London Expects: Excitement Builds As West Ham Battle To Write New Chapter in Hammer’s History

Cup final day has finally arrived as the Hemmers face off with Fiorentina in Prague. Equal measures of anticipation, excitement and anxiety promise to define an important night for the supporters, players, and coaching staff of West Ham United.

There’s more to supporting a football team than winning trophies. But that doesn’t mean the occasional piece of silverware wouldn’t go amiss. Tonight, West Ham have the opportunity to chalk a rare trophy win onto the honours board when they face Fiorentina in the final of the Europa Conference League at Prague’s Fortuna Arena.

For a club with a history that extends back for over 120 years, the list of major successes is a meagre and sorry read. Tree FA Cups and one European Cup Winners Cup triumph represent the only excuse the club has had to organise an open top bus parade. Indeed what we have was all achieved in a brief 16-year period between 1964 and 1980. Only two of West Ham’s 17 managers – Ron Greenwood and John Lyall – have ever experienced the thrill of leading their side to a major honour.

Tonight’s showdown is the Hammer’s first appearance in a European final for 47 years. A victory would be the first major piece of silverware in any competition for 43 years, and a first European trophy for 58 years. The absence of success has made the heart grow fonder as several generations of Hammer’s supporters have yet to experience the euphoria that comes with it. No surprise then that the ten days since the end of the league season has seen anticipation increasingly build, creating a heady atmosphere of celebration, expectation, excitement, and anxiety. Will the story have a happy Hammers ending?

In an uncertain season, a West Ham win requires alignment of all the footballing planets. The team must be well prepared, they must go into the game with belief and perform at the height of their abilities. We know that it should be possible in theory, but has been all too rarely seen in practice during the past season and a half. David Moyes spoke at the press conference about the need for motivation, inspiration, determination, commitment, and the right attitude. Difficult to argue against those sentiments, but the reality is that too often it has been fear and too much respect for the opposition that has been his side’s downfall, particularly in the opening exchanges of games. Without being reckless, West Ham need to be the team asking the questions. Not sitting back and waiting to react. Moyes spoke about ‘finding a way to win’ when I really hope he will be setting set out with a bold plan for victory!

Our final opponents, Fiorentina, are also experiencing something of a trophy drought. Their sole European success came in the 1961 Cup Winners Cup when they overcame Glasgow Rangers in a two leg final. And their last major trophy win was the Coppa Italia back in 2001. They will be making history tonight as the first team to appear in a final of all four UEFA competitions.

La Viola are a team that loves to have possession. They were second only to Napoli in Serie A this season with a staggering (compared to West Ham) 56% of ball possession. They play with the highest line of all Italian clubs and will be seeking to press the Hammers across the pitch. Attacks are frequently down the flanks with the tricky feet of Ikone and Gonzalez looking to pepper the opposing penalty area with crosses. This will be a test for the Hammer’s defensive discipline. Fiorentina have been free-scoring in the Conference League with Cabral their main man, but they can also be vulnerable at the back, in part due to their high line. The centre of midfield will see an intriguing dual between Declan Rice and Sofyan Amrabat , so impressive for Morocco in the World Cup.  

Manager Vincenzo Italiano is regarded as one of the most promising and progressive managers in Italian football – you can tell by his shaved head, beard and woollen jumper – a pre-requisite for any future Hammer’s boss, I think! He has hinted at the use of the dark arts by his team to frustrate the West Ham’s counter attacking threat. If last week’s Europa League final is any guide, a game dominated by tactical fouls, time wasting, and simulation would not be unthinkable. It will require further discipline from the Hammers to resist reacting to provocation – I am thinking about Lucas Paqueta here – and the intervention of a strong referee.

West Ham and Fiorentina have met on just one previous occasion, in the 1975 Anglo Italian Cup. The Italians winning both home and away legs 1-0. Tonight, is pay-back time.

There are unlikely to be any surprises in the West Ham starting eleven where I think Moyes will opt for: Areola, Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Paqueta, Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma. Unfortunately, it doesn’t leave much by way of variety on the bench if the need to try something different is required. Indeed, Moyes was less than convincing at the Press Conference when asked about plans for making in-game changes – where he most often opts for like-for-like changes.

My claret and blue spectacles are telling me, though, that Rice and Paqueta will be too hot for Fiorentina to handle in midfield; and that they will find it difficult to cope with the runs of Jarrod Bowen and the power of Michail Antonio. But it wouldn’t be West Ham without a tense and anxious final ten of fifteen minutes to keep us on the edge of our seats.

It’s a huge night all around for those connected with the club. For supporters, games like these are what we live for – an all too rare opportunity to enjoy moments of glory. For the players it has been a great achievement to reach the final, and it will be massive for them to go on and win it. Becoming just the third West Ham captain to lift a major trophy will be a fantastic way for Declan Rice to sign off on his Hammers career. And for the manager, it could well be a make-or-break game for his future at the club. Everything is now all about tonight.

As a famous statesman once said: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.’ If we get that commitment from the players and approach the game with the right positive attitude, then the day will end in one of the most memorable episodes of the club’s history. I’m already dreaming of pretty bubbles flying high into the Prague sky until the early hours of Thursday morning. Fiorentina 1 West Ham 3. COYI!