Tag: #WHUFC

Goodnight Vienna as Hammers Waltz into Europa League Last 16

On Thursday evening West Ham waltzed into the last 16 knockout stages of the Europa League with yet another professional performance without playing as well as we can. With a little more composure in front of goal it could have been four or five nil but with eight changes it was still a more than satisfactory performance. With the other game in the group between Dinamo Zagreb and Genk ending 1-1 it would have only needed a draw in Vienna to top the group with a game still to play, but the confidence that the fringe players will have gained from the comfortable victory bodes well for the remainder of the season. With so many games to play in such a short space of time (10 in 31 days), many of the squad players are likely to be called upon.

Four clean sheets and just two goals conceded in five games is the best defensive performance of all 32 teams in the Europa League. In this game some of our most important and influential players (such as Zouma, Rice and Antonio) were not needed and most of the other Premier League regulars did not play full games. There were many good performances but one that stood out for me was that of Coufal who I believe should regain his place in the league team this weekend. It was also good to see a 17 year old debutant given his chance and he so nearly scored too. I wonder how many fringe players will be given an opportunity in the final group game against Dinamo Zagreb?

This weekend’s Premier League game away to Manchester City is about as tough as it gets. Along with Chelsea and Liverpool, City are undoubtedly one of the three standout teams that will contest the title. It wasn’t that long ago that we spoke about the elite six, but now in my opinion there are only three teams that are well ahead of the rest. We are one of a few teams that will be fighting for that fourth spot in the table. City will be desperate for revenge after we dumped them out of the League Cup, a competition that they have dominated for the last five years. They were excellent when disposing of PSG to top their Champions League group on Wednesday and we will be doing very well to come out of the game with a point. But it’s not Impossible if we are at our best and they are not. Crystal Palace won there recently so I hope we can do the same, but I wouldn’t underestimate how difficult it will be.

Bookmakers recognise the gulf between the top three and the rest, but their odds set for this game are even more extreme than the league positions would suggest was appropriate. City are at home and one would expect them to be favourites of course. They are currently second in the league on 26 points, just three points ahead of ourselves in fourth. Recent form is similar although we were a little disappointing in Wolverhampton last week. Nevertheless, based on this, one wouldn’t expect us to be the biggest outsiders in all the games this weekend. But we are and I’ve seen odds of up to 10/1 on a West Ham victory and around 6/1 on a draw. City on the other hand are around 2/9. Astonishing really given the closeness of league form and positions.

I am a little less confident for a positive result in this game compared to our previous fixtures this season, but wearing my optimistic hat I will be hoping for a draw, and predict 1-1 with Dawson scoring our goal with a header from a corner. Dawson to score the first goal in the game attracts odds of around 50/1. The odds are the same for him to score the last goal in the game. I’ll go for the latter with my fun bet this week. What are the chances?

Having Sunk In The Choppy Waters Of Wolverhampton How Will West Ham Negotiate The Rapids In Vienna?

Banking on bouncebackability as the Hammers seek to seal top spot in Europa League Group H and claim a place in the round of 16.

Losing was going to happen sooner or later but a tame one at Wolverhampton just as games against Manchester City and Chelsea appear on the horizon was not the best of timings. A chance, hopefully, to use the Europa League clash in Vienna to get the show back on the road and prove that Saturday was nothing more than a bump along the way.

West Ham have earned a reputation as a reliable, well-oiled machine in recent months but too many of its parts had seized up at Molineux. Few, if any, of the outfield players were close to their own high standards of performance as the hosts thoroughly deserved to coast to victory.

Ironically, the Hammers had made a really lively start to the game, but once Wolves had settled, they dominated – their extra man in midfield and the enterprise of their wing-backs stifling West Ham’s attacking ambitions and creating scoring opportunities of their own.

Although the West Ham downfall was largely down to sub-par individual performances, I do wonder whether the 4-2-3-1 formation is too rigid and predictable under certain circumstances. Particularly in the absence of greater imagination and orchestration in the centre of attacking midfield. Manuel Lanzini was an improvement when he replaced the off-colour Said Benrahma, but neither of them or Nikola Vlasic are influential or involved enough to pull the strings. Indeed, I have yet to see anything in Vlasic to get excited about. Maybe he will come good but there are so many aspects of his game that require improvement. Arguably, Pablo Fornals is the best equipped from the current squad to play that role, but he too was ineffective at Wolves.

It was a similar story with Michail Antonio who barely put a foot right all afternoon after his exertions in the international break. Despite West Ham flying his home early on a private jet it appears his ball control was left in the baggage reclaim. A touch of jet lag is a possibility, although an equivalent trek had done Raul Jimenez no harm. No surprise that Antonio will not feature at all today.

I thought defensively we looked adequate at the weekend even if the Kurt Zouma/ Carig Dawson partnership was a little clumsy. Surprising how difficult Zouma found it playing on the left side in the absence of Angelo Ogbonna. I hope we see Zouma paired with Issa Diop tonight to see how that works out. Aaron Cresswell and Ben Johnson also did OK but didn’t get forward enough for my liking. Supporting the attack and getting in behind the opposition defence is where Vladimir Coufal shades it over Johnson.    

The final conundrum is how to get the best out of both Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek. The flourishing of Rice this season has been partially balanced out by the struggles of Soucek. His more withdrawn role does not play to his attacking strength of the late runs into the box. He doesn’t have the range of passing to truly boss the current role.

Had it not been for a late Soucek OG in Genk, tonight’s game in Vienna might have been something of a formality as far as Group H is concerned. As it is, West Ham need more points and Rapid will believe they can still be playing European football after Christmas. Perhaps it is to the Hammer’s advantage that the hosts really do need to win to make that happen – better suited than inviting us to break them down.

Rapid have won one and lost one since their last Europa League outing and now sit 5th of 12 in the Austrian league, a whopping twenty points behind runaway leaders RB Salzburg.

There will be a sense of déjà vu (all over again) with the return of the eerie behind closed doors atmosphere. Recent experiences shouldn’t affect the teams too drastically although the trend of empty stadia favouring away sides is comforting.

Predicted line up for tonight is: Areola, Coufal, Diop, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice, Kral, Yarmolenko, Vlasic, Benrahma, Bowen

Predicted score: West Ham to win 2 – 1.

West Ham Love To Go A-Wandering; Can They Make It Five Wins In A Row?

The Hammers continue their adventures in the unchartered waters of the Premier League’s top four. Victory against recently becalmed Wolverhampton will see them on the crest of a wave.

The international break has given us all an extra week to admire West Ham’s lofty position in the Premier League table with a sense of smug satisfaction. Now comes the test as to whether they can stay the course – a furious run of ten games leading up to Christmas starting with a visit to Molineux on Saturday afternoon.

The Hammer’s form has been nothing less than remarkable in the opening months of the season. The only side in the division to win their last four games, unbeaten in seven games in all competitions – and unbeaten in eleven on the road. The last defeat coming in the last-minute to Brentford in early October. 

It was disappointing that post match reporting on the pulsating victory against Liverpool was overshadowed by contrived controversy over supposed game changing refereeing decisions. There was so much to appreciate about the game as an advertisement for the Premier League and yet the referee took central stage. Most of the blame for that lies with Jurgen Klopp who showed himself to be the most ungracious of poor losers.

It was an excellent West Ham win which once again demonstrated the tenacity and character present in David Moyes’ side. That the top sides finish games knowing they have faced a tough, resilient, and talented opponent is all we can ask.

We probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it is tempting to make comparisons with the 2015/16 season – the year Leicester City won the Premier League title. The image below shows the table after an equivalent 11 matches. Leicester were sitting third behind Manchester City and Arsenal (having earned a point less than West Ham have now) with the Hammers hanging on in sixth place. Had we not just gone done to a disappointing 2-0 away defeat at Watford, things would have looked even rosier for Slaven Bilic’s side.

The noticeable feature of 2015/16 was that as well as Leicester performed, each of the other title contenders managed to screw up their own challenge. None of the other teams performed consistently well during the remainder of the season. Adding to the mystery, both Liverpool and Chelsea were nowhere to be seen, finishing eighth and tenth respectively.  The chances of such a collective failure repeating itself is highly unlikely.

A look at this season’s current standings with a projection based on points per game being maintained to the end of the season has West Ham finishing on 79 points. That would be an incredible achievement – but unlikely to be enough to claim top spot. I doubt there are many supporters who truly believe a top four finish is achievable, but it is target worth aiming for. The recently announced investment in the club by Daniel Kretinsky certainly adds a new perspective on things, especially if it is backed up by player reinforcements in January. A long way to go, though!

Assuming all the players have returned from the international break in fine fettle, the only change for the Wolves game will be the one enforced by the probable long-term absence of Angelo Ogbonna – Craig Dawson being the obvious replacement. It is anticipated that Declan Rice will have recovered from illness and Pablo Fornals from the knock picked up playing for Spain. The Ben Johnson or Vladimir Coufal at right back is the other talking point. I believe it is Johnson’s shirt to lose.

It was great to see Michail Antonio make his mark on the international stage at long last, with two fine goals for Jamaica. Whenever he shapes up for a long shot my head is usually in my hands, but the strike against the USA was a cracker. Shots from outside the box are the least productive of goal attempts – it is seen as a defensive positive to limit your opponent to long shots – but when they come off, they can be spectacular. Will we now be treated to a flurry of long-range Antonio efforts? And what is the probable outcome? It’s a long shot, but it might just work!

Wolves are a side slowly emerging from the doldrums of Nuno’s time at the helm. New boss, Bruno Lage, is something of an unknown quantity as a manager with only an ultimately unsuccessful stint at Benfica behind him in the big time. Still, he met the exacting criteria required for the Wolves job by being Portuguese.

The Wanderers have had a mixed opening to the season. After a sluggish start they have climber to eighth in the table but have only faced Manchester United from the top six. Their five wins have been mid to lower table affairs against Watford, Southampton, Newcastle, Villa and Everton. Presented as being more adventurous than under Nuno, goals have been at a premium at both ends in their matches so far this season. Only games involving Southampton have witnessed fewer goals.  

There was sad news from Molineux in the week with the death of Wolves legend (and member of the 1966 World Cup winning squad), Ron Flowers. I can remember him well from the very first football game I watched live on our newly acquired black and white TV – the 1960 FA Cup Final. A well-deserved Ron Flowers tribute will take place prior to Saturday’s kick-off. This looks like another tight game to me. Wolves have some dangerous players including Jimenez, Hee-Chan and the perpetually erratic Traore. Not convinced about them at the back. The ideal scenario is that Wolves push forward and fall into the trap of the breakaway Hammers counter-punch. And there is always the set piece danger. It is a game where if West Ham keep their discipline, they can come away with a narrow one-goal victory to make it five league wins on the trot. COYI!

All You Need Is Rice: West Ham Focused For Fab Four Battle With Liverpool

An intriguing encounter at the London Stadium sees the Hammers continue their magical mystery tour up the Premier league table and looking for a first win over Liverpool for almost six years.

The last Premier league fixture before the inevitable international break sees West Ham and Liverpool jockeying for position among the top four. It’s a scenario that would have been unimaginable Hammer’s fan not so long ago and is testimony to how far the club has progressed under the David Moyes revolution.

There have been complaints by supporters on social media that West Ham do not get the credit they deserve on TV and in the press – the last game on MOTD syndrome. I’m not sure that is justified as I have found a good deal of both positive and complementary coverage. Having said that though, the framing of today’s game is very much one of title contenders visiting top six hopefuls. Come the end of the season that may well be the case, but lets just enjoy rattling a few cages. The results, yesterday, mean that the dizzy heights of second place is now out of the question. But we can still end the weekend, and go into the break, just three points behind the leaders.

They say that winning can become a habit. The same apparently applies to expecting your team to win, and it was disappointing to see the Hammers pegged back in Genk on Thursday evening. It was another of those inexplicable slow starts – can someone tell me why that happens – that set the tone for much of the first half, where Genk were a little unfortunate not to extend their lead. The home side were able to carve through the Hammer’s rear-guard at will and deservedly took an early lead when Issa Diop (who had previously been demonstrating something of a renaissance in the European games) played the role of nowhere man in defence. A similarly slow start today could prove disastrous.

The Hammers, though, are nothing if not resilient these days though and with the help of two fine Said Benrahma goals appeared to have paved the way for a fourth successive win. Sadly, a clumsy Tomas Soucek own goal brought the scores level and the spoils were to be shared. The point was enough to ensure progression to the knockout phase of the competition but leaves work to be done to secure the all-important top spot. Dreams of appearing in this season’s elite Europa Conference league now lay in tatters.

Benrahma’s goals may well have saved his place in today’s starting eleven. His tenure in the difficult to fill central attacking midfield position had come under intense pressure from a rejuvenated Manuel Lanzini. Unless there are late injury issues, I now see the only outstanding selection question is whether it will be Ben Johnson or Vladimir Coufal at right back. The idea of leaving out Coufal a few weeks ago would have been met with incredulity. But such has been Johnson’s form that it now feels highly probable. Competition for places is a wonderful thing.

In my life as a West Ham supporter, Liverpool have been, by far, our most unproductive opponent. Recent form shows a return of just two points, out of a possible thirty, in the last ten league meetings. You must go back to the 2015/ 16 season for the last Hammer’s success – when three of them came along at once. The 2-0 win at Upton Park in January 2016 was in the early days of Klopp’s reign at Anfield and it is now a much-changed Liverpool side. While Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell, Michail Antonio, Mark Noble and Lanzini all played in that game for West Ham, only Firmino remains from the visiting team – and he is reported to be a non-starter today.

Unlike many West Ham fans, or at least the vocal ones you find on social media, I have a lot of admiration for what Klopp has achieved. Certainly, the media adoration for all things Liverpool can be tiresome – I can almost hear Peter Drury preparing to Salah-vate from the sublime to the sumptuous – but if I was forced to choose between Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool as league champions, I would opt for Liverpool. Of the three, Klopp has extracted more from fewer resources and he puts out a team that are generally entertaining to watch.

At one point I believed that Declan Rice might end up at Liverpool if/ when he eventually leaves West Ham. But now, I’m not so sure. First, I doubt whether he is any longer in their price range. And second, would he want to be constrained by what is largely a water carrying midfield trio? Rice at Liverpool could be a frightening prospect but for now he is 100% leading the West Ham charge and embodying the incredible spirit that has been created within the squad. Long may we see him here, there and everywhere on the London Stadium pitch.

The visitors are the only remaining unbeaten side in the Premier league although they have been held to a draw in four of their ten games to date. This includes last weekend’s surrender of a two-goal lead to Brighton. The interesting tactical change that Seagulls made after a torrid opening was to limit the threat of the Liverpool full-backs by keeping them busy defending. I’m hoping we will do something similar this weekend. Without doubt Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals must get back to fulfil defensive duties, but they must also push forward quickly to pose their own questions as often as possible. So much of Liverpool’s threat comes down the flanks, and that is where the game will be won and lost.

My expectations are that West Ham have to make a better fist of this game than they did last season. A replay of that meek surrender cannot be acceptable. I’m confident both manager and players will have learned from that experience and know they must approach the game without any sense of inferiority. It’s not a game to just sit back in. It is dreamland to go into the international break in the top four. Perhaps a draw is realistically the best we can hope for but I will go one better and predict the Hammers to win a pulsating game 3-2. Don’t let me down. COYI!

What next West Ham? Carabao Cup reflections and a look ahead to Villa

I am old enough to remember when the League Cup was called the League Cup. Of course it’s now called the EFL Cup or is currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons. For the first 20 years or so there was no sponsor but since then there has been a succession of them, Rumbelows, Coca Cola etc. Back in the early days teams used to put out their strongest sides, but in recent times it has been considered the least important of the trophies on offer, and managers make wholesale changes, even in the latter stages of the competition.

On Wednesday night Guardiola made nine changes from the side that started their last game, but he was still able to field ten full internationals plus Cole Palmer, a top prospect who has already featured and scored in the Champions League and as an under 21 international, such is the quality of the strength in depth of the Manchester City squad.

Not to be outdone David Moyes made eight changes himself which is an indicator of how far West Ham have come in the last year or so. The game itself was described by some as one of the best 0-0 draws they had seen. It says something when perhaps our two most influential players, Declan Rice and Michail Antonio were rested completely and not even on the bench. I loved a tweet from Rodney Marsh before the game that would have come back to haunt him. It was along the lines of ‘No Rice, No Antonio, No Chance’.

It was no surprise that City had the greater possession and shots etc., but we gave them a good game and defended relatively comfortably to deny them a goal. We had our chances too, but when the game ended at 0-0 I feared the worst, knowing that City had not lost a penalty shootout for 13 years, which was seven successful ones in that time.

But our penalties were superb, Foden dragged his one wide, and as a result we progressed to the quarter-finals. One thing that came out of the penalties for me was that Aaron Cresswell, who I have long advocated should be high on our list of potential penalty takers, should definitely be on the shortlist, as should Craig Dawson if he is on the pitch.

23 different teams have won the League Cup but we are not one of them. We’ve been in the final twice, in 1966 (the last season that the final was a two-legged affair) and 1981, but runners-up is the best we’ve managed, although we were unlucky in 1981 in particular, when as a second-tier side we took Liverpool to a replay. Will this be our year?

It’s back to Premier League action this weekend when we visit Villa Park. Villa, who cashed in on Grealish in the summer, have made a disappointing start to this campaign and currently sit in 13th place, having lost their last three games. On the other hand we have remained undefeated in our last seven Premier League away games (3 at the end of last season and 4 to begin this one). When did that last happen? I doubt that it ever has in the Premier League. I looked back to our record breaking season of 1985-86 (my go-to when looking at records) and found a run of nine unbeaten away league games in succession which stretched from a defeat at Old Trafford on August 26 to a loss at White Hart Lane on December 26. Let’s hope that we can stretch our current unbeaten away run to eight this weekend.

Thinking back to the City game in midweek, the whole team defended as a unit to keep our opponents from scoring but particular credit must go to the keeper, Areola (arguably man of the match) and the back four of Johnson, Diop, Dawson and Cresswell, who all had excellent games. Ironically, after such good performances, perhaps only one of the five aforementioned players (Cresswell) may be in the starting line-up against Villa. I fully expect Fabianski, the fit-again Coufal, Zouma and Ogbonna to resume their places in the eleven chosen to start the game. That’s yet another testament to the strength of the squad being put together by the manager.

Last season (in February) we won 3-1 in the corresponding fixture with a couple of goals from Lingard. Surely he must be frustrated to get so little game time in the Manchester United team that has performed so poorly of late? I wonder if he will be one of the players that we target in the upcoming transfer window? It would be great to think that our owners wanted to splash out to strengthen our strong squad still further. But will the new Head of Recruitment be allowed to do so? Once again we are favourites with the bookmakers to win the game. A repeat of last season with West Ham winning the game 3-1 is priced at around 20/1. What are the chances?

West Ham face Tottenham in the 100th Premier League game at the London Stadium

What an excellent win at Goodison Park last Sunday! Even better that my prediction for the score was correct leading to a few pounds coming my way from my friendly bookmaker. I needed Cresswell to score the goal to make it an even bigger payout, but nonetheless what a great result to take us up to seventh in the table with 14 points from 8 games. If maintained for the season then the current average of 1.75 points per game equates to 66/67 points for the season as a whole which would be even better than the total of 65 in the last campaign. Extrapolating our current goals for and against would result in an end of season goal difference of 24 with 71 goals scored and 47 conceded, once again an improvement on last season. Let’s hope that it continues! 

Better still we are in the Europa League this time around as well as facing a home tie against Manchester City in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup next Wednesday. On Thursday evening the Belgian side Genk were the visitors to the London Stadium for our third game in Group H. We had already taken maximum points from our visit to Dinamo Zagreb and our home game against Rapid Vienna.

And it couldn’t have gone any better on the night. With half a dozen changes we were understandably not at our absolute best, but a professional performance ensured all three points in a relatively comfortable 3-0 victory. My only minor concern in the game was the pace of the Genk forwards who looked dangerous when they broke at speed, but the statistics of the group don’t lie. All four teams have played three games, we have nine points from seven unanswered goals and the others all have three apiece by conveniently beating each other. In a competition where it is a big advantage to top the group, to be six points clear of the team lying second halfway through the fixtures is a position we could only have dreamed about.  

Our visitors this Sunday for the 100th Premier League game to be played at the London Stadium are the team from North London who are (to say the very least) not our best friends! In the 99 games to date we have won 40 and lost 36. The record was a negative one prior to last season when we turned it around with one of the best home records in the division.

We will be hoping for the same result that we saw a little over eight months ago when we recorded a 2-1 win with our goals scored by Antonio and Lingard. The atmosphere will certainly be an improvement on that game now that spectators are back! The results so far have proved those doubters wrong who suggested that last season was a flash in the pan and helped by the lack of supporters in grounds.

We took four points off them last season with the addition of the unlikely comeback in our game at White Hart Lane just over a year ago. That 3-3 draw was important at the end of the season, as without Lanzini’s superb strike they would have got three points from the game to our nil points. We would have both ended with 64 points, and as their goal difference was superior to ours they would have finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League Group Stage, and we would have been seventh to end up in the Europa Conference League Play-Off round, a reversal of the actual finishing places.

I assume that, injuries permitting, the starting eleven will revert to the one that has been used in league games to date. We don’t know the extent of the problem with Coufal but we have cover at right back with both Johnson and Fredericks able to fill that position. They are both versatile defenders and could fill in on the other side too, but that would not be ideal if Cresswell was out for any length of time. I’d like to see a couple more players strengthen the squad still further in the next window, a left back and a striker.

Our manager is beginning to get credit now for the turnaround in our fortunes since he returned to the club. We were 17th at the time, he saved us from relegation (for the second time), and then managed the team into sixth place with our highest ever points total in the Premier League era. And now he has guided us into a similar position near the top to challenge once again. And he seems to want us to be in contention in all competitions too. But it’s more than that isn’t it? He has totally transformed the club in a short space of time into one where he has moulded a squad of players who all fit into the system he wants us to play. At the same time he seems to have created a super atmosphere where the spirit in the squad is first class.

I am enjoying watching this current team as much as our Cup winning sides of the mid sixties and mid seventies, both of whom did so well in Europe after winning the FA Cup, the excellent footballing side of 1979-82 who also won the FA Cup as a second tier team, and the boys of ’86 who were so nearly champions.

Despite having to fight two relegation battles, in a little over 100 games at the helm David Moyes’ managerial record is such that his win percentage is better than he achieved in his 11 seasons at Everton where he was very successful. His win percentage is also better than any previous West Ham manager who managed the club for 100 games or more.

With two teams that finished sixth and seventh in the table last season, and who currently sit in seventh and fifth separated by a single point this time around, the bookmakers’ odds for the game were obviously going to reflect the closeness in the ability of the teams. We are narrow favourites, but it is likely to be close. We are around 11/8 to win the game, with Tottenham at about 2/1. I fancy a repeat of last season’s score with a 2-1 victory. The odds are 9/1. Tottenham are Michail Antonio’s favourite opponents. He has scored more goals against them than against any other team. I reckon he’ll get another couple in this game. West Ham to win 2-1 and Antonio to score anytime is 18/1. West Ham to win 2-1 and Antonio to score the first goal of the game is 45/1. The odds are the same for that score with Antonio scoring the last goal of the game. I think my fun bet will be one of those this week. What are the chances?

High Flying Hammers Welcome Fast Fading Tottenham To The London Stadium

Contrasting midweek fortunes create a fascinating backdrop as West Ham seek to prove they are the main challenger to Chelsea in terms of London bragging rights.

Some matches just have that little extra edge to them. It could be the visit of one of the glamour clubs. Or a sudden death cup game under the floodlights in mid-winter. Or the anticipation of trading blows with local rivals, even if they are lesser teams such as Millwall or Tottenham.

This weekend is one of those latter occasions. Anecdotally, Tottenham don’t care at all about West Ham. The Hammers are beneath their contempt – which is exactly the reason they rested their whole team for the Europa Auto Windscreens Conference defeat to Vitesse Arnhem in midweek. Conversely, West Ham fans have no such reservations for their disrespect. We are genetically programmed to hate Tottenham, and to hate Tottenham. After all, we are (unashamedly) the Tottenham haters.

Unlike, their north London counterparts, the Hammers have been flying high in European competition. Three games, three wins, no goals conceded and a six-point cushion over the nearest challenger. David Moyes has talked about his desire to still be in Europe after Christmas, but one way or another, this is already virtually assured. Only finishing bottom of Group H would prevent it from happening, as the third placed team would automatically drop down into the Conference.  It is touch and go whether Tottenham will still be involved by then, however, unless there is an even more inferior competition for them to drop in to – the Europa Sunday League Losers Trophy, perhaps.

The ease with which West Ham have taken to European competition has been remarkable. The demands of a punishing Thursday/ Sunday schedule have been offset by David Moyes ability to rotate his squad and still win relatively comfortably. The group might even be won with a game or two to spare – reducing the pressure even more.

Each of the second string players who have featured in Europa League games to date have performed with credit. No-one has let the side down, although that hasn’t stopped some media sites from throwing unwarranted criticism around, whether it be towards Andriy Yarmolenko, Manuel Lanzini or Nikola Vlasic. We know these are not first choice players, but they have done a sterling job as stand-ins – allowing key players to get a deserved break. It was particularly pleasing to see Craig Dawson and Issa Diop get on the scoresheet against Genk – both are also performing to great effect in their defence duties.   

It should be as you were as far as the starting eleven against Tottenham tomorrow is concerned. The only known unknown is who out of Vladimir Coufal, Ben Johnson and Ryan Fredericks gets to play at right back.

For all their bluster, Tottenham have never truly been a part of a ‘big six’, except in their own heads. Along with Arsenal they are the big losers from the failed ESL coup as they slip further away from the top four. At least when Pochettino was manager they had a team and played in a style worthy of grudging admiration. Since then, poor recruitment both on and off the pitch have taken them steadily backwards.  

The appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo was another odd and erratic choice. He was clearly running out of steam at Wolves and his workmanlike approach to football is as far removed from the Spurs ideal as Allardyce was at West Ham. Showing that he so scared of West Ham that he would risk throwing the Conference League will not have gone down well with supporters. Maybe his name translates to Nuno The Not So Brave!

Despite all the shortcomings Nuno does have his get-out-of jail card in Kane and Son – both accomplished at scoring goals and winning penalties. West Ham’s task will be to stay alert and cut off their supply at source. No worries that Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek should come out on top in the midfield battle but avoiding a slow start will once again be essential.  

It’s a great time to a Hammer right now. I have always regarded West Ham circa 1980 – 82 as my all-time favourite team (even more than the boys of 85/86 in fact) but now I am in tow minds. There is just so much to admire about this likeable group of players and their obvious commitment, resilience and team spirit. We should embrace and enjoy it while we can.   

No matter what the circumstances I will always tip West Ham to beat Spurs whenever we meet. Any defence that has Eric Dier in it is never going to be impregnable. I will go for a 3-1 West Ham win. COYI!

Resilient Hammers Set To Consolidate Europa Group Top Spot Against Erratic Genk

A third consecutive Europa League victory will put West Ham firmly in charge of the group and on course for early qualification to the round of sixteen in March

A return to Europa League action for West Ham tonight as they face Racing Gent in their third round of six Group H games.  With two wins already in the bag (against a Dinamo and a Rapid) another victory would effectively ensure European involvement extending Christmas. Even if a further win or two may be required to secure the all-important top spot.

If it wasn’t for the success of their football club, I doubt many of us would have ever heard of Genk. How educational following football can be! They have become one of the dominant clubs in Belgian football in recent years, winning four championship titles and lifting the cup five times. They have been regular participants in European competition since the late 1990s and have qualified for the Champions League group stage on three occasions, most recently in 2019/20.

In 2020/21, Genk finished fourth in the regular season but had climbed their way up to second place by the end of the convoluted playoff round. Their reward was entry into the third qualifying round of the Champions League, where they were beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk – and dropped down into the Europa League draw.

The game against Genk will be the third time West Ham have faced Belgian opposition have faced in European competition. The Hammers very first European tie in the 1964/65 ECWC campaign was against Gent (then known by their French name, La Gantoise), which they won 2-1 on aggregate. The second encounter though led to a less successful outcome when Anderlecht defeated West Ham 4-2 in the final of the same competition at the Heysel Stadium in May 1975.

West Ham go into the game in good spirits following an excellent showing at Goodison Park on Sunday. But they will also have one eye on the visit of the Harry Kane eleven at the weekend. As with previous rounds, resources will need to be managed carefully to navigate tonight’s tie while keeping as many of the regulars as possible fit and fresh for Sunday’s blockbuster.

The Hammers squad has a more robust look to it these days. There is greater depth and when we have seen players coming in, they have looked very well drilled as to what the system demands of them. However, with probable absences due to injury and infections, the potential for rotation may not be as great as before.

The main pressure points are well known: striker and left back. West Ham are not the same team when missing the physical strength of Michail Antonio as the arrowhead in attack. It is not just his goals that are important – his presence is pivotal to much of the transition from defence to attack. If he is not risked tonight the attacking threat will be much diminished without an obvious replacement.

 Aaron Cresswell has played every match this season apart from the League Cup tie at Old Trafford. The squad has no specialist left back replacement to give him a break. While Ben Johnson can move across as emergency cover, subject to the fitness of Vladimir Coufal and Ryan Fredericks, it is not his best position. Arthur Masuaku is a possibility as left wing back – I doubt that David Moyes will elect to change formation for this one – but gets too distracted when defending.

Elsewhere, there will be likely Europa recalls for Alphonse Areola, Craig Dawson, Issa Diop, Manuel Lanzini and Nikola Vlasic. Plus, Mark Noble may replace Tomas Soucek in central midfield if his injury situation allows.

Genk have lost each of their last three games and have slipped to midtable in the Belgian League. While they won their Europa League opener in Vienna, they subsequently lost heavily at home to Zagreb.

One player likely to standout for Genk is 6ft 7in Nigerian striker, Paul Onuachu, one of the many strikers linked to the Hammers during the transfer window. Will be interested to see how he does. They also feature an Englishman in Ike Ugbo, a former Chelsea youth teammate of Declan Rice who moved to Belgium in search of regular football in the summer..

Genk appear to get through almost as many managers as Watford. The current incumbent is John van den Brom from the Netherlands who joined in November 2020. The managerial alumni includes Alex McLeish (for one disappointing season in 2014/5) who was once courted for (but turned down) the West Ham hotseat following the departure of Harry Redknapp.

On paper, this looks a relatively straightforward assignment for West Ham. But no game can be taken lightly – or taken for granted. Genk typically score in most of their games, even when they lose, and concentration will be required to keep that Europa league clean sheet intact. It will be an important game to win and victory here, and in the return leg in a fortnight’s time, should be enough seal top spot in the group.

Another 2-0 home win for the Hammers. COYI!      

The Cinderella Derby: West Ham Travel To Everton In Search Of The Magic Touch

Two teams whose big dreams are mostly overshadowed by more illustrious and uglier neighbours lock horns at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon. Who will get to the ball?

There is a sense affinity between the stories of West Ham and Everton. How their hopes and dreams are largely thwarted by their relative places in the scheme of things. The fourth biggest club in London and the fourth biggest club in the North-West – at least as far as revenues are concerned. No doubt, Everton have enjoyed the greater share of success, but all that was back in the olden days, before the big money started to talk.

In more recent history, both clubs have stumbled along a path of vanity, making poor value signings where glamour and reputation are mistaken for talent and application. The Hammers have abandoned haphazard approach since the second coming of David Moyes and it seems that Everton hope to do the same, through the pragmatic management of Rafa Benitez. Two teams where collective effort and organisation take priority over individual flair.

Any aspirations that either club might be the one to break the top six monopoly on a regular basis received a massive blow last week with the sale of Newcastle United to Saudi Arabia. If hopes were up that a fairer, better regulated sport would rise the ashes of the European Super League fiasco, they were firmly dispelled with the surprise Premier League decision to ratify the Newcastle deal.

It may take the Toon a number of years to transform into a major force, but a bottomless supply of dodgy money and expensive lawyers will eventually overcome whatever passes for the regulatory obstacle of financial fair play. Not that the Saudis are any more inappropriate as owners than those already in place at Manchester City or Chelsea but it is one more step in stripping away the soul out of the English game – unless you are a Newcastle supporter, I suppose.

Benitez is probably kicking himself now for taking the job at Goodison when he would have been in pole position for a return to St James’ Park under the new regime. Instead of planning how to spend the loot he has to worry about facing West Ham with a patched-up team.

The Hammer’s express start to the new start has lost steam in recent weeks, although they remain unbeaten on the road. The defeat at home to Brentford was particularly disappointing. It is tempting to blame the fatigue of a Europa League campaign, but we are only two games in, and there has been ample opportunity to rotate the squad against indifferent opponents.

The slow start against the Bees was unfathomable and both Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna (neither of who had played the previous Thursday) looked as though they had lead in their boots. Having dragged themselves back into the game with a much improved second half performance (against it has to be said a highly cynical opposition) a home win looked to be on the cards. Ultimately losing to the last kick of the game following a needless free-kick conceded by Ogbonna was immensely distressing.

It is not clear at time of writing whether David Moyes will need to make any enforced changes with some speculation over the fitness of Vladimir Coufal and Michail Antonio. I would think any discretionary switches to the starting line-up are unlikely given the manager’s track record, although cases could be made for the return of Craig Dawson and for Alphonse Areola to replace Lukasz Fabianski – following the Poles two assists last time out.

In theory, it should be a good time to play Everton if reports that both Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison are unavailable are true. Rondon despite good approach work is hardly prolific, leaving goal-of-the-month expert Townsend as the major threat. The game could well turn out to be a cagey tactical battle. Benitez will know that West Ham’s strength is the quick counter-attack and with his main strikers absent may be prepared to sit back and force the Hammers to ask the questions. Unpicking packed defences is not our strong point and the best hope might be to regain the crown as the league’s set piece kings.

A hard fought game. West Ham to win 2-1 with Tomas Soucek back on the scoresheet, just as he was last season. COYI!  

Can West Ham make it three wins from the last four Premier League visits to Goodison Park?

Once again the Premier League resumes after the second halt for an international break. I dislike the stuttered start to a season brought about by these interruptions, but for those of you who enjoy seeing England play these World Cup qualifiers you won’t have long to wait for the next ones as after just four more games the campaign will once again be held up by another stoppage.

Anyway, on Sunday we visit Goodison Park for our eighth Premier League game. Our promising start has faltered a little, and it was disappointing to concede a 95th minute goal to lose our last game at the London Stadium to Brentford. At that point in the game it was only one point dropped, as it was in our last home game against Manchester United when failure to convert a 93rd minute penalty lost us another point. To counterbalance this of course, we ourselves scored a 95th minute winner at Leeds to gain two additional points in time added on, so the net result of the extra time played in our last three games is zero; two points gained and two points lost.

So we are where we deserve to be perhaps with eleven points from seven games and a positive goal difference of +4 to be sitting in ninth place in this early table. Everton are fifth just three points above us. If we can beat them then we will move above them. But previous visits to Merseyside have shown that this won’t be easy.

The Toffeemen have begun the season well under new manager Benitez. They have only lost once, but their four wins haven’t been the most difficult fixtures – away at Brighton was quite impressive, but home victories over Burnley, Norwich and Southampton, three of the bottom four teams at this stage, were games they might have expected to win. Hopefully we will prove to be a much tougher proposition!  

Historically they have been a bit of a bogey side for us, and statistics show that they have won more games, and scored more goals against us than against any other team in the Premier League era. Having said that recent history has shown some improvement, and we have won on two of our last three league visits to Goodison Park.

At this point I’ll pose a teaser for you. Who was the last Englishman to score a goal for West Ham at Goodison Park in either the league or one of the cups? I’ll give you a clue – it was in March 2008 in a 1-1 draw. There were actually seven Englishmen in the starting eleven that day. Since then we have scored 15 goals there but none by someone from England. The names of those goalscorers to take you down memory lane over the last 13 years – Kovac, Da Costa, Ilan, Spector, Piquionne, Zarate, James Collins, Antonio (OK I’ll admit he could be classed as English and was at the time, but now he’s qualified for Jamaica), Sakho, Payet, Yarmolenko (2), Arnautovic, Snodgrass, and finally Soucek who scored the late winner last season on New Years’ Day.

I wonder if a player qualified for England can score for us at Everton on Sunday? Of course there are fewer to choose from these days. In the last game against Brentford there were just three in the starting line-up, Cresswell, Rice and Bowen, and another two (out of nine) on the ‘bench’ – Dawson and Johnson. Without research I suspect that there are some other teams with fewer than that though. How times have changed!

Regular readers of this blog will know that my West Ham memories stretch back to the late 1950s. I have been thinking back over all the years of games against Everton trying to recall some of the best ones. One of the most exciting and memorable evenings was the FA Cup tie at Upton Park in January 2015 when the game was tied 1-1 after 90 minutes. In extra time Lukaku scored his customary goal against us, before Carlton Cole was brought on as a substitute with about ten minutes of the 120 to go, and scored within a minute or so. 2-2 at full time and we were leading in the penalty shoot out after Everton missed one of their early penalties and Downing (with the fifth one) had the opportunity to win the game, but his penalty was saved by the Everton keeper Robles. Successive penalties were scored after that until it was the turn of the goalkeepers. Then Robles penalty hit the bar, leaving Adrian to step up. He memorably threw his gloves to the floor before striding forward to smash in the winner. 9-8 on penalties. What a game!

Another game I remember well (for a different reason) was a 2-2 draw in the 70s. I was standing on the North Bank when an Everton player called Ronnie Goodlass scored from about 50 yards (from a high bouncing ball) over the head of Mervyn Day – I was right behind it. I think that game ended 2-2 with Pop Robson scoring a couple for us.

And one of the best games I can recall, also at Upton Park was earlier in the seventies when we won the game 4-3. I think we had 10 Englishmen on the field that day, but two of our goals were scored by Clyde Best from Bermuda, who did score some cracking goals for us.

Looking at the bookmakers’ odds for the game on Sunday, Everton are narrow favourites at 6/4, we are around 15/8, with the draw at 23/10. My fun bet for this game is for West Ham to win 1-0 and the goal to be scored by Aaron Cresswell (an Englishman for a change!). The odds for this are 200/1. I can just picture a free kick about 25 yards out in the last few minutes, and Cresswell lifting it over the wall into the top corner. What are the chances? And by the way the answer to my teaser was Dean Ashton. What a super player he was before his career was cruelly cut short.