Since our last issue, we needed a last gasp goal to draw at Fulham, got hammered by Chelsea and Liverpool but got a draw at Brentford and comfortably beat Ipswich, do you think we’ve turned a corner?
Dawud Marsh: Yes. You can only play the teams in front of you and Ipswich, although likely to be relegated, have shown they are not an easy team to play. We clicked across the pitch in so many ways and the team selection – apart from Alvarez and Fullkrug – would be our starting 11. J-Lo is finding his best team and preferred tactics. I predict we will be more competitive going forward.
Meirion Williams: It’s not been a great time for us Hammers. But then again it’s all been a bit predictable. I travelled to Liverpool expecting that result, so it was no surprise. Chelsea is always one I can’t predict though and I felt deflated after that one. As for Brentford and Fulham, we always find it tough against those two. Ipswich was squeaky posterior time but let’s put this game into perspective, Ipswich had not won a single game so far this league season and don’t look like winning one either. So have we turned a corner? I think we are meandering and we are a long way off from seeing light at the end of this depressing football season.
Marcus Johns: I do. The Chelsea game was a low light, Fulham only marginally better, but the signs were positive against Brentford and oddly, given the scoreline, Liverpool. The manager is trying to find his best XI whilst also needing the players to move away from the previous way of playing to adapt to the new system. These things were always going to take time, and against Ipswich, there was a definite turning of the tide.
Geoff Hillyer: This is exactly what I thought would happen at the start of the season. I spy with my little eye some green shoots, but one win over Ipswich does not set the tone for the rest of the season. Let’s see where we are in a few weeks’ time. For what it’s worth, I still think we’ll finish mid-table.
Which players have shone for us so far, who has surprised you, and who is failing to reach the heights you expected them to?
DM: Todibo deserves a mention here. He was awesome against Ipswich and showed us his defensive solidity as well as confidence going forward and some tidy passes up field. He is also settling into a solid partnership with Kilman. Bowen is proving to be a wise choice for captain. I wasn’t sure but Paqueta’s celebration with Bowen’s boot over his knee in a mock shoe shine shows the respect he has within the team. Despite his goal, Paqueta has been hugely disappointing, the off-field issues around betting patterns is clearly having an impact on his game. We are missing the Paqueta from last season.
MW: Of the new players, I really want to see more of Summerville who looks good but can’t seem to be able to buy a league start. The same goes for Carlos Soler, I want to see more. What I have seen is pretty good and I loved his desire at Liverpool, even taking time to engage with us supporters. There is one person though that is failing to reach the heights I expected and that’s our manager Julen Lopetegui. I guess it is still early days but the style of football doesn’t seem to have improved since Moyesball.
MJ: It’s early days, given he’s only started twice, but Todibo looks a hell of a player. AWB will be a solid addition and Kilman has hit the ground running too. Shoring up our defence was a key need, and so far, the recruitment is looking good. Rodriguez hadn’t impressed me, but did look far better against Ipswich, and I agree with Meirion regarding Soler. Though, I disagree about Lopetegui – I think you can see the switch to a more possession-based style, and I believe things will still improve.
GH: Agree, I think Todibo looks decent. It’s hard to answer though, because I think a lot of players are failing to reach the heights, which might be expected as they adapt to Lopetegui’s methods – which may also be a reason why things have felt a bit disjointed so far. More time is needed.
We play Spurs and United in our remaining games this month. What are the most memorable games you’ve seen us play against both?
DM: For the Man Utd game, it has to be the final home game at the Boleyn Ground where at 1-2 down we won the match 3-2 as a Winston Reid header sealed it for us with 10 mins to go. What an amazing and emotional night. For Spurs match, I’m going for our fantastic 1-0 win at London Stadium where Antonio scored his sixth goal of the season as we started the 21/22 season so strongly under Moyes. What a handful Antonio proved to be against £47m centre back Cristian Romero. I loved that game.
MW: There are two against each that really stand out. Firstly Spurs, the first one has to be our win at their new stadium where we became the first team to achieve such a feat. Being in the stand that day and seeing Antonio score was a sight to behold. The second one was at the Boleyn Ground and almost didn’t happen. It’s 160 miles each way to get to the Boleyn for me and with just ten miles to go it came over the radio that the game may be postponed. It wasn’t and we won in a game that will ever be called Lasagnegate. As for United, again two stand out. The first is the League Cup game in the snow when Jonathan Spector was on fire. I travelled all the way to this one before becoming a snow chicken and driving home before a ball was even kicked. As for the other one, it has to be the last home game at the Boleyn, a game that will go down as one of the greatest at the Boleyn of all time.
MJ: Agreed – you can’t really look beyond the final game at Upton Park. Beyond that one, I remember a 2-2 draw where after falling behind, fresh from his shopping trip, Raducioiu scored a stunner before Dicksy equalised with a dictionary definition of a thunderbastard penalty. As for the North London Mob, yeah, the 2006 Lasagne game is up there. The 3-0 without a striker in 2014 was great, as was winning 1-0 in the final Boleyn season – Antonio scoring and Kouyate playing centre back – but the most incredible was the 4-3 win with Hartson, Kitson and Dicks netting in the swirling wind and rain to kickstart our survival.
GH: Manchester United, Reid with the winner, what an atmosphere that was. No question. Memorable though, for probably the wrong reasons, was the home game years ago under Curbishley when Tevez scored his first goal. 2-0 up and cruising. They get back to 2-2, then we score five minutes before the end. Then, in truly West Ham fashion, we conceded twice and lost 4-3 in injury time. You could argue though, that was the catalyst for the subsequent recovery, staying up on the last day of the season against… Man Utd.
What have you made of the new Champions League and Europa League structure? How do you think we’d have got on in the Europa League had we qualified for this year?
DM: It doesn’t look good. But to be honest I’m not that interested. I do feel for players who have even more games to their season. But everything is tweaked to make money and suit the bigger teams. With our previous record in the Europa League, I believe we would have done really well. You look at the teams there this season, there is no one we could give a game to. But, as our shaky start to the beginning of the season shows, we may have struggled with the new format.
MW: To be honest I’ve not been really interested in it. The only impact it’s had on me was the disgusting way we ended up away to Liverpool in the cup, a fix if I’ve ever seen one.
MJ: Ha, same, if we’re not in it I just don’t care. I did watch the Villa vs Bayern game with a slight bit of envy, but I don’t like the new format at all. It’s not really apples for apples with everyone playing different teams. But this – as with Meirion’s point about the League Cup draw, it’s all about aiding the big teams.
GH: We’re not in it, and I’ve barely watched it. I’m annoyed though because I think we’d thrive in the new format. But we’re aren’t, so it’s all ifs buts and maybes.
Where do you stand on the two international breaks seemingly so early on in the season, and a third in November. Do you watch the England games or go watch your local team, or just avoid football altogether?
DM: Why have so many International breaks at the start of the season? Firstly, players starting in their new clubs need time to settle. Teams don’t want to see their best players going off and getting injured at this stage of a new season. Who watches these matches anyway? The only international games worth watching these days are the World Cup and European Championship. So many extra games and travelling in such a short space of time. Totally unnecessary.
MW: There are simply too many of them and to have them so close together doesn’t allow the league to flow. I personally have no interest in international football and that includes when Wales play. As for watching a local team, I have been to see Newport and Hereford during the break but my plans to see Wrexham vs Lincoln were curtailed because Lincoln have a under 21 who was called up, so you can’t even rely these days on seeing a lower league team.
MJ: I bloody hate them. I have no interest in international football bar the main tournaments. I struggle to support a team with players from Spurs, Chelsea etc that I dislike week in week out. So, it’ll be a football-free weekend for me which is a shame, as having just taken my six year old to his first game against Ipswich, he’s desperate to see West Ham again. Stupid bloody internationals.
GH: Honestly? I forget England are actually playing most of the time. So that period ends up largely football-free, which does at least allow me to not be checking my phone every five minutes if I’m not watching the game – good news for anyone around me.
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