What can we take away from our results and performances in December?
Meirion Williams: I think eight points was a pretty good return considering we got points against Bournemouth and Brighton. The performances though left a lot to be desired with our only wins coming from Southampton and Wolves, two teams both struggling even more than we are. I think the Arsenal game just showed how far away we are from being a good Premier League team.
David Meagher: Although we bagged a few points, the performances were nothing to feel positive about. We looked aimless and after half a season I still couldn’t decipher what the J-Lo plan was. I suspect that we will be glad of those recent points over the coming two months as our fixture schedule is daunting.
West Ham Rambles: No. Brighton and Bournemouth could have beaten us, and we only just squeaked past Southampton. That Leicester game still makes me shake my head, and Liverpool could have scored 10.
Emily Pulham: We’re in danger, girl. We’ve fallen into the worst possible cycle of being rubbish, then the manager’s job is at risk, then we squeak out a few okay results and he comes off the chopping block, and then we rinse, lather and repeat. Even the wins aren’t any fun – the players aren’t enjoying the playing, and fans aren’t enjoying the watching.
What are your hopes for the January transfer window and what do you think the reality will be?
MW: The issue we have is that on paper we have a pretty good squad, the problem was that we had a manager that didn’t know how to play them. We have a bit of a crisis upfront with no Antonio and now Bowen out for the next few weeks, but we all know that we’re not very good at getting in a decent striker. Defensively Mavropanis doesn’t do it for me so I think that’s a glaring gap too. Will we spend the money? I don’t think so if relegation isn’t an issue.
DM: I agree with Meirion in that we have a decent squad. We clearly need another striker as Antonio is done and Ings is past it. We could do with an energetic and physical midfielder. Past experience tells us that there are few gems on offer in January so I think we will get another second rate forward and another mediocre midfielder.
WHR: We need some pace in midfield, extra cover at centre back and a young, mobile striker. What we will get is a Sully-South American special and some cheap loans via Silkman and Salthouse.
EP: My biggest hope for the window is more about retaining players rather than signing them. We have some great players who are miserable, playing out of their comfort zones and they are going to be reaching for the exits. It’s non-negotiable that we need a striker as we simply aren’t scoring goals and most of our strike force has breaks to the parts of them they need for scoring.
What are your hopes for the rest of the season? And for West Ham in 2025 as a whole
MW: The season for me is now all about getting to the 40 point mark and safety from relegation. If we can beat Villa in the FA Cup then as always, I would like to see us have a decent domestic cup run. I’m of an age where the FA Cup is still something to treasure and it’s been a long time since we came close to winning that honour.
DM: Honestly, I think we need to focus on staying up. We need to find a style that works in the Premier League. We are too incoherent to mount a deep cup run.
WHR: Many of us have already written off this season, which is a sad state of affairs in January. My hopes are that at the end of the season, Sullivan sells up and we can reshape the whole infrastructure of the club. I can’t see this happening, so a younger coach, and a clearout, with some players coming in who actually want to play for the club.
EP: I have no hopes. West Ham has ruined me. I dream of the safety and heady heights of 14th in the league and perhaps the fourth round of the FA Cup.
We face Fulham, Palace and Villa during the rest of this month, what are your hopes for these games?
MW: Technically all winnable games but you could quite as easily lose all three at best with the way that Fulham and Villa are playing. I think four points would be a significant achievement.
DM: Frankly, we need a minimum of four to five points from those games as the away fixtures are terrifying.
WHR: I can’t see us getting anything against Fulham, nor Villa – both are teams with real quality and good managers. We may get a point against Palace, which will no doubt be enough to keep Lopetgui in a job for another cycle of ‘must not lose’ games.
EP: On paper, two of the three should be winnable. In practice, given we’re heading into them with low morale and limited striker options, I would think hoping for some draws may be more realistic.
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