I know there’s been a lot of talk about the atmosphere at the London Stadium recently but I think what we’re experiencing is what modern football is now, don’t you? In my day, the fans were always behind you and you knew as a player you’d give your all and some days it wouldn’t be the best but the fans will always be there.
Whereas now the players have got to try and produce something on the pitch and if they don’t produce that, the fans are not going to give them as much time. I think there’s an expectation now from all fans – not just West Ham fans – that obviously they’re paying their money and they expect to see and be entertained.
A Dying Art: The Fear of Going Forward
If you watch some of the other teams, there’s a lot of similar risk-averse play in terms of passing sideways or backwards. Whenever you see someone play the ball forward, you’re a bit shocked because they are actually trying to go forward and score a goal as opposed to keeping possession. I think that’s football in general when you look at some of the other games but hopefully the more expansive, attack-focused side of football will come back because it will never change how exciting it is when someone plays a through ball.
It does feel like a dying art. If you look at Man City, whenever De Bruyne gets on the ball, whether it was Aguero or Haaland, they would be getting on their bike because they knew he is one of a few players who are always looking to get forward. Even with goal kicks, keepers today play it to the side or the centre-half passes it to the goalkeeper but my biggest frustration is when you get a throw-in in the final third and it ends up going back to the goalkeeper who then kicks it long and the ball doesn’t get as far as where the throw-in was in the first place. Back in my day, you used to just throw it towards the corner, and you either get another throw-in, or you get a corner from the defender.
Struggling in All Departments
I know there’s also been a lot of talk about where we’ve struggled most this season – defence, midfield or attack. But I think we’ve struggled in all three departments, hence the reason why we are where we are. When you look at other teams like Liverpool, they’ve obviously done well in all these departments because they are top of the league. Having said that, when you look at Man City, for them, they’re struggling at the back with the amount of goals they are conceding.
But I think for us, it’s a combination of all three. We’ve let in too many goals and then in midfield, there isn’t as much cover to stop those goals and maybe not enough creativity to score. Then obviously, up top, we haven’t scored as many as we would like. So, I think it’s all three together.
Hammer of the Year and Squad Performance
I’ve said it before but the star player for West Ham this season has been Aaron Wan-Bissaka because of the season we’ve had and I will be surprised if he doesn’t get Hammer of the Year. He had a bit of a shaky start but since Potter has come in, he seems to be the sort of player he was at Manchester United. He is the standout for me because not many of our other players have played as many games and that’s been an issue for us.
Kilman has played a lot of games and Bowen’s our top striker but he missed quite a bit of the season didn’t he with his injury. Paqueta has had games where he’s played fantastically well but he hasn’t been able to do that on a regular basis this season.
The Summer Overhaul and Potter’s Future
Looking ahead to the summer, we all accept that West Ham needs a major overhaul in the long-term but it’s the nature of the beast that Potter won’t get as long as he’d like if things don’t start improving in the short term. Whatever club you’re at, most of them want instant success, don’t they? So you might only get two transfer windows.
I think Potter’s got this summer window and then, depending on how the season starts, if we don’t start particularly well and he’s got X amount of new players in, then questions will be asked. In the ideal world, if there were eight players out of a contract and we didn’t want all those eight, all eight go and we get another eight in, but it doesn’t work like that, does it? So, we’ll have to see how the summer pans out. There’s not a lot of money available so there might have to be some wise trading. Time will tell on that one.
No One is “On the Beach”
Right now, it might feel like, for all West Ham fans, that we are now just waiting for the season to end, but for the players there’s still plenty to play for, especially those whose contracts are up at the end of the season and you’d like a new contract. And if your contract isn’t up, you’re still playing to be in the manager’s thoughts for next season.
I know there’s that saying about already being on the beach but I think for West Ham, there’s still a lot more at stake for the players. They’ve still got opportunities to perform and impress. Their future at the club is in their hands and from what I’ve seen recently, I’ve not seen anything that would suggest the players are already on the beach. There should always be personal pride, you should want to perform, especially if you’re lucky enough to start a game.
A Word on Declan Rice
Finally, as for former Hammer Declan Rice and his two free kicks against Real Madrid, I suppose the only shock is that he hasn’t done that sort of thing previously. Because he is a class player and we all know the skill he possesses. I wonder if he’ll always be on free kicks for Arsenal now and maybe also for England?
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