A-F: Drama, Defeat, and Departures
A is for ANTONIO Nothing prepared fans for the image of Michail Antonio’s smashed Ferrari in December. For a dreadful evening everyone was holding out hope that the player was still alive after crashing into a tree in Epping Forest. Antonio has since said he’s been given ‘another chance at life’ after he was ‘close to dying’ in the accident. After a three week hospital stay for a broken leg (a femur shattered in four places), Antonio has resumed light training. While it’s not known if he’ll play again, seeing Antonio alive and on his feet has felt like a miraculous outcome.
B is for BEYOND BORING There’s no way around it – we were worse than watching paint dry this season. The club should have been paying us to be in the stands, not the other way around. Didn’t matter who was in charge, who was on the pitch, it was insipid and uninspiring. It’s incredible that despite how rubbish we were this season, we were never in actual danger of being relegated, but that lack of drama didn’t exactly help matters in the entertainment department.
C is for CAN WE PLAY YOU EVERY WEEK? West Ham were crap this season, but at least we were better than Manchester United. Not only did we do the double over them and finish above them this season, we also became the final straw for Erik ten Hag’s ‘ten’ure at Man United. He was sacked from Manchester United after the unsurvivable shame of losing 2-1 to us in October.
D is for DASTARDLY DAVID MOYES David Moyes probably had a wry smile on his face watching West Ham’s poor ‘post-Moyes’ results throughout the season – especially at the end, when his new club Everton finished above the Hammers in the table. When his successor Lopetegui was under immense pressure after losing 5-0 to Liverpool, David Moyes made sure to attend the next match, a 4-1 loss to Manchester City. One can only imagine his thoughts while sitting in the stands for that one.
E is for EUROPE Who is she? Don’t know her. We’re never getting near that again, are we?
F is for FIGHTS While there was a significant lack of fight on the pitch, behind the scenes it seems sparks flew under all our managers this season. Kudus is rumoured to have fought with Lopetegui, Alvarez is rumoured to have fought with Potter, and Jean-Clair Todibo is rumoured to have fought with both.
G-L: Heroes, Hammer of the Year, and Heavy Losses
G is for GOOD EGG Tomas Soucek is such a kind, likeable man, and he stood out again for his compassion and thoughtfulness this season. When playing Crystal Palace in August, Soucek was quick to react when an advertising board fell on a ball boy, lifting it up so Bowen could get the boy out. He also earned plaudits for having the presence of mind to refrain from doing his trademark helicopter celebration after scoring against Leicester in February, respecting the tragic helicopter crash in Leicester’s recent history.
H is for HAMMER OF THE YEAR It’s not been a bad start for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, winning a Hammer of The Year award in his first season at the club. He played 3,154 minutes of football for West Ham in 36 games (with 35 starts and only being subbed off twice). His presence has been incredibly valuable for the Hammers, with 111 clearances, 66 interceptions and an incredible 1,244 successful passes (82.8% success rate) throughout the season.
I is for INVESTMENT Lopetegui was given roughly £125 million in the summer transfer window to build a powerhouse side, bringing in Luis Guilherme, Wes Foderingham, Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Fullkrug, Guido Rodriguez, Jean-Clair Todibo, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka – raising Hammers’ hopes that we’d see a positive change in east London (well, maybe not from Foderingham). We did not do that, and regretfully, we got very little when it came to return on investment, becoming a rather expensive side to finish 14th.
J is for JARROD It’s terrifying to think where West Ham would have been this season without Jarrod Bowen. Probably not worse than Southampton, mind, but even finishing as ‘high’ as 14th wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless efforts of the star of the show and his 13 goals and 11 assists. Bowen’s said he has no interest in leaving unless the club decide to sell him, and fans will hope Potter’s wise enough to build a team that will enable Bowen to reach great heights again in claret and blue.
K is for KIDS ARE ALRIGHT The kids were more than alright this year, with the U18 squad winning the U18 Premier League Cup. Josh Ajala scored twice in the finals against Reading to bring home a trophy for the youngsters. Our current presence on the pitch leaves something to be desired, but the future is promising.
L is for LOSING TO LIVERPOOL Playing eventual Premier League champions Liverpool was an unpleasant experience. In the League Cup, we were rinsed 5-1 with Alvarez sent off. We then had to play them in League, where things got objectively worse with a 5-0 thrashing. Fans didn’t stay to see the end of the game – and who could blame them, when the players themselves barely turned up. Under Potter, the Hammers did perform better, losing by just 2-1 shortly before Liverpool went on to win the league, but it’s still three losses and just the 12 goals put past us then.
M-S: Managerial Chaos and Off-Field Contention
M is for MULTIPLE MANAGERS West Ham just couldn’t get it right this season. After meandering under Moyes last year, we brought in a change in style with Julen Lopetegui, which proved to be a mistake. His attacking style of play didn’t involve any decent attacking, and left the concept of defending to the imagination. In January, we finally cut ties and brought in Graham Potter, who seemed equally uninterested in either attacking or defending, but at least had us losing games by more narrow margins. We sacked Lopetegui when we were 14th in the table; we finished the season at 14th in the table under Potter. One wonders what it was all for.
N is for NOT SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT Our season was genuinely so poor that one of the ‘Save of The Season’ nominations for West Ham’s end of season awards was an Areola save from a Max Kilman shot on our own goal. The worst part? It was such an excellent save that it could have won.
O is for OSCAR FAIRS This year, Academy goalkeeper Oscar Fairs sadly passed away from cancer at just 15 years old. Mark Noble said: ‘Oscar was adored by everyone at the academy – not only was he a great goalkeeper, he was a true Hammer and a fantastic young person, who will be deeply missed by everyone who had the pleasure to know him.’ We honour Oscar, and send our sympathies to his loved ones.
P is for PAQUETA PRESSURE It’s been an incredibly difficult year for Lucas Paqueta. He remains under investigation by the FA for allegedly getting himself booked in four matches and is facing a lifetime ban for playing if found guilty. It’s a lot for a player to shoulder, and bubbled over in May against Tottenham when receiving a booking brought him to tears, and presumably not as he had a fiver on it. His wife stated on Instagram that they’ve been ‘living this nightmare for two years’, and manager Graham Potter has been open about Paqueta’s wellbeing as a result, saying he’s suffered ‘mentally and physically’ from the investigation.
Q is for QUARTET While the men were faffing about on the pitch, the West Ham women were busy turning heads – and four of them really stood out. By the end of the season, they’d made an impression, with West Ham United women’s team manager Rehanne Skinner and players Shekiera Martinez, Viviane Asseyi and Katrina Gorry all nominated for 2024/25 Barclays Women’s Super League End of Season awards. It’s excellent to see recognition for a team that worked hard this year for results, including beating Palace 7-1 and 5-2, and beating Spurs 2-0.
R is for RECORD BREAKING There’s many reasons to be disappointed with Lopetegui’s impact on West Ham United. One notable one is that he’s responsible for setting a new record for the Irons. 2024 marked the first year in West Ham’s 129-year history that they started a season with three consecutive home league defeats. Losses to Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Chelsea – admittedly challenging teams – were a poor start to his reign in east London, and it only got worse.
S is for S* A poor performance against Southampton was the straw that broke the German camel’s back for Niclas Fullkrug, when he gave an angry, impassioned and honest post-match interview that hit the headlines – including saying ‘the motivation was so s***…I’m very angry’. The papers led with Potter disagreeing with Fullkurg, but buried where he says he agrees with some of his points – as do most of the fans, who’ve had to watch this s*** all season and appreciated the honesty.
T-Z: Milestones, Misfortune, and the Farewell Trio
T is for THREE HUNDRED This season Aaron Cresswell hit a huge milestone as he played his 300th Premier League match. Aaron is also one of just a handful of players to achieve this playing for just one football club. He won’t get a testimonial, as loyalty has no reward these days, but he does have a nice commemorative plaque from the Premier League for his efforts.
U is for UNDERPERFORMING West Ham are trophy-less this season, but at least we weren’t alone. In a rare bit of good news, West Ham somehow beat Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates, in what would become another nail in another trophyless season coffin for Declan Rice at Arsenal. You’ve got to wonder how long they can keep him; the lad wants to win trophies and the big clubs are surely circling now.
V is for VIOLENCE The temperament of the team suffered this season as much as their performances did. Mohammed Kudus lost his temper in a 4-1 loss against Tottenham, after pushing two of their players in the face, and threw in an accidental head clash with another. After the Wolves game, Jarrod Bowen got into a physical tussle where he ended up thrown to the ground – and booked for his trouble. In the Forest game, where the referee completely lost control of the game, West Ham’s entire team fought the Forest side, with both teams being charged for failing to control their players. With that being said, the Irons remarkably only picked up four red cards this season, with 50% of them coming from Alvarez.
W is for WE’LL MISS YOU At the end of the season, it was all change for three long-term Hammers who left the club at the end of their contracts with nothing but gratitude for their time in east London. Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal and Lukasz Fabianski all bid tearful farewells to the Irons and were thanked for the years they spent putting a shift in for West Ham. Danny Ings also left.
X is for X-RAYS Fullkrug spent most of the first half of the season away with injury but by the end of December, the situation went from bad to worse. Antonio’s car crash took him out for the rest of the season, Mavropanos and Kilman both got injured, and Fabianski was stretchered off against Brighton. In January, the bad luck continued when bright young thing Summerville suffered what was effectively a season-ending injury, Fullkrug got injured again, Bowen broke his foot, and Paqueta hurt his groin. Even Lopetegui needed treatment this season – having injured his calf muscle stamping on the ground as West Ham got thrashed 5-1 by Liverpool in the League Cup.
Y is for YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING Technology continues to enhance our lives, with a highlight this year in the home game against Nottingham Forest, where a check for a marginal offside led to a ridiculous six minute delay before the goal was given. The semi-automated offside technology stopped working, the communications system between the referee and the VAR stopped working, and both sets of fans joined together in a rousing rendition of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing.’
Z is for Zzzzz What an absolute snooze fest this season has been. Oh well, see you again in August.
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