The start of a brand New Year brought two fixtures for our beloved hammers that could dictate the way our season ends.
Just three days into 2026 we took on Wolverhampton Wanderers, a team yet to win a single league game this season. That game would be followed by a home game against a Nottingham Forest team that sat just four points above us and outside the relegation zone. Both these games were clearly crucial fixtures for our team.
The Molineux Meltdown
First to the Wolves game, this to me was a must win. Yes, Wolves had just had a great result against Manchester United when they had drawn that fixture but surely they were there for the taking.
It’s true that we’d already lost to the Black Country team already last season in the cup where we threw the game away but before the game I truly believed that we would get three points. A local game for local people, that’s a trip to Wolverhampton for me, just an hour up the road from where I live, this was an easy one for me to attend.
After that the Forest game would be slightly more difficult for yours truly as a home game on a Tuesday night is not an easy one for me to get to, but I also believed that with a win in the Midlands, Forest again would be there for the taking. My heart said six points but my head said four but as often is the case, neither body part was right.
Just before 3pm on Saturday 3 January, I settled in the freezing cold in the West Midlands to watch my team obtain valuable three points on the road. Less than two hours after that point in time I was crestfallen, well actually that’s a lie, it was more like less than an hour after that initial walk onto the terrace and with half time approaching, we were three nil down and the game was all but over.
It was a devastating blow to our survival and although I feel that Wolves can’t get out of the relegation zone, a win like this would certainly spur them on. With five minutes to go before halftime and three nil down, the away end started to empty. Supporters preferred to go to the concession stands and also to get out of the cold and the bitterness that was visible on the playing field.
The Missing Fightback
Talk at half time was about the great comeback. Let’s not forget that many years ago in another part of the West Midlands at the Hawthorns, a half time rallying call by Scott Parker who wasn’t even our captain turned the game around and potentially our season.
And of course, we had on the bench a recently signed striker from Gil Vincente. But sadly there was no fight back and our new striker was not even given 15 minutes of play as he sat on the bench watching the team he just signed for capitulate before his very eyes. I can only imagine what Pablo Felipe thought of his new team and his new manager’s decision not to bring him on.
Forest at Home: Apathy and Ghost of Kanoute
With the Wolves result still reverberating and all the pundits attempting to make us look like a laughing stock, it seems that the West Ham faithful were not in a good place. Personal circumstances means that these days I get my West Ham live fix at away grounds rather than at the rented London ground but I religiously use ticket trader.
However for Forest, ticket trader didn’t even become available until the afternoon before the game, a sign that the club was struggling to attract fans to this crucial game. Tickets were being advertised for as low as £15 but even at that price they were struggling to sell out. Forest almost had a worse record than us and surely were there for the taking.
With no chance of driving the four hours to east London, at least I had the opportunity to watch the game live on television but now where I had hoped for six pints from these two games I was almost prepared to settle for just one. We had made a big deal of bringing in yet another striker, Valentin Castellanos, or Taty to his friends, from Lazio.
Surely with two new strikers we would be up for this one. Settling down to watch, it didn’t help that the football commentators quoted that Nuno had a worse record after the first 15 games in charge of any West Ham manager including Avram Grant. Not a great fact. But as the half time whistle blew, the live table showed we were now just one point away from safety.
But of course, this is West Ham and 10 minutes into the second half, Forest equalised. But we were still in this and then came the Kanoute moment. For those of you wondering what this odd reference refers to, I am going way back in time to a game at the Boleyn. On that day in 2002 we were two nil up against Arsenal and awarded a penalty, which would’ve made it three nil. Kanoute took the penalty but really just trickled the ball back to the Arsenal keeper. It was the turning point of our season.
We went on to draw that game and it was a major moment in our season. We didn’t win at home for the next five months and were relegated that season. This time it was a disallowed goal. After a Summerville special which in closer examination was ruled offside, we conceded at a set piece and then with just five minutes to go a penalty was awarded against us which is just the lack of luck a relegation bound team has.
A Disconnected Club
At the final whistle, it was zero points when I’d hoped initially for six and we were now seven points adrift in the relegation zone. There was absolutely nothing to take from that game. Our two new signings? It’s too early to make a decision on whether it was good business or bad.
Where does that leave us? We have a significant problem and it’s not just on the field. In the past supporters have rallied around the team. There is a clear apathy amongst the fan base. In years gone by the Boleyn would be jam packed and up for the fight. We now have an apathy and supporters have long been alienated. I am one of those fans.
Years ago, I would do anything and everything to get to a home game. Now things are very different. Personal circumstances for me have changed. However, the lack of support from the club has also been a factor on why I know longer to get to the London Stadium. They ask for feedback and offer support, but do not deliver, in fact, in my own circumstances, which one day I might share they made things worse.
The Final Nail in the Coffin?
The London Stadium will not do any favours for a push away from relegation. The fan base has also changed. But that’s another story. Also the stats don’t look good. This is the first time we have gone 10 league games without a win since the 2006/7 season, the Great Escape season.
Only Bournemouth have dropped more top flight points from a winning position than the Hammers. And with league games away to Tottenham and Chelsea coming up, it does not look good. The failure to win against relegation rivals is going to haunt us for the rest of the season. The away game against Burnley in February could be the final nail in the coffin.
But for now, it does look as if a few local games against West Brom, Birmingham and Cardiff are a reality for me next season.
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