The Forrest Gump quotation suitably amended comes into play once again – “West Ham are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” The debacle at Fulham last weekend was a shocker wasn’t it? A 5-0 drubbing and a terrible performance. Some fans writing on social media reckoned it was our worst ever. As a supporter for 65 years I would say that I’ve seen a few games like that over the years, but yes it was certainly near the top of the league of poor efforts by our team. A few excuses were trotted out regarding illness etc. but really there was little excuse for the shambles that we witnessed.
The following Thursday we had an important Europa League game against a German side higher in the Bundesliga than we are in the Premier League. They came into the game in good form with wins under their belt and as the top scorers in Group A, quite probably the top scorers in the competition as a whole. It was a one match shootout where we held the advantage (following our win in Germany) that a win or draw would see us top the group and go straight through to the round of 16 avoiding a potentially tricky two-legged play-off tie.
The West Ham team was changed a little in personnel from the weekend but totally unrecognisable in terms of performance. After a slow opening few minutes we turned on the style and entertainment that have been so lacking for the past year or more in the league. Not in Europe of course where we have won more games than any other team in European competitions (other than perhaps Real Madrid?). We joined an exclusive club of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, becoming the sixth English club to top their European league for three consecutive seasons. Does that mean we are now one of the elite big six?
Two superb goals came from Kudus and Alvarez who turned in a man of the match performance before being taken off when the job was done in the second half. I’m not a big fan of assist statistics but they do mean something when the assists are as good as they were in this game. Alvarez to Kudus and Bowen to Alvarez were both inch perfect and the goals themselves were a pleasure to watch. We came close other times too, Bowen a yard offside for one, the bar struck by Paqueta with a fierce right foot shot in the opening minutes, and an easy chance that Bowen should have buried. The whole side looked good before easing up in the second half with the game over and the introduction of the (mandatory) substitutes.
The TV commentator commented that Ings was very important in the dressing room at West Ham. Am I alone in thinking that perhaps he should stay there? The substitutions disrupted the rhythm and the entertainment ceased as the game headed towards its conclusion. Ings was a fine goalscorer before he joined West Ham. What has happened? Is it to do with him or the West Ham style of play? Answers on a postcard. At least Moyes got around the criticism of sending Ings on as a substitute before Mubama by sending them both on at the same time in this game. I can’t see that tactic being tried again.
On the whole a very pleasing and entertaining evening but what West Ham will we see when Wolves arrive on Sunday? Following Wolves promotion to the top flight five years ago they had the upper hand in encounters against us at first but in recent times we have come out on top winning the last three. There’s no way the game can end in a goalless draw that’s for sure. We haven’t had a clean sheet in the league since September; Wolves have only had one clean sheet in their last 24 away games.
The worrying statistics for this game include the fact that Wolves haven’t won a Sunday game in their past ten league games played on this day of the week and have lost their last six Sunday away games. Sunday certainly hasn’t been a day of rest for West Ham as this will be our 50th Premier League game on the day in not much more than two years! Apparently that is 13 more than any other club! And our record when playing Sunday games following a European match on a Thursday night isn’t the best is it? David Moyes also has a very positive record when it comes to home games against Wolves. His positive records often come a cropper though. Before last week’s game I wrote that Moyes hadn’t lost in the last 13 times he had faced Fulham. Oh dear!
I’ve absolutely no idea what to expect in this game. I just hope that we see the same West Ham that performed so stylishly and entertained us on Thursday night, particularly in the first half. Not a repeat of Fulham please. What are the chances?