Potterball gets rolling with vital home win

West Ham 3 Fulham 2

For the first time in ages we enter the London Stadium with a slight sense of optimism at having a new gaffer. I'm joined by Nigel, a tardy Matt, Lisa returning after six weeks of impact subbing, Michael in his plain-clothes policeman suit and Big Sam, who since he has moved to Wales is so hard he doesn't need a coat, just a replica Prague final shirt.

Paqueta is playing as a false nine with Kudus wide on the right in a frontline that is down to Harry Redknapp's bare bones. For the first twenty minutes Fulham dominate. They should go ahead when Iwobi gets behind the defence to cross for Wilson to hit the bar. 

West Ham only start to get into the game when Kudus gets a bit more of the ball and makes some runs. Paqueta wins a free kick, Soler plays in a fine arcing ball and Kilman heads home, only to be ruled offside by Soucek's arm. But that gets the crowd going and the Irons press with more intensity.

On the half hour Leno rolls a short ball out and Alvarez pressures Pereira who plays a blind pass across the area. Carlos Soler does really well to hit it first time across the keeper and into the net.

Incredibly we score again. Kudus makes a run across the box to find Soler who crosses across the area to Wan-Bissaka on the right wing. Aaron's low cross is steered home by Tomas Soucek, who does his freewheeling potato salad all round twirling celebration. Welcome to Potterball.

It will be good for Soler's confidence to have scored and helped make a goal we reflect. Nigel wonders if there will be a Soler panel in tomorrow's papers. Though perhaps Potter is still working out his Soler system.

There's time for Jimenez to head against the angle of post and bar but at the break we have to be happy with 2-0. The big news is that Nigel is fruitless, having forgotten both his lucky banana and lucky tangerine. Though maybe Potter doesn't know the importance of Nigel's banana yet. We're joined by Alison from Clacton and Biff's brother Simon, who has bought along a copy of Massive for me to sign and is not a paid actor, whatever Matt says.

Potter gets a different glimpse of West Ham chaos theory after the break as six minutes in an Iwobi cross drifts over the defence and past a hesitant Fabianski, who has been distracted by Jimenez. West Ham have to dig in and Potter surprisingly replaces Kudus with Danny Ings.

SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT

Matt thinks this must now be the slowest West Ham team ever. Just as Matt and Nigel are both saying "prove me wrong Ings" the West Ham sub proves that Ings can only get better. He closes down a dawdling Leno and nicks the ball to Lucas Paqueta who strokes the ball into an empty net and runs to the corner flag.

Andy Irving is spotted on the pitch and does well to keep things simple. Can West Ham keep a two-goal lead this time? Of course not. Iwobi plays in an identical cross to the first goal. Mavropanos misses his header and Wilson confuses Fabianski again for the ball to drift in.

Fabianski has to save a low effort from Jimenez and it all gets very nervy. But Paqueta has shown a great energy and has his best game in ages. He  does well holding up the ball and winning free kicks against the niggly Antonee Robinson. "Come on you Irons!" booms the crowd in a much-improved atmosphere. In a sign that Potter has really changed things Matt is even heard encouraging the Greek Bloke. 

Cresswell fires a dangerous free kick across the box and Paqueta heads over. In added time it should be 3-3 when Fulham fire the ball across goal and sub Traore blazes over the bar, though credit to Ollie Scarles for closing him down. West Ham survive six minutes of added time for a great win. We go above Spurs!

According to Nigel this is the first WHU win against a top ten side since we beat Arsenal at the end of 2023. It's off to the Eagle to celebrate where the fridge (which is as unpredictable as Loppy's formations) contains Meantime and there's a pool tournament in progress. We leave trying not to heed Michael's warning that attics are not designed to take the weight of boxes of football programmes. 

West Ham got lucky at times, but there certainly seemed to be more structure and energy to the side under Graham Potter and considering the injuries this was a great win. Get a result against Palace on Saturday and we can start to look upwards. 

PLAYER RATINGS: Fabianski 5; Wan-Bissaka 7, Kilman 6, Mavropanos 6, Emerson 7 (Cresswell 6); Rodriguez 6 (Scarles 6), Alvarez 6, Soler 7 (Irving 6), Soucek 7, Kudus 6 (Ings 6); Paqueta 8.