Wilson and Areola earn away point for the Irons

Bournemouth 2 West Ham 2 

Leaving home in a downpour it's a nervous journey to Stratford Library for my spot at the Newham Festival of Stories, as West Ham are two up at half-time. I'm appearing at a talk with maths guru and West Ham ambassador Bobby Seagull and Hammers historian Tim Crane author of the just-published A History of West Ham United. On arrival it's 2-1 and with seasoned Irons Bobby and Tim we're soon despairing at 2-2 and then relieved we don't actually lose. 

Paqueta is suspended and Summerville injured, with Guilherme coming in on the left and Freddie Potts thankfully fit to play. Igor makes his full debut in a five-man defence. West Ham's first goal is route one as Areola's punt downfield is expertly controlled on his chest by Callum Wilson. His snap shot on a wet pitch takes Petrovic by surprise and the Irons are 1-0 up after 11 minutes. Brooks misses a half-chance for the Cherries but astonishingly it's two after half an hour as a free kick into the box is kept alive by headers from Bowen and Todibo. Wilson controls it on his chest and swivels to hook a brilliant finish past the keeper. He's become the first PL player to score twice without making a pass.

Bournemouth improve after the break as Iraola brings on Christie and Jimenez while Nuno makes a strange substitution taking off Wilson for Soucek seven minutes into the second half.  He thinks Wilson looks tired and with his injury record has to be used judiciously, but even so it's strange to bring off a player on a hat-trick. Soucek has come on and scored in the last two games but he's not fast and not a target man. Surely bringing on Fullkrug, who does appear after 75 minutes, would have given the Hammers more of a focus to relieve the pressure? Guilherme has to go off injured at the break too, which deprives the Hammers of some speed on the left flank.

The Cherries start to bombard the Hammers goal. Areola makes a fine save with his feet to deny Christie. The breakthrough comes in the 69th minute when Kilman slips and his hand brushes the ball as he falls to give away a penalty. Bournemouth argue it's also a red card, though it's hard to see where else he could have put his arm after sliding in the deluge. Tavernier duly scores. 

THE FONZ IS COOL

Areola makes a brilliant save with his feet to deny Kroupi, but it's 2-2 after 81 minutes as sub Unal gets between Kilman and Igor to fire home. From then on it's Bournemouth against the Fonz. He makes a reflex save to deny Tavernier, another fine stop from Adki and then another great foot stop from Unal. 

Did Nuno's conservatism cost us the win or was it simply a case of being forced back by an improved Bournemouth? In the end we're grateful for a point, though as Newham Festival of Stories attendee Matt says, beforehand we'd have settled for seven points from the Newcastle, Burnley and Bournemouth games. Next up we face crisis club Liverpool. 

Meanwhile it's an entertaining session at Stratford Library and good to hear Tim Crane's stories of Vic Watson and co, Bobby Seagull's tale of playing against Jermain Defoe at school plus the audience tales of Clyde Best, Bobby Moore and more. Come on you Irons!

Irons at the Newham Festival of Stories

Looking forward to appearing on a West Ham panel at the Newham Festival of Stories on Saturday Nov 22nd, from 5-6pm. I'll be on stage with maths wizard and Hammers fanatic Bobby Seagull and West Ham historian Tim Crane author of A History of West Ham United talking about the influence of West Ham on the borough. Click on the link above for free tickets.

Fullkrug can only leave on West Ham's terms

It seems likely that Niclas Fullkrug will be on his bike in January, with a number of German clubs interested in signing the injury-prone striker. Fullkrug's agent Thorsten Wirth has said in a podcast: "Looking back, we have to say the transfer didn’t work out. There’s no point in sugar-coating it. This always has to happen in cooperation with the club, but I believe it can make sense to change something there." 

That seems a little simplistic as Fullkrug's problem has been that he's always injured rather than his choice of club. Two of his injuries have occurred while with the Germany squad so perhaps it's time for him to retire from international football and put his body under less strain. It would be a mistake to let Fullkrug go on loan as he's on a reported £100k a week and West Ham would likely have to pay a large slice of his wages. A cash offer might be tempting but it's going to be very difficult to sign a replacement striker in January when clubs are reluctant to sell halfway through the season.

My best option would be to get him fit, hold him to his contract and keep him until the end of the season. Fullkrug, who cost £27 million, was starting to show some form last season with goals at Leicester and Man City, only to do his hamstring at Villa in the FA Cup. He returned to score a fine header against Bournemouth and be "very angry" after the Southampton draw, but once again this season he has succumbed to injury and has only ever started 13 games for the Irons. 

He's the sort of player who needs games but when he has got a run together he's started to look a decent striker. Nuno started him in his first two games and likes a big target man so it makes sense to keep him as an option. West Ham are going to need an alternative to the 33-year-old Callum Wilson at some stage and we need all the strikers we can get. After failing to get the best out of Haller and Scamacca it would be satisfying to finally get some kind of return from another expensive international striker.

No doubting Tomas as Hammers win two in a row

West Ham 3 Burnley 2

It's exceedingly strange that some people decide to get married in the football season and then celebrate their anniversary ten years later, all without checking the WHU fixture list. But that's how I find myself getting a lift in a two-hour drive from Cardiff to the remote village of Caio where Her Indoors' eco-pals are holding a party. But I'm remaining in touch with events in Stratford as worrying news arrives on Whats App that Nigel has forgotten his lucky banana. Big Sam is laid low with dodgy tonsils while Matt and Lisa have been watching the under-18s and are gutted to be missing the West Ham float in the Lady Mayoress's parade.

By all accounts West Ham take half an hour to get going as Scott Parker's Burnley look the better side with Flemming, who isn't wearing number 007, almost getting on the end of a dangerous cross. The Clarets take the lead when Diouf allows Ugochukwu too much time to cross and Flemming gets ahead of Kilman too easily to head home. Is this going to be the familiar return to mediocrity after the Newcastle win?

Thankfully the Hammers get going after that shock. Bowen wins a corner from which Kilman has a header blocked. From another corner the Irons equalise. Summerville takes a short corner to Potts who returns the ball to him. Jimmy drives into the box and his shot is deflected into the air for Callum Wilson to stoop and score a typical poacher's goal. Not bad for someone Mystic Matt predicted might never score for us.

Potts again looks tidy in midfield and Mateus Fernandes is singled out on Match of the Day for a great performance and 98 per cent passing success rate. He's getting in tackles and driving the Hammers forward, while also taking some the creative pressure off Paqueta. But it's the arrival of Tomas Soucek, who replaces the dead-legged Freddie Potts, that changes the game. 

Flemming doesn't live twice as he heads over, while Summerville chooses the wrong option and shoots into the side netting. Fernandes wins a corner on 77 minutes. Summerville's dead-ball is cleared for Paqueta to cross back in. Dubravka flaps at the ball and only succeeds in pushing the ball on to Soucek, who scores from close range for the second week running and does his whirligig celebration. That goalkeeping error was the bit of luck we needed.

Areola does really well to stick a leg out to deflect Walker's goalbound cross as the Clarets' nearly equalise. With three minutes left sub Igor passes infield to Soucek. Burnley make Tomas  look like Franz Beckenbauer as he races through a vacant midfield to fire a shot at Dubravka. The keeper spills it and in a race between Bowen and Walker-Peters the former Saints man wins to score his first Hammers goal.

That should be it, but there's still time for the dodgy goalkeeping bug to catch on as the Fonz drops Bruun Larsen's shot into the path of former Hammer Josh Cullen who makes it 3-2. 

The verdict of Nigel's Burnley-supporting mate is, "Two poor teams proven by the fact that Soucek with his speed and skill  made the difference." That's certainly the first time I've heard the words speed and Soucek in the same sentence. 

Though the result was everything in this one and on ten points the Irons are now level with Burnley and one point behind Leeds and Fulham. It certainly makes the half-hour post-party trek in the rain down a dark country lane to a box room in a remote Airbnb rather more bracing. Thirty more points and we're safe! 

We've won at home! Soucek seals victory over Geordies

West Ham 3 (three) Newcastle 1 

The day begins with another Guardian article from Jacob Steinberg reading, "West Ham are a shambles - and Nuno shows little sign of being able to fix it." These are desperate times and as Nigel's lucky banana isn't working I take my lucky daughter, Nell, now a 24-year-old with an MA who as a seven-year-old predicted we might one day win Infinity-nil. We're joined by Nigel and CQ plus Michael the Whovian, with Matt, Lisa and Big Sam unavailable for selection.

Nuno has at least picked a sensible side with the full backs not inverted and Potts and Fernandes in central midfield instead of Irving and Soucek. The first four minutes seem to sum up our season as some nice passing between Diouf and Paqueta releases Summerville to drive at the Toon defence. His pass finds Bowen who thumps his shot against the inside of the post. From the rebound Newcastle break and with Kilman upfield Diouf is turned inside out by Murphy who scores 26 seconds later with a fine shot across Areola.

Surely things can't get any worse. Our season is going the way of Lily Allen's marriage and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's career prospects. "They've made us angry now," I tell Nell, fearing another capitulation. Yet the Hammers stick at it. Wan-Bissaka wins a sliding tackle, plays a give and go with Jarrod Bowen, who is bought down in the box for a penalty. Only VAR intervenes to rule that Thiaw got a toe to the ball first. Next Summerville wins a free kick. Paqueta puts it under the wall and Pope makes a fine save to tip the ball on to the post. From the corner Max Kilman has a header tipped over by Pope.

The crowd stick with the Irons sensing that there is something different about this side. Young Freddie Potts is snapping into tackles and playing sensibly in front of the defence while Fernandes and Paqueta are working really hard with the side getting the ball forward much quicker. We even appear able to defend corners.

Redemption arrives after 35 minutes. Pope punches a cross clear, Fernandes passes it short to Paqueta and Lucas fires a well-placed left-foot shot into the bottom corner, celebrating with an arm pointed to the great VAR God above.

Areola makes a fine low save to deny Gordon and we fear that West Ham will yet again concede just before the break. But instead Fernandes cleverly chips over three players to release Wan-Bissaka who charges down the right and crosses. Botman sticks out a leg and diverts home for an own goal. That's the piece of luck we needed.

HE'S ONE OF OUR OWN

At half-time Michael rashly predicts a 4-2 home win as we enjoy the pleasant if worrying sensation of being ahead and discuss Steve Potts' one goal for West Ham in a 7-1 win over Hull City.

The Irons mount some promising attacks as Wilson goes off for Soucek after 61 minutes, with Tomas playing as an emergency striker. Kilman has another header tipped over by Pope. After that corner a series of crosses come in and Potts seems to have poked in the third, though sodding VAR intervenes again and Soucek is ruled offside by a toe.

What a moment that would have been for 22-year-old Freddie and dad Steve, sitting on the West Ham bench. "Freddie Potts, he's one of our own!" chant the home fans. It's no coincidence that Kilman and Todibo have looked much better with a defensive shield in front of them.

For all the criticism of the London Stadium, spontaneous choruses of I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles start to ring round the bowl and it's really quite noisy. Finally the fans have something to get behind.

Michael starts to get worried as Walker-Peters replaces Summerville, and the Hammers sit back. But it's not until the 89th minute that the Toon have an effort on target with Osula's header easily saved by Areola. "Five minutes and we're almost there!" suggests Nigel in added time, having just seen the Stranglers at the Roundhouse.

SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT

We're in the 97th minute when Kilman wins a massive header. It falls to Bowen who plays a give and go with Paqueta. Jarrod shoots low through the legs of Pope and bouncing Czech Tomas Soucek is on hand to prod the ball over the line. VAR tries to intervene but eventually it's allowed and Nuno is embracing his staff before leading the team on a victory lap of the stadium. VE Day must have felt a bit like like this. It's West Ham's best home performance for two years and this has looked much more like the solid counter-attacking team Nuno had at Forest. For once everyone in the side has played well - a real team performance. If it hadn't been for the post and VAR the score might have been infinity-one.

It's West Ham's first home victory since beating Leicester on February 27. We're not sure how to celebrate a victory but opt for a trip to the Eagle for Guinness, Peroni, Jameson whisky and Spitfire. BBC Sport has the very unusual words "impressive West Ham" in its match headline. After that there's the shock of Michael Carrick and Robert Green being nice about us on Match of the Day. This victory is a step forward though we now have to follow it up by getting a result against Burnley. But for the first time in ages WHU looked like a team. Irons!

PLAYER RATINGS: Areola 7; Wan-Bissaka 8, Kilman 8, Todibo 7, Diouf 7; Potts 8, Fernandes 8 (Igor n/a), Paqueta 8; Summerville 7 (Walker-Peters 7), Wilson 7 (Soucek 7), Bowen 8.

Don't give up (yet)

For many fans it seems West Ham are already down. Martin Samuel has just written a long piece in the Sunday Times headlined, "West Ham's squad looks immune to even the  smartest coaching." He makes a couple of good points, namely that fans boycotting games isn't going to help the confidence of the players (protests are best done before or after matches) and also that the stadium isn't the major problem. 

Samuel writes: "Dissenters often pretend that all they want is the old West Ham back — pie and mash, the Boleyn Ground, a trophy every 43 years — but the reality is the mood is synced to the football. When West Ham are playing well, the London Stadium is not perfect, but fine. It has noise, it has atmosphere. When West Ham are making progress in Europe or beating Chelsea, there is no problem at all. In times like this, however, it sucks the life from all who enter. The fans are absent, angry or silent. The players are anxious and lost."

He's also right about the lack of strategy and the fact that the squad is a mishmash of players assembled by David Moyes, David Sullivan, Tim Steidten, Graham Potter and Kyle Macaulay. As he says: "This is a stupid football club, making stupid decisions and it has done for too long."

But has all hope gone? As Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush might suggest, Don't Give Up. Or not just yet. There are 29 games left. As Michael Carrick said on Match of The Day, there's talent in a forward line of Summerville, Paqueta, Wilson and Bowen. While Niclas Fullkrug, if he ever gets fit, is still loved at Borussia Dortmund and might come good with an extended run. 

Our defending from corners has been terrible, but as Robert Green revealed on Sky, Big Sam used to drill the players for hours on defending corners so that it became easy on match days. Surely Nuno can do the same? Kilman and Todibo don't seem to be able to play as a partnership but could one of them improve with a new signing or Igor alongside them? While there were signs in Nuno's first two games that Mavropanos was cutting out the unforced errors.

We have to hope that Nuno gets over his early madness for tinkering. Surely he must now have the evidence that inverted full backs don't work and Irving and Soucek are too slow in central midfield? In his first two games starting with Magassa as a defensive midfielder and replacing him late on with Potts worked well enough. There's also hope that Fernandes, after scoring at Leeds, is going to start looking like a £40m midfielder.

It's not going to be easy. Sunderland have 17 points and seem certain to stay up. We have to hope that the relegation battle involves Wolves, Burnley, Leeds and perhaps a middling club like Notts Forest, Fulham or Brentford dragged down by injuries or a poor run. We need to not get cut adrift by Christmas. Creativity will be needed in the January window with perhaps loans for a defender, a young striker and a box-to-box midfielder. But win a few games and relegation becomes somebody else's problem. It's not all over yet.

A trip to Elland back as WHU make worst start in 52 years

Leeds United 2 West Ham 1

It's a trip with Matt to the World's End, our latest unlucky pub, as Halloween starts a week early with Nuno making another scary team selection. He's again playing Scarles as a right back and Wan-Bissaka is now on the left with Diouf in a five-man defence. He's again playing Irving and Soucek in central midfield while ignoring Magassa and Fernandes, and with Fullkrug injured has again opted not to play a striker in Callum Wilson. Nuno is overthinking this.

We settle down with pints of Landlord next to two blokes in Leeds shirts who turn out to be Matt's friends, so we avoid steaming in and instead say hello. Leeds score with their first attack. Bogle (are Leeds now our Bogle team?) has too much time to cross from the right and Okafor gets ahead of Scarles to head towards Areola. The keeper parries it and Aaronson reacts quicker than Todibo and Wan-Bissaka to prod home the rebound. Scarles is a promising left-back, but he's at fault here. Why did Nuno think it a good idea to play him on the right for the first time in two crucial relegation six-pointers?

There are signs of life in the WHU attack as Summerville does well to get in a cross and Bowen's overhead kick is parried by Perri, who manages to get a second touch to flick the ball away from Paqueta. But on 15 minutes Leeds win a corner. The ball drifts over Kilman and Todibo and Rodon is inexplicably being marked by Paqueta. The big man thumps home his header. You can't give teams a two-goal start. Marking isn't Paqueta's game and he should surely be left upfield at corners so the opposition have to keep a man back.

Callum Wilson is already warming up when Scarles goes down with a shoulder injury and Nuno is forced into playing a more conventional line-up. Wilson might have lost a bit of pace but he does fairly well holding the ball up and winning free kicks, while Bowen is more effective cutting in from the right. West Ham seem to have pulled one back as Bowen drives in from the left and Wilson blocks a clearance with the ball falling to Lucas to fire home,. But VAR rules that Paqueta is just offside though there's an argument that the ball came off the Leeds defender last. 

Soucek heads wide from a good Bowen cross and Bowen shoots wide but it's Leeds who almost score before the break as Okafor twists and turns past Todibo to fire just wide. More beer is the only option at half-time.

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

Andy Irving is a neat passer but lacks the pace and tackling ability we need. The second half starts with Aaronson racing from hois own half through our porous midfield, past Irving, Soucek and Paqueta, and having a shot deflected on to the bar. 

Nuno brings on Fernandes and Potts on 65 minutes and West Ham dominate possession. Magassa gets on for the final 15 minutes. Paqueta tries his best and plays well but we don't really threaten as crosses come to nothing and Leeds make defending corners look easy. Still, we keep at it and on 90 minutes Bowen's chip into the box is glanced home by the head of Fernandes.

Any hope of a late equaliser disappears with an overhit cross from Todibo and it's another depressing defeat.This is now West Ham's worst start in 52 years and we have broken a PL record by conceding nine goals from corners in the first nine games. 

There's some hope in the second half performance but Nuno needs to stop tinkering. Let's try playing the full-backs in their correct positions, give the £60m pair of Magassa and Fernandes games in midfield and play a striker up front with Bowen cutting in from the right. Sean Dyche has said he'll put players in their right positions at Nottingham Forest and Nuno needs to so the same. And how about appointing a set-piece coach? With two home games coming up it's time to keep it simple.