Debt in the afternoon

So West Ham have announced a loss of £104.2 million for the past financial year. The club is paying the price for the money splurged on unsuccessful signings like Fullkrug, Guilherme and Kilman, plus paying for the sackings of Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter and recruitment gurus Tim Steidten and Kyle Macaulay. Turnover is down by £42.1 million with no European football or cup runs and a poor league finish. 

It's all a long way from a world class team in a world class stadium, with letting David Moyes go seem even more of an unforced error. Another big worry is that the club took out a £124m five-year loan from Rights and Media Finding Limited, which is costing a lot in interest. It would be interesting to hear Karren Brady explaining these results to Lord Sugar in the boardroom.

We're also threatened with a fire sale. The accounts state that players will have to be sold in the summer and even more go if we get relegated: "In the event the severe but plausible scenario occurs, the Group is also forecasting a liquidity shortfall in summer 2026 to a greater severity. Accordingly, more significant mitigating actions would be required such as further player disposals to generate transfer fee income and wage savings, or additional funding from the shareholders, or a combination thereof."

To be positive there are some players West Ham can sell. Niclas Fullkrug, Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and the out of favour Max Kilman would all get some money in, albeit much less than we paid for them, perhaps £30million for the lot. The sale of Paqueta might have helped a little. That would leave a lot of money still required from the board though, and it doesn't seem like David Sullivan will put anything more in and nor will Daniel Kretinsky, who owns 27 per cent of the club. The alternative to the owners injecting cash is selling off Bowen, Summerville, Fernandes, Wan-Bissaka and co.

Meanwhile there are rumours Karren Brady is set to leave. The club desperately needs new and ambitious owners who can refinance the club and buy the stadium in order to reconfigure it. It's hard to disagree with George Simms who writes in the Observer: "You have to question what David Sullivan gets out of maintaining control of West Ham: loathed by fans and unwilling to change. This is now a solely selfish pursuit, damaging to a beloved club to soothe his ego. If Brady does leave, he will be the sole face of a failing institution, knowing deep down he has failed it."

The quality of Mersey is not restrained

Liverpool 5 West Ham 2

The day gets off to a bad start with the news that West Have announced a £104m loss for the last financial year and will have to sell players in the summer. Then WHU have to play at a ground where we have only won once since 1963.

Not conceding after five minutes would be a good start. But from a Liverpool corner West Ham win two headers only for Gravenberch to find Etikike with a clever pass. Castellanos has got upfield too quickly and the Liverpool striker fires through the legs of the Greek Bloke to beat Hermansen at his near post. 

West Ham respond by winning a corner and from the resulting melee the Greek Bloke fires over when well-placed in front of goal. It's two for the home side when a corner is headed in by Van Dijk who has out-muscled Magassa. Aaron Wan-Bissaka has moved away from his post, when had he stayed he could have cleared.

The Irons have a good spell after that as Liverpool look vulnerable to quick breaks. Bowen is taken by surprise when Alisson plays the ball straight to him and can only scuff it back at the keeper. Another pass straight to Bowen results in Jimmy Summerville having an effort superbly blocked by Konate. Bowen and Soucek then almost produce a copy of Tom's goal against Man United, with Soucek's flick being parried at close-range by Alisson.

But against the run of play Liverpool score a third. The Greek Bloke makes a good block to concede a corner. Again it's headed clear but Ekitike plays it first time to Mac Allister who hits it on the volley to score with a great finish. The ball takes a nick off AWB's head to beat Hermansen. We'd take a draw at this point.

The second half starts with renewed hope as Soucek sweeps home a fine low cross from Diouf. Gakpo misses a good chance and a long-range drive from Fernandes extends Alisson. But the Reds score a fourth as Wan-Bisakka allows Gakpo to turn inside. The striker shoots through AWB's legs, with the ball taking yet another deflection.

HAMMERS KOP IT

Summerville still threatens and forces a really good save from Alisson. From the resulting Bowen corner Castellanos arrives at the back post to head home from a difficult angle. Liverpool look a bit worried as Jimmy Summerville twists inside two defenders only to fire over when he might have scored.

It's game over when Frimpong crosses and the ball takes another unlucky deflection off Disasi for an own goal. Liverpool almost make it six as sub Nyoni fires over.

It's been a strange game as West Ham have played well going forwards and had slightly more possession than Liverpool. The Irons have scored twice at Anfield and created seven other decent chances. We've been unlucky with three deflected goals, but you won't win many games conceding five. Bad habits have re-emerged, with an early goal conceded and three let in from corners.

But at least the most difficult fixture of the run-in is out of the way. Fulham are not as good as Liverpool. If Nuno can restore some solidity to the back four and we get a bit more luck with deflections then we can still get something at Craven Cottage on Wednesday. 

Drawing drawing West Ham

West Ham 0 Bournemouth 0

Inside the London Stadium there are lots of pre-match tributes to Ludo Miklosko, who comes from near Moscow, including Jimmy Walker, not having himself in dodgy gear, on the pitch and a tifo in the Bobby Moore Stand. Ludo is still with us but in a bad way with cancer. We're with you Big Boy.

I'm joined by Matt, Lisa, Nigel and Michael, fresh from brunch at the Best Cafe. Matt's been asking for the name of the only Football League team never to win a divisional title, a mystery eventually cracked by Nigel. 

It's nearly a great start as from Bowen's corner Disasi has a header cleared off the line and then pokes the rebound over the bar. Next Taty whips in a delicious cross but Summerville can only direct his effort at Petrovic.

Not much else happens in the first half though it soon becomes clear that Bournemouth are a good passing side lying eighth and this won't be easy. Jimmy Summerville shows great feet to dribble into the box only to shoot over. Blonde full back Jimenez clatters Summerville twice to earn boos from the crowd but no booking. 

Hermansen looks calm, Mavropanos is having a good game at the back, Disasi looks solid and Taty is chasing everything. At half-time Michael disses Tom Stoppard then channels Fraser by announcing that we will win in an unprecedented burst of optimism.

CHERRY BOMB

The second half begins with the Cherries Rayan suddenly bursting down the right from his own half, veering into the box and firing against the outside of the post. Bournemouth look to have signed a Brazilian wonderkid while WHU got Guilherme.

The crowd are excellent in getting behind the Irons again. We give it a go. Bowen crosses from the right and Taty goes close with an overhead kick. Nuno waits a little too long to bring on Wilson but when he does arrive he almost has an immediate impact. Diouf whips in a cross and Callum produces the clever flick of an instinctive goalscorer, only to see Petrovic pull off a fine reaction save. Wilson then volleys over the bar from Bowen's cross.

Bournemouth have some good moments as Scott has a low drive saved by Hermansen and Tavernier crosses across the six-yard box. Kante comes on for Magassa, who has ballooned a shot way over when well-placed, while Diouf gets in a great crunching tackle and some fine overlaps.

RESPECTING THE PINT

There's a late flourish from the Irons, Summerville's shot is deflected for a corner. Then in the last minute Jimmy races out of his own half to set up Bowen, who shoots over. Jarrod is  stretching and under pressure but should really have got it on target.

So it's 0-0, a good performance if not a good result. We've had 20 shots to Bournemouth's 10, but as Big Sam might say we've just not been clinical enough. "Teams that stay up win games in the last minute," reflects Matt as we head for the Eagle. Nigel considers that less than a point a game means relegation in any division.

In the pub there's curling on the TV while Nigel is on fire with Wes Foderingham trivia, not least the fact that at Swindon Les once squared up to boss Paulo Di Canio after being subbed off after 20 minutes. Then's he's championing an Angel Witch b-side called Gorgon. After two pints of Guinness we're on to the two bands called Blue, and the musical career of Barry Blue, whose single Dancing on a Saturday Night was once purchased on a Top of the Pops album by a young Matt.

So 11 games left. At least a point is something and one defeat in eight games is a sign of progress. The clean sheet was a positive from the game and there's still some hope if very little margin for error. Now all we have to do is win at Anfield. Oh dear.

PLAYER RATINGS: Hermansen 7; Wan-Bissaka 7, Disasi 6, Mavropanos 7, Diouf 7; Soucek 5 (Wilson 7), Fernandes 6, Magassa 5 (Kante 6); Bowen 6, Castellanos 7, Summerville 7.

Hammers (just about) avoid cup hopes going for a Burton

Burton Albion 0 West Ham 1 (FA Cup)

Watching on TNT the game begins with a hole in the goal netting being repaired with a piece of blue string and a plane flying overhead with a "Sullivan and Brady out" message. That's about as entertaining as the game gets. Nuno has made ten changes from the Man United game and the Greek Bloke is named as captain, joining fellow legends Moore, Bonds, Rice and Bowen. None of us have ever doubted Dinos.

The Brewers have an early penalty appeal turned down after the Greek Bloke shoves Beasley. The Irons look passive against a determined Burton. Magassa and Kante don't get to grips with midfield, Lamadrid is peripheral and Traore only occasionally threatens. Burton have had six attempts on goal before Wilson finally gets a tame shot in. The match looks like a League One relegation struggle with Burton edging it.

The second half begins with West Ham stepping up the pace as the Greek Bloke has a header saved from a corner. We finally get a decent effort away as Callum Wilson hits an excellent half-volley that is topped over by Collins. Nuno brings on Potts, Summerville and Castellanos late on in an attempt to win it but the game drifts into extra-time.

Can West Ham pull off an upset and score? Mayers finds Summerville on the left. Jimmy cuts inside a defender and fires in a shot that is deflected into the top of the net. Phew. That's six goals for Jimmy now.

It's hopefully game over until Freddie Potts lunges into a late tackle. It's a rash challenge and under pressure from the Burton players the ref changes his decision from a yellow to a red card. Suspensions are not what we need.

Armor fires just wide for the Brewers while Summerville pounces on a loose pass and rolls it into the side netting when it seems easier to score. Disasi comes on to tighten up the backline. Late on Lofthouse shoots just past the post and Areola has to make a late parry as Burton almost take it to penalties.

Finally we're through. Our reserves haven't looked very good on this showing. Not many positives apart from the fact that Mavropanos and Kilman were pretty solid at the back, it's another clean sheet and youngsters like Kante will learn from this. Still, at least Dinos has a 100 per cent record as captain. The Cup Final breakfast round at Nigel's Kew Gardens gaff remains on (just).

Sesko breaks Hammers' hearts but still a decent point

West Ham United 1 Manchester United 1 

There's plenty of time to eat in the Best Meze Cafe before the 8.15pm kick -off. Matt and Lisa are here having enjoyed a visit to the brutalist bus station in Preston after the Burnley match. Strangely our halloumi mushrooms and falafel arrive on time, though the chips appear at the end of seven additional minutes. 

Inside the stadium we find Nigel, Big Sam and Big Sam's podcast mate. On a misty rainswept evening under the lights this feels like a proper fixture. United have won four in a row under ex-Hammer Michael Carrick and Nigel and myself agree we'd be happy with a point against a club in form and in the top four. Potts comes in for Wilson as Nuno strengthens the midfield. Encouragingly Disasi is able to play twice in four days after not starting all season.

Not too much happens in the first half. Bowen heads a cross wide and then Jimmy Summerville cuts inside and forces a save from Lammens. From a low corner Wan Bissaka has to clear Shaw's shot off the line. What is apparent is that the Irons are competing really well. Disasi and the Greek Bloke look solid at the back, Soucek is getting in tackles and Taty is chasing everything despite referee Simon Hooper ignoring the repeated manhandling of both Taty and later Callum Wilson.

Incredibly the Irons take the lead after 50 minutes. Diouf punts a long ball downfield. Bowen heads to Soucek, gets the ball back and races down the right wing. His low cross is expertly turned home by Soucek who has got in front of Shaw and wheels away doing his windmill celebration. Nigel says it's going to be a long second half. It's the hope we can't take. That's now 39 Premier League goals for the great survivor Tomas. Three managers have tried to drop him but the Czech keeps bouncing back. 

United look to have equalised when Casemiro gets between two defenders to head home, only to be ruled offside by an arm. Inspired by this the crowd really get behind the home side with chants of, "West Ham are massive!" going round the stadium. It's one of the best atmospheres since our European games, possibly helped by an extra 15 minutes in the pub.

Nuno brings on Wilson for Taty and then Magassa for Potts, while Carrick throws Sesko up front for United. Every thirty seconds on the clock seems to take forever. Fernandes messes up a promising free kick and some of West Ham's corners are poor too. But apart from a low shot from Sesko saved by Hermansen we seem to be holding on for an epic win.

FERGIE TIME

Seven minutes of Fergie Time is announced, which seems excessive. Nuno possibly tinkers too much by taking off Bowen and Summerville for Traore and Walker-Peters. West Ham have a great chance to make it two when Wilson breaks breaks from his own half only to have his shot blocked by Yoro when he could have passed to the unmarked Magassa. A minute later Magassa skips past Martinez to release Toure, whose shot is blocked again by Yoro.

West Ham have an escape when Zirkzee's header flicks just wide of the post. Surely we can now hold on for a morale-boosting three points that will see us go level with Forest? Only Mbuemo has worked hard and looked dangerous all game. Scarles, on for Diouf and not helped by Traore, doesn't get close enough to the United man who crosses into the box. Disasi is tight on Sesko but somehow the United striker manages to flick the ball up into the top corner with a great finish. Sod it. Disasi beats the ground in frustration.

"That's why we're going down!" declares Matt. Twenty points lost from winning positions. The Vicar's Son then launches into an existential howl of rage at Nuno's use of subs, Ollie Scarles for not closing down and the unfeeling nature of the cosmos, as Lisa checks out wellness retreats in San Francisco.

We retreat to Ye Olde Black Bull for a pint of Brixton Pale where TNT seems to be a Man United fan channel screening long interviews with Michael Carrick and Slabhead Maguire. Still, West Ham have played well tonight and the players can be proud of their performances. We're all deflated but at the end of the season a point against a top four side may well seem like a decent result. We go again and on tonight's form there's still some hope left. Irons!

PLAYER RATINGS: Hermansen 6; Wan-Bissaka 7; Mavropanos 7, Disasi 6, Diouf 6 (Scarles 5); Soucek 8, Potts 6 (Magassa 7), Fernandes 7; Bowen 7 (Traore n/a), Castellanos 6 (Wilson 6), Summerville 7 (Walker-Peters n/a).

We've got Taty, we've got Taty Castellanos!

Burnley 0 West Ham 2 (two)

It's an early start for the 8.30pm train from Euston for this, followed by the local train from Preston to a rainswept Burnley. Nigel's Burnley-supporting pal David has secured us places in the 1862 lounge within the Bob Lord Stand. 

Matt and Lisa, up on a romantic mini-break, are sampling the Bene and Hot (Benedictine being introduced to Burnley by WW1 soldiers and it's now the club's official drink). We're joined by fellow Irons Big Joe, who has driven down from Shropshire, plus Nigel and CQ also enjoying a mini-break on the moors outside Colne.

After our pre-match curry and a pint of Wainwright Jeff the MC/compere takes the mic to read out the teams. Struggling on Konstantinos Mavropanos he hands the mic over to Nigel who reads out "number 15 Greek Bloke", raising a laugh and ensuring a contract offer from Big Joe. The only problem is we then have to watch the football. It's better than expected.

Nuno has surprised everyone by dropping Areola for Hermansen. It's a little unfair on the Fonz, though as a former goalkeeper perhaps Nuno is concerned by Areola's fallibility with crosses. Or maybe with the most goals conceded in the division he just thinks he has to try something different. Axel Disasi starts and Wilson replaces Pablo up front.

It's certainly a shock to be so close to the pitch and we get to see close-hand Jarrod Bowen's incredible work-rate. West Ham start with some determination as Bowen surges forward and Summerville appeals for a penalty. We look up for it and take the lead when Fernandes nicks the ball and surges from his own half. He plays in Summerville who does well to lift the ball over Dubravka to score his fifth goal in five games. 

Axel Disasi looks composed at the back considering he hasn't played since last season. He's a big unit and looks intimidating to play against, which is what we need. Meanwhile the West Ham fans have a new song to the tune of Lip Up Fatty by Bad Manners, "We've got Taty, we've got Taty, Castellanos!" Though perhaps our Argentine striker isn't that familiar with the works of Buster Bloodvessel. The fans' other new song is best not repeated.

It's Taty who gets the second. Summerville produces a clever flick to Diouf, who puts in a superb low swinging cross. Taty gets between his two markers to head home.The Burnley fans turn with boos and chants of "We want Parker out!" though Scotty does get a chorus of support from the away fans.

Edwards shoots narrowly wide and Burnley miss a good chance at the back post but at the interval it's 2-0. What could possibly go right? After the break Burnley come at us for ten minutes. It's encouraging to see Disasi, Dinos and Wan-Bissaka celebrating some crunching tackles and blocks. Hermansen, after a slightly nervy start, makes a good save from Flemming and starts to gather crosses with confidence.

Nuno makes the change he should have done at Chelsea, replacing Wilson with Potts, who steadies the midfield. The home fans chant "You're not fit to wear the shirt!" at sub Bruun Larsen which can't help anyone at Turf Moor, though Hannibal gives it a good go in midfield. West Ham threaten on the break as Summerville nicks the ball past Walker and plays the ball just too far in front of Taty. Bowen should make it three when he breaks only to try and cross to Jimmy when he should shoot.

Pablo comes on and inspires a chant of "If Pablo scores we're on the pitch!", while Scarles does well after replacing Diouf. Amazingly we keep a clean sheet and see the game out without too much trouble. Burnley have been poor, but we still had to beat then and that's now four wins out of five, counting the FA Cup. 

I celebrate with Bene and Hot in the 1862 Lounge before racing across Burnley to get the tiny  train to Preston. Even a tree on the line and a 70-minute delay to Euston isn't that bad after an away win as a group of rather drunk West Ham fans sing the Taty and Christian Dailly songs long into the night. Man United will be a much more difficult game but we're starting to find some form. Irons!

PLAYER RATINGS: Hermansen 7; Wan-Bissaka 7, Disasi 7, Mavropanos 7, Diouf 7 (Scarles 7); Soucek 7, Fernandes 8; Bowen 8 (Walker-Peters n/a), Wilson 7 (Potts 7), Castellanos 7 (Pablo 6), Summerville 9 (Traore n/a).

Hammers try Axel grease to fix defensive malfunctions

West Ham certainly left it late on deadline day to loan 27-year-old Axel Disasi from Chelsea, relying on a deal sheet with the transfer not being confirmed until after 9pm. Still, at least the fax machine must have been working. Disasi was in the Chelsea "bomb squad" (where he might have met Danny Welbeck's dad, Stan) so could have been signed much earlier, which indicates he wasn't the club's first option and took some persuading to join. 

He's the first West Ham player to be called Axel, and not to be confused with Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose, who at 63 might be a little old for defensive duties. His full name is pretty impressive, being Axel Wilson Arthur Disasi Mhankinis Belho.

Axel is undoubtedly a good defender who cost Chelsea £38 million. He had a good career in France at Reims and Monaco (99 games) before signing for Chelsea. In his first season of 2023-24 he scored on his debut against Liverpool and played 44 times under Mauricio Pochetinno, including playing 120 minutes in the Carabao Cup Final defeat to Liverpool. He also got on late for France in their World Cup Final defeat to Argentina at the 2024 Qatar World Cup. So after the departure of Guido Rodriguez West Ham again have a World Cup winner on the books.

He played 17 times for Chelsea last season before falling victim to Chelsea's bloated squad system and being loaned to Aston Villa, where he played ten times including three times in the Champions League. Unai Emery doesn't sign too many duds.

The big worry though is that he hasn't played at all this season so how long will it take him to get match fit? It seems unlikely that he will play at Burnley but might get a run-out at Burton. Though a half-fit Disasi might be more effective than Max Kilman and the Greek Bloke after Saturday's collapse at Chelsea.

So a mixed transfer window ends. Castellanos and Pablo arrived for £47m to provide some pressing up front and made an immediate difference to the side's energy, while Traore isn't too much of a gamble at an initial £1m. Lamadrid is one for the future. The squad has been trimmed with Paqueta (little choice but to sell here), Rodriguez, Irvine and Guilherme leaving (we did well to get £14m) and Ward-Prowse, Fullkrug, Earthy and Marshall being loaned out. But with the worst defence in the league we've only signed Disasi for the back line. Whether this proves successful will be known in May.