Back to the future with David Moyes

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. As predicted it's David Moyes. Firstly, let's be clear, the main problem is not the managers but owners who make populist (and sometimes unpopulist) decisions and have no long term strategy for West Ham. They veer from ultra-pragmatists such as Allardyce to managers who don't believe in defence like Pellegrini. The owners react to situations rather than pre-empt them. Sullivan, Gold and Brady also wildly over-promised on how good the London Stadium would be.

As for Moyes, I would have much preferred Eddie Howe as the manager to build a side, though it must be remembered that we are deep in the mire and are never going to attract an A-list gaffer like Ancelotti or Pochettino. 

Personally, I thought Moyes did reasonably well in his last spell at the club. He saved the club from relegation and more importantly instilled some discipline and work ethic into the players. He certainly made a difference to Arnautovic's game. One advantage is that he will already know half of the West Ham squad.

Yes, Moyes was defensive, but arguably had little choice with a side leaking so many goals. Playing five at the back again might free up Fredericks and Cresswell or Masuaku as wing backs and get some more crosses in to Haller. He'll also surely realise that you can't play Lanzini, Anderson and Fornals in the same side. You would also hope that Moyes and Pearce (if he comes too) give Haller some Arnautovic-style tough love and tell him to put himself about a bit. 

If Moyes is still the same manager who had Everton in the top eight every season we might show some signs of progress over his 18-month contract. Though if he is, as some maintain, an outdated dinosaur who failed at Man United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland then it might prove terminally unwise to have returned to our ex.

There is a lot of noise on social media, but knowing football fans, there would have been outrage whoever West Ham appointed. Let's remember we all welcomed Pellegrini when he arrived and that didn't work out too well. 

Short term, Moyes has to up the work rate of the squad, which is too talented to be in its current position. West Ham fans will forgive most things if they see the players trying on the pitch and a few tackles flying in. He then has to play the transfer window effectively and get some pace and midfield strength in the side. The return of Moyes is either brave or stupid, depending on your viewpoint, but if it doesn't work out then we will be playing in the Championshiop next season.

Sacked in the evening...

West Ham 1 Leicester City 2

So the Manuel Pellegrini era has ended. Just as our group of dispirited Hammers were discussing likely new managers in the Refreshment Rooms — covering Benitez, Moyes, Hughton, Eddie Howe, Trevor Brooking, Ludek Miklosko and Christian Dailly —  the breaking news emerged on the TV screen. The pub erupted in cheers and a chorus of Bubbles, so it's clear most West Ham fans have had enough.

Pellegrini has seemed so rigid in his thinking in recent months and has never really grasped that WHU are sleepwalking towards relegation. He has twice broken West Ham's transfer record on Anderson and Haller and neither have delivered this season, while the obvious need for defensive signings and a new box-to-box midfielder has been ignored. 

It was the performance after going 2-1 behind tonight that really did for him. Taking off Haller and playing Antonio alone up front was pretty much a managerial resignation note. There was no pounding of the opposition goal to get an equaliser and the fact the team aren't playing for him became sadly obvious.

The only positives were that Fabianski returned in goal and saved the penalty he gave away, and that Fornals swept home a nice equaliser with an assist from Anderson. The winner saw the midfield disappear and Sanchez fail to track Gray's run. This was against basically a Leicester League Cup side — they rested Vardy, Maddison, Chilwell, Soyoncu, Pereira and Tielemans and still beat West Ham comfortably. 

The best line of the night did go to Michael the Whovian, fresh from another pantomime at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, when we brought on Ajeti (pronounced A Yeti), who quipped that with Antonio we now had two abominable snowmen up front. Nigel announced that he is definitely not renewing his season ticket in the Championship, despite mysteriously carrying last season's Leicester programme with a picture of Moyes on the cover. The Vicar's Son was exasperated by Masuaku's performance and Ajeti's two fluffs in front of goal and Fraser opted for anyone but Moyes (unless it's Big Sam or Pulis). Most of the crowd just seemed apathetic, conditioned to West Ham failure.

The only thing that went well was the pre-match tributes to Martin Peters from Geoff Hurst and Brian Dear. A sad end to a terrible run after a fourth successive home defeat and two wins in 14 matches. Pellegrini seemed a decent man, but he hasn't justified his £7m salary and really had to go on this season's form. The board have to get the next appointment right or it will be Championship football at the London Stadium.

PLAYER RATINGS: Fabianski 6; Fredericks 5, Diop 4, Balbuena 5, Masuaku 5; Rice 5, Sanchez 4 (Snodgrass 5); Anderson 5, Fornals 6, Lanzini 4 (Ajeti 3); Haller 4 (Antonio 5).

Another car crash at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace 2 West Ham 1

Oh well, just another Christmas at West Ham. Boxing Day arrives with news that Michail Antonio has crashed his Lamborghini into a bin shed while dressed as a snowman on Christmas Day, as you do. Seems like he drives like he plays, lots of acceleration but sometimes let down by a lack of control. 

Antonio makes the line-up at Palace though minus his snowman costume and Zabaleta replaces the suspended Fredericks. Roberto also returns with Fabianski and Martin both still not fit. To be fair to the maligned Hammers' keeper, he makes a couple of decent stops from Ayew and Wickham and isn't at fault for the goals.

Ayew goes close for Palace but a goalless first half offers hope. Even more so when against the run of play the Irons take the lead. Antonio makes a powerful run inside and finds Snodgrass with a great through ball, which the Scotsman finishes really well. Maybe Michail should crash his car before every game.

But as so often this season the Hammers panic after taking the lead. As the side sit back Ayew's header is volleyed home by none other than Cheikhou Kouyate. To give him credit he doesn't celebrate and you do wonder why he was sold without a better replacement being signed than Wilshere or Sanchez. 

Snodgrass has a goalbound effort blocked, but it's almost inevitable that West Ham concede a 90th minute winner. It's a great solo run from Ayew, though he skips past Rice, Ogbonna and Balbuena with far too much ease. Roberto can't be faulted for the chip over him, which is a classy finish. With the Hammers needing a late equaliser it's strange that Pellegrini has subbed Haller, though at least Lanzini gets some minutes.

But it's a depressing result and the Hammers slump to fourth from bottom again with Pellegrini still in danger of a Christmas sacking. Leicester tomorrow and Bournemouth on New Year's Day will surely hold the key to his future.

Noble return for Gavin and Stacey

Good to see the Christmas Day special of Gavin and Stacey featuring Baby Neil in a Mark Noble Number 16 shirt, given to him as a present by James Corden's Smithy. Will Smithy marry Nessa and take her to the London Stadium? Surely he will, though Nessa might find that not much is occurring in the opposition goalmouth. And could we have Uncle Bryn in charge of stadium catering please? Tidy.

Martin Peters RIP

Very sad to hear of the death of World Cup Winner Martin Peters. I never saw him play for West Ham, arriving on the North Bank just as WHU received top drinker Jimmy Greaves in part-exchange for Martin (Spurs got the best of the deal). But you could see just what a fine player Peters was in the 1970s away from Upton Park, winning the League Cup twice and the Uefa Cup with Spurs and then late on, still ghosting in behind defences with Norwich City. He'll always be remembered for scoring in the World Cup Final and his part in West Ham's Cup Winners' Cup win of 1965, but one game I wish I'd seen was the fantastic full volley he scored for West Ham at Upton Park (can't remember who it was against) and Brian Moore hollering "Oh magnificent!" He'll be missed.

Philosophy Football is 25

Philosophy Football, the quirky t-shirt emporium created by Mark Perryman and Hugh Tisdale, is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this Christmas. It all began with an Albert Camus green goalkeeper’s shirt, with the French philosopher’s name on the back and on the front the quote, “All that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football.” 

Since then they have sold tens of thousands of t-shirts with names as diverse as Harold Wilson, Oscar Wilde, Gramsci, Simone de Beauvoir, Jurgen Klopp, Billy Bragg, Nietzsche and Wittgenstein. Their latest t-shirt is Greta Thunberg, whoever she plays for. Plus there's a rather tasty Moore, Hurst and Peters claret and blue shirt. Click on the link to see the full catalogue.

Haller looked a different player with a strike partner

During the post-match interview at Southampton Sebastien Haller stood next to Michail Antonio and towered above him. Antonio is not a small player and it made the viewer realise just what a physical force Haller could be, compared to the lost lone sulking striker of recent weeks. He looked like a different player against Southampton, buoyed by a goal and a fresh strike partner in Antonio. He was unlucky not to get a second with a towering header.

It's still mystifying why it has taken Pellegrini so long to realise that Haller needs a strike partner. Last season at Eintracht Frankfurt Seb formed a lethal partnership with Luka Jovic, where they scored 32 goals between them. Haller scored 15 league goals and made nine assists last season. Haller can't do what Arnautovic could, create chances for himself. But when others create for him he can certainly finish, having scored five even in a disappointing half-season.

Yet Manuel has been determined to play as many midfielders as possible, sometimes squeezing Anderson, Fornals and Lanzini into the same side. There's a risk a four-man midfield will be stretched, but Antonio is such a dynamic player that he can reinforce the midfield when necessary. From now on Antonio and Haller have to be paired together.

Haller comes good to see off Saints

Southampton 0 West Ham 1

First off it's a vertigo-inducing tour up the Caledonian Market Clock Tower. As Matt and Lisa later suggest, not being able to cope with great heights and a fear of sheer drops could be why I'm a West Ham supporter. Then it's a dash to our new lucky pub, Mabel's Tavern at Euston, to watch the game.

It's a scruffy match but the Hammers make a lively start. Rice has a goal correctly disallowed for offside in the second minute and then good work by Antonio sees Fornals have a shot deflected wide. Anderson's illness has forced Pellegrini to finally change his formation to 4-4-2 and Haller looks a lot better with Antonio as a strike partner. Who knew? 

The Hammers take the lead after 37 minutes when Antonio chases another seemingly lost ball and does well to find Snodgrass. His cross is nodded back by Fornals into the path of Sebastian Haller who volleys home into the corner. He's slightly scuffed it but who cares? Seb finally remembers to smile and runs to celebrate on the touchline.

In the second half there's more West Ham pressure as Haller finds Fornals whose shot is tipped over by McCarthy. Antonio looks to have scored a second after a strong run past two defenders and a thumping shot only for VAR to disallow it for an inadvertent handball. 

WE'RE WINNING AWAY!
Haller has a fine header tipped past the post by McCarthy, but is then strangely substituted by Pellegrini, who goes defensive by bringing on Sanchez. He also brings on Yarmolenko and the substitutions make the side worse, greatly testing the patience of the Vicar's Son. The Saints rally during the final 20 minutes. Ings is unlucky to hit the bar with Long missing the rebound. Ings also hits the post before the offside flag goes up and then the Saints have a goal disallowed for a not very obvious foul on Yarmolenko, much to the consternation of the Saints fan in front of us.  

In added time there's a nerve-shattering moment as Martin injures himself taking a goal kick, in just the same fashion as Fabianski. Could West Ham be the only team in the world to have two 'keepers injured taking goal kicks? Martin plays on for the final minute and luckily doesn't have to make a save.

The Hammers hold on and as Antonio says several times post-match it's "massive", and probably enough to keep Pellegrini in employment. The problems haven't gone away, but Haller looked a much better player with a partner, the improving Fornals got his third assist in a row and Antonio had a storming game. More worrying is the fact that several of our better players — Antonio, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Noble — are still from the Allardyce and Bilic eras. 

But we ground out three points against a poor Southampton team and that's the important thing. With a two-week breathing space WHU can now prepare for the vital Christmas games against Palace and Leicester. Irons!

"An old, slow team..."

Another good piece on West Ham's plight from Jacob Steinberg in today's Guardian. He lists a pretty accurate summary of what's gone wrong, including Fabianksi covering up for a poor defence, a lack of expenditure on full-backs and defensive midfielders, the signing of Jack Wilshere on £100,000 a week, Mark Noble being bypassed, the poor signings of Mario Husillos and the fact that West Ham are, "an old, slow team and rarely press as a collective unit". Apart from that we're fine... Click on the link to read the whole piece. 

Did Maresca mastermind Chelsea win?

There's an intriguing piece in the Guardian claiming that West Ham's tactics at Chelsea were actually devised by second assistant coach Enzo Maresca, the former Juventus and Sevilla midfielder. The writer, Daniel Steinberg, normally gets his West Ham facts right – though has the story been leaked simply to discredit Manuel Pellegrini? 

Maresca's gameplan was apparently to push Chelsea out wide, though it's also unclear why Pellegrini would have taken a step back from the tactics at Chelsea. There was certainly something different about the performance at Stamford Bridge and Pellegrini does seem absolutely rigid in his 4-2-3-1 formation. 

Steinberg also reports that the players are impressed with Maresca and that some 'senior players' are starting to lose faith in Pellegrini. Southampton is now a game the manager can't afford to lose — and if he does go then Eddie Howe, who has performed a miracle at Bournemouth, would be my preferred option.

Fragile Hammers shattered by nine-minute blitz

West Ham 1 Arsenal 3

Up against a side that hasn't won in nine matches. What could possibly go wrong? The best part of the pre-match build-up is seeing Michael the Whovian on the big screens playing for the Pride of Irons. He's not actually at the game with us, presumably because he has been added to Pellegrini's struggling squad. Meanwhile a tardy Nigel asks me to buy a programme as he doesn't want to miss a cover picture of Albian Ajeti. And at Felixstowe last week he was aghast to discover the Seasiders programme was only available online, meaning he wasn't really there. We're joined by Matt and Lisa, Fraser, Roz and Joe for a meeting of London's crisis clubs.

It's all OK for 60 minutes. Arsenal keep passing to us as they try to play out of defence and lose both full backs, Bellerin in the warm-up and later Tierney to injury. The Hammers dominate the first half, with Cresswell having a fine game and the side seemingly up for it. Antonio goes close with a strong run and shot against Leno's legs. West Ham take the lead as the improved Fornals chips in a high ball following a corner and Ogbonna heads home via a deflection off Maitland-Niles. A good side should kill off a struggling Arsenal at this stage but as ever the Hammers struggle to score a second. 

At the start of the second half Snodgrass is presented the ball and has a shot deflected wide. A push in the box is ignored by Mike Dean and then a neat move ends with Rice shooting straight into Leno.

ARSENAL PEPE IT UP
But it only takes a second to score a goal. West Ham have been hampered by Cresswell injuring himself while getting booked for a foul, and having to be replaced by Masuaku. Matt's attempts to be positive about Arthur last all of ten minutes. Fredericks fails to cut out a cross from Kolasinac and Snodgrass hasn't followed Martinelli's run from deep. The Arsenal striker sweeps home on his first full league appearance. At 1-1 West Ham should try to keep it solid but things fall apart quicker than in a W B Yeats poem.

Six minutes later Pepe cuts inside Masuaku to send a screamer into the top corner. That's Pepe's first goal from open play for Arsenal. Three minutes after that Pepe is given too much space by Masuaku again and chips over the defence for an unmarked Aubameyang to volley home. Martin gets a hand to the ball and it's not a mistake, but perhaps Fabianski might have produced something brilliant to deny the Arsenal man. 

"How shit must you be we're winning away?" chant the Gunners' fans. What's most worrying after that is the way heads drop. There is no battering of the Arsenal defence to try to pull it back to 2-3. Antonio is kept on for the whole 90 minutes despite having already once gone to the bench for treatment and sub Haller again struggles with no service, while it seems unfair to thrust on young Nathan Holland at 3-1 down.

JUST RELEGATION FOR THE CLARET AND BLUE?
The stadium is largely empty by the end and those empty seats will worry Sullivan and Gold. "Where are we going now?" asks Lisa as we leave. "The Championship," comes the reply. We retreat to the Refreshment Rooms. It's half-empty, the West Ham fans are so dispirited they have stopped drinking. The table nearly collapses as Nigel takes his place, in a fine metaphor for the evening. There is a Pinter-esque silence as we take in the evening's events, accompanied by the Teletubbies performing 'Eh-oh' on the TV screen. They look more mobile than our defence. Matt muses about how much we miss Arnautovic who could make things happen on his own.

Meanwhile Pellegrini is alarmingly complacent in his post match comments, claiming that he is not worried about relegation. Well he should be. We currently have the look of a classic relegation side. One win in 11 games. Five defeats in the last six. Unable to get a run going after a rare away win. Poor summer signings. A striker who can't score, creative midfielders bereft of all confidence, no competition for the central midfield positions, full backs who struggle to defend and an injured goalkeeper. Another loss at Southampton will surely see the board take action.

PLAYER RATINGS: Martin 5; Fredericks 5, Balbuena 5, Ogbonna 6, Cresswell 7 (Masuaku 4); Snodgrass 5 (Holland 5), Rice 5, Noble 5, Fornals 6, Anderson 5 (Haller 4); Antonio 5.

Clyde Best signing at the Newham Bookshop

West Ham Seventies legend Clyde Best will be doing a signing of his autobiography The Acid Test at the Newham Bookshop tomorrow December 10 at 12 noon. Check with the bookshop for further details.

Normal service resumed....

Wolves 2 West Ham 0

It's off to the Greenwood sports bar at Victoria for this one — at least this heaving venue has a good name. Watching multi games of football in the upstairs bar is pretty similar to the sort of aural torture Alex suffered to cure his anti-social behaviour in A Clockwork Orange. 

We find the one tele showing Wolves v West Ham but are surrounded by Scousers cheering six first-half goals in the Merseyside derby, plus MUFC and Spurs fans watching their game and the odd Chelsea fan watching another TV with the Chelsea v Villa game. Matt, Lisa, Fraser, Michael and myself have one, two, three, four, five senses working overtime thanks to the brave new world of Amazon Prime. 

On the pitch normal service is resumed. Traore causes problems with his speed all game. West Ham concede a very poor goal straight from a corner when Dendoncker gets ahead of Ferdericks to prod home. Whatever happened to having men on the posts at corners? At least West Ham have a couple of chances, a fairly tame Ogbonna header from a corner and a fine curling effort from Fornals that is tipped over.

Haller is mystifyingly anonymous and West Ham miss Antonio's running up front. Wolves should score more after the break but Martin makes a couple of decent saves and the Irons are still in it. Fornals plays a brilliant crossfield ball into the path of Snodgrass, who takes a poor second touch and injures himself in the process of allowing Rui Patricio to gather the ball. That was the chance.

Holland makes his league debut as a sub (though the out-on-loan Diangana is surely needed if we're relying on Nathan) and Yarmolenko comes on to persistently lose the ball and incense the Vicar's Son. It's all over after more poor defending as Wolves catch us on the break and Cutrone prods home past a static Martin. "His fairtytale is over," muses Matt, as Michael suggests all West Ham fairytales are Grimm.

We retreat to the Duke of York (they might have to change the name) for a pint of Sam Smith's away from the digital cacophony. Yes Wolves looked a good side, but then so should we having spent big on Haller, Yarmolenko, Anderson and Fornals. Perhaps the Chelsea result was an aberration. We're still in deep trouble and need to beat Arsenal on Monday.

Hammers need to keep momentum going at Wolves

It would be very like West Ham to win at Chelsea and then lose at Wolves (as an example remember under Avram Grant beating Man United 4-0 in the League Cup and then losing at Sunderland). Pellegrini has to keep the Irons focused and the players need to show the workrate that we saw at Stamford Bridge. 

Manuel Pellegrini deserves credit for getting his team selection right at Chelsea (though Roberto should surely have gone after the Newcastle game), while it's interesting to note that Declan Rice revealed in the Evening Standard that Mark Noble gave an inspiring team talk peppered with some rude words before the Chelsea game. The win doesn't negate the problems of some strange summer buys and a horrible lack of desire in recent games, but it might presage an upturn.

One thing you can't buy in the modern game is desire. There aren't many players who want to play for West Ham so much that they are moved to tears when they finally do so. David Martin might only be a journeyman goalkeeper but he has shown the other players what playing for the Irons should mean. If that doesn't fire them up for the game at Wolves then nothing will. If the club can get both a win at Chelsea and a result at Molineux then the season starts to look much better.

Stick your blue flag… David Martin inspires heroic West Ham win

Chelsea 0 West Ham 1 (one)

It's off to Stamford Bridge with Fraser for this one. We're disguised as Chelsea fans in the East Stand thanks to the generosity of my Chelsea-supporting pal, who has been invited by some idiot to a wedding in the football season. We figure we won't have too many temptations to give ourselves away by cheering. Fraser points out that we haven't won at Stamford Bridge for 17 years.

Pellegrini has made a big call by dropping Haller and an obvious call by replacing Roberto with David Martin. Mystic Matt WhatsApps from Malaga, where he is sunning himself with Lisa, to suggest that Antonio shouldn't be playing up front alone: "The team selection is what Sir Humphrey Appleby would call brave. I predict Pete and Fraser will not give themselves away through celebrations this afternoon."

For the first 20 minutes or so Mount and Pulisic get through our midfield and cause some problems as Pulisic lifts the ball over from a good chance. But David Martin makes some solid catches and inspires confidence simply through not being Roberto. "There's only one David Martin!" chant the West Ham fans, inspiring Fraser to suggest this is the first time Hammers fans have ever invented a chant for a former Millwall player. 

But the Hammers grow into the game. Antonio and Snodgrass are working really hard, Anderson looks better playing just behind Antonio and Rice and Noble are forming an effective barrier in midfield. When Martin does spill a shot he makes a fine double block from the rebound. Reece James is causing problems with some great crosses from the right, one deflected effort hitting the outside of the post.

But the Hammers are starting to come forward too. Snodgrass whips in a lovely cross and Antonio's header is well-saved by Kepa. Giroud looks rusty and Chelsea start to run out of ideas as the aways fans taunt Big Fat Frankie Lampard and the home end sing, "He's won more than you!" and "He left 'cos you're shit!"

ALL'S WELL THAT'S CRESSWELL
At half-time we're dreaming of nicking a 0-0. But something happens in the second half as West Ham start to believe. We're doing everything we haven't done in recent weeks, showing workrate and desire. On 48 minutes Snodgrass chases down a ball on the right and finds Anderson, who plays a crossfield ball to Fornals. The Spaniard slips it through to Cresswell, who has run the length of the pitch. Aaron twists inside James and steers into the corner, running to the delirious West Ham fans. Yes! We do a good job of restraining ourselves. And it's good for Fornals to finally have an assist.

It's now all West Ham as Rice dominates midfield, Antonio fluffs a close-range chance and Ogbonna has a header from a corner parried by Kepa. West Ham seem to score a second as Antonio heads in Snodgrass's cross, only for VAR to rule it out for handball. 

Lampard makes changes, bringing on Willian and Kante. Willian causes problems on the right with his crosses but Ogbonna has an immense game, heading everything away. While the recalled Balbuena is making great interceptions. I'm convinced we'll let in an equaliser as Anderson is replaced by Yarmolenko. But Pulisic puts another chance wide and every West Ham player is committed to holding our lead. 

ONE DAVID MARTIN
"Stick your blue flag up your arse!" emanates from the away fans in the corner. Masuaku gives away a silly free kick on the edge of the box late on and I fear the worst. But Chelsea mess it up. Surely we can't do this? We can! The final whistle blows and David Martin collapses on the ground. I've seen a lot in football but I've never seen a goalkeeper collapse in tears before or be mobbed by his teammates as Martin is. From MK Dons to a Premier League debut at 33 and a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge. There's a lovely moment shown on Match of the Day as Martin rushes over to the stand to hug his dad Alvin.

We never doubted you for a moment, Captain Pellegrini. Mystic Matt WhatsApps from the Museo Carmen Thyssen to say that "maybe Pellegrini knows more about football than me", while Nigel, who is at Felixtowe and Walton FC, says he told us that talk of relegation was over-pessimistic. Even Michael the Whovian breaks off from preparing to govern to comment that,"Sir Humphrey's role as a football pundit is in serious jeopardy."

Having taken the East Stand Fraser and myself retreat to Earls Court and the District line to Green Park. Here we have a couple of pints in the Blue Posts, where Fraser once met Jack Nicholson, as you do. What a day. Always nice to win at a smaller club struggling on 40,000 gates. West Ham can still win when you least expect it and we've finally found some team spirit. Irons!

PLAYER RATINGS: Martin 8; Fredericks 7, Balbuena 7, Ogbonna 8, Cresswell 8; Anderson 7 (Yarmolenko 6), Rice 9, Noble 7, Fornals 7 (Masuaku n/a), Snodgrass 8; Antonio 7 (Haller 6).

Back to the future with Moyes?

So according to the media, David Moyes is being seriously considered as a candidate to replace Manuel Pellegrini should West Ham keep getting beaten. It's not news to please many of our more excitable fans, but in some ways it might make sense.

Personally I thought Moyes deserved a chance to continue after he stopped West Ham going down and steered the club to 13th place. He was replaced by a 'next level' manager who played the West Ham Way, but it isn't working. We're not going to challenge for the top six any time soon and could head into the Championship. Moyes would know the club and what needs changing (the scouting system for a start) and how to deal with David Sullivan. 

Yes, I'd rather have Benitez in terms of stature, or Eddie Howe based on what he's done at Bournemouth, but realistically, particularly after a massive pay-off to Manuel, our owners will go for the cheap option. Moyes would have to be more attack-minded, but if he could deliver a few rollickings (it worked with Marko Arnautovic) and get us anywhere near to his Everton record of several years of top eight (and one fourth-place) finishes it would be progress compared to the current struggles. We have to hope Pellegrini can turn it round, but if he doesn't we need a manager who can sort the team out quickly.

Are West Ham sleepwalking into the drop zone?

Look at any side that is relegated from the Premier League and you can guarantee that at some stage of the season they have had a seven-game winless run. West Ham have already gone seven games without a win and the worry is that it could soon amount to ten games after playing Chelsea, Wolves and Arsenal. 

Alan Shearer was rightly scathing about the side's lack of workrate against Spurs on Match of the Day and the worrying thing is that the team just don't look like they are playing for Pellegrini any more. The other big question is does Pellegrini at 66 still have the hunger to turn this round? The Daily Telegraph reports that the manager has been told results must improve. It also mentions doubts in the boardroom, reporting: "There is a fear that Pellegrini is not accepting the seriousness of the situation."

Meanwhile there are reports of  Rafa Benitez, Chris Hughton, Eddie Howe, Chris Wilder and Sean Dyche all being weighed-up as potential new managers. As Pellegrini is on £8 million a year — and appears to be a decent man with a fine track record — it's obviously better for the stability of the club if he can turn it round; but regardless of the result at Stamford Bridge the players have to look like they are fighting to save his job if Manuel is to survive.

West Ham Legends at Brentwood Live

Best part of the weekend was going to see 'West Ham Legends' Trevor Brooking, Julian Dicks, Frank McAvennie and Tony Gale at Brentwood Live on Friday night — a birthday present from Her Indoors. Brentwood Live is a strange venue, basically a sports hall with seats and not actually in Brentwood but Doddinghurst. But a £6 taxi trip from the station soon delivered Fraser and myself to the venue, where we found a thousand or so geezers in replica shirts and Camden Pale on draft.

Tony Gale was a fine compere for the evening, full of wit, delivering a surprisingly accurate impression of Sir Trevor Brooking and revealing that Trev once said a four-letter word on the golf course. Sir Trev stalked us through his FA Cup winning goal and said that although Ron Greenwood was a great coach John Lyall was a better man manager. Predictably he rather sat on the fence on possible replacements for Pellegrini, but did say that he thought Ajeti wasn't good enough. Dicksy added that the current side just doesn't work hard enough. Mention of Roberto inspired memories of Allen McKnight from Frank McAvennie.

There were lots of tales from the 1980s and 1990s. Frank McAvennie had a story of the players breaking a curfew in Amsterdam and John Lyall asking for £50 to be given to charity from every player who had sneaked out of the fire escape. Lyall was very surprised to find £1200 left on the table when he returned. There was also the story of Mitchell Thomas faking injury so that McAvennie could come on to score a hat-trick in his final West Ham game.

We had plenty of examples of footballers' banter. Tony Gale recalled the time Trevor Morley was in the treatment room after being stabbed by his wife and Julian Dicks had placed a series of knives in the anatomical skeleton on display. 

Dicksy remembered himself and Frank hitching a lift on a milk float during a cross country run under Billy Bonds; and also the time Billy Bonds wanted to fight him at half-time during a game at Coventry. Despite their differences though, Julian considered Bonds to be the best player he played alongside.

Everyone had massive respect for Bonzo and when asked by an audience member "Did Harry Redknapp stab Billy Bonds in the back?" Tony Gale replied that all he could say was that Billy was as honest as they come.

Tony Gale also revealed that the epic 1985-1986 season charge to third place was inspired by a pre-season defeat at Orient when a fan who looked like a member of the ICF broke into the dressing room and lambasted each player in turn. If that fan is still around then perhaps he could break into the dressing room again and deliver a few more ripostes to our underachieving side.

Overall a fine night of nostalgia from four players who still seem to enjoy each other's company. And what wouldn't we give to see these four back in the side today?

West Ham make it easy for Mourinho

West Ham 2 Spurs 3

It's an early trek along the Overground to Hackney Wick, then through security and time to purchase a match programme for the tardy Nigel, who has left home believing it to be a 12.45pm kick-off. He is also definitely going to be voting on December 13. Inside the ground are daughter Lola, Fraser, Matt, Lisa and just making the kick-off Nigel. Meanwhile it seems that the absent Michael, Alison and Scott are all stepping down from loyal supporting duties. Though to be fair Alison seems to have been more effective in goal for Liverpool than Roberto is for us.

Spurs have some new bloke on the touchline and start with renewed intensity. There's an early warning as an offside Kane sneaks behind West Ham's defence to fire home. But at least Rice plays more like his old self and we keep it goalless for half an hour, but only have a blocked header as a chance. Anderson and Yarmolenko pull out of tackles and we're playing with nothing like the intensity you need in a local derby. Roberto is all panic-inducing arms and legs, flying from his goal and punching one of his own defenders at one point.

On 36 minutes Spurs score the goal they have threatened on the break, Son turning past Diop with ease and firing through the hapless Roberto. Two minutes before the interval Dele Alli manages to produce a back heel while prone on the touchline to send Son away behind Fredericks. His low cross finds Moura ahead of Cresswell and the Spurs man bags the second. Only a fine tip over from Roberto prevents a third goal before the break.

HOW S••T MUST WE BE, THEY'RE WINNING AWAY?
At half-time Nigel introduces me to the journalist who tracked down the 1966 World Cup Final match ball to Germany. Pellegrini acts by taking off Anderson for the returning Antonio. Lucas Moura misses a great chance as Spurs break straight from a West Ham free kick, but it's three soon after as Snodgrass doesn't get tight to Aurier, who crosses for Kane to beat Diop too easily and head home.

"How shit must you be, we're we're winning away?" and "West Ham United you'll always be shit!" chant the away fans, which is less a series of jibes and more of a match report. I apologise to Lola for introducing her to West Ham, as her Spurs-supporting boss sends malicious texts. 

At least Antonio runs at players and appears to be one of the few players left with any confidence. Fornals comes on and Pellegrini is booed for bringing off Diop for Sanchez and putting Rice in defence, though actually it's because Diop is suspended at Chelsea and he wants to give Rice some game time at centre back. 

We actually look better with Rice in defence and Sanchez at least performs simple passes well in front of the defence. As against Newcastle the Hammers start to put some effort in when it's too late. Noble does well to find Antonio who shoots instantly to pull one back with a fine finish. Rice has the ball in the net after poking home Haller's header only to be ruled offside. 

With the last kick of the game Ogbonna pulls a second back with a good finish from a Snodgrass corner. But again it's far too late, though Nigel does quip that we win the second half, though in reality we could easily have lost 4-0. The Humble One hugs his players as Spurs celebrate their first away win of the season.

PANIC ON THE STREETS OF STRATFORD
The home crowd seem resigned rather than angry and there's little sense that Pellegrini appreciates the urgency of the situation in his post-match keep calm and carry on comments. We retreat to the Refreshment Rooms to meet Nigel's mate Andy and stare morbidly into our pints of beer and glass of red wine for Matt who is still eschewing beer (but no alcohol) for November. Meanwhile Fraser produces unprintable conspiracy theories and looks forward to Tony Pulis arriving.

The side is in freefall with two points in seven games. What does David Martin have to do to get a game? How can we stop conceding three goals a game? Should the misfiring Haller be dropped? How can we restore the confidence of Anderson and get Yarmolenko to put in a shift? And is Rafa Benitez the answer? With Chelsea to come it's surely going to get worse before it gets better.

PLAYER RATINGS: Roberto 3; Fredericks 4, Diop 4 (Sanchez 5), Ogbonna 6, Cresswell 5; Anderson 4 (Antonio 7), Rice 6, Noble 5, Snodgrass 5; Yarmolenko 3 (Fornals 5), Haller 4.

West Ham Legends hit Essex

Off to see West Ham Legends Trevor Brooking, Julian Dicks, Tony Gale and Frank McAvennie at Brentwood Live tonight and it will be interesting to hear what they have to say about the club's current plight. I'm sure Frank will put it all down to not visiting enough nightclubs and Trevor will (possibly) say something massively controversial. A full report will be forthcoming.

Crisis club Spurs appoint some Portugeezer

So Spurs have sacked Pochettino and appointed Jose Mourinho. This is going to make Saturday's crunch game against Spurs much harder as there will inevitably be a new manager bounce as the underperforming Tottenham stars try to impress their new boss. And you can bet that Jose will ruthlessly target WHU's dodgy keeper and defence. Perhaps our best defence is to get Danny Dyer to take the piss out of Jose, as he did with his "Allright Sunshine?" comment when Mourinho was sent off at the Boleyn Ground in 2015.

On the other hand Mourinho's return will certainly fire up the London Stadium crowd and there should be plenty of chants of "You're not special anymore!" The furore around Mourinho might even take some of the pressure off our own struggling players. No-one expects us to win this now. So let's make it a special atmosphere and ensure Jose gets off to a poor start.

Martin deserves a chance and there's a case for recalling Diangana and Cullen

Looking at the fixtures the worrying thing is that there are eight league fixtures between now and New Year's Day when West Ham play Bournemouth and no guarantee that Fabianski will be fit by then. We really can't keep Roberto in goal for that long and David Martin surely can't be any worse, so let's give him a chance. Roberto's confidence is shot and teams will now put extra pressure on him if he plays.

Meanwhile there's a strong case for recalling Grady Diangana and Josh Cullen when the window opens. Yes, a season at WBA would be better for Diangana's long-term development, but we're desperate. He's had half a season of regular football and scored a few goals in the Championship already and will get games with West Ham now Lanzini is out and Fornals, Anderson and Yarmolenko are struggling. 

Similarly Josh Cullen is the sort of midfield workhorse we need, a player who has picked up experience at Charlton, wants to play for us and would be an option to replace Mark Noble in games. With only Sanchez in reserve we need cover in central midfield. Burnley beat us because they had triers like Bardsley and Westwood. We need more players who put in a shift.

Shots against mounting up...

Good piece on West Ham's slump in the Daily Telegraph this week by Richard Jolly. He had this to point out about the Hammers' defensive frailties: 

"West Ham compound the problem of having a poor goalkeeper by failing to protect him. They have conceded 35 shots on target in their last four games, a record made all the worse by the fact that those opponents - Everton, Sheffield United, Newcastle, and Burnley - rarely pose that kind of threat. As Ryan Fredericks, Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop were all poor at Turf Moor, Burnley, who average 4.1 shots on target per game this season, had 12 against West Ham. Newcastle, who average 3.4, had nine at the London Stadium last week. Everton’s average, meanwhile, is 4.5 but they had 10 against West Ham last month."

In short, we're making mediocre teams seem like Barcelona! Click on the link to read the complete article.

Turned over at Turf Moor

Burnley 3 West Ham 0

Rather appropriately we're walking down The Shambles in York while the news if another dire defeat comes through. Sadly it's all entirely predictable. The Hammers proved unable to defend a simple corner for Barnes' early opener. Roberto's poor throw put Balbuena under pressure and resulted in the second, which also went through the hapless keeper. 

The third goal brought back memories of Allen McKnightmare as Burnley's corner was punched into his own net by Roberto. The goalkeeper produced a few great saves when the game was lost but you can't afford a goalkeeper who is a mix of terrible blunders and good saves in the Premier League. David Martin can't be any worse and as he is Alvin's son he would get the support of the fans. Or perhaps we could recall Ludek Miklosko, who comes from near Moscow?

But it's not just Roberto's fault, the form of Fabianski masked the fact that West Ham under Pellegrini have always looked suspect defensively. It worked when we were out-scoring teams, but now Anderson has lost all confidence, Lanzini is out for two months, Fornals hasn't produced and Haller looks completely frustrated. For difficult away games there is no midfielder to counter determined teams. An honest Declan Rice said the Irons were "bullied" and Sean Dyche was right when he said that, "You have to be mentally right for every minute of Premier League football. If you're not you get hurt. Our body language, intent and belief were there." In short, everything West Ham lacked.

This is a big fortnight for the increasingly under pressure Pellegrini during the international break. He deserves time, but if he can't turn this around by Christmas then he might be gone.

Can Pellegrini deliver a rollicking?

It's a big test of Manuel Pellegrini's managership this weekend. Staying calm is all very well, but the first half against Newcastle was as he later said, "unacceptable". There was no pressing, no desire, a lack of leadership and players seemed to be pulling out of challenges. We're not going to win games simply because we have lots of creative number tens. Manuel needs to stop being this charming man and deliver a few boots up the backside. Burnley are just the sort of team to trouble West Ham — if we don't stand up to the physical challenge of long balls aimed at Wood and Barnes the season could well become a struggle.

Apprentice gets Hammered

"I've heard enough…" Watched The Apprentice this week, which now includes West Ham fan Thomas Skinner, a massive West Ham fan who is a former market trader from Romford. If you went to central casting and asked for a West Ham fan he's pretty much what they'd come up with. It's also noticeable how Thomas was patronised by his team leader in the fun fair task. He grasped the fact that you needed a picture of the ride on the poster and was proved right — you don't get to work in Romford Market without learning a bit about marketing. Seems like Lord Sugar quite likes Thomas and it can surely only be a matter of time before he announces, "Thomas, I can see a bit of myself in you…"

Husillos under pressure

Interesting piece in the Guardian by Jacob Steinberg — who knows his West Ham stuff — saying that the board are taking a critical look at the summer dealings of director of football Mario Husillas. Most pointedly signing Fornals, another number ten, when the money could have been better spent on a box-to-box midfielder and also signing the underwhelming Roberto. Steinberg points out that Roberto had been in the reserves all season at Espanyol and had played in a relegated Malaga team before that, so it's not surprising if he looks rusty.

Presumably Husillos also recommended Haller, who may well come good, but losing Obiang, Adrian and Hernandez without adequate replacements  seems poor, particularly as Ajeti has done little to impress so far. Although if Husillos is identifying all the targets then he deserves some credit for last season signing Fabianski, Diop, Balbuena, Fredericks and Anderson and possibly Yarmolenko even if Jack Wilshere was a very poor call.

Pellegrini surely deserves criticism too, as it's hard to believe he doesn't have the final say on signings and he has picked some strange teams recently. How will Manuel react if his man Husillos is ditched? I expect we'll be hearing more about this. Click on the link to read the whole piece.

In pod we trust

Received an emergency summons last night to appear on the podcast Stop! Hammer Time with Phil Whelans and Jim Grant. A tough job, but someone has to talk about West Ham after a pint in the Queen's Head. You can listen on the link to three blokes discussing whether they can run faster than Pablo Zabaleta and how Jonjo Shelvey is Voldemort. 

Interestingly James Collins was on the podcast a few weeks ago and said that he and Mark Noble used to have pretend fights on the team coach in order to gee up the other players. As Phil Whelans pointed out, we have a lot of mild-mannered number tens who look like they need some firing up. Maybe we should employ the Ginger Pele as a motivational coach?

Giving Roberto stick won't help his confidence

Roberto might have been at fault for two of Newcastle's goals, but it was still disappointing to hear some of the home crowd give him ironic cheers when he caught the ball. It's not going to improve his confidence to give him stick. In Roberto's defence he also made four good stops against Newcastle, which prevented a thrashing. But there is also no denying that he has been at fault for four goals recently, against Everton, Sheffield United and now Newcastle. If this continues then Pellegrini might have to consider bringing in David Martin.

But for the moment we are stuck with Roberto until the New Year. He is certainly no Fabianski, who is starting to look better with every game he misses. But we also have to remember that Fabianski's excellent form covered up a lot of flaws in the West Ham defence. It can't be easy for a goalkeeper to come in to a side that has a creaking defence and a midfield that is often overrun. Roberto played several seasons for Olympiacos, the Greek side who tend to have a lot of easy game where he won't have been unduly stretched. But he's also turned out for the likes of Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Zaragoza and Espanyol, so can't be that bad. 

The best short-term prospect is surely to try and boost Roberto's confidence and get him playing behind a reasonably solid defence. Fredericks has to return, and there is possibly a case for a five man defence with Diop, Ogbonna and Balbuena playing in the middle with Masuaku as a wing back, to try and take the pressure off the keeper. Though knowing Pellegrini I suspect he'll stick to the currently wide-open 4-4-2.

Terrible Hammers torn apart by Toon

West Ham 2 Newcastle 3

After watching England lose to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup Final it's time to come to Stratford for another glorious defeat. In the Best Cafe Matt informs NIgel, Michael and myself that Noel Whelan is the only Premier League footballer whose name contains all the letters of the word Halloween. Not a lot of people know that. 

Then it's on to the London Stadium where we're joined by Fraser, Alison and Scott. Also with us is Michael, who is at his first game at the London Stadium as a birthday present from my daughter Lola. A lot of people ask if she really doesn't like him...

The first-half is numbingly bad. Zabaleta is horribly outpaced by the lively Saint-Maximin and his white bandana. Toon go ahead when Joelinton heads across the box and Clark outjumps the Hammers defence to head home after a disputed free kick given away by Diop. They go two up when a simple ball into the box finds Roberto rushing into no-man's land and Fernandez heading home. Roberto then has to make a good stop from a one-on-one with Saint-Maximin.The ball fizzes around our goal-line in another attack as Saint-Maximin and Almiron have efforts stopped by Roberto. Newcastle also hit the bar through Shelvey and a long-range effort from Satin-Maximin is turned round the post.

WE'RE SO BAD IT'S UNBELIEVABLE
West Ham haven't turned up for the first half. Yarmolenko has a terrible half and when he pulls out of a challenge rightly earns the ire of the crowd. Haller has a late flick saved by the keeper, and Balbuena's header from a corner sees another good stop from Dubravka. But it could be 5-0 at half-time in Newcastle had taken their chances. Nigel predicts that we're going down.

The appearance of Lanzini and Ajeti for Yarmolenko and Noble improves the Hammers very slightly in the second half, though not before Shelvey has scored with a free kick that Roberto should have saved. "We're bringing on a Yeti," quips Michael the Whovian, "But with West Ham there's no Great Intelligence." At 0-3 Fraser contemplates ordering another Burnley-style pitch invasion.

Bizarrely, the Hammers almost come back for an undeserved point as Balbuena pokes home from a flicked-on corner by Haller and then Snodgrass pulls back a second after a Lanzini cross and a fine shot from the edge of the area on 90 minutes. There's even a late cameo from Andy Carroll. But it's a very flattering scoreline. Anderson is at least brave enough to still want the ball, but continually tries to thread through passes that aren't on. When desperate we need to lump it long occasionally just to mix things up.

A FLATTERING SCORELINE
It's easily West Ham's worst performance of the season and questions have to be asked of Pellegrini, who was hired to get WHU into the top six. If this was Moyes or Allardyce the fans would already be giving the manager huge stick. 

We retreat to the Refreshment Rooms where at least Nigel and Matt win games of table tennis and Nigel, in his best Robin Trower tee-shirt, has a Y & T gig at the Islington Academy to look forward to. The ageing Zabaleta has eventually been subbed by Fredericks and has been a great pro, but has been so outpaced that you fear it's his last game for the club. Cresswell has looked way off the pace. Diop and Balbuena have been beaten by simple balls over the top and Roberto doesn't look good enough. The defence was clearly suspect last season, but Pellegrini has done nothing to address the problem.

The sales of Adrian and Hernandez now look counter-productive. Haller has done very little again, Yarmolenko has been poor, Noble has looked his age and the most damning thing has been the attitude, the lack of desire from the kick-off. When did a West Ham team last look solid? If the flair players aren't doing it then the side is horribly brittle. If we continue to play like this then West Ham are in for a relegation struggle.

PLAYER RATINGS: Roberto 4; Zabaleta 3 (Fredericks 5), Diop 4, Balbuena 5, Cresswell 3; Anderson 4, Rice 5, Noble 4 (Lanzini 5), Snodgrass 6; Yarmolenko 3 (Ajeti 4), Haller 4.

West Ham need Anderson on the pitch

It's mystifying why Manuel Pellegrini keeps substituting Felipe Anderson. Felipe was hooked at half-time at Everton and subbed after 66 minutes against Sheffield United. Yes, he's struggled a little this season, but he's still our most creative player. 

There was one great moment against Sheffield where he won a tackle on the halfway line, surged forwards, exchanged passes with Yarmolenko and then shot against the goalkeeper's legs. The finish wasn't there, but at some point he'll go on a goalscoring run like last season. 

Anderson is more likely to produce than Lanzini or Fornals at the moment and I'd like to see him given a full 90 minutes every week so that he change games against tiring defences. Flair players aren't normally brilliant for 90 minutes, but they can produce the magic that turns one point into three.

More like a football stadium?

It seems the squared-off ends at the London Stadium will be ready for next season. It would mean 300 fans at each end might not be covered by the roof, but singing in  the rain is surely a price worth paying for something that feels more like a proper stadium. This could make a big difference to the atmosphere. The minutes of the Official Supporters Board October meeting reveal the following:

Bobby Moore and Sir Trevor Brooking Lower Tier seating configuration, KB says good progress has been made in partnership with E20. The work is currently out to tender and on track to be installed over Summer 2020 and therefore the new stands should be installed for next season. The plans show that after the installation the new distances between the stand and the pitch will be very similar to the area behind the goals at the Emirates and much closer than Wembley. 7 KB explained that there would be about 300 seats (of about 3,600 each end, Bobby Moore and Sir Trevor Brooking stands) where the seats would not be covered by the roof and that all season ticket holders in the stand will be offered the closest like-for-like seat but if their seat was now not covered by the roof and they wanted to move they will have the opportunity to relocate. General view of OSB members was that they expected all seats including wet ones to be popular. KB said the SAG had a concern that fans in uncovered area may move when game is on if it rains and therefore a proper management plan will be in place and 300 supporters moving during a match would cause issues. KB says the Club expects the seats near the front to be highly desirable. The meeting agreed. KB says she and PC have spoken to companies who have submitted tenders and the new stands should feel more permanent and an enhancement of what is there now.

Snoddy shines in Sheffield stalemate

West Ham 1 Sheffield United 1

Pre-match it's luncheon at the Best Cafe where Matt and Lisa have been told that the ciabatta is off because it's far too north London. Then it's on to the London Stadium where we find CQ and Nigel munching a lucky beef pastie, plus a besuited Fraser, Scott and Joe. Alison is at home nursing a migraine induced by trying to find a formation to get the best out of Haller and Michael the Playwright is away at the White Bear gladhanding thespians and politicos.

Pellegrini has made five changes after the defeat at Everton and it's good to see Snodgrass in the side, as suggested by a certain blog. For the first half an hour it's relentless West Ham probing with countless crosses and corners finding the heads of United's three centre backs, plus the odd chant of, "there's only one Carlos Tevez!" West Ham's best effort is a long-range curler from Anderson that goes just over. 

Then Sheffield start to threaten on the break. From United's first corner Roberto has to make a great instinctive save to deny the unmarked McGoldrick. Then a cross is missed by the keeper and deflects off Robinson's shoulder when he might have scored with his head. 

IN SNOD WE TRUST
Just as Mystic May announces 'We just need to get to half-time," West Ham score. Roberto's punt downfield is misheaded by a defender; Yarmolenko plays a great first-time pass through to the onrushing Snodgrass who calmly slots it past Henderson. It's a nice moment for Snoddy who has added some energy to the West Ham midfield and deserves his chance.

Nigel's not-so-lucky banana

The second half sees West Ham start slowly, despite Nigel producing his lucky banana, unlike United who sense they can get something. Roberto has to parry a Baldock shot that is then painfully cleared off the line by Cresswell's goolies. West Ham come to life as Anderson does well to win a tackle on the halfway line, surge down the left, take Yarmolenjo's return pass and then fire straight at the keeper. 

Baldock shanks a good chance wide, and then Pellegrini makes the strange decision to sub Anderson after 66 minutes. He might be struggling a little but he's still our best player and always likely to produce the magic that might win the points in an otherwise even game.

OF MOUSSET AND MEN
United equalise three minutes later, when Diop's header falls to Mousset, who volleys into the corner. He might have slightly mishit his shot, but it's enough to deceive Roberto. The United fans start to sing of chip butties and dream about three points.

But it's the Hammers who have the chances to win the game, inspired by a loud (for the London Stadium) home crowd. Yarmolenko's clever dink finds Cresswell in the six-yard box only for Cressy to shoot at the keeper's legs. The Vicar's Son's patience is being tested, particularly when sub Fornals plays a great bell across the area. Yarmolenko misses it but Snodgrass appears certain to score until he somehow strikes the post.

DRAWING DRAWING WEST HAM
There's still time for Rice to test the keeper and Yarmy to shoot just wide but it ends in a draw. If nothing else it's been an entertaining game. Noble has looked like he's playing too far forward before being subbed, while Yarmolenko had a strange game. He didn't seem to play well, yet made the goal and created two good chances. Overall, having ten corners without creating a chance is not good enough. Zabaleta and Balbuena did well on their return to the side, but it's still two points from 12 and a win is now essential against Newcastle. 

After the match Fraser leads us on a 'short cut' via Stratford International and Westfield to the station, and it's off to Oval and the White Bear for a post-match pint of Neck Oil and a beetroot and chickpea burger for hipster Matt. At least Michael's play Maggie and Ted credits West Ham with winning the World Cup. 

So it's ten league games in and we're where we deserve on current from — mid-table. West Ham are still some way behind the likes of Leicester, though Sheffield United was never the easy game some thought. United were well-organised, spirited and full of confidence after winning promotion. A draw is not a disaster, but WHU need some wins and to get Anderson and co creating chances for the isolated Haller. Pellegrini has work to do.

PLAYER RATINGS: Roberto 7; Zabaleta 6, Diop 6, Balbuena 6; Cresswell 6;  Snodgrass 7 (Ajeti n/a), Rice 6, Noble 5 (Fornals 6), Anderson 6 (Lanzini 5); Yarmolenko 6, Haller 5. 

Should Pellegrini make changes for Sheffield United?

After two defeats there's some debate about whether Pellegrini should make changes. Fornals is still struggling with the pace of the Premier League — though the fact he had a couple of efforts at goal at Everton was encouraging — while Anderson and Lanzini didn't create much at Everton, with Felipe subbed at half-time. Anderson has looked much better defensively this season, though perhaps it has been at the expense of his forward play. But my feeling is that if either Felipe or Manuel get a goal then they might go on a goalscoring run. What they should be doing is shooting more though, at the moment West Ham's pretty passes are too predictable and lack variation.

Yarmolenko needs to come back in to provide some beef and shooting ability to the front line while there's also a case for giving Snodgrass some game time. If nothing else Snoddy can take a great corner. He can also whip in a cross which might provide something for Haller to get on the end of. Wilshere still looks like a bench player to me, best used to cause some damage with his passing late on in games. If it's not going well, Pellegrini needs to give substitute Ajeti a run-out in support of Haller so we can gauge how good he is.

We also need Mark Noble to stop predicting that West Ham can challenge for the top four in his Evening Standard column... Pellegrini's team selection for Saturday should be interesting against a promoted side that is bang in form.