Forest hold out despite late Hammers rally

West Ham 1 Nottingham Forest 2

There's a good turnout in the Best Meze Cafe for the final home match of a largely dismal season. Over chips with varying accompaniments we find Matt, Lisa, Nigel, Michael and his pal Stephen discussing why only journalists refer to Nottingham Forest as the "Tricky Trees" and asking if Palace's Eze belongs to Jesus then does this constitute third-party ownership?

Before the kick-off Aaron Wan-Bissaka receives the Hammer of the Year trophy, a fitting reward for our most successful signing from last summer. Potter has named an unchanged side from the win at Man United, leaving our biggest attacking threats, Paqueta and Fullkrug, on the bench.

West Ham make a great start. Coufal in his final home match, whips in a typical cross and Soucek heads for the top bin only to be thwarted by a great save from Sels. Vladimir Coufal has a shot deflected wide but slowly Forest impose themselves on the game. Gibbs-White controls with his chest and fires in a volley that Areola does well to save.

The Irons' bright start is undone after 11 minutes as Areola tries to play out from the back rather than kick it upfield and his pass goes straight to Gibbs-White who gratefully fires home. If in doubt hoof it. The scorer holding up a tribute shirt to the hospitalised Awonyi.

Areola has to make a decent stop to deny Chris Wood as Forest threaten to score again. Aaron Wan-Bissaka still poses problems on the left but Bowen and Kudus aren't getting anything from Forest's giant centre-backs and at the break it's still one-nil.

VAR TROUBLE

Potter has picked the wrong team and surprisingly doesn't make any changes at half-time. When he does act decisively after 58 minutes, bringing on Paqueta, Fullkrug, Alvarez and Soler, Forest have a free kick on the left. Elanga whips in the dead ball and it's deflected in off Milenkovic's shoulder. There's then a bizarre six-minute VAR stoppage while an offside is debated, with the automated offside lines not working and then a communication breakdown with ref Sam Barrott. After a major time rift in Stratford the goal is given anyway.

At least the VAR debacle gets the home crown going with a chant of "West Ham are massive!" though in truth we've been slightly less than large this season. The side looks a lot better with Fullkrug as a focal point and to the players' credit they keep going. A nice move sees Soler get in a shot that the excellent Sels tips away again.

Suddenly we're back in it after 79 minutes. Paqueta chips into the box and a defensive header falls to Jarrod Bowen who takes a touch with his thigh and swivels to fire an unstoppable volley into the top of the net.

Referee Barrott does his best to keep the atmosphere fervid as he is taken in by a lot of Forest timewasting and lets several blatant fouls go. Todibo, Bowen and Paqueta all lose patience with the ref. Even the Vicar's Son is moved to join in with the chants of "You don't know what you're doing!" and "You're not fit to referee!" 

Guilherme comes on late and troubles Forest with his speed on the left. He gets a shot away but is foiled by a fine block from Williams. At the other end AWB makes a fine block to deny Silva. There's an astonishing 16 minutes of added time as Forest get nervy. At one point the ref completely loses control of the players as there's a big fracas and he's pursued round the pitch like a harassed supply teacher. 

West Ham's final chance comes with a Soler corner and Areola up in the box. Fullkrug rises slightly higher than the Mittal Orbital and gets in a really powerful header, but again Sels punches it away.

So a very solid Forest side hold on and are in with a chance of Champions League football. All that's left is a lap of appreciation from the players as Cressy, Vlad, Fab, Ings and co say goodbye to a half-empty stadium. At least James Ward-Prowse's missus seems good at delivery as Mr and Mrs JWP bring on their four kids.

We head off for a final drink at the Eagle. Matt reveals his extensive knowledge of Highland League football, giving us anecdotes about Stranraer and some team near Banff, leading on to a discussion of Pennan, the setting for Local Hero. The film's theme was written by Mark Knopfler and recently re-recorded with guitar heroes like Brian May and Jeff Beck we learn from Wikipedia, not that any of us are into trivia. Meanwhile Nigel says that he's pleased Halifax haven't made it into the League meaning he's still a member of the 92 Club. Lisa then makes the frankly astonishing suggestion that he should visit a Halifax game for pleasure rather than as a ground to tick off. That will never catch on.

So the home season ends not with a bang but 16 minutes of added time and a VAR timeshift. Clubs like Forest have moved way ahead of WHU and Potter needs to rebuild over the summer and sign some dynamic midfielders, a leader at the back, a young striker and anyone else he can get. Meanwhile we still have to win at relegated Ipswich next week to secure 15th place. Roll on next season.

PLAYER RATINGS: Areola 4; Coufal 6, Kilman 6, Todibo 6, Cresswell 5 (Alvarez 5), Wan-Bissaka 7; Rodriguez 5 (Paqueta 6), Ward-Prowse 5 (Soler 6), Soucek 5 (Fullkrug 6); Bowen 7, Kudus 5 (Guilherme 6).

Fab four leaving West Ham

The first four departures from West Ham have been announced and surely several other players will follow as Graham Potter rebuilds the squad. Lucasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell and Danny Ings are all getting older but have in their own way made valuable contributions to the club.

Vladimir Coufal will be missed. His nickname of RoboCop at his previous club Slavia Prague sums up his playing style. Early on Vlad had Grealish in his pocket at Villa, clattering Jack and his sniper at every opportunity, which certainly endeared him to the faithful. Coufal was great at getting forward and made a lot of goals with his crosses. Lately his speed had started to diminish, but he's still always given everything. And let's not forget his role in leading the lads on a tour of the late-night drinking dens of Prague. David Moyes thought Coufal had it in him to be a manager so you never know we might see him back at the London Stadium one day.

Aaron Cresswell has to be one of the club's best ever value for money signings at £4.5 million from Ipswich. He was there at the Boleyn Ground under Allardyce and has been a great servant. Much of the success under Moyes came from his set-piece delivery and after losing a bit of pace he reinvented himself as a third centre-back. It's significant that in the games where the 35-year-old has started this season the defence has looked much more secure. When Aaron scored his last goal for the club against Freiburg in the Europa League you could feel the appreciation of the crowd at the London Stadium.

Lukasz Fabianski is now 40 so has done really well to displace Areola for a spell this season. He was the best of the Pellegrini signings and in his 215 appearances he very rarely made mistakes. The quietly consistent Polish goalkeeper was also unlucky that Areola was chosen as the Europa Conference League Final goalkeeper when Fab was first choice in the league. He was also pretty good at saving penalties. 

Danny Ings never really fitted the Moyes system not being big or speedy enough to play as a lone striker. But he was a decent finisher and scored some important goals. He bagged a couple of vital goals on his debut at home to Nottingham Forest and one in the draw at Gent in the Europa Conference League. There were also equalisers against Burnley and Fulham, though his appearances were mainly cameos off the bench. Ings also gave us a good laugh by winning a very soft penalty against Man United and getting Ten Hag sacked. Danny's departure will save the club his rumoured £125k a week wages. As a squad player he never complained and you'd think he might still do a job at 32 in a more attacking side where he's the second striker. He's also the first WHU player to have a hair transplant. 

It will be intriguing to see who else is leaving at the end of the season but good luck to Aaron, Lucasz, Danny and Vlad.

We go 15th! Soucek and Bowen end winless run

Man United 0 West Ham 2 (two)

There's some dismay at Potter's team selection on my West Ham WhatsApp group, with Paqueta and Fullkrug dropped, Rodriguez coming in from the cold, and Cresswell and Coufal playing after it was announced they'd be leaving at the end of the season. Still, what do us fans know?

I'm receiving phone updates while manning the cloakroom at the Islington Boat Club's open day. Early on Wan-Bissaka wins a free kick and Ward Prowse whips in a trademark ball that Kilman heads over when well-placed. For United Diallo cuts inside AWB and forces a decent save from Areola.

Astonishingly West Ham take the lead with a fluid move that has more passes than we can count. Good work from Ward-Prowse, Cresswell and Wan-Bissaka sees Mo Kudus race down the left and cross low into the box. Tomas Soucek gets there before Amass and flicks home, then does a thumb in mouth celebration to mark the birth of his new son, who is probably already heading his cot.

Nigel is forced to delete a message asking that with West Ham leading "what could possibly go wrong?" as the Irons go in1-0 up at the interval against a soporific United. 

The Hammers remain solid at the back and quick on the break. Kudus sets up Ward-Prowse for a shot straight at Bayindir. The second goal arrives as Ugarte claims a foul when dispossessed by Wan-Bissaka and then fails to play to the whistle. Mo Kudus runs at the defence, doesn't pass to Bowen when he should, fires into a defender and sees the ball deflect to Wan-Bissaka. His low cross is calmly turned home by Jarrod Bowen who runs to celebrate with the away section.

It gets seriously worrying with a two-goal lead to defend and Bowen and Kudus taken off. Luckily I'm distracted by paddleboarders and kayakers wanting their bags back as the minutes tick slowly by. Garnacho can't get on the end of a decent cross, Hojlund fires at Areola's feet in a one-on-one, Maguire heads at the keeper and Areola makes a great reaction save on his line to deny Hojlund.

It could even be 3-0 as Ward-Prowse pounces on some slack defending and sees Bayindir pull off a good save with his outstretched boot. Finally West Ham's winless spell of right games is ended and we've done the double over a poor United side. We go 15th above both the Europa League finalists.

The performance wasn't as defensive as some feared and it was interesting to see Ward-Prowse get forward more. Potter was proved right in opting for a workmanlike side with Kudus and Bowen as speedy wide strikers, the wing-back system worked and this was more like it. With a nervy Nottingham Forest and relegated Ipswich to come let's hope we can end the season on a high. 

Bowen earns point against weakened Spurs

West Ham 1 Tottenham 1 

Up against a side that has made eight changes with a big semi final coming up, what could possibly go wrong? I'm joined at the London Stadium by Nigel, CQ in a hoodie displaying the names of all the men who have landed on the Moon (though no-one associated with West Ham has ever been over the Moon), super sub Lisa and Matt fresh from waiting for the council election results from Towcester to pop up. Michael is absent preparing for a Bridgerton-style ball in Covent Garden.

West Ham have a decent first 15 minutes, starting with some intensity. Wan-Bissaka is finding space on the right, Soucek is involved and Kudus is aggressive on the left. But as so often this season a self-inflicted would results in a goal. Max Kilman could simply lump the ball into touch but tries a header, then a couple of  ineffectual prods at the ball, allowing Tel to cross for Odobert, who has lost Cresswell and Emerson, to stroke it home. "One-nil in your cup final!" chant the away fans.

At least the crowd stay with the Irons and the side shows some character to keep going. Wan-Bissaka's cross is handled by Ben Davies but ref Michael Oliver turns down the penalty appeals. But the Hammers do equalise when Wan-Bissaka does well to see Bowen's run. Jarrod does the rest taking a touch and putting the ball through Vicario's legs. 

The rest of the half is fairly even though there's a another scare when Richarlson fires across the box. The Spurs Second X1 is looking up for it. Still, the bloke from Barcelona in Fraser's old seat seems to be enjoying El Crapico. At half time Matt counsels Nigel not to eat his lucky banana, while we are all aghast that the club website has jinxed us by writing, "the three points are there for the taking."

Odobert has an early shot comfortably saved by Areola after the break but it's West Ham who create the better chances. Kudus does really well to beat his man down the left wing and cross for Fullkrug to head over. Matt gets increasingly irate with referee Michael Oliver and Potter's substitutions, while Paqueta loses it after getting yellow carded and has to be held back by Soucek. 

It's sub James Ward-Prowse who almost creates the winner, whipping in a free kick that Bowen gets his head to only to see Vicario pull off a fine one-handed save. In added time a free kick is won in Ward-Prowse territory. He fires in a decent effort that hits the side netting and our last chance of winning it has gone. It's not a disaster but this is now eight games without a win and we really should have beaten a Spurs side of squad players.

We head to the Eagle for Meantime and Spitfire from the fridge and the news that Sinead is departing our local which is a shame. Nigel and Matt discuss the lower leagues, clubs that are nowhere near the city they are named after and the fact that Boreham Wood FC is spelt differently to the town of Borehamwood. We then write Matt's potential review of Iron Maiden at the London Stadium for him. Before wondering if we should recall loanees Kurt Zouma and Maxi Cornet. Otherwise it's roll on the end of the season, though at least we didn't lose the lead.

PLAYER RATINGS: Areola 6; Wan-Bissaka 8, Kilman 4, Todibo 6 (Coufal 5), Cresswell 5 (Mavropanos n/a), Emerson 5; Paqueta 6 (Ward-Prowse 7), Soucek 6 (Soler 5); Kudus 7, Fullkrug 6 (Ferguson 5), Bowen 8.

Potter shows some passion

In a way it's a good thing that Graham Potter showed some emotion after the Brighton match. He looked exasperated and told the media that was. "sick of talking about positives." It wasn't exactly a Kevin Keegan-style meltdown, but the normally mild-mannered Potter went on to say: “I'm going to be frustrated. I'm not a robot. I'm a human being as well.I stand there myself, give everything to this, what I'm doing of course, I'm gonna be upset. I have to come here and speak calmly to you guys, but that's not how I'm feeling inside. If you want me to swear, I can swear."

He's clearly fed up with players not carrying out instructions, though he must take some blame too for putting on Coufal as a left back when he could surely have left Emerson there or moved over Wan-Bissaka. The fans need to see that Potter can get angry as well as show emotional intelligence. He's not made the difference that Moyes has made at Everton or Pereira at Wolves and with a less bad bottom three he might in danger of the sack. Results are no better than under Lopetegui, even if we're now more competitive in matches.

But as it is we have a project manager and he needs time. West Ham played fairly well for 83 minutes at Brighton and a couple of the goals were long-range efforts that normally go wide. Potter must now be clearer about the players he can't rely on. Major work will have to be done in the summer but if there's a bad start to the season the manager will again be under pressure. Let's hope this is as low as it gets.

I don't Baleba it...

Brighton 3 West Ham 2

Never watch a game on the BBC's Final Score as it always ends in pain. Fullkrug is on the bench as Potter reverts to a five-man back line, which is frustrating as the big effing German who says what he wants proved he could last 80 minutes last week. At least Soucek is back as we need his goal threat.

After early Brighton pressure a good move between Ward-Prowse and Wan-Bissaka sees the latter's cross hit into the side netting by Soucek. But Brighton take the lead after 13 minutes as Ayari, under pressure from Paqueta, curls a great shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. West Ham almost equalise when Kilman's ball into the box is headed on to the bar by Soucek.

Fullkrug comes on for Ward-Prowse at the break and the Hammers improve with Bowen back on the right. The equaliser comes down the right when Wan-Bissaka finds Bowen in acres of space. His cross is turned in by Mo Kudus, whose fairly tame shot goes through the legs of Verbruggen.

Areola has to make a smart save from Weiffer's header and at the other end Paqueta frees Wan-Bisakka for a drive against Verbruggen's legs. West Ham seem to have won it when Wan-Bissaka's clever backheel frees Bowen, whose inviting cross is headed home by Tomas Soucek after 83 minutes.

But this West Ham side just can't hold on to lead. A cross into the box sees Gomez in too much space up against Coufal, who has come on for Emerson.Gomez heads across goal, Kilman has lost Mitoma, and the Japanese winger heads home. With three centre backs playing there's no way Mitoma should be winning headers in the box.

Just as we've settled for a draw Brighton win a corner as the Irons stick 11 men back. As Match of the Day highlights, the defenders aren't looking at the ball as Brighton take a quick corner and Bowen and Fullkrug are too far back. Areola palms the cross away but the ball is recycled to Baleba who is strolling unchallenged through midfield in the manner of William Wordsworth looking at Ullswater daffodils. He lets fly with an effort that curls round three defenders and into the top bin of Areola's goal. The keeper hasn't moved. Baleba does a double somersault as we feel bad all over. On another day that shot might have drifted over but there's no excuse for the amount of space and time he was allowed.

Niclas Fullkrug must be very very angry this week. At least Potter admits afterwards that this relegation form isn't good enough. There have been some positives going forward from Soucek, Bowen, Fullkrug, Kudus and Wan-Bissaka, but this side desperately needs a big ugly centre back who is a leader of the defence and a ball-winner where there is still a large Declan Rice-shaped hole. We've spent £90 million on centre backs and still can't defend. The only good news is that we have just 28 days left until the end of the season.

There's only one f in Fullkrug

Niclas Fullkrug has become something of a cult after his post-match rant on Saturday, where he was "very angry" and claimed that "we were shit" for not capitalising on Jarrod Bowen's goal. Some people might see this as undermining his team-mates and manager, but I'm more of the view that we need this sort of passion in the dressing room. 

Fullkrug broke the standard rule of post-match interviews by making his one with Sky Sports interesting. The big German striker played in a Champions League Final for Borussia Dortmund a year ago and now finds himself in a team struggling to beat a relegated side, so you can understand his frustration. His man gripe seems to be that the side couldn't push up with "half the team defending and half trying to score again", the keeper kicking it long, not carrying out the coach's instructions and mindset and motivation problems.

Perhaps he should have left it to Bowen or Potter to be so critical, but Fullkrug is a senior pro at 32 and said what most fans were thinking. His rant has also resulted in a brilliant cartoon from David Squires in the Guardian, featuring Fullrug pondering on the West Ham Way, a "T K Max Kilman" outlet in Westfield and Danny Ings postulating that we are, "all trapped in the belly of the machine."

The club needs more players with high standards like Fullkrug and there will be a much-needed summer clearout and rebuild. Soler and Ferguson will presumably be returned to sender, Coufal, Cresswell, Ings, Antonio and Fabianski are all out of contract, Rodriguez and Cornet will go if there are any suitors and Alvarez is said to be available. A decision has to be made on whether to cash in on the underperforming Mo Kudus and more pace and athleticism is urgently needed in midfield. Apart from that everything is fine.