ExWHUemployee’s review of the season so far

It’s good to welcome ITK ExWHUemployee where as he gives his thoughts on the season so far whilst noting with despair – like most of us – the terrible injury to Michael Antonio. And don’t miss his pre-match event on Saturday!

So it is the end of August and a good time to reflect on the start to the season that we have made. Compared to previous Augusts it has been much better than we have come to expect-we have some points!

The Manchester City game expected to  lose. It was a shame that we didn’t offer more fight like we did in the past against reigning champions but it is a game that, when the fixtures come out, anything better than a loss is a bonus.

I thought the new signing Haller showed some good glimpses of hold-up play as well but VAR became the main talking point of the game – a subject we will, I think, continually revisit this season. Thankfully, so far all decisions appear to have been in our favour.

Brighton is another game where we never seem to get anything out of it so to get an away draw was again a positive result. I thought defensively we were weak and Ogbonna was all over the place positional wise. Our defence can be bullied by forwards of these clubs and it is something that I feel we need to work on.

We didn’t create many chances but I felt the game turned when we brought on Antonio and he offered much more directness. He also did the same against Watford, so the potential long term injury to him caused in the Newport game is a massive blow.

I believe since Pellegrini has come to the club he has enabled Antonio to get back to his very best. Whilst this will enable Yarmolenko the chance to cement the position as his own and possibly give Nathan Holland a chance to prove himself, the loss of Antonio is a big blow.

Hernandez scored the goal and showed that if he is given the right service in front of him on the ground he can and will take his chances. Since he has been in the club I do not believe we have ever had a formation or style of play that brings the best out of him. Apparently he has been working really hard in training and it was a shame that after the Brighton game he went down with an injury and couldn’t build on it.

It was the Watford game where I thought we showed real promise for a potential good season ahead. I thought Haller played very well, held the ball up again and got a couple of goals. What was also refreshing to see is that he didn’t think that he had played that well, even though, he got two goals, so he sets his bar high.

The main turning point in the performances for me though was the return of the West Ham legend Mark Noble (and yes I do believe legend is the right word). He brings much needed leadership, drive, enthusiasm and is a great link between the defence and attack.

I also felt the defence seemed more organised, Diop had a great game and without the captain’s armband this week Ogbonna really improved too. The only player who perhaps gave me some question marks was Fredericks but his performances towards the end of the season have done enough to convince me he is a good right back and this is just a blip.

Onto the Newport game. These games are much harder than often given credit, especially by the younger generation who do not remember the many cup shocks we have suffered throughout the years. It was great to see Wilshire get MOM.

At the start of the season I tipped him to be one of the star players but unfortunately this has not been shown in the earlier league games. I am hoping that the award gives him the boost to continue to progress.

I thought Roberto looked solid and a much better keeper than many have given credit too. He commanded the box well and communicated with his defence effectively. There has been a real mixed bag of opinions on Sanchez and I would be interested to hear fans take on him?

I personally would have liked to see Conor Coventry have played more instead but I did think it was one of Carlos’s better performances for us.

So far I would say minus the Antonio injury it has been a good start to the season and a win against Norwich will be conclude a better than normal August.

We have our first prematch event before the Norwich game. It is 11am-2pm at O’neills bar in Leytonstone. We have reduced our prices to £25 for adults and £10 for children this season. This includes all you can drink on both selected alcohol and soft drinks and there is no queue to get these drinks. We have all the classic terrace music, DVDs of classic moments and a brilliant Q and A hosted by Mark Ward and the guest this week is Hayden Mullins. The venue is two stops by train from Stratford and offers you the best prematch experience that you can find. Please get your tickets for this event here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thewesthamwayevents/290665. We also have a huge (not in size) guest confirmed for the Manchester United game, please keep your eyes out for details of this too.

COYI