Few West Ham fans will lament the imminent arrival of the conclusion of this stressful, dreadful Premier League season that has seen the sacking of flop Graham Potter, the sale of one-time talisman turned want-away midfield man Lucas Paqueta, fan protests, boardroom walkouts and a whole shedload of disappointing results.
The 2025/6 season cannot be over fast enough.
If the Irons do escape this season it will be indeed worthy of the ‘Great Escape 2.0’ label which has been floated should West Ham conspire to send Tottenham down on the last day.
A veteran of the original Carlos Tevez-inspired ‘Great Escape’ in 2007, Anton Ferdinand, has made up his own mind on the Hammers’ secret weapon who has been flying under the radar of the wider footballing fraternity and yet might just help engineer a last-ditch, last day reprieve.
As per todays thesun.co.uk (“West Ham’s secret weapon in relegation fight with Tottenham revealed as ‘great signing’ who wider fans ‘may not see”) Ferdinand claims the arrivals in the January window have been the difference:
“ANTON FERDINAND has hailed Axel Disasi’s influence in reviving West Ham’s season. Nuno’s side looked dead and buried prior to the Frenchman’s January loan arrival from Chelsea.
Quizzed by SunSport who can be the Hammers’ hero, Ferdinand said: “Seeing the way that Disasi’s come in and shored things up alongside Mavropanos has been fantastic.”
On Disasi’s impact going under the radar, he added: “The West Ham fans who have been watching him will tell you his impact has been great. Wider football may not see it.
“Another great signing by the manager. I think all of the players that have come in in January have played a massive, massive part.”
West Ham’s fortuned turned when Jemez arrived
Possibly even less well known to the ‘wider football world’ was the arrival of assistant coach Paco Jemez who’d be my vote for the Hammers secret weapon should the Irons manage to pull off their present day version of the 2007 escape.
Nuno’s West Ham turnaround started with the FA cup win against QPR which was Jemez’ first game as his assistant. Co-incidence? Not on your life.
I’m sure Jemez did make a big difference. I never understood why NES didn’t come in with his own management team. It must make the job so much harder surrounded by all the West Ham people that all know each other when you are trying to change things around. Big mistake one of many this season.
Agreed, another cheapskate decision that backfired.