West Ham United will prevail against Sean Dyche’s Everton today. As the saying goes, “Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent”. However stop-start the season, the Hammers have enough class within the expensively assembled squad to leap, limp or crawl over the finish line this afternoon against a Toffees side that looks to be a bit of a basket case.
Alan Shearer in ‘The Metro’ agreed: ” This is a massive game for Julen Lopetegui. If West Ham lose, the noise around him and the club will be huge. Everton had a poor result against Southampton last week and they’re away again here so I’m not convinced they can turn up and win.”
I’ll go for a West Ham win because they simply have to”.
The Class of Bowen and Summerville and the physicality of Antonio should be sufficient: The return of the carthorse warrior Tomas Soucek will be a steadying if un-dynamic influence in the middle of the pitch. One touch – just one- of rediscovered magic from Lucas Paquetá can seal the win. These things always have a habit of evening out over a season. We’ve seen the ordinary, the poor, the woeful, the disorganised, chaotic, disinterested and the downright mediocre.
Now it is time for the upside: Another ‘Ipswich Town’ performance – let’s look no further ahead than today. Just put a smile back on yours and our faces, Hammers, everything else can take care of itself.
Three points, moving UP the table possibly as far as twelfth spot today would be a much better place to sit out the next international break: Of course, simply put, providing Lopetegui doesn’t fluff his own lines.
Just a nice safe first half please Julen, no more wacky set-ups or weird loopy-sided selections and we can collect the win, calm frayed nerves and look at improving before the end of the year.
All other scenarios, repercussions and consequences can just go and be banished to the shadows until 5pm tonight. COYI
I think regardless of the manager and how we feel about him, its crucial to get 3 points today. I’ve already written off the next two games that follow, and I think they’ll big losses away at Newcastle and home to Arsenal, that will ultimately cost Lopetegui his job.
We really do not want to get properly dragged in to a dog fight for the remainder of the season. Wolves and Palace are showing flickers of life, let’s not be a springboard for Everton to get their season going today also.
Some might ask why wait another couple of games to sack Lopetegui rather than doing it now. The answer to that is, we’re not making the decision, David Sullivan is. He does not like to sack unless its absolutely unavoidable. My prediction is he keeps him today whatever happens, but that the scale of the defeats in the next two (worse than Forest last week, I’m predicting) will leave him with no choice but to pull the trigger.
100% agree Alan!
Might make more sense for a new manager to be installed after the games against the Geordies and Arsenal.
This season is already reminding me of 2002/2003 – I should know as I went to most games both home and away!
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Which one will it be today?
Class is permanent. However some of our players are not as permanently playing in the team as would be desired. Two out of today’s game, Kudus and Alvarez, because of suspensions. Todibo apparently not likely to play, Bowen is now apparently ok. Fullkrug still only a Halfkrug, if that. Having Paqueta playing is nowadays equivalent to playing with only ten men and a good chance of costing us a goal.
Class is permanent? I’m not so sure. But good on you, Martin, for being a glass half full type of guy!
not something I am often accused of, I can assure you. Sick of writing negative reports based on news around the club, tbh. Just as I’m sure C and H readers are sick of reading it all…..Looking to find the brightest options, – just for a few hours until proven (quite possibly) to be a fantasist!
I’d admire the glass half full mindset,
You kindly replied to my comments Martin about Tim picking our’ new manager to replace JLo.
You used the words “hope” vs “experience”
If we applied that to our first 10 games, we all hoped for a better style of football, to be higher up the league and reasons to be optimistic.
The experience though is that we are a total shambles, are flirting above the drop zone, have no identity and have a clueless manager!
Will it ? I have lost count over the last 66 years of the times that West Ham’s “class” will prevail. My advice is to take nothing for granted – in life generally , and in West Ham’s case, certainly !
We got relegated in 2002/2003 with class players!
That team boasted Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Trevor Sinclair, Paulo Di Canio, Jermaine Defoe and Freddy Kanoute.
I’m not confident that JLo will secure as many points this season as Roeder did that year 🤔 Still think that was a record points haul for a team that dropped?
Fortunately there are three worse teams than us to save our blushes, Matt. Ipswich Southampton and Wolves already starting to fall behind.
I wish I had your confidence, Martin ! Matt makes a very good point. Yes, no one has been relegated with more than 40 points ; except us that season &, arguably, that was our best team ever. I think I am correct in saying that over the second half of the season (if that had represented the whole season), we would have finished in 2nd position in the league ! So, a very classy team; relegated !
Confidence comes from performances and looking like a cohesive team neither of which we have demonstrated 10 games in!
We fluked our win against Man Utd so a positive result didn’t mean much after getting battered again vs Forest.
Wolves now have a much more favourable run of fixtures after having the hardest start of any Prem club.
Leicester and Palace are picking up points and don’t look like as fragile as us.
Is this our mindset after only 10 games, there are 3 clubs worse than us? Say those words out loud and listen to yourself for a moment.
I thought JLo’s remit was to take us to level us up not down.