West Ham banter 3

21 Mar 2026 07:39:03
{Ed's Note - EHL2020 has posted a new article entitled, Rangers and Scotland’s Youth Pathway Problem

19 Mar 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - EHL2020 has posted a new article entitled, Why Preseason Conditioning Shapes Tactical Success

15 Mar 2026 10:59:13.
Gooner in peace coming on to say a million thanks for yesterday, especially to Mavrapanos, what a game he had!

Keep doing what you're doing and we'll meet you in the PL again next year!

14 Mar 2026 22:12:43
That was a lesson in how to defend. Mavropanos was simply magnificent. Well played lads!

15 Mar 2026 11:16:34
It really was a team performance.
They have a good bond now.

15 Mar 2026 15:18:25
Defence was great, but we were really poor on the counter without Summerville. I lost count of the amount of times we lost the ball during transition, and there were hardly any runs in behind. Good point, but we need to do much better going forward.

15 Mar 2026 15:27:51
Robbo, you could tell from the get-go that he set the team up to simply get the 1 point, with maybe the outside chance of a breakaway goal late in the game.

I like the team spirit now, it's fantastic, but like you, I don't want to watch that each match, as we will only get draws. I would hope we will go back to 4-4-2 next week.

15 Mar 2026 16:07:33
Actually, Hammer, the tactics were OK against City, but the execution was poor going forward. There needs to be some threat going forward, as it's very difficult to defend for 90 mins. On any other night City would have punished us.

Luckily, we scored from a corner, or else we could have played for about 3 months and not scored from open play.

But, as I said, a decent point against a good side.

16 Mar 2026 12:28:21
Robbo, your points are well made. The importance of Summerville in the improvement of tactics and team spirit since the arrival of Paco Jemez cannot be underestimated. Also, the arrival of Taty has so far been positive. Apparently, Nuno alone could not get the best out of Summerville, as his resurgence coincided with Paco's arrival at WHU.

I believe it is Paco who is responsible for the change in the club's fortunes, but it is Nuno, as the figurehead, who is being credited. I don't think we will revert to a defensive formation once our attacking threat is fit again, as that is not Paco's style.

16 Mar 2026 14:45:17
Coupled with the over reliance on a disinterested, over rated player called Paqueta. Apparently, since he and Fulkrug both left, the difference in the dressing room has also been stark...

16 Mar 2026 15:28:30
I quite liked Paqueta, and he was probably the most talented player in the squad. I have to say, you are spot on, DH2, and you can see the team spirit now compared to then.
Fulkrug was always a dreadful purchase, but I think he was mates with Steidten, so they probably both did quite well out of that. Maybe Steidten means Silkman in German. 😂

18 Mar 2026 14:11:19
I think the change in tactics, allowing more freedom to play a positive style, has more to do with the attitude than the change of one or two players. imo Paqueta wasn't allowed to play his natural game and Fulkrug was just injury prone.


I've been told by a good source that Paco handles the majority of training and sets the most tactical plans for games. This confirms my suspicions. Of course, I don't know how true it is, but it certainly makes sense.

18 Mar 2026 16:27:43
Paco has most certainly made a difference. Totally agree.

19 Mar 2026 09:48:50
Can't disagree with that, but I do feel it is a mix of things coming together that will hopefully get us out of the mire and maybe kick on. Getting rid of the board would be a godsend (depending on who buys), but sadly I don't see that yet.

14 Mar 2026 22:03:44
Wow! What a performance!

14 Mar 2026 21:49:06
Great performance this evening. Entire team played well, although we thought Mavro, Fernandes, Soucek outstanding.

15 Mar 2026 01:18:23
Add Todibo to that list too and Hermansen. Back line was solid.

15 Mar 2026 06:15:45
I have to say it was one of those great rear guard actions. I agree that all the central defenders played outstandingly, and Soucek was excellent, especially with his defensive contributions. If I was to be churlish, I thought AWB, Pablo and Adama weren't quite as good as the others, but I think that's the point: the thing that shines through is that, for the first time for so long, they are a team who are all fighting for each other, and that team spirit should get us a long way.

15 Mar 2026 06:51:48
Sorry, meant to say 'I don't think that's the point'.

15 Mar 2026 11:57:32
⚒⚒ Could only watch on MOTD this morning as we were out last night, but obviously kept checking the score. 🙈 Would have settled for that before the game, that's for sure. 👍 Great battling rearguard performance.

Everybody put their life on the line for the team, can't say enough about the whole team togetherness. 👍
Now, given us all hope, we can survive the PL & hope both Forest & Spurs get nothing today. 🤞🤞⚒⚒⚒⚒🤞🤞🤞🤞

15 Mar 2026 13:27:03
Much as how good a defensive performance it was, I really hope he just earmarked it for that game and maybe the Arsenal game. I personally don't want to see it used in all games, even the next game v Villa. I think we should go back to 4 at the back.

14 Mar 2026 15:03:41
Just reached Carpenters Arms. Any point(s) tonight will be great. Spurs will be mullered tomorrow with Pauliniha, Romero, Van der Ven out. So, one point tonight would be a massive plus.

14 Mar 2026 15:36:29
I am actually looking forward to going tonight which hasn't been the case for many a year when we play City. Not saying we are not gonna lose, but feel more confident than normal, even without Summerville. Here's hoping......

16 Mar 2026 10:27:51
"Spurs will be mullered tomorrow with Pauliniha, Romero, Van der Ven out."
🙄 Not quite.

16 Mar 2026 12:14:45
Oh well, it's not the end of the world!

12 Mar 2026 15:49:07
On the BBC website it showing 'West Ham would like to make the loan signing of Chelsea and France defender Axel Disasi, 28, permanent if they secure Premier League survival, but are not willing to match the £38.8m fee Chelsea paid for him in 2023.'
If true, this is madness. The man has almost kept us. His price will escalate if he keeps playing like this.

12 Mar 2026 17:05:14
Not sure it's madness, first stay in the Premier League, then the sort out begins.

Most top clubs prefer ball-playing centre-backs, which Disasi certainly isn't.

Long time to run, wait and see. Disasi is not everyone's cup of tea. He fits at WH, and WH fits him.


Let's survive first.

12 Mar 2026 18:35:33
I've seen some websites value Summerville at 40m and Fernandes between 40-65m. Some even suggested this in euros. It's laughable, imo, both are worth double that.

And this is the problem with not agreeing an option or obligation.

Personally, I think if the board are not going to invest, and take a sell-to-buy stance, they are just prolonging the inevitable.

I'd rather they kept our best players and not sign anyone.

If they can find the money for one or 2 signings, great. If not, keep this team together.

14 Mar 2026 16:40:05
Footballers are like houses.
They are only worth what a team will pay for them.

11 Mar 2026 14:40:15
Summerville out for 2 games. Minor problem with calf.

11 Mar 2026 19:28:15
Minor problem? Are you joking? With every game important, we need our influential players.

11 Mar 2026 20:44:27
I think, technically, you could class it as 1 game, because Man City is usually a nailed-on loss, so if we lose, it is not like the normal dropping of points. But that is not me throwing the towel in, as I think the team has performed really well recently, and showed adaptability, and I have confidence they can do so.

But I won't boldly state we will win or lose, because I thought that when we played Liverpool, and that ended up being normal services resumed.

11 Mar 2026 21:03:06
I think this will push Nuno to switch to a back 5 -
Hermansen
Todibo
Mavro
Disasi
Awb
Diouf
Soucek
Fernandes
Bowen
Pablo
Castellanos.

11 Mar 2026 23:45:02
Tinlegs, the man can't help being injured. It's a minor calf problem, not a tear. Calm down!

12 Mar 2026 06:05:39
🙄 Brooking, again it's gone over your head. With every game now being vital, missing such a vital player, even for one match,
is important. There's no criticism of the player, and the comment is just an observation. I'm not pulling my hair out.

12 Mar 2026 08:49:52
On a positive note, how good was Kante?

Seen him play for u21s. Looked good, maybe a bit inconsistent, but I wasn't expecting that.

Good 45 minutes from Traore. Maybe a few wrote him off too soon.

He could be useful against City; he holds defenders off well and looks his best when he has space to run into. He should get plenty of that against them.

12 Mar 2026 10:52:04
Iron.Al's only concern with Traore is that he is inconsistent tracking back. When he does it, he does it well, but when he didn't, he left Scarles alone v 2.

12 Mar 2026 10:58:15
True to past form, he can't finish. For some reason, he can't hit a barn door.

12 Mar 2026 11:44:48
I heard that he (Traore) picked up a small injury, which is why he was hooked for Summerville in the second half. But, as you say, it is promising that he might not be as much of a dead loss as we thought.

I have always liked the look of Kante, even though I accept he hasn't always played well for the seniors. But he has the stature which so many of the under 21s don't.

12 Mar 2026 14:50:18
I think, with the way Traore is built, he probably has to play in bursts, maybe he's a bit out of match fitness as well, he didn't really start much at all for Fulham this season.

His shooting has always been poor, but his passing and crossing isn't too bad.

If he can beat his man and get the ball into the box regularly, he will get assists, with the likes of Taty, Pablo, Wilson, Bowen, and Soucek getting in there.

10 Mar 2026 17:54:17
For the 10 years after leaving our beloved Boleyn ground, where do we now stand. I don't want to talk about the board, we all know that history. It is a waste of time bringing that all up again.

When we moved I could see the sense of moving to a much bigger stadium. Mainly for financial reasons so that we could compete with the big clubs with massive financial turnovers. However, the London Stadium was probably not an ideal choice but that is now our home. Many people hated it and said it was a soulless bowl.

Yes I would agree with that! But when you move to a new home in any walk of life you have to make that new home the best you can.

Well during our European campaign we turned those nights into a real football stadium with a fantastic atmosphere. Now last night the atmosphere v Brentford was outstanding and I realised we now have a home. Remembering there were many empty seats around the ground. So let's stop living in the past and get behind the team and create the best atmosphere in the country. Last night proved that.

10 Mar 2026 20:53:06
Not much wrong with that post

Joyfull.

11 Mar 2026 16:20:37
Hammer Man, excellent post, mate, & I agree with every word. I am the type of person that gets on with any changes in life, whether good or bad, especially when most is out of our control anyway. I think it came possibly from when my Dad died, and I was only 14 years old, and it made me grow up quickly to help out my fantastic Mum as much as I could as a young kid when I started earning money from 15 years of age!
Unless you can change a situation, "shut up" & get on with it.

😂😂
Even if I won enough money to invest in a club, I would never go near one with all the moaning b****** complaining when the clubs struggling!
⚒⚒⚒

11 Mar 2026 20:52:35
I think you are right, Hammer Man. Even though the Bowlyn was a great, intimidating atmosphere, it definitely wasn't all the time. I went there many a time over the years, in all parts of the ground, and the atmosphere was dire. I have said many times before, it's all about the football and effort the players produce, and on both scores, we are now producing the best since Bilic's first season as West Ham manager.

I wasn't there for the Brentford game, but for the Man United game, the atmosphere was up there with the European games you mentioned.