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Having endured a 'horror' start to the season West Ham quickly became labled a club in crisis, leading to newly appointed manager Manuel Pellegrini's inclusion near the top of the list of 'The first Premier League manager to be sacked', second only to Jose Mourinho. Fast forward six games from the beginning of the season and the situation, while still not making perfect reading, is far far better than it was. Having only secured one win and that was against Wimbledon AFC in the Carabao Cup, things were looking really bleak, but the morale boosting win up at Goodison Park against 'bogey' team Everton followed by a stirring draw at home to league leaders Chelsea has seen a coplete change at the club.

Nothing illiustrates how important those results were and the confidence they inspired than the fact that Manuel Pellegrini was able to make eight changes from the team that started against Chelsea for last night's drubbing of Macclesfield in the Cup. OK Macclesfield were bottom of the 2nd Division which in old money meant they were bottom of Division 4 and one step away from the Isthmian League! However the players who took to the field did so with confidence, they set about dismantling the visitors with clinical precision and had the job done by half time before running out as comfortable 8-0 victors.

The youth players on display took their chances well, only the oldest player for West Ham had a negative experience, and that was Carlos Sanchez who left the field early with a knee injury that will keep him out for some considerable time. Hammers fielded a strong bench just in case the opposition played out of their skins and had a bit of 'cup luck', that was not to be so players like Fabian Balbuena did not have to be used. Balbuena was brought to the club from Uruguay in order to add some much needed zip to a Hammers defence that looked ponderous even before James Collins' departure and the long term injury sustained by Winston Reid. After a dodgy start Balbuena quickly got to grips with the speedy rough and tough nature of the Barclays Premier League, statistics show that Balbuena’s 18 interceptions in six Premier League games this season has not been beaten by anybody else in the top flight, his numbers are far superior to those of N’Golo Kante and Virgil van Dijk, he shares the League record with Watford’s Etienne Capoue who would be expected to have better stats bearing in mind he is a midfield player.

Neutral observers within the media ( there aren't that many!) are of the opinion that six games is the point at which to asses the progress of a club, particularly one with a new manager and virtually a full team of new recruits. Those who indulged in "Pellegrini to get the bullet" headlines have gone rather quiet, content to now jump aboard the 'Declan Rice Saga' rather than giving credit where and when it is due to the 'serial winner' that the 65 year old Manuel Pellegrini is. It was always goint to take time for the team to gel, and to create a 'proper team' that looks like a well drilled unit, the players have had to buy in to Pellegrin's ethos which has not always been that easy, believing in his philosophy requires a leap of faith, not only for the players but for the fans as well.

Seeing the 'first seeds' of recovery has helped galvanise all those involved with the club, the appearance of Youth players within the ranks harks back to the 'good old days' of the Academy. Pellegrini's insistance that the U-23 players train with the senior squad is a modus operandi that many fans have cried out for, some of the gems currently being unearthed would most likely not have been given much of a chance under Slaven Billic or David Moyes. Recently other English teams have nurtured their youth players who quickly become very valuable assets and are either sold on for a huge profit or take their place in the first team and save their club the fortune they would have to pay for them in the transfer market.

One more game in than the 'Six' things are looking a lot rosier, "There may be troubles ahead", but in Manuel Pellegrini the club have a person who knows how to win and who can be trusted, his quiet demeanor belies a steely determination not only to win, but to win beautifully and also win 'ugly' if the circumstances dictate. - Ed

Manuel Pellegrini won the League Cup twice in three seasons at Manchester City in 2014 and 2016 and wants to help West Ham win the Cup that has for ever eluded them. Always the bridesmaid never the bride best descibes Hammers fortunes or lack of them as is the case in the League/Milk/Carabao Cup, Runners up in 1966, 1981 and semi finalists on two other occasions when the semi's were two legged, but always falling short. The 'Cara' cup represents one of the best chances for the club to gain honours and is a competition the Hammers Boss does not take lightly.

Pellegrini told the official WHUFC.Com site "Our ambition is clear, to take the competition very seriously and progress as far as we possibly can. This is a competition that has many good memories for me, It was the first title I won in English football, as manager of Manchester City in 2014. It is a very important competition – the first major trophy that can be won in the season – and the experience of winning at Wembley in front of your supporters is something that stays with you forever. I know it is a trophy that West Ham United have not yet won in our history and, of course, we would like that to change, but first we must concentrate on showing the right approach against Macclesfield. In the last round at AFC Wimbledon, we went a goal down early on and had to show patience and belief in order to get back into the game and eventually come out on top,”

Pellegrini went on to mention that he will give opportunities to his fringe players. “We know that we may have to show the same qualities again this evening against a team who will be very motivated and eager to make a big impression. However, I have every confidence that we will be in the right frame of mind. This fixture will give us the opportunity to utilise our squad and bring in players who have not had as many minutes in the Premier League recently, and I am sure they will be hungry to do well. We are also looking forward to another good atmosphere at London Stadium, the support for the team on Sunday was magnificent, and I hope that everyone at the game enjoys a memorable evening."

Having 'talked the talk' the reality is not who will play, but who won't be playing. Despite returning to light training Marko Arnautovic will not be risked neither will Antonio who still looks exhausted after every match which opens the door for Javier Hernandez who should return after a bout of flu and Lucas Perez who has had hardly any game time since arriving at the club. Carlos Sanchez, Aaron Cresswell and Adrian are logical choices for the starting line up as is Ryan Fredericks and Angelo Ogbonna. Whether El Pel decides to use Mark Noble in the midfield is a matter of some conjecture given the club captain's exertions during the hard fought draw against Chelsea on Sunday, Rice and Diop on the other hand have energy to burn so it is likely they will both feature. Yarmolenko could well feature but Anderson will only be on the bench and will not play unless the match situation dictates otherwise, Pellegrini's 'scottish love child' Robert Snodgrass will definitely start and may well be handed the captain's arm band if Mark Noble doesn't play.

So as we it the starting eleven against Macclesfield will be : Adrian, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Fredericks, Sanchez, Diop, Rice, Yarmolenko, Snodgrass, Perez, Hernandez. Subs: Fabianski, Balbuena, Noble, Anderson, Zabaleta, Antonio, Masuaku.

Hammers fans have known all about Declan Rice and his massive potential for ages, but now the news media scrum have suddenly opened their eyes to the potential that was clearly there to see for some considerable time. Unfortunately all this attention comes at a time in the young man's life when his services are at the centre of an 'International squabble' between The Republic of Ireland and England and also amid renewed contract negotiations between the player's agents and the club with regards to improved terms to his contract that still has a little under two years to run if the club take up their options.

Maybe it is because it has been a relatively quiet 'news' week, but the clamour for all things Declan Rice has been astonishing, whether by the BBC or a host of other espected news outlets, it is indeed fortunate that he has a strong family support mechanism behind him and is extremely unlikely to do a 'Reece oxford' having been presented with the chance to move on and become a West Ham legend and possibly future captain in waiting.

There is plenty of time to negotiate a mutually convenient negotiation between Rice and the club regarding his future, some of the figures being banded around are incorrect and poorly researched by certain Journalists and others. Declan Rice is defintely not on £3,000 per week, Leo Chambers, now playing for Billericay was on that wage four years ago!

Everyone loves 'one of their own' to do well, how do Chelsea fans feel about 'The One That Got Away'. - Ed

Whirling rain and gale force winds had been predicted ahead of Hammers home tie against table toppers Chelsea at the London Stadium, the clouds looked even darker when the news that talisman Marko Arnoutovic wasn't even if the match day squad was announced! All conquering Chelsea with 15 points from their previous five games turned up having rested their three main players from the exertions of their Thursday night Europa League match, and from the off they had the home team on the back foot.

On final analysis statistically the visitors 'monstered' possesion by a percentage, but the stats don't tell the whole story at all. Those who questioned whether Manuel Pellegrini was capable of adapting his tactics were proved indefatigabley incorrect as West Ham United set out their stall perefectly in order to deal withe the 'Hazard' of the Chelsea front line, it wasn't parking the bus, it was more manoeuvering the Lambreta as the defence and midfield stood firm against all the visitors could throw at them. This is not to say Hammers were just there to make up the numbers, far from it, in fact had it not been for the profligacy of Michail Antonio, who by his own admission should have scored a brace, and Yarmolenko in the latter stages of the game who spurned a 'couldn't miss' opportunity to give his team the three points that by and large they deserved.

The importance of last weekends' victory over Everton cannot be more clearly manifested than by the fact that Chelsea had to play a TEAM that had discoverd it's identity, personel will come and go and formations might change but the team ethos has been born, it took four games for the team to gell, and gell they have. Part of the new found identity is the trust placed on Declan Rice's young shoulders, a burden he carries with aplomb, he was aided and abetted in midfield by Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble who must have changed his Duracells.

The whole team performed with confidence despite ceeding so much of the ball, the point is Chelsea were playing in areas that they were allowed to, on more than one occasion they were forced in to mistakes that made them look second rate whereas it was actually the never say die attitude of the home team that made them look that way. There are many who will rue the absence of Marko Arnoutovic in this match as he would more than likely have buried one if not two of the chances presented to Antonio, but Arnie has a chance to recover from his knock and the team got a very valuable big point, big because not only was it attained against the league leaders, but it maintained the positive momentum from the victory over Everton.

Pellegrini's post match comments included “They had a lot of possession because we allowed them to have the ball, we forced them to play most of the game from the right side, not the left side where Marcos Alonso and Hazard are so dangerous. The first half was very clear the way I wanted to play, the second we maybe lost too many balls but against these teams, a draw is not a bad point.”

Most fans would have been happy if offered a point before the game even if Arnoutovic had been pronounced fit, but most of them will be feeling a little disappointed after the match that there was only one point gained instead of three, was it one point gained or two points lost? Maybe ask a Chelsea fan, Oh and the sun eventually shone brightly on a day of predicted darkness! - Ed