West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Diouf, Kilman, Todibo, Potts, Fernandes, Paqueta, Bowen (C), Summerville, Wilson
Subs: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Igor, Guilherme, Rodriguez, Golambeckis, Magassa, Soucek, Irving
Burnley: Dubravka, Walker, Tuanzebe, Esteve, Hartman, Florentino, Cullen (C), Anthony, Ugochukwu, Flemming, Tchaouna
Subs: Weib, Bruun Larson, Foster, Edwards, Eldal, Pires, Broja, Hannibal, Laurent
Just do not understand what it is about you Men but this weekend my Gramps and Dad who have been making room in Gramps Garage are as excited as a couple of kids at the fairground.Why are they so excited well its over a car of course and as always it's a classic(when is it not!)and one my Gramps cannot wait to get in as it was his pride and joy back in the day and all the ladies loved it lol dirty old bugger Grandma did say it had that effect! but come on it is just a car!
For those of you interested it is a TR7 and my mind went blank as they both started talking some foreign language as far as i was concerned so went and had a nice cuppa with Grandma and will take her shopping before the Burnley game because you boys must have time to play with your toys no matter your age.
So what is your favourite toy? and Boogers keep it clean now!
With his recent social media post i was just wondering what was your feeling about his move couple seasons back?
I have read many a post on various sites calling him a traitor and worse and for me i found that confusing as i felt no such Animous toward him.
He gave his all for us helped us win a trophy and avoid the drop more than once and whilst his move left a gaping hole in our side and a sense of inevitability about it he never slagged the club or the fans off unlike a certain BFF.
So dust settled what are your thoughts?
The classic Christmas Premier League theory entails that if you’re in or lurking near the bottom three come Christmas time, you tend to be a goner.
If you take the previous two seasons and look at the table by Christmas, five of the six teams in the drop zone would get relegated, the only outlier being Wolves last season, who were on 12 points with 17 games played, Leicester who were two points above them, would fall victim to the drop.
Currently, the squad run by Nuno but signed by Sullivan, currently sit 18th in the Premier League on just 7 points, with the closest up ahead being Burnley who the Hammers are set to take on this weekend, which embarrassingly is what feels to be yet another six-pointer.
With just a measly 7 points achieved across 10 games, it averages that the Hammers would be on 12 points come the 17 game mark, which conveniently, was what Wolves were on when they escaped! But Luton in the 2023/24 season and Ipswich in the 2024/25 season both would find themselves in the Championship after having 12 points at Christmas…
However, these preposterous stats and mathematics are slightly flawed for a couple of reasons, the first of which being that Nuno hasn’t been the manager of West Ham for the entire season, so not all of the results are under him, but more importantly, IF West Ham were to beat Burnley on the weekend, that would put on 10 points which ultimately suggest that we’d only get two points within 6 matches, whilst highly possible, it’s also highly unlikely to happen.
The remaining games until Christmas wouldn’t leave a pleasant taste in the mouth, considering West Ham will face Burnley (H), Bournemouth (A), Liverpool (H), Manchester United (A), Brighton (A), Aston Villa (H), Manchester City (A). It’s one of the toughest runs a team will face in the Premier League in the run-up to Christmas Day, so certainly a Nuno Espirito Santa miracle will be needed. - LN
As the Hammers defeated Newcastle 3-1 in a rather defensive style of fashion, you have to raise the question of what’s been different in comparison to the past few matches?
The defensive pairing didn’t change, and we were still forced to use Jean-Mare as well as Max Killjoy, yet still managed to get a result whilst also embarrassing Newcastle’s record signing of £68,500,000, keeping him the quietest anyone managed this season. Nick Wolte-Made in China must’ve turned up on the day!
But Nuno’s defensive due diligence ideologies proved well organised seeing as for the remainder of the second half, numerous substitutions were made, all of which had a major impact upon the game and formed a solid backline that we thought would be almost impossible with this side.
It appears NES has finally found the keys to the heads of the flatulent players the clubs surrounded in anger is now able to drill his defensive thoughts into them.
Playing Lucas Paqueta in a deeper ‘8’ role proved wise considering his classically reckless behaviour that he possesses didn’t come out as well as he totalled a remarkable ZERO dispossessions, which for Paqman is eye-opening.
Despite initially struggling, Nuno claimed to “not know” where Fernandes’ best position was in his squad, but playing him alongside Paqman instead of in front or behind was ideal and going forward, you’d suspect the winning formula not to change.
If the same lineup is to be played against Burnley, then you’ll truly know what lineup is solidified for the foreseeable future - LN
That Sullivan will be cashing in on next! Sorry boys i just had to have a little dig there hopefully i am wrong!
The Hammers finally secure their second victory of the season through the definition of ‘Nuno-ball’.
Bowen belter of a strike clashed the post early doors and just a mere 26 seconds after, Newcastle would strike their only goal of the game, which primarily can be blamed upon Max Kilman by his wondrous adventures at the right-wing and hopes continued to worsen after Robert Jones dismissed our initially given penalty…one of his many fascinating calls this afternoon.
A sublime finish by Paqman, followed by, in Hammers’ eyes, a brilliant defensive clearance by Botman, put us up at the break.
The Hammers honed in a victory from the second half, a very defensive performance in comparison to the first saw Nuno’s side relentlessly press through counters, which gave Freddie Potts tap-in goal but it was soon killed off by offside. The other instance came through Tomas Soucek bundling into Pope and scoring with his knee, finalising the win in the 97th minute.
Whilst the Football might not been ‘positive’ in the second half, you’d much rather walk away with three points than the risk of having none.
A pattern of play was established within both halves which everyone had been crying out for and a sense of knowing what we were trying in the first half to score was visible, a shocking revelation!
Nuno’s been banging on about finding the correct lineup and hopefully this game is the telltale for him to have that finalised for the remainder of the season. Potts provided everything today that the midfield had been needing and the performance today most definitely should warrant him a starting slot amongst the squad.
As of late, it’s typically been doom and gloom, negatives to still be looked and a not-so-positive style of Football, but at last! The Hammers’ unwanted record of not winning at the London Stadium for the last 248 days has finally been broken. - LN
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Diouf, Kilman, Todibo, Potts, Fernandes, Paqueta, Bowen (C), Summerville, Wilson
Subs: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Igor, Guilherme, Rodriguez, Mayers, Magassa, Soucek, Irving
Newcastle: Pope, Krafth , Thiaw, Burn, Botman, Tonali, Joelinton, Guimaraes (C), Gordon, Murphy, Woltemade
Subs: Ramsdale, Hall, Schar, Barnes, Osula, Elanga, Willock, Ramsey, Miley
Over this past week, it seems that the Hammers have decided to ruthlessly go through the youth players, offering contracts to those who deserve them and ignoring the ones who don’t.
It’s convenient how under Graham Potter, all were firm believers that he would involve the youth academy, and though it weren’t no golden generation but treasure was there to be found. However, after his Aston Villa opener, it quickly became apparent that his principles and values of utilising the youth went out of the window as quickly as he was booted out of the door at Rush Green.
Though to every dim light remains a sparkle…not to maintain the hopes of fans and suggest that Nuno WILL utilise the plethora of youth players he has available, but it has been announced that he’s providing the youth players with experience, letting numerous names train with the first team.
A few days ago, Nuno decided to recall Fin Herrick and considering his immense seven clean sheets in ten matches, you’d presume he’d stay there and continue his form, but he’s been recalled to join up with the first team. Other players such as Preston Fearon, Josh Landers and Mo Kante have all been given new deals and have also been training with the first team.
So what does this entail for the future? It creates a world of unwanted conjecture but it would be only fair to assume that’s its preparation for the youngsters to bolster their confidence, and once having a quick glance at the first-team option we have, NES might decide to lift up his skirt and throw in one or two youth players to start or at least be involved. - LN
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Premier League
West Ham vs Sunderland
12:30
London Stadium
Sunday 24th January 2026
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