Forum | Non-Football Related

Doubtless buoyed up by the news that arch rivals 'Tottingham' had lost to the Villains, West Ham took the field with added endeavour against former manager Sam Allardyce's West Brom. A fairytale start looked in the offing when Michael Antonio was bundled off the ball by possible future Hammers signing, Sam Johnstone, for a penalty, up stepped skipper Declan Rice, and planted the ball firmly against the post, which denied what would have been an undeniable momentum.

To rub salt in the wounds the Baggies then scored through yet another Hammers own goal, this time courtesy of Tomas Soucek, cue intense anxiety and an awful feeling of a slow motion season car crash! David Moyes's Boys are made of sterner stuff though, and it was fitting that Soucek should be the scorer of the equalizer just before half time.

The home team gave it their all in front of real fans and made a real fist of the match, as would have been expected, but they were undone by a bullet header from the bullet head of Angelo 'The Og' Ogbonna to sweep the Irons into the lead.

Aaron Cresswell hit the post with a deceptive free kick that very nearly caught Johnstone out, before Michail Antonio delivered the Coup de grace of the third goal as a result of an electrifying counter that knocked the wind out of the opponents, their manager, Big Sam, elected to use his post match presser to confirm his managerial departure from the Baggies.

A special mention for Darren Randolph, called in at the last minute when Lukasz Fabianski was injured in the warm up, he was definitely not at fault for the Baggies goal, and pulled of three really decent saves, one of which was spectacular as Hammers edged closer to the final Europa League 'proper' place.

There is still all to do against Southampton on Sunday to ensure European competition of a decent stature for next season, at least Moyes and his Boys have the club's destiny in their hands irrespective of other teams' results, especially 'Tottingham's'. - Ed

Chelsea's victory over Leicester last night ensured West Ham could no longer qualify for the Champions League, it was not as if it were a surprise is it? This leaves the Europa League as an alternative, however there is every possibility that the dreaded 'Con' Cup might be an end result, or maybe no European competition at all!

Indeed there are some that argue Hammers would be better off by NOT qualifying for the 'Con'ference Cup, arguing with some reason that the extra travelling and game commitment will stretch any squad, particularly one that has a paucity of strength in depth.

It is an entirely new competition aimed at countries 'B' Teams, any new system will have 'niggles' to be smoothed out, and do Hammers really want to be guinea pigs? Perhaps it WOULD be better to miss out on Europe if it is not possible to gain a 'proper' Europa League place, and even qualifying directly would put an enormous strain on the club's resources.

It should be remembered how the Europa League impacted on Wolves, a club with a similarly 'slim' squad and other teams that competed, it took a team with a vast squad, ie: Manchester United to reach the final against Villa Real.

There is a parallel between 'lusting' after European Competition and having players represent their countries, each situation is gratifying, but the price paid can be catastrophic, Declan Rice's injury picked up while representing England is a case in point.

Perhaps finishing eighth this season would be preferable to finishing seventh? Whereas finishing sixth would be fine, tonight's game against Big Sam's West Brom at the Hawthorns, with fans in attendance, will seal the deal either way, win and the dream continues, lose and it would then be better to play out a draw against Southampton on the final day.

Of course only trying to attain a draw on the final day has it's risks, but even losing would probably be better than entering the 'Con' Cup, and while it is entirely counter-intuitive to NOT want to score points, Hammers may well have to face up to some awkward decisions.

Whatever happens it has been a season that is rich with good memories, but a salient example of how a critical lack of investment at the time when it was most needed came back to bite the club's 'asp'irations! Next season there will be fans back in Stadia, maybe not to full capacity, but full enough for fans to make their feelings known.

It is to be hoped that Moyes's boys are supported and not denigrated by what has traditionally always been a relatively fickle crowd, perhaps being denied the opportunity to have a good 'shout up' about the players will be tempered with a degree of appreciation.

If the players perform as they have done for the vast majority of the season, then there is absolutely no reason as to why the London Stadium shouldn't become Hammers fortress! - Ed

Seeing the Liverpool goalkeeper head in their winning goal against the Baggies in the dying seconds of the game will have left many Hammers fans with that 'sinking feeling', and all that after seeing 'Tottingham' go above the Irons on goal difference as well!

Scrapping for a spot in the aptly named 'Europa Con-ference" Cup against Hammers rivals from North London wasn't on the agenda six weeks ago, just ahead of the International games fans were eagerly anticipating the final run in of what could have been the club's most successful season ever.

As so often happens, fate conspired to deprive the club of it's main asset, Declan Rice, and the rest as they say is history. There is no use crying about it, the price a 'small club' pays for the privilege of having their player represent their country can be disproportionate to that of other clubs with huge squads and virtually unlimited resources.

Over the years so many Hammers players have been injured, usually severely, while away on International duty, it's the same for other clubs, but it just seems that West Ham who do produce and sign great players suffer more than clubs of the same size.

Realistically, wherever the club ends up it will be far higher than anyone dared dream of at the start of the season, particularly after the first two games. The manager will have his players fired up for the remaining two games, because he knows it is in their hands exactly what European competition, if any, they end up competing in.

The Europa League is still definitely possible, it is a far preferable destination than the 'Con' Cup that would involve enormous effort for very little return. The relatively disappointing end to the season can still have a silver lining , results may need to go West Ham's way in other games, but at least the club is still in with a shout, right up until the last minute of Sunday's season closer, against Southampton, in front of the fans at the London stadium.

Of course the Elephant in the room is Big Sam, he whose team lost out in the last minute against Liverpool, he is NOT going to play nice is he? Why should he anyway? Failure to get a result up at the Hawthorns on Wednesday will not render Sunday's game as value less, but it would mean the difference between Europa and The 'Con'Cup. It is probably politically incorrect to say it nowadays, but, " It ain't all over until the Fat Lady sings!"- Ed