West Ham: The Season So Far

There can be no doubting that the vast majority of changes made in E13 in the summer transfer window have been complete successes thus far. Slaven Bilic looks composed and in control, unafraid to make attacking changes if the side is losing, as exhibited against Southampton on December 28^th. Dimitri Payet has been worth every last penny of his reported £10.4m transfer fee paid in the summer. Other purchases have made big impacts, too. Darren Randolph showed his class to keep 3 straight clean sheets after Adrian was sent off against Leicester in August. Victor Moses scored the opener in the win at the Etihad and has injected pace down the wings, and Michail Antonio has ensured that that productivity has not dropped off, even though Moses has now gone down with an injury. His impressive performances have rewarded him for his patience with 2 goals and an assist in his last two games against Southampton and Liverpool.

Looking back at the 2014/15 season under Big Sam (who did great things, but took the club as far as he could), who honestly would feel confident in him if we still had him at the helm? Sure, we sit 6^th in the Premier League, but our injury crisis has already hit, yet we’re still unbeaten in 8 games. Drawing 5 games in a row with Payet, Lanzini, and Sakho out is no mean feat, not to mention the absences of Reid and Moses during that spell as well. Since Carl Jenkinson was sent off against Bournemouth, James Tomkins has been by far the better of the two options at RB, giving James Collins an opportunity alongside Angelo Ogbonna in the middle, and he’s been rewarded with a new 2-year contract following MOTM performances against Swansea, Aston Villa, and now Liverpool. Even first-team players have been turning out impressive performances; Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyaté have kept Alex Song out of the side, and Aaron Cresswell looks to have stepped up and is playing more like the Hammer of the Year he is, after a shaky start to the season.

Upcoming games give the team a chance for revenge against a Bournemouth side who look surprisingly comfortable in this league, as well as the opportunity to do the double over Manchester City, with the home game coming on February 2^nd. The way Bilic has the squad playing is far more indicative of what all fans want to see. By all fans, I include neutrals, because the team are playing with a verve and electricity that I can’t remember seeing from a team in claret and blue for a long, long time. Hitting teams on the counter attack with pace from Antonio or Moses, creativity in abundance from Lanzini and Payet, and lethal finishing in the air from Andy Carroll if a cross is put in the right area. 

Even goals worked from open play seem more fluid and less Allardyce-y. For example, Payet’s first goal against Newcastle saw Mark Noble, Aaron Cresswell and Manuel Lanzini combining intricately on the left side of the Newcastle penalty area. When, in the last 4 years, would you have seen Noble turn on the corner of the box and play the ball square to someone who caressed the ball into the top corner? Rarely. The ball would either have been sent to the back post for a hopeful 50/50 header between Diafra Sakho or a half-fit Andy Carroll and a centre-back, or it would have been played across the box to a player like Gary O’Neil or Matty Taylor, who would have clattered it high into the Trevor Brooking Upper. 

Something about this team just gives me more confidence in the club. The squad oozes confidence, and the team spirit seems to be incredibly high. The game against Liverpool at the weekend showed this in a number of ways. At one point, the cameras cut to a shot of Dimitri Payet and Darren Randolph on the bench, sharing a joke and laughing with one another. One is a French international worth his weight in gold, and the other is our backup goalkeeper who has spent the vast majority of his career in the Championship, yet they are both clearly having a great time playing in the same team as one another. The spirit Bilic, and of course the results, has fostered is refreshing to see, and for once it would seem that the spirit isn’t one that comes about from there being cliques in the squad, as has felt like the case in previous years. Mark Noble was the first to celebrate with Payet when he scored against Newcastle, Adrian and Kouyaté always share a massive hug at the end of a game, and Tomkins and Jenkinson have appeared in numerous videos together despite vying for the starting right-back position.

Going deeper into 2016, it would be ridiculous of me to think that West Ham can keep up their form over the first half of the season, I’ve learnt too much from the last 4 years. However, if the board can make a couple of intelligent signings in January, and the team can finish 8^th or 9^th in the last season at Upton Park with an FA Cup semi-final under their belts, then the 2015/16 season could be considered a great success.

The 2015 Baltimore Ravens: A Review

At the start of the season, hopes were high in Baltimore. The team had drafted well and filled positions of need, and fans were promised a good look at Breshard Perriman within the week. Now here we are, 6 days into 2016, with the 6^th pick in the 2016 Draft. Where did it all go wrong?

                The obvious answer is injuries. Terrell Suggs, Steve Smith Sr., and Joe Flacco, the unquestioned leaders and poster boys of one of the most successful franchises of the past decade all went down with season-ending injuries. Sure Suggs is 33, and Smith is 37, but these are fearsome competitors, meanwhile Joe Flacco didn’t miss a snap in 7 and a half years before succumbing to a freak ACL/MCL tear. Even though these three injuries certainly contributed to the demise of the 2015 Baltimore Ravens, it was arguably the others who landed on Injured Reserve throughout the season who caused as much, if not more, disruption as the three figureheads of the franchise. Starting C Jeremy Zuttah, starting RB Justin Forsett, starting TEs Dennis Pitta and Crockett Gillmore all had two things in common. All ended the season on IR or the Physically Unable to Perform lists. All of them were also starters. Alongside them, impact names like Michael Campanaro, Darren Waller, Marlon Brown, and Matt Elam also ended on IR. In total there were 26 names on the list come the end of the season, the highest number in the entire league.

                Despite all injuries, the performance of the team was admirable. The first 12 games of the season were decided by 8 points or fewer, the longest such stretch to begin a season in NFL history. Some players also stepped up big time, continuing the Ravens’ log-held tradition of “next man up”. Punter Sam Koch had a Pro Bowl year, as did G Marshal Yanda, one of the best in the business since he was drafted in 2007. Outside of those two big performers, from whom fans at M+T Bank Stadium have come to expect greatness, there were also glimmers of light from less well-known names. 4^th round draft pick Za’Darius Smith gave fans déja vu. Wearing #90, and sporting dreadlocks, he looked just like recently departed OLB Pernell McPhee as he racked up 30 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 1 PD in his rookie. Could he be the long-term option once Suggs and Dumervil leave Charm City? Another bright spot from this year was the play of Kamar Aiken, who was thrust into the no. 1 WR slot after Smith Sr. went down. Finishing the season with 75 receptions for 944 yards and 5 TDs, Aiken took hit after hit and just jumped back up, made plays, and caught touchdowns for 4 different QBs, an incredible feat for a 4th year veteran with only 14 starts in his NFL career.

                Moving forward, the Ravens’ front office personnel, widely considered one of the best in the league, must make big decisions about numerous players, as well as preparing for the Draft in April. Personally, I can forsee the team holding on to perpetually injured TE Dennis Pitta for financial reasons. Kelechi Osemele, who has played both LG and LT this season, is another player who needs a big decision to be made about his future on the team, as he could command big money in Free Agency if the Ravens’ don’t act fast. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco’s injury should make it easier for the Ravens to reduce his hit on the salary cap in their favour. With such a high draft pick, fans will expect and instant impact to be made by at least the first and second round picks.

                At the end of the day though, there is only one man who can really right the ship after this disastrous season, and as the old saying goes on that part of the East Coast; “In Ozzie We Trust”.