Opposition View: West Ham United
After a difficult start to the season, West Ham United are flying. They are one of the Premier League’s form sides and rather than looking down the table, the talk around the London Stadium is of a top 10 finish.
Brighton fans saw the quality that they possess when they came to the Amex at the start of October. Although the Albion beat West Ham 1-0 that day, the Irons were clearly the better side and it was daylight robbery that they left with nothing to show for their efforts.
That victory made it three wins from three over West Ham since Brighton’s promotion to the Premier League while it extended Glenn Murray’s remarkable scoring record against them. Will our recent hold over the Hammers continue in the first game of 2019? We spoke to Jeff Gayle from West Ham Till I Die for his views ahead of the Wednesday night meeting at the London Stadium.
It’s three months since Brighton and West Ham United last met at the Amex. How has the Irons’ season been progressing since then?
Well since then we’ve run into a bit of form, winning six and losing two, so better than expected!
What was your take on that game at the Amex? Even the most blinkered of Brighton supporters would have to admit you were hard done by in not picking up at least a point
It was symptomatic of our start to the season, where we played reasonably well, but didn’t score. Unsurprisingly Glenn Murray scored against us again!
At the time of writing, you’ve climbed into the top 10 in the table. How high do you think Manuel Pellegrini can get you finishing come May?
Well the way we have been playing the last 6 games or so, we should definitely end up in the top half of the table; 8th would be a really good season, anything above that amazing.
What business do you think we’ll see West Ham carry out in January?
I guess we’ll find out soon enough, we may look to strengthen defence where we have a few injuries, but pretty pleased with the make up of the squad.
Who has been your star performer so far this season and who has been the biggest disappointment?
Marko Arnautovic, when he was fit was great. Now Felipe Anderson is showing what we hoped he could do, and if we get two more seasons out of him, it would be great. Declan Rice in midfield is having a great season. I could go on… I don’t think there have been any, biggest disappointment has been injuries to Jack Wiltshire, Winston Reid, Manuel Lanzini, and Andriy Yarmenlenko.
We’re over halfway through the season. Who are the best side West Ham have faced and who was the worst?
The best were Man City by far, the worst were Man United, when we caught them at low point. That must have set the alarm bell ringing at Old Trafford.
We haven’t heard as much about the London Stadium being a nightmare ground this season. Does it feel anymore like a footballing home three seasons into your tenure?
Well it’s where we are going to be playing so we have to accept it. If we are playing well and winning, which we are at the moment, it’s fantastic: as Van Morrison says ‘You can’t dance and stay uptight!’
Any advice for Brighton fans making the journey? A Wednesday evening kick off is a particular nightmare
Take the day off work! Pray that the trains are running!
Many thanks to Jeff for answering our questions. You can follow West Ham Till I Die on Twitter, just don’t send them anything about Murray should the veteran striker score again!
