2015/16 in review: November & December

Join us as we take a look back at the 2015/16 season through the eyes of KUMB Editor Graeme Howlett, who penned a weekly column for the Echo newspaper throughout the campaign.

Today we look back at November and December 2015 in part four of our review...


22 November

It was a case of men against boys at White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon as Tottenham hammered the Hammers 4-1 in the day's big London derby.

And it could have been even more embarrassing for Slaven Bilic's side but for the intervention of the woodwork and goalkeeper Adrian, who made several excellent saves to keep the score at an almost-respectable level.

West Ham went into the game having won all three of their London derbies this season, having recorded wins against Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Chelsea.

However they were comprehensively beaten on a grim afternoon in north London by a rampant Spurs - yet remain sixth in the Premier League with the defeat being only their second away defeat in the league this season.

Once again I find myself bemoaning individual mistakes - and once again James Tomkins was a central figure in West Ham's demise. It's only two weeks since I expressed concerns at the team's inherent ability to self combust; something you cannot afford to do against Watford, let alone an in-form Tottenham who thoroughly deserved their win on the day.



Missing talisman Dimitri Payet, the Hammers had virtually no creative force to threaten the opposition. Bilic gambled by playing both Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho in his starting XI - a big mistake, as hindsight was to later prove.

Played out of position on the right wing, Sakho cut a frustrated figure as he struggled to make an impact whilst Carroll was largely anonymous, looked far from match fit and still well off the pace.

West Ham have now failed to record a win in their last three outings and the excellent early start is a distant memory now following the failure to beat Everton, Watford or Tottenham. However there was some good news; that being the return of another Dimitri, midfielder Alexandre Dimitri Song Billong - better known as just Alex Song.

The former Cameroon international made his first appearance of the season and will be needed as Mark Noble picked up a fifth booking of the season that will exclude him from next week's home game versus West Bromwich Albion.

There was also good news for KUMB.com this week as we picked up the award for Best Forum at Thursday night's Football Blogging Awards in Manchester. A good night was had by all and we all returned south the next day slightly worse for wear, but happy with that particular result.


29 November

West Ham United's run of Premier League games without a win extended to four on Sunday afternoon following a desperately disappointing draw at home to West Bromwich Albion at the Boleyn Ground.

In itself, a 1-1 draw with Tony Pulis' Baggies isn't the worst possible result - but it will satisfy few Hammers fans given the Irons' complete dominance of the opening 45 minutes.

Prior to the half time interval Slaven Bilic's side bossed the game; they enjoyed 62 per cent of possession, created eight chances - to Albion's two - and scored the only goal of the half, a fantastic free kick from Mauro Zarate.

However there were few West Ham fans inside the Boleyn who, if questioned, would have argued the Argentine's strike would be sufficient to secure all three points - and that's exactly how it transpired, with Ricky Lambert grabbing a point for Albion courtesy of a deflected shot five minutes after the restart.




In the end either side could have grabbed a winner although a draw was probably a fair result. But West Ham's inability to keep a clean sheet is becoming a major concern and seriously affecting what was a fantastic start to the campaign.

You have to go back to the 2-0 win over a hapless Newcastle United on September 14th to find West Ham's last clean sheet, some ten matches ago - and that was only their second of the campaign, having kept Arsenal at bay on the opening day of the season.

Since then, Bilic's team have shipped 17 goals, even though Tottenham are the only opponent who managed to register more than twice. And regardless of the personnel employed - Angelo Ogbonna returned to the starting XI in place of the out-of-form James Tomkins this weekend - it appears to make little difference to West Ham's defensive frailties.

Yet perhaps an even bigger blow than the two points dropped was the loss of Diafra Sakho to a thigh muscle injury, one that looks set to keep the Senegal international out of action for the rest of the year. Although he was far from his best against Albion, the striker's pace and commitment will be hugely missed by the Hammers who are already operating without fellow goalscorer Enner Valencia.

Although the point lifts West Ham back up to seventh place in the table, it doesn't get any easier for United with the daunting prospect of a trip to Old Trafford on the horizon. Without the likes of Dimitri Payet and Sakho - who between them have contributed one third of the goals scored this season - it promises to be an even tougher task than usual.


6 December

West Ham United's winless run extended to five Premier League matches at Manchester United on Saturday afternoon - but it was a much-improved performance that resulted in Slaven Bilic's men taking a share of the spoils.

The last time a West Ham team tasted success at Old Trafford came eight years ago in May 2007, when Alan Curbishley's side completed an incredible recovery from a seemingly insurmountable position to avoid relegation on the final day of the season by winning 1-0. On Saturday they went mightily close to emulating that momentous occasion with Bilic's injury-ravaged class of 2015.

Prior to being denied twice by the woodwork, Victor Moses had already missed a golden opportunity to open the scoring when he was foiled by David De Gea, who made a smart stop with his feet from West Ham's on-loan winger. But perhaps the most glaring miss of all came late on from Mauro Zarate, who found himself free inside the penalty area but unable to beat De Gea from no more than six yards out.




Had the Argentine's effort found the net it would have almost certainly secured a first Premier League win for the Hammers since the 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Chelsea at the back end of October. As it is they have to look forward to the visit of Stoke at the Boleyn Ground next weekend in order to break a disappointing recent run that has resulted in just three points gained from the last 15 available.

Despite missing key first team players such as Dimitri Payet, Diafra Sakho and Manuel Lanzini, United were well worth a point - at the very least. Winston Reid was a colossus in defence whilst James Tomkins once again filled in ably at right-back with Carl Jenkinson - who ended the game playing on the left-wing! - dropped.

A telling statistic is that from 20 shots at goal, Manchester United managed just one on target - testament to West Ham's defensive resolve. For their part the Hammers only managed two from their nine shots in total - although the woodwork saved our hosts on two further occasions, much to the frustration of Aaron Cresswell and Winston Reid.

Despite having fallen away from the higher echelons of the Premier League table in recent weeks, West Ham are back up into sixth place as a result of the draw - although Liverpool, Everton and Crystal Palace have a game in hand at time of writing. With the busy Christmas period just around the corner, Slaven Bilic will be hoping his squad can use Saturday's result as a springboard for more positive results as 2015 draws to an end.


13 December

As goalless draws go, West Ham's nil-nil with Stoke at the Boleyn has to go down as one of the more entertaining ones in recent times.

With the Hammers managing to produce more than 20 efforts at goal - and with nearly half of those on target - Jack Butland proved to be busier of the two goalkeepers on the day. However the Irons also had their custodian - Spanish stopper Adrian - to thank for ensuring they took a share of the spoils, after he made two superb saves in the losing stages to deny the Potters.

Mark Hughes' side, on a high following last weekend's victory against Manchester City may have produced fewer shots (12 in total) but always looked dangerous on the counter despite missing star man Xherdan Shaqiri. That, combined with City's physical threat - a lingering legacy of the Tony Pulis era - meant the Hammers defence had to be on their toes throughout.




Despite having witnessed his squad extend their run without a win to six matches Slaven Bilic was nonetheless reasonably pleased with the team's performance, specifically the number of occasions on which they managed to test Butland who has now managed to keep seven clean sheets in his last nine Premier League appearances.

However Bilic will no doubt be privately concerned at West Ham's inability to convert those chances and possession into goals, with his team having scored just three times in their last six fixtures - in stark contrast to the beginning of the season when they couldn't stop finding the net.

Much of that of course is down to the crippling injury situation at the club which has left Bilic without his main creative force Dimitri Payet and a supporting cast including Diafra Sakho, Manuel Lanzini and Victor Moses - the latter being the only player expected to feature again in 2015.

And there was further bad news in midweek as key defender Winston Reid was similarly ruled out for several weeks with a hamstring strain. The Kiwi became the latest in a long line of players to suffer a muscle injury during training at Chadwell Heath - a situation that prompted Bilic to being forward next summer's planned move to the club's Rush Green training complex with immediate effect.

Following their tough recent run of fixtures, it's lowly Swansea and Aston Villa who provide the next two opponents for West Ham. Fail to beat either of those and Bilic - who has been afforded an easy ride by supporters so far - may well begin to feel the heat for the first time since succeeding Sam Allardyce in the summer.

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