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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 January and February in part seven of our review...


21 February

West Ham were simply too good for Championship side Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Sunday afternoon as they eased their way through to the quarter finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2011.

A brace apiece from Dimitri Payet and new signing Emmanuel Emenike - combined with a Vic Moses strike that cancelled out Ben Marshall's early opener (NB. another slow start from the Hammers) - sent West Ham through to a potential last eight encounter with Manchester United at Old Trafford.




League One Shrewsbury, who face Man U in the last of the eight fifth round fixtures tonight (Monday) will no doubt have something to say about that - and who's to say the League One side won't be able to overcome a distinctly lacklustre Mancunian outfit?

But even if they fail, West Ham should have little to fear about facing Louis Van Gaal's expensively-assembled, ragtag gang of misfits who have flattered to deceive for much of the campaign and have been unable to beat United in either of their last two meetings.

Indeed, should they continue to play as they did on Sunday, the Hammers should fear nobody. The gulf in class between Bilic's side and Paul Lambert's Championship strugglers was vast and clearly evident and, bar Marshall's early effort, which caught Darren Randolph unsighted, this really was a case of men against boys.

Spurred on by more than 7,000 travelling supporters, who had made the 250-mile trip from London to the North West, West Ham scored five, had two efforts disallowed for offside and hit the post. Had they scored ten, Rovers fans would have had little cause for complaint.

At the heart of almost everything good that came from West Ham was Dimitri Payet, who is clearly revelling in his role as the club's poster boy.

Happy with his new contract and adored by the fans, the 28-year-old midfielder scored another wonderful first half free kick before wrapping up the game with a virtuoso effort that involved a fifty-yard run and the beating of several opponents, whom he left trailing in his wake.

It would have been a perfect day for West Ham had Cheik Kouyate not been sent off midway through the second half after he was deemed to have denied a goalscoring opportunity by referee Jon Moss, thus earning a one-match suspension.

However West Ham believe they have a good chance of overturning the decision upon appeal because Kouyate's (minimal) contact with Adam Henley was clearly accidental and the striker had already lost control of the ball, which was racing away towards 'keeper Darren Randolph, before contact was made.


28 February

The press room at the Boleyn Ground was unusually busy on Saturday afternoon as the media assembled to witness former manager Sam Allardyce's return to the East End.

However those journalists who were present expecting to report on 'Big Sam's savaging by ungrateful West Ham supporters' were to be left disappointed. Not a single boo or jeer - nor any kind of negative chant, for that matter - was aimed at Slaven Bilic's predecessor as the Hammers secured three more vital Premier League points against Allardyce's new club, Sunderland.




Instead, supporters used the occasion to mark their appreciation of Bilic's regime by chanting HIS name on numerous occasions times during the match - a gesture that was rarely if ever offered to the abrasive Allardyce. (Excepting perhaps the 2012 play-off final when fans adapted ad hoc the chorus of Coldplay's 'Paradise' to 'Alla, Alla, Alladyce'!)

West Ham - who with Bilic's guidance have been transformed into genuine contenders for a European spot - struggled to get out of second gear against their relegation-threatened opponents but still managed to grab a win thanks to Michail Antonio's excellent first half strike, his fifth since joining West Ham back in September.

And although they were on the backfoot for much of the second period, Bilic's side did just about enough to keep the Black Cats at bay - although it should be noted that West Ham also hit the woodwork twice (via Mark Noble and Andy Carroll efforts) and had a very decent penalty appeal ignored by referee Mike Dean.

Still, there was something quite ironic about winning this particular fixture by one goal to nil, with a backs-to-the-wall ending; it could be said that Bilic simply out-Allardyce'd Sam Allardyce!

The win takes West Ham back above Southampton and Manchester United into fifth spot in the Premier League. And it's to the latter that the Hammers will return for a second time this season for the quarter finals of the FA Cup, the draw for which was made last Sunday following West Ham's 5-1 fifth round demolition of Blackburn.

Allocated just shy of 10,000 tickets, West Ham sold their entire quota for next month's tie at Old Trafford within 24 hours. Fans, thousands of whom were left ticketless and disappointed genuinely believe that Bilic's team have a genuine chance of reaching the semi finals this year - despite being granted what would traditionally be perceived as one of the toughest away draws.

Additionally, West Ham's FA Cup pedigree against the Red Devils is impressive having beaten them at the fifth round (1986) and semi final (1964) stages previously. And who can forget Paolo Di Canio scoring a 76th-minute, fourth round winner at Old Trafford in January 2001 as goalkeeper Fabien Barthez hailed an imaginary taxi?


6 March

Last November a dreadful challenge by Everton's James McCarthy sidelined West Ham's Dimitri Payet for the remainder of 2015.

So it was poetic justice when the brilliant Frenchman popped up inside the Toffees' six-yard box during Saturday's return meeting between the two clubs to score the winning goal, as West Ham recorded their first win on the Blue side of Stanley Park since December 2005.




And what an incredible win it was for Slaven Bilic's side, who were two goals behind with less than fifteen minutes of normal time remaining before staging a remarkable comeback to steal all three points, courtesy of Payet's last-minute winner.

Having fallen behind to strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Aaron Lennon, Adrian made a brilliant save from a (Lukaku) penalty to prevent West Ham from going 3-0 down - at which point the travelling fans must have been wondering whether the early start had been worth it!

However their patience and endeavour was ultimately rewarded as West Ham staged an epic comeback. Michail Antonio, prolific of late scored United's first on 78 minutes, the returning Diafra Sakho levelled the game three minutes later - and Payet – who else? - grabbed the winner, just as added-on time commenced.

The victory - West Ham's third in a week, following the wins against Sunderland and Tottenham - lifted Bilic's side back above Manchester United into fourth place in the Premier League, thus keeping alive the Irons' hopes of ending what is already a memorable campaign in a European position.

But which competition that will be in remains to be seen, with the Hammers now presenting a very real threat to those clubs hoping to finish in the top four and qualify for next season's Champions League.

Just three points separate West Ham and second-placed Arsenal, who drew at Spurs on Saturday and whilst Bilic won't dare speak of it, a spot in Europe's premier competition is certainly within reach. Unlikely still - but who thought Leicester City would be title favourites in March!?

However all thoughts of Premier League success will be set aside for the next week or so as attention returns to the FA Cup, where a tantalising quarter final tie at Old Trafford awaits.

West Ham have enjoyed mixed FA Cup fortunes against Manchester United in recent seasons. Few present on the day will forget Paolo Di Canio's winning goal in a 2001, fourth round meeting; few who witnessed the Gary Breen-inspired 6-0 defeat two years later will wish to remember it!

More recently, in a 2013 third round tie, the Hammers were seconds away from securing a 2-1 win at the Boleyn Ground when Robin Van Persie grabbed a last-minute equaliser, taking the tie back to Old Trafford for a replay - which the hosts won 1-0.

But this is a very different West Ham team right now - and one that has every chance of turning the tables and securing a place in this year's FA Cup semi finals.


20 March

When both sets of players and managers agree that a player has been harshly sent off, it's difficult to express sympathy with the referee. And when your team had been the victim of a string of similarly-poor calls, it's perhaps no surprise that conspiracy theories begin to emerge,

Only two people have been outspoken in their support of referee Mark Clattenburg's decision to dismiss Cheik Kouyate for a robust but fair challenge on Dwight Gayle during Saturday's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Boleyn Ground.




One was MotD's commentator, whose view can be dismissed on the basis that he claimed Kouyate went into the challenge two-footed and with studs showing - which simply didn't happen. The other was pundit and ex-Arsenal star Ian Wright, who face the Hammers in their next fixture - sans the influential Kouyate, as it stands.

At the risk of beginning to sound like a broken record, Slaven Bilic's frustration is entirely understandable. Robbed of an FA Cup semi final spot at Old Trafford and two vital Premier League points at Stamford Bridge days later thanks to dreadful decisions, West Ham's season is being affected - negatively - by bad calls from officials.

And the myth which suggests these poor decisions even themselves out over the course of the season is just that - a falsehood that simply has no evidence to support it, yet plenty to suggest otherwise.

In order to determine how much teams are affected, over at Talksport they have been compiling a list of incorrect decisions by referees throughout the season. The aforementioned conspiracists won't be shocked to see the Hammers bottom of this table, having received four incorrect calls in their favour this term - and 11 against.

Conversely, the table is topped by Manchester United (eight for, one against), Leicester (surprisingly perhaps with twelve for and seven against) and then Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City.

So whilst it may be going too far to suggest the game is bent - even though it has been claimed in recent days that a great number of Premier League stars have been administered performance-enhancing drugs - it seems that somehow, enough pressure is being exerted upon match officials to cause them to award marginal decisions in favour of the league's elite clubs when push comes to shove.

However the real shame about Kouyate's dismissal and Clattenburg's generally awful performance is that it completely overshadowed another incredible free kick by Dimitri Payet, who is probably the world's premier dead ball specialist at this point in time.

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