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There is something wonderfully undignified about the Carabao Cup. It arrives in September, when the season is still young enough for supporters to be optimistic and old enough for managers to be under pressure, and asks everyone to pretend that a Tuesday night against Fulham is of enormous significance.

The players will say it is. The manager will say it is. The supporters will say it is, particularly if West Ham win. By Wednesday morning, nobody outside east London will remember it happened. Which, frankly, may be the healthiest attitude to have.




West Ham go into Tuesday night's third-round tie against Fulham in unusually good spirits after putting six past Wrexham. Six! This is West Ham, remember. Six goals is not a result; it is an administrative error..

There was even a period during the afternoon when the Hammers looked like a properly functioning football team. Players found each other. Shots went in. The ball occasionally behaved as though it had been instructed to do so. Supporters began to entertain that most dangerous of West Ham thoughts: perhaps things are actually going to be all right.

This should be discouraged.

West Ham supporters have been through this before. A decent performance appears, optimism escapes from its cage and by the following weekend the defence is standing around looking as though it has just been introduced to one another at a wedding.

Still, there is evidence of improvement. The team have now won four in succession and, after the rather grim business of relegation, there is at least a sense that they are beginning to rediscover some authority. The Wrexham victory was particularly welcome because it involved something West Ham have occasionally treated as an optional extra: scoring goals.

The danger is that Fulham will now arrive at the London Stadium and spoil everything.

Fulham have had a distinctly miserable beginning to life under Alvaro Arbeloa, losing their first three Premier League matches. This is unfortunate for Arbeloa, although perhaps rather fortunate for West Ham, who have a long and distinguished history of assisting struggling sides with their rehabilitation.




If a Premier League club is without a win, confidence is low, the manager is being questioned and the newspapers are beginning to use phrases such as "must improve defensively", there is an excellent chance that West Ham will turn up and offer emotional and practical support.

It is one of the club's more charitable traditions.

Fulham do at least possess considerable attacking ambition. They are getting plenty of players forward, taking shots and creating opportunities. Unfortunately, they have also been conceding goals with the sort of enthusiasm normally associated with an open day at a fire station.

This could suit West Ham.

The Hammers have spent much of their recent existence looking for an invitation to attack, and Fulham appear perfectly happy to provide one. The previous meeting between the clubs ended 1–0 to West Ham at Craven Cottage, which is precisely the sort of result supporters should not mention too loudly because football has an almost supernatural ability to punish confidence.

There is also the question of rotation. Cup football gives managers the opportunity to rest important players, experiment with formations and give squad members a chance. It is a sensible policy and therefore one which supporters generally hate when they see the team sheet.

Nobody wants to discover at 7.30pm that the manager has decided tonight is an excellent opportunity to give six unfamiliar players a chance to express themselves.Particularly against Fulham.




For West Ham, however, there is something to be said for taking the competition seriously. The club are rebuilding, confidence matters and winning football matches is a useful habit. The Carabao Cup may not be the ultimate prize, but neither is it something that needs to be discarded merely because Manchester City have not yet entered the competition.

And if West Ham can win a few rounds, there is always the possibility of that most intoxicating of footballing experiences: a cup run.

A cup run at West Ham is rather like buying a puppy. At the beginning it is delightful. Everyone is excited. You imagine long walks in the sunshine and happy evenings together. Eventually, it eats something expensive.

The immediate objective, though, is straightforward. Fulham have problems at the back. West Ham have discovered that scoring goals is allowed. The Hammers are at home and, for once, have a little momentum behind them.

So naturally I am worried. That is the correct emotional position for any West Ham supporter. We do not celebrate form. We cautiously observe it from behind reinforced glass.

The temptation will be to look at the Wrexham result and conclude that West Ham have turned a corner. Perhaps they have? Perhaps this is the beginning of something? Perhaps the team will continue scoring, the defence will settle down and the season will become a pleasant and orderly affair?

Alternatively, Fulham will score after four minutes from a corner, West Ham will spend the next 86 minutes attempting to pass through a wall and somebody on social media will announce that the manager has never understood football.

Both scenarios remain entirely plausible.




Prediction

West Ham Utd 2–1 Fulham: West Ham will score twice, Fulham will make it unnecessarily interesting, and supporters will leave the stadium simultaneously relieved and suspicious.
Which, in its own modest way, would constitute an entirely successful evening in east London.


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