Item and points lost
The home game against Bournemouth on Saturday evening was a game in which West Ham could have climbed out of the relegation zone with a win. And you could feel from the kick-off that there was determination in the team and West Ham was trying everything to get this win. Albeit the score on this wet evening at London Stadium remained 0-0 until the final whistle.
The match had started with a shot from new signing Axel Disasi which was cleared from the line in the very first minute, and it ended with a last chance to score midway through six added minutes, but also in this case Bowen‘s attempt from close range was blocked by a Bournemouth defender.
The mood of the crowd leaving the London Stadium quickly and quietly after the final whistle wasn’t anger, and I hadn’t seen any protest against the board during this game. The crowd had supported the team most of the time throughout the game, and as the result hadn’t been because of a lack of trying there was no reason for the claret and blue army to be angry, just sad. It seemed many of those who silently queued on the way to Stratford possibly were on the verge of already giving up hope that the drop can be avoided this season.
After all this time it hadn’t been a late equaliser which had deflated the mood like in the last home game against Manchester United when West Ham were denied a win and had to settle with a 1-1 draw due to a goal conceded in the 96th minute. The Hammers had managed to keep a clean sheet (only the third time this season) and according to the BBC they finished with twice as many shots as Bournemouth (20-10), their most in a Premier League game this season. But only three were on target and the hosts had problems to open up the Cherries until the latter stages, with Taty Castellanos flashing an overhead kick narrowly wide and Callum Wilson being the biggest threat when he came on with 18 minutes giving the Hammers’ new Argentina striker some company up front.
Well, that’s another two points lost anyway and West Ham’s attempt to climb out of the relegation zone was halted. They still have to be searching desperately for matches which can be won, quite similar to me when I couldn’t find my newly bought blue cap after alighting from the train back to central London after the game.
And with Liverpool, Man City and Fulham being the opponents in the next upcoming games, West Ham’s search for points could be as futile as entering my data into the “lost items form” on the website of c2c rail company. Nottingham Forest (now two points ahead of the Irons with one game in hand) could well be farer away within the next weeks than it was this weekend though also they are playing opponents which are not easy to beat.
However, with one night between me and the match now, and considering the fact that West Ham haven’t been defeated and eventually have gained one more point, why give up hope before the Old Fat Lady has sung? Hope springs eternal, as the saying goes, and there are still eleven games to be played until the end of the season! And after all, Nottingham Forest have lost to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, and the item I lost on the train wasn’t the bag with the new books on West Ham‘s history which I collected from their author Tim Crane. I had met him at Sadler’s Well East before the game (pictured above).
Or will it be “the hope that kills you“ and the bubbles I’m blowing will burst nevertheless come the end of the season?
Come on you Irons! We‘re West Ham‘s claret and blue army, forever blowing bubbles anyway!
Seven points …
A winless run which was stretched to ten games by the beginning of the year due to a 0-3 defeat at home to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest resulted in a gap of seven points between Forest in 17th and WHU in 18th. It’s also exactly seven points which West Ham could have added to their tally if they had been able to see out these games:
07.12.25 vs. Brighton (1:1): equaliser conceded 90.+1 minute.
27.12.25 vs. Fulham (0:1): lost because of a goal in the 85th minute.
06.01.26 vs. Nottingham (1:2): Forest scored from the penalty spot in the 89th minute.
31.01.26 vs. Chelsea (2:3): Decisive goal conceded in the 88th minute.
10.02.26 vs. Man Utd: equaliser in the 95th minute (Benjamin Sesko) – a cruel blow for West Ham after having led since the 50th minute courtesy of Tomaš Souček‘s goal. The Hammers were so close to moving level with Nottingham Forest this evening! There hadn’t been an atmosphere like this at London Stadium for a long time.
2nd clean sheet of 2025/26
First-half goals from Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos gave West Ham United a crucial 2-0 Premier League victory at Burnley on Saturday. This was Summerville‘s 5th goal in as many games ⚒️ and it was only the second time this season that West Ham kept a clean sheet, the first one since August against Nottingham Forest (interestingly both coming with Hermansen in goal and Areola on the bench)! 🥅 Well, originally I thought it was the first shutout, but Clemens from the Austrian Irons told me that it wasn’t the first – but it certainly felt like it.
Three massive points won! The Hammers are now only three points behind Nottingham Forest. That’s what the bottom of the Premier League table looks like on Sunday evening:
West Ham‘s Second Anthem
Official music video: ▶️ youtu.be
The line of the song lyrics “Past the Boleyn to the bowl” also highlights the change that took place with the move from the beloved old ground near Upton Park station to the Olympic Stadium at Stratford in 2016.
Now West Ham have a second song alongside well-known “Bubbles”, which has been sung on the terraces since the 1920s.
West Ham’s next fixtures
After West Ham closed the gap from 18th to 17th to two points yesterday, Nottingham Forest responded to make it five again with a massively important 2-0 win at Brentford, and West Ham is again five points from safety. That’s going to be an uphill battle for West Ham and if they survive, this will be very, very close.
Let’s take a look at the Hammers’ upcoming fixtures. Where could the points be coming from?
It’s only halftime at London Stadium
A superb first half for West Ham meant that the Hammers led 3-0 at home at the interval in a Premier League match for the first time since July 2020 against Watford.
The home side hardly put a foot wrong in the first half, contributing to an electric atmosphere inside London Stadium.
Once again the Hammers were inspired by captain Jarrod Bowen who crossed for Summerville‘s header and converted a penalty to make it 2-0. Mateys Fernandes then found the top corner from long range with a thunderbolt strike.
With the assist and his goal 29-year-old Bowen became the outright Premier League goal involvements leader for West Ham (102 – 62 goals and 40 assists), overtaking Michail Antonio (101).
Final score: 3-1 (BBC)
The result means West Ham have won three games in a row in all competitions for the first time since November 2023.
It backs up their victory at Tottenham last weekend and increased pressure on relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.
The Hammers are now 2 points behind Nottingham Forest and 5 behind Leeds United. Forest take on Brentford away from home on Sunday while Leeds travel to Everton on Monday.
‘Within touching distance’ – the case for West Ham survival
There have only ever been six teams that have avoided Premier League relegation having been seven or more points from safety after at least 21 games played.
They are:
- West Bromwich Albion in 2004-05 – eight points from safety after 27 games
- Portsmouth in 2005-06 – eight points from safety after 28 games
- West Ham in 2006-07 – 10 points from safety after 29 games
- Sunderland in 2013-14 – seven points from safety after 32 games
- Leicester in 2014-15 – seven points from safety after 29 games
- Aston Villa in 2019-20 – seven points from safety after 34 games
Can it be done again?
Saturday, 17 January 2026: Tottenham v West Ham 1-2 (0-1)
One week ago the Hammers lost 0-3 against relegation rivals Nottingham Forest at London Stadium and were 7 points from safety. But this win over Tottenham has instilled new belief into West Ham’s squad and supporters and could be the starting point for an escape from relegation, just like an other game against Tottenham was instrumental in West Ham’s “greatest escape” of 2007!
West Ham’s “Greatest Escape” in the PL season of 2006/07: The chart⬆️ shows league position and points accumulation on West Ham match days or days when their position was altered by other results.
On 4 March 2007 it was a game against Tottenham at Upton Park in which West Ham lead 2-0 at halftime, but eventually lost 3-4, which despite of the defeat, galvanised the struggling team and was the starting point of the “greatest escape” as described in a book with the subtitle “The craziest season in West Ham United’s history” by Daniel Hurley (pictured above).
The main reason why in my opinion this game was crucial for the Hammers’ race to catch up with the teams ahead of them and avoid the drop were the first two goals scored at Upton Park that afternoon: for the first one 19-year-old Academy product Mark Noble got on the scoresheet, and the second one was scored by Carlos Tevez who converted a free kick, making it 2-0. Being that his first goal for West Ham he famously celebrated it by getting of his shirt and jumping into the crowd.
After this game the Hammers started a streak of wins beginning with an away victory at Blackburn in which Tevez scored again! But it was the defeat against Tottenham which had shown the team and its manager Alan Curbishley that they were able to compete with the clubs ahead of them in the table and that Carlos Tevez eventually had “arrived” in the Premier League and would be able to do brilliant things with confidence regained!
Every season is different, and this time West Ham is not 11 points from safety with only nine games to go! But maybe in 2025/26 it could also be a game against Tottenham which made us realise that after ten winless league games winning is still possible for the Hammers and that fortune isn’t always hiding! A potential penalty for Spurs in the 85th minute wasn’t given and Callum Wilson scored the winner for West Ham in injury time!
Let’s hope that, as Clemens texted in the Austrian Irons WhatsApp group, the victory against Spurs will give us a bit of a boost and motivation, and we can continue to score goals and win points in the next few games.
Anyway, signing new centre-back would still be very important in this transfer window…
Come on you Irons!
Biggest FA Cup Shock
Macclesfield v Crystal Palace 2-1
The winners of last season’s FA Cup final have been eliminated by non league team Macclesfield in the third round of the FA Cup. The National League North side defeated FA Cup holders Crystal Palace 2-1 on Saturday despite being ranked 117 league places below the Premier League club:
-> https://www.instagram.com/reel=
Sixth-tier Macclesfield could lay claim to having produced the greatest upset in the FA Cup’s 155-year history, as in the competition’s history never a team with a difference in league position of 117 places has beaten the higher ranked team.
West Ham’s first win since 8 November
On Sunday West Ham United were playing QPR at the London Stadium. They won 2-1 after extra time. New signing Taty Castellanos who joined from Lazio on Monday and Crysencio Summerville scored the goals.
EXTRA TIME 
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