Archive for February, 2025
Arsenal 0 West Ham 1
I wrote in a comment on a website before the game: “Expecting a defeat, but who knows? Stranger things have happened than kick-starting a so far below-par season at Arsenal! Don’t forget, West Ham have been the first team to beat the Gunners at their new home back in 2006 (and they‘ve been the last team to beat them at Highbury, too)…”
And really – it did happen! Arsenal was beaten again by West Ham at the Emirates. The Gunners lost the second home game against the Hammers in a row (December 2023 and now February 2025).
The defeat ended a run of 15 unbeaten matches in the Premier League for the Gunners. “Days after the title race had flickered back to life (with leaders Liverpool drawing at Everton and Aston Villa), West Ham United arrived at the Emirates Stadium and poured a bucket of cold water over the whole thing”, Sam Dean wrote in The Telegraph. Arsenal had ambitions of closing the gap at the top to five points but they failed to grasp the opportunity in their hands.
West Ham looked more comfortable throughout the game and took the lead after 44 minutes when Wan-Bissaka galloped down the right wing before producing the perfect cross for Jarrod Bowen. Declan Rice could not get to the ball in the box and Bowen headed it into the back of the net.
Especially impressive for West Ham was young Ollie Scarles, playing at left wing-back at the age of 19. Scarles went head-to-head with Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri in the battle of promising teenagers and mostly came out on top. “Some performance,” said manager Graham Potter of Scarles. “There is a lot to look forward to.”
For the West Ham supporters, this was unquestionably one of the most enjoyable days of their campaign. Not only did they see a victory for Graham Potter’s side and young Ollie Scarles put in a flawless performance, but they also watched Declan Rice – their former hero – be removed from the action before even an hour had passed. “You should have signed for a big club,” they sneered.
West Ham: Areola; Cresswell, Kilman, Todibo (Mavropanos), Scarles, Wan-Bissaka; Álvarez (Soler), Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Kudus; Bowen (Ferguson)
Goal: Jarrod Bowen (44′) – his 5o th top flight goal!
Conference League ausgelost
Der SK Rapid kennt nach der Auslosung am Freitag in Nyon seine Gegner in der K.O.-Phase der Europa Conference League. Und zwar nicht nur den Gegner im Achtelfinale am 6. und 13. März, Borac Banja Luka – sondern alle möglichen Kontrahenten auf dem Weg zum Finale in Breslau. Das ist der Turnierbaum, wie er am Freitag ausgelost wurde:
Der Zufall wollte es, dass Rapid auf die grüne Seite des Turnierbaumes gelost wurde. Dieser definiert nun wie zB bei Tennis-Turnieren, EM oder WM den weiteren Verlauf des Wettbewerbs.
Wenn Rapid das Achtelfinale übersteht, ist der nächste Gegner im Viertelfinale (10./17. April) der Sieger aus FC Pafos (Zypern) gegen Djurgarden. Im Semifinale (1. und 8. Mai) würde der Sieger warten, der aus den Paarungen Kopenhagen/Chelsea und Molde/Legia Warschau hervorgeht.
Gegen den FC Kopenhagen, der nun gegen den FC Chelsea spielt, hat Rapid in der letzten Begegnung der Gruppenphase 3:0 gewonnen.
Das Finale der Conference League wird am 28. Mai 2025 im Stadion Wrocław in Breslau/Polen ausgetragen.
Primrose Hill
Some typical examples of English self-deprecation and self-mockery, a widespread form of irony, especially among West Ham supporters 
A disappointing afternoon
Graham Potter had got two weeks of preparations ahead of West Ham’s match against Brentford as the Hammers didn’t have to play last weekend when the fourth round of the FA Cup had taken place.
But one could only wonder what the manager and his squad had done within this time. West Ham were shockingly weak in the first half of their game against Brentford.
They were lucky to go into the interval only 1-0 down as two more goals scored by the “Bees” were disallowed for offside. The Hammers’ display in defence as well as offence was dire and pathetic, and the halftime whistle was greeted with boos from some parts of the West Ham supporters.
The Hammers started into the game much better in the second half; with three changes made by Graham Potter who brought on James Ward-Prowse, Evan Ferguson and young Oliver Scarles in the 46th minute. And immediately there was much more energy and attacking spirit – at least within the first ten or 15 minutes after the break. But unfortunately Mohamed Kudus missed the Hammers‘ best chance almost immediately after the break when new loan signing Evan Ferguson had played him free at the edge of the box. And albeit the crowd were getting behind the team and there was a sense that the Hammers could at least take a point from this encounter, there weren’t many more clear-cut opportunities to get an equaliser, and Brentford was able to see the game out.
That was a very disappointing afternoon for the West Ham faithful and me at Stratford. We all were „SADDENED BY: West Ham’s inability to score a goal“, as Iain Dale put it in his Sunday newsletter a day after the game.
And also the way back to the hotel was tedious. It was raining and an east London Saturday evening traffic jam made the trip agonisingly slow. Bloody London! In the end I got off the bus and took a black cab for the last few miles paying over the odds for this ride back from West Ham’s defeat.
Some ham, bread, olives, red wine and Dubai chocolate as well as worship music helped to get into a better mood at last… but still “bloody football” somehow had ruined the day.
Tomorrow Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall as well as a Sunday service at HTB hopefully are going to raise the spirit!
Fehlstart
Update: auch das Auswärtsderby gegen die Wiener Austria ging 1:2 (1:1) verloren.
Update 2: LASK – SK Rapid 2:1 (1:0)
Wembley Toni
John Barbuti wrote an interesting piece on Austrian footballer Toni Fritsch in BBC Football Extra. Ahead of this weekend‘s Super Bowl and on the day when Austrian football finished its winter break, we remember a player who scored historic goals for the Austrian national team at the home of football, even earning him the nickname “Wembley Toni”, before switching to American Football, setting records and winning the Super Bowl. Toni is unique in having been an international footballer who went on to have a successful NFL career.
Aged 20, he was a promising striker for Rapid Vienna but would have been almost completely unknown to English football fans until he scored twice in five minutes as Austria beat England, twice coming from behind, 3-2 (0-1) on 20 October 1965 at Wembley, highlights available thanks to British Pathé.
This was an England side just months away from becoming World Champions, an England side that had only ever lost twice at home to sides outside the UK and an England side expected to thrash Austria.
Toni had other ideas, almost single-handidly silencing 65,000 fans when he scored in the 73rd and 80th minute but, alas, this was not to be the start of a very glorious football career. Toni three times won the Austrian Nationalliga and twice the ÖFB Cup with Rapid Vienna, but no further international goals would follow in nine matches, and also for Rapid the striker didn’t hit the back of the net regularly in his 123 league games for the green-whites.
Therefore aged 26, Toni thought that a change was needed, and it came when NFL side Dallas Cowboys set up their “Kicking Karavan” in Vienna and Toni had a trial with them. His first attempts at scoring field goals with the egg-shaped football were pretty successful. The scouts put a deal to Toni, the new recruit putting pen to paper on a contract he probably understood little of not knowing a word of English.
As if written by Hollywood, Fritsch’s kicking success helped the Cowboys to the Super Bowl in his first season (1971), but injury ruled him out of the game itself. He had earned his Super Bowl Ring though and next season his influence only grew, setting a franchise record for field goals. He also, as you can watch here, introduced the Rabona to the NFL, using it at a crucial moment in a playoff game.
Fritsch’s NFL career lasted from 1971 to 1982 and was very successful. He had seasons leading the league for kicking points scored and three where he was top for field goal kicking percentage. He received Pro Bowl and All Bowl honours and 20 years after winning the Austrian title in football, was coming out of retirement to play for the Houston Gamblers where he would have an 84% field goal success rate.
He was to settle in Houston, but regularly returned to his birth city of Vienna. Tragically, on one such visit, he died aged 60, suffering a heart attack on 13 September 2005. Tickets were found in his jacket for the following night’s Champions League clash between Rapid Vienna and Bayern Munich. The crowd observed a minute of silence in his honour. In 2011, the “Toni-Fritsch-Weg” in Vienna-Floridsdorf (21st district) was named after him.
What an extraordinary story written by the ex-Rapid Vienna player Toni Fritsch!
Three In in the Window
New West Ham manager Graham Potter who replaced Julen Lopetegui by the beginning of January oversaw a quiet transfer window. West Ham had to wait until Deadline Day to recruit a much-needed forward following the injuries to Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Niclas Füllkrug. The new signing is someone Graham Potter knows very well in Evan Ferguson, who has joined on loan until the end of the season from Brighton. In his first interview after signing for the Hammers Evan explained that he considers himself an “old school number nine” who just wants to score goals.
Potter gave the 20 year old Irish international his Premier League debut at Brighton. Let’s hope Evan will do well at London Stadium and score the goals which help West Ham move up the table and bring some delight to their suffering fans. Unfortunately West Ham have not included an option to buy in their loan deal with the Seagulls which means that Evan might have to return to Brighton in the summer.
An other Deadline Day signing is James Ward Prowse who was recalled from his loan to Nottingham Forest. JWP has only made three late substitute appearances in the Premier League since Christmas, and his comeback at West Ham should be a fresh start and a new opportunity for the player who did very well under David Moyes before he left for Nottingham in the summer.
West Ham’s first signing of the window was young striker Josh Landers (17) who joined from Hibernians Edinburgh and will play for the Hammers’ development squad.
With manager Graham Potter’s arrival West Ham have also appointed a new head of recruitment: Tim Steidten was replaced by Kyle Macaulay who already worked with Graham Potter at Chelsea and Brighton. It is understood Steidten did not lead West Ham’s recruitment in the January transfer window.
West Ham have loaned out Maxwel Cornet to Genoa and young defender Michael Forbes to Colchester Utd.
1 W – 1 D – 3 L
Graham Potter has managed the Hammers in five games so far, starting with a narrow 1-2 defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round. In his next game Fulham was beaten 3-2 at the London Stadium, followed by a 0-2 home defeat to Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace and a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa away. In this week’s Monday night game West Ham took the lead against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but conceded two goals in the second half and condemned Graham Potter to his third defeat in five matches. West Ham skipper Jarrod Bowen had returned from injury in this game and scored the first goal (his sixth of the season) for the Irons.
The next game will not take place on the upcoming FA Cup weekend due to West Ham’s defeat in the third round in Graham Potter’s first game in charge. Therefore their next match will not be played before Saturday, 15 February, 3 p.m. at London Stadium against Brentford.
I am looking much forward to this game, having bought a ticket for it from the Ticket Exchange! Let’s hope that on this trip to London I will be able to witness a West Ham win!
Come on you Irons!
EXTRA TIME 
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