The Highest Highs from West Ham’s Season
By Jeff Catlin
Even in this pandemic-shortened offseason, there is still time to pause and take stock of the highest moments from West Ham United’s just-completed campaign.
West Ham’s Hot Start Under Manuel Pellegrini
Remember that? Remember him? It was a hot start for West Ham last August, at least after the 5-0 drubbing to Man City got the campaign started on the wrong foot.
But after that, league wins over Watford and Norwich were followed by one of the biggest highlights of the season: a 2-0 win over Manchester United. Also sandwiched in there were two League Cup victories and two draws. That saw the Hammers start with 11 points on just that one loss in the first six weeks.
The Man U match was memorable in part for the Aaron Creswell direct free kick that iced the game for WHU.
West Ham Completes Season Double over Chelsea
After that Manchester United victory; West Ham United did not win another league game for 7 match weeks. That poor run of form lasted from September all the way until the end of November. it ultimately cost Manuel Pellegrini his job, but first, his sacking was delayed.
Because when the side finally came out of it, it was another big win for Pellegrini—a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Lukasz Fabianski had been hurt, and the season had gone up in flames behind the morbid goalkeeping of Roberto. Until the Savior David Martin was given his first Premier League start at the age of 33 against the Blues.
He came up huge in every way imaginable getting a clean sheet and leaving the pitch in tears with cheers from his teammates.
Fast Forward nearly 7 months to the day—July 1 when the Hammers again played Chelsea, this time at home, and after having lost the first two matches of the re-start by equal 0-2 scorelines. The performance was surprising on every level. It also signalled the coming-out party for Antonio and Tomas Soucek as the dual beacons of light that would lead the Irons out of relegation darkness into the light of Premiership safety.
David Moyes Era 2.0 Starts with Big Win
David Moyes was hired by West Ham to replace Manuel Pellegrini after the Leicester loss on December 28.
It was just three days later in his first match in charge during Moyes-2.0 that the club took to the pitch to face Bournemouth at Olympic Stadium.
It couldn’t have gone better for Moyes or West Ham. Led by two goals from Mark Noble and one each from Sebastian Haller and Filipe Anderson. Not only did the Hammers win 4-0 but they earned a clean sheet to boot.
For this brief moment, before the club’s next run of 8 matches without a win, all was right with the Hammers and with the appointment of Moyes. And maybe, more importantly, the Manuel Pellegrini “era” thankfully was over.
Antonio Scores all 4 Goals vs Norwich
No player did more to carry, drag, and will West Ham to safety after the season restart than Michael Antonio. He made the strongest run possible over the final 9 matches of the season to bring himself into Hammer of the Year consideration.
The main beneficiary of his performances was the club itself. Nobody in the EPL scored more goals after the restart. Without his 8 goals over that period, of course, the Hammers would have gone down.
During his time at the club, the argument could be made that no player is more likeable, has a bigger smile on his face, or is endeared more by the club’s fans than Antonio. The argument could also be made that nobody has been more frustrating to watch than Antonio during his stay in East London.
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That’s why his four-goal outburst vs the Canaries was so loved by everyone around the club. The hugeness of the moment was only eclipsed by the hugeness of the heart inside his chest adorned with the West Ham badge. It was in this match that Antonio saved the season. It is irrelevant whether or not the mathematics of the table agreed with the emotion of that moment. He had done it.