West Ham Banter

14 Apr 2026 04:26:21
Leeds beating Man United is the last thing we wanted. That victory may well reduce the drop contenders to just us, Spurs and Forest, depending on who keeps their nerve. This will go to the wire.

14 Apr 2026 08:56:07
Agreed, Leeds were very good. Man U were poor, not a result. We were expecting that, however, the reverse side of the coin is, a dozen games ago you couldn't imagine West Ham would have a chance to escape in their own hands, and the final game against Leeds they will probably be safe by then.

Long way to go, Joyfull.

14 Apr 2026 10:00:34
The hope now is, if Leeds are to pull away, then they have nothing to play for in the last game. We only need to end up above 1 of them.

14 Apr 2026 11:01:49
Didn't see that one coming at all. First win at OT for 45 years, and Leeds league form has been poor of late. 😳

14 Apr 2026 11:48:13
Leeds were great, played with no fear and went for it. If they can win their FA Cup semi and are safe for the last game, it could work in our favour. It's still in our hands; we just need to be brave, like Leeds were last night.

14 Apr 2026 13:59:59
That's how we must approach the Palace game. We need something from every game. If we sit back, there will be punishment; they are safe and we cannot count on Spurs losing.

How many points do we need?

Pundits are split between 6/8/10. I think 8 will do the job: two wins, two draws. Won't be easy. Joyful.

13 Apr 2026 07:39:03
{Ed's Note - Davey Sulls has posted a new article entitled, Why Iraola Fits Liverpool Better Than Alonso

12 Apr 2026 16:46:01
Great weekend for us, out of the relegation zone and, importantly, back in our hands. Need to be brave against Palace and want to win now. Don't try and play for the point as typically this hasn't been good for us. 6 cup finals left to save our prem status

12 Apr 2026 18:14:30
Yep, totally agree, Robbo. Without trying to concentrate on other results (I'm going to 😀) the Palace result today was a good one for us, as that takes away any possibility, no matter how slim, of them going down. But I'm sure they would still like to get one over on us as Simon Jordan doesn't seem to like us much.

13 Apr 2026 12:02:37
I think playing a 4-4-2 v Palace will work quite well tbh. We can even use Bowen and Summerville to pin back their wing backs. Taty and Pablo keep the 3 CBs busy. Just need a strong performance in the middle of the park, as that's where maybe Palace look stronger.

10 Apr 2026 21:56:37
Never saw that coming, after the first half! Joyfull.

10 Apr 2026 22:49:31
Good win. Nice to be able to apply some pressure on other teams around us.

Defence much better, and looked better going forward. Mavro makes a massive difference.

10 Apr 2026 23:52:45
Just got home and bravo to the boys in claret and blue. Started nervously and u could tell. But what a second half. So many good performances tonight, Pablo's flick to set up Taty (who worked his socks off) was sublime, defence looked a lot better with Mavro, Disasi, KWP and Diouf. We now have momentum, so let's not get carried away but hope we can take that momentum into the game with Palace.



Spurs now in bottom 3 and a tough game at Sunderland.

Ironically, we scored two goals from corners, our Achilles all season.

Atmosphere was fantastic as well.

Last thought, if you'd offered Nuno a penalty shootout loss to Leeds in the Cup followed by a 4-0 win over Wolves he'd have snatched your hand off, so maybe good decision after all.

11 Apr 2026 00:02:49
I've just made it back home. I think it was the obligatory game of 2 halves. The first half was absolutely awful; we were dreadful, and I thought the nervousness of the team matched the crowd. Second half was miles better, and as you say, Mac, the atmosphere was rocking. So nice to leave the ground with a spring in your step.

11 Apr 2026 10:04:46
Absolutely, Hammer-D. The place was rocking when we stepped it up in the second half, and you could feel the buzz.

I'd be happy with a point at Palace, who are beatable, but 3 would be better and we might have AWB back.

11 Apr 2026 10:49:23
Mac, I think AWB is back, but Nuno has chosen to play KWP because he didn't do too bad v Leeds and also AWB was really poor against Villa. I personally prefer AWB as he has been a stand out performer for last 2 seasons and tends to play well against his old clubs.

11 Apr 2026 14:02:37
I'd stick with KWP - he's done nothing wrong in last 2 games, AWB is undoubtedly a more talented player, but I like teams to stick with players when they've given no reason to drop them.

10 Apr 2026 17:02:00
Well here we are, nearly time, we must start getting points on the board.
Can’t depend on others dropping points, let’s go Irons

Joyfull.

10 Apr 2026 20:08:46
Nervous tension in the air, you can feel it, and Wolves have started brightly.

10 Apr 2026 20:47:43
Not a great performance so far, but it doesn't matter, all about the result. I really hope that Nuno doesn't try to shut up shop now, or we are in trouble.

Don't know if anyone noticed, on 44 mins Soucek trying to take quick throw on our right and Nuno stopping him, it's too soon to start time wasting!

10 Apr 2026 20:49:48
Mavropanos is king! Pablo needs to be replaced by Wilson. Why he started, I'll never know.

10 Apr 2026 22:02:38
Wow, apart from a bit of Diouf's psychedelics at the back, I thought we looked pretty solid at the back. Wolves started fumbling in midfield 2nd half & we capitalised. Not sure what Super Mav is drinking, but I'll have a bit of that. Bowen & Taty did really well. Super chuffed.

10 Apr 2026 22:11:59
That is a great result! Mav is indeed King and shows the difference between him and Kilman, which is just stark! The partnership with Disasi is looking really solid... Whoever said Kilman should never pull the shirt on again might just get their wish, not even in the squad again.

10 Apr 2026 23:46:34
Couldn't agree more with you, Dabber! Makes a change for me, but unlike another, at least you didn't come out with nonsense about Nuno being right to put out a weakened team in the cup! 😄 COYI!

11 Apr 2026 10:29:11
One lesson we must learn is not to get carried away. Wolves were not easy to beat. They came so close on several occasions, the score could have been very different. We also had a number of near misses. 4-4-2 is definitely our most productive formation, as the record clearly shows.

Dino was simply magnificent, and Bowen was incredibly unlucky. Palace next, and they won't be easy, but as long as Nuno doesn't revert to a defensive setup, they are certainly beatable. COYI!

11 Apr 2026 11:47:13
I'd like to make mention of Hermandsen, who, quite rightly, was slaughtered on here at the start of the season. Since his return, in which his form has been very good, the defence has looked more assured, and we look less likely to concede. Yes, he's made a couple of mistakes, but goalkeepers do, and when they do they're highlighted.

We are much better playing out of the defence when he plays, and he doesn't panic and punt the ball straight back to the opposition. Palace, as you say TL, won't be easy, but they have blown hot and cold, and I get a serious feeling of confidence flowing through the players, club and fans. I think we win it.

11 Apr 2026 13:48:10
I think the result was so important, and the resounding scoreline. I am pretty sure none of us are under any illusions that it was a masterclass, because for 40 minutes it definitely wasn’t. Have to agree regarding Mav, Bowen and Mads H's comments. I would throw in Fernandez and Disasi, who have made such a difference to us.

Need to sign him up asap. One small, almost unnoticeable thing I will point out that I liked was the bringing on of Potts and Magassa, who both had absolute shockers last week. Yet we know they are both really good young players, and by bringing them into the Frey, it says to them you are still important cogs in the bigger wheel.

11 Apr 2026 15:31:35
Fair point, Hammer.
Traore and Pablo can't hit a barn door with a target painted on it in luminous paint, but Nuno keeps playing them. I can understand Traore, but Pablo? Apart from that flick onto Taty, he contributed nothing. Wilson should start instead of him, and maybe replace him around 60 mins with Pablo?

11 Apr 2026 19:15:04
I think a lot of the current selection choices/dilemmas are good ones to have. I totally agree, Tin, that Wilson is a far better player. So, it may seem ridiculous to say I don't mind starting with Pablo, simply because I feel he works so hard he tires out the defenders, and then bring on someone like Wilson, who can actually finish. But it wouldn't bother me if he starts with Wilson.

It's the same with the right-back position. AWB or KWP are both decent and can do a job. As long as we play the same way we played for most of the second half, I would be happy.
I definitely don't want to get carried away, as it's only one win against the bottom side. But the next 2 matches are definitely winnable. They will be difficult, but 4 or 6 points are not beyond the bounds of reality. 🤞

12 Apr 2026 04:37:04
Pablo is never going to score, but he works a back line. He reminds me of Joelinton, brought as a forward but ends in centre mid.

12 Apr 2026 10:21:18
Harry Prickley's never going to score either, but that's because he's a postman. He doesn't get picked to play for West Ham though.

06 Apr 2026 07:15:07
Was at the game. I don’t know why he put Bowen on the left and Traore on the right in the first half. When they switched second half, it was much better. Wilson was fit but not even in squad. We had an opportunity to go to Wembley and he bottled it 🤷

06 Apr 2026 09:08:03
Theme of the season, bottling it. How many games and points have been thrown away this season? I honestly think we don't have the manager, tactics, players, or character to stay up. I think Wolves is a much tougher game than the banker 3 points everyone thinks it is.

I think Spurs will improve under De Zerbi, not massively, but they don't need to, as we are serial capitulators and will do them favours before the end of the season anyway.

06 Apr 2026 09:34:51
You are right, he did bottle it yesterday. It almost seemed that he was prepared to forfeit the game yesterday, which isn't acceptable. But I don't think most people think it is a 3 point banker, as Wolves are one of the form teams and have had a nice long break between games, and they have beaten us twice this season.


I personally feel, unless Disasi is injured, and we get back Mavropanos JCT back, we will win. Obviously, he has to see that we have to start with the same set up as the second half. If you can take a positive from a bad result, we're Disasi, Traore and Kane's performance and KWP wasn't bad.

06 Apr 2026 12:41:52
To be honest, I think he will bottle it again and play for the point against Wolves, especially after they pumped us last time. No leadership in the team to take the game by scruff of the neck, so we will just be passive again. If Summerville isn't back, and Kilman plays, we will lose.

06 Apr 2026 12:52:33
Philosophical question, what is more important, staying up or a semi final at Wembley? Let me be clear, I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, by the way, but I guess the owners do .....
I've been a critic of Nuno, but it was quite clear yesterday that he was under orders to give priority to the league, as why would Wilson, AWB and Hermandsen not even be on the bench? If that were his orders, he delivered the perfect result.

We lost on penalties, a lottery, performed fairly well going forward and again showed fight. More importantly, we go into Friday's game with some momentum, not off the back of 2 defeats. The guy is working for megalomaniac owners and with a paper thin squad .....

06 Apr 2026 15:46:53
Why does it have to be one or the other? Nuno has thrown away a ton of points already this season without the FA Cup as an excuse. Remember that run of games where we didn't have a striker and he still wouldn't pick Wilson? But yesterday he was now saving him? He wouldn't pick him anyway.

If he was saving anyone, Taty wouldn't have played; he picked Bowen, Fernandes and Disasi. If he was resting people, he would have rested those.

06 Apr 2026 16:37:51
Personally, I think he was right not to play Summerville yesterday. Being an ex-Leeds player, he'd have been targeted.
Wolves, Palace, Brentford, Everton are far more important. We need a minimum of 6 from those.
Kilman didn't have a bad game yesterday, although he did give away the penalty.

Pedro was brought to score and is just not good enough. Overall, it was an exciting final 45 minutes yesterday, and we got beat.
On to Wolves now... a game we must win. I accept a dreary 1~0.

06 Apr 2026 16:50:43
That very question has come up on a few other West Ham sites.
As Robbo says, we should want both. But, I would say this is one of the only years that, if you ask my preference, I would choose prem survival over the cup. Let me make it clear that, normally, it wouldn’t be the case, because I don’t want to support a tedious side whose whole reason for being is premiership survival. Football is about entertainment and occasionally winning stuff, and, as we are unlikely to win the title and rely on cups, one sad benefit of being 60 is being able to remember and celebrate 2 of our 3 cup wins.

But this shower in the boardroom has got us into such a chronic financial situation that I fear if we drop we could end up like Sheffield Wednesday or, worse still, Bury!
Leader-wise, most agree it shouldn’t be Jarrod, and there is currently nobody to galvanise us, but I would put 2 candidates forward. Fernandez or Disasi.

06 Apr 2026 16:51:12
I quite agree with you, Robbo. I don't think Nuno was under any specific orders. That's exactly how he's been all season. We could have fielded a stronger starting Xi and played a positive 4-4-2 system from the start, but no, this bottle merchant stuck, true to form. Nuno is bloody clueless. It's not in his DNA to go for it. When it all goes tits up, as usual, we're left scrabbling around trying to get back in the game.

His team selection was all wrong; his tactics were all wrong; his substitutions were questionable. Leeds weren't that great, but our manager totally f***ed up and our brave fightback in the first part of the second half and in injury time should have not been necessary. We could have won that game, but for our manager. I fear for Friday and our survival.

06 Apr 2026 18:34:30
I can't argue with much of the second paragraph, Tin, but not sure about the subs being questionable. If you are referring to Magassa and Potts being hooked, then that was absolutely the right decision, as they were both absolutely useless. One thing you can't blame a manager for is putting in performances like they produced yesterday.

06 Apr 2026 19:56:24
I was thinking more of replacing Taty and bringing on Kante and Pablo. I think the latter is useless.

06 Apr 2026 20:40:35
Fair enough. 👍

07 Apr 2026 06:12:32
I watched a video on TWW last night and it was confirmed Dabber was right, as West Ham hierarchy confirmed that Premier League survival was the priority, and they didn't want Summerville, Mav and JCT risked for the match.


For me, it still doesn't excuse Nuno for the initial line-up and tactics for this game, as I think over the 130-odd minutes we proved that, even with a small choice of players, we were more than capable of beating them.

07 Apr 2026 09:41:41
Doesn't confirm anything, Hammer. It's just some internet journalist pushing out a narrative to get viewers. Of course, Premier League survival is the priority because of the financial implications, but, having said that, winning the FA Cup gets you into Europe, which has nice financial implications of its own, so no way anyone on the board wanted to throw that match.

07 Apr 2026 14:36:06
Well said, Robbo. Confirmation? No way did the board pull in Nuno and order him to specifically rest those three players for this match! It's not rocket science that Premiership survival is the priority. Anyone knows that.

07 Apr 2026 16:04:37
Neither I nor the poster on the WHW said anything about throwing the game. Lots of teams, in a variety of positions for various reasons across the different divisions, rest players for the FA Cup. If the board have said to him that the league is the priority, then what are his options? Or are you actually suggesting he sat and thought to himself, "I don't think we play well with Summerville, Mav and JTC in the side, so let's bring in Killman and a few others"?
He has probably thought to himself, "We need the best team to beat Wolves, so let's not risk 3 players who have been injured for this game," as it would be more sensible to risk the players for that match.

I'm not saying I know for sure. You 2 don't know either. I don't believe so-called ITKs, but this one came up with information regarding line-ups many hours before kick-off that was 100% spot on, and the team changes were not expected.
If he had risked any of those players, and they had come off through injury, he would have been crucified for playing them.

07 Apr 2026 17:08:18
Eh?
Dabber: "... it was quite clear yesterday that he was under orders to give priority to the league, as why would Wilson, AWB and Hermandsen not even be on the bench? If that were his orders, he delivered the perfect result."
Hammer-D: "I watched a video on TWW last night and it was confirmed Dabber was right, as West Ham hierarchy confirmed that Premier League survival was the priority, and they didn't want Summerville, Mav and JCT risked for the match."
Just pointing out that it is highly unlikely the board issued specific orders.

It is generally understood that the league takes priority. The WHW presenters have no more insight than other similar supporters' channels, which is what Robbo and I said.

08 Apr 2026 18:02:33
Tin Legs, are you seriously suggesting that Sullivan isn't capable of meddling in team selections? 🤔

08 Apr 2026 18:43:10
Yes. He can make his feelings known, but any manager has the final decision on tactics and selection. Everyone knows that. West Ham is no different to any other club. Are you seriously suggesting Sullivan picks the team? Come on.

08 Apr 2026 19:32:45
Sullivan isn't stupid enough to pick Kilman lol.

08 Apr 2026 21:30:34
No, I'm not suggesting Sullivan picked the team. I am, however, suggesting Sullivan might have told the Manager that the Wolves game was more important. Why is that not feasible? Come on.

09 Apr 2026 04:27:02
Because it's not rocket science. If Nuno needs his chairman to tell him that, he shouldn't be in the business.

09 Apr 2026 15:37:28
Blimey, Dabber, how ridiculous to suggest that our illustrious chairman could tell a manager the Prem is the priority. What are you gonna tell us next? That the world isn't flat. 😂😂

Even BFS said he was told to concentrate on the league and not worry about the cup. Difficult for some to comprehend.

09 Apr 2026 18:50:16
I give up. It just goes above some people's head. 🙄

09 Apr 2026 19:35:23
So, Hammer and Dabber, you are saying Sullivan didn't pick the team. He only reminded Nuno that the Premier League was important (something anyone could work out). But Nuno was responsible for fielding that team and the awful tactics that accompanied it, which was exactly what myself and Tin said at the start.

10 Apr 2026 13:01:00
I don't disagree with your statement, but refer back to my original post, particularly the last line. The guy is working for megalomaniac owners and with a paper thin squad .....

Rather than rip apart everybody else's posts and point of view, it might be an idea for one of you to post a question or point of debate once in a while, or maybe work on a joint one. 🤔

10 Apr 2026 13:19:36
Dabber, please indicate where Robbo and I are "ripping apart 'everybody else's' posts and point of view". It looks to me that all we were doing was giving an opposite view to one part of your statement that was supported by one other poster.

And, sarcasm only appeared when Hammer-D's post about a flat world arose. Both Robbo and I did not bite. It strikes me that when someone is losing a discussion, they often revert to personally attacking their opponent. Or am I wrong?

10 Apr 2026 15:31:09
Tin Legs, I'm sure behind the keyboard warrior facade there is a nice person and in the real world I'm sure you're somebody I could share a beer with and have a good old discussion, but on here we just seem to grind each other's gears, mate! Let's just leave it at that.

10 Apr 2026 17:01:17
Ah, I thought so. 😉
All the best.

05 Apr 2026 19:43:57
Couldn’t make it up. After 2-2, Pablo to take a penalty, must be joking. Bowen missing. It was not to be, despite the great comeback.

Now just concentrate on getting out of trouble Joyfull.

05 Apr 2026 20:24:12
Pablo will never score. He had a 'chance' in extra time, but got easily shoved off the ball. He doesn't want to score enough, and then took a two pace run-up. He works really hard, but his job is goals. Taty missed an easy header, but scored 2 outstanding goals which were disallowed. We need a 6 yard goal scorer.

05 Apr 2026 20:40:24
Too much to take on board there. Absolutely gutted. Horrendous player choices, and sadly Calamity Killman strikes again. He hadn't played that badly, but that tackle for their pen was ridiculous. And we were well on top then. I cannot see him wearing a West Ham shirt again. A lot of fans around me booing him, which I don't agree with, but it would be for the best for all concerned if he never plays again. At least they got back into it, and showed some fight. They will need that on Friday, and if they play 4.4.2 I still think they will beat Wolves.

Magassa and Potts, who I and a number of others on here had praised widely earlier in the season, have let us down with some disgraceful performances, think Wolves away and today.
The manager has to take the blame today for his team selection, but yet again the overall issue is the disgraceful board leaving the squad so threadbare that we can't cope with having 3 players injured if they actually were.

05 Apr 2026 20:42:00
Totally different games the first and second half.

What worries me is that we've now played Leeds twice and they've looked the better, more organised team, and we have them last game at home.

Dust ourselves off, brush ourselves down, and hope Nuno picks his best 11 on Friday for a season defining game v Wolves.



We've got to be on the front foot and go at them, and if we can win, put the pressure on spuds. This is West Ham however, and we never know what to expect.

06 Apr 2026 05:00:14
You're joking, right. On both occasions Nuno could not have picked a worse side. And, when he corrected it, we've played them off the park both times. We were ridiculously unlucky yesterday: 2 disallowed goals and we also hit the woodwork 3 times.

06 Apr 2026 09:48:56
Sometimes, it's not meant to be, no matter what you do. And that was the case yesterday.
Kiliman is a liability. How WH get rid of him, I don't know. Potts and Magassa, enough has been said.
The squad is very poor, and when five players are missing like yesterday, it just cannot be put right, no matter what formations are played.