Narratives are often palpable when they come full circle. Yet the story of West Ham’s last season at the Boleyn could create a less desirable narrative: losses in the first two league games – Leicester and Bournemouth – followed, possibly, by losses in the last two – Swansea and then Manchester United.
Of course, that is something I truly hope will not happen – but there is something creeping up in recent league and cup games that I find interesting: whether players or teams deal with pressure and the awe of big games well – or whether they fail to live up to the expectations of the moment.
It’s happened a lot recently: Spurs crumbling against Chelsea and then Southampton; Manchester City not showing up over two legs against Real Madrid; Newcastle not putting in a shift against Aston Villa and thus almost consigning themselves to relegation. And with West Ham, after all the hype of the last FA Cup game at the Boleyn and the last Saturday match at Upton Park – we never showed up at either games.
What is it that makes these teams – with a big game staring them in the face – not perform to their best abilities? That City performance still baffles me. For them to reach their first ever Champions League semi-final, a competition so difficult and challenging, and yet to not give a good showing of themselves is a disgrace to their fans and the badge they wear. While Spurs’ implosion against Chelsea was a delight, why they didn’t concentrate and focus when 2-0 up is beyond me.
That is the story of the season though. The one club that fully deserves its finishing position in the league is the team that has never given up and constantly put in 110% shifts: Leicester City. High-pressure games were never a source of discomfort for them; every time they were tested, they passed with flying colours. That 3-1 win against Manchester City at the Etihad a particularly good example.
West Ham’s biggest pressure game this year was arguably against Manchester United in the FA Cup, where a poor 60 minutes essentially killed off all hope. Did the moment get to the players? Possibly. Perhaps this team is better when the pressure is off: those away wins against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City were matches where pundits assumed we would fail – and we didn’t. Yet when the expectation is on a win – like when we travelled to Tottenham and again against Swansea this weekend – we crumbled and lost 4-1 on both occasions. Perhaps this team, in its first year under Slaven Bilic, prefers to be the underdog rather than experience the weight of expectation?
I’m not sure that’s definitely the case but it’s a question worth discussing. After all, there is a huge level of expectation on the team next year – mainly because the club hierarchy has told us that will be the case. We are constantly told that this is a new start and we will be one of the big boys in the Premier League next season. Well, with that hype comes a need to perform – but of course, with an understanding that there will be hiccups because everything won’t change overnight.
Hence what I wrote last week: Europa over Champions League – not because I prefer the former but because I thought it was more realistic. A lot of people were rightfully not happy with that – and many said we could easily give Barcelona et all a run for their money. And then Swansea happened.
Tonight is arguably biggest game any of these players will play in a West Ham shirt. The atmosphere will not just be electric, it will be unique, a one-off – not even the first game at the Olympic Stadium will come close to it even though there’ll be nearly double the crowd at that game.
I want a win and we need a win – and the Boleyn deserves a final win.