Brighton v West Ham: The Irons view with West Ham Till I Die

According to Jeff from West Ham Till I Die, any season in which West Ham United finish in the top 10 is a good campaign – and so needless to say he is delighted with how things have gone in 2020-21 ahead of the Irons’ visit to Brighton.

Delighted and surprised. For nobody expected David Moyes to turn West Ham from relegation battlers last season into a side challenging for Champions League football within a year, a remarkable job that should put the much-maligned Scotsman in line for Manager of the Year.

What has been the secret behind the Irons’ success? Are they a one-season wonder or is their newfound place in the top six sustainable? And can they chalk up another notable milestone with three games of the campaign remaining by ending their barren run against the Albion since we won promotion to the Premier League in 2017?

All that and more are on the table as Jeff Gayle from Hammers’ fan site West Ham Till I Die gives us the view from the London Stadium ahead of Brighton v West Ham at the Amex.

What a season West Ham are having. What has been the secret to your success?
I recently checked the records and since I have been supporting West Ham – longer than a life sentence of over 50 years now – we have finished in the top half of the top division 17 times, which is obviously a massive underperformance.

We finished third in the mid 80s, third and a couple of seventh places in the past 20 years or so. We have obviously dropped off the pace a little with three defeats in the last four games, but overall for West Ham fans it doesn’t get much better than this.

Lots of eyebrows were raised when David Moyes was appointed 18 months ago but he would be a worthy winner of Manager of the Year. How impressed have you been with him?
Well, I do think Pep Guardiola should get manager of the year and Thomas Tuchel since he has arrived at Chelsea has been tremendous, but yes Moyes has worked wonders.

He was a tad unlucky to be dumped after his first incursion as our manager, so “give t’anks” he doesn’t carry a grudge and was happy to answer the call again second time around.

He has taken a pretty no-nonsense approach, identifying who he doesn’t fancy and moving them on and he quite obviously has an eye for a bargain.

Do you think this is the start of a sustained period of success for West Ham or is there a worry that you might be toy with the top six this season but drop back into mid table next year, as the likes of Burnley, Southampton and Sheffield United have done in recent years?
I am ever hopeful. We have fallen down towards the end of the season, which points to the face that Moyes needs to strengthen our attack next year so that we can keep the momentum going forward. But to be honest for me any season we finish in the top 10 is a good one.

Who have been West Ham’s star players? Any disappointments?
The whole squad has played well. There are four or five players who if voted player of the season I would think fair enough. The likes of Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek, Vladimír Coufal, Angelo Ogbonna and Michail Antonio. Aaron Cresswell has had his best season for years and Lukasz Fabianski has again been solid in goal.

Sebastien Haller has really been the only disappointment, and even he has gone and left us with the memory of a spectacular overhead kick!

Last time we met it finished 2-2 at the London Stadium. What did you make of the game that day?
You know that I think of you as one of our many bogey sides, so we got a good result with a draw when last time out. I seem to remember you having a lot of possession, but I think we just about deserved a draw from West Ham 2-2 Brighton.

Finally, what is the West Ham Till I Die prediction for Brighton v West Ham please?
I think our players will be determined to get back on the winning track after the last few weeks so I am hoping for a win – but not with any great expectations given our record against Brighton!

Thanks to Jeff for answering our questions ahead of Brighton v West Ham – you can read all about the Irons’ stunning season so far at West Ham Till I Die and you can follow the website over on Twitter.