Preview Panel - West Ham

We're back after the international break - and that means the return of our Preview Panel as we look ahead to that always spicy derby against West Ham on Sunday.

Introducing the panel...

Paul Allen - Paul came through the youth ranks at West Ham to play in the 1980 FA Cup Final win against Arsenal aged just 17. He made 197 appearances for the Hammers before switching to Spurs in 1985. An all-action midfielder, Paul played 370 times for us, helping us lift the FA Cup in 1991. He moved onto Southampton in 1993 and finished his career with spells at Luton Town, Stoke City, Swindon Town, Bristol City and Millwall. Paul has worked for the PFA since 2000.

Charlie Eccleshare - Charlie is a football journalist for The Athletic, mainly covering Spurs. He joined The Athletic in 2019 after five years writing about football and tennis at The Telegraph.

Roshane Thomas - Formerly of The Times and talkSPORT, Roshane is a staff writer who covers West Ham for The Athletic.

Are you sensing a confidence around the Club at the moment?

Paul: “Without a doubt. Not only with the results, but the performances have been encouraging. The Newcastle game at home, I thought we played exceptionally well, only denied by that contentious penalty. Then the outstanding performance at United. It’s very exciting times, Harry, Sonny up front and the introduction of Gareth Bale to follow.”

Charlie: “There is a buzz, isn’t there? You think back to the mood after the opening weekend when Tottenham lost 1-0 against Everton, doom and gloom, but now confidence is the word. You really feel they go into games believing they are going to win, and they are so cohesive, with that competition for places. You look at the amount of goals the team is scoring at the moment and they just look so dangerous. They know they have so many different ways to hurt teams. What’s important is if it’s a tough game against West Ham, struggling to break them down, Tottenham know they have so much off the bench to be able to change things. It seems crazy that the first weekend was only a month ago! So much has changed since then.”

What do you expect from West Ham on Sunday?

Charlie: “I imagine, based on their approach against Arsenal, where they were really good, compact, sat deep and frustrated Arsenal, but packed a real punch on the break as well, that this will be a tough game for Tottenham. They will defend well and have that threat on the counter, and Michail Antonio is such a handful for defenders. It could be a bit of a battle, especially if Tottenham don’t go ahead early. West Ham also come into this game full of confidence. They’ve won their last two games against really good teams without conceding a goal (4-0 against Wolves, 3-0 at Leicester last time out), so this certainly has a different feel to it than maybe it would have had a couple of weeks ago. Tottenham will need to be at a similar level to where they’ve been in recent weeks if they are going to win the game.”

Paul: “Their away performances have been good, and Leicester last time out (3-0 win) was an exceptional result. They’ve performed well, scored goals, and they look set up to hit teams on the counter. This is a game - and it’s the same with any London derby - where form goes out of the window. I think they will come here with no fear. They were the first team to beat us at the new stadium, they are playing well, a talented squad... but I’d like to think that the way we’ve performed of late will see us pick up another positive result.”

What are your Spurs-West Ham memories?

Paul: “Two stand out for me, both in the season where we came so close, 1986/87. The first was on Boxing Day, when we won 4-0 at home, then the quarter-final of the League Cup. We went to Upton Park, found ourselves 1-0 down but came back to get a draw. We got back to White Hart Lane and won 5-0. Those two performances really stand out, with that five-man midfield and Clive scoring all those goals. That epitomised Spurs, open, expansive football.”

Charlie: “There are a lot! The first that comes to mind is the 4-3 game, the thriller in 2007, Paul Stalteri in the last minute, just one of those mad games. That game had extra satisfaction given that it came less than a year after so-called ‘lasagne-gate’, another of those games that is synonymous with the rivalry between two teams. Then, fittingly, you think back to that game in 2013 which finished 3-2, with Gareth Bale at his most Roy of the Rovers. He’s fouled in the build-up, dusts himself down, gets the ball back and smashes it into the top corner. More recently, I think of Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge and the 3-2 win last season. Those are the games that pop into my head straight away. It just feels like one of those games where things happen. There is such a big rivalry and it’s always eventful. Let’s hope that continues into this weekend.”

View from the east...

What have you made of West Ham’s start to 2020/21?
Roshane: “It’s been really good so far. West Ham have surprised a lot of people with results against the likes of Wolves (4-0) and Leicester (3-0 away, last time out). They were also close to getting the points at Arsenal. For me, the turning point was that defeat at Arsenal. David Moyes switched to a back three, and West Ham played really well, congested the midfield, frustrated Arsenal and looked threatening going forward. It was just a lapse of concentration that led to a defeat. Back-to-back wins and clean sheets against Wolves and Leicester have followed. Everything is going well, so far.”

How do you think West Ham will approach this fixture?
Roshane: “I think they’ll approach it in a similar way as they did against Wolves at home, where you’ve got Raul Jimenez and now Harry Kane and how important those players are to both teams, but I was looking at the head-to-head and West Ham have done alright at Tottenham! West Ham will be buoyed by a good run of form. If anything, the international break came at the wrong time. Hopefully, they’ll pick up that momentum, but Tottenham are in a good run of form as well.”

Which West Ham player should we look out for on Sunday?
Roshane: “I’ll say Jarrod Bowen. Yes, Michail Antonio, but Jarrod Bowen doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He’s always a threat, scoring goals, whipping in crosses, creating assists. I’d also give a shout to Tomas Soucek. I’m not just saying this because I cover West Ham, but right now, I can’t think of a better midfield duo in the Premier League than Declan Rice and Soucek.”