WEST HAM UNITED (FFT 2025-26 SEASON PREVIEW)

MAX RELAX 

Irons centre-back Max Kilman dispossessed 85.2 per cent of opposition dribblers last season, the most of any Premier League player

JIM KEARNS @TheHList

LAST SEASON

PREMIER LEAGUE     14th

FA CUP                         Third Round

LEAGUE CUP             Third Round

TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) - Jarrod Bowen (14)

1. Jarrod Bowen (13)

2. Tomas Soucek (9)

3. Mohammed Kudus (3) --> TOTT (Adx, ex Ajax, 63.8 mln euro)

MINUTES

1. Max Kilman (3,349)

2. Wan-Bissaka (3,155)

3. Jarrod Bowen (2,980)

ASSISTS

1. Jarrod Bowen (8)

2. A. Wan-Bissaka (5)

3. Mohammed Kudus (3)

THE PLAN

Let’s try that again. Challenged to give West Ham fans something new, Julen Lopetegui certainly delivered as he spent huge sums in making the team older, slower and worse in both boxes, filling the London Stadium with palpable ennui. 

Graham Potter and the Hammers’ new recruitment guru Kyle Macaulay must somehow refresh a squad in dire need of mobility while trying to convince co-owner David Sullivan to adopt a coherent transfer policy, all without the £33m that went on the obligation to make Jean-Clair Todibo’s loan permanent upon staying up. For a club that needs to sell to buy, they have had few assets remaining to cash in on.

THE COACH - Graham Potter

The Graham Potter era is yet to convince, and a continuation of poor late-season form would put the 50-year-old under immediate pressure. Erudite and organised, he may not have the players to implement his style at a club who tend to use agents to do their scouting.

KEY PLAYER - Jarrod Bowen

Jarrod Bowen is so vital (only Mo Salah scored a higher share of their team’s goals) that the club have made him captain, tied him to a long contract and married him off to a prominent West Ham family. Life without him is Southampton, only without the attacking threat.

LESSON FROM LAST YEAR

This time last year, plenty of fans declared themselves bored of David Moyes, his top-10 finishes and European runs. So, in came Lopetegui, only for the Spaniard’s possession-heavy style to anchor the Irons in the bottom half, with no post-Potter kickback. 

Supporters have watched Nottingham Forest’s counter-attacking success and Everton’s resurgence and seen that for clubs without petrochemical state backing or the Champions League’s ethereal wealth, the way to compete is the Moyes blueprint.

The club are also into year four or five of needing to replace Michail Antonio; Niclas Fullkrug’s finest contribution in 2024-25 was to call his team-mates “sh*t” live on air.

THE MOOD

Pensive. The second half of last term was so stultifying that many Hammers pined for the pandemic season’s enforced non-attendance. Will the board appoint a suitable replacement if the malaise carries on? On the plus side, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s first season brought a league-high 66 interceptions, a telepathic understanding with Bowen on the right flank, and the Hammer of the Year award.

ONE TO WATCH - Ollie Scarles

Ollie Scarles, 19. A viable option in the Potter system, he displaced Emerson as left-wing-back.

MOST LIKELY TO…

Resemble a garden slug, because the Irons had about as much backbone last season. Apart from Ipswich and Southampton, they were the only side not to record a come-from-behind win. April’s operatic tragedy at Brighton – 2-1 up with two minutes to go, only to lose 3-2 – was even more indicative of a worrying lack of spine.

LEAST LIKELY TO…

Return to East London: Evan Ferguson, whose loan spell made Simone Zaza look like Geoff Hurst – 152 minutes, no goals or assists.

FFT VERDICT

 

15TH - West Ham can’t go on like this, but Potter’s adaptability should enable them to tread water a little longer.

***

TITLE ODDS

500/1

***

Last season was 

another chapter in our apathy era.

I won’t be happy unless

we see some kind of progress from the West Ham groundhog day.

Our key player will be

Jarrod Bowen, predictably – our only chink of light.

Our most underrated

player is Tomas Soucek. He works hard, he bags winners and he loves potato salad.

The opposition player who grinds my gears is 

James Maddison, because he plays for Spurs and has a Spurs kind of face.

The one change I’d make

would be for the old vendors in the walk-up to Upton Park to return with their West Ham badges, scarves, knock-off merchandise, inflatable hammers, the smell of hot dog and burger stalls... all part of my West Ham.

A social media account

to follow is KUMB.com and my old pal, club announcer @cjscull.

I’m most looking forward to visiting 

Sunderland – I used to go to uni there. I wonder if you can still get a 16in pizza for £2...

I’m least looking forward to playing 

City – they just walk through us, even when they’re rubbish.

The pantomime villain

will be Mikel Arteta and his David Brent vibes.

Fans think our gaffer is

under pressure. Potter has inherited an ageing, disjointed mess and he needs time, but football and fans are unforgiving.

If he left, he should be replaced by 

our keepy-uppy Guinness World Record holder mascot, Hammerhead.

We’ll finish 

10th.

***

FIXTURES

AUGUST 

16 Sunderland (A) 

23 Chelsea (H) 

30 Nott’m Forest (A) 

SEPTEMBER 

13 Tottenham (H) 

20 Crystal Palace (H) 

27 Everton (A) 

OCTOBER 

4 Arsenal (A) 

18 Brentford (H) 

25 Leeds (A) 

NOVEMBER 

1 Newcastle (H) 

8 Burnley (H) 

22 Bournemouth (A) 

29 Liverpool (H) 

DECEMBER 

3 Man United (A) 

6 Brighton (A) 

13 Aston Villa (H) 

20 Man City (A) 

27 Fulham (H) 

30 Brighton (H) 

JANUARY 

3 Wolves (A) 

7 Nott’m Forest (H) 

17 Tottenham (A) 

24 Sunderland (H) 

31 Chelsea (A) 

FEBRUARY 

7 Burnley (A) 

11 Man United (H) 

21 Bournemouth (H) 

28 Liverpool (A) 

MARCH 

4 Fulham (A) 

14 Man City (H) 

21 Aston Villa (A) 

APRIL 

11 Wolves (H) 

18 Crystal Palace (A) 

25 Everton (H) 

MAY 

2 Brentford (A) 

9 Arsenal (H) 

17 Newcastle (A) 

24 Leeds (H)