We heard a lot about it last season but didn't see a great deal of it. But so far this term, Manuel Pellegrini's Big Team Mentality seems to have finally arrived. The performance against Norwich last weekend was almost a complete one, with Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini, Andriy Yarmolenko and Sebastien Haller combining on several occasions to really show the world how far we've come since Pellegrini arrived in East London. And that was the bulk of this week's conversation between James Jones , ...
Sep 04, 2019•49 min•Ep. 50
West Ham advanced to the third round of the Carabao Cup last night after a professional 2-0 win against Newport County to make it two wins on the bounce. Prior to that victory, We Are West Ham's James Jones and William Pugh discussed with Charlie Hawkins the Hammers' first Premier League win of the season and the impact Mark Noble made against Watford at the weekend - does he deserve a statue? Sebastien Haller got off the mark with two goals against the Hornets and he certainly exhibited positiv...
Aug 28, 2019•49 min•Ep. 49
That draw at Brighton means we're one point better off than at this stage last season, which is progress. Isn't it? Some believe that was a good result away from home against a good Brighton team, others think we should be beating teams like the Seagulls without any issues. The trouble is, we had our two most expensive players in history injured, and that would affect any team, with the exception of Man City. Either way, we go again at Watford this weekend as we search for our first victory of t...
Aug 21, 2019•51 min•Ep. 48
Losing 5-0 at home to Man City on the opening day of the new season wasn't exactly unexpected, but it still left a sense of disappointment and anger amongst sections of the fanbase. Not least We Are West Ham duo James Jones and William Pugh , who spent a lot of time on this week's show bemoaning VAR (well, James did. Will quite likes it!) and looking back at all the VAR decisions over the weekend. The boys also ran the rule over new signings Haller and Fornals, while they were also joined by Foo...
Aug 14, 2019•52 min•Ep. 47
With the start of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign just days away, it is time to get excited about what's in store our beloved Hammers this season. Manuel Pellegrini is slowly beginning to piece together an impressive outfit in east London, but William Pugh's fashion sense is slightly less impressive this week. On the show, the talking trio of James Jones , Will and Charlie Hawkins discuss whether the pre-season form of Jack Wilshere means this could be the end of Mark Noble's starting positi...
Aug 07, 2019•53 min•Ep. 46
It may have come as a surprise to most, but Arthur Masuaku has put pen-to-paper on improved contract terms at the club, extending his stay at the club until 2024. King Arthur is like marmite to West Ham fans - some love him, some hate him - but one thing you can't knock about the defender/winger/wing-back is his commitment to the cause and that's probably why Manuel Pellegrini loves him so much. One thing we all expected, though, was our very own William Pugh being over the moon at the news. Kin...
Jul 31, 2019•51 min•Ep. 45
West Ham parted ways with Spain midfielder Pedro Obiang earlier this week - but are the Hammers leaving themselves short if they fail to replace him? The 27-year-old completed his £7.2m switch to Sassuolo on Wednesday and it leaves the Irons with Declan Rice and Carlos Sanchez as the only recognised defensive midfielders at the club. West Ham have won one of their opening three pre-season encounters and the lads discuss whether results matter in the build-up to the forthcoming campaign. That is ...
Jul 25, 2019•52 min•Ep. 44
West Ham smashed their transfer record yesterday with the £45m acquisition of Sebastien Haller - can he be the man to fire the Hammers into the top seven? Following the disappointment of failing to sign Maxi Gomez from Celta Vigo - with the Uruguay forward favouring a switch to Valencia - Manuel Pellegrini and co swiftly moved onto the next target and what an excellent coup it could turn out to be. The France striker scored 20 goals and chipped in with 12 assists for Eintracht Frankfurt last sea...
Jul 18, 2019•52 min•Ep. 43
What is it with West Ham and strikers? It's been two decades since we had a player net 15 or more goals in a single Premier League season for us - that was Paolo Di Canio - and since then, it's just been rubbish striker after rubbish striker. And now, having seemingly identified the man to finally put an end to our striker curse, he chooses to earn less money to stay in Spain and play Champions League football. See, we can't even entice the best strikers with money! As is understandable, top of ...
Jul 11, 2019•52 min•Ep. 42
Just as things were looking up for the Hammers, they've been dealt a hammer blow by someone they were just beginning to trust again. It has been revealed this week that West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic is keen on a move away from east London, but this comes as no shock to the West Ham faithful. Just six months prior to this incident, the Austrian forward tried to force his way out of the club; the levels of disrespect to do this again has disgusted the fans, and now, it is less a feeling of hea...
Jul 04, 2019•52 min•Ep. 41
With our show being recorded four years to the day since Dimitri Payet first signed for West Ham, it seemed almost inevitable there would be links to him coming back. Of course, that has been the case, with teasing signs coming out which showed there could be a return to East London for the Frenchman. So, on the show this week James Jones and Danny Lewis spoke extensively about whether bringing Payet back is a good idea, West Ham's Under 21 Euros scouting mission, the club's potential striker si...
Jun 27, 2019•52 min•Ep. 40
We don't want to speak too soon, but it looks as though West Ham are going to keep Issa Diop from Manchester United's clutches. There have been bids and counter bids between the two clubs, but as it stands it seems as though the Frenchman will be staying firmly put in East London. So, on the show this week Will Pugh and Tom Edwards spoke extensively about whether to keep Diop, taking into account the performances he gave in his debut season, the price of top quality Premier League defenders and ...
Jun 20, 2019•53 min•Ep. 39
We don't want to speak too soon but it does seem as though West Ham have learned their lessons from previous transfer windows. They seem to be getting business done early and on players who have the ability to really transform this football club for the better. Pablo Fornals is expected to be a West Ham player by the end of this week and if you're excited about him then you should be. This lad can play! So, on the show this week James Jones and Will Pugh spoke extensively on the Fornals deal, wh...
Jun 14, 2019•52 min•Ep. 38
On this week's show, and in the studio absence of James Jones, Johnny Burrow and Will Pugh discussed all the transfer dealings going on in and around the club. Manuel Pellegrini has already released three first-team players and sold two in what has been a refreshingly early cull of the squad's dead wood - but who will come in to replace them. Weirdly enough we've already signed two goalkeepers, while so many other players are being linked. Not least Andre Gomes who, having allegedly revealed he ...
Jun 06, 2019•52 min•Ep. 37
Most clubs it would be difficult to find enough to talk about in a one-hour radio show during the summer - but not us. There's always something going on at West Ham, and this week we've been treated to a number of different stories. The club confirmed Andy Carroll, Adrian and Samir Nasri will be leaving the club in the summer, there are thousands of transfer rumours doing the rounds as expected and we've been given a look at the beautiful new Umbro kits the club will be wearing next season. So, ...
May 30, 2019•53 min•Ep. 36
With the season over, our attentions have switched to the summer transfer window. As expected, we're already being linked with the world and his wife but who are the players we should be targeting in order to improve? James Jones and Will Pugh discuss Salomon Rondon, Maxi Gomez, Andre Almeida and a number of other potential incomings being reported in the media. But they start the show with a chat about Manuel Pellegrini, who has now been in charge of West Ham for a year. How's he done? Could hi...
May 23, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 35
So that's it, another season out of the way and while it started badly with four defeats it was nice to end the campaign with three wins and four unbeaten. The 4-1 win at Watford was satisfying and sets the tone for the summer ahead as we expect to see the squad strengthened and the team start well next season. This week, James Jones and Will Pugh were joined by Evening Standard's Jack Rosser to go over the season's highs and lows and to discuss what needs to be done this summer to continue the ...
May 16, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 34
What a season at our new home. Obviously, it could've been better, having failed to beat the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton, Wolves and Watford in Stratford, but it's been a lot worse over the last couple of years. It's always nice to end the season at home with a victory and it doesn't come more convincingly than a 3-0 via a solid performance. Arnautovic netted his first goals since January and, as expected, his performance sparked questions over his future this summer - should we keep him? Sho...
May 09, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 33
What a feeling. On reflection, the first team to beat Spurs at their brand new Cheese Factory was always going to be us. It was written in the stars - after they did all they could to prevent us from buying the Olympic Stadium and subsequently being the reason why the taxpayer has to contribute to its upkeep, it was always going to be us ruining their party. We're now fully etched into Spurs' record books and it feels wonderful, but now there's another battle we have on our hands; the race for 1...
May 01, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 32
Another week, another decision that goes against us. That's now five points we've been robbed of thanks to sub-standard officiating, which could've put us well in the fight for 7th but instead leaves us fighting to stay in the top 12. It's a joke that needs to stop, but we just need to continue fighting on until VAR comes in to play next season. Obviously, this was one of the biggest talking points on this week's show, while James Jones and Will Pugh also discussed the following in depth... Mich...
Apr 25, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 31
We were robbed at Old Trafford, there’s no other way of putting it. It was our best performance of the season and instead of us coming away celebrating another famous victory in the Theatre of Clowns, we ended up being on the wrong end of sub-standard officiating. Again. Sometimes you have to wonder whether these officials are too scared to anger the crowd at top six stadiums; too often they seem like they bottle it at the likes of Old Trafford. We’re not the first team to leave there feeling ch...
Apr 18, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 30
Another week, another defeat. This time, though, we technically lost to just one world class superstar. Eden Hazard is absolutely sensational on his day, but we didn't exactly help ourselves by giving him so much time and space in possession. Despite all that, the season still appears to be ending with a whimper. A disappointing start looked to be well behind us as Manuel Pellegrini's plans started taking shape over the festive period but now, with nothing worth fighting for left to fight for, t...
Apr 11, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 29
All we keep hearing this season is that the manager and the players are trying to have a big team mentality. We've seen it in places, but mostly we've seen the complete opposite. Against Everton last week we'd have been mistaken for a small team playing well out of its depth, that's how bad we were. That's why James Jones and Frankie Levin were absolutely seething on this week's show, and both had some stern words to say about how Manuel Pellegrini set his players up for the game and subsequentl...
Apr 04, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 28
It was quite nice to have a week off from it all, especially as it allowed us to watch on with pride as Declan Rice made his England bow and almost certainly put an end to Eric Dier's Three Lions career. James Jones, William Pugh and Johnny Burrow spoke extensively on Declan Rice's two impressive outings for England on this week's show, while they had some harsh words on Spurs' new stadium. Also on this week's show, we looked ahead to this weekend's home clash with Everton and also touched a lit...
Mar 28, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 27
On the back of the dramatic victory over Huddersfield last weekend, James Jones and Will Pugh had very different views on how we should look back at yet another home victory. Will thinks it's unacceptable to concede three goals at home to the league's worse team, James was just happy for the three points. Their debate this week is definitely a must listen. Also on this week's show, the lads discuss Samir Nasri, the Academy of Football's recent resurgence and what we should expect from the final ...
Mar 21, 2019•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 26
After last week's incredibly optimistic show, it was only right that West Ham returned to form and lost 2-0 at Cardiff City. Sometimes it's easy to forget that we're West Ham fans; we're not allowed nice things, which is why tend to lose these games. With all that mind, and with their feet back firmly on the ground, James Jones and Will Pugh spent most of this show moaning and groaning about how this so-called big team mentality just isn't working. The lads also discuss Andy Carroll's future, De...
Mar 14, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 25
On our first show for two weeks, in which three games have been and gone, James Jones, Will Pugh and Johnny Burrow had lots to discuss this week. From the comfortable win over Fulham to the good performance at Man City and then finishing off with the routine triumph at home to Newcastle, the lads were understandably, albeit uncomfortably, optimistic. The lads also put to bed the whole Declan Rice v Sean Longstaff debate - if Dec hadn't already done that himself - and Hammers legend Tony Carr cam...
Mar 07, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 24
Mark Noble's goal against Crystal Palace recently led to the club celebrating the fact he's now scored in 13 consecutive seasons at the club. That's some achievement, yet some fans still aren't convinced of his Hammers legacy. While most fans recognise his commitment and the importance he has in and around the club, others believe he's held us back over the years. So this week, James Jones, Will Pugh, Jake Watson and Evening Standard sports reporter Jack Rosser discussed the great man in detail ...
Feb 21, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 23
Declan Rice. Future England captain. Yeah, that's right. Dec's chosen England, and he announced it just in time for us to wax lyrical about it on this week's show. James Jones, Will Pugh and Jake Watson spent most of the show discussing Rice's long-awaited, yet unsurprising, decision to pick England over the Republic of Ireland and it certainly caused a bit of a stir. Former West Ham striker David Connolly, who was born in England but chose to play for the Republic of Ireland during his playing ...
Feb 14, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 22
On this week's show, James Jones, Jake Watson and Luke Glanville from West Ham Matters mostly discussed the superb performance against Liverpool on Monday night. It was a much-improved showing from the boys following consecutive defeats to Bournemouth, Wimbledon and Wolves respectively, and it showed that Manuel Pellegrini's attempts to instilling a big team mentality inside the dressing room are slowly working. There's a long way to go but with some key players returning from injury in the comi...
Feb 07, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 21
