West Ham’s best moments of 2013

In many ways 2013 has been a difficult and even disappointing year, certainly results wise for West Ham. The current season has been very poor so far, and the club sit 2^nd from bottom in the Premier League, with just three league wins in 19 games. Our overall league record in the entire year has been similarly poor, amassing just nine wins and 39 points in 38 matches. Despite this, there have still been plenty of things for Hammers fans to celebrate in 2013, and cause to give us hope for next year and here are the highlights:

Bobby Moore Anniversary

On Monday 25^th February, the club and supporters paid homage to Bobby Moore at Upton Park, on the 20^th anniversary of the death of our former iconic captain. And what better match for it to fall on than Tottenham Hotspur?

Before the game started a series of tributes took place, most notably when the whole of the Bobby Moore stand held up cards to create a brilliant mosaic of ‘Moore 6’. His Grandchildren then led the teams onto the pitch, with West Ham wearing specially made shirts for the occasion. Then followed a minute silence before the game begun. It was a fitting tribute to a club legend, and being there for what was a special night and a special atmosphere is something that will live long in the memory.

It was a great game too, with the only blemish being that the Hammers were on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline after a masterclass from Gareth Bale. Still, it was a magnificent night and game to match, and one of the most memorable occasions of the year.

Securing the Olympic Stadium

After several years of legal wrangling and constant doubts and changes to the process, on 22^nd March West Ham United were finally given the keys as anchor tenants of the Stratford Olympic Stadium.

It was a historic moment for the club, who are due to move into the 60,000-seater stadium for the start of the 2016/2017 season. I know this is a contentious issue still, and there are many fans who are against the move, but I think it is the right one for the club. Whilst the move is tinged with sadness as we have leave Upton Park after over a 100 years, and there are still questions to be answered (such as how the proposed retractable seating is going to work in practice?), it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the club to really progress in the future.

We will be moving into what will be the 3^rd biggest club ground in the country, located in a rejuvenated part of East London that should bring in a greater revenue for the club, and thus help push it onto greater things in the future.

Finishing 10^th in the Premier League

A 4-2 win at home to Reading on the final day of the 2012-2013 season in May confirmed our top ten finish. This was an excellent achievement for a newly promoted club and promised much for the following year (which hasn’t materialised unfortunately). Nonetheless I very much enjoyed last season, with good home form that included many exciting matches.

Signing Andy Carroll

This may seem like a strange moment to put on the list of highlights of the year considering the big forwards injury woes, which have prevented him playing ever since his permanent move, but I feel we put out a real statement with this signing.

We easily broke our transfer record for a player who Liverpool once paid £35 million for, and it was great for the club. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and many will now state that this was a disastrous move, but I do not think you can blame them for making this purchase.

I am hopeful that when Carroll does make his long awaited appearance, he will show us why we have put so much faith in him. The manager and owner can certainly take criticism for what happened in the rest of that summer window, but not this signing.

I was there at that game against Reading on the final day of last season when the crowd constantly bellowed out ‘Andy Carroll, we want you to stay’, on his final appearance of his loan spell. There was a reason for this, and that was because we saw from some of his end of season displays that he could be simply unplayable on his day. Let us hope we see this in the second half of this season.

Beating Spurs (Twice) at White Hart Lane

To think that we have defeated Spurs twice on their own patch within the first half of this season is almost unthinkable when you consider how poor we have been in general this campaign, as well as our dismal recent record at White Hart Lane.

I went to the first of these, the 3-0 league victory in October, and I have to say it was one of my favourite ever experiences going to a match as a West Ham supporter, up there alongside the Play-Off final victory against Blackpool in 2012.

I went there expecting a defeat and just could not believe what unfolded before my very eyes in 15 second half minutes. The 3^rd goal, a fine solo effort from Ravel Morrison really put the icing on the cake. Spurs couldn’t claim they were unlucky after losing by such a margin, and it was a real humiliation for a team that had inflicted so much pain upon us in recent seasons. The atmosphere was incredible too. The away support sang their hearts out the entire match and the jubilant celebrations after each goal was a great feeling.

Then came the Capital One Cup game in December. In some ways this was an even more enjoyable victory, as Spurs saw this match as a chance to avenge the 3-0 defeat earlier in the season. When they went ahead in the 65^th minute they must have thought they were going to get some revenge. But somehow we fought back and battered them for the rest of the game scoring two late goals to win the tie. I just couldn’t believe it, and to make Spurs so gutted about what had happened was absolutely brilliant.

After winning that tie we are now in the semi-finals of the Capital One cup, with a two legged tie against the in form Manchester City which is another positive to take from the year 2013. This was probably the worst possible draw, and many won’t give us a prayer against the free scoring title contenders. But then no one would have thought we would have beaten Spurs for a second time this season in the quarter-finals. With a place in a final at Wembley up for grabs, the players will be really up for it, and with luck on our side, you just never know.

So despite it being a difficult year results wise for the club, there are still plenty of positives we can take into the New Year. We have a place in the last four of the Capital One Cup and whilst in trouble in the league, are well within reach of several teams above us. If we can get key players back from injury soon, and make some prudent purchases in the January transfer window, then I believe we will get out of trouble.