The West Ham Breakdown

After a 5-0 win over Freiburg and a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, Jack and Cal discuss big out of possession improvements with more aggressive pressing approaches, the proactive changes Unai Emery made to shift momentum for his team, and the importance of people like Christian Streich in football. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow the pod...

After a 2-2 draw with Burnley and a 0-1 defeat away against Freiburg, Jack and Cal talk through a series of missed opportunities in combination with continuing defensive mistakes, an impressive turnaround against the Clarets with much improved on-ball intensity, and the major positives heading into the second leg against Christian Streich's side tonight. Please do leave us a review and subscribe t...

Jack and Cal discuss a brilliant 3-1 win at Goodison Park with some incredible individual performances in a throwback end-to-end scrap. Key topics include the value of frontline flexibility, the importance of good loan placement, and finding a way to win despite lacking the kind of control West Ham need to start showing in these games. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to ca...

Jack and Cal discuss West Ham's first win of 2024, a 4-2 win over Brentford, focusing on how Paqueta's return impacts relationships across the pitch and the ways in which hybrid pressing unlocks potential for high turnovers and counter-attacks from improved positions. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow the pod (and our other work) on Twi...

Following a 0-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest, Jack and Cal discuss the overarching theme of failed transition to "Moyes Progressive" from "Moyes Basic", missing box dominance at both ends, wide creation without wide creators, and centre-back targets to improve a key area of weakness in the summer. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow the po...

Following a catastrophic 0-6 defeat to Arsenal, Jack and Cal discuss the relationships between the individual, the collective, and the tactical conditions and investigate where the breaks in that chain appeared to bring about a truly horrendous result at the London Stadium. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow the pod (and our other work)...

Following a 0-3 loss to Manchester United and a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth, Jack and Cal discuss two hugely contrasting performances and results, Kalvin Phillips' arrival, and David Moyes' contract situation. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow the pod (and our other work) on Twitter: Main: @AnalyticsUtd_ Jack: @jackelderton Cal: @WHU_A...

Following a disappointing loss to Bristol City in the FA Cup, Jack and Cal discuss possible solutions without Edson Alvarez and fan reaction to youth player performance before exploring their top picks, from Greece to the Netherlands, for the number nine slot at West Ham... all whilst carefully considering the conditions present for any striker under David Moyes' management. Please do leave us a r...

After another fantastic week at West Ham with four points taken from games against Arsenal and Brighton, Jack and Cal discuss Ogbonna's incredible return to form, the different ways to assess performance for Benrahma and Fornals when considering their function in the team, continued midfield confusion, and Thilo Kehrer's departure to Monaco. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast...

After a brilliant week for West Ham with 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Freiburg and Wolves, Jack and Cal got together to discuss James Ward-Prowse's move back to 10 and the subsequent effects on build-up and transition/box defending, Jarrod Bowen's rapid development up top, and whether shifting opposition styles play a much bigger role in changes in form than we typically acknowledge. Please do leave...

After a mixed week with a fantastic 2-1 win over Spurs and a terrible 0-5 loss to Fulham, Cal and Jack talk through Bowen and Kudus' contrasting fortunes up front and continued build-up issues that spill over into rest defence disasters before attempting to find some kind of balance within the neverending David Moyes discourse. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch ever...

West Ham returned from the international break with a drab performance in a 2-1 away win at Burnley. Jack and Cal look back at a first half where our build-up shape stifled any opportunity to generate central progression before discussing improvements made when Mubama was brought on. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow the pod (and our ot...

Jack and Cal look back on a key week at West Ham with a vital six points secured against Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest to discuss the developing (/unraveling) midfield blend and the lack of support through recruitment, defensive recovery pace or lack thereof, and who we'd like to come in should Moyes leave at the end of this season. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to ca...

It was a mixed week at West Ham with a stunning 3-1 win over Arsenal in the EFL Cup followed by a disastrous 2-3 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League. Jack and Cal discuss failures in build-up against the Bees, general lack of control, and increasingly worrying defensive errors throughout the team. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow...

West Ham lost another two games last week against Olympiacos and Everton. Jack and Cal discuss some typically Moyesey performances with the ball and talk through rapidly developing issues in midfield. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow the pod (and our other work) on Twitter: Main: @AnalyticsUtd_ Jack: @jackelderton Cal: @WHU_Analytics T...

West Ham fell to a 1-4 defeat away at Aston Villa at the weekend. Jack and Cal discuss an error-strewn showing where pressing created issues and magnified a lack of incisive quality on turnover, the performance and importance of Michail Antonio, and how we might have come to the end of yet another David Moyes mini-cycle. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episo...

It was another positive week at West Ham with a win over Freiburg in the Europa League and a 2-2 draw against Newcastle on Sunday. Jack and Cal discuss Peter Bankes, Mohammed Kudus' impact, tactical changes that brought Newcastle joy in the second half, and Lucas Paqueta's newfound form as a last-20-minutes-striker. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. Y...

West Ham returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United at the weekend. Jack and Cal discuss revitalisation of the right-hand-side, Kudus' performances in claret and blue so far, and preview upcoming fixtures against Freiburg and Newcastle. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. You can follow the pod (and our other...

West Ham lost a second Premier League game on the bounce with a 3-1 defeat at Anfield. Jack and Cal discuss the team's continued impressive press negation and ability to complete build-up, Paqueta and Emerson's fantastic relationship down the left, and the impact of a lack of physicality in second halves after substitutions are made. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catc...

West Ham lost for the first time this season against Manchester City at the weekend. Jack and Cal discuss Pep's tactical changes and their impact on the game, Doku's brilliance and the value of a winger that can go both ways, the big positives in possession from a West Ham perspective, and the incredibly disappointing return of Paolo Di Canio. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podca...

It's the international break and we've gone slightly mad without the football – time to start coming up with crazy ranking systems! This week Jack and Cal went through the West Ham squad and ranked the players in order of importance to David Moyes. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. Alex Berwick: https://twitter.com/Alex_Berwick You can follow the pod...

West Ham made it three wins in a row with a 2-1 victory away at Luton Town before heading into the first international break of the season. Jack and Cal discuss the fast-gelling unit in midfield, the continued clear focus on wide combinations when allowed possession, and the performances of Said Benrahma and Edson Alvarez in this context. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to...

West Ham finally managed to beat Brighton in the Premier League and followed up another fantastic result with the signing of Mohammed Kudus from Ajax. Jack and Cal discuss Moyes' remixed 4-1-4-1 with a lot less pressing, the potential upsides derived from Edson Alvarez's positioning between the defensive and midfield lines, the impact of Kudus' arrival, and a couple of strikers recently linked wit...

West Ham secured a second successive positive result with a sensational 3-1 win over Chelsea at the weekend. Jack and Cal discuss Moyes' classic blend of steel and steal, the tactical changes made at half-time in the match, another set of excellent performances in midfield, and the arrival of Konstantinos Mavropanos. Please do leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode....

West Ham began the 2023-24 season with a 1-1 draw away from home against Bournemouth. Jack and Cal discuss Moyes' return to the 4-4-2 mid-block, Soucek's improved performance alongside Paqueta in the middle, game management and how momentum shifts in matches, and substitutions (or lack thereof) to retain counter-attacking threat when protecting a lead. Timestamps: Overview: 0:00 Shape and midfield...