A Millwall reminder from 1988 shows things could be a whole lot worse for West Ham as win has Hammers looking up again.
It had been a dismal start to the season in the Premier League for West Ham and bitter rivals Millwall haven’t started too clever either.
With just one win to their names and five defeats from the opening seven games before Wolves at the weekend, David Moyes found himself under pressure for the first time since his return to east London in 2020.
Having worked a minor miracle at the London Stadium, West Ham hit a wall last November and had a points per game ratio among the bottom three in the league until the weekend.
Just 37 points from their last 34 league games before Wolves told its own story of how West Ham’s rapid progress under Moyes was halted 10 months ago.
And it is fair to say many West Ham supporters were – and some still are – frustrated with Moyes’s team selection and tactics.
When things aren’t going well for the Hammers, the fans can usually console themselves by reminding one another ‘it could be worse, we could be Millwall’.
Millwall reminder from 1988 shows things could be a whole lot worse for West Ham as win has Hammers looking up again
West Ham and Millwall share one of the fiercest rivalries in world football. But it rarely sees the light of day given the two clubs are not often in the same division.
Perhaps those fans who have been feeling sorry for themselves these first couple of months of the season will be given some much-needed perspective from the history books?
A Millwall reminder from 1988 shows things could be a whole lot worse for West Ham as the win over Wolves has Hammers looking up again.
At the weekend it was 34 years ago, almost to the day, that West Ham sat rock bottom of the Barclays Division One with one win, a draw and four defeats from their opening six games.
To make matters unimaginably worse, the old enemy Millwall were top with four wins and two draws and were the only unbeaten side in the top flight.
Fast forward nearly three and a half decades and Millwall are languishing down in 16th in the Championship while West Ham, courtesy of the much-needed 2-0 win over Wolves, are on the up again and looking forward to another European match – away at historic Anderlecht.
Whatever your opinion of Moyes and his tactics, this blast from West Ham’s past acts as a timely reminder that things could be a whole lot worse.
Millwall would not keep up that pace of course, eventually finishing 10th while West Ham, as supporters will well remember, were relegated to the second division.
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