West Ham United

Mid-season report: West Ham United

By Liam Power, Reporter | 28 December 2012

Sports Mole takes a look at West Ham United's return to the top flight, as Sam Allardyce looks to make the Hammers a permanent top-flight fixture.

West Ham United returned to the Premier League and wasted no time acquiring new talent to help re-establish the Hammers as a top-flight force.

Sam Allardyce added a host of players, with Andy Carroll's signature raising eyebrows across the country. Matt Jarvis also arrived at Upton Park, complete with a £10m price tag.

A string of consistent performances built around a midfield core of Kevin Nolan, Mohamed Diame and Mark Noble has helped West Ham slot comfortably among the mid-table pack at the halfway point.

Here, Sports Mole looks back on a productive first half of the campaign in East London.

August

Nolan wasted no time in getting on the scoresheet as West Ham marked their first game back in the top flight with a narrow win over Aston Villa.

Hammers fans were brought back down to earth a week later as Swansea City ran riot at the Liberty Stadium, trouncing the visitors 3-0.

A comfortable League Cup success at home to Crewe Alexandra rounded things off a month of mixed results for Allardyce's men.

September

Carroll made his debut as the Hammers began September with a 3-0 win over Fulham as Nolan, Winston Reid and Matt Taylor all netted.

Successive draws made it an unbeaten month in the league for the newly-promoted side. A stalemate at Norwich City was followed by a 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland.

Hopes of a League Cup run were quickly ended by Wigan Athletic, who ran out 4-1 winners at Upton Park in one of the round's surprise scorelines.

October

The Hammers began October with a pair of London derbies, which produced mixed results.

A Monday-night clash at Loftus Road proved fruitful as Jarvis opened his Hammers account in a 2-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers.

Arsenal proved too strong five days later, recovering from a superb solo strike from Diame to claim a 3-1 success. Southampton failed to offer the same resistance at Upton Park, with Nolan bagging brace to help West Ham get back to winning ways with a resounding 4-1 result.

A trip North ended the month on a sour note for Allardyce as some poor defending contributed to a 2-1 defeat against Wigan.

November

West Ham came up against a tough run of November fixtures but claimed some credible results.

A battling draw at home to Manchester City kicked things off, before Kevin Nolan netted against his former club to help the Hammers leave St James' Park with all three points.

Joey O'Brien was next to open his account as Stoke City were held at home a week later before back-to-back away defeats brought a three-match unbeaten run to a close.

Carroll's first Hammers goal was in vain as Spurs ran out 3-1 winners at White Hart Lane. Three days later a spirited display at Old Trafford failed to produce points thanks to Robin van Persie's goal in under a minute.

December

The festive period began with West Ham's best result since winning promotion as local rivals Chelsea were dispatched 3-1. Three goals in the final 30 minutes capped a stirring fightback from Allardyce's side.

A half-time lead against Liverpool looked to have them on the way to a repeat performance a week later, but the Reds fought back to claim a 3-2 victory.

West Bromwich Albion were held thanks to a strong display from Jussi Jaaskelainen, with the festive period rounded off with a narrow defeat to Everton despite Carlton Cole's early breakthrough.

A string of impressive results have the Hammers in 12th place, eight points clear of the drop zone.