Manchester United vs West Ham: Hammers must end Wayne Rooney woes and deliver in Old Trafford double header

Wayne's world: No Manchester United player has scored more goals against West Ham than Rooney
Man Utd via Getty Images
John Dillon26 November 2016

Now it is Wayne Rooney’s turn to resume his personal persecution of West Ham after Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku performed their familiar knife-twisting act in recent weeks.

No Manchester United player has scored more than the 12 goals he has racked up for the club against the Hammers since 2004. George Best got 11. Sir Bobby Charlton hit 10.

They have been very obliging through the years in east London in doing their bit to help forge the achievements of some of United’s greatest players.

And Rooney gets not one but two chances to improve this tally during the coming days as West Ham visit Old Trafford twice, first in the Premier League on Sunday and then in an EFL Cup quarter-final next Wednesday.

In fact, these two games threaten to expose some failings which are wearily familiar to West Ham supporters, who have watched the promise of last season dissolve in a fractious campaign strewn with injuries, feeble home defeats at the new Olympic Stadium, embarrassment in Europe and a total collapse of the stunning away form which marked the start of Slaven Bilic’s reign as manager in 2015-16.

By this time last year, they had won at Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Crystal Palace and on this corresponding weekend, they secured a goalless draw at United.

This season, they have been beaten at Chelsea, City, West Bromwich Albion, Everton and – painfully – at Spurs last weekend, when they led 2-1 with two minutes to go and then got a full dose of the Kane treatment.

In Pictures | Tottenham vs West Ham | 19/11/2016

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Kane’s two late goals took his total against West Ham in the past three seasons to five. When Lukakau hit the target in Everton’s 2-0 win at Goodison Park in October, it was his ninth strike against them.

Obviously, these facts highlight the chronic defensive problems which have haunted Bilic’s team this season. But perhaps this susceptibilty to certain, threatening bogey opponents like these – admittedly, both great strikers - also uncovers another uncomfortable truth.

It suggests that the perverse mental fragility which has haunted so many West Ham sides through the decades remains a part of their DNA despite the exploits of the previous campaign.

In a week in which the retirement of Steven Gerrard has prompted eulogies about his two-goal personal turn-around of the 2006 FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham in Cardiff, you can see a long-established pattern at work, can’t you?

It is why it is so important that West Ham do not allow Rooney to plague them yet again in the coming days. If only for their own self-respect.

In fact, he hasn’t been a regular starter in league matches for United this season. But if United boss Jose Mourinho follows the stats alone rather than his suspicion that Rooney is no longer quick enough for the Premier League – those 12 goals have come in 18 games - then he’ll surely be first on the team sheet.

Especially as Rooney is once again in record-harvesting mood just now after claiming an all-time best 39th goal in Europe for United in the 4-0 defeat of Feyenoord on Thursday. Charlton’s all-time club record of 249 is within touching distance now, too.

To emphasise the point about his particular liking for punishing West Ham, his most striking performances against them include a hat-trick at Upton Park in April, 2011, a famous goal fired home from the half-way line there in March, 2014 and the winner in an FA Third Round replay at Old Trafford in January, 2013.

Bilic’s team, however, need to put some belief and grit back into their season at Old Trafford on Sunday. If they then secure a place in the League Cup semi-final, it would provide a welcome moment of excitement in a dismal season, too. And it will certainly help the much-troubled process of settling into the new ground if such an occasion is staged there.

When West Ham went to Old Trafford last March for an FA Cup sixth round tie, it was amid the euphoria of a thrilling and successful final season at Upton Park.

It came in the wake of a memorable home win against Spurs and a 3-2 win at Everton. Dimitri Payet’s brilliant 68th minute free-kick goal was one of the stand-out moments of the season, although Anthony Martial equalised and then United – surprisingly to some - won the replay.

United boss Mourinho also has his own particularly sharp memories of West Ham’s surge through last Autumn. Remember how he was sent to the stands as his Chelsea side were beaten 2-1 at Upon Park last October? The pictures of The Special One looking glum and resigned while hemmed in by gleeful Hammers fans were resonant and striking.

In Pictures: West Ham vs Man United Boleyn Ground farewell

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Six weeks after the FA Cup tie in March, United were back and were defeated 3-2 in the uproarious last game at Upton Park. It was a night hugely memorable for its own sake. But it also promised much for the following season.

Yet all these recollections now illustrate graphically the extent of the tumble West Ham have taken in just eight months since then, with the team just one place above the relegation spots after finishing seventh last season.

That is why it is time for them to take a stand against Rooney. Mourinho and United at Old Trafford. Twice. These are two pivotal moments in a season on the brink for West Ham.

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