By Conor Hogan
**West Ham have won their last two Premier League games, scoring six goals and securing six points before the international break.**
Following 3–1 and 3–2 victories over Newcastle and Burnley respectively, the Irons have nearly scored as many goals in their last two games as they had in their previous nine (6–7).
Although the Hammers didn’t pepper the goal in either game, they have recently proven themselves a prolific side capable of scoring from a variety of situations. In the last two matches, the Hammers have scored from set pieces, from periods of possession, and from quick counters.
What’s also worth considering is how the ball has ended up in the back of the net. Lucas Paquetá scored a cracking goal to equalise against Newcastle, but the five goals the Hammers have scored since have been different; they haven’t been sublime strikes or finessed finishes — they’ve been a little more… chaotic.
The term “chaos goals” was introduced into West Ham’s online fan discourse during the 2023/24 season. It was coined by a West Ham YouTube commentary channel and refers to a goal scored via a deflection, a six-yard-box scramble, a “bundling” of the ball over the goal line — essentially, any goal that’s scrappy and not aesthetically pleasing.
“Chaos goal” was meant as an insulting term — a lament that West Ham had to rely on good fortune rather than skill to score during David Moyes’ final season with the club. The term was part of a larger discussion surrounding the team’s performances at the time: displays that were tedious to sit through, but still got results.
It’s a term that has been used among Hammers fans online whenever the goals have dried up at West Ham in recent seasons, and occasionally as a backhanded compliment when the team has scored. When chaos goals were scored, there was even a small section of the online West Ham fanbase that didn’t deem them worthy — yes, really.
But West Ham’s last two games? Full of chaos goals: an own goal, two sliding finishes from inches out, a chested finish on the line, and a header from inside the six-yard box after a huge deflection. All chaos goals — and no one complained, because West Ham had scored, and goals of any kind are exactly what the team needs to secure safety in the league this season.
The “chaos goal” term is used less frequently now — it was the in-vogue buzzword of West Ham social media discourse in 2024 — but after the domestic successes of 2020/21 and 2021/22, and a major European trophy triumph in 2023, a small section of the West Ham online fanbase felt qualified to lecture everyone on what was deemed a “worthy” or “unworthy” goal.
Hammers fans no longer have that luxury. After an abysmal 2024 and 2025, West Ham are now in the relegation zone, fighting to stay in the Premier League. We’ll take any goals we can get — and we’ll enjoy them.
At the end of the day, no matter how they’re scored, goals win games — and West Ham need to keep winning games if they’re to play top-flight football next season