Cardiff City 0 - 2 West Ham United

West Ham's hoodoo over Cardiff City continued as the East Londoners picked up a vital three points in the fight for survival.

Much has been discussed of the week preceding the Cardiff City game and Big Sam backed his tried and tested players when it came to team selection in South Wales. Matt Taylor, Jack Collison, Carlton Cole all started while Mo Diame and Ravel Morrison were notably dropped to the bench.
A positive start was slowed by the injury to Guy Demel, who was elbowed in the eye by new arrival Roger Johnson. It never rains, it pours at Upton Park. Another injury to a key defender and this is eight minutes gone in the game. George McCartney, as has become familiar, filled in as West Ham soldiered on through the first half.
Despite Cardiff City showing some rather impressive attacking flair, it was West Ham who opened the scoring. Matt Jarvis played in a first time ball from the right, which Carlton Cole hit first time into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Cardiff continued their dominance of possession and had shots galore to match. Adrian was once again passionate and impressive in between the sticks for the Hammers and made some splendid saves to deny Odemwingie and later Craig Bellamy.
With twenty minutes of the match to go, Big Sam brought on Andy Carroll, who looked as fit as a butcher's dog and fresh for the fight. He won his first header on and continued to impress from there.
As stated previously, it never rains it torrentially persists down at West Ham and James Tomkins was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence, meaning the last throes of the game were rather nervy for an away faithful getting used to regular drubbings.
Luckily, the combined efforts of Andy Carroll, who set up the ever-present Mark Noble in the 93rd minute to rifle the ball low and hard into the net were enough to secure the points. If ever a player deserved this goal, it was stand-in captain Mark Noble. The player scraps and fights for the team week in, week out and covered every blade on the grass on the pitch. I don't think there is a West Ham fan in the land who would not have him as our club captain after this performance.
That being said, it was heart-warming to see the reaction of management, players and staff combined at the final whistle of this fixture. It became clear to all and sundry what a tight unit the players are and also that they are behind the manager, who interestingly refrained from talking to the media after the game. Perhaps this was a metaphoric two fingers to the press and fans who have bashed Sam continuously during the last few weeks.
Either way, the team was triumphant, Andy Carroll looked impressive and hopefully this is a turning point for a team who surely cannot suffer too much more bad luck this season.
Next week, Newcastle United visit Upton Park in a game that will prove whether Big Sam's boys are here to stay or this result was just a flash in the pan.
Come on you Irons!

Adrian 8
Excellent performance and passion
Demel 5
Injured early on
Johnson 6
Getting better - but could do with not injuring our best defenders
Tomkins 5
Disappointing due to sending off
Rat 6
Fair performance
Noble 10
WHAT A GUY
Jarvis 7
Consistent supply
Downing 7
A good game
Collison 6
Worked hard
Taylor 7
Has been very good when asked of this season
Cole 8
A goal and another top effort from the lad

McCartney 7
Asked to fill in - did very well
Carroll 7
A lovely assist and great to see him back

Big Sam's moment of truth? West Ham v Sunderland preview

When I bought my season ticket this year, I did not think a pre-Christmas fixture with Sunderland at home would be the make or break point of our season. Oh how quickly us Hammers forget, eh? There I was at the start, after the comfortable dispatching of Cardiff City, mulling over exactly what position in the top ten we would finish. Would we nick into a Europa spot? It could happen you know...
Well, it feels like a bicentennial age since Kevin Nolan boomed the ball into the top left corner and won the game for us. A majority of the rest of the season has been woeful to say the least, bar the master-class against Spurs and a home-drubbing of Fulham. Like that match two weeks ago, this one is also a must win.
A lot of West Ham fans have been wondering whether Big Sam will be sitting down to his turkey dinner a jobless man or indeed the manager of West Ham United for his third Christmas in a row. My gut feeling is the latter. These are owners who don't like to move managers on and as a club, loyalty is one of our better traits.
That being said, Gullivan must have learnt from the horrorshow under Avram Grant, where he was backed in the transfer window and even with the collective might of Parker, Ba and Robbie Keane going hammer and tongs, still couldn't keep us up.
Sunderland however are in a slightly more precarious position than us. Common sense tells us that Gus Poyet is probably slightly more clueless than dear old Sam at this juncture in their respective clubs and Sunderland do need this victory more. 
It will be the usual situation at Upton Park, with West Ham storming out of the blocks (like they did against Fulham) searching for that opening goal to calm and settle what will be a vociferous crowd. However, if the goal does not come, the crowd will turn and nerves begin to set in.
I for one am not too bothered about the injury news. Having been one of the more vocal detractors of Captain Kev this season, I am in fact glad to see him unavailable. I do not take for granted the excellent effect he has in the changing room and with the lads, my grievance is only poor form. As such, I am looking forward to Ravel  moving further up the pitch and see this as an excellent opportunity for him to show the world what he really can do.
If Tomkins does not make it, this will be a big miss. However, even with two broken legs, a torn hamstring,  a couple of black eyes, I still imagine the backroom staff would patch him up and send him out once more unto the breach.
I hope not to rue my overconfidence come Saturday night, but I do think our class will show through at some stage, why not now? As West Ham fans we have over-hypothesised this season too many times, but on the whole, there have been glimpses of some excellent play. Hopefully, with our backs to the wall and in our darkest time under Big Sam's reign, it will click tomorrow and ease the pressure on all and sundry. After all, let's face it, we don't want a new manager do we? Who is out there of any note? 
On a brighter note, Carroll's return looms ever nearer and Maiga on a law of averages has to score at some time. Diarra looks like he is out on his ear come January and the board have promised a decent striker in the window, so there is room for positivity come what may. Although nothing would make us more positive than a good three points, with a depleted side tomorrow. Come on you Irons! 

Crystal Palace 1 - 0 West Ham United

It was back down to earth with a terrifying thump for West Ham fans as they suffered their eighth defeat of the campaign so far.
Carlton Cole got his first start of the season in a straight swap for the much improved Maiga. Ravel Morrison came into the starting line up in place of Matt Jarvis, with Mo Diame keeping his place in the Iron's midfield.
A thunderous atmosphere saw the home side start brightly without creating a multitude of chances. West Ham weathered the inevitable storm, before beginning to get a foothold in the game, dominating possession and creating useful chances. It was a typical London derby, with lots of scrapping and balls being fought for and it really was a case of who wanted it more. That did look like West Ham for the most part of the first half, with Diame going close with a header over the bar and Nolan once again, tapping the ball into the arms of the keeper Speroni, following a cute Mark Noble free kick.
It was a West Ham error that earned Crystal Palace a corner which was well executed by Barry Bannan but cleared by the West Ham defence. The ball fell nicely again to the corner taker, who whipped in a magnificent cross to leave the West Ham defence wrong-footed. Add a deft Morouane Chamakh touch and it was 1-0 Palace with Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble left flailing hopelessly as the ball trickled past them and into the net.
It was a hammer blow (no pun intended) for a team which dominated possession in the first half however only managed one chance on target; the story of our season.
The second half began and despite a lot of huff and puff from the West Ham attack there was little final product as the Hammers flattered to deceive. Big Sam had seen enough of a lacklustre performance by Carlton Cole and another vital miss from Nolan and pulled them off in favour of Maiga and Joe Cole. The pace of the game was difficult for Cole to keep up with but he hassled well, while Maiga didn't really have many chances in front of goal. In fact, it was Crystal Palace on the break who looked the more threatening and managed to create some chances which should have killed the game off. Cameron Jerome clean through on goal saw his shot well saved by the diving Jussi and Jimmy Kebe netted, only to be ruled offside.
The major talking point of the game came from a West Ham corner where from Chamakh's clearance the ball fell to Downing who rifled the ball into Speroni's net only for Tomkins to have been judged offside in the process. A bizarre decision, where upon replay it appeared that Tomkins had been fouled and indeed West Ham could have had a penalty.
West Ham continued to knock on the door with no real force and found themselves wanting once again in the attacking department. Downing had a free kick saved low to his left by Speroni, but Palace's dogged defending and closing down kept West Ham at bay. Our attacks lacked any pace at all and as such our continuous attempts to pass through them fell flat on their face. 
Big Sam will rue the disallowed goal, however we should have at least have had a goal in the first half, in particular Kevin Nolan's woeful strike, which would have made the second half far more interesting. I wouldn't mind except this is the third time I have seen Nolan attempt a volley this season, through on goal, to no avail. Luckily against Spurs and Fulham it didn't matter. 
Full credit, to a Palace side invigorated by the appointment of Pulis. They played their socks off and gave our playmakers (ahem) no time on the ball. In addition to this, the noise and atmosphere truly was something to behold at Selhurst Park. They refuse to lie down and I dare say there could be some interesting twists before the end of the season. 
A very tough run of fixtures follow before the mercy of the transfer window. Initial talk is of Andy Carroll being back for the West Brom game on the 28th December, but I shall hold my breath on this one. If we can somehow snaffle 5-6 points in December, hopefully the new year will bring some fresh legs and momentum to what has been a disappointing season so far.  

Beautiful Eggs and Rotten Ones

The Happy One confirmed his thoughts about the Chelsea squad, claiming he had 'beautiful young eggs' he needs to keep 'warm'. An amusing interview, which depicted the reason why English football needs Mourinho back in the Premier League. His demeanour was calm and as a football fan, you could see by his cutting wit when asked twice about 'the worst start to a Premier League season,' that he is calm and relaxed about the long term future of his team.

But what about the Mighty Irons though? I read a tweet last night that informed me that with all our midfielders fit, we have a 'stunning' selection of players. I would agree we have an impressive array of talent in that area and the coming of age of Ravel, can only add pace and guile to it.

But my question and major concern lies with the other areas. The defence has been impressive this season but does it have the legs and do we have the back up to the ever-present Reid and Collins to last a lengthy season? What if, heaven forbid, there is a cup run? Tomkins will play but will he be Premier League fresh to stand in if required? Is Dan Potts ready? Will he get his chance at all? Is Rat good enough? Early suggestions on limited viewings suggest not. My point is that Big Sam has done a tremendous job of making silk purses out of some hairy ears. Collins is still prone to a howler see Swansea away last year, Southampton on Saturday, but is big strong and reliable. Fair enough. Demel, who looked like a fish out of water has held his own and can produce going forward. The turnaround of Joey O' Brien and George McCartney (when fit) is nothing short of spectacular in my opinion. Finally - Winston Reid. In all honesty, I never thought he would make it in the Premier League, yet Big Sam has turned him into one of the Premier League's most reliable central defenders. Behind these trusty few - what is there though? Not a lot by my reckoning and a majority of the aforementioned are at the peak of their powers at this moment in time.

This leads me nicely onto the strikers. I literally shift in my seat and feel a wave of nausea when this over-egged (excuse the pun) issue comes up. I am sick to death of talking about the whys and wherefores of Andy Carroll's injury. A lot of people in the know, had him pegged as a long term injury problem. Some have mooted that this is a career-ender. West Ham fans will wait with baited breath. Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder in East London and granted the team need him back. But he is not the second coming. He will not be reintroduced in a hail of lightning and thunder, leaving defenders in his wake and destroying goal mouths with every strike. That's right West Ham fans; he is merely mortal and will take time and games to get anywhere near where he was at the end of last year.

The concern comes from the lack of options and quite frankly the short-sightedness of all involved at our predicament. Yes we do not concede many. In fact the only goal conceded so far was a set piece that quite frankly should not have been awarded. But can someone scream in Big Sam's ear, we may need to score a goal or two this year?

It's ok though, Sam has a backup plan. Trusty Carlton Cole. Oh, actually not him, he is not fit enough to return to Premier League action. Plan B? Phew, good work Big Sam. Mladen Petric. Petric, you say? He did ok at Fulham didn't he? Excellent, get him straight in and up top! Oh, one small problem he too, is FIVE WEEKS away from fitness. What is going on?

So we are left up top with rotten eggs and ugly ducklings for now. There will certainly be no shopping in Waitrose for us. The Beautiful Young Eggs behind, will have to do their best and hopefully keep us afloat until January, the transfer window or the Second Coming arrives in East London.

Anyway, what are West Ham fans predictions about this year? I reckon 14^th. I think with the weaknesses up front we will struggle away and be acceptable at home. 

What are other people’s thoughts?