Slav: The Unfathomable Situation

So here we are once more, huddled together like penguins, waiting for the news diligently, the news that doesn’t come.

I feel like I have been here before. That’s right, last September, following the 4-2 defeat by Watford. This is not a case of I told you so (as I prepare to say I kind of told you so), but Super Slav, is really not that super.

I mean, he’s lovely and I like the fact that he goes to rock concerts and wears band t-shirts and the players like him and all of that stuff, but when it comes to managing the football club, he’s just not that super. There, I said it.

As stated, there we were. Cold and cross at the London Stadium, wondering why we bothered as Zabaleta gave away a stonewall penalty and we stared down the barrel of a 3 – 0 defeat, to a team just promoted and with the greatest respect, were no great shakes.

Except of course, I was not there. I had already sold my season ticket on the exchange as the thought of watching West Ham again after the Swansea fixture, where we scraped home in the dying embers, by the skin of our teeth, did not fill me with the joy.  

I watched it of course from the comfort of my living room, knowing full well that the forty quid for my ticket sits comfortably in my e-ticketing account. Of course, I mean £27, after the club takes its cut, but I’m assured this money goes on ‘community-based’ projects, whether I like it or not.

What I’m saying is not that, ‘I am so clever, dodged a bullet’ etc. more that it was so clear what could have potentially happened that my head told me to stay away, even if my heart said otherwise.

This really is quite tragic. I have been on the waiting list for a new season ticket after not renewing when we left the Boleyn. I was excited for this season, having fought off my demons regarding the new stadium and the corporate facelessness that seemed to be the direction in which we were going.

I guessed I was ready to forgive all of that, as performances on the pitch were what mattered and given our recruitment over the summer, we had a fighting chance of doing better this season.  How wrong I was!

Despite the excitement of some big name summer signings, the same cracks were there, glaring, from the season before. Carroll and his injury woes are a running theme, the inability to strengthen at the back since the departure of James Tomkins, the gap left by Payet going forward. I mean Mikhail Antonio can only have so much gas in the tank and on Friday night, it appeared all of his endeavour and spark, had been replaced by frustration and malcontent.

Like a battered partner, hurt and upset after the Swansea performance, I knew I had to think carefully about how to move forward. I was wary and kept my distance against Brighton but knew that the disappointment of such a humiliating result will force action, will make the change. Sadly, I was wrong.

It is clear to most, probably to Slav himself, that the game is up. It has since transpired that he said his goodbyes and offered to leave a number of games ago after the same result at Newcastle. I mean, what other message do the board need, when their manager throws in the towel so early on? Is this Slav feeling the heat or is he admitting he does not know what to do?

We face the same situation as we did this time last year. A manager who for whatever reason is not getting the job done and leading the team into a potential struggle, a possible relegation battle, yet the owners deciding to ‘give him two more games.’

Personally, I find nothing more insipid and disappointing than this vapid response. What do they expect? What can anyone gain from this situation? Let’s discuss the options.

Option 1 – West Ham United, by some miraculous intervention from a higher power, get home against a rampant Spurs side and beat Palace away. Bilic stays and another disappointing season follows.

Option 2 – West Ham United beat Spurs somehow and lose to Palace. Although beating Spurs away is a feeling second to none, we will be deep in the relegation zone and will most probably be looking at another big team in the Caribou Cup.

Option 3 – West Ham United lose heavily to Spurs and beat Palace. A mini-reprieve in the league, but how likely are we to get a result at Selhurst if we are battered by a scarily in form Tottenham?

Option 4 – beaten by both, same position, except the players are more delusioned, lacking confidence, we are out of a cup and staring down the barrel in the league.

My fairly laboured point, is that this inertia and fear of change, is almost certainly going to cost us. No-one wants to sack a manager, I would have loved it if Slav worked, but it hasn’t. He could and in my book should have gone this time last year and we are quite clearly going backwards now.

I am grateful to the owners for a number of things, but not for this. The feeling in the camp is too relaxed, there is no real pressure (except for the fans), there is no urgency among players or staff. We have become a mini-Arsenal, the fans forced to accept a fate we do not really deserve.

This is the modern way: Chelsea 0-0 West Ham United

Talking points aplenty as much maligned West Ham United earn a valuable point at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Not many folk in the footballing world gave the Hammers much of a chance in this midweek fixture, but a resolute, never say die attitude from the players, ensured the Irons left West London the happier of the two camps. Big Sam welcomed back Andy Carroll to the starting line up, with Italian duo Nocerino and Borriello joining the club on loan, the former making the subs bench.
Chelsea's outstanding home form was a daunting prospect for the Hammers whose season's woes have been well- documented. That being said, our away form has generally been better, notching wins at Tottenham and Cardiff and we have the league's equal best clean sheet record along with Arsenal.
The game started slowly with West Ham United soaking up a great deal of Blues pressure. Oscar came the closest when his dipping effort hit the crossbar in the first half. Wave after wave of attack came, but the Irons sat deep and challenged the might of Chelsea to pass through them. The tactic worked in the first half and despite a very one-sided affair, the team went in nil-nil at the break. Yet another injury to disrupt proceedings for the Hammers occurred in the first half, as Mohamed Diame went barrelling over the advertising hoardings and into the crowd. A heavy fall for him brought on Matt Jarvis for the remainder of the game.
Chelsea also brought on Frank Lampard whose record against the Irons speaks for itself. The noisy travelling army were overjoyed to see his first effort of the game sail over the bar. Chelsea continued to knock on the door and the last ditch defending from West Ham was nothing short of immense. At one stage, three defenders dived in to make a block against the former West Ham man, typifying the resolute attitude we had come the expect under Big Sam, that quite frankly has been missing in recent weeks.
West Ham had a spectacular chance when Downing broke down the left and laid the ball on a plate for Andy Carroll. Rustiness abound sadly as he missed the ball playing an air shot into the top corner, to the sheer delight of the home fans.
This was very much against the run of play as Chelsea became more desperate for a goal and Eden Hazard showed why he wishes to be thought of in the same breath as Ronaldo and Messi. His trickery and guile was superb at times but every attempt was thwarted by a resurgent Adrian in the West Ham goal. His performance not dissimilar to that of Rob Green's when West Ham recorded the first victory at the Emirates many moons ago.
A clumsy tackle from Gary Cahill ended Joey O'Brien's season with a dislocated shoulder, so West Ham ended the match with ten men. West Ham still did not lie down, Samuel Eto'o having to resort to crude tactics, kicking the ball in the net as Adrian stepped back for his run up, from a Chelsea foul. Their player's gesticulating and pressuring the ref summed up what was a magnificent evening for the Hammers and a frustrating one for the Blues.
Mourinho protested after the game that West Ham played football from the 19th century and bemoaned Big Sam's tactics. Chelsea did in fact have 38 shots on target, the most from any team who have failed to score in the Premier League and there is the point, they failed to score and failed to beat us. I am not entirely sure in this modern era of football how teams like West Ham are supposed to go to these big boys and be competitive whilst knocking it around? I am not sure it is possible. Perhaps Big Sam is showing us the new modern way to get points at these super clubs. It may not have been prettying but it was vital, keeping us in touch with the rest of the pack at the bottom of the league. For once fat Frank did not have the last laugh and to see Mourinho so frustrated was music to East London's ears.
Apart from the two Italians, Sam has signed a further five players, most notably Pablo Armero the Napoli wing back who takes the place of Razvan Rat who has been released. Modify Maigs has gone on loan to QPR and I wish him all the best.
The sun is shining on this beautiful Saturday morning with West Ham entertaining the unpredictable Swansea City at the Boleyn Ground. I seem to be saying this weekly, but a must-win game for us; the gap between us and safety is now 2 points. Big Sam will be looking to build on the clean sheet record and Andy Carroll should start giving us greater threat up front.
Come on you Irons!

Adrian 9
Joey O' Brien 8
Tomkins 8
Collins 7
Demel 8
Taylor 8
Noble 6
Nolan 6
Downing 7
Diame 6
Carroll 6

Jarvis 6
Nocerino 6

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! 

West Ham United 3 - 0 Fulham FC

West Ham went back to winning ways in the London derby against their relegation rivals. 

It was a must-win game for both teams and after the seemingly constant debate surrounding West Ham's tactics in recent weeks, Big Sam changed the formation and the personnel. Modibo Maiga came in as the lone striker and Mohamed Diame came into the team also, with Jack Collison and Ravel Morrison making way. 

I must say the atmosphere was electric in the Boleyn Ground on this cold, Saturday afternoon. The Fulham fans sadly only managed to muster a measly 1500 bums on seats, meaning the majority of the Trevor Brooking stand was filled with Happy Hammers. They most certainly made a noise, with a majority of the stand singing the whole afternoon. The players responded duly and had a number of good opportunities early on. Maiga started brightly and had a header ricochet off the crossbar in the opening ten minutes. The West Ham pressure continued and it was James Collins next, whose header found the side netting. 

The team were most certainly knocking on the door but found themselves frustrated time and time again by the quality of shot or chances eking just wide. This was typified by the captain Kevin Nolan being set up with pinpoint accuracy by Matt Jarvis. Nolan in acres of space, set up a scissor-kick volley, only to tamely tap his effort at goalkeeper Stekelburg. 

West Ham continued brightly but Fulham looked vaguely dangerous on the counter attack. Most of their fluidity came from the quite lively performance of Adel Taarabt who caused the defence a couple of hiccups, but no major problems. Despite the dominance, the half ended 0-0.

The second half started with chances at either end. However it was Steve Sidwell who lost the ball in the Fulham midfield, Maiga collided with Scott Parker, who fell to the ground in pain, yet the referee decided to play on, leaving Mo Diame in acres of space and ready to pull the trigger. The ball took a wicked deflection off a beleaguered Fulham defender and into the right hand corner, for the first goal of the afternoon and to the temporary relief of all and sundry in East London today. Cue chants of 'how sh*t must you be? We're winning at home.'

Nerves set in however and a number of chances at either end were spurned. The better of the chances were at the Bobby Moore end with Maiga and Downing amongst a few players who could and should have done better with their final product. 

On came the reinforcements to settle this once and for all, with Joe Cole, Carlton Cole and Ravel Morrison replacing Jarvis, Maiga and Nolan respectively. In all honesty, the quality from the bench proved far too much for a beleaguered Fulham side, who saw Ravel set up a pacey Downing flying down the right wing, who put the ball on a plate for none other than Carlton Cole to pop into the back of the net and make the game safe at 2-0. Once again, the home crowd erupted. Fear finally overcome by elation and the realisation that in fact we are a good team who can play some excellent football at this level. That being said, Fulham on the whole were woeful. Still, lets not ruin the party just yet! 

The quality of football was typified by a searing run by Ravel Morrison who literally skipped past four Fulham players and looking to go the whole way himself, unselfishly pulled back for Joey Cole to fire into the bottom left hand corner for another deserved Hammer's goal. 3-0, thanks for coming.  

If one was to be critical, we could and should have put the game to bed earlier on. But credit to Sam and the players who continued to attack Fulham until the game was won. The team selection worked well too with Mo Diame providing much needed strength in midfield and Maiga, despite the criticism, having a very good game. If only he had played more, he might have pouched one or two of the chances that came his way. 

So a brief climb up the table and onto Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Tuesday night. Here is hoping the mighty Irons can make it two wins out of two, something they have not done since their return to the Premier League. Although Tony Pulis and a dogged Palace team will have something to say about that. 

Jussi 6
Not much to do but solid
Demel 7
Much better after his howler against Chelsea
Tomkins 7
Solid as usual
Collins 6
Often moves out of position but not caught against this oppo
McCartney 6
A solid return to the side
Noble 7
Played well as always
Diame 7
A poor first half but grew in confidence and his goal was obviously vital
Jarvis 7
Good distribution
Downing 7 
Some good opportunities - needs to get his shooting boots on
Nolan 5
Better - still not blowing my skirt up 
Maiga 6
A good game overall - wish he was more committed in 50/50s


Ravel Morrison 7
An absolute livewire from the bench
Carlton Cole 8
Well it had to be didn't it? Second touch and points secured
Joe Cole 8 (MOM) 
Marvellous play, goal and response from last week 

Hull City 1 - 0 West Ham United

Another week, another conversation about the referee. What is it about these guys? Perhaps Big Sam gives them the hump from the off with his hooting and hollering. I don't know but I don't think I have ever seen a softer penalty in my life. 12 minutes gone after a bright West Ham start, Brady goes down like a sack of spuds after the slightest of contact from Joey O Brien, penalty Hull City. O'Brien was looking at the ball yet Mr. Friend deemed it worthy of a spot kick in what would prove to be the decisive goal in the match.
Now there has been a lot of doom mongering amongst the West Ham faithful about terrible starts and easy teams played. Also the fact that we have not scored away from home in seven hours, doesn't make pretty reading. However, if you do your homework it is not all doom and gloom.  We had 60% of possession and had two more shots on target than the Tigers. It was a bad time to play Hull as they are riding the crest of a wave at the minute, which a la Blackpool, I can't see lasting forever. They didn't create anything else really and Bruce's excellent organisation prevented what looked like a certain West Ham goal. Tomkins header was cleared off the line and any other day could have gone in not to mention in the second half Roland Rat fired wide when really he should have scored.
The final saving grace is that dear Mr. Friend twisted the knife slightly more by not awarding the Hammers a second half penalty. Jake Livermmore stuck his arm out, moved towards the ball, the ball hit his arm, no penalty. It was a blatant one, still no dice for the irons.
So plenty of reason to feel aggrieved but after mulling the result and performance over, I am not too concerned. Yes we have a tough run, yes we still haven't scored, but we dominated the game and really deserved to win. We have had some atrocious luck and as has been widely documented the make up of the side is not quite right at present.
It was pleasing to see Tomkins back in the line up who didn't put a foot wrong. He provides a far greater aerial threat than any other of our defenders from set pieces and I think he could form a formidable partnership with Reidy at the back for years to come.
Ravel stills looks like a beautiful little dynamo and is causing a fascinating headache for Big Sam as the big boys like Cole and Downing return from injury. It will be interesting to see if he has the cajones to drop Kevin Nolan as I believe he rightly should on recent performances. Not to mention the fact that he could have very easily been sent off for a two-footed challenge on Leroy Rosenior in the opening ten minutes, his performances have been lacklustre of late.
So I am remaining positive - could actually see the irons getting something over at White Hart Lane next week and spoiling their party for once. Lest we not forget despite the disappointing start, we have had injuries and two weeks now of refereeing howlers. Our squad is stronger and more capable than this time last year. Obviously there are the striking issues, but sooner or later the luck has to turn and we find ourselves on the receiving end of some refereeing generosity. Defoe sent off, Noble penalty,  West Ham 1-0 next week? Dare to dream guys..!

Jussi 6
Went wrong way for penalty. Otherwise solid
Rat 6
Getting better each week. missed a howler
Joey O'Brien 7
Well played. Desperately unlucky for the penalty
Tomkins 7
Solid and an aerial threat
Reid 7
Very good as usual
Noble 7
Typically energetic
Diame 6
Out of position and struggling
Nolan 5
Poor once again. Could have been sent off
Jarvis 6
Not a lot too write home about
Morrison 7 *
Getting better ever game
Maiga 5
Gettting better. Still little goalscoring threat

Vaz Te 6
Could be worth a start soon
Downing 5
Poor. Not one good cross
Petric 6
Not hugely effective today

West Ham 2 Everton 3

A quite remarkable match ended (as it usually does) in favour of the Toffees, when these teams meet. Three goals and a sending off in 14 minutes saw the Hammers condemned to their second straight home defeat.
It was not all doom and gloom, West Ham started brightly and scored the opener via the gifted Ravel Morrison. Some intelligent and pacey wing play from Matt Jarvis, gave Ravel the time to tee up his shot before seeing it deflected and past the hapless Howard between the sticks. West Ham for large swathes of the first half were dominant and looked good for the lead. Had we any sort of attacking threat up front, we could have seen the lead doubled. As it is Maiga is an absolute waste of space and ever reliable Kevin Nolan is lacking form. Perhaps he misses his old buddy big Andy Carroll. Lets hope the bed wetting hasn't started up again.
The general consensus in the Trevor Brooking Lower was that we would most certainly take 1-0 at half time. We nullified the Everton attacking/counter-attacking threat and looked threatening ourselves; much better given two toothless performances on the bounce at Southampton and at home to Stoke.
However, there were rumblings and murmurings from the tunnel and lo and behold Martinez had only gone and done it. That's right guys, big Romelu Lukaka was making his way onto the pitch. Cue collective groan around the Boleyn. Ode to having a manager brave enough and forward thinking enough to make the necessary changes; changes that ultimately won them the game.
Everton proceeded on the attack (shock horror) and in some respects West Ham did well to nullify their threat in the most part. Mark my words, this Everton side are good. Very good. Barkley, Oviedo, Osman, Lukaku, Bloody Baines....the list goes on to their attacking threat and they will undoubtedly blow a few skirts up this year.
So the attacks come thick and fast and the West Ham defence are guilty of stepping off far too much. But it's ok because Ginger James Collins made up for that with a flying tackle just outside the area to fell new England prospect Gnarls Barkley. Shame young Gnarls didn't jump up and take it because every shot he seemed to have today flew into Row Z. So up steps Leighton Baines and pings it into Jussi’s right side top corner. 1 - 1.
The Boleyn crowd however remained upbeat; the sight of Maiga leaving the field helped this and on came Mladen Petric who started rather brightly. Now Maiga can learn a lot from the Croatian frontman. Chase the ball being the number 1 lesson. Secondly, being a striker, you can put a foot in. It is not going to damage your rainbow laces if you make the odd tackle. Just the odd one Modibo! Anyway Petric did just this, chased a ball towards the Bobby Moore Lower, challenged Howard, putting on enough pressure to win the ball back. He then looked up and picked out a perfect pass (these are all things I have never seen Maiga do - so excuse my surprise) to captain Kevin Nolan, who made his only important contribution of the game, falling over like a sack of spuds and earning the Irons a penalty. The fans were elated, we could not believe it. Up steps recently yellow-carded Mark Noble to very coolly slot it into the bottom left hand corner. 2-1 with 14 minutes to go.
One of the lads behind me said, 'I would give my left nut for that clock to be 10 minutes later.' Now my Father always taught me to never wish my life away but I had to agree with the tattooed young chap. How prophetic his words proved to be also. Everton attacked once more and Gnarls, despite his inability to shoot on target, was linking up well with Big Romelu. Having seen Gnarls flirting with the penalty area and knowing he is on a yellow card, Mark Noble flies in and brings the young lad down. Now it appears to me and the other thousand or so West Ham fans in our block that he had got the ball. It looked on Match of the Day like he had got the ball. I am not even going to mention the fact that his first booking was innocuous and not worth a card. I just won’t. So in his infinite wisdom and due to the fact he probably had Everton in his acca this morning, Lee Mason sends off Mark Noble. Bad times. Then we realised where the free kick had occurred. That’s right folks. Edge of area, bang in front.
I don't need to explain the rest because we all know what happened. The only difference was Baines went left side this time. Oh and pinged it off the inside of the post, just to take the mick a little more. Some early suggestions had been that Jussi could have moved quicker or was poorly positioned. Absolute drivel for me. There was no saving it. Even Batman wouldn't have got there in time.
So the end was nigh and the inevitability of what followed was clear. Everton poured forward and a pinpoint cross found the head of Lukaku who deserved one to be fair, found the back of the net, knocking himself out in the process.
Cue many a West Ham fan exiting the ground. I like a numpty decided to stay, to see the end and watch Ricardo Vaz Te miss a golden opportunity to head us a point. He must have been watching Gnarls as it ended up somewhere in Row Q of the Bobby Moore Stand.
Things to note. Petric is better than Maiga. To be honest, Big Sam is better than Maiga but Big Sam doesn't have the front to pick himself I suppose. I heard a few murmurs of folk saying that Maiga had 'won at least five good headers...lets be fair on him...' Really? Is that what it's come too? Anyone who watches West Ham regularly knows this season has been like playing with 10 men. I for one have lost my patience with Maiga and praise be, I reckon Big Sam has too. Carling Cup on Tuesday night, what is the harm in giving young Ellliot Lee a go? He can't be any worse.
Winston Reid was absolutely outstanding. He is so passionate for the club and team. When Baines second went in, he was screaming at the bench in sheer frustration. One can only assume that he aimed this at Noble, who should know better than to give away the free kick in that spot, especially when Lee Mason is around.
Ravel Morrison continues to develop and impress. He needs to keep his place when the big guns are back.
Kevin Nolan. Can we send him on compassionate leave? He is not the same player this year and I think the news that Carroll is out for a while has affected him.
Apart from the result and the referee, there were a lot of positives for the West Ham faithful as we did play well and dominated the game in patches. I am getting a bit hacked off with the constant praise of James Collins too. I swear that man has a howler a week and this time the free kick was a big one. It was a rash challenge and any defender should know better.
So it is not panic stations yet. We can still cling onto the coming of age of Ravel and a new player who looks lively upfront. However, next week's game against Hull becomes rather important as we have a tough run after that. We can all hope for a morale boosting win under the lights on Tuesday in the cup and then let the season start properly from that. I hate to say it but poor signings in the transfer window has got us into a little bit of a pickle. Let’s get behind the club and hope that the powers that be can pull us out also. Not to mention the odd referee decision going our way!

Jussi 7

Fine. Couldn’t do much about the goals

Rat 7

Held his own

Reid 9

Just outstanding

Collins 6

Solid despite his one howler a game

Joey O Brien  7

No problems

Morrison 8

Our best attacking threat

Diame 6

Ok. Got kicked about a bit

Noble 6

Difficult to rate. Shouldn’t have been sent off

Jarvis 6

Set up a goal but otherwise ineffective

Nolan 6

Nothing much to write home about

Maiga 4

Poor. Again.

Petric 7

Worked hard, largely earned the penalty

Ricardo Vaz Te 5

Did little. Missed a good chance

Taylor 5

Off the pace, Doesn’t cut it at this level.