West Ham United 3 - 3 West Bromwich Albion

Sam's 'must win match' ends in a draw as West Ham's inability to hold a lead costs them dear once again.

Big Sam stuck with the team that valiantly went down to Arsenal two days previously and was rewarded early on when some intelligent and neat interplay by the much maligned Kevin Nolan, landed at Joe Cole's feet who made no mistake from 12 yards out, beating Ben Foster at his near post.

As the sun beat down on the Boleyn Ground, there was a brief feeling of joy, was this going to be the day we finally fulfilled our potential? The crowd certainly needed something to cheer, if Twitter rumours are to be believed, young protege Ravel Morrison had indeed handed in a transfer request adding to the Hammers woes over the festive period.
In addition to this, David Gold tweeted the return estimations for some of our bigger players. Early suggestions had predicted big Andy Carroll on the bench for this game, not to be, he is apparently out for another 3/4 weeks. Cue collective groan.

As such, an early goal was well needed, but rather than force forward and get that vital second, West Ham, a team with little belief at present found themselves on the backfoot, being outpassed by a belligerent and hungry West Brom outfit.

The cause was not helped by James Tomkins being subbed after eight minutes due to injury. Might I add what a stellar attitude this lad has got. In addition to his personal troubles at the present time, as the board for Guy Demel went up to indicate the sub, Tomkins waved it away and tried to run off his injury up and down the sidelines. His grimace of pain said enough and eventually the substitution was made. If we had eleven players with the courage and heart of Tomkins, I feel we would not be getting these continually disappointing results.

A surprise bonus of the festive period is the imperious return to form of Matt Jarvis. A goal against Spurs and some excellent displays continued today as he wreaked havoc down the left flank. That being said, despite the pressure and Carlton Cole causing a nuisance up front, there were no more first half goals to ease the mounting pressure on the West Ham back four. It must also be added with the removal of Tomkins, West Ham had no recognised centre backs playing. McCartney filled in magnificently, Joey O'Brien certainly struggled.

It was indeed the signs of a makeshift defence when Chris Brunt provides a killer pass that beat the offside trap and found Anelka, who slotted effortlessly past the recalled Jussi Jaaskelainen late in the second half. The ground fell under a spellbound silence, something that has become all too familiar this year.
 
It did not take the Baggies long to take the lead. A corner which perhaps should have been a goal kick was cleared off the line by big Carlton Cole and fell at the feet of Anelka, who prodded home his second is as many minutes. West Ham went into the changing room 2-1 down.

West Ham started the second half timidly and found themselves under increasing pressure from a resurgent West Brom side. The home fans were getting tetchy to say the least, more from the distinct lack of fight than their lack of quality. Anelka found himself in on goal again, two minutes after the restart but a good save by Jussi kept the Frenchman from sealing a ten minute hat-trick.

Modibo Maiga came on a the interval for the carded Carlton Cole and begun to make an impact, forcing a fingertip save from Ben Foster for a West Ham corner. Just two minutes later in the 65th minute, a beautiful curling left-foot shot by Maiga, bounced in front of Foster and found its way into the back of the net and built some belief around the Boleyn. The noise level was up again, the crowd roared into life (my throat is still sore!) and West Ham went on the attack again.

Maiga again was integral as he nodded on Noble's cross to the waiting Nolan, who dare I say it, athletically, poked in from six-yards out-3-2 West Ham! This couldn't be happening? Written in the stars perhaps? Beleaguered captain scores crunch game winner in East London...

Predictably it was not to be, as the impressive Berahino eased past Guy Demel two minutes later and slotted neatly past Jaaskaleinen. Although a sweet finish from a tight angle, I do feel Adrian might have had this one covered. Either way it was 3 - 3 after a mad eight minutes and a nervy finish for the East London side.

West Ham were either exhausted, flat or did not care in the final 20 minutes as this was the poorest spell of the game for the team. They were outrun and outplayed by the Baggies and Berahino was unlucky not to have grabbed the winner with a sweet, curling free kick that hit the corner of the upright. Jussi stood cemented to the spot for the fifth time this season. Mercifully, this one did not result in an opposition goal.

The game ended with a chorus of boos and I was adamant Big Sam would have to be releived of his duties after this one. The chairmen wanted 6 points from the festive period, we had 2 points with one to play.

My only conclusion is that there is so much that needs managing behind the scenes that it would be dangerous to get rid of the big man just now. I don't really buy into the concept of 'if you were in this situation, you would appoint Allardyce' philosophy, he has got us into this situation.

That being said, there are two sides to every argument. The first being managing this horrific injury list, a team with no morale, clearly a difficult and bullish young starlet etc.  The other side is the short-sighted signings, the negative tactics, the distinct lack of fight from key players at the moment, our shocking return from free kicks and corners at the moment (I thought Big Sam was a master of the set piece?)

Either way, its tough work being a Hammer at the moment - do spare a thought for us. Happy new year, to all and here's hoping 2014 can start brightly in an away game at Fulham where quite frankly anything can happen.

Jussi 5
You were right first time Sam - his time has gone
JOB 4
Very poor - out of position - a fish out of water
G McCartney 7
Fought tirelessly
Tomkins 5
Injured after 8 minutes
Rat 6
Played well - needs to improve his forward balls
Noble 5
Mediocre today - very negative when passing
Diame 3
Where is the fight?
Jarvis 7
Played well - had bottle -created chances
Nolan 6
Scored a goal - was ineefective otherwise in midfield
Cole 6
Worked hard - well taken goal
C.Cole 6
Gave it his limited all


Maiga  7*
Turned the game - something to be positive about
Collison 6
Ran around a lot
Demel 5
Disappointing - Berahino made him look a bit silly for the third goal

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 2 West Ham United

For the second time in ten weeks, West Ham United have beaten Spurs at White Hart Lane to heap even more pressure on the underachieving North London club.

Stand in Spurs manager, Tim Sherwood, showed his intent by playing two strikers, something AVB was reticent to do whilst Big Sam named an experienced, yet largely second string side. Noble, Diame and Morrison dropped to the bench and there were call ups for Matty Taylor, Alou Diarra and Jack Collison. Razvan Rat returned to the starting line up and George McCartney filled in at centre back for the injured James Tomkins.
Carlton Cole made only his second start of the season upfront.

Tottenham started the brighter of the two teams and ex-Hammer Jermain Defoe, had a gilt-edged chance. Spurs continued to make a lot of the running in the first half with chances for Adebayor and Sigurdsson both going astray. As has been the case for a majority of this season, there was a lot of huff and puff from Tottenham but little final product and as the minutes ebbed away, West Ham knew they had every opportunity of nicking a chance on the break.

That being said, there were few West Ham chances in the first half, with Carlton Cole striking tepidly at Lloris and Jarvis causing difficulties down the left hand side, sadly there was little else to write home about. Defensively though, the Irons were outstanding. Marshalled by stand-in skipper James Collins, West Ham frustrated their opponents, not dissimilarly to the league match here in October. Diarra and Collison sat in front of the back four and broke up Tottenham's play well and looked to attack on the break.

In the second half, Sam swapped a tired looking Carlton Cole for Modibo Maiga. The latter won a corner for the Irons that was well defended and saw Tottenham burst up the pitch. Townsend found Defoe, who beat Matt Taylor, to produce a pinpoint cross to Adebayor, who rifled the ball into the top of the net. The Spurs faithful went wild and from Adebayor's celebrations, you would have thought he had just won the league for his side.

As the game moved into the final third, Big Sam looked to make further impact and brought on the ever-impressive Mo Diame for Joe Cole. His low shot from Maiga's flick on brought the best out of Hugo Lloris as West Ham refused to lie down once again at White Hart Lane.
 
Andros Townsend pulled up with a hamstring injury which will see him out of action until the new year and Sherwood decided to pull off Adebayor to much applause from the Tottenham fans.

Then the moment came from an Adrian clearance, which found Maiga's head superbly who knocked down to Diame. He played it into Matty Taylor, who had the vision to put Matthew Jarvis in wide on the left. Jarvis took a first time shot which cannoned into the back of the net, to even the score on the night.

Big Sam sensing blood or deja vu, made his final change of the night bringing on Ravel Morrison for the final ten minutes of the match. Diame et al continued to be a nuisance and a long cross that looked to be going out of play was kept in by Jarvis who managed to find Ravel, who played himself out of trouble before laying off a perfect ball to Diame, wide on the right. Diame with time to pick out his man, played in a majestic ball that spun and swirled in the air and found Maiga's head which in turn found the left hand corner of the goal and a 2-1 scoreline to West Ham. This was Maiga's first goal in twenty games and was fabulously taken by the much maligned centre-forward.
 
Tottenham brought on Lewis Holtby for their final throw of the dice and tried to test the West Ham defence. Their best opportunity came for Nacer Chadli, who through on goal was quite brilliantly challenged by Joey O' Brien and thus tamely knocked his effort towards the open arms of 'keeper Adrian.
 
In fact, it was West Ham who had the best opportunity to wrap up the game with a threatening break, started by Jack Collison with some nimble footwork, who played out to Ravel Morrison. Diame thrust forward as Tottenham's withered defence found themselves stretched once more. A half clearance fell to Maiga who beat his defender sublimely and shot from thirty yards only to watch the ball thunder off the crossbar and fall at the feet of a Spurs defender.
 
West Ham saw out the five minutes of added time to record another sublime victory at White Hart Lane. It was even more pleasing to note that West Ham's squad was ravaged with injuries and suspensions, while Spurs had a rather strong side. The Spurs' faithful were expecting a response following their 5-0 slaughter at the hands of Liverpool at the weekend, sadly it was not to be as West Ham out-thought and outplayed their rivals on their home patch once more this season.

So the pressure eased somewhat for West Ham and hopefully some selection headaches for Big Sam come saturday and the trip to Old Trafford. Taylor and Collison were superb in midfield and Adrian continues to impress between the sticks. Overall, the spirit though was pleasing for a team accused of not showing the passion and integrity associated with this magnificent football club.

The only down side to the evening was that the draw for the semis could have been kinder, West Ham handed a tie with in-form Manchester City. Still you have to beat the best to win the competition and Wigan knocked them out last year, so there is always hope. Something our north london rivals will be clinging onto, in these rather embarassing times.

Adrian 7
Excellent accuracy and some splendid saves
O'Brien 7
Played supremely well - some excellent tackles
Collins 8
One of the best games I have seen him have - no mistakes!
McCartney 7
Filled in fabulously
Rat 6
A solid if not inspiring game
Diarra 6
Chased shadows a lot today
Collison 7
A great game - harrassed and bullied the Tottenham midfield
Taylor 8
Really stuck his hand up today - key role in the equalising goal
Jarvis 7
Looking like he is returning to form at the right time
Cole 6
Was mostly on the backfoot - not a lot of threat
Cole C 6
Won some headers

Diame 7
Immediate impact on a tiring Spurs defence
Maiga 9
All is forgiven Modibo - best game so far
Morrison 7
Pace and dribbling always a problem for defences

Bad leadership is better than no leadership - West Ham 0 - 0 Sunderland

The West Ham faithful sat through yet another stalemate at Upton Park, as Sunderland will rue missed opportunities to win the game.
Well, that is the last time I will be making any predictions before a West Ham United game. I was that confident, I put them in my acca, breaking one of my many gambling rules of fun. Don't back West Ham, or any team that is so woeful in front of goal for that matter. 
It all started so well, with the Man City and Arsenal goalfest, followed by some relatively pleasing team news from Big Sam. I think he picked the best team he had at his disposal, with Tomkins passing a late fitness test and Joe Cole coming into the starting line up. Nolan was suspended (a blessing in disguise I thought) so Ravel came back in and lined up with Jarvis, Noble and Diame to make up the midfield. Maiga kept his place up top after a fairly decent performance against Liverpool last week. 
This was touted as a 'must win' for both teams, yet I suppose being brutally honest, Sunderland needed it more than us. This was indeed evident by the way they started and kept up the relentless pace of the game. The Sunderland midfield hurried us off the ball and did not let us create any real chances of note. This was mirrored by Andre Marriner's shockingly poor refereeing decisions, leaving us with little to no chances in the first half with fans and players extremely frustrated. 
An example of Marriner's ineptitude came in the first half when West Ham had a free kick that big Ginger James Collins was lining up to boom into the box. Jozy Altidore, crept forward as a one man wall, causing Marriner to blow up and rightfully usher him back. He promptly ignored the ref's requests only to shuffle ever closer to the dead ball, much to the crowd's disgust. Altidore looked at the ref, the ref shrugged his shoulders before ushering Collins to get on with it, at which point Altidore leapt forward and at the point of contact was literally two yards from the dead ball. To add further insult to injury, the ball cannoned off the striker's right bum cheek and towards the West Ham half. Altidore, waiting for the referee's whistle and ensuing card/free kick, hears the golden sound of silence and finds himself through on goal and bearing down on Jussi. Due to being apoplectic with rage, I didn't see what happened, but he clearly didn't score. This most certainly would have been for the best as I daresay he would have had a few hundred West Ham fans wanting to send the boys 'round if he had.  
Sunderland continued to press hard and Jussi tipped a rifling effort onto the bar at the end of the half and West Ham continued to look, like headless, leaderless chickens.  
The second half started, subs came and went, they were all pretty useless and we continued to get played off the park by bottom of the pile Sunderland. Nerves were a jangle and the crowd remained quiet until the final 25 minutes or so where we tried fruitlessly to inspire this desperately misfiring team. It was to no avail and the game ended in a horrible 0-0 and Sunderland will quite honestly feel very hard done by. They had 59% of the possession and 19 shots on goal. Luckily we had a keeper who had one of his better games.  
My favourite part of the game was when Jack Collison came out for a cheeky little warm up at the start of the second half. He was eating a banana and managed to stretch, applaud the crowd and take a chunk of the fruit simultaneously, without a second thought. It was mightily impressive to say the least and I only wonder if he could transform these multi-tasking skills onto the pitch we might be onto something. Imagine a West Ham player who could run, look up and shoot at the same time, eh?  
I think Noble had his worst game so far this season. Jarvis was equally very poor. Maiga has the ability to jump really, really high. Like he seems to hang in the air for what seems like an age before ultimately missing the ball and bottling out of the subsequent tackle. Ravel ran around and around and around the opposition penalty box, either too frightened or too lazy to pull the trigger. James Collins continues to amaze me how he plays Premier League football, he literally offers nothing. His free-kicks are usually over hit and inaccurate and gone are the day of his aerial threat. At the death, he had a chance to win it with a clear header but the ball glanced off the side of his big ginger bonce and dribbled out for a goal kick, a beautiful and poignant metaphor for West Ham's general attacking threat at present. 
It was the first time I have been bored at West Ham this season, there really was nothing to shout about at all. We keep banging on about the striker situation but it's the least of our worries. The team have no belief and no drive at the moment which is a massive concern in a relegation scrap. I actually missed Nolan for a brief moment in the game, which goes to show what sort of a state we are in. 
I would not have been surprised to see the back of Big Sam this morning after such a feeble display at home. Also, I thought his post-match comments were laughable and embarrassing, praising the point and the clean sheet, bemoaning the fact that we needed 'just 1 goal in eight of the games' etc. etc. I wonder if Pellegrini sets his side up to think 'just one goal, that's all we need today.' It's farcical really, but hey ho this is West Ham United, where anything can happen.
Even before the game, Sullivan came out having a little whinge about Andy Carroll and his injury. Apparently he would not have signed him if he'd have known he would not have played so far this season. In other news, the publishing firms that rejected Harry Potter wished they had have given it another read and people are quite sad that Nelson Mandela died too. I mean really, what is the point? I wish our owners could keep their mouths shut at times and let the football (for better or worse) do the talking. 
Or at least spend some time thinking whether Big Sam is indeed still the man, from where I am looking, the players and fans seem to have lost faith. But these are owners who like to stand by their man, just like they did with Uncle Avram. We can only hope there is not the same result at the end of the season.
This week we go away to manager-less Spurs before a trip up north to the champions, Manchester United. That is followed by the visit of Arsenal on Boxing Day. This fan is a little anxious to say the least.   


Jussi 7*

Man of the match - kept us in the game
Demel 6
A solid game
Tomkins 7
Fights solidly for the cause - came bursting out of defence with some good runs
Collins 5
A bit of a liability for me
McCartney 5
Did northing of note - poor crossing
Noble 4
Looked a bit lost today
Diame 6
We are completely reliant on his bullocking runs
Joe Cole 5 
Without my rose-tinted JC specs on, nothing really of note today
Jarvis 4
Very, very poor
Morrison 5
Doesn't know what to do with the ball when he has it
Maiga 5
Tries hard - fails miserably

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 

West Ham United 0 - 3 Chelsea

A toothless and lacklustre display ensured the Hammers were well beaten by their West London rivals at Upton Park.

Having never been to this fixture before, I was excited to say the least. I assumed there would be nothing less than a gutsy performance, matched with an electric atmosphere-neither of these materialised. Chelsea were impressive in patches but it was the Irons who carved out the better opportunities in the opening minutes. West Ham continued to pass the ball well and found a couple of openings through Stewart Downing on the left hand side to no avail.

            Frank Lampard as always, found himself the butt of the home-faithful jokes and right in the centre of the action. It was he who had the last laugh in the 21st minute, when Guy Demel fluffed a backpass to the helpless Jaaskalienen, the veteran keeper had no opportunity to come rushing out to heed the danger. Sadly his 38-year old legs were not as nimble as those of Oscar’s for the Blues and the West Ham keeper sent him tumbling for an undisputable Chelsea penalty.

            Up steps East London’s not-so favourite son to fire into the roof of the net and put Chelsea 1-0 up. Cue OTT celebrations from a man who should really know better and the atmosphere started heating up.

            In the Trevor Brooking Lower, there are a number of what I would call ticking timebombs. Old fellows who lived through the dark days of the 70s, in black bomber jackets and lengthy trenchcoats. There are winks and nods to security guards. Everyone seems to know each other except me and there is a feeling that the place could erupt at any minute and it did as soon as the penalty hit the back of the net. The West Ham faithful launched themselves towards the Prawn sandwich brigade with ferocity, shoes were being waved in the air, police were panicking – I have no idea about the shoes by the way, however it was carnage.

            The Chelsea travelling fans replied with the affluent nonchalance we have come to expect nowadays. Gone are the fiery encounters of the eighties and even nineties, the social divide now plain for all to see. It was like a doctor taking a blood sample from a patient, except in 2013 the patient is Chelsea and the sample is footballing passion.

            Anyway back to the action and Chelsea were well in control. The way they passed and moved with confidence was sublime at times with Oscar and Hazard proving the hub of the majority of their attacks.

            West Ham were not without their chances too. A ball played into the box, landed in the melee and struck goalwards by Joe Cole, only to be whipped clear by the Chelsea defense.

            After 34 minutes another defensive lapse put the Blues 2-0 up. Calamity-a-game James Collins went sprinting to meet the sprightly Oscar, leaving himself woefully out of position and the defense vulnerable. Quite predictably, he was turned by the young star who headed goalwards and snuck a low drive into the bottom corner.

            2-0 down at home with little more than half an hour gone and Big Sam was prompted into action. A double substitution with Mo Diame and Modibo Maiga brought on in place of Jack Collison and Joe Cole. It was not a popular decision mind you, especially pulling off Cole, whose shirt was promptly ripped off and thrown somewhere in the vicinity of the subs bench. ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ rang around the ground as the fans turned on the manager whose insistence on the 4-6-0 had seemingly got us into this mess in the first place. Ho hum.

            It was clear that a lot of fans left at half time as West Ham started the second half slightly brighter but Chelsea having the better opportunities. Impressive, attacking moves resulted in Lampard nearly getting on the end of another Chelsea attack. It was coming.

            West Ham in fairness passed the ball better in the second half and did dominate periods of possession. Ravel picked out some lovely passes and wide balls, but once again up front we were toothless. At the risk of repeating myself once again, how can Kevin Nolan remain on the pitch when as the leader of our ‘attack’ he consistently fails to make an impression on the goal? It beggar’s belief. Maybe Big Sam’s sheer stubbornness will be the death of him, I fear anything but a win against Fulham and the big man is in a lot of trouble.

            Eventually, with 15 minutes to go, Big Sam relented and brought on Matt Jarvis for his ever-present leader. I was quite surprised to hear boos go around the ground when Nolan came off and only a spattering of handclaps also. Perhaps, the tide is seriously beginning to turn at Upton Park. Whilst reading the programme notes at half time, Nolan talks of his desire to lead the team out at the Olympic Stadium. This sent a shiver of harrowing fear down my spine as I read. God forbid!

            By this stage, I had seen enough and headed for the toilet, before the walk to the car. A thunderous roar came from above me as Lampard’s second and Chelsea’s third went in, I bolted for the cold East London air.

            In brighter news, I didn’t get a £65 parking ticket and managed to stick the car close to the A13 for a hasty exit. Also, I was petrified about the bitter cold on this London evening but this too was managed with aplomb by moi. Armed with my wife’s leggings as long johns and my daughter’s West Ham socks over mine, I felt relatively cosy whilst Chelsea pulled our pants down. Trev 1, Life 0.

            So, what next for West Ham United? It does seem that the penny has dropped for Big Sam regarding the striker situation. If the papers are to be believed the Irons are in for every aging striker across Europe, so in some respects that is a positive sign. The numerous other questions remain however. Why sign Carlton Cole and not play him? Was it a Sullivan signing? Why does one of our best players, Diame not start? When he does play why he is on the sodding wing? Why, oh why does Kevin Nolan continue to get the nod? Where is the fight in the dog?

            Next Saturday we host Fulham at home and this has truly become a must win game for the Irons.

Jussi 6

Doesn’t like coming out to crosses.

Demel 5

Has skill – but defensive error cost us

Tomkins 6

Solid

Collins 4

Groan. Another defensive lapse costs us

O’Brien 6

Fine

Downing 6

Lost of endeavour - very little cutting edge

Collison 5

Taken off after 40 minutes

Cole 6

Taken off after 40 minutes

Noble 6 (MOM)

Lots of endeavour – still playing well

Ravel 6

Picks a great pass – our best player but needs to pull the trigger more

Nolan 4

Good at chasing down the opposition keeper

West Ham United 0 - 0 Aston Villa

West Ham were left frustrated by a well organised Aston Villa side at the Boleyn Ground this week.

The Irons showed plenty of endeavour for no reward as the now infamous 4-6-0 formation reared its head once more. The instructions clearly were to get the ball down and play and on a number of occasions, West Ham were able to cut through their opponents at will. Sadly, however the final ball was often lacking and as such there were very few clear cut chances for the home side.

In fact, one could argue that the best chances of the first half fell to Aston Villa on the break where Weimann broke dangerously but could only fire the ball at Jaaskelainen, under pressure from James Tomkins. A second time the wily Villa frontman broke, he was chased back by Ravel Morrison, who challenged just outside the box causing Weimann to tumble to the floor. Cue mass gesticulation from the Villa fans but Howard Webb was unmoved. It was a tricky one, there was definite contact but it appeared that it was a 50/50 which Ravel managed to win.

After that the half was dominated by the Hammers and some slick build up play. We passed and moved well, getting the ball out wide to Jarvis and Downing who often managed to get balls in the box that were met by Villa defenders. A seemingly good plan, if we played with a striker. But it did seem quite unbelievable that this was the gameplan, when we once again started with no recognised frontman. Kevin Nolan huffed and puffed, Jack Collison (drafted in after an impressive second half at Burnley) had a shot that hit the side netting, but all in all we looked a little toothless despite dominating possession.

The second half started brighter for the visitors, who also rocked by injury looked the more likely to nick it as the game wore on. West Ham persisted with the passing/crossing style, Aston Villa continued to defend with relative ease.

The best chance of the game came from a Villa break which saw Christian Benteke get on the end of a pinpoint cross, only to head mercifully against the West Ham bar.

A double change came and the two Coles were introduced. Carlton gave us a much needed target to aim at in the middle but again found himself frustrated for opportunities. Joe Cole hustled and bustled and had one of only four West Ham shots on target towards the end of the game. Kevin Nolan continued his barren run and was clear through from a sneaky Downing ball but was unable to find the target.

So, it was one of those days at the Boleyn Ground. It didn’t seem like we would score if we had another 90 minutes to play. On the positive side, it is yet another clean sheet, however there were some bemusing occurrences in selection and style of play. If the 4-6-0 is used for counter attacking, why use it in a game we would dominate at home? If we start with no striker, why persist in banging balls into the box time and time again? I don’t know if Big Sam was hoping for second balls to drop kindly and live off scraps, but either way it did not seem like the way we should be trying to play in a must win home game.

We desperately missed the dominance in midfield of Mo Diame who made a belated substitute appearance in the 88^th minute. Surely he is the ideal candidate up top for the ‘False nine’ system? Kevin Nolan tried hard once again, but in a midfield required to score, as the most advanced player he once again failed. Again, it does beg the question, why not start with Joe Cole in these barren goal scoring times? He is consistently one of our best performers in front of goal and certainly not short of passion for the shirt.

Next week sees an away trip to Norwich City fresh from a 7-0 drubbing at the Etihad and possibly a point to prove. Will Hughton still be at the helm? Difficult to tell, as will the result come the end of the 90 minutes. Then we have the international break followed by Chelsea  and Fulham at home. December 3^rd sees the short trip to Crystal Palace. You get the impression as a West Ham fan these next four games will be pivotal to our season. If we come out of it with 7-9 points, game on. 5 points or less and we will be somewhere near the relegation zone and struggling for confidence.

Still we have an away day at White Hart Lane in December to boost morale come what may. Here’s hoping for a few wins under the belt and the long-awaited return of Big Andy Carroll much before then.

 Jaaskelainen 7

Some fine stops

 Reid 8

Solid and dominant as always

        Rat 6

Tried to link up well with Jarvis – still needs to improve

 Tomkins 7

A good game – dealt with Benteke generally

Demel 6

Some endeavour shown

Nolan 6

Huffed and puffed – nothing to show for it

Jarvis  7

Getting back to form with some good runs

Noble 8*

A masterclass of tackling and passing once again

Collison 6

A good shot and linked up well

Morrison  6

Not his best game despite a goal-saving challenge

Downing 7

Played well – beat players and crossed well

Substitutes

• Carlton Cole 6

No clear cut chances

• Joe Cole 7

Played some good football – needs more game time

• Mo Diame 6

Showed what he can do in the 3 minutes he was given

 

Tottenham 0 - 3 West Ham United

One of the most anticipated fixtures of the West Ham calendar went off with a bang as the Irons ran out 3-0 winners over their North London rivals.
The West Ham fans started proceedings with the chant, 'We will sing what we want' but on the whole there was little naughtiness from the travelling contingent as a bright start kept the eyes firmly focused on the football. Vaz Te came in for the beleagured Modibo Maiga and James Tomkins kept his place ahead of James Collins. However, it was the midfield that dominated the show from the off and kept the Spurs players at bay and hunting for the ball for most of the opening exchanges. It would be wrong of me not to mention the fact that the West Ham team that took the field cost a mere £13 million. That would be half a Saldado or a third of a Paulinho. This must be a shoe-in for in form Spurs, against a West Ham side with a woeful away record, right? In fact the last time the Hammers won here was 14 years ago when messrs Ian Wright and Marc Keller provided the goals, so not a great deal of hope then for even the most optimistic of the Claret and Blue army.
It wasn't long before Tottenham began to get a hold on the game and had a string of good chances in the first half. But West Ham were resilient and set up quite brilliantly by the old master Big Sam and Spurs found themselves frustrated by a switched on Irons defence. In fact, it was the Hammers who had the best chance of the half when Mark Noble chipped a free kick over the Tottenham wall and into the path of a waiting Kevin Nolan, who saw his shot drift agonisingly wide. He should really have done better.
The second half started brighter for the home side and Defoe missed a gilt-edged chance when he was set up by livewire Christian Eriksen. It makes a change because the little so and so normally scores against us, but this was not to be his or Spurs day at all.
West Ham found their feet and had some periods of excellent pressure.  We knocked the ball around well and Vaz Te up front revitalised the team to say the least. However it was from a Mark Noble corner that West Ham took the lead, Winston Reid needing two bites of the cherry to put West Ham 1-0 up.
Spurs went on the attack but to no avail, as the Irons defensive set up left them wanting and allowed us to break with pace. It was Ricardo Vaz Te, who was put through and broke well for the second goal. He only had Hugo Lloris to beat which he did with aplomb, despite the despairing goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball. 2 - 0 West Ham and cue a lot of eye rubbing and clock watching from the Claret and Blue Army.
The third goal was an absolute delight to watch. Ravel Morrison picked the ball up in our half and broke with venom through the centre. He skipped past Dawson and then Vertonghen like they weren't even there and placed the ball deftly in to the bottom left hand corner to finish off proceedings.
A wonderful goal from a startling talent. I must say I have not been this excited about a West Ham youngster since Joe Cole burst onto the scene. The boy has serious talent and rightfully deserves his England U21 call up.
So a potential banana skin for Tottenham well and truly slipped on. Speaking of slipping they are down to 6th in the table and hopefully this result will bring an air of reality back to Arsenal's noisy neighbours.
They can't blame the lasagna this time, the big spenders of North London were truly outplayed by a better side on the day. Morrison's creativity and West Ham's unending work-rate were just too much for them in a game that could have put Spurs on top of the premier league. Oh well, it wasn't to be.

So where does this leave West Ham going into the international break? Perhaps we will win the league? Who knows but we are certainly in a far better place than before the game started. Noble did take a knock and came off late, so we will need to see how bad the injury is. Downing started and Joe Cole made a welcome return from the bench. Vaz Te had a point to prove and did it rather well and a normally toothless attack, played with gusto and confidence today; long may it continue.
Did I mention that this game was against Spurs? And they were at home?

Great result for West Ham, bring on Man City on October 19th.


Jussi 7
Did all he needed to do
Demel 7
a solid game
Reid 8
Fabulous as usual. Scored the opener
Tomkins 7
Handled a tricky Tottenham attack well
Rat 7
Looking threatening going forward
Noble 8
Classy as usual
Diame 6
Not his best game but was solid in defence
Downing 7
Played well
Morrison 9 *
Outstanding game - sublime goal
Nolan 7
A good display
Vaz Te 8
Brought a spark back to the team

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.