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! 

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

 

Wherefore art thou Lukaku? Swansea 0 - 0 West Ham United

West Ham United started this game with the Premier League’s worst shot accuracy this season and that statistic will not have been improved by this trip to the Liberty Stadium.

A lively first half, where West Ham dominated and had a number of excellent chances,  ended 0-0 and how West Ham rued not putting at least one opportunity into the onion bag. Starting the game again, with the ‘false number 9,’ the Hammers were energetic and looked certain to open the scoring. One of the best chances fell to Guy Demel who stretched out a toe but couldn’t get any contact and poke the ball home.

But West Ham did not stop there; the ever-present Ravel Morrison had a shot cleared off the line, Demel had another good chance saved and Stewart Downing a shot blocked also. In total, West Ham had eleven attempts in the first half as opposed to Swansea City’s two.

The second half was a different affair with the Swans getting a stronger foothold in the game. West Ham’s stout defence limited the chances and all in all what started as a cracker of a game, petered out into a dour draw. Swansea dominated possession but could not break down Big Sam’s defensive system. Incidentally, West Ham have only conceded one away goal this season and that was Robbie Brady’s controversial penalty at Hull City.

The second half saw the long awaited return of Carlton Cole to the West Ham side. More importantly, it saw us playing with a striker which is more than pleasing to see for the West Ham faithful. However, his impact was minimal making a few important defensive headers but nothing really at the business end of the pitch.

Joe Cole came on and made a late appearance for Ravel Morrison and it was disappointing not to see more of him earlier on. The manager’s continual support of Kevin Nolan despite poor form and a plethora of midfield opportunities at his disposal, is not helping the goal scoring situation. Despite a dominant first half, Nolan was conspicuous by his absence, the only incident of note, where he took the ball off the feet of in-form Ravel Morrison, preventing the young man from pulling the trigger.

So, pleasing to see another clean sheet away from home, yet concern once again at our inability to finish chances. Had you have offered most West Ham fans a draw before the game, they probably would have taken it. But after our completely dominant first half, it was a different story, highlighting in glorious technicolor our need for an effective back up striker. It is important to mention the performance of Mark Noble who was magnificent. West Ham fans have known of his contributions for years now and I only hope tongues start to wag outside of East London, as he continues to impress week in, week out.

We once again mixed it against a very good side and we continue to show great promise. The defensive frailties of yesteryear are long gone  (think Reading’s 6 – 0 demolition in 2007), however the presiding feeling is that Big Sam’s inability to capture a big name striker in the summer has once again come back to haunt us. God only knows where we would be if Lukaku had moved to the Hammers, it doesn’t even bear thinking about.

Next week we entertain Aston Villa at the Boleyn Ground where nothing but 3 points will do for Big Sam’s men.

Jaskeleinen 7

Solid once again

Demel  7

Had a good game

Reid 8

Dominant in defence. Turning into a world class player

Tomkins 7

Could not be faulted

Rat 7

Looking solid at the back and good going forward

Noble 9

A flawless display. Does not get the credit he deserves

Morrison 6

Had one cleared off the line, but not his best game

Downing 6

Looking more effective with more games

Diame 6

Not his best game in claret and blue

Nolan 5

Poor – surely on borrowed time now

Vaz Te 5

Wrist injury forced him off

Carlton Cole 5

Good defensively – not many chances up top 

Matt Jarvis 6

Some good balls into the box

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

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

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?