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

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

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

The transfer merry-go-round

By: Trevor Twohig

Is anyone else confused about the dealings in the transfer market? The media circus reached its heady crescendo on Monday night with only three stories of any real interest.
Number one, Gareth Bale moved to Real Madrid. Shock horror this one. Moving swiftly on to number two, Man United dare I say it, paying well over the odds for Maroune Fellaini. It is hardly the statement that Moyes wanted to make at the beginning of his tenure, surely? Yes he knows the player well, but has everyone forgotten Fellaini’s headbutting incident at Stoke last year? An unproven player at the top-level seemingly, with a short fuse. Risky business for Man United and smacked a little of desperation for me.

Finally, Arsenal’s signing of Mesut Ozil to smash their transfer record. Did I miss something here? Were Arsenal fans desperate for Wenger to sign yet another midfielder? Granted Ozil is a top class player and I hope he does well. I am just interested to see how he will slot into a midfield alongside Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey et al.

Rosicky’s playing out of his skin and let us not forget the returning Mathieu Flamini from Milan to bolster the squad. Interesting times lay ahead for Arsenal and Wenger has indeed papered over the cracks with a big money signing. But the lack of a world class striker and a lumbering central defence will prevent them launching any sort of title challenge, methinks.

The most outrageous transfer story has to be found at Upton Park though in my opinion. After months of trying to lure Andy Carroll to the Boleyn, it finally happens to rapturous applause from large swathes of West Ham fans, including me. Great signing for us and things were looking splendid at the start of the transfer window.

Then came Stewart Downing, another good Premier League player who I think will do well for us. But this cost the whole of our transfer budget and took player wages to the top-level; the eyebrow-raising £70,000 a week for Downing, being the nail in that particular coffin.

Did Gold and Sullivan not think earlier in the window we would need to offload some of the fringe players? Was it not patently obvious that if we are trying to build towards a utopian future at the forefront of English football (the Olympic Stadium is a Grade 4 UEFA stadium, don’t you know!), then some of the old guard would need to be moved on? Clearly not.

As such we have Matty Taylor, Ricardo Vaz Te, Modibo Maiga, Alou Diarra and Stephen Henderson who should not get anywhere near our first team with the aspirations we have. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the service from the likes of Taylor and Vaz Te, but are we a club looking to survive at the bottom or push for the top half?

I appreciate I may be getting slightly ahead of myself here, we have only been back in the Premier League for one season. But in the same breath, we don’t have a striker! Allardyce hopes that Carroll may play some role in the Southampton game. Alarm bells here anyone?

Back in the Building: Carlton Cole's return is imminent

As I was working myself up into quite a state regarding the transfer debacle, I thought to myself, ‘If only we still had trusty, loyal Carlton Cole to turn to…’ and lo and behold, he is in negotiations to return. As Big Sam comes to the table, tail firmly between legs, I will dust off my ‘Sex, Drugs and Carlton Cole’ t-shirt and pray, just pray that Andy Carroll can get fit.