West Ham 2 - 1 Chelsea : The Truth!

As the sun set majestically in East London, so did Chelsea’s hopes of silverware in this increasingly important competition, as West Ham United ran out comfortable winners at the London Stadium.

                Due to unwarranted media attention, the fixture needed no introduction and there was a palpable buzz around the stadium, as the nigh on capacity crowd descended upon Stratford. There was vociferous singing and some volatile chanting preceding the match and well into the first half. On the whole, despite the typical goading and schadenfreude, little between the vast majority of supporters seemed amiss.

                Chelsea’s continuity most certainly was mind you, as a revitalised West Ham took full advantage of a lacklustre Chelsea display, typified by the woefully off-key Jon Terry.

                West Ham continued with their 3-5-2 formation that has brought them some success over the past few weeks and more importantly, seven points. This time it was the in-form Michail Antonio’s turn to start up front and his pace and aggression caused the Chelsea stalwart a mountain of issues at the back.

                A bright start from the Hammers was rewarded when Mark Noble’s pinpoint cross was met by Cheikhou Kouyate’s head who directed a sharp header, past the outstretched Asmir Begovic, for nothing less than the hosts deserved, an early one-nil lead.

                Chelsea, despite making seven changes, fielded a very strong team and in particular Nathaniel Chalobah looked quick and dangerous on the break. Batshuayi however, was not so clinical in front of goal, as the few attempts the visitors had, landed safely in the welcoming arms of Darren Randolph.

                Mark Noble as usual, summed up the ferocity and desire in the West Ham camp and put in some thumping, yet legal tackles in the middle of the park, which certainly helped to keep the likes of N’Golo Kante and Ola Aina quiet for a large part of the first half.

                As the half drew to a close, West Ham were the ones clinging on a little for dear life, as the legs tired. Chelsea continued to attack but found a stubborn defensive resistance and a competent goal keeping performance from the Irons number 1 in number, if not in name.             

                Anxious West Ham spirits were lifted once more, early in the second half, as Edmilson Fernandes wonder strike from the edge of the area sent the stadium into further rapture. It was the perfect time to score and West Ham seemed home and dry.

                However, Chelsea were not ready to roll over and with half an hour left, Antonio Conte rang the changes. Pedro, Costa and Hazard were all introduced and had an immediate impact as the West Londoners came ever closer to finding the back of the net.

                In one particularly fluent move in the 83^rd minute, Costa seemed to have chipped Randolph to find the back of the net, only to watch the ball dribble agonizingly wide of the upright and out for a goal kick.

                West Ham defended stoutly but fell afoul of the proverbial kitchen sink as in the 94^th minute Gary Cahill bundled in a questionable goal. However, it was too late and the referee’s final whistle blew much to the relief and dare I say it, shock of the Upton Park faithful.

                Let’s face it, West Ham have had a stuttering start to the season, while Chelsea’s display on Sunday against Mourinho’s United was nothing short of sublime. Yet, West Ham looked like they had slipped it into fourth gear and are beginning to get back to the heady heights that were reached last season. There is still no out and out striker of any real quality fully fit, which makes the victory even sweeter.

                With that in mind and players coming back, there is no reason not to feel confident as the mighty Irons travel to Old Trafford in the next round of the EFL Cup. Next up though, is a visit to Everton FC this Sunday in the Premier League. Surely some sort of result here will signal crisis over for Bilic and his happy Hammers?    

                With regards to the ‘trouble,’ let me just say that this has been quite ferociously over-egged by all and sundry in the media. Yes, there was the usual arm-waving and ‘my flymo’s bigger than your flymo’ type of banter, but in the grand scheme of things, this was largely just kids on their half term wanting to relive their wet dreams over Football Factory and being part of the mob. The ICF and Headhunters are most certainly not back, that is for sure. To put it another way, if you saw the Skysports coverage, that was the extent of it. As a spectator, I felt mildly miffed and worried about my train, in the case of being further delayed out of the ground. I wasn’t phoning the Samaritans this morning in need of a friendly voice, like the feeding frenzy might suggest.

                The most unsavoury events that occurred for me were two-fold. Firstly, being handed a piece of paper near entry from a West Ham ‘fan’ encouraging us to sing homophobic chants about Costa and Terry. This is to the tune of Dimitri Payet (the fan spelt his name wrong too). Thankfully, I think most fans threw down the paper in disgust, like I, rather than get involved and the Payet song rang harmoniously around the ground throughout the game, with no amended lyrics.

                Secondly, some of the ‘banter’ for want of a better word around me was quite frankly, vile. I have alluded to this earlier, but much to my disappointment, I feel it needs further mention. We’ve all been there, getting involved one too many bevvies or poison of your choice, yet the personal nature of some of the chanting was just not what I’ve heard before at West Ham.

                Behind us, in block 113 stood a group of wannabe TOWIE twonks, in their cheap Primarni suits, thinking they could do and say what they want. They could be no more than 18 or 19 and when they weren’t telling one portly Chelsea fan, minding his own business that his ‘wife should be ashamed of him,’ they were informing another young away supporter that his girlfriend next to her ‘had chlamydia and was going to suck them off.’

                It was all a bit puerile and not very West Ham for me. We all like giving John Terry the gears, but none of us pay the money to support our team to get goaded by slick-haired oiks, fuelled by warm carling and synthetic cocaine, who would run a mile when faced with the people they choose to chastise.

                Anyway, the new stadium brings a lot of positives but also its negatives. Football-wise West Ham were outstanding and not a million miles from their best tonight. Long may it continue.

               

Smash and Grab - West Ham 0 - Tottenham Hotspur 1

The Premier League recommenced with a mouth watering tie at Upton Park, as the two London rivals met in front of a sell out crowd at the Boleyn Ground. 

Typically, there had been much unrest in East London in the run up to the new season. Despite six summer signings and manager Sam Allardyce smashing the club’s transfer record, many sections of the Hammer’s faithful remained unhappy. Pre-season had hardly been a success and there seemed no evidence of the attacking football Allardyce had been politely told to play by his employers. I reminded myself that Rome was not built in a day and made the trip to Upton Park full of high hopes for the current campaign. 

The game started brightly, in particular for the visitors who had in the most part been worryingly quiet in pre season. It was clear Pochettino’s mantra of close, concise play had been instilled and as a result, West Ham enjoyed very little time on the ball. That being said there were glimmers of hope. New singings Aaron Cresswell and Cheikhou Kouyate looked impressive and there appeared to be a new resilience and in my eyes at least, an attempt to play the ball on the ground in an attacking style. 

We more than matched the visitors in the opening exchanges but in all honesty there was very little to write home about in the first half. So much so, I got carried away watching events in one of the boxes. A group of lads draped a Lazio flag from the box. Security, came twice to ensure it was moved cue vociferous chants of ‘Viva Lazio’ from the Alpari Lower and Trevor Brooking. It was replaced with a picture of a walrus and the words ‘BFS we love you.’ Far more to Security’s liking. 

It appears I was not the only one who was slightly underwhelmed by the football as a lively supporter made his way on to the pitch and after running the full length of it, stopped to take a shot with the match ball. This was potentially the first shot of target and sparked the crowd into life as he left rotund security guards in his wake before being wrestled to the ground and dismissed. 

West Ham continued to pressure the Tottenham box and from a corner, the ball landed at Kevin Nolan’s feet who hit the ball goalward. Kyle Naughton raised his arms and after much remonstration by the home team and deliberation from the officials, a penalty kick was awarded. Naughton’s block was deemed to be deliberate and he was in turn given his marching orders. 

Celebrations were wild, the crowd erupted into ‘it’s happening again’ because Mark Noble doesn’t miss penalties. Until now. The ball skewed wide of the left hand post and Tottenham were handed a new lifeline. Still 11 played 10 and West Ham were certainly in the ascendancy. 

The second half started again with pressure from the home side. There was an attempt to pass and keep the ball, more than I saw at any stage last season. However, the luck was not on our side and the likes of Stewart Downing and Carlton Cole huffed and puffed but sadly to no avail. Tottenham did continue to threaten on the break and with the arrival of Lewis Holtby and Andros Townsend, the pace of the threat augmented. 

James Collins was booked for a cynical challenge, which stopped a Tottenham attack and not long after with Adebayor in a fairly innocuous position, he decided to aggressively barge the forward to the ground and referee Chris Foy correctly sent him off. 

Alarm bells begun to ring around the stadium as Tottenham’s belief rose their chances grew. 

Bentaleb forced a diving save from fan favourite Adrian and the West Ham defence begun to look shakier as time wore on. 

Allardyce introduced Guy Demel for Joey O’Brien, presumably for a niggle of some description. Mo Diame appeared in place of the ineffective Vaz Te but the greatest applause was saved for new signing Enner Valencia who arrived in place of beleaguered Carlton Cole. 

Valencia looked lively from the off and chased balls that Carlton wouldn’t have even jogged for, winning West Ham an unlikely corner in the process. The game ebbed and flowed, both sides threatened, but in the 94th minute, Tottenham broke and Erik Deer on debut was put through on goal, rounded the keeper and placed the ball perfectly into Adrian’s net. 

As the away fans went wild, the home ones left in their droves, just in time to see a Spurs fan, who had clearly overexcited himself, being removed by the stewards. Smiling and inciting the Trevor Brooking Lower during his exit, events certainly took a darker turn, most certainly for the female security guard tasked with restraining a large handful of East London’s finest at melting point. 

Back to the football and despite the disappointment of the result, West Ham played rather well in my opinion. Downing, Cole and Vaz Te were decidedly poor yet despite this, had the ever reliable Mark Noble converted, I think we would have won comfortably. No-one in the ground would have wanted to score more than he, so it was heartwarming to hear chants of Mark Noble straight after the miss. 

Kouyate looks like a fantastic player, big strong and playing for the shirt. Tin minutes of Valencia was not enough but again he looks like a handful. Cresswell did well and surprisingly Nolan put in a very good shift. Rumours abound that he returned to pre-season fitter than ever, perhaps worrying about his place in the side? This can only be a good thing. 

Ravel Morrison is back in training too and Diame looked tricky when he came on, so I am afraid I am not jumping on the Sam out bandwagon just yet. It’s Crystal Palace next week and if the football gods are evening scores like it felt today, it surely has to be an away win for the Hammers. 

Adrian 6

O’ Brien 6

Reid 7

Collins 4

Cresswell 7

Kouyate 9

Noble 7

Nolan 7

Vaz Te 5

Downing 6

Cole 4 

Demel 6

Diame 7

Valencia 7

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! 

Hughton's D-Day

 
The weekend produced another poor result for a West Ham side with so much promise - but the situation must certainly be worse if you support a number of other teams in the Premier League.

Crystal Palace look dead and buried already. Barring a minor miracle, it would appear they are condemned back to life in the Championship. Saying that, stranger things have happened. But if the regenerating properties of the bubbly Ian Holloway cannot get the lads to click, it is unlikely any other manager can make an impact in such a short space of time.

Sunderland also have a mountainous task ahead of them. Gus Poyet will inevitably get the ball down and ensure the players try and pass their way out of the relegation zone. Again though, the task looks insurmountable. With 15 new players arriving in the summer and two players sent off for appalling challenges at the weekend, they look like a squad in disarray.

This leaves one other team to face the dreaded drop. This period of time up until Christmas will be vital and mercifully for West Ham United, our run of fixtures looks somewhat simpler than some of the other teams. Granted we have Chelsea and Arsenal in our nearish future, plus of course the midweek trip to White Hart Lane for the quarter final of the Capital One Cup.

Aside from that we host Sunderland, Fulham, and West Bromwich Albion before the New Year. We travel to Crystal Palace, Norwich, Liverpool and Man United where, with our formidable defensive away record, even the most cynical of West Ham fans can see a point or two being picked up on the road.

The Hammers travel to Carrow Road in Saturday's late kick off, in what can only be last chance saloon for Canaries' manager, Chris Hughton. There were calls from a number of the yellow and green faithful for his head after the capitulation at Manchester City, where they were drubbed a whopping 7-0. Common sense seems to have prevailed and the footballing gods have deemed the work Hughton has done, worthy of another chance against West Ham.

It would seem harsh to sack him after losing to a Man City team so full of talent and due a big result. However, the defensive ineptitude of Norwich's back four, plus the lack of fight in the dog, has left some fans short of patience.

They are hugely reliant on the doggedness of Robert Snodgrass and sadly big signings like Robert Van Wolfswinkel, have failed to produce results as of yet. This matched with the sale of Grant Holt in the summer has left a bitter taste in the mouth for a number of Norwich fans. The sale of Holt was always on the cards, since he lived up north and rented a flat in Norwich during his time there. But the ease at which this stalwart at the club was let go has reared its ugly head since results have failed to go their way. Holt at 32, could have been argued to be the heartbeat of the club, the man to bring the troops together and rally them in times of crisis. He is now doing that at Wigan, leaving the Canaries a little short of natural leadership; the thing they need most at present.

So, is Saturday's game D-Day for Hughton? It could well be. If Norwich City rally and manage to beat a West Ham team with the fifth best defensive record in Europe, perhaps there will be a reprieve for the much-maligned manager. But if West Ham manage to take advantage of a struggling Norwich defence and put their goal-scoring hoodoo to bed, the yellow and green dream could be over for him.

As much as I like Hughton and hope he is given time, I can't help feel it is a make or break game for him. Such is my desperation for West Ham to cure their net-finding ills, I fear we may be the final nail in the coffin for the highly-respected young manager. My prediction is 1-0 or 2-1 to West Ham. Many pundits are talking this game up as a simple home win for Norwich City. Despite obvious bias, this is too simplistic a way to view the fixture. West Ham have been good on the road, despite the lack of goals. In a lot of respects our away form has far surpassed that of last year. Surely with the quality among the ranks, a goal or two will come our way this Saturday? Not the thoughts Chris Hughton wants to hear I am sure.

If he is sacked, it is looking likely there will be a few other good jobs he can walk into. However, as with so many Premier League sackings, I believe it will be premature and Hughton should be given more time to get it right.

So, a big game for both sides - with much at stake. I am looking forward to it and hope whatever the result, no-one at Norwich City is without a job come Monday morning.

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

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? 

Southampton 0 – 0 West Ham United

West Ham managed to cling on for a valuable point on a dismal afternoon at St. Mary’s Stadium.

            The Irons started brightly with Mo Diame looking in bullish mood as he powered his way into the box and was denied by the outstretched Boruc early on. Chances though were few and far between for the Hammers as Southampton enjoyed a majority of the possession and shots on target. After a frenetic start, the game became affected by the howling wind and lashing rain, causing the final ball to tend to go missing when it mattered. It didn’t though when Osvaldo had the best chance of the game only to be denied by the diving Jaaskeleinen.

            West Ham did however have a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside. Matt Jarvis made a rare break and blasted the ball into Boruc’s midriff. The ball fell kindly to Nolan who slotted it in from long range, only to see the linesman’s flag raised. Replay’s showed Jarvis was indeed onside.

            In the second half Southampton piled on the pressure and once again it was the outstanding Jussi who kept us in the game.

            The Irons had a golden opportunity to nick it at the end when the ball fell on a plate to James Collins who had all the time in the world to pick his spot and clear off celebrating. True to form however, he blazed the ball miles over the bar, much to the despair of the traveling Claret and Blue Army.

On the whole a poor game which lacked any real quality in the final third. Lots of crosses were over hit and quality chances were few and far between. After a couple of weeks of disappointment for Hammer’s fans, I suppose a point will do. Yet the elephant in the room continues to rear its head, with Maiga once again being ineffective and West Ham lacking any real cutting edge.

            It was pleasing to see Big Sam give Ravel his first premier league start however. The lad played well in a tricky game dominated by the midfield.

 So, 5 points from 4 games, a pleasing defensive performance but deep concerns about our attacking options up front.

            Next week, we entertain Everton who come to the Boleyn fresh from their victory over Mourinho’s Chelsea.

Jussi 10

Outstanding. Kept us in the game

Demel 7

Played well – went off injured

Winston Reid 7

Solid as usual

James Collins 6

Played well. Missed a golden chance to win the game

Joey O’ Brien 6

Ok – could have been sent off for a rash challenge

Mark Noble 6

Solid but uninspiring

Ravel Morrison 6

Fine on his Premier League debut

Mo Diame 6

Started well – quietened down after a bad challenge

Kevin Nolan 5

Moaned and groaned – not a lot of firepower

Matt Jarvis 6

Uncharacteristically quiet

Maiga 4

Not cutting the mustard at all

Razvan 5

Fair performance

Vaz Te 4

Largely ineffective

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.

West Ham United 2 - 0 Cardiff City

Well, it finally arrived. After all the Sky Sports hype and media nonsense, the season started fairly innocuously for West Ham fans. Downing's arrival was welcomed but really all the press was aimed at Cardiff and their rampant return to the Premier league. I for one, was extremely excited about the mighty irons and how they would fare. I was not brought up in a football family you see. My parents came to this country and the football lifestyle was alien to them and my love for it derived from it being a foreign concept. The only football we watched would be what we got on terrestrial tele in the 80's. Going to a football match? That would take time, effort and money and my Dad for one wasn't going to get involved in all that malarkey.

So buying my first ever West Ham season ticket was a huge thing for me. Call it what you want acceptance, understanding whatever but I felt like I was in some elite club when the card arrived on the doorstep. Like a Willy Wonka Golden ticket...as long as we didn't slip up to bloody Cardiff!

I remember watching West Ham lose to Cardiff City in the first game back in the Championship two seasons ago. We had the Real Madrid of the league for that game. Parker, Nolan, Noble all in midfield who absolutely dominated the game. We lost to a late, late goal from that swine Kenny Miller and as I turned the TV off, I still remember the feeling of utter dread - what if we don't come back up?

Thankfully Big Sam sorted us out and we mercilessly dismantled Cardiff in the play-offs on the way to promotion and it was this thought I kept with me as I sat in the queue to get through the Blackwall Tunnel. It seems like every person in the world was trying to get to East London today, but luckily I found a car parking space off Barking Road, much to the disdain of the home owners standing, having a chat outside as I majestically reversed it in. I swear the locals have no idea what is going on. Just once a week, thousands of people come and park outside of their homes, dressed in purple and then bugger off a few hours later.

Anyway, the car was abandoned but Green Street was buzzing.  Fellas taking videos of the hordes with their phones, the whole place a sea of claret and blue. I was sitting in the Trevor Brooking Lower and boy was I rewarded for this decision. The best banter, chants etc. I have ever had at West Ham bar none. The pundits always talk about the ground rocking but today it really was as the teams came out.

Our attention was jolted slightly by a Cardiff fan who elected to set off a flare in the away end. That's right folks, a flare. This caused great amusement amongst the West Ham fans, and the security moved in and quickly ejected the culprits. Thanks for coming.

The game started furiously and West Ham were quite clearly in the ascendency. Lots of chances, threatening from set pieces and the new kit looked bang on! Happy days. Our perseverance was rewarded when the effervescent Matt Jarvis skinned Connolly and powered a low cross into the middle. Joe Cole pirouetted like he was at the ballet and slotted it into the bottom right corner on 13 minutes. 1 - 0. For me, this start could not have been better. I absolutely love Joe Cole and the fact that he looks fit and up for it this year could not make me happier. I remember the year when we went down and he captained the team and played up front, midfield, brought out the oranges, you name it. And he was only a youngster, true West Ham legend in my opinion.

West Ham continued to knock on the door to no avail and in all honesty both teams were a little rusty. Cardiff City looked dangerous on the break, especially through Kim, but Bellamy got booed horrifically every time he got the ball and proceeded to have an absolute shocker. Whats the old adage? If Bellamy plays well, Cardiff play well. Sadly for the travelling support, not today.

The PA system blared out 'Security, Mr. Moon is in the building' a number of times around the halfway mark. God knows what this even means, but my ears were pricked and I was ready for action, whatever was coming my way.

Cardiff started brightly in the second half and for some reason like we always seem to do, we sat back and allowed them to come at us. They had a few good chances but really lacked any firepower in the final third. A bizarre penalty claim for handball, resulted in a chorus of 'handball!' every time a West Ham player passed the ball and when Bellamy was withdrawn for another West Ham old boy Nicky Maynard, Cardiff looked all but beaten. It was nice to see some West Ham fans salute old Bellamy, who did work hard for us when he was here, plus Maynard also got an appreciative welcome to thank him for his efforts in getting us promoted.

'Security, Mr. Moon has left the building.' Thank goodness for that, I can now relax and finish my Bovril in peace. Oh hang on a minute, who is this I see about to come on? None other than Mr. Stewart Downing! He got a warm reception too and it was a shame to see Matty Jarvis come off for him, as the two together could be quite a force when Andy Carroll returns.

Downing started very brightly, had pace and caused a few concerns for the Bluebird's defence. In fact, Downing was at the start of the move that created the second goal, knocking it off to Noble who ran at the Cardiff defenders. He found Nolan in space, who hit it first time into the top left hand corner - game, set and match.

A fantastic goal, well deserved for Nolan who tirelessly works hard for the team. If he is not running at the goalie, he is screaming at Maiga to get in the right position. So all was well, but what ho, yet another PA announcement...'Security, Mr. Moon is back in the building.' Oh Jesus, what are we going to do? And who is this guy some sort of stealth ninja, felling the security team one by one, leaping the pasty stand in a single bound? God only knows, but I for one was keeping a low profile.

So the game was won, Joe Cole was substituted late on, largely to receive a standing ovation from the Boleyn faithful methinks. The only downside was that we really do have concerns upfront. Maiga had one decent chance that went just wide, he did win a few headers but he really is not threatening enough. This does put an awful lot of pressure on Carroll when he returns, so I think Big Sam is going to have to get someone else in.

I was also disappointed not to see Ravel Morrison get a cameo. He has been tearing up trees in pre-season and at 2 - 0 could have been worth a shout. But hey ho, the fans always know best don't they?
Luckily for me, Mr. Moon had left the building once more and I was free to go on my merry way along with 35000 very happy hammers.