West Ham United Blog

Ljungberg to leave West Ham?

West Ham have reportedly offered midfielder Freddie Ljungberg £3 million to cancel the remaining 3 years of his contract with the Hammers.  The package represents than his £3m+ a year he is said to earn from it, but the Hammers are probably banking on him taking the cash and then finding a lucrative contract elsewhere to see out the remainder of his career, as they seek to cut the wage bill at the club.

For me, it’s a slightly strange move by the club, Freddie has not exactly set us alight this season but he is far from being our worse performer.  Although injury prone, he could still have had a part to play next season, though presumably the club just thought we were paying him too much to be a squad player. 

There is also some speculation that Lucas Neill and Luis Boa-Morte could be subject to similar offers from the club.  If true, this would represent a dis-mantling of the team Alan Curbishley sought to build in the his first full season at the club.  I can only guess we are not paying Nigel Quashie enough to justify giving him such an offer….either way, strange days at Upton Park lie ahead for sure.

West Ham v Aston Villa Match Preview

Wow, the end of the season already, happens quick doesn’t it?  Seems like just yesterday our pre-season optimism was being burst by a resurgent City and then re-born with a battle against Man United before the 4-0 x 3 debacles popped the final bubbles of expectancy from our season.

If it wasn’t for the presence of Nigel Reo-Coker, I’d really like Villa.  Correction, I like any club that Martin O’Neill is managing and that happens to be Villa at the moment.  He is building a young, strong English squad that I think are a real one to watch in the next couple of seasons.  Even Ashley Young is starting to look worth 8 million, what could have been if we got him instead of Boa-Morte eh? 

Villa could qualify for Europe if they win this game, but that also relies on Everton not getting anything at home to Newcastle, which I am not entirely sure will happen, although the Toffees have looked a bit knackered of late.  But it is some pride that we are fighting for and I for one will be a happy man if we get our win and finish above the Spurs on Sunday.  Being a North London Hammer, many of my friends are Spurs fans and it would definitely be a bonus to finish above them.  Although the Pool will give them a game, there is every chance they will get 3 points so we must ensure we do the same.

As for the line-up, it’s a more case of who is available than who we want to play.  We should certainly go 442 and take the game to Villa, and it would be nice if we stuck to it this time rather than reverting to 451 and playing one of the strikers out of position.  So, line up would be

Green
Macca – Neil – Tomkins - Pants (assuming Upson/Spec/Ferdy are out)
LBM – Parker – Noble – Solano
Ashton – Zamora

Bench: Walker, Sears, Cole, Mullins, Collison

I’ve got the feeling for another 2-2 here which Coral will give you 14/1 for.  So have a flutter for the last game of the season, trust me, it usually make things more interesting….come on you Irons…

Hammers fail the Old Trafford test

I once read a review of a New Order Album that described the band as ‘predictably unpredictable’, I guess a review of West Ham United would cite them as ‘consistently inconsistent’.  Having found a bit of bite and fight against Newcastle United the previous week, we barely turned up at Old Trafford, albeit with a somewhat makeshift squad.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting us to go there with United needing a win and coming back with 3 points or even 1 point.  What I do expect is for us to show some fight and when we are faced with 10 men to show some bottle, but we failed on both counts.

I’ll save my Curbs post until the season has ended but there is clearly something rotten in the state of Upton Park.  The injuries, the defensive press conferences, the hunched shoulders of various players, it’s just not gelling together.  Yet somehow, we have managed to cobble together a decent season position wise, but that has mostly been at the expense of some very poor teams below us.  If they step up next season, we’ll have top start watching our backs. 

In fact, let’s look at the stats - from the teams above us this season we have taken 15 points, from the teams below us we have taken 35 points.  That’s only natural I’d agree, but like I say, if other teams do some more re-building over the Summer and we stay as we are, it’s going to spell danger for us.  The 35 points cover up for the 6 draws and 5 losses that we have experienced at the hands of lower placed teams.  We can’t rely on playing teams like Derby every week and you can bet that like the likes of Birmingham and Wigan are going to be tougher nuts to crack next season.  If we don’t discover our grit, bottle and flair, even in the face of adversity like Saturday, then we can expect next season to be very tough indeed.  The cure?  Ah, you’ll have to wait till after the Villa game…

Manchester Utd v West Ham Match Preview

Well, I think last night's result did us a favour, in that facing a stung Man Utd would be worse than facing one in the Champions League final, but I'm still not holding out too much hope for our end of season trip to Old Trafford.  United need to win this match in order to go to Wigan to pick up the title and much like our visit their last season was do or die, so the roles are reversed this time round.

We might have a bit of luck if Rooney and Vidic are still out but as they proved last night, there is still plenty of quality in their squad and I expect Ronaldo to be unleashed on us this time.  As for the Hammers, well, we still have a place above Spurs to fight for, though i don't think they will get 3 points from reading which is what they need to finish above us.  But apart from that, it's pride really and I just don't see it being enough to carry us through.  Anyhow, the lambs to the slaughter I'd send out are;

Green

Macca - Neil - Tomkins - Pantsil

LBM - Noble - Mullins - Parker - Solano

Ashton

Yes, back to classic 451 but our injuries demand it and I think it can be effective for this adventure in order to stop the flow of United's midfield.  My prediction?  Sorry, but I think they will do us 3/4-0, I really do.  I'd be delighted if it wasn't but would any team, going to Old Trafford for a Premiership deicder fancy their chances?  Exactly.......having said that, our odds at Coral.co.uk are 11/1 to win, with a free £10 bet to boot, you just never know....up the Hammers....

Hammer of the Year

Well, I predicted a 2-2 draw on Saturday and so it came to be.  A more up for it crowd and a team playing with plenty of energy should have resulted in a victory but lady luck is smiling on Kevin Keegan at the moment and thus the shares were spoiled.  As I was away for the game I won't do player rankings but from the TV highlights and talk on the forums, it appears everyone played their part and the boo boys were certainly out-shouted by the real fans.  Even LBM got a good reception.

With that in mind (but not LBM presumably) we are now looking toward Hammer of the Year to be presented at the game against Aston Villa on the last day of the season.  First of all, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the HOTY's from the past 5 years;

2007 - Carlos Tevez - not much debate on this one really, he came to the party late but boy, did he make an impression.

2006 - Danny Gabbidon  - wow, doesn't this seem like a long time ago, solid as a rock during 2006, his career has been blighted by inconsistency and injury since.

2005 - Teddy Sheringham - Teddy's silky skills at the twilight of his career brought him many plaudits.

2004 - Matthew Etherington - full of energy buzzing down the left wing in 2004, like Danny G his career has hit a rocky patch since, alongside off the field problems, hope we can welcome him back next season, I still like the lad.

2003 - Joe Cole - sigh, remember when we had him?!

So, onto this season.  It's a slight indictment that my top 3 are all of a defensive persuasion.  But no one has played consistently or consistently well enough in the middle or up front to be considered in my view.  Had Scott Parker pulled in a dozen or so more games, I reckon he would have been a contender.  But one else came close for me.  So here are my top three...

1.  Robert Green - Hammer of the Year should look at performance over the whole season and if I look back, I can't really recall this man letting us down.  Very few faults as a keeper and a bloke with his feet firmly on the ground, in spite of being criminally ignored by the England management.  Green is fully deserving of the title Hammer of the Year.

2.  Matthew Upson - the 'rock' as he is rapidly becoming known, Upson has at least been fully recognised by the England set up, which is just reward for his reading of the game, timing, tackling and general command of our penalty area.

3.  George McCartney - has made the left back spot his own after a shaky last season and came back from our links with Nicky Shorey to show that we got the right man in the spot.  Keen to get forward and a decent crosser who has provided some very important assists, Macca deserves some real recognition for his efforts this season.

So there are mine, what do you think?

West Ham v Newcastle United Preview

Not a great time to play the Barcodes and their whinging army of the 'best supporters in the world' (yeah, we saw that during the Allardyce era didn't we?).  But Kelvin Koogan appears to be having his moment right now and they are on a bit of a high.  We however appear to be ending the season with a whimper rather than a bang and will certainly have to up our game to deal with Viduka, Owen and Martins.

It's going to be a strange old atmosphere again on Saturday.  With nothing to really play for (except coming ahead of the scum) and the tense relationship between the fans and Curbishley, we could easily play into Newcastle's hands with our uncertainty.  Really, it would be nice if we were to celebrate a season of stability and consolidation.  I'm not Curbs biggest fan but I much prefer the end to this season than the one we had last season, don't you?  Next season is another matter, but I just don't want us to be going towards the end of the season with this cloud over our heads.

Anyhway, my team would line up;

Green

Macca - Tomkins - Upson - Skippy the Skipper

Ljungberg - Noble - Parker - Faubert

Ashton - Sears

Bench warmers: Walker, Spector, Mullins, Boa-Morte and Cole

Hard one to call and this really could go either way.  My prediction record has been appaling this season, so let's go with something crazy, how about 2-2?  Coral will give you 12/1 for and a free bet.  Go on, I can feel it in my water!  Up the Hammers...

PS Don't forget to visit our new West Ham ebay auction page

Champions League Preview

I know, we're not there (yet) but come on, who isn't excited about tonight and tomorrow night's football fests?  Tough games to call but they should both be very entertaining to watch.  Overall I want Man United to win the trophy, much as I have an immense dislike for the club, they deserve it the most with the quality of their football.  I'd also like Chelsea to get to the final, I can't believe the moronic media's attitude towards Avram Grant, just because he doesn't get them p*ssed or give them horse racing tips.  Just 5 defeats in his reign is a fantastic record and he buffered the decline that was threatening to rear its head under the Mourinho era.

So, predictions.....I reckon Liverpool 2 Chelsea 1 at Anfield and Barcelona 0 Man United 2 at the Nou Camp.  I won't call the second legs until the results of the first are clear.  You might think the Barcelona prediction is off, but I do think this is an ageing Barca team lacking a bit of direction at the moment and Henry certainly has not provided the magic touch, though being played on the wing is not helping him.

Anyway, those are my predictions, what do you think?

PS Please take a look at our new West Ham ebay auctions page

West Ham 2 Derby County 1

Great Expectations.

I just wanted to get that off my chest because it sums up the problem we have faced this season.  Expectations that because we spent some money, we should be Champions League.  Expectations that because we survived relegation, we should be Champions League.  Expectations that because our new Icelandic owners mentioned it as a part of a 5 year plan, we should be Champions League.  Well, let me tell all those muppets who booed the team yesterday, if you want to see Champions League, p*ss of to the Emirates or the Bridge because you are not goint to see it at Upton Park for some time and fans like me who have supported the club for 25+ years know better.

I've been racking my brains for booing of a victory in history, not only at West Ham but at any football ground, and I can't really think of one.  The closest I've come to it is Old Trafford where they might see someone off 1-0 and it's met with hesitant applause rather than any rapture.  But booing a team placed in 10th with 14 injuries after a relegation threatened season?  No, no way.

Sure, I know where it comes from.  Some people just hate Curbishley and won't accept him no matter what he does.  I agree he does have limitations, some of his signings have not been great  and he may or may not be the man to build on tenth place.  But, you know  Ferguson bought Djemba-Djemba, Redknapp bought Song and Camara, not every signing is a great one.  Other people just want 'total football' like those fickle Geordies up North.  Well, total football is difficult when you are blooding two youngsters at home, your main striker calls a sickie hours before the match and you have an injury room full of crocks.  Let's have some patience for crying out loud.  Let's wait till we've got a team of Bellamy, Sears, Ashton, Solano, Parker, Noble, Ljungberg, Upson, Green, Dyer and Faubert and they are playing together consistently.  Because I'm excited about that and I'm not going to boo and hiss just because I want it and I want it now and if Sears isn't scoring a hat trick or Ljungberg isn't beating 5 men, I want my money back.

Is the modern football fan a reflection on society as a whole?  Is all our personal debt down to wanting it now, this lifestyle we see of footballers and WAGS?  And does that translate into an impatience with life, paying for something and screaming if it does not breed immediate success?  The anger that was football hooliganism is controlled outside the ground so it unleashes itself in the form of spittle at our 'heroes'?  Or is our alienation with these footballers with their milions just so far gone, we express our anger with them at every given opportunity, even when we scrap through with a victory?

I'm not sure what it is, but it is something deep and endemic in our society.  I used to go to football to escape the not so fun bits in my life.  When watching a football match becomes one of the not so fun things, then society really does have a problem.

Rubbish game though, wasn't it?

West Ham v Derby County Preview - time for Curbs to unleash Sears

Well if ever a game had 3 points written all over it, this was it.  More importantly it gives us a great opportunity to put clear daylight between ourselves and Spurs who I don't think will get 3 points away to Wigan.  Not only should we get 3 points, it's also the perfect game for us to unleash Freddie Sears properly and see if the lad can influence a match from the start. 

The injury news is that Freddie, Noble and Skippy are back and some talk on the forum suggests Faubert is in the frame as well.  He is the only one who might be a risk start, having been out for so long.  With this in mind, here is my starting team;

Green

Macca - Tomins - Upson - Skippy

Ljungberg - Parker - Collison - Noble

Ashton  - Sears

Bench: Walker, Zamora, LBM, Speccy and Pants.

Only contentious thing would be Noble on the right, but he has done a job for us there before.  Seriously, I want to see the players up for this and to get a convincing result, because we have been far from convincing lately.

I'm taking the home win as read so my bet is to back Freddie Sears at 6/5 to score at anytime in the match.  Go on, take a free tenner from Coral for the bet and make the day an even better one, up the Hammers...

Sir Alan fires a Hammer - and gets it wrong

For those of you who are as obsessed by the Apprentice as I am, you will be as shocked as I am by tonight's decision to fire Simon Smith aka Skerrit on West Ham forums.  With his claret and blue ties, for those of you who have not guessed he is a big Hammers fan, but that's not the only reason he had my backing.  The Apprentice this year seems full of second rate estate agents and halfwit PA's, not the cream of the up and coming crop.  Simon has been an exception to that with his positive attitude to hard work and straight talking.

I won't go into the details of the task, but it was plain for all to see in the boardroom that either Claire or Alex should have gone.  Claire is just a bossy, gobby type who will go pretty soon and Alex is the type of Machiavelian character you see in every office who probably tells everyone how hard they work when they do sweet FA.  Simon did need to listen more but should have certainly survived at least another week.

Anyway, we're proud of you Simon and you never know, there may well be a vacancy at Upton Park at some point in the near future for a manager who can make even the walking wounded work......